On the fifteenth day of the lunar month, my mother asked your father last night, but you didn’t mention the candidate for your husband, and you didn’t mention it to me either. It seems that you don’t have anyone you like anymore.”
When Min'er heard her mother's words, she lowered her head and said nothing. Xiyao paused and saw that she didn't speak, and then said: "Mother has chosen three people. One of them is Ping'an's eldest grandson, Pingzhen. He is two years younger than you. You can also meet her."
"Mom, I won't say much more. Among the other two people, one is the youngest son of the commander of the Shaanxi capital, and the other is the grandson of Zhao who is a second-rank official." She then told the situation of these two people.
After talking about the family and character of these two people, Xiyao added: "These three people were carefully selected by my mother for more than a month. They have suitable status and good character. You can choose from these three people."
Choose one of them to be your future husband." She then took three oil paintings from the confidant female officer serving on the side and placed them on the table. "These are paintings of the three of them, all without their knowledge.
drawn."
Min'er silently took the three paintings and looked at them for a few times. Xiyao added, "Mom will give you one day to think about it. I will tell you at noon tomorrow."
She added: "Mom doesn't force you to choose the candidate that Mom likes, but you can choose by yourself, and you can't choose, so I have to choose someone myself."
"My daughter knows." Min'er promised softly.
Yun remained silent during this process. It was certainly not good for her daughter to be forced to choose someone she was completely unfamiliar with or even met as her husband, but Xiyao had no choice. Min'er couldn't pick it out herself, and she couldn't delay it any longer.
Now, she can only choose her son-in-law. And the three people she picked are indeed very good candidates. They were all left because of various reasons and did not get engaged early. It is extremely lucky to pick up three people.
.If she is unlucky and there is not a single talented person of similar age left, Miner will either marry a widower or marry someone five or six years younger. Is she not happy marrying a widower? Marrying someone younger
As a five- or six-year-old, I understand that the family would not dare to refuse, but I am not happy that Min'er may not live well in the future.
"Min'er, if you have your own candidate again on this day, your father and your mother will also agree." However, Yun didn't say anything more, just said this.
"My daughter knows." Min'er's tone was lighter than before, but she was still in a low mood.
Seeing that her daughter didn't say anything, Xiyao also breathed a sigh of relief. Min'er is her first child, and also Yun's first child. She is also the legitimate daughter. She has been doted on since she was a child, and she is not a boudoir at all.
She looked like a woman. Even if she was her own mother, there was no guarantee that she would listen to what she said. It was already getting late, so Xiyao ordered the food to be passed on and called Wen Luo back. However, Wen Qi and Wen Qi were not called.
Yin. The two of them are studying in the martial arts hall and return to the palace every night.
But although Min'er didn't say much and Xiyao looked as usual, the atmosphere at the dinner table was still not good when the family was having a meal. Wen Luo was keenly aware of this. She who usually talks the most said almost nothing.
Just focusing on eating. Yun wanted to lighten the atmosphere and said with a smile: "I was just coming back from Qianqing Palace when Wen Yuan's memorial was sent over. Wen Yuan did a good job in Suzhou this time. He was destroying the factory.
At that time, all the craftsmen who killed people were caught, and the losses of the people who opened the workshops were estimated based on a 'fair' price, and the guild was asked to pay compensation."
"Those who set up factories had always done things that were not in compliance with the Ming Laws. They were discovered by the Suzhou Police Department. Several people were arrested and dealt with according to the Ming Laws. They were also fined some money and used to provide relief to the Suzhou Prefecture.
Money and food for the poor.”
"Wenyuan also persuaded those craftsmen who had no means of livelihood to open workshops or work as machinists, and also proposed the establishment of a machinists' union to prevent them from being retaliated by those who opened the workshops, and the craftsmen also responded one after another."
"Okay, Wenyuan has really grown up and can do errands." Xiyao said with a smile. When she heard that her son had done good errands, she was happier than anything else.
"It may not be that the second brother is very capable," Wen Luo said: "The second brother is the prince. Everyone will believe whatever he says, and only then can the errands be done well. If the second brother is not doing the errands as the prince,
, it may not be possible to do it so smoothly.”
"I've been picking on your second brother all day long, so why don't you praise him a few words?" Xiyao scolded with a smile.
Wen Luo was not afraid of his mother at all, and added: "My second brother has been saying it all day long, saying 'examine myself three times a day' and 'see the virtuous and reflect on yourself when you see the virtuous', let the brothers and sisters see
Just point out his faults. My daughter is listening to her second brother."
"You've been like this all day. Neither Wen Qi nor Wen Yin is like this." Xiyao said again.
Wen Luo lowered his head and pouted, but didn't say anything. Wen Qi and Wen Yin were both boys, and Wen Qi was the son of his second aunt. As a girl, it was okay for him to criticize his second brother half-jokingly. If the third and fifth brothers were
If you dare to say this, your mother will suspect that you have other thoughts. There is no airtight wall in the world. Two years ago, my father mysteriously asked my mother to talk. After that, my mother looked very serious. She studied for a long time the next morning.
Many servants knew that his father was also reading history books in Qianqing Palace. Later, a vague rumor spread. Although Min'er made a decisive decision and arrested all the gossiping palace ladies, and reported it to her mother, so that her mother could
Within half a year, the maids and eunuchs in the entire Kunning Palace were changed, causing the rumors to disappear completely, but Wen Luo would not forget the rumors he heard at that time.
"Husband, when Wenyuan comes back from Suzhou, give him another job. Li Fanyuan won't learn much," Xiyao said again.
"He is only twenty years old this year, and he still focuses on studying and doing errands as a supplement. When my father was here, my grandfather asked my father to study with his husband, and sometimes assisted my grandfather in answering memorials. If there were any difficult errands in other places, my father would be asked to do them.
I didn't want to give him the Rifanyuan errand at first, but I just wanted to give it to him so that he could see more talents of all kinds. There's no rush." Yun said.
Of course, he couldn't give Wen Yuan any important errands. He was less than forty years old, and he was confident that he could live for another twenty years, which meant that Wen Yuan had to be the prince for another twenty years. Historically, the role of a prince
If the time is too long, many conflicts will gradually arise with the emperor. In many cases, either the prince rebels or the emperor deposes the prince. Yun does not want to get to this point with his son, so he simply does not give his son much power, and sending him on errands is only temporary.
I won't have the opportunity to deal with the generals if I'm sent on a mission. 'Wenyuan, dad, this is for your own good.' Yun thought to himself.
Xiyao wanted to say, 'But you went to the Ministry of War on errands when you were only fifteen years old', but then she thought that Zhu Yuanzhang was already over sixty years old and did not have much time left. Her words seemed to be a curse on him and he did not have much time left.
, without saying anything, just added: "This year he will also be twenty years old, and it is time for him to get married. I will make a selection in these days and choose a suitable candidate for the crown princess for him. When the crown princess is selected, I will
Wen Qi chooses the princess. Logically speaking, I, as the legitimate mother, should also take care of Wen Lin and Wen Kun's marriage, but Ye and Zhang (concubine An) may not want me to take care of it, so I can only pay more attention to it."
"It doesn't matter if a man gets married later. You take your pick, you can choose someone as young as fourteen or fifteen years old." Yun said with a smile.
"I have no choice but to choose someone who is fourteen or fifteen years old." Xiyao said. The last time she chose Wen Yuan, she didn't like any of them, and daughters are no better than men. If a man from other places is good, he will always have a good reputation.
It is easy to conduct interviews, but the daughter will not have any reputation. Even if there is a few reputations, they are just for the sake of reputation. In order to find someone Wen Yuan likes, the age can only be relaxed.
"Let's wait until Wenyuan comes back." Yun didn't want to say more, and said to Min'er: "The project you funded to research steam engines has made progress again. When we went to Gezhiyuan to see it, we could only pull about thirty kilograms.
But today Gezhiyuan reported that after improvements, it can already pull hundreds of kilograms of things. There are also coal mines equipped with steam engines, which are very useful for pumping water. Many government-run coal mines also want to introduce steam engines after hearing about it."
"In this case, father should reward Zhang Xuexi." Min'er said without much change in expression.
"Of course, as a father, I must reward him. Last time, I rewarded him with a sixth-grade official position and a hereditary title. This time, I will not promote him to an official position or title. As a father, I will reward him with some royal things." Yun said.
"That's fine. After all, it just makes the things pulled by the steam engine heavier. It's not a big improvement. If such improvements require official titles or titles, then the Ming Dynasty's official titles and titles would be too worthless. Wait until the next time he
Make more improvements, such as allowing steam engines to be used to cultivate fields, and then reward him with official titles or titles." Min'er commented.
"It's not easy to improve steam engines so they can be used for cultivating fields." Yun said with a smile. He had never heard of modern farmers driving tractors and seeders powered by steam engines for farming. Of course, they may not have such agricultural tools. It may be that he is ignorant.
.But even if he is ignorant, the fact that there is a steam engine tractor proves that this thing is not particularly useful, otherwise he would not know it.
"How can dad make a conclusion without doing any research? This is inconsistent with dad's consistent attitude towards scientific research," Min'er said.
"What I'm saying is that father shouldn't say that. My father will send someone to tell Zhang Xuexi that he can study it however he wants." Yun said again.
"That's right." Min'er smiled. But then she realized something and her smile faded.
Seeing this, Yun said again: "Miner, speaking of it, if you gave Zhang Xuexi money to study steam engines, it was an investment, and now he has made a lot of money. The prospects of steam engines are so great, and Zhang Xuexi has obtained an official position and a title, how can he not repay the favor?
What about you? I will tell you all the secrets of developing steam engines. If you open a factory to produce steam engines, you will be able to earn several times the profits before others can imitate them. Besides, if Zhang Xuexi becomes an official, he will also take care of you in the future."
Before Min'er had time to say anything, Wen Luo said, "Dad, you can leak these words to the public, so that wealthy businessmen in the private sector may be willing to fund craftsmen to research new machines, which will be beneficial to scientific research."
"Wen Luo, you are right. It is indeed good for scientific research if these words are leaked." Yun said with a smile: "I am indeed my daughter. If you are smart, just follow me."
"It's better not to be shy. The child is obviously ours, but if you're smart, it's up to you." Xiyao joked.
"If you are smart, just follow me." Yun smiled again.
The couple chatted and laughed for a while and continued to eat. At this time, Yun noticed that the expression on Min'er's face changed again. She seemed to be thinking about something. He thought she was thinking about the steam engine and said casually: "When you get married in the future, would you like to ask me?"
Zhang Xuexi asked for this favor and asked for the secret of building a steam engine to earn this money? This can also be regarded as your dowry."
But he never expected that Min'er put down her chopsticks and said, "Dad, what you just said before noon tomorrow, if my daughter has her own candidate, will she still agree to it, does it count?"
"It counts, naturally it counts. Why, you have your own candidate?" Yun asked.
"My daughter wants Zhang Xuexi to be her husband-in-law." Min'er said.