The Eldest Daughter Is Beautiful and Saucy
Chapter 1224: Tianmen Pass
Chapter 1224: Inside Tianmen Pass
As he spoke, Bai Qingyan put down the cup in his hand and stood up: “Thank you Mr. Ji for telling me these things. I am planning to take a look around Feng County, so I won’t bother you here.”
Doctor Ji nodded quickly and made way for the door. He could not help but remind her, “According to the date, your majesty will give birth in two or three months. You must not be too tired on the journey back to the capital. You must take good care of yourself.”
“Okay, I’ll remember that!” Bai Qingyan held Chunzhi’s hand and walked out, “Mr. Ji, please stay.”
Doctor Ji personally escorted the people out from the back door of the Ji Mansion. Looking at the backs of Bai Qingyan and his group as they left, Doctor Ji bowed again to Bai Qingyan’s back, stood up and couldn’t help but sigh in his heart. He had never seen an emperor like Bai Qingyan, who had no airs of superiority at all and came to Feng County to inquire about the new policy even though she was pregnant.
He remembered what Ji Langhua wrote in the letter when Bai Qingyan had just ascended the throne… She said that the eldest daughter of the Bai family would definitely be a good emperor, and now Doctor Ji believed it.
Doctor Ji thought that if the emperors of the Great Zhou Dynasty in the future were all like Bai Qingyan, there would be no need to worry that the Great Zhou Dynasty would not prosper and that the Great Zhou Dynasty would not be immortal and long-lasting.
After Chunzhi helped Bai Qingyan get on the carriage, she saw Doctor Ji still standing at the door and asked Bai Qingyan in a low voice, “Why didn’t Miss ask Doctor Ji and his family to return to the capital? If Doctor Ji were allowed to work at the Imperial Hospital, Miss Ji’s family would be reunited when she returns to the capital, and he would definitely be able to do better for Miss.”
Bai Qingyan leaned on the hidden bag and whispered, “Miss Ji’s family played a key role in the case of Censor Jian Congwen. If they were allowed to return to the capital now, and Doctor Ji were to work at the Imperial Hospital, and their family background was dug up, how would they live in the capital in the future? What would others think? If the entire family of a loyal and upright official like Censor Jian Congwen were wiped out, and the descendants of a person who framed a loyal and upright person could enter the Imperial Hospital again, wouldn’t that make the world feel disheartened…”
“Besides, Doctor Ji is a skilled doctor. If he stays in a remote place like Feng County to practice medicine and save lives, he can play a greater role than working in the Imperial Hospital! I believe… they chose to settle in Feng County in the first place, with the intention of atonement for the mistakes of their elders.” Bai Qingyan lowered his eyes and said with a smile.
Chunzhi nodded: “What the eldest girl said is right!”
Bai Qingyan looked up at Chunzhi, who was just as stupid as Chuntao, and said with a smile: “The eldest lady sold you out too, right?”
Chunzhi thought about it and answered Bai Qingyan seriously: “If the eldest lady sold Chunzhi, she must have encountered some difficulties. She sold Chunzhi for Chunzhi’s sake and didn’t want to implicate Chunzhi. Sister Chuntao said… the eldest lady is such a good person!”
She was amused by Chunzhi: “Look at what Chuntao has taught you to be like. You’re just like another silly Chuntao!”
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Bai Qingyan strolled around Feng County and saw that the people seemed to be living a better life than before. However, it would take another two years to see the new policy really take effect.
The Bai family guards, Wei Zhong and Chunzhi accompanied Bai Qingyan as they walked around the streets and did some shopping. Bai Qingyan would chat with the common people from time to time, and would also go to the village where the common people gathered to do farm work to ask for water. When the common people saw that Bai Qingyan had a big belly, they were very polite and gave him water.
After drinking the water, Bai Qingyan asked the guard to give him some silver. Afterwards, he did not mind the uncleanness. He sat on the tree stump and chatted with the women who were sewing shoe soles about his previous visit to Feng County.
When the women mentioned this, they couldn’t stop laughing.
“That’s exactly what the lady said. In the past, we couldn’t wear complete clothes! This… is all because of the new policies of our Great Zhou Emperor!” The old woman smiled and pierced the sole of her shoe with an awl. Her hands skillfully drew the thread and pulled the awl out. “Otherwise, it’s said that General Bai was sent by God to save the people of Feng County! In the past… General Bai led the Bai Army to protect the people of Feng County. Now that His Majesty has become the emperor and is implementing new policies, it’s all for us to live a good life. What did Mr. Cai say…”
The old woman turned and asked her daughter-in-law.
“Mom, Mr. Cai said that your majesty’s new policy is to reduce the benefits of the powerful and increase the benefits of the people! So those who are unwilling to let the new policy go smoothly and say that the new policy is not good are all rich people…” said the daughter-in-law with a smile.
“Yes, yes, yes! That’s what you said!” The old woman smiled, “We don’t lack labor in our family now, so let Erniu take her brother to school to learn to read and write. The court pays for our children to learn to read and write. In the past, we couldn’t afford to pay the tuition to the teacher. It’s a great thing for a village to have a scholar! Now our children can all become scholars in the future! Isn’t this a great thing!”
“That’s right. If we can study well and pass the imperial examination in the future, our whole family will be able to turn things around!” A young and fierce daughter-in-law interrupted, “Mr. Cai said that for poor families like us, there is no other way to get ahead except to take the imperial examination. Now that His Majesty has exempted us from the tuition, we just need to squeeze out some time for the children and let them go to school. This is a great thing!”
The people of Feng County initially sent their children to school because they thought they could not afford the tuition fees before, but now they could go without paying, which was a good deal for them. Later, they found that their families would lack labor after their children left, so they called their children back to help with farm work.
It was not until Mr. Cai came to Feng County and lobbied the people that they realized that only by letting their children go to school could they escape the fate of their ancestors, who had to work hard in the fields for a living.
Who hasn’t dreamed of becoming the top scholar before going to bed at night? If one could not afford the tuition in the past, and now cannot bear to let the child work, and insists that the child come back to work, then he or she will seriously delay the future of the whole family.
“Auntie Gu, our Erhuzi is about to finish school. I have to go back to cook! Let’s go!” A woman picked up her winnowing basket, stood up and said goodbye to the old woman, then nodded stiffly to Bai Qingyan, and left with a red face. Wow… She had never seen such a good lady in her life. She was like a fairy who had descended to the earth, and she didn’t have any airs at all.
After chatting with the people of Feng County, Bai Qingyan stood up and said goodbye, saying that he wanted to travel around Feng County again.
“Strange, it’s actually a shop from the State of Yan…” Bai Qingyan saw a sign with the word “Yan” written on it under the shop sign on the long street, “Why would the State of Yan open a shop in Feng County?”
Logically speaking, when merchants from Yan State entered Zhou State, especially clothing shops like this one, they should have opened them in prosperous cities, or at least within Tianmen Pass.
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