Chapter 18 Encounter Again
Early the next morning, Dai Yun knocked on the door.
“Come in,” Qiu Shuzhi said after putting on her official robes.
Dai Yun entered the room, and her first glance went to the ambergris incense that had burned less than a third. Seeing that the incense had been extinguished, she asked, “Does the official not like burning incense?”
“I only love agarwood incense. I’m not used to the scent of ambergris,” Qiu Shuzhi said as she adjusted her collar.
Dai Yun’s eyes narrowed slightly as she smiled, “I see. It was my oversight.”
The servants behind her entered in a line, carrying a sumptuous breakfast. Qiu Shuzhi only ladled a bowl of plain congee and asked while eating it with some pickles, “Where is the silver mine located?”
“The silver mine is in a very remote rural area. Those mine thieves love to secretly open small silver furnaces in obscure corners. Often, by the time government officials arrive, they’ve already vanished without a trace.”
“Take me to see it in a while.”
Dai Yun frowned, “The official wants to personally go to the silver mine?”
The porcelain white spoon paused at her lips, and she smiled, “What? Am I not allowed to go to the silver mine?”
“Of course you can go. You certainly can go. This official will arrange for preparations right away.” Dai Yun gave a look to the person beside her, who immediately ran out.
After finishing breakfast, Dai Yun had already arranged for a carriage to be prepared. Qiu Shuzhi and Dai Yun rode in the same carriage, with An Dai and Ji Mei following on horseback. Behind them was a group of Dai Yun’s yamen runners. The grand procession set off towards the direction of the silver mine.
As they got closer to the mine, Qiu Shuzhi lifted the curtain and looked around.
It was early morning, the time when villagers should be working diligently in the fields. However, Qiu Shuzhi noticed that the fields here were overgrown with weeds, looking as if no one had tended to them. There wasn’t a single person to be seen on the field ridges.
Qiu Shuzhi grew suspicious.
It wasn’t until their procession gradually entered the village that they saw a few villagers, all gathered on the roads of the settlement.
A few old people sat on doorsteps smoking long-stemmed pipes, puffing out clouds of smoke. The remaining young people were gathered in groups of three or five, gambling with dice. Beside them, there were even a few flamboyantly dressed male courtesans singing to liven up the atmosphere. Despite being an unremarkable small village, it was incredibly extravagant.
When they saw the large official procession, they weren’t surprised. They simply tossed a few more silver coins onto the table and continued gambling, as if they were already accustomed to such sights.
Qiu Shuzhi saw the silver coins on their gambling table and immediately ordered the carriage to stop.
Dai Yun hurriedly followed her out.
She walked directly to the gambling table and picked up one of the silver coins they were using as stakes, asking, “You ladies seem to be quite wealthy. May I ask where you made your fortune?”
Seeing the official robes on Qiu Shuzhi and hearing her question, those young people not only didn’t seem alarmed, but their eyes even showed a hint of contempt.
“There are ways to make money. We’re not stealing or robbing. Why are you questioning us? Are you treating us like criminals?”
“Don’t be rude, this is the Zhizhong of Shuntianfu!” Dai Yun scolded from behind.
Upon seeing Dai Yun, the young people immediately greeted her with smiling faces: “Magistrate Dai, why didn’t you let us know in advance that you were coming to the village? We could have had the villagers welcome you!”
These people’s attitude towards Dai Yun was completely different from their attitude towards Qiu Shuzhi, excessively warm.
“I’m here to accompany Official Qiu to inspect the silver mine. Zhou Hu, have you seen any mine thieves around?” Dai Yun asked.
“You can rest assured, official. The silver mine is doing well!” The leader, named Zhou Hu, patted her chest and said with conviction.
She was extremely stout and sturdy, with skin tanned dark, thick arms and broad shoulders, a short thick neck, and a fierce air about her brow and eyes. She was even panting heavily as she spoke.
Dai Yun patted her shoulder approvingly, “It’s all thanks to you.”
She turned to Qiu Shuzhi and said, “Official, you may not know, but the silver mine is in a remote location with treacherous and rugged terrain. It’s impossible to arrange for yamen runners to guard it, so this official has assigned these young people who grew up around the silver mine to patrol it at all times.”
Qiu Shuzhi was silent for a moment, then resumed her usual gentle and graceful smile, “I see. Then please, Miss Zhou, lead us to see the silver mine.”
Zhou Hu didn’t answer her, but looked towards Dai Yun instead.
Only after Dai Yun nodded did she say, “Follow me then, but you’ll have to walk too.”
The silver mine was located behind a great mountain. The mountain range was majestic, with a river flowing through below. The vast water and misty clouds, behind a screen of fresh green willows, led to an exceptionally difficult mountain path. There was only a narrow trail wide enough for one person to pass, with steep mountains on one side and nothing but the rushing river below on the other. One misstep would send you tumbling into the water, to be swept away by the current.
Zhou Hu and Dai Yun led the way, with Qiu Shuzhi following behind them, and Ji Mei silently guarding her rear.
After an hour of difficult progress, they finally reached the silver mine. It was a mountaintop that had already been hollowed out with countless holes. The original greenery had been stripped away, leaving only a few lonely tree stumps.
Several mine shafts in the center of the mountain were particularly eye-catching, with workers constantly emerging from the tunnels carrying baskets of silver ore. Once mined, all of this silver ore was to be handed over to the government.
These, it seemed, must be the official mines.
“Where are the tunnels dug by those thieves?” she asked.
She had come to investigate just how many tunnels those mine thieves had dug, to estimate how much profit they had gained from it.
Zhou Hu couldn’t help but laugh out loud, pointing at all the mine shafts on the mountain, “Look, those are all tunnels dug by the thieves!”
“All of them?” Qiu Shuzhi frowned deeply, looking at the large and small tunnels scattered across the entire mountain. These were all silver mines discovered on Da Qi’s territory. Now, when the national treasury was empty, the young Emperor was racking her brains to raise funds, yet these people were so bold.
The entire mountain, the entire mine, had been nearly half hollowed out. How much profit had those people gained from this?
The scent of ambergris seemed to reach her nostrils, carried across the mountains and waters.
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If you’re like me…
Too tired of reading stories where the female lead is often foolish, weak, feeble both physically and mentally, usually in a subservient and oppressed role in society such as a maid, secretary, concubine… or to put it bluntly, typically the one who has to serve and please the male lead, always needing protection and rescue from male leads, while the male lead is often described as talented, strikingly handsome, powerful,…
Then please continue reading.
Hi there, girls!
I’m Yuushi L.
Every day, movies and comics continuously reinforce the notion that women are weak, that they can only handle trivial matters in the background, that women are petty-minded and constantly jealous, mocking, and laughing at other women, while men are strong, wealthy, and solely focused on conquering the world, with countless mindless women ready to fall into their arms.
Believe me, once you read Female-dominant (FEDO) novels, your mindset will change significantly.
I am deeply inspired by strong, independent, and rational women who have the power to take control of their lives, and I am fascinated by the way society’s gender roles are reversed in this genre compared to real life.
So I have created this web with the noble purpose of promoting the “Female-dominant (FEDO)” genre of novels.
In my country, there was a rare renowned female poet in ancient times who wrote the following about the fate of women in that era:
“Damn this life of sharing a husband,
One wrapped in warmth, the other left cold.
I’d rather have stayed single from the start,
Than to endure a life so torn apart.”
Perhaps my penchant for reading female-dominant stories is partly a way of rebelling against the realities of life.
On my site, there will be stories that are not only female-dominant novels, as long as they align with my taste, featuring strong female protagonists and fresh, captivating storylines. Usually, they will be modern or fantasy novels.
I rarely read ancient novels that aren’t female-dominant because they often contain details that easily trigger me. These include the portrayal of men having multiple wives and concubines, which was considered utterly normal in ancient society, and the frequent disdain towards women.
I cannot change the world, as the societal structure that discriminates against women and elevates men has existed for thousands of years. Changing it to truly give women an equal role in society is not something that can happen overnight. If you want gender equality now, it’s laughable. It will never happen when over 90% of national and business leaders are men.
But I can start by changing the mindset of women, sisters, and young girls. Don’t just read dull slogans urging women to be strong and independent; it’s hard to imagine. Read Female-dominant (FEDO) novels to see clearly what true female empowerment looks like.
I believe there will be more and more independent and strong women who prioritize their careers and personal stability over seeking a man to rely on.
In the future, there will be more successful female entrepreneurs, politicians, and thought leaders.
As for me, I will start by making this website grow stronger day by day.
I especially like the concept of “the male lead falls in love first, the female lead is the cold-hearted and rational one, and the male lead suffers because the female lead doesn’t reciprocate his feelings.”
Therefore, you’ll see that most of the novels on my website will belong to this trope. Of course, there will be exceptions.
In the future, I also plan to write my own novels following this concept, where the female lead in my stories will never be the weaker party. I hope I can do it soon.
The novels I highly recommend will be listed under the category:
There will be exceptionally brilliant stories, but there will also be mediocre ones. As the Female-dominant (FEDO) genre has fewer authors and readers, the number of high-quality novels is limited.
Therefore, I want to promote this genre to reach a wider audience, which will encourage more talented authors to choose to write in this style, leading to the birth of more outstanding Female-dominant (FEDO) novels.
The Chinese versions of the novels I use for translation are all sourced from various websites on the internet. You know, I don’t have much budget to purchase so many novels.
Therefore, if your financial situation allows, please support the authors by purchasing the original works. You can find the original works using the Chinese titles of the novels.
*
WARNING:
In some novels, there are certain unhealthy ideologies and illegal actions held by the main characters (for example, treating human lives as worthless, or casually deciding to kill someone, forcing others to do things they don’t want to do, arbitrarily imprisoning others, plotting to harm others, using violence to retaliate against violence,…).
This may be because the authors are still young and inexperienced, unaware that what they’re writing goes beyond moral standards and can negatively influence young readers.
It’s important that readers under 18 years old need to recognize these are illegal actions, not permitted to be carried out in real life, always keep a clear head while reading, treat these works only as entertainment, and don’t let yourself be influenced by those plot points.
*
If you want to join me, support me, recommend novels, or simply want to connect with me privately, please contact me via email: yuushi.l.me@gmail.com
Or join my Discord to connect with others who share the same taste for novels:
With love and appreciation,
YUUSHI L
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*Spotlight on Finished Novel Translations*
The Male Lead’s Obsessive (Female-dominant)
One-line summary: She is his lifelong obsession, to the point where he was willing to be a third wheel, scorned by society, just to wedge his way into her relationship with her fiancé.
Synopsis:
Cold-hearted and indifferent female lead + Scheming and subservient CEO male lead
Summary:
Rong Xiu’s biggest regret in life was missing out on Fan Xia.
He secretly loved Fan Xia for 7 years.
Watched her go public with her boyfriend.
Watched her kiss her boyfriend at their wedding.
Until that man blissfully nestled in Fan Xia’s arms, obtaining everything he could only dream of.
The crazy jealousy stripped away his hidden secret love, layer by layer, burning like wildfire.
Fan Xia, how can I have you!
【Reading and Trigger Warning Guide】
1. Female dominant, male submissive, male pregnancy
2. Male lead schemes his way to the top, male competition
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Please help me, I want to bring you the best possible things.
If you find any chapter or novel with poor translation and editing quality, let me know by commenting directly under that novel or chapter. I will retranslate it as soon as possible.
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