Zhou Shuren was a little envious of Wang Yi. Wang Yi was able to leave the capital, but he had no chance to leave the capital at all. He thought of the retired emperor. Since the route was taken over, the retired emperor had passed away. At an old age, he still boarded a ship and went out to sea.
Zhou Shuren also has a painting of the retired emperor going out to sea, which the retired emperor sent back to show off.
Wang Yi suddenly said, "Your Excellency's grandson, Prince Mingteng, has been out for a few months."
Zhou Shuren, "Why ask him?"
Wang Yi smiled and said, "I thought I could have a wedding banquet this year, but now it seems I can't."
Zhou Shuren explained: "He wants to wait until next year to get married."
In ancient times, children of the family were considered to marry late. After the autumn provincial examination, Yulu got married, Mingteng got married the next summer, and in the past two years, grandchildren have got married one after another.
Wang Yi, "I heard that the diplomatic fleet will be back soon."
Zhou Shuren's lips curled up, "Well, if all goes well, we can reach Pinggang in about ten days."
"Congratulations, sir."
He will definitely be promoted when he returns to Beijing this time. Not everyone can endure being in a foreign country for four years. Moreover, he is a person who knows a lot of inside information. The second son of the Zhou family has made the greatest contribution.
Zhou Shuren stroked his beard. His second son's career had always been dangerous. He was worried but also proud at the same time. His second son fought on his own and now returned home safely. Zhou Shuren was proud of his son.
At the Gu family, Yu Shuang was pregnant for six months. She looked at her mother who came over from time to time and said, "Mom, it's so hot in summer, you don't have to come over so hard. I can go back from time to time."
Zhao glared, "Don't you know what's going on with you? I don't have anything to do at home, so don't worry about me."
Yu Shuang felt sorry for her mother. Her father was often not at home because of the second house. This time he was away for four years. Her mother's hopes were all on her and her siblings. Since she became pregnant, all her mother's attention was on her belly.
Yu Shuang, "Dad is going back to Beijing, aren't you going to leave?"
Zhao made the small shoes and said, "What should I prepare? We are already an old married couple."
She is not young anymore, and when her husband is not at home, she doesn't like to dress up. After her daughter gets married, she dresses herself in a more mature way.
Zhao was really busy last year. It was the first time she married off her daughter and her husband was not at home. Even with the help of her sisters-in-law and brothers and sisters, she was still very busy. She felt the most fulfilled when her daughter got married. After that, she felt empty inside until her daughter became pregnant.
When Yu Shuang heard this, she could only change the subject, "Mom, has Yu Die been behaving well lately?"
Zhao: "She is very well behaved."
Yushuang, "..."
Ever since mom made up her mind to discipline my sister, she can no longer act like a spoiled brat. Mom has also been keeping a particularly close eye on her in the past two years, and Yudie has indeed become a lot calmer.
Zhao lowered her voice and asked, "Is your mother-in-law still living on the farm?"
Within two months of her daughter's marriage, Mrs. Hu moved to a farm outside Beijing. She moved very smoothly and there were no problems at all between her daughter and the mother-in-law.
It is difficult for her to see Mrs. Hu now.
Yu Shuang was helpless. She was not afraid of the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law problem. Besides, her mother-in-law knew what was going on. "My mother-in-law likes to plant fruit trees. She lives comfortably on the farm. When we go to accompany her, she finds me and my husband annoying."
Her husband told her that her mother-in-law was trapped in the huge mansion because of her husband. After her husband passed the imperial examination and bought maids and old women, her mother-in-law still had few people to interact with. In fact, her mother-in-law had been waiting for her husband to get married, and she wanted to leave and go to the farm to live her own life.
Zhao laughed, "Back then I was afraid that your widowed mother would be difficult to get along with. After getting to know her, I realized that your mother-in-law is really smart. She let go easily. You and your husband will be under the care of the Zhou family."
Yu Shuang, "If my mother-in-law wasn't smart, my husband wouldn't have taught her so well."
Zhao nodded in agreement, "That's right."
Yu Shuang thought of her mother-in-law interacting with the nearby farmers in the village. She had never seen such a smile on her face before. Her mother-in-law really liked the life in the village.
In the Hanlin Academy, Mingyun came out for some fresh air and touched the purse at his waist. He was seen by Changzhi who had just returned from the palace.
Changzhi, "What did you promise Wenyue to buy?"
"She likes Yuwen's hollow gold bracelet. Yuwen gave it to her, and I gave it back. I want to buy her one."
Changzhi didn't know much about his daughter's jewelry, because she had too much jewelry. His wife was very generous and bought too much jewelry every year. "It's just a bracelet. Yuwen was given to her niece by her aunt. You gave it back. What can I say about you?"
Mingyun shook his head. "No matter how many jewels Yuwen has, they are still Yuwen's. I can't ignore her because she has a lot of jewels, nor can I indulge Wenyue because she is young. The fact that she is young is not an excuse. I have to tell her not to ask for things casually. We can buy them ourselves if we have money, and we can save money slowly if we don't have money."
Chang Zhi was silent. Well, he would not teach his children. His son was obedient. As for his daughter, she was taught by his wife. His wife was knowledgeable and his daughter would learn enough for a lifetime. He seemed to seldom take care of his children. "Fourth uncle, I am not as good as you."
What Dad taught personally is different. Mingyun's character has influenced his younger brothers and sisters.
Mingyun was embarrassed, "Grandpa taught me this."
These are the values that his grandfather shaped for him, and he has been teaching his younger brothers and sisters this way.
Chang Zhi said, "It's too tiring to be the eldest son and grandson. Fortunately, I'm the fourth."
Mingyun, "..."
At the Zhou family, Zhulan took Qingxue to sort out the dowry for Yu Lu. Each granddaughter would have a similar dowry. It was impossible for her to prepare exactly the same ones. The same antiques were difficult to find, so as long as the calculated silver and money were similar, it would be fine.
The Zhou family has a lot of antiques. When the southerners confiscated their property, they dealt with too many antique calligraphy and paintings. Because of the large number, Zhulan also bought a lot of them for use as dowry.
Zhulan arrived at the warehouse where silver was stored. She had made a lot of silver notes back then, and had gradually exchanged them for silver or gold and saved them over the past few years.
Zhulan also has a lot of silver bills in her hands, which are the income from her business in recent years.
Back in the house, Zhulan said to Qingxue, "Send everyone to move to the main room."
Qingxue: "Yes."
Zhulan was counting the days until her eldest daughter would return home. It would be soon. Jiang Du would take part in the provincial examination this year. In the past two years, her eldest son-in-law's travel notes had become more and more famous. As his fame grew, his paintings also became more and more popular.
Last year, when Yu Shuang got married, among the dowry given by her eldest daughter were several paintings of her eldest son-in-law.
When leaving the government office, Mingyun said to his uncle, "I can go by myself."
Changzhi touched his purse and said, "I haven't bought a gift for Yuwen for a long time. Let's go together."
Mingyun thought to himself, Fourth Uncle hasn't bought anything for a long time. Fourth Aunt takes charge of the household, so Fourth Uncle doesn't have to worry about anything. Except for Yuwen's birthday, Fourth Uncle has never bought her a gift.
Changzhi felt uncomfortable being stared at, so he coughed and said, "Let's go."
After the carriage had been moving for a while, Chang Zhi suddenly said, "This year the fourth son of the Wen family will also take part in the provincial examination. In the past two years, the Wen family has only known the fourth son of the Wen family!"
Mingyun: "Yeah."
Changzhi held the fan and said, "The Wen family will be very lively in the future!"
When they arrived at the jewelry shop and got off the carriage, Mingyun saw Wen Rong opposite him. Whatever he said really came true.