lady, please calm down

Every winter, when the northeast wind blows, it is time for merchants who travel the South China Sea waterways all year round to set sail.

This year, the officials of Da Chu, whose political situation had just been stabilized, organized a massive movement to Southeast Asia.

In order to show her importance, the Queen even had Ying Duke Chen Jingyan personally arrive in Lin'an to see her off.

The Queen came because there were a large number of female members in the team going to Southeast Asia, and Maoer needed to confer titles or appease them.

Chen Jingyan's arrival had another purpose.
In a blink of an eye, His Majesty has been in Lin'an for half a year, which is not a short time! In Tokyo, everyone is a little worried that His Majesty will miss the scenery of Jiangnan.
On the fifth day of November, the second day after Mao'er arrived in Lin'an, he summoned the ladies of each family to Ciming Palace.

Chen Bokang, who was appointed as the Governor-General of Nanhai, and his wife were granted the title of Third-Rank Lady.

Even Zhou Wei, who was implicated in two cases and lost his job, had his wife conferred the title of sixth-rank Gongren.

The rest were either encouraged by gentle words or given rewards.

The departure date was set for mid-November. Maoer brought a lot of precious medicinal herbs from Caizhou and handed them to Madam Chen and Madam Zhou, saying softly, "These are top-quality herbs for warding off malaria, such as Patchouli, Cloves, and Perilla Leaves. When you have established a firm foothold in Southeast Asia, I will ask the Quanzhou Maritime Customs to send you some more herbs commonly used by women and children every year."

Madam Chen and Madam Zhou quickly stood up to express their gratitude. Maoer then said gently, "There are 40,000 people going to Nanyang, including more than 7,000 women and children. You should set an example for women, take care of household affairs and help your husbands. In a small sense, this trip is to help you start your second business; in a big sense, it is to expand the territory for our Great Chu."

Mrs. Chen nodded repeatedly.

But some people were terrified of the thought of being exiled from the prosperous south of the Yangtze River to a malaria-ridden land full of cannibalistic savages.

Seeing today that the Queen was amiable and had a gentle voice, and having long heard of her benevolence, she squeezed out a few tears and said: "I want to accompany my husband to the south, but I have an old mother at home who needs someone to serve her."

In short, they are just some words of shirking responsibility.

In order to reduce unnecessary burdens, the elderly and weak family members of the criminal officials have been granted permission to not go to sea.

"The elderly will be taken care of by the court!"

Mao'er stopped the person from speaking with a word, then her face tightened, and she looked at the woman and said unceremoniously: "If the country was not newly established and His Majesty did not want to kill too many people, how could the people implicated in the two cases still have a chance to survive? Your family is going to Nanyang, not only to expand the territory of Da Chu, but also to make meritorious deeds to atone for your crimes! No matter how hard it is in Nanyang, is it harder than having your entire clan executed?"

These words frightened the woman so much that she dared not say another word and quickly knelt down to admit her mistake.

Even Madam Zhou Wei looked at the encroaching wicked woman with displeasure. What the Queen said was indeed true.

In the two cases, one was treason and the other was regicide. In all dynasties, anyone who was involved in either of these two crimes would be punished with the punishment of nine generations of the clan.

Even though some people suffered undeserved disasters after the two cases were expanded, these officials' families were not lacking in political understanding and knew that the Huaibei faction was taking advantage of the opportunity to purge and seize power.

But it can't be blamed on others, because it was their husbands who always followed Xie Kuo and opposed His Majesty and resisted the new policies.

Since Xie Kuo personally planned the regicide, it would not be unfair for the elders of the families who had close contacts with Xie Kuo to be executed along with their entire clans.

Fortunately, at the critical moment, His Majesty still showed some mercy and gave them the option of going to Southeast Asia. It is said that His Majesty's change of mind at that time was related to the fact that the two concubines in the palace successfully gave birth to a son and a daughter.

Therefore, Madam Zhou naturally wanted to seize the glimmer of hope that she had finally gotten. She stared at the woman kneeling on the ground and reproached her, "Madam Zhang, if it weren't for the kindness of His Majesty and the Queen, how could you and I be talking in Ciming Palace today?"

At this point, Madam Zhou bowed slightly to Mao'er, and then said: "Thinking back to the time when the queen first married His Majesty in Tongshan, she had no land or two houses. It would have been better for her to accompany His Majesty to create such a great foundation. Although we cannot compare with the queen, as women, we should have the ambition to help our husbands open up a world for our Great Chu in Southeast Asia!"

Cai Huan, who had been sitting aside without saying a word, couldn't help but look at Madam Zhou twice, and then glanced at Mao'er. Although the latter's expression was calm, the slightly raised corners of his lips undoubtedly showed that Madam Zhou had touched Mao'er's itchy spot.

Yes, as a woman, the most glorious and proud thing in the world could be better than helping your husband all the way, from being a propertyless and stateless runaway to becoming an emperor overnight?

Zhou Wei has a bad temper and speaks harshly, but I didn't expect his wife to be so eloquent.

The meeting ended at 9:00 p.m.

Under Cai Huan's guidance, Mao'er wandered around the harem at will.

This former imperial city of the Great Zhou Dynasty is even more beautiful than the imperial city of Tokyo. Mao'er is the mistress of the harem, so this place is naturally her territory.

However, compared to the first time he went to Cai's house in Luliuxu and thought it was a luxurious house, and the first time he went to Sajin Lane in Caizhou and was so surprised that he was speechless, cats nowadays are no longer surprised.

During the walk, he talked about an interesting incident on the way, "On the way, the Duke of Ying mentioned several times that Jiangnan had been settled, and asked me to persuade His Majesty to return to Tokyo as soon as possible."

Cai Huan knew what was going on and couldn't help but laugh, "Most of the officials in Tokyo are from the Central Plains. They are afraid that Your Majesty will move the capital to Lin'an."

Mao'er is no longer a political novice, so he can naturally see through the reasons. The location of the capital not only has a huge impact on the local economy, but also has a great relationship with the proportion of officials recruited in various places.

The Central Plains officials headed by Chen Jingyan certainly did not want Chen Chu to set up the capital in Lin'an.

"Yes, I see."

"What about you?"

"Me? What's wrong with me?"

"I'm asking, where do you want His Majesty to establish his capital?"

"I dare not interfere in such national affairs. Your Majesty can choose to establish the capital wherever he wants."

Cai Hua was very dissatisfied with Mao'er's answer. She rolled her eyes at Mao'er and said, "Your Majesty, His Majesty, all day long. He is not only the emperor, but also our man! Can't we give some suggestions on where to settle down? If you ask me, it's not bad to stay in Lin'an, a water town in the south of the Yangtze River, it's good for people. You see."

Cai Hua said as she pulled Mao'er's hand and poked her elastic cheeks, "Look, I've lived in Lin'an for half a year, and my face has become more hydrated."

"Puff~" Mao'er laughed as if thinking of something, then looked back and saw Hanlu and the others were more than ten steps behind him. After making sure that they couldn't hear the conversation between him and Cai Hua, he whispered, "You have a lot of water in your body, and if you live in the water town of Jiangnan for a long time, won't your harem be flooded in the future?"

"."

Cai Huan was stunned for several breaths, then suddenly burst into laughter. Then her face turned stern and she said solemnly, "Burn the cat!"

This scene seemed to bring me back to a moment ten years ago when I lived in Luliuwei.

Mao'er always acted like a dignified and virtuous queen in front of everyone else, but only in front of Cai Huan would she occasionally say frivolous words that only she and her sisters could understand.

Cai Huan was even more daring. She was able to convict Mao'er of great disrespect based on just the word "slutty cat". It seemed that in her eyes, Mao'er was never the queen admired by everyone, but just a sultry sister who liked to play tricks on her.

“That’s really rude!”

Although she said that she didn't agree, Mao'er held Cai Hua's arm. The two of them chatted with each other for a while. Cai Hua suddenly said, "Your Majesty specially asked Yunong to bring Jun'er to Lin'an this time. It seems that he is very happy." "There are only three princes in the family now. How can Your Majesty not like them?"

Mao'er's tone was calm. Cai Hua smiled and looked at the pavilions in the palace. She suddenly said, "Now that the world is settled, I will ask my father to issue an order to appoint a crown prince next year."

Mao'er was slightly startled, but remained calm, and whispered, "Your Majesty is in the prime of life, and Ji'er is only seven years old. Isn't it too early?"

"Not early!" Cai Huan shook her head and said, "There is no guarantee that there will be other princes in the family in the future. Yu Nong has a pure personality, and His Majesty dotes on her, which is well known. Even if she has no other ideas, there is no guarantee that the people in her palace will not fan the flames and use this to cling to wealth and status. Over time, if Yu Nong shows any unusual thoughts, there will be outsiders who will stir up trouble. At that time, the direction of things will not be up to her. Back then, Jiarou's two brothers..."

"."The cat listened and remained silent.

But she knew that Cai Huan's attitude towards Ji'er was no different from hers. When at home, Cai Huan favored Ji'er more, even more than her own daughter Ying'er.

It was early winter, and the north wind occasionally blew across the lake. Cai Hua pulled her cloak and said slowly, "Only by appointing a crown prince as soon as possible can we put an end to the thoughts of all kinds of people with ulterior motives. This will be good for Ji'er, and also for Yunong and her son."

The cat nodded silently, and the two reached an agreement.

On the way back to the bedroom, the cat looked at the slightly bleak winter scenery and suddenly sighed.

"Why are you sighing? Are you worried about that child Yunong?"

Cai Hua looked at Mao'er strangely, and Mao'er forced a smile and said, "I know your personality. Why would I be worried about this?"

"Why is that?"

"I entered the city yesterday, but I haven't seen Hu Tou yet. Maybe she's blaming me for what happened at the beginning of the year."

Cai Huan knew exactly what "that incident at the beginning of the year" was talking about, but she just laughed and said, "You are wrongly accusing me. Hu Tou was unable to come to Lin'an to greet you yesterday because he was busy with work."

"Business?"

Mao'er blinked her peach blossom eyes, full of doubts. In her opinion, Hu Tou was still a child. He came to Lin'an this time, firstly because he was angry with her, and secondly... just to stay with her brother-in-law.

The cat was extremely helpless about this matter.

But Cai Huan's eyes turned and she said with a smile: "Come on, I'll take you to find her."

After saying that, he asked someone to invite Tiedan. The three of them changed into casual clothes and left the imperial city with a small entourage. In order to maintain the mystery and majesty, it was not an easy task for concubines in all dynasties to leave the palace.

But the Great Chu was newly established, and the emperor and empress were both from the common people, so there were not so many rules. Besides, Chen Chu didn't want his family to be trapped in a small place all day long.

Therefore, it was common for Mao'er and others to leave the palace.

However, they did not expect that this time when they left the palace, they not only left Lin'an City, but the carriage continued to travel for more than an hour after leaving the city, traveling dozens of miles, and finally stopped in a village called Majiawan in Yuhang County, a suburban county.

On the main entrance of the ancestral hall located in the center of Majiawan, there are several large pieces of paper with handwriting on them, which read "Yuhang Majiawan United Primary School".

On the open space outside the ancestral hall, there were stoves and chopping boards. Hu Tou, Si Lan, Sandra Ng and a few others were working, some were making fire, some were cutting vegetables. Although they were all unfamiliar with the movements, they were busy as always.

Next to them, several older girls from the village were helping Hu Tou and the others. The younger children were staring in a daze at the thick layer of oil in the pot, and they were unaware that their snot was running to their mouths.

During the winter when there is no farming work, many idle men would gather around them with their hands rolled up in their sleeves, looking at them with grins on their faces from a distance.

This is what the cat saw when he arrived.

The carriage stopped behind the crowd in the distance, and Mao'er stood on the shaft. Even though Hu Tou had lost some weight in the past six months, it still did not prevent Mao'er from recognizing his busy sister at a glance.

Seeing Tiger Head with his sleeves rolled up, his wrists and hands were red from the cold, Cat almost shed tears.

Before she could ask, Cai Hua, who was standing beside her, said, "Look, this is the elementary school that Hu Tou and his group of girls instigated. Hu Tou even appointed himself as the principal."

Mao'er was shocked, but she couldn't hide her distress when she spoke, "If she wants to be a teacher, she can just teach the children to read and write. Why does she have to light the fire and cook? She has never done such rough work since she was a child."

"Ah," Cai Hua sighed, and said, "I have also advised him, but Hutou said that even if he did not collect tuition, the villagers would rather let their daughters collect firewood and take care of younger siblings at home than let them go to school. Hutou came up with this idea. The school will provide one lunch every day, which can save each family a mouthful of food, and the people will be willing to let their daughters go to school."

"How can the people of Majiawan be so ungrateful! Hutou didn't accept tuition to teach the children, but they still refused! No, I need to take Hutou back."

Since this matter concerned Hutou, Maoer just felt sorry for his sister, and was about to jump out of the car to take Hutou back.

Cai Hua gently pulled Mao'er, raised her chin, pointed at Hu Tou, who was busy but smiling all the time, and said, "Last month, Hu Tou said that she learned this from you."

"Learned from me?"

"Well, she said that it was when you helped the villagers cook in Luliu Village that Your Majesty gradually won the hearts of the villagers."

This statement is obviously one-sided.

But Hu Tou was only six or seven years old at that time. I'm afraid that the scene of her sister setting up a stove in the village and cooking for the whole village has been deeply rooted in her childhood memory.

Of course, there seemed to be some other subtext in the words Cai Huan relayed.

Mao'er was too busy to think about it for now, and just said, "That's not the way to do it. When your Majesty and I did those things in Luliu Village, it was based on the premise that everyone knew what was good and what was bad. Look at them."

This is what makes the cat angry. There are idle people in the village with nothing to do, and no one can do the job of cooking?
Let these little girls finish their classes and then cook in a hurry!

Those who know understand that Hu Tou and the others are here to give free lessons, while those who don’t think that these girls with extraordinary backgrounds are bought maids!

Seeing Mao'er getting angry, Cai Hua sighed again, "I scolded Hutou like this too, but she said that she was promoting the new land reform policy here in August, and saw that many villagers were indifferent to the important matter of their own food and clothing, so she decided to teach the children to read. She also said that saving people starts with educating people. Only by letting these children read books and understand the truth, they will know who is good to them and who is taking advantage of them when they grow up."

When saying these words, Cai Huan changed her usual joking tone, and there was actually a little bit of admiration in her words.

"Hu Tou also said that his brother and sister had gone through so much hardship over the past decade to accomplish such a great feat. Now that she wants to accomplish something, even if she has to endure some hardships and grievances, it is nothing compared to what she has to endure with you two."

Cai Hua paused, took Yue Rong's hand and got out of the car, then raised her hand to take Mao Er's hand. After Mao Er got out of the car, they walked towards Hu Tou. Cai Hua looked at the busy figure in front of the stove from a distance and said leisurely, "Hu Tou has grown up and is an adult now. If she wants to do something, just let her do it."

Mao'er walked forward in silence for a long time after hearing this, and finally said, "Sister Cai knows everything that Hu Tou has done. I guess she has been worrying about her for the past six months."

Cai Hua smiled and replied, "Since she followed me to Lin'an, you entrusted her to me, so I naturally have to pay attention to her." (End of this chapter)