Female-dominated society: Striving for the position of powerful minister, doting on Xiao Yunqing

That night

When Nian returned to the brothel, it was still brightly lit and filled with guests.

Some people stay up all night, while others are depressed; some are happy, while others are sad.

Nian sighed involuntarily, sat down in front of the mirror, wiped off her makeup, revealing a fair face. Although she had lost some of her charm, she had gained a touch of eccentricity. The flowers in the mirror and the moon in the water could not compare to her beautiful face.

The boy behind him removed the wooden hairpin from Nian's hair and gently combed his long hair. Three thousand strands of hair cascaded down like a waterfall, as black as charcoal, and exuded a faint fragrance.

Then she took a bath and changed clothes... applied perfume, washed herself thoroughly, and was busy having a great time.

Nian finished getting ready before going to bed. Fortunately, there was some sleep-inducing aromatherapy in the room, and Nian slept soundly all night.

The next day (in the imperial court)

A huge crowd stood in the enormous palace. At a glance, no matter whether the pillars were made of gold or jade, they were no match for the person on the high platform.

Her long hair was tied up high, adorned with a gold hairpin, and she wore tassel earrings. A golden cloud-shaped flower adorned her forehead, signifying her status. She wore a long brocade robe with a black garment embroidered with golden phoenix patterns over it. She was dressed luxuriously, but did not appear dignified at all.

She stood with her hands behind her back on the golden throne, her phoenix eyes slightly raised as she gazed at the crowd below.

Last night she reviewed dozens of memorials, most of which contained statements suggesting that the people of Wenzhou should relocate.

That's utterly absurd!

Now, he comes to court early in the morning, and all the civil and military officials stammer. The only one who speaks up is still clamoring to move.

And then there was no one left.

"Court adjourned! Minister Mu, please remain!"

"We take our leave. Long live the Emperor!"

At the Empress's command, all the court officials withdrew, leaving only Mu Yunyan standing below the hall.

"What are your thoughts on this matter, Minister Mu? I don't recall seeing your memorial yesterday."

"I believe that the waters in Wenzhou are currently raging and should be stopped."

"Oh? How do I intercept it?"

"I sent someone to Wenzhou a few days ago. Most of the people in the city live in the middle and upper reaches of the river. I think we can build a dam between the upper and middle reaches of the river."

"What you say is absolutely right, my dear minister. My daughter said the same thing to me yesterday." The Empress's face was full of satisfaction.

"Princess?"

"No, it is my Aran."

Upon hearing this, a hint of surprise flashed in Mu Yunyan's eyes, but she quickly regained her composure.

“…The princess has grown up,” she said softly.

"She has grown up. I intend to let her handle the Wenzhou incident, but I am also afraid that she is not up to the task..."

"I believe it is worth a try. It is rare for the princess to have such an idea. Your Majesty should give the princess a chance."

"I want to... but I'm also afraid." The Empress's face showed great conflict.

"If Your Majesty is worried, I may go with you."

"You don't need to."

"Why?"

"We are all getting old, we should give our children more opportunities."

Mu Yunyan was stunned for a moment. Although... I am only 43 years old.

"Your Majesty means... that my daughter should also go?" Mu Yunyan's tone carried a hint of difficulty.

"That's what I meant."

"Forgive my bluntness, but I'm afraid my three daughters are not suitable."

"Hey, it's alright, let her try for now."

"They need to undergo some training anyway, so let them set off tomorrow!"

"Yes, I obey."

"Alright, we've finished discussing the important matters. Come on, let's go eat something delicious. I just hired a chef yesterday!" The Empress said, taking Mu Yunyan's hand.

The empress often ignored what her ministers said. She would read the memorials and write annotations, but she would never agree with them.

However... she listened to Mu Yunyan's advice very much, almost obeying it without question.

This is mainly because Mu Yunyan is truly resourceful and meticulous, always thinking things through comprehensively and solving problems in the simplest way. Sometimes, the two even think alike; in short, she suits her tastes perfectly.

Since Mu Yunyan became the prime minister, it has saved her a lot of trouble. Thinking back to before, when she had to look at the mountain of memorials all by herself, the empress was practically going crazy.

One person says something, another says something; one says it's no good, another says it's okay. It's so annoying every day, and the worst part is that I still have to read the memorials.

Thanks to the late emperor's good work, there is no war or major disaster now, and we are living in peace.

The Empress's nickname was Aning, and her given name was Xiao Ning. The single character Ning was chosen because she hoped for peace and tranquility in the world. And now, she has managed to protect peace and tranquility, as there has not been a single war in recent years.

This empress may not be the most capable in terms of military strength, but her diplomacy is absolutely phenomenal! Neighboring countries are completely convinced by what she says!

However, in recent years, in order to protect herself, she has also formed a secret guard called "Red Moon".

The struggle between dynasties must be guarded against.

Once you ascend to this throne, you no longer need to think about living a peaceful life.

You never know whether your subordinates will betray you first, or whether someone close to you will imprison you and manipulate you at will.

The more trusted someone is, the more wary you should be.

Otherwise, you won't even know how you died.

The Prime Minister's Residence (Fanglan Garden)

The courtyard was filled with various kinds of precious wood, and Mu Yan sat there, holding a ruler and rope to measure the length of the wood.

"Master, why are you carrying so much wood?" Xiangqin asked with difficulty as she unloaded the wood from a cart.

"Make bows and arrows." Mu Yan said, casually picking up a pen and making marks on the wood.

"We have to do so many things!" The little girl's eyes widened.

"Okay, that's about it. We can add more if needed."

As Mu Yan spoke, she picked up another piece of wood to measure.

Xiangqin looked at her master and felt utterly helpless.

She always felt that her master had suddenly become indifferent and unenthusiastic. Now that he had learned to do handicrafts, it seemed that he had changed his mind.

Sigh, never mind, let's just focus on moving the wood!

"Xiangqin, you don't need to move yet, come here." Muyan smiled and waved to her.

"Master." The little girl put down the wood and came over.

"Go to the street and find four craftsmen first, then come back to the manor and find four more, understand?"

"clear."

"Alright, go ahead, be careful on the road!"

"Yes, Master. Um... what are the requirements for the people we found in the manor?"

"Let's find a few people who can do fine work."

"Yes, Master." Xiangqin said and walked towards the door.

Actually, Mu Yan originally didn't plan to hire anyone, but this was a huge project, and if she did it all by herself, it might take her half a month to finish.

But if we add a few more people, it might only take three or four days to finish. And if we happen to find a professional, she won't have to do anything and can even study medical books in her spare time.

Having resolved the original owner's grudges, she can now finally focus on her own career, and she is eager to return to her old profession!

But before that, she had to improve herself. Her body was too weak. Even after replenishing her qi and blood for half a month, she still couldn't lift anything with her hands or shoulders.

Also, although the two older sisters in the Prime Minister's mansion haven't been causing trouble lately, we absolutely cannot let our guard down.

Back when she was at the base, her master loved reading time-travel novels, palace intrigue stories, and stories about substitutes. He would often complain to her about how these characters were.

Therefore, she understood the tropes of time-travel literature.

The most common scenario is that the female lead is bullied at the beginning... well, it seems like the original owner of this body was the one bullying others.

Then came the destruction of her family and death... well, she seems to be living a pretty happy life.

Then comes revenge... well, maybe not for now.

And then... she meets her soulmate. Hmm... this is a bit important, so she needs to quickly strengthen her body and protect the innocent-looking male lead she might meet in the future.

In addition, she learned that it's possible to marry multiple men in this world, which sounds wonderful, but she felt she wasn't up to the task.

Finally, there's... status! It seems like the female protagonists all end up with power and influence.

Yes, she still has a long way to go; she has nothing right now.

Therefore, after summarizing the above points, she came to a conclusion.

First, since her family hasn't been destroyed yet, she needs to make preparations and pay close attention to the safety of her family at all times, otherwise they might be wiped out in the blink of an eye.

Secondly, if she were to accidentally lose her family, she would need revenge. To take revenge, she would need to be strong enough, so she needed to quickly improve her physical condition.

Thirdly, there's her love life, which she can't control and has to leave to fate, but she has to protect her man.

Because such plots often appear in TV dramas, where the people the male and female leads care about are kidnapped and used to threaten them, she absolutely cannot allow such a thing to happen!

Fourthly, there's the matter of status. She currently has two plans: one is to inherit her mother's position as prime minister, but judging from the prime minister's current appearance, she might have to wait several more years. So she decided to try a different approach.

However, this method is difficult. She cannot see the Empress, nor can she possibly run into her by chance, so she has to work harder to make the Empress see her.

Fifthly, she had some questions. Didn't the female protagonists in the books she had read before all have a system of their own?

Why didn't she?

Finally, now is the most urgent task. She needs to make a handy weapon first. A bow and arrow is the first one. Next, she needs to make a throwing knife and a poison needle. These are just the most basic things.

A true assassin should have his own full set of weapons, ideally like he did in the base, but of course that's impossible.

But she also had to work hard to fulfill her wish, and Mu Yan quickened her pace as she thought about it.

After a while, Xiangqin led a group of people in, with Mu Yunqing at the very end of the line.

“Master, these are the craftsmen you requested.” Xiangqin pointed to the four people standing in front.

"And these are the ones you wanted, the ones who can do fine work," Xiangqin said, pointing in Mu Yunqing's direction.

Mu Yan glanced at the four of them. Hmm, they looked pretty good.

Then I looked over at Mu Yunqing's side, and well, everyone was there, tall and short, fat and thin.

"Greetings, Third Miss!" Eight people greeted her in a very disjointed manner, one of whom didn't even open his mouth. Yes! It was Mu Yunqing.

"Alright, alright, you all sit down over there first, I'll assign tasks later," Mu Yan said, pointing to the chairs opposite her.

Immediately, a group of people rushed to the chairs, while Mu Yunqing strolled along leisurely, acting very out of place!

"You, come here!" Mu Yan said, pointing at Mu Yunqing.

"What are your orders, Master?" He walked up to her.

"Why are you here?" Mu Yan looked up at him.

"Xiangqin said in the manor that the Third Miss needs someone who can do delicate work, and Yunqing thinks that Yunqing meets the criteria, so Yunqing came." As Mu Yunqing spoke, she raised her eyes to look at Muyan, her light blue eyes full of sincerity.

"This is tiring, and you..."

"I can."

Very good, now they've even learned to interrupt. Hmm, they're teachable.

"Alright, then you can go sit over there first."

"Yes."

Mu Yan watched Mu Yunqing walk over with her own eyes. He sat in the seat on the very edge. He was the only man among the eight people, and his skin was the fairest. Well, he was a huge, conspicuous figure.

"Xiangqin, go inside and get some paper and a pen."

"Yes, Master!" Xiangqin replied and walked into the house.

Mu Yan glanced at the four craftsmen. They did look honest, but she didn't know how skilled they were. She decided to test them.

"You four, each of you, tell me about the techniques used in making bows and arrows!"

After finishing her speech, Mu Yan sat down in a chair, poured herself a cup of tea, and silently waited for their performance.

"Let me start by saying that the most commonly used woods for making bows are mulberry, yew, and oak. These woods are of good quality, and bows made from them are not easy to break. Also, you must be careful when choosing the wood!" The craftsman spoke with great confidence.

"I continued her advice, saying that when choosing wood, it should not have knots, bends, or branches. Try to find a piece of wood with a large curve, so that when you release the arrow, the rope will not snap against your hand, reducing the chance of accidentally injuring yourself."

"The middle part of the bow should be strong and thick, while the two ends should be thin and flexible, and the thickness and length of the two ends should be roughly equal."

"Each arrow should be about half the length of your bow,"

"When making a bow, make sure to remove the wood from the inside of the curve. Otherwise, the bow is very likely to break on the first use."

"When choosing a bowstring, raw leather whips, thin nylon ropes, hemp ropes, fishing lines, cotton or silk threads, ordinary hemp threads, or even grapevines can all be used to make it. If Miss wants a more refined bow and arrow, I suggest using a raw leather whip."

"When making tail feathers, it is best to use feathers from the bird's tail or wings. When using wing feathers for tail feathers, it is important to avoid mixing feathers from both wings on one arrow, as this will affect the arrow's accuracy. With feathers, the arrow can spin while flying. In addition, feathers are hard to find, so Miss, it is best to prepare feathers in advance."

The four of them chatted away, getting more and more excited as they talked. Mu Yan was getting a headache listening to them. She didn't think it was this complicated when she was learning to make bows and arrows.

"Alright, that's enough. Judging from what you've said, you're all seasoned craftsmen. I have great faith in your abilities."

"So, I'm going to start assigning tasks now. Listen carefully, I'll only say it once."

All eight people nodded in unison, though not in perfect unison, they still showed a good understanding.

"Ahem~" Mu Yan cleared her throat.

"Let me first give you a brief overview of the bow and arrow I want. Take a good look!"

As Mu Yan spoke, she picked up the pen and paper on the table and began to draw the shape of a bow and arrow.

All eight people watched her draw, and this time, Mu Yunqing watched the most attentively.

Those light blue eyes were fixed on Mu Yan's hands. Wherever Mu Yan painted, Mu Yunqing's eyes followed, extremely focused.

Today, Mu Yan wore a light pink gauze dress with red trim on the sleeves, a red silk sash around her waist, and the hem of the skirt was embroidered with large peach blossoms, creating a beautiful and exquisite look.

Her long hair was tied up with a red ribbon today, with stray strands still hanging down beside her ears, and she wore a pair of delicate plum blossom earrings.

Perhaps it was because of the hot weather, her fair face was flushed slightly, her thin lips parted slightly, and she explained to everyone in a gentle voice. Her extremely beautiful eyes were looking down at the paper on the table, and her hand holding the pen kept writing and drawing.

"Here! Pay close attention, be very careful, I need to mark the trophy in this spot."

Mu Yan pointed to the position on the bow handle and repeatedly gave instructions, fearing that the people in front of her might mess up the position.

"Third Miss, there's something I don't quite understand."

"Tell me about it." Mu Yan sat back down and took a sip of tea.

"I'm curious about the championship you mentioned."

"Pfft!" Mu Yan almost spat out her tea.

"Knowing too much will lead to a quick death," she said with a smile, looking at the person in front of her.

"..." Upon hearing this, the person who asked the question immediately lowered their head.

“The championship is a unique mark that belongs to me, like a small pattern, you understand?” She looked up at the craftsman who asked the question.

The craftsman was almost moved to tears. Who said the third young lady of the Prime Minister's mansion was spoiled and willful? She's actually quite gentle. She even explained to her what a championship was. What a wonderful young lady.

"Ok?"

"I understand, thank you for your guidance, Third Miss!"

"Alright, now do as I say, and you'll be richly rewarded if you do well!"

"Long live the Third Miss!!!" This shout came out in unison, which was unexpected.

The eight people then dispersed and went about their respective tasks.

Mu Yan went back into the house to get a medical book, then flew up to the roof, lay down, and began to read.