Chapter 40 Chapter 40 Make the Most of Everything
It wasn't that Qianlong was partial, he just felt that riding a bicycle with Yonglian was not in line with the warm and cozy scene he had imagined.
Yonglian took him to visit the garden on a bicycle, which was a beautiful scene of a loving father and a filial son.
Qianlong saw his son's eyes suddenly widen, then he stretched out his little arms and kicked his short legs in grievance.
"Khan Ama, your son is riding a bicycle with you and he's afraid you might fall."
Qianlong: “…”
Qianlong laughed heartily. "You are quite clever."
He pinched his son's chubby arm and said, "Your little arms and legs don't look skinny at all!"
"You said it yourself, I'm just fat." Yonglian hummed and said that he was about to run away. Khan Ama didn't want to play with him, so he rode his bike away by himself.
Qianlong didn't stop him, but only shouted from behind, "Slow down, slow down," and then instructed the guards around him, "Follow the Second Prince."
The guard responded and quickly followed Yonglian's carriage.
Yonglian was least used to this, with his master riding in front and a group of guards and eunuchs following behind.
He had to slow down.
Looking back, he saw that the person following him was none other than Mingrui's father, his fourth uncle Fu Wen.
Yonglian chatted with his fourth uncle, "What has Mingrui been doing at home these past two days?"
Because they moved from the palace to the Old Summer Palace, they spent the first day on the road and the second day to settle down, so their studies were put on hold for two days, and the two study partners could also have two days off.
Fu Wendao: "My dear brother, Mingrui is studying at home."
"I finally get a break, but you're still reading!" Yonglian found that the other three people in the Shangshufang were very studious. His eldest brother even got up early this morning to practice writing a few pages of calligraphy.
"He didn't read any serious books. The child wanted to learn how to write poetry and read Canglang Poetry Talk at home." Fu Wen said.
Yonglian laughed and said, "It's good to write poetry. I want to be a frontier poet in the future."
Fu Wen was stunned. Why was it a frontier poet?
Yonglian realized he had let something slip after he said this. He didn't even bother pedaling his bicycle as he explained, "Mingrui told me that he wanted to lead troops into battle in the future. Isn't that what a frontier poet is?"
Fu Wen also laughed when he heard this. So that's how it is.
But the Qing Dynasty was powerful, and the only one it had to fight was Dzungar. The Battle of Tongpo during the previous emperor's time was too brutal, and Fu Wen was really reluctant to let Mingrui go.
Not to mention Mingrui, he felt that none of the Fucha family’s children needed to take this risk.
Unfortunately, most people in the Fucha family don’t think so. From his brother Fu Qing, to his younger brother Fu Heng, and now there is Mingrui, they all clamor to make military achievements and become generals.
Yonglian asked his fourth uncle how long it would take to get from Fucha's house to the Old Summer Palace. When Fu Wen said it would take more than an hour, Yonglian frowned, rode his bike back to the waterside pavilion where Qianlong was resting, and ran to find Khan Ama.
"Khan Ama, what time do we start studying in the depths of the cave tomorrow?"
"You will start at the end of the Yin month, and the master and his companion will arrive at the end of the Chen month." Qianlong glanced at him and said, "Why? Are you saying that the master and his companion have a long journey, so the study will start later?"
"Huh? How did Khan Ama know?"
"Because your fifth uncle has used this reason before." What Qianlong didn't say was that he was also one of the participants.
Yonglian: “…”
"Don't try to be lazy." Qianlong pinched his son's cheek.
"I didn't, I just really didn't want Master and Mingrui to get up too early." Yonglian was pinched on the face and made a vague excuse.
Qianlong: "This is exactly what your fifth uncle said to your Maharaja."
Yonglian: “…”
Last year, there was a drought followed by a flood, and Qianlong was exhausted.
There were several good things happening at the beginning of this year, and the court was about to have money. Qianlong thought this year would be a smooth year.
Unexpectedly, half of March had passed and not a drop of rain had fallen in Zhili.
This familiar experience happened again, and Qianlong immediately asked the Ministry of Rites to prepare for praying for rain.
This is what it means to rely on the weather for your livelihood. Once it doesn’t rain, the people will have no food.
At this time, Qianlong felt that the textile industry was extremely important.
Although floods and droughts will also affect the growth of cotton, it is not that serious. It would be better if we could learn from Westerners to weave dolon, feather satin, etc. with wool.
Qianlong ordered the three weaving houses in Jiangnan to try to imitate Doro.
There will definitely be no progress at the weaving house for the time being, so we still have to pray for rain.
Fortunately, after a few days, it rained in other places in Zhili, but there was thunder but no rain in the capital.
When the thunder struck, Yonghuang and Yonglian had just finished school and returned to Jiuzhou Qingyan.
The two children thought it was going to rain, so they happily watched from the window. Qianlong, the empress and Niu Lun were also waiting for the rain.
I waited for a long time, but didn't hear the sound of raindrops hitting the ground.
Qianlong even specifically asked Li Yu, who was guarding outside the door, "Is it raining?"
Li Yu said respectfully, "In reply to Your Majesty, it hasn't rained yet."
Qianlong sighed and paced anxiously in the room.
"Don't worry, Khan Ama." Yonglian comforted Khan Ama, "Maybe it's just the western suburbs that haven't rained yet, but it's already raining in other parts of the capital."
"I hope so." Qianlong couldn't help but wonder if he had done something wrong.
When there was a drought last year, he opened up channels for communication and allowed officials to offer more suggestions.
Apart from the agreement with Li Wei that officials and gentry would serve together, there was no other useful advice.
There was also a man named Xue who said that riding and shooting in the palace was bad for his health and very dangerous.
Qianlong was speechless after reading the memorial. It was true that he enjoyed horseback riding and archery, but how could he possibly do it in the palace? Furthermore, the mourning period for the late emperor had not yet ended, making it even more impossible for him to practice it. At most, he would go to the training grounds to watch the children learn horseback archery and demonstrate, but he only drew a bow a few times a year.
This year he really didn't want to hear these people making random comments, and it was so hard for the officials in the court to stop arguing about sending merchant ships out to sea. Once the channels for communication were opened, some people would start complaining about this matter again.
Qianlong wanted to know whether it was raining in the city, so he sent someone back to ask.
At this time, the two-wheeled carriage came in handy, so Yonglian offered to lend him a two-wheeled carriage so that he could ride it to the stable and change horses.
When Emperor Qianlong took the Empress Dowager to visit the garden on a tricycle, he asked several imperial guards to follow on two-wheeled carts. It was not because he was afraid that they would be too tired from running, but because he thought it would look more impressive to follow on carts.
These two-wheeled vehicles were parked in the garden. Yonglian felt that these two-wheeled vehicles should be put to good use instead of just being used for decoration. He suggested setting up a fixed borrowing point. Anyone who needed a vehicle could go there to ride it and return it after use.
"This is also making the best use of things." Officials can go to Xinji to buy two-wheeled carts, but the guards can't afford it for the time being, and it is even more impossible for eunuchs to buy it.
Qianlong glanced at him and said, "Why didn't you ask the servants to pay you this time?"
Yonglian: "Because servants only need to borrow two-wheeled carts to carry out errands for their masters. If the masters ask them for money, no one will lend them."
Qianlong was persuaded by his son and sent someone to make arrangements the next day.
After that, eunuchs riding two-wheeled carts could often be seen in the Old Summer Palace.
Some palace maids and maids were very envious, but they subconsciously thought that women could not ride a two-wheeled vehicle.
Until one day, when Nanny Fang was tidying up the Second Prince's study, she found that the Second Prince's homework was left on the table.
The two eunuchs beside the Second Prince were not there, and Nanny Fang could not find a suitable person to send him off, so she quickened her pace and went deeper into the cave.
Yonglian only realized that he had forgotten to bring it when he was about to hand in his homework.
Fortunately, Ah Gui didn't think that the Second Prince was lying about not having done his homework. He just smiled and said, "It's okay, it's okay. You can hand it in tomorrow."
After he finished speaking, he began to talk about today's content. Before he had said a few words, Nanny Fang came, running out of breath, to deliver homework to the Second Prince.
In the evening, Yonglian talked about this with Nanny Fang, and Nanny Fang felt very guilty, thinking that she was walking too slowly.
Yonglian hurriedly said that it was okay and that his master did not blame him.
"And next time you encounter something like this, you can try riding a two-wheeled vehicle. Just learn how to do it beforehand and be careful not to fall."
Nanny Fang was stunned. "Can a slave ride a two-wheeled vehicle?"
"Of course you can. Don't those young eunuchs ride it often?" Yonglian said with a smile.
"Eunuchs are different from us," said Nanny Fang. "Isn't it against etiquette for a woman to ride a two-wheeled cart?"
Upon hearing this, Yonglian finally understood Nanny Fang's concerns. After a moment's thought, he said, "This two-wheeled cart is new, so there aren't any rules. It's just a means of transportation. Anyone who needs it can use it. Just be careful."
The next day, Nanny Fang wanted to learn how to ride a two-wheeled bicycle, but the people at the bicycle rental office refused to lend her one.
Nanny Fang said, "Second Prince asked me to learn this."
This matter involved the second prince, so the person at the car rental office went to report it to the queen.
The queen was now in a dilemma. Her first reaction was that women were not allowed to ride two-wheeled vehicles, but she couldn't tell the specific reason.
"She just said that Mammy doesn't have many errands to run on a daily basis, so she doesn't need to learn to ride a two-wheeled vehicle. If she falls or gets hurt, it would be difficult to explain to her family."
In the afternoon, after reviewing the memorials, Qianlong came to Changchun Xianguan to play with Niu Lun.
The little girl has wanted to learn how to ride a two-wheeled bicycle for a long time, and she also wants to try the children's version of the two-wheeled bicycles of her older and younger brothers.
In Qianlong's eyes, riding a bicycle is similar to riding a horse. Many Manchu ladies can ride horses, and princesses must learn to ride horses so that they can marry into the grasslands and form an alliance with Mongolia in the future.
Although Qianlong was reluctant to let Niu Lun go to the grassland, he must learn to ride a horse. As for riding a bike... there is no harm in learning it.
He had Yonghuang and his family's carriage brought over and taught his daughter how to ride it.
The queen watched from the side, feeling a little complicated for a moment.
Niu Lun can ride a bike, so why can’t the palace maid Ma Ma?
"Queen, look how smart our Niu Lunduo is. She learned it so quickly." Qianlong smiled and praised his precious daughter to the queen.
The Queen came back to her senses a little later, "Yes, yes, it was the Emperor who taught her well."
Qianlong saw her expression, frowned, and walked towards her, "What are you thinking about? Are you worried that Niu Lun will fall? Don't worry, I'm watching over you, nothing will happen."
The queen nodded. Little Niu Lun also came over and raised her little face to ask for praise. The queen touched her daughter's face and said, "Niu Lun is really smart, but you have to ride slowly and let someone follow you."
Niu Lun agreed and looked at Khan Ama, "Khan Ama, Niu Lun wants to have his own two-wheeled vehicle."
Qianlong nodded and said, "Okay, okay. I'll have the people at the Imperial Household Department make you one later. Paint it a beautiful color and carve some patterns on it. Our little Princess Niu Lun can't have a gray two-wheeled carriage."
Upon hearing this, Niu Lun thanked him happily.
Qianlong specifically asked the Imperial Household Department to convey a message to the servants below that they could ride bicycles, but they could not rush around recklessly, and they had to avoid people walking. If they fell while riding a bicycle, they would be responsible for it themselves. If they damaged the two-wheeled bicycles at the rental office, they would also be required to compensate.
As a result, the eunuchs rode their bicycles very carefully. Although the speed was not fast, it was definitely easier than walking.
In April, the Imperial Household Department produced several more tricycles and placed them in the loan area. The Imperial Household Department warehouse used the tricycles to deliver things to various locations.
Yonglian usually studied in the depths of the cave and learned horse riding and archery in the afternoon. It was only after several days that he noticed that only eunuchs were using tricycles in the Old Summer Palace.
He thought that Khan Ama had issued an edict prohibiting women from using carriages, but when he returned to Changchun Xianguan, he happened to meet the Imperial Household Department delivering a carriage to Niu Lun.
Niu Lun’s two-wheeled cart not only has exquisite carvings, but also has a retractable pole behind the seat.
The Imperial Household Department representative explained, "The Emperor was worried about the Third Princess getting too hot, so he had the servants design this. In the summer, you can put an umbrella inside to block the sun."
Niu Lun ran around the two-wheeled vehicle in amazement. "Ama Khan is so nice! This vehicle is so beautiful! It's my favorite color! And the seat is so soft and comfortable!"
"This is also the emperor's special instruction, asking the servants to use softer materials." The person from the Imperial Household Department said as he took out two covers embroidered with patterns that could be put on the car seats.
Yonglian thought that Khan Ama had finally embarked on the path of design for the sake of his daughter.
But if Niu Lun can ride a bike, why can't the palace maid Ma Ma?
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