Chapter 230: Marriage
Wen Jiming stared at the woman in front of him, as if it was the first day he met her.
He had never heard such shocking words.
His grandmother, his mother, his aunts, sisters-in-law, and countless other women in this world all took it as their responsibility to support their husbands and raise their children, and were proud to have their husbands and grandchildren win imperial decrees for them.
Qi Yuzhen said she wanted to be herself.
She wanted to jump out of the inner house and do what she wanted to do, competing with the best fireworks makers, instead of hiding under the wings of men, raising children and taking care of household chores.
"It turns out that women can also have such lofty ambitions."
He muttered to himself.
Qi Yuzhen laughed dumbly: "What kind of lofty ambition is this? If I want to be the Minister of War like you, or even the Minister of War, then that would be considered ambitious."
Wen Jiming: "..."
That's probably not called ambitious, but against the will of heaven.
He finally realized that Qi Yuzhen was a stubborn person. Once he made a decision, no one could change it.
"I respect your choice," he said in a deep voice. "I advised you to do something else because I only wanted you to live a stable life. I don't want to see you make any mistakes."
"Have you seen a doctor for your arm? I can ask the imperial physician..."
"I've already seen the best doctor in the capital." Qi Yuzhen interrupted him, "Thank you for your kindness."
Wen Jiming: “???”
"Are you talking about the Director of the Imperial Hospital?"
When did she become friends with the director of the Imperial Medical Bureau?
Qi Yuzhen said, "It's Madam Feng."
Wen Jiming only knew one Mrs. Feng, the widowed sister-in-law of Prime Minister Ji who had recently died in the line of duty.
He knew that Madam Feng was a doctor, but... "the best doctor in the capital"?
Looking at Qi Yuzhen's serious expression, he swallowed the question back into his stomach.
Forget it, for the injured, the doctor who can treat them is the best doctor, there is no need to argue about it.
He would then ask the imperial physician for the best medicine for her wounds.
Qi Yuzhen ignored him and after playing with the two children for a while, she gave the medicine to the cook to boil, and then went back to her room to think about the ratio of fireworks.
Wen Jiming brought some medicine the next day and told her a piece of news: "I've moved to the next yard."
Qi Yuzhen frowned: "What are you doing living here?"
"Wen Mansion is too far from here. I came back from the office, had dinner, and then came to see the child. The child is asleep, so it's better to live closer."
After hearing this, he replied clearly.
Qi Yuzhen: "You live so close, it's hard for me to propose marriage."
Although she usually made fireworks and firecrackers in the yard she rented in the suburbs, she was always worried about the fact that a minister of the Ministry of War lived next door.
Wen Jiming: "..."
Is she still thinking of marrying someone else?
Luckily he moved here.
"I can be your matchmaker," he said sternly, "if you really want to get married."
Qi Yuzhen: "..."
She snorted coldly, "Then I'll trouble you, Minister Wen. I don't care about appearance, fame, or family background. As long as the person has good character, good health, a gentle temperament, and can do a good job, I'm willing to marry into your family."
When Wen Jiming heard the word "live", his face changed immediately.
He gritted his teeth and said, "Don't worry, I will find you someone who is 100% qualified."
He would ask someone to buy back all the fire-avoidance diagrams from the bookstore later. He didn't believe that he couldn't master the skills to do a better job.
"By the way, it's too dangerous for you to go to the suburbs to make fireworks with only a maid. I'll arrange some help for you."
Qi Yuzhen became alert instantly.
"No need. I will hire guards. If I use your people, if the secret formula is leaked, it will be hard to explain."
Wen Jiming: “?!”
She actually suspected that he would steal her secret recipe?
How much do you distrust him?
"The best craftsmen and techniques in Daxi are all in the Six Departments. Why would I covet the formula of a folk fireworks workshop like yours?"
He really couldn't hold it in anymore and couldn't help but say it.
"In your eyes, am I, Wen Jiming, so unbearable?"
Qi Yuzhen: "You misunderstood. I was afraid that the secret formula of the Weaponry Department would be leaked. Others would suspect that you were stealing the secret formula and leaking it to my small workshop for personal gain."
"It's better for us to avoid suspicion in a melon field and a plum tree, what do you think?"
Wen Jiming: "..."
"You are confident in yourself."
In order to be suspected, she would have to be able to produce the secret recipe of the Weapons Department.
Qi Yuzhen smiled and said, "There's always a chance of something happening. Maybe I've figured out the weapons department's secret keeping technique?"
Wen Jiming: "..."
If that's the case, it's really hard to tell.
Although the law does not explicitly prohibit the relatives of military officials from being involved in the manufacture of military equipment, they are tacitly allowed to avoid it.
There was a military official who was demoted because his father-in-law was engaged in ironware business.
Although Qi Yuzhen was not his wife, she was the mother of his child and could be considered a half-relative. Although the folk fireworks workshop he ran had no military involvement, it could easily arouse suspicion of "using civilians to cover up the military."
To avoid suspicion, he should... be transferred to another department immediately, or resign?
Wen Jiming's face instantly turned as black as the bottom of a pot.
Others only need to pay a betrothal gift to marry a wife, but he has to change into official uniform to marry a wife?
——Even if I change, I may not be able to marry her.
Some are sad and some are happy.
Feng Qingsui learned the method of extracting saltpeter from Qi Yuzhen, and then he thought about making some thermal weapons, such as thunder bombs and artillery shells.
But to develop thermal weapons, in addition to saltpeter, sulfur, and charcoal, one also needs iron, craftsmen, and space.
Sulfur charcoal is easy to obtain, and although saltpeter is strictly controlled, it is not difficult to collect natural saltpeter.
It can be scraped from old walls, toilets, stables, caves... everywhere.
With the purification recipe, it is not difficult to obtain high-purity saltpeter.
Iron is difficult.
Purchasing iron ore requires iron ore.
Iron filaments are hard to come by, and the government will verify their actual use.
It's not easy to find a craftsman either. Making weapons privately is a life-threatening business. Who dares to get involved?
The venue is even more difficult to find. Testing the thunder bomb will make a loud noise, and if someone hears it, they will immediately report it to the government.
Where can I find a place with few people?
She thought about it for a long time but couldn't come up with a solution, but she was reluctant to give up the idea - if she had hot weapons, she could blow up the palace wall at any time to save her master.
Anyway, Ji Changqing had no other way out except to rebel, so she called Yan Chi and told him that she had learned the method of extracting saltpeter.
Yan Chi's eyes lit up when he heard this.
"Our grandfather has the land, the iron mine, and the craftsmen."
Their base camp, Black Wind Mountain, has iron ore veins and many skilled craftsmen.
Feng Qingsui: “???”
"When did he prepare it?"
"The mine was purchased a few years ago, and the craftsmen have been making money ever since."
Feng Qingsui was surprised: "Has your Second Master already harbored rebellious intentions?"
Yan Chi hurriedly clarified for his master.
"Buying the mine was an accident. I just wanted to find a place to put my people."
"Local tyrants abounded, seizing people's land, concealing taxes, secretly keeping assassins, colluding with bandits, smuggling salt and iron... their crimes were numerous."
"When I was in office, I was constrained everywhere. In order to protect myself and eliminate evil, I had to recruit people privately to intimidate and crack down on the powerful."
"In order to train our troops, we bought a large piece of mountain in a sparsely populated area. Later, we discovered that there was iron ore underground."
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