The maid's road to success

Wen'en Pavilion has been open for more than a year, and its business is good and stable. With Li Chang'an keeping an eye on Gongzhou, An Zizhong can save a lot of worry. The staff are now being trained by An Lan and An Huang in Xishan, and there is no need for An Zizhong to make any arrangements for the time being. An Zizhong now concentrates all his attention on reading books, practicing calligraphy and practicing the six arts.

He was still one of the best men in Gongzhou, but what about in the whole Chen country? There were too many people who were better than him. They had studied poetry and books for many years since childhood. Aren't they better than him who just picked up books and studied hard in the past few years?

Is he really sure that he can get a good ranking in the Spring Examination two years later? Not necessarily. There are always people who are better than you. Just to take Kyoto as an example, there are many pedantic scholars whom he used to look down upon, but those people are all very knowledgeable and cultured. Moreover, those who go to the Spring Examination are all outstanding young men from all over the world gathered together to compete.

He did not have so much time to wait for the next time. The imperial examination was his only way to get close to Kyoto, to those evil villains, and to avenge the Huaiyuan Marquis Mansion. It was too difficult to join the army and get a military job, and he might not be able to become a sixth-rank captain even in ten years.

The fastest way to become an official is to get promoted to the seventh rank directly, and to the six ministries, which is the closest to real power. He must become a first-class Jinshi, and what he has to do is to study very hard, memorize all the books he will use, practice his own handwriting style, study the favorite styles of the examiners, and be familiar with all the articles and books that may become test questions.

An Zizhong spent every day in his study reading, painting, practicing calligraphy, archery, abacus and playing the flute.

Hua Yesheng, who had come to An Zizhong to avoid Hua's parents, saw that An Zizhong, who was already very outstanding, was working so hard. Even without anyone urging him, he found a lot of homework to do. He felt embarrassed to watch him all the time, so he simply came to An Zizhong's place during the day to practice with him. In the meantime, the person sent by the head of the Hua family to deliver something saw him and went back to tell the head of the Hua family. The happy parents of the Hua family invited relatives and friends to a banquet at their home.

Hua Yesheng naturally didn't know about this, but he was very happy when two friends came the next day. Li Changan and Zhou Chunsheng came.

"Why are you here?"

Li Changan gave a bitter smile and didn't say anything. The two of them saw that Hua Yesheng was actually living here, so they asked the servant to go back and pack up their things and inform their family that they would also stay here.

Hua Yesheng was naturally happy. He heard in the An family that the brothers in the village had all slept on the same kang since childhood. He only had one half-brother and he was not close to him. Now it was just the right time for him to experience the feeling of lying on the same kang with his brothers, drinking and chatting all night long.

Zhou Chunsheng was moved when he heard this. The two of them really had a family fortune waiting to be inherited, so since childhood they had no closeness to anyone except their brothers and sisters who were born to the same mother. Even though they had the same father and the same surname, they were worse off than strangers. So he pulled Hua Yesheng to see the room they would stay in tonight.

Li Changan stayed in An Zizhong's room and waited until the two people ran away happily before he spoke under An Zizhong's gaze.

"My uncle will most likely be transferred to Kyoto next June. My aunt said that she would stay at her mother's house for a while while she is still here. Originally, You'er wanted me to accompany her, but my aunt felt that I was not so easy to control later on. I always did not follow her instructions and she did not like me. She wanted to take You'er to her mother's house to choose a more suitable man. Originally, my uncle chose me, but my aunt was unwilling because she thought I was a member of the Li family, not her nephew. My uncle is going to Kyoto now. Although his rank remains unchanged, officials in Beijing are not comparable to local officials. She wants to take this opportunity to get rid of me and pull her nephew from her mother's house."

An Zizhong knew why Li Changan felt upset. According to Li Changan, he didn't want to marry his cousin in the first place, but after all, they grew up together and he planned to support her for the rest of her life after marriage. He just didn't want to be controlled by Qi Yangchuan's family all his life and be a puppet who followed orders and would teach him a lesson openly or secretly if he was not satisfied.

He just wanted to have his own future, fulfill his ambitions, and finally have his own children to inherit the fruits of his years of hard work, but Qi Yangchuan and his wife would not allow him to have them. Logically, Qi Yangchuan's wife wanted to push him away and let her nephew take advantage of this so-called glory, so Li Changan should be happy.

But he was unwilling to accept that the family relationship of so many years was so fragile. His aunt had this intention, and his uncle and Youmei all knew it, but no one firmly refused. One wanted to take the opportunity to let him know that there would be many people who could replace him, so that he would be more afraid, and the other was to make Li Changan jealous and be more careful and cautious to maintain the relationship that was not good to begin with.

No one really treated him as a relative and thought about his feelings. He was happy that he might not have to be controlled like a puppet by Qi Yangchuan's family in the future, but he was also heartbroken that after more than ten years of living together, he was still a thing that could be discarded at will.

"Zi Zhong, count me in. I know you are not simple, but no matter what you do, count me in. I want to become a leader on my own. If I succeed, you and I will be together in glory. If I fail, I am willing to bear the consequences with you. From now on, Li Changan is Li Changan, no longer someone's nephew or cousin. I am just me."

Among the people around An Zizhong, Li Changan is the smartest, but because of Qi Yangchuan, he is unwilling to win over the other party to cause trouble for himself, even if he is asked to help with something.

But from today on, Li Changan will officially become his ally. Although he still won't tell Li Changan his true identity and what he is going to do, with Li Changan's help, he can have someone in the officialdom in Kyoto to help him.

Li Changan is an ambitious person. An Zizhong is not afraid of ambitious people like him. Such people dare to fight, rob and seize. He does not need those upright and kind people.

With Li Changan joining, An Zizhong could tell him some of his own arrangements first. He just needed to let him know that what he wanted to seek was not simply to pass the imperial examination and become an official, but to become the master of the entire Chen Kingdom who would be under his control.

Ever since I suggested that An Zizhong add girls to the Black Hawk, on the one hand, I felt that girls could play a certain role in An Zizhong's road to revenge, and on the other hand, I felt that there were still many poor girls. Although joining the Black Hawk would not necessarily bring happiness, there would be sacrifices and injuries, but for those girls who were abandoned and could only wait to die, or were bought to the lowest-class brothel or the coal mine, it was still much better. At least they could have enough food and clothing, and they could also learn a skill.

An Lan is a boy. An Huang's personality is even rougher than her brother's. After being sent by her father to be raped by other men, she is unwilling to dress up as a woman and always dresses in men's clothes. If An Zizhong hadn't asked her to follow An Wen Niang and serve her well, she would have gone up to ask for it when she knew that An Qing could make medicine to hide her gender.

Thinking of this, An Wenniang felt that she could definitely find the female teacher she wanted to educate girls in Hechun Lane. The brokers who specialized in finding girls for brothels were the place where An Wenniang wanted to pick girls.

This broker is different from a middle-class broker. A middle-class broker spends money to buy people, teaches them the rules, and then sells them to rich families to work as cleaners and servants. There are also those beautiful and outstanding girls who are brought back after paying money and signing a contract. Generally, they are bought to decent families.

But the brokers were much more wicked. They had obtained the children through fraud and abduction. After getting them, they would buy the pretty ones and keep them in brothels to entertain customers, while the ugly and stupid ones would be crippled and forced to beggars to earn money. Some would even abuse the children into all kinds of embarrassing appearances, and then dress them up in animal furs to perform acrobatics.

This is the kind of child that An Zizhong needs. He has witnessed the darkest and cruelest things and will face extreme suffering in the future. Although he will have to train every day with An Zizhong and hide in corners to gather information for An Zizhong in the future, it is better than being in the hands of a gangster.

An Wen's mother had mentioned this matter to An Zizhong, but she didn't expect that An Zizhong had already told An Lan when she mentioned it in Xishan. However, he was more decisive. Instead of paying money to buy them back, he directly asked An Lan to take An Qing to poison those toothbrushes and escape with the children. If there were children with families nearby, he would ask them what they wanted to do. If they wanted to go home, he would let them go home, and if they wanted to stay, they would stay. The others who were abducted from farther places and were really reluctant to stay could also leave, but An Zizhong would not be kind enough to send them home. Basically, the hometowns of three toothbrushes were robbed, leaving behind 26 girls ranging from 7 to 14 years old, and 13 boys.

Those whose limbs were broken would be cured if they could be cured, and those who could not be cured would stay in Xishan to work. At this moment, An Wenniang realized that the fourth young master had grown up, and it seemed that the shadow of the marquis could be seen in his actions. He was principled and ruthless, and he was not soft-hearted to those who did evil, but he would not force those children to stay and join Black Hawk to work for him.

What is better than the Marquis is that he is not so soft-hearted. The Marquis is too particular about benevolence, righteousness, loyalty and filial piety, and has too many concerns. He is always thinking about not killing all the people, which has led to the current fate of the Huaiyuan Marquisate.

As for the old prostitutes who were driven out of Hechun Lane mentioned by An Wenniang, although An Zizhong didn't know how Wenniang could mention those women, he accepted her suggestion. After all, what he wanted from Black Hawk was to send more children to various industries and mansions. Although there was a limit to what could be done in two years, those who came from prostitutes understood men's hearts and could read their expressions better. Those who could survive in prostitutes must have their own abilities, either they were good at speaking, singing and dancing, or they could judge the situation and protect themselves, or they had other reasons. In short, except for their bad reputation, these people were very capable. An Zizhong rode his horse to Xishan to find An Huang to do it that day. They must come voluntarily and not be careless. All those who entered Xishan had to be fed Wuxin Powder, and no one should be let go.

Li Changan's task is to make friends with the students in the academy, so the students who may pass the spring exam must establish prestige as much as possible, not relying on his uncle's status, but relying on his own ability to make the students take him as their leader, willing to do some harmless little things for him, buy their hearts, and then slowly make them people he can use. Don't underestimate these students, although they will start as small officials in the future, they are distributed in the court and are very useful at critical times.

Li Changan listened to what he said and nodded.

"I understand, just like you!"

An Zizhong looked at him. The two men, who were obviously teenagers, did not show any childishness on their faces.

"You treated me and Hua Yesheng in the beginning, and later Zhou Chunsheng and the second son of the Lin family, wasn't that the case?"

An Zizhong ignored him. Li Changan was indeed a fox. If he agreed to what he said, it would mean that he had ulterior motives towards them and approached them just to take advantage of them from the very beginning. There was no point in refutation because Li Changan was indeed trying to eliminate him, so it was best to ignore him.

Li Changan and Zhou Chunsheng's servants quickly brought their spare clothes and things. Zhou Chunsheng's father learned from the servants' embellished words that the young master of the Hua family was studying hard with An Zizhong in Anjia Village. Zhou Chunsheng saw this and felt that he should not waste time, and he should also study more with them during the holiday of the academy.

Father Zhou had seen An Zizhong's ability, and since his son was proactive in making progress, he must have actively cooperated and brought him everything he could use.

On the other hand, Li Changan, although the Qi family had not left yet, only brought the two sets of clothes and books that the servant usually wore. In comparison, Zhou Chunsheng brought a thick cloak, deerskin boots, gilded hand warmer, the finest silk quilt, and even his favorite tea and teacup.

In comparison, Li Changan's was even more shabby. He was obviously the most noble among the four people, but he was not even as good as a merchant's young master. Li Changan didn't care. He knew that the Qi family was more like a superior-subordinate relationship. If he was obedient and used smoothly, he would be the best nephew and half son.

Recently, my aunt has been dissatisfied with him, and my uncle has also noticed that he is not as obedient as before. He is just an outsider living in the Qi family.

After the New Year, An Zizhong and his sister took An Rui and An Nian back to the dean of Gongzhou. At this time, they also brought back news from the northwest. On the way, Wu Shi basically spent all the money he had, so that the ancestors and their party could arrive in the northwest alive. However, the officials in the northwest had already borrowed letters from Kyoto and tried to find ways to oppress the women of Huaiyuan Marquis' Mansion. At the beginning, everyone suffered a lot.

Miss Seven had a high fever, but no one dared to treat her. She died. The Second Lady couldn't stand the life in the northwest, so she sent someone to send a letter to the Wang family. The Wang family scolded her for marrying someone and said that it was her fate to be rich or poor. Poor Wang was ridiculed for taking money from her husband's family to subsidize her family. Now she was in trouble. Her family didn't even want to save her from the misery, and they didn't even want to give her a little change.

The second wife didn't think twice and jumped into the river. Fortunately, Wu Shi's men had been guarding her and rescued her in time. However, she developed a high fever and almost died. After waking up, the second wife had changed. She dressed up and went to the residence of Hu Yan, the governor of Liangzhou, where she was exiled. Madam Wang was also a girl who was raised by the Wang family in Kyoto since childhood. Her appearance was beyond reproach. Although she was not as bright as the first wife, nor as young and beautiful as the third wife, she had her own charm, and her poetic and scholarly air was rare in Liangzhou.

Hu Yan is a neutral person who has been guarding Liangzhou for many years. He has never been taken seriously and has been wasting time in Liangzhou for many years. However, he is very powerful and is considered a tyrant in Liangzhou.

The Huaiyuan Marquis's mansion was exiled to the poorest Xiaolang Mountain in Liangzhou. Behind Xiaolang Mountain was the famous Dalang Mountain in Liangzhou, which was famous for its many wolves. Even when sleeping in the room at night, one could hear the creepy howling sounds. The local county magistrate was a flattering and corrupt official who extorted money from the people even in such a wild place as Liangzhou.

The officers who escorted the ancestors also handed over the letters sent from the capital to the county magistrate after they arrived. Since then, they always find various reasons to send people to cause trouble. The ancestors also sent money that Wu Shi sent, but there was no improvement after receiving the money. Instead, they thought that they had hidden a lot of silver, which was even more excessive.

Wang bid farewell to the ancestor and knelt for a day to ask the ancestor to grant her a letter of divorce, saying that she was unfilial to her mother-in-law. The ancestor had no choice but to grant her wish. Fortunately, the second wife still had a conscience and knew that the Huaiyuan Marquisate had never treated her badly, and treated her better than her own family. Even though the journey was so difficult, she was never wronged. When she arrived at Hu Yan, she asked Hu Yan to send someone to reprimand the unscrupulous county magistrate. Since then, the women in the Huaiyuan Marquisate have finally had a better life.

But after all, they were in Kyoto and there were still people who kept exchanging letters. They were keeping an eye on the Huaiyuan Marquis Mansion, fearing that they would contact Kyoto about their lives, and wanted them to disappear without a sound. Hu Yan was more fond of such elegant women, but it was not easy to offend Kyoto, so he could describe their miserable situation. For example, reclaiming the barren mountains meant making them do hard labor every day, eating two meals a day, and the letters said that they were short of clothes, hungry, and being laughed at by neighbors was cruel. Fortunately, the family survived safely, and those who originally wanted to covet the beauty of the women did not dare to act rashly.

The remaining two hundred taels of silver in Wu Shi's hand were the money he had saved over the years. He used it to open two shops. One was to make it easier to communicate with the women in the marquis's mansion and pass messages, and the other was to give them some subsidies without attracting attention. After all, if someone went up to deliver food and money, it would definitely attract attention.

But if the women went to the grocery store to sell woven willow baskets, coarse porcelain bowls and pottery jars, and stuffed some pork, sesame candy and loose change into them, they would not be noticed.

The old ancestor had been depressed ever since the incident in the Marquis' Mansion, and his health was not as good as before. He was just holding on for a breath. When he saw that the second lady had left the Marquis' Mansion and found a good way out for herself and also allowed the women in the Marquis' Mansion to get rid of all the harm, he finally couldn't hold on any longer. Nan Yu got there in time. When Bai knew that her son was still alive, he used the identity of An Wenniang's brother to settle down, passed the examinations for a scholar, and found out that the heir of the Yuan family had changed his appearance. He knew that he was safe now, so she hurried back to tell the old ancestor.

The old ancestor was happy that Wen Niang had not let him down and had brought Chen Luoxi to a safe place safely, where she could live a decent life. After all, he was reluctant to let the women in the family go to Wu Shi's shop without his knowledge, so he went to see the person who had delivered the message and ask about Luoxi in person.

Nan Yu didn't know much, just told him that Xiping had beautiful scenery. The old ancestor knew that he was the person Chen Luoxi asked to deliver the letter. He kept talking about An Zizhong and An Wenniang. The rest were all guessed by Bai. The old ancestor thought more than Bai. The appearance of Wenniang described by this person did not change much, but Chen Luoxi did change his appearance. They were originally wondering whether An Zizhong was the real person, but Nan Yu said that An Zizhong asked him to pass on a message that An Zizhong had found the descendants of the Yuan family, and their medical books had the effect of changing one's appearance. Bai realized that An Zizhong was actually saying that he had changed his appearance because of the descendants of the Yuan family.