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

Chapter 210 Let the Data Speak

In no time, Yao Maofang finished writing the license and affixed his seal.

"Your Highness, the permit has been processed."

Pei Rujing nodded and glanced at Qinghe.

Qinghe accepted the license.

Wen Zongji stood up: "Shall we go to my office?"

"Let's go."

Since Pei Rujing had come to the Beijing Gazette Bureau, she naturally couldn't just leave after finishing her business. Her previous plan was to go see Wen Zongji after she finished dealing with the permit issue.

Now it's just a few more unexpected events.

After the two left, the somewhat oppressive atmosphere instantly changed.

"The lord and the county princess standing together are truly a match made in heaven."

"Although I had long heard that Princess Anhe was the most beautiful woman in the capital, I had never seen her before. Now that I have seen her, the rumors are indeed true."

Yao Maofang couldn't help but nod: "The bearing of a county princess is unmatched by ordinary people."

This was also the first time he had met Pei Rujing.

It's hard not to envy Wen Zongji for being able to marry a woman like Pei Rujing, who has both a good background and good looks.

"However... the county princess seems to have a rather bad temper?"

"I didn't dare to breathe too loudly just now, for fear of displeasing the county princess."

"The county princess is of noble status and enjoys great favor, so it's understandable that she's a bit arrogant. But don't you see how well she gets along with the magistrate?"

"Too--"

A wave of discussion about Pei Rujing and Wen Zongji swept through the office, with everyone in high spirits, adding a touch of fun to their busy work.

Pei Rujing followed Wen Zongji back to his office, glancing out of the corner of her eye to see that there were people in the other rooms as well.

"Are there many people in the Beijing News Bureau these days?"

Wen Zongji nodded: "After all, the people stationed at the branch offices of the Capital Gazette Bureau all have to be dispatched from the capital, so the Crown Prince sent some more people. It only looks like there are many now, but once they are sent out, there won't be so many people left."

When will the branch office be ready?

Back in his office, Wen Zongji took out his own tea and asked Changdong to make tea for Pei Rujing.

"It involves various prefectures and cities of the Great Chu, and a lot of time will be spent on the road alone. We also need to coordinate with the government offices of each prefecture. It seems that it will not be completed this year."

Pei Rujing raised an eyebrow: "In that case, wouldn't you have to stay at the Beijing Gazette Bureau?"

Wen Zongji looked at her: "Does my wife wish for me to leave the Capital Gazette Bureau?"

Pei Rujing shook her head: "I can't control where you go, but I seem to remember you saying that you wouldn't stay at the Beijing News Bureau for long."

"Times have changed. Whether it's preparing for the establishment of a branch of the Beijing Daily or the gradual opening up of the People's Daily in the future, we have to take it one step at a time. I can't leave the Beijing Daily for the time being."

Compared to gaining experience in other government offices, it was easier to achieve merits in the Capital Reporting Office, since it was built from scratch by Wen Zongji step by step.

He was adept at it and knew the Beijing Daily better than anyone else.

"Oh," Pei Rujing said, "It's good that you know what's going on."

Pei Rujing turned her head to look around the office decor and saw another desk next to Wen Zongji's desk. She asked, "Is this Mr. Yuan's desk?"

"right."

"Why is he still in the same office as you?"

Yuan Tianxi was initially placed in Wen Zongji's office because the other offices had not yet been prepared.

Wen Zongji said, "Mr. Yuan doesn't come to the Beijing News Office often. He finds it troublesome, so he didn't have anyone move it."

Pei Rujing nodded in realization.

She walked to Wen Zongji's desk, picked up a memorial at random, and looked at it. Seeing the dense text on it, she felt a headache coming on, and put it down after only a couple of glances.

Then he picked up another book, which was still filled with densely packed text.

"Don't you get a headache looking at so many words?"

Pei Rujing put down the memorial and sat down to the side.

Just then, Changdong served tea.

Wen Zongji said, "Back when I was studying, I read far more characters than I do now."

"Indeed," Pei Rujing sipped her tea. "You scholars are best at reading... I only learned from talking to Zuo San a few days ago that her sister-in-law is about to give birth."

Wen Zongji paused as he read the memorial, remembering what had sparked their argument back then.

"Would you like to prepare a gift, my lady?"

"I'm not very familiar with her sister-in-law. We'll have to see how big the Zuo family is for the celebration. Speaking of which, this child is the first fourth-generation member of the Zuo family."

Wen Zongji was not surprised by their conversation: "Miss Zuo's brother is the eldest grandson, so it's normal for his child to be the first fourth generation."

Pei Rujing glanced at him: "When did you plan to get me pregnant?"

Wen Zongji's expression froze, and he looked up at Pei Rujing.

Pei Rujing noticed Wen Zongji's gaze and sneered, "What, you're afraid to speak now?"

Although she didn't particularly like children, she still longed for an offspring with Wen Zongji. However, Wen Zongji didn't consider her feelings at all and simply took precautions against pregnancy.

At that time, she was completely immersed in the sadness that Wen Zongji did not love her.

Now that Wen Zongji is pursuing her, Pei Rujing naturally thought about the child.

She didn't mind getting pregnant later, but she couldn't let Wen Zongji off so easily.

Wen Zongji put down the memorial, walked to Pei Rujing's side, and said softly, "I really care about my wife's health."

Pei Rujing looked at him and listened quietly to what he had to say.

Wen Zongji took out an article from his pocket and said, "This is a survey I commissioned Shuntian Prefecture to investigate the situation of difficult childbirth and newborns over the past ten years. It is clear that childbirth is most dangerous for women aged thirteen to sixteen. Although it is better for women aged sixteen to eighteen, there are still risks. On the contrary, the incidence of difficult childbirth decreases significantly after the age of eighteen."

Pei Rujing was stunned.

She was waiting for Wen Zongji to explain, but instead, Wen Zongji showed her the data directly.

Pei Rujing took the article and read it word by word, her brows furrowing deeply: "Is it really that dangerous?"

Wen Zongji nodded: "If that weren't the case, why would I deliberately try to avoid pregnancy? I also want to have a child with my wife."

In reality, this data is not accurate, because in this era, very few people get pregnant at the age of eighteen. Generally, those who give birth at eighteen are having their second or third child, and this is often easier than the first pregnancy.

Therefore, it is simply impossible to collect highly accurate data.

However, Wen Zongji, coming from a later era, was well aware that it was bad for a woman's health to get pregnant too early. His argument was essentially deducing the process from the result, so even if the evidence had some flaws, it didn't matter much, as the conclusion was correct anyway.

Pei Rujing asked, "Did you write this article?"

Wen Zongji then explained, "My wife was so angry because of my contraception that I was afraid she would abandon me. I was also afraid that she wouldn't believe me if I just gave her a verbal explanation, so I asked the Shuntian Prefecture to investigate. Because the scope of the investigation was so broad, I only managed to write this article today."

Pei Rujing suppressed the urge to smile and deliberately snorted coldly: "Our Lord Wen is calm, steady, and resourceful. Even if I don't want you, there are plenty of people willing to take your place."

Wen Zongji squatted down in front of Pei Rujing, took her hand and kissed it: "What others do is none of my business. I only want my wife by my side."

This sentence successfully pleased Pei Rujing.

A smile appeared on her face, and she said haughtily, "I reluctantly believe what you say."