The Legend of the Concubine in the Harem

"If those barbarians really want to invade, I will definitely go and get some military merits, so that those nagging Han scholars can see that we Yuewu people are not the kind of donkey shit balls that can only talk nonsense and annoy people!" The dark-skinned girl wore a germanium-red dress. The sleeves of the top were flared and only reached the elbows. The cuffs and collar were decorated with ancient bird patterns with black and yellow lines respectively.

She wore arm guards on both of her forearms, with a few thin knives on one side and a few sharp and small blowpipes on the other.

“Well, I didn’t say that all Han scholars are good at talking nonsense. At least you are not like that.” The girl dressed as a foreigner smiled a little embarrassedly, turned slightly to rummage through the brightly colored handkerchief hanging on her body (note: a kind of hanging bag used by ethnic minorities, very nice). She took out an oil paper package from it and handed it to the person opposite: “Here, the dried mushrooms you want. There hasn’t been much rain this year, so the mushrooms have grown less. You have to use them carefully. I don’t know what effects some of the ingredients in it have. Anyway, you will either vomit or faint after eating them. In serious cases, you will die directly. Even if you can save your life, your liver and kidneys will be damaged, and you may become a fool…”

"Thank you." Lin Qiao took the oil-paper bag without any hesitation, took out a gray purse and handed it to the foreign girl, "Take a few."

The girl weighed the purse in her hand and put it directly into her handkerchief: "You are so straightforward. I don't know what my mother was thinking back then. She insisted on finding a scholar to give birth to a child. She said that maybe the child would be able to read Han books faster after birth and help me manage the affairs of our county in the future. But who knew that my brother really looks too much like his father."

The two people of similar age looked very familiar with each other.

This girl is obviously a naturalized mountain dweller from Dasheng. Her name is Zhuqueyin. She was once the eldest daughter and junior clan leader of the Yuewu tribe. Now she is the eldest daughter of the Yuewu County magistrate and also the county magistrate.

Yuewu County is not too far from the county where Lin Qiao's family lives. Because all farming matters in the county involving the mountain people still have to be arranged by the Dasheng court, the county magistrate of Yuewu County used to go to the neighboring county every year to get seeds and rent equipment. Now the mountain people have learned how to take care of crops and make farming tools, but they still have to buy daily necessities from the Han people. What they lack the least in the mountains is various medicinal herbs and hunting gains, and these things are also very popular in the Central Plains, so they set up a market at the junction of the two counties for mutual trading.

Lin Qiao met Zhuqueyin in the market between the two counties a few years ago. At that time, Zhuqueyin had a conflict with a merchant who collected medicinal herbs. The weight of the herbs she brought did not match the weight weighed by the merchant, and was much less. Lin Qiao was already a scholar at that time, and a very famous young scholar in their county.

Seeing this, Lin Qiao stepped forward to stop the conflict between the two and checked the medicinal materials brought by Zhuqueyin and the scale used by the merchant respectively. In the end, he found out that it was the merchant who had tampered with the scale and deliberately bought the medicinal materials from the mountain people at a low price.

Later, the merchant was taken away by the yamen runners who were maintaining market order. Zhu Queyin was grateful for Lin Qiao's help. The two had several contacts after that and gradually became friends.

Time returns to the present.

Zhuqueyin took off the machete tied to her back and handed it to Lin Qiao: "I heard that you are going to the capital and you have to pass by Laoshan. It's not peaceful there recently. That so-called New South Country is always sneaking around there. Take this knife for self-defense. I specially asked the Earth Mother to bless this knife for you."

Lin Qiao thought about it and took the heavy machete without refusing. He said, "If you have any problems in the future, just come to my house. Although I'm not at home, I've left a few trustworthy people guarding the manor. You can just ask them to send a message to me."

Seeing that she accepted the machete, Zhuqueyin smiled maliciously and said, "You know, in our village, if I gave you a knife and you accepted it, you would be my husband."

Lin Qiao: ...

She looked at Zhuqueyin helplessly: "It's not like you don't know..."

"I know." Zhuqueyin waved her hand. "But you Han people love to capture scholars like you to be your sons-in-law. Instead of waiting until then to find a way to get out, why don't I take it for you first... Don't be in a hurry to talk, I also need your help with something."

"whats the matter?"

"My younger brother who was born to a Han Chinese father." Zhuqueyin spread his hands and said, "According to the rules we negotiated with the court, if my mother, the county magistrate, wants to step down, then it should be my turn to be the county magistrate. My clan also supports me, but I don't know what's going on with the higher-ups, and the decree for the succession has not come down yet."

"Later, when my mother went to the prefectural capital, she inquired and found out that my brother's father wanted my brother to be the county magistrate and had paid money to the wife of the prefect. However, it was not time to change the county magistrate yet, so my brother only worked as a handyman in the county government... I really wanted to bet on his head like I did before, so that everyone could see that I was the capable one, but my mother wouldn't let me, saying that the Han people didn't have this custom. If I really did that, I would be the one who suffered."

"That's true." Lin Qiao said, "Fortunately you didn't act impulsively."

"You are going to the capital to take the examination, so I would like to ask you to help me look at how to write this memorial. We are a vassal county. Although we are under the jurisdiction of the prefectural capital, the rules of official succession are set in the capital. This place is too far from the capital. I am afraid that the prefect will really do something behind the scenes and prevent my memorial from being submitted. He may even label us as traitors... just like before."

Zhu Queyin pursed her lips. They, the mountain people, had intended to naturalize several times, but it was not until the first year of Qiyuan that they finally succeeded. Before that, there were cases where local officials lured the mountain people who wanted to naturalize to come down the mountain, falsely claiming that they were causing trouble, and killed them in exchange for military merits.

"No." Lin Qiao shook his head, looked into Zhu Queyin's eyes and said to her, "If nothing unexpected happens, I will definitely pass this exam. Although I don't know how I will be appointed as an official in the future, I do have some connections in the court."

Women from Jimi County can serve as officials, which is a way out that Lin Qiao had planned many years ago. Helping Zhu Queyin this time can also be considered as helping himself. At the same time, he can take this opportunity to see what the lady thinks about women serving as officials.

Do you just want to take power for yourself, or...

Lin Qiao calmed down and asked Zhu Queyin, "Your brother, I remember his biological father was from the local gentry Ding family?"

"Yes, that person insisted on giving him a weird name like Ding Shitou instead of our clan's name." She rolled her eyes. "He even wanted to take over our clan's county magistrate. If his family hadn't been connected to the prefect, huh!"

"Don't worry about leaving this matter to me. Let me take a look at the memorial you wrote." Lin Qiao corrected a few inappropriate words in Zhuqueyin's memorial and asked her to recopy it at home. Then they bypassed the provincial capital and went to the capital with Lin Qiao.

Zhu Queyin buried her head in writing. As she wrote, she chatted with Lin Qiao: "Be careful when you pass by Laoshan. Those New South people are even stranger than the Ding family. They call themselves women, but they all look like men, and they call people like us men."

"I was curious about it for a long time when I knew they were the 'Queen' in power!"