Cowardly Stepmother Dressed As the Hero

When Tao Tong was invited into the inner city, there was no surprise in his demeanor.

He had been in Jurong for six or seven days, and after seeing the reconstruction work in the city, he was sure that his whereabouts had been discovered.

After all, it is absolutely impossible for a city that can complete a reconstruction project of this scale to commit the negligence of not knowing the state shepherd.

He knew very well that he and Qi You were just one who was confused, and the other was too lazy to deal with it.

At this time, seeing Qi You who was tasting tea, Tao Tong stepped forward and saluted: “Xiaguan Tao Tong, I have seen the prince.”

Qi You nodded and motioned for him to get up: “Give a seat.”

After a few courtesies, Qi You said straight to the point: “I knew about the news of the prefectural shepherd’s appointment earlier, and this king has ordered people to build the government office and the prefectural shepherd’s mansion in the inner city. As long as the prefectural shepherd arrives, you can move in immediately.”

Tao Tong bowed his hands and thanked: “Thank you, Lord, for your trouble.”

Qi You nodded: “I want to come here for the past few days, Master Tao has seen the livelihood buildings in the city, I wonder what Master Tao thinks?”

“The talents of the prince and the princess are not equal to those of the inferior.” Tao Tong said directly: “In just two years, the city that has been occupied by the Rong for 50 years can be rebuilt to this point, and the people can live and work in peace and prosperity. Rong and Rong communicate harmoniously, and the lower officials are ashamed of themselves.”

During this time, he has inquired clearly.

The military deployment in the city was arranged by the people of King Bei’an, and the one who was responsible for arranging the remnants and boosting the people’s livelihood was the princess of Bei’an who rarely showed up.

Qi You nodded when he saw that he was interested.

He thought for a while and said, “To tell the truth, Master Tao, the management method in the city is different from that of ordinary cities.

“Now that the reconstruction work is about to be completed, the princess is worried about reforming the internal system in the city, but she has been unable to carry out the reform due to her physical inconvenience.

“In addition, although the princess has a heart of love for the people, in fact, she has never been an official, and she does not know the common law of city management.

“Master Tao, sent by the Holy General, has solved this king’s worries. This king thought that Master Tao could continue the original idea of ​​the princess, cut and reform various affairs in the city, and lead the city of Rejection to the right path.”

When he said these words, he emphasized the words “continue the original idea of ​​the princess”, and the implication in his words was self-evident.

If there is no experience in these days, Tao Tong will definitely scoff at this.

But having seen the grand scene in the city with his own eyes, he is now very interested in Cao Mi’s management methods. After thinking for a moment, he agreed: “Go back to the lord, the lower official should do his best and dare not neglect.”

Qi You nodded in satisfaction.

After talking about the state shepherd, he brought up an arrangement he had planned.

Tao Tong saw him give his subordinate a look, and soon, the servant who was guarding the door called out, “Eldest son, the second son is here.”

Qi Rui and Qi An entered and bowed to Qi You and Tao Tong respectively.

Qi You took advantage of the situation to introduce: “This is… the dog children Qi Rui and Qi An.”

Tao Tong hurriedly returned the salute and said, “Second son, Ankang.”

“Although Qi Rui and Qi An are young, they have been reading books with Lin Yi for a few years, and they are also remarkable in the history and literature.” Qi You said straight to the point: “But because of the fight against the Rong, they were not allowed to do so. Do not stay with the king and the princess in Jirong, and suspend the study tour.

“This king knows that Master Tao is not only a well-known scholar family, but Master Tao himself has served as an official in many places, and his knowledge and experience are beyond the reach of ordinary people.

“I brought them here because I hope that these two children can learn from the adults while Master Tao is staying in Jurong.”

“Your Highness is wrong.” Tao Tong quickly said modestly.

In fact, when he heard the praise of King Bei’an, Tao Tong was still very useful in his heart. Moreover, a dignified prince, who actually sent his eldest son and second son to him, obviously really trusted him.

So after habitually chatting with Qi You, Tao Tong accepted the two anonymous students.

The servant brought the tea cup at the right time, and Qi Rui and Qi An came forward wisely and served tea to their new teacher.

Looking at the two children who are young, but they have become their own demeanor in action, Tao Tong does not show on his face, but he is actually very happy in his heart.

How did he know that in the days to come, these two children who had been influenced by Cao Mi would argue and argue with him about various feudal etiquettes and systems, making him so angry that he ate several meals less.

But at this time, both Tao Tong and the two children are full of endless expectations for the future.

Half a month later, Tao Tong’s family finally came to Jurong.

These people include not only Tao Tong’s servants and subordinates, but also a kind of relatives of Tao Tong.

Knowing that Cao Mi was pregnant, Mrs. Tao brought her little daughter to visit Cao Mi one day.

At this time, Cao Mi was about to give birth, and it was inconvenient to do anything with a big belly.

But seeing the little lady of the Tao family, she complimented her in a rare way.

Qi Ran sat aside, pouted and whispered towards Qi An: “My mother really likes girls.”

Since Qi Rui and Qi An had worshipped Tao Tong as their teachers, they had visited the house in the past few days, and they had some impressions of the little daughter of the teacher’s family.

Qi An thought for a while, and said, “Well… Compared with you, I also think Tao Ruo is more cute.”

Hearing this, Qi Ran turned to stare at him in dissatisfaction.

He deliberately said: “Hmph, I only want big brother, not you!”

Qi An turned his head in disdain and ignored his vexatiousness.

“Minwomen heard from my master that the internal affairs of the city are presided over by the princess.” On the other side, Mrs. Tao hugged Tao Ruo and talked to Cao Mi in a warm voice, “The princess is indeed a talented woman among women.”

Cao Mi shook his head.

She said: “I have nothing special, but I have read a few more books than ordinary people.”

“The Cao family… was a great collector of books back then.” Mrs. Tao said with emotion, “But it was not easy for the princess to be able to read poetry and books under such difficult conditions.

“Hey… how many women in this world are fortunate enough to know hyphenation.”

Seeing that something was wrong with her expression, Cao Mi changed the subject and said, “Why did Madam Tao say this?

“Speaking of which, Ruo Niang should be four years old, right? Have you found an enlightened female master?”

She originally thought that the Tao family had just come to reject the Rong. If Mrs. Tao had any inconvenience, she could help out, but she didn’t expect to hear her say that, and Mrs. Tao’s face sank.

She sighed and said, “I actually wanted to find a female teacher for Ruo’er to enlighten her at home.

“But when I mentioned this to the master a few days ago, the master refused.

“Master said, what kind of knowledge do women need? Let me take her with me and learn the truth of being in charge of the house.”

Mrs. Tao did not have the luck of Cao Mi.

She was weak and suffered a lot in order to conceive in her early years. She gave birth to the daughter Tao Ruo when she was nearly forty.

But after Tao Ruoping was born, Mrs. Tao had no chance of giving birth. At this time, there were already two boys from the concubine’s house in Tao Tong’s house.

Because she gave birth to a girl, Mrs. Tao thought about asking for a good teacher for her daughter, but she was rejected by Tao Tong.

After saying this, she glanced at Qi Rui and the three of them and smiled at Cao Mi: “Princess is very lucky, the three sons are well-behaved and sensible, and they are quite talented.

“I hope the princess can have a man in this child.”

“What’s this?” Cao Mi, who was a little sluggish, then reacted and said dissatisfiedly.

She looked at Tao Ruo and said to Madam Tao, “Why can’t women read and write?

“The school I opened in the city also admits women, and the things that the female students learn are no different from those of the men.

“After they completed their studies, they were also sent to various stewardship positions to work hard for the reconstruction of the city.

“Tao Ruo is the daughter of the state shepherd, there is no reason to be inferior to them!”

Mrs. Tao was stunned for a while: “The city school… Is it actually recruiting female students?”

“Of course.” Cao Mi said, “Your family has only recently arrived in Jirong, so I don’t understand.

“There are not only female students and masters in the school, but even Nanxi, the head of the school, is also a maid who went out from my side. She is a real woman.”

“This…” Madam Tao said angrily, “The one who went out from the princess’s side is naturally different…”

“No!” Cao Mi shook his head.

She thought for a while, and said to Madam Tao, “The ancients said: ‘Anyone should be based on his merits’. Among the ‘virtuous men’, he did not say that he must be a man.

“The same is true for my employment, whether it is a man or a woman, as long as you have talent, you can get the corresponding position.

“Furthermore, I’ve never felt that women are weaker than men. You know, I was in charge of rebuilding the city before, and the prince’s people were only responsible for military affairs.”

Having said that, she looked at Qi Rui with some pride and confirmed: “Didn’t Master Tao also say before that it would be impossible for him to do this in just two years?

“Does this also mean that women can do well as long as they have the ability?”

Qi Rui and Qi An looked at each other.

Not to mention that they were brought up by Cao Mi and influenced by some of Cao Mi’s thoughts, it is said that Cao Mi is their most beloved mother, and they will stand by her no matter what.

Qi An immediately said, “Yes. We have followed Tao Shi over the past few days and re-organized the management system in the city.

“Master Tao has bluntly said more than once that if it was him, he might not have the talent and courage of his mother.”

Cao Mi nodded at this “puppy leg” with satisfaction.

She touched her belly and said bluntly, “Don’t lie to Mrs. Tao, no matter whether my baby is male or female, I will definitely ask her to read and hyphenate and broaden her horizons in the future.

“Those women who are restrained by men in the backyard are all sapped by today’s secular world.

“Men say they are unworthy, but they are afraid to see women emerging and stronger than them. Only these weak people will see fear of others surpassing them.”

“But…” Mrs. Tao was speechless at this time.

She loves her daughter, and is naturally shocked by Cao Mi’s words, but her thoughts over the years have imprisoned her.

After a moment of silence, she murmured and asked, “But… on the side of the lord, do you also agree with the princess’s actions?”

“Why don’t you agree?” Cao Mi smiled and asked back.

She took a sip of tea: “The people in the city who praise me are no less than those who praise the prince. They know that I gave them the life they have today, and they are even more grateful to me.

“But I have never found that the prince is dissatisfied with this. If I do give birth to a girl, I think, the prince must hope that she will be like me in the future, and can do what she wants to do, display her talents, not Commit to a certain backyard and play some favorite scenes.”

Hearing this, Mrs. Tao looked at Cao Mi’s belly and said enviously, “This child is a lucky one.”

Cao Mi nodded, and then said again: “Master Tao is not willing to find a master for Ruo Xiaoniang, why doesn’t the wife hire her herself?

“Madam is in charge of the house, don’t you even have this right?”

Hearing this, Mrs. Tao’s eyes darkened for a moment.

When she raised her head again, her face no longer had the initial worry.

She bowed to Cao Mi, and said softly, “Thank you, Princess, for your advice, the women know.”

As she said that, she fondly touched the top of Tao Ruo’s hair, with a firmness in her eyes that she had never seen before.

Cao Mi didn’t speak anymore when he saw that there seemed to be something in her heart.

The two talked again, and Mrs. Tao left with someone.

A few days later, Cao Mi listened to Qi Rui and Qi An, who often ran to the Tao’s house, about the follow-up of the incident. They only knew that the Tao’s family had really hired a female master to help Tao Ruokai.

But at this time, she no longer has the heart to care about these—

In early August, Princess Bei’an gave birth to a daughter in Jirong City.

The author has something to say: there is one more chapter in the evening~

Thanks to the little angel who irrigated the nutrient solution: 6 bottles of Lingyue; 2 bottles of Tangli; 1 bottle of Lu~ and pine cones;

Thank you very much for your support, I will continue to work hard!