Ye Jingshu writes a letter to Ye Jingchen every ten days.
Her letters would mention not only the academy and business, but also the current situation of other people in the Wenhua Hall.
As Fengming Academy gained more and more fame in the capital, those seeking education were no longer limited to noble ladies from wealthy families who wanted to curry favor with the princess. More and more daughters of merchants or ordinary people also began to study at the academy.
In Shanggui County of Yongzhou, a girls' school was also established, founded by several young ladies and wives of the Ji family. From its inception, the girls' school had no shortage of students.
In Yongzhou, especially in Shanggui County, the stronghold of the Ji family, things become much easier when a member of the Ji family takes the lead, whether it's opening a girls' school or doing business.
As expected of the first family, the Ji family is different from other families. The Ji family does not treat its daughters as pawns in marriage alliances. There has always been a girls' school in the family, and the women are not confined to the backyard.
In the Ji family, both men and women, whether legitimate or illegitimate, have equal opportunities.
After Ye Jingyan went to Shanggui County, even the letters she wrote to him became more lively.
Ye Jingming has already risen to the high position of Vice Minister of the Ministry of Personnel, and he is not yet eighteen years old, making him a very popular figure in the court.
Although Ye Jingyu is new to the Ministry of Rites, he is the grandson of the Minister of Rites. With the Minister of Rites personally looking after and guiding him, he is now very familiar with the duties of the Ministry of Rites.
Although Ye Jingyu had no connections in the Ministry of Revenue, he had the Ji family as his backing, so everyone in the Ministry had to flatter and cooperate with him, and no one dared to make things difficult for him.
Yun Shu also sent letters to Ye Jingchen frequently, and his letters were quite interesting, almost all of them being weather forecasts for the capital and the northern frontier.
By observing the stars and understanding celestial phenomena, his predictions, though not always accurate, were right eight out of ten times, which was quite remarkable for that era.
Besides writing to him, Yun Shu would also write to Xie Chang'an. He would write two identical letters each time.
However, although Xie Chang'an could read the letters, he never wrote back to him.
To prevent their fragile friendship from crumbling, Ye Jingchen would always mention Xie Chang'an in his replies to Yun Shu, as if it were Xie Chang'an's reply to Yun Shu.
How can one live a life without making any friends?
A child with such a good personality as Yun Shu is a rare find, and he didn't want Xie Chang'an to regret it later.
Gu Beichen's letters rarely mentioned the Gu family; they mostly talked about matters concerning the Hanlin Academy.
That place was the prototype of a small imperial court, where people were divided into different classes according to their family background. Gu Beichen discovered many capable people among them who were not given important positions because of their poor family background.
The other three younger ones are currently studying at Wenhua Hall, but apart from Ye Jing'an, the other two are restless and like to skip classes.
Ye Jingning liked to go to Tiangong Pavilion and was a regular there.
Ye Jingyan loves all the lively places in the capital city; wherever there's a bustling teahouse or tavern, that's where she'll be!
Her letters were full of gossip she had heard on the streets.
Ye Jing'an writes letters in a style that resembles a well-behaved child, but in reality, he is a tattletale who often subtly complains in his letters.
Apart from these three young princes, many other officials, especially the princes, have been subtly trying to curry favor with them and take sides, especially since the crown prince is not in the capital.
The position of emperor may indeed be a coveted one, but not everyone wants to be one.
Throughout history, there have been so many tragedies of fratricide in royal families. In most of these cases, the fratricide was not something the fratricides wanted to fight for, but rather something they were forced to do by those around them or those behind them.
Ye Jingchen was well aware of this, so at the beginning of his transmigration into the book, he took advantage of his young age and the fact that he was less likely to arouse the emperor's suspicion, and cleaned up the maternal families of several princes who might pose a threat to him in the future.
Ye Jingming was originally the most likely to challenge him, but the Chen family fell, and Consort De completely angered the emperor, so he lost his biggest support.
Ye Jingyu's maternal clan is the Ji family. Not to mention the Ji family's rule of not participating in the struggle for imperial power, even the emperor himself would not allow Ye Jingyu, who has Ji family blood, to inherit the throne.
Ye Jingyu was backed by the Ministry of Rites, so he had the eldest grandson of the Ministry of Rites enter the palace to be his study companion.
Jinghe was raised by him and is of one mind with him.
Ye Jing'an's maternal family is the Wang family, and the Wang family is restless and will definitely fight for power.
However, Ye Jingchen did not intend to let the Wang family cause trouble for too long. Once he dealt with the external threat from the Northern Barbarians, he would be able to completely resolve the internal problems.
Ye Jingning's mother was demoted from Consort Shu to Concubine Shu and was disliked by the emperor. Ye Jingning himself was obsessed with the art of craftsmanship, so the possibility of him being bewitched was extremely small.
Of course, these are all external factors. The most important thing is that these kids have been taught to be responsible since they were young, and they have been instilled with the right values. He always emphasizes unity and friendship. Although some kids are not doing very well, most of them are very good. They are truly upright and righteous.
Under such circumstances, all the efforts of those powerful and wealthy families who wanted to emulate Lü Buwei's strategy of "hoarding rare commodities" were in vain.
Before we knew it, winter in northern Xinjiang had passed, and spring, when all things revive, was on its way.
The *Drunken Horse Grass* growing in Mr. Li's small tent is thriving and the results are excellent.
March and April are the planting season, and also the time when Ye Jingchen's plan begins.
Previously, Ye Jingyu's caravan had already made a trip to the Northern Barbarians and completed a normal transaction, thus becoming acquainted with the powerful and influential people of the Northern Barbarians.
During this second transaction, when they passed through checkpoints, Ye Jingchen would have them carry seeds of Drunken Horse Grass and scatter them along the way on the land of the Northern Barbarians.
The medicinal value of Drunken Horse Grass has been publicized for several months. Xie Chang'an sent people to spread the word, but ordinary people know little about it. The news only circulates among noble families, nobles, and merchants.
According to the latest rumors, only the Drunken Horse Grass that grows in the Northern Wilderness Desert is the most effective. The soil and water in Dayuan are different from those in the Northern Wilderness, so the Drunken Horse Grass in Dayuan is worthless, while the one in the Northern Wilderness is valuable.
When Ye Jingyu's caravan goes to the Northern Barbarians again, they will inquire about Drunken Horse Grass from the locals, promote its medicinal value, and express their willingness to buy it at a high price.
Of course, Ye Jingyu's caravan wouldn't just ask the Northern Barbarians, but also the passing Dayuan caravans.
Merchants are profit-driven; they will be more enthusiastic about anything that is profitable.
In this way, the caravans that inquired about Drunken Horse Grass from the Northern Barbarians would not only be Ye Jingyu's caravan.
This not only increased the credibility of the matter but also protected Ye Jingyu's caravan.
When the caravan goes to the northern barbarians again, it will be time to reap the rewards.
The plan had been in the preparation stage until the grass grew tall and the birds were singing, when it was the right season for planting. Ye Jingchen then told Xie Shaoling and Xu Jingjing about his plan.
After listening to his plan, they remained silent for a long time before Xie Shaoling finally spoke: "It's a good plan, but—this plan is against the will of Heaven."
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