Zhulan was chatting with her daughter in the Prince of Qin's mansion. Princess Qi did not leave either. They had dinner together in the Prince of Qin's mansion. Li's pickles were served on the table.
Xue Han's appetite improved and she ate an extra bowl of rice porridge.
After dinner, Zhulan took her granddaughters away, but the Princess of Qi still stayed.
Xue Han sent her mother away and looked at her second sister-in-law, "Second sister-in-law, do you have something to tell me?"
Princess Qi smiled and said, "Indeed, I have something to say. I think every girl in the Zhou family is good, so I want to be a matchmaker."
Xue Han felt relieved after hearing the latter part. As long as the second sister-in-law was not doing it for her son, it would be fine. So she became interested, "Whose family?"
Princess Qi said, "We have a good relationship, and I am not guilty. It's not my maternal family, the Wu family, but my eldest sister-in-law's maternal family, the Yun family. The eldest son of the Yun family is the Minister of the Imperial Court, a third-rank official, and the legitimate youngest son of the family has good character and appearance."
Princess Qi paused and continued, "Originally, my sister-in-law wanted to get closer to the Yun family, but the Yun family refused. My sister-in-law asked me to be a matchmaker, but I refused. Today, after meeting the girls from the Zhou family, my heart is open."
Her eldest sister-in-law is her second brother's daughter. This niece is really not good. She has a hard time saying anything about her niece. At the beginning, her eldest sister-in-law was still thinking about her son, but she didn't agree, so she started thinking about her own family, the Yun family.
Her sister-in-law is the best at planning and wants to have a hand in everything. She has never liked her sister-in-law from the beginning to the end.
The Yun family has become estranged from the eldest sister-in-law, and the Prince Qi's Mansion and the Yun family have also become estranged.
She had to consider her son. Now that the retired emperor was alive, the Prince of Qi's Mansion was still the Prince of Qi's Mansion, and no one dared to offend the prince even if he lived a carefree life. But now that the retired emperor was gone and the prince would succeed to the throne in the future, the Prince of Qi's Mansion had to maintain its current network of contacts.
Of course, she was acting as a matchmaker sincerely, otherwise she would offend both families.
Xue Han really didn’t know much about the Yun family, but she also kept it in mind. A good man should be chosen as early as possible. “Thank you, sister-in-law. I’ll tell my parents later.”
Princess Qi knew what was going on. She had some understanding of the Zhou family's criteria for selecting a son-in-law, and she had to investigate this thoroughly.
Not long after Zhulan got home, she received news from Prince Qin's Mansion. Zhulan had a good impression of the Yun family, and she was also familiar with the eldest daughter-in-law of the Yun family, Liu.
Zhulan asked someone to go and inquire first. The fact that Princess Qi dared to speak up showed that she had great confidence in the Yun family. She also thought like her daughter, as long as the Qi Palace didn't care about it, it would not be a problem.
Zhou Shuren discussed with her that the Zhou family already had a Princess Qin, and their daughters should stay away from the royal family as much as possible. As the moon is full, it will wane. For now, the Zhou family has enough.
Moreover, the couple did not want a marriage of convenience for the girl in the Zhou family. The right way for the Zhou family to prosper was to rely on men.
In the evening, Zhulan and Zhou Shuren also mentioned the Yun family. "I don't know much information. Please find out more."
Zhou Shuren, "The Yun family."
If Zhulan hadn't mentioned it, he really wouldn't have paid attention. The Yun family is quite low-key, and he also took note of it.
Zhou Shuren said, "Help me pack my luggage for the next two days."
"Why, you want to go out?"
"Well, I'm meeting the Emperor today. The Emperor wants to inspect the navy. I think I'll be one of the officials accompanying him."
Zhulan frowned, "Going out in such hot weather."
Zhou Shuren pinched his leg and said, "I don't want to go out either, but I want to see the navy with my own eyes."
This is the power at sea. Whether or not we can have our own routes in the future depends entirely on the navy. He hopes to see a strong navy.
Zhulan asked, "Will there be a drill?"
Zhou Shuren crossed his legs and said, "I don't know about that. This is the Ministry of War's business."
He became the Minister of Revenue, the head of a ministry, and he and Li Zhao were also careful to avoid taboos, and he would never ask about the Ministry of War.
Zhulan also wanted to go and see, but then she thought about the weather and decided to stay at home.
The next day, at the morning court, the emperor decided on a date to go to Pinggang, and the accompanying officials were also decided. Zhou Shuren was on the list.
After the court session, the emperor kept Zhou Shuren and said, "The Ministry of Revenue spends so much money every year, it's time to show you the results."
Zhou Shuren felt pained when he thought of the huge expenditure every year, "Then I have to take a good look at it. The navy is a gold nugget."
The emperor laughed and said, "Don't say you feel pain. I feel pain every time the artillery fires a shell."
If the treasury was not full, he would be in a state of panic now. The normal operation of a country cannot be separated from money. The emperor looked at Zhou Shuren with a gentler gaze.
The emperor continued, "Recently, several nearby island nations have sent us letters one after another, wanting to purchase our country's ships."
Zhou Shuren was puzzled, "Are there any ships retreating?"
Your Majesty, "Not all of them have been sold."
"What does the Emperor mean?"
The emperor smiled and said, "They pay the silver, and I build ships for them according to obsolete blueprints. Rather than letting nearby countries research on their own, it is better for me to have all the technology in my hands."
It can also train more shipbuilding craftsmen and research more advanced ships for the country in the future, killing two birds with one stone.
Zhou Shuren thought to himself, this is the thinking of an ambitious emperor, controlling technology and making nearby countries dependent on him. Once a habit is formed, wow, his methods are really sophisticated.
The emperor added: "So the court wants to expand the shipyard, but there is no rush. Let's go to the shipyard this time to take a look before making any plans."
Zhou Shuren, "..."
He still didn't think enough. What about inspecting the navy? Bah, it was obvious that he was just thinking about how to spend the money.
At Zhou's house, Mingyun was surprised that Mingteng was at home today, "You don't have anything to do today?"
Ming Teng, "No more, brother, are you going out?"
Mingyun shook his head. "Well, Uncle Wu Ming is on leave today, so my uncle and I are going to Wu's house. Since you're at home, do you want to come with us?"
Uncle Wu Ming is very busy now, and my uncle doesn’t have to live in the Wu family anymore. He can only go there during his holidays, so it is difficult to have the opportunity to ask Uncle Wu Ming for advice.
Ming Teng shook his head and said, "I won't go. I have guests today."
Mingyun was curious, "Who is it that you can invite to your home?"
Ming Teng has many friends now, but few of them are sincere. He has never invited anyone to his home, so I am quite curious.
Ming Teng said: "Wen Rong, the fourth son of the Wen family."
Mingyun, "... Wen Rong?"
Ming Teng nodded, "What's wrong, does Big Brother know him?"