Chapter 399 The Queen Has the Final Say
At that moment, Xuan Yue's dormant heart was reignited and began beating again.
"Sister." Seeing Xuan Yue didn't say anything, Xuan Shu panicked and said quickly, "I just said it casually, don't take it to heart."
Xuan Shu understands her sister.
Her words will not change Xuan Yue's mind of not getting married...
Xuan Yue's voice interrupted Xuan Shu's thoughts, and she said, "Master Cheng is indeed good."
"But he can't marry into the family."
Xuan Shu was silent. She knew of course that Cheng Fengqi would not marry into the emperor's family. Cheng Fengqi had always sided with His Majesty and now, at such a young age, he was already a minister and had a bright future.
Compared to him, she and her elder sister were just newcomers who had just entered the court, and there were still countless difficulties and obstacles waiting for them ahead.
"Don't think too much." Xuan Yue smiled at Xuan Shu, "Dad and Mom are still waiting for us at home."
After a pause, Xuan Yue reminded Xuan Shu again, "You can keep a lover, but it's best to find one from a good family, and don't change them too often. You should check your body before keeping one to make sure he doesn't have any diseases... Forget it, I will arrange for a doctor to check your pulse regularly."
She was mainly worried about syphilis and other things, and hoped that her sister wouldn't be infected.
Xuan Shu really hadn't thought of this. She reached out and held Xuan Yue's arm. "Sister, don't you think I'm being unorthodox?"
She just thought that her elder sister would definitely scold her.
Xuan Yue said: "Many men in the world have many wives and concubines. Many who don't have concubines don't do so because they don't want to, but because they don't dare or don't have the money."
"People like Daddy and Your Majesty are a minority. Why should I blame you?"
Xuan Shu was so moved when he heard this that he hugged Xuan Yue and said, "Sister, sister, you are the best sister in the world."
Xuan Shu's eyes turned and he asked again: "Why not, sister?"
"What?" Xuan Yue didn't react for a moment.
Xuan Shu replied as a matter of course, "Sister is not planning to get married. Since you have a crush on Mr. Cheng, why don't you enjoy yourself while you can?"
this……
Xuan Yue was really stunned for a moment.
Xuanshu's words were completely beyond her consideration. She had just talked about Xuanshu's affairs very well, but when it came to her turn, she was completely at a loss.
She hadn't thought about it, but...
"Let it be." Xuan Yue's words sounded a little unnatural. Fortunately, the carriage soon arrived at the Xuan family. The two sisters had to face Master Xuan and Madam Xuan, and had no time to discuss these things anymore.
The next day, early in the morning, in the court.
Xie Yao was very quick. After praising Cheng Fengqi, Xuan Shu and Xuan Yue, she directly announced the assessment for female officials and announced that all women could sign up for the first assessment for female officials.
Later on, they will have to participate in scientific examinations like men.
As soon as Xie Yao said this, the whole court was immediately in an uproar. This was a development that many court officials had expected, so many of them had been making small moves over the past few days.
Whether it was the obstruction when Xuan Shu and Xuan Yue were ordered to provide disaster relief, or the public opinion in Yuanzhou, or even the assassination on the way back to Beijing after the disaster relief...
All of them were done by these people.
"Your Majesty, no!" A shrill voice sounded, which meant that after the courtiers knelt down, half of the courtiers in the Golden Palace knelt down.
"Your Majesty, this is a perverse act that goes against our ancestral rules and must not be allowed!"
"Your Majesty, please think twice!"
Everyone kneeling down repeated in unison, "Your Majesty, please reconsider!"
Xiao Ji sat at the top, watching the scene coldly, "I had a dream yesterday."
The throne room was quiet.
"I dreamed of the late emperor and the ancestors of the royal family. They told me that promoting the issue of female officials is a good idea."
There was silence in the Golden Palace.
Xiao Ji's words were powerful and full of confidence.
Aren’t we all using ancestral rules to oppress others?
He would, too.
After a moment of stunned silence, the court officials naturally tried hard to speak and persuade Xiao Ji.
This is a dispute and debate.
But unfortunately, those who opposed were in the minority, and after Xiao Ji and Xie Yao expressed their opinions, they didn't even need to say anything else.
There were people who stood up in the court, led by Cheng Fengqi, Zhao Hao, Li Shuo and others. Xuan Yue and Xuan Shu naturally refused to give in.
There is also the silent majority.
Under such circumstances, the voices of those who opposed gradually became lower and they seemed to lack confidence.
Even many people have only now clearly realized one thing: the emperor and empress's control over the court has reached such an extent!
Originally, during the time of the previous emperor, the power of the aristocratic families had been weakened. Later, when Xiao Ji came to power, the aristocratic families became even more desolate.
The new rising stars like Cheng Fengqi are very likely to take away the shares that currently belong to these aristocratic families in the future.
Although these people are unwilling, they are still trying hard to fight.
In the end, it was Xiao Ji who made the final decision, announcing that the matter was settled and there was no need to discuss it further, thus ending the morning court session.
However, when leaving the Golden Palace, many court officials had very ugly expressions on their faces.
But the emperor and empress had enough patience to carry out this matter without having to consider their faces.
Moreover, now, the assassination of Xuan Yue and Xuan Shu has caused a sensation in the capital, arousing public indignation.
The Dali Temple and the Ministry of Justice are jointly investigating this matter... They haven't even cleaned up their mess yet, and they feel like nothing is going right.
The election of female officials naturally caused a stir in the capital.
There were countless people who opposed it, especially those scholars and students, who already felt that studying hard for many years was very difficult.
There are countless students in the world, but only one top scholar can be chosen in three years. In the past, there were many people whose ambitions could not be fulfilled. Now, even if there are more competitors, people will naturally oppose it strongly!
But it was not just these students who spoke out this time, but also countless women. As for the Wonju area, they directly expressed their support.
Because I was angry.
Xuan Yue and Xuan Shu made great contributions to disaster relief and were considered meritorious officials of the Xia Kingdom. However, they encountered assassination attempts many times on their way back to Beijing, and the news of their narrow escape spread.
The intention to suppress is too obvious.
There are many educated men and quite a few educated women. Even many non-educated women stood up without hesitation after hearing the news.
As long as they know that the Queen's move is beneficial to women all over the world, it will be enough to make them stand up!
Under such circumstances, Princess Yongle also stood up and publicly expressed her support for the election of female officials.
After this incident happened, there was another commotion in the capital.
Although Grand Duke Yongle has retired from the court for many years, she still has some influence and has her own supporters, many of whom are older people.
The elders in the family, such as the old lords, are at the age where they can make decisions.
But no matter how controversial this matter is among people in the capital, it is proceeding in an orderly manner.
Naturally, the queen after Xie Yao was the one who was scolded the most harshly, and was even labeled "the evil queen", accusing her of bewitching His Majesty into doing such a perverse thing.
But there are also many people who support Xie Yao.
In order to resist the word "evil queen", her supporters call her "the most virtuous queen of all time"!
Xie Yao was originally listening to Zhu Qing and Si Nan talking about the situation outside very seriously. When she heard this name, she couldn't help but laughed.
"This... I really don't deserve it." If she continues to blow, won't she go to heaven?
Xiao Ji disagreed and said, "Queen, there is no need to be modest. I think what they said is very reasonable."
Xie Yao glared at Xiao Ji.
Judging from Xiao Ji's attitude, she even suspected that this title was secretly spread by Xiao Ji.
She asked, "Is Your Majesty the wisest ruler in history?"
Xiao Ji raised his eyebrows slightly, "She is a perfect match with the most virtuous empress in history, it's true."
Xie Yao couldn't help laughing again, and after a while she asked, "How's the situation at the Xuan family?"
She and Xiao Ji were in the palace, and no matter how angry those people outside were, the most they could do was scold them.
But Xuan Yue, Xuan Shu and even Cheng Fengqi are different. They all support her and Xiao Ji, and they are still outside the palace. They are afraid that those who have lost their minds will do excessive things.
It would be bad if they were hurt.
"Please rest assured, Your Majesty. The Jinwu Guards have been deployed outside the Xuan family. The two Lords Xuan will be accompanied by guards when they go out. They will definitely be safe."
Xie Yao nodded, "In addition, the families of these implicated court officials must also be protected."
The Wucheng Bingmasi mainly focused on blocking the enemy and did not suppress them forcefully.
The human heart cannot be suppressed.
As vested interests, it is understandable that these people want to oppose Xie Yao moving the snacks on their plates.
Xie Yao would not force them to do anything, but she would not give up on the plan just because of their obstruction.
No matter how many men oppose it, they are only half of the people.
She would not abandon the other half of her subjects for the sake of one half. Since they were her subjects, they should enjoy equal rights.
Xie Yao thought for a moment and said, "Now that the weather is getting colder, order the people from the Five Cities Military Department to prepare some ginger soup and hot water, so that those scholars won't freeze to death."
Zhu Qing understood immediately.
What the Queen said was "don't freeze to death", which means that as long as they don't die, they can freeze to death.
It's okay to freeze them for a while, as it will help these people clear their heads, but don't let anyone die.
This is exactly what Xie Yao meant.
…
It was a bitter winter day, and as the election of female officials was approaching, these scholars were extremely anxious and desperate to make the emperor and empress change their minds.
Therefore, he stayed outside various government offices all day.
On that day, snowflakes suddenly fell in the capital, and the sky at noon suddenly became gloomy.
The cold wind was howling and heavy snow was falling.
Most of the scholars who came here to protest were originally from poor families and farming families. After all, even if the powerful and wealthy wanted to protest, they would not take the lead.
The conditions were average to begin with, and winter clothes were not particularly warm. We had been here for several days in a row, so people were crowded together and huddled together to feel a little warmth.
But the howling cold wind blew, and even if we huddled together, we couldn't feel any warmth.
We were all scholars and had to save face, so naturally we wouldn't crowd together too tightly. The cold wind seemed to be everywhere, chilling people to the bone.
The noisy crowd also became silent.
Many people are considering quitting, but no one wants to be the first to say it out loud... it's disrespectful.
They have been here for several days, but the emperor and empress have not reacted at all, which shows that the emperor and empress do not take them seriously at all.
What good will it do to fight again?
After all...
Bang!
In such silence, the sound of a heavy object hitting the ground was particularly clear.
Everyone looked in the direction of the sound.
I saw a student standing at the edge falling heavily to the ground. The people around him subconsciously stepped aside. After they reacted, they rushed to help and comfort him.
At this moment, a powerful voice rang out, "Let us make way, let us make way, let us make way!"
They were the Jinwu Guards on duty, wearing thick cotton jackets. They had weapons in their hands. When they heard this, the scholars were all shocked.
But some people still stood up and said, "What are you trying to do?!"
The leading captain of the Jinwu Guard held a bowl of black ginger soup in his hand, and the spicy smell of ginger filled the air.
He motioned everyone to look at the scholar on the ground and said, "This man has a flushed face. He must have caught a cold and fainted. The ginger soup in my hand is for him to drive away the cold. Do you still want to stop him?"
After saying that, the captain of the Jinwu Guard picked up the bowl and took a sip.
He was proving to these people that what he was holding was indeed ginger soup, and he had drunk it himself, to avoid any trouble later after saving people today.
When everyone saw this, they hesitated for a moment and then made way.
The team leader helped the scholar up from the ground, poured him ginger soup of just the right temperature, called a doctor to examine him, and finally prescribed a medicine on the spot.
Then he asked, "Who among you knows him? Do you know where he lives?"
The Jinwu Guards wanted to send him back.
After the Jinwu Guards performed this set of actions, the students present were stunned. It was the first time they had seen such a thing.
It's just... weird.
At this moment, someone in the crowd couldn't help but ask, "You, did you do this on purpose? Doctor Jiang Tang has prepared..."
The captain of the Jinwu Guard immediately stood up, clasped his hands together on the upper right side of his body to show respect, and then proudly said: "These are all the orders of the Queen."
"The Queen said that all of you students are the pillars of Xia Country and nothing can happen to you, so she ordered us to prepare these."
As soon as these words were spoken, the crowd immediately began to talk.
Obviously, no one expected that the Queen, whom they called "the Demon Queen", actually cared so much about their safety.
Someone stood up in the crowd and told the address of the seriously ill student, and watched as the Jinwu Guards were about to send him back.
Immediately, some students followed voluntarily to prevent the Jinwu Guards from "dealing with" this person.
The team leader didn't care and readily agreed, then said to the other students: "The Queen also said that she fully respects your freedom of speech. You can protest here at will."
"If you can't bear it anymore, you can come to us for ginger soup."
"Enough."
The already silent scholars became even more silent...
The Queen Mother did not suppress or resist, and she even "thoughtfully" prepared ginger soup and a doctor, but... she felt even more aggrieved.
Everyone had already considered quitting, and now it was even more so.
Not long after, the Jinwu Guards came back with the students who escorted the unconscious student, but they all looked dejected, not as high-spirited as when they first came.
Several people entered the crowd and nodded to those who were concerned about the unconscious scholar, indicating that the unconscious scholar had been safely sent back to his residence.
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