Chapter 2559: Helping
The princess traveled in a carriage, so although pedestrians did not have to avoid her, there were still a lot of people, including her own carriage, a carriage with palace maids and eunuchs behind her, and accompanying guards.
Besides, Changyu is not someone who would let herself be wronged, so as long as you are willing, it is not difficult to track her whereabouts.
Those who are more capable can even find out what she eats for every meal outside and how much she spends.
The censor felt that Princess Changyu was too wasteful. As a princess of the Great Jin Dynasty, she should have responded to the emperor and empress's call for thrift and diligence, and should have been frugal. However, she was so wasteful.
As far as he knew, Princess Changyu had already visited every restaurant in the capital, big or small, and spent a huge amount of money just a few months after her marriage...
The emperor pursed his lips in displeasure. No one would be happy if their daughter was scolded in front of so many civil and military officials in the court.
It was indeed he and the empress who proposed to promote frugality. For this reason, he reduced the construction of palaces (look at the Daming Palace, which has not been completed after 20 years of construction), and the Daming Palace is still under construction; and the empress's casual clothes are not those gorgeous clothes that cost thousands of gold.
Because the gorgeous cloths presented by various places were very expensive, the emperor and empress destroyed a batch of them in front of him at the beginning of his reign in order to reject the local offerings.
In recent years, the country has been peaceful and the people have been prosperous, so the local areas have started to offer tributes, but the empress never wears it, nor does she even give it to the princesses and princes. Instead, she gives it as a reward every year to those who have made great contributions to the country.
For example, just a few months ago during the Lunar New Year, the Empress was awarded to Madam Xiao, the wife of Xiao Yuanzheng; during the Lunar New Year two years ago, she was awarded to Princess Hengyang, the wife of General Ashina; and during the Lunar New Year two years ago, she was awarded to Madam Wei, the wife of Wei Zhi...
Because the matter involved his daughter, the emperor could not speak in person to defend her, so he glanced at his beloved ministers below, hoping that someone would speak up for his beloved daughter.
Most people sat quietly, lowering their eyes to avoid the emperor's gaze.
Duke Zhao thought for a moment. Princess Changyu was, after all, his adopted niece. She had been raised by his sister for so many years, and she always sweetly called him "uncle" when they met. So he stepped out of the line and, after greeting the emperor, glanced at the censor and said, "Your Majesty, I think Censor Chen is too idle. He even controls what the princess eats and drinks. It would be better to assign him some other duties."
"That's right. Princess Changyu's expenses don't come from the national treasury. You have no right to control what she eats and drinks, or where she eats and drinks."
Manbao stood up halfway and then sat back down, intending to wait and see what would happen.
Of course, Censor Chen didn't give in to them. He sneered and said, "No matter how trivial things are in the royal family, Princess Changyu is the daughter of the royal family, so this is naturally not a private matter."
He added, "Besides, members of the royal family shouldn't compete with the common people for profit. Princess Changyu not only spends lavishly, but also interferes with foreign merchants and travelers, amassing wealth. If this behavior is not curbed, who knows if she won't seize the country's wealth in the future?"
Manbao was stunned. What did Princess Changyu do?
Seeing that no one spoke, even the Duke of Zhao frowned and remained silent, Censor Chen angrily scolded Princess Changyu. He said that she was too extravagant and should be stopped. Why did she always spend money outside when she had food at home?
Then, how could a princess of a country interfere in the affairs of commerce and travel and compete with the people for profit? This should be prohibited.
Seeing that things were not going well, Manbao quickly stood up and stepped out of the group. After bowing, he asked Censor Chen, "I wonder what Master Chen meant by saying that Princess Changyu was competing with the people for profit and interfering in the affairs of merchants?"
The rest are minor details, like eating out? Who here has never eaten and drank out?
But competing with the people for profit and interfering in their business affairs are not good things.
Censor Chen said with a sullen face, "I have heard that Princess Changyu plans to open a treasure house, promising to collect rare treasures from all over the world. The shop has been renovated and will open soon. Your Majesty, this is inappropriate. Please advise Her Royal Highness."
Manbao breathed a sigh of relief. She thought Changyu had done something outrageous. Wasn't it just opening a shop?
Manbao glanced at Censor Chen, bowed to the emperor, and said, "Your Majesty, I know about this matter."
The emperor tried hard to suppress his anger and said calmly, "Oh? Minister Zhou has come."
Manbao said calmly, "Princess Changyu's treasure pavilion is located in the new city of Yongzhou."
She said, "Because the new city is newly built, it's sparsely populated and has even fewer vendors. Princess Mingda owns a street of shops, but only two or three out of ten can be rented out. Seeing this, Princess Changyu took the initiative to rent one."
The emperor nodded calmly and motioned Zhou Man to continue.
"At the time, Princess Changyu said that the new city's streets were spacious and the houses were brand new, so it was unbelievable that it was so deserted. So she decided to turn the rented shop into a treasure pavilion, selling what she considered to be the world's rarest treasures in the pavilion to attract travelers and merchants."
Censor Chen: ...
Civil and Military Ministers: ...
Manbao continued to lie with his innocent eyes open, "Your Majesty, the quality of governance in a country, a state, a county, or even a village or a town depends primarily on tax revenue and population. These two are of paramount importance."
"Princess Changyu opened the Treasure Pavilion in the new city, firstly to attract people and secondly to collect taxes for the Ministry of Revenue. Why is that a bad idea?"
The emperor nodded and asked Censor Chen, "Yes, the princess's move is for the development of the new city, so why is it not good?"
Censor Chen: "Your Majesty, Princess Changyu is clearly looking for a good time. You can tell by the fact that she eats out on the 21st of every month..."
Manbao interrupted him and asked, "Censor Chen, how many days a month do you eat out? How much does it cost?"
Censor Chen felt that she was licking the imperial family's boots and disdained to associate with her, so he threw up his sleeves and said, "My salary is meager, my family is poor, and I have no money to spend outside, so I never eat out."
Manbao didn't bother to investigate the truth of what he said. It would take a while to find out. She nodded and said, "I can understand you, sir. You are from a poor family, so you should be more considerate of your family and eat at home. But Princess Changyu is not from a poor family."
Censor Chen frowned and was about to speak when Manbao continued, "No matter how poor your majesty is, as long as the dowry for Princess Changyu doesn't rely on Prince Consort Wei, she can eat out every meal."
She looked at the emperor and said, "Your Majesty, as far as I know, Princess Changyu is not extravagant when it comes to eating out. She rarely goes to restaurants like Zhuangyuanlou and Jiufulou more than once or twice a month. She eats more often in ordinary restaurants, and sometimes even enjoys a meal at a small roadside stall."
"One time, on my way back from the court, I passed by a wonton stand outside the imperial city. Princess Changyu and her husband had dinner there, and they treated me to a bowl. It only cost me thirty-two coins, not extravagant at all."
Lord Wei, who had been keeping his eyes slightly closed, opened them and asked, "Why did you ask for thirty-two coins for eight coins a bowl?"
Manbao paused for a moment before answering the question, "Princess Changyu finished her meal and packed another bowl in a food box. She said it was good and she wanted to have it as a midnight snack."
Civil and Military Ministers: ...
emperor:……
Man Bao then continued what he was about to say, "Besides, I think the princess's eating out is a matter of great benefit to the people. As officials in the capital, we should be happy and even strongly support it."
See you at 9pm
(End of this chapter)
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