Princess Promotion

At night, Yao Chuguang walked out of the main hall and came to a side hall in the harem.

A woman in a black cloak was already waiting in the house.

Yao Chuguang sat down and poured a cup of tea and handed it to him: "Why are you entering the palace at this time? What happened?"

Woman: "My ancestors have noticed me. Otherwise, they would say that people are very clever."

Yao Chuguang: "I asked you to go to the palace to see her family's old man Wang?"

The woman was none other than Lin Wan, the eldest daughter-in-law of the Wang family, one of the four great families, and the eldest daughter of the Earl's Mansion.

Lin Wan: "Yes, that old lady was quite brave. She planned to gather her servants and take her family with her to fight her way out of the city, but I stopped her."

Yao Chuguang thought, this isn't really exposing yourself, it's more like revealing your identity.

Yao Chuguang has been trapped in the deep palace. If she wants to build up power outside the palace under the nose of Emperor Qi, she cannot have any relationship with the Li family.

All of Yao Chuguang's information and inside information outside the palace were provided by Lin Wan.

Otherwise, Emperor Qi would not have been caught off guard by Yao Chuguang without knowing it.

Lin Wan entered the palace and served as Yao Chuguang's companion for several years, but after they got married, Lin Wan broke off their friendship.

In recent years, the two have hardly had any contact, and everyone has gradually forgotten that Lin Wan was once Yao Chuguang's study partner.

Yao Chuguang: "Lin Wan, have you ever regretted coming to this point?"

Lin Wan: “No.”

Yao Chuguang: "Since everything has been exposed, I will take you to the main hall to meet Lord Wang."

Yao Chuguang walked in front holding a lantern, and Lin Wan followed quietly behind.

This familiar scene reminded Lin Wan of the time when she was Yao Chuguang's study companion in the palace.

Although Lin Wan was born in a wealthy earl's mansion and was the eldest daughter, she lived a life worse than a dog in the mansion.

By the time the Earl's Mansion came to her father's lineage, it had already become a hollow shell with only a facade.

In order to continue living a life of luxury, their father married the only daughter of a wealthy businessman.

That is, her mother, who relied on her mother's generous dowry to help the Earl's Mansion get through the difficult times smoothly.

Her mother died of complications during childbirth. When her grandfather heard the news of her mother's death, he could not accept it and died with her that day.

Before the seventh day after his mother's death, Lin Wan's father couldn't wait to marry his childhood sweetheart, his cousin.

That's her current stepmother, so her stepsister is less than a year older than her.

There are not so many coincidences in this world. The Earl's family was short of money and coincidentally married the only daughter of a wealthy businessman.

The rich businessman's only daughter died in childbirth, and the rich businessman died of excessive grief.

The huge family fortune was given to the Earl's Mansion for nothing, and before the seventh day after his wife's death, the new wife became pregnant.

There is never a shortage of smart people in this world. Anyone with a discerning eye can tell that there is something wrong with such a clumsy method.

But who would offend the Earl's Mansion for a powerless rich businessman?

No one cared about this poor woman except her own daughter.

After Lin Wan was born, she was left to be raised by her mother's maid, Aunt Liu.

But when Lin Wan was eight years old, Aunt Liu fell ill and died because she had no money to treat her illness.

From then on, Lin Wan was trapped in the small courtyard and often went hungry.

In this state, she was exhausted from even trying to survive, let alone seek justice for her mother, Aunt Liu and others.

Suddenly one day, the courtyard gate that had been closed was opened from the outside.

Lin Wan wore new clothes for the first time and had a sumptuous meal for the first time.

At first, Lin Wan thought she was going to be sold. Her friends outside the mansion would be given a good meal before being sold by their parents. It was said that it was similar to the last meal in prison.

Aunt Liu was born in poverty and only after she followed her mother did her life become better.

But Aunt Liu knew that she could not teach Lin Wan the etiquette and poetry of a lady in the boudoir, and Lin Wan had no backing and was just a name without any support.

If I pass away one day, it will be a question whether Lin Wan can survive and grow up.

Aunt Liu dug a dog hole in the corner of the wall and often took Lin Wan out to pick wild vegetables and find food.

At least if I leave one day, Lin Wan won't starve to death in the courtyard.

Lin Wan knew many little beggars in the city. She was no different from them. The only difference was that she had a place to sleep.

Later, Lin Wan learned that the eldest princess wanted to choose a study partner, and all girls of appropriate age from royal and noble families had to enter the palace for the princess to choose.

The difference between people is so huge. The difference between her and the princess is like the difference between heaven and earth.

But these two people with such a huge gap between them unexpectedly met.

Lin Wan knew that the princess was her only lifeline to bring down the Earl's Mansion.

No matter what the cost, she would become the princess's companion.

After entering the palace, Lin Wan realized how naive and ridiculous her thoughts were.

Sometimes when you want to risk everything, you realize that you have nothing to lose except your life.

Whether in terms of etiquette knowledge or family background, compared with those noble ladies who have been taught by famous teachers since childhood, she, Lin Wan, is not even worthy of carrying their shoes.

She still wants to be the princess's study companion, which is simply a fantasy.

No wonder her stepmother agreed to let her and her stepsister enter the palace together.

In addition to not daring to deceive the royal family, it is probably because he wanted to play a supporting role to highlight his stepsister's knowledge and education.

It must be said that the stepmother is also wishful thinking. In her eyes, her daughter is perfect in every way.

But in the eyes of others, her stepsister is no different from her, the difference is only between the last and the second.

Lin Wan knew that it would be too late for her to start learning etiquette now and no one would be willing to teach her. Even if she was gifted, she could not compare to those noble ladies.

She once eavesdropped on the storyteller telling stories in the corner of the restaurant. The ladies there often rescued some poor scholars and then eloped with them.

Although she didn't quite understand why these young ladies would give up their good lives and suffer with these scholars.

But the ladies in the opera are all kind-hearted, and their benevolence is overflowing. They will give food to beggars when they see them.

The princess is as rich as the young lady, and she is as poor as the scholar, so the scholar can deliver the message.

Maybe I can do it, and see if I can get the princess to help me, but she will definitely not elope with the princess.

Why not let the princess raise her? Why should she elope and live a hard life outside?

Thinking of this, Lin Wan couldn't help but burst out laughing.

Yao Chuguang turned around and looked at Lin Wan. Why did he suddenly laugh while walking?

Lin Wan: "Thinking back to when I first entered the palace, I racked my brains every night to figure out how to make you notice me."

Yao Chuguang: "So you thought hard for a long time, and finally came up with the idea of waiting for me every day and dropping little notes on me wherever I passed by?"

Lin Wan: "When I was little, the stories I heard most often were about the rich lady and the poor scholar. At that time, I wanted to try the method used by the scholar in the story."

Yao Chuguang: "So what you threw at me wasn't a note, but a love letter? But at least you could write a few words!"

Lin Wan: "At that time, I couldn't read. I thought a love letter was just a piece of paper I gave to someone. It didn't matter whether there were words on it or not."

Yao Chuguang: "Have you ever considered that to others, your action is like hitting the princess with a ball of paper, an attack on the royal family, and punishable by death!"

Lin Wan certainly knew that this action was a risky one, although she did not understand love affairs.

But she also felt that the storyteller was talking nonsense. How could a young lady from a wealthy family who had lived a life of luxury since childhood be interested in a scholar from a poor family?

Then she gave up her life of luxury and went to live a life of coarse food with the scholar. For her, it would be normal to give up the scholar and live a life of luxury.

The Earl's Mansion is a noble family in the eyes of ordinary people, but it is nothing to the noble ladies in the harem.

The harem has a strict hierarchy, with those who are truly powerful standing in the front, and she can only stand in the corner.

If the day really came when the princess came to choose a study partner, she might not even be able to see the princess and would be rejected.

There have always been rumors that the princess's tutor had already been chosen, and these people were just there for the formality.

Lin Wan knew that this was probably true, and if she didn't do something, there would really be no hope at all.

Lin Wan was thinking about how to attract the princess's attention, and delivering a letter was the only thing Lin Wan could do.

She didn't have the money to bribe the palace maid to deliver the letter for her, so she had to do it herself.

Lin Wan found out that the princess passed by a small path, but it wasn't really her finding out.

It was the noble ladies who paid to find out. They would usually catch butterflies, fly kites, play the piano and recite poems on the road waiting for the princess to pass by.

She only had to follow those noble ladies to know that the princess would pass by there.

Lin Wan didn't need to know too much. She just climbed up the rockery and it was enough for her to see the princess.

In Lin Wan's imagination, the princess would be hit by the letter and would either be angry or curious about why she did this.

No matter what the princess thought, she would have someone bring her in for questioning.

As long as she could get in front of the princess, her plan would be half successful.

If the princess was not angry and was willing to talk to her, Lin Wan would seize the opportunity to deepen the princess's impression of her.

But if the princess is angry, she will attack her without hesitation.

Lin Wan naturally knew that it was impossible for her to hurt the princess, but she didn't mean to hurt the princess either.

She often heard the storyteller say that assassinating a royal family member was a serious crime that would result in the confiscation of property and the extermination of the entire family.

If she couldn't become the princess's companion, she would drag the entire earl's palace into the grave with her. This was a good deal.

But in the end, Lin Wan's plan failed. The princess didn't react at all after being hit. She just picked up the paper ball and left.

Just left like this?

It turns out that what makes people most despair is not anger and hatred, but indifference.

Lin Wan was so angry that he sat up in the middle of the night and said, "I asked you to ignore me, but I don't believe you can ignore me every time."

Facts have proved that the princess is really capable. After being hit by the note, she was not angry, curious, or let the palace servants come to find her.

On the last day, it will be announced which noble lady will be chosen as the princess's companion.

Lin Wan stood dejectedly in the corner. She had not spoken a single word to the princess until today.

There was no need to think about the identity of the companion. Lin Wan wanted to wait until the list of the princess' companions was announced, and then take advantage of the chaos while these noble ladies went back to pack up their things.

She would quietly find a place to hide, and then see if she could be lucky enough to run into an important person in the palace, and then continue her plan of confiscating the property and exterminating the entire family.

However, just when Lin Wan had given up all hope, he suddenly heard his own name.

At first, Lin Wan thought she had misheard.

Until the neatly arranged ladies walked away from both sides, a path suddenly became clear in front of her.

That day, she was finally able to see the princess standing in the front clearly without being separated by the crowd.

Lin Wan walked towards Yao Chuguang step by step, and that day Lin Wan ascended to heaven in one step.

Lin Wan still remembers the first words Yao Chuguang said to her: "Next time you pass a note, remember to write it down."

Later, no matter what Lin Wan wanted to learn, Yao Chuguang would satisfy Lin Wan and find the best master to teach him.

Sometimes Lin Wan even felt that Yao Chuguang was the study partner, because Yao Chuguang always looked uninterested no matter what he was learning.

But as long as Lin Wan wants to learn, Yao Chuguang will accompany her.

Moreover, Yao Chuguang almost always grants Lin Wan's requests. No matter what Lin Wan wants, Yao Chuguang will give it to her.

This was the first time Lin Wan returned to the Earl's Mansion after being chosen as a study companion. Although her father and stepmother no longer ignored her, they were not in a good mood either.

They were clearly jealous of her, saying that the princess chose her simply because she had no power or influence, and that it wouldn't matter even if she got angry and accidentally beat her to death.

She also asked Lin Wan to be smarter. She was just a plaything of the princess. A pheasant could not turn into a phoenix even if it flew onto a branch.

Lin Wan didn't say anything on the spot. After returning to the palace, she hid in a corner and cried quietly.

She wanted to see if the princess would step in to defend her.

Yao Chuguang walked up to her, squatted down, and gently hugged her: "Who bullied you?"

No one has hugged Lin Wan since Aunt Liu left, and no one cares whether she has been wronged.

Lin Wan, who had been pretending to cry, felt as if a hole had been drilled in her heart. She couldn't control her tears and burst into tears: "That woman... called me... a pheasant..."

Yao Chuguang was a little at a loss as to what to do when trying to comfort Lin Wan, but saw that Lin Wan still couldn't stop crying.

That night, Yao Chuguang took Lin Wan's hand and went to the Earl's Mansion, making her usually high-handed father, stepmother, and stepsister tremble and kneel before her.

Yao Chuguang had the palace servants slap every servant who had bullied her in the past.

Yao Chuguang still felt it was not enough, so he asked someone to pull Li Yinhan out of the bed.

He beat up all the young men in the Earl's Mansion, including her father.

Lin Wan rarely cried before because she knew no one cared about her and what was the point of crying.

That day, Lin Wan cried out all the grievances she had suffered because someone cared about her.

After causing a disturbance in the Earl's Mansion, Yao Chuguang was put in solitary confinement, but Lin Wan did not receive any punishment.

Lin Wan began to fear, what would she do if she lost Yao Chuguang one day?

Lin Wan began to study hard. She wanted to let those noble ladies know that Yao Chuguang’s choice of her was the right one.

In two years, Lin Wan's hard work and perseverance made him almost completely transformed.

When Lin Wan appeared at the palace banquet again, no matter how critical the eyes were, they could not find any fault with Lin Wan's demeanor.

Even if Yao Chuguang didn't like to attend poetry gatherings and garden parties, Lin Wan would attend on her behalf and build relationships with those noble ladies.

The more books I read over the years, the broader my horizons have become.

Lin Wan gradually realized that no matter whether those noble ladies really liked or hated Yao Chuguang, as long as Yao Chuguang was still a princess, they could only be respectful to her.

To put it nicely, these noble ladies are virtuous and kind, but to put it bluntly, they are just puppets.

If something really happens, there is no one to rely on.

Lin Wan didn't want to be like these noble ladies. She couldn't hide under Yao Chuguang's wings all her life.

She also wanted to provide wings for her.

Lin Wan knew that as long as the Duke's Mansion did not fall, no one could shake Yao Chuguang's position.

What does Yao Chuguang lack? News and connections in the court.

Lin Wan was a woman and could not be an official, so she could not be of much help in the court.

But she was able to develop her own intelligence network, and she has been in contact with the little beggars of that year over the years.

Lin Wan never thought of hiding anything from Yao Chuguang when she delivered food to those friends.

Yao Chuguang even told her that it is better to teach a man to fish than to give him a fish.

Later, Lin Wan invited masters from various industries to give lectures, hoping that these friends would be able to make a living by learning a skill in the future.

Why couldn't she develop these people into spies and have them lurk throughout the imperial capital?

After Yao Chuguang knew her thoughts, he only asked: "Your organization is not called the Beggars' Sect, right?"

Lin Wanjue's name doesn't sound very nice, so they are called the Fisherman's Gang.

It is better to teach people to fish than to teach them how to fish!

Yao Chuguang...it might as well be called the Beggars' Sect.