In the fifth year of Zhenguan, on the second day of the twelfth lunar month, at the end of the Youshi period, Chang'an City, the Imperial Palace, and the Zhengdian Hall.
Xiao Tao and Xiao Xi stood in the Li Zheng Hall tremblingly.
They still don't understand what's going on. When he was in the Qin Mansion, he clearly said that he was coming to work as an accountant for the wealthy businessman Li Mansion in Chang'an City.
But what they never expected was that Miss Yuechan actually led them into the palace and told them that Uncle Li in Mr. Qin's mouth was the current emperor and Aunt Li was the empress.
This huge gap made the two girls, who were already worried, even more overwhelmed, fearing that they would make a mistake and lose their lives.
He followed Yuechan obediently to a majestic palace. Yuechan entered the hall first and asked them to wait outside the hall. It took a long time before they were allowed in.
It was so late, and the two of them had not eaten dinner, so they were already very hungry, but they didn't dare to be presumptuous when they were new here.
Li Shimin and Queen Changsun looked at the little girls. Queen Changsun asked:
"What are your names? How long have you been studying arithmetic with Qin Ming in the Qin Mansion?"
"My name is Xiao Tao."
"My name is Xiaoxi."
"We learned arithmetic from Butler Xiao of the Qin Mansion, and we studied it for sixteen days."
Li Shimin and the eldest grandson looked at each other after hearing this, and then Li Shimin picked up the arithmetic book copied from the Qin Mansion on the table and asked:
"Can you both answer the questions in this book?"
The two looked at each other, and then Xiaotao replied:
"Butler Xiao has told the slaves in detail. Although the slaves are not as quick as Butler Xiao in answering, they can still do it."
Hearing this, Li Shimin nodded to his eldest grandson, who then took out the paper with the title on it from the desk. The palace maid handed it to the two of them. The topics were all chosen from the booklet. Zhangsun and Li Er found it difficult. And he also asked the doctor of mathematics in the palace to calculate the answer.
Seeing that the two women had taken over the question, Queen Changsun said:
"Then you stay here, answer these two questions, and let me see how you are doing."
The two women heard this and replied:
"Yes, the Queen." Then the two of them took the pen and paper and looked at the title.
They started writing quickly on the paper. After a while, the two of them put down the pen and paper.
The palace maid took the answer sheet from their hands and handed it to Queen Changsun respectfully.
The eldest grandson took it and looked at it. Sure enough, it was consistent with the answer given by the math doctor in the afternoon, but these two girls answered the questions much faster than those math doctors.
Seeing Li Shimin looking at him with questioning eyes, Changsun nodded towards Li Shimin. When Li Shimin saw his eldest grandson nodding, he was in a good mood, and even felt like he had found a treasure.
Changsun put down the paper in his hand with a smile and said to the two of them:
"Xiao Tao, Xiao Xi, you have done a good job. From now on, you will work here in this palace. I will not treat you badly. Yue Chan, please take them down to rest first."
"Thank you, Queen."
After saying that, the two of them followed Yue Chan out of the Li Zheng Hall.
After the girls went out, Li Shimin picked up the answer that his eldest grandson had put on the table and looked at it. He found that the paper was full of various numbers and symbols. Although he did not understand the specific meaning of these symbols for the time being, he still knew the answer.
But after looking at it for a while, he didn't know what he thought of, and his brows gradually wrinkled.
Seeing Li Shimin staring at the two pieces of paper without saying anything, the eldest grandson couldn't help but ask:
"Erlang, are you worried about the accounting department?"
Hearing this, Li Shimin put down the paper in his hand, glanced at Changsun and said:
"Guanyin Maid, do you think there is something wrong with that boy Qin Ming? He seems to know a lot of things, but I sent someone to check him and found that there was nothing special about him before August. The mansion only hired some ordinary people Teacher, where did he learn these things?"
When the eldest grandson heard this, she knew that her husband's suspicion had returned, but she still thought about it and said:
"Erlang, everyone has their own fate. No matter how much we investigate, we can't find out everything. Instead, I feel that since Qin Ming is talented, instead of spending energy on studying how he came up with these things, it is better to think about How to make him be used by the imperial court. In this way, no matter how great his fortune and ability, won't he still serve me, the Tang Dynasty?"
After hearing this, Li Shimin thought about it and felt that Changsun's words made sense.
"Well, that's true. But when he said that he would be used by the imperial court, I was angry. This guy actually refused my proposal to serve as an official in the imperial court many times. What made me even more angry was that the reasons he gave each time were always I think it makes sense."
Upon hearing this, the eldest grandson smiled and picked up the tea cup and said:
"This further proves that Qin Ming is a talented person. There are few people in this world who can think things through so clearly at his age.
Even the concubine did not expect that at such a young age, facing such opportunities and achievements, he would first think of the danger behind it. "
"Yes, speaking of the Ministry of Accounts, I, Guanyin, plan to first ask the two maids from the Qin Mansion to explain this arithmetic book to the arithmetic doctors in the palace. After they have learned enough, I will send them to the Ministry of Accounts to check the accounts. what do you think?"
The eldest grandson nodded and said:
"Well, the two maids sent by Qin Ming are indeed good. The internal money and accounts are not urgent. I will ask Yuechan to send them to Ganlu Palace tomorrow. Your Majesty will make arrangements."
After speaking, Changsun hesitated for a moment, then continued:
"Erlang, the Chinese New Year is almost here. Qin Ming's child will be sixteen years old after the Chinese New Year. I'm afraid many people will go to the Qin Mansion to propose marriage. This child is talented and filial. If another family arranges a marriage in advance... .”
Li Shimin frowned when he heard this. He had indeed thought about recruiting Qin Ming as his consort before, but he wanted to observe it for a few more years before making a decision. After all, Qin Ming was just a commoner.
In these short two months, Qin Ming brought him many surprises, from resettlement of refugees, to alcohol disinfection, and now arithmetic.
In Li Shimin's view, Qin Ming knew a lot and saw things clearly. If he could become an official in the court, he might become a pillar of the court in a few decades and help Cheng Qian better manage the government. Hearing what Changsun meant at this time, he naturally knew what Changsun meant, so he said:
"What do you mean, Maid Guanyin?"
After listening to Li Shimin's tone, Empress Changsun knew that what she was going to say next would probably come true, so she said:
"Erlang, I plan to go to the Qin Mansion. Let's settle the marriage between him and Chengyang first. In a few years, when Chengyang turns thirteen, we will marry Chengyang to him."
Li Shimin frowned when he heard this, looked at his eldest grandson, thought for a while and then said calmly:
"Chengyang is still young. Yuzhang and Changle are the same year, and they will be 12 after the New Year. Why not let her marry Qin Ming? What do you think, Guanyin?"
