Chapter 710 - 346 Monk Cannot Marry a Wife_1
In the evening, Prince Consort Pan was invited over. Shortly after, the Qian family of four, with Qian Manxia sporting a pregnant belly, arrived. Not long after, Father Jiang returned with Zhu Sujin and Liang Jinzhao.
Qian Sangui and Lady Wu were overjoyed; it was rare for the family to be gathered so completely, and they promptly invited Crown Prince Zhu Sujin and Relative Pan to take the seats of honor.
With many guests present, it was decided to split into separate tables. The men at one table, and the women and children at another.
Zhu Sujin first had a few words with Old woman Qian before joining the men’s table for dinner.
Old woman Qian’s proudest achievement was the favor that the Crown Prince bestowed upon her, even holding her hands without any hint of disdain.
She told the people from her old hometown repeatedly, "Back in the day, when the Old Qian Family was poor, that Wang Lizheng, just a petty official, would look down on me with disdain. But look at the Crown Prince now, how well he treats me..." She would even shed tears of happiness when deeply moved.
At the moment, she began the same topic with Qian Xiang.
Qian Xiang humored her, laughing, "Yes, yes, we’re all envious of you now, Mother."
Old woman Qian saw Old man Qian curl his lips and said with a sly smile, "Your dad isn’t envious, he’s jealous."
Seeing Old man Qian huffing off to the men’s table, Qian Xiang chuckled and softly urged, "Mother, don’t always poke at Dad’s sore spot, it makes him uncomfortable." After speaking, she helped her to the women’s table.
Since the Little Monk was present, the men couldn’t drink alcohol, so they substituted tea for wine and remained just as excited discussing the state affairs.
Crown Prince Zhu Sujin had already proposed to the Emperor an idea to lift the maritime ban, arguing that "when trade is open, pirates turn into merchants, and when trade is banned, merchants turn into pirates..." The Emperor found himself in a dilemma, realizing the downsides of isolation but fearing that lifting the maritime ban would be tantamount to opening the country’s doors to enemies. He instructed the Imperial Court to come up with a feasible plan, but it seemed to face considerable resistance, with half of the senior ministers and many other officials disapproving.