The Demon Concubine

Chapter 98

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It’s already April 15th. If it’s in the South, it’s already a bit hot, but in the North, it’s still a bit cooler. Usually you only need two layers of clothes to go out.

However, for the candidates who are staying in the Gongyuan at this moment, it is not so wonderful. It is obviously a good season, neither hot nor cold, but it makes these candidates sweat profusely, and they just want to faint on the spot, just want to see them. What you see is a dream.

It’s just because this year’s question is really beyond everyone’s expectation. It is completely different from previous years. The exams are not in the history and classics, but in business, water management, fortifications, etc. Most of these candidates only read only the sage books, some even except I seldom go out of the house outside of the exam. I don't know about these things other than reading. I just feel dizzy in my eyes when I face these exam questions. It seems that there are 10,000 mosquitoes dangling in front of me.

The exam questions that Li Shu picked up were also difficult. One of them was about how to reassure the people after the disaster. He stared at the test question, frowning, and faced with such a test question, the knowledge he had studied hard in the past was obviously not used. He sat in the hall in a daze. After a long while, he suddenly remembered everything he had seen in Changzhou City, remembered the smiling face of the shopkeeper at that time, and suddenly had an answer in his heart.

He picked up the brush and dropped the first word on the test paper...

When the rural test was launched, the road from the border to the capital gradually began to show its shape, like a broken dragon lying on the land of Daqi, waiting for the day when the body was closed, and until that time, from the border. The time to Beijing will be shortened to half. It is more convenient whether it is the aid of frontier troops and horses to Kyoto, or the distribution of food and payment from Kyoto to the border.

Time passed quickly, and in a blink of an eye, it was noon. On one section of this avenue, civilians were sweating back and forth to pick up gravel from a distance, layer by layer on the flattened road. Among the folks, there was a slightly richer businessman who was holding a tool to help flatten the gravel. As he saw it was noon, he shouted: "Big guys have worked hard. Let's rest! The tea shed is ready. After the meal, everyone will rest for a while, and let’s start working again in the afternoon!"

After he finished speaking, he saw one of the civilians carrying two large baskets of gravel barefoot, and he walked over to help people unload the burden.

The man who picked up the gravel smiled and said, "Thank you, Boss Qian!"

Other civilian husbands also said: "Boss Qian has also helped out for a day, so let's take a break and drink some tea!"

"That's it, it's hot today, so let's take a break and drink some water!"

"Hey." Boss Qian answered twice and was about to walk into the tea shed erected on the side of the road. He suddenly saw an eight-year-old boy running in the distance. The boy was born white and dressed in a literati boy. Long gown, holding a water sac in his hand, and a book boy carrying a food box next to him.

When Boss Qian saw the child, he couldn't care about wiping the sweat on his head. He walked over quickly and squatted down and said to the boy: "You don't want to study well, what are you doing here?" Although his tone was stern, but The look on his face is caring.

The child held a water sac and handed it to him, with a tender but serious voice, and said, "Father, my boy is coming to see you! Daddy, drink water."

Boss Qian had been working all morning, and now he was tired and thirsty. After taking a few sips of water, he took the boy to the small pavilion next to him.

This small pavilion is very close to the tea shed that was set up for the people's husbands to eat and drink. Sitting there, not only can you hear the people's eating and talking, but from time to time, you can smell the sweaty odor left behind after working for most of the day.

The little boy sniffed, frowned again, and said, "Father, those folks are so stinky."

Boss Qian slobbered again and said after hearing this: "Smelly boy, your father is also sweaty."

The little boy asked, "Father, why did our family pay to build roads?" Although his childhood was young, he also knew that road construction was done by rich and good people. Although their family had some money, they basically It's not as good as those of the richest homes. The little boy knew that his father had already taken out most of his fortune in order to build this ten-mile road. Because of this, his father and mother had a quarrel.

Hearing this, Boss Qian touched his son’s little head and said: “The imperial court has issued a notice. As long as Dad covers these ten miles, in the future, you can go to the imperial examination. Even if you are just a talent, our family, It can be considered a change of residence. At that time, our family will not be looked down upon by others." He is not well-funded and has poor connections. He can't win the qualifications of the imperial merchants, so he just managed to save this part of the road, so he managed a lot. For money, the wife of the family had a quarrel with him, but he felt that it was all worthwhile.

He has been a merchant all the year round. Although he has some money in his hands, his status as a merchant has always been low. When marrying a farmer’s daughter, people will dislike it. He was arrogant to them, and he even bowed to his knees to spend money. And his son has been smart since he was a child. Since he went to school, he has been praised by his husband. He had just enlightened his son two years ago. When he learned that his son was talented in school, he was a little bit disappointed.

Ugh! How smart is it? It's not that I can't go into official career, I can only read for a few years, know some words, and then go out to do business.

But now it’s different. As long as he finishes this section of the road and obtains a certificate from the government, his son will be able to participate in the imperial examination in the future. With his son’s intelligence, it is certain that a talented scholar will be exempted from taxes. See the county. Ling didn't need to kneel, and their home would never be looked down upon.

If the son goes one step further and passes Juren in the exam, then their family will be completely changed! In the future, his son may not be able to get an official daughter!

Thinking of this, he watched his son's gaze become more gentle, and exhorted: "Do you know if you want to study hard?"

The boy nodded and said firmly: "Father, I will read hard, and I will definitely get fame in the future. I want to be a master!"

"Hahaha, ambitious, really good son of Dad!" Boss Qian laughed, and when he looked up at the road not far away, his eyes were full of hope for a bright future...

Within a few days of the Queen Mother’s birthday banquet, the envoy of Chen State returned to Chen State with documents proving the establishment of friendly relations between the two countries, and the emperor who deceived those Chen State people by means not only did not get a chance to rest, but became Busier than before.

Once he had a little slack, Feng Yuan would remind him with a serious face that Chen Guo was eyeing the truth.

His Majesty the Emperor thought of the tragic situation after Chen Guo attacked, and thought of the tragic death of him and his concubine in the previous life, it was an agitated spirit, even if he was extremely tired, he would immediately cheer up and deal with government affairs. After all, they only deceived Chen Guo and got a period of respite. They must take advantage of this time to develop and make the country stronger, otherwise Qi will be miserable when Chen Guo is back!

Concubine Ai is also busy now. She has to take care of Sangyuan from time to time, and work with her concubine in the harem to study how to increase the output of the loom. There is no time to send him snacks.

However, His Majesty kept the basket of silkworm babies in the Imperial Study Room, and occasionally got tired when dealing with government affairs. He looked up and felt relieved when he saw the 30 or so silkworm cocoons lying in it.

That’s right, when he went to the mulberry garden to pick silkworms that day, he picked 30 fat and strong ones, and he was able to spin silk at a glance, although he now knows that silkworm cocoons can draw out silk, and he also knows that it depends on this cocoon. It’s impossible to knit a piece of clothing at all, but the emperor has been raising silkworms for so many days, shoveling feces to feed them every day, and treating them as children, even if these silkworm cocoons can’t be woven into clothes, then weave a veil. It's okay to give it to my concubine!

I don't know when these silkworms will come out? When His Majesty the Emperor thought about it this way, he heard someone report from outside: "Your Majesty, Bai Shilang, please!"

Bai Shilang? His Majesty the Emperor heard this title now, as if he saw a bunch of ways to make money, he immediately put down the Zhubi and shouted: "Hurry up and invite him in..."

After a while, Bai Zhou, dressed in official uniforms, stepped into the imperial study room. After saluting respectfully, he began to report on the situation of the imperial merchants recently, "Your Majesty, the three imperial merchants selected have already had some surpluses. Now, this is the account book." As he said, he passed a booklet in his hand.

His Majesty the Emperor remembers well, and he reads books quickly. He flipped through ten lines at a glance, quickly flipping through this account book, and remembering those numbers one by one in his heart.

Just found out that his business was handed over to the emperor merchant, and he earned three million taels in less than half a month. His Majesty was still happy, but soon the smile on his face disappeared. After all, he could It's not the waste emperor who didn't know anything before, but he has learned a lot of knowledge in the past few months when he came into contact with government affairs. At the moment, he put down his account books with an unhappy face, and asked, "Make money so fast, are those businessmen doing something illegal with my property?"

Bai Zhou laughed and said, "Your Majesty, there is no violation of the law. Among the three million taels, 2.95 million taels were donated voluntarily by the three businessmen. They heard that the treasury was short of money. , I also heard that although the Changzhou plague has subsided, the rebellion in Liuzhou has not been resolved. Your Majesty’s raising soldiers to quell the rebellion and building roads and cities will inevitably require a large amount of expenditure, so half of the family’s funds are donated, saying that they also have it. A patriotic heart,"

However, His Majesty the Emperor is not so foolish as before, he snorted, "Patriotic heart is false, flattery is true!"

Bai Zhou smiled and complimented: "Your Majesty is really aware of everything, and he can see through these businessmen's true thoughts at a glance."

"Okay, don't flatter me! What do those businessmen want?"

Bai Shilang handed his hands and said: "Their request is actually simple. They just want to extend the status of the emperor merchant for a few more years." When the emperor merchant was originally selected, it was said that it would be rotated every two years. After two years, it would be necessary. A new group of people came to run for royal merchant qualifications, but these three businessmen have now tasted the various benefits of becoming royal merchants, and they are reluctant to be replaced two years later, so they paid to bribe Bai Zhou. Bai Zhou did the same thing. Told your majesty.

His Majesty the Emperor frowned upon hearing this, and asked: "The money they donated has already gone into the treasury?"

Bai Zhou shook his head and said: "Not yet, but it has already been counted in the household department." Bai Zhou also knew that the treasury was short of money, so he dared to act like this. He knew that his Majesty would not refuse the money.

The money has arrived in front of His Majesty the emperor. How can there be any reason to return it? It just so happened that Feng Yuan and him discussed the royal business qualifications for only two years, which was a bit short. Many industries were replaced as soon as they got on the right track, which was not conducive to long-term development. So earlier, they negotiated the extension from two to five years. The news was only known to him, Feng Yuan and Bai Zhou, and it hadn't been rumored yet, otherwise the money would not be available today.

His Majesty the Emperor said: "You go back and tell them that I will give them three more years of qualification. If they do well, it is not impossible to participate in the next election."

Bai Zhou also understood what his Majesty meant. He folded his hands and obeyed the order, and listened to his Majesty's continued words: "When you go back, help me bring a letter to Feng Shangshu." Now that Shangshu of the Criminal Department found a suitable candidate, the Emperor gave Feng Yuan. It was moved to the Ministry of Industry. Recently, Feng Yuan was working on the military equipment he designed every day in the Ministry of Engineering. It was even busier than his emperor.

It just so happened that the Ministry of Industry and the Ministry of Households were close to each other, so Bai Zhou sent the letter in the past, and could count the money for making equipment with Feng Yuan.

His Majesty the Emperor thought about the three businessmen, wrote a letter, and handed it to Bai Zhou.

After Bai Zhou left the palace, he rushed to the Ministry of Industry and handed the letter intact to Feng Yuan.

Feng Yuan opened the paint, read the letter, smiled with relief, and then sent someone to take the order to the Anbu, and let people secretly monitor the three emperor merchants. Once they dared to violate the law and persecute the emperor merchants by their identity Report the people’s affairs immediately...

His servants worked methodically. His Majesty also worked diligently in the Imperial Study Room for a day. When his stomach groaned and he was so hungry, he carried the silkworm rearing basket and returned to Feiluan Palace. After finishing the meal with the concubine, the emperor was walking around in the Feiluan Palace with his stomach for a walk. He planned to exercise in one hour, and then take a bath and sleep.

Yao Yanyan opened the basket of your majesty and looked at it, and suddenly said in surprise: "Look, your majesty, those silkworm moths have come out!"

His Majesty the Emperor has only heard of silkworm moths, but has never had time to go to the mulberry orchard to have a look. I still don’t know what the silkworm moths look like? Earlier on, I heard Ai Concubine say that silkworm moths are like butterflies, so after hearing this, he immediately walked over and looked expectantly.

However, the next moment, he saw those silkworm cocoons crawling out of the cocoons, covered with white scales, two pairs of strange little wings on his body, eyes black and big like flies, and a pair of ugly things on his chest.

Looking at these monsters, His Majesty the Emperor was immediately dumbfounded, "Why is it so ugly!"

"Eh? Ugly?" Yao Yanyan was used to seeing silkworm moths and felt that they looked pretty good, but it was the first time for her Majesty to see him. He was shocked by the severe blows and injuries on his face. "

Seeing her majesty's appearance, Yao Yanyan nodded and said, "Yes, don't silkworm moths have wings like butterflies?"

His Majesty the Emperor didn't expect that Concubine Ai said it was like this. He stared at the silkworm moth crawling in the basket and stood blankly for a long time, feeling that he had been deceived.

Yao Yanyan felt a little guilty when she saw him like this. If she knew it, she shouldn’t tell her that she was like a butterfly. The butterfly she said was the kind of small white cabbage butterfly. The butterfly imagined by her majesty is probably the kind of colorful, so I saw these white ones. The silkworm moths will only be hit hard! She comforted: "Your Majesty, think about it. They just grew up and didn't become other creatures. Aren't they still the silkworm babies you have raised for a long time? Could it be that your adopted children grow up and become ugly, so you don’t Do you love them?"

His Majesty felt that the concubine was justified, so even if these silkworm moths were a bit ugly, he still convinced himself to accept them. After a long period of psychological development, with the encouragement of Ai Fei, His Majesty the Emperor carefully stretched out his hand and pinched the wings of a silk moth, intending to grab it and take a closer look.

As a result, as soon as he got it close, I saw the silkworm moth's body tremble, and at the same time, a yellow thing sprayed on his clothes.

His Majesty the Emperor:...

He stayed in a daze, then shivered all over, and when he loosened his hand, the moth fell back into the basket.

Then, Yao Yanyan saw her majesty scream and rushed into the bath with wind on the soles of her feet.

Yao Yanyan:...

She began to think about the size of her majesty's psychological shadow.

The author has something to say:

Your Majesty’s current experience is the experience of raising silkworms when I was a child! Since I started full-time, my belly has grown a bit bigger, and I have been enlarged by the little fairy of life! However, Concubine Ai's belly is still so slender, it's time for her to get a big belly.

This is the addition of the nutrient solution 21,000. Thank you for your support~

Thanks to the little angel who voted for me or irrigated the nutrient solution~

Thanks for the little angel who cast [land mine]: 1 Eryu;

Thanks to the little angel who irrigated [nutrient solution]:

Unhappy Magic Two Treasures? 80 bottles; Li Yu 50 bottles; at a loss, 10 bottles; Mengjun, Blood Moon Fairy 2 bottles;

Thank you very much for your support, I will continue to work hard!