The maid's road to success

The results were announced soon. Li Changan was the first place winner and An Zizhong was the fourth place. An Lan was sent to the gambling house to get the two silver coins he won. The odds had risen to one to nine before the results were announced.

Li Jieyuan also bet some money and received 1800 taels, which An Zizhong helped to collect.

An Lan took the money but did not give it to An Zizhong. He had instructed him to go and get the money immediately after the results were announced. He would use the money to buy people. Xishan Villa would get the money as soon as possible. He would take the people to Xishan Villa and let them practice martial arts and study. In two years, before he went to Kyoto for the Spring Palace Examination, these people must be sent to various middle-class officials in Kyoto in batches. He had to make sure that every area of ​​Kyoto had people he could use to help him collect and pass on information.

Thirty or forty stupid people are not enough. An Lan came to Zhongqiu and picked up all the children and teenagers who met the requirements of the death contract.

An Qing's medicine was very effective. One man took it and ran away. Three days later, he crawled back with blood coming out of all his orifices. An Lan deliberately did not give him the medicine so that everyone could see how he died. This made everyone very obedient and they did not dare to think of resisting.

As long as he had the medicine, he was not afraid of these people betraying him. After all, he personally took the medicine every three months and watched everyone take it. If anyone dared to steal the hidden treasure, he would cut off his hands and throw him into the crocodile pool, where everyone would watch him being torn into pieces and swallowed.

It has to be said that An Lan is the subordinate that An Zizhong is most satisfied with. Apart from An Huang, he is loyal to him without any concerns. He is ruthless and decisive, and he is also smart. He will complete An Zizhong's orders regardless of the means and methods.

An Qing is still young and is only interested in medical skills, so he is only suitable to develop the medicines he needs behind the scenes.

Fortunately, An Yun is still very useful and has a great talent for poisons. Usually, what An Qing has learned is shared with her. An Qing talks about symptoms, prescriptions, and treatments, and An Yun can think about whether there is anything that can make ordinary healthy people have such symptoms.

It was thanks to An Yun's great help that the Huaji Pill was made before Gao Ting arrived.

After An Zizhong passed the imperial examination, he gave An Hongzhi a vacation and asked him to go to Lin County to take the examination for a student. After all, he had spent a year with him in Gongzhou Academy and his level was not bad. Although it was still unrealistic for him to pass the examination for a scholar, it was still possible for him to pass the examination for a student.

We also have to give An Gu's family some sweet treats so that he can brainwash the villagers, and the situation between him and An Wen's mother must be explained in detail.

An Hongzhi had informed An Zizhong before that someone went to the village to inquire about them. An Gu said some nice words to coax them away and sent An Dashan to follow and see. It turned out that they were Qi Yangchuan's men.

"Brother Sanxi, go back and find out for me if anyone is dissatisfied with me and Wen Niang? Find out the reason so I can apologize. The Zhou family's master asked Chunsheng and me to stay away a few days ago, saying that someone in our village said we suddenly appeared and our origins were not right."

An Hongzhi benefited from An Zizhong. He gained knowledge, money and respect. He admired An Zizhong very much and always regarded An Zizhong as an object of worship. How could he bear to see him discussing with him with such grievance?

Such a good brother and sister are very kind to the villagers. Every time they return to the village, they bring gifts to everyone. How could there be such a hateful person who eats the food sent by An Zizhong and his sister and speaks ill of them?

"You know, we have been sold away for so many years that we can't remember many things, but Fourth Uncle has been kind to us. We remember that Anjia Village is our roots, and you also shared food with us when we were young, so we have always respected the people in the village. But Chunsheng is my classmate, and I don't want him to misunderstand me, or for more people to believe in rumors and slander me and Wen Niang in the future, so I got rid of you and Fourth Uncle. After all, you are the only ones we can rely on in the village."

An Hongzhi nodded with a determined look in his eyes, and patted his chest to promise that he would solve these problems and make the villagers dare not talk nonsense anymore.

An Wenniang promptly handed over the dowry for Sister Meihua, which included a set of red gold peony hairpins, a pair of white jade bracelets, and new clothes, tobacco leaves and snacks for Wang and An Gu.

After all, An Gu is the head of Anjia Village and a native of the Anjia family. He also has a say in Anjia Village. This time, An Hongzhi was allowed to return to Anjia Village. An Zizhong kept him by his side for such a long time and taught him enough to deal with the little things of a student. This is a benefit and a reward that An Zizhong gave to An Hongzhi.

Once An Hongzhi is unable to shut up all the people in Anjia Village, that will be it. An Zizhong will let An Hongzhi return to Anjia Village to be his An Sanxi.

If An Hongzhi and An Gu's family can successfully shut up the villagers and prevent them from talking nonsense, they will be useful people. In the future, even if someone in the capital really suspects that he has a shady background, or even guesses that he has some connection with the Huaiyuan Marquis Mansion, the people of Anjia Village will be evidence of his innocent family background.

This deal is a good deal as it brings benefits to the Angu family and allows them to resolve their own worries.

An Hongzhi went back to prepare first, while An Zizhong took An Wenniang to buy snacks. After An Gu's family settled the villagers in Anjia Village, they would send some things in time. Everyone would only remember their kindness. Only when they knew that the An brothers and sisters were doing well, would they benefit from it. If the An brothers and sisters were not doing well, they would not be able to expect any good things.

As for Zhou Chunsheng's father going to the village to inquire, it was just Qi Yangchuan's people because they knew Gao Ting's preferences, which was something that he, a prefect, could not find out. This made him defensive and he once again inquired about his background and previous events.

She wanted to take the opportunity to find something to hold against him, but unfortunately, An Wenniang was a careful person. Long before she entered the village for the first time, she had drawn the mole that should have been on An Zizhong's body on his body. After An Qing came, she also used medicine to directly put a mole on his body.

An Dahai married three wives, each of whom gave birth to a child for him. He himself didn't care about his own children, so how much could others care? Moreover, after An Dahai's third wife came into the house, she always asked An Zizhong and An Wenniang to do housework, and rarely went out to play with the children in the village. Therefore, the villagers did not have a deep impression of them. The biggest impression they had was probably that An Zizhong and An Wenniang were sold by An Dahai.

The most Qi Yangchuan suspected was that An Zizhong was impersonated by someone else with ulterior motives. He never thought that Chen Luoxi, who should have died in prison, would come to Gongzhou and become An Zizhong of Anjia Village.

Who could have thought of this? No one in the capital knew that Lord Cheng En had personally fed the medicine to the male heirs of the Marquisate, but he didn't realize that the Chen Luoxi they had strangled to death was a fake.

The most that Anjia Village could say was that the child was really lucky, as he was sold to a coal mine but was still able to learn so much from the young master. Qi Yangchuan was also a smart man, and it was impossible for him to keep asking people in the name of the prefect, so they only asked brief questions to see if they could get any valuable information.

Li Changan had already warned him when he sent someone to Lin County once, and although An Zizhong's tail was still well hidden, it did not affect his desire to do his best to prevent such things from happening again.

And returning to Anjia Village was one of the purposes. They also wanted to see West Mountain. The people of Hua Family had already delivered the title deed of the mountain. An Lan had already taken some people to the villa. For the sake of concealment, they built many wooden houses in the deep mountains, and people regularly delivered food and daily necessities. The road into the deep mountains was planted with hallucinogenic drugs by An Zizhong's people, and the wolves and wild beasts in the deep mountains were driven to the outer mountains, making it a place that ordinary people dare not enter at will.

Coupled with the widespread rumors that there were evil spirits in the West Mountain, and with the help of a large number of hallucinogenic herbs, even the former owner of the Hua family believed it. He felt that it was a good deal to exchange the top of the West Mountain for Hua Yesheng's admission to the imperial examination.

After the two of them had packed up, they took a carriage to Lin County when winter came and all the academies were closed.

"My Lord, today's martial arts training has just been completed. You wrote to me saying that An Yun would stay and teach everyone about poisons and medicines. I have gathered everyone in the infirmary. Would you like to go and take a look?"

An Zizhong nodded and took An Wenniang, An Qing and the other two siblings to the pharmacy.

"We just moved in, and the place is still simple. At present, in addition to the sleeping quarters, we also have a martial arts field, a study, a medical room, and an art room. The art room is where the young lady suggested that our people, in addition to basic literacy and martial arts, medical knowledge and the use of poisons, must also have their own skills that attract people. Since our people are to be sent to various places in Kyoto, they must have their own expertise. If they are good at carpentry, they can hide as carpenters. If they are good at accounting, they can be apprentices in restaurants. If they are good at cooking, they can be cooks in the inner house. If they are good at massage, they can be servants, and so on."

An Zizhong nodded, and he agreed with An Wenniang's words, just like when the old ancestor's eldest maid got married, the courtyard was short of people, and when selecting people, they also chose those who had skills and could serve directly. There were so many third-class maids, Bihe was proficient in tea, so she was directly selected to manage the tea room, and Wenniang was good at sewing, so she could suppress the six autumns and be directly promoted to the second-class sewing manager.

This was An Wen Niang helping him to better train Black Hawk based on her own situation. Black Hawk was the name he gave to these children, just like the Huaiyuan Marquis Mansion was in charge of the White Tiger Army in the past. He wanted to train his own team, called Black Hawk.

He only has two years left before he takes part in the imperial examinations. It is not realistic to train a secret guard who can fight ten people at once, whether for gathering information or assassinating the enemy.

He could only settle for the second best and let more people hide in the dark to collect all useful information for him, so that they could help him at critical moments, so that he would not be at the mercy of others in the capital.

An Lan asked everyone to keep an eye on An Zizhong and An Wenniang, knowing the people he would be loyal to in the future. An Yun did not waste any words and directly began to introduce various basic medicinal herbs, their appearance and what they could be used for. As for where they grew and how to preserve them, An Yun did not intend to tell them. The eldest brother said that the young master's time was limited, and he could not simply teach these people as formal students, but let them use medicines and poisons in the shortest time possible, and be able to find medicinal materials they could use in difficult environments.

"Brother, there are too many boys. We can't have only boys, we need many girls. Powerful families in Kyoto have their own rules. The ladies in the backyards are also targets that cannot be ignored. It is easier to get information from them."

An Zizhong nodded and looked at An Lan who was a little troubled. He was a man, and the three Nan uncles were also men. When he went to find these orphans and beggars, he never thought of looking for girls, as it would be inconvenient for them to take care of them.

An Zizhong looked around and asked An Huang to stay with An Lan. These two siblings were both careful and courageous, and their methods were very decisive. It would be a waste to leave them in the backyard. Besides, An Wen's mother took care of her own things, so An Huang had more free time at home than An Wen's mother.

"An Huang is in charge of the girls. They will be trained in martial arts, literacy, and medicine to the same standards as the boys. You can discuss anything you need with An Lan. Go back to the slave market and buy some diligent slaves who can cook and wash to take care of you. Focus all your efforts on training Black Hawk."

An Huang and An Yun were left in Xishan, and An Zizhong took An Qing, An Rui and An Nian back to Anjia Village. An Gu still helped them clean up the yard and chop firewood for the winter in advance. He used to be caring for them, but now he feels gratitude and admiration for them.

An Hongzhi successfully became the second student in their village. An Gu was so happy that he couldn't sleep for three days. The next day, he took his sons to help clean up An Zizhong's yard, more carefully than before.

Meihua is now An Wenniang's sworn sister, and indirectly An Zizhong's sister. In the past, she took advantage of An Zizhong's reputation as a scholar and found the son of the owner of the largest tavern in Lin County, who is also very rich in Lin County.

The jewelry and fabrics that An Wenniang sent over and over again could make up a good dowry. The only thing she was not satisfied with was that Meihua's future mother-in-law was a little harsh in her words. But now An Zizhong was a juren, and when An Hongzhi came back after passing the imperial examination, she specifically asked Hongzhi to come back and send him gold jewelry to add to the dowry. It happened that the two families were discussing getting married, which made them have more face in front of their in-laws.

Her son also successfully became a student, and Meihua's husband's family immediately sent a lot of betrothal gifts. Wang now felt very happy when she mentioned An Zizhong's siblings, and she wished she could bring them to her home and raise them as her own sons and daughters.

They were very concerned about everything involving An Zizhong and his sister. Last time, An Hongzhi told them that someone in the village was slandering them behind their backs, which had a bad influence on them.

She didn't even cook, but called the wives with whom she was on good terms, and scolded the family that talked behind An Zizhong's back so that they dared not even go out. She spent an hour scolding them and spread the word throughout the village that An Zizhong's siblings were children of the An family, and that the children had suffered a lot since childhood, and when they grew up and had the ability, they wanted to return to the village and be filial to everyone. If she heard anyone gossiping about them again, don't blame her for turning against them.

Today when An Zizhong came back, she decided not to give that family any cakes and pork. The family that was ruined sat at home and scolded their daughter-in-law.

This year, An Zizhong is a juren, so can the gift from a juren be the same? And this year's meat is twice as much as last year's. It's enough to eat until the 15th, idiot, to say so much to a stranger who comes to ask about the people in this village.

The men, women, old and young in the village now laugh at them when they see them. An Gu and Wang have joined forces to make everyone realize that An Zizhong is no longer an ordinary person, and being nice to him will bring benefits, just look at the beautiful plum blossoms and An Hongzhi who passed the examination to become a student.

Anyone who offends An Zizhong and his sister will have no good ending, just like them.

Wen'en Pavilion had very good profits. Worried about Northwest's mother and ancestors, he sent two thousand taels of silver to Northwest early on. When Wu Shi went to the Northwest, he only had more than three thousand taels of silver in his hand. The escorting officials were the most greedy. It went without saying that it would cost a lot of money to get to the Northwest safely, and they had to keep the innocence of the women as much as possible, so they couldn't save any money. When they arrived in the Northwest, they could not have their own property and could only open up wasteland and farm in the poorest places.

It has been two years now, and even if there are people monitoring it, the situation has been relaxed a lot. That's why An Zizhong dared to let Nan Yu pretend to be an escort and take three or two people to the northwest while the traveling merchants were busy before the New Year. He believed that they would be able to come back after the New Year.

An Wenniang placed the newly made undershirt in An Zizhong's room. Because he passed the imperial examination, people in the village wanted to come and curry favor with him. An Zizhong was dragged by An Gu and others to the ancestral hall to burn incense for the ancestors.

Meihua came to An Wenniang's room to chat with her.

"Sister Wen Niang, I'm really scared. You don't know that my mother-in-law kept scolding me when she first met me. I cried many times. My eldest sister-in-law also said that I looked difficult to give birth to, but it was Brother Jian who protected me. When Hongzhi came back, he said that Brother Zizhong passed the imperial examination, and my mother-in-law praised me for being a good girl. Do you think they will bully me in the future?"

An Wenniang put down the handkerchief and took her hand to comfort her.

"Sister Meihua, you are the best girl in our village. They were engaged to you long before my brother passed the imperial examination. They saw in you a good person. It is difficult for a mother-in-law and a daughter-in-law to get along as mother and daughter. Just do your best. As for why they treated you well only after my brother passed the imperial examination, you don't have to worry about it. As long as my brother is here, they won't dare to bully you. What's more, Fourth Uncle and Brother Dashan are your backers."

Meihua nodded. She had been so lucky in the past two years. She was supposed to be married, but An Zizhong and his sister passed the imperial examination and became scholars soon after they came back, which allowed her to choose someone from the county instead of marrying an ordinary person. Now An Zizhong has become a juren, and even her in-laws dare not look down on her. Her mother said that as long as she was Wen Niang's sworn sister, her in-laws would always be wary of An Zizhong and treat her well.

She was also told to be nice to Wen Niang. An Wen Niang was a smart and careful child. She could tell at a glance whether you were really nice to her or just lying to her. In their family, the eldest and second brothers had to rank behind An Zizhong and his sister. The two sisters-in-law were jealous every day, saying that their parents were partial. It was their mother who told them not to take the things sent by An Zizhong to their mother's house after she said that nonsense. Only then did they dare not complain. After all, the things sent by An Zizhong and his sister could not be bought in Lin County, and it was a very face-saving thing to take them home to their mother.

When An Wenniang was a child in the village, she also liked the gentle and kind Sister Meihua. When she grew up and came back, she was willing to let her live a better life with the help of her brother and sister. What's more, the young master said that only by linking the interests of the An Gu family with theirs, the An Gu family would be wholeheartedly good to the brother and sister. Even for Meihua's good life and An Hongzhi's future, An Gu will try his best to maintain the good reputation of their brother and sister. Even if someone really told them that An Zizhong's identity was problematic, they would take the lead in refuting and find ways to prove that An Zizhong is the An family's child.