It is well known that the higher the official rank, the slower the promotion speed.
For example, if the normal speed of promotion from the seventh rank to the sixth rank is three or five years, then from the fourth rank to the third rank, if you are lucky, it will take about ten to twenty years, and if you are unlucky, you will never be able to cross this hurdle even if you work hard for your whole life.
As for Chen Nianzhi, it took him only seventeen months from the time he arrived in Beijing to the time he became a third-rank minister of the Ministry of Works.
Things have developed to this point, and Princess Zhenbei has already begun to regret it.
She regretted not fulfilling her son's wish earlier, so that now any family with a little bit of status in the capital has jumped out to compete with their family for this powerful woman who obviously has a bright future.
Chen Nianzhi was not even twenty years old yet, so it was impossible for Yu Zizhen to hand over the entire Ministry of Industry to her. And with her speed of "invention and creation", Yu Zizhen, who was clear about rewards and punishments, would not let her contribute to the country in vain.
So, since her official rank can no longer be promoted quickly, how will Yu Zizhen reward her?
Title, this is almost the only answer people can think of.
That's a title, what family wouldn't want one? They're all striving for something, isn't it just to keep their family line going and protect their descendants? But how many people in this world can truly achieve such extraordinary merits that the emperor can bestow a title upon them?
And now, they don't need to spend several generations of effort, nor do they need to produce a brilliant child or grandchild who is highly regarded by the emperor. They just need to ignore Chen Nianzhi's minor shortcomings and find ways to bring her to their own home.
There were too many people with this kind of thinking. Therefore, the main job of the large group of guards that Yu Zizhen added to Chen Nianzhi was no longer to ensure that Chen Nianzhi was not assassinated, but to ensure that Chen Nianzhi was not calculated by some guys with ulterior motives using despicable means.
To this end, they also specially asked Yu Zizhen to hire an old maid with rich experience in palace fighting to help Chen Nianzhi identify those hidden arrows wrapped in sugar.
Yu Zicheng hadn't expected that Chen Nianzhi would be so popular. The main reason was that although he admired Chen Nianzhi's uniqueness, he didn't know that Chen Nianzhi had always restrained his impulse to "invent and create" because he didn't have a strong enough backer, and had not really used all his abilities.
Only when Yu Zizhen entrusted her with an important task did she boldly begin to stand on the shoulders of giants and carry things.
What she didn't tell Yu Zicheng was that Yu Zizhen had originally intended to distribute the dividends directly to her, but she had firmly rejected Yu Zizhen's proposal.
The girl knew very well that her ability and status alone were dangerous enough. If she also had a large amount of money, the attacks and schemes she would face would be several times or even dozens of times more than now.
She didn't want to live that kind of life, so she would rather give up the huge bonus that she might get.
That's why Yu Zizhen decided to gradually give her a hereditary title - since her national treasury had swallowed up the money that she deserved, she should naturally give her and her descendants a long-term job.
However, her good brother would probably have a harder time marrying the beautiful woman because of this. After all, why would a woman who already had titles, power, and money have to serve a mother-in-law like the Princess of Zhenbei who was so difficult to get along with?
Yu Zizhen was watching the fun and thought about it.
The development of events soon proved that Yu Zizhen was right. When Princess Zhenbei finally couldn't hold it in any longer and hurriedly asked the official media to propose to Chen Nianzhi, Chen Nianzhi announced her conditions for choosing a son-in-law to all the official media present.
She had three requests in total.
First, her future husband must not have any concubines, mistresses, or other such things, either now or in the future, let alone illegitimate sons and daughters or even children from illegitimate wives.
Chen Nianzhi also specifically emphasized that even if she could not have children, her future husband would never break his promise on this basis.
Second, after marriage, she will continue to serve as an official and will not return to the inner house, so her future husband's family cannot restrict her with the rules that restrict ordinary women in the inner house.
Third, after marriage, she would continue to live in her own Minister's Mansion. The reason was very simple. The servants and guards in her mansion were basically all given by the emperor, and the security measures were definitely the best outside the palace.
Chen Nianzhi said that although she felt a little embarrassed to say this, her life was indeed "quite valuable" and certified by their beloved Emperor himself.
Chen Nianzhi clearly told the official media that it was impossible for her to leave the heavily guarded Minister's Mansion and live in an unfamiliar place with complicated people just to get married. She could not do such an irresponsible thing to herself and the court.
The official media looked at each other in bewilderment, and secretly felt that the girl's request was as outrageous as "the person who founded and ruled our country was actually a female emperor."
Of course, they absolutely dared not express such a rebellious idea out loud, and they had no way to refute what Chen Nianzhi said. She asked to continue living in the Minister's Mansion because she was responsible for herself and the court.
The girl is not without self-awareness, she is just stating a truth that everyone knows.
However, the reliable official media outlets that she had carefully selected did not dare to agree to her three unorthodox requests on their own, so after a quick glance, everyone politely stood up and said goodbye.
They planned to inform the families who had invited them to act as matchmakers about Chen Nianzhi's outrageous demands as soon as they left the house, and let them decide for themselves whether or not to marry such a rebellious daughter-in-law as Chen Nianzhi.
As expected, those who were jealous of the huge benefits represented by Chen Nianzhi were very dissatisfied with Chen Nianzhi's three demands, which they thought were quite outrageous.
They subconsciously wanted to use the ancient ethical principles to suppress Chen Nianzhi, but when they heard the official media retelling the words "Your Majesty is like this and like that", they were all speechless.
No one dared to talk about secular rules anymore. After all, the most unruly person in the world was their Majesty.
Compared to her, Chen Nianzhi's outrageous behavior is not worth mentioning at all, okay?
No one dared to speak nonsense in front of the official media, and the official media were also tactful. After fully conveying the content of their conversation with Chen Nianzhi, the official media said goodbye and left.
As for whether or not to compromise with Chen Nianzhi for the huge interests she represents, that is something that each party should worry about and consider on their own. The official media will not interfere.
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