The Ming Dynasty: My sister, Empress Ma

The next day.

Zhu Biao then allocated the funds for Ma Wenyuan's school. The school site was chosen at the foot of Jilong Mountain, a place close to the imperial city and the garrison, making it convenient for Ma Xiuying to visit frequently.

It's not as bustling as the Qinhuai River, but it's quiet and peaceful.

On this day, Song Lian passed away.

It's not that he's dead—

Song Lian, the Director of the Imperial Academy, and Wei Guan, the Reader-in-Waiting, were demoted for "failing to present the sacrificial rites to Confucius in a timely manner." Both of them were demoted to the position of county magistrate.

Although Zhu Biao felt sorry for his teacher's fate, he did not say anything.

Old Zhu now values ​​etiquette, and these two have run into trouble; there's nothing he can do.

A few more days passed.

After recuperating at the Eastern Palace for several days, Ma Xiuying finally agreed to let Ma Wenyuan leave.

This made Ma Wenyuan realize how difficult it was.

Also leaving the palace with him were the brothers Zhu Di and Zhu Su.

Ma Wenyuan was initially reluctant to bring Zhu Di along, but the boy insisted that he was useful, able to drive and work, so he agreed to take him.

The Marquis of Anshu's residence.

Zhu Di drove his carriage to the front of the Marquis's residence and slowly stopped.

His sycophantic nature kicked in, and Zhu Di hurriedly tried to help Ma Wenyuan out of the carriage.

"Alright, alright, your uncle is still young."

Ma Wenyuan laughed and scolded, but did not let him help him up.

It was already quite generous of them to have the future Yongle Emperor drive the carriage.

"Welcome back in triumph, teacher!"

As soon as they got off the carriage, they saw Xu Miaoyun and her entourage standing at the door to greet them.

He was followed by more than twenty servants from the Marquis's household.

"You seem to have grown taller since I last saw you in the past few months."

Ma Wenyuan patted Xu Miaoyun's head with a smile, then stepped into the Marquis's residence, where he unexpectedly saw Meng Chong and He Tao in the procession.

"What brings you two here?"

Ma Wenyuan was somewhat curious.

"As per the Marquis's instructions, the pension and the previously issued IOUs have all been settled. I have come here specifically to report this."

Meng Chong said this.

This person has official business to visit Ma Wenyuan.

He Tao continued, "My mother said she wants to pay her respects to the Marquis and thank him for his kindness in helping her."

This is a private matter.

Ma Wenyuan glanced at the cured meat He Tao was carrying and immediately laughed. He waved his hand casually, and Zeng Qing quickly stepped forward to take the cured meat.

Although He Tao possessed great strength, he was not actually as strong as he appeared.

Ma Wenyuan knew perfectly well that both of them were there to deepen their relationship with him.

One was using official business as a pretext, while the other spoke frankly and appeared quite honest.

They even suggested mostly inexpensive gifts.

Ironically, important people often prefer this kind of simple-mindedness.

If it were a minor official, they certainly wouldn't care about these cured meats, but Ma Wenyuan was no ordinary person.

He is now considered one of the most important officials in the Ming Dynasty.

It was really difficult for Ma Wenyuan to be swayed by gold, silver, and money.

Therefore, He Tao seems to be more astute than Meng Chong.

Ma Wenyuan stepped into his house, before he could ask Meng Chong about the pension.

Xu Miaoyun jumped over and chattered, "Sir, your victory in every battle during your trip to Sichuan has truly amazed everyone!"

"My father, that old man, even said that the teacher would be frightened and at most get some credit by following the Duke of Xin. The student argued about this for quite some time."

"Now it seems that the old man really had no foresight."

After listening quietly to Xu Miaoyun finish speaking, Ma Wenyuan also came to the front hall and took his seat, replying with a smile.

"I was indeed frightened, and I certainly benefited from the Duke of Xin's achievements."

Xu Da was absolutely right.

It has to be said, these old Dengs have really good eyesight.

"Tch, sir, you're just being modest. Do you think I don't know what abilities the Duke of Xin possesses?"

Xu Miaoyun, however, did not believe it. She took a small stool and sat down in front of Ma Wenyuan, continuing, "My father often said that the Duke of Xin was indecisive..."

"Alright, alright."

Ma Wenyuan quickly interrupted, "If Tang He finds out, he'll be furious."

He's over fifty years old, after all.

How are your studies going?

Ma Wenyuan changed the subject and asked.

As he spoke, Ma Wenyuan looked at Zeng Xiu again.

But Zeng Xiu's eyes were red, bloodshot.

"What's wrong with you now?"

Ma Wenyuan found it strange that he had fallen ill now that life was better.

"Sir, I was looking at the sun." Zeng Xiu stood up and bowed to the pillar next to him.

"This way." Zeng Qing couldn't stand it anymore and turned his sister around.

"Are you alright?"

Ma Wenyuan was somewhat bewildered.

"King Wu said that a few days of rest would be enough." Zeng Xiu bowed again.

"How about we see a doctor?"

Ma Wenyuan caught a glimpse of Zhu Su sitting to his left and quickly added, "What I mean is, the eyes are more important."

"Sir, I've checked, and that's what they all said."

"So what exactly is the reason?"

Upon hearing this...

Xu Miaoyun immediately ran away.

After waiting a moment, Xu Miaoyun came running back.

Holding a cylinder carefully in her hand, Xu Miaoyun handed it to her husband, a hint of pride on her face.

"My junior sister and I did it together."

Now they don't even call Zeng Xiu "sister" anymore.

Looking at the wooden cylinder, Ma Wenyuan ignored these trivial matters of naming and suddenly had some guesses in his mind.

"telescope?"

"what?"

Xu Miaoyun looked slightly puzzled. "The title 'sir' is quite fitting, but I prefer to call you 'Thousand-Mile Mirror'."

"Did you do this?"

Ma Wenyuan picked up the telescope and looked through the eyepiece with his right eye. It was not much different from some telescopes of three to four times magnification in later generations.

It's just a bit blurry.

Of course, this is unavoidable.

Although there are many glass workshops in this era, especially in Yanshen County, Qingzhou Prefecture, Shandong Province.

Today, the Ming Dynasty has already achieved the technology for mass production of glass.

The imperial court even established official factories.

Glass products from the fourth year of the Hongwu reign (1379) are not as scarce as they were during the Tang and Song dynasties.

Not to mention it being a luxury item.

Of course, ordinary people still can't afford it.

Modern glass products are naturally not as clear as those of later generations.

Nowadays, glass is mostly opaque and contains many bubbles, so it can only be considered semi-transparent.

It's already quite remarkable that Xu Miaoyun was able to make a telescope using this.

"very nice."

Ma Wenyuan smiled and handed over the binoculars, feigning regret, "It just doesn't seem quite perfect."

"How could that be!"

Xu Miaoyun remained firm in her reasoning, her original intention being to give Ma Wenyuan a surprise.

Unexpectedly, Ma Wenyuan showed no surprise whatsoever, and even said that her efforts were inadequate.

Xu Miaoyun could not tolerate this.

"These two pieces of glass are something my junior sister and I searched for a long time to find; there's absolutely no better telescope than these!"

"Really?" Ma Wenyuan's smile remained unchanged.

Xu Miaoyun is a person of this era, so it's normal that she can't imagine things of the future.

Little did she know that glass in later generations would be so transparent as to be almost invisible.

"Does the teacher have a way to improve this?"

"You want to learn?" Ma Wenyuan teased the child as usual.

"I want to." Xu Miaoyun nodded, and Zeng Xiu also nodded.

This time, the wrong person was identified.

She has some eye problems now and can't see clearly.

After Zeng Qing corrected him, he stopped moving.

"You've got this much of a problem looking at the sun?"

However, using a 3x to 5x scope to see the sun was so difficult that it made Ma Wenyuan feel like he was blind.

"The solar eclipse a while ago..."