Officials on diplomatic missions were away from home for four years. Once they returned to Beijing and were promoted, they were not in a hurry to take up their posts and were given a half-month vacation to rest.
After Zhulan confirmed that Changyi was fine, she took Changyi to the temple. She had been to the temple three times this year, and each time was related to Changyi. Now that Changyi has returned safely, she wants to fulfill her wish.
Chang Yi accompanied his mother down from the carriage. Looking at the high steps leading to the temple, he felt very sad. His mother rarely came to the temple, but she came three times for him. He helped his mother up the steps and said, "Mom, I am sorry to have worried you."
Zhulan didn't look up, but only looked down, and replied: "As long as you can return safely, my mother will worry about it herself."
Chang Yi felt upset when he heard this, "Mom, my son will not be in danger anymore."
Zhulan's smile deepened, "Yeah."
Climbing up the stairs, Zhulan didn't want to continue talking, so she saved her energy and walked up in one breath.
Today, with her son supporting her, she was able to put her weight on him and didn’t feel tired at all when she reached the top of the mountain.
After the vow was fulfilled, Chang Yi helped his mother walk around, "Mom, Xue Mei gave Yu Shuang a lot of her brother-in-law's paintings."
"Well, Jiang Sheng's paintings should be kept well for their future appreciation."
Chang Yi felt that four years was too long. He almost didn't recognize his brother-in-law when he came back this time. The family letter only said that his brother-in-law's paintings were worth money. After returning, he realized that his brother-in-law's paintings were hard to come by. "Jiang Miao and Jiang Du are both getting married. I am going to send some dowry and betrothal gifts."
Zhulan: "Xuemei's family is not short of money now."
The biggest changes in Xuemei's family have been in the past two years. Jiang Sheng only kept the best paintings of each year, and basically sold the rest. He used the money to buy a house, a farm, and prepare a dowry and betrothal gifts.
When the two children got married, she, as the grandmother, also prepared a portion, and gave some to Jiang Miao together with Xuemei's own dowry. Although Jiang Miao's dowry was not as much as Yu Shuang's and others', it was already very generous.
Chang Yi whispered, "Mom, let me be honest with you. In the past four years, I have gained more than just the money and property that was sent back, so it is not difficult for me to have a dowry and betrothal gift from my uncle."
Jiang Sheng was so generous to his daughter, he was never a stingy person.
Zhulan and Zhou Shuren guessed how much money Changyi had made, and it would not be less than 100,000 taels. "Keep a low profile in the future."
Chang Yi, "Son understands."
Ministry of Revenue, Qiu Yan said: "Among the officials on this mission, only your son is still in the Ministry of Rites."
Zhou Shuren, "Changyi's path is narrow, he can't leave the Ministry of Rites."
This is the truth. Chang Yi was promoted quickly, but it also limited his future. It was difficult for him to leave the Ministry of Rites. If he slowly accumulated experience in the Ministry of Rites, he would have hope of breaking through to the fifth rank. However, in other places, he might not be promoted even if he accumulated experience. Even if he did, he would gradually be marginalized.
Only by seizing the power of the Ministry of Rites can Changyi slowly get out of this situation.
As for the other officials who followed, they were from the imperial examination system and had made great achievements, so naturally they went to better places. But that was not right. Gu Zhuomin did not go to a better place. Many people made two promotions this time, and Gu Zhuomin was one of them. Gu Zhuomin was promoted to the fifth rank and went to the Guanglu Temple, becoming the Shaoqing of the Guanglu Temple. It would be difficult for Gu Zhuomin to be promoted any higher.
The Shujishi who followed the diplomatic mission at that time entered the Ministry of Commerce with the sixth rank. This was a good place. As long as he seized the opportunity, he would have a smooth future.
Qiu Yan remained silent. He wanted to say that Lord Zhou's second son had a hard time, but he couldn't say it. His son was now a sixth-rank official, and he didn't know if he could reach the fourth rank in his lifetime.
The next day, Chang Yi strolled to his daughter's house. He accompanied his mother on the first day, and his wife and children at night. On the second day, he came to his daughter's house again. See how much he values his son-in-law.
Liu Feng's back was covered with sweat, and he held a teacup in his hand, "Dad, please have some tea."
Chang Yi didn't answer, but looked at Liu Feng quietly. Even though he accepted Liu Feng as his son-in-law, he would not be at home when his daughter got married, so he had a lot of opinions about his son-in-law.
Yu Shuang sat aside without saying a word, slowly eating the cut fruit. This was what her father brought back for her. He bought it especially for her when the ship stopped for supplies.
She would not get involved in the affairs between her father-in-law and son-in-law. She would just watch. Her father would not beat her husband to death anyway.
Chang Yi waited until Liu Feng's forehead was sweaty, his hand holding the teacup still held, without any impatience in his eyes, before he took the tea and said, "I'll drink this tea, but let's go for a walk."
Liu Feng heaved a sigh of relief, as long as he drank the tea, "Okay."
Chang Yi has one attitude towards his son-in-law and another towards his daughter. When he sees his daughter's belly, he thinks this is his grandson or granddaughter. In a blink of an eye, he becomes a grandfather. "It's hot outside. You rest in the room. We'll be back soon."
Yu Shuang curled her eyes and said, "Yeah."
Chang Yi turned around and the smile on his face faded, "Let's go."
Liu Feng, "..."
He changed his expression so quickly. I followed my father-in-law and turned around to see my wife waving her handkerchief as if watching a show. No, my wife, you really won’t save me, your husband!
In the imperial palace, Zhou Shuren and other ministers left the Zhengdian Hall and went out to meet His Royal Highness the Crown Prince. Zhou Shuren saw that His Royal Highness the Crown Prince looked listless, and he felt particularly relieved. He deserved it!
The prince was listless. His current Master Yan was too strict and he had not left the palace for some time.
When Eunuch Zhang saw that the prince was taking a long time to enter the palace, he trotted out and said, "Your Highness, the Emperor is waiting for you."
The prince glanced at Minister Zhou with regret. He just wanted to take the opportunity to follow him out of the palace!
Zhou Shuren felt refreshed. The prince had been too troublesome in the past two years. It was good for him to be obedient now.
The Minister of Industry came over and lowered his voice, "Have your family received an invitation from the Queen?"
Zhou Shuren, "I got it, why are you asking me?"
The Minister of Industry lowered his voice, "Your attention has been on your son recently. You forgot that the position of Crown Princess is still vacant. Anyone with a keen eye can guess that your girl will not marry into the royal family. That's why they specifically asked whether your girl was invited, so as to guess the purpose of the Queen's banquet."
Zhou Shuren looked around and saw everyone's ears perked up. No matter how quiet the voice was, it couldn't stop people from wanting to know the news. "Haha, this is a bit too hasty."
Her daughter will not marry into the royal family, but she will still appear on occasions. This is what he brings to his granddaughter. If he doesn't invite his granddaughter, not to mention that he has lost the emperor's trust.
Zhou Shuren continued, "Now it seems that time can really dilute a lot of things. I even forgot that my mother's last name was Rong."
The Minister of Industry put his hands behind his back and said, "I was asking for someone else as well. I haven't forgotten."
Zhou Shuren was too lazy to roll his eyes. In fact, the emperor really revealed that the position of the Crown Princess should be decided. He glanced at the ministers around him, but he didn't know who would win.
On the other side, Chang Yi took Liu Feng to the horse farm. Liu Feng didn't like this kind of place very much. Shouting sounds echoed in his ears and Liu Feng frowned.
However, Liu Feng's brows soon relaxed, and he turned his head to look at his father-in-law with a dark face. He glanced at the people who were talking behind him and said "tsk tsk" twice. It was really a life-saving help, but it was about Mingrui. Liu Feng touched his face, and then sat down obediently. His father-in-law's face became even darker.