Chang Lian and Rong Chuan held their wine glasses. Chang Lian spoke first, "Thank you, mother."
Rongchuan continued, "Aunt, you have worked hard over the years."
Zhulan drank the wine in the glass happily, because Rongchuan and Changlian were going to take up their posts tomorrow. The alcohol content of the wine was not high, so Zhulan was fine after drinking several glasses.
The Zhou family in the capital were having their meal happily, but the Zhou family in Jinzhou, including the eldest wife, were very unhappy.
Li held a ruler in her hand and supported the table with one hand, sweating profusely from exhaustion. "Stop right there, little bastard."
Ming Teng looked at the ruler and swallowed his saliva, "Mom, when did you order the ruler? No, that's not right, shouldn't you slap me? Why did you change it this time?"
He is used to being slapped, so he is not afraid of it. Mingrui is right, he can just stand it and it will pass. But a ruler is different. If it hits him on the buttocks, it will definitely be broken. He would be a fool not to dodge.
Li felt that the ruler felt particularly good. She touched it and said, "This ruler was sent to me by Jinyan at noon. I was wondering at that time, but it turns out that the root cause is you."
She trembled when she got the ruler, thinking that her father-in-law was dissatisfied with her. She reflected deeply on what she had done out of line, but her head hurt so much from thinking about it, but she still couldn't figure it out. Thinking of this, Li got angry. Couldn't Jinyan say one more word? Would she die if she said one more word
When she asked nervously, Jinyan said meaningfully that she would know in the evening. Now she felt a pain in her heart when she thought about it. It was all Mingteng's fault!
In the second room, Mingrui had dinner. He took the bowl and put some braised pork in it, and then put some chicken in it. The bowl was soon full.
Zhao was particularly familiar with her son's actions, "Did you give it to Ming Teng?"
Mingrui nodded, "My aunt must have only given my second brother white rice to eat again."
Zhao wanted to laugh. This trick of her sister-in-law was very useful to Mingteng. Mingteng was a meat lover. Her sister-in-law couldn't bear to see her son go hungry, so she only gave him rice every time. Mingrui would then secretly bring meat from the second room to Mingteng.
Yu Shuang laughed, "Auntie must know that you brought meat for Ming Teng."
Mingrui held the bowl and said, "Don't be fooled by the carelessness on the surface of auntie. She knows it in her heart. Mom, I'm going to find my second brother."
Zhao, "Run slower, it's getting dark, don't fall."
Mingrui ran away first, "Got it."
In the main courtyard, Changzhong was eating wonton soup. "Dad, let's have wonton soup again tomorrow morning."
Zhou Shuren watched his son eat with a smile. The little guy's cheeks were bulging from eating. His son was so cute. "Okay, we'll make whatever you want to eat."
The little guy ate a lot, more than a bowl of soup, and drank all the soup in the bowl. After eating, the little guy was lazy, "Dad, when will mom come back?"
Zhou Shuren wiped his son's hands with a handkerchief and said, "It will take a few more days."
The little one no longer cries when talking about his mother, "It's a few days, it's a few days, daddy said it yesterday, and it's still a few days today."
Zhou Shuren pinched his son's nose and said, "About six or seven days."
Changzhong counted on his fingers and raised his hands, "How many more days will it take?"
Zhou Shuren kissed his son on the cheek. It was so cute. "Okay, Daddy will tell you a story."
He didn't tell his son. If everything went well, he could bring his son to Beijing to see his mother. A surprise should be acted like a surprise. Originally, he didn't want to send the memorial so soon. His plan was to wait, but it was obvious that he couldn't stay for long, so he had to give himself some extra time!
Old Lady Liu came over to fetch the basin of water. As she walked out, she could hear the master's gentle voice telling stories. Old Lady Liu thought to herself that the master was really gentle to the young master. The mistress was not at home, so the master took care of the young master himself and she could not help.
In the capital, at the residence of Ning Engong, Ning Zhixiang could not concentrate on the book in his hand. He kept thinking about his third uncle's attitude towards the third place winner. His tone was too cordial, even his third uncle was not that cordial to him!
After Third Uncle came back to life, Third Uncle seemed to treat him the same as his eldest brother, but he could feel that Third Uncle liked his eldest brother more!
Yu came in with some fruit, "Do you still miss your uncle?"
Ning Zhixiang let out a long sigh, "Yeah."
Yu was anxious. Her eldest brother would inherit the title of the Ning Mansion. Even if he was demoted to a lower rank, he would still be a marquis. Their second branch would have nothing. "You should talk to your father-in-law about it. Third uncle cannot be without an heir."
Ning Zhixiang waved his hand, "Wait a little longer."
What he cares more about now is the third place in the imperial examination. He is afraid of offending his uncle!
Inside the palace, the emperor was in a particularly good mood. He would be able to see his son tomorrow. He hadn't seen him for some time and he had been missing him all the time.
The emperor arrived at the queen's bedroom and looked at the food on the table. "What's the happy event today?"
This is a meal prepared by the Queen herself.
The Queen bent her eyes and took the handkerchief to wipe the Emperor's hands. "Third brother saw Rongchuan and Miss Zhou today. Third brother said that Miss Zhou is better than the information on paper says, and that she is a good match for my son. Yes, Third brother said that Miss Zhou is more beautiful than the portrait."
The emperor took the queen's hand and sat down, "Zhou Shuren's daughter is indeed good."
He knew more. The queen only paid attention to her son, but he was more comprehensive. He knew about the cloth shop.
He liked the girl's calmness and composure, but his impression of Ning Zhixiang declined a lot. From the wife's point of view of the husband, it was no wonder that the Queen had always disliked Yu and did not like to summon Yu. At that time, he thought it was just a matter of liking each other, but now it seems that women's intuition is particularly accurate.
The Queen picked up some food for the Emperor and said, "I thought that after Rong Chuan takes office for a few days, I would find an opportunity to meet Zhou Shuren's wife and daughter."
But the reason was not easy to find. Zhou Shuren's rank was a bit low, and as the queen she could not summon officials' wives at will. Her every move also affected the previous dynasty, and she had too many concerns.
The emperor thought of the memorial sent by Zhou Shuren, which was about the planning of the provincial capital. The memorial was very detailed, which showed that Zhou Shuren had done a lot of investigation. He even wrote clearly how much idle labor force was throughout the summer and the price changes were also recorded. He felt it was very good. A good planning of the provincial capital would be conducive to development and avoid many problems.
The emperor smiled and said, "Zhou Shuren has sent a memorial. I am going to summon him to the capital for a detailed discussion."
The queen was delighted, "That would be great."
The emperor would not summon people to the capital for no reason. It only meant that Zhou Shuren's suggestion really pleased the emperor, so she didn't need to think of a reason to summon Lord Zhou's wife and daughter.
The next morning, Chang Lian and Rong Chuan were wearing official uniforms. Zhu Lan looked at them and exclaimed that the official uniforms of this dynasty were so beautiful.
Dong and Xue Han saw the guests off, and came back talking and laughing.
Mrs. Dong walked with the wind. Although she had not yet received the imperial decree, she would definitely receive it in the near future. She had confidence in her husband. "Mother, my husband is gone."
Mrs. Dong was a little worried again, "Mother, my husband won't be bullied, right?"
Zhulan didn't know if she would be bullied. She only knew that with Rongchuan around, she would be able to benefit from it. "Don't think too much. You'll know when he comes back."
Dong said, "Mom, I'll get busy then."
But the worry in my heart never went away. I looked up at the sky and felt that the time was passing slowly.
At the Hanlin Academy, Chang Lian and Rong Chuan got off the carriage. Chang Lian encouraged himself. This was where his career began. "Let's go in."
Rong Chuan said with a serious expression, "Yes."