Chapter 528: Silent Nurturing (Part Two)
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In addition to all this, Yuwen You was also ordered by the young emperor to establish a new army, directly under the command of the young emperor, with a scale of five thousand men, enjoying the treatment of a lieutenant upon entry. They had horses and armor, and they received generous salaries every month. It sounded like a very good place for advancement, and getting promoted and rich was not a problem. Therefore, many people were trying their best to make connections and push their children or relatives into it. Linan Wang’s Mansion suddenly became a hot spot in the capital, and Yuwen You walked with his robes fluttering, extremely pleased with himself.
Compared to Yuwen You, Yuwen Chu was like a selfless steamed bun, diligently carrying out every request made by the Great Empress Dowager and the young emperor, whether it was intentionally difficult or truly necessary. He earnestly and meticulously handled each task, trying his best to do them all excellently.
He wasn’t afraid to offend people, nor was he afraid to spend money. With the support of his influential father-in-law, he seized every opportunity to demonstrate his strong leadership and flexible tactics to the court and the people. As a result, his reputation and prestige were rapidly established in a subtle and unobtrusive manner, making him the most dazzling figure in the Yuwen Dynasty at that time.
Both the court and the common people knew that Ying Wang was a true practitioner who wanted to do some real and practical things. The disaster victims often saw the emblem of Ying Wang Mansion on the relief supplies, and they frequently heard stories about how the Great Empress Dowager cared only for her own pleasure, how the young Emperor was cruel and enjoyed killing, and how the Ying Wang and his wife scrimped and saved to raise relief supplies.
Some people were unhappy with Yuwen Chu, saying he was ambitious, while others lamented the unfairness of heaven, allowing fools and lunatics to become emperors. Regardless of how others viewed him, a wildfire of rumors about Ying Wang eventually spread across the country, just as Yuwen Chu had envisioned, silently and gradually, and he gained the people’s hearts and reputation with money.
Mingzhu was also not idle. She organized the batch of chefs disbanded from Ying Wang Mansion to open several restaurants and established the first charity hall in the Great Temple. She adopted a group of orphaned and widowed women and organized them to raise silkworms together with landless and jobless people. Guan Jiapo performed well during this period, so she fully utilized his advantage as a local and sent him there to learn how to manage affairs and accounts.
The people selected by Mingzhu to manage affairs were capable and diligent, and as the charity hall, restaurants, and silkworm farms operated in a virtuous cycle, her good reputation gradually spread. Although it was still not as loud as the benevolent and kind Ying Wang, it was a far cry from before. No one thought anymore that she and Yuwen Chu were a case of good cabbage being picked by pigs, but rather felt that they were a well-matched couple.
The little wolf brought back by Mingzhu was named Iron Hammer. When Yuwen Chu heard this name, he felt speechless, but he thought it was not bad since it wasn’t something like “Wind, Flower, Snow, Moon,” so he accepted it. Iron Hammer was a good wolf and liked to stay in the Tingxue Building. Its favorite person was Yuwen Chu, who saved its life, followed by Mingzhu, who often gave it good food.
Fu Lin and An Xiaogu got married, and the youngest daughter of the Beidu Marquis, Xu Meier, also came over as promised. However, her relationship with Yuwen Long was quite bad. The Wusun Princess and Yuwen You lived a life of luxury. The Great Empress Dowager in the palace still taught Yuwen Fu carefully. Yuwen Bai, after recovering from a serious illness, fell in love with archery and horsemanship, often riding horses and shooting at innocent palace servants. He also kindly received representatives of the new army trained by Yuwen You.
It is worth mentioning that since being straightened out by Yuwen Chu, Yuwen Bai no longer dared to trouble Mingzhu. Even if they met in the palace, he would just walk away calmly, completely different from before, when he was cunning and malicious.
After recovering from her illness, Min Baoyun returned to the palace again, and only Princess Funing’s illness continued to linger, never completely healed, allowing her to continue living leisurely in Shangqing garden. As the internal strife between Zhongshan Wang and his sons continued, Teacher Lin and Teacher Zhu never took further action. Jiang Shanshan seemed to disappear without a trace, and there was no more news about those bed crossbows, gunpowder, and firearms. Instead, good news came from the mountains of the Great Temple.
They successfully built improved bed crossbows, and finally, there was news of the old craftsmen Yuwen Chu had spent a lot of money looking for to make gunpowder. The secret workshop for researching and improving gunpowder and firearms was finally established.
In addition to being busy with her pregnancy, Mingzhu visited the palace from time to time to see Imperial Consort Min, went to Shangqing Garden to see Funing, visited her parents’ home, cared for her parents, siblings, nephews, and nieces, and argued with Fu Mingzheng, deliberately mentioning Li Shumei in front of him. At first, Fu Mingzheng would get angry when she mentioned Li Shumei, but later he became completely indifferent, seeming unaffected. Mingzhu gradually accepted this reality and stopped forcing him.
Lady Ai gave birth to a boy, weighing seven pounds and six ounces. His nickname was “Shitou” (Stone), and his full name was “Fu Ting.” Both Mother and son were safe, and the child looked exactly like Mingzhu remembered.
This was a period of peaceful time in the capital before the turmoil.
It was June, the hottest time of the year, and Mingzhu’s belly was already quite big, not far from her due date. Zheng Momo calculated the time all day long, and Yuwen Chu was also very nervous, trying to compress and reduce the tasks in his hands as much as possible, trying to stay at home more, fearing that any mistake or carelessness might cause problems for Mingzhu.
The wet nurses had already been chosen, all of them women in their twenties and thirties, healthy and fair-looking. They had been arranged into a courtyard where they were taken care of by dedicated personnel, so that they could provide the best milk for the newborn at any time.
The midwife had been carefully selected by Madam Cui long ago. They were all experienced midwives who had worked for the noble family for a long time, and one of them, Ji Momo, had even helped deliver Mingzhu. In theory, there should be no problems, but Yuwen Chu was still worried. He had the backgrounds and identities of these midwives checked several times. If anything seemed suspicious, he would dig deeper, treating everyone as if they were thieves.
Mingzhu couldn’t bear it and forbid him from meddling in this matter anymore, “How could it be so easy for them to harm me? By then, my Mother and sister-in-law will come. They have given birth to several children. Can they watch them tamper with things and harm me? Rest for a while. Come here, I’ll massage your shoulders and fan you, and you can take a nap.”
Yuwen Chu smiled and sat aside, holding a large fan to cool them both down. Not only did he fan himself, but he also fanned Mingzhu, “You’re carrying such a big belly, it’s really hard work. How could I have you massage my shoulders? How about I massage your feet instead?”
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