Xu Jie stared at Ning Yan in a daze.
Ning Yan looked at Xu Jie with firm eyes.
The two were silent for a while, until Xu Jie spoke to break the silence. His voice was hoarse, with surprise, shock, and disbelief: "Senior Sister Ning, you just said, you wanted to serve me?" He racked his brains but never thought that Ning Yan would make this move.
Compared to Xu Jie's gaffe, Ning Yan's reaction was much calmer. She said calmly, "Wen Zhu didn't hear wrongly. I do have this plan. I know this is an embarrassing request, but I don't want to be taken care of by you for a long time."
Xu Jie hurriedly said: "Senior Sister Ning, you..."
Ning Yan knew what he wanted to say.
"I know Wen Zhu is a man of honor, but 'friendship' is the most fragile thing in the world." Ning Yan had a good night's rest, and her spirits were much better than yesterday. However, she had lost too much weight recently, and her cheeks were slightly sunken. Even though she looked haggard, she could not hide the determination in her eyes. "It's not that I don't trust Wen Zhu, but I trust him too much. So I hope to gain a foothold with my own ability."
She couldn't let her daughter feel like a dependent.
Now that Xingning is away, she has to carry the hopes of both of them.
Ning Yan said: "Although I am an ordinary woman, I have no literary talent and no martial courage, but I can do the work of clerical planning!"
Xu Jie moved his lips.
He wanted to persuade Ning Yan to change her mind but didn't know where to start. He knew the temperament of this Senior Sister Ning very well. She seemed gentle as water, but in fact she was hard and stubborn. Once she made a decision, she would not change her mind easily... He didn't doubt Ning Yan's ability.
Ning Yan is strong in every aspect, and this is due to the banquet master's proof.
The only regret is that I was born as a girl.
If I were a man, I would be no less than anyone else.
After a long time, he sighed softly and spoke frankly to Ning Yan.
"Senior Sister Ning, I am so happy that you are serving me with your ability, but have you ever thought about the rumors that may be spread in the outside world? I don't mind, but I can't bear to see you being criticized." This is what Xu Jie is most worried about.
Ning Yan knew what was going on.
But he still asked, "Rumors?"
Xu Jie took a deep breath and said, "It's not that there have been no precedents for women serving in government before, but without exception, they were all..."
What followed was somewhat embarrassing for him.
How could he say it in front of Ning Yan
Saying it out loud would dirty her ears.
Ning Yan asked again: "What are they without exception?"
"… Senior Sister, what should I say?"
If Xu Jie didn't say anything, Ning Yan would finish for him: "I know very well what happened to those female staff members. They shared their worries and made plans for their lords during the day, and worked for them at night. Is this what you want to say? I know that the world despises and discriminates against them in various ways."
Xu Jie pursed his lips and said nothing.
In fact, Ning Yan's words were very implicit, and the general meaning was this. Among the male subordinates, there were those with stunning looks who were willing to part with their masters, and people would take them as good stories or gossip after drinking. No matter how outrageous the rumors were, in the end, they only added a little eroticism to the relationship between the monarch and his subjects, and overall it was harmless. Female subordinates were different, and they were naturally prejudiced and even slandered by the world.
For a beautiful woman who is extremely intelligent and capable, the first thing people notice is not her intelligence, but her face. With such a face, it seems that any achievement can be covered with an unspeakable deal.
This is the prejudice of the world.
Even more deadly is the prejudice from those in power.
For male subordinates who are out of control, superiors often adopt a policy of checks and balances, but for female subordinates who are too smart to be controlled, the first reaction of superiors is to take them as their own women. As long as such a mark is put on them, they can be put in a heavy shackle that cannot be escaped. When they are completely out of control, they can be thrown into the backyard and locked up.
The real power can be easily taken back.
The superiors set an example for the inferiors, and the methods adopted by the superiors also make the world more stubborn and rigid - women who enter officialdom are bound to become a delicate flower in the superiors' backyard that can be picked at will.
If another woman entered officialdom, the procedure would be the same as that of the previous ones.
No exceptions!
This was the main reason why Xu Jie was so shocked, worried and panicked when Ning Yan said she wanted to take up a career in government - he certainly knew that she would not have such beastly thoughts, and he also knew that Ning Yan's decision to take up a career in government was a serious one, just to survive.
But how can we stop outsiders from talking
The world is tolerant of men, but mean and even vicious to women... How could he tolerate his most respected senior sister being criticized, framed and smeared? The more outstanding she becomes in the future, the more rumors and gossips she will face.
"Senior Sister Ning..."
There was a hint of pleading in Xu Jie's tone.
Ning Yan said: "I don't care about rumors."
Xu Jie looked at her and said, "I care!"
Ning Yan said: "Xingning can bear the misunderstanding of the world and still practice his own morality. I am definitely not worse than him."
Xu Jie: “…”
His earnest words were powerless in front of these words. No wonder Senior Sister Ning and Yan An were so compatible - except for their different genders, their temperaments were completely the same...
"That's fine..."
If I refuse again, Senior Sister Ning will probably be angry.
Xu Jie didn't want to hurt the relationship between the two.
Just as he was about to agree, the attendant in charge of security outside the door suddenly came over with a box. As soon as he saw the pattern on the box, he knew it was a letter from his cousin who was not careful. Xu Jie secretly breathed a sigh of relief, and Ning Yan did not continue to force him.
When I opened the box, it was almost full of letters from home.
Xu Jie picked up one of the letters according to the time and muttered, "Wen Shi is such a kid, he keeps talking more and more nonsense..."
Each letter from home is thicker than the last.
Although the Xu family is well-off and has no shortage of money, nor of pens, ink, paper, and inkstones, they can't just make them so carelessly... It's not easy for him, the head of the family, to make money and hold several positions. Xu Jie complained in his heart, reading ten lines at a glance, and all he saw was nonsense.
Xu Jie: “…”
I read one letter after another.
Truly understand what it means to talk nonsense.
They were all about the various things that the Ten Crows had seen and heard, as well as all kinds of nonsense, such as how he followed his lord's footsteps with two thousand soldiers and killed the Ten Crow tribes so hard that they screamed and cried, and how he sneaked into the capital of the Ten Crows with a few hundred soldiers and chopped off the heads of many Ten Crow nobles.
It’s a pity that I haven’t learned the trick of dyeing hair.
He also told him to let his clansmen who were doing business outside pay attention to this secret skill, as he wanted to make a name for himself.
The lord said that green is more eye-catching. Once you stand in the crowd, you will definitely attract attention and become the focus of the whole audience. You will be the most dazzling and brightest one!
He also wanted to follow the example of Monk Sha and use the heads of the Ten Crows to string together a unique necklace of human heads to give to his beloved cousin as a birthday gift for the current year...
Xu Jie: “…”
He felt sick just thinking about it.
What kind of aesthetic is this
Shen Jun didn't despise him, probably because his ancestors had blinded Shen Jun's eyes. Thinking of Shen Jun, Xu Jie sighed again. Shen Tang handed the best He Yin to him. If he allowed the families in Tianhai to interfere in He Yin and monopolize the farmland water conservancy and mineral production business... the common people that Shen Jun cherished and loved would live a hard life without enough food, and he could not agree to it no matter what.
Saw the last letter from home—
Xu Jie thought it was just nonsense, but he was shocked after reading just two lines - Shen, Shen Jun is actually a girl
Daughter's body...
daughter…
female…
Ning Yan was just lowering her eyes in thought, when she heard Xu Jie slam the table, and she almost jumped up on the spot and blurted out something.
"impossible!"
"Absolutely impossible!"
He would rather believe that his cousin is actually his cousin!