Shen Zhaoshu burned incense for her mother and prayed for amulets for her brother and son. When her father decided to break off the engagement, Shen Zhaoming stood outside his father's yard all night, and Shen Zhaoshu stood far behind him all night.

Since the death of his half-brother and Aunt Yumei, his mother was forced to go to Yunlan Temple. The younger brother knew that his mother would not come back unless his father agreed. In the past few years, the younger brother never disobeyed his father, visited his father every morning and evening, and served his father with great filial piety. He was silent and sensible to the extreme.

Besides studying and practicing calligraphy, riding and archery day and night, he also tried his best to do everything his father asked him to do.

There was only one thing that my younger brother thought about objecting to, but he only hesitated for a moment and finally did what his father wanted.

My father said, "Next time you visit your mother, you are not allowed to stay overnight in the mountains."

Yunlan Temple is located in the suburbs. It is the farthest and has the most difficult mountain road to travel among the three suburban temples of Tianyuan Temple and Lingtai Temple. You have to get up at the crowing of the cock. It is useless to leave earlier because the city gate is not open. It is usually noon when you reach the foot of the mountain. It takes more than two hours of mountain road to reach Yunlan Temple on the top of the mountain. Guests who do not stay overnight can only meet in the front mountain according to the temple rules. The meeting time ends at the end of the afternoon at Yinshi, and those who do not stay overnight have to go down the mountain and leave at this time.

As a result, he could not say a few words to his mother, and after going down the mountain, he could not return to the city gate. He could only stay at the foot of the mountain and return the next day. So Shen Zhaoming's first reaction was confusion and unwillingness. He wanted to refute, but soon realized that his father was either unaware or doing it on purpose. He raised his head slightly and then lowered his head and replied: "Yes, father."

How could Lord Chen Xiao not see his son's hesitation, even if it was just for a moment? He really had a rebellious attitude whenever his mother was involved. He snorted and walked away.

Zhaoyu immediately followed her father's pace, but whispered to Zhaoming as she passed by him, "Do you want me to go and tell my father?" Now her father would approve of everything she said.

Even if the maid beside her mentioned it.

After Yumei left, the Marquis often visited her and asked one of her maids how the young lady was eating. The maid said, "The young lady is always reminded of her mother when she sees things in this courtyard. Everything reminds her of her aunt, and she is always in tears. She is not eating as well as before."

The Marquis sighed and pondered for a moment. The residences in the Marquisate were divided according to age, and Zhaoyu was already the eldest daughter. So why not move to a different courtyard? He then let Zhaoyu choose from anyone in the mansion, and once she had chosen, she could move in immediately.

When the Marquis returned home from duty, he went to see Zhao Yu as usual. The servants told him that Zhao Yu had moved to Lanyuan. Wasn't Lanyuan Zhao Shu's courtyard? Had Zhao Shu's courtyard been chosen? The Marquis felt a little strange, but he thought, let her move. As long as Yu'er was happy, he was happy. He went to Lanyuan, a courtyard he rarely visited, to see if Yu'er had settled in. But he didn't ask where Zhao Shu had moved to.

Now Zhaoming had stood all night, and Zhaoshu was distressed and worried about her brother. He had begged his father for his marriage, but all he got was a servant telling him, "If he wants to stand, it's up to him!"

After daybreak, Shen Zhaoming knew there was no hope, so he gave up literature and took up military service, joining the army of the Zhang family's twelve soldiers. Later, eleven of the Zhang family's twelve soldiers died in battle, and Shen Zhaoming in the army also disappeared.

Now, in addition to her younger brother, Shen Zhaoshu is also worried about her son Wang Suwen day and night. She hopes they are all safe.

People in the Yangzhou business circle thought that, apart from King Guanghuai, if these Yangzhou families wanted to live a comfortable and long-term life, they had to have something to rely on.

The canal and salt are undoubtedly important, but salt is produced across vast swathes of the land and is not easily centrally controlled. The canal has always been controlled by the emperor's closest ministers, though the canal gangs are secretly involved. If they sided with the emperor, there would be no recourse. However, if they could lean towards Yangzhou, there would be hope. The canal is a slow and delicate undertaking, requiring gradual infiltration and gradual development. Once Yangzhou reaches an agreement, salt will be left alone. The canal is important, but a slow and steady approach is essential.

So what's the ultimate weapon? The fire bomb.

In order to prevent evil intentions from various places, such as the increasingly ambitious King Guanghuai, the raw materials such as saltpeter and sulfur used to produce fire bombs are strictly controlled from above, and the materials and people involved are also strictly controlled.

Even the production and sale of fireworks and firecrackers for the New Year are subject to extremely strict approval and review. If anything goes wrong, you will lose your head.

Emperor Mingzheng discovered that Yangzhou might be interested in fire bombs due to a tip-off from a minor official. Yangzhou had purchased a batch of fireworks and firecrackers, but the goods were never put on sale. To conceal their activities, other fireworks and firecrackers were sold on the market. The accounts and warehouse records also showed the purchase and sale of these goods, which were completely sold between the Spring Festival and the Lantern Festival. In reality, the goods had been stagnant in the warehouse.

The incident happened by chance. That day, Zhang Guanghe, a minor official, was eating at a wonton noodle shop when he heard two people across from him complaining about not being able to go home during the holidays and having to guard some kind of warehouse. One of them said, "They pay a lot of money and provide food and drink, so why not keep quiet?"

Then the two of them packed up fried cakes, steamed buns, wonton noodles, meat patties, and tofu soup. There was a lot of food, enough for more than 20 people.

Zhang Guanghe was suspicious at the time. He would stroll through the streets and alleys when he had nothing to do. Over the years, he knew Yangzhou like a mouse. The nearest warehouse to this small shop was the Chen family's "He" warehouse. The warehouse was not big. According to the general staffing, there were only two people to watch it. If they took the holiday into consideration and worried about the warehouse being flooded, they would be more cautious and add two more people. But it was weird to need more than twenty people to watch the warehouse considering the size of the warehouse.

The two people took away too much food and couldn't carry it all, so the store owner said they would have the waiter deliver it later.

Zhang Guanghe watched as the waiter, who had freed up some time, carried the soup pot and the pancakes out the door to deliver the food. He also paid the bill and, just when the waiter wanted to switch, he lent a hand. He then enthusiastically helped the waiter deliver the goods. Zhang Guanghe confirmed that it was the "He" warehouse and that more than 20 people were watching it.

My dear, there is more to this chapter. Please click on the next page to continue reading. It will be even more exciting later!