In the capital, Elder Cen felt bad after learning the emperor had suspended him from his duties. The emperor had told him to recuperate at home, but so many ministers had died while doing so, and so had entire families.
Old Master Cen was having a headache because it was because the Third Prince did not become the Crown Prince that the Cen family was in such a passive position.
If the third prince could become the crown prince and then the emperor, then it wouldn't matter if the Cen family suffered a little bit of grievance now.
The key point is that Prince Su became the Crown Prince, and he did not want the daughter of the Cen family to marry into his family. The Crown Prince did not accept the daughter of the Cen family at all, which means that the Crown Prince did not accept the Cen family and did not give the Cen family face.
"Your Majesty..." Old Madam Cen wanted to say something, but since Consort Xian had become Consort Cen, they couldn't keep criticizing her. "She's still copying scriptures."
Old Lady Cen felt aggrieved for her daughter, who had worked so hard to serve the emperor for so many years, yet the emperor was so cruel to her.
"Then let her copy it." Old Master Cen couldn't control the affairs of the palace. "Have you found all the books I asked you to find?"
Old Master Cen thought that if Liu Yulian could research those things, then could his own family members do the same?
If our family can research those things, then the Cen family can still be saved.
Old Master Cen also sent people to the northwest. He originally planned to see what Liu Yulian had researched and wanted to report it to the emperor first.
But Mr. Cen understood that what Liu Yulian was researching now required some technology, and the emperor had long known what Liu Yulian was doing.
If these people rashly said that they had researched something, the emperor would never believe it.
If they haven't studied similar things before, they probably stole them.
If the emperor knew that they had stolen those things, he would definitely not trust them anymore and would be very angry.
"I've looked for them all," said Old Madam Cen. "I just don't know what kind of books Princess Rongning read back then. I only know they were miscellaneous books, so I looked for more."
Old Madam Cen really looked down upon those miscellaneous books. As a woman, how could she always read those books? As a woman, she should take care of the affairs in the backyard.
Men work outside and women work inside, that's the way it should be.
No matter how much Madam Cen looked down on Liu Yulian, she was still Princess Rongning.
"Let the girls at home see it too." Mr. Cen did this to let the emperor know that he supported these things.
As for the burning of the books by Mr. Cen's second son when he raided the Jingning Marquis's mansion, that was an accident. His second son didn't know the importance of those books at the time. As the saying goes, ignorance is not a crime. If the Cen family is letting someone at home learn now, then there will soon be someone else outside asking them to learn.
The Cen family has always been very famous, and many people imitate the daughters of the Cen family.
Old Master Cen believed that by doing this, he was also complying with the emperor's wishes.
"These books..." Old Madam Cen frowned, "Don't let them learn bad things."
"Not really." Old Master Cen said, "If a little girl from another family can do it, our girls are not bad either. They can definitely do it too."
In the palace, when the emperor learned that Mr. Cen asked the daughter of the Cen family to study those miscellaneous books, he found it ridiculous.
Old Master Cen just wanted to gain some benefits from it and wanted the emperor to think that he was capable of doing things.
The emperor couldn't possibly think so. He had been emperor for so many years and knew too well that the Cen family was cunning.
Old Master Cen did that after he saw Liu Yulian develop something and the Liu family benefited from it.
The Cen family wasn't the only one in the capital; other families had already had their daughters read other books. Seeing that the emperor had conferred titles on Liu Yulian, they wanted to study them and gain some benefits.
The emperor doesn't mind these people learning more, as long as it is good for the world, that's fine.
No one wants his country to have few talented people, so the emperor hopes that they can research more things.
The emperor still had no intention of visiting Concubine Cen, as he did not like her that much.
"She really swallowed up a lot of silver." The emperor chuckled. He was not saying that anyone was corrupt, but he had seen a memorial from people in the northwest saying that Princess Rongning's cement factory had spent a lot of silver.
Princess Rongning continued to pour money into the business, investing the money she earned elsewhere into the cement mill. He Xiyuan also gave Liu Yulian some banknotes, suggesting the engaged couple were working together.
The emperor thought that if Liu Yulian could really research something, then he would reward her with more silver, at least to make back her investment. The Liu family could then sell those things, just like they had done with the culture medium before.
The Liu family handed over the recipe, and the court sold it in large quantities, while the Liu family sold it in small quantities.
It's just one family, how much more can they do?
The emperor did not forbid the Liu family from continuing to sell those things. He believed that Liu Yulian and the Liu family deserved those benefits and should not let people feel disappointed.
"It's time to send some silver over." The emperor added, don't wait until Liu Yulian has no money before they think about these things.
If you want to give money, you have to give it early.
If they were to give it at this time, they wouldn't need to give so much silver for the time being, and could give less. This also showed the royal family's support for Liu Yulian's continued research, which also gave Liu Yulian some motivation.
At this moment, the Imperial Concubine was chatting with the Crown Princess. It didn't matter whether the Imperial Concubine became the Queen or not, as she would be named Queen Mother after her son ascended the throne.
What the imperial concubine has to do is to survive the emperor and not fall down.
"In a few days, the Duke Cheng's Mansion will send some things to the northwest. You should also prepare some things and ask them to send them together." The imperial concubine still admired Princess Rongning very much. The invulnerable armor made by Princess Rongning was very good.
"It has been prepared." said the Crown Princess.
The Crown Princess had a good impression of Princess Rongning. Princess Rongning already had a fiancé, which meant that it was impossible for her to enter the palace.
A woman like Princess Rongning is not suitable to marry the prince or the emperor. Such an outstanding woman should not be involved in the struggles in the harem.
The Crown Princess could sense the Emperor and the Crown Prince's attitudes, and knew that Princess Rongning was no match for her. So it wouldn't hurt for her to prepare more.
Some people even said in front of the Crown Princess that the Crown Prince might let Princess Rongning enter the palace.
The Crown Princess found it very funny. Princess Rongning's fiancé was the Crown Prince's cousin, so this relationship was already very good. He Xiyuan also gave up his literary career to pursue military service and went to the northwest. The relationship between He Xiyuan and Liu Yulian must be special.
Under such circumstances, if the prince allowed Princess Rongning to enter the mansion, He Xiyuan would be unhappy, and Princess Rongning would also be unhappy.
Not everyone likes to be a royal concubine. A royal concubine is still a concubine.
"My daughter-in-law has heard some things recently," the Crown Princess said. "Perhaps they want me to deal with Princess Rongning. They even said that the Crown Prince might allow Princess Rongning to enter the Eastern Palace."
"Impossible." The imperial concubine said frankly that her son was not a fool, so why let Princess Rongning enter the Eastern Palace?
For an outstanding woman, you can give her the position of a princess or a princess, but you can't let her enter the harem. Once a man forces a woman into the harem, then this man can't expect this woman to be the same as before.
The imperial concubine herself was a concubine to the emperor, and she knew how difficult it was to be a royal concubine. She would never let her son snatch her nephew's fiancée. The fiancée had such a good relationship, there was absolutely no need to break them up.
"What nonsense are you talking about?" The imperial concubine said, "Do you really think we are fools? You should also be careful and don't let them ruin Rong Ning's reputation."
"Yes." The Crown Princess responded.
"One or two of them, instead of taking care of their own little piece of land, are meddling in other people's affairs." The imperial concubine sneered, "These people are not good people at all."
"My daughter-in-law thinks so too." The Crown Princess picked up the teacup. "Someone is instigating it."
The Crown Princess thought it was a good idea for Princess Rongning to marry He Xiyuan, and there was no need for them to bother. All they had to do was maintain the relationship between Liu Yulian and He Xiyuan, and the Crown Prince and the Emperor had no intention of rewarding He Xiyuan with a woman.
The Crown Princess also heard the Crown Prince say that He Xiyuan was better than many people just because he had a wife like Liu Yulian.
Then they don’t need to care about so many things, just wait for Princess Rongning to research something.
"You are the Crown Princess, so you should refute what you should refute." The Imperial Concubine said, "Rong Ning is doing so well now. In the future, if her prince does anything to let her down, that will absolutely not be tolerated."
"Yes." The Crown Princess nodded. "I heard that Princess Rongning once said that she wanted to be with her husband for the rest of her life. If you are heartless, I will divorce you."
It was hard for the Crown Princess to not know about this matter, as it was being spread outside. The Crown Princess didn't know who started it, but it was spread in a very convincing manner.
"What's wrong with that?" The imperial concubine raised an eyebrow. "Her abilities are no less than a man's. Even if she's just an ordinary woman, why can't she have such thoughts?"
The Imperial Concubine thought it was perfectly normal for a woman to have such thoughts. She also wanted to do that, but unfortunately she couldn't.
At the Duke Cheng’s Mansion, the few words Liu Yulian said when she was a child also reached the Duke Cheng’s Mansion.
The old lady was not unhappy after she knew about it. She even said to the wife of Duke Cheng, "Look, this is a capable person, a woman with great talent."
“…” Lady Chengguo was speechless. The old lady didn’t think so back then.
Ever since Liu Yulian developed the culture medium, the Liu family restored their title, and Liu Yulian cured He Xichen, the old lady's attitude towards Liu Yulian has changed greatly.
The old lady thought Liu Yulian was good in every way. She thought Liu Yulian was a genius. It was normal for such a person to have some different ideas.
"You have more than one son anyway, so there's nothing wrong with Yuan Ge'er not taking a concubine." The old lady said, "Rong Ning is so smart, the child she and Yuan Ge'er have will definitely be very smart."
"Yes." Lady Chengguo nodded.
"You too, don't even think about taking a concubine for Yuan-ge'er." The old lady said, "Don't make them divorce, that would be bad.
"They haven't gotten married yet!" Lady Chengguo frowned. Are they thinking too much now?
"I'm telling you this because they haven't gotten married yet," the old lady said with a stern face. "If they were married, what would be the point of telling you this? By then, you might have already offended them."
Lady Chengguo was silent. Wasn't it the mother-in-law who asked the daughter-in-law to set the rules? She hadn't done anything yet.
But it’s better for the old lady to do this. Lady Chengguo doesn’t have to worry about the old lady making things difficult for Liu Yulian.
"I'll do as you say." Lady Chengguo.
"I have also lived for many years and have some experience," said the old lady.
"Yes." Lady Chengguo thought to herself: You are just clearly snobbish.
No one else is like the old lady. She can even slap herself in the face in front of others. The old lady used to show her dissatisfaction with Liu Yulian in public, but now she shows that she is very satisfied with Liu Yulian and even praises her more.
He Xiyuan was originally the old lady's favorite, but now, he has been left behind. The old lady also said that if He Xiyuan married Liu Yulian, she would not have to worry so much, and said that it was fortunate that He Xiyuan and Liu Yulian got engaged early.
In short, the old lady is now extremely satisfied with Liu Yulian.
In the northwest, Liu Yulian had no idea of the old lady's thoughts. She saw He Xiyuan, who had returned from the military camp.
"Fortunately, the engagement is over." He Xiyuan felt distressed when he saw Liu Yulian's injured wrist.
That Liu Yanbo is not a human being. He Xiyuan wanted to rush directly to Liu Yanbo and beat him up severely.
But the Liu family's eldest branch had already dealt with the matter, and the two families had severed their relationship. Even though He Xiyuan knew that Liu Yanbo had been in prison and had been beaten.
He Xiyuan still felt angry because Sister Lian's hands were so delicate.
"Yes." Liu Yulian didn't pour tea for He Xiyuan, but someone around her did. "My hand is fine, why did you come over here?"
"I'm worried." He Xiyuan heard from Liu Yanjing yesterday that Liu Yulian was injured, so he wanted to come back directly, but it was too late.
He Xiyuan dreamed of Liu Yulian last night. He dreamed that Liu Yulian was calling him and that she was in pain.
So He Xiyuan ran over. He had to see Liu Yulian and make sure that Sister Lian was not seriously injured and her life was not in danger, so that he could feel a little relieved.
"Don't worry, now that you've seen it, you can rest assured." Liu Yulian held out her injured wrist. "The swelling has gone down, it's just still a little red."
"I didn't know before." He Xiyuan still felt that he knew it too late.
"It's okay." Liu Yulian said.
"When you return to Beijing, I will go back too and take the imperial examination." He Xiyuan added, "I don't ask for great wealth or honor, I just want to be able to go home every day and see you."
He Xiyuan didn't think about achieving anything great. His brother was the crown prince, so he just wanted to live a peaceful life.
He is in the Northwest Military Camp and cannot get promoted for the time being.
He Xiyuan had also visited the grasslands to investigate. The locals had discovered the benefits of culture medium, which they used to grow grass. They also raised many sheep, each one appearing more energetic than before, perhaps because they had a new hope for life.
"It's all fine." Liu Yulian was stunned for a moment. She didn't expect He Xiyuan to say that. "Doesn't this mean you're not afraid of what others say?"
"I'm not afraid." He Xiyuan shook his head. "The most important thing is to live your life well. Reputation is useless."
He Xiyuan just wanted to have a wife and children and live a peaceful and stable life with Liu Yulian.
"Yeah, that's right." Liu Yulian thought so too.
Liu Yulian never thought about living a life of excessive wealth. Every time she saw He Xiyuan, she thought that He Xiyuan was just right the way he was.
He would chase after her. He would not give up just because of her low status. He would fight for her. He did not expect her to go to his house or do many things for him.
How many men in this world can do what He Xiyuan did?
"Your heart is like my heart." Liu Yulian said.
"Yeah." He Xiyuan's earlobes turned red when he heard Liu Yulian say that.
Sister Lian seems to have become more beautiful again.
He Xiyuan felt that he was always talking empty words, abandoning literature to take up military affairs, and now he is only a captain of a thousand households, and has not made any progress.
At most, I would give Sister Lian some wood carvings, some silver bills, and some other small things.
He Xiyuan felt that he seemed to be of no use. He could not appear in front of Sister Lian in time and could not care about Sister Lian in time.
"In the future..." He Xiyuan thought that they would be together in the future.
They will be together in the future, and they will be happy and relaxed.
After Princess Zhaoyang learned that He Xiyuan was going to see Liu Yulian, she did not allow anyone to disturb him or set a time limit. At most, she just asked people to watch from a distance.
Princess Zhaoyang knew that He Xiyuan and Liu Yulian had a special relationship, and she also envied their relationship, which was so youthful and pure.
Which young man could work so hard to do those things? The only one Princess Zhaoyang knows is He Xiyuan.
Maybe there are others who do that, but Princess Zhaoyang thinks that He Xiyuan and Liu Yulian are very beautiful.
In the county town, Liu Yanbo was a little depressed.
Su Qiuya took Liu Yanbo to other counties and asked the teachers in other county academies to read Liu Yanbo's articles. They also went to the provincial capital.
What those teachers said was similar, that is, Liu Yanbo's articles were not good.
"Gorgeous words and castles in the air are really useless when piled up like this.
“You have to use words accurately to write a good article.”
"I don't know what this article is talking about. What is it talking about?"
…
One master, two masters...that's basically what they say.
Liu Yanbo couldn't deceive himself that these people were bribed by the people from the big house. He knew that his level was really not good enough.
Those teachers also showed Liu Yanbo other people's good articles. Liu Yanbo used to think that these articles were not as gorgeous as his.
Now, Liu Yanbo didn't dare to think so. Others wrote very well, which made it easy for the examiners to see. Not only that, but those people also used some complicated words in their articles, but not too many.
Liu Yanbo likes to use a lot of flowery words in his articles, and he uses them in every paragraph. He sometimes uses ancient poems, but he does not really understand their meaning.
After Liu Yanbo heard what the teacher said, he felt ashamed.
"With your level of ability, it's a blessing to pass the imperial examination," a teacher said. "As for the scholar, if you work hard, you should be able to pass the exam."
What those teachers said was similar, that is, Liu Yanbo was just at that level and did not have that much talent.
Su Qiuya stayed with Liu Yanbo for many days, and they just came back today.
Because of this incident, Su Qiuya closed the shop for many days. She just wanted Liu Yanbo to realize his problem and change it in the future.
"Mom, I'm not that smart at all." Liu Yanbo found himself quite funny. In the past few days, he had been hit again and again, and what those teachers said was very straightforward.
Some teachers didn't want to see them at all, so they just tried to go to them and ask for advice, and sometimes they even gave the teachers some small gifts, and only then did they get what they wanted.
"How could that be? You're very good." Aunt Qing frowned. "Who said you're not good? Are you being fooled?"
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