Chapter 146 The Hot Commodity Has Already Been
For the past two months, his mind has been filled with thoughts of how to seize the throne and fight his brothers, but no matter how much Qi Chengming pondered in the bare courtyard, he couldn't figure out how to bring down the original male lead, the Seventh Prince.
Firstly, the Seventh Prince was originally the victor in the storyline, having everything he wanted. Even if Qi Chengming tries his best to improve himself this time, he can't be at ease and feel confident about his chances of winning.
Secondly... the seventh prince's ranking is small enough.
He didn't need to do anything overtly. He could simply wait for his brothers to fight each other to the death, until the old emperor had no one left to use. Seeing that his youngest son was just the right age and had excellent aptitude, he was more than willing to accept the position.
Now, even if Qi Chengming were to open the infrastructure system and repeatedly examine the details of the original book, he still wouldn't find a single flaw.
This time, someone secretly targeted him, and the mastermind behind it all seems to be the Seventh Prince.
You can't guard against thieves every day.
Qi Chengming couldn't think of a solution for the time being, so he could only put it aside for now—but he didn't know that Emperor Hongren in the capital had already developed a sense of anger towards the seventh prince.
Three or five days passed peacefully in the blink of an eye.
Business in Liuzhou City is becoming increasingly prosperous and bustling, with every household preparing for the New Year.
Although there are still about two weeks until the end of the year, the ration coupons that need to be reserved in advance must be made available, and time for planning which stores to go to and what to buy must be set aside well in advance. Nowadays, there are many farmers in Liuzhou, and even more people running factories, shops, and working.
As for purchasing New Year's goods themselves...
That happened during the two days of the Lunar New Year. The temperature in Liuzhou in winter isn't that cold. Buying too early would have been a mistake.
Another batch of fresh fruits and vegetables has arrived from the citrus groves on the mountain; this year's harvest has been completed.
It was Sister-in-law Yang who brought Zhong'er here in person. After traveling a long distance back to Beijing with her husband and then returning, her health couldn't hold up, and she was sick for so long. Now she has finally recovered and started going out to work.
Since his cousins had all joined the army, Qi Chengming couldn't meet her alone in the Prince's mansion. Seeing that her chores had returned, Nanny Liu went over and offered her words of comfort. A short while later, Nanny Liu returned and reported with relief:
"Your Highness, please rest assured. She looks much better, and Zhong'er has grown taller. Both of them have round faces."
Nanny Liu couldn't help but look at the Second Prince.
Unfortunately, His Highness is also growing rapidly, and he just can't gain weight no matter how much he eats; he always looks so thin.
Qi Chengming understood the look in Liu's eyes and explained to her, "I'm still growing."
After the New Year and his birthday, Qi Chengming will be fifteen years old by the traditional Chinese age reckoning—his perceived age is that of a real fifteen-year-old boy in the eyes of others.
The entire Hongren family were all tall and thin. When Qi Chengming saw Consort Hua on the screen, he realized that she was also slender when she was a girl. It was clear that the original owner of this body did not have the genes for being fat. He was not like modern children who ate fried chicken, cola, hot pot, and heavy oil and salt every day, and did not eat protein in rotation.
Being this thin is normal.
"..." Nanny Liu hesitated for a moment, but seeing that her prince seemed completely unaware, she still held back her words.
She concealed it well, but Qi Chengming was no longer the hesitant person he initially was. Having spent so much time together, he was quite familiar with Liu's subtle mannerisms. Seeing the wet nurse constantly lowering her head, he asked her questioningly:
"What's wrong? Feel free to say what's on your mind. You know I won't hold it against you."
Liu, the wet nurse, had already decided to completely let go and not interfere, so as not to be disliked. She was at most a 'half' mother. But now that she had been asked, Liu had no choice but to think for a moment and choose a topic to start with: "Didn't we set up a girls' school in Liuzhou City? They teach girls how to do jobs in factories."
This is still because Liuzhou doesn't have enough population to cause trouble.
When industrialization was just beginning to take off, there was a severe labor shortage. Talented people came in all shapes and sizes; factories would scramble to hire anyone who could work.
Qi Chengming knew about this, and he even deliberately let things develop in this direction. The children of the farmers on his estate have been learning to read for over a year now, regardless of gender, and they've all learned the basics... But what will happen when they get older?
We still have to continue setting up schools.
Bishu is now the first female official appointed by him to the royal court—the kind not recognized by the imperial court. In the future, he will also appoint officials to the children of artisans in the streets, regardless of gender, as long as they have skills.
If you pile them all up, won't the road be open?
The reason he was able to quietly double the number of his workforce was precisely because of these methods. None of the scholar-officials around Qi Chengming dared to tell him that it was inappropriate to obstruct him.
So Qi Chengming simply nodded to Nanny Liu with a puzzled look: "What happened at the girls' school?"
Many guesses flashed through his mind.
“It’s your classmates, Your Highness. Lately, many of them have come from other places to visit relatives.” When Liu’s wet nurse said this, she said it with a deeper meaning. “When the girls saw how lively the girls’ school was, they also wanted to start a girls’ academy, the kind where you can read and write. Ya’er joined them.”
Qi Chengming recalled that Liuzhou Academy had not yet opened up to the point of co-education.
The name 'Ya Jie'er' rolled around in his head three times before Qi Chengming slowly remembered that it was Zhang Ting's younger sister, Zhang Xian.
"Are their families willing to accept this?" Qi Chengming asked, somewhat bewildered.
The girls' school taught various skills, and the girls who attended were mostly from middle-class or lower-class families in Liuzhou. Daughters of wealthy or scholarly families, even merchants, would not attend the girls' school. Qi Chengming's group of female classmates were all relatives and sisters of the students from Liuzhou.
They want to set up a place for students to study. Will every family support them?
After all, students educated in girls' schools could get jobs in factories, possessing various skills that made them highly sought after. Girls' academies, on the other hand, couldn't take the imperial examinations, nor could they learn craftsmanship to become officials in the royal court. Without these benefits, Qi Chengming truly couldn't understand how they managed.
Was it done secretly? Or was it like a women's society, not noticed by everyone, and just seen as a new way for girls to discuss poetry?
Nanny Liu's smile was meaningful, as if she understood the key to this matter, or as if Qi Chengming should also understand the meaning behind her bringing up this topic.
Qi Chengming pondered for a while, but couldn't figure out how this matter was related to him.
"Your Highness," said the wet nurse, seeing that he was really oblivious, and said tactfully with a sigh, "After the New Year, you will be fifteen."
"They came for me...?" Qi Chengming asked incredulously.
Nanny Liu nodded.
Qi Chengming was even more bewildered: "They're all here for me? All the way to Liuzhou??"
He remembered what Granny Liu had just said: more and more girls were coming to Liuzhou to visit relatives.
Actually, quite a few people came to Liuzhou last year, but it was roughly equal to half young men and half young women. The young men claimed they were going to Liuzhou Academy, while the young women were mostly their relatives and family members. Qi Chengming didn't think much of it.
Okay!
With the establishment of a girls' college in Liuzhou, these girls could now legitimately stay there and not leave! Their families had no time to object; they were overjoyed.
Qi Chengming simply hadn't expected that there would be so many people trying to climb the social ladder.
He knew that even as an unfavored prince, he was still a powerful figure in the vicinity of Liuzhou. But he hadn't expected that someone who didn't indulge in women and had even instructed Song Gu to specifically suppress and isolate anyone with such thoughts…
There are still a group of people who send girls to Liuzhou for some vague, even hopeless, expectation.
What are they waiting for?
A chance encounter?
Qi Chengming's mind raced through all sorts of melodramatic plots he had read before his transmigration.
The wet nurse's smile faded. After this build-up, she finally carefully uttered the words she had originally intended to say: "Your Highness, do you know how your principal wife is chosen?"
"Either I secretly select someone to do the work myself, or we'll wait for Father to make the decision." Qi Chengming looked towards the distant capital.
The original book doesn't mention whether the second prince had a wife and children, and his death was quite quiet and unnoticed.
Qi Chengming really didn't want to be a proper husband and wife with a thirteen or fourteen-year-old girl, so he kept avoiding the issue of marriage, thinking that things would happen naturally and he could worry about it later, so he put it off until today.
He had no one in mind, so he couldn't ask anyone to help him, and he didn't want to wait for Emperor Hongren to bestow a marriage upon him with a girl who couldn't speak and didn't suit his taste.
But now that he's getting old... this matter can't be delayed any longer, which is quite worrying.
"Thank goodness, thank goodness." Qi Chengming suddenly breathed a sigh of relief as he realized what had happened.
Fortunately, he kicked the Third Prince off the stage; otherwise, at this age, he would have no mother to arrange things for him, and Emperor Hongren might not have remembered him because he disliked him. The Third Prince, who was the same age as him, did have a mother, and who knows, the imperial decree to bestow a marriage upon him might be issued at the same time.
As for now...
Having received instructions from Granny Liu, Qi Chengming could only painfully and seriously consider how to handle this situation.
Even if he didn't have a preferred candidate, he couldn't relinquish the power of bestowing a marriage upon Emperor Hongren—that was Qi Chengming's first conclusion.
The old emperor, who might not like him, could just casually send a princess over, and everyone would suffer. For Emperor Hongren, it would just be a casual thing to do.
"Your Highness, what are you planning to do?" As this concerned the Second Prince's lifelong happiness, Nurse Liu was very concerned.
Qi Chengming pondered for a moment.
If he intended to remain in hiding, he might cultivate a persona of not wanting to marry early, or portray himself as someone who gets involved with women, to appease Emperor Hongren and weather the remaining years. But things change too quickly. Even though he knew the original plot, the altered events were interconnected, gradually pushing him forward as well…
He can no longer remain dormant.
Emperor Hongren was merely distracted by the matter of the Third Prince; Qi Chengming didn't believe that the person behind the scenes would remain quiet. Once the matter of the Third Prince was resolved, Emperor Hongren would surely hear about Qi Chengming's various reputations and achievements in the south.
Since this is a situation that people behind the scenes are trying every means to push him into the limelight.
He might as well turn this disadvantage into an advantage—while secretly gathering information himself, he could wait for Emperor Hongren to be shocked by his dramatic change in public image.
Once the powerful tools of ration coupons and grain are deployed, Emperor Hongren, who has hesitated before, will no longer casually assign him a principal wife. In this way, it can at least delay things for another year or two.
Before the succession struggle stabilized, Qi Chengming actually did not want to get married.
Otherwise, if something bad happens, it will only harm another family.
"...I'll look into this matter slowly. Don't worry about it for now, wet nurse. I'll come when it's your turn to help." Qi Chengming finally gave this answer.
He remembered someone.
There's no need to rush my own marriage for now; Mr. Qin's marriage is the real issue—if we don't find a solution soon, it might all fall through.
It's almost the end of the year, and Mr. Qin didn't go back to his hometown last year, so he should have an excuse to go back this year.
Qi Chengming made up his mind that he had to help Mr. Qin get things done first.
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