Li smiled awkwardly, "I can't afford to save up for my daughter's dowry. My husband and I did some calculations and decided that a son is better."
Zhulan was depressed. She really felt that she had too many children. Fortunately, the family had built up a good foundation over the years and had a lot of income every year. Now that her little girl was getting married, the family did not have any big expenses.
Li changed the subject, "Mom, Xuehan hasn't been home for some time."
"She wanted to come back, but this time her miscarriage scared Rong Chuan so much that she basically wouldn't leave the Ninghou Mansion until the baby was born."
Li: "... .Ah?"
Zhulan didn't explain. In order to be cautious, the Ning family took action, so Xuehan could only stay there obediently. Fortunately, she lived nearby, so she could visit her daughter anytime she missed her.
In the evening, Zhulan told Zhou Shuren about the post from Yaohou Mansion, "My intuition tells me that there are bad intentions."
Zhou Shuren snorted, "He just has bad intentions. This time Yao Wenqi got sick and suffered a lot. He has bad intentions."
Zhulan felt a little sorry, "He actually survived. In fact, if he really died, it would be better for everyone."
"It's not time for him to die yet. This time the emperor is deliberately forcing Yao Wenqi to take action!"
Zhu Lan heard this and said, "The Emperor is worried that the cleaning is not thorough enough."
"Well, the more I investigate, the more frightened I am. The emperor is a good emperor and a good father. He wants to leave a country for the prince without any worries."
Zhulan, "It's getting late, go to bed."
Zhou Shuren held his wife's hand. Today's post reminded him that these people didn't dare to do anything to him, but they would not be polite to his wife. "Like you always say, there are too many kinds of poison. Recently, you also claimed to be sick and didn't want to attend the banquet."
Zhulan was afraid of death. She was afraid of dying and leaving Zhou Shuren alone. "Okay."
At the Yaohou Mansion, Yao Zheyu couldn't stand his wife tossing and turning, so he sat up and asked, "What are you thinking about that can't you sleep?"
Shen Yile couldn't see her husband's face clearly. "It was Dad who suggested this banquet. I remember what you said, so I didn't want to invite Yang Shuren. But Dad mentioned it and said that Lord Zhou paid much attention to you, so I added your name. I sent a letter to the Zhou family today, but they directly rejected it. I'm worried and feel something is wrong."
Yao Zheyu was so focused on checking who his father had contact with that he neglected his family. "In the future, I will have less contact with the Zhou family."
Shen Yile noticed that her husband's tone was particularly serious. Although she couldn't see her husband's face clearly, she realized the seriousness of the situation. "I'll make a note of it."
Yao Zheyu lay down again with his eyes open. His father had recovered from his illness this time. No matter what his father planned, neither he nor his wife would be used by him.
Yao Wenqi did not sleep either. Many candles were lit in the room. A serious illness took away a lot of his vitality. His cheeks were sunken. He turned the Buddhist beads in his hands and muttered to himself that it was not the right time yet. The emperor was very alert now and he had to endure it.
In a blink of an eye, it was the day for the envoys from the Ministry of Rites to leave the capital. Because Changzhong was acting like a spoiled child and her two grandsons also wanted to go, Zhulan waited at the street corner in a carriage.
Chang Zhong opened the carriage curtain. It was not as grand as he had imagined. There were only a few carriages and some guards. "Mom, why are there so few people?"
Zhu Lan laughed, "This time we are on a naval ship, there are a lot of people, but we can't see them in the capital."
She heard from Zhou Shuren that there were four ships on the mission and the navy had several thousand people. This time the navy would not only be on a mission but would also patrol nearby waters to prepare for future route patrols. As they did not have the ability to manage other countries' waters at present, the safety of their own waters had to be guaranteed.
So Zhou Shuren was worried, because every trip out would cost money, food, medicinal materials, etc., which were the basics, and some losses were the big expenses.
Changzhong looked longing, "Mom, I want to go abroad someday. My second brother said there are many countries out there, and I want to visit them all."
Zhulan touched her son's hair, which was already very long. "It's good to have ideas, but mother will only allow you to do so if you have the ability to do so."
Changzhong smiled and said, "My son is very smart."
The twins raised their hands, and Jiang An said, "Grandma, let's go with our little uncle. We will protect him, grandma. We are very capable."
Zhu Lan laughed, "Okay, when the time comes, you guys protect your uncle."
The twins felt that they had been recognized and said, "We must work hard to practice martial arts."
Ministry of Revenue, Zhou Shuren rubbed his shoulders, "Another sum of money has been approved. I just hope that I can sell the blueprints and ships and bring back a large sum of money."
Qiu Yan felt a pain in his flesh. "The navy's rations are really expensive. They are twice as expensive as before. And there are also the shells that were taken away. I get a headache just thinking about it now."
Zhou Shuren spread his hands, "There's no way. The sea is different from the land. We need more things. Besides, it's not easy to train the navy, so their food must be better."
Qiu Yan, "Whenever I think about the annual expenses of the Navy in the future, my heart aches."
Zhou Shuren also grinned. The country had a large number of troops. The ambitious emperor and prince meant that the military strength would not be weakened. The annual salary and food supplies were all silver, and with the addition of the navy, which burned a lot of silver, he was now afraid of seeing Lord Li.
Doctor Lei came in and said, "Sir, Mr. Fang from the Ministry of Works is here."
Zhou Shuren said to Qiu Yan, "Master Li, whom I met yesterday, it's your turn today."
Qiu Yan: “… .”
No, he didn't want to. Zhou Shuren wanted to meet Lord Li. That was the Shangshu who came to the palace. It had nothing to do with him!
Lei Lang felt exhausted and regretted going to the Ministry of Revenue. Although his official position was promoted, the work he had to do was too much.
Zhou Shuren glanced at Doctor Lei. It had been such a short time and Doctor Lei had lost weight. It was said that he had been pulling his hair a lot these days!
Rong Garden, the garden where the emperor entered when he left the palace, had been cleared last year and is now under construction. As the land has not yet thawed, wood and stones are now being piled up.
The emperor did not bring the prince with him. When he entered the garden and saw the King of Qi, he said, "You are here."
The King of Qi was pleasantly surprised to see his father, and was secretly delighted. His father really cared about Rongyuan, and he was right to personally watch over this step. "Father told me that I would only feel at ease if I watched over it myself."
The emperor actually just wanted to come to Rongyuan for a walk by himself. He didn't even bring the crown prince with him. "Come with me for a while."
The King of Qi rarely receives this kind of treatment. "Yes."
The emperor walked in front, and the people around him followed. The prince of Qi was not too close. The emperor looked at the garden. The burned buildings were demolished. The whole garden was particularly desolate. "I came here once when I entered the capital and didn't register. I never came here again. This is the first time I have set foot here in all these years."
This is a sad place, too many souls are buried here.
The King of Qi sensed his father's sad tone and was stunned for a moment. His father, who was ruthless and decisive, also had sad moments. "Father, is there really no one alive in the Rong family?"
The emperor did not answer, but stood at the place he liked to come when he was a child. After so many years, he still remembered this place. It seemed that he saw his uncle carrying him and running, and the cold wind blew. "Hear the crying of the dead souls? Even if I became the emperor and founded a new dynasty, the dead souls of the Rong family still have no rest."