Traveling to Daliang Kingdom starts from falling into the water

Chapter 1054 has given it away, hasn't it?

You dishonest little wife, you've given yourself away! I read Uncle Cheng's letter yesterday, but it didn't mention this matter at all.

So there were secret letters going back and forth. I didn't know. Quick, be honest and tell me. Was it your Aunt Cheng or your sister-in-law Cheng who whispered in your ear?

Zhou Banxia laughed to death. Anyone could whisper in someone's ear, but these two wouldn't, okay? How could they possibly interfere in the affairs of Jingshan Academy?

Although Jingshan Academy was established by the Cheng family, many people have donated books and funds to support its education over the years, so Jingshan Academy is no longer the private property of the Cheng family.

Just recently, her husband stayed at Jingshan Academy for a while. It wasn't appropriate to give him a stipend or food allowance, but she still had to give him something in return.

Not much, but he donated a thousand taels of silver to help students.

If both she and her husband are like this, not to mention the students officially enrolled since the founding of Jingshan Academy, these students will inevitably have ways to give back to their alma mater.

In this way, Jingshan Academy is rich, but it follows the same principle as "taking from the people and using it for the people," unless the Cheng family does not want to be based in the literary circle.

Furthermore, even if he were despised by literary circles for money, how could the Cheng family, which had lost its reputation, possibly control such wealth? It would be no different from digging their own grave.

How could the Cheng family allow their female relatives to interfere in the internal affairs of the academy? Jingshan Academy has its own meticulous division of labor and strict management system.

The person in charge of ordering osmanthus flowers from the academy this time was not the headmaster, Uncle Cheng, or the supervisor, Uncle Cheng, but rather Uncle Zhang, who was roughly equivalent to the academy's finance officer.

Uncle Zhang was troubled by the fact that it was better to close down the pastry shop and collect rent than to run it himself. When he talked about this with Magistrate Qian, Madam Qian found out and informed him.

"...I didn't write a letter or anything, I just asked the head of the manor in the prefecture to take me to see Uncle Zhang. I didn't get any advantage, it was still the market price."

This point?

Gu Wenxuan believed it.

His wife wasn't so easily swayed by acquaintances that she would try to negotiate a lower price; rather, she seemed more concerned that since Madam Qian had informed her, it wouldn't be right not to send someone to make the purchases.

"After all, it doesn't cost much money, and there's no need to owe anyone a favor. If Madam Qian hadn't told me when the steward came to pick up the goods, to be honest, I wouldn't have wanted to get involved with the academy's private property."

They might lack other things, but now that Gu Dahua and the others are in Jiangnan, how could they lack osmanthus? This year, the raw materials needed by several workshops are the most abundant of all kinds of flowers.

There's no need to wait for the osmanthus to bloom in August; Gu Dahua and his team have already reported finding a source of dried osmanthus flowers. It's just that refining dried flowers is a bit more troublesome than refining fresh ones.

But this problem isn't difficult for us; in fact, it's easier to transport. My next step is to select some trustworthy people from the outer workshops to work in the inner workshops.

Otherwise, with the peach blossoms here, the extraction process would be far from simple enough to meet the manpower shortage. The focus for the second half of this year will be primarily on extracting and stockpiling fragrances.

"..." You get so excited about your work focus, your eyes practically light up! Gu Wenxuan shook his head, both amused and exasperated. "Aren't you tired?"

"It doesn't require me to do any hard work. Of course, the main reason is that the products involving fragrances are not cheap, so it's only good to make money in the next two years."

Over time, the extent of the profits will become undeniable. As more people become envious, more trouble will arise, and this business will inevitably become a hot potato.

My idea is that while Brother Qian is in office, we should enjoy the beginnings of this project. Once he's transferred, we should quickly submit the relevant prescriptions to the Imperial Household Department. It's only a three-year term. Brother Qian certainly won't still be the magistrate of Qingyang County after three years, right?" As he spoke, Zhou Banxia gestured for him to come closer.

Gu Wenxuan suppressed a laugh and did as she wished.

"Think about it, who knows whose people the next magistrate will be? It's Brother Qian, he should be a member of the pure imperial faction, right? I also heard from my cousin-in-law that it's a pity the second prince is no longer the legitimate heir."

A couple who share a bed have three children. It's impossible to say that my cousin's wife wasn't influenced by Qian's preferences at all; that's just personal bias.

Otherwise, why didn't she grumble to me about how it was a pity the Third Prince wasn't the legitimate heir? At least her family were military, so shouldn't she have favored the Third Prince, who had the highest martial prowess among the princes?

"That makes perfect sense!" Gu Wenxuan habitually gave a thumbs-up first, then smiled as he straightened up to support her. "Could it be that good looks are actually an advantage?"

What do you mean?
The Third Prince is not as good-looking as the Second Prince.

Believe it or not, it's actually possible. Things always turn around when they reach their extreme. Otherwise, why would my cousin-in-law, a female warrior, be interested in a pale-faced scholar like Brother Qian?

"Haha..." Zhou Banxia was amused by her own thoughts. "Now I know why I always felt that my cousin-in-law and Sister Hui were the same kind of people."

"What do you mean?" Gu Wenxuan quickly half-embraced her and continued walking along the mountain path, otherwise, given her carefree spirit, if she were to slip and fall, it would be quite a mess.

She wouldn't let him carry her, otherwise it would be so much better. She could whisper secrets to him without having to stand on tiptoe. She's such a silly wife who doesn't know how to enjoy life.

"It's just that they all have similar tastes. Whether it's judging people or observing things, they, like daughters of scholarly families, place more emphasis on elegance."

Like Oe, it's not that I think my younger brother is particularly outstanding, but doesn't Oe have a very gentle and refined temperament? That's what they have in common.

That's it?

Most women are like that, aren't they? Like my sister-in-law, who likes refined men, like my older brother? Gu Wenxuan found himself a little out of sync with his wife's train of thought.

"Even when I'm dying of thirst, I have to sip tea slowly; even when I play the zither, I have to burn incense. I'm not like someone who only cares about appearances."

Subconsciously, deeply ingrained in them, they felt that none of these qualities were dispensable, perhaps related to their upbringing—a constant practice of martial arts, yet their actions also carried a touch of scholarly refinement.

So this is another thing that Sister-in-law Qian and Sister-in-law Qian have in common? Gu Wenxuan recalled the few times he had met the two of them, and their words and actions were not much different from those of ordinary people.
"Just like what you mentioned before about the windmill improvement project brought back from Jiangnan, Senior Brother Qian didn't really take it seriously unless he assigned her to coordinate with me."

She came and chatted with me, and she was very happy. But when we got down to business and talked about windmills, and the windmill was brought over and placed in our yard, she didn't get very close to it.

At most, they just explained to me where the millet inlet was and where the outlet was, pointing to the still unopened windmill, and told me to run it to see how it worked, but it didn't.

She wanted to stay as far away as possible, but interestingly, when it was replaced with a puzzle box, she became obsessed with it, displaying an attitude that no one could take it from her.

No wonder Qian Huaizhi kept saying yesterday that you are not an ordinary woman. Gu Wenxuan nodded emphatically as he thought to himself, “It’s normal, it has nothing to do with whether or not one values ​​elegance.”

You're just kind-hearted and want to get her involved in the improvement efforts so you can claim some credit. She's not you, so she shouldn't know anything. It's normal that she's not interested.

"Don't worry, even if Brother Qian takes more concubines, he wouldn't spoil them and neglect his wife. He's already chosen his legal wife; he wouldn't contradict himself and make a fool of himself."