In the capital, Zhulan took Yushuang and Yulu out for a rare time. Why did they go out? Because she had booked a teahouse early, just to see Princess Aruna enter the capital.
Now it is February and the temperature in the capital is rising rapidly. The snow on the houses has almost melted. As for the streets, the snow will be cleared next time and the streets will be very clean and tidy.
Street cleaning also provides a lot of jobs for the people. The monthly salary is not much, but it can supplement the family income.
Yu Shuang, now a grown-up girl, opened the window of the teahouse, shielded her face with a fan and looked out at the street. She could only hear the sounds, but the team had not arrived yet.
Melon seeds and other things have been placed in front of Zhulan. There are quite a lot of people watching the fun today. The princess is going to Beijing, and everyone has paid attention to her again. Many people are curious about her reputation as a beauty.
Zhulan: "What a beauty."
Although I have seen many beauties, I have never seen a princess through marriage. I am curious.
Yu Lu poured tea for her grandmother. She had long discovered that her grandmother also loved watching operas. Sometimes when she took her or her elder sister to a banquet, her grandmother would occupy the best seats with her eyes shining.
Yu Shuang took down the fan and said, "Here it comes, here it comes."
Zhulan stood up and walked over quickly. The little old lady held the window with both hands and stuck her head out. "It's really here."
Jade frost and jade dew, "..."
This is the real grandma!
The team came over, and a tall carriage was the most conspicuous. There was gauze on the windows of the carriage, and the princess's face could be vaguely seen.
Zhulan widened her eyes and wanted to see more carefully. She was unhappy because she thought she was not riding in a carriage!
Yu Shuang and Yu Lu were so frightened that they dropped the fans in their hands. The two sisters grabbed their grandmother's clothes with both hands, fearing that she would climb over the window without paying attention.
The line was not long. When it went far away, Zhulan said quietly, "It's a waste of money. It's just a waste of time."
Yu Shuang, "?"
Zhu Lan complained: "This beauty's reputation has spread, why bother riding a carriage? It would be much better to ride a horse!"
Aren't they all good at horseback archery? Woohoo, I didn't see anything.
In Zhoujia Village, the results of Mingyun and Jiang Du have come out. Mingyun is at the top and Jiang Du is third. Although Jiang Du's results are also good, his illness after returning still affected his performance.
The two of them were preparing to leave for Pingzhou and would set off tomorrow. Mingyun said, "I'm going to visit Brother Mingqing's house. What about you?"
Jiang Du had just recovered from his illness. He came back sick, which frightened his grandparents. Now that he is much better, his grandparents went back to his uncle's house. Jiang Du thought for a moment and said, "I'll go to my uncle's house."
Mingyun, "Okay."
Mingyun left first, and Jiang Du had to wait to harness the carriage. As soon as Jiang Du's carriage went out, he saw Jiang Mulan. Jiang Du signaled the carriage to stop and then got off.
Jiang Du was still weak even after recovering from his illness, "Miss Jiang."
Jiang Mulan's cheeks flushed slightly, and she handed over the basket in her hand, "This is stewed chicken soup."
Jiang Du reached out and took it. Jiang Du's hands were very nice, white and slender. They didn't look like a boy's hands, but more like a girl's. "Thank you."
Mu Lan thought Jiang Du's hands were beautiful more than once. Thinking of her own hands, which she had taken good care of, she still retracted her hand a little embarrassedly.
Jiang Du smiled and said, "It's windy today, so you should go home early. I'll go to my uncle's house first."
Mu Lan took a step back, "Then you go first."
Jiang Du was reluctant to invite Mu Lan to get on the carriage. Although they were engaged, they still had to avoid suspicion. He nodded and said, "You should go back earlier too."
Mu Lan had a smile on her lips, she knew Jiang Du would drink the chicken soup.
Jiang Du got on the carriage and saw Mu Lan also walking towards Jiang's house, so Jiang Du lowered the carriage curtain. Jiang Du was a little distracted, and his childhood memories were vague. In his memory, his family's life gradually became better because of his grandfather's rising wealth.
Jiang Du stretched out his hands. These hands were better than any girl’s, so he had to work harder. Especially for his contented father, whose name had spread to all states, he, as a son, was under a lot of pressure!
At the Jiang family, Mu Lan came back in a good mood and saw her mother making tea. "Mom, where's Dad?"
Dong Yiyi pointed to the study room, "Your father is writing an article."
Mu Lan squinted her eyes, "Dad, do you want to submit an article too?"
Dong Yiyi nodded, "Yes, your uncle Jiang Sheng's articles have spread to all states, and now the court encourages submission of articles, and your father wants to give it a try."
As she spoke, Dong Yiyi touched her daughter's hair. Her husband did this for the sake of his children. Only if he had a good reputation could he wash away some of his past and give his son and daughter more confidence.
In the capital, Zhulan returned home disappointed and soon became busy. The family was taking inventory of the warehouse, and Zhulan was holding a thick list in her hand.
I have accumulated a lot of things over the years. The valuable ones have been sorted out, and the remaining ones are just scattered ones.
Zhulan looked at the boxes all over the yard and said to Qingxue, "Tell everyone to be careful."
Qingxue: "Yes."
Zhulan counted the days and found that Mrs. Song was about to come back. Then her eyes fell on Mrs. Li, who was the maid she found especially for Mrs. Dong. Mrs. Li was found by her younger daughter. She had stayed in the palace in her early years and later left the palace to retire.
If the young girl had not invited her, Mrs. Li would not have wanted to come out. Later, Zhulan met Mrs. Li and promised her some benefits, allowing Mrs. Li to stay with Dong for three years. With a capable old woman, Dong could feel more relaxed.
At the Ministry of Revenue, Zhou Shuren had just finished his work when the Emperor asked, "Are you going to submit an article and try?"
Zhou Shuren pointed to the memorial on the table and said, "I don't have time. The emperor's small goal scares me."
The retired emperor laughed and talked about the small goal. The emperor had learned it from him specially, and he kept repeating this joke over and over again!
Zhou Shuren knew that the first phase of the promotion was very successful. The result of its success was that some people saw a quick path to fame. Not only students wanted to try it, but even officials in the imperial court wanted to try it.
Who doesn't like to gain both fame and fortune? He also knew that some great people who had not yet appeared in the world had also started writing.
So the competition in the next issue will be really fierce, and he has no intention of participating. Well, his son-in-law will not participate in the next issue either.
He felt that his eldest son-in-law had a very good mentality. Although he was now famous, he was still very calm and did not get carried away by his success. He could not make up stories about the reality that he had not seen.
So the eldest son-in-law will not submit any articles at the moment.
Zhou Shuren was very satisfied with what he heard. If he was not satisfied with such a son-in-law, his vision would be too high. So he advised his son-in-law not to focus on promotional articles, but to write according to his own temperament. The eldest son-in-law and the eldest daughter like to travel everywhere, so it would be nice to write a detailed travelogue, one article for each place, and it would be even better if some small stories could be added.
The emperor waved his hand and said, "You old man are still distracted. What are you thinking about?"
Zhou Shuren said: "I think Rongchuan will be very busy this month."
So many articles, wow, it’s a huge workload.
The emperor felt sorry for his youngest son, but was even happier about his ability. "He has already borrowed some scholars from the Imperial Academy."
Zhou Shuren, "Guang Shujishi seems unable to convince the public."
The emperor said, "I have invited several upright people to take charge."
Zhou Shuren was relieved and stroked his beard. He was the one who caused the current situation. He was a little narcissistic. He was really awesome!