Red Mansion Huacai

Chapter 362 No One Else in My Eyes

The King of Jin was choked up and said awkwardly: "No matter what, I am still your elder brother."

Li Mengqing said, "It's been less than a month. Besides, how can you act like a brother? Last year, you even stole my Qingzhui horse." After a pause, Li Mengqing turned to Li Weijian. Li Weijian hurriedly greeted him. Li Mengqing smiled and bowed, saying, "Greetings, Earl Jingling. I wonder if your wife is here today?"

As he spoke, he tilted his head and looked behind Li Weijian. Li Weijian said, "My wife didn't know the princess was here, because she didn't come with me."

Li Mengqing pouted and said in disappointment: "I heard that Jingling Bo was coming earlier, and I thought she would come too... In this case, Jingling Bo, please do as you please."

With a slight nod, Li Mengqing led the group to the east courtyard.

When he walked away, the King of Jin withdrew his gaze and said with a wry smile, "Yongshou and I have been fighting and quarreling since we were little, and we are used to having no rules. Please don't be offended, Lord Jingling."

Before they reached the ceremonial gate, they saw a young man hurriedly approaching them. He bowed from a distance and said with a smile, "Why is Your Highness the Prince of Jin here? Oh, to meet Master Li."

The Prince of Jin pointed at the young man and said, "This is my cousin. He just passed the Shuntian Prefecture Practical Education Examination. He may be among the top in the next exam."

The young man said modestly, "Your Highness Prince Jin, you are joking. In front of a great scholar like Master Li, I dare not say that I can definitely pass the exam." Then he bowed and said, "I am Wu Simei, and my teacher gave me the name Chaosheng."

Seeing that the young man was about 20 years old, Li Weijian was not arrogant. He bowed and returned the greeting, saying, "Brother Chaosheng, you are too polite. The Shuntian Prefecture provincial examination is more difficult than other places. Since Brother Chaosheng can pass the Shuntian Prefecture provincial examination, I think he will definitely pass the next exam."

"Haha, thanks to Master Li for his good words. Your Highness, Master, the venue is in the garden. Please move on."

At that moment, Wu Simei led the two of them to the inner courtyard. The place where the Practical Academy was founded was not in the central courtyard, but in the garden. Although the title of Marquis Cheng'en was not as good as that of the ancestors Rong and Ning in the early years, it was the family of the royal family and the concubine, so this mansion was built more spacious than the Rong Mansion.

Although the main house only had three entrances and four sides, the garden stretched from west to north, surrounding most of the mansion. In the garden on the north side, a pergola was built under several ginkgo trees, and there was a high platform near the bamboo forest.

Li Weijian went inside and looked to the west, but saw a high wall blocking the way, with only a corner door for people to enter and exit.

Wu Simei caught Li Weijian's eye and immediately explained, "Our home is so cramped that my father originally wanted to buy a piece of land in the outer city to build a villa for the Empress to visit. Later, he heard that a neighbor was interested in selling his house, so he bought it and built a west garden for the Empress to use when she came to visit her parents."

Li Weijian made a rough estimate and found that the West Garden was probably larger than Huifang Garden and Daguan Garden combined. Marquis Cheng'en was very generous. The construction of Daguan Garden by Rongguo Mansion was just a reconstruction, but it still cost about 300,000 yuan. The cost of the Wu family's villa was probably more expensive than that of the Jia family.

After turning the path and passing the bamboo forest, they arrived at the venue. The elderly Marquis Cheng'en hurried over to greet him. The King of Jin stepped forward to greet him and politely called him grandfather. The two chatted briefly, and then Marquis Cheng'en turned to Li Weijian and said with a smile: "Now that Earl Jingling is here, my practical school is complete."

"What do you mean, sir?"

Marquis Cheng'en said with a smile, "Who doesn't know that Jingling Bo is the best scholar in the world? Without Jingling Bo's support, my practical learning society would be in name only. Haha - Jingling Bo, please!"

Li Weijian smiled and took his seat. There were about twenty pavilions in total, and Li Weijian was placed in the first one on the left. The King of Jin walked around and greeted everyone, then turned around and squeezed in with Li Weijian.

"Lord Jingling, your rapid-fire arrow box is very interesting. I have thought about it for a while. Since bows and arrows can do this, why can't muskets do the same? If muskets are also equipped with rapid-fire magazines, my Dashun brigade can be as powerful as an army of 100,000!"

Magazine? Li Weijian couldn't help but look at the King of Jin with new eyes. This kid is very knowledgeable. It's a pity that the conditions are not ripe now. Let's not talk about other things. Just take the musket barrel. It will probably be scrapped after firing 200 rounds. In this case, what's the use of having a magazine?

In his previous life, he worked in metallurgy and machinery, and was familiar with several manganese and chromium ore producing areas in China. He sent people to explore for the mines last year, but they have not been discovered yet. Once these two types of mineral deposits are discovered, Dashun's metallurgy and processing technology will take a big step forward.

Li Weijian explained the difficulty, and the King of Jin frowned and thought about it. Just then, he saw the Marquis of Cheng'en holding a copper loudspeaker on the high platform and said loudly: "I am deeply grateful to all the wise men for taking the time to attend the meeting. Today we are gathered here to express our gratitude to the Holy Spirit for making my practical studies gradually become a well-known subject; secondly, to carry forward the past and open up the future, inherit the aspirations of the predecessors, establish a heart for the world, establish a destiny for the people, carry on the lost knowledge of the saints, and bring peace to the world for all generations!"

"Good!" Cheers and applause rang out everywhere.

Li Weijian looked at the Marquis of Cheng'en on the stage with interest. If he had not known this man well, he would have believed his lies. Marquis of Cheng'en Wu Xianming was a famous Taoist scholar before his daughter married into the royal family. Unexpectedly, he has now transformed himself and started to advocate practical learning... Perhaps he must have received guidance from Concubine Wu?

At that moment, a group of courtiers came to flatter and praise him, and they made Cheng Enhou the leader of practical learning. Li Weijian suddenly felt bored and thought to himself, practical learning... is not done this way.

Forming cliques and suppressing dissidents is not materialistic at all. How can this be possible?

Seeing him in a trance, the King of Jin beside him could not help but ask, "Doge Jingling seems to have something on his mind?"

"Your Highness has a good eye," Li Weijian said with a smile, "I am thinking of publishing a journal."

"Academic journal?" King Jin was surprised and said, "There are many practical academic journals out there nowadays. How is Jingling Bo's academic journal different?"

Li Weijian thought about it and said, "I plan to take out one million silver coins every year to reward the top ten contributors to the practical science community in the past year."

King Jin was stunned: "One million?"

Prince Jin was feeling unhappy... In order to earn some pocket money, he partnered with his maternal family to set up Heshunhang, but he didn't expect that a murder case would arise within a few days. He was just scolded by his father the other day, and now he was in a state of panic, but he didn't expect that Earl Jingling would just give him one million silver coins.

The King of Jin could not help but feel a little sad. How could any of his subjects in this world be richer than the King? The more he thought about it, the more sad he felt. The King of Jin suddenly lost interest in talking.

............................................................

In the West Garden, Sister Bao had a demure look on her face as she stopped at a waterside pavilion, letting several ladies chatter around Princess Yongshou.

Apart from the women of the Marquis Cheng'en's mansion, most of the women who came and went today were girls from the boudoir. Most of them were planning to make friends with Princess Yongshou or take this opportunity to meet some talented young men.

The West Garden was the imperial concubine's villa, and it was built quite elegantly. By this time, most people had wandered around, and the wife of the Marquis of Cheng'en came over and said, "My little princess, there's a festival going on over there. Do you want to go and see it?"

Li Mengqing smiled and said, "Madam is right. I was just about to go and see what's going on."

At that moment, everyone left the West Garden through the corner gate and headed for Ningchun Pavilion in the North Garden. This place was in a perfect position, high up, and they could see the situation below clearly.

The girls chattered as they reached Ningchun Pavilion. The brave ones leaned over the railings and half-covered their faces with round fans, peeking down. After a while, they would find a familiar female companion to whisper to.

Sister Bao was still quiet and demure. Among the girls, her family background was the worst, so she didn't even have anyone she knew. Previously, a girl came to talk to her and praised her for her knowledge and good manners, but after hearing about her family background, although she was polite, she never took the initiative to talk to her again.

At this moment, Sister Bao was neither sad nor happy, she just sat quietly and listened to the conversation of the ladies behind her. The wife of the Marquis of Fencheng'en just caught a glimpse of Baochai. Seeing her eyes like water apricots, her face like a silver plate, and her every move and gesture was very quiet, she couldn't help but feel happy and asked, "Which family is this girl from?"

The lady of the Marquis of Xiucheng took one look and said with a smile, "Madam, you may not know that this is the descendant of Ziwei Sheren, the legitimate daughter of the Xue family in Jinling, and her maiden name is Baochai."

As soon as the voice fell, a female family member asked: "The Xue family? Is it the Xue family that lost its royal merchant foundation?"

Baochai felt a sharp pain in her heart, but she remained calm on the surface. She stood up and bowed to Madam Hou: "Baochai of the Xue family greets Madam Hou."

When the wife of the Marquis of Cheng'en heard about Baochai's family background, she couldn't help but feel sorry for her. Her grandson, the Prince of Jin, would have to choose a concubine in the next year or two. According to the Dashun regulations, the crown prince would have one concubine and two concubines at his wedding, and the prince would have one concubine and one concubine.

According to the Saint's temperament, the Princess of Jin will probably be selected from the officials. And I heard that the Saint had already thought about it, so the Wu family naturally dared not overstep their authority. But the position of the Princess must be found for the grandson, the Prince of Jin.

It's a pity for Baochai in front of me. Although she is a decent person, her family is like that. Even if the prince's in-laws are of no help, it's not good to be a hindrance.

So the wife of the Marquis of Cheng'en changed the subject: "Ms. Xue looks dignified and steady. Perhaps it is her first time meeting so many people, so she is a little distant. After all, she is a young girl. She should not accompany us who are older. Why don't you go and play with the princess?"

Baochai agreed with a smile, then stood up and went to look for Princess Yongshou.

The wife of the Marquis of Cheng'en looked at Baochai's back and couldn't help saying, "What a pity for Miss Xue."

The speaker may not mean it, but the listener may take it seriously. One of the female relatives said, "Madam, are you thinking of being a matchmaker again? If I say so, I'm afraid Madam is wrong this time."

"How to say?"

The woman smiled and said, "I vaguely heard that Duke Xiu's Mansion intends to marry Miss Xue."

"The Mansion of the Duke of Xiuguo?" Lady Cheng'en Marquis's wife thought to herself, the Mansion of the Duke of Xiuguo is now inherited by the first-class son Marquis Xiaokang, he has wives and concubines, and lots of children, why would he need to marry again?
At this time, the former Lady of the Marquis of Xiucheng clasped her hands and sighed, "Yes, the third son of the Duke of Xiuguo's mansion lost his first wife a few years ago. He was going to remarry after the mourning period ended, but he didn't expect it to happen during the national mourning period, so he stopped for the time being. Who would have thought that he would fall in love with Miss Xue?"

The woman covered her mouth and laughed, "It's just rumors from outside, I can't guarantee it's true."

At this time, Baochai had already moved to the side of Princess Yongshou. Compared with the other girls, Princess Yongshou was very open and generous. She felt that she couldn't see clearly, so she simply took out a telescope from her sleeve to observe. The telescope turned and stopped at Li Weijian in a moment. She saw that all the people around him were scholars of practical learning. Although Li Weijian was very self-controlled and answered all the questions one by one, he could not hide his disgust when he turned his head.

Princess Yongshou curled her lips upon seeing this.

A girl nearby joked, "Which talented man did the princess like?" Li Mengqing did not answer but asked, "Who did Xiao'e like?"

Xiao'e pouted and said, "I won't watch it. It's up to my parents and the matchmaker to decide. It's not up to me. If I really like someone, but someone else gets married, I don't know how sad I would be."

Li Mengqing smiled and said, "Xiao E thinks very clearly." Although he said this, when he raised the telescope again, Li Mengqing still couldn't help but look at Li Weijian.

Baochai, who was standing by, did not participate in the conversation. She just leaned over the railing and looked down. Although no alcohol was provided at this gathering, the nobles and young men below still could not hide their frivolous and dissolute behavior. After observing this, Baochai could not help but look at Li Weijian.

Seeing that Li Weijian was really not tired of it, he bowed and said angrily to everyone around him, then went to the back with a maid. Sister Bao knew that he was going to change clothes, and she couldn't help but feel moved.

Seeing that no one was paying attention to her, Baochai quietly left Ningchun Pavilion and headed back. She stopped under the shade of a tree and paused for a moment, then she heard footsteps coming from behind her.

Sister Bao pretended to be panicked, and turned around with her round fan covering half of her face, but she saw that it was not Li Weijian who came, but the Prince of Jin who was walking with his hands behind his back. Sister Bao was panicked and bowed quickly: "I greet His Highness the Prince of Jin."

The Prince of Jin was about to nod casually and pass by, but when he caught a glimpse of Baochai's face, he stopped and asked after a moment, "Do you know me? Whose daughter is she?"

"Your Highness, I am the descendant of Ziwei Sheren, my surname is Xue, and I have lived in Jinling for generations."

"Jinling, Xue--" Prince Jin nodded and said, "Miss Xue, please don't stay here for long, lest the male guests bump into you." After saying that, he nodded and went forward again.

Sister Bao blushed and felt annoyed. She turned around and went back. After walking a short distance, she heard footsteps behind her. She was about to move aside when she heard a familiar voice saying, "Eh? Is that Sister Xue?"

Baochai stopped and turned around, and saw a maid leading Li Weijian towards them at big strides.

Baochai hurriedly greeted him: "Greetings, Fourth Brother Jian."

"Sister Xue is polite." Li Weijian bowed and smiled as he approached, "I didn't expect Sister Xue to come as well. If I had known this, I would have persuaded Yu'er to come with me no matter what."

Baochai said, "I haven't congratulated Fourth Brother Jian on the birth of his daughter yet, but I don't know when the banquet will be held."

Li Weijian raised his hand to lead them, and the two walked side by side. He then said, "It's not easy to organize during a national mourning period. I have discussed with Yu'er and Qiufang, and we will organize it together when the first birthday comes. By then, we will have to send an invitation to the Xue family."

Baochai smiled and said, "The golden lock is ready, just waiting for the banquet." After a pause, she added, "Yes, there is something I almost forgot to tell Fourth Brother Jian."

"Oh?"

Sister Bao said, "It was thanks to my listening to Fourth Brother Jian's advice that I sold off a lot of my family's livelihoods that I was able to save my family fortune. But now that we have a new baby, the expenses are rising. We can't just sit there and eat up all the money, so I thought about opening a factory."

"That's a good thing." Li Weijian wished that all the rich people in the world would come and start factories.

Sister Bao said, "But my family knows nothing about practical learning, so I really don't know where to start. I happened to meet Miss Xing, and heard that Fourth Brother Jian was interested in selling the canning recipe, so I went to the machinery factory first, and settled the matter in two days."

Li Weijian said with a smile: "If the canned food business is well managed, there will be great potential for development."

Apart from other things, the military supplies alone were a huge list. The army was only a small part, the real big part was the navy. Dashun had pacified the northwest, and this time the saint went north to govern Mongolia, and the north was probably stable. After that, Dashun had to turn to the ocean, whether to expand its living space or to seize the market.

Yesterday, the Yunnan governor reported that Burma allowed the chieftains to plunder the border again. The Yunnan governor issued a letter to reprimand them. The Burmese court pushed the issue back and forth, and finally turned the tables, showing its disobedience. It is because the court has emptied its money and grain, otherwise, given the saint's temperament, he would definitely send troops to attack.

Don't worry, wait a year or two, maybe the war will start. By then, we can plan and maybe swallow up the entire Indochina Peninsula. Even if we can't swallow it, we can at least occupy a few strategic fulcrums on the coast and drive England and Portugal out of Indochina Peninsula.

Baochai heaved a sigh of relief upon hearing this and said, "Brother Jian has the ability to turn stones into gold. Since Brother Jian said that there is great potential, I feel relieved."

Li Weijian pointed out: "If you want to do a good job in canning, there are only three things to do."

"May I ask which three?"

Li Weijian stopped and smiled, "Cost, cost, and cost. Sister Xue just needs to make it cheaper than others, and no one in the world can compete with Sister Xue."

Baochai shook her head and said, "I don't even know where to sell it. What's the point of it being so cheap?"

Li Weijian said confidently: "Sister Xue, you just need to make it cheap and people will bring business to you."

Just kidding, let's find out about OEM and OEM. If the cost is really low, even if someone got the military supply order through connections, it would be more cost-effective to order from Sister Bao than to produce it by yourself.

Baochai was half-believing and half-doubting, but she couldn't ask any more questions. The two walked in silence. After a while, Sister Bao suddenly asked in a low voice, "Brother Jian, how is Sister Lin now?"

Li Weijian said: "It's good to be happy as long as it goes according to your wishes."

For some unknown reason, Baochai asked again, "What about Fourth Brother Jian?"

"Me?" Looking at Baochai's pair of watery almond eyes, Li Weijian said with a smile: "I see no one else, you are everywhere. I see all living things as grass and trees, but you are the green mountain." Now that they were in front of the venue, he smiled and said: "If you put it this way, I think Sister Xue also knows how I am. I won't accompany you any longer."

Seeing Li Weijian turning around and leaving, Sister Bao said, "Fourth Brother Jian, take care," and stood still until she saw Li Weijian's figure disappear behind the bamboo forest.

When she returned to Ningchun Pavilion, Baochai leaned on the railing and looked down. Thinking about what Li Weijian had said, she sighed inwardly: He has no eyes for others, and so does she.
As the saying goes, 'After visiting the Five Mountains, you will not look at any other mountains; after visiting Mount Huangshan, you will not look at any other mountains.' It is indeed not easy to see such an outstanding man when you are still in the boudoir. Otherwise, when you get married, you will not care about other men. The rest are nothing but stupid traitors and parasites. How can they compare to that man?

Just after noon, Li Weijian hurriedly said goodbye and left. Sitting in his own carriage, Li Weijian couldn't help but feel proud. Ten years have passed since his soul traveled through time, and most of his memories of the past have faded. At first, in order to win over Daiyu, Li Weijian pretended to be a talented scholar for a long time, but he was not very knowledgeable, and his memory of poems was naturally limited. So since Daiyu got married, Li Weijian had no chance to show off.

Just now, I was talking to Baochai and mentioned that poem... Whose poem was it? It seems to be from a girl? It doesn't matter, it's just right to coax Daiyu.

He returned to the Haidian Garden excitedly and talked with Daiyu for a while, and suddenly he started to speak those long and short sentences.

Daiyu was naturally happy, but after she was happy she covered her mouth and laughed, "Where did Fourth Brother get these words? They are neither poetry nor lyrics, and sound quite strange."

Li Weijian said casually: "Just express your feelings, why bother with the format and rhythm?"

Daiyu smiled without saying anything, just looking at Li Weijian with joy.

Li Weijian complained again that the Practical Learning Society did not discuss practical learning, but instead had the style of Wei and Jin Dynasty pure talk. Finally, he mentioned: "Yes, Sister Xue was there today too. I happened to run into her when I came back from changing clothes."

Daiyu suddenly asked, "Third brother's long and short sentences... could it be that he came up with them after meeting Sister Bao?"

"Uh... it's true." Li Weijian hurriedly explained with a smile: "Sister Xue asked how my sister was, and then asked me how I was, and I was inspired to think of a few long and short sentences."

"That's how it is."

Seeing that Daiyu didn't care at all, Li Weijian asked curiously, "Sister, aren't you afraid of anything else?"

Daiyu laughed and said, "Fourth brother probably looks down on Sister Bao... He has too many thoughts."

Isn't it? They both had feelings for each other back then, it was not that Sister Bao was too thoughtful, how could it be like this now? On second thought, if Baochai had a simple personality, she would not be Baochai. After all the twists and turns, I am afraid that Li Weijian will choose Daiyu in the end. Even if he can't marry Daiyu, he will probably choose Xiangyun who has a simple mind.

The day passed quickly, and as the emperor was about to leave, Li Weijian and his family moved back to the Bo Mansion from Jingyuan. The summer heat was gradually fading, and it was a little cool in the morning and evening.

After Li Weijian and Daiyu had seen Lady Jia, they hurriedly packed their bags. Qingwen, Xiuying, and Baoqin went to Li Weijian every day to show their courtesy, hoping that he would take them on a tour to the north.

Li Weijian did not say anything at the moment, but the eldest master seemed to enjoy the gentleness of the three girls. He returned home early after the court session, but when he got home, he heard Xixue say that the third girl, Tanchun, had come.

When Li Weijian arrived at the east courtyard, he saw Tanchun talking to Daiyu.

Seeing him come in, the girls hurriedly stood up and greeted him. When Li Weijian sat down, Tanchun couldn't help but say, "Brother Jian, do you know that Bao-jie's marriage seems to be settled?"

Li Weijian blinked and asked in surprise: "What do you mean? Who did you see?"

Tanchun said, "This rumor came from Aunt You, and it's very convincing, saying that the engagement is with the Xiuguo Mansion. It's strange, the fourth brother of the Xiuguo Mansion is only thirteen, how could he be engaged to Sister Bao?"

Li Weijian thought to himself that the only people who could establish a household in Xiuguo Mansion were the sons of the first class, and the rest of the brothers had no titles, let alone hereditary positions. To put it bluntly, they were just idle people. Was the Xue family trying desperate measures to marry Baochai off to someone else?

(End of this chapter)