Chapter 378

Yingying was not tired of playing house with Xiao Lu and Xiao Wei. She looked forward to the day that Little Tian promised would come soon. She did not send anyone to inquire about Ye Xiaotian's current situation, even though it was a very easy task for the Xia family.

Yingying did not blindly trust Ye Xiaotian to the point where she believed that he could do anything. Although she was naive and did not understand the official system, she was still the daughter of a chieftain. Her father was the helmsman of the Xia family and controlled more than ten tribes. Even so, he was only conferred the title of a commander.

A fourth-ranked military official was not even as powerful as a civil official who was one or two ranks lower than him. Moreover, it was just a title. Was it really that easy to be promoted to a sixth-ranked civil official within two years? However, when she left Ye Xiaotian, she had a very naive look on her face. It was as if everything could really be achieved in one go.

She pretended to be like this because she did not want to make Ye Xiaotian feel uncomfortable. She hoped that a miracle would happen within these two years. That would be the best ending. If it did not happen, she would elope with Ye Xiaotian! Maintaining a child's heart did not mean that her IQ was that of a child's.

In the heart of a girl like Shuiwu, who had been strictly educated since she was young, there were some rules that could never be broken. The education she had received since she was young had set up a cage in her heart. Even if there were no restrictions from the outside world, she could still restrain herself very well.

However, to Yingying, breaking the rules was not a psychological barrier. However, if she made that choice, she would have to be separated from her family for a period of time. In that case, these two years would be the time for her to accompany her family and make up for the two years they had lost. Therefore, during this period of time, she must be happy. She must bring warmth and happiness to her family.

Yingying would never bow down to difficulties. If the stone was in front of her, she just had to go around it. She would not kick it because she did not know her limits, but she would not turn back either. From this point of view, her temperament was very similar to Ye Xiaotian's. Ye Xiaotian was also a person who would not give up easily. However, the difference was that what Ye Xiaotian was doing now seemed to be not going around the stone, but kicking it.

In the eyes of many, this was impossible, even though Ye Xiaotian had once created a miracle by defeating Qi Mu and County Magistrate Meng. However, Qi Mu was just a tyrant, and County Magistrate Meng and Qi Mu were too deep in collusion. There were countless evidence of their crimes, so it was impossible for him to get rid of them. As long as Ye Xiaotian defeated Qi Mu, it would be much easier to deal with County Magistrate Meng.

However, Wang Ning and Xu Boyi were different. If Ye Xiaotian wanted to deal with them, he could only use the rules of the officialdom. However, within the rules of the officialdom, it was difficult for a lower official to defeat a higher official. Most of the time, the best situation was to perish together, because this would violate a taboo in the hearts of the officials: no one liked a subordinate who offended his superior.

In this battle, he could not obtain the "morality" in the officialdom, and this "morality" in the officialdom was much more important and useful than the morality in the hearts of the people. Right now, the "morality" in the officialdom had not yet fermented, and it did not play its role as it should. This was because their battle was limited to Hulu County, and he carried the County Magistrate Hua Qingfeng on his head.

However, one day, people would know that everything was led by him, and then his resistance would appear. Of course, rules were meaningless when they reached a certain level. What were rules? Rules were made to be broken, but you had to have the strength or status to break them.

Who would dare to challenge the mistress of a rich family or a concubine of an official's family? This kind of thing was extremely rare. If it happened a few times in the whole world, it would immediately be qualified to be recorded as a legend in the history books.

Why? Because for thousands of years, the patriarchal society had formed a very strict family system for the sake of the stability of the family. A concubine could not change the sky at all. Not to mention the fact that most of the official wives had the same status as the husband's family, even the wife who had gone through hardships would be protected by the whole society.

The wife was determined by the husband's parents, but the concubine was completely determined by the husband's preferences. From this, one could see the most obvious difference between a wife and a concubine. There was a saying that "a wife is inferior to a concubine", not referring to the difference in status, but the degree to which the husband doted on the concubine.

Favoring the concubine was almost inevitable, but favoring the concubine more than the master was also almost impossible. If a concubine dared to bully her wife, according to the patriarchal system and the legal system, the wife would not be guilty even if she was beaten to death. However, which concubine dared to beat the official wife to death? Even the husband would not dare to do so. This was a big matter of ethics.

If there was really a concubine who dreamed of replacing the official wife, even if the official wife's family had declined and she was weak and easily bullied, it would still be useless. This was because the official wife still had the in-laws above her. If the in-laws did not agree, how could she become the official wife? The in-laws still had the clan behind them. A concubine would not have any social resources. She was only a woman who used her beauty to entertain her husband. Even if she could make the in-laws happy with sweet words, how could she convince the entire clan to agree? Unless the official wife had already provoked the wrath of the heavens and the people.

Even if she could pass these few steps safely, there was still the government. If a concubine exchanged a wife, the government would intervene because it was illegal! Even if she could deal with the government, there was still the huge pressure of public opinion. If a concubine had the ability to deal with all of this, then there was no need for her to be a concubine.

However, once this kind of relationship rose to the royal family, then there was a possibility. Because the result of success would be to become the official empress, the motherly model of the world. Above her, there would be no in-laws, clan, or legal issues that could restrain her. This was the reason why when one's power or status reached a certain level, they could break the rules.

Of course, the small Hulu County could not reach the standard of the royal family. Above it, there were 33 layers of heaven. Therefore, in the eyes of many people, the fight between Ye Xiaotian and Xu Boyi and Wang Ning was like a crazy concubine challenging the official wife.

Ye Xiaotian's fanatical fan, Old Lu, who was sweeping the floor in the county government, did not believe it. He firmly believed that Lord Ye would win. Even the arrogant people like Qi Mu and Meng Qingwei could be defeated. What else could Lord Ye not do?

Squad leader Zhou was more rational. He did not believe that Ye Xiaotian could defeat Xu Boyi and Wang Ning. The best situation was probably to achieve a balance, but the biggest possibility was … failure! But he, Ma Hui, Xu Haoran, and the others still followed Ye Xiaotian without hesitation. There was no other reason. A gentleman would die for his bosom friend!

Su Xuntian also did not believe that Ye Xiaotian could defeat Xu Boyi, especially when Xu Boyi and Wang Ning joined hands. But he also had to stand on Ye Xiaotian's side. In addition to his friendship and trust with Ye Xiaotian, his interests were tied to his brother-in-law, and Ye Xiaotian was his brother-in-law's only hope.

Ye Xiaotian would not belittle himself. His plan was to defeat Xu Boyi, the 'first wife', and Wang Ning, the 'second concubine'. If possible, he would even step on Hua Qingfeng, the good-for-nothing husband, and become the 'Wu Zetian'!

His ambition was not only to defeat Xu Boyi and become the master behind the scenes of Gourd County. He wanted to continuously climb up the ranks, and at the very least, become a sixth-ranked official and marry Yingying. He already had Ning Er and Duo Ni. Because of this, he had to meet the Xia family's requirements and marry Yingying openly. Only then would he be able to make up for the debt he owed to Yingying.

He would not easily use the connections he had made during his trip to Jinling. Every time he used a favor, it would diminish. But this did not mean that he would never use it. He did not use the connections in Jinling because good steel should be used on the blade's edge. Against two people like Wang Ning and Xu Boyi, it was not worth it for him to use all his cards.

Ye Xiaotian's combination of punches after returning to Gourd County seemed to have beaten Xu Boyi to the point where he could not even retaliate. In fact, even if Xu Boyi was prepared, he would not be able to retaliate. This was because his biggest advantage was that Hua Qingfeng did not dare to stand out, but Hua Qingfeng 'stood out'!

Ye Xiaotian had people in his hands, and Hua Qingfeng had status. With these two combined, Xu Boyi had no way of fighting back. This was because there were countless levels above them, and there was a corresponding set of rules to suppress them.

In the eyes of Wang Ning and Xu Boyi, Ye Xiaotian was a concubine who wanted to seize power. But the problem now was that the wife was trying to seize the husband's power, and the husband was working with the concubine to seize back his rightful power. So, Xu Boyi and Wang Ning could not use the higher level rules to fight back against each other.

From the looks of it, Ye Xiaotian had the upper hand, and they no longer had the power to retaliate. Magistrate Hua personally went to oversee the relay road. Every day, wind and rain, and dust flew everywhere. Magistrate Hua tirelessly went back and forth, dealing with all the problems that arose, and ensuring that the relay road was unobstructed. With three bloody heads guarding the road, and a group of capable subordinates, he did a good job.

Chang Zizai and Xie Chuanfeng's carriage and horse business was strongly suppressed by Ye Xiaotian. When the transportation of military supplies needed the help of the carriage and horse business, this lucrative job was naturally handed over to "Luo Li Gao Chariot". Merchants were all very sensitive hunting dogs. After noticing the change in power in Hulu County, they tried their best to take care of "Luo Li Gao Chariot"'s business, unless they couldn't handle such a large volume of goods. Business waited for no man, so they could only look for Chang Zizai and Xie Chuanfeng. This way, they could still maintain a good relationship with Chang Zizai and Xie Chuanfeng. Once their backer made a comeback, it would be easy to build a good relationship with them.

Gao Ya and Li Bohao, two scholars who dreamed of becoming swordsmen since they were young, were obviously not cut out for business. Although Law Tycoon was a business genius, there were different types of business. He was obviously not good at the transportation business, so he needed to at least familiarize himself with it and understand it.

But now, his own business was flourishing, and it involved a lot of energy. He also had to find time to fight with his father, so he really couldn't care too much. Therefore, Law Tycoon gave Sun Weixuan 20% of the shares and appointed him as the big boss of Luo Li Gao Chariot.

Gao Ya and Li Bohao didn't have to put in any effort to get a large bonus, so of course they were happy. Tycoon could also free up more time to take care of Niuniu, who was gradually becoming pregnant. Sun Weixuan did not disappoint. After obtaining 20% of the shares and becoming one of the big bosses, he poured all his effort into the carriage business, and managed the business of the carriage business until it was flourishing.

Everyone had a place that was suitable for them, and the courier route was undoubtedly the most suitable place for Sun Weixuan. If Ye Xiaotian wanted to be promoted step by step, he needed to have his own team, and this team was not limited to the officialdom. The outstanding performance of Sun Weixuan also entered his sights, and Ye Xiaotian began to deliberately cultivate him.

Of course, Xu Boyi was not willing to fail like this, but creating obstacles for Hua Qingfeng once was enough. He originally hoped to use this to make Hua Qingfeng retreat, but since Hua Qingfeng did not retreat, even though he still had more intense methods, he was afraid to take action for fear of breaking the vases.

Although the affairs of the courier route had been taken over by Hua Qingfeng, he already had a part of the credit. Moreover, because of his "withdrawal", if the war in Yunnan was not going well, and someone wanted to find fault with the military supplies, then Magistrate Hua would have to take the blame. But if there was a great victory, according to the merits, he and Register Wang would not miss out on a share of the rewards.

Therefore, he did not really want to destroy the courier route and cause the military supplies to be unable to be transported. This way, the key to turning the tide of the war, and even winning the decisive victory, could only be placed on the matter of changing his surname. This was his "trump card", and it was time for him to use it!