You have truly caused me great suffering!

Many people from the Liu family mansion also went to the Li family mansion.

The two families were close friends when they lived in Taiyuan, and Li Tangchen's status was always higher than Liu Jizu's.

Therefore, the Liu family's wives and children always fawned over the Li family.

Putting everything else aside, Liu Caiwei is Li Yumei's little follower.

At this moment, in the backyard of the Li residence, Liu Jizu's wife, Madam Qin, held Li Yumei's hand affectionately, as if they were family.

After returning home, Li Yumei lost the shrewdness and ease she displayed in the palace. Instead, she became clingy, like a little girl who hadn't grown up.

At that moment, she nestled in Qin's arms, listening to their idle chatter, but she didn't actually hear a word they said; she was simply comfortably thinking about her own things.

She's the kind of person who's best at winning over elders.

Li Yumei's face was rosy as she thought about what His Majesty had said the day before her departure.

When should I contact him?

He thought, "Let's wait a few more days." He seemed particularly enthusiastic when he thought about the time when he and Wan Shu served His Majesty together.

Li Yumei looked up and scanned the room to see if there were any capable helpers.

Just then, hurried footsteps sounded outside, and a young maid rushed in, leaning against the wall as she said, "Madam! A servant has come to the manor, saying that our master needs to go back to receive an imperial decree."

"Receive the imperial decree?"

The room suddenly fell silent; you could hear a pin drop.

However, no one thought of it that way, after all, Liu Jizu came from a poor background and was a businessman.

"Quick! Go back quickly, someone has already informed the official."

Outside the flower hall, a servant boy suddenly rushed into the garden, his hat askew, his face red and his neck bulging, panting heavily.

The servants of the Li family quickly stopped him. The people inside were all important, and if this scoundrel offended any of them, they would all be punished.

The guard, Li Er, was startled and grabbed his collar, cursing:

"Where did this country bumpkin come from, so blind? You dare to trespass here? Don't you know whose residence this is? Everyone sitting here is a high-ranking official of the third rank or above, a close minister of the two administrations. If you offend any of these officials, let alone being put in shackles, even being exiled to Shamen Island wouldn't be enough to redeem you!"

"Brother Li, it's me, Xiao Zhuozi."

"It really is you, kid." Li Er finally put the person down and scolded, "Why are you running around like that? You usually seem quite well-behaved."

Taking the opportunity to catch his breath, Xiao Zhuozi said, supporting himself on his knees, "Just now, the Inner Palace Attendants and several scholars came to our residence and said... said that my husband... has been granted the title of Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of Personnel by the Emperor's grace! The imperial edict... the imperial edict arrived at our residence immediately! They asked my husband to go back and receive the edict."

A seventh-rank official stands before the prime minister's gate.

They were all servants of the prime minister; how could they not know what this official position meant?

Seeing that Xiao Zhuozi was about to rush inside again, Li Er grabbed him and pulled him back. "You're going to report this? This is such a wonderful piece of news, do you even know how to report it clearly?"

He pulled the man behind him, straightened his clothes, and said, "Go and bring Brother Zhuo a bowl of tea. Look, his voice is hoarse. I'll go in and tell the master."

After saying that, he walked quickly into the hall. Xiao Zhuozi squatted on the ground, looking at his back with a blank expression.

Li Er entered the hall and walked to the center. Li Tangchen laughed and said, "What are you all chattering about outside?"

Li Er bowed and said, "Reporting to my lord, His Majesty sent a scholar to the Liu residence to deliver the imperial decree, and the servants of the residence have come to invite my lord to return to the residence to receive the decree."

The hall fell silent. Everyone looked at Liu Jizu, who blushed, his heart pounded, and his whole body trembled.

What time is it now? It's the time when Prime Minister Li resigned, and the position of Grand Secretary in the imperial court became vacant!
Then the imperial edict arrived, and its significance was immense.

Liu Jizu is His Majesty's close minister and confidant. For ordinary matters, he can simply send a guard to summon him. When has an imperial edict ever been issued?
The contents of the imperial edict were now quite clear; everyone had this thought, but no one dared to voice it. All eyes were fixed on Li Er.

Seeing that the mood had been built up enough, Li Er flicked his sleeves, bowed, and said, "Congratulations, Minister Liu. The scholars say that His Majesty has appointed you as the Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of Personnel."

The officials present all gasped in shock.

He's really become a prime minister!

Some officials, caught up in the moment, even clicked their tongues in protest.

It wasn't that they lacked shrewdness, nor that they had a personal grudge against Liu Jizu; they were simply too shocked.

All of us have studied hard for decades, and this position, which we never even dared to dream of, has actually fallen into the hands of a businessman.

Liu Jizu sat in the chair, and suddenly tears streamed down his face.

But no one looked down on him; on the contrary, they all thought more highly of him because of it.

Li Tangchen quickly got up, patted him on the shoulder, and whispered a few words of advice.

Liu Jizu stood up, his tone sorrowful, and said, "Even if I die, I can hardly repay even a fraction of His Majesty's kindness."
-
Chen Shao appointed a new prime minister, which caused quite a stir.

But it quickly calmed down.

Everyone is pretty much the same as before, after all, the new prime minister is the former deputy prime minister.

The policy remains largely unchanged.

In addition to the anti-corruption tools that Li Tangchen painstakingly established before his departure, there was the new Censorate and the three departments of supervision, interrogation, and auditing.

Most officials dislike this decree; this is human nature.

Even those who haven't embezzled will feel uncomfortable.

Inside the summer palace, Chen Shao began setting up new instruments in the valley.

He even ordered people to test-fire new explosives halfway up the mountain.

The people at the engineering institute are used to it. His Majesty is a very pragmatic person. If you have a new invention or creation, he will definitely want to see it for himself.

This time, there were water-powered timekeeping instruments, telescopes used by the Imperial Astronomical Bureau to observe the stars, and steam engines that had been improved again.

Chen Shao has roughly figured out that the biggest problem with steam engines today is sealing.

This is not a problem that can be solved in the short term, but it is not an insurmountable problem either; it requires time and accumulation.

Once the craftsmanship of Dajing has developed for a few more years, everything will fall into place naturally, and I should be able to witness it with my own eyes.

Dajing has even acquired major rubber-producing areas.

Why is intellectual liberation more important than invention and creation? A nation's leader is more important than a scientist.

Because as long as you get on the right track, geniuses will always emerge, and they will continuously accelerate technological innovation.

However, if you take the wrong path, you'll only end up going in the opposite direction.

So in those years, no matter how difficult the material conditions, how weak the foundation, or how tight the blockade by foreign enemies, it still could not stop the breakthroughs in various technologies.

When Chen Shao was tinkering with his machines in this mysterious valley, Chun Tao and Jin Laosan would usually accompany him.

The others were genuinely uninterested, especially after the last time they set off fireworks, they were even less willing to come.

Chun Tao was clingy, while Jin Laosan genuinely liked her. (End of Chapter)