Guide to Traveling through the Northern Song Dynasty.

Chapter 1197 Epilogue : The Old House is on Fire
In the Ming Dynasty in another time and space, the prefect was of the fourth rank, the associate prefect was of the fifth rank, and the assistant prefect was of the sixth rank.

In the Ming Dynasty of this time and space, Tongzhi and Tongpan coexisted at first. However, the functions of the two overlapped too much, and the court also increased the authority of Caoyuan, so Tongzhi and Tongpan were simply merged.

In the current Ming Dynasty, there is only Tongpan, but no Tongzhi. And the Tongpan of the prefecture is of the fifth rank.

Fan Ying, the director of the Ministry of Works, was also a fifth-rank official, the same rank as Xie Yan's father. But the fifth-rank officials in the capital usually had to be humble and submissive, and were not as happy as the fifth-rank officials in the local areas.

In the evening, get off work.

Fan Ying walked out of the Ministry of Works, called a carriage, and deliberately shouted to the driver: "Go to the residence of the Grand Princess of Qin!"

As soon as these words were spoken, everyone looked at him sideways, and many colleagues looked over.

Fan Ying wanted exactly this effect, so he walked towards the carriage with his head held high, opened the door and got in.

His hometown is in Gansu. Before the coup, Fan Ying was the supervisor of a large state-owned copper mine in Yunnan. After the young emperor ascended the throne, Fan Ying was transferred to the Ministry of Industry without knowing why.

According to rank, it is a horizontal transfer, and according to position, it is a definite promotion.

The reason why he was promoted to the Ministry of Works was very simple: first, one of his classmates became the Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of Works; second, he was from the northwest and had no connection with the southern faction; third, his political achievements in recent years were quite good.

When he first arrived in Beijing, Fan Ying was very excited, but gradually he became depressed.

The consumption level in this shabby place like Luoyang is too high, and if the head of the Ministry of Industry is not in charge of a project, he won't get much money from sitting in the office on weekdays.

He was also afraid of being suspected of corruption when he was the supervisor of the copper mines, so he could only live in the official residence with his wife and two concubines, and he didn't even dare to bring his children to live with him in Luoyang.

I was too lazy to buy a carriage since the official residence was very close to the Ministry of Works anyway.

He still wants to continue to climb up, so he must behave more honestly!
Thanks to my ancestors’ blessings, I recently got to know Mr. Xie, and today I was invited by the Grand Princess.

"Hoo ho!"

The driver shook the whip lightly, growled twice, and the horse moved slowly forward.

Fan Ying lifted a corner of the car curtain and saw that his colleagues were still looking over here, and he felt more and more relieved.

Although I don't know what the Grand Princess invited me to do, I just need to let the Ministry of Works know that I went there. Who doesn't know that the Queen Mother and the Grand Princess have a close relationship?

After closing my eyes and resting for a while, the carriage reached its destination.

Fan Ying got off the car holding two gift boxes, paid the fare, and went to the side door to hand in the visiting card and gave the doorman a silver dollar as a gift.

The doorman's attitude became more enthusiastic. He invited him to go in and sit down and wait, and immediately informed the inner courtyard of the news.

Soon, Fan Ying was brought in.

Fan Ying observed along the way and couldn't help but sigh: "The princess's house is so nice! When I retire and go home, I will also build one in the same style."

When he was in charge of the state-owned copper mine in Yunnan, it was impossible for him not to embezzle, but he did not embezzle much, and he was used to pretending, so he appeared to be extremely honest.

When they arrived outside an attic, Fan Ying could hear the sound of a piano from a long distance away.

After being taken upstairs, he found that Xie Yan was also there.

Scholar Xie was just like the male owner of the place, lying on a rocking chair and enjoying himself. The eldest princess was actually playing the piano for Scholar Xie!
There were two maids standing in the outer hall, one asked Fan Ying to sit down, and the other went to make tea for Fan Ying.

Fan Ying could only sit in the outer hall, drink tea and wait.

It was not until the song was over that the maid in the outer hall came over to report: "Your Highness, my lord, Master Fan is here!"

Xie Yan stood up from the rocking chair and walked out side by side with Zhu Tangxi.

Fan Ying hurried forward to greet them: "I am Fan Ying, meeting Her Royal Highness the Princess and Mr. Xie."

Zhu Tangxi nodded in greeting.

Xie Yan bowed in return and said with a smile, "Master Fan, there is no need to be so polite. A few days ago, I was looking up information in the Ministry of Industry, and it was thanks to Master Fan that he helped me find it."

After exchanging a few pleasantries, Fan Ying held up two gift boxes and said, "I am flattered by your invitation, Your Highness. I am offering a small gift as a token of my respect."

Zhu Tangxi reminded: "I never accept expensive gifts."

Fan Ying explained: "Neither of them is valuable. One is Yunnan Pu'er tea, and the other is Yunnan tobacco. I brought them with me when I left Yunnan."

Zhu Tangxi nodded slightly, and Qingluan went to take the gift.

Xie Yan took out a map of Luoyang Prefecture and said, "I took the liberty of inviting Mr. Fan today because I want to inquire about the mineral deposits in Luoyang."

Fan Ying said quickly: "I am honored to be able to help Mr. Xie."

Xie Yan spread out the map: "Where is the limestone mine?"

Fan Ying pointed to the eastern suburbs of Luoyang and said, "The richest limestone mine closest to Luoyang City is in the eastern suburbs of Luoyang. But there is the Temple of Heaven and Earth, the Imperial College and the Military Academy, the Royal Gardens, and the Royal Horse Farm in that area. The court will not approve mining."

Fan Ying pointed to the west and south of Luoyang and said, "There are limestone mines in these counties, and some of them are already being mined."

"Isn't there any in the north?" Xie Yan asked.

"Yes, but not much," said Fan Ying.

Xie Yan asked again: "I heard there is an anthracite mine near Luoyang?"

Fan Ying pointed to several places on the map: "Most of the coal mines around Luoyang are anthracite, mainly in the three counties of Yanshi, Luanchuan and Yongning (Luoning)."

Xie Yan then asked about gypsum mines, iron mines, etc., and Fan Ying answered quickly like a familiar figure.

This person in charge of the Ministry of Industry has strong professional skills. Xie Yan took a pen and kept marking on the map, and began to think about where to build the cement plant.

His original plan was to build it in the Mangshan area, preferably in Yanshi or Gongxian. In this way, the cement produced could be supplied to Luoyang and quickly transported to Zhengzhou and Kaifeng.

But at present, it seems that building it in Shouan County (Yiyang County) is the best, as it can obtain limestone mines locally and other mineral raw materials nearby.

The fluorite mine has also been found, in Luanchuan County in the south, according to information provided by a medicinal material merchant.

When preparing cement, the proportion of fluorite added is less than 10%, and it can be transported by water through the Yi River.

By the way, the location of the Li family cement factory is also very good, so Li Minqiu can be said to have hit the jackpot this time.

After talking about business, Fan Ying was invited to the dining room.

The dishes were rich but not extravagant, exactly to Xie Yan's liking.

During this meal, Fan Ying felt very uncomfortable and even lowered his head and dared not look around.

Because those two guys were showing off their love again, Zhu Tangxi kept picking up food and pouring wine for Xie Yan, just like a wife serving her husband.

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No longer avoiding outsiders!

After finishing his meal in a hurry, Fan Ying said goodbye quickly, fearing that he might see something he shouldn't see.

Xie Yan and Zhu Tangxi were also slightly drunk.

After Director Fan left, Zhu Tangxi said, "The city gates are closed. Liu Lang should stay here tonight."

Xie Yan suggested: "The moonlight is just right, why not go out for a night walk with candlelight?"

The two of them came to the garden hand in hand, with maids holding lanterns in front and behind, and those lanterns contained kerosene lamps.

The princess's garden is a beautiful sight at night.

Unfortunately, there are a lot of mosquitoes in the summer, which really spoils the scenery. Xie Yan was bitten many times along the way.

Zhu Tangxi simply took Xie Yan to the waterside pavilion, asked the maid to light the mosquito repellent incense, and put some snacks and wine on the table again. The two of them embraced and admired the moonlight on the lotus pond, hugged each other, fed each other wine and talked sweet words.

Since that day of kissing, the eldest princess has become more and more relaxed. Moreover, sometimes she is particularly proactive and wants to eat Xie Yan up!

No one knew what time it was, but after the newly added wine was finished, the two left the pavilion even more drunk.

Xie Yan was actually conscious, but his hands and feet were a little out of control. He almost fell down while walking and had to be supported by a maid.

He originally wanted to send the princess back to her bedroom, but the princess was reluctant to part with him and pulled him to the embroidery tower to play, as if she planned to play all night.

Qingluan lit the incense here and asked the accompanying maid to leave so as not to disturb their world of two.

Zhu Tangxi was like an old house on fire. As soon as Qingluan closed the door, she hugged Xie Yan tightly and gave him a sweet kiss. Xie Yan responded dazedly, hugging the princess and quickly rolling onto the embroidered couch.

Qingluan and several maids were all standing outside the door eavesdropping. The faint sounds coming from inside made them blush.

"do not want!"

Suddenly, the princess shouted and the noise in the room stopped.

Zhu Tangxi had already taken off most of her clothes at this moment. She suddenly woke up because Xie Yan spent a long time untying her bellyband. In his daze, he not only failed to untie it successfully, but also made it into a knot, which hurt Zhu Tangxi a lot after a few violent pulls.

Xie Yan was speechless. He had sobered up a lot in order to untie the rope. Then he realized that he didn't need to untie it!
Zhu Tangxi breathed rapidly, blushing as he said, "Good Liulang, Qingluan told you that I'd better... wait until after the wedding... okay?"

Xie Yan could only say: "I'll listen to my sister."

Zhu Tangxi felt something pressing against her belly. She guessed that Xie Yan was already holding it in very hard, so she whispered into her lover's ear: "If Liu Lang can't help it, you can let Qing Luan sleep with you tonight. I won't be angry."

Xie Yan's blood boiled when he heard this, and he suppressed his impulse and said, "I want to give my virginity to my sister."

"Liulang, you are so nice!" Zhu Tangxi was so moved that she cried.

I really cried, and tears rolled down my face.

She was moved to tears while unbuttoning her skirt: "I'll give it all to you today. No matter what happens, I'll accept being deceived by you in this life."

Outside.

The maids who were eavesdropping in the corner noticed that the noise had become louder, and they all looked at each other in surprise.

"Sister Qingluan, this is the embroidery building. We should go back to the bedroom no matter what." A maid whispered.

Qingluan's whole body was burning with heat after hearing this, and she blushed as she said, "Don't talk nonsense. Go get some hot water, and I'll bring it in for His Highness and Liu Lang later."

More than half an hour passed.

The hot water is almost cold, but the inside is still churning.

Qing Luan murmured to himself: "Did it take so long? Your Highness has suffered so much."

A maid said, "It stopped for a while earlier. Is this the second round?"

Another maid said, "Is Your Highness crying? It doesn't seem like it. The sound is quite strange."

Qing Luan ordered, "Go prepare the bathing water and some clean clothes. I guess His Highness and Liu Lang will need to take a bath."

(End of this chapter)