Yun Shu rested on her couch with her eyes closed for a moment before rising to smooth out her skirts and push open the door.
After the locust plague had been settled, Xindu City had regained its former liveliness. The streets were lined with various small stalls on both sides.
Flower sellers, candy vendors, needlework merchants...
Cries of hawkers rose and fell in a rhythmic chorus.
The city was filled with the bustling spirit of life.
A significant part of this was due to the efforts of Shen Yu and Shen Jue, along with many nameless individuals who worked together to maintain order.
She strolled leisurely toward the embroidery workshop.
The spinning machine had been moved there by the collective effort of the townspeople. Zhang Qiaoniang and the others were likely already at the workshop, currently researching how to use the machine to weave cloth.
As for whether they could figure it out, that depended on their own abilities. She would provide them with opportunities, but she wouldn't chase after them like a nanny to spoon-feed them every bite.
If she had to prepare every meal and place it in their mouths, she would only end up raising a group of overgrown children incapable of independent thought.
Besides, she had many other things to do.
She couldn't just keep her eyes fixed on one thing forever.
She wandered around the vicinity of the embroidery workshop.
Sure enough, she spotted Pei Wanning.
The richly dressed young lady was sitting alone at an inconspicuous small stall on a street corner.
She held her chin in both hands, her brow slightly furrowed and her lips pouted. Her entire face was the picture of gloom.
The common folk passed her by, occasionally casting curious glances, but no one approached her to strike up a conversation.
People judge a person by their attire.
The young lady’s outfit of gold-woven cloud brocade and the jade-studded hairpins in her hair clearly marked her as a lady from a prominent family.
No one wanted to go looking for trouble.
Yun Shu withdrew her gaze, maintaining a calm expression. She adjusted her course and walked toward the small stall.
“Boss, give me an order of Lotus Crisps.” Her voice wasn't loud, but it reached Pei Wanning’s ears clearly.
The girl instinctively looked up and happened to meet Yun Shu’s calm gaze, causing her to freeze for a moment.
“Li Qinghe?”
“You still remember me. It seems you have a good memory.” Yun Shu took the Lotus Crisps handed to her by the vendor and paid.
Then, she turned toward Pei Wanning and placed the pastries in front of her. “I saw you sitting here looking miserable for quite a while, so I bought you some Lotus Crisps. Try them. Perhaps eating something sweet will make you feel better.”
Pei Wanning was stunned. Looking at the steaming bag of Lotus Crisps, she suddenly felt a slight sting in her nose.
“I only bought you a bag of pastries, and I used the money your uncle gave me to do it,” Yun Shu teased with a smile. “There’s no need to be moved to tears, is there?”
“I’m not.”
Pei Wanning muttered softly.
She reached out to pinch off a small piece and put it in her mouth. It was sweet with the fresh fragrance of lotus.
“It’s actually quite delicious,” she said.
The two sat there, one eating pastries and the other watching the street scene. Neither was in a hurry to speak.
The cries of the street vendors drifted from near and far, and the setting sun cast a layer of thin gold over their shoulders.
Pei Wanning suddenly asked, “The Divine Lady descended upon Xindu City today. Didn't you go? I don't think I saw you.”
“I heard about it. Didn't the Divine Lady bring a weaving machine from the Weaver Girl in the Heavenly Palace?” Yun Shu lied without a hint of hesitation. “It’s a pity. I had business outside the city today and couldn't see that heavenly object with my own eyes.”
Pei Wanning looked at her with sympathy. “I suddenly feel much better. Although I don't understand spinning or weaving and couldn't help at all, I did see the Divine Lady.”
“The Divine Lady even praised me, saying I possessed commendable courage!” When she smiled, her almond-shaped eyes curved into crescents.
“Is that so?” Yun Shu turned her head to look at her.
Pei Wanning suddenly felt a bit embarrassed. “Well, she wasn't just praising me alone.”
“Besides, I feel like I’m quite useless. I’m almost unworthy of the Divine Lady’s praise.” She lowered her head. “Sister Zhang and the others know how to weave, and little Aheng knows carpentry. Only I know nothing, and I’m clumsy to boot.”
In the embroidery workshop, she couldn't even serve tea or water properly, let alone help with the spinning and weaving.
“Everyone has their own value.” Yun Shu looked at the dejected young girl. “I don't know how to weave or do carpentry either, but I can ride and shoot. My martial arts are no worse than any man's, and I could face a hundred enemies alone on the battlefield. So, you shouldn't completely dismiss yourself. As long as you find the direction you’re good at, you may achieve great things in the future.”
“Right! In the future, when you go to the battlefield to be a General, I’ll be your Military Advisor. Don't look down on me; my uncle once said I was gifted and intelligent. He said I was a natural at military strategy and tactics, with the talent to rule and bring peace to the realm. It’s just a pity I was born a woman.”
Toward the end, Pei Wanning lost her spirit again. “Just pretend I never said those things.”
“I’m just a woman. In the end, I’m meant to be married off. Besides, for hundreds of years, there has never been a woman on the battlefield.”
“It’s against the rules...”
Yun Shu interrupted her.
“The rules of this world are all made by people. Since they are made by people, they can be changed by people.”
She knew that the setting of this chaotic era was entirely fictional, unlike her original world where history had many famous female military leaders and politicians.
Therefore.
It wasn't realistic to expect old-fashioned concepts to flip overnight.
But where there was a will, there was a way.
Pei Wanning’s eyes grew slightly red.
It wasn't because of sadness, but because those words were like a key that clicked into place, prying open a door to the unknown that she had never dared to touch.
“What if you can't resist?” Her hands, resting on her knees, clenched into fists. “I was born into the Pei Clan of Heluo. While the family brings me glory, it also places shackles upon me. I cannot resist the decisions made by my parents.”
“If they want me to marry, I must marry.”
“Do you want to marry?” Yun Shu asked.
After a moment of silence, Pei Wanning looked up, her gaze fixed steadily on her. “I don't want to marry!”
It was the exact same answer as last time.
“If you can't resist alone, then find people who share your ideals and resist together.” Yun Shu picked up a pair of chopsticks from the table and waved them in front of Pei Wanning.
“Look.”
“A single chopstick can be broken with a light snap.”
She dropped the broken chopstick, turned her wrist, and grabbed the whole bundle of chopsticks from the table.
“But what if it’s a whole bundle?”
Pei Wanning’s heart trembled.
It was as if a spark had suddenly jumped out of the dead ashes.
“You’re right. One person’s strength is small, but many grains of sand make a pagoda, and even ants can shake a tree.”
“Yes, many grains of sand make a pagoda, and even ants can shake a tree!”
“But...”
Pei Wanning bit her lip and hesitated for a moment. “Will anyone be willing to join me?”
“At least I am,” Yun Shu said with a smile.
Although the girl was young, she was exceptionally bright. Her uncle was right; she truly was a natural.
It would be a complete waste of potential for such a talent to serve as nothing more than a trophy wife for the male lead.
“Who does your family intend to betroth you to?”
She asked despite already knowing.
Pei Wanning: “Previously, the family wanted me to marry the Second Young Master Yuan, but I ran away. Now they want me to marry the Eldest Young Master Shen. I heard he is the Great General of the current dynasty.”
“The Great General? Excellent. I’ll go meet him.”
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