In the year of disaster in the book, the villain girl is the real winner

Wei knelt down in front of Old Lady He, crying, "Mother, I know I feel very sorry for my sister-in-law. But this is the only chance. When my husband becomes an official, our He family will be considered a family of officials."

"When my husband becomes the county magistrate, I will definitely treat my sister-in-law as my own daughter - no, I will treat my sister-in-law better than Qingshu. I will find her a marriage that is worthy of the He family. Mother, I believe you can also think that our He family is not good enough to marry into the noble family, right?"

Old Mrs. He was not moved by what Wei said earlier.

But she listened to the latter sentence.

The oriental pearl given to He Qiudi at the banquet was worth a thousand pieces of silver. The gold hairpin was even more expensive.

Such a generous move, how could such a noble family look down upon her daughter.

It would be better to marry someone from an aristocratic family that the He family can marry into.

Seeing that Old Lady He was moved, Wei quickly continued, "Mother, as long as my husband becomes the county magistrate, our whole family can move to the county government office. We don't have to stay in Shiliu Village to farm, and we can also find work for our second and third uncles. Our fifth and sixth uncles can also rest assured about their families and devote themselves to the imperial examinations. In time, the He family will be able to bring honor to the family and become a family of officials."

Wei saw how kindly He Qiudi was treated at the banquet today.

I'm afraid that no matter how hard Qingshu tries, it will be difficult to snatch Yanshi from He Qiudi.

Since such a good son-in-law is hard to get away from.

It would be better to remove the firewood from under the cauldron and end the marriage between He Qiudi and Yan Shi.

As long as he borrowed the pearl and the golden hairpin that Yan Shi gave to his sister-in-law as a token of trust, the master could use Yan Shi's relationship to truly enter the court as an official. When she became a real official wife, the initiative was in her hands.

By then, there would be no worries about finding a good match for Qingshu. By then, maybe she would have a chance to develop a good relationship with Yanshi.

It is simply unrealistic to ask Qingshu to snatch Yanshi from He Qiudi in a short period of time.

It is a great benefit to have my husband become a high-ranking official.

She would never let He Qiudi step on He Qingshu's head.

If she gets enough face at the banquet, she can even ask her brother to be a county magistrate, or even more.

Anyway, the mother-in-law and sister-in-law don't know Yan Shi's true identity, and don't know what kind of wealth Yan Shi's identity can bring. In the various maneuvers in the officialdom, sometimes, the power of backers is more effective than money.

Maybe by then, there would be no need to exchange the Dongzhu and the gold hairpin for silver, and they could be left directly to Qingshu as a dowry.

By then, it will be so impressive to have these two things at the bottom of the box.

If my younger brother and the master work hard and can become the prefect or even the governor, Qingshu will be worthy of them even at her wedding banquet.

Thinking of this, Wei sincerely kowtowed to Old Lady He: "Can you bear to see my husband being a lowly teacher in Ningyuan County, with no chance of success? Mother, please help my husband. My husband and I will work like cows and horses in the next life to repay my sister-in-law. Please help my husband."

Old Mrs. He felt her head buzzing and she fell down on the kang. Wei quickly got up and supported her.

"Mother, I am also considering the overall situation. Lord Yan is a nobleman that we cannot reach. Instead of hoping for the castles in the air, it is better to hold on to the small wealth that our He family can control."

Old Mrs. He struggled and closed her eyes hesitantly.

She held her forehead and pinched her eyebrows to relieve the discomfort caused by the surge of blood.

Wei quickly pressed the temples of Old Lady He.

"Mother, our He family is truly good only when the whole family is well. Without the support of a good family, can my sister-in-law be the legal wife and gain a firm foothold in the inner courtyard? If you let my sister-in-law be a concubine, mother, can you bear it?"

Old Mrs. He understands this better than anyone else.

Back then, it was her mother who lost to Xu's grandmother, who was also her aunt.

This is why she had to please her grandfather since she was young, learn cooking, and strive to achieve success as soon as possible to bring honor and support to her mother.

Unfortunately, her aunt instigated her father to curry favor with the powerful, which led to the whole family being implicated and exiled. Her mother died on the way to exile.

Many, many people died before they could even reach Ningyuan County.

After Mrs. He recovered, she sighed quietly, waved her hand at Wei, and said, "Go back to your room first. I'll give you an answer after I've thought it over."

Wei is right about one thing.

When it comes to currying favor with the powerful, the higher the status of the person, the more difficult it is to curry favor with them.

All the He family can control is a little wealth and status.

Only if the entire He family is like a stable ship can it move forward in the wind and waves.

The type of ship you build depends on the material you use.

We must not be too concerned about our reputation and build a boat that the He family cannot control. Otherwise, when faced with waves, the only outcome is that it will capsize.

*

He Qiudi took He Sanlang and He Qiulu to the village entrance to play.

A camp has been set up on an open space not far from the village. The white tents are quite conspicuous in the hazy night.

Two major events happened in the village today. After dinner, many villagers gathered at the entrance of the village to chat.

One is to see the water output of the old well.

The second is to watch their camp during the banquet.

This was the first time that an official came to their village to set up camp and suppress bandits.

He Qiudi ran to the village entrance and took advantage of the night to release water into the water tank at the entrance.

After draining the water from the pool, she turned back to the old locust tree and drained water into the old well.

"Sister-in-law, you are here." Jin Cuihua found He Qiudi on the stone bench under the old locust tree while eating melon seeds, and whispered mysteriously in her ear, "I'll tell you a secret."

He Qiudi narrowed his eyes and looked at Jin Cuihua: "Third sister-in-law, what's the secret?"

Jin Cuihua swallowed the melon seed shells in her mouth and then said, "I heard the conversation between my sister-in-law and mother. My sister-in-law wants the reward from you and Uncle Six, and she also wants to borrow the Dongzhu and gold hairpin given to you by Master Yan to help Uncle get the position of magistrate of Lan County or Wei County. She also promised mother that she would bring the He family together to enjoy happiness, find a good marriage for you in the future, and treat you better than Daya. She also swore that she would work like a cow or a horse to repay you in the next life."

He Qiudi knew that Wei came back this time just for the family's income.

Unexpectedly, after seeing that she was making more and more money, Wei's appetite became bigger and bigger.

He even dared to take the pearls and gold hairpin in her hands.

It's not easy to be the county magistrate of Lan County.

Unless Yan Shi would go to Lan County to take charge, Lan County would definitely be breached when facing the iron cavalry of the Western Rong people. By then, almost all the officials of Lan County would be beheaded by the Western Rong people and hung on the city wall as a demonstration.

He Baozhu's father-in-law, as the county magistrate of Lan County, was the first to be affected.

The county magistrate is treated like this, how can he escape?

The Western Rong invaded Lan County and then attacked Ningyuan County. With Lan County as a buffer, He Huaizhang, a coward, took the responsibility of evacuating the people and followed the He family out of the city. The officials, soldiers and civilians who stayed behind to defend Ningyuan were almost all slaughtered.

He Qiudi suppressed these thoughts in his mind, looking shocked by Wei's idea.

"Did Sister-in-law really say that?"

"is not that right?"

"What did Auntie say?"

"Mother neither agreed nor objected. She just said that you should discuss it with your sister-in-law and give her a reply after you have thought it over."

He Qiudi: “…”

Since Mrs. He did not reject Wei on the spot, it means that Mrs. He has wavered.

Compared with her daughter's marriage, Grandma He still hopes that her eldest son will become an official and bring honor to the family.