Zhulan really remembered that her son and granddaughter had helped a girl, and it seemed like they had saved a young lady, "!!"
Lin Xi blinked her eyes, "Grandma, you remember it too?"
"I hope I'm wrong."
"That's right, it's Ji Rong!"
Zhu Lan thought that Ji Rong was really miserable at that time. She was bullied and fought back fiercely. "How did you remember this?"
Lin Xi said quietly, "I met the little girl today. Ji Rong released the little girl's contract before she returned home. Now the little girl has come to the capital with her parents."
Zhulan immediately understood that the little girl's family was Ji Rong's men placed outside, "Did the little girl recognize you?"
Lin Xi nodded, "Yeah, it was dark at the time and she didn't recognize my face, but she remembered my voice. Alas, I really don't want to have anything to do with Ji Rong."
When I saw that Ji Rong was going to have more trouble, I would have helped her if I had known.
Zhu Lan thought for a while and said, "If Ji Rong comes to you, don't mention your uncle."
The life-saving grace is quite a scam. If she chooses a daughter-in-law, she still prefers Miss Wei. Ji Rong has obviously been bullied to extremes. She and Shu Ren have been planning for the sake of their descendants. They don't want to have a daughter-in-law like Ji Rong. She can't help but teach her a lesson or something, which will ruin the future of the Zhou family.
Lin Xi, "I was the first one to speak up, don't worry, grandma."
She knew that her mother and grandmother had high hopes for Miss Wei and would naturally not cause trouble for her uncle.
Zhulan, "Good boy, do you want to stay for dinner today?"
"Okay, I'll stay the night."
"Your grandfather will be happy to see you."
Linxi likes grandpa. Some people say that grandpa is not good-looking, but in her heart, grandpa is the most handsome. "Grandma, I'm going to find my cousin."
"Go ahead."
Zhulan thought about it but still felt uneasy. She called Changzhong, who was reading at home, and told him about Pinggang's situation. Finally, she concluded, "Avoid it if you can."
Changzhong didn't want to have anything to do with women, especially since he thought Miss Wei was pretty good. "Son, I'll make a note of that."
The next day, Xue Han sent someone to call Lin Xi back to the palace. An hour and a half later, Lin Xi came back.
Lin Xi, "Grandma, Miss Ji came to thank me, but she didn't mention my uncle."
"Well, it's solved?"
"It's solved. My mother didn't show up. I went back and Ji Rong waited for a while. I told her it was just a small favor and she shouldn't remember it. We didn't say a few words before I sent her away."
Zhulan, "Then why did you come back just now?"
Lin Xi spread her hands, "My mother knew about it and asked me for details. I told her to wait for me to have lunch, and then she let me go."
Otherwise, mother will want to confine her again!
Zhulan laughed, "Since you are having lunch with me, what do you want to eat?"
"Let's eat cold noodles. The weather is getting hotter."
Zhulan also wanted to eat something cold, "The weather is really hot this year."
"Yeah, oh, this summer is sad."
Fortunately, there are not many masters in the Qin Palace, so ice has always been in surplus.
Li came in at this time, "Mother, this is Mingyun's letter."
After Zhulan read it, "He does have some ideas."
Li smiled and said, "Ran Wan's past is like home, and the young couple will be able to live together."
Zhulan shook her head, "This time we are talking about serious matters."
Li was nervous, "What happened?"
Zhulan put down the letter and said, "Wu Ming has always wanted the grassland people to learn Chinese, but the grassland is teaching Mr. Mingyun thought of orphans and wanted to invite a few female orphans to teach the grassland women."
Li has been to the grasslands, and “the conditions on the grasslands are harsh.”
His son had no shortage of money and received gifts from the capital from time to time, but his life was not very comfortable either. The conditions of the people below were even more difficult. Orphans had no family behind them and could only rely on themselves when they arrived on the grassland. I guess few would be willing to go!
Zhulan also knew that the orphan’s current wages had to be used to pay off debts, “I’ll discuss this with Rongchuan.”
Li was worried about her son again, "I don't know when Mingyun will be able to come back."
"I won't be back for a while."
Mingyun is growing very fast outside, which is a condition that the capital cannot provide. She and Shuren are relieved, as Mingyun is the future of the Zhou family.
In the palace, the study was quiet. It was not because the emperor was flipping through the books slowly, but because he was reading very slowly.
Zhou Shuren felt very calm. He had a rough idea of the emperor's bottom line over the years, so he waited quietly.
The emperor frowned and relaxed his brows from time to time. After another cup of tea, he put down the memorial in his hand and said, "You have calculated every aspect."
Zhou Shuren glanced at the emperor, and seeing that his face was calm, he said, "My thoughts are not enough."
The emperor snorted, "Not enough? I think it's enough. Merchants can use the improved technology by paying a patent fee every year. Do you know how much money the Ministry of Industry spent on improving technology?"
"I have always had an account."
Your Majesty, "..."
Zhou Shuren said: "So the patent fee cannot be set too low, and we cannot do business at a loss."
The emperor hit the nail on the head, "Today's patent protects the interests of the court, but what about tomorrow?"
Zhou Shuren, "Tomorrow we will protect the emperor's people."
The emperor snorted again, "Officials and the people, officials first, then the people. How can you guarantee that the people's patents will not be taken away?"
It is not just talk that the people should not fight against the officials. Away from the capital, he, the emperor, sometimes feels helpless. There are too many local tyrants, and there is too much darkness away from the capital!
Zhou Shuren's eyes were burning. "So we need to improve it slowly."
The emperor remained silent, and Zhou Shuren was also patient. After a quarter of an hour, the emperor waved his hand and said, "You go back first."
Zhou Shuren had expected this, and said one more thing before leaving, "Your Majesty, there are many merchants. If you don't want a technology to fall behind, you have to pay patent fees. This is a lot of money, which can not only balance the previous research and development accounts of the Ministry of Industry, but also have a lot of surplus."
Your Majesty, "Go quickly."
This time Zhou Shuren left without saying a word, and Chang Zhi left with him.
Changzhi was outside thinking about the study room, but he didn't dare to eavesdrop. God knows how nervous he was because the study door was closed. "Dad, are you okay?"
Zhou Shuren touched his stomach and asked, "Does it count if I drank too much tea?"
Changzhi, "... "
Well, he worried for nothing!
Inside the study, the emperor sat and turned the beads, his mind uncontrollably thinking about the law, and then he frowned. The Ministry of Industry had indeed invested a lot in recent years, and had a lot of technology in its hands, but had never figured out how to use it. Zhou Shuren's idea was indeed good, but it also involved a lot of things.
Zhou Shuren left the palace and said, "I'll take you back to the Hanlin Academy."
Changzhi, "Thank you, Dad."
Zhou Shuren stroked his beard and asked, "You've been in the palace these past few days?"
Changzhi nodded, "Yeah."
Many people were jealous of him when he entered the palace one after another, but because his father was there, no one said anything mean to him. Thinking about it this way, everything he had was because of his father.
"Dad, you've worked hard."
Zhou Shuren, "???"
Changzhi asked again: "Dad, what did you say to the emperor?"
Zhou Shuren glared, "Don't ask."
He never told anyone except his wife about this and had been preparing it all by himself.
Changzhi shut up, "I'm just curious."
"Then put away your curiosity. If you really can't help it, I'll help you hold your skin tight."