Chapter 83 The most important thing for the Lady of Zhongyong was becoming the Governor of Pinggu...

"Happy? How could I not be happy?" Grandmother Jia hurriedly said with a smile. People who can't be controlled by power are simply subjected to alternating praise and control, a tactic she is very skilled at.

"Your health has improved, which shows that you are indeed ready to get married. Your maternal grandmother is also very happy for you." As she spoke, Grandmother Jia was also relieved that she had the foresight to not have Lin Ruhai announce the marriage agreement.

Yu'er and Baoyu used to be so close, and the whole family said that she and Baoyu were a couple. She couldn't have been unaware of that, could she? And that fool Zijuan, who tricked Baoyu into having a mental breakdown, she knew that. So how come she's now happily marrying an outsider without any regrets?

In terms of character and appearance, in what way is Baoyu inferior to the Earl of Zhongyong?

Although it's not as powerful as it is, living in the homes of the powerful and wealthy is not so easy. Besides, Baoyu has not yet come of age, and his future is promising.

She couldn't have deliberately kept Baoyu hanging, could she?

Thinking about it this way, Grandmother Jia felt uncomfortable again.

She deliberately laughed and said, "That Baoyu is a simple-minded boy. Knowing that you are getting married, he will probably make a fuss again, just like last time when he found out you were going home, he went crazy."

These words are all too familiar: no matter what Jia Baoyu does, it's always someone else's fault. Everyone in the Jia family has to revolve around Jia Baoyu and take care of him.

Lin Daiyu laughed along, "Why don't we just not tell him? Brother Bao is innocent and pure-hearted. He'll be sad if Sister Yun goes home. It would be better to let Brother Lian go out more often and learn some social skills. Once he has other things to do, he won't care about these things."

To be honest, calling him Brother Bao like Miss Xue instantly made me feel like I was a generation older, but being more mature than Brother Bao doesn't seem like something to be proud of.

Grandmother Jia immediately objected: "Lian'er is no good. He was beaten up last time because of him."

Lin Daiyu's expression was somewhat unnatural, and her third brother had already admitted it.

Although Grandmother Jia dared to outwardly comply while secretly causing trouble, she would not dare to openly defy the wishes of the empresses in the palace. So she nodded again: "You are right. It is time to teach him something. He will be the one to escort you to your wedding sedan chair when you get married in the future."

Lin Daiyu felt that Grandmother Jia's plan was unlikely to succeed, but it didn't matter, after all, she was her maternal grandmother, and at least she could have a beautiful dream.

Oh no! She's been corrupted by her third brother.

Just as Lin Daiyu was thinking about going back to reflect on her actions, Grandmother Jia asked again, "Do you know what the most important thing is for you after you marry into the Marquis of Zhongyong's household?"

I supervise my third brother's calligraphy practice every day!

But her maternal grandmother was certainly not asking about that, so Lin Daiyu hesitated before asking, "To have more children and offspring?"

Grandmother Jia shook her head: "Teach them how to become true nobles."

Lin Daiyu's expression became subtle again. In fact, she felt that those who were bound by a lot of rules every day and only cared about face and propriety were more like slaves to the rules than nobles.

The kind of person like Third Brother, who doesn't rely too much on rules, has his own ideas and can put them into practice, and can chat and laugh with anyone based on his own strength, is the true aristocrat.

Seeing that Lin Daiyu remained silent, Grandmother Jia felt reassured and instructed her: "What is nobility? It is determined by one's own character and one's ancestors. He has made great contributions, and there are even rumors in the capital that His Majesty and the Emperor Emeritus both greatly favor him, yet he was only granted the title of First-Class Earl, and it is a hereditary title. Why do you think that is?"

Although Lin Daiyu hadn't asked him directly, based on her third brother's usual words and her own guesses, she thought it might be because her third brother's adoptive father, Lord Li, had been granted the title of Marquis, so he was only granted the title of Earl.

Moreover, it's only been a short time. If we're going to promote him to a noble title, we need to find a better reason. There will definitely be a series of achievements waiting for him in the future.

"A target?" Lin Daiyu asked evasively, thinking that her grandmother would be satisfied with this answer, as her grandmother loved setting up targets.

For example, Xue Baoqin from the Xue family. Her maternal grandmother loved her so much back then, not only for the Xue family's eldest daughter, but also for her.

But to her surprise, Grandmother Jia shook her head, and Lin Daiyu was immediately disappointed. Wasn't that right?

Seeing her expression, Grandmother Jia felt gratified. Why was Yu'er disappointed? It was because she wanted her praise; this was the essence of control.

“He doesn’t have a good background. His ancestors were farmers,” Grandmother Jia said with certainty. “You see, he chose the Marquis of Nan as his adoptive father just for the sake of his social standing.”

Lin Daiyu disagreed. Lord Li had saved her third brother's life and promoted him all the way. Her third brother also said that he was like a second parent to her, but there was no need to say this to outsiders.

Grandmother Jia continued with great interest: "Just like Jia Yucun is related to our Jia family, and Granny Liu's son-in-law is related to the Wang family, it's all for a good family background. The first thing you should do when you marry into the Marquis of Zhongyong's family is to find a good family background for the Marquis of Zhongyong as well."

Seeing that Lin Daiyu was still clueless, Grandmother Jia reminded her, "What did you see written on the words in Rongxi Hall the day you arrived?"

What are the characters in Rongxi Hall?

Lin Daiyu had an excellent memory; as soon as Grandmother Jia mentioned it, she remembered that there was a couplet written by Prince Mu Shi of Dong'an in Rongxi Hall.

If it were in front of her third brother, she would have said it directly. However, in the Rongguo Mansion, having a good memory is almost the same as showing off. The key point is that her maternal grandmother had just mentioned the Lianzong (connection of kinship) and then mentioned Dong'an County Prince Mu Shi. This was clearly an attempt to get her third brother to form a kinship with the Mu family, and she had no good intentions whatsoever.

"How could I remember that? It happened more than ten years ago."

Grandmother Jia was overjoyed. She laughed and said, "Well, it's not a big deal that you, a girl, don't care about these things. Our family has a history with the Mu family, the Prince of Dong'an. They both share the surname Mu. If we can be related by kinship, that would be a good background for the Earl of Zhongyong."

Although she had expected it, Lin Daiyu still wanted to ask: How dare you?

In the Rongguo Mansion, those who are clear-headed really can't survive; they either have to pretend to be stupid or go along with the fooling around.

“Grandmother, what are the titles and official positions of the Prince of Dong’an’s family now? Who is left in the family? I lived in the Rongguo Mansion for ten years and only ever saw that one couplet. How come there’s been no news of them?”

"Their family's rank has also been lowered by four grades," Grandmother Jia sighed. "Let me be blunt with you. When you were a young lady, you were supposed to be enjoying romance and poetry every day, but once you become a wife in someone else's family, you can't do that anymore. Look at your sister Feng, she understands. Managing a household is a difficult task, and where is her good reputation now?"

Lin Daiyu immediately said, "Then I won't take care of the household anymore."

Just as Grandmother Jia was about to speak, she suddenly realized that this was a good thing. Although it was an unintentional act, wouldn't it be better if she didn't manage the household affairs?

"I'll pick out some capable old women to manage things for you. You just need to focus on being the wife of the Marquis of Zhongyong. The other women will be in charge of the household staff. You just need to make the overall decisions."

Seeing that the topic had drifted off course, Grandmother Jia brought up the matter of kinship again: "With kinship, the Earl of Zhongyong will have a good background, and the Prince of Dong'an's family will also receive some silver. Both families will be happy. I know you don't like to hear about these things, but marriage and managing a household are just these kinds of unpleasant things."

Lin Daiyu also sighed.

The things her third brother said to her, and the future he promised, made her look forward to it. But what her grandmother said about getting married and managing the household made her feel that her husband's family was a hateful place like a deep abyss.

Her third brother wanted her to marry into the family, but her maternal grandmother didn't want her to.

"Alright." Grandmother Jia patted her hand again. "That's all for today. I'll teach you the rest later. When I married into the Jia family, I started as a great-granddaughter-in-law and now I'm the matriarch of the Rongguo Mansion. Yu'er, you still have a lot to learn here."

Who wants to learn this? Lin Daiyu got up to say goodbye as instructed. When she returned to her room, she immediately saw the "Man Jiang Hong" embroidery frame stretched over the embroidery frame.

Lin Daiyu blushed and muttered softly, "It was originally a birthday gift for Third Brother... but it might end up being a return gift for betrothal."

On the other side, Mu Chuan escorted Lin Daiyu back, first emphasizing to His Majesty that he would be twenty-eight in two months, and then received a nourishing and health-preserving gift package from His Majesty.

Then Mu Chuan went to tell the Emperor Emeritus that he was getting married, and received a gift from the Emperor Emeritus: a red silk with a hidden double happiness pattern made of gold thread, specially made for his wedding dress, as well as one hundred jars of seventeen-year-old Daughter's Red wine.

The Emperor Emeritus also specifically instructed: "Don't let Miss Lin embroider her wedding dress herself. Don't listen to the saying that wedding dresses are all embroidered by oneself. It would take three to five years for one person to finish it. I will send an embroiderer to take the measurements and cut the clothes. Whether it's sewing or embroidery, just let her make the first stitch. The same goes for your dress. If she wants to do it herself, tell her to make the red embroidered ball in her hand."

Mu Chuan readily agreed.

After leaving the palace, he rode back to the military camp at full speed, only to find Ke Yuanqing waiting for him at the restaurant opposite the camp.

This was a new regulation after Mu Chuan came to power. Unless it was sent by the emperor or on official business, they could not be taken directly to the military camp. Otherwise, they would be received in restaurants outside.

After Mu Chuan reported this regulation, the emperor was quite pleased. The five major camps of the Beijing Garrison were the guards of the capital and the emperor's confidants, so the emperor naturally did not want to be investigated.

The emperor not only granted permission on the spot, but also directly issued the order to the other four camps, instructing them to follow this procedure as well.

Afterwards, Zhong Jun gave his third uncle a thumbs up. It was truly killing two birds with one stone. Not only did he receive praise from His Majesty, but he also indirectly offended the generals of the other four battalions. He was indeed worthy of being his third uncle.

Mu Chuan entered the private room, and Ke Yuanqing got up to greet him.

"General."

"Lord Ke."

After exchanging polite greetings, Mu Chuan said, "Don't worry, Lord Ke, the 'Umbrella of Ten Thousand People' is ready. The village chief of Linjia Village has joined forces with four nearby villages and obtained more than two thousand signatures."

"Don't worry, it's not all signatures, there are also fingerprints and some crooked handwriting. It's obviously a child's handwriting. You can trust me to handle things."

Ke Yuanqing smiled somewhat awkwardly: "Thank you, General, but I didn't come here today for that."

Mu Chuan poured him tea: "It's getting late. Shall we stay here tonight? It's about two hundred li from here to Wanping County Government Office, isn't it?"

After exchanging a few words, Ke Yuanqing was no longer embarrassed. He smiled and said, "So that the general knows that I have become the prefect of Pinggu Prefecture."

"Congratulations, Lord Ke." This was an instinctive response, then Mu Chuan thought for a moment, "Pinggu Prefecture?"

Ke Yuanqing nodded: "It is indeed Pinggu Prefecture."

Mu Chuan laughed and said, "This is a good place. It's close to the capital, and almost half of the coal in the capital comes from Pinggu. Moreover—"

"My dear general, please don't laugh at me. I've come here today to ask for your help."

Mu Chuan laughed loudly: "They're all yours."

Pinggu Prefecture is located north of the capital, bordering the northernmost part of Wanping County. To put it simply, it is closer from the Pinggu Prefecture government office to the Beiying camp in Muchuan than from Wanping County to the Beiying camp.

Ke Yuanqing finally breathed a sigh of relief: "I will take office in April." He sighed as he spoke, "This place is said to supply coal to the capital, but it is not easy to manage. I went to see Lord Li, and found the evaluations of previous Pinggu prefects, as well as the memorials impeaching them. I found that there are three things that are the most difficult."

Mu Chuan instructed people to prepare a feast, and then sat down next to Ke Yuanqing to listen to him speak.

"The number one priority is supplying coal to the capital. Coal mines have always been prone to accidents, and those who work in coal mines are mostly the able-bodied young men of their families. If one of them dies, his or her family will be implicated. So safety must be well managed. More than one or two people have been impeached for this."

Mu Chuan nodded. Last time, when they talked about Wang Gou'er's death, he felt that Ke Yuanqing was suitable to be a local official. After hearing him put coal mine safety first, Mu Chuan said, "Although I have never been a local official, I think what you said makes a lot of sense. Just go ahead and do it. Li has already joined the cabinet and can help you out. Even if you want to change something, at least you should see results. You can't just change things halfway and then replace someone else."

Ke Yuanqing laughed and said, "Lord Li told me the same thing." He then flattered Mu Chuan, "It's clear that great minds think alike."

"Secondly, Pinggu Prefecture also has certain military functions. Pinggu is bordered by Shixiang, and beyond that, it borders the grassland barbarians. Although the prefect doesn't handle military affairs, it's our duty to defend the lands of Great Wei. There have been instances where the commander-in-chief of Pinggu Prefecture couldn't manage everything and had to ask the prefect to share some of the defense responsibilities. Also, the barbarians have sneaked into Pinggu Prefecture's territory seven times without anyone noticing. However, I know nothing about military affairs, so I've come to ask for your help, sir. If you have any deputy generals, vanguards, or similar positions, could you recommend a few to me?"

Mu Chuan thought for a moment and said, "We're fighting the Southern and Northern Li, which is different from the Northern Barbarians. The Northern Barbarians can only sneak in with cavalry. Here's what I'll do: I'll go find my adoptive father, Marquis Dingnan, for you. I'm self-taught and haven't studied military strategy, but my adoptive father must have studied military strategy, passed the military examination, and trained his subordinates in Pingnan Town. It'll be easier if they teach you."

Ke Yuanqing stood up and bowed: "Thank you, General."

"Another key point is to anticipate the enemy's moves. Although the enemies are different, their tactics are the same. When the northern barbarians come south, it's either because of a good harvest or famine. The former is to seize territory, people, and goods, while the latter will definitely leave no survivors."

Ke Yuanqing listened and nodded. Mu Chuan continued, "I'll give you a few well-trained scouts. Just tell them to gather information. Also, find some people to open teahouses along the main roads and report every two or three days. If you don't hear anything for a day, you'll know something's happened."

Ke Yuanqing thanked him again, and Mu Chuan said, "You are, after all, a prefect. You can learn slowly."

As they were talking, the dishes were served, and the two ate their meal. Mu Chuan then asked, "What's the third thing?"

"The third thing is people's livelihood." Ke Yuanqing hesitated for a moment: "Talk about meals?"

"Alright, I got it," Mu Chuan said with a smile. He had come to ask for fertilizer. "I'll leave it all for you starting in April."

Ke Yuanqing sighed: "The area around the coal mine is almost barren, and the harvest in those counties is only about 30% of the normal amount."

After the meal, Ke Yuanqing rested at the restaurant, while Mu Chuan returned to the military camp.

Something also happened at the Rongguo Mansion.

The people Xue Ke sent home have finally returned.

Grandmother Jia was still laughing with her grandchildren, saying, "I wonder what they sent her? You can ask her about it later."

Jia Baoyu was also there, and the whole family knew the news, but they were keeping it from him. He was still the same as usual, urging Grandmother Jia, "These past two days have been beautiful, why don't we bring Sister Yun back and start a poetry club? The peach blossoms are almost gone. Sister Lin is living in the main courtyard now, let's go and tease her."

The last sentence was tinged with resentment. Others might not have been bothered, but Tan Chun was so embarrassed that she wanted to dig a hole and crawl into it.

But she wasn't the only one embarrassed; many others were also enjoying the spectacle. The room fell silent for a moment. Jia Baoyu, unaware of what was happening, asked, "What's going on?"

Fortunately, Xue Baoqin saved everyone in the house. She ran back with the letter in her hand, sobbing, "Grandmother, I want to go home. Aunt, my mother is seriously ill, and I want to go home with my brother."

At first, it wasn't easy for her to cry, but once the first tear fell, Xue Baoqin remembered the awkward and restrained life she had in the Rongguo Mansion, living under someone else's roof for twelve hours a day, even worrying in her dreams about whether she would talk in her sleep, and then she couldn't stop crying.

Grandmother Jia didn't care. She kept Xue Baoqin in the first place just to put on a show. Although Yu'er was going to marry into the Zhongyong Earl's family, she knew that her second daughter-in-law would not marry Baoyu a merchant's daughter like Xue Baochai, who was old, had lost her father, whose family had fallen on hard times, and whose brother had committed murder.

If she were to praise the Xue family, it would be her second daughter-in-law who would be worried.

Aunt Xue is different. Xue Ke is gone. Should the shop be called Xue Pan Guan?

She advised, "You came here to get married. If you go back now, it would be unfilial."

Xue Baoqin sobbed, "I'm packing my things now, I want to go back."

"Stop crying." Aunt Xue frowned. "If you go back, what will happen to your marriage? If it's delayed for three years, you—"

"Aunt, please stop," Lin Daiyu interrupted Aunt Xue. "Baoqin's mother is ill, why don't you send someone back?" Besides, is it really appropriate to say something like "delaying her for three years"? Isn't that cursing someone to die?

However, repeating these words would only cause harm, so Lin Daiyu stopped herself in time.

Xue Baochai then came to her senses and quickly tugged at Aunt Xue, saying, "It would be good to go back and visit; you've been living here for several years."

Lin Daiyu glanced at Xue Baochai with a hint of doubt.

Speaking of which, was Miss Xue distracted? Her advice was so half-hearted, and she didn't seem to tell Brother Bao anything, which is quite different from her usual behavior.

She can't be the kind of person who's not as appealing as before without Lin Daiyu standing beside him, can she?