Chapter 25: Beauty scheming
However, out with the old and in with the new. Taking advantage of this to write vigorously, Zhang Nuo decided to experience the pleasure of freely writing calligraphy like the masters.
Unconsciously, Xiaomei quietly came to his side and silently helped him grind the ink. She looked at him with admiration and love as he wrote freely on sheet after sheet of paper.
Although Xiaomei couldn't read, she felt that her future husband's handwriting was much more beautiful than that of the old scholars, almost like a painting.
After wreaking havoc on the last sheet of paper in the study, Zhang Nuo finally had enough. He looked at Xiaomei rubbing her wrist quietly beside him and blushed a bit.
He had become so engrossed in writing that he had lost track of time, and it seemed like Xiaomei had been grinding ink for a long time without him realizing it.
Although reading and studying by the light of a red lamp was a rare pleasure, grinding ink was still a physical activity.
Since Xiaomei was now part of his household, he could ignore some conventions. He took Xiaomei's small hands without hesitation and slowly massaged her wrists.
Looking at Xiaomei's hands, one could tell that she wasn't from a wealthy family. Although it wasn't apparent at first glance, her hands had several calluses from working.
There were also many small cracks in the palms of her hands, evidence of long-term neglect.
Zhang Nuo felt a pang of heartache and, while massaging Xiaomei's wrists, whispered,
"Don't do any of the rough work in the future. Tomorrow, I'll find a few older women to help with the laundry and cleaning, and you can focus on taking care of me."
Xiaomei blushed as Zhang Nuo held her small hand and hesitantly said,
"Husband, I'm not a spoiled rich lady who hasn't suffered. We have so many people in the household already; we don't need to add more."
Zhang Nuo didn't care. He only knew that his reserved Xiaobaicai had suffered, and he had to solve the problem quickly. He had to not only hire someone but also figure out how to take care of Xiaomei's hands.
It was just hiring someone who specialized in washing and cleaning clothes, so how much could it cost?
He could probably scrape some extra money from Li and it would be enough to cover the other person's salary for a few months.
In the past, he had no choice, but now that he had Xiaomei, he had to make sure she lived a good life.
Xiaomei was getting anxious. They hadn't even gotten married yet, and she was already refusing to do any work and wanted to hire someone to take care of her. Her mother would scold her if she found out she was being extravagant.
Unable to come up with a better solution, Zhang Nuo reluctantly agreed when Xiaomei hugged him and said,
"Let Mrs. Liu do it. Mrs. Liu doesn't have much to do now, so she can help wash clothes, and I'll take care of the hygiene in your room!"
Zhang Nuo saw Xiaomei using all kinds of tricks to win him over, it seemed that she was really anxious, so he had to nod and agree.
However, in his heart, he also lamented that she was just a young woman from a small family, and she was already so careful with money even before getting married!
He didn't have the slightest intention of looking down on Zhang Xiaomei, nor did he feel that he had to marry some rich young lady in the future.
To tell the truth, although he appeared to be a refined and cultured person who could compose poetry and essays, he was actually a lazy person who exuded an air of mediocrity.
If he really ended up with a talented woman who was always grieving and writing poetry, he would probably have a headache trying to get along with her.
But little did he know that while he was secretly gloating over having reserved a crisp and tender Xiaomei, the Empress Chang sun, who was far away in the palace, had already begun to think about his lifelong affairs.
Li Shimin got up from bed at about the same time as Zhang Nuo, and as soon as he woke up, he saw the Empress Changsun sitting by his bedside.
Immediately, he remembered how he had been yelling and screaming with a wine jug outside the Empress's palace gate before.
Undoubtedly, he was going to have another embarrassing moment to be laughed at by the Empress. He couldn't bring it up himself now, so he asked about something else instead.
"Guanyin, taste the wine I brought back first, and then I'll tell you some good news!"
As a longtime confidante of Li Shimin, the Empress Changsun knew her husband better than he knew himself. How could she not know that he was just feeling embarrassed?
However, she was also happy to cooperate. After all, she had to give this supreme ruler some face.
She called over a serving maid who was standing by and took the wine jug that Li Shimin had brought back earlier. She poured herself a cup, carefully examined it, then sniffed it, and finally took a sip.
As soon as it entered her mouth, the Empress Changsun's eyes lit up. After she swallowed it, she praised Li Shimin,
"Your Majesty, this wine is even better than the imperial wine in the palace!"
"Hahaha, it seems that Guanyin thinks so too! This is the business I acquired today from Xiaozhang's shop. From now on, this wine will be our family's business!"
Li Shimin was thrilled when the Empress Chang sun praised the wine. He forgot all about his earlier plan to change the subject.
He started boasting to the Empress about how he had discovered the business opportunity and how he had quickly secured 40% of the shares, and how he had finally obtained an additional 10% of the shares by agreeing to make the palace the exclusive customer.
Especially the last one, it made Li Shimin extremely proud.
The Empress Chang sun couldn't help but cry and laugh as she watched Li Shimin's excited expression. Clearly, he held the world in his hands, but now he was so happy about a simple wine business.
As the head of the harem, Empress Changsun was even more aware of the severity of the deficit in the imperial treasury than Li Shimin.
Naturally, she hoped that the imperial family's finances would be more solid, so she also understood why Li Shimin was happy to create a new source of wealth.
Thinking of the son of an acquaintance she had met, the amazing cooker Xiao Zhang, who had made such a big business deal in just a few days since they last met, it seemed that he was truly worthy of the praise of being a talent of the court.
However, as a woman, Empress Chang sun's thoughts were more subtle than those of men. She noticed things that Li Shimin didn't pay attention to during normal times.
"Your Majesty, it seems that Xiao Zhang hasn't been engaged yet. Although Uncle Zhang and Auntie Zhang passed away last year, he still needs to find a spouse. He's already eighteen this year!"
"Uncle Zhang was very kind to Your Majesty and us in the past, and now Xiao Zhang is partnering with Your Majesty in business. This is a relationship that spans two generations."
"Now that Uncle Zhang is gone, Xiao Zhang has no elder to lead the family. For the sake of reason and affection, we should help him find a suitable spouse. After all, he called me sister-in-law!"
At the end of her speech, Empress Chang sun couldn't help but smile. Only Xiao Zhang had the courage to call her sister-in-law so directly these years.
Li Shimin was also surprised to hear what Empress Changsun said. He hadn't noticed this before.
But when he thought about Xiao Zhang's age, he realized that they should indeed find a solution for him. After all, most people his age were already married and some even fathers.
He had been calling Xiao Zhang his little brother all this time but he had not noticed this important detail. He really should don't have.
After thinking about it seriously for a while, Li Shimin shook his head.
"It's not appropriate. He hasn't become an official yet, and as a commoner, how can he marry a wife? The wealthy and powerful families won't accept him, and the humble families will be unworthy of him."
Empress Chang sun also nodded silently. Indeed, even if he was worth billions, a commoner like him would still be worthless in the eyes of the wealthy and powerful families. They would never marry their daughters to him.
But she couldn't just let this go. Empress Chang sun felt that if they didn't find a wife for Xiao Zhang, she would not be fulfilling her duty as his sister-in-law.
After thinking about it for a while, she suddenly had an idea.
They couldn't make him a legal wife for now, but they could appoint him as a "second wife"!
There were so many beautiful and talented women in the palace. They could choose one and send her over to him.
Looking at the female officials waiting on her, Empress Chang sun felt more and more convinced of her idea. She quietly leaned over to Li Shimin and whispered,
"Your Majesty, how about giving Hongyu to Xiao Zhang as a concubine? Hongyu is knowledgeable and clever. If she were a man, she would definitely serve the country. It's a pity to keep her in the palace."
"Xiao Zhang is also a young man of eighteen who has not yet found a spouse. Hongyu is twenty-one this year, so it may not be appropriate to make her a legal wife, but it's not too much to make her a 'second wife.'"
Li Shimin was feeling a bit uncomfortable at the moment. According to the rules, any woman in the palace he sets his sights on belongs to him.
However, when Hongyu was still a little girl, she was taken to the Qin Prince's residence by Empress Chang sun. Her parents had died, and she grew up under Chang sun's tutelage.
She was skilled in music, chess, calligraphy, and painting, and even more rare, had sharp senses, was clever and witty. Whatever Chang sun entrusted to her, she could always handle it properly.
What was most important was that the little girl with yellow hair back then had now grown up to become more and more graceful and elegant.
Li Shimin had been envious for a long time, but after expressing his intentions a few times in a roundabout way, while the girl did not object, she clearly did not agree either. This made Li Shimin frustrated for a long time, as he did not want to use force.
What was worse was that the girl would immediately run to Empress Chang sun to complain whenever she turned her head.
Empress Chang sun had been silently blaming him for a long time, but now that a suitable candidate had appeared, she immediately planned to send Hongyu away, which completely dissipated his thoughts.
However, upon calm reflection, Hongyu was actually a good match for Xiao Zhang, the shopkeeper. They were both intelligent, and their ages were not very different. Xiao Zhang was bound to become a high-ranking official in the future, so it would not be a hardship for Hongyu to marry him.
What was most important was that the royal family was about to cooperate in business with Xiao Zhang, and if his wife was a female official from Empress Chang sun's side, it would be the most appropriate for managing those businesses.
The more he thought about it, the more it seemed like a good idea, and Li Shimin had to put down his last bit of reluctance in his heart and answer with a pleased expression,
"I naturally agree. I just don't know what Hongyu thinks. After all, she is a girl with ideas!"
When Empress Chang sun heard that the emperor had agreed, she did not care about his ambiguous words, and beckoned Hongyu over with a smile, asking,
"I have found a marriage proposal for you. The other party is a talented young man who has just turned eighteen this year. Not only is he handsome and talented, but he also has some potential."
"Moreover, he has caught the Emperor's eye before he even entered the court, and his future is limitless. Although you were not a regular wife before, you cannot be without a lady of the house. What do you think?"
There was no excitement on Hongyu's face, and she respectfully replied,
"If the Empress allows it, this servant would like to meet him first. If we get along, I will leave it to the Empress to decide!"
Empress Chang sun clapped her hands and laughed, saying to Hongyu,
"It's settled then. This Xiao Zhang is very talented, and I believe you will find a satisfactory husband tomorrow!"
Not to mention how overwhelmed Hongyu was with her thoughts, Empress Chang sun turned her head and began to consider how to gather funds and send them to Xiao Zhang's place tomorrow.
Five thousand strings was not a small amount, and not only was it a big deal in terms of the number, even just figuring out how to find a group of carriages without palace markings to transport the money to Xiao Zhang's place was not a simple matter.
The next morning, Li Shimin had just gotten up to attend the morning court when Empress Chang sun immediately got up and began to dress up with Hongyu.
They were meticulous about their attire and jewelry because they were going as common folk merchants.
Empress Chang sun was so excited while dressing up Hongyu that she acted like her own younger sister was getting married. She kept asking Hongyu to change her clothes and headgear, and was almost like dressing up a porcelain doll.
Hongyu couldn't help but laugh and cry at the same time.
Thankfully, during this time period, there weren't as many restrictions between unmarried men and women as there were in the Ming and Qing dynasties. So it was common for unmarried men and women to meet and chat, which was not much different from later times.
But if it were the Ming and Qing dynasties, such a thing would not have been possible.
Shortly after, Li Shimin rushed over after the morning court and urged Empress Chang sun to change his clothes. He then quickly got on the carriage without hesitation and was in a hurry to leave.
The team was quite large this time. There was Li Shimin's carriage, Empress Chang sun and Hongyu's carriage, and five carriages carrying money. Seven carriages in total left the palace gates and then went around in a small circle before heading towards Kaihua Street.
Hongyu sat on the carriage and listened to Empress Chang sun talk about some of the amazing experiences she had with Xiaozhang, as well as some stories she heard from her husband.
In Empress Chang sun's mouth, Xiaozhang became a rare and brilliant person in the world - a talented and knowledgeable young man.
Hongyu listened quietly. Although she didn't say it, she was actually a bit hopeful.
Which girl doesn't dream of love?
She had thought that after rejecting Li Shimin, she would spend the rest of her life struggling in the palace, alone and lonely.
But unexpectedly, she had the chance to marry and leave the palace during her prime years, which made her both hopeful and scared.
She often envied the stories the palace girls would tell about their ordinary family life, as she had never experienced it herself, having grown up in the royal palace.
She hoped that Xiaozhang really was as humorous as Empress Chang sun described. Such opportunities were rare, and if she missed this chance, she didn't know when the next one would come.
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