Chapter 39: Sensitive to the Wind

  "Your Majesty, today is September 15th." Chen Hong had been serving the Tianqi Emperor for these days and had some understanding of the emperor's temperament. He knew that his master liked to have a clear answer to every question and looked down on those who spoke hesitantly. As long as what was said was true, even if it was somewhat blunt, he would not be blamed.

  After listening to Chen Hong's words, the Tianqi Emperor nodded and picked up the memorial on the table, slowly reading it. This was a long-awaited memorial for the Tianqi Emperor, as it mentioned one thing - the issue of the year number.

  This is the result of a cabinet discussion, with Wanli 48 years (1620) one to seven as Wanli 48 years. Starting from August, it was the first year of Taichang, and this emperor who was in power for only one month did not even have time to use his own era name before he passed away. It wasn't until the following year that it became Tianqi 1st Year, or AD 1621.

  As for this memorial, Emperor Tianqi could only obediently approve it, not just because that's how things were done historically, but also because the emperor himself didn't have a better solution.

  Just as Emperor Xianfeng was reviewing the memorial, an imperial edict had already been issued, and although this edict was very brief, it shook the whole country.

  Ming History, Tianqi Emperor's Basic Annals.

  In the first year of Tai Chang, on February 15th, Emperor Tianqi was sixteen years old and should have established an empress according to the ancestral system of the Great Ming. The chief minister of the Grand Secretariat, Fang Congzhe, submitted a memorial requesting the establishment of an empress, which was approved by the emperor. An imperial edict was then issued.

  This matter soon spread throughout the country, and all states and counties were busy selecting beautiful women from their jurisdictions. For these local officials, this was an opportunity, even if the person they recommended did not become the empress in the end, as long as she became a noble concubine, they would definitely be taken care of, and their official career would continue to rise. Therefore, all officials were doing their best, and some even personally went to the homes of families with daughters, mostly for personal gain.

  Henan, the county magistrate of Xiangfu County (now Kaifeng, Henan) was Li Changmao, courtesy name Ruide, who was already over 40 years old. Although he couldn't be considered a clean official, neither was he an extremely evil person; if evaluated, it would only be that he was diligent and made no major mistakes. Since receiving the public document from the Henan Provincial Government Office, this gentleman became excited, seeing his own opportunity.

  Although the ancient language says that beautiful women are born in Jiangnan, Li Changmao believes that the girl he saw is absolutely one of the most beautiful women in the world, even if she's not an empress, she must be a noble concubine. The only thing is whether the other party is willing or not, although many times such things cannot be opposed, but this person's identity is very special.

  The person who made Li Changmao worried was Zhang Guoji, the number one or two big household in Xiangfu County. If it were an ordinary big household, it would be fine. This Zhang Guoji was a scholar with a reputation, and the status of scholars in this era was extremely high. Scholars with a reputation could become officials at any time.

  Even if one is idle at home, there are many fellow students and teachers who have been friends for years. For such people, it's better not to offend them if possible. Moreover, if someone forcibly sends their daughter to the capital, once the daughter gains power, they will not only benefit but also be in a precarious position!

  Li Changmao insisted on getting rid of Zhang Guoji's daughter because he had seen Miss Zhang before. It was at a temple fair, although he was only 12 or 13 years old, and even County Magistrate Li Changmao, who had seen many beauties, was amazed by her beauty. At just 13 years old, Zhang Yan was already a little beauty, and now Li Changmao believed that Miss Zhang must be even more beautiful. Moreover, what's most important is that this Miss Zhang has great talent, not only does she not have the temperament of many young ladies, but she is also gentle, virtuous, and refined, exceling in music, chess, literature, and painting.

  For his own future, Li Changmao made up his mind to do this thing. He looked at the teacher next to him and said: "Prepare gifts, I'm going to Zhang's house."

  The Zhang family was one of the top two families in Xiangfu County, and their residence was naturally located in the best location in Xiangfu County, not far from the county government. This afternoon, Li Maohang finally arrived at the gate of the Zhang Mansion. Looking at the grand gate of the Zhang Mansion, Li Maohang secretly warned himself that this time he must succeed and not fail.

  Although the Zhang family was very powerful, they did not dare to neglect the county magistrate's visit. Zhang Guoji personally greeted him at the gate and led him into the house. After the two men sat down as host and guest, Li Changmao got straight to the point: "Zhang Yuanwai, I am an official who does not enter the Temple of the Three Treasures without good reason!"

  Zhang Guoji, a man in his forties with a strong scholarly air about him, was taken aback by Li Maochang's words. He had some understanding of the county magistrate's character and although he wasn't considered a good official, he was known to be straightforward in his dealings. He replied, "County Magistrate, you're too kind, please speak freely."

  Seeing Zhang Guoji's attitude, Li Maochang's originally nervous heart also stabilized a bit at this time. He slowly asked: "I don't know how old your beloved is this year? Has she been married?"

  After listening to Li Changmao's words, Zhang Guoji also breathed a sigh of relief. This county magistrate had come for his own daughter and was going to be the matchmaker! Zhang Guoji was very fond of this woman of his. Although there were many matchmakers, Zhang Guoji was not very satisfied with any of them. At this time, seeing Li Changmao's willingness to be the matchmaker, he was delighted in his heart. Since it was the county magistrate who had asked to come, it should be good, so he said: "My daughter is fourteen years old and has not been married yet, I don't know if the county magistrate will agree?"

  Li Changmao's heart was filled with joy upon hearing the answer he wanted, but his face remained expressionless. He calmly said, "This official happens to know of a very good family, I wonder if Zhang Gong has any intention of marrying off his daughter?" At this moment, Li Changmao thought to himself, this time he must make sure that there is no reason for refusal, and in order to secure his own future, he couldn't help but use some tactics.

  Zhang Guoji naturally wouldn't have thought of Li Changmao's mind, his own daughter was 14 years old, in this era she had already reached the age of marriage. Since there is a county magistrate who wants to come and make a good family background, if the person is not bad, then naturally there won't be any problem. After hesitating for a moment, Zhang Guoji smiled and said: "Since the county magistrate is making the match, Zhang will naturally give him face, I wonder which family's son the county magistrate is talking about?"

  After listening to Zhang Guoji's words, Li Changmao immediately put down his heart and secretly rejoiced that this time you can't escape, my father-in-law is also unstoppable. With a faint smile, Li Changmao said: "The groom is in the capital, and he is 16 years old this year."

  Seeing Li Changmao's old fox-like smile, Zhang Guojie finally felt that something was off and furrowed his brow, saying: "I don't know what kind of family this is." Although they were in the capital city, marrying their own woman to someone from there was still a bit far-fetched.

  "The groom's surname is Zhu." Li Changmao said with a mysterious smile.

  Upon hearing this surname Zhang Guoji's heart skipped a beat, Zhu Naiguo's surname was still in the capital city, it seemed to have a great relationship with the royal family.

  Chapter 2 is here