It's the end of winter again.
It has been three years since Zi'an came back. He opened several clinics in Beijing and formed a partnership with Rouyao. Rouyao finally registered as a doctor.
I feel proud and walk with confidence.
The one who is even more proud than her is Liu Liu, who has six children in three years.
Zhuangzhuang gave birth to a daughter that year and suffered severe hemorrhage after delivery. She was saved, but she has been unable to have children since then. Zhuangzhuang was sad for a long time because she had always hoped to give Xiao Xiao children and continue to have descendants.
After all, in addition to being a great general guarding the country, Xiao Xiao also has a title waiting to be inherited. The title of marquis is passed down to males, not females. Without children, the title of marquis will fall into the hands of others.
The Xiao family is large and the most prosperous one is Xiao Tuo.
But it is not yet Xiao Tuo's turn to inherit the title of Marquis. The old marquis has several sons and more than a dozen grandsons, who are much more outstanding than Xiao Tuo.
If Xiao Xiao has no offspring to inherit, he will only have two choices. One is to adopt a offspring from the clan, and the other is to give the title of marquis to a capable cousin.
With the advice of the old lady, Liu Liu brought her eldest son to the princess's mansion just after the first snow of winter fell.
Good things should be kept within the family.
Besides, isn't it just about giving birth? Other things might be more difficult for Chen Liuliu, such as embroidery and studying, but giving birth... What's so difficult about giving birth
Relax, relax! She said to the ladies, smiling and shaking her hands.
In this way, Xiao Tuo's eldest son was adopted by Xiao Xiao and the princess.
The five-and-a-half-year-old child, nicknamed Hammerhead, has thick eyebrows, big eyes, and a full face. Zhuangzhuang loved him so much in the past, and now that he has been adopted by his parents, he is overjoyed when he hears the name "mother".
Of course, although the etiquette is clear, Zhuangzhuang still lets the child call Liu Liu "mother". How can the love between mother and child be separated
This adoption was only in name only. Lady Chen meant to let Hammerhead follow Xiao Xiao. Lady Chen said that this child had great potential and should not be abandoned by his parents.
Yi'er gave birth to a son last year.
The child was born on Hanshan Mountain because Zi'an happened to be staying there at that time. Liuyue and King Liang sent Yi'er there to give birth without saying a word. At least with Zi'an there to watch over her, nothing could go wrong.
This year, everyone gathered in Beijing to celebrate the New Year, because there was an important event to do before the New Year.
That means the emperor is finally getting married!
I heard that Qin Zhou would also come, as the Emperor of Qin, to attend the Emperor's wedding.
The preparations for the emperor's wedding only began three months ago. The reason for such a hasty move was that the empress dowager's health was getting worse. The imperial physician said that it would probably take place before the New Year.
After the empress dowager passed away, the emperor had to observe mourning.
Someone has to take care of the harem, so Murong Jie decided to arrange the marriage in advance and announced to the public that he wanted to take advantage of the fact that the empress dowager was still in good health and let her see the emperor get married.
When the emperor first ascended the throne, the empress dowager had always suppressed the saintly empress dowager Hu Huanling. Now that she has been ill for three years, Hu Huanling is almost always in charge of all the affairs of the harem.
Hu Huanling gradually came to the fore. This daughter of a merchant was no longer the same person who had just entered the palace and needed to please people everywhere. She could now stand on her own and even the emperor sometimes had to listen to her.
After all, she is the empress of the previous emperor. She should rule the country with benevolence and filial piety. If the emperor is benevolent, he must also be filial.
The emperor's marriage was handled by her together with the Ministry of Rites. After several years of experience, she became more and more reliable in her work.
I heard that Hu Huanling has reconciled with Hu Huanxi, the manager of the Hu family. I don't know if Hu Huanling listened to Hu Huanxi's advice, but he was very friendly to the Regent Princess and even asked the Regent Princess for her opinion on the emperor's marriage many times.
After three years of peace and prosperity, Grand Secretary Yuan planned to let the emperor rule the country after his wedding so that he could retire.
Murong Jie had long intended to retire to the South. A month ago, he had an argument with Academician Yuan about who should retire first. Academician Yuan simply fell to the ground, saying that his old bones could not hold on any longer and would fall apart, and that he wanted to retire and return home after the new year.
Murong Jie invited the princess out at the right time. The princess felt the pulse of Yuan Daxueshi and said with a gratified tone: "Grandpa's pulse is steady, just like your personality and character. It is not a problem for him to be the prime minister for three to five years."
Academician Yuan lamented that married daughters all had deformed arms that bent outward.
The princess smiled and said, "Grandpa, I have no choice. The emperor is getting older. Although he trusts you very much, he can't stand the people in the court who have ulterior motives trying to sow discord between uncle and nephew. A tall tree attracts the wind. You know your grandson-in-law's temperament best. If he gets angry and takes an unconventional approach, it will hurt anyone by mistake. The most taboo thing for the monarch and his subjects is to have a rift. Why bother? It's better to flee to the South. It's better to help each other in the future than to slowly harbor resentment. Didn't the late emperor trust your grandson-in-law in the past? Try to avoid the struggle for imperial power if you can."
Academician Yuan knew every word she said was true. She was right. The emperor was now growing stronger and the regent still held great power. If the emperor continued to stay in the capital after taking power, regardless of whether there would be people with ulterior motives in the future, even differences in political views could cause a rift between the two.
Unable to convince his granddaughter, Mr. Yuan had no choice but to accept his fate and had to go to his old colleagues to complain. Mrs. Chen comforted him with a few words, smoothed down his rebellious spirit, and let him go back to work.
As he was going to the South to settle the situation, Zi'an settled the people in the mansion. Nanny had to go with him. After Xiaosun married Guiyuan, she continued to stay in the manor to manage the affairs.
Wu Yanzu and Wanjing stayed behind at the base camp, and the money earned from the farm was deposited in Hu Huanxi's bank every month. Alternatively, Hu Huanxi could lend it out and collect some interest.
Qin Zhou arrived in the capital on the 18th day of the twelfth lunar month.
It was not known whether Qin Zhou was just lucky or not, but in the third year after she ascended the throne, she actually discovered several large gold mines in the northern part of Qin State.
The public does not have the right to mine, all rights belong to the imperial court. Qin Zhou was very pleased to see the golden gold flowing to Kyoto and in front of her.
At least he is rich.
Before, when Yi'er married Prince Liang, she had a ten-mile-long red wedding dress, which was not an exaggeration.
This was the most magnificent scene that the people of Beijing had ever seen, but it was surpassed by Qin Zhou today.
What was the most abundant thing in Qin? Gold.
So, these cartloads of gold, and cartloads of gold exchanged for jade jewelry from Daliang, luminous pearls from Dayue, silks and satins from Daxing, and horses, cattle and sheep from the Xianbei.
Were these gifts for the emperor's wedding? No, she was only here to acknowledge his godchildren.
These are just things that can be moved. The real estate that Qin Zhou bought for his godson in Qin State is really impressive.
Hu Tou also became the youngest and richest bachelor in the Great Zhou Kingdom, officially surpassing his ninth uncle, King Ye Xiang.
Zi'an rolled his eyes as he watched boxes of gold being delivered to the palace.
"Vague!" Zi'an complained to Qin Zhou.
"What's so important about being vulgar? I just want them to have enough food and clothing." Qin Zhou's heroic features became even more domineering.
(End of this chapter)