Chapter 80 Burning Books
Qin Yao closed the book and was in a trance for a moment.
The wall of the house in front of her slowly collapsed, revealing a wider world that slowly unfolded before her eyes.
The book may be a fabricated unofficial history, but no matter how it is arranged, in this male-dominated society, no one would write out of thin air such plots as the emperor and empress sharing power, the empress almost declaring herself king, and the princess wanting to become the crown princess.
Who is the author of this book?
Qin Yao opened the novel again and only the three words "Anonymous" were left at the end.
In fact, there have always been stories about the emperor and empress's family circulating among the people. What people tell in teahouses are nothing more than how the emperor and empress have a deep relationship and that His Majesty only has the empress in his palace.
The only people discussed were the emperor and his two princes. They said that the emperor came from a poor family and hated corrupt officials the most. The two princes personally toured various places, rectified the Qingming Festival, reduced corvée and taxes, issued a general amnesty, and so on.
But I have never heard anyone mention what kind of person the Queen is or what contributions she has made to the Sheng Kingdom.
Qin Yao recalled the various information she had received during this period. In fact, compared with the previous dynasty, the restrictions on women have been much more relaxed. Women can be seen traveling on the streets of the county town, and there are also women vendors.
Many women can be seen among the shop owners, and even Miss Ding's study is filled with various unofficial history novels.
So in the new generation, restrictions on women have become relaxed.
Putting all these clues together, Qin Yao felt that the status of women was quietly improving.
Perhaps, in the upper class that they cannot see, there are powerful same-sex people who hold power and are fighting for their rights.
Thinking of this, Qin Yao couldn't help but feel a little excited.
After all, she couldn't go back, so she naturally hoped that there would be fewer and fewer restrictions on women.
As for farming, Qin Yao now has a new idea - she wants to change her destiny through studying!
But it was not her who was reading, but Liu Ji.
He has a certain foundation and he is an adult, so there is no need to worry about his life or death.
After spending some time together, Qin Yao discovered that although Liu Ji was lazy and gluttonous, he was smart and particularly aware of current affairs.
In the past, no one could control him, and he would work hard for three days and rest for two days, but she was someone who had experienced "three years of college entrance examinations and five years of simulations".
She didn't have high expectations for Liu Ji; being a juren was enough for him.
Once again, if you study hard and study till death, you can pass the exam and become a scholar, right?
If you can be exempted from taxes and corvée, it can also be considered a contribution to this family.
What's more, he is shameless and has a good-looking face, so maybe he would have a miraculous effect if he was thrown out for socializing.
If one could get a small clerical job like a clerk in a county town, that would also be a class leap.
This trip to Ding's house made Qin Yao realize that if she wanted to have a better life, she had to follow the rules of this society.
As long as he had fame and honor, he could live a leisurely life like Mr. Ding, with money and land given to him by others and he didn't have to work in the fields himself.
After a life of fighting and killing in her previous life, Qin Yao just wants to enjoy life more in this life.
However, this living standard is slightly higher than that of ordinary people in Sheng Country.
Qin Yao had all the best ideas, and planned to go home and force Liu Ji to read the book again after her bodyguard journey ended, but she still sighed in dissatisfaction.
How great it would be if she could pass the imperial examination, then all the fame, wealth and honor would be hers!
What a pity, what a pity...
Miss Ding walked around the yard seven or eight times, and felt that it was about time, so she ran into the study excitedly.
"Madam Qin, have you finished reading it?"
Qin Yao nodded, put the notebook in her hand on the table, and reminded the girl in front of her, "I have read the contents. I suggest burning it."
Miss Ding's face changed. "Is it that serious?"
Qin Yao nodded. If it happened in later times, it would definitely be fine. But here, the imperial power was supreme and the social system was strictly hierarchical. The storytellers in the teahouse only dared to say good things about the emperor and were still very cautious.
However, it would be troublesome if the content of this book was misunderstood as disparaging the emperor.
So Qin Yao's suggestion was to burn it.
"I can tell you the contents of this book later, Miss, but I think it's better to burn it first. It's better to be safe than sorry. The master and the young master will both pursue careers in government in the future, and leaving a book like this at home could easily lead to trouble."
Seeing Qin Yao's serious expression, Miss Ding was also worried, "Do you really want to burn it?"
Qin Yao saw that she was reluctant to leave, so she suggested that she open the book and read it herself, "I'll go outside and keep watch for you."
Qin Yao was about to leave when Miss Ding called her back and said in a somewhat frightened tone, "I don't dare to look."
If she hadn't seen it, she wouldn't have revealed it in her future words and deeds.
But if she did, she couldn't guarantee that she wouldn't accidentally reveal her true identity in the future. Daddy was so smart, he would definitely find out.
"Don't worry, it's not a big deal. It's just that people who read it may have different understandings."
Qin Yao gave her a faint smile, then went out and stood in the corridor.
Miss Ding hesitated for less than two seconds, but curiosity finally got the better of her. She sat down at the desk and opened the storybook.
The story is not long, only about 30,000 to 40,000 words, and Qin Yao finished reading it in half an hour.
But Miss Ding stayed in the study for the whole afternoon and did not come out until dinner time.
After dinner, the first thing she did was to run to Qin Yao and ask her to help burn the books.
But before burning it, he reluctantly said, "This is the first time I've seen such a wonderful book. It would be great if it wasn't about a saint."
Qin Yao understood her feelings. "In the past, the protagonists were all men. It is indeed rare to have a woman as the protagonist."
Miss Ding smiled playfully, "But I wrote down all the contents, but I don't know if my brother has read the contents of the book."
Qin Yao guessed, "He probably hasn't seen it, otherwise he wouldn't have given it to you, young lady."
With Master Ding's temper, if he found out the content of the book was so explosive, I'm afraid he would go crazy immediately.
No matter how reluctant I am, I still have to burn the books.
Qin Yao came to an empty space in the backyard, lit a pile of leaves, threw the book in, and it burned up in a short while.
In order to leave no traces, it was burned again to ensure that not a single piece of paper was left.
Then he clapped his hands and prepared to go home to rest.
It was already dark. Qin Yao went in through the corner door. Zhang Ba opened the door for her. When he saw her come in, he closed the door, bolted it, and went into the small room beside the door to rest.
The entire inner courtyard was so quiet that there was no sound at all, and the lights in Miss Ding's room were off.
It's too early to go to bed. Qin Yao stretched lazily and lay in her single room, looking at the hazy moonlight outside the small window, not feeling sleepy at all.
Outside the Ding Mansion is a large tract of farmland. Bursts of frog sounds came from the fields, which sounded a bit like white noise. Qin Yao squinted her eyes and gradually felt sleepy.
A soft "click" sound came from behind the house.
Qin Yao opened her eyes quickly, sat up from the bed reflexively, and her hand fell on the long knife on the table beside the bed.
Listening carefully, I heard someone rustling outside the yard, as if he was trying to put something on the wall.
(End of this chapter)