in2ebook Chapter 381 Epilogue (2)
Chapter 381 Epilogue (2)
In the northern border, in Changling City, there is a mansion in Wuliu Hutong.
In the tea room in the main courtyard, Zhang Xueming lit a candle and carefully roasted a piece of letter paper. An orange scent wafted off the paper, and dense handwriting appeared.
After she finished reading the content displayed on the paper, she folded the letter until the writing on the paper disappeared, put it back into the envelope, and placed it in the red lacquered wooden box for letters.
Gong Yuanzheng sat beside her and brewed tea. He was not curious to look in. His long wooden spoon stirred the rose buds that were tumbling in the pot with the bubbles.
He pretended to be nonchalant and asked, "What joy did the elder sister share with you in this letter? She was so mysterious and even wrote a secret letter. Seeing the corners of your mouth curled up so high, could it be that her family is coming to Changling?"
Zhang Xueming glanced at him coquettishly: "Isn't Ayuan brewing beauty tea? Why did you put vinegar in the teapot? It smells so sour."
Gong Yuanzheng pursed his lips and said nothing.
He put down the wooden spoon, picked up a pair of white porcelain tea cups painted with frosty golden peonies (a variety of chrysanthemum), picked up the pot and poured out two cups of tea.
He then took out a pair of matching porcelain plates and placed two golden peony-shaped custard-filled tea cakes from the food box that had just been delivered from the kitchen on the plates.
Zhang Xueming bent his right index finger and scratched his left cheek, then said with a smile, "Are you angry now and ignoring me?"
Two years have passed, and he's still got some fat. It's worth it that she often cooks for him.
Gong Yuanzheng turned his head and took hold of her finger, gnashing his teeth gently. He looked a little angry and aggrieved, his eyes clear and bright, indescribably moving.
Zhang Xueming quickly went over to kiss him, then said slowly: "The air here is dry. Although afforestation has been effective in recent years, there are still occasional sandstorms in winter and spring.
Little Yashang is only one and a half years old. My eldest sister, my brother-in-law, and Elder Hua will probably have to wait another year or two before they dare to bring her to our place."
Gong Yuanzheng was coaxed, so he let go of her fingers, moved his face closer and touched his lips.
Zhang Xueming kissed him several times before he sat up contentedly. He then held her on his lap and hugged her, caressing her cheek to cheek: "She doesn't come over. Why does she write to you every now and then? Is there nothing for her to do at the palace gate?"
Zhang Xueming was helpless when she met a husband who would act like a spoiled child whenever he got the chance.
What can I do? I can pamper myself.
"You know that my eldest sister has been very busy these past two years. She had to deal with palace affairs, continue to study muskets, and inspect the workshops in town from time to time. She left the children to my brother-in-law and Elder Hua to take care of.
Lin Zhenzhen is the only woman in the palace who can talk to my elder sister. But there are some things she can't tell Lin Zhenzhen, so she can only write to me, right? "
In fact, women will have some minor problems after childbirth. The doctors in the clinic are all male, so it is difficult to ask detailed questions. They only rely on pulse diagnosis and the medicine is not suitable for the disease, which is very troublesome.
Gong Zishang came up with the idea of writing a letter to ask her for medical treatment.
A caravan from Jiao Palace would come to deliver goods every two months to replenish the cosmetics produced by Zheng Palace and medicines such as Lady Jin's Wengong Pills. The goods and medicines from the Zhang family workshop in Changling would then be transported to shops in the south for sale. It was not difficult for Gong Zishang to communicate with Zhang Xueming.
The prescription that Zhang Xueming prescribed for Gong Zishang last time was effective for her condition. He also prepared the medicinal materials in packages and had someone bring them to her.
This time, Gong Zishang wrote to express her gratitude and also gave a box of her newly made mechanical toys, enough for the two older children, Zhang Xueming and Gong Yuanzheng, to play with for a month or so.
Gong Zishang was so mysterious because he didn't want anyone other than Zhang Xueming to know. Zhang Xueming said vaguely, "It's not convenient for you to ask about women's affairs."
Gong Yuanzheng raised his eyebrows, he understood what she said but he didn't show it on his face.
Every time before the caravan was about to leave Changling, he would send Jin Miao to secretly find the team leader Jin Tong and ask him whether Zhang Xueming had sent any gifts to Gong Zishang in addition to letters.
If there was, Gong Yuanzheng would definitely know that Zhang Xueming had given Gong Zishang something.
It can't be that my elder sister has it but my husband doesn't, right?
He was serious about being jealous.
Gong Yuanzheng did not make a fuss with Zhang Xueming at that time. Instead, he had the idea of suppressing Zhang Xueming first and then praising him, in order to gain some benefits for himself from certain people.
Now that he had no excuse to make a fuss, he was a little disappointed.
It was known that Zhang Xueming gave Gong Zishang medicinal herbs last time, and this time Zhang Xueming was vague again. He thought about the part of medicine that he had not been familiar with in depth, and he knew what was going on.
The status of women in the northern border was no lower than that of men. There were female households and female adults, and the household taxes, adult fields, and adult labor were the same as those of men.
Female doctors are allowed to practice medicine here, but in the south, you can't see any women studying medicine, and there is not even a doctor who can be called a gynecologist.
The doctors at the Gongmen Medical Clinic had done research on conditioning women, protecting the fetus, and assisting in childbirth. But that was all they did, and they paid less attention to women's illnesses than to children's illnesses.
Gong Yuanzheng skipped over this topic lightly: "I am planning to write a medical book. I will start organizing my medical records and experiences tomorrow. Madam, can you spare some time to help me?"
Zhang Xueming smiled and said, "Okay, then our names will be listed on the same cover of the medical book, and doctors all over the world will know that we are husband and wife."
Maybe he even wanted to put "husband" and "wife" in front of their names so that people could tell them apart at a glance.
Gong Yuanzheng was not embarrassed at all, but said proudly: "More than that. Medical books are not only read by doctors. I have seen those scholars flipping through medical books in bookstores, saying something like 'If you can't be a good prime minister, be a good doctor'. In the future, when people mention me, they will mention you, and when they mention you, they will not leave me out. What do you think, is it a good idea?"
Zhang Xueming smiled brightly: "It's really good."
To prevent him from diving in headfirst and working hard day and night, he said, "Then I'll also organize my drawings and write a few travel notes. Can the authors also use our names?"
In this way, since both of them have to write books, they can supervise each other.
Gong Yuanzheng frowned: "Can you handle this?"
His desire to compile a medical book was actually inspired by Madam Jin's promotion of Wengong Pills.
Zhang Xueming wants the world to remember his mother and accumulate merits for his mother, and he also wants the world to remember Zhang Xueming.
The North was peaceful and without war, and people's livelihood was developing well. Zhang Xueming, the young master of the Zhang family, was very loved by the people of the North. But her name "War Demon" was too famous, and many people still used it to scare crying children: "If you cry again, the War Demon will come and take you away!"
Jin Miao and Su Rong had heard such words more than once when they were out, and Xue Chongzi and Xue Gongzi had also mentioned them in the letters they wrote to him.
They were all worried that someone with malicious intent would ignore the fact that Zhang Xueming fought bravely and use her nickname to make a fuss. The further the North's jurisdiction expanded southward, the more likely such worries would come true.
With a wave of their pen, a savior Bodhisattva can be transformed into a harming ghost by a scholar whose life has never been threatened by war.
Gong Yuanzheng knew that people's minds were unpredictable and that it was difficult to satisfy everyone. He couldn't shut everyone up, so he had to find another way.
Researching effective medicines to cure diseases, compiling medical books to save lives... He hopes that people can spread Zhang Xueming's good name and pray for her.
"As for time, you can always find it if you squeeze it." Zhang Xueming didn't know what he was planning and smiled lightly.
Gong Yuanzheng also smiled: "That's right, with our abilities, we can always accomplish what we want to do."