Zhou Shuren took a deep breath, "Bah, I won't let them go as merchants. If I remember correctly, there are many merchant caravans every year. When a merchant caravan enters the grassland, it will hire many escorts to protect it. Even if they are unlucky, they will suffer heavy losses."
Li Zhao finally reacted, "You mean escort by soldiers?"
Zhou Shuren, "Well, I have a fixed patrol mission anyway, and I can earn some money by escorting."
Li Zhao opened the new door. Yes, the patrol mission included escorting at the same time. Not only would there be no loss, but he could also make money. It would be even better if the company could also take care of the food along the way. We were short of food now, so he was thinking hard in his mind.
Li Zhao continued to think, "We can also raise some cattle and sheep and provide ourselves with meat, which can reduce a lot of burden."
Zhou Shuren, "Yeah, not bad."
Li Zhao was excited. "I will go back and think about it carefully. I will present the memorial to the emperor tomorrow."
Zhou Shuren waited for Li Zhao to leave and breathed a sigh of relief. The annual military supplies could really overwhelm him, especially during the years when grain production decreased.
Li Zhao was a capable person. The next day, the emperor saw the memorial. The emperor was delighted after reading it and said, "Good idea."
The prince also read the memorial and said, "This is because we didn't get the money, but Marquis Zhou gave us a solution."
After reading the memorial, the emperor thought even more. Not only was Marquis Zhou exhausted with military supplies, he, the emperor, was also exhausted. The navy was a huge expense. If it were not for the income from the air routes, the burden on the court would be even heavier.
The emperor approved the memorial and felt relieved. He rarely showed any concern for the prince's marriage. "Have you been to the Shangguan Mansion recently?"
The prince paused with his pen, "No, my son is busy lately."
The emperor looked at his son's expression. He knew his son, a child he had raised, very well. "I know you have no feelings for Miss Shangguan, but I hope you can spend more time with her. You have to spend your whole life with her."
Even though the queen had all kinds of faults, his merits could not be denied. He had never thought of replacing the queen, nor had he thought of appointing another empress after the queen passed away. The promise he made to the queen would not change, and having one wife for a lifetime was enough.
He and the queen have feelings for each other, so he also hopes that his son's future marriage will be smooth. It is important for a couple to be of one mind.
The prince was touched. He understood what his father meant, but he tried, "Miss Shangguan is very good."
She was very suitable for being the Crown Princess, but there was something missing when they got along with each other. He thought it might be because they were not married. If they were married, they would be closer.
The emperor looked at his son deeply and sighed inwardly. He began to lose his son's eye and it would be difficult to win his son's eye in the future.
At Zhou's house, Mingrui returned from Zhuangzi with his wife. Mingrui said, "Grandma, several talented orphans in Zhuangzi are already able to help the doctor."
Zhulan was happy to hear this, "You learn very quickly."
Mingrui nodded, "Yes, the doctor I invited also likes me very much and wants to take me as a formal disciple."
"What do the kids say?"
Mingrui's eyes were filled with warmth. "Several children are willing to do so. They said they are not learning for themselves, and they will stay in the village to attend classes after they have learned well."
"A few kids are good."
It's good that you know I'll be rewarded after learning from me, and I didn't teach anyone to be ungrateful.
Zhulan thought of the ungrateful orphans. Not all orphans are good. Some are good and some are bad. Naturally, there are also children like the ungrateful orphans.
Lin Qing looked at her husband. She was extremely happy after getting married. She accompanied her husband to do things every day. Her mother-in-law was also nice to her, and her sister-in-law was her friend. Her married life was like falling into a honey pot. Every time she went back to her parents' home, her sisters in the family were extremely envious.
Zhulan chatted with Mingrui for a while and signaled the two children to go back and rest. Mingrui has been in charge of the orphanage recently, and the children have a hard time.
After leaving the government office, Zhou Shuren came back and saw the letter on the table. He picked it up and read it. "It's from Mingyun."
"Yes, it was delivered this afternoon. Along with the letter came some medicinal herbs."
Zhou Shuren had already taken out the letter and read it. It was just an ordinary family letter. The letter said what he had learned. The key point was that Wu Ming did not hide anything. "Mingyun has been gone for more than half a year."
"yes."
Zhou Shuren put down the letter and said, "Wu Ming takes care of Mingyun, and you should also take care of Wu Ming's wife and children."
"I know. Wu Ming has illegitimate sons now."
The concubines who were pregnant at that time gave birth to a boy and a girl. She also saw the two children. Song Lan did not treat the children harshly and was quite good to them. As for the concubines, she did not see them.
After dinner, the two sent the servants away and continued chatting. Zhulan mentioned Yuwen, "Someone is still thinking about Yuwen. There are a lot of posts to the fourth room recently."
Zhou Shuren, "There were quite a few posts in the past. How many times have you seen your granddaughter participate?"
"Yuwen will go to tomorrow's banquet. It's rare for the Shangguan Mansion to hold a flower banquet. It's also the family home of the future Crown Princess, so everyone who is invited must go."
Zhou Shuren is not worried about his granddaughter, "Yuwen is very smart."
“Just too smart.”
Among several granddaughters, this one is the smartest.
The next day, Yudie and Yuyi also attended the banquet held at the Shangguan Mansion. Several girls also went, including Li and Suxuan.
Miss Shangguan, the future Crown Princess, held a flower banquet for the first time and many young ladies came.
Yujiao was familiar with Shangguan Li, and was taken away by Shangguan Li as soon as she entered the yard. Yudie and her sisters went to see Shangguan Jia first. Shangguan Jia was the future crown princess, and there were already many young ladies around her.
When Shangguan Jia saw Yudie and the others, her tone was much more enthusiastic, "You are here."
Yudie, the elder sister, stepped forward and said, "Sister Shangguan, we are not late, are we?"
Shangguan Jia smiled and said, "It's not too late. Look, there aren't many people here."
When Yudie heard this, it seemed that many young ladies had been invited today. After they exchanged a few words, Yudie and the others followed the maid and took their seats.
Yujiao also came back, with a look on her face as if I had found out some gossip.
Yuyi frowned and hit the back of her sister's hand with a fan, indicating that she should be more restrained in Shangguan Mansion. Now the garden is full of young ladies from various mansions, so she should avoid gossip.
It was almost time, and all the young ladies from various mansions had arrived. Among them, a few were the most conspicuous.
The Yudie sisters looked at each other. They had heard that the prince had set a date for his wedding. Many families in the capital had their eyes on the position of the prince's concubine. The prince's concubines were future imperial concubines. Unlike the prince's concubines, they also needed to be fought over.