After my soul traveled to ancient times, I don't want to be cannon fodder

"Alright, then I'll give you a reward of 100 taels of gold and make you a master carpenter..."

"Your Majesty is right. White sugar is related to people's livelihood... Yao Wu has made a great contribution by doing this. It is appropriate for him to be a master craftsman..." Zhong Ning added, and quickly signaled Yao Wu to express his gratitude.

Yao Wu knelt on the ground and kowtowed: "I thank your majesty for your grace, and thank the princess for her thousand years..."

He originally just had a hobby, but now he really likes this line of work. Although the title of Master Craftsman is only an honor, it is also an honor bestowed by His Majesty himself.

What's more, under the guidance of Her Royal Highness the Princess, he now has more than ten people under him, which is enough to open a small workshop.

Her Royal Highness the Princess said that currently there is only white sugar, and she needs to develop brown sugar and rock sugar, and use sugar as a base and combine it with grains or fruits.

The formula he innovated will be used in sugar factories.

By the way, Her Royal Highness the Princess also gave him shares in the sugar factory.

Yao Wu was still immersed in his thoughts when he saw Su Qi holding a hundred taels of gold and handing it to him. Yao Wu's eyes were slightly moist. He thought that he was extremely happy to have received the reward from His Highness before.

But now he realized that what His Highness brought him was far more than just a little bit of silver, but hope and a future.

After talking about official business, it is natural to talk about some personal matters.

Su Han and Yao Wu left one after another, and Emperor Yong then said:

"Your birthday is coming up in a few days. I plan to hold a special banquet for you in the palace... I invite all the ladies from the third rank and above to attend. You are all of the same age, so you should have some close friends... What do you think?"

Zhong Ning shook his head and refused directly, "Thank you, Father. I think it's unnecessary. I have no desire to make friends with those girls. Besides, there are natural disasters at home and wars abroad. It's just a small birthday, why should we be so extravagant?"

"If the money used to prepare the palace banquet is sent to the front lines, it will also keep the soldiers fighting on the battlefield well fed for a long time."

"For such a personal occasion as a birthday, I would prefer to hold a small banquet at home, inviting only a few close friends. I would be satisfied!"

"You! How much can you spend on such a small birthday?" Emperor Yong was a little dissatisfied. He thought that Zhong Ning had done enough, but he owed a lot.

"But a palace banquet costs at least a thousand taels of silver. This amount of money is more than many ordinary people can earn in their entire lives..."

"With this money, why not use it for something else? Why use it to host a banquet? I'm afraid it will harm my fortune, so I don't want to be so extravagant..."

"Why don't you just give this money directly to me, your son? I can use it to buy some supplies to send to the front lines, or to help the poor. Just consider it as accumulating merit for you, your son, and for your father..."

Emperor Yong looked at Zhong Ning steadily, as if he couldn't believe it. Banquets were held several times a year in the palace, and even if there was nothing to do, they would occasionally hold a flower-viewing banquet.

The Grand Princess's Mansion alone holds two banquets every year, spending at least tens of thousands of taels of silver.

But no one would tell him so bluntly that those banquets were a waste of money and would be better spent elsewhere.

Only Zhaohua would think so.

In fact, it’s not that Zhong Ning is frugal, but because she is an ordinary person, and an ordinary person from modern times.

If you know a little bit of history, you will know that there was an empress dowager in the Qing Dynasty, and the money spent on her birthday banquet could support an army.

Although Zhong Ning didn't know how grand her birthday party would be, judging from Emperor Yong's intentions, he wanted to hold a grand one for her.

Because she had just arrived, this was her first birthday party in Kyoto.

In addition to his background, Emperor Yong felt that he owed something!

A grand banquet must be held in her honor.

By then, it would not be a matter of one or two thousand taels of silver, but it might cost tens of thousands of taels of silver, or even hundreds of thousands of taels.

"Forget it, it's as you wish..." Emperor Yong sighed, then said, "Then I will give you a thousand taels of gold, and you can make your own arrangements!"

Zhong Ning was so happy that his teeth bared, his eyes curved into crescents. "Thank you, father! Long live the emperor!"

"By the way, Father, I want Lu Xingzhou to come back. He's been training the firearms battalion for two months now. I heard they've developed flintlock rifles and red-coated cannons. Wouldn't you like to see the results?"

Emperor Yong was silent for a moment. To be honest, he was really curious about how far Lu Xingzhou would train the firearms battalion.

Seeing that Emperor Yong remained silent, Zhong Ning had no choice but to continue, "Okay, I admit it. I wanted to invite Lord Lu back to attend the birthday banquet..."

"Zhaohua, are you..." attracted to Lu Xingzhou?

"No, no, my son's friend is Zhang Wanting, the eldest daughter of the Pingning Marquisate. She and Lu Xingzhou are lovers and have not seen each other for a long time..."

"I see...."

Emperor Yong smiled helplessly and could only issue a handwritten order, asking Lu Xingzhou to bring a team of people into the capital and to have some exchanges with the imperial guards to prevent them from thinking that they were invincible.

After Zhong Ning got the confirmation, he smiled and bowed to take his leave, then went into the harem.

Soon, Zhong Ning returned to the princess's mansion holding a brocade box, followed by several palace maids carrying several large boxes.

Inside the brocade box were several raw rubies given by the imperial concubine, so that she could wear them as jewelry.

The gold behind it was given by Emperor Yong.

Entering the palace once, you will gain a lot!

Zhong Ning was so happy that he was grinning from ear to ear. As soon as he entered the mansion, he immediately asked someone to call Zhang Wanting over.

Zhang Wanting was originally listening to her stepmother's teachings in the mansion. Although the wife of Marquis Pingning did not love her very much, she had never treated her too harshly.

I just asked her to be a little strict with the rules.

Things like smiling without showing teeth, visiting parents every morning and evening, and having a nanny to provide daily guidance.

Later, because of her personal relationship with Zhong Ning, Lady Pingning Hou began to value her even more and was more tolerant of her.

When I look at her on weekdays, I see her smiling face occasionally.

Now, when she heard that Princess Zhaohua had sent someone to invite her, she was specially given a set of headgear and asked to serve the princess well.

It's no wonder she was so worried, because last time her son Zhang Mingxuan brought the Gu family's eunuchs to Fangyuan, he was caught red-handed by Princess Zhaohua.

She was always worried that Princess Zhaohua would take revenge on her later.

That's why she beat Zhang Mingxuan so severely later that he couldn't get out of bed for more than a month. This was also a gesture of goodwill to Princess Zhaohua.

To prevent Princess Zhaohua from getting angry and directly abolishing her son.

"Wanting, how does your mother treat you?" Lady Pingning Hou looked at Zhang Wanting and asked softly.

Zhang Wanting shuddered and felt a little overwhelmed, because if this stepmother spoke to you kindly, it must mean that she had some requests of you.

But she was a concubine's daughter, and although she was born to the previous wife, everyone in the mansion thought she was just a concubine's daughter.

Especially since she is still young, she needs to live under the care of her stepmother.

Zhang Wanting immediately expressed her loyalty, saying, "Mother treats me very well!"