Remarrying Chun Yuan

It snowed heavily for seven days before the clouds dispersed, the sun came out, and the sky turned blue.

The people were moved to tears, and even when they stepped into the snow that had turned into mud, they were overjoyed. After looking at the gray and white sky and earth for a long time, it had made people feel irritated and maddened.

A grand sacrificial ceremony to Heaven was held in the palace, followed by dealing with the protracted affairs of state.

The county government also joined forces with the Golden Feather Guard to visit households one by one.

Visiting people is not about comforting them, but about collecting the remains of those who froze to death at home... Snow falls and epidemics arise; the disaster is not over, and we still need to clean up the mess.

Wei Gongming was also promoted by the Ministry of Personnel and officially entered the Ministry of War's Department of Carriage and Cavalry Management as a principal officer, a sixth-rank official position.

Yuan Cuo also received an invitation from Grand Secretary Lin and went to the Lin family as a guest.

Liu Yuechu was overjoyed to see the clear blue sky and asked the servants to set up the tea table and chairs in the courtyard so she could bask in the sun.

The mansions that had received her "warmth" began to return the favor with gifts one after another. Bai Shao and Hua Jiao were busy packing them up and storing them away, and also reported the invitations and dates from the various mansions to Liu Yuechu.

Liu Yuechu just wanted to lie in the rocking chair all day. Although she had achieved some small successes, she was exhausted these days. But even the most picturesque scenery is bound to be ruined by someone. Before Liu Musheng even entered the courtyard, he shouted at the top of his lungs, "Liu Yuechu, are you crazy? You're not going to the grand sacrificial ceremony in the palace? If you won't go, then let me go!"

The cacophony of the gong's voice startled the sparrows on the withered branches, causing them to fly away.

Liu Yuechu glanced at him sideways, "Noisy."

Liu Musheng continued to curse, mostly calling her "brainless," "ungrateful," and "stupid."

With her good mood ruined, Liu Yuechu made a startling remark: "Father would rather hand over the reins of the family to someone as brainless as me than to you. Don't you ever think about whether you're even worse?"

Liu Musheng was stunned. His sister actually dared to insult him?!

Liu Yuechu tightened the white fox's collar, making its cherry-red lips appear even fuller, but at that moment it was opening and closing its mouth as if cursing.

"Do you think that by participating in the sacrificial ceremony to Heaven you can meet the nobles in the palace and be granted the qualification to be a royal merchant? Or that by crying and complaining that your uncle refuses to return the money, you can easily get back ten thousand taels of silver?"

Liu Musheng was surprised, "Our family has done so much for the disaster relief, shouldn't the palace give us some reward?" How could she guess so accurately?

"What do you mean by 'should'? Do you want to go to the palace and reason with His Majesty and the Empress? There are thousands of people at the sacrificial ceremony. Even if we go, we'll only be standing in line at the palace gate looking at each other's heads. Don't even dream about it!"

Even if their father was a master painter, he wasn't in the capital. They were merely the master painter's children, without power or titles. The palace's granting of an opportunity to participate in the sacrificial ceremony was an attempt to appease the Liu family regarding their porridge-giving incident.

She had already had Song Liu'er and the accountants tally up the expenses; she had spent a total of 40,000 taels of silver on this snow disaster.

Ten thousand shi of grain were sold to the Ministry of Revenue, supposedly at a fair price, but in reality, the profit was as much as ten thousand taels. The profit from charcoal, cotton, and hemp was smaller, around seven thousand taels.

I lost 23,000 yuan in total.

If we include the 10,000 taels IOU from my two uncles, then the loss is 13,000 taels.

Thirteen thousand taels of silver, and you think you can just settle things with a grand sacrificial ceremony? Don't even think about it.

She politely declined, leaving a favor to be done, which she would use where appropriate.

Liu Musheng was stunned by the scolding. His sister was still his sister, but she scolded him as if he were her son, with the same tone as when his mother was alive.

"What's with all this talk about heads? You're still concerned about these things in the palace? If they could get a position and become officials, they'd be happy to do it, let alone look at heads!" Liu Musheng finally revealed his purpose.

Liu Yuechu raised an eyebrow. "What's wrong? Not enough money for your monthly allowance?"

“That’s enough, but it’s hard to find a spouse without an official position.” Liu Musheng said, somewhat embarrassed and annoyed.

He visited Princess Chen the other day and was given a long lecture. She scolded him for being talentless, immoral, and useless, saying he couldn't even recommend a suitable spouse.

Liu Yuechu smiled. It was indeed a good thing to send him to see the princess. Perhaps he could be scolded for being clever and actually knew how to improve himself.

"Do you think being an official is so easy? Even Wei Gongming, the heir of the Marquis of Zhenning, a sixth-rank official, has to get up early and work late to feed horses and deliver messages. Can you endure that hardship?"

In her previous life, she married Wei Gongming. He used her dowry to pay off his debts, rescue his younger brother, and, through the connection with Princess Chen, cultivate relationships with the Ministry of Personnel and obtain the official position of Director of the Court of State Affairs.

Don't underestimate the Office of Transmission, a mere seventh-rank official. It holds real power, receiving imperial orders and overseeing all official documents and petitions. Although he's currently a sixth-rank official in the Ministry of War, he's constantly running around, practically a donkey at the beck and call of the emperor…

Liu Musheng's eyes nearly popped out of their sockets. "Even the Marquis's heir is feeding horses and delivering messages? If I get an official position, I'll have to clean latrines?!"

"Forget it, I'll just stay home and behave myself."

He admitted that he couldn't endure hardship and didn't want to. Who wouldn't want to live a life where food is served to them and clothes are put on their plate?

Just as he was about to leave, Liu Yuechu called him back: "Since you're already here, could you do something else for me?"

Liu Musheng: "..." Even when his mother was alive, she wouldn't dare to order him around like this.

After a busy day, Wei Gongming returned home feeling utterly exhausted, his body aching as if his bones were broken, and his muscles stiff.

Thinking back to his high spirits when he took office in the Ministry of Justice in his previous life, it was completely different from what he was back then.

Why is there such a big difference?

He also sent a gift to the Left Vice Minister!

The day before yesterday, he was stunned when he saw the Ministry of Revenue's appointment order. He immediately went to the Left Vice Minister's residence and mentioned the "Office of Clean Officials." The Left Vice Minister looked at him with disdain, as if he were a fool, and only asked him if he was dissatisfied with the position...

He was kicked out of the residence by the Left Vice Minister, who told him not to go there again unless necessary, to avoid suspicion.

Therefore, no matter how unwilling he was, he had no choice but to take a position in the Ministry of War. His aching hands touched his empty purse, unable to understand why things were so different from his previous life, even though he had done everything he was supposed to do.

After much deliberation, Wei Gongming concluded that the amount of silver he had sent was insufficient. If it weren't for Liu Yuechu selling grain and distributing porridge at a low price, disrupting his plans, he might already be leisurely drinking tea at the Ministry of Justice!

It all comes down to Liu Yuechu, but why won't Liu Yuechu marry him?

Wei Gongming hissed in pain at his neck, and pushed away Tian Yayun's hand that was pressing on his shoulder with obvious disgust. "Why are your hands as rough as sandpaper? It hurts so much!"

Tian Ya Yun felt a pang of pain in her heart. How did her hands become like this? Didn't he realize what was happening?!

"Now that the household is a bit better off, when will you buy back the Marquis's mansion, cousin? The newly bought servants are crammed into the front rooms all day long, and the stench is even wafting into the backyard." She was annoyed by the sight of those filthy people, as if she were looking at maggots in a latrine.

Wei Gongming immediately turned cold and said, "If you can't stand it here, go back to your hometown. There's a huge wasteland there where you can roll around as much as you want."

Is it that he doesn't want to buy it back?

It's because we don't have enough money.

The silver he earned from the snow disaster was only enough to cover his official duties, and he had only paid off half of the Marquis's debts. Although he was a sixth-rank official, he couldn't even afford to buy a carriage and had to rent one when he needed one.

Tian Ya Yun pursed her lips, not daring to utter another word.

Wei Gongming got up and stretched, but he still couldn't let Liu Yuechu go.

He was determined to find out why she wouldn't marry him, but he couldn't force her this time.

He no longer had the kite for choosing a spouse, nor could he find the three people who had been beaten to uncover the truth. Besides, finding them would be useless; the county yamen had already settled the case and wouldn't easily overturn it. Unless he immediately gained glory and became a high-ranking official.

"Send invitations to the two gentlemen of the merchant guild, Liu Chen and Liu Shang. Jingchunlou is on me!"

If he can't win over Liu Yuechu himself, he'll start by attacking the elders of the Liu family. As long as someone in the Liu family is willing to support him, things will be much easier afterward.