The provincial examination was over in the blink of an eye, and now everyone is waiting for the announcement of the results.
Since he started to worship Buddha, Li has become more and more obsessed with it. He even brought back a statue of Buddha and worshipped it every day.
The Zhou family was also waiting for news from Pingzhou. Zhulan once again complained to Zhou Shuren, "In ancient times, news was transmitted too slowly."
Zhou Shuren spread his hands. "The new emperor has increased the speed of communication since he took the throne. With the repair of roads, it was already considered fast in ancient times. There is no way to speed it up any further at the moment."
Zhulan arranged the quilt and said, "After the road was repaired, the travel time was indeed reduced a lot."
When Mingyun was taking the Tongsheng examination, it was difficult for him to travel quickly. But now that he is taking the provincial examination, the main road has been repaired to Pingzhou City, and the journey back to Pingzhou is one third faster.
At this time, Qingxue came in and said, "Young Master Mingling didn't cry tonight and has already fallen asleep."
Zhulan exhaled, "You should go and rest too."
Qingxue: "Yes."
Zhou Shuren frowned, "This kid got angry and didn't eat much tonight."
Zhulan was calm, "The child is not used to being away from his mother. After a few days, the anger will subside. You see, he is not crying anymore."
Zhou Shuren sighed, "If Chang Lian hadn't wanted to go to the south, and the specific situation in the south was unclear, I really wouldn't have agreed to let Dong keep Ming Ling."
Zhu Lan, "Mrs. Dong was also frightened by the news I revealed, so she asked me to keep Ming Ling. I also agreed because I was afraid that there would be too much trouble in the south."
The south was different from Xuzhou. Dong needed to help Chang Lian. A woman's social skills were very important. Ming Ling was the only son of the third wife, so Dong's fear was understandable.
Zhou Shuren saw that his wife's eyes were a little blue. The child had been making a fuss these days, and his wife couldn't sleep well. She would get up every night to check on him. She snorted and said, "Children are all debts."
Zhu Lan laughed, "Okay, it's getting late, let's rest."
The next day in Pingzhou City, Jiang Du and his father went out for a walk, and when they came back, they found Mingyun and said, "There's a gambling game in the city, betting on who will be the first in the case. The most people bet on you, so your odds are the lowest."
Mingyun was not surprised. He still had confidence in the provincial examination. "You didn't bet?"
Jiang Du smiled and said, "My father and I didn't pledge it ourselves. We asked the servant to take the silver to pledge it."
Mingyun wanted to roll his eyes in his heart. What's the difference between this and escorting the person himself? Every servant knows how to count!
Jiang Du asked, "Are we going back after the provincial examination is over?"
Mingyun nodded, "Well, we'll go back when the results come out. I mean, I won't go back to Zhoujia Village. If you have anything to do, you can go back to Zhoujia Village first and meet up in the county town later."
Jiang Du had nothing to do when he returned. He came back mainly to get engaged to several uncles. Jiang Du sighed. His father gave each of the uncles a painting. However, except for the eldest uncle, the other uncles sold the paintings after knowing their value.
My second uncle even said half-jokingly and half-tentatively that painting was so easy, and asked Dad to paint a few more paintings and leave them behind.
Although my father didn't say it, he felt bad inside because his feelings were not expressed.
Jiang Du shook his head, "No, let's go together."
He directly made the decision for his parents, and he believed that his parents thought the same way.
Mingyun said playfully, "Aren't you going back to see your fiancée?"
This time Jiang Du blushed, "We are already engaged, there is no rush."
In the capital, Zhulan heard Ming Ling finally smile, exhaled, and said to Zhao: "Ming Feng is very good at taking care of his brother!"
Zhao watched her son wipe Ming Ling's face and said with a smile, "Well, Ming Feng is a very gentle child."
Zhulan felt that her grandchildren had few similar personalities and were all good kids. "You have done a good job in educating Mingfeng."
Zhao sighed, "I didn't teach Yudie well."
Zhulan recalled the temple incident, and Yudie became more and more jumpy, but fortunately, the child was still young and could restrain herself. "Didn't you hire an extra etiquette lady?"
Zhao: "Well, the effect is good so far."
This time she was ruthless and did not show any mercy when she saw her daughter crying. She is still young now, but if she continues to be like this when she is older, she would be a little scared. A woman's reputation is too important.
Zhao regretted being too indulgent to her daughter and suddenly smiled again, "If Ming Ling hadn't distracted Yuyi, Yuyi would have gone to see Yudie every day. Now the young girls in our family are afraid of Yuyi."
Zhulan also laughed, "Yuyi is the eldest daughter of the third house, and she already has the aura of an eldest daughter."
Zhao talked about her family again, "Mom, my cousin has a six-year-old son."
Zhulan tilted her head and waited for Zhao to continue.
Zhao organized his words and continued, "My cousin wanted to send this child to accompany Mingfeng for enlightenment."
Zhulan understood. They wanted to send him in to take care of Mingfeng and show their loyalty to the Zhao family. Of course, there was a plan in this. "You told me that you want me to make a decision for you?"
Zhao said, "My husband is not at home, and I have no one to discuss this with. Mother, you are very knowledgeable. Do you think I should agree?"
Zhulan raised her eyes and said, "You are telling me this, but you have already thought about it."
"Yes, I don't want to bring anyone into the mansion."
Zhu Lan pointed out directly, "You are interested but not in a hurry, because Mingfeng is still young, and you still have plenty of time to prepare. You also have concerns, and you have a hurdle in your heart."
The fact that Zhao now controls her cousins does not mean that she has no grudges. The shadow of childhood cannot be disappeared just like that. Zhao is resisting the Zhao family entering the territory in her heart, and the injuries she suffered during the escape have left scars that will last a lifetime. Zhao is afraid of being hurt again.
Zhao knew she couldn't hide it from her mother-in-law, so she said lightly, "Yes."
Zhulan patted Zhao's hand and said, "The traces of the past cannot be erased, and I won't tell you to let it go. I can only tell you to do whatever you want to do."
Zhao's eyes were moved, and the corners of her mouth curled up, "Yeah."
The next day, the news of the Prince of Qin's actions spread throughout the capital, and everyone kept their eyes on him during the morning court session.
Of course, Zhou Shuren also received attention, but he remained calm because his son-in-law informed him.
The Emperor and the Crown Prince arrived. The Emperor said with a cold face, "This is the memorial that the King of Qin sent to the palace overnight. I think some people will know what it says without me reading it out loud."
As soon as the words fell, beads of sweat began to fall from someone's forehead.
The emperor looked deep in his eyes, "It was only today that I realized that you, my dear ministers, are so wealthy."
Zhou Shuren felt the dagger in his eyes and was speechless. The King of Qin's operation was definitely not what he taught. He felt that he was extremely wronged!
The emperor continued, "People in various places are afraid to see a doctor, and it is difficult to see a doctor. I am deeply touched by the idea of local medical clinics to hold a free clinic. I am willing to donate 20,000 taels of silver from my private treasury to show my support."
After saying this, the emperor swept his eyes over the ministers, still holding the King of Qin's memorial in his hand. This action was full of threats!
Zhou Shuren knew about the free clinics, and it was his fault. The imperial court now controlled medical clinics across the country, but ordinary people were still reluctant to spend money on medical treatment. Even if the publicity was good, the effect was not very good.