Extra 3-14: Comeback

For the Luo family, which had a long history of poetry and literature, educating children was extremely important.

Tao Sheng gave birth to a child of the Luo family, one of the great-grandsons of Grand Master Luo. Even though the children were still too young to speak properly, the family elders were already worried about their education.

This morning, Tao Sheng’s two aunts visited her. After some small talk, they started discussing how the children should be raised.

“Both the daughter and the son seem very smart,” Madam Luo said. “Father was still talking about sending them to our private school when they start learning to read. He and a few teachers would personally teach them.”

“Father-in-law has many students from all over, and those he has taught are naturally exceptional,” Madam Luo continued. “But Master Ji is also outstanding, so maybe we don’t need to worry too much about their education.”

“My sister-in-law is right,” Madam Luo agreed. “In the future, Xiao Tao will teach the girl music, and Xiao Ji will teach the boy reading. We might have another talented woman and top scholar in our family.”

Tao Sheng smiled as she listened to her aunts talk.

Girls tend to be active and playful, while boys prefer being calm and quiet.

My son has no problem learning literature, but my daughter struggles to calm down and play the zither.

Lord Ji wasn’t used to talking to beings that couldn’t communicate normally, even with his own children.

Whenever Tao Sheng saw him teaching the children, she always felt that his abilities were not being fully utilized.

Since Ji Yanming spoke little and didn’t know how to entertain the children like others did, the children knew he was their father and an important figure, but they were not close to him. In fact, they even had a natural fear of him.

Once Tao Sheng noticed this, she jokingly said to Ji Yanming, “The children are as close to you as I am to them. If something really happens in the future, you’ll have to rely on me.”

Ji Yanming smiled and said, “From now on, I can only rely on you, Shengsheng. You must be nicer to me and not be a heartless woman.”

Xiao Ze eagerly awaited the twins’ first birthday. He personally brought gifts to the mansion and attended the birthday party. He talked with Ji Yanming in a room for a long time. It’s unclear what method the emperor used to convince Lord Ji, but their conversation was fruitful, and Tao Sheng’s return was finally confirmed.

Xiao Ze did not want Tao Sheng to go to the original Taiyue Bureau. He feared Tao Sheng would not be the top leader in other core departments and might be wronged. He wanted to set up a new department as soon as possible and let Tao Sheng lead it.

Mr. Zhang acted quickly and had returned from overseas. He had brought back unexpected gains. In addition, after two years of planning, the time was right for establishing the new department.

After the morning court session, Xiao Ze kept everyone behind and took Tao Sheng behind closed doors to discuss setting up the new department. Just as they were finishing, Luo Xiu came over to report his work.

Normally, Xiao Ze wouldn’t let anyone in at this moment, but Luo Xiu was Tao Sheng’s adoptive father and a real “family member,” so he had to be respected.

Xiao Ze waved his hand, signaling Foley to let Luo Xiu in.

Luo Xiu had now taken command of the Firearms Battalion ^[1]which is a military unit in Great Zhou. and had begun setting up related matters. His official rank had been promoted from the sixth grade to the fifth grade.

After finishing his report to Xiao Ze, Luo Xiu heard Tao Sheng and the emperor discussing the new department’s setup and quickly interrupted, “Most of the officials in the Ministry of War are still resistant to the Firearms Battalion. They work for the emperor, but other generals treat them as outsiders and refuse to follow them. It would be better to give command to Xiao Sheng.”

Xiao Ze nodded as he listened, “Lord Luo, you are right. That’s a good idea.”

At that moment, the queen came to Xuanzheng Hall with snacks and sweet soup.

Seeing the snacks and soup, Xiao Ze knew they weren’t for him.

As expected, the Queen smiled at Tao Sheng and said, “I heard you were going to court today, so I sent Nanny Zhong to invite you to Qingning Palace after court. But since you were kept by His Majesty, I brought them here for you.”

Xiao Ze understood that the queen had come to take Tao Sheng from him.

As the emperor, he needed to be magnanimous. After all, the queen could visit the Xuanzheng Hall but couldn’t take Tao Sheng away.

Xiao Ze looked at the Queen, who sat down without any hesitation, pulling Tao Sheng to eat and drink. She even rewarded Luo Xiu with snacks and sweet soup. The friendly mood of discussing national affairs earlier was now gone.

Xiao Ze cleared his throat and said, “I’ve always had an interest in chariot design and mechanical engineering, but the things made by the Ministry of Works and Ministry of Revenue don’t suit me. After much thought, I trust you the most. If you could combine this with the Firearms Battalion, it would ease my worries.”

At this point, Crown Prince Xiao Lang entered and said that he had not visited Luo Xiu’s home in the past year, fearing he would disturb him. Today, upon hearing that Luo Xiu was at the Xuanzheng Hall, he came over to check on him.

Xiao Ze was glad the prince was willing to learn these things. He nodded at his son and motioned Xiao Lang to sit down. They ate pastries while continuing to discuss the department’s responsibilities with Tao Sheng.

After hearing this, Xiao Lang’s eyes lit up. He waited for his father to finish speaking, then tactfully said he had always been interested in astronomy and the calendar. Recently, while reading Western books brought back by Lord Zhang, he gained new insights and made unexpected achievements. He hoped Tao Sheng could set up a relevant exploration department, combining Chinese and Western cultures to provide the people with a better life.

Xiao Ze was interested and waved at Tao Sheng, “You can add this too.”

Even while eating the pastries brought by the Queen, Tao Sheng felt a momentary sensation of hypoglycemia ^[2]which is a condition of low blood sugar.. She nodded seriously, “Your Majesty and the Crown Prince are both right. Let me think about it when I go back.”

Xiao Ze noticed Tao Sheng didn’t look well and realized he had accidentally tired her. Remembering his promise to Ji Yanming, he quickly arranged for a sedan chair to take Lord Luo out.

But the Queen interrupted, “Your Majesty, don’t bother. I’ll bring a sedan chair and take Tao Sheng out of the palace.”

Xiao Ze couldn’t refuse, but had a hunch the Queen was hiding something from him.

Xiao Ze and the Queen had been married for many years, and their sixth sense was usually accurate. After leaving the gate of Xuanzheng Hall, the Queen revealed to Tao Sheng that over the years, she had developed many useful skincare products and spices with the harem and the Imperial Hospital, as well as exotic flowers and plants with the Flower and Bird Room. She had even developed new clothing styles with the Clothing Bureau’s palace ladies. She asked Tao Sheng if she could help them get something like a patent, so the women in the harem could move from behind the scenes to the forefront.

Before Tao Sheng became an official, many thought that being the emperor’s woman and living in the palace was the peak of glory. Now, seeing Tao Sheng, they realized there was a better way. They could work to showcase their strengths, make their lives more valuable, and improve the lives of others.

Tao Sheng nodded solemnly to the Queen, indicating that she had taken note and would discuss it with the Emperor later.

In the following time, Xie Huaian, who had just joined the Ministry of Revenue, found Tao Sheng after hearing about this and said there were innovations in agriculture, needing the support of Tao Sheng’s new department. Zhang Xinyue had the idea of developing Western realistic painting and hoped Tao Sheng would focus on both art and daily life, serving the royal family and the people.

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As this matter evolved, everyone who had a good relationship with Tao Sheng and their own ideas wanted to get involved.

Tao Sheng went home and hugged Ji Yanming, sighing, “I feel like I am in a wishing well. Everyone is waiting for me to fulfill their wishes.”

Ji Yanming, clearly unfamiliar with this joke, asked, “What’s in the wishing well?”

Tao Sheng was embarrassed to say it out loud, so she pulled Ji Yanming’s hand and wrote on his palm.

After reading the words, Ji Yanming chuckled and said, “Then I’ll be Green Bean^[3]is a playful way of saying he wants to help Tao Sheng, even in a small or funny way, in response to her feeling overwhelmed..”

Tao Sheng nodded helplessly.

They were indeed a perfect match.

After discussing with everyone in the following days, Tao Sheng had more ideas about setting up a new department.

She initially thought of establishing a foreign-related agency similar to the Zongli Yamen, but it gradually turned into a technological innovation department to develop new things.

The six ministries in the court managed finances, people, buildings, military, law, and etiquette, but none had ever placed science and technology as a priority.

Science and technology are the primary productive forces.

No matter the field in court, whether it’s new weapons or technological innovation, as long as it’s new, it will be managed here first. After the technology and products mature, they will be handed over to the relevant ministries or departments for production and application.

In this world, scientific and technological innovation can be called “Gewu”. Tao Sheng thought long and hard about names and finally chose “Gewu Department.”

With Xiao Ze’s promotion and Tao Sheng’s efforts, the Ministry of Investigation later became an important department on par with the Six Ministries. It greatly improved the thinking, knowledge, and living standards of the people of Great Zhou and became a technological power hundreds of years ahead of the world.

This is a story for later.