Re-embroidering life

Chapter 123 Transfer

Princess Dihua did not get the good response from Ji Zimo and her face turned red with anger. She calmed herself down before walking into the imperial study.

The emperor summoned her in and frowned, "Dihua, the Imperial Study is where I handle official business. Don't come here unless it's important. If you have something to ask, go to the Queen Mother and she will tell me."

Princess Dihua's heart sank, and she said in a shrill, drawn-out voice: "Royal brother——"

Although she was his cousin and the empress dowager's adopted daughter, she had called him "brother emperor" since she was a child, and the emperor had never disapproved.

The emperor interrupted her and asked, "What are you doing today?"

Princess Dihua was sensitive to the emperor's impatience, so she put away her unnecessary expression and said respectfully, "Your Majesty, I am going to hold a flower-viewing banquet in the near future. In previous years, I have invited painters from the palace to paint. I heard that Ji Hanlin's paintings are second to none in the capital. I would like to ask Your Majesty to assign Ji Hanlin to go to the Princess' Mansion to help."

In the past, the emperor would have approved such a small matter, but today his brows were furrowed so much that they could kill a fly.

The emperor placed the pen in his hand on the pen mountain, making a crisp sound. "Dihua, there are many painters and handsome men in the capital. I have no objection to whoever you choose, but Ji Hanlin is an official I want to use, so don't bother him."

The emperor spoke in a low voice, with a hint of displeasure.

A loud drum does not need a heavy hammer. They are all smart people. Princess Dihua knew that the emperor knew about her affairs in Qionglin Garden. A flame of anger rose in her heart and rushed to her forehead.

Some things are tacitly understood, and once revealed, it is a kind of humiliation. For so many years, she has been a good daughter and a good sister, whitewashing the peace for the royal family, but she was criticized by the emperor for a mere top scholar. Originally, she didn't care much about Ji Zimo, and it didn't matter if she couldn't get him, but now she was aroused to rebel.

Princess Dihua barely suppressed her emotions and left with a stiff face.

The next day, Ji Zimo's paintings were delivered to the emperor's desk. After the emperor carefully examined them, he summoned him again.

"I have seen your paintings. Can you tell me how you achieved such realism?"

Ji Zimo recounted his insights on lines, light and shadow, color and perspective.

The emperor looked at the painting on the table thoughtfully: "What if your painting method is applied to construction?"

Ji Zimo's eyes lit up. He had never thought about it in this direction. After being inspired by the emperor, he instantly felt as if a new world had opened its doors to him.

"I remember that the policy paper you wrote during the palace examination was about flood control?"

"Your Majesty, that's right."

The emperor stood up and walked towards the large map hanging on the wall of the imperial study with his hands behind his back.

"The floods in Oujiang River have always been a major concern for the court. You have both strategies for flood control and methods for improving construction. If I transfer you to the Ministry of Works, would you be willing?"

Ji Zimo's heart skipped a beat. How could he not be willing? He had worked so hard to take the imperial examination, and his original intention was to protect and benefit the people. If he could eliminate the flood in Oujiang River with all his efforts in his life, then his life would not be in vain.

He took a deep breath and said loudly: "Your Majesty, I am willing!"

When the imperial edict was issued to transfer Ji Zimo from the Imperial Academy to the Ministry of Works and Water Department, everyone in the court was shocked and could not figure out the emperor's intention. On the surface, Ji Zimo was promoted three levels in a row, from the sixth-rank Imperial Academy editor to the fifth-rank Imperial Ministry of Works. It can be said that he was promoted rapidly and was favored by the emperor. In fact, the promotion path of the top scholar is well-prescribed. Starting from the Imperial Academy editor, he gradually climbed to the position of attendant reader, attendant reader bachelor, Imperial Academy bachelor, then served as the minister of the Ministry of Rites or the Ministry of Personnel, the minister of the Ministry of Rites or the Ministry of Personnel, and finally entered the cabinet and became a university scholar.

As the saying goes, only Hanlin scholars can enter the cabinet. The top scholar usually does not leave the Hanlin Academy to go to the six ministries. Even if he goes out, he rotates between the Ministry of Rites and the Ministry of Personnel. It is extremely rare to go to the Ministry of Revenue, not to mention the three ministries of war, punishment, and engineering. The Minister of Works is the least prominent among the six ministers, and it is extremely rare for him to enter the cabinet. Ji Zimo's move to the Ministry of Works basically cuts off his path to becoming a prime minister.

When the imperial edict came out, many people felt sorry for Ji Zimo. If he passed the imperial examination and won the top three places, he could become a first-rank official in another ten or twenty years.

Only his master Dong Daru and his wife Shui Qinghua, who had accompanied him all the way from Qianzhou, understood his choice. There was another person who welcomed Ji Zimo with both hands and feet, and that was Minister Ying of the Ministry of Industry.

"I told you to come to the Ministry of Works and help me with flood control!" When Ji Zimo arrived at the Ministry of Works to report, Minister Ying held him tightly and said, "Come on, come on, I'll treat you to a welcome drink today, and I'll protect you from now on!"

Ji Zimo smiled and agreed. He had not forgotten that the emperor had transferred him to the Ministry of Works in order to improve the construction methods, so he asked Minister Ying to take a look at the existing flood control engineering drawings. He immediately found problems: the composition was not clear, the structure was not three-dimensional, the numbers were fuzzy, the proportions were wrong... He took a breath of cold air. The flood control effect of the engineering built according to this drawing could only be left to chance.

As a result, Ji Zimo changed from writing articles all day long when he was a Hanlin to drawing blueprints all day long, and he was so busy that he didn't even go home and lived in the duty room.

On the other side, Shui Qinghua was also very busy, but not for Furong Garden, which was taken care of by Ye Jincheng. She just couldn't resist her elder sister Minghua's nagging and took a new job: opening an embroidery class for Mr. Yu's school.

"Second sister, if your embroidery workshop is doing well, you will definitely have to recruit people. Where will you find a poor young lady next time? It is better to train her from scratch. Although it will take more time, you will know her well and avoid producing another Meng Xiu Niang." Ming Hua urged her.

This sentence really touched her heart. Whether it was recruiting refugees or poor daughters, she had to do it. From the first day of opening the embroidery workshop, she was troubled by the problem of lack of people. Every time she was in a dilemma, she was in a mess. In the future, her embroidery workshop will not only be in Jiangxia and the capital, but also in more places. Does she have to take risks every time?

She had to take the initiative to solve the problem of "people". If someone didn't know poetry or songs, she would teach them; if someone didn't know painting, she would teach them; if someone didn't know needlework, she would teach them. When she had enough people, she could open more embroidery workshops, even in the south of the Yangtze River.

With this plan in mind, she readily took over her elder sister's job and became the first embroidery teacher in Mr. Yu's school.

Her students were all girls from the nearby compound, mostly between ten and fifteen years old. They learned to read and write in the primary school, and after graduation they were divided into various craft classes, most of which were embroidery classes. In her class, no matter if they had a foundation in needlework or had learned embroidery from their mothers, they all started from scratch, starting with the most basic flat stitch.

Ji Fei knew that her mother was a teacher, and she didn't take it seriously: "Mom, how many students can you teach by yourself? The embroidery workshop needs people all the time. By the time these students graduate in a few years, it will be too late."

Shui Qinghua thought about it and said, "Then what good ideas do you have?"