In front of a good official, she was willing to introduce modern knowledge, just like when she was at the border.

She knew from novels that the integrity of the Yonghe Marquis’s family was trustworthy, which is why she dared to present the soap formula.

After thinking for a moment, Yang Haiyan suddenly had an idea: “Teacher, can I become your deputy?”

Du Ke was taken aback; this response from Yang Haiyan was completely unexpected. “What do you mean by this?”

Yang Haiyan said, “I… I want to accompany you to different places to participate in this matter. I grew up in the capital, got married to the border at sixteen, and now at eighteen, I’ve come to Yunxiang County with my husband. I want to travel across the country, to see the vast and beautiful landscape of our Qi State. Teacher, I know that many people think women should focus on family and remain in the inner courtyard, but… but I hope that one day, when I have children, I can proudly tell them about the beauty and vastness of our Qi State. I can proudly tell them that I have walked every inch of our land. Instead of…” Yang Haiyan’s voice gradually faded; she felt she was being a bit fanciful. In ancient times, which woman could be so fortunate?

Du Ke had long known that Yang Haiyan was an extraordinary woman and shouldn’t be measured by the thoughts of ordinary women.

Therefore, he did not immediately oppose her words.

After a while, he said, “You should discuss this with Qin Fang.” If Qin Fang had no objections, then although he was her teacher, he was also an outsider, so why oppose?

Yang Haiyan was quite surprised when she heard this: “You don’t oppose it? Don’t you think women should remain in the inner courtyard?”

Du Ke rarely spoke about his personal matters; this was something he had never shared with anyone: “To be honest, I have never thought about this question. Ever since I was born, my life has been structured: from enlightenment to studying, taking the imperial examination, and becoming an official, every step has been logical, so I never considered how women should be. The only times I thought about it were… perhaps three times.

The first time was when the matriarch of the family wanted me to marry your stepmother, and I thought about what kind of woman she was.

The second time was when my legitimate daughter, your eldest sister, was to be betrothed, and I thought about what kind of man would suit her personality. The third time was when my illegitimate daughter was to be betrothed… I really didn’t have any views on how women should be positioned.” This topic was quite novel.

In this era, women were indeed confined to the inner courtyard, but… “Since you grew up in the capital, you must know that there are women in the capital who do not remain in the inner courtyard. Poetry gatherings and poetry societies are held every year, and some of those events are organized by women. Are those women confined to the inner courtyard?

So, whether a woman is confined to the inner courtyard or not is not determined by men but by the women themselves. Bingyun, what do you think?”

Yang Haiyan was first taken aback, and then slowly savored Du Ke’s words before realizing: “Thank you for your guidance, Teacher.”

She understood and had come to a realization.

All along, having traveled to this world, she had been measuring herself by the standards of ancient women, such as running a small business and then focusing on family duties.

She had been living her life this way.

But after hearing Du Ke’s words, she awakened to the fact that this was how the majority of ancient women lived.

However, there was still a small portion who did not, and the decision of how she should live was up to her, not following the crowd.

Having come to ancient times, if she remained confined to the inner courtyard from the age of sixteen to sixty-six, or perhaps to eighty-six if she lived a long life, she couldn’t imagine what would happen in the future.

With another fifty years, even seventy years, her life was just beginning. Did she really want to live by the standards of ancient women and conform to such norms?

“That’s clearly not possible. Otherwise, wouldn’t it mean this entire life has been wasted?”

She made up her mind. When she and Qin Fang got some time off, she would tell him she wanted to travel.

While they didn’t have children yet, she could still have a carefree adventure.

Once they had kids… she would travel with the child?

Qin Fang had no idea about his wife’s grand plan. He came back with the ledgers from the military camp and said, “Teacher…”

Du Ke took the account books but didn’t look at them immediately. “We were just discussing how to complete five years’ worth of work in two years. Bingyun said he wanted to accompany me to the various provinces as my assistant to do this. Qin Fang, what’s your take?”

Qin Fang’s mouth dropped open as he looked at Du Ke, then glanced at Yang Haiyan.

At that moment, he had only one thought: “What about me?”

Qin Fang’s response surprised Yang Haiyan.

She thought he would oppose the idea, but instead, his question was about what he would do.

Yang Haiyan thought for a moment and said, “Why don’t you come along too?”

There wasn’t much happening in Yunxiang County, and with Colonel Yang and Colonel Lü around, the city’s defense could be trusted.

So, it wouldn’t be a big problem if Qin Fang left for a while.

However, unless a city defense general had an imperial mandate, they couldn’t leave the county arbitrarily.

If it were a nearby county, a few days away wouldn’t be an issue, but going too far wouldn’t be allowed.

Otherwise, if something happened to the city, the general would be held responsible.

Qin Fang was tempted.

Ever since he started military service at sixteen, he hadn’t had a proper rest.

Even after completing his five years of service, his one-month leave had mostly been spent traveling back and forth between his hometown and the Yongzhou military camp.

However, he said, “I can’t. I have an imperial mandate, and I need to stay on top of things at the Daoist temple.”

The emperor had tasked him with secretly monitoring the situation, so he couldn’t leave.

Speaking of the Daoist temple, Du Ke said, “Wei Ting mentioned earlier that in about a month, the matter with the gunpowder should be wrapped up.”

Qin Fang’s eyes lit up. “Teacher, are you suggesting…?”

Du Ke continued, “Ren Prefecture is the first step in the imperial grain procurement plan, and that will likely take about a month as well, so there’s no rush. However, since a city defense general cannot leave his post, I could request the emperor to appoint you as my escorting general.”

Qin Fang was overjoyed and immediately stood up. “Thank you, Teacher.”

Du Ke waved his hand. “Now, as for how to improve the efficiency of the imperial grain procurement plan, let’s hear your thoughts.”

Yang Haiyan spoke first: “Although our Qiguo has 120 prefectures, there are 22 overall provinces. We can group each province’s situation together, like how Teacher suggested bringing in the six prefectural magistrates of Ren Prefecture. As the heads of their prefectures, these magistrates can recommend trustworthy families. After we investigate and verify them, we can let them bid. This will speed things up.”

Qin Fang, unfamiliar with civil affairs, listened to his wife’s analysis and said, “We’ll need to send people to each prefecture to investigate in advance. That way, when the magistrates recommend families, we’ll be ready to compare.”

Du Ke nodded. “Good point. In fact, before I came to Yunxiang County, I had already sent people to investigate all the provinces and prefectures.”

Yang Haiyan was surprised by Du Ke’s efficiency. He was indeed a top official close to the emperor.

Du Ke then said, “But we don’t know if the imperial grain procurement plan will succeed. Before I came, the emperor had already announced it during court. Do you know the current strengths and weaknesses of the court?”

This?

Qin Fang and Yang Haiyan exchanged glances.

They didn’t know. Qin Fang came from humble beginnings and had never been involved in court politics, so he had no clue. Yang Haiyan, though she had some foresight from the novel she had transmigrated into, didn’t truly understand court affairs either.

Du Ke said, “Let me explain the court’s strengths. The emperor ascended to the throne after winning the succession struggle, so he’s very powerful. The court is essentially under his command. Most high-ranking officials were people who supported him, like myself and Wei Ting’s father, Wei Hong. Because of our loyalty, what the emperor says goes. No one dares oppose the imperial grain plan. Even if someone did, they wouldn’t have enough support to make a difference.

“That’s the first advantage.

“The second advantage is that the emperor’s three sons are still young, and no factions have emerged yet. So, the court remains harmonious. But throughout history, no dynasty has avoided factionalism. Once the princes grow older…”

Qin Fang interjected, “Teacher, are you saying the weakness will come when the princes grow older and factions form?”

Du Ke said, “Yes. But for now, the emperor is in excellent health, so that’s a problem for the future.”

Yang Haiyan thought to herself, There’s no need to worry about that. The emperor is in great shape and will remain so even after you retire.

Du Ke continued, “Many are waiting for me to fail in this imperial grain plan. They would love nothing more than to see it collapse. If it fails, I won’t be able to show my face in the capital for a long time. So, failure is not an option.”

The next day, Du Ke sent letters to the six magistrates of Ren Prefecture.

The prefectures of Ren Prefecture were Hedong, Anren, Qiongli, Liangshan, Daohe, and Jiujiang.

When the six magistrates received Du Ke’s letters, they weren’t surprised.

The court had already announced the imperial grain procurement plan, and Du Ke was the imperial envoy.

They had been waiting for this.

While the details of the plan were unclear, it was obvious that it would involve grain.

After receiving Du Ke’s letter, the six magistrates quickly made their way to Yunxiang County.

Normally, the six magistrates of Ren Prefecture weren’t particularly close, but this time, they waited for each other outside Yunxiang County before entering the city together.

The magistrate of Anren said, “I wonder what kind of plan Lord Du is overseeing with this imperial grain procurement. Magistrate Liu, this is your territory. Have you heard anything?”

Magistrate Liu of Hedong replied, “Not yet. We’ll know more once we meet Lord Du.”

They were merely making small talk.

Soon, the six magistrates entered the city and headed straight for the government guesthouse.

Once the magistrates arrived, the guesthouse superintendent immediately sent someone to inform the General’s Office and the county government.

Shortly afterward, Du Ke from the General’s Office and County Magistrate Yang from the county government both arrived.

Since the county government was closer, County Magistrate Yang arrived first.

The magistrates went to rest in their assigned rooms.

Since Yunxiang County was under Hedong Prefecture’s jurisdiction, Magistrate Yang naturally went to see Magistrate Liu.

Magistrate Liu had just bathed and changed clothes.

Hearing that County Magistrate Yang had arrived so promptly, he invited him in.

The last time Magistrate Yang had seen Magistrate Liu was at the beginning of the year, when Liú had just taken over as the prefectural magistrate of Hedong.

Naturally, County Magistrate Yang had gone to pay his respects.