The maid's road to success

Li Changan left extremely happily. Once out of everyone's sight, he immediately put away the smile on his face. It was not because An Zizhong needed him, but because he needed An Zizhong to help him get rid of the control of his uncle's family.

Since childhood, his uncle had chosen the smartest and most beautiful child from his family and his aunt's family and brought him up to raise him. Li Changan also thought that his uncle liked him. But when he grew up, he found out that Youmei was not healthy in the womb and had been feeling uncomfortable every few days since she was born. She had been raised in a medicine jar and was afraid that she would not live long in the future and would have difficulty in having children.

Li Changan knew at that time that his uncle was not as good a person as he appeared to be. They just wanted to pick an excellent nephew to grow up with his cousin, and then marry his cousin when he grew up and treat him like a fairy.

Li Changan likes his cousin, who is beautiful and talented. But every time he sees his aunt, he is reminded to be nice to You'er, to cherish You'er, to think of giving You'er all the good things first, and to get all the ideas that You'er likes.

Every time, no matter how much he cherishes and values ​​this thing, as long as he doesn't give his cousin something good or doesn't give her something she likes, his aunt will say that he is an ungrateful person and doesn't care about his cousin.

Youmei never refuted when she listened to him. Her uncle would say that her aunt was too mean, but that was just talk. Li Changan was the smartest child in the Li family. He knew that this was not really for his own good, but to pave the way for his daughter and ensure her future happiness. After all, no normal man would want to marry a wife who was infertile and always in a state of taking medicine.

An Zizhong might be his variable. Everything he has was given by his uncle. It is too difficult for him to deviate from the path arranged for him by his uncle and aunt. The Li family has always benefited from the Qi family, so they are naturally willing to sacrifice their son in exchange for more benefits.

In the past, he had thought about treating his cousin well and taking care of her until the end, but his aunt had already tried many times, hoping that he would not marry another woman even after his cousin passed away, and that the child would only be registered under his cousin's name. In her words, she was threatening him with the future of the Li family.

He was grateful for his uncle's upbringing, but did not want to repay him with his future. What's more, his life in the Qi family was not as peaceful as it seemed. The servants' insults, his aunt's contempt, his uncle's beatings, and his cousin's obsession all made him very painful.

As long as he keeps relying on Qi Yangchuan's power, he will never be able to get rid of the Qi family. What's more, in order for him to always be good to Youmei, he will not have a good future in this life and will definitely be suppressed by his uncle. But he has a photographic memory since he was a child and is very talented in learning. He has lofty ambitions and wants to become a superior person. Why should he sacrifice everything for a cousin who doesn't really love him?

No matter how difficult the road ahead is, no matter whether he can get everything he wants in the future, he still wants to give it a try even if it means he will be torn to pieces.

Li Changan returned to Wen'en Pavilion, nodded to An Zizhong, and went to the second floor to check the situation. Only An Zizhong and Li Changan knew that he still had a share of the profits in Wen'en Pavilion.

He felt that Wen'en Pavilion would definitely make money as early as when An Zizhong proposed it. Some students of Gongzhou Academy were unwilling to show their articles to students of other academies. It was only after he lobbied them privately and arranged for his uncle to entertain those people that they were happy to show their good articles.

The Li family would send him money every year, but he didn't dare to keep it. His uncle wanted to control everything about him and not let him have any second thoughts, so he always refused.

Or his mother was worried, so she always secretly asked someone to give him money to the academy. He rarely spent it, and saved it all for An Zizhong to open Wen'en Pavilion together. An Zizhong took 40% of the profit, Hua Yesheng took 20%, himself took 20%, his uncle took 10%, and the dean of the academy took 10%.

An Zizhong had a sharp mind, especially recently, he put several books on the second floor that he and the dean had compiled of the essays of the candidates who had passed the imperial examinations in the past ten years, as well as the dean's opinions on each article. It attracted many families with students and some money to copy them, at 5 taels per book.

Nowadays, almost every day, there are people who are about to take part in or plan to take part in the Autumn Examination, ordering tea and reading articles on the first floor, and also displaying their own articles to exchange and learn with others. On the second floor, there are students' fathers, brothers, and relatives who come to hire book boys to copy the article materials annotated by the dean.

There were many mistresses on the third floor who came to buy things from time to time. They would stand in the side rooms and observe whether there were any good students below, planning to arrange a marriage for their daughters and sisters after the results of the autumn examination were announced.

All the money from the prominent families in Gongzhou was sent to Wen'en Pavilion. An Zizhong called Hua Yesheng and others to practice calligraphy. The bookboys randomly picked up an article and read it, and they followed and wrote it down. If there was a wrong word or a stain, they would take away their favorite item.

In the wing they have been using, there is now a plate of silver, which is Hua Yesheng's pocket money for the next six months. If he makes a mistake, he will take away an ingot to improve the meals of the children in the charity hall. There is also a stack of storybooks, all of which are newly written by An Zizhong. They are Zhou Chunsheng's favorites and are out of print. They will not be sold until next year in Wen'en Pavilion. If he wants to read them in advance, he has to be very careful.

"Please help me look at the account books and practice arithmetic. It's not enough to just write well."

Li Changan, who was originally making fun of the two people, had his smile frozen on his face. Hua Yesheng carefully put down his pen before he dared to point at Li Changan and mock him.

An Lan rarely stayed in Gongzhou Prefecture later. Today, he hurried to Wen'en Pavilion, greeted the shopkeeper, and went to the backyard through the side door. An Zizhong received the shopkeeper's signal to let them practice on their own, and he went to the backyard himself.

"I have contacted my grandfather's former apprentices. When my father took over the escort agency, he disliked them because they were only loyal to my grandfather, so he drove them all away and kept suppressing them. Two of them are no longer in Gongzhou. I have heard from three of them through letters. They are orphans rescued by my grandfather. Their names are Nanfeng, Nanyu, and Nanwu. They were the worst harmed by my father. They are all willing to work for their master. Moreover, my grandfather has done them a favor, so they are all willing to work with me."

An Zizhong nodded and motioned for him to continue.

"According to the master's instructions, we have taken in 23 children aged between six and twelve in the charity hall. We have already placed them in a farm on the outskirts of the city. They have all started training with Uncle Nan, but none of us can read."

An Zizhong hesitated for a moment, and asked An Lan to take the money to Yunyang Academy to find a teacher named Gu, and told him that he had a way to cure his grandson's illness. He asked him if he was willing to teach those children, but on the condition that he knew that he must not tell anyone what happened after he went to the manor.

An Lan took the banknotes and loose change from An Zizhong and quietly left again. To take revenge, he couldn't do it without his own people, and he couldn't just find someone casually. Only those who had been bullied in the charity hall could find someone who could kill him. However, time was short, and it was not realistic to train someone who would defend the master's interests until death. It was best to rely on the Wuxin Powder newly developed by An Qing.

There is no antidote for taking Wuxin Powder, and the patient can only take the suppressed drug once every three months. Otherwise, the pain will be unbearable and life will be worse than death. Within a week, the whole person will die of broken bones and blood loss.

However, as long as the suppressed drugs are taken regularly, there will be no effect. According to An Qing's words, it is like storing a poison in the Dantian. After taking the suppressed drugs, Wu Xinsuan will be driven into the Dantian and taken away obediently. Once the drugs are not suppressed, they will spread throughout the body.

As time gradually approached August, many students from surrounding counties came to Gongzhou City to take the exam. The inns and restaurants were packed, and Wen'en Pavilion became even more lively. People lined up before it opened in the morning, and the number of guards and thugs doubled to prevent trouble.

The chief examiner sent from Kyoto arrived in Gongzhou with a full entourage and entered the provincial capital in a grand procession.

An Zizhong stood on the second floor of Wen'en Pavilion, looking at Gao Ting, who was riding a horse ostentatiously on the main street, holding the window frame tightly with both hands. He tried hard to control himself from being impulsive. His nails turned white, his teeth were clenched, and his eyes were red. An Qing behind him was trembling like him, restraining himself, not to tear off the laughing face.

Every member of the Gao family, and every person related to the Gao family, is the murderer of their fathers and brothers' tragic deaths. Now this person is walking around in broad daylight, and they can only hide in a place where no one else can see and watch. Even if the hatred makes their bones ache, they have to endure it.

We can't act rashly now. Once we are discovered, we will die. How can we talk about revenge? But as long as he is alive, we must kill all the Gao family members and torture the bitch Queen Mother to death. We must scrape off their flesh piece by piece in front of the tablets of our fathers and brothers.

Now we have to continue to endure and strengthen our own strength so that we can make our enemies pay with blood.

"How is the development of the Huaji Pill going?"

It was not until all the men from Gaoting had disappeared that An Zizhong closed the window and looked at An Qing and said.

"It's starting to work. We'll succeed if we try a few more times."

An Zizhong nodded. Although he couldn't deal with the Gao family now, it was okay to let an insignificant Gao Ting vent their anger. After taking the Huaji Pill, a person's vitality would be melted away bit by bit. The more they had sex, the greater the effect of the Huaji Pill would be.

If a person has no interest in sex, he can barely last three years, but if he has sex too often, he can only last three to five months. The only diagnosis is that he has overindulged himself and drained his body.

Doctors will prescribe some medicines to replenish essence and energy, but the more these medicines are taken, the faster the death will occur.

An Zizhong decided to take action when Qi Yangchuan sent those women to Gao Ting.

He does not have the ability to get close to Gao Ting's food now, and Qi Yangchuan will also send people to protect Gao Ting, so his target is the young girls he purchased.

Gao Ting is also a scum who is cursed behind the back by everyone in Kyoto. However, all the big families that have been immersed in the capital for many years know that Gao Ting likes to play with women the most, especially those young flowers who have never been deflowered.

He had so many ways of torturing women that even the Ministry of Justice had to admire him, but he just liked to hear those women scream in pain and beg for mercy, which satisfied his heart that was suppressed and despised in the family.

As long as An Qing prepared the medicine, he would put it on the women's clothes, lip balm, and the floral dew they applied to their skin.

As long as Gao Ting touches those girls, he will indirectly eat the Huaji Pill into his stomach.

Although this method was too cruel, the girls were still made to take the Huaji Pill.

But even if An Zizhong didn't do it, Gao Ting would not let those girls go. After all, his favorite highlight was to throw those girls into the pool, watch them struggle and then be beaten again, then struggle again and be beaten again, until they died.

It is said that this was the shadow caused by his elder brother throwing him into the lake when he was a child.

Finally, five days later, An Qing made three Huaji Pills. He crushed them into powder and mixed them with lip balm, flower dew, and a bellyband soaked in potion.

Then they were handed over to the housekeeper who came to Wen'en Pavilion to make purchases. Qi Yangchuan's wife knew that Wen'en Pavilion gave Qi Yangchuan a 10% bonus, so she often sent people to buy some rouge and powder. Those jewelry were one-of-a-kind, and Qi Yangchuan had instructed that they could not be used too much. However, she often came to get rouge and powder, and it didn't cost money to keep accounts, and it could be deducted from Qi Yangchuan's bonus every month, so why not do it?

For this reason, Qi Yangchuan's wife came more frequently. She usually only bought rouge, powder and lip balm three or four times, but later she sent someone to come every three or five days, either to give to others or for her own use.

Qi Yangchuan's wife and daughter liked very fixed flavors and colors, so An Zizhong avoided the one they were going to use and put a lot of medicine-filled ones in another package. The colors he chose were pink, and the bellybands were also bright. The housekeeper's annoyed expression confirmed that this thing was for the girl prepared for Gao Ting.

But just in case, An Zizhong still asked Nanfeng to follow the housekeeper. If he miscalculated and those things were not delivered to the outer courtyard of West Street, he would ask someone to go in and directly switch the girls' things. This was more risky.

It was not until the evening that Nanfeng came back and explained to An Zizhong that those things had indeed been delivered to the outer courtyard. An Zizhong changed into night clothes and followed Nanfeng to the courtyard next to the outer courtyard.

Gao Ting is surrounded by people with excellent martial arts skills. It is impossible for him to sneak into the outer courtyard, but it is easy to hide in the tree in the next courtyard.

The two men watched Gao Ting come to the outer courtyard accompanied by Qi Yangchuan. As soon as Gao Ting entered the courtyard, he saw four girls in their early teens kneeling on the ground. His eyes lit up. He ignored the man who was pulling him to persuade him, and went straight into the house hugging them left and right.

Qi Yangchuan was thrown directly into the yard, feeling a little embarrassed. Hearing the shrill voices begging for mercy coming from the house, Qi Yangchuan went to the front yard to wait.

The candle in the room burned all night, and the screams continued for a long time. When Nanfeng heard these noises, he wanted to rush down to kill people several times, but was held back by An Zizhong, who asked him to go back to Wen'en Pavilion first.

An Zizhong sat on the tree and looked at the room until it was almost dawn. There was no more sound of the girl in the room. Gao Ting came out with a satisfied look on his face, his clothes disheveled. An Zizhong looked at his brows carefully.

An Qing said that after taking the Huaji Pill, a blood line would appear between the eyebrows within six hours, just like being cut by a sharp blade.

After confirming that Gao Ting had been infected, he didn't want to look at him any more and returned to Wen'en Pavilion. An Qing was still waiting anxiously inside.

"It's done. I came back because I saw blood on his forehead. You should go back quickly and don't leave the house recently. Keep an eye on the girl and don't let her know that it was Gao Ting who was the examiner."

An Qing nodded, put on his cloak and quickly returned to their home.

Gao Ting took the poison made from the Yuan family's secret recipe, and An Qing was finally a little happy.

This is just the beginning. Later, he will make all members of the Gao family die painfully under the medical skills of the Yuan family.

An Qing was so excited that he couldn't sleep. He took out the medical books collected by An Zizhong and read them. Before that, he had to hone his medical skills. He combined his sister's experience in the poison book to make more poisons for the Gao family. He made sure that they would suffer and live a life worse than death.

There were three sessions in total in the Autumn Examination. An Wenniang was told not to go out until the people from Kyoto left, and she kept sending people out to inquire about the situation.

After the exam, An Zizhong did not go home but went to Wen'en Pavilion, but he sent An Hongzhi to deliver a message.

"Zi Zhong said that Young Master Hua and Young Master Zhou were too nervous, so he would stay at Wen'en Pavilion to accompany them until the results were announced. He told Sister Wen Niang not to worry and to prepare the red envelope for the messenger who was going to deliver the results."

An Wenniang nodded, which meant that he was confident that he would be on the list.

An Zizhong was sitting in the room in the backyard of Wen'en Pavilion. Hua Yesheng and Zhou Chunsheng were sleeping soundly on the bed when Li Changan rushed back.

"How can two people still sleep?"

Li Changan looked at the two people who were snoring and was very impressed.

"They kept asking me what to do and asked me to analyze the articles they wrote. I was so annoyed that I gave them some wine and asked them to sleep."

Li Changan nodded. That day, his uncle took Gao Ting to the outer courtyard. When he came back, he stayed in the study for a long time with a gloomy face, asking him to study hard and not go out recently.

That's why he came over to talk to An Zizhong at this time.

"My uncle took Gao Ting to the outer courtyard that day. As expected, he was very satisfied with the girls. He played with them until dawn before returning to his residence. My uncle said that the girls were dead when he went to see them. My uncle thought Gao Ting just liked younger girls, but he didn't expect him to be so perverted. He tortured the girls to death, bit off their skin and threw them on a plate, and cut their bodies with sharp weapons to make bone-piercing wounds. He filled their mouths with candle oil, and the sink in the bathroom was dyed red."

An Zizhong only knew that Gao Ting liked to play with girls, usually by whipping, punching and kicking them until they begged for mercy, and then driving them into the pool with a bamboo pole and drowning them. He didn't expect that he was even more perverted now.

"When I came back, my uncle said that the Gao family was cruel and perverted. I was afraid that I couldn't have too much contact with them in the future. He seemed to be a little afraid that you knew so much."

An Zizhong knew this a long time ago, but he didn't care. Qi Yangchuan would be transferred next June. If his performance was excellent and he could find more people to help him, he would most likely be able to move to Kyoto. He would still have to stay in Gongzhou for two years, waiting for the spring examination.

"Will you follow your uncle to Kyoto, or stay in Gongzhou?"

Li Changan smiled bitterly, not knowing whether he should be happy or sad.

"If she stays in Gongzhou, my cousin will be even weaker. The weather in Kyoto is drier and colder than here, which is not suitable for her to recuperate. So my cousin will stay in Gongzhou and be taken care of by my mother, and I have to stay in Gongzhou too."

An Zizhong patted his shoulder. Li Changan wanted to stay in Gongzhou and take the opportunity to get rid of Qi Yangchuan's control, but he didn't expect Qi You not to leave. He was left behind for this reason. Once Qi You followed him, he would definitely be taken away.

Although his wish to stay in Gongzhou was finally fulfilled, Li Changan felt that he was more like Qi You's slave. He had to rely on Qi You for everything. He had a rope tied to his body, and Qi You held one end of the rope.