The little princess' mind was read, and the court and harem were eating melons

In the blink of an eye, it is the end of another year.

Li Qingyi got up early in the morning and drank a bowl of still hot Laba porridge, only then did he realize that another year was almost over.

The capital city has become quiet again during this period. It cannot be said to be quiet, but the inexplicable rumors that had previously been spread out have calmed down again without any sound.

The news I hear recently are about which family has bought what New Year's goods, which child who has traveled far away has come back to celebrate the New Year, or who has returned from studying abroad, etc.

The capital is still bustling, but that bustle is filled with the flavor of everyday life, and people hold good expectations for the coming new year. It is not like before, when it felt chaotic just by listening to it.

In contrast, when Li Qingyi looked back, she naturally felt that the place was a lot quieter.

But it's also lively.

Early that morning, Li Qingyi put on the new winter clothes she had made this year, went out and looked up at the sky. "It hasn't snowed in the past few days."

Fang Xin carefully adjusted her sleeves and hems, and tied a small cloak for Li Qingyi to keep warm. Hearing this, she smiled and replied, "It doesn't snow every day in winter."

Li Qingyi: "Well, I just thought that even if snow is a good omen for a good harvest, if it snows too much and too heavily, it may not be a good thing for the people."

Apart from other things, the inconvenience in travel is the biggest bad thing, not to mention if there is a snowstorm in winter. In Li Qingyi's memory, he vaguely remembers that there seems to be a high probability of a drought in the summer of the following year.

There were many floods in the spring and summer of this year, which led to a reduction in grain production in many places. If it weren't for the emergence of Hu Ping'an who created a so-called divine seed, which was just the right shot of adrenaline for everyone, I'm afraid that everyone inside and outside the court would have had a gloomy face for the whole year.

Li Qingyi: "I just hope God will show favor to me."

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There is a saying that after Laba Festival it is the New Year.

A few days after drinking Laba porridge, the Spring Festival arrived.

Then came the grand court meeting. Those envoys who still stayed in the capital presented gifts at the meeting. The Daning side had been prepared and gave the other party certain gifts in return.

Li Qingyi was a little worried that she was accepting garbage and giving away pearls, but after inquiring, she found that the situation was much better than she thought - the king and his ministers of Daning had no intention of being taken advantage of, and the main point of returning the gifts was that if you try to save face, I will also try to save face; if you are sincere, I will also be sincere.

At least based on Li Qingyi's superficial knowledge, Daning should not have suffered any loss.

I heard that the Japanese envoys originally wanted to send something simple and make a lot of money back home, but they ended up being greatly disappointed.

The etiquette is in place, but the benefits... are basically non-existent.

After the grand court meeting, the envoys who had stayed behind had no reason to stay any longer, and under explicit or implicit urging, they finally set off for their country.

In February, the much-anticipated imperial examination began in full swing.

Li Qingyi had a student who (she thought) was going to take part in this imperial examination. Considering how important the imperial examination was to today's literati students, especially those from farming backgrounds, she couldn't help but feel a little nervous.

However, this nervousness was misunderstood by Fang Xin, who was serving him.

Fang Xin said, "Miss Wang has always been independent-minded, smart and clever. She has made a lot of money in a short period of time since she came to the capital. You can tell at a glance that she is a capable person."

Fang Xin: "It's just a pity that Miss Wang is so young, she lost her father, and her stepmother is so unkind. Fortunately, Miss Wang is capable, otherwise, with such a stepmother, who knows how she would be bullied."

"But in this case, Miss Wang will not have any elders to help her arrange the marriage. Now that Miss Wang has chosen her future husband, he is also a businessman. But if a businessman does well, he may not be worse than those officials."

"Besides, Miss Wang still has you as her friend. With your support, even if she finds a merchant, she won't be bullied in the future."

Fang Xin rambled on for so long because of another matter, which was also a matter that had attracted much discussion in Beijing recently - the official head of the Beijing Chamber of Commerce, Wang Xuan, the shopkeeper, was engaged to Chen Qicong, the head of the Chen family.

Logically speaking, Wang Xuan is obviously a businessman. Although Chen Qicong is the head of the Chen family and has a very famous reputation, the Chen family, to put it bluntly, started out as a business family, and Chen Qicong is also a businessman.

When businessmen get married to each other, everyone would say they are a perfect match. In fact, there is nothing much to talk about.

But compared to Chen Qicong, who is relatively low-key in the capital, Wang Xuan has a strong presence in the capital. Besides, she is a woman, so people always talk about her more. This is also the case with their engagement.

Wang Xuan chose the path of doing business, but she had more connections than others. Not only was she said to have a good relationship with the eleventh princess, the most favored one in the palace, she also had friendships with many noble ladies in the capital.

In addition, Wang Xuan had listened to Li Qingyi's words earlier. Relying on her knowledge from her previous life and the formula provided by Li Qingyi in this life, it was enough for her to make a fortune without worrying about being targeted by jealous people and being assassinated to steal the formula.

But there are differences between businessmen. For example, Confucian businessmen sound more respectable than ordinary merchants, right?

In short, because Wang Xuan consciously improved her social circle and was compatible with both the upper and lower levels, at least on the surface she was able to get along well in the capital. She could say a few words to everyone from the emperor to the common people. How could she not be said to be a capable person?

Chen Qicong... In the eyes of outsiders, Chen Qicong did not leave any other deep impression except that he was a relatively young head of the family.

This was naturally the result of Chen Qicong's preference to keep himself behind the scenes, but the Chen family was a wealthy businessmen, and a well-known wealthy businessmen in the Jiangnan area. They had considerable influence in the local area, and even in the capital, they still had some influence.

At least, Chen Qicong, the head of the Chen family, will not be really ignored.

The combination of the two can be said to be common, but it can also be said to be a very important matter in the eyes of some people.

But... Li Qingyi really doesn't care about this matter.

Firstly, she knew the inside story, and it was Wang Xuan who took the initiative to propose the engagement.

Because she has reached this age. In fact, Wang Xuan is only in her teens. If it were in her previous life, she would still be studying at this age. Things like marriage and marriage are far away and it is not the time to consider it at all.

But in this era, one should decide on a future husband when one is in their teens. If one waits until marriageable age to look for one, it will be too late.

In addition, because of Wang Xuan's network of connections and the fact that she is a woman, she actually met many people who wanted to marry her in order to obtain her resources.

Some people want to save face and will restrain themselves.

But not everyone has that sense.