Chapter 1498 Diligence

Time flies, the temperature gradually rises, the traces of snow disappear, the earth is dressed in new green, and people are digging wild vegetables everywhere in the mountains outside the city.

The building of the private orphanage has been completed, and the children live according to the daily schedule. There are already more than 400 orphans in the village.

Everything was developing in a positive direction. Those who were waiting to see a joke did not see it, but instead witnessed with their own eyes that the private orphanage was getting better and better.

A major event in the capital, a contest selected fifty talents, only five of them entered the Ministry of Commerce, ten people were assigned to other departments, and the remaining thirty-five were all on the list to go to the grassland.

The morale of the various families has been low recently, and no one wants to go to open up new land. They used every possible means during the selection, and now they are regretting it so much.

Zhulan received the items sent back by Mingteng, the most common of which were leather, especially wolf skin.

Li's heart was pounding with fear. "We have encountered a pack of wolves."

Zhulan had already read Mingteng's letter. "Well, the wolves are also very hungry in the early spring."

Zhao was very worried. "Wolves are the most vengeful. After killing so many wolves, they will take revenge sooner or later."

Zhulan was not worried about Mingteng, as Mingteng and Rongchuan had guards. "This kid also brought back two wild horses. It's hard to find a herd of wild horses, so he's lucky."

Su Xuan's eyes lit up, "Mom, I'm going to go check on the two horses."

"Go ahead."

Liu Jia forced a smile on her face. She had just finished reading the letter her husband sent her. It was good enough that he could come back in winter. She felt bad about parting after their wedding, even though she understood the situation.

Zhulan divided the things that Mingteng sent back. Just after the Li family left, Jiang's mother-in-law came. Zhulan was surprised because the old lady seldom visited.

Before Jiang Wang entered the house, she smiled and said, "Mother-in-law, I have good news for you."

Zhu Lan's heart moved, "Is Jiang Du's wife pregnant?"

The old lady's smile froze, but she smiled again soon. "Jiang Miao, Jiang Miao is pregnant. This is a letter from Jiang Miao to my mother-in-law. I also sent it along."

Zhulan cried out, "It is indeed a great joyous event."

The old lady continued, "Yes, Jiang Miao married late. I have always been worried about her, but now I feel relieved."

Zhulan thought, how could she be worried about Jiang Miao? What her mother-in-law really cares about is Jiang Du. "The baby will come when it's time. You don't have to worry about it. Just let it go."

Jiang Wangshi stopped herself from saying anything. She was about to mention Jiang Du, but because she had several eldest sons, she didn't dare to say much for fear of upsetting her younger daughter-in-law. Even though she was getting angry, she had to hold it in when facing her granddaughter-in-law. She came here today hoping that her mother-in-law would ask about it, and she also wanted to use her mother-in-law's words to put pressure on her granddaughter-in-law. Now her plan was in vain.

Zhulan ignored the stiffness on Jiang Wang's face and asked, "I heard from Jiang Du that the vegetables you grow in the greenhouse are selling well."

Jiang Wang smiled naturally, "Yes, I made a lot this year, and there are still a lot of vegetables in the greenhouse. After the vegetables are sold out in a few days, I plan to plant some watermelons. What do you think, mother-in-law?"

Zhulan nodded, "Very good."

In the palace, Zhou Shuren and several ministers came out of the emperor's study. In order to kill a chicken to scare the monkey, the states prepared to kill a group of prisoners and proposed several laws.

Zhou Shuren was in a bad mood. The emperor used severe punishment and this time he wanted to kill one tenth of the people. If the prisoners were not needed for land reclamation, the emperor would have killed more people.

On the way out of the palace, Lord Qi suddenly asked, "Lord Zhou, I heard that the children in the private orphanage are all learning to read and write?"

Zhou Shuren stopped walking. In a bad mood, he directly retorted, "Don't use the word 'heard'. Just say that you have been staring at me. Everyone knows who you are. Don't keep saying 'heard'. Be honest with each other."

Lord Qi frowned, "Marquis Zhou is very angry."

Zhou Shuren rolled his eyes. These noble families were cheated by the emperor. Mr. Qi's third son was among them. He thought he could join the Ministry of Commerce, but he didn't expect that the emperor would fill out a list of people going to the grassland and they would set off in three days.

Now the noble families have responded, and the children in the Royal Orphanage are learning to read and write. The same is true for the private orphanages as well. The total number of people in the two orphans is almost 800.

Eight hundred students are nothing among the children who are studying nowadays. Who can guarantee a large number of students for modern compulsory education? In ancient times, this was an incredible number. Some academies and private schools in lower states may not even have as many as 800 students, which shows how difficult it was to study in ancient times.

These eight hundred people are only in the capital. Royal orphanages are being established in various states across the country. The specific data is in the hands of the emperor. It would be strange if the aristocratic families were in a good mood.

Zhou Shuren ignored Lord Qi. Lord Qi was very angry and annoyed. It was all because of Zhou Shuren's suggestion that the Emperor established the Royal Orphanage and allowed the royal family to run a private orphanage in the name of the Queen Mother. They didn't dare to find fault with the Emperor, so who else could they find except Zhou Shuren.

Lord Qi was about to speak, but Lord Wen coughed lightly. Lord Qi took a deep breath and glared at Zhou Shuren fiercely.

Zhou Shuren was thick-skinned and could not feel the glare. He kept walking without looking back. He was not afraid of being hated. The private orphanage was to train technical talents. It was positioned well from the beginning and would not compete with the aristocratic families for resources. The Royal Orphanage belonged to the royal family and in the end the aristocratic families' attention was still on the royal family. He and his wife had already planned it out. Who could have prevented the Zhou family from confronting all the aristocratic families!

It is better to let the royal family and the major families confront each other and wear each other down.

The next day, Yudie and her friends followed Mingrui and his friends out of the capital. Zhulan was worried and said, "Bring more servants with you so that you can be more careful when hunting."

Mingrui said, "Grandma, I will take good care of my brothers and sisters."

Zhulan couldn't stop him from going, as the children had their own social lives. With the revival of all things, the young men in the capital had more entertainment options, and hunting became the first choice, with many going for deer.

Zhulan was worried after the children left. She really disliked hunting. Archery was so dangerous. What if she shot one of her own?

Yudie and the others were very happy, even Yuwen followed.

This time, all the guests are familiar with each other, including the Second Young Master Liu and the Second Young Master Yu, who have already been engaged to the Zhou family, so there is no need to be shy about it.

When they met at the city gate, Liu Yuanbo and Yu Yueyang were already waiting there, along with Shangguan Liu, neither of them were married.

Ran Xun was not invited because he had done some ridiculous things and had a bad reputation. This time he brought his sisters out with him, and for their sake, he had to consider them, so people with a bad reputation were not invited.

After leaving the capital, Liu Yuanbo drove his horse to the carriage of Yudie and the others, "I must be the first to win today. All the prey I hunt will be yours."

He completely forgot that his mother told him that if he hunted a deer, he must bring it back.

Yu Yueyang looked at Liu Yuanbo's attentiveness in a daze, pursed his lips, and rode over, "My riding and shooting are pretty good, and I'll give all the prey I catch to the fourth girl."

Yuyi burst out laughing. She was really surprised that Yu Yueyang would hunt. "Okay, I'll wait."

Yu Yueyang was stunned. The horse stopped and the carriage left before he reacted. He caught up with Mingrui and asked, "Did you hear that?"

Ming Rui sneered, "You two are bragging. Let me see what you can do when the time comes."

Yu Yueyang, "..."

Liu Yuanbo, "....."