When Emperor Qingyuan received the new electric light, he happily held a palace banquet to show it off to his ministers. This not only made him look good but also indirectly brought business to the electric light factory of the Ministry of Works.
When Princess Jinghe first had this idea, she simply took the opportunity to say a few words to the Fifth Prince at a palace banquet.
The Fifth Prince originally looked down on his younger sister, Consort Hui's family was not prominent and could not help her. However, if his younger sister could marry Han Zhongyu, that would be a different story.
So he agreed to cooperate with her.
Since Princess Jinghe had this idea all along, she had naturally thought of her explanation.
As a princess, her marriage to the Han family would not affect Han Zhongyu's career, and it would also demonstrate the imperial favor to the Han family. It was a win-win situation, except that she would suffer some grievances!
Although she couldn't compare to her aunt, who kept her husband in the princess's mansion and lived a carefree life, it was still much better than those who went out to marry into other families.
For Han Zhongyu's sake, she accepted this injustice!
However, as a young woman and a royal princess, she could not bring this up to Emperor Qingyuan herself. As for Consort Hui, she was no longer favored by the emperor and could not even see him. Moreover, she did not want Consort Hui to anger Emperor Qingyuan because of her.
After all, Consort Hui has no prince to rely on. If she angers Emperor Qingyuan again, the long days ahead will probably be difficult to endure!
People in the palace are used to flattering the powerful and belittling the weak. In the past, the mother and daughter did not compete or fight. During festivals, they would do some needlework and seek some support from the Empress Dowager. Although they did not have a good life in the palace, they were not bullied.
If one incurs the wrath of the Holy One, even this peaceful and uneventful life may be lost.
But she was getting on in years, and if she didn't plan ahead herself, she would be randomly assigned a marriage sooner or later. The thought of spending her life with someone she didn't know or like made her feel bored!
However, Han Zhongyu comes from a good family and has made considerable achievements himself. If she were to ask the Empress to speak on her behalf, she felt that the Empress would not be happy for her to have such a good marriage, nor would her daughter!
Of all the candidates, only the Fifth Prince is the most suitable to speak.
Firstly, it's not unreasonable for the Fifth Prince, as her brother, to concern himself with her marriage. Secondly, the Fifth Prince is deeply loved by their father, so even if their father disagrees, he will at most scold him a few times and then let the matter drop. If it works out, he will have gained a great help; if it doesn't, he will suffer no loss.
He would definitely be willing to do it, even if it meant working for a grandmother who had no capital.
As Jinghe had predicted, the Fifth Prince agreed to cooperate with her after only a short period of thought.
She promised that if she could get Han Zhongyu to help her, she would guarantee Han Zhongyu a position among the Three Dukes, promote Princess Jinghe to a second-rank princess, and promote Consort Hui to a Dowager Consort, so that she could live out her days in the palace.
Princesses in the royal family are divided into seven ranks. Jinghe, as the daughter of a concubine, is only a fifth-rank princess.
The princesses born to the Empress Dowager were of the highest rank, sharing the same mother as the Emperor, and were known as the Princesses Who Reigned Over Power.
The empress's legitimate daughters were of the first rank and were called Princess Qilin.
The second-rank official was called Princess Liuli, born to one of the emperor's concubines who held a title.
The remaining ranks were either born to concubines, noble ladies, or talented ladies below the rank of imperial consort, or to women of the imperial clan.
Of course, if she were the daughter of a first-rank prince like Xuanyuan Che, she would at least be a second-rank official.
Everyone seems to be favored, but there are always exceptions.
It was already quite remarkable that the Fifth Prince agreed to promote Consort Hui to the rank of Dowager Consort and to the rank of Princess of the Second Rank.
The Dowager Consort can retire in the palace. Those below the rank of Consort and without princes will have to guard the imperial mausoleum in the future. The conditions offered for the Fifth Prince are not low.
The two hit it off immediately. The Fifth Prince had already prepared his words, and while Emperor Qingyuan was drinking heartily, he rose and raised his cup to say...
"Your Majesty, I congratulate you on acquiring another novel item!"
This electric light is many times brighter than an oil lamp, and it will surely be very popular.
I believe that before long, it will become as popular as glass, sweeping across the land and becoming another source of wealth for the Great Qi treasury.
These words struck a chord with Emperor Qingyuan, who happily downed his wine in one gulp and said...
"Indeed, Princess Jingde is a blessing to our Great Qi!"
Seeing this, the Fifth Prince seized the opportunity to mention
“What Father Emperor said is true. Father Emperor is the Son of Heaven of Great Qi. Father Emperor is virtuous, so Heaven will bestow blessings upon Great Qi.”
As for Princess Jingde
But as the saying goes, a hero needs three helpers, and a fence needs three posts. I have heard that Lord Han Zhongyu has also contributed a lot to the development of Princess Jingde's Yuquan Manor.
Moreover, in the short two years that Lord Han spent in Tai'an Prefecture, he reduced the local taxes by 20%. Although Princess Jingde had many good ideas and was good at creating, the main credit for promoting these ideas and benefiting the people, making the local people rich, still belongs to Lord Han.
Otherwise, Princess Jingde alone would not have achieved such great results.
Lord Han has truly put into practice the saying "Serving as an official and bringing benefits to the people in one's jurisdiction." Your subject believes Lord Han deserves a reward!
As soon as the Fifth Prince said this, Han Wuyong's eyebrows twitched, and he had a feeling that the Fifth Prince was up to no good!
Would someone like him, who wouldn't act without self-interest, really volunteer to recommend Han Zhongyu for credit? He simply couldn't believe it. So, as soon as the Fifth Prince finished speaking, Han Wuyong immediately replied...
"Your Majesty, as the saying goes, one who eats the emperor's food should be loyal to the emperor. It is Han Zhongyu's good fortune to be able to serve Your Majesty and be loyal to the Great Qi!"
Upon hearing this, Emperor Qingyuan was indeed greatly pleased and said with delight.
"What the fifth brother said is right. Han Zhongyu is young and promising, and he is deeply loved by me. He is truly my trusted minister and deserves to be rewarded!"
However, Tai'an Prefecture is thriving under his management, and I'm truly reluctant to transfer him back. I must wait until it's fully developed and provides a precedent for others to follow before promoting him!"
These words reflected Emperor Qingyuan's true feelings. He really wanted to see how far Han Zhongyu could develop Tai'an Prefecture if he went all out and had Xie Yushu's Yuquan Manor as a foundation for him!
The Fifth Prince spoke up upon seeing this.
"Father, I have a suggestion. Since you are still reluctant to recall Han Zhongyu, you can find him a wife to accompany him, assist him in managing his affairs, and help him with some miscellaneous tasks, so that he won't have to deal with family matters when he returns home after a long day of official business."
Emperor Qingyuan listened and nodded to himself.
"Han Zhongyu really should get married. Since you brought it up, do you perhaps have a suitable candidate in mind?"
As Emperor Qingyuan spoke, his gaze toward the Fifth Prince also carried a hint of scrutiny.
Han Wuyong sensed something was wrong and quickly stepped forward to kneel and pay his respects, wanting to tell Emperor Qingyuan that Han Zhongyu was already engaged.
Before he could even finish speaking, "Your Majesty," the Third Prince had already quickly finished his report.
"Your Majesty, I think that my third sister and Lord Han are a perfect match. I remember that when Lord Han was teaching the young prince in the palace, he would sometimes write poems and paint with my third sister. I suppose they are very much in love."
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