Chapter 576 Intrigue!

After a cup of tea, An Miaoyi smiled and said goodbye to Bai Yuanyuan. Then she looked towards the small garden on the east side and said to the maid beside her:

"Go call the Su sisters over there to come over to me..."

"Yes!"

Because she is three years older than Ye Mingsheng, Bai Yuanyuan has always been very sensitive about age issues. Also because of the age issue, Bai Yuanyuan particularly wants to have a child. This is also the deep reason why she wants to make new clothes to attract Ye Mingsheng.

It is precisely because of this age anxiety that Bai Yuanyuan is extremely envious and jealous of the Su sisters who are very favored as soon as they enter the mansion. In addition, the Su sisters' families are not strong, so Bai Yuanyuan has no scruples and has repeatedly ridiculed the Su sisters and said some sour words.

After talking too much, it was inevitable that the words reached the ears of the Su sisters. Compared with the little white sheep Su Ruyan, the younger sister Su Rumeng seemed more arrogant. Relying on the favor of Ye Mingsheng, she did not give in to Bai Yuanyuan. She also deliberately said some mocking words about Bai Yuanyuan being an old woman and even reported her to Ye Mingsheng.

Ye Mingsheng, who was busy with government affairs, had no time to take care of these matters, so he left them to An Miaoyi to manage. And because Bai Yuanyuan was from An Miaoyi's faction, the matter of reporting the incident was never resolved.

Bai Yuanyuan was not a good person either. Seeing that Su Rumeng not only rubbed salt into her wounds but also dared to report her to Ye Mingsheng, she also made some small moves to make the Su sisters suffer a few losses.

However, under An Miaoyi’s warning, she did not dare to go too far. From then on, the hatred between Bai Yuanyuan and the Su sisters was completely formed. Su Ruyan was better, but every time Su Rumeng and Bai Yuanyuan met, they would say a few sarcastic words...
Hearing An Miaoyi's call, the Su sisters quickly came to An Miaoyi and greeted her respectfully. An Miaoyi nodded slightly and asked with a smile:

"How have you been in the mansion since you came in?"

"Thanks to your care, Madam, my two sisters are living well in the mansion!" Su Ruyan said softly:

Listening to Su Ruyan's soft voice, the smile on An Miaoyi's face became softer. She didn't know why she liked Su Ruyan's quiet and well-behaved appearance.

Turning her gaze to Su Rumeng, An Miaoyi asked again:

"What about you?"

Facing An Miaoyi's question, the arrogant Su Rumeng subconsciously wanted to say something, but before she could speak, Su Ruyan gave her a hidden look. Seeing this, Su Rumeng hesitated for a moment, but finally gave up her idea and said like her sister:
"Reporting to Madam, Rumeng is living well in the mansion!"

Although Su Ruyan's little movements were concealed, they were all seen by An Miaoyi. Although Su Rumeng did not say anything, An Miaoyi also knew what this hot-tempered little girl wanted to say. It was nothing more than an attack on Bai Yuanyuan and indirectly accusing herself of why she helped Bai Yuanyuan.

Although she understood what Su Rumeng was thinking, she didn't say it out loud after all. This saved An Miaoyi some effort. Otherwise, if Su Rumeng had said these words out loud, she would have to punish this little girl to make her understand what rules are...

After casually asking Su Rumeng, An Miaoyi turned her attention back to Su Ruyan, whom she liked more, and said with a smile:

"The weather is getting colder now. You should keep warm in the morning and evening. Remember to get more coal from the housekeeper!"

Hearing An Miaoyi say this, Su Rumeng's eyes flashed with a barely perceptible strange look. A few days ago, Bai Yuanyuan secretly instructed the servants to do some small things with the coal allocated to their sisters' courtyard, resulting in incomplete combustion of the coal in the heater, freezing their sisters for several nights.

And now An Miaoyi mentioned this matter, it seems to be to comfort herself. I believe that with An Miaoyi's words, I believe that the housekeeper dare not do anything. Thinking of this, Su Ruyan bowed to An Miaoyi again and said:
"Thank you for your love, Madam!"

Seeing that Su Ruyan understood what she said, An Miaoyi nodded secretly in her heart. Su Ruyan seemed a little timid, not as arrogant as her sister, but she was also a smart child. Seeing this, An Miaoyi asked again:

“Have you ever read a book at home?”

Although she didn't know why An Miaoyi asked this question, Su Ruyan still answered it in detail:
"Reporting to Madam, I read some with the teacher when I was at home, so I know a few words!"

Listening to Su Ruyan's answer, An Miaoyi said with a smile:

"The old lady believes in Buddhism and needs someone to hand-copy some Buddhist scriptures. Since you can read, I'll leave this task to you. You can also go to the old lady's courtyard more often to chant scriptures and recite Buddhist scriptures with her..."

As soon as these words came out, a look of surprise suddenly appeared in Su Ruyan's beautiful eyes, but it was replaced by joy in an instant. She said very seriously:
"I will always remember the Madam's kindness! I will definitely try my best to do this well and satisfy the old lady!"

After listening to Su Ruyan's answer, An Miaoyi nodded with satisfaction and said:
"That's good!"

After encouraging Su Ruyan a few more times, An Miaoyi left with her maid under the gaze of the Su sisters. When she was far away, Su Rumeng approached her sister and said angrily:
"Sister, why don't you let me speak? That old woman Bai Yuanyuan is so insidious. An Miaoyi is really the same as her. I heard that the Buddhist scriptures used for the old lady are long and complicated. None of Pei Zhixiu and Bai Yuanyuan are willing to do it..."

Su Rumeng wanted to continue complaining, but Su Ruyan blocked her sister's mouth with her little hand and whispered:
"Be careful, walls may have ears. Let's go back and talk later!"

After a cup of tea, the Su sisters returned to their own room. After carefully closing the door, Su Ruyan finally felt relieved and said to her sister:

"An Miaoyi asked me to copy the Buddhist scriptures because it's for the good of us sisters!"

Hearing her sister say this, Su Rumeng said in confusion:

"An Miaoyi and Bai Yuanyuan are so close. That old woman Bai Yuanyuan is relying on An Miaoyi's protection to bully us sisters. If copying Buddhist scriptures is really a good thing, why doesn't she let Bai Yuanyuan do it?" Su Ruyan shook her head and explained:

"Rumeng has many people with backers in this Governor's Mansion. Pei Zhixiu's backer is the Marshal himself, otherwise how could she have such an extraordinary position in this Governor's Mansion? An Miaoyi doesn't dare to control her too much. And Bai Yuanyuan's backers are her two brothers who are high-ranking officials in the Fengwu Army!"

"If you want to be favored in the Governor's Mansion and not be bullied, your own efforts to win favor are important, but the backers behind you are also important!"

“And you know Rumeng at home won’t be able to give us much help…”

Talking about their original families, the expressions of the sisters Ruyan and Rumeng were much gloomier. Although they were born in an official family, because they were born out of wedlock and their mother was redeemed from a brothel, the two sisters had suffered a lot since childhood. As soon as they reached the age to get married, they were given to Ye Mingsheng as gifts.

After calming down for a while, Su Ruyan continued:
"An Miaoyi asked me to copy Buddhist scriptures and accompany the old lady. This is to give us sisters a chance to get close to the old lady. As long as we seize the opportunity to serve the old lady well and make her happy, we will have a backer in the Governor's Mansion and will no longer be rootless duckweed. Bai Yuanyuan will not dare to bully us at will!"

After hearing what her sister said, Su Rumeng suddenly realized, but still said with some concerns:

"Sister, I still can't believe how An Miaoyi could be so kind to give us such a good thing to do. Does she have any tricks waiting for us?"

Regarding her sister's concerns, Su Ruyan thought for a moment and said:
"I have thought about this, but An Miaoyi is the eldest lady, and the commander-in-chief has entrusted all the affairs of the Governor's Office to her. If she wants to harm us sisters, there is no need to go through so much trouble. She can just do anything to make us sisters unable to live or die. So I think she really wants to give us sisters a chance!"

"No matter what, this is an opportunity to get close to the old lady. I will definitely seize it! I will not let others bully us sisters again!"

Su Ruyan said this with absolute certainty, and at the end a hint of determination appeared in her gentle eyes!
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Yijing, Guo Mansion.

A tall, slender, strong, handsome young man came up to Guo Zhiping and asked,

"General, what's the matter that has you called me here so urgently?"

Guo Zhiping looked serious, took a deep look at the man in front of him, and then asked sternly:

"Cheng Ran! Tell me honestly what you have been doing recently?"

Feeling Guo Zhiping's cold tone, Cheng Ran felt a little guilty, but he still said with all his might:

"General, you know I've been busy with Qinglian's marriage recently, and I haven't done anything else!"

Hearing Cheng Ran still being stubborn, Guo Zhiping picked up the teacup on the table without any further ado, threw it at Cheng Ran and said:

"How dare you lie?"

"The Marshal has directly ordered your name to be crossed out from the list of meritorious soldiers. What else do you want to do?"

After hearing this, Cheng Ran stood there in a daze, feeling unspeakably bitter in his heart. Knowing that truth would come to light sooner or later, he did not hide it and explained everything to Guo Zhiping about him and Zhao Sheng's intention to take over Chen's Teahouse!
After hearing Cheng Ran's explanation, Guo Zhiping said with great sorrow:

"Cheng Ran, you are confused! You are now the commander of the Fengwu Army, and you are about to marry the daughter of the Ye family. You have a bright future ahead of you. Why are you still associating with those bad friends? A gentleman loves money but earns it in a proper way. As a soldier of the Fengwu Army, if you want money, you should fight on the battlefield and earn it through military merit. The rewards of our Fengwu Army are very generous in the entire Great Zhou!"

“You don’t take the bright road, but insist on taking the wrong path. You are destroying your own future…”

As the general of the Third Division, Guo Zhiping has always had a reputation in the army for loving his soldiers like his own sons. This time, in order to implement the rewards for the officers and soldiers of the Third Division as soon as possible and let the officers and soldiers get the benefits, he has been paying close attention to the review of the list of meritorious soldiers. When he learned that Ye Mingsheng had passed the review and the procedure had reached the General Staff, he tried his best to urge the General Staff to do this matter.

However, what he never expected was that just one day later, Cheng Ran's name was crossed out from the list that had been approved by Ye Mingsheng, although Cheng Ran was not the one who followed him in the beginning, but joined later.

However, because Cheng Ran is smart, reliable, brave and resourceful, Guo Zhiping admires him very much and even treats him as his own brother. Otherwise, he would not have lowered his face to help him propose marriage to Ye's fifth uncle. So when he learned that Cheng Ran's name was crossed out from the list, he immediately found his good friend, Deputy Chief of Staff Zhao Han, to inquire about the situation.

In response to Guo Zhiping's questioning, Zhao Han said nothing, but even without Zhao Han saying anything, Guo Zhiping understood the seriousness of the matter.

You must know that the list he submitted had already been reviewed and approved by Ye Mingsheng. Under normal circumstances, this list would be implemented by the General Staff Department. Even for He Jingyun, the Chief of the General Staff, it would be very difficult to revise it again, and he even needed to report to Ye Mingsheng...
Combined with the fact that Zhao Han was so secretive, even if he didn't say anything, Guo Zhiping understood the answer to the matter, so he immediately called Cheng Ran over to ask what had happened!
Listening to Guo Zhiping's scolding, Cheng Ran smiled bitterly and then knelt down in front of Guo Zhiping with a plop. He kowtowed three times and said with great regret:

"General, you are right! It was me, Cheng Ran, who was bewitched and blinded by greed, and failed to live up to your appreciation and cultivation!"

"At this point, I have done what I deserved and there is nothing more to say! I accept it whether I am beheaded or cut in half."

"But I only hope that you, General, will take care of my family in Yuyang in the future because I followed you to fight, so that they don't have to suffer any consequences. Cheng Ran will be grateful for your kindness even in his grave!"

Feeling the sincerity in Cheng Ran's words, Guo Zhiping was also moved with sympathy. If Cheng Ran was kneeling on the ground now, begging him to keep him alive, Guo Zhiping would definitely harden his heart and give up on him completely. However, Cheng Ran's attitude of "one person does the job and one person takes the responsibility" made Guo Zhiping hesitate...
(End of this chapter)