Chapter 155

"If it were me, I would pretend that someone is framing me to make me angry at another person while making others believe that someone else is the mastermind behind it. This way, the two concubines would quarrel and become hostile towards each other. You might even gain an ally in the process. As for the true culprit, let them be. If it turns out to be one of the people you’ve chosen, then it’s her luck. But if it isn’t... She will surely become suspicious." Yueqian lightly tapped Liu Sun’s forehead.

"You must not let those people know that you are losing. Change your mindset to be the one to play this chess. Don’t act too weak. Show weakness only to those who deserve to see it, as you have been doing. But to those who shouldn’t see you weak, take control and handle them first. Anyway, those behind your inner manor should be eliminated entirely. Whoever you can’t control, get rid of them." Yueqian advised.

Liu Sun seemed intelligent and carried herself well. However, she had also been very fortunate so far, with many friends helping her. Some situations she stumbled upon solutions quite unexpectedly. While luck is indeed a skill, it doesn’t always favor everyone.

If Liu Sun wants to survive, she needs to be more decisive. How can she continue to drift around like a white lotus? If it weren’t for Liu Sun being able to help Tang Mujin, Yueqian wouldn’t have given her this much advice.

After hearing Yueqian’s plan, both Liu Sun and her maid were stunned into silence. Initially, they had doubts. They didn’t want to believe that Yueqian had planned everything herself from childhood until now. Sometimes it might have been coincidence or something else. However, after hearing Yueqian’s recent plan, both mistress and maid felt as if they had been hit hard on the head!

At this moment, Liu Sun felt utterly foolish. How could she have dared to become an enemy of someone like this? Her maid felt the same way. She used to think that this Eldest Young Miss Qin was just a fool, easily following the path laid out by her young miss. Although she once wondered if anyone could really be this stupid, she eventually dismissed the thought.

Hearing such a clever plan that could handle three enemies at once, even Liu Sun could never have imagined it!!

What if Liu Sun decided to make Second Concubine and Fifth Concubine fight each other? These two already didn’t get along. She could pretend to investigate and ultimately conclude that it was Fifth Concubine who framed her. Secretly, she could let Fifth Concubine find out that it was actually Second Concubine who plotted against her. Even the evidence that led Liu Sun to discover that Fifth Concubine was the culprit could come from Second Concubine.

After this, Third Concubine would hate Fifth Concubine. Whether or not Fifth Concubine gets punished would be up to her. Nevertheless, Fifth Concubine and Second Concubine would certainly become enemies, and Third Concubine would be wary of both of them. 𝘧𝓇𝑒𝑒𝑤ℯ𝑏𝓃𝘰𝑣ℯ𝘭.𝘤ℴ𝘮

At that point, someone might try to befriend Liu Sun to plan against others together. The real perpetrator wouldn’t know who it was. However, they would certainly be paranoid, wondering if their actions had been discovered. Eventually, they might reveal themselves or be too cautious to act for a while.

The best part is that Liu Sun would gain sympathy from others. Being new and already plotted against, used as a tool, and then destroyed, her reputation would surely improve greatly. She could prove herself, maintain her virtue, and seek justice for Third Concubine, even though the latter disliked her.

Third Concubine’s reputation would be ruined due to her foolishness and prejudice. She lost her child but gained nothing good, while Liu Sun would gain everything if this plan succeeded!

Yueqian had given such a brilliant solution. If Liu Sun still couldn’t manage it, she didn’t deserve to live any longer!

While the mistress and maid were lost in their thoughts, Yueqian tapped her fingers on the table, making a "knock knock" sound to get their attention. They looked up to see Yueqian already smiling at them. Of course, that smile was not friendly at all.

"Don’t forget to go to the Tang Manor and say that Yueqian sent you."

"And what if the Eldest Young Miss Tang doesn’t believe us?" Yueqian didn’t reply, she only smiled faintly.

The next morning, Yueqian had another visitor. This time it was Tang Mujin herself, who came running breathlessly. She said that Liu Sun had arrived at her manor, claiming that Yueqian had sent her to check on the condition of the First Furen Tang. Naturally, the long-standing enmity made Tang Mujin skeptical, but since the other party dared to mention Yueqian’s name, Mujin came to verify, unable to send them away outright.

"Yueqian, did you really tell that shameless Liu family to come?"

"Yes, I have an agreement with her. From now on, she will be our ally."

"Can we trust her? Those cunning foxes..." Tang Mujin seemed like she wanted to say more but was stopped by Yueqian raising her hand.

"Sometimes, you need a fox to deal with a fox. Let her help in your Tang Manor. In return, we might have to help her stay in the General’s manor." Yueqian suggested.

"Are you using her for my sake?" Hearing that, Tang Mujin’s eyes widened. She didn’t need to wait for Yueqian to confirm; her face already lit up with joy.

"You’re still the one who always think of me. Alright... In that case, I’ll return to the manor and let her help my mother. From now on, I’ll support her, but I’ll also work her hard." The young girl acted as if she were the clever one. Following Yueqian had indeed made her smarter.

After the girl left, Yueqian could only shake her head. No matter how you look at it, Mujin is still young. Entrusting her to someone as shrewd as Liu Sun seemed like the right decision. Liu Sun currently lacked power, so being an ally of Tang Mujin would enhance Liu Sun’s influence. Meanwhile, Mujin would benefit from Liu Sun’s protection. It was a mutually beneficial arrangement.Moreover, the friends of the heroine or the hero always have good endings. As long as they are not the second male lead or the villain, they will have a happy life by the end.

Tang Mujin returned to the manor to discuss with Liu Sun about treating her mother, which meant that Yueqian didn’t need to call her junior disciple to handle this matter. This also provided a reason for Tang Mujin to become close to Liu Sun without anyone suspecting Yueqian.

Liu Sun would become the person who saved Tang Mujin’s mother, and from then on, they would become friends and openly support each other. No one would suspect their relationship. After Yueqian left for another Region, she could rest assured about Mujin and focus on promoting her husband’s interests.

Even though she had found a solution for Tang Mujin, there were still many matters Yueqian had to deal with. Establishing the association under her husband’s name was progressing well and becoming popular among the middle and lower classes. However, such social restructuring would undoubtedly impact the upper class.

First, as fewer people sold themselves into servitude, the upper class faced difficulties. They could no longer easily find servants. If they needed workers, the poor preferred to take jobs on a per-task basis. Or if they really needed people, they had to offer better conditions, which was a loss for them.

Servants who were once oppressed could now start to act hard to get. They could earn money by taking on jobs, no longer having to risk their lives for their family to survive.

Yueqian’s concerns were indeed justified. Two days later, a royal decree arrived at her manor, summoning both her and her husband. This decree from the Emperor was managed by the Minister of Administration, along with the Chief of the Interior, the Chief Treasurer, and the royal secretary in attendance.

It seemed this issue had become more significant than she anticipated. Nevertheless, these prominent figures were all familiar faces. Yueqian was called to the meeting along with her husband, Mu Heng. Although he had never faced such pressure before, his calm demeanor prevented him from showing any signs of anxiety. With Yueqian, his beautiful wife, by his side, Mu Heng refrained from displaying any weakness.

In the meeting room they had been summoned to, the atmosphere was quite tense. Before them lay documents made from the finest paper the Region could produce. The reports written by the scholars were undoubtedly better than those from outside, yet they couldn’t compare to the handwriting of Yueqian or even Mu Heng, who had recently resumed using a brush.

"I never thought I’d meet such esteemed nobles again," Yueqian said with a smile. However, the atmosphere did not lighten in the slightest. On the contrary... Yueqian smiled like this, it was clear that it was merely an act.

The Minister of Administration secretly sighed. He found the woman before him quite annoying. Previously, whenever he had to attend events at the Qin Manor, he would avoid her if he could. Conversing with someone like Yueqian made him uncomfortable.

However, the Chief of the Interior and the Chief Treasurer had somewhat peculiar expressions. They couldn’t afford to be as indifferent as the Minister of Administration. Their positions were equivalent to that of Official Qin, the head of the Qin family and the other party’s father. Therefore, out of respect for Qin Mazhu, they had to force a friendly smile at her, even though they would have preferred to send her away.

The royal secretary glanced at Yueqian once. He wasn’t particularly interested in her. If not for the royal decree, he wouldn’t have any dealings with a woman from the Qin family. Nevertheless, he wasn’t a fool. Serving in the palace for a long time, he was well-versed in palace intrigues.

To say Yueqian was foolish was his assessment. He thought she was foolish because she had tarnished her own reputation. Although he didn’t know her true intentions, it was very difficult to restore a ruined reputation. It would have been better to maintain a neutral standing.

Of course, the royal secretary didn’t know what Yueqian knew. This novel had been predetermined with Yueqian destined to be the villainess. The one who would become the wife of Young General was supposed to be Liu Sun alone. The thread of fate that had been set would ensure that, no matter how well the plan was laid out, events would unfold to reignite the love story between the two.

This time, even though Young General knew that Yueqian wasn’t inherently evil, he never felt inclined to approach her. His stubbornness towards Yueqian remained unchanged, only the issues they were stubborn about had shifted. On the other hand, Liu Sun, who was originally supposed to be the hero’s pure-hearted lover according to the plot, ended up being used by Young General as a tool to hurt Yueqian.

Therefore, as observed, regardless of how feelings might change, Young General and Liu Sun were meant to be together, while Yueqian would be with Mu Heng, becoming a married couple.

From the perspective of the royal secretary, he knew that Yueqian was hiding her true self, masking it with her malicious behavior. He was reluctant to interfere with her decisions. If it weren’t for her recent excessive actions, even the Emperor, who had been keeping an eye on her movements, wouldn’t have summoned her to meddle with the nobles again.

Her and her husband’s actions in the past few days had greatly boosted the reputation of the person from the Mu family. The middle and lower classes almost worshipped Mu Heng now.

Some exaggeratedly claimed that the man of the Mu family had given them and their families a new lease on life. One person saying it might be surprising, but when hundreds or thousands say it! Now, the Mu family had practically become their deity!

But such fame couldn’t be allowed to flourish. Only the Emperor deserved to be seen as a demigod. If this continued, it posed a significant risk of spiraling out of control, which is he had received the royal decree.

Of course, even though the officials were unhappy with the lower classes daring to defy them, from the Region’s perspective, it was more beneficial overall.

When people have more to eat, the taxes they pay will also increase. In the past, when the poor sold themselves into servitude, the only money that was paid came from the nobles. The nobles had to count the heads of the servants in their households and pay that amount to the authorities. Naturally, this was a very low rate. The nobles believed it was they who took care of the servants, so they felt that protection fees or other maintenance costs were unnecessary.

However, for the common folk, the care of the Region fell to the authorities. They understood this, and without nobles to protect or represent them, how could the common folk dare to defy government orders?Thus, the revenue flowing into the royal treasury increased significantly. How could the people in the palace not be pleased with this?