Chapter 106: Moving to a new house, Mu Xue asked Zhou Qiniang to draw this blueprint again...
Mu Xue asked Zhou Qinnan to draw another copy of this blueprint, put it in a memorial box, and ordered someone to send it to the capital.
Out of some self-protection considerations, she did not write any suggestions for military and political reforms. She just said that when she was inspecting the tribe, she unexpectedly met Russian merchants, among whom there was a nobleman wearing an exquisite bird gun, and his guards were also dressed in a special way... The daughter found it very novel and shared it with the emperor.
The memorial box was sent out at full speed, and it was not until late autumn, when Muxue and Dorji finished their inspection of the Tushetu Khanate and returned to Guihua City, that they received a reply.
"I understand. The foreigners are like this, but our artillery is more powerful than theirs. As for the construction of the trading city, please allow me to purchase firearms, but only your close guards can use them. You should perform your duties conscientiously and do not overstep your authority."
She looked at the imperial calligraphy and was silent for a while.
In fact, she had some doubts before. Obviously, the Qing Dynasty had already mastered the use of firearms at that time, and even used cannons and muskets in several wars, and they were effective. But why was it still at such a low level in the late Qing Dynasty? Even the cannons used to fight against foreign enemies were those from the Kangxi period.
There may be many complicated factors, such as the Manchurian custom of "riding and shooting first", or there may be some other considerations, such as worrying about local changes, etc. Mu Xue is not very clear about these things now. The only thing she can understand is that Emperor Kangxi does not want her to interfere in military and firearms matters in the border areas.
Perform your duties conscientiously and do not overstep your authority.
These eight words clearly stated that it was possible to enrich the country and secure the border, but military affairs were something she should not touch. If she insisted on doing so, and engaged in illegal activities such as manufacturing munitions, she would be charged with treason if caught. This kind of charge would be useless even if she was a descendant of a royal family.
Mu Xue sighed softly and took back the imperial edict. She called Yun Qi over and told him, "The money you set aside before should be invested in the business."
As soon as Yunqi heard this, he understood that this was not going to work, and it almost affected the princess. Yunqi immediately bowed his head and apologized: "I was stupid. I didn't even think of this in advance. I should have planned and warned you about this in advance, but now I only realized it afterward. Please punish me, Master."
"What are you talking about? It's not your fault. I was too proud of myself back then. I was a little naive after all." Mu Xue said, "It's okay. This wasn't originally in our plan. Let's just do the current job well first."
She pursed her lips, was silent for a while, and pretended to be relaxed and said: "It's not easy to bring Mr. Dai here, but we have sent people to look for the sisters you mentioned. Let's wait for the news. There should be good news when the spring comes next year."
Although it was a good thing, how could Yunqi be happy? She felt mixed emotions. Even so, the princess still remembered her.
"Why are you making that expression?" Mu Xue smiled. "Okay, unhappy things? I won't think about them for now. We'll have a housewarming party in a few days. Think of some good words for me so I can say them while we're having a drink."
After carefully checking the Mongolian calendar and the lunar calendar, I finally decided on a good day to move into my new home.
She can finally move into the princess mansion in Guihua City!
The place is just north of Guihua City, with green mountains behind and clear water in front, it is a Feng Shui treasure land. The Princess's Mansion was built in the style of the Prince's Mansion in Beijing, with four entrances and five courtyards, divided into three roads: east, middle and west. It has the main hall, side halls, wing rooms and ear rooms. The main hall of the second entrance is located on a white marble platform, which is magnificent. Passing through the hanging flower gate, you will reach the bedroom. There are two flower trees planted on the left and right of the bedroom courtyard.
To the northeast was a garden, where all the flowers and trees that Mu Xue had ordered to be transplanted were already there, but now it was early winter, and except for two evergreen pines and cypresses, it looked a little bleak. To make the warm house banquet look good, Madam Wu had the maids tie a lot of colorful silk cloths on the bare tree trunks, which looked colorful at first glance.
To the northwest is a horse farm, all grass, with a white pagoda built in the middle, similar to the white pagodas of many Yellow Sect temples in Guihua City. Dorji liked this place very much, and when he first arrived, he rode his horse around twice.
"This place is good," Dorji said excitedly as he got off his horse. "It's a good place to practice martial arts. If it were like the place I lived in before in the capital, all made of stone bricks, I wouldn't dare to use much force when swinging my sword or whip. I might break it if I hit something."
Mu Xue smiled at him and said, "Yes, it was built especially for you. Are you happy?"
"Are you happy?" Dorji raised his sword-like eyebrows, and suddenly picked her up. Amid Mu Xueruling's laughter, he held her and turned her around twice, letting her experience his happiness firsthand.
After walking around inside and outside, they returned to the main hall. The officials of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the head of the Princess's House, Shi Musen, and others came up to them and asked the princess to name the courtyards with a smile.
Mu Xue suddenly felt like Jia Baoyu being caught by Jia Zheng to test his knowledge. So many courtyards, so many rooms, do they have to name them one by one? How could there be so many names at once?
Yu Shitui said, "Let's temporarily decide on the names of the main hall and the bedroom, and we'll slowly plan the rest of the courtyards later."
She looked around the main hall, lifted her skirt slightly, sat down on the red sandalwood throne in the middle of the hall, and thought for a while. This is the main hall, so she had to ask Emperor Kangxi for a calligraphy plaque to show respect. She was worried about how to write a letter to Emperor Kangxi, so she just used this as an introduction to show him that she just wanted to live a good life. In this way, she could just come up with a random name.
Many names flashed through my mind, and finally I chose the simplest one.
"Let's temporarily name it 'Jingyi Hall'." Mu Xue said.
"What a good name!" Mu Sen immediately began to perform "There is a great scholar who will debate for me."
"Quiet, it is in line with the "Book of Rites: Great Learning" that only when you are quiet can you be at peace, and it also fits the princess's chastity, tranquility and virtue, and is related to the style of the song. Suitable, the "Book of Songs" says that it is suitable for the room and the family, which is really wonderful..."
One person talked about it, and then the other one went on to quote from classics and make a good point, talking endlessly.
After passing through the hanging flower gate and entering the palace courtyard, Muxue looked at Duoerji and said, "How about you give this place a name?"
"Should I name it?"
"Yes, I have lived here for a long time. If you gave me this name, then I will always think of you when I live here day and night."
After hearing what Dorji taught her, her heart softened. After thinking for a long time, she simply chose the name of the plaque "Jingding Changchun" from the name of the courtyard chosen by Muxue.
On the day of the housewarming wine party to celebrate the move into a new house, the governor of Guihua City came with his officials, the commander of the Eight Banners Camp also came, and the lamas also came to pray. The sedan chair hall was full, and the horse posts were all tied up. As a last resort, they had to temporarily set up a number of horse posts outside to make up for the shortage. Inside and outside, it was very lively.
What makes Muxue happiest is the banquet.
Thanks to the farmers and farm women who cultivated the fields and worked hard here, in addition to beef and mutton, the food ingredients are greatly abundant!
First, potatoes were planted. Farmers loved to call them yam eggs, and quickly came up with many ways to eat yam eggs. Stewing mutton was the basic method, and cutting them into strips and stewing them with noodles was also delicious. Then, farmers tried to raise pigs and chickens, so pork and chicken became more common meats. This was enough to satisfy people's cravings.
The eunuch who had not shown his cooking skills for a long time finally cooked many delicious dishes after seeing so many ingredients. There were roasted pork, pork with garlic paste, steamed chicken with lotus seeds, and chicken stewed with potatoes. He wanted to prepare a full banquet. However, it was cold and there were no popular vegetables, so he made a lot of pickled cabbage as a side dish.
The guests came in accordance with the original etiquette of drinking, and they were all mentally prepared in advance. Since they were coming to the noble's house to drink, it was normal not to be full. So some people ate something at home before coming, but when the banquet started, they were dumbfounded.
How could a chef from the palace be so good at cooking? Although he could still be a little polite before picking up his chopsticks, he didn't care about that much after picking up the chopsticks and tasting the food, and started to eat with relish.
While eating, I thought to myself that if I had such a good opportunity to come to the princess's mansion for a banquet again, I would never fill my stomach in advance. Otherwise, I would lose out.
The guests enjoyed themselves very much.
Mu Xue was also a little full, and after seeing off the guests, she still felt uncomfortable sitting. Duoerji found her like this a little funny, so he simply took her hand and walked slowly around the princess's mansion with her twice, just to help digest the food.
The noise of music and singing died down, and silence returned to the princess's mansion. The maids, eunuchs, and servants in the east and west courtyards cleaned up the leftovers of the banquet, and there was a soft sound from time to time when the bowls and chopsticks were put into the basins.
When Dorji saw this, he was afraid that it would arouse the princess's loneliness, so he took her to the garden.
There is a full moon tonight, hanging round in the night sky, shining brightly for a thousand miles.
Since they were in their own house, they didn't want anyone to follow them, so they asked the maids to wait in front of the corridor under the moon-shaped gate, while Muxue and Dorji walked alone.
Although it's bleak in winter, the colorful trees and the lighting of palace lanterns make it not too lonely.
After walking a few laps, I felt much more comfortable.
Muxue hugged Dorji's arm and said, "This place will be beautiful in spring and summer."
"Indeed." Dorji lowered his eyes to look at her and said, "Are you feeling better now?"
Mu Xue patted her stomach and said, "Yeah, I digested it."
Dorji smiled: "It's more than that."
The lamp in his hand emitted a faint warm light, illuminating the cold night.
Mu Xue was stunned when she heard this.
Dorji continued, "Although moving into a new house is a happy event and you are happy, I feel that you seem a little unhappy. Are you feeling better now?"
Mu Xue looked at him for a while and stretched out her arms.
Dorji understood and hugged her.
Mu Xue rubbed his shoulder: "A lot."
In his warm embrace, Mu Xue yawned: "Let's go back to the bedroom. I'm sleepy."
"You, a night owl, go to bed early these days," Dorji joked and simply picked her up.
"do what?"
"Carry the noble princess back to the bedroom to rest." Dorji blinked, "You can also take a nap in my arms for a while."
He was born tall and had practiced martial arts for many years, so he was very strong. He held Muxue in his arms and walked steadily. Muxue was a thoughtful person. If it were someone else, they would worry about whether he would fall down. They would prepare in advance how to stand firmly if he really fell down. At this time, he was really a little tired, so he didn't care about it. He held Dorji's neck lazily with his arms. Anyway, he would never let himself fall.
After returning to the bedroom, he quickly washed up and went to bed.
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