By a twist of fate, the illegitimate son of the Marquis's family marries the county princess.

Chapter 271 Rewarding the County Princess's Mansion

In order not to disrupt his daily life, Wen Zongji still asked the imperial physician Wang to prescribe a sleep aid, the kind that could keep him asleep all night, somewhat similar to sleeping pills in later generations.

Previously, Physician Wang had only prescribed some calming medicine, but Wen Zongji's illness was mental, so the calming medicine was completely ineffective.

Now, in order to fall asleep, I have to use strong medication.

Pei Rujing felt sorry for him: "Even Physician Wang said I'm in very good health, so don't worry about me."

The two lay side by side on the bed. Pei Rujing's belly was too big, so she could only lie flat.

Wen Zongji had already taken his medicine and held Pei Rujing's hand: "I couldn't control myself either. I was probably too afraid of losing my wife."

He was an orphan and had never really cared about anyone growing up. Pei Rujing was the first and only one.

Pei Rujing's existence is like Wen Zongji's anchor point in this world.

He needed Pei Rujing to confirm his existence.

Pei Rujing pursed her lips, her eyes filled with affection as she looked at him: "Actually, sometimes I'm scared, scared that if something unexpected happens, I'll never see you again... But I quickly stop worrying. We are destined by fate, and the God of Love has personally tied us together. He certainly won't let us separate so soon. We will be together for a very long time."

Wen Zongji didn't believe in these so-called fates at first, but after Pei Rujing talked about them so much, he started to believe them too.

In fact, their fate was separated by a world.

From this perspective, how can it not be considered a destiny arranged by heaven?

"Once my wife finishes her postpartum confinement, we'll go to Xiangguo Temple together to thank God for the destiny that has been arranged for us."

Pei Rujing nodded: "Okay."

……

Ministry of Revenue Office

Seeing that Wen Zongji had finally regained some of his spirits, Bai Baojing cautiously asked, "Lord Wen, is the county princess alright?"

Wen Zongji was taken aback: "My wife is fine, why do you say that, Lord Bai?"

Bai Baojing smiled awkwardly: "A few days ago, we saw that Lord Wen was not in good spirits, and we thought the county princess was unwell, so we didn't dare to ask any questions."

Wen Zongji said, "Lord Bai is too kind. I was just overthinking things. My wife is in good health."

"That's good... Then congratulations in advance to Lord Wen on becoming a father."

"Thanks."

After exchanging pleasantries, the two went about their own business.

Having dealt with the officials in the archives more often, and with Zhou Shiyue's special approval, Wen Zongji was able to take some of the case files back to his office to review them, without having to go to the archives every time.

He was looking through the population flow data of Beijing in recent years.

As the capital of the Great Chu, the capital city attracts people every moment, with countless people wanting to establish themselves there.

Of course, very few people can actually do it.

It is worth mentioning that the present-day capital was also the capital of the previous dynasty. After the establishment of the Great Chu, a great deal of manpower and resources were spent expanding the capital.

Originally, the capital only had an outer city on the north side. After the establishment of the Great Chu Kingdom, outer cities were built on the other three sides as well, and their area was much larger than that of the northern outer city, which could accommodate more than double the population.

However, despite decades of development, housing in Beijing remains scarce and expensive, with many officials still living in rented apartments.

Upon seeing this information, Wen Zongji's eyes flickered slightly, as if he were deep in thought.

Bai Baojing looked at the dossier in his hand and sighed, "Because there are too many people from outside the capital, conflicts often arise, giving the Shuntian Prefecture a terrible headache. Fortunately, Lord Wen published the Beijing Gazette, which helped those people understand some of the laws, thus reducing the probability of trouble."

Wen Zongji, in his joint statement to the case file, said: "After reviewing it, I found that the main problem was a shortage of housing in the capital, while there were too many people in need of housing. The housing brokers had no shortage of tenants, so they kept raising prices, which led to many people being unable to afford to rent a house. Over time, they had no choice but to take risks."

Bai Baojing nodded: "That's certainly one of the reasons. But there's nothing we can do about it. The capital is only so big. Everyone's desperate to get into the capital, without even considering whether it can accommodate so many people."

Wen Zongji tapped the table lightly: "So if a number of houses could be vacated, it would also alleviate the current housing shortage problem."

Bai Baojing chuckled: "Everyone knows the logic, but the empty houses are all controlled by real estate brokers. Even if we are the government, we can't force them to hand over the houses. Besides, there are too many people who need houses. Even if we get houses from the brokers, how should we arrange them? If we don't arrange them well, we'll only end up being blamed."

To put it bluntly, this kind of thing is easy to do with a lot of effort but no reward.

Wen Zongji didn't speak again. He had some ideas in his mind, but he needed to think about them carefully.

……

Wen Zongji was always calm and collected; he would not reveal his thoughts until he had thought things through.

Even when Zhou Shiyue met him again and asked how he was doing at the Ministry of Revenue, he did not reveal his plans.

Fortunately, Zhou Shiyue did not expect Wen Zongji to solve the Ministry of Revenue's major problems as soon as he arrived. However, since Wen Zongji was the one he had invited, he still had to show some concern for him.

Just as Wen Zongji was pondering how to increase the revenue of the Ministry of Revenue, it was April of the fourteenth year of the Shun'an era.

Pei Rujing is also approaching her due date and could go into labor at any time.

The midwife and wet nurse have moved into Yunguang Courtyard.

Just then, an imperial edict arrived from the palace.

"By the grace of Heaven, the Emperor decrees: The Princess of Anhe County, gentle and virtuous, has already been conferred a title and is entitled to a residence. Therefore, a county mansion is hereby bestowed upon her. So be it!"

The imperial edict was short, even brief, but it caused a huge sensation at the Marquis of Zhongyong's residence.

After seeing off the eunuch who delivered the imperial decree, Wen Chuanhong and Madam Jiang exchanged a glance, both of them surprised.

They had all considered that Yunguang Courtyard was too small and intended to allocate the adjacent courtyard to Yunguang Courtyard, but before they could take any action, Emperor Shun'an directly bestowed upon them a county princess's mansion.

The county magistrate's mansion certainly wasn't a gift given away for nothing.

Since Emperor Shun'an has bestowed the gift, Pei Rujing must go and stay there. If Pei Rujing goes, how can Wen Zongji remain in the Marquis's residence?

"Master, this..."

For a moment, Jiang didn't know what to say.

Wen Chuanhong looked at Wen Zongji and said, "Since the Emperor has bestowed the County Princess's Mansion upon you, once the County Princess has recovered, you will all move there together."

Wen Zongren and the others looked at Wen Zongji, but none of them spoke.

Receiving the imperial decree was a major event, and everyone in the Marquis's residence was present, except for Pei Rujing, who was physically disabled.

Wen Zongji held the imperial edict in his hands and said, "Yes, Father."

Emperor Shun'an made no attempt to conceal his intention in bestowing the county princess's mansion upon her, and Wen Zongji made no attempt to refuse.

It's not necessary at all.

Wen Zongjing glanced at Wen Zongji with a hint of envy.

Both being sons born out of wedlock, Wen Zongji's fate took a completely different turn from the moment he married Princess Anhe.

The Emperor Shun'an's current bestowal of gifts further illustrates this point.