Chapter 1969
Late Ming Dynasty 5
Liu Xueyi and Liu Niandong hit it off.
There's no other reason than that Liu Niandong is the prettiest among the sisters.
Zhu Youxun had the best relationship with Liu Wenqiu.
Liu Wenqiu was the legitimate daughter of the Liu family, and her dowry would be the largest. Given Zhu Youxun's status and family circumstances, even if he had a fondness for women, he wouldn't choose a concubine's daughter. Liu Wenqiu was Zhu Youxun's best choice.
Of course, everyone is still quite young and not at the age to talk about marriage.
If the relationship is good now, who knows what will happen in the future?
Who knows if there will be better options in the future?
Liu Tong and Liu Yinxia were happy to watch the show from the sidelines, occasionally pulling Liu Qin along.
After reading it, Liu Qin warned Liu Yinxia not to get involved with those four people.
Liu Qin: "There's still a chance that Third Sister and Zhu Youxun will get together. But Fourth Sister's marriage is just wishful thinking. The Marquis's mansion would never allow a legitimate son to marry a concubine's daughter..."
He saw it clearly, but he didn't think to remind Liu Niandong.
Don't say he's cold-hearted and doesn't care about his sister.
Liu Niandong is not his biological sister from the same mother.
Liu Niandong looked down on everyone in their household because she was raised under the old lady's name.
Liu Qin ignored the others and asked Liu Qiu and Liu Yinxia, "Have you been meeting with Liu Deyue recently?"
Liu Tong and Liu Yinxia shook their heads.
Liu Yinxia: "Something must have happened in their family; they haven't come to see us for a long time."
Liu Qin: "The Embroidered Uniform Guard has a bad reputation, so you should have less contact with them in the future."
Liu Yinxia pouted: "Liu Deyue isn't a member of the Embroidered Uniform Guard."
Liu Qin: "He has an uncle who is a member of the Embroidered Uniform Guard."
Liu Yinxia: "My uncle isn't my biological father."
Liu Qin warned, "Second Sister!"
Liu Yinxia pouted and outwardly agreed, but inwardly she was thinking that she and her brother would go to Liu Deyue's place instead of letting Liu Deyue come to visit them.
Suddenly, the faint sound of bells could be heard.
Liu Qin's expression changed instantly.
Liu Tong and Liu Yinxia also stopped smiling.
The three of them quietly counted the chimes until the last chime disappeared, and then they immediately went to the Qian family's courtyard.
In their previous life, they had already instructed the maid to prepare simple clothes for the three of them.
Before long, white banners were hung at the door of every household in the capital.
This is a time of national mourning; the emperor has died.
Emperor Wanli, the longest-reigning emperor of the Ming Dynasty, has passed away.
A month later, the plain clothes that had been taken off were put back on everyone's bodies.
Emperor Zhu Changluo, who had only been on the throne for a little over a month, also passed away.
Lord Liu always came home with a worried look on his face. His family knew that he was troubled by matters of the court, so they dared not provoke him and treated him with utmost care.
Everyone was actually quite worried, fearing that the political turmoil in the court would affect their family.
Everyone knew that the sudden death of Emperor Mingguang was suspicious.
The imperial court is launching an investigation to find the mastermind, and many court officials have been implicated.
The Liu family had only been back in the capital for less than a year, so they shouldn't have been involved in this matter, but it's inevitable that some people would drag them into it.
Liu Qin sighed: "I only hope that the Embroidered Uniform Guard can do its job and catch the murderer as soon as possible."
Liu Yinxia glanced at her older brother: "Now you think the Embroidered Uniform Guard is good?"
Liu Qin glared at her: "I've never thought the Embroidered Uniform Guard was any good."
Liu Tong yawned and said, "I'm going back to sleep for a while."
He didn't sleep well all night.
There was nothing he could do; after all, he knew the secrets of such a major event and who the murderer was. Hearing that the emperor died from taking a red pill, Liu Tong recalled the night he saw the eunuch and a certain official having a secret rendezvous.
What was that adult's name again?
Li Kezhuo.
Not long after, Lord Liu returned home and was no longer looking worried.
The Red Pill case has been closed.
When Emperor Zhu Youxiao ascended the throne, he dismissed Fang Congzhe, the Grand Secretary, for failing to dissuade Li Kezhuo from presenting medicine, exiled Cui Wensheng of the Imperial Medical Academy to Nanjing, and demoted Li Kezhuo to military service.
Liu Tong gasped: So many innocent people died, yet the real murderer got away scot-free and is still living peacefully as a Noble Consort in the palace. And Li Kezhuo, the one who handed over the knife, only got exiled to the army?!
Should we say Zhu Youxiao was benevolent or cowardly?
His own father died under mysterious circumstances, yet he was unable to avenge him.
Moreover, the imperial court was in complete chaos, with numerous factions vying for power, and the Donglin Party gaining the upper hand.
The emperor was young and inexperienced, and he was simply unable to control the powerful court officials.
Liu Tong couldn't help but feel sorry for the young emperor.
Lord Liu was not a member of the Donglin Party, but he also had no personal grudges or ill will with them.
Therefore, even though he was not promoted because of the previous incident, he was not demoted either.
Time flies, and six years have passed in the blink of an eye.
Liu Tong and Liu Yinxia are already fourteen years old.
The other three sons of the Liu family had all participated in the imperial examinations. Liu Jin and Liu Wei passed the provincial examinations and became Juren, while Liu Qin passed the metropolitan examination at a young age and was personally selected by Zhu Youxiao as Tanhua.
However, he did not curry favor with Wei Zhongxian, the current emperor, and was therefore assigned to a remote small county as a county magistrate.
Before he left, the Liu family rushed to hold a wedding for him, so that he could take his new wife with him to take up his post.
Liu Qin's wife was the daughter of one of Liu's colleagues. She was straightforward and a good housekeeper.
When the two left, Liu Tong gave Liu Qin a booklet containing the thoughts that occasionally popped into Liu Tong's mind.
These ideas were novel yet effective; for example, the so-called scientific planting method could increase farmland yield by 20%.
There were two other crops to grow. Liu Tong only knew their names and general appearances. He wrote them down in detail and then told Liu Qin to find them himself.
These two crops can yield thousands of kilograms per mu (a Chinese unit of area, approximately 0.165 acres).
After reading through the contents, Liu Qin realized the value of the booklet and was very grateful to her younger brother.
Completing any item in this booklet would be a remarkable achievement.
If I could really find those two high-yield crops, I'm afraid I would be granted a title and honors by all.
Upon arriving at the county he was in charge of, Liu Qin immediately sent people to find two crops.
Liu Qin's county was located in the southern coastal area, and at this time, sweet potatoes had already spread to the Ming Dynasty, and some families in the coastal areas did indeed grow sweet potatoes.
Liu Qin bought these sweet potatoes and had them planted according to the instructions in the booklet.
The yield was indeed encouraging.
Liu Qin was also granted a noble title for his contribution to discovering and promoting sweet potatoes.
Of course, this is a follow-up.
Let's get back to the present.
After Liu Qin got married, Liu Jin and Liu Wei also got married one after another.
Because the two had not yet established their careers, they did not separate their households after getting married and continued to live in the Liu family's home.
Zhao and Qian began to consider marriages for their remaining children.
Liu Dong is a boy, so his marriage is the last thing to be arranged.
The three girls are about the same age and will be of marriageable age in another year, at which time they will get married.
Now we can help them find partners earlier. (End of Chapter)