Forced to marry, I picked up a young powerful official

"I came here today precisely for this matter." Shen Nankui said.

The head of the village nodded, invited her to sit in the main hall, and then asked, "Other things are easy to talk about, but I wonder if Master Shen has made any arrangements for the new teacher of Lai'an Academy?"

Seeing that he was hesitant to speak, Shen Nankui could not help but ask, "What advice do you have, village head?"

The village head smiled and said, "I can't say I'm here to teach you, but there is one thing that I'm really worried about."

"What's the matter?"

The head of the village said, "Master Shen, you don't know that the Lai'an Academy is quite large. Not long after the construction started, the news spread to several nearby towns. Although the private school in Lai'an Town has been abandoned for a few years, it has been running after all. But in some places, several villages combined cannot run a school, and the children can't even afford to go to a private school, let alone go to the academy in the county. This vicious cycle continues. The more remote the villages are, the more illiterate people there are. Now, everyone knows that Lai'an Town has built an academy, and the tuition is not expensive. Several headmen have come to me and said that the villagers are planning to send their children to Lai'an Academy to study."

Shen Nankui smiled and nodded after hearing this. "That's a good thing, why are you worried?"

The head of the village sighed and said, "It's a good thing, but I'm also afraid that if too many students come from the surrounding areas, it will add burden to the academy."

Shen Nankui understood, "So you are worried that there are not enough teachers in the academy?"

The head of the village nodded, "Yes, with more students, we naturally need more teachers. That Master Hu has been in charge of the private school for many years, and his ability is obvious to all. I am very relieved, but if it's just the two of you, it will be too tiring."

Shen Nankui said with a smile: "When the new academy opens, it will naturally not be just the two of us. As for the candidates, I have already decided on two people."

One was an old scholar who had retired from the city's academy, and the other was the failed scholar.

The boys' and girls' dorms at Laian Academy were separate. Since the old scholar did not want to teach female students, he was only allowed to teach male students so that the two sides would not interfere with each other.

The head of the village nodded after hearing what she said.

"That's feasible. When will the opening ceremony of the academy be held?"

Shen Nankui thought for a moment and said, "May 5th, how about this date?"

The village head calculated that it was the end of April now, so it would not be too late to set it on the fifth day of May, so he said, "Then it will be as you say."

After the deal was settled, Shen Nankui stood up and said goodbye.

The head of the village sent her to the door and said with a smile: "Yichuan won the first place in the imperial examination. That day, the government came to the Gu family with music and drums to announce the good news. It's a pity that you were not here, so I didn't have time to congratulate you... By the way, Madam Yichuan, you came back from the capital, so you must have seen Yichuan. Has he been appointed an official and stayed in the capital?"

Shen Nankui was silent for a moment before saying, "Yes, Gu Yichuan did become a Beijing official, but he and I have already divorced."

The smiling face of the village chief suddenly froze, "Ah?"

Although he was full of doubts, he saw that Shen Nankui didn't seem to want to say more, so he didn't ask any more questions.

……

In the past few days, Shen Nankui traveled back and forth between the county town and Lai'an Town every day. Hu Wenyan had seen her getting on a carriage in front of the private school several times.

At first she thought that Shen Nankui was afraid of the sun and didn't want to walk any longer.

But after paying attention twice, she realized that the carriage was not heading towards the Gu family at all, and even the brother and sister of the Gu family did not ride in the carriage with her.

Hu Wenyan couldn't help being curious anymore. After school that day, he stopped Shen Nankui and asked, "Sister Shen, it seems like you haven't been home since you came back from the capital. Did something happen?"

Shen Nankui said: "It's a long story."

"It's the same excuse you gave me last time!" Hu Wenyan pouted in dissatisfaction, "I just want to ask you, where do you live now?"

"Inn in the city."

"Inn?!"

Hu Wenyan was surprised. "Why did you go to the inn alone for no reason?"

Her brows sank, and she suddenly grabbed Shen Nankui's wrist, "You didn't want to talk in the past, and I didn't force you, but you are pregnant and have to stay in an inn. Something big must have happened. If you consider me a friend, you should make it clear today, otherwise, don't even think about leaving me!"

Shen Nankui was deeply moved when she saw that she was really worried about him.

He smiled and said, "It's so sunny, how about we talk about it in the car?"

Hu Wenyan snorted coldly, "Okay, but you have to go to my carriage!"

The two got in the car. Shen Nankui was silent for a moment before telling the whole story, "...My experience is like this."

After hearing this, Hu Wenyan didn't speak for a long time. She didn't know what to say to comfort the person in front of her.

After a long silence, he took Shen Nankui's hand and said, "Sister Shen, you are an open-minded person. Everything will be fine."

In fact, she admires Shen Nankui very much.

In this world, not everyone has the determination to make a decisive decision and the courage to start over.

Shen Nankui smiled and nodded, "Don't worry, I understand."

In her mind, these things are over.

She has lived two lives. In her last life, she lived cautiously and patiently. With God's blessing, she was able to start over. This opportunity was hard-won, and she didn't want to let herself suffer any grievances again.

Seeing her like this, Hu Wenyan suddenly felt that his advice was a bit unnecessary. He didn't know what she was thinking about, and there was a bit more hesitation on her face.

"But...oh, never mind."

Shen Nankui laughed, "If you have anything you want to ask, just ask."

Hu Wenyan looked at her and said softly, "Sister Shen, will you regret it?"

After she arrived in Lai'an Town, she heard a lot of things. She knew that most of the credit for the Gu family's current situation went to Shen Nankui. The reason why Gu Yichuan was able to become her grandfather's disciple was because of the letter of recommendation she brought. Moreover, her grandfather said that the holiday gifts that Gu Yichuan had given him in the past were also arranged by Shen Nankui.

She has accompanied Gu Yichuan to this day, and the hardships and support along the way must have been very difficult.

Now that Gu Yichuan has passed the imperial examination and is working as an official, she can finally see the light at the end of the tunnel. However, she chose to withdraw and leave. Isn't this like handing over the fruits of her hard work to others?

Hu Wenyan asked himself if it were him, he would probably be unwilling to accept it...

Shen Nankui smiled and said, "Of course I feel regretful, but if I keep this thorn in my heart, it will be difficult for him and I to go back to the way we were before, so it's better to follow my heart and let fate lead us."

"Follow your heart and let nature lead you? This sounds a bit like what is said in the scriptures, that there must be a will of heaven in the dark, and that fate will prevail and we should follow nature."

“It’s pretty much the same principle.”

Hu Wenyan suddenly said, "Sister Shen, why don't you just stop staying at the inn and come to my house?"