In the same predicament, at least the people on the Great Zhou side are not ordinary, but if you really compare, Gandan's side is in a worse situation.
After thinking about it this way, An Qingyun felt much better, and even a little schadenfreude.
“Yes,” Zhong Ping said with a smug look. “His Majesty may still be wondering why we didn’t suppress the Lady Protector of the Nation. Hehe, if we had done that, the Lady Protector of the Nation’s future would have been our future. At that time, there wouldn’t even be anyone to plead for her.”
After a pause, Zhong Ping said with a sigh, "These days, I've come to understand. His Majesty has grown ambitious and wants to reclaim power. We old fogies are the biggest obstacle."
However, delegating power is fine; it was bound to happen sooner or later. What's truly unacceptable is that at this time, most of our family fortune has gone into the national treasury, and we haven't even made our mark on history. I am not reconciled!
Zhong Ping believes that Ji Xuan's actions were extremely unethical.
No one is perfect, and no one dares to say that they are without any faults. However, Zhong Ping can confidently guarantee that he truly has the responsibility to shoulder the burden of the Great Zhou Dynasty.
He didn't accomplish anything remarkable, remaining mediocre throughout. However, he prevented the Great Zhou from deteriorating further, and that was his achievement.
“Relax a bit,” An Qingyun sighed. “As long as we keep waiting, we will eventually see the Great Zhou Dynasty in its golden age. Even if we don’t believe in the Emperor, we should believe in the Lady Protector of the Nation.”
Thinking of this, An Qingyun immediately felt a survival instinct. "No, I must take good care of my health."
As he spoke, he waved to the door, "Someone, bring over a pot of immortal wine. I've looked terribly haggard these past few days; I need to take good care of myself."
“Brother An,” Zhong Ping said with some envy, “how come you still have this wine? My share was almost gone as soon as I got it.”
“That’s where you’re wrong,” An Qingyun poured Zhong Ping a cup and earnestly advised him, “You have a long road ahead of you, so you must take good care of yourself. The Emperor is distant from us, and there’s a group of people eyeing the position of Grand Secretary. Life will be tough!”
This statement is quite straightforward; it's practically saying, "Don't risk your life to benefit outsiders."
“Understood,” Zhong Ping said seriously. “I will not act so irrationally again.”
He doesn't ask for much; he just wants to survive until a prosperous era. Judging from the current situation, he will surely achieve his wish in three to five years, or at most ten to eight years.
I'm not young anymore, so I can't be as arrogant as before. After all, the days ahead really won't be easy.
“That’s right,” An Qingyun said with great envy. “I’m actually a little envious of Liu An now. Although his behavior is dishonorable, he will definitely be the one with the best ending among the three of us. Just wait and see!”
“I believe it! Why wouldn’t I believe it!” Zhong Ping sighed. “Liu An may not be as shrewd as we are, but he is exceptionally good at knowing when to be pragmatic. However, a gentleman knows what to do and what not to do, and in this respect, he falls short.”
Upon hearing this, An Qingyun did not respond.
If they had truly acted like gentlemen, how many officials in the court would have reached their current positions?
After the calamity in the Northwest was eliminated, the continuous turmoil in the Great Zhou Dynasty subsided, and things finally took a turn for the better.
For the next three years, it was as if we were blessed by God. Everything went incredibly smoothly, and the years were peaceful and prosperous!
The Jiang and Huang families seized the opportunity of rapid development and quickly expanded their influence.
Liuxian Embroidery Workshop has become the only comprehensive workshop in the capital and even the entire Great Zhou Dynasty that integrates silkworm breeding, spinning, dyeing, embroidery, garment making, and export.
According to incomplete statistics, this embroidery workshop has 50,000 female workers.
On the outskirts of Beijing, under a huge banyan tree, several young girls gathered together.
"Liuxian Embroidery Shop is hiring again. I heard that this time they will be selling their products to the Western Regions. They will pay by the piece, and the more you make, the more you will be paid. The minimum monthly wage is one qian. Do you want to go or not?"
"Who wouldn't want to go? But you need the opportunity. Liuxian Embroidery Shop recruits every year, and the number of people vying for jobs is increasing. They only need twenty female workers, but two hundred people have signed up. How can we possibly get a chance?"
“I definitely can’t do it. My mandarin duck embroidery looks like a dead duck. Even my aunt’s hands-on teaching couldn’t help. My mother almost pulled my ears to pieces because of it. Qingxing can definitely do it. She could embroider double-sided embroidery last year, but she’s too young and my aunt didn’t trust her to go.”
"Wow, that's amazing! My mom said that only the top embroiderers in the south know how to do double-sided embroidery. A single handkerchief like that can sell for a lot of money. Your family is going to be rich!"
"No, those are all..."
"Excuse me," Jiang Nuan asked with a smile, "Are you talking about Liuxian Embroidery Shop?"
“That’s right,” Qingzhi said, staring blankly at the newcomer. “Sister, do you also want to work at Liuxian Embroidery Shop?”
"I do have some ideas, could you tell me more about them?"
For three years, Jiang Nuan never left the mountain villa. She stayed in the village almost every day, repairing her soul, studying formations, and teaching her grandchildren.
Although life was peaceful, it was extremely lively. The constant births of children filled the entire mountain village with vitality and spirit, and it never felt lonely.
The reason I came out this time was because my youngest son was going to compete, and the whole family strongly insisted that I go to Beijing.
There were quite a few people traveling with them: Jiang Xu's family, his two daughters-in-law, grandchildren, Xiao Wu, the apprentice-grandson of Doctor Gu, and Liu An's beautiful wife and young son...
Despite thorough preparations, there were too many children, and things went wrong. In the early spring when the weather was still chilly, several of them caught colds, so we had to stop temporarily.
Although there were constant contacts with the capital, they were ultimately just written communication. Upon hearing about Liuxian Embroidery Shop, Jiang Nuan couldn't help but come closer.
"Sister, you're all so elegant and refined, why are you going to work at an embroidery shop?" Qingzhi was very suspicious, but she felt that Jiang Nuan didn't seem like a bad person, so she suppressed her doubts and explained, "Liuxian Embroidery Shop is the best embroidery shop in the Great Zhou Dynasty."
It is said that Marquis Liuxian opened this shop because he felt sorry for the married girls who were disliked by their husbands' families because they had no money to rely on.
In the beginning, few people were optimistic about it, and it even lost a lot of money in the first year. It was only with the support of the Lady Protector that it managed to survive. After the trade route to the Western Regions was opened, it took off and grew bigger and bigger, allowing many people to escape their suffering.
My mother said that Liuxian Embroidery Shop left a way out for women everywhere, which is truly remarkable.
As she spoke, Qingzhi's face scrunched up, and she slumped her shoulders in frustration. "Unfortunately, I'm not cut out for it. My cousin, who's a year younger than me, can already embroider double-sided embroidery, while I'm still practicing on a dead duck!"
"You can even do double-sided embroidery?" Jiang Nuan exclaimed in surprise. "That's amazing!"
The little girl in front of me looks to be no more than fifteen years old, and my cousin is even younger.
Even if she started learning embroidery at the age of three, it would only be a little over ten years before she could embroider double-sided embroidery, which is simply unbelievable!
"She's loved this since she was little, and she learns quickly. She can sit with her embroidery frame all day long, unlike me, who can't control my legs if I can't find anyone to talk to!"
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