Chapter 7119 Paving the Way

Chapter 7119 Paving the Way
Ruan Huihui actually wanted to laugh at her father's petty behavior, but for some reason, her eyes reddened slightly when she heard her father say such things. From a very young age, only four or five years old, when she was brought to Weiyang Palace, Ruan Huihui knew that she was ugly.

However, as long as there was a place to make a living in Chang'an, Ruan Gong would not bring his eldest son, but he would definitely bring his daughter along. In Ruan Gong's words, since he only had one daughter, it didn't matter if she was ugly or not. After all, she was his own daughter and very well-behaved, so he would bring her along.

So even if Ruan Huihui had experienced some gossip outside, she would naturally put everything aside when she returned home, because her father and brother had never looked down on her because she was ugly.

In particular, Ruan Gong got into a fight with other marquises over the girls' school incident. He felt that he had won the fight but had not solved the problem. He even took Ruan Kan to put a sack over his head. Ruan Kan followed without thinking and put the son of the Marquis of Linying in a sack and threw him into the ditch.

The two even returned triumphantly, saying that they had gone to avenge Huihui.

All of this deeply moved Ruan Huihui. Her family had been noble families for generations, and in terms of family lineage, they were in no way inferior. However, compared to other prominent families, Ruan Huihui could clearly feel that her family was just an ordinary, warm little family.

Ruan Gong and Ruan Kan had both spoken with Ruan Huihui about her marriage to Huangfu Shuhou, and both said that it was the best option after considering all factors, including family background, social standing, and future prospects.

Of course, Ruan Huihui herself was well aware of this.

The marriage with Huangfu Shuhou was more like a union of interest groups than a matter of love. Although Ruan Gong had told Ruan Huihui that if possible, she should try her best to make Huangfu Shuhou respect her and genuinely acknowledge her, rather than treating him as a task to continue the family line.

Nguyen Cong said he believed his daughter could do it, but if she was really wronged, then she should just do her own thing. The Nguyen family’s doors would always be open to her. Even if he, Nguyen Cong, were gone, his elder brother would continue to protect her. In Nguyen Cong’s words, Nguyen Kan was a bit useless, but with the Nguyen family’s wealth and what he left behind, becoming a 2,000 shi (a unit of grain) official would still be enough to support the family.

These were all instructions that Ruan Gong had given to Ruan Huihui beforehand. These instructions, along with what Ruan Gong said when he told her to go and offer a toast, were: "Go quickly and make every one of those who bullied you apologize to you. This event today is not only for the Kou family and the Huangfu family, but also for you. Get all these families together so that they know what happened and that they take this matter seriously. It's not that easy."

Ruan Gong was not someone to be trifled with for his position as Commandant of the Guards, but as the saying goes, when others say Huihui is ugly, it is the truth. Wu Zhou was so tough before because he did not think his daughter was talking nonsense, and his daughter did not bully anyone, she just did not play with Ruan Huihui.

This is just a normal behavior. If you, Ruan Gong, insist on thinking this behavior is wrong, then I, Wu Zhou, have nothing to say. I only accept the parts that are in agreement; as for the rest, you can judge for yourself.

Ruan Gong had no way to deal with this, but that was the family tradition of the Wu family, and Ruan Gong had no good solutions. However, this did not mean that other families were the same. For example, nowadays, many young girls have started to toast Ruan Huihui. Whether they can drink or not is not important. Most of these girls of the same age are apologizing.

To be honest, Ruan Gong had put a lot of thought into getting rid of any resentment his daughter might have harbored. Choosing this occasion seemed easy, but it required the approval of both Madam Kou and Madam Huangfu. As for other times, it would be difficult to gather so many parents and also difficult to get all of Huihui's classmates to attend.

"Thank you, Father. I am so happy to be your daughter," Ruan Huihui said telepathically to Ruan Gong, her eyes brimming with tears.

“This is not my ability. The legacy left by our ancestors has given you a good background. As your father, I can protect you from the wind and rain, but I cannot deal with this reality in front of you. You can only rely on yourself. Huihui, you are very capable. If you cannot reach this point on your own, these people will not apologize, because they really did not do anything wrong.” Ruan Gong said with some emotion.

Only at this point could Nguyen Cong speak the truth: Did Nguyen Cong not know his daughter was ugly? Yes, he did, but that was an undeniable fact.

In the past, I didn't speak up or allow others to speak frankly because I was worried that Huihui's mentality would be affected. But now that she has grown up and can support herself, she can naturally withstand the storms of reality.

Therefore, Nguyen Cong needs to tell his daughter some things that Nguyen Hue Hui knows but may not fully understand, so that she can have a correct understanding.

That's how the world of aristocratic families is. Sometimes it's not a matter of right or wrong, but rather who has more power, more authority, and most importantly, who represents the future.

The former two determine the present, while the latter determines the future.

The Ruan family has been high-ranking officials for generations, and the Huangfu family is currently a powerful family in Guanzhong. As long as Huangfu Song lives, many noble families will have to rely on him. However, even Ruan Gong, a high-ranking official with a long line of ministers, can only beat up the Wu family of Pei State when Wu Zhou speaks the truth, instead of silencing them!
Since the Wu family has been high-ranking officials for generations, established since the Han Dynasty, and except for one or two generations who did not serve in the government due to family reasons, the other generations have been local noble families with a salary of two thousand shi. The fact that Ruan Gong was able to put Wu Zhou in a sack and throw him into the ditch even when he was not entirely in the right already proves that Ruan Gong was very capable.

But this doesn't solve the problem. As Nguyen Cong said, your ancestors gave you your birth, and your father can protect you from the wind and rain, but the problems you face with your peers can only be solved by yourself.

The most Ruan Gong could do was what he did before, and even that was only because of his position as the Commandant of the Guards.

Only when Ruan Huihui stands up for herself can these problems be solved.

"But I still have to thank my father. Without my father and elder brother, I probably wouldn't even have had the chance to develop my spiritual talent. If I had been born into another family, I probably wouldn't even have had the opportunity to go to school," Ruan Huihui replied with a touch of emotion.

“That’s not the case, Huihui. Don’t underestimate other aristocratic families. As the eldest daughter, you must study no matter what. As the matriarch of the Huangfu family in the future, the most important thing is never to underestimate other aristocratic families. Mental talent is indeed superior, but that doesn’t mean that those without mental talent are all useless.” Ruan Gong earnestly advised, “The General always says that those guys run around like wild dogs. I don’t deny the General’s abilities, but even lions have to give way when there are packs of wild dogs.”

“You have the resources of the Huangfu family and enough wisdom. As long as you don’t become arrogant, it’s no problem for other aristocratic families to respect you. It won’t be difficult for you to have a place in the next era. But that’s not enough. I suggest you participate in next year’s imperial examination, and then I will have someone recommend you. We can do both at the same time. The General may have some doubts about this, but as long as you are still the matriarch of the Huangfu family, he will support you even if he doesn’t understand.” Ruan Gong handed the gifts he had prepared to his daughter.

Chen Xi glanced at Ruan Gong. He could hear all the whispers, but he usually didn't eavesdrop. However, he couldn't resist listening to them.

"What's wrong?" Zhuge Liang glanced at Chen Xi and asked.

"I just saw an old father paving the way for his offspring," Chen Xi said with a smile. According to Ruan Gong's operations, as long as Ruan Huihui doesn't make any major mistakes, there is a high probability that she will smoothly reach the true 2,000 shi (a unit of grain). It can only be said that Ruan Gong is indeed a talent who has made the most of the resources.

"Oh, it's just a matter of course for someone's daughter to have this ability." Zhuge Liang was very indifferent to this. Just like how, although he wished he could whip his nephew Zhuge Ke with his belt, given Zhuge Ke's talent and expressiveness, how should he put it, Zhuge Liang would still give him a hand in the future, after all, he really had the ability.

"I heard that Madam Huang is pregnant?" Chen Xi smiled and asked naturally.

"Hmm." Zhuge Liang raised an eyebrow.

"What about your senior sister?" Chen Xi was curious about Li Yuan's current situation. Huang Yueying had health problems before and couldn't get pregnant. Li Yuan had been trying to find a way to develop her mental talent, but as the saying goes, if you don't study when you should, you'll suffer in the future. Chen Xi didn't know if her mental talent had developed yet, but Huang Yueying was pregnant, which was bad for Li Yuan.

"She's pregnant too," Zhuge Liang said calmly. Chen Xi was taken aback. Good heavens, Kongming, you really have some skills.

"Looks like I need to prepare a gift in advance." Chen Xi paused for a moment and said with a smile. Then he looked at the girls of the same age who were toasting Ruan Huihui. Every time they clinked glasses, Ruan Huihui drank the wine in one gulp instead of watching her classmates finish their drinks and then taking a small sip herself. Seeing this, the resentment of being forced to apologize dissipated a lot.

As I said before, when you reach a height at a young age that most of your peers can only dream of, those peers will naturally feel at ease.

When the girls of similar age who had been classmates with Ruan Huihui saw her finish her drink, they all felt that their social circles were unlikely to intersect anymore.

After all, even if these legitimate daughters marry into families of equal social standing, it will take them twenty or thirty years to truly take charge of the household. During those twenty or thirty years, Ruan Huihui's opponents will be the parents and in-laws of these legitimate daughters, and the two sides are simply not on the same level.

"I didn't bully you, I just didn't like playing with you. This drink isn't an apology. Well, congratulations on marrying into a good family." Wu Ya held the wine cup, somewhat stiffly, but after taking a deep breath, she still managed to say it.

“I never said you bullied me.” Ruan Huihui said with a smile, then gently touched her. Compared to other girls with a lot of tricks up their sleeves, Wu Ya was at least very straightforward. If she didn’t like something, she just didn’t like it. She had been like that since the first day she met her. “I apologize to my uncle. My father did go a bit too far before. Please forgive him.”

"Hmph, your Ruan family is truly domineering." Wu Ya mouthed as she picked up the wine cup, then drank it all in one gulp and returned to the Wu family's location with the cup.

"It's my turn." Yang Hu looked at Ruan Huihui with a grin. "Congratulations, Sister Huihui!"

"Speaking of which, I've always wanted to ask you, why didn't you show any particular expression when you first met me?" Ruan Huihui asked with a hint of curiosity.

Yang Hu chuckled dryly, his eyes sliding slightly downwards. Back then, he was still young and didn't judge people by their looks. Besides, he had seen many beautiful women when he was young, like Liu Tong. Yang Hu simply wouldn't let anyone hug him; he only liked Si Niang.

"It's better if Sister Huihui doesn't know." Yang Hu chuckled twice and gently tapped the wine cup. Only at times like this could he secretly drink a little sweet rice wine.

"Huiyu." Ruan Huihui greeted Yang Huiyu with a smile as she approached. Before Yang Huiyu could speak, Ruan Huihui shared her experience with her, "I'll go ahead first. Don't rush. Mental talent isn't necessarily better the earlier it's unlocked. My accumulation is actually a bit weak, and I may need to explore it further. Your conditions don't require that."

Yang Huiyu nodded. Her mother had already used herself as an example. Although Yang Dao and Cai Zhenji were indeed very loving, Yang Huiyu, being born into this family, could understand that taking shortcuts in life was truly not a good thing.

"Come visit me sometime! I've heard the Huangfu family has a lot of military strategies," Ruan Huihui whispered to Yang Huiyu and Yang Hu before clinking glasses.

"Sister, when you go, please bring some back for me too. Uncle Li said that the Huangfu family has a lot of records about military training and talent, which are valuable things that even he doesn't have. I was thinking about how to borrow them." Yang Hu sent a telepathic message to Ruan Huihui and Yang Huiyu at the same time. This action surprised both Ruan Huihui and Yang Huiyu, as sending a telepathic message was not easy.

Ruan Huihui can transmit sound because she has a spiritual talent, which is essentially a spiritual fluctuation. The old man can transmit sound because he has either refined his Qi into Gang or has a sufficiently strong spiritual accumulation. But no matter which one, there are quite high innate conditions. Even the secret technique of transmitting sound has prerequisites, and these conditions are somewhat high for a child of ten years old.

"I learned the secret technique while studying Xuanxiang, it's quite simple." Yang Hu said with a slight smile. While his sister was still playing house with her classmates at the girls' school, Yang Hu had already entered a stage of intensive study, and even now he has his own understanding of military strategy and tactics.

"Huiyu, you need to study harder. Your younger brother seems to have surpassed you." Ruan Huihui clinked wine glasses with Yang Huiyu again, then turned and left.

"Yang Hu's progress is a bit exaggerated. He has already learned the Xuanxiang level?" Chen Xi asked Zhuge Liang with a strange look. Although Yang Hu was his nephew, Chen Xi had always let him grow up on his own. Judging from his previous performance and the previous telepathic communication, what kind of weird thing had he learned?

"Well, if it weren't for some things that happened in the middle of the year, Master Li would have already sent Yang Hu to Central Asia to experience it." Zhuge Liang said with a bit of emotion. Yang Hu was one of the very few children that Zhuge Liang felt could keep up with him. His learning efficiency and all-around ability were something only Zhuge Liang could match. Everyone else would just think he was a complete freak.

"No, can he command?" Chen Xi asked with a look of utter disbelief.

"I didn't let him command. Instead, I planned to send him as an advisor to experience the world and also see the chaos outside the prosperous Central Plains. However, I managed to dissuade Li Shi from his plan in the end." Zhuge Liang explained, and then added the reason why Yang Hu did not go to Central Asia for training.

Zhuge Liang didn't think Yang Hu was unqualified, but he felt that Li You was being a bit extreme. Yang Hu should be at least two more years older. Sending him now was really outrageous. He was only eleven years old and couldn't withstand such a storm. He should at least wait two years until he was thirteen or fourteen, when he was about the age to get married, before he could experience it. Now, it was better to forget about it.

"You're absolutely right, Wenru is indeed a bit too extreme," Chen Xi said with a touch of感慨 (gan3kai3, a feeling of mixed emotions, including regret and amusement). "Speaking of which, have you been teaching Yang Hu recently?"

“It is the Marquis of Huaiyin,” Zhuge Liang said after a moment of silence.

"This..." Chen Xi was stunned and didn't know what to say. What was Han Xin thinking? He actually taught Yang Hu. Did he think so highly of him?

"The Marquis of Huaiyin believes that Yang Hu has great strategic vision and is very imaginative in breaking through battlefield stalemates." Zhuge Liang explained briefly, "So recently the Marquis of Huaiyin has been guiding him, and he has made great progress. At least when it comes to making battle formation simulations, he can already put pressure on me. When he comes of age at fourteen or fifteen, he should be able to command a whole army without much trouble."

Chen Xi was so frightened that he didn't dare to reply. Chen Xi had no doubt about Yang Hu's strategic vision and his imagination for breaking through battlefield impasses. But if Yang Hu were in command, he would probably be scared to death.

Do you understand the significance of entering the Temple of Martial Arts with a zero win rate and a perfect record of all losses, and never being removed from it?

"So, according to this logic?" Chen Xi took a deep breath.

"Li Shi said it was his willingness to vouch for him," Zhuge Liang said expressionlessly. The last time he received this treatment was Zhuge Liang himself. It was because someone vouched for him that Zhuge Liang was able to go to Central Asia as a commander to participate in the Roman-Parthian War. However, compared to Yang Hu, Zhuge Liang at least had some merits to show for himself at that time. Yang Hu's actions were truly excessive.

"That Wenru guy." Chen Xi had a toothache. Although Han Xin had suggested to Chen Xi that if there weren't enough commanders for the large army, Yang Hu could take over, and a few ordinary army commanders could be prepared to follow Yang Hu's orders and operate accordingly, which would be equivalent to a large army commander, Chen Xi just listened to it.

Holy crap, everyone, don't just call the families with names in my book "wild dogs." The families I can write about in my book are basically all of the highest rank and prestige. Also, the Wu family of Pei State is a family that exists in official history, and judging from the current lineage, it is possible that they really are the main branch of Wu family under Empress Wu Zetian.

I'll also briefly post information about the Wu family; you can get a feel for it for yourselves.

During the Han Dynasty, there was a military officer who became the King of Zhao. Liang Zou Xiaohou Chen begat De. De begat Zui, the Marquis of Dongwuting. Zui begat Ying, the Marquis of Jingxiang. Ying begat Zhongjuan and Shanfu, the Marquis of Jiyin, whose fief was later abolished due to the loss of his fief. Shanfu begat Du, the Prefect of Chenliu and the Marquis of Neihuang. Du begat Xuan, the Prefect of Runan, whose courtesy name was Wenda. Xuan had two sons: Shang and Fu. Fu, whose courtesy name was Yuanhai, served as Minister of Works and Left Chief Secretary. He begat Jing, the Magistrate of Linzhang, whose courtesy name was Boji. Jing begat Lie, whose courtesy name was Wenzhao. Lie begat Du, the Grand Master of Ceremonies, whose courtesy name was Yibo. Du begat Ti, the Grand Master of Ceremonies and Commandant of the Central Army, whose courtesy name was Zhoudu. Ti begat Duan, the Prefect of Jiujiang and the Marquis of Linying. Duan begat Zhou, the Attendant-in-Ordinary of Wei and the Marquis of Nanchang, whose courtesy name was Bonan. Zhou had three sons: Gai, Shao, and Mao. Gai, whose courtesy name was Yuanxia, ​​served as Left Minister of Works and the Marquis of Xueding in the Jin Dynasty.

This is the current stage of my book, and Wu Zhou's three sons have now been born.

Down to the Tang Dynasty
Gai begat Taishan Prefect, succeeding Xuehou Yue. Yue begat Weiyuan General, succeeding Xuehou Pu. Pu begat the Crown Prince's tutor Gu. Gu begat Luozhou Chief Clerk, Guiyihou Nian. Nian begat Pingbei General, Minister of War, Duke of Jinyang Qia, who was separately enfeoffed in Daling County and granted fifty qing of land, where he resided. He begat the Libationer Shengui. Gui begat the Grand Justice of the State, Chief Clerk of the King of Yue, succeeding Shouyanghou Keji. Keji begat the Northern Qi Zhenyuan General, succeeding Shouyanghou Juchang. Juchang begat the Later Zhou Yongchang King's Consultant Jian. He begat Hua.

This is a typical family of high-ranking officials passed down through generations. Huangfu Song is indeed powerful, but it would be difficult to kill him without the help of the state.