Marrying for someone else and being a widow? Stepmothers open classes to raise children

That evening, Duke Ningguo hurried back to his mansion, his usually serious face now filled with a rare glow of joy.

Madam Xie frowned slightly, looking a little surprised: "Why is the master so happy today? Could it be that the master is in a good mood because the young master did not do well in the imperial examination?"

Duke Ningguo smiled and replied, "Zhiyi has won the favor of the emperor and has become famous overnight. Isn't this a happy event that makes people ecstatic?"

"That's true." Old Madam Xie nodded slightly, but there was still a hint of difficulty in speaking in her eyes.

Duke Ningguo changed his tone and said coldly, "As for that unfilial son... Humph, I had already predicted that he would fail. In my prediction, he has no hope of passing the imperial examination this year."

Although he was the chief examiner, in order to avoid suspicion, he did not touch any test questions before the exam.

It was not until the end of the exam that he found out that the emperor had temporarily changed the exam questions, and this sudden change was inextricably linked to Gu Zhiyi!

Madam Xie was confused: "How does this change of test questions have anything to do with Zhiyi?"

Duke Ning sighed and said slowly, "Not long ago, Duke Dun went to Fengjia Village. Everyone knows that he rescued those women and children who were abducted, but no one knows what a thrilling story happened behind the scenes."

It turns out that Fengjia Village and its surrounding villages hide a huge human trafficking network.

Due to poverty and backwardness, few women from other places are willing to marry into those villages, resulting in a shortage of women. The concept of favoring boys over girls has further exacerbated this phenomenon.

In order to continue the family line, many brothers even adopted the system of sharing wives. However, for those villagers who did not want to share wives and could not find wives nearby, they chose to buy wives from other places.

Over the past decades, thousands of women and children have been trafficked to these villages, including many young ladies from wealthy and official families.

Old Madam Xie was horrified when she heard this: "How could it be so tragic? Didn't the local government know anything about this? Didn't they look for those lost families?"

Duke Ningguo shook his head gently: "This is absolutely not true."

"Ordinary people may be helpless, but for the rich and powerful and the official families, they can always find some clues."

"However, once these clues are introduced to the local area, they suddenly disappear."

"After all, human trafficking has formed a complicated industry chain in the local area. Any strangers who come from outside the area, whether they are local people or government officials, will try their best to cover up the truth."

Fengjia Village and its surrounding areas are scattered deep in the mountains and forests. Without the guidance of locals, outsiders will often get lost in the lush greenery and cannot find the entrance.

Duke Ning sighed deeply: "If Duke Dun hadn't led the army personally, those trapped women would probably never see the light of day again."

The word "rescue" is often used lightly by others, but only those who have experienced it can fully understand the hardships and helplessness behind it.

Madam Xie suddenly realized something: "It turns out that Zhiyi did not directly reveal the whereabouts of Madam Tang, but cleverly followed Chao Yunxuan's words to lead to the clue of Fengjia Village..."

Duke Ning nodded in agreement: "That's right, Zhiyi is not only kind-hearted, but also possesses extraordinary wisdom."

"Our country is no longer the era that excluded women from officialdom a hundred years ago. Zhiyi is extremely talented. I plan to recommend her to Your Majesty together with Duke Dunguo and Marquis Yongxin."

"Your Majesty, after listening to us talk about this matter, also deeply felt the serious impact of the government's negligence on people's livelihood, so Your Majesty decided to temporarily change the original test topic of 'People and Food' to 'People and Officials'."

Just on the eve of the exam, Duke Ningguo had an in-depth discussion with Xie Xun on this issue.

Unfortunately, Xie Xun's mind was full of sympathy for Chao Yunxuan. Although he admitted that Gu Zhiyi was outstanding, he was still unwilling to look at her with appreciation. Otherwise, she might have become the top scholar this time.

There is no point in talking about this now.

Duke Ningguo made a final summary: "In short, Zhiyi is the lucky star of our Duke Ningguo Mansion. I have a feeling that our mansion will continue to be glorious for a hundred years, and my Xie family will also join the ranks of century-old families."

Gu Zhiyi was completely unaware of the high expectations that Duke Ningguo had of her. At this moment, her fingers were gently stroking the official seal in her hand, and her pretty little face was filled with sorrow, as if she had suffered a great misfortune.

Luoluo finally raised her head from her precious official uniform and saw that her young lady was not happy about the happy event, but was sad instead. She couldn't help but wonder, "Young lady, isn't your promotion a great joy?"

Gu Zhiyi gently put the official seal back into the box and sighed, "How could you understand?"

Since her rebirth, she has been pondering the truth behind her sudden death in her previous life.

The more she thought about it, the more she felt that it might be because her virtues were not worthy of her high position that she was punished by heaven.

She used her abilities to help Ji Yinli rise higher in the career ladder. In the process, not only Ji Yinli benefited, but also the soldiers under his command and the people who survived because of Ji Yinli's victory.

Once, the master told her a legendary story about a fellow apprentice uncle. After learning the art, the apprentice uncle resolutely devoted himself to the great cause of saving the people and made great contributions.

His most brilliant achievement was that he successfully saved hundreds of thousands of lives by predicting a disaster. The master accurately deduced that an earthquake of unprecedented scale would occur in a certain place, and thousands of lives would be lost in this disaster and buried forever in the cold and dark depths of the earth.

After learning of this prediction, despite the strong opposition of his great-uncle, the master uncle resolutely embarked on a rescue journey. He first informed the government of the news and asked them to take action to evacuate the people. Then, he personally went to the people who were skeptical about the impending earthquake and used his real ability to convince them to believe and agree to evacuate.

A few days later, the once bustling city became a deserted one. The day after everyone evacuated, the earthquake struck as expected, shaking the earth.

The result of this disaster was naturally a cause for great rejoicing, except for the uncle. Everyone in the city, from high-ranking officials to ordinary people, survived. However, the uncle was smashed to pieces by a sudden boulder in a corner that was considered safe on the day of the earthquake.

Whenever she mentioned this, the master always warned her earnestly that she should act within her ability. Good deeds are precious, but if your own carrying capacity is not enough to match those good deeds, they will become a fatal death warrant.

At first, Gu Zhiyi did not think deeply about this question. It was not until she was reborn that she witnessed the golden light of merit and virtue possessing her body and felt how merit and virtue changed her physique bit by bit and improved her cultivation. Then she gradually realized that the tragedy of her previous life was due to her lack of virtue.