Cowardly Stepmother Dressed As the Hero

On the other side, Dong Li came to Lin Yi's residence according to Cao Mi's instructions.

But she did not meet Lin Yi as she wished, and after waiting for a while to no avail, Dong Li could only hand over the letter to Lin Yi's book boy.

She instructed: "This letter is a reply letter from the princess to Master Lin. Brother Lin Jian, please hand it over to Master Lin."

Lin Jian knew Dong Li and knew that she was one of Cao Mi's most useful people, so she replied respectfully, "Don't worry, girl, the villain must live up to his trust."

Dong Li heard the words, nodded and left.

Lin Jian watched her figure disappear, and then turned back to the house.

In the room, another book boy who was sorting out the books for Lin Yi looked up at him and asked, "What is Miss Dongli doing here?"

Lin Jian frivolously shook the letter in her hand and said, "The princess has replied to our young master."

The two followed Lin Yi to teach Qi Rui every day, so they naturally knew what happened yesterday, and also knew the general content of Lin Yi's letter.

Another book boy put down the book in his hand and chuckled lightly: "Although the princess has a high status, she doesn't dare to be lighthearted when she meets the young master. The letter I sent yesterday was actually returned today."

Lin Jian heard the words and smiled: "No."

These two have followed Lin Yi since they were young, and naturally they also took on some of the master's behavior. At this time, Lin Yi was taken seriously in the Bei'an palace, and they were also honored.

After a while, Lin Yi, who was out for a walk, came back.

After serving him and changing his clothes, Lin Jianjian explained the matter that Dongli came to deliver the letter in the morning.

Lin Yichu was a little surprised when he heard the words.

He originally thought that if Princess Bei'an was smart, after reading the letter, she would know to "restrain" and tacitly stop interfering with Qi Rui's studies.

Unexpectedly, this Princess Bei'an actually replied to herself.

But he didn't think too much, and ordered: "The king of Bei'an is just right, and the princess of Bei'an is reasonable. Well...Lin Jian, you will listen to your beliefs."

Lin Jian nodded and said "yes", turned around and opened the letter and read it: "...Qi Rui's studies have made rapid progress. As a mother, I am grateful to Mr.

Cao Mi's reply was obviously much more polite than Lin Yi's. She respected Lin Yi as the child's master, and did not even use her identity to oppress others, but used an equal self-proclaimed "I".

At the beginning of the letter, she did not mention the business, but expressed her gratitude to Lin Yi for Qi Rui's recent academic progress.

After Lin Jian finished reading, he smiled and complimented Lin Yi: "Young master has done a good job for Young Master Rui. Recently, Young Master Rui's studies have been advancing by leaps and bounds. If you want to come, the lord and the princess will see it."

Lin Yi nodded in satisfaction.

So Lin Jian turned over the first letter and continued to read the second page.

"...I don't have the talent of Mr., but I was fortunate to meet a great man when I was young. He once said... once said..."

Lin Jian looked at the content below, and suddenly began to hesitate, unable to continue.

"What did he say?" Lin Yi frowned.

Lin Yi smiled awkwardly, cleared his throat, and then read every word: "He once said: 'Reading history makes people wise, reading poetry makes people smart, mathematics makes people thorough, ethics makes people smart Sober, logical rhetoric makes people eloquent.

"'Everything you learn becomes a character.'"

This classic quote comes from the British philosopher Bacon's "Bacon Essays". There is also the sentence "Science makes people profound" in the original words, but there is no science in this era, so Cao Mi omitted this sentence.

She made this sentence to tell Lin Yi that the math that Qi Rui was learning recently was not something that was left out.

Every kind of knowledge that people come into contact with will eventually become nutrients for shaping their own bodies.

"Mathematics makes people thorough..." Lin Yi was also shocked by the subtlety of this sentence at first glance.

But soon, he reacted again: "Jokes, such miscellaneous things as math, how can they be compared with 'history' and 'poetry', it's really ridiculous!"

Hearing his words, Lin Jian hurriedly nodded in agreement and said, "Young master is right! Please let the villain say in private, how can Princess Bei'an know about literati as a female classmate? From the villain's point of view, these are all Just listen to the nonsense, young master, you don't need to take it to heart!"

Lin Yi rubbed his forehead: "But I don't know who she met at the time... I'm afraid it's not an ordinary person to be able to meet Cao Hanlin at that time."

After calming down, he murmured again: "'Everything you learn is a character'? This...this..."

Seeing that he was lost in thought, Lin Jian wisely paused the act of reading the letter.

But Lin Yi said "This..." for a long time, but couldn't come up with a reason. Finally he took a deep breath and asked, "What else was written on the letter?"

Lin Jian heard the words and turned to the last page.

But as soon as he saw the words on the letter, his face turned pale: "Uh... young master, this letter..."

"Just read it!" Lin Yi ordered with a frown.

Lin Jian nodded at him with a stiff smile, and stammered and continued to read: "Study for study, aspiring to be a scholar in ancient times, is always a long way to go, searching up and down. I think that learning is the most important thing to learn.

"Although Qi Rui is young, his desire to study has already been revealed, and I am very relieved.

"And...and..."

Cold sweat broke out on Lin Jian's head, and he couldn't read the following words.

Lin Yi's face has become very dignified because of the words "heart to study". Seeing Lin Jian's nervous appearance, he knew that there was absolutely nothing good to say below.

So, he simply stopped waiting, got up and snatched the letter from Lin Jian's hand, and read to himself, "As a teacher, you don't take pride in it, but why do you want to destroy the students' desire to learn?

"So, doesn't it mean to abandon the root and chase the end, and violate... the great precept of being a teacher!"

Seeing his heavy face, Lin Jian knew that he was angry, so he knelt down and said, "Young master, let go of your anger, young master!"

After reading, Lin Yi was panting heavily with red face and red ears, obviously looking very angry.

Seeing this, Lin Jian quickly stepped forward to help, and said with concern, "Master?"

Lin Yi waved at him and calmed himself down for a while. When calm was restored, he put the crumpled letter paper back on the table.

Seeing that he was quiet, Lin Jian asked, "Young master, do you want to reply? The villain will grind for the young master!"

Lin Yi sat back in the chair, closed his eyes and seemed to be in deep thought, but when he heard the words, he shook his head slightly.

After a while, he said: "No, I'll think about it first, think about it first..."

No one knows what he has come up with when he thinks so.

But Cao Mi did not receive any reply from him about this matter, and asked Qi Rui, and knew that this Master Lin never mentioned Qi Rui's learning to count.

Two days later, Cao Mi came to visit with a gift, and when he saw that he was facing him with a calm demeanor, he was not at all uncomfortable, and he was relieved.

——

After resolving the matter on Mr. Lin's side, Cao Mi can finally devote all his attention to his own affairs.

After Qi You left, she originally wanted to find a day with the housekeeper to inquire about the silver liang in the house, and first "lent" a part of the funds from Qi You's account to use it as a turnover.

But before she could act, the housekeeper took the initiative to find her.

When he came over, he brought a whole thousand taels of gold and silver with him, and said to Cao Mi, "Before I left, the lord specially instructed that the old slave bring it to the princess."

Cao Mi was a little surprised.

She has been busy with accounting for the past few days. She originally only planned to borrow five hundred taels from Qi You, but he did not expect that he would take the initiative to make arrangements, and one gift would be one thousand taels.

For some unknown reason, this awkward man could have been delivered to him when he was still in the mansion two days ago, and she could thank him in person.

But now, others have gone to Fengping, and Cao Mi can't find anyone to thank him.

She could only keep this feeling in her heart silently, waiting for a chance to repay later.

After the housekeeper delivered the silver tael, he left directly.

In any case, this fund has indeed solved Cao Mi's urgent needs. Without the constraints of funds, Cao Mi's various plans have been carried out smoothly.

After this period of time, all the kangs used by the refugees in Rongguang Villa have been built, which made Cao Mi relieved—even in winter, she would not be able to prepare more than 1,000 winter clothes and winter shoes. If the refugees stay in the house, they can also bear the cold season when the heavy snow is raging in Liaozhou.

The craftsmen who were already skilled in building kangs and fire dragons completed the work at the Renshan Villa, and soon arrived in Kangcheng. Under Cao Mi's instructions, they were busy in the palace and several other noble families.

Following Mrs. Qin, other aristocratic families also got the news as Cao Mi had expected, and soon came to purchase some cement with the idea of ​​pleasing the Bei'an Prince's Mansion.

The amount they purchased was limited, but Cao Mi was also satisfied—

After all, this is the only channel that cement plants can open today!

Recently, the cement produced by the cement factory is either self-produced and sold and invested in the construction of the cement factory and Rongguang Villa, or it is supplied to Qi You for free.

Seeing that bags of cement that represented money were resisted by the people who travelled away, Cao Mi felt a pain in his heart.

She had to put the cement aside first and focus on the situation on Zhang Mao's side.

Zhang Mao was the craftsman who was instructed by her to develop ink a month ago.

After the cement was developed, Liu Ge handed over the corresponding affairs to Master Zeng and a mansion craftsman surnamed Chen, and returned to the palace.

Cao Mi didn't have anything for him to do for the time being, and seeing that there was no other progress on the ink side, he directly asked him to go to Zhang Mao's side to preside over the development of the ink.

But even with the addition of Liu Ge, the development of ink is still not smooth. Fortunately, after this period of time, other things have been on the right track, and Cao Mi has gained a little breathing space.

In the blink of an eye, more than a month has passed, and the time has come to mid-July.

July 20th is Yuanshen's birthday.

Cao Mi didn't want to make a big deal at first. After all, the head of the mansion, King Bei'an, was not there. She originally kept a low-key way of hosting a family banquet, and she could just make do with it.

Unexpectedly, several aristocratic families in Liaozhou have been staring at the situation here, and Mrs. Qin and Mrs. Situ were even more than half a month in advance, and they shouted to help her.

Cao Mi couldn't, so he had to call the housekeeper and Dong Li, and they had a good fight.

On the 19th day of the seventh lunar month, Danba sent back the mother and daughter of the Zhang family who had been away for more than two months as agreed.

At that time, Cao Mi was checking the process of tomorrow's birthday banquet with Dongli, and a servant from the outside came in and reported that Cao Mi was still a little dazed when he talked about the return of Zhang's mother and daughter.

But she quickly reacted and asked to send Zhang's mother and daughter to their original yard first, and then sent two people to serve them.

After she was done with the task at hand, she finally found a space to meet Zhang.

After two months of absence, Mrs. Zhang and her daughter, Xiao Zigui, have lost some weight, but they look good.

The two months of living on the grasslands made Zhang's originally delicate skin a little rough, but it made her eyes brighter, and she was no longer as lackluster as before.

When she saw Cao Mi, she leaned over to salute Cao Mi, and Cao Mi quickly helped the mother and daughter up.

As usual, after teasing Xiaozigui for a while, Cao Micai asked about Mrs. Zhang's life for the past two months.

Life in the grasslands is actually very boring, and life is even more difficult for a poor and weak tribe like the Ale tribe where Zhang's husband lives.

They have been driven to the edge of the grassland, where the barren pastures cannot support too many cattle and sheep. Every day when the Ale people open their eyes, they worry about the food of the cattle and sheep.

After talking about the hardships, Mrs. Zhang suddenly said, "Actually, the women are thinking, maybe they can sow seeds on the grassland."

"Sowing?" Cao Mi asked, "You mean, let them plant their own grass?"

"Yeah!" Mrs. Zhang nodded and looked at Cao Mi with bright eyes: "If the people of the Sheng Dynasty can sow and grow food to support themselves, why can't they grow grass to feed cattle and sheep on the grassland? In this way, the tribes don't need to migrate all the time. ."

Cao Mi agreed with her very much: "You are right. In the past, the Ale people lived in the depths of the grassland, where the area is vast, and people didn't need to think about the problem of pasture at all. grown out.

"But now the Ale people have been pushed to the edge and cannot migrate at all. It is better to use the limited grassland and sow their own grass."

Mrs. Zhang nodded, but his face was a little sad: "The patriarch of the Ale is the uncle of the deceased husband of the Minwomen. The Minwomen are discussing this matter with him."

Seeing her expression, Cao Mi guessed: "It seems... the negotiation is not going well."

The Zhang family smiled helplessly: "I can't hide it from the princess. The team leader said that the place where we live is not peaceful now, and if we are not careful, the war between the Rong tribe and the Sheng Dynasty will likely affect the Ale tribe.

"Growing pasture may work, but it will probably be wasted before it grows.

"So, what a waste of energy"

Cao Mi was a little strange: "If you don't plant grass, you can't solve the dilemma that the Ale people will encounter."

"Yes." Mrs. Zhang nodded: "So, the leader's idea is to leave the current place before the autumn harvest, take a detour to the east, avoid some of the current major tribes of the Rong tribe, and then go north."

"North?" After Cao Mi heard this, he frowned in thought.

Speaking of which, she didn't know much about the things on the grassland, so she couldn't comment on the decision of the Ale Patriarch.

However, if they really make the trip and the Zhangs and daughters leave with them, they may have little hope of returning to the Sheng Dynasty in the future.

So, after pondering for a while, Cao Mi asked, "Did you... think about it clearly?"

Zhang Shi raised his eyes to look at her.

She smiled, "Women all know the kindness of the princess."

As she said that, she left the chair, leaned over and knelt down in front of Cao Mi: "The great kindness of the lord and the princess, the women will never be able to repay them in this life, so she can only remember them in their hearts and repay them in the next life."

Cao Mi sighed: "It's not necessary."

After thinking about it, she still persuaded: "After all, the grassland is not as good as the Central Plains, otherwise the Rong people will not be locked every year, trying to dominate the great rivers and mountains of the Central Plains."

"I know you have concerns, but when you come back to the palace, Zigui can also have a place to live, so there's no need to..."

Mrs. Zhang shook her head: "The princess doesn't know. In the Ale people, although the Minwomen and Zigui lived a bit poor, the Minwomen knew that Zigui was very happy.

"She runs on the grassland with the children of the tribe every day. Like her father, she was born there."

Speaking of this, a gentle look appeared on her face: "She wants to stay, Minwomen, and she is also willing to stay with her."

Knowing that Zigui is now Zhang's only sustenance, Cao Mi no longer persuades him.

She reluctantly raised the corner of her mouth, and said again: "In that case, I won't say more. This time, for me, I will let you all rush back once, you are tired on the road.

"You take Zigui back to rest first. Tomorrow's birthday banquet is over. I'm discussing with Danba before sending you back."

Mrs Zhang leaned over and saluted, "Thank you, Princess."

After she left with Zigui, Cao Mi leaned on the case and thought with a headache.

The next day, Princess Bei'an's birthday banquet was held as scheduled.

Since the King of Bei'an was not present, all the female family members attending the banquet this time. The major families spent all their time and sent a dazzling array of gifts.

What surprised Cao Mi the most was that although Danba, a military merchant, did not receive an invitation, he also sent someone a birthday present.

And the ones he sent were like the exotic flowers and plants that Cao Mi had mentioned to him before.

She has a lot of things to do today, so she didn't have the chance to take a closer look, but with a quick glance, she can confirm that those strange plants were not found in the Sheng Dynasty, and most of them were planted in exquisite potted plants. Even after the bumps on the road, they still Glow with strong vitality.

Cao Mixi was overjoyed and ordered Dong Li to put away his things, then turned around and went to the banquet hall to entertain guests.

At night, after the banquet was over, she then checked the reason for the gift list, and wanted to go over to see what Danba had brought, but she did not expect that the mother and daughter of the Zhang family also sent gifts.

Cao Mi was a little surprised, and he couldn't care about the gift from Danba for a while, and asked about the things that Zhang's sent.

Dongli fetched the things according to his words, but they were all cheap felt and bacon.

Cao Mi didn't dislike it, and said to Dong Li, "Miss Zhang has been too busy to take care of herself, but she still prepared gifts for me, but she is very attentive."

Dong Li nodded: "Zhang is a kind person."

Cao Mi smiled: "Well, you can help me prepare a return gift for her, don't be too expensive, look for some common and practical things, preferably some food and clothes that can be used in winter, wait for them to ask. When you leave, ask Danba to help bring it with you."

Dong Li smiled and said, "The maid obeys."

Cao Mi touched the somewhat thorny felt, and was about to let someone put it away when he suddenly thought of something.

She murmured: "The Rong people are not good at handicraft, this felt is very rough."

Seeing this, Dong Li hurriedly took the felt away: "Although Mr. Zhang is kind, this kind of thing is still a little dirty. It's better for the princess not to touch it."

Cao Mi shook his head: "No problem."

She suddenly remembered something and said, "If we can buy wool that they can't handle...and make it into winter clothes, wouldn't we not have to worry about it this winter?"

Dong Li opened his mouth, obviously feeling that her thoughts were a little whimsical.

"Princess, the wool is rough and can only be made into felt like this. How can it be made into winter clothes?"

Cao Mi looked up at her: "Why not!"

Speaking of which, there is even a loom that can spin wool in her space.

When Cao Mi was young, her mother and grandmother would go to buy cotton and wool to make their own clothes. Later, life gradually got better, adults stopped doing such laborious things, and Cao Mi never saw those tools again.

She originally thought that her mother threw those things away, but since she had the space, she felt all the things in the space. It was also at this time that she realized that those things were not thrown away by her mother, but were put away by her in a small warehouse at home and piled up in the innermost corner.

At this time, Cao Mi was extremely grateful to his mother for the good habit of never throwing away things casually. If she could find a time to take out the set of wool processing tools, and after researching it thoroughly, she would tell Liu Ge that in this era, a spinning machine could be created. The wool machine is not impossible!

Thinking of this, a brilliant idea suddenly appeared in her heart.

"Perhaps, the Ale people don't need to move." She murmured in a low voice, considering the possibility of this matter, "The Zhang family has a stable temperament and is never willing to accept free gifts.

"But if she and the Ale people can be an intermediary and buy a lot of wool for me in the grasslands, maybe the current predicament of the Ale people can be solved."

The more she thought about it, the more she felt that this approach was feasible.

Dong Li heard the words and reminded next to him: "Princess, now the relationship between the Rong family and the dynasty is tense, it may not be difficult for the Zhang family to buy wool in the grasslands, but how to transport it?"

Cao Mi nodded: "You are right. Nowadays, every business route is controlled by big businessmen like Danba. These business routes have been managed by them for many years, and it is absolutely impossible for others to pass them easily.

"but……"

Cao Mi suddenly smiled again: "Danba doesn't look down on the small business of wool at all, maybe you can mention it to him and 'rent' his business."

"Lease?" Dong Li's eyes widened in surprise.

"En." Cao Mi said: "You can understand that, um... buy tolls."

Dong Li was amused by her and said, "When the princess said this, the servants will understand. Speaking of which, these merchants are indeed half bandits."

Cao Mi gave her a funny look: "Don't talk nonsense."

But then, she pondered again: "However, I still have to discuss this matter with Mrs. Zhang... I wonder if she, a woman, has such courage."

Saying that, she raised her head and instructed Dongli, "Anyway, if she mentions that she wants to leave, you say that I have something to entrust to her, and I will stay with her for two days. I will confirm with Liu Ge and Danba first. Let's see what to do."

Dong Li nodded: "Yes."

After such a discussion, it was already too late.

Cao Mi yawned: "Forget it, about the gift, let's settle it tomorrow, don't stay up late, go and rest."

Dong Li nodded when he heard the words, took the account book and left first.

Not long after she left, Cao Mi washed her face and was about to rest when she suddenly heard the maid on duty outside the door come in and report, "Princess, the lord is back."

The author has something to say: thanks to the little angel who irrigated the nutrient solution: 19 bottles of spray in the waves; 245217765 bottles;

Thank you very much for your support, I will continue to work hard!