Chapter 164: Numerous Preparations Before Returning to the Capital...
Even the smallest thing, seemingly secret, cannot be hidden from the eyes and ears of many people.
The rules of Prince Rui's mansion were usually strictly enforced by Chief Steward Song and the two stewards, but ever since an old imperial physician from the capital came to treat their prince, many of the servants have become distracted these past few days.
Unable to discuss it amongst themselves, the only way they could prove they were both in the know was through hesitant glances exchanged when they met.
Younger children are often more impatient.
Manager Liu's youngest daughter, Gui'er, is only five years old. She doesn't have any proper job; she just helps her mother with simple chores like sweeping the outer courtyard. One day, after secretly checking that no one was around, she grabbed her mother's sleeve and asked in a pitiful little voice:
"Mother, now that the Prince has returned to the capital, does that mean he won't be taking us with him anymore?"
Liu Niangzi slapped her hard and looked around, saying, "Don't talk nonsense. We'll talk about it when we get back."
Although the child's problem was stopped, the woman's face still showed a trace of worry.
Chief Steward Song is the chief steward sent by the palace, so he will definitely be going with them. Apart from that, only Steward Liu and Steward Hua can stay behind to guard the Prince's Mansion, or one of them can stay behind.
They...they really didn't have much confidence.
Although her eldest son now serves as an errand boy for the prince, it is only a minor job with no important duties. There are three or five boys like him, and they see Eunuch De and Eunuch Cheng more often than the prince.
How come the whole family was brought to the capital just because of their son?
The youngest daughter is even less of a hope.
The Liu family had been eagerly anticipating the prince's marriage, hoping that once he had a mistress and a grandson, Gui'er would be of the perfect age to serve him and gain respect.
For the past two years, they've been anxiously waiting, but the Prince remains unmoved. Now that he's returned to the capital, he'll undoubtedly be choosing a noblewoman to marry. By then, it'll be too late; Gui'er won't stand a chance. Who knows if the Prince will ever return to this remote corner of the country after his gracious return?
Lady Liu sighed; worrying wouldn't do any good.
Chief Steward Song has been keeping a closer eye on them lately, demanding that both families strictly control the affairs of the Prince's residence, forbidding anyone from being restless or gossiping. There's not even anywhere to inquire. And since it involves their future prospects… their anxiety and tension are palpable.
On the way to the main courtyard, Gan Tang and Bi Shu walked quickly and whispered to each other: "I don't know how long it will be before I see you again."
As the first female official to be promoted in the Prince Rui's mansion, Bi Shu was indispensable for several newly developed experiments, and this time she was hastily summoned by the prince. After not seeing her for some time, her complexion was much paler, and she had dark circles under her eyes. She had lost the cleverness she had when she first tended the flowers and plants, and instead, she had gained an inexplicable aura.
Bishu hadn't reacted yet: "Aren't we going to the capital together?"
Gan Tang hesitated, not very optimistic about her best friend's future, and said with some worry, "The system of female officials is only implemented by His Highness in Liuzhou City. Here, His Highness is the most powerful, and it doesn't matter what he does. But if we return to the capital..."
I'm sure many people will criticize this. Do female officials still count? Can the system of female officials continue to be implemented? It will be difficult even for them to show their faces in public.
Their Prince Rui's mansion was inherently weak and had little influence. Gan Tang had also carefully considered the significance of this return trip. Faced with such a significant disadvantage, would the prince possess a weakness?
Logically speaking, it's highly likely that they would hide these outrageous things first, and then slowly reveal them once His Highness has gained a firm foothold.
Therefore, Gan Tang felt that His Highness was unlikely to bring Bi Shu and the others this time. At most, he would bring back the artisans from the capital.
Bishu fell silent, understanding the situation: "Your Highness summoned me here suddenly today, so you must have something to instruct me on."
Her experiments had yielded no results, and then she heard Gan Tang's words at this crucial moment. This sudden summons was probably for this very reason. When Bi Shu arrived at the main courtyard and heard the young eunuch announce her arrival, her heart pounded with anxiety.
Previously, she was just a flower and plant maid in the palace of an unappreciated prince. She never thought about how she would live in the future, let alone dared to imagine that one day she could become an official, be able to research all sorts of things with her own intelligence, and live a decent, wealthy, free and happy life.
Bishu really enjoyed the time she was receiving His Highness's attention.
If we were to leave her in Liuzhou to continue overseeing the overall situation... what should we do? She would do her best, but she might be very disappointed.
At that moment, Qi Chengming was inside the house watching Xiao Dezi and Xiao Chengzi busily working. On the two tables that had been moved in front of him, there were messy lists of tasks and cards.
Over the past month, Qi Chengming's health improved rapidly after taking the medicine. Therefore, he focused his attention on the final arrangements. Once they were ready to go to the capital, he needed to ensure that everyone remaining in the fiefdom could function as if he were still there, that factories could not be shut down, and that the money shops could not be thrown into chaos.
It should be noted that the core group of craftsmen here were all brought from the capital by Qi Chengming.
Qi Chengming assigned the most important personnel to Xiao Dezi and Xiao Chengzi for practice, which made the two eunuchs so frustrated that they almost scratched their heads bald.
The more they scratched their heads in frustration, the more relieved Qi Chengming felt.
He looked up and saw Bishu walking in: "Why do you look so pale?"
Before Bishu could frantically come up with a reason, Qi Chengming continued, "Get ready. Pack up all the unfinished experiments and equipment, and take everyone with you to the capital."
Bishu's expression froze for a moment, then her eyes gradually brightened after two seconds, and she asked blankly, "Your Highness...everyone?"
"Of course," Qi Chengming said, puzzled.
His most valuable asset right now is undoubtedly the group of craftsmen he brought from the palace, including the apprentices they trained. The key members with research and development talent have all been gathered by Qi Chengming at Bishu. Whenever Qi Chengming wants to realize a modern product, he relies on them.
This was the prototype of the Academy of Sciences.
Qi Chengming must be insane to leave them all in Liuzhou.
He did return to the capital to vie for the throne, but that doesn't mean he abandoned this most important matter for many years in order to seize the throne, only to bring it out again after he ascended to the throne—what if he didn't ascend to the throne? At least he could still do something for this dynasty and not waste time.
"Yes!" Bi Shu's voice suddenly became cheerful, without any more worries.
"Oh, and one more thing." Qi Chengming remembered that preparing for departure wasn't the most important thing today. "You can bring everything else, but don't bring any of the gunpowder formulas. I'll send them to a safe place."
Bishu listened with a serious expression and agreed, but her expression was somewhat disappointed: "...I understand."
She had witnessed the power of gunpowder firsthand. His Highness was a genius, constantly providing inspiration, leading them to create various formulas of varying degrees of power. This was their most important weapon, and although she knew that not bringing it back to the capital was the safest course of action, she still felt a sense of unease.
Previously, these things could be freely used for people's livelihood on their fiefdoms, but now it's uncertain when they will be unseen again...
Qi Chengming could tell at a glance that Bi Shu had misunderstood, but he didn't bother to explain. Instead, he deliberately put on a stern face and told Bi Shu to take her leave.
It was difficult for him to contact his cousin and Wen Er; he had to expend a lot of effort before he finally had a vague idea of how to do it.
Once he returns to the capital, these gunpowder formulas will be of no use to him for the time being. It would be better to secretly send them to the border so that his cousin can gather his old troops and lead a new, mighty army to kill the enemy and earn merit.
There's still no word from Wen Er's side, but a few months ago, my cousin sent me a letter saying that he had gained a foothold, won two battles with back-and-forth victories, and was even promoted for it.
"Your Highness, Physician Bian has sent me to complain again!" A familiar-looking servant entered with a distressed expression. He was a servant assigned by Prince Rui's residence to serve Physician Bian in that small courtyard.
During this time, the old imperial physician kept thinking about discussing Prince Rui's miraculous illness with Physician Bian. However, Physician Bian knew very well that it was the work of another doctor behind Prince Rui, and that he had little to do with it. He couldn't reveal this, so he could only bite the bullet and avoid people.
Qi Chengming was also feeling overwhelmed. His gaze swept across the table and he remembered that the caravan had casually mentioned in their letter that there had been a lot of rain recently, and that there was a mild epidemic in Linzhou, with many people suffering from diarrhea, which frightened passersby.
He grasped at this straw and said, "Doctor Bian, haven't you always wanted to get involved in treating people? Linzhou is short of doctors right now, ask Doctor Bian if he'd like to go!"
In the past, Qi Chengming would advise Doctor Bian that those places were dangerous and tiring, and that he was getting old and shouldn't keep going there. But Doctor Bian has been traveling to the poor areas of the south for years. No poison, insects, miasma, or epidemic can scare him away. He is dedicated to free clinics, and it can take him more than half a year to travel from the capital to Liuzhou.
This is a truly virtuous and ethical senior doctor, a miracle worker.
Qi Chengming spoke very naturally now.
"Alright!" The servant also turned and ran, eager to go back and make excuses, looking like he had been scolded quite a bit.
"Your Highness is really busy." Nanny Liu stopped at a distance, gazing at the commotion in the main courtyard, somewhat hesitant.
She hesitated for a moment, but gritted her teeth and went in to disturb them.
"Nanny, you didn't come here to ask me if I should take you to the capital, did you?" Qi Chengming asked her in surprise, looking at the woman's preoccupied expression.
“Of course I’ll come along. I’m here today to ask on behalf of the child.” Nanny Liu never expected to be left behind. She waved towards the door, signaling Ya’er to come in.
The girl lowered her head nervously and stood half-standing beside the wet nurse, bowing respectfully: "Greetings, Your Highness."
Tian Ya, whose original name was Zhang Xian, was originally sent to Liuzhou City to be raised by her brother as a distant relative of the Qi family matriarch. Now that Qi Chengming has to return to the capital, and the wet nurse Liu is going with him, what will happen to Tian Ya?
Sending her back to the Zhang family's den of wolves won't work. Should we leave her alone at Prince Rui's residence? Or in Liuzhou? But if we bring her back to the capital, what kind of status would that give us?
No matter how much Liu's wet nurse thought about it, something didn't seem right, so she came to sound her out.
“Come to the capital with us.” Qi Chengming made the decision after a brief moment of thought. “Your brother has to take the imperial examinations for the next two years, and we won’t see him for a while. He has entrusted you to us, so it’s better if you come along.”
In the original story, Tian Ya was brave, resourceful, and extremely intelligent. Otherwise, she wouldn't have been able to carry evidence of her husband's crimes and a petition written in blood by the people of the state, enduring humiliation and hardship to escape the pursuit and travel thousands of miles to the capital to file a complaint.
Tian Ya is perfectly capable of handling things. She can be sent to Bi Shu's place to work together.
Most importantly… Qi Chengming noticed that Liu, the wet nurse, had genuinely treated Tian Ya like a younger relative during this time, and probably couldn't bear to part with her. Then he thought about Liu's scoundrel husband and unruly child in the capital. What was the point of acknowledging them? Going back would only lead to unhappiness. It would be better to truly adopt Tian Ya as her daughter, so that mother and daughter could have each other's support.
The wet nurse breathed a sigh of relief, a huge weight lifted from her heart. She also wanted to remind her prince, who had been so busy lately, not to forget something:
"Your Highness, have you thought about how you will explain your identity to your friends before returning to the capital?"
...Should we reveal our identities now? Or should we find a respectable and discreet reason to leave, so that we can still remember each other as equals and "friends"?
Qi Chengming's expression suddenly froze.
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Author's note: hhhhh I suddenly remembered that I haven't said goodbye to some friends yet, and I was about to fall silent.
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