Chapter 130 My Humble Opinion
The night was chilly.
I can no longer go to the dining room to eat in just my bathrobe.
Cui Guo took out some casual clothes and helped Li Qu get dressed, while Zhou Jin also came out of the bath room.
Only Cuiguo served him in the house, and Zhou Jin had to fend for himself.
His gaze fell on her back.
Her black hair reached her hips, and her loose robes could not conceal her slender figure, revealing a section of her fair wrist that looked as white as snow.
Even after giving birth, she still looks like a young girl.
"My husband is peeking at me!" She caught his gaze in the mirror.
He also saw her smiling, affectionate eyes in the mirror.
"My wife's beauty surpasses that of ordinary people; as a mere mortal, I find it difficult to look away."
He became increasingly adept at sweet talk and flirting.
Cui Guo helped Li Qu put on his clothes first, and then Li Qu turned around and went to help him.
She was obedient and virtuous, her eyelids lowered as if she were pouting: "I will only be seen by my husband."
He was very pleased, his gaze lingering on her face, full of tenderness.
Her fingers danced across the ties of his casual clothes, tying a bow that didn't match him at all.
"Alright." She smiled, looked up at him, and took his hand to walk outside. "Did you come back to see Xi Bao'er?"
"Not yet."
"When he grows up, I will tell him that his father never visits him when he comes home, unlike his mother, who can't get enough of him every day."
She jogged up to urge him, "Hurry up!"
He was pulled forward by her, and his steps quickened as she rang out.
Even though it's a son, it's enough that I can stand with her on the veranda waiting for him to come home when he grows up.
He was in a good mood.
When Qingguo, who was waiting at the door of the side room, saw the two masters arrive, she quickly bowed and said, "Third Master, Madam."
Is the little one sleeping?
"I've been awake for a while."
“Xi Bao’er’s eyes are like mine, and his eyebrows are like yours.” She said as she pulled him inside. “Mom says he’ll definitely have a better temper than you when he grows up.”
When the wet nurse saw her master enter, she bowed and stepped aside.
In the crib, Xi Bao'er is lying there with her eyes wide open, sucking on her fist.
A tiny mouth, too big for a fist to fit inside.
Li Qu casually picked up the silver bell-shaped cloth puppy from the crib and swung it towards his left shoulder.
The little guy turned his head when he heard the sound.
Li Qu looked at the fair-skinned child and said softly, "Xi Bao'er, call out 'Daddy' for your dad to hear."
Xiao Jia was very sensitive to Li Qu's voice and followed her gaze.
"Grow up quickly, so your father can teach you to ride a horse and explore the world with your own feet."
Those were his words.
A tenderness welled up in his heart.
He, his beloved, and their child had a warm and loving home.
*
Around the time of Frost's Descent, the fallen leaves become sparse.
There was a thin mist at dawn.
Fanghua Garden was bustling with activity from early morning.
Hongguo helped Zhou Jin get dressed.
Cui Guo is tying up Li Qu's hair.
Granny Xu is reporting on yesterday's events.
"The gifts have been counted and put into storage, the rewards within the courtyard have been distributed, and the personnel transfers have been arranged."
"Thank you, Granny."
"It's not hard work. On the contrary, this morning, the little maids in our courtyard were reciting the Thousand Character Classic even more diligently," said Granny Xu with a smile. "Even Chunxi from the kitchen was reciting it."
The path to advancement for maids in Fanghua Garden breaks away from the previous system of recommendations from nannies and random selection by masters through matchmakers, and moves towards reform.
After Zhou Jin finished dressing, he sat on the couch and waited for her.
Li Qu: "We still need to trouble the old lady to teach them five characters every night for free."
Xu Mama: "It is my honor to be able to share the burdens of the Madam."
"There are more and more things to do in our compound. It's better to use people we've trained ourselves than to select people from elsewhere."
"The two newly appointed second-class officers are still waiting outside for you, Madam, to bestow names upon them."
Li Qu: "Those from the second class onwards will be called Red Leaf and Green Leaf. The rest will be arranged by the nanny, and everything will be done according to the rules."
"yes."
Granny Xu then asked, "Does Madam have any procedures for the selection of the clerks?"
"Yes, pass on the message today, and registration will begin tomorrow. First, compile a list of the number of registrants."
"There are many things to do in the courtyard, and we may need people at any time. This old servant will go and take care of it now, and try to find someone as soon as possible."
"Thank you, Granny."
Granny Xu then took her leave to arrange the selection of personnel.
Chengguo came from the dining room to inform them that everything was ready.
Cui Guo adorned Li Qu's hair with two pink velvet flowers, paired with a gold and pearl hairpin, making her look both gentle and noble.
Li Qu picked up a matching gold and pearl pendant and hung it on her earlobe. She admired herself in the mirror, making sure she looked beautiful. Then she stood up, twirled around, and asked Zhou Jin, "Does it look good?"
Beautiful women are always pleasing to the eye.
"The lady looks beautiful every day."
Li Qu smiled and pulled him to the dining room: "My dear husband, thank you for waiting for me. I will serve you the dishes this morning."
The morning light, like golden threads, pierced through the thin mist, melting the frost on the grass.
The dining room was quiet. She warmly served him food and enjoyed the meal with great relish.
A woman in love feels sweet every moment when she's with a man she likes.
She would always steal glances at him, hoping he would notice, then feign embarrassment and shyness at being caught, and act coquettish.
Zhou Jin, whose mind was filled with the sweetness of the air, had no idea what breakfast tasted like.
He felt like he had fallen into a honey pot.
He didn't even realize whether she was full; she was too mischievous, so he decided to distract her.
He put down his chopsticks, leaned back in his chair, and asked, "What do you plan to do when... the number of applicants increases?"
She leaned forward slightly: "Naturally, I'll learn from my husband."
Then, lowering his voice, he said, "Selection will be based on merit."
"The character '墨'?"
"First, we'll use ink to get a feel for the situation."
Why did you come up with this method?
"Break down the barrier that allows children born outside the brothel to enter the brothel through the recommendation of the head maid or the head servant." As she spoke, she took small bites of the steamed bun.
"With a relatively fair competitive path, the servants outside the institution can be more proactive in their work."
"Furthermore, the people I personally select from below are less likely to be recommended by intermediaries, so their loyalty to me will be higher."
She looked at him with a smile: "That's all I can think of for now."
The imperial examination system was implemented in an attempt to break the monopoly of power held by aristocratic families.
However, the centuries-old traditions of aristocratic families are difficult to shake.
The Zhou family is now a powerful clan in the south, and they are thinking about how to continue their clan's glory while sleeping soundly beside the Xiao imperial family.
In the future, when the roles will change, how could the Zhou family tolerate another powerful clan sleeping soundly beside them?
Weakening aristocratic families and concentrating power is a problem that every ruler must consider.
He suddenly remembered the word 'obligation' that she had mentioned when she was talking to Granny Xu.
The fundamental reason why aristocratic families grew larger and larger was that they built academic barriers, monopolized academic research, and then intertwined academic, power, and economic interests, which led to their ever-expanding influence.
Therefore, the Xiao imperial family introduced the imperial examination system.
However, the sunk costs of studying were too high, costing huge sums of money, and only one in a hundred ordinary people benefited from the imperial examination system.
It does benefit those poor families who still have ancestral traditions.
Those who held official positions were almost all scions of aristocratic families who had been raised by powerful clans.
It had an effect, but it was merely a splash of water on the aristocratic families.
Zhou Jin: "Does Aqu think compulsory education is feasible?"
Li Qu didn't expect that Zhou Jin would summarize the term "compulsory teaching" in the short time it took him to be silent.
Li Qu shook his head.
The economy has not yet reached that level.
She swallowed the steamed bun in her mouth: "In my opinion, the imperial examination system is feasible."
"In my humble opinion, if writing materials were cheaper, if there were more private academies, if ordinary people had more money in their pockets, and if examinations were more rigorous and fair, the situation would be much better."
Zhou Jinxiao became interested.
How cheap are writing brushes, ink, paper, and inkstones?
Li Qu: "During the pre-Qin period, the writing brush was improved by using readily available materials such as wolf hair and sheep hair to replace the expensive deer hair."
"During the Han Dynasty, papermaking techniques were improved, and inexpensive raw materials such as tree bark, hemp fibers, and rags were used to replace the traditional expensive silk."
"This all demonstrates that technological innovation can drive progress in the times."
In my humble opinion, shouldn't we encourage innovation and invention?
After finishing the steamed bun, she picked up another one and put it in her mouth, chewing it slowly.
Zhou Jin's eyes showed no lack of agreement: "Then how can we promote the development of private academies?"
Li Qu racked her brains; this wasn't a topic she was good at.
"It is inseparable from the encouragement of the government."
"For example: If a person establishes such a school under the pretext of helping students, the government will bestow a plaque upon the school as encouragement, and both the school and the person will surely become famous."
"Fame will surely bring profit."
Cui Guo, who couldn't understand what the two were saying, served Li Qu a bowl of fish and lean meat porridge and left it to cool off.
Zhou Jin nodded: "If there's profit to be made, people will follow suit."
Li Qu: "The content discussed in the current Qingtan Club is full of classical allusions and is only disseminated among learned people. There is still a barrier between them and the common people."
"In my humble opinion, if such academic knowledge could be brought into the common people and disseminated to them in simple and easy-to-understand language, it would be better to..."
"Let the people's daily life be the way, and let them develop the idea that 'everyone can become a Yao or Shun'."
“Creating an academic atmosphere can help more people understand the benefits of reading and thus encourage them to attend school.”
"Of course, if a commoner were to become a top scholar through his studies, it would be even more inspiring to the people."
"In this way, the academy will have students to pay tuition and continue to operate smoothly."
"The more students, the more colleges."
This brings us to the root cause.
The people have no money in their pockets.
Without Zhou Jin needing to ask further, Li Qu continued, "If we want the people to be able to afford their tuition fees, we must ensure they have land to rely on."
In my humble opinion, reducing taxes and levies should be the top priority.
Zhou Jin felt that Li Qu's insight was already quite remarkable.
Unexpectedly, Li Qu was still talking.
"The current 'Two-Tax Law' (which combines local tax, household tax, and miscellaneous corvée labor, and is collected in summer and autumn, hence the name Two-Tax Law) levies taxes based on the actual land area, which can ensure a stable tax base."
"However, the law recognizes the free sale of land, which objectively accelerated land consolidation and put land in the hands of major families."
"Through this land annexation, the major clans formed the 'closed-door market' economy of Zhuangzi, which allowed the dependent people to escape the supervision of the government and further strengthened the clans."
"In my humble opinion, once my brother-in-law's census is exposed, it will surely provoke a joint counterattack from all the major families."
"As Mencius said in Li Lou I, 'He who wins the hearts of the people wins the world.' The practice of 'measuring the land and distributing it to the people' can win the hearts of the people, and there is no chance of winning against such a force."
"But nowadays, the law doesn't reach the countryside, and it's difficult for messages from higher levels to get down to the grassroots."
"The thing I did a while ago, when I had Ah Quan buy some ads, gave me an idea. Shouldn't we hire some people who can control the flow of rumors at the grassroots level?"
Public opinion guidance is very important.
Especially in the countryside, among the uneducated people.
As she spoke, she put the last bite of the steamed bun into her mouth and looked intently at Zhou Jin.
Zhou Jin appeared ordinary, but inside he was seething with jealousy.
He never talked to her about current political topics.
But she spoke with great logic and reasoning.
Zhou Jin picked up his chopsticks and casually put something in his mouth: "Your mother told you, didn't she?"
Li Qu swallowed the steamed bun in her mouth and honestly replied, "No."
She picked up the porridge that Cui Guo had served her: "Don't you not eat garlic?"
The unpleasant taste in Zhou Jin's mouth had already dissipated.
He quickly spat it out to rinse his mouth, which made Li Qu chuckle.
He finished rinsing his mouth, and she had already finished eating her porridge.
Before he could speak, she left her seat and ran away, saying, "Husband, please don't ask me anymore."
"I dislike these brain-twisting things the most, and I can't answer them if you ask me again."
She was already outside the door as she spoke.
"lady."
A maidservant called to her from the courtyard.
She stopped and asked, "What is it?"
"Butler Zhou handed over a stack of invitations."
She sat down on the veranda, casually took the stack of invitations, and said with a smile, "Thank you for your hard work."
The young maidservant bowed respectfully to Li Qu: "It's all my duty."
She said gently, "Study hard to learn to read, so you don't fall behind the newcomers."
The young maidservant had already lost by not being selected as a second-class candidate. Upon hearing this, she blushed and felt extremely ashamed: "This servant will definitely work harder next time."
"Yes, I believe you can do it."
Upon hearing this, the other servants in the courtyard exchanged glances, their fighting spirits soaring.
Li Qu seemed oblivious, lowering her eyes to flip through the post in her hand.
Healthy competition can improve efficiency.
She is both gentle and sharp.
*
The mist had dissipated, and the golden sunshine dispelled the chill of early winter, warmly enveloping her.
There are countless beauties, but she's the only one who can keep up with whatever he says and surprise him.
Zhou Jin dropped the handkerchief he was using to wipe his lips, got up, and walked toward her.
She noticed him striding towards her and smiled, waving the invitation in her hand: "Husband, my feet are going out to play."
He bent down, slipped one hand under her legs and the other supporting her back, and scooped her up amidst her gasp.
Who invited you to go out?
"My second sister invited me to go hot springs on the Winter Solstice. She was worried I wouldn't have time, so she sent me the invitation in advance."
Mentioning Zhou Yu inevitably brings Zhou Lan to mind.
She asked, "Did you hear me write to you asking you not to make things difficult for my older sister?"
Zhou Jin: I didn't hear it.
Mouth: "I heard that, and I didn't make things difficult for her. After all, she's my older sister."
Li Qu was relieved: "She knew that the Xi woman had ill intentions. When she bumped into the Xi woman outside the city, instead of clarifying the rumors on the spot, she brought her back to put her in an embarrassing situation."
"I do not like to associate with people who may bring danger to me and Xi Bao'er."
He then refused her invitations to visit him three times.
“My actions have embarrassed her and made her feel awkward.”
"She is, after all, our eldest sister, and we have to consider our parents' feelings."
Zhou Jin replied to her in a casual tone, "I know."
She gently stroked his earlobe with her index finger knuckle.
"If you mess with a beauty again, I'll pierce your ear so you'll remember the pain."
He felt a ticklish sensation from her teasing, and his left arm felt lighter. He shifted her to his right arm and said, "So, you're using him to annoy me?"
"What good would it do to say that your mother told you?"
"Change the subject?" Li Qu snorted.
Zhou Jin: "Anyone who dares to tarnish my reputation shall die."
“Aqu, you are still too kind-hearted.”
She didn't probe any further; he was always direct.
As for the woman from the Xi family... those who coveted her man dared to covet her position and her son's position.
The latter two positions would endanger their lives.
She would do it again if given the chance.
She broke free and got down, kissed him on the cheek, and backed away to take his hand.
She smiled brightly, looked up at him, and explained as she backed away, "After I became rich, I thought about buying land."
"Then I found out clearly about the current land transactions, taxes and other related matters."
"At that time, I was still a pageboy by the side of Young Master Wu."
Sometimes, marriage needs a little embellishment.
He then snorted.
She shook his arm: "From now on, for all eternity, I will be your little A-Qu~"
He only called her Little Aqu in bed.
He could no longer suppress the smile on his lips.
He took her to Mianxiao Residence and taught her how to play with the Zhou family's master seal.
She deserves it.
Li Qu was so engrossed in learning that she didn't notice the post she had casually placed in an inconspicuous spot being taken away.
The cover reads:
'Respectfully presented to Madam Zhou, Third Lady, for her elaborate attire'
It's a very standard format for posting.
He looked through them and found that there were no posts from his second sister.
He understood her little scheme and indulged her.
Whether she's jealous or testing him, he's happy.
Jingdi Lin Xiaocong was equally happy.
He's going to be a father.
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