Chapter 12: The Emperor's Decree is Hard to Fooled
Zhou Tinglan's eyes moved, and she had a lot of thoughts when she heard the manager's words.
Something big happened in her family, and the war was over, so what big thing could happen?
"Manager, do you know what happened in my family?"
The steward shook his head. "I don't know. I just went to the weapons factory to look for the general. He wasn't there, so I waited for him in the tent. He came back in a hurry, and before I could report to him, he sent me to tell you to go back quickly."
"So General Xie just asked you to call me over, but didn't say what it was specifically about?"
Zhou Tinglan breathed a sigh of relief. Xie Zechuan didn't say anything in a hurry, so it must not be a big deal. However, she soon remembered what Xie Zechuan had told her about becoming an official a few days ago.
Did he receive a reply from the emperor or...
The steward now realized that his words were a bit exaggerated, but the general he had just seen in the barracks had a very serious expression. Could it be that he was really overthinking it?
Zhou Tinglan asked the manager to help look after the forging class. Although the war was over now, the demand for weapons in the Northern Frontier Barracks was still huge.
As for the forging class, Zhou Tinglan decided to continue to run it and expand it, spreading the Zhou family sword throughout the Great Zhao Kingdom.
**
Zhou Tinglan went all the way back to the barracks gate, but he didn't expect that the barracks gate was surrounded by people from the city.
She stood outside the crowd, shocked. The last time the barracks gate was like this was when she was slandered by rumors. She hadn't heard of any rumors recently, so why were there so many people gathered here?
Besides, since Xie Zechuan asked her to go home, it must be related to her family.
In the crowded crowd, someone looked back and saw Zhou Tinglan standing behind him. He said happily, "Miss Zhou is here!"
"Miss Zhou, come back! Where is she?" The people were immediately excited when they heard someone calling Zhou Tinglan to come back.
Ever since the people learned that Zhou Tinglan not only forged swords but also personally went to the battlefield to kill Northern Di soldiers, Zhou Tinglan's status in the hearts of the people in Northern Frontier has risen, and no one dared to question her anymore.
Zhou Tinglan was puzzled as she watched the people in front of her automatically make way for her.
What on earth happened to make the people in the city like this?
She quickly walked into the barracks gate under the gaze of the people. As soon as she left the people's burning gazes, Zhou Tinglan breathed a sigh of relief.
She didn't feel like she was being eaten like this last time on the stage. She turned her head quietly to look at the entrance of the barracks. There were crowds of people, and Zhou Tinglan immediately retracted her head.
She walked towards home. Xie Zechuan was standing at the door looking out. Zhou Tinglan trotted over.
"Xie General, what exactly happened?"
Xie Zechuan pointed inside the tent and said, "Someone from the capital said he's here to read out His Majesty's imperial decree. This must be the result of my last petition to His Majesty requesting you to be the Iron Official."
Zhou Tinglan was completely relieved. It turned out to be because of his official position.
"Those people gathered at the entrance to the barracks," Zhou Tinglan asked suspiciously, "Could it be that the people in the city already know about this?"
She muttered to herself: Everyone in the city knows about it, and the manager must know about it too, but no one reminded her.
Xie Zechuan smiled and replied, "No, the imperial envoy rushed to Beijiang City several days after receiving the decree from His Majesty. He didn't arrive until this morning. I told the steward to call you over after I received him."
The two chatted as they walked into the tent together. The imperial envoy, dressed in black and gold armor, stood in the center of the tent holding a bright yellow imperial edict.
Zhou Yiming and his wife, Mrs. Qiao, were already waiting nearby. Seeing Zhou Tinglan approach, Mrs. Qiao hurried forward and said, "Lan'er, you're finally here. Come quickly and don't keep the Imperial Envoy waiting."
Seeing Qiao's behavior, the imperial envoy said, "Madam Zhou, there's no need to be polite. The emperor has decreed this, and this is an honor for our family."
Zhou Tinglan was overjoyed when he heard this.
It turns out what Xie Zechuan said was true, she really was going to be an official!
Everyone knelt down in unison, and the guards opened the rolled-up imperial edict and began to read it.
"The Emperor, by the Mandate of Heaven, proclaims:
I have heard that Zhou Tinglan, the daughter of former Prime Minister Zhou Yiming, is skilled, generous, and of outstanding character and appearance. She performed bravely in the recent battle against the Northern Di. I am very pleased to hear of this. Recommended by the brave General Xie Zechuan, she has been specially appointed the Iron Officer.
Zhou Tinglan was delighted to hear this, and his mind was thinking about how he could be honest and love the people after becoming an official.
Unexpectedly, the content of the imperial edict uttered by the imperial guards next shocked everyone.
"Now that the brave general Xie Zechuan has reached the age of thirty, he is now three years old and is now of marriageable age. He should choose a virtuous woman as his match. Zhou Tinglan is still unmarried, and she is a match made in heaven for the general. To complete her beauty, I hereby betroth Zhou Tinglan to the brave general as his wife."
"All ceremonial arrangements will be handled jointly by the Ministry of Rites and the Imperial Observatory. An auspicious date will be chosen for the wedding. I decree this!"
Zhou Tinglan was so happy just now, but now a thousand horses were running through his heart.
The old emperor is indeed not easy to fool. He wants to tie their family to Xie Zechuan!
The guard rolled up the imperial edict in his hand and placed it in front of Zhou Tinglan: "Miss Zhou, please accept the edict. The emperor granting marriage is a great thing."
Zhou Tinglan bowed and accepted the imperial edict: "Your Majesty, I accept the order and thank you for your grace."
But you have to accept the order. If you don't, it will be disobedience, which is a hot potato.
Xie Zechuan sent soldiers to take the imperial guards to other tents to rest for a while, and they would soon return to Shangjing City to report to the emperor.
Only Zhou Tinglan's family and Xie Zechuan were left in the room, and they were silent for a long time.
Xie Zechuan asked, "I wonder what my uncle and aunt think of His Majesty's decree."
Everyone knew that he was not referring to the official appointment as Iron Official, but the imperial decree granting marriage.
Zhou Yiming took a deep breath and said, "Thank you, General. I know you are a man worthy of trust. However, this matter is too sudden, and the imperial decree has been issued and cannot be reversed. Could you allow me to discuss this with Lan'er's mother?"
"Of course." Xie Zechuan bowed to Zhou Yiming.
Zhou Tinglan accompanied Xie Zechuan to a corner of the tent. She was feeling complicated at the moment and had not yet recovered from the shock of being granted marriage. However, she wanted to hear what Xie Zechuan was thinking.
In modern times, there are countless marriage tragedies, and now she and Xie Zechuan are married by His Majesty, which is no different from the arranged marriages in the past. The only difference is that she knows Xie Zechuan's character and is not married blindly.
After she traveled through time, she actually thought about her own marriage, as women in this dynasty were mostly disadvantaged.
If she could find a husband of her dreams, she would be free from worries. However, if he spent all his time in brothels, she, Zhou Tinglan, would not be a canary who depended solely on a man to survive.
Xie Zechuan looked down into Zhou Tinglan's eyes and said sincerely, "In the past, I never thought about who my future wife would be or what she would look like. My mother always said I was lonely and worried that I would be alone all my life with no one to take care of me."
When Zhou Tinglan heard this, he covered his mouth and laughed out loud: "Did your mother really say that to you?"
Xie Zechuan's mother said this about her son, and it sounded like he was an extremely interesting person.
"You don't believe it?" Xie Zechuan seemed anxious, and hurriedly explained that he was not lying: "I can write a letter back to the capital and ask my mother to write a letter to explain to you personally..."
Hahaha--
Zhou Tinglan was amused by Xie Zechuan: "I believe General Xie is not lying."
Xie Zechuan's reaction...why is it the same as the look of a domineering president who was accidentally misunderstood by his girlfriend and hurriedly explained? It really made her laugh to death.
After hearing Zhou Tinglan say that she believed in herself, Xie Zechuan relaxed his slightly tense body.
"Lan'er, if you marry me, I will protect you for the rest of your life."
He looked in the direction of Zhou Yiming and saw that they had finished their discussion.
"It seems my uncle and aunt have finished their discussion. We can go now."
The two returned to the center of the tent. Tears welled up in Qiao's eyes. She rushed over and hugged Zhou Tinglan: "Lan'er, it was your father and mother who implicated you."
Zhou Tinglan comforted Mrs. Qiao: "Mother, don't blame yourself. This has nothing to do with you."
"But……"
Mrs. Qiao wanted to say something, but the words seemed to be stuck in her throat and she couldn't utter them. She buried herself in Zhou Tinglan's arms and cried.
Zhou Tinglan patted Qiao's back gently and said, "Why are you crying, mother? Your Majesty has found a good marriage for your daughter, so you should be happy. Besides, your daughter is now an official. Could it be that you don't like General Xie?"
She complained in her heart, would her mother still abandon Xie Zechuan? She actually believed that her mother would abandon her.
"Silly girl." Mrs. Qiao burst into laughter. She turned to Xie Zechuan and said, "General Xie, please don't listen to Lan'er's nonsense. Auntie believes you."
Zhou Yiming, who was standing beside them, looked at his wife and daughter hugging each other and remained silent.
**
Xie Zechuan stayed with Zhou Tinglan for lunch at noon. The lunch was naturally mainly prepared by Qiao. However, because of Zhou Tinglan's poor cooking skills, Qiao brought people to the kitchen to help him.
Zhou Tinglan was in great pain. She looked at the dishes on the table, holding the pot and spoon that Qiao had stuffed in her hand, and wanted to cry.
Oh my god, you really didn’t spark my culinary talent!
Later, Xie Zechuan rescued the man and said that he had something to discuss with Zhou Tinglan.
Mrs. Qiao sent the man away with a smile. After getting over the initial sadness of marrying off her daughter, Mrs. Qiao now liked Xie Zechuan more and more.
It can be said that the more the mother-in-law looks at her son-in-law, the more she likes him.
At the dinner table, Mrs. Qiao showed special enthusiasm towards Xie Zechuan, which scared Zhou Tinglan so much that he coughed violently and asked his mother to look at his father's expression.
Qiao ignored Zhou Tinglan's meaning and was very puzzled by his cough.
"Lan'er, are you feeling unwell?"
Zhou Tinglan held his forehead and said, "It seems I can't save you, my mother."
Although Zhou Yiming agreed with Qiao's statement and believed that Xie Zechuan was indeed a trustworthy person, he felt a little jealous because his wife was more enthusiastic about him than he was and his daughter was about to become his wife.
He glared fiercely at Xie Zechuan who was picking up a bite of food.
Zhou Tinglan looked at his father's childish behavior, shook his head secretly, and sighed, "It turns out that not only does she have no status in my mother's eyes, but my father too."
After dinner, Zhou Yiming pulled Xie Zechuan to a corner and said something to him, but Zhou Tinglan didn't know.
Zhou Tinglan had to go back in the afternoon to continue dealing with the matters of the forging class, and Xie Zechuan also needed to go back to deal with military affairs.
Xie Zechuan suggested sending Zhou Tinglan back to the arsenal, and Zhou Tinglan did not refuse.
Because the news that Zhou Tinglan was appointed as the Iron Officer and that the two of them had been granted marriage by His Majesty had spread throughout the capital, the people gathered at the gate of the barracks had not yet dispersed.
When the people saw the two of them coming out, they all came forward to congratulate Zhou Tinglan on her appointment and wished her and Xie Zechuan a happy marriage.
Zhou Tinglan accepted the people's enthusiasm with a smile.
Back at the forging class, Xie Zechuan said to Zhou Tinglan, "I'll pick you up later."
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