Aspiring to the Ten Kingdoms

Chapter 766 Extra Story: Three Women

As one of the oldest bureaucratic systems in ancient China, the Ministry of Officials is in charge of the promotion and assessment of tens of thousands of officials across the country.

As the top leader of the Ministry of Officials, the Minister of the Ministry of Officials is second only to several prime ministers.

Today's Minister of the Ministry of Officials is recognized as a strange woman in the world. Xiao Chuo, who was born in Khitan but grew up in the Central Plains, is known as the talented woman of the Central Plains.

Speaking of Xiao Chuo's road to rise, it can be called difficult.

Wufu of the Five Dynasties was prevalent and full of brutal violence.

In the face of this chaos, the status of women can be imagined.

With the peace of the world, the status of literati has been greatly improved, but the status of women has not been improved immediately.

Emperor Dayu didn't have patriarchal thoughts, but things had to be done step by step.If you take too many steps, you will tear the egg and have the opposite effect.

Xiao Chuo was born in such an era...

Even if Xiao Chuo had a concubine Rong who was a military veteran behind her, her path to rise would not be smooth...

He has been working as a doctor of Guozijian for eight years. He has continuously published political articles in the residence newspaper, showing his outstanding political vision, and has been recognized by the public.It was only then that she entered the officialdom and gradually became the first female official with real power in the Dayu court...

Because he is the only one in the temple, Xiao Chuo's every move is in the eyes of the world.Under such harsh conditions, Xiao Chuo became a judge of affairs in Dali, Secretary of the Provincial School, Cheng of Taichang Temple, Bachelor of Hanlin, Doctor Zuo Jianyi, Doctor of Taichang, and Minister of Rites. , Minister of the Ministry of Officials, and finally sat in the position of Minister of the Ministry of Officials, relying only on his extraordinary political ability.

This day Xiao Chuo got into the study as usual, today all kinds of residence newspapers have been neatly arranged on the table.

Xiao Chuo smiled knowingly, leaned back on the chair and read the newspaper carefully.

Understanding people's livelihood and seeing the world by reading newspapers has long been integrated into Xiao Chuo's life.

With the development of the printing industry and the paper industry, the development of the newspaper industry is changing with each passing day. In addition to the imperial court newspapers, literary newspapers have sprung up in local prefectures, counties, and universities to facilitate cultural exchanges.

The imperial court also gradually relaxed the qualifications for private newspapers.

Dayu has a vast territory, unprecedented in ancient times.

Newspapers have become the first hand for Dayu to understand the current situation.

Many of Xiao Chuo's achievements in the past benefited from his insights from the newspapers, and then made quick and swift responses.

Of course, now that she is in a high position, she has her own source of news, which is far more authentic and quicker than the ones in the newspapers.It's just a habit accumulated over the years that has become a part of life.

"Third Lady!"

A pleasant and moving voice sounded outside the house, and then a delicate and charming maid walked into the study, holding steaming tea soup in her hand.

Xiao Chuo nodded habitually, motioning her to put it aside, his eyes still looking at today's Dibao.

The delicate servant girl retreated lightly.

"Rong Hua, the third lady is in the study, let me inform you."

The delicate servant girl's voice came again, with a somewhat anxious tone.

"What kind of report, are you new here? What is the relationship between Ronghua and Xiao Chuo? When did you need to report to see her? Or is she meeting her lover privately and dare not let me see? Hehehe..."

Xiao Chuo didn't care about the voice at all, but he couldn't help but frowned when he heard the words of his lover in private, put down the newspaper in his hand, crossed his arms, and waited quietly.

Zhou Xiaomei pushed the door and entered, followed by the delicate servant girl.

Xiao Chuo signaled the delicate servant girl to go down, then looked at Xiao Xiaomei with a bit of coldness without changing her posture.

Miss Zhou used to have a playful smile, but when she saw Xiao Chuo's appearance, she hurriedly changed her expression, stepped forward and sat beside Xiao Chuo and said cordially: "Sister Xiao, the younger sister came to see you. It’s a large carriage that can bring a lot of things into the palace.”

Xiao Chuo's expression softened and he hummed softly: "Speaking out loud, I will tear your mouth apart sooner or later."

Zhou Xiaomei pretended to be obedient and rubbed against Xiao Chuo, saying: "Sister Xiao is not willing to part with it!"

Xiao Chuo also took Zhou Xiaomei as having nothing to do, and said, "You came to find me, what's the matter?"

Zhou Xiaomei said coquettishly: "Sister Xiao said that, if there is nothing wrong, I can't come to play with you?"

She is over thirty and a half past the age of youth, but she is well maintained, her skin is still fair and supple, her delicate and beautiful face has the style of a mature woman, she is coquettish and full of charm.Xiao Chuorao is a woman, so she couldn't help saying in her heart: "Fairy", and then said coldly: "I can't..."

Miss Zhou said discouragedly: "It's so boring, well, I have something to look for. It's His Majesty's birthday soon, and Sister Xiao knows His Majesty best. What kind of gift should I give? Give me an idea... and don't it be too expensive. Yes, I'm a little shy now."

Xiao Chuo snorted lightly when he heard the words, but he didn't know why.

Luo Youdu's frugality is well known to everyone, but he has given a full share of the inner palace's expenses.After all, it's okay to be poor, don't be poor with your own woman.But no matter how much the amount is, there is a limit. Most of them have a surplus, except for Zhou Xiaomei.

Zhou Xiaomei has an extravagant temperament and spends money lavishly. The salary of her nine concubines is not enough for her alone.However, she lived in Zhou Ehuang's palace, and Zhou Xiaomei spent at least half of Zhou Ehuang's salary.

The salaries of the four concubines and the nine concubines are enough for Zhou Xiaomei to squander in normal times, but when the money is needed at this critical moment, she can't get it out.

Xiao Chuo said casually: "Isn't that simple? Why don't you give yourself to His Majesty?"

Zhou Xiaomei said with a sad face: "I can't give it every year, I gave it last year!"

"..."

This time it was Xiao Chuo's turn not knowing what to say, so he could only repeat in his heart: "What a goblin!"

Looking at the charming Zhou Xiaomei, Xiao Chuo suddenly admired Luo Youdu and envied Zhou Ehuang. He had endured such a goblin for so many years.

Xiao Chuo and Zhou Xiaomei were originally enemies and friends, they were similar in age and were under the same teacher.

Zhou Xiaomei is arrogant and lawless, while Xiao Chuo is soft on the outside and strong on the inside, with deep thoughts.

Zhou Xiaomei often bullies her because Xiao Chuo steals her limelight.Xiao Chuo fought back not to be outdone, and the two fought and played until they each pursued their dreams...

Xiao Chuo's dream is to show off his strengths and become a figure like Shangguan Wan'er.

Compared with Xiao Chuo, Miss Zhou has a bigger dream: to sleep with her brother-in-law...

The relationship between the two is also an enemy and a friend, and they are at odds with each other.

This situation has been maintained until Zhou Xiaomei's various charms are fruitless, and she is a little disheartened.Xiao Chuo looked at the stupid classmates and pointed out a clear path: the one who wants to achieve what he wants, the one who needs to settle is not Luo Youdu, but Zhou Ehuang.

Xiao Chuo had already seen Luo Tianzi's sullen temper, but out of pity and respect for Zhou Ehuang, he didn't eat the meat in his mouth.She even guessed that that Luo Tianzi even hinted at Zhou Xiaomei, but the other party was too stupid to see it.

Little sister Zhou realized later that she got her own Zhou Ehuang and fulfilled her wish, so she also willingly called Xiao Chuo "sister".

The relationship between the two also improved because of this...

Xiao Chuo remembered that Zhou Xiaomei often took care of his daughter in the palace, and said: "Okay, I happen to have a copybook written by Han Changli in my hand, you can take it back and give it to Your Majesty."

Zhou Xiaomei naturally knew that Han Yu was one of Luo Youdu's most admired ancestors, so she hugged Xiao Chuo happily and even kissed her on the cheek.

Xiao Chuo pushed Zhou Xiaomei away in disgust, and said, "I have some things here, you can bring them into the palace when you go back..."

"Okay!" Zhou Xiaomei responded immediately.

Xiao Chuo walked out of the study and called out: "Liu E, go and load all the things in my house into Zhou Ronghua's carriage."

Zhou Xiaomei looked at Xiao Chuo who turned back into the room, rolled her eyes, and said, "Liu E? The girl who stopped me? I really feel sorry for her, especially her voice, which is the most suitable for singing. Why don't you leave her to me?" Come on, let me give you my talent."

Zhou Xiaomei is good at singing and dancing, and she can see Liu E's talent at a glance, but she couldn't take care of it at first, but now her mind is gone, and she has other thoughts.

Xiao Chuo said: "It is Qu Cai who will leave it to you. This girl is so smart... There was a lot of trouble before..."

She wanted to talk about the story of Liu E's smart capture of the tooth, but after thinking about it, Zhou Xiaomei didn't like reading newspapers at all, so she probably didn't know about it, so she simply didn't talk about it.

It turned out that Liu E's ancestral home was Taiyuan. His grandfather Liu Yanqing was the general of You Xiaowei in the Later Jin and Later Han of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms. His father Liu Tong was the commander of the Later Zhou Dynasty and served as the commander of Dayu for two years.But should be incompetent and mediocre, relying on the shadow of his ancestors to have this official position.He did not perform well in the Yu army, dismissed his official position, and barely survived in Kaifeng with a little surplus money.

Not long after Liu E was born, her parents died and she became an orphan, raised by her old friends on her behalf.In the end, he was entrusted to someone else, and the other party became addicted to drugs, sold Liu's house to pay off the debt, and sold Liu E to Ren Yazi.

Liu E was a big kid, so he went to Kaifeng Mansion to report to the officials with an excuse, and helped the government crack a human tooth case.

This matter caused a great disturbance, and everyone in the market was full of praise for Liu E, a little girl.

Xiao Chuo learned about this from the newspaper, found Liu E, and after obtaining the consent of the other party, he was admitted to the mansion for training.

Xiao Chuo did not regard Liu E as a maid, but instead taught her to read and write, instructed her to read newspapers, and asked her to write after-views.

However, Liu E has always regarded herself as a maidservant and is responsible for taking care of Xiao Chuo's daily life.

Hearing Xiao Chuo's refusal, Zhou Xiaomei said: "Stingy" and didn't force it.

The two talked for a while, and Liu E came to report that the things had already boarded the car.

When Zhou Xiaomei heard Liu E's lark-like voice, she couldn't help asking, "Really reluctant?"

Xiao Chuo didn't answer directly this time, but looked at Liu E and said, "Zhou Ronghua has taken a fancy to you and wants to take you into the palace, are you willing?"

Liu E was stunned, as if she was stupid, and after a while she cried, "This servant doesn't want to enter the palace, this servant wants to follow San Niangzi and serve San Niangzi for the rest of her life."

When Zhou Xiaomei heard the answer, she felt that she had lost face, so she got in the car and left without saying a word.

Xiao Chuo gave Liu E a deep look, then turned and entered the room.

Liu E watched Xiaomei Zhou's carriage disappear out of sight, and quickly followed Xiao Chuo's footsteps into the house.

(End of this chapter)