The reason why Emperor Hongxing was troubled was not because he regretted his promise to reward Wan Shu, but because he was struggling with what kind of reward to give Wan Shu.
Wan Shu had made such a great contribution, and he originally planned to bestow upon her the title of a ninth-rank lady on top of the basic rewards.
After all, Wan Shu's discovery saved at least tens of thousands of people. If this were a man, no amount of promotion would be excessive. Therefore, he did not think there was anything wrong with giving Wan Shu the title of a low-ranking lady, which was just a nice-sounding title.
However, after he expressed this intention, he was met with opposition from the entire court.
The reason for the opposition was simply that no matter how much merit Wan Shu made, she was still just a woman, and such a great reward was not something a woman deserved.
It would be feasible to reward her husband, but Wan Shu is a widow whose husband has long since died, so the reward has been delayed until now.
Emperor Hongxing pressed his temples, feeling a terrible headache.
"I am already the emperor, above all others, yet I never imagined that I would be so restricted in every way just to bestow the title of a mere ninth-rank lady."
Sitting below Emperor Hongxing, Meng Ruxiu, with a stern face, bluntly stated: "Ultimately, it is because Your Majesty has lost the hearts of the people and is unable to win their respect."
These words were undeniably direct, but Emperor Hongxing was not angry upon hearing them; instead, he laughed.
"Hahahaha, teacher, I didn't expect you to still be so outspoken after all these years. But only you, teacher, are still willing to speak so frankly to me."
Meng Ruxiu's identity is even more impressive than the legends suggest.
Many people don't know that he used to be the Grand Tutor. Now that the Crown Prince has ascended the throne as the new emperor, his status has risen accordingly, and he is the only Imperial Tutor of the Great Sheng Dynasty.
Emperor Hongxing also respected him greatly, even showing him affection, and confided his troubles to him.
“Since taking the throne, I have always been strict with myself and strived for perfection in everything I do, but things have always gone against my wishes. In the past three years, natural disasters have occurred every year, which has made me lose the support of the people and make it understandable that I cannot win their hearts.”
If Emperor Hongxing had done something wrong in any other way, Meng Ruxiu could have been more outspoken and asked him to find out. But Emperor Hongxing had done everything perfectly, except for natural disasters...
Natural disasters are beyond human control. Meng Ruxiu sighed sadly, not knowing what to say to comfort Emperor Hongxing. He could only pick up the wine cup on the table and drink a cup with Emperor Hongxing.
The two had not seen each other for many years and drank together until late at night before Emperor Hongxing sent someone to escort Meng Ruxiu back to the Meng residence.
After he was helped to wash up, he was about to lie down and rest when a eunuch brought him a message.
"Your Majesty, the head of the Astrology Pavilion has important matters to discuss with you."
Emperor Hongxing was not superstitious in the past, but since he ascended the throne, there have been years of natural disasters, and he has become increasingly obsessed with astrology.
Upon hearing that the head of the Astrology Pavilion had urgent business to attend to, they immediately summoned him in.
Emperor Hongxing, his eyes blurry with drunkenness, looked at the head of the Astrology Pavilion: "My dear minister, what urgent matter is it so late at night?"
His voice sounded groggy and lacked any imperial majesty.
However, the head of the Astrology Pavilion knew that Emperor Hongxing was by no means a fool; on the contrary, he was an emperor who was extremely adept at manipulating power.
He dared not relax his vigilance in the slightest because Emperor Hongxing was drunk, and bowed respectfully.
"Your Majesty, I just observed some unusual celestial phenomena and cast a divination. Unexpectedly, this divination revealed a way to avert a great calamity for the world, so I have come to report this!"
Emperor Hongxing's eyes, which were originally hazy with drunkenness, instantly became sharp, as if he had never been drunk at all.
He spoke in a deep voice: "This matter concerns the very foundation of the nation; please explain in detail."
Hongxing Emperor said to be meticulous, so how could the head of the Astrology Pavilion dare not be meticulous?
However, no matter how detailed he went, he could only come to one useful conclusion: if he wanted to resolve the natural disaster, he had to start with Wan Shu, as she was a crucial link in resolving it.
"Wan Shu..." Emperor Hongxing narrowed his eyes: "Are you talking about Wan Shu, who discovered a way to eat potatoes?"
The Astrology Pavilion Master: "Exactly!"
Emperor Hongxing: "Wan Shu..."
...
Achoo!
This is the third time Wan Shu has sneezed today. She rubbed her nose, feeling quite helpless: "Who on earth has been talking about me behind my back? It's making me sneeze so much, so annoying!"
Meng Wenyuan walked past Wan Shu carrying a box and said, "It must be because it's been raining every day lately and the weather is too cold. Aunt Liang, you must have caught a chill. Let us carry the rest of the things. You can go and rest for a while."
Today is the big day for Wan Shu's family as they prepare to move into their new house.
Although the previous courtyard was small, we had lived there for a long time and had accumulated quite a few things there.
It's been raining every day lately, and today was a rare day when it finally stopped raining. I have to move all these things into the new house today.
She couldn't afford to be lazy or delay.
Wan Shu waved her hand with a self-satisfied expression: "I'm perfectly healthy, and I'm dressed warmly, how could I possibly catch a cold? Stop dawdling, come on, let's keep moving."
After a busy day, Wan Shu and his family finally moved into their new house before nightfall.
The new house has nearly twenty rooms, each spacious and clean, with a large window, making it incredibly beautiful to live in.
The kitchen is three times larger than the previous small courtyard, which will save a lot of trouble when making braised dishes in the future.
However, Wan Shu did not intend to abandon the old courtyard. She left the remaining roosters in the courtyard and thoroughly cleaned it, preparing to use it specifically for her five little chicks to study.
Not only is the size just right, but the gentleman we hire in the future can also live in the courtyard.
Of course, for the time being, Meng Wenyuan is currently living in the small courtyard to conduct teaching.
In the past few days, thanks to Meng Wenyuan's early education, the five little ones have been able to recognize a few characters.
Among them, the one who recognized the most characters was Wu Ping, followed by Er Ya and San Shun. Da Zhu and Si Ya were two silly siblings, one obsessed with farming and the other energetic and unable to settle down.
However, Wan Shu was not disappointed. She had made them study not to pass the imperial examinations, but simply to make them happy.
However, since Wuping has a talent for reading and enjoys reading, it wouldn't hurt to nurture his talent.
As Wan Shu pondered these thoughts, she drifted off to sleep in her new home.
This was the first time she had slept alone since she transmigrated, and perhaps because she wasn't used to it, she had a nightmare.
One moment they were being roasted over a fire, the next they were being frozen in ice.
I had finally fallen asleep when I suddenly heard a commotion.
"Oh no! A flood is coming! Our city is going to be in big trouble!"
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