Secondly, the issue of hostages.

Symbolic detention should still be carried out, but in a way that allows them to remain in office in the capital.

Looking at it this way, Qiao Yan’s suggestion is not considered childish.

Liu Hong’s gaze towards her softened slightly.

Thinking about Qiao Xuan’s serious illness and Qiao Yan’s difficult situation because she couldn’t refuse Yang Xiu’s provocation and had to go to compete,

followed by entering the palace for questioning, he felt a bit sorry for this child.

She deserved some reward.

However, there was no title left to bestow upon her, and it wouldn’t be suitable to give her a new title like he did with Ma Dai, appointing him as the Grand Historiographer. So, he could only offer a reward?

But Liu Hong was always stingy and didn’t like giving things away from his own hands.

He had an idea.

When Qiao Yan walked out of the Jiade Hall, she couldn’t help but feel a bit dazed.

The reward Liu Hong gave her was… calling it a reward was really unfair to those rewards of a hundred catties of gold recorded in history books!

He gave her two rewards.

One, in simpler terms, was to honor her grandfather.

Since he was likely not doing well, Liu Hong would add a layer of posthumous honor to him.

After his death, his epitaph would still be inscribed as “Grand Preceptor Qiao Xuan” instead of his current idle position.

The other reward was that he would invite two people to write Qiao Xuan’s epitaph.

One would be Qiao Xuan’s neighbor, who was good at the Eight-Part Essay.

The other would be the person who he had previously expelled from the capital and who had fled far away.

Cai Yong, who later brought disaster.

Cai Yong was recommended by Qiao Xuan when he first entered government service.

He started as a clerk under Qiao Xuan, who was then in the position of Minister over the Masses, before being appointed as a Gentleman of the Palace later.

This favor was quite significant.

Coincidentally, Cai Yong was talented in literature and poetry, making him well-suited for the job.

The other reward was related to the “tribute” paid by marquisates to the central government.

Liu Hong’s favor to her was that for five years, she could govern Le Ping County as if it were an independent state and would not need to pay tribute to the court.

On the surface, this seemed like a good thing, but first… she needed to collect taxes.

Qiao Yan tried to console herself.

According to the tribute standard of sixty-three qian per person per year in the early Han Dynasty, this tribute could be considered a large sum.

And five years!

Everything within her fiefdom would belong to her for five years.

After five years, with Liu Hong’s passing and the chaos in the court, who would remember her Le Ping?

All in all, it wasn’t a bad deal!

Furthermore…

As she walked out of the Lan Tai and passed through the Bai Hu Gate, she heard reports that Prince Bian and Prince Xie had visited the Jiade Hall.

At the same time, she heard her strategist system muttering something about “enough, enough.”

There seemed to be no other possibility that could make it say “enough.”

It was precisely the final 10 points of strategists she had been trying to plan before coming to Luoyang.

A smile crept onto Qiao Yan’s lips.

She hadn’t guessed wrong.

While Liu Hong’s decision to implement the provincial governor system could not be changed at this moment, given the chaotic situation, her calculation of the strategist points obviously could not be so straightforward.

From her established position in the Great Han, her statement about the drawbacks of the provincial governor system could be considered fulfilling her duties as a strategist.

Her strategy had undoubtedly warned the “lord” without affecting Liu Hong’s ability to maintain the situation, prompting him to take corresponding balancing measures.

So, overall, it should still be considered a positive suggestion.

[“The three-dimensional map can now be activated, it’s really not easy…”]

The system’s hardships were certainly something Qiao Yan marveled at.

Given her age and gender, without this kind of adept political acumen, she might not have made it to Luoyang at all.

Even if she did, she would have to tread carefully.

How could she be like she was now, able to win over the high-minded scholars like Xu Shao and benefit from it for a decade?

“Getting this evaluation can help improve my impression in front of Liu Hong.”

This kind of evaluation, “the fledgling phoenix has a clear voice,” can be completely compared to sayings like “the hidden dragon and crouching tiger, if one of them emerges, it can stabilize the world.”

This is truly a step towards the development of top strategists!

—The above is the strategist system’s thoughts.

“Yeah, it’s really not easy,” Qiao Yan replied in her heart.

When she entered the palace at the Pingcheng Gate earlier, she left Dian Wei outside.

Now that she had left Luoyang City from the Yong Gate and returned to Wang Zi Fang, she had to trouble a young eunuch to pass a message to Dian Wei, while she herself leisurely walked back towards Qiao Xuan’s mansion.

It wasn’t until she returned to this overly simple courtyard that Qiao Yan felt a temporary sense of relaxation.

She lay in the resting room and brought up the system’s panel.

Originally obscured by mist and requiring 100 strategist points to unlock, the three-dimensional map finally loaded before her eyes.

It was somewhat similar to modern city three-dimensional maps.

When she opened the map, what appeared before her eyes was a picture as if seen from above Luoyang.

Inside the central walls of Luoyang, two palaces shaped like the character “吕” were misaligned and spliced together.

The southern one was the Nangong she had visited today.

The Mingtang Lingtai in the south of the city stood tall, with water flowing around the city on the other three sides.

The densely packed residential areas from above formed the lifeblood of the city.

In this three-dimensional map, the most striking feature was undoubtedly the Mangshan north of Luoyang.

This mountain range, with its Fengchao Longxue geomancy theory, bore the rest of countless souls of Luoyang among its towering peaks.

But Qiao Yan was not thinking about “a clod of Mang soil is as precious as gold” at the moment, but—

This three-dimensional map did not disappoint her expectations.

If this map could also present this effect when she was in Le Ping, it would undoubtedly play an especially important role in her quickly familiarizing herself with the place.

Who cares about the mountainous terrain there!

With this thing in hand, even if the rewards given by Liu Hong were not something she could actually get, it wouldn’t make her feel so frustrated.

Qiao Yan rotated the three-dimensional map and satisfiedly put it away.

In the short term, she didn’t expect to reach the 300 strategist points level.

It’s better not to aim too high.

So what the system saw was Qiao Yan calmly adding this round of points to her constitution.

The system had learned its lesson. It felt that not adding them to intelligence would be a waste.

Strength is not a big issue either.

According to the system’s evaluation criteria, Yang Xiu’s intelligence should be above that of the host, but—

Would anyone think that a child prodigy like Jie Dui is smarter than the fledgling phoenix?

Probably no one would think so.

The focus is all on her.

Being enfeoffed at the age of ten and receiving extremely high praise from Xuzi Jiang undoubtedly aroused curiosity about Qiao Yan.

Moreover, she was immediately summoned by the emperor, but what was said and what the result was, because Liu Hong did not spread it outside, only became the most mysterious part of the conversation.

If the gossip-loving scholars in Luoyang could see the protagonist of this incident, it would be fine.

But unfortunately, Xushao heard that the chaos of the Yellow Turbans in Yuzhou had subsided, so he packed up and prepared to return to Runan.

Those “judges” who were also frequent guests of the Grand General’s Mansion would naturally not come out casually.

As for Yang Xiu, he didn’t need to mention it.

After he transcribed Qiao Yan’s strategy, he realized that since he wanted to plan a runaway, he had to prepare it thoroughly.

He was still arranging the things he wanted to bring, and his grandfather thought he had been greatly struck by this incident.

He didn’t feel struck!

The exceptionally intelligent Yang Xiu was still considering whether to increase his own value by sneaking out a few books from his grandfather’s study.

And Qiao Yan?

Cheng Li couldn’t help but sigh, she was truly born to accomplish something great.

After firmly establishing her position as a loyal subject of the Han Dynasty with a strategy, demonstrating enough political acumen and literary talent.

She, holding an evaluation that could even qualify her to enter and leave the Three Ducal Estates, started again with her previous vegetable-growing livelihood.

Five days later, the mustard greens she planted finally sprouted.

The warm weather in Luoyang these days and her care for this vegetable plot undoubtedly provided assurance for the growth of the new seedlings in the field.

The tender new shoots spread out in the loose, moist soil, revealing a new green vitality.

As Qiao Yan stroked the mustard seedlings with her hand,

Fu Shou, who had come to find her and was squatting beside her at the moment, said, “This variety of mustard greens is also called ‘Xuelihong,’ which sounds more beautiful, doesn’t it? In the autumn and winter seasons, part of the leaves will turn red.”

“So, this…”

“Is that your purpose for planting this? It’s still a while until autumn…” Fu Shou said.

“Not entirely. I’ve heard that in some places, the locals have given mustard greens another name, called ‘longevity vegetable.’ Perhaps this is also a kind of vision.”

This “some places” actually refers to Taiwan.

Of course, Taiwan is now called Yizhou.

After Sun Quan declared himself emperor, he even sent Wei Wen and Zhuge Zhi to sea to search for immortal mountains.

They brought back thousands of people from Yizhou.

It’s unlikely that the saying of this longevity vegetable would have spread to the Central Plains.

However, relying on the vastness and diversity of the Central Plains, with various local customs, now giving Fu Shou this explanation, no one would come to expose her.

Fu Shou, seeming to understand, nodded, “So this is praying for longevity for Lord Qiao in the house.”

She had wanted to reach out and poke the emerging seedlings, but thinking about how she had watched Qiao Yan busy for more than ten days while perched on the wall, she couldn’t do such damage, so she put her hands behind her back.

Qiao Yan found her reaction somewhat amusing and was about to say a few words when she suddenly heard a voice speak up behind her.

“Longevity… Do you still need to pray for longevity after living for over seventy years?”

Qiao Yan turned around and saw Qiao Xuan walking out of the house with the help of his servants.

The words came from Qiao Xuan’s mouth.

Qiao Yan couldn’t help but change her expression.

Someone who has been seriously ill for a long time suddenly waking up is not necessarily a good thing.

Just like Qiao Xuan, his current condition could not possibly be a sign of improvement, but rather a last burst of energy!

According to modern medical terms, this is the emergency supply of energy under the stress response of the dying state.

This indeed was enough to make Qiao Xuan clear-headed from his previous confused state, and even temporarily gave him some strength in his limbs.

It also added a bit of color to his already pale and withered face.

However, this state would not last long; he had only about a day’s life left.

Qiao Yan quickly had Lu Yuan send Fu Shou back.

Such a situation clearly should not allow Fu Shou to stay here any longer.

Just as she had made this arrangement, she saw Qiao Xuan carelessly push away the person supporting him and sit down beside the vegetable plot.

He sat on the stone by the flower garden.

Since he had served in the army, he must be aware of his current state.

But as far as Qiao Yan could see, the old man did not show any fear or anxiety about death, but…

He seemed to have a sense of openness and honesty.

With a bit of spirit left at this moment, he turned to Qiao Yan and said teasingly, “Your level of planting this vegetable really needs improvement.”

Seeing him patting the ground next to him,

Qiao Yan didn’t dwell on it and simply sat down beside Qiao Xuan, saying casually, “You can’t say that. It’s not bad for the first time doing it.”

Qiao Xuan gave her a glare. “Blaming gardening, is this how you act as a county marquis?”

Seeing that Qiao Yan seemed to be about to look towards the old servant, Qiao Xuan continued, “Alright, don’t look. It’s not what he said, it’s what I’ve heard you muttering about in my half-awake state these past few days.”

“…I heard it.”

He had been forcing himself to stay clear-headed, and now his voice was gradually weakening.

Even though he didn’t ask others to leave, perhaps only he and Qiao Yan beside him could hear the second half of his words.

“Marquis of Leping, Marquis of Leping… You are stronger and wiser than my foolish son.”

“…”

Qiao Yan’s fingertips subconsciously curled up slightly at Qiao Xuan’s words.

She was accustomed to analyzing others’ words, and this time was no exception.

So she didn’t find it difficult to hear the implied meaning in Qiao Xuan’s words.

If it was really about talking to his granddaughter, he shouldn’t have said

“my foolish son,” but rather—

“You are stronger than your father.”