diskusbooks Chapter 142: Female Dominant Prodigal Son 25
Chapter 142: Female Dominant Prodigal Son 25
"Ruan'er, your birthday is coming up soon. What do you want to do? I think in previous years, because you were studying, you just had a simple meal at home. Why not make it a big celebration this year?"
Lin's father's life nowadays can be described as quite uncomfortable. When Lin Ruan failed the provincial examination for the first time and became addicted to gambling, he never dared to imagine his life today.
Lin Ruan chuckled and said, "Dad, there's no need to go to all that trouble. Just like every year, we can just have a simple family gathering and a meal. If we have to make a big fuss and make it messy, what's the point of us entertaining guests in the Juying Hall while I entertain guests in the Huifang Hall? I can just treat Wenhui, Yuanyuan, and Wenlian to lunch at the restaurant at noon."
Zhang Wenhui also passed the entrance exam to the Hanlin Academy. She has now brought her mother and father to the capital and is renting a small house owned by Lin Ruan. Lin Ruan bought it later and it is very close to her and the Hanlin Academy.
Lu Zhao passed the imperial examination and became a Jinshi this year, but unfortunately he failed to pass the imperial examination and was admitted to the Hanlin Academy, so he has now been sent out.
Father Lin nodded and said, "I'll listen to you."
On Lin Ruan's birthday, the Lin residence was adorned with new decorations, both inside and out. Despite its modest size, it exuded a warmth and refinement. In the kitchen, the cooks busied themselves preparing a sumptuous feast. The dishes were delicious, their aromas filling the air and making everyone's mouth water.
When Lin Ruan returned home from his shift and finished washing up, it was time for dinner. He sat down below his father and saw his two servants standing nearby, waiting to serve him as usual. He smiled and said, "Does it really mean that I, the birthday boy, have to invite you two to sit down every year?"
Lu Wenze laughed and said, "What if one day my wife thinks we two brothers are old and refuses to serve her? She kicks us out. It would be better if you tell her once a year. That way we two brothers can sit down and feel at ease."
Lin Ruan rolled her eyes at him and said with a smile, "I just asked a question, but you teased me with so many words. Miss, how did I behave in a way that made you think so? Tell me, and I'll be more obvious next time."
Lu Wenze sat down on the chair and snorted, "My wife is always saying things that bully people."
Chi Wen Ning sat aside, pouring wine and picking up food for Lin Ruan from time to time, without saying a word, just watching the two of them interacting with each other with a smile.
After the meal, Lin's father handed the gift to Lin Ruan. It was a set of exquisite seven-beam amber hair crowns. Not to mention the preciousness of such a large piece of amber, just looking at the warm luster and exquisite craftsmanship, you can tell that this set of headwear will not be cheap.
I think everyone in the family knew about Lin Ruan's preference for jewelry. Lu Wenzhe gave her a pair of ice-type spring-colored jade bracelets. The purple and green colors on them were very bright, and the junction was beautifully blurred.
Chi Wen Ning was the person who knew Lin Ruan best. He handed Lin Ruan two wooden boxes tied with gold ribbons. Lin Ruan opened them and saw that they were a set of open-collared half-sleeved eight-broken skirt and a set of five-piece filigree gold phoenix headpiece inlaid with red, green and blue sapphires. The clothes were bright in color and finely crafted. The round flowers on the jacket were outlined with gold thread one by one, and it was obvious that they were Chi Wen Ning's own work.
Chi Wen Ning smiled and said, "I saw my wife was wearing something really nice at the housewarming party, so I made one for myself based on the look. I hope she doesn't mind."
It was human nature to always want something rare. Her concubine, Aqiao, had given her a set of homemade needlework and a set of underwear, shoes, and socks, but it was far less exciting than her joy at Chi Wenning's gift. Lin Ruan knew that Aqiao couldn't buy or afford anything else precious.
Although the mansion didn't have a sewing room, there were servants inside, and a tailor shop outside that took measurements and made clothes for the masters of the mansion every month. Lin's father and Lu Wenze only sewed to pass the time, but Chi Wenning was the only one who truly put his love for her into every stitch.
But Chi Wen Ning had no idea how many days he had been busy and how much effort he had put in, but all he got was Lin Ruan's permission to stay overnight.
It was a moonlit night with few stars. Chi Wenning had already finished washing up and had been waiting for a long time. When he saw Lin Ruan coming, a gentle smile appeared on his face.
As the saying goes, a fish knows whether the water is hot or cold. How can we judge whether it is worth it or not?
When Lin's father and his companions arrived, they had already sold the shop in Weizhou Prefecture. After arriving in the capital, Lin Ruan gave them new shops as their private property. Now, Lin Ruan still had four shop quotas vacant, but good shops were hard to buy. Even after searching for them, he still hadn't bought them all. He could only wait until someone's family got into trouble.
Not to mention shops, this is even more true for farms.
Linruan’s current status is: waiting for the corrupt officials to step down.
The emperor was also very curious about whether Lin Ruan had any vacancies in his shops. After all, ministers had huge expenses. In addition to supporting their own families, they also had many relatives and servants. Not to mention that the fifteen shops were full early on, there were many tricks and means: registering branches under other people's names, colluding with officials and businessmen to buy shares, using fictitious people to buy shops, and so on. There were all kinds of them.
Lin Ruan only rented out his shop, earning less than others, yet he still hadn't used up his quota. She'd asked the spies, and they'd found out that Lin Ruan's entire business, combined, only brought in a little over 10,000 taels a year. The Emperor curled his lips. "What can you do with 10,000 taels?"
Lin Ruan had never expected that the emperor of the peaceful Fengwu Kingdom would be so gossipy. She had no choice but to frankly say that she was just waiting for the corrupt officials to commit crimes so that she could take advantage of the situation and buy at a low price. This made the emperor make a big promise to Lin Ruan: if she could make another contribution, she would reward Lin Ruan with a royal farm of one thousand acres.
The imperial farms were naturally all fertile fields. Besides not being able to be sold, all the annual income belonged to Lin Ruan.
Can the pie drawn by the beautiful emperor be called a big pie?
That’s called wife cake!
Lin Ruan felt full and happy after eating the cake.
But no matter how sweet it was, it wouldn't make her take out the "Fengwu Chronicles" at this moment. After all, the goddess had been around for four thousand years, and Fengwu Kingdom had occupied two thousand years. She had been writing about the first two thousand years of history for three years, and it would take at least another three years to finish the last two thousand years of history.
But she is impatient and wants to eat the cakes hot.
Lin Ruan bowed and smiled, "Your Majesty is wise. When I was teaching the eldest princess 'Elementary School', I found that although the content was good, the sentences were unevenly long, some long, some short, and difficult to memorize, making it inconvenient for children to learn. Therefore, I have reorganized the book into four-character sentences, and the rhyme changes every four sentences. It has been named 'Elementary School Rhymes'. Now I just need to finish it, and I will bring it to you tomorrow for your review."
Actually, it hadn't been written yet. Lin Ruan had just suddenly realized that the book "Elementary School Rhymes" hadn't appeared in this world yet. He planned to have the system search for it when he got home, modify it according to the content of this world's "Elementary School", and print it out to give directly to the emperor tomorrow.
In layman's terms, Lin Ruan was trying to get something for nothing.
White Wolf, no, that's not it. The emperor smiled and said, "Well, if it's really as you say, I will give you that farmhouse as a reward."
After thanking him, Lin Ruan returned home happily. As soon as she entered the yard, she called the system and asked it to find "Elementary School Rhymes".
System: (′-i_-｀) Perhaps I shouldn't exist, so as to avoid the insult of being treated as a computer printer again and again.
(*??????)
The next day, after the morning court session, Lin Ruan presented his freshly-made "Elementary School Rhymes" to the emperor. The emperor, after reading it, was delighted and immediately granted Lin Ruan a thousand acres of imperial farmland and ordered the book to be printed and distributed throughout the country for children to learn.