bayedsolid Chapter 126: Catching a son-in-law
Chapter 126: Catching a son-in-law
Upon hearing that she and Luo Jianming would be assigned to manage the Wuliping Resort, Xiangli felt both happy and unhappy. Her feelings were quite conflicted.
She and Luo Jianming were in love, and she had confessed to Zisu, who also expressed her willingness to let them be together. When she got married, she would be given a dowry so she could have a grand wedding. As for the indenture, it had been returned to everyone before she was exiled to the Northwest. Therefore, Xiangli was now a free woman, no longer a slave.
Luo Jianming had already discussed it with his family, and his parents and relatives had no objections and expressed their full support. As long as it was someone he had chosen, and she was also the personal maid of Princess Yulin, then naturally it was good, and his family was very happy.
Princess Yulin is a kind and compassionate woman, as capable as a bodhisattva, a true heroine. To be her personal maid must require someone exceptional in every way. Luo Jianming's parents are incredibly proud and honored to have such a daughter-in-law.
Everyone in Luo Family Village knew that Luo Jianming was going to marry a very capable person who served Princess Yulin. The villagers were all extremely envious.
Xiangli truly loves Luo Jianming and wants to be with him for life. However, she also misses Zisu and wants to stay by Zisu's side to protect her for life.
Zisu comforted her, "Xiangli, try to think more positively. The Wuliping Resort hasn't even started construction yet. It will take at least half a year for all the projects to be completed. Besides, sending you to Wuliping isn't about staying there forever. If you want to come back to my side, you can recruit a few young men and women from Wuliping, train them well, and when they can stand on their own, you and Luo Jianming can come back to my side!"
"Miss, are you telling the truth?" Xiangli was both surprised and delighted.
Zisu: "Really, of course it's true. When have I ever lied to you?"
Xiangli is the person Zisu trusts most, besides her parents, maternal grandmother, and uncle. Over the years, she has never lied to Xiangli, and she has almost no secrets from Xiangli.
Of course, no one except herself knew about her rebirth.
Xiangli burst into tears of joy: "That's good, that's good! I thought you didn't want me anymore! Miss, I'll go to the village right away and pick out a few good seedlings to take back to the manor and start training them right away, is that alright?"
Zisu: "Hmm, your idea is good. Taking them back to the General's Mansion for a period of training and letting them broaden their horizons will definitely be a great help for their future work! Go ahead, call Luo Jianming and let's go select a few promising talents! They don't necessarily have to be very smart, but they must have good character and no scoundrels in their families. People like that are the most suitable!"
Xiangli: "Yes, young lady, I understand. When choosing a person, I will prioritize their character! I will not choose anyone with bad character, no matter how smart they are!"
Zisu thought for a moment and then said, "Tell Luo Jianming that if there are suitable candidates in their village, they can be introduced. Tell everyone that they don't need to sign indentures, just a ten-year work agreement! If they don't have to sell themselves, I believe many people will be willing to come, and we can find more people with very good character!"
Xiangli then suggested, "Luo Jianming's family and Pan Kang's family are not far apart. If there are suitable people in Pan Kang's village, could we introduce them to them?"
Zisu: "Yes, that's fine. I'll talk to Pan Kang about it. Wuliping Resort needs a lot of manpower, and the people in Wuliping and the nearby villages probably can't meet that demand."
The key is to select someone with good character and intelligence, which isn't easy to find in the countryside. Therefore, broadening the search is the best approach. Luo Jianming and Pan Kang are both good people; they've grown up together and are close friends, so they should be good candidates.
Xiangli happily went to find Luo Jianming and told him what Zisu wanted. Luo Jianming was overjoyed. His third brother was a very good person and also very clever. In addition, he had two childhood friends with whom he had a very good relationship, and he could introduce them to work.
In this way, his third brother and his two friends' families could live a better life. With these three people as his right and left hands, he felt more at ease. Otherwise, he had no confidence in such a large business as the Wuliping Resort. With trustworthy people helping him, he felt more confident and less anxious.
Xiangli and Luo Jianming walked around Wuliping and each selected five girls aged twelve or thirteen and five boys aged fifteen or sixteen. Why choose such young people? Because younger people have a stronger ability to learn.
Most of these people knew a few characters, while some were illiterate, but they were all quick-witted. Zisu also said that illiteracy didn't matter; after bringing them back to the General's Mansion, a temporary learning class could be set up. Anyway, there were six months to learn; as long as they were willing to work hard, they could learn several hundred commonly used characters in six months.
Zisu finished drawing up the architectural plans and handed them to the master architect she had invited from the capital. She then settled the architect in the thatched cottage at Xiaoshitan. She also hired a skilled cook from the village to help take care of the architect's meals. Only then did she set off back to the capital with Xiangli and the ten people she had just recruited.
Luo Jianming stayed behind to oversee the architect's security and run errands. Li Mao and his family also remained in Wuliping, and will become pillars of the Wuliping Resort in the future. Li Mao's home was built next to Xiaoshitan, allowing him and Luo Jianming to look after each other.
The master architect was someone Zisu had asked Shangguan Mufeng to hire before she came to Wuliping. He was paid a high price—one hundred taels of silver a month. However, it was only because Shangguan Mufeng had some connection with him that the architect agreed to work in such a remote mountain area as Wuliping.
Having a father is great, having a great general as a father is even better! That way, not only will no one dare to bully you, but you won't have to worry about hiring anyone.
Sigh, there's nothing we can do; this is the era where connections matter.
Back in the capital, the results of the palace examination were released.
Just like in his previous life, Fang Heng became the third-ranked scholar in the imperial examination.
There was a very unlucky man who was chosen as a son-in-law by the top scholar in the imperial examinations. He was captured by the capricious Princess Qianjiao. To make matters worse, this scholar was already married, and Princess Qianjiao was forcing him to divorce his wife.
Fang Heng rushed home, secretly breaking out in a cold sweat. Princess Qianjiao had initially intended to capture him, but fortunately, he was skilled in martial arts and easily defeated two of the princess's guards, thus escaping the encirclement.
Fortunately, the top scholar was even more handsome and younger than him. Fortunately, he had deliberately worn a set of slightly worn, coarse cloth clothes to see the list, while the top scholar wore a brocade robe. Moreover, to avoid the farce of someone trying to find a husband at the bottom of the list, he had intentionally made himself look somewhat disheveled. Otherwise, that damned princess wouldn't have let him off so easily!
What a close call! If he were to marry the princess, he would never have a chance to rise in society, and he would never be able to be with Zisu; moreover, Princess Qianjiao was such a despicable person. Back then, when he was surrounded and captured by several guards, he had already thought that if he were outnumbered and captured, he would rather die than submit!
Disobeying the imperial decree would result in the execution of his entire family, but he could choose to end it all with death. Death would put an end to everything! Given the Emperor's magnanimity and benevolence, it was highly unlikely he would punish the Fang family further.
Now, Princess Qianjiao has captured a married man and is forcing him to divorce his wife. Fang Heng is eagerly anticipating what the Emperor's reaction will be. Will he tolerate his daughter's outrageous behavior?
Perilla leaves also express great anticipation.
It is said that the Emperor is a good man, and now he is extremely regretful for his foolish decision to bestow a marriage upon Prince Duan, which forced Prince Duan to run away from home.
Fang Heng and Zisu were not the only ones who had expectations of the Emperor. It could be said that countless people, both in and out of the court, were paying close attention to this matter.
As expected, the Emperor did not disappoint the world.
The previous marriage arrangement for Prince Duan was orchestrated by Consort Shu, Princess Qianjiao's mother. This time, it was Consort Shu's daughter, Princess Qianjiao, who caused the trouble again. Enraged, the Emperor settled both old and new scores, demoting Consort Shu to the rank of Noble Lady. Furthermore, with swift and decisive action, he married Princess Qianjiao to a military general over thirty years old.
Moreover, she was to become this military general's second wife.
The Emperor favored this military general because he was a man of his word, possessing great dignity and masculine spirit, and was absolutely capable of keeping his arrogant and unreasonable daughter in check.
Most importantly, this military general had met Princess Qianjiao once, and the Emperor could tell that the general had a good impression of his daughter. Therefore, marrying his daughter to this general wouldn't be considered forcing a less desirable daughter into marriage.
The things in this world are truly wondrous.
The arrogant and domineering Princess Qianjiao married a military general, and within three days, she was completely subdued. Her former domineering and arrogant air vanished without a trace.
The heavy weight that had been pressing on the old emperor's heart was finally lifted.
Knowing his days were numbered, he feared that after his death, his daughter, Princess Qianjiao, would be left unchecked and cause a terrible disaster.
Now all the dark clouds have dispersed.
However, what he didn't know was that Princess Qianjiao was suffering unspeakable bitterness in her heart.
She married a brute even more domineering than herself. She couldn't beat him, couldn't out-argue him, and he wouldn't back down even if she used her princess status to intimidate him. This left her completely powerless and with no choice but to swallow her anger and live a life of quiet desperation.
---There will be one more update today. Thank you all for your support and encouragement. I'm very grateful. If the book is still on the new book monthly ticket ranking tomorrow, there will still be three updates.