Women Wearing Men: The Growth Path of the Bastards of the Aristocratic Family

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A few days later, in the Cheng residence in the capital.

Gu Yunqiao opened the door to the study and walked in with the pastries: "Cheng Yan."

Cheng Yan, who was writing an official document at his desk, immediately stopped writing and stood up with a smile: "Qiaoqiao, aren't you taking a nap?"

"I've woken up." Gu Yunqiao placed the plate of pastries on the table and warned, "Don't keep immersed in work, or you may hurt your eyes. This is the pastry I just sent someone to buy, a new product from Furongzhai. Try it?"

Cheng Yan smiled and said: "The ones you sent people to buy are naturally good. I know they taste good without having to taste them."

Gu Yunqiao was amused by him: "I neither made it nor picked it myself. I just ordered my servants to buy it. Is this worthy of your praise?"

Cheng Yan smiled and didn't answer. He picked up a piece of pastry and ate it slowly with tea.

Gu Yunqiao seemed to have something on his mind. He glanced at Cheng Yan's desk filled with official documents unintentionally and said hesitantly: "I heard... there is a severe drought in central Sichuan. His Majesty is planning to send an official to Sichuan to check the actual situation. So that the imperial court can formulate regulations for disaster relief?"

Cheng Yan nodded and said, "Yes, that's the case."

Gu Yunqiao hesitated to speak: "I also heard that Sichuan is a long way away. Your Majesty would like to choose a minister who is young and strong, has a small family, and is trustworthy?"

Cheng Yan understood what she meant and looked into her eyes with a smile: "Qiaoqiao, do you want to ask me if I can take the initiative to take you to Shuzhong?"

Gu Yunqiao hesitated for a moment, then nodded: "...um."

Cheng Yan sighed silently and said helplessly: "Qiaoqiao, if something like this happens again in the future, you can ask me directly without going through such a big circle. We are husband and wife. We have been married for two years. We sleep together day and night. You Do you still think of me as your brother’s friend?”

Gu Yunqiao blushed and muttered: "I didn't..."

Cheng Yan rarely felt that he had made a mistake in judgment, but when he met Gu Yunqiao, such a lively little girl, he was very slow to deal with relationships.Other things were fine, the two got along naturally, but when it came to people closer to Gu Yunqiao - such as Gu Yunji, she would subconsciously become cautious and tentative.

But it doesn't matter, he has enough time and patience to slowly pry her heart open.

Thinking like this, Cheng Yan said calmly: "Qiaoqiao, this is my fault. I should have told you earlier. Because His Majesty did ask me if I wanted to go to Shuzhong to check the drought situation - but I refused."

Gu Yunqiao was stunned: "...Why? Xuzhou Mansion is in the middle of Shu. We can take advantage of your business trip to visit Xuzhou Mansion to see my brother, sister-in-law, and Xi'er. We have been with them for more than two years. No more, don’t you want to see your brother?”

Cheng Yan sighed: "Of course I thought about it, but by chance, Shuzhong is too far away. When Yunji went to Xuzhou Mansion to take office, he spent five months on the road. Now it is the end of April. If we go from the capital Going to Shuzhong will definitely be the same, and we won’t be able to arrive until around September at the earliest.”

"This is just the outbound journey. The return journey will be in the coldest month of winter. The Yangtze River is in the dry season, and a long section of the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal is frozen. This trip will take a long time on the way. Year, there is no telling whether I can return to the capital at this time next year."

Gu Yunqiao's eyes were firm: "I know all this, but I'm not afraid. Even if it takes a year on the road, as long as I can see my brother and sister-in-law, even if I can only stay for a month, it's still worth it. After all, my brother is going to Beijing to take up a post. The magistrates don't know when they will be able to come back, and if one is not sure, it will be more than ten years of separation."

Gu Yunqiao opened a pair of deer-like eyes and looked at Cheng Yan with confusion and a hint of accusation: "Under such circumstances, it is rare to have the opportunity to visit relatives on official business. I think my brother will also want to see us. Cheng Yan Yan, why did you refuse?" Cheng Yan softened his heart when she saw him, and his voice softened: "As you said, this is a rare and precious opportunity to visit relatives. Even if it takes a year to travel, it is nothing. If it were different In previous years, I would have already set foot on the road to Shuzhong with you without saying a word."

"But this year is different. From the end of this year to the beginning of next year, it is the time for the comprehensive evaluation of officials' performance once every three years. Both Yunji and I may have position changes during this evaluation. This time is crucial and I cannot leave. Capital City.”

Gu Yunqiao was puzzled: "Why? Performance evaluation is a matter for the Ministry of Personnel. Officials' achievements have long been recorded in the books and cannot be changed by the officials themselves. What's more, you are an official of the Hanlin Academy and not an official of the Ministry of Personnel. This has nothing to do with you. What does it matter if you don’t leave the capital?”

"Of course it does matter." Cheng Yan said, "The capital is at the foot of the emperor and the political center of the country. It is a node where officials are evaluated and mobilized. I can play a greater role in the capital than in Sichuan."

He looked at Gu Yunqiao, with unknown emotions in his eyes, and said seriously: "Qiaoqiao, I need to stay in the capital to find a good future for me and Yunji. I hope that after he returns to the capital in the future, Have something to rely on in the government."

Gu Yunqiao suddenly didn't understand: "...What do you mean?"

"You will gradually understand in the future." Cheng Yan suddenly smiled and returned to his gentle demeanor in the blink of an eye, "Qiaoqiao, please believe that no matter what I do, I will never do anything to hurt you. I won’t do anything to hurt Yunji.”

"As for visiting relatives...Qiaoqiao, we will meet Yunji one day."

-

It's already May, and not a drop of rain has fallen in Xuzhou Prefecture. To be precise, most of the central Sichuan area has fallen into an increasingly serious drought.

The blazing sun hung in the sky, pouring fire from the sky mercilessly into the world. The earth was baked to cracks, and the dry air enveloped people, making them as hot as a steamer.

Fellow acquaintance Chen Xunzhou felt as if there was a fire hidden in his body, which made him restless and uneasy. He had several big blisters on his mouth and the official uniform on his body was almost soaked. He still did not dare to slack off and rushed to the place without stopping. Check the irrigation status of farmland in various places.

Some relatively small rivers and streams have long since dried up, and most of the irrigation canals are of no use. We can only rely on manpower to carry bucket after bucket of water from a distance and pour it into the fields. Looking from a distance, the fields are full of water. He is a busy and anxious farmer.

This large piece of land was under Chen Xunzhou's name and was cultivated and cared for by the Chen family. How the grain harvest was directly linked to Chen Xunzhou's interests naturally made him extremely anxious and particularly concerned about it.

Chen Xunzhou looked around and suddenly found a field where no one was carrying water for irrigation. He frowned and asked the master: "Who is planting this land? The whole family goes out to fetch water to irrigate the field. His family doesn't If you say the whole family is coming over, you have to send two long-term workers over, right? But there’s no one there?"

The master said: "This land... should belong to the five-bedroom Chen Yuanen family in Fuxing Town, Yibin County."

There were too many members of the Chen family branch, and Chen Xunzhou had no impression: "Who is it?"

The master put it another way: "It's Chen Peishi's family, and Chen Yuan'en is Chen Peishi's father."

(End of this chapter)