I traveled with them to the Northern Song Dynasty

Chapter 45: Didn't even leave the Novice Village

...

In the Tihe Hall.

Ye Shiyun swallowed a large mouthful of osmanthus cake with great effort, pounding her chest as she said, "This crappy cake... I wouldn't have eaten it even if you begged me to in my past life. Not only is it unpalatable, but the calories... are also extremely high!"

After saying that, Ye Shiyun took another big bite and started to eat voraciously.

Zhang Chun, Li Lin, and Yuan Qingcheng were not much better than Ye Shiyun, and they also ate the osmanthus cake in big mouthfuls.

Ma Xiaojiao said on the side: "Slow down, these cakes are all here. If you like them, I will ask Xiduo to bring them to you later."

"Who is Xiduo?" Yuan Qingcheng asked.

"My maid." Ma Xiaojiao replied.

The four girls looked at Ma Xiaojiao at the same time, and Ye Shiyun confirmed with envy and jealousy: "You have become a maid?!"

"On the first day I arrived at Zhao Ya's place, he assigned me a maid. I've been too busy lately, so he said he would assign me a few more maids with strong hands-on skills to help me share the work, but I haven't had time to choose, so there is only Xiduo. Otherwise, I would have a lot of people following me now." Ma Xiaojiao said with some pride.

"You're killing people, aren't you? We're suffering here, but you're showing off to us how many maids you have. Jiaojiao, you've become a bad person!" Ye Shiyun said angrily.

"If we want to eat something decent, we have to wait for a long time and queue up to get a few leftovers. But you have been living a life of having everything handed to you. It's really the same person but different fate!" Yuan Qingcheng also complained.

"If I had known this, I would have competed for the position of palace maid. If I really go out, at least I can do something meaningful. It is better than wasting time here. Those glass windows are your masterpieces, right?" Li Lin said.

"I helped Zhao Ya build a glass factory, and I've already produced samples of colorless glass, mirrors, telescopes, and glasses for him."

"Actually, Zhao Ya is just lucky."

"Tong Guan led his men out for three days and found several arid or semi-arid lakes and swamps. They followed my method and brought back soil. Then, under my guidance, the craftsmen extracted very pure natural natron from the soil of one of the arid lakes."

At this point, Ma Xiaojiao changed her tone and said, "You have no idea how high the skills of skilled craftsmen in this era are. We really underestimated the ancients before. I am now considering whether I should make a machine tool."

"It's not easy to make a machine tool, right?" Li Lin asked.

"If I were an eighth-level fitter, it would be possible for me to make the simplest machine tool by hand. The problem is that I am not a fitter. Also, today's steel cannot do that either," said Ma Xiaojiao.

"So, there's no hope?" Yuan Qingcheng asked.

"Not necessarily. I can make paper crafts. I'll make one with paper first and let those skilled craftsmen try to convert paper into wood. Maybe they can make a copycat wooden machine tool that will be of some use. Then we can slowly think of ways to upgrade it. Anyway, Zhao Ya has handed over his entire factory to me, and I can give all his craftsmen my orders. He gives me money when I ask for it and he gives me people when I ask for them. I can do whatever I want and have fun with it." Ma Xiaojiao said.

It can be seen that Ma Xiaojiao is very relaxed and happy.

"That's great. At least you have started your struggle, unlike the rest of us who are still standing still." Li Lin said enviously.

"Not really, right? Sister Chun has already gone to the Empress Dowager Xiang's side, right? The Empress Dowager Xiang is the most powerful woman of this era. Even Zhao Ya has to curry favor with her. How could Sister Chun not do anything when she is by her side?" Ma Xiaojiao was very surprised.

Li Lin pursed her lips at Zhang Chun: "Ask her."

Ma Xiaojiao looked at Zhang Chun. "This old feudalist, this stubborn old woman never listens to me. She keeps talking about rules and regulations all the time. When something big happened, I kindly reminded her, but before I could finish, she had the palace official slap me in the face. Fortunately, Empress Xiansu came to my rescue in time, otherwise I would have been in trouble," Zhang Chun said through gritted teeth.

"This... can't be?" Ma Xiaojiao was very surprised.

"I originally thought that it wouldn't happen. Empress Dowager Xiang is a political strongman who can decide who the new emperor will be. Such a person should be treated with respect and courtesy, but the reality is that she simply won't listen to me!" Zhang Chun said angrily.

"Why don't you say it? It's because you were too eager to show yourself and chose the wrong time. Moreover, you were flattering your superiors. In front of the superiors, you were submissive and didn't dare to speak, which is why you were punished." Li Lin couldn't bear it anymore and told the real reason.

"You were not there, how can you smear someone's innocence out of thin air!" Zhang Chun argued cunningly.

Li Lin was very critical of Zhang Chun on this matter. She even believed that the reason they hadn't made any progress, and couldn't even leave the Novice Village, was all because of Zhang Chun's excessive scheming, his frequent small moves, and his unwillingness to work together.

So Li Lin responded sharply, "I wasn't there, but the thing is, this matter has spread throughout Cide Palace. Several palace maids who were present swore that when Empress Dowager Xiang was discussing with Han Zhongyan whether to accept the Xixia people's peace proposal, you said 'no' from the sidelines, and then you held your tongue for a long time, unable to come up with a reason. Empress Dowager Xiang was angry that you embarrassed her in front of outsiders, so she had Gong Zheng slap you in the face."

Li Lin turned to Ma Xiaojiao and said, "She usually speaks clearly and clearly in front of us, but she was so nervous in front of Empress Dowager Xiang and Han Zhongyan that she dared not speak. It's ok, but she also implicated Zheng Yaban and Wang Yaban."

"What's going on?" Ma Xiaojiao asked.

"Do you know how Zheng Yaban and Wang Yaban recommended her to Empress Dowager Xiang? Zheng Yaban and Wang Yaban recommended her to take over their shift, saying that she had the talent to be a Yaban. But with this kind of performance, she embarrassed Empress Dowager Xiang. How could Zheng Yaban and Wang Yaban not be scolded by Empress Dowager Xiang? I guess Zheng Yaban and Wang Yaban have to marry Zhao Yata, otherwise they will definitely be punished together." Li Lin said indignantly.

"Yaban Zheng and Yaban Wang are very nice to us. Not only do they let us clean the place, they also moved us to a room with two people. Moreover, if there are any rewards from the Empress Dowager, they will definitely give us a share even if they don't eat them themselves. If it weren't for their care, we really wouldn't be able to stay here." Yuan Qingcheng echoed.

"These two women are really good. Zhao Ya got a great deal by marrying them." Even Ye Shiyun praised Zheng Xiansu and Wang Yisu highly.

Zhang Chun stopped quibbling because she knew that Li Lin and Yuan Qingcheng were not blaming her for implicating Zheng Xiansu and Wang Yisu, but were blaming her for wasting the opportunity.

In Li Lin's words, "If you can't do it, let me do it. At least I can speak. If you have anything to say, you can let me say it for you."

in fact--

The bottom line is that Li Lin and Yuan Qingcheng no longer trust Zhang Chun.

Furthermore, Zhang Chun had already explained to Li Lin and the others, "Li Qianshun colluded with Liao envoys to poison his mother, Empress Zhaojian Wenmu, also known as Empress Dowager Xiaoliang. Now that Western Xia is purging the influence of foreign relatives, the political situation is extremely unstable. This is a godsend opportunity for the Song Dynasty to use military force against Western Xia. From my starting point, I am not wrong."

Zhang Chun even confessed to Li Lin and the others: "I do have a problem of being unable to speak when I am nervous, but Zhao Ya can tolerate my faults. Empress Dowager Xiang is obviously not a wise ruler and is not worthy of my service."

But Li Lin and Yuan Qingcheng didn't listen to any of this, and Ye Shiyun was a person who cared about nothing except her own quality of life.

This resulted in Zhang Chun feeling a bit isolated after Ma Xiaojiao left.

In this situation, Zhang Chun felt that no matter what he said, it would be meaningless.

So Zhang Chun said to herself, "Cows and sheep travel in herds, but tigers walk alone. Although you have abilities, all you know are just icing on the cake. Only I can be the master of this world. If you don't cling to my big legs and isolate me, you will regret it in the future..."

……

(End of this chapter)