Female-to-male: I live on farming

Now Zhao Shu finally understood what the imperial sister's final advice meant.

Concubine Rou, who was rumored to have disappeared inexplicably in the harem and whose sister announced that she had died of illness, was now sitting in front of her with a beautiful smile on her face.

Zhao Shu had been taught by his mother since he was a child, so he naturally knew what he could ask and what he could not ask.

However, now she looked at Concubine Rou, who seemed completely different from before. She tugged at the corner of her sleeve at a loss, opened her mouth, and didn't know what to address her now.

She had seen the favored Concubine Rou many times in the harem in the past. Concubine Rou would tease her every time she saw her. At that time, she called her Concubine Rou. Now that her father has passed away, she faked her death and escaped with a new appearance. It is not appropriate to call her that anymore.

Su Mian saw her dilemma and took the initiative to say with a smile: "My name is Su Mian now. If you don't mind, you can call me sister."

"...Sister Su."

Zhao Shu spoke with a nod.

"Come on, little princess, how can we discuss this if you're so far away from here?"

Su Mian was very satisfied with the candidate sent by Jinyang. The Ninth Princess, who was not tainted by power and had a pure character, was indeed a good candidate for training.

When Qin Ke passed by the bookstore to check the progress one day, he saw the Ninth Princess following Su Mian like a follower, nodding obediently at whatever Su Mian said.

He was confused for a moment. This was completely different from what he had expected. How did Su Mian make the Ninth Princess obey her?

"The mountain man has his own clever plan." Facing Qin Ke's question, Su Mian raised the corners of his lips mysteriously.

Qin Ke immediately ran back to the mansion and rushed to Lu Youqing's desk, asking curiously, "Madam, what was Su Mian's previous identity?"

"Didn't you never care about these things before?" Lu Youqing raised his eyebrows.

"Oh, it's still that Su Mian..." Qin Ke told his wife what he saw this afternoon.

Lu Youqing gently placed the pen in her hand on the inkstone, relaxed her body and leaned back in the chair, staring at him for a while with a smile on her face.

So this was a "provocation" by Su Mian, and he felt unconvinced.

"Oh, my lady, just tell me. I have already closed the door, and there are only two of us in the room."

Lu Youqing sighed helplessly and explained softly, "When your majesty led the army back to the city, he was holding the imperial edict from Emperor Mingde to rescue him. Miss Su Mian appeared in your majesty's hands along with the imperial edict."

At this point, Lu Youqing's tone became lighter: "Not many people can get close to Emperor Mingde, who is firmly controlled by the Seventh Prince Zhao Yu, and get the imperial edict from him. Moreover, when Emperor Mingde passed away, Concubine Rou was the only concubine in the harem who was not on the list of dismissal."

Uh, if Qin Ke can’t guess it, then there must be something wrong with his IQ.

No wonder the little princess obeyed Su Mian's words and her momentum was much lower.

Su Mian's identity was only inferred by Lu Youqing through various signs. Strictly speaking, her identity was top secret, and Jinyang only told Gu Lanxi.

She also handled Concubine Rou's affairs extremely secretly and carefully.

After Emperor Mingde passed away, Jinyang abolished the ritual of burying his concubines alive with their parents. As for his former concubines, those without children were allowed to choose whether to stay in the harem to retire or leave the palace.

The Empress and Concubine Yue were imprisoned in the palace for life. Therefore, there were only a few people who had seen Li Weirou.

Lu Youqing is only guessing at the moment, but if Qin Ke was not curious about Su Mian's identity, Lu Youqing would keep it in his heart and never say it out.

However, Qin Ke is a man who knows his limits and will not reveal this matter.

Speaking of Su Mian, Lu Youqing also asked about how their bookstore and inn were going.

The so-called "inn" was actually a place to stay prepared by Qin Ke and Su Mian for women going to Beijing to take the imperial examinations. Since Su Mian was in charge of this matter, she directly hung a plaque with the words "Su Xue" on the house donated by Gu Lanxi.

"The house and the rooms have been cleaned up long ago. Su Mian even built a small library inside, which mostly contains books related to the imperial examinations. However, no one has come yet."

"The imperial examination will be held after the New Year. Most people will go to Beijing after the New Year. Don't worry."

Qin Ke had already prepared himself mentally that there wouldn't be too many women taking the imperial examinations in the first year after Jin Yang ascended the throne.

After all, women’s education has been pressured too harshly in the past, and too few of them have the conditions to study. If we want to improve this situation, we need to take gradual steps.

Thinking of this, Qin Ke sighed, "If we want to solve the problem fundamentally, we should first solve the dilemma of women's reading."

"This matter cannot be rushed. Your Majesty will start to do this after the imperial examination."

“It’s a long and arduous journey~”

Qin Ke sat opposite Lu Youqing and couldn't help but sigh.

Qin Ke rested his chin on his hand and watched his wife getting busy again. He thought of his aunt in the mansion and suddenly asked, "By the way, my wife, has my aunt contacted my cousin?"

"Yes, I've told her. My cousin has been able to endure in the Sheng Mansion for many years without revealing anything suspicious." Lu Youqing replied without raising his head.

"The matter of Sheng Baichuan..."

"Don't worry, the trap has been set long ago, and we're just waiting for him to fall into it." Moreover, this trap can not only lure out the Sheng Mansion, but also other people with ill intentions.

However, there is no need to tell Qin Ke about this for the time being. This matter has been discussed with His Majesty, and His Majesty does not mind her mixed feelings.

Or perhaps, His Majesty has long disliked the Sheng family.

"Sir, the Cheng family has sent a visiting card." Lihua suddenly knocked on the study door.

"Just leave it here." Lu Youqing remained calm, as if this was just a visiting card sent by an insignificant person.

Compared to the indifferent Lu Youqing, Qin Ke showed an impatient expression and muttered: "This Cheng guy is so annoying."

After all, this is not the first time they have sent a visiting card.

"Did he bother you during court?"

"He blocked my way a few times, but there were other officials around, and he didn't dare to say some things in front of others, so the matter always ended in nothing."

Qin Ke suddenly leaned close to her ear and whispered, "I asked Lei Zhong to find out. Nothing has happened in the Cheng Mansion recently. Except for your stepsister returning to the mansion a few times, everything has been very peaceful. I guess your vicious stepmother is definitely not telling the truth."

"As expected," Lu Youqing said calmly, his eyes casually passing over the visiting card, "I have long seen how treacherous and cunning she is, and I didn't expect to be able to expose her so easily."

“However,” Lu Youqing changed the subject, a faint smile appeared on the corner of his lips: “At least she is panicking now, otherwise my stepsister would not return to the Cheng family so frequently.”