The wicked mother-in-law doesn't try to whitewash herself; she only abuses her awful children.

Chapter 440 Achieving Success and Remarrying

Grandpa Lu approves of Gu Jingzhe as his future grandson-in-law.

If both sides are willing to marry, then things will be much easier.

To show respect to the Lu family, Tong Huaqiong decided to bring Gu Jingzhe to their home to formally discuss marriage.

It's also a good opportunity to take Gu Jingzhe to Wanliu Academy in the prefectural city.

However, like other patriarchs of this era, Old Master Lu surely hoped that his younger generation would get married as soon as possible after their engagement.

Tong Huaqiong also needs to find a way to persuade Grandpa Gu to let Gu Jingzhe and Lu Zhaozhao wait a few years before getting married, and she can't let Grandpa Lu think that the Gu family is deliberately keeping the Lu family hanging.

It wouldn't work to tell Grandpa Lu directly that he was worried about Lu Zhaozhao having a difficult childbirth early, as people in this era generally lack awareness of the physical damage caused by early childbirth.

If someone replies to you, "Which woman doesn't have children?", how should she respond?

This is about arranging a marriage, not a debate.

We cannot be too forceful.

"Master Liu."

Tong Huaqiong looked at Magistrate Liu, wondering if she should mention to him, the matchmaker, that Gu Jingzhe and Lu Zhaozhao should wait until they were "adults" before getting married. With the help of the magistrate as matchmaker, persuading Old Master Lu would make things much easier.

Magistrate Liu said, "Aunt Tong, please feel free to ask if you need anything."

Tong Huaqiong said, "Lord Liu, I am very happy that the Lu family is willing to form a marriage alliance with my Jingzhe family. I wish Zhaozhao could marry into the family tomorrow. However, you also know my Jingzhe's situation. He is just a scholar and has not yet obtained any official rank. I would like to wait until Jingzhe passes the imperial examination before we get married. What do you think?"

Of course, we can't bring up the topic of having children with Magistrate Liu. As I said before, let alone men in ancient times, even modern men might not have the personal experience of it.

Magistrate Liu stroked his beard and pondered for a moment.

Aunt Tong's words make a lot of sense.

Back when he passed the imperial examination and became a scholar, many people came to propose marriage to him, but his mother, Madam Han, refused them all, feeling that she did not yet have official rank and did not want to cause hardship to the girls.

His mother and Aunt Tong hit it off immediately; the two shared the same thoughts and feelings about their son.

Magistrate Liu's respect for Tong Huaqiong deepened even further.

“This is easy to discuss. Let’s settle the marriage first, and it’s not too late to get married in a few years. Zhao Yang didn’t get married until right before he went to the capital for the imperial examination. With him leading the way, I’m sure the Lu family would be willing to let my cousin wait until the Awakening of Insects.”

Tong Huaqiong disagreed with Magistrate Liu's logic. How could Lu Zhaoyang be the same? Lu Zhaoyang hadn't been engaged before because he was ill. After he recovered, Old Master Lu was so eager to find him a wife that he went around finding him a match.

After getting engaged to Huang Jingshan, they got married in less than two months.

Magistrate Liu, trying to decipher Tong Huaqiong's thoughts, said, "Aunt Tong, I know what you mean. You're worried that Old Master Lu will think your family is using a 'puppet' marriage as a pretext. Don't worry, I'll try to persuade Old Master Lu. If that doesn't work, I'll talk to Prefect Yao."

Tong Huaqiong thought to herself, "You're kidding me. Old Master Lu dislikes Prefect Yao the most."

Tong Huaqiong said, "Lord Liu, you really understand my thoughts. Prefect Yao is so busy, so let's not trouble him. Why not write a letter to Zhaoyang and have him tell Old Master Lu that he wants to keep my sister for a few more years?"

Magistrate Liu smiled and agreed, thinking that Lu Zhaoyang would probably be willing to keep Lu Zhaozhao for a few more years.

However, considering Lu Zhaoyang's upcoming imperial examination and Gu Jingzhe's future prospects, Magistrate Liu suddenly disagreed with Tong Huaqiong's decision to let Gu Jingzhe obtain official rank before getting married.

Before Lu Zhaoyang achieved academic success, the Lu family, no matter how wealthy, were still just merchants. If Lu Zhaoyang were to become the top scholar in the imperial examination, wouldn't his sister Lu Zhaozhao's status rise accordingly? What if members of the royal family or prominent families in the capital knew that he had a younger sister of marriageable age and came to propose marriage?
What should Gu Jingzhe do if he passes the imperial examination with flying colors three years later and has a new marriage prospect?
Just as Magistrate Liu understood Tong Huaqiong's thoughts, Tong Huaqiong also understood Magistrate Liu's thoughts.

Tong Huaqiong said, “Lord Liu, you don’t need to worry that after Zhaoyang becomes the most sought-after man in the capital, someone will try to take advantage of Lu Zhaozhao, and you don’t need to worry that Jingzhe will break off the engagement. Think about it, Zhaoyang and Zhaozhao are siblings with a deep bond, and he certainly won’t use Zhaozhao’s marriage as a stepping stone. Besides, the capital is a dangerous place, full of imperial relatives and powerful families. If they all come to ask Zhaoyang to marry Zhaozhao, who will Zhaoyang agree to and who will he offend? But Zhaozhao’s engagement to Jingzhe will give Zhaoyang this trouble. Even if Jingzhe passes the imperial examination in three years, he won’t break off the engagement. Not to mention that he loves Zhaozhao, after Zhaoyang has established himself in the capital in three years, would Jingzhe be so foolish as to offend a powerful brother-in-law? Lord Liu, don’t you think this makes sense?”

Lord Liu thought about it and realized that this made perfect sense.

Therefore, he promised Tong Huaqiong that he would try his best to persuade Old Master Lu to keep Lu Zhaozhao for a few more years.

That's settled.

Tong Huaqiong has one more thing to trouble Magistrate Liu with.

That is to ask Magistrate Liu if Pingchuan County had any good cotton spinning machines or if there was any skilled craftsman who could build cotton spinning machines.

Since deciding to start a cotton textile industry, Tong Huaqiong has collected spinning wheels from various villages and examined them at home.

She discovered that none of the spinning wheels met her requirements.

Since most ordinary people in this era mainly used hemp cloth, and unlike the Jiangnan region where silkworms were raised, the spinning wheels in the entire Yanguan Town were all designed for weaving hemp cloth.

Such a spinning wheel is definitely not suitable for producing cotton cloth.

The processes for turning cotton into cotton cloth are different from those for turning ramie into linen cloth.

Cotton requires a series of complex processes such as cotton processing, cotton carding, and cotton sizing. While cotton quilts exist in this era, many cotton quilts are simply made by removing the outer husk without the cotton processing step, and therefore are not very warm.

That's why wealthy families use silk quilts.

“The textile machines are all the same in every village and town, there’s nothing special about them.”

Magistrate Liu, who always prioritized agriculture and was well-informed, thought for a moment and shook his head at Tong Huaqiong.

Disappointment welled up in Tong Huaqiong's eyes. Did she have to rely on manual research and development herself?

She is not good at handicrafts.

She knew the principle of the spinning wheel, but just as later generations said, even those who understand many principles cannot live a good life, she knew many principles of advanced productivity but could not create the tools that promote productivity herself.

Gu Daqiao, the son of Old Man Gu's cousin who had been unable to attend school due to his lameness, was a master at making tools. However, he had been working at Tong Huaqiong's house for two months and still hadn't figured out how to use the spinning machine.

Magistrate Liu pondered for a moment, then suddenly remembered a fellow candidate from Jiangnan whom he had met during the imperial examinations in Shengjing. He said, "However, I can ask my former classmate for Aunt Tong. He went to govern Huating County in Jiangnan last year. I heard that people in Huating County wear cotton clothes. After he arrived, he sent someone to bring me a bolt of cotton cloth, which is soft and light."

Tong Huaqiong said, "That's great."

What is Huating County in Jiangnan?

Tong Huaqiong searched her memory and realized that it was Songjiang in later generations.

When she was in college, she went to Songjiang University Town to visit her classmates. There was a train station there called Huating Station.

As luck would have it, Huang Daopo, the master who improved cotton looms, was from Songjiang.

Could it be that in a parallel universe, those brilliant stars who once created history will still let their starlight penetrate the era and shine into the long river of history, blessing this dynasty that is not recorded in later historical books?