The Ming Dynasty began from Sarhu

Chapter 336: A good wife at home
The residence of the Duke of Protector of the Country consists of three courtyards. In an east-facing wing, a whale oil lamp was burning with a crackling sound. The pale blue light illuminated the entire room, casting a graceful figure of a lady of the first rank.

Liu Zhaosun, who was not interested in power and women, was holding a memorial in his hand and reading word by word at the vast sea of traditional Chinese characters.

After the Jingnan Rebellion, Liu Zhaosun took control of the power to review and approve memorials from all over the country. He went from being completely confused at first to being able to read them effortlessly now.

The Duke of Huguo's level of classical Chinese has improved rapidly.

It can be seen that ordinary people's time travel can also solve classical Chinese, one of the three major problems in Chinese language.

Yang Qing'er had just finished taking a bath and was leaning against the head of the bed, looking at her husband lovingly.

Liu Zhaosun was like a wooden man, with no reaction to the stunningly beautiful wife in front of him.

There is a mountain of memorials in front of me.

Suddenly, the Protector of the Country threw down a newspaper and said angrily:
"Money! Money! All I want is money!"

Two counties in Suide Prefecture suffered disasters last spring, but the report was not reported until now. The local county magistrate and prefect concealed the matter from the court and continued to collect taxes from the people, not a penny less.

"God damn dog!"

"Those scumbags in Shaanxi not only embezzled the imperial court's disaster relief funds, but they're also so mean to the people. Last year, I had the cabinet issue an edict exempting the people of all prefectures and counties in northern Shaanxi from taxes for three years, starting from the first year of the Tianqi reign! And yet these bastards still dared to collect taxes! No wonder Li Zicheng was forced to emerge in the end. Damn it, I asked them to suppress the bandits, and they demanded two million taels!"

One year after the civil unrest in Mizhi County, the bandit leader Wang Er fled into the mountains and has not been caught to date.

Since Liu Zhaosun took office, he has continuously allocated money and grain to Shaanxi.

The situation has worsened until now. Shaanxi is under the Little Ice Age climate, with thousands of miles of barren land and the people are extremely miserable.

Refugees have risen up in various parts of northern Shaanxi, and it is said that deserters, postmen and even scholars have recently joined in.

It's not just northern Shaanxi. Longxi, Hanzhong, and Fengxiang, these prefectures and counties that were not originally affected by the disaster, are now also experiencing people's anxiety and the ruffians are lurking.

Liu Zhaosun had not paid much attention to Shaanxi before.

Because in his opinion, Shaanxi in this dimension should not be as tragic as in the original history, at least there will not be too many exorbitant taxes.

After the fall of the Later Jin Dynasty, the imperial court stopped collecting Liao tribute, and the burden on the people in various places was reduced by at least half.

Before this eastern expedition to Japan, Liu Zhaosun specifically asked the Ministry of Revenue to allocate 800,000 silver coins to Mizhi County for disaster relief.

It now seems that the 800,000 yuan in disaster relief funds has been wasted and may now be hidden in the cellar of an official's home.

If this continues, Sun Zicheng and Qian Zicheng will appear before Li Zicheng.

At some point, Yang Qing'er had come behind him.

Seeing her husband furious, Yang Qing'er silently rubbed his shoulders and back.

"My husband's cold illness hasn't healed yet. The doctor said we shouldn't get angry."

"I know, but I can't stay up late either."

Liu Zhaosun stretched and looked out the window. The dark night sky was filled with stars, and a waning moon hung in the west.

"What time is it?"

"It's almost midnight."

In the afternoon, the Imperial Household Department sent another thick stack of memorials, and several eunuchs in charge of writing requested the Duke of Protectorate to read and approve it as soon as possible.

During the six months of the Eastern Expedition to Japan, Emperor Tianqi finally tasted the power.

However, even though the young emperor worked day and night and tried his best like his great-grandfather Zhu Yuanzhang, more than 2,000 memorials were still piled up in the end.

Some of the memorials have been retained for two months.

Now that the Duke of Protectorate has returned and regained control of power, he should continue to bear the arduous task of reviewing memorials.

The backlog of memorials includes urgent matters related to disaster relief and rebellion suppression, which cannot be delayed.

Therefore, the Duke of Protectorate is now working overtime and dare not slack off in the slightest.

Lian came to Yang Qing'er with memorials on his person and had been busy since noon.

"That's it for today."

Liu Zhaosun rubbed his bloodshot eyes.

He sat in the chair for two hours without moving.

He began to worry that one day he would die suddenly among a pile of memorials like Emperor Yongzheng.

The maids Shaoyao and the others had already gone to bed, so Yang Qing'er went to get hot water for her husband to soak his feet and wash.

Liu Zhaosun curled up in the armchair to rest. He tilted his neck and stared blankly at the burnt-out whale oil lamp above his head.

When Yang Qing'er pushed the door open, he turned over, picked up an inkstone-sized oil bottle from the desk, and added oil to the lamp.

The lights crackled and a light blue halo rose in the room.

He took the handkerchief soaked in medicine and put it on his dirty face, and immediately felt refreshed.

After a moment, his bloodshot eyes quickly recovered as if eye drops had been dropped into them.

Yang Qing'er put down a basin of hot water and brought a bowl of steaming hot medicine:

"Husband, drink the medicine first, then soak your feet."

Liu Zhaosun took off his handkerchief, took the medicine and drank it all.

The prescription that Wu Youke gave to Huguo publicly was Danggui Huini Decoction, which was used to treat the cold that Liu Zhaosun had suffered in Hetuala.

It is made from 17 kinds of medicinal materials including whole angelica, wine-soaked peony root, northern asarum, small akebia, and Sichuan cyathula.

Doctor Wu specifically instructed that as long as one is not asleep at midnight, one must take one bowl of the medicine.

This medicine can dispel cold and dampness, expel wind and dredge the meridians.

Since Liu Zhaosun returned to Beijing, Yang Qing'er has made more than ten sets for her husband.

I plunged my feet into the wooden basin sprinkled with mugwort, and my toes were instantly embraced by warmth. A wave of warmth spread from the soles of my feet to my cold knees, and then surged throughout my body.

Liu Zhaosun squinted his eyes and looked at Yang Qing'er who was busy all the time, and happiness was all over his tired face.

"Madam is proficient in calligraphy, painting, chess, arithmetic, strategy, medicine, divination, astrology, the Qi Men and the Five Elements. She is also an expert in pitching pots. She is a hundred times better than Zhang Jiangling's daughter."

Yang Qing'er raised her eyebrows and said angrily:

"What Qianjinji! You've been with Jin Yuji for so long that these obscene words and lewd tunes just come out of your mouth... Anything else?"

Liu Zhaosun looked at his wife carefully and added:
"Anything else? Let's talk about it in detail after lights out and bedtime."

Yang Qing'er was shy and was about to laugh and scold, but she saw her husband took out another memorial and handed it to her with a smile:

"This is the last one, Madam. Please read it and turn off the lights when you are done."

Yang Qing'er was speechless.

She took the envelope with great trepidation, opened it, frowned slightly, and read in a gentle voice:
"King Shang Feng of the Ryukyu Kingdom reported on the construction of warships to capture the South Sea Red-haired Barbarians..."

The Ryukyu King was indeed capable. The Kaiyuan army helped Ryukyu to restore its country. In less than half a year, they began to build warships and prepare for an expedition to Australia.

Liu Zhaosun didn't believe that Ryukyu had such courage and financial resources. If it did, it would not have been conquered by Satsuma in the first place.

Sure enough, Yang Qing'er finally read:
"My sincere heart is evident to all, but I am short of funds. I have been negotiating with the Provincial Envoy Yuan Chonghuan over every penny. I have already spent over 100,000 taels of silver. Handong Province has a lot of work to do, and the amount is still insufficient. I have borrowed from many sources. I hope the Emperor will be lenient and provide generous food and money to pacify Australia..."

In the end, he still asked the court for money and treated the Duke of Protectorate as a sucker.

Liu Zhaosun chuckled and was about to mock the Ryukyu King a few more times when suddenly a faint fragrance permeated his heart.

He quickly stood up, grabbed Yang Qing'er's arm, held her in his arms, and sniffed her body.

"What kind of rouge and powder is this? It's so tempting. How come I've never smelled it before?"

Yang Qing'er chuckled and put the Ryukyu King's memorial away carefully.

"Director Xie sent it to me the day before yesterday. He said it's the Chamber of Commerce's new perfume this year, made from ambergris."

Liu Zhaosun was shocked. He didn't expect that the ocean whaling team's business had expanded to perfume purification.

"How could I not know? Xie Guangkun never mentioned it."

Yang Qing'er knew that Xie Guangkun was another name for Director Xie, although she didn't know why her husband called him Xie Yang.

"My husband spends over 360 days a year fighting outside, 300 of them either conquering cities or accompanying your beautiful Korean concubine. How could he have the time to care about others? The whaling team found several hundred kilograms of ambergris in Penglai in March and shipped it back to the capital. I wonder how much the Chamber of Commerce will sell it for this time..."

Hearing the hidden meaning in Yang Qing'er's words, Liu Zhaosun stopped immediately and didn't dare to say anything.

The so-called ambergris is the secretion of the sperm whale's huge intestine. It is gray-brown in color and has a unique musk scent.

It has a unique fragrance and is very expensive, comparable to gold.

As far as Liu Zhaosun knew, ambergris had been used as a high-end spice long ago. Even in later generations, perfumes containing ambergris were still synonymous with luxury goods.

"Did you give them the money?"

Yang Qing'er knew her husband's temper and said solemnly:
"Of course I gave it to you, my husband, don't worry. It's all my private money. The maids and guards in the mansion won't be shortchanged by the shop even a penny when they go out to buy things."

"Okay, everyone in Kaiyuan is watching, Madam, you must set a good example."

Liu Zhaosun nodded with satisfaction.

The two sat at the head of the bed, facing each other.

Liu Zhaosun suddenly discovered that compared to when she left half a year ago, Yang Qing'er had grown into a more graceful and elegant girl.

Under the light, the beauty was only wearing a tube top, her skin was whiter than snow and extremely beautiful.

Liu Zhaosun held her in his arms and felt that Yang Qing'er had become plump and much bigger than she was half a year ago.

It’s true that girls change a lot when they grow up, and they become more and more beautiful.

In addition, Yang Qing'er was spoiled by her parents since childhood and did not have her feet bound, so her beauty was very different from the morbid beauty of most upper-class women of that era.

Although she is not as stunningly beautiful as Zhang Yan, she is elegant and refined, and her every frown and smile has the pure and ethereal aura of a Jiangnan beauty.

Thinking of Yang Qing'er's suffering in the capital, he felt a little pity for her and just stared at her blankly.

Seeing that her husband was already moved, Yang Qing'er gently took off his outer official robe and went straight to his inner clothes.

She suddenly pushed it away, with a sad look on her face:
"I heard Zhang Yan is back and pregnant with a boy? This little slut is truly extraordinary. Your husband wants to take her as a concubine?"

Liu Zhaosun was aroused and lost in passion. He hugged Yang Qing'er's waist and was about to move up, but suddenly heard his wife's question. His fingers suddenly retracted as if they had been electrocuted, and he said with a smile on his face:

"Everything is up to Madam. It was an accident. I've already told Jin Yuji that I was drunk that night and can't remember anything. Well, I won't drink anymore. Drinking too much can cause trouble..."

Before he could say anything more, Yang Qing'er leaned forward and covered his mouth.

"Pick an auspicious day to marry her. Such a beautiful woman should not be given to anyone else."

Liu Zhaosun nodded repeatedly.

"What you say makes sense, madam."

Yang Qing'er laughed and continued:
"My husband just said that I am proficient in calligraphy, painting, chess, mathematics, strategy, medicine, divination, astrology, and the five elements. Where in the world can you find someone so skilled? However, I just read a medical book yesterday and got a prescription for having a child. Let's see if it works."

As she spoke, she put on a cloak and stood up to blow out the whale oil lamp.

The room suddenly became silent. Outside the window, the stars moved and the constellations changed. It was exactly three o'clock in the morning. The bright moonlight passed through the west window of the wing room and just fell on Yang Qing'er.

The room is full of moonlight, showing off her graceful figure.

Liu Zhaosun was as drunk as a madman until Yang Qing'er walked to the bedside and looked at him with a pair of crystal clear eyes.

The beauty's long eyelashes blinked, like a pool of autumn water, falling on Liu Zhaosun's slightly hot cheeks.

Liu Zhaosun's breathing also rose and fell.

(End of this chapter)