Chapter 45: Even the Newbie Village Hasn

…

In Tihé Hall.

Ye Shi Yun swallowed a large bite of osmanthus cake with effort, pounding her chest as she said: "This crappy cake—I wouldn't have eaten it in my past life even if begged, it's not just disgusting, the calories are… ridiculously high!"

After speaking, Ye Shi Yun bit into another huge mouthful and devoured it greedily.

Zhang Chun, Li Lin, and Yuan Qing Cheng weren't much better than Ye Shi Yun, also gobbling down the osmanthus cake in large bites.

Seeing Ma Xiao Jiao said from the side: "Slow down, there's plenty of this cake—if you like it, I'll have Xiduo bring you more later."

"Who's Xiduo?" Yuan Qing Cheng asked.

"My maid," Seeing Ma Xiao Jiao answered.

The four women all turned to look at Seeing Ma Xiao Jiao; Ye Shi Yun even confirmed with both envy and jealousy: "You've got a maid already?!"

"The very first day I went to Zhao Yu, he assigned me a maid. Lately I've been so busy, he said he'd give me a few more maids with strong hands to help me, but I never had time to pick any—so I only have Xiduo. Otherwise, I'd already be surrounded by attendants," Seeing Ma Xiao Jiao said with no small amount of pride.

"Are you trying to kill me with kindness? We're suffering here, and you're flaunting how many maids you have, Xiao Jiao—you've gone bad!" Ye Shi Yun said angrily.

"We have to wait a long time and stand in long lines just to get a few scraps of leftovers, but you're already living a life where clothes are handed to you and food is brought to your mouth—what a difference in fate!" Yuan Qing Cheng also complained.

"If I'd known this, I'd have fought for the position of teaching maid too—if I'd gotten out, I could've done something meaningful, better than wasting time here uselessly. Those glass windows—were they your doing?" Li Lin said.

"I helped Zhao Yu build a glass factory; so far, I've helped him produce samples of colorless glass, mirrors, telescopes, and eyeglasses."

"Actually, Zhao Yu was just lucky."

"Tong Guan led a team out for three days and found several dry or semi-dry lakes and marshes. They brought back soil according to my instructions, and under my guidance, the artisans extracted highly pure natural soda ash from the soil of one of those dry lakes."

Here, Seeing Ma Xiao Jiao's tone shifted: "You wouldn't believe how skilled the craftsmen of this era are—we totally underestimated the ancients. I'm now considering whether to build a machine tool."

"Won't a machine tool be hard to make?" Li Lin asked.

"If I were a Level 8 fitter, I might be able to hand-craft the simplest machine tool, but I'm not, and besides, the steel we have now isn't good enough," Seeing Ma Xiao Jiao said.

"So it's hopeless then?" Yuan Qing Cheng asked.

"Not necessarily—I know how to do paper crafts. I'll make a paper model first, then have those skilled artisans try adapting it from wood—maybe we can make a knockoff wooden machine tool, which would still be useful, and then slowly figure out upgrades. Anyway, Zhao Yu has handed me full control of his workshops and let me command all his artisans however I want—he gives me money when I ask, people when I ask, lets me tinker however I please. We've got time to play around."

It was clear Seeing Ma Xiao Jiao was relaxed and happy.

"That's great—you've already started your own struggle, unlike us, who are just standing still," Li Lin said enviously.

"Is it really that bad? Isn't Zhang Chun already by the Empress Dowager's side? The Empress Dowager is the most powerful woman of this era—even Zhao Yu has to flatter her. How could you not make progress beside her?" Seeing Ma Xiao Jiao was astonished.

Li Lin nudged Zhang Chun: "Ask her."

Seeing Ma Xiao Jiao turned to look at Zhang Chun.

"That old feudal, stubborn fool won't even listen to me—she's always yammering about rules. When something important happens, I try to warn her, but before I finish speaking, she orders the Palace Inspector to slap me. Luckily, Empress Xiansu intervened in time, or I'd have been ruined," Zhang Chun said through gritted teeth.

"This… can't be true?" Seeing Ma Xiao Jiao was stunned.

"I thought so too—the Empress Dowager is a political powerhouse who decides who becomes the next emperor. Someone like her should be open to advice. But the reality is, she won't listen to a word I say!" Zhang Chun fumed.

"You're just saying that because you're too eager to show off, you picked the wrong moment, and you're sucking up—whining and trembling before your superiors, too afraid to speak, which is why you got punished," Li Lin couldn't take it anymore and spoke the real reason.

"You weren't even there—how can you slander me without proof!" Zhang Chun retorted.

Li Lin held deep resentment toward Zhang Chun over this. She even believed that the reason none of them had made any progress, and why they couldn't even leave the starter village, was entirely Zhang Chun's fault—her petty schemes, constant small moves, and refusal to cooperate with the group.

So Li Lin shot back: "I wasn't there, but this incident has spread throughout Cide Palace—several palace maids who were present swore that when the Empress Dowager was discussing with Han Zhongyan whether to accept the Western Xia's peace offer, you shouted 'No!' from the side, then spent half a minute unable to explain why. The Empress Dowager was furious you embarrassed her in front of outsiders, so she ordered the Palace Inspector to slap you."

Li Lin turned to Seeing Ma Xiao Jiao: "She's always clear-headed and talkative with us, but when facing the Empress Dowager and Han Zhongyan, she gets so nervous she can't speak—that's one thing. But she also dragged Zheng Yaban and Wang Yaban down with her."

"What happened?" Seeing Ma Xiao Jiao asked.

"Do you know how Zheng Yaban and Wang Yaban recommended her? They recommended her to take their place, saying she had the talent to be an Yaban. But then she gave this performance, causing the Empress Dowager to lose face—how could Zheng Yaban and Wang Yaban not be scolded? They'd probably have been punished too, except they're about to marry Zhao Yu—otherwise, they'd have suffered along with her," Li Lin said indignantly.

"Zheng Yaban and Wang Yaban have been good to us—they've kept letting us clean here, moved us into two-person rooms, and whenever the Empress Dowager gives rewards, they never keep them all for themselves—they always include us. Without their care, we couldn't have survived here at all," Yuan Qing Cheng agreed.

"These two women are truly good—Zhao Yu got a huge bargain marrying them," even Ye Shi Yun praised Zheng Xiansu and Wang Yisu without end.

Zhang Chun stopped arguing, because she knew Li Lin and Yuan Qing Cheng weren't blaming her for dragging Zheng Xiansu and Wang Yisu down—they were blaming her for wasting her opportunity.

As Li Lin put it: "If you can't do it, let me do it—I won't be speechless. If you have something to say, I'll say it for you."

In truth—

Fundamentally, Li Lin and Yuan Qing Cheng no longer trusted Zhang Chun.

Besides, Zhang Chun had already explained to Li Lin and the others: "Li Qianshun conspired with Liao envoys to poison his mother, Empress Zhao Jian Wenmu. Now Western Xia is purging its maternal relatives—the political situation is extremely unstable, and this is a heavenly-given opportunity for Song to attack Western Xia. From the outset, I wasn't wrong."

Zhang Chun had even confessed to Li Lin and the others: "I have a habit of freezing up when nervous, but Zhao Yu accepts my flaw. The Empress Dowager clearly isn't a wise ruler—she's not worth serving."

But Li Lin and Yuan Qing Cheng wouldn't listen to any of this, and Ye Shi Yun cared only about her own comfort.

As a result, after Seeing Ma Xiao Jiao left, Zhang Chun felt increasingly isolated.

Under these circumstances, Zhang Chun felt anything she said would be meaningless.

So she told herself: "Cattle and sheep travel in herds, tigers walk alone. You may have talent, but all you know is adding flowers to brocade. Only I can become the master of this world. If you won't cling to my thick leg and instead isolate me, you'll regret it later…"

…

(End of Chapter)