Volume 2: Residence in the Capital Chapter 229: Justified
When Wang Jie saw Zhu Ying entering the palace with a box, he had a vague premonition. When he saw Zhu Ying stand up and present the box to the emperor, his eyes gradually became solemn, and his initial anger turned into surprise and suspicion.
The emperor did not ask Liu Feng to do it for him. He personally took the box from Zhu Ying who came forward and looked thoughtfully at the fourteen-ring text lock that had troubled countless people. He couldn't help but laugh and said, "If Emperor Taizu had chosen fourteen characters as the password like Zhang Shou did, I guess even if a large group of people started from Emperor Taizong and tried one by one, there would still be no result."
As he spoke, he quickly turned the text lock according to the new password he and Zhang Shou had agreed upon. When he heard a click, he easily opened the lid. He saw a memorial inside, and under the memorial was a piece of paper folded into a square. However, he was not in a hurry to open the paper. He first picked up the memorial and read it slowly.
However, after just scanning half of the content, the emperor couldn't help but laugh and scold: "These guys are so bold!"
He cheated the eldest prince out of 10,000 guan, and dared to tell his father? Of course, strictly speaking, it was not a cheating. Wang Jie, the well-informed Shuntian prefect, came to him to make an appeal, which showed that the spinning machine really had its application value. The speed was nearly six times faster than ordinary spinning... How could his eldest son, who always had high expectations but low skills, not be tempted?
I'm afraid that the eldest prince would be so happy at the thought of becoming the object of flattery by those wealthy merchants and local prominent families in Jiangnan that he would lose himself in joy and completely fail to see the risks and interests behind it!
The emperor continued to read and saw Zhang Shou listing the pros and cons and describing the consequences in a clear and logical manner . He even felt an inexplicable jealousy when he saw the meticulous thinking and detailed promotion plan. How could the young scholar Zhang be so lucky to have such an outstanding son? They were born on the same day of the same month of the same year. If...
Almost instantly, he cut off this dangerous thought, took a deep breath, and warned himself not to think wrongly. Both Mingyue and Zhu Ying were very good girls. No matter how good Zhang Shou was, he was still someone else's son... However, Zhang Shou and Zhu Ying seemed to be a perfect match, and their marriage was really approaching...
For this reason, the marriage of Zhu's eldest son and second son could not be delayed any longer. Even though many places had the custom of marrying off the younger sister first, the Queen Mother had repeatedly warned him, so as an elder, he had to help...
The emperor's thoughts drifted away , and when he came back to his senses, he pretended not to notice the focused gaze of Shuntian Prefecture Governor Wang Jie staring at him, and continued to read. When he finished reading the whole text, he couldn't help but laugh, and immediately put the memorial aside and unfolded the drawing below.
On this drawing, the new type of spinning machine mentioned by Wang Jie was drawn in the center, and around it were schematic diagrams of the components. Each component was described in detail with dense words next to it. Although he was confused by terms such as transmission and feed, he could still understand terms such as foot-operated and hand-cranked.
"It can be used for both hand-cranking and foot-operated functions... and it is said that it can be used to take care of people with mobility impairments who have difficulty walking or having difficulty with their hands. Some people said before that Zhang Qing had placed a private person in the Imperial College, and he ignored the fact that the child was an orphan. I think that he is the most compassionate person to orphans and the poor..." The emperor sighed with an ambiguous tone, and then looked at Wang Jie.
"Wang Qing, come and take a look at this thing."
Wang Jie did not hesitate at all, and stood up and walked over to take it. He quickly scanned the spinning machine pattern in the middle, and then carefully examined the exploded diagrams of the components around it. Finally, after seeing the new spinning machines with his own eyes, he was sure that this was the drawing of the spinning machine, and it was so detailed that it seemed as if he was afraid that others would not understand it. Any craftsman with good skills could make it.
He sighed softly, then returned the original blueprint with both hands, then stepped back and bowed deeply, saying, "Your Majesty, I said something rather excessive in front of Dr. Zhang before, and I also judged him by my own standards. I am willing to personally come to his house and apologize to him. Dr. Zhang is willing to present such a blueprint worth millions of gold, which is really a noble act."
Huh? Zhu Ying, who was watching the fun, couldn't help but widen her eyes, and then she jumped up: "Wang Dayin, what do you mean? Did Shou ask me to help him present the blueprint?"
Seeing Zhu Ying staring at the box in his hand with a fierce look, the emperor couldn't help but laugh: "Why, Yingying, you still don't believe it? Come here, I'll give you his memorial, and you can see what he said!"
"If he had told me earlier, I wouldn't have been such a bad person!" Zhu Ying stepped forward angrily and snatched the memorial from the emperor's hand. After reading it quickly, her anger suddenly disappeared, replaced by deep amazement, "A Shou knows so much! In addition to coming up with the spinning machine, he also thought so far ahead... No wonder Grandpa Ge said that he is writing a great new book!"
At this point, Miss Zhu's eyes rolled, and she suddenly came straight to Wang Jie with Zhang Shou's memorial, and rudely stuffed it in his face: "Humph, it's too late to praise Ah Shou as a gentleman now! You have dealt with him so many times, and you still don't believe him? Here, take a good look at what Ah Shou wrote. He has thought of what you thought of, and he has also thought of things you didn't think of!"
The emperor wanted to laugh when he heard Zhu Ying's proud tone, but Wang Jie didn't laugh or get angry. Instead, he looked at the emperor and after getting the emperor's nod of approval, he took the memorial with both hands and read it carefully. When he finished reading the text, he couldn't help but sighed, and then returned the memorial to the emperor first, and then bowed deeply to Zhu Ying solemnly.
Although she had just been sneering at Wang Jie, she was stunned when he bowed to her to apologize. She immediately stepped aside and said unhappily, "You are not doing me any wrong, why are you bowing to me? However, you are selfless, so you always think that others are selfish. This is totally unreasonable!"
The more Miss Zhu spoke, the more she felt justified: "Besides, what's wrong with being selfish! Since the idea was from Ah Shou, and the product was made under his instruction, it's his freedom to do what he wants. Are you going to find out all those people in the world who hide their skills and don't teach others, hide their books and don't show them to others, and hide their knowledge and don't teach it to students?"
“Although I haven’t read much, I think this is wrong!”
Zhu Ying snorted and returned to her seat in high spirits: "As long as he has not committed any crime and as long as it is a good thing he created honestly, he has the right to enjoy it. If he is willing to share it with everyone, then he is of high moral character and deserves praise. If he is unwilling, then he should be willing to pay a corresponding price."
She paused and raised her head high: "Otherwise, if people who make good things don't get praised, recognized, or benefited, who will be willing to spend the effort to make good things in the long run? Is your head hit by a stone while you have nothing to do? If you have the time, why don't you just live your own comfortable life?"
The emperor saw that Wang Jie's eyes were darkened by Zhu Ying's words and his face was not so good. He sighed and said, "Wang Qing is a fair person, but we cannot demand that everyone in the world has no selfish motives. Just like Yingying said, whether it is to innovate farm tools, textile machines, or even to create various other things, in the final analysis, it is for efficiency and profit."
"Zhang Shou is a man with a public spirit. If he really wanted to hide it, he wouldn't have been so open about letting you, Wang Datou, go to the weaving and dyeing workshop of Zhang Wu and Zhang Lu and let you see the spinning machine. You are so well-known for loving the people like your own children. Wouldn't he know that you can understand the mystery at a glance and then rush to report to me?"
At this point, the emperor suddenly looked at Zhu Ying with a smile and asked, "Yingying, tell me the truth, did Zhang Shou tell you a long time ago to help him deliver this box to me?"
"Yes!" Zhu Ying deliberately glanced at Wang Jie and said proudly, "A Shou entrusted me with this before, so after coming out of Shuntian Prefecture, he asked me to accompany Wang Dayin to the weaving and dyeing workshop first, and he went back to the Imperial College to get this box. As soon as Wang Dayin left, he asked me to chase him, and said that he would follow Wang Dayin to see the emperor and deliver this box to him no matter what!"
The emperor immediately smiled and lightly tapped Zhu Ying's nose with his finger: "You little girl, you haven't even married yet, but you're already devoted to Zhang Shou. Do you still have me in your eyes?"
"Where is the emperor? I delivered a gift worth a million gold to Ah Shou!" Zhu Ying retorted unconvinced.
“Pompous!”
Despite the blame, the emperor did not continue to argue with Zhu Ying. Instead, he said to Wang Jie, "Mr. Wang, Zhang Shou recommended Zhang Wu and Zhang Lu in his memorial to be responsible for the promotion in the future. What do you think ?"
If it were in the past, Wang Jie would never believe that a son of a noble family who was ignorant of worldly affairs could lead such a thing, but now he had to believe it. Moreover, the things were Zhang Shou's idea, and the weaving and dyeing workshop where they were first used was opened by Zhang Wu and Zhang Lu. If he refused forcefully, it would be too inhumane. However, because of his usual upright character, he still spoke fair words.
"Although Zhang Wu and Zhang Lu are the candidates recommended by Dr. Zhang, they have no experience after all. This is a serious matter. If they fail to do a good job after starting, then I cannot consider the face of Dr. Zhang and them, one is the consort and the other is the groom."
The emperor didn't pay attention to Wang Jie's still somewhat harsh words. Seeing Zhu Ying curl her lips without any ladylike manners, he said angrily: "Yingying, stop making such a weird face. What do you want to say?"
"I didn't mean to say anything!" Zhu Ying looked innocent. "I think what Wang Dayin said is right. The capable ones should be promoted, and the incompetent ones should be demoted. Ah Shou has helped them with everything he could. If Zhang Wu and Zhang Lu can't do the job that Ah Shou fought for them, then they should just be idle and rich! If they didn't seize the opportunity, who can they blame?"
The emperor knew Zhu Ying's temper very well, so he was not surprised by her answer. However, Wang Jie looked at the rich lady with some surprise, and in his mind he once again revised his previous evaluation of the daughter of the Duke of Zhao.
"However, Yingying, don't you blame Zhang Shou for not taking your second brother with him in this matter?" the emperor suddenly asked.
Zhu Ying smiled nonchalantly, "My second brother is just like me, he knows nothing about farming or weaving, and he is far less hardworking than the two brothers of the Zhang family. If he goes to do this, I'm afraid he will come back in disgrace in a few days. Ah Shou was right not to ask him to come, otherwise even grandmother would be worried. If he wants to do it, he has to start with something that is not very important."
"You, you, aren't you afraid that your second brother will be extremely angry and say that you are a female foreign minister? You only help Zhang Shou and leave his second brother aside." The emperor saw Zhu Ying smiled sweetly and didn't care at all. He said thoughtfully, "Your second brother and Yongping Deyang, as well as Xinyang Ninghe will definitely not get along, so I didn't match them up randomly before. Today, I have an idea."
As he spoke, he looked at Wang Jie with interest and said, "I heard that Wang Dayin just took your sister-in-law and nephews and nieces to the capital? Your niece is your elder brother's daughter who was born in his old age. After the death of her father, she took care of her widowed mother, supported the household affairs, and urged her younger brother to pass the examination. She is a famous strong girl in your hometown. I have heard people mention her several times."
When Wang Jie heard the emperor suddenly mention his niece, he suddenly became alert, especially when the emperor specifically pointed out that his niece was flexible and strong, he realized what was going on. He wanted to stop the emperor from saying anything, but the emperor suddenly laughed.
"My Lord, I don't easily become a matchmaker. Zhu Erlang does seem to be impulsive and unsuccessful, but he has a strict upbringing. Although he cannot be said to be striving for progress wholeheartedly, he has realized the limits of his abilities and knows the responsibilities on his shoulders. In this respect, he is better than many people. Of course, if you compare him with those Jinshi from humble backgrounds, he is still far behind."
The emperor pushed the handrail and stood up, saying calmly: "But you yourself have been promoted through the imperial examination, so you should know how difficult it is to pass this single-plank bridge. There are only a few people on each list who are unmarried, and many are even in the top three. At this time, there are countless wealthy families who are looking for a son-in-law. Although you are a high-ranking official, with your personality, you certainly don't bother to compete with others."
"As for the scholars and juren, you should know how low the probability of passing the imperial examination is. Moreover, there are many cases where a man marries a girl because she is a good scholar, but later finds out that the in-law is not good, or even the poor son-in-law is not good, and they become enemies. Zhu Erlang at least has one advantage, he has been used to being controlled since he was a child, and the Duke of Zhao's Mansion also hopes to find him a strong wife."
Zhu Ying was finally amused by the emperor's self-boasting tone, which was like Wang Po selling melons, and burst out laughing.
She immediately said seriously: "Wang Dayin, although the emperor's words are a bit exaggerated, they are indeed almost true. I dare say that there are few better in-laws in the world than my Zhu family. Of course, if your niece is looking for a talented man who is unparalleled in the world, an official with unparalleled ability, and a person with unparalleled eloquence, then just pretend that the emperor has never said anything!"
"What do you mean by a pure stream with unparalleled mouth?" The emperor finally couldn't help laughing and scolding, "What do you think of a pure stream? This statement is definitely not your idea, it must be Zhang Shou!"
"No, it's my own idea. Your Majesty, please don't blame Ah Shou for everything!" Zhu Ying quickly defended her ideal husband and stood up quickly, bowing gracefully. "Now that Ah Shou's business is done, I should go back. Wang Dayin, you don't have to force yourself. Think about it slowly. My second brother is still young and he's not in a hurry either. After all, a forced melon is not sweet!"
