Morning next day.
As soon as I entered the hall, I could sense the heavy atmosphere.
The emperor took the memorial handed over by the Dali Temple last night, his face full of anger.
"I heard that some people are quite dissatisfied with the eldest prince's change of status..."
He glanced coldly at the courtiers in the hall.
"What? Now that the border is in crisis, you keep silent, while some people are meddling in my family affairs!"
Everyone looked up and shrank their necks.
Everyone had heard something about what happened outside Handan Academy yesterday.
Since the opening of Handan Academy, some people have advocated that "women should be self-reliant."
The ladies of each family went to listen once or twice out of curiosity, which made the usually well-behaved women in the inner house feel a little rebellious.
As a result, many court officials had conflicts in their harems, where they had lived in peace for decades.
Of course, this "discord" only targets those men who regard "husband's authority" as the will of heaven, so that they can no longer be high and mighty and give orders at home.
Therefore, in the past two years, there have been many overt and covert orders for the academy to close, but they were all blocked by Rong Baichuan and the emperor.
After a long time, when the "princess becomes a prince" incident happened, some people wanted to stir up public anger again.
"Your Majesty, there is something wrong with the Women's Academy..." A court official stepped forward to advise.
"Recently, many women in Beijing have broken up with their husbands' families, all because..."
Glancing at Rong Baichuan's displeased look, the courtier boldly continued:
"It's all because of the unethical remarks made in that academy."
"If this continues, family discord among the people will ensue, and it may spark public outrage."
"Family discord..." Rong Baichuan looked at the man and said, "What does it mean to have a harmonious family?"
"If a man hits a woman and she endures it, that's called family harmony?"
"Your wife is willing to use her dowry to support a concubine for you, and that's what we call harmony?"
"You..." The man was ashamed and angry when the secret of his family was brought up.
Rong Baichuan sneered, "How shameless of you!"
"Your Majesty, the families my daughter persuaded to divorce were all because the women had suffered domestic violence for a long time and could no longer tolerate it. It was definitely not her intention to provoke civil disputes."
"Long-term domestic violence..." Someone else jumped out to object,
"May I ask, Lord Rong, why didn't anyone mention this before? Why did so many people appear after Handan Academy opened?"
"Minor quarrels between husband and wife are inevitable, but who can tell the difference between right and wrong and grudges in the family?"
"If your daughter hadn't deliberately exaggerated the incident and instigated women to disrespect their husbands, there wouldn't be any talk of domestic violence."
"Master Li, what you said is probably short-sighted." Minister Jiang looked at the man and said:
"Regarding cases within private homes, the Ministry of Justice has at least hundreds of cases filed each year, all of which are wives being beaten to death by their husbands."
"Master Li is not in the right position. Don't be a frog in the well!"
Minister Jiang rolled his eyes at Lord Li, then shook his sleeves and stood with his hands in his pockets.
"Even if there have been past conflicts, they should still be reconciled. How can we start by persuading people to divorce?"
Lord Li is unreasonable but he still has to be cunning:
"Besides, I heard that Miss Rong has repeatedly abused her power to pressure others and force couples to divorce."
"If everyone follows suit and oppresses the people in the name of doing good, in a few years, Dongwu will be no different from the previous dynasty!" he said righteously.
"Your Majesty..." Qin Taifu, who was usually taciturn, suddenly spoke.
"What does the Grand Tutor have to say?" the emperor asked respectfully.
Qin Taifu was already over sixty years old and was about to retire. When he spoke, no one dared not to listen.
Everyone looked at him seriously.
"Emperor Wenzong ruled the country with culture. Before his death, he asked his senior officials to train more civil officials to create a prosperous and peaceful era for Dongwu..."
The Grand Tutor was old and his breathing was unstable. He paused to take a breath and continued:
"I am an old minister of low caliber. If I fail to achieve my goal, I will die..." He raised his hand to wipe the corner of his eyes.
"Now, my granddaughter is trying to do her bit for me, an old man, but she's been criticized so much..."
He was breathing weakly, speaking slowly, and there was a cry in his voice. Rong Baichuan was stunned.
"It is my incompetence that has failed to teach the child well. Your Majesty, please punish me and redeem the child's filial piety."
As he said this, he was about to kneel down tremblingly, and Qin Zhongshu behind him hurriedly reached out to support him.
He also looked confused. When his father scolded him at home yesterday, he was still full of energy and his roar was enough to break the sky.
Why do you look like you're dying now?
"Your Majesty, it is the father's fault if he fails to educate his children."
Rong Baichuan saw that the old man was taking advantage of his seniority and handed the hammer to the emperor.
But today, he is the most suitable one to hand over this hammer.
"If you want to punish me, punish me. I failed to teach my daughter well and let her use my power to help others."
"In the final analysis, it is because I have too much power. I am willing to be demoted and confined to my home to atone for my sins."
"It's just..." After a burst of impassioned speech, Rong Baichuan said apologetically:
"Now that the border is in crisis, I'm afraid I can't help Your Majesty."
"Your Majesty, please send another wise and resourceful person to the border to recover the lost territory and drive out the northern barbarians."
Everyone changed color when they heard this.
"Okay." His Majesty agreed immediately.
The court officials were instantly shocked.
Among all the military generals in the court now, the only one capable of fighting against the Northern Barbarians is Rong Baichuan. How could the emperor actually agree to his speech?
"Since you say the Rong family is guilty, then I will punish them!" The emperor said in a deep voice:
"Then, shall we leave the task of repelling the enemy from the Northern Barbarians to you, my dear nobles?"
His tone was calm, but his eyes were filled with anger.
When those people looked up, they immediately knelt down and begged for mercy.
"Your Majesty, please forgive me. I did not mean that."
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