After dealing with the scheming man, Zhu Jiayu turned back to the Xue residence, but did not stay there any longer. Instead, she consulted Qiu Mingyan's opinion and then took her with her on the carriage back to the Qiu residence.
Qiu Mingyan's hair was still dripping with water.
Today's events were too much of a blow to her; she couldn't imagine what would happen if she had actually been saved by that man with ill intentions.
Her father valued her reputation. Even though she was soaking wet and being held by a man, her father would still marry her off to a man whose name and home he didn't know, even if it was an urgent matter.
She closed her eyes, feeling extremely embarrassed.
Zhu Jiayu sighed silently and asked her, "Are you still scared?"
Qiu Mingyan pursed her lips and didn't speak, but her trembling eyelashes were enough to give Zhu Jiayu an answer.
"What happened today was just an accident. Next time, I'll bring a few more people with me, and we won't repeat the same mistake."
"Besides, I've already handed that person over to the authorities, and he'll probably never see the light of day again. He should be the one who's afraid, not you."
Qiu Mingyan said softly, "I know."
"I'm glad you know. I won't bother you anymore. You should get some rest. We'll be home soon." Zhu Jiayu tucked the hem of the blanket around her. "When we get back, have the maid make some ginger soup so you don't catch a cold."
Qiu Mingyan slowly raised her eyes, said okay, and then sincerely thanked her again.
She got off the carriage, and Qiu Boyan immediately rushed up to her, worried about her younger sister.
...
It was already May, and the sycamore and parasol trees in Yujing City were lush and verdant, providing dense shade everywhere.
In the palace, magnolias were planted on both sides of the road, with flowers as large as white jade bowls, as well as hydrangeas and other flowers, which were also in full bloom.
"How is the crackdown on brothels in the capital going?"
On the long palace road, the emperor, dressed in a plain Taoist robe, walked side by side with the young Dali Shaoqing, followed by a long procession of attendants.
Wei Qinglou's expression was aloof: "Half of them have already been shut down. As for the remaining ones, I have led my guards to investigate them. I believe that after this, it will surely deter the court officials and make them think carefully and act cautiously, so that they will not cause scandals of favoring concubines over wives again."
In a monarchical society, those in power always need public credibility in order to gain the trust of the people and the respect of the bureaucracy.
If an official appointed by a person in power is involved in a scandal, the one who suffers the most will not be the official, but the emperor himself. Even if some people understand that it is all because the official's moral character is unstable and his greed is too great, which leads to the farce, most people will only point the finger at the person in charge, doubting the person in charge's judgment in choosing people, and thus doubting the person in charge's ability.
A thousand-mile dike can be breached by an ant hole.
To prevent the situation from escalating further and becoming uncontrollable, Gu Xinming believes it is necessary to address the problem at its root.
He had been on the throne for over twenty years, working tirelessly day and night to govern the country. He was unwilling to admit that he had made a mistake in judging people, and he felt that if it weren't for those brothels and pleasure houses, there wouldn't have been these scandalous farces.
Moreover, there are too many and too varied people running brothels and pleasure houses in the capital. Some want to make money, some want to form cliques and engage in corruption, and some want to use them to gather information... They all think he doesn't know, and in recent years they have become increasingly brazen. Even if he wanted to turn a blind eye, he couldn't.
This matter should have been done long ago, but he hasn't been able to find a suitable candidate.
Most of the officials in the court had known him since his time as a prince, and after decades, even those who hadn't harbored any ulterior motives had been worn down, becoming pleasure-seeking and complacent. Entrusting them with the task of reforming brothels was out of the question; none of them could handle it well.
In recent years, he has promoted some young officials, but in the officialdom, they have too many things beyond their control. In order to climb the ranks or have a brighter future, they have already found their mentors. These officials are not loyal to the emperor, nor to the country, but only to their teachers.
Only Wei Qinglou, born into a noble family, disdained factionalism and infighting, was exceptionally intelligent, so he didn't have to worry about being secretly plotted against, and he also possessed the same pure and loyal heart as his grandfather and father.
Gu Xinming felt completely at ease entrusting the task of shutting down brothels to him.
The two walked to the edge of the Jade Pool. Gu Xinming smiled and sighed:
"I remember when you were little, you often liked to fish here. I don't know where you got such stamina at such a young age. You would sit there for a whole day, and sometimes you wouldn't catch a single fish after a whole day, but you wouldn't get angry. Back then, the old tutor said that you were wise in your foolishness."
"Many people secretly laughed at you after hearing this, thinking that the old tutor was just trying to save face and didn't dare to offend the Duke's mansion, so he picked out such a nice compliment. But I think he's right. I'm sure that in another year or two, everyone will praise the old tutor for his foresight."
Wei Qinglou also looked at the rippling waters of the Jade Pool and said, "Even so, there are still times when you can catch fish. This is all thanks to His Majesty for not having the gardeners dig up all the algae and silt in the pool, otherwise I'm afraid there would be no fish to catch."
His expression was indifferent, as if he were only talking about fishing and had no other meaning.
However, how could Gu Xinming not understand the implication in his words?
His smile slowly faded, and he said almost with a sigh, "If the water is too clear, there will be no fish. Since when have you had to speak to me in such a roundabout way? I told you when you were young that although we are nominally ruler and subject, in my heart we are uncle and nephew. Do you have to speak to your own uncle like this?"
Upon hearing this, Wei Qinglou lowered his head, still maintaining his calm demeanor, and said, "Your Majesty, I know my mistake."
However, despite his words, his tone was quite ordinary, showing no sign of fear, as if he wasn't the one who kept saying he knew he was wrong.
However, it was precisely this attitude that made Gu Xinming even more satisfied.
He had grown accustomed to the many officials in the court who respected and feared him, even to the point of being somewhat weary of it. Wei Qinglou's behavior, on the contrary, suited his tastes even better.
"Just say what you want to say. There's no need for formalities between us. That's all for outsiders; we don't need it among family," Gu Xinming said, waving his hand.
Having received permission, Wei Qinglou no longer held back and said frankly, "In my opinion, it is better to guide than to block officials from visiting prostitutes."
Gu Xinming's expression changed drastically.
However, Wei Qinglou seemed oblivious and continued, "Rather than banning and rectifying them so that there are no more brothels in Yujing, it would be better for the Emperor to keep them in his hands. Many aristocratic families in Yujing use this to make money, form cliques, and gather information. If they can do it, so can the Emperor."
“But after all…” Wei Qinglou paused, “His Majesty can entrust this matter to someone he trusts to oversee secretly.”
Do you have any good candidates in mind?
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com