Chapter 129 Where do you want to start?
For the next six months, Jiang Yu's days consisted of routinely going on and off duty, and reviewing documents. This peaceful routine continued for half a year. During these six months, the imperial court also remained relatively calm.
However, something happened in the royal family: Princess Yalin took a liking to Xie Ning'an and wanted to marry him. The Empress Dowager disagreed when she found out, but the Emperor did not express his opinion.
Princess Yalin knelt at the entrance of the Empress Dowager's Cining Palace for a whole day before the Empress Dowager finally said, "You chose your husband yourself, I hope you won't regret it later."
Princess Yalin kowtowed to the Empress Dowager while crying, and the next day she got engaged to Xie Ning'an.
Upon hearing this, Jiang Yu sighed. Both the Emperor and the Empress Dowager suspected the Xie family of harboring rebellious intentions. Moreover, even if the Xie family did not harbor such intentions, the Emperor would continue to suppress them. Yet, Princess Yalin still insisted on marrying Xie Ning'an.
It just goes to show that there are always people obsessed with romance in every era.
Jiang Yu and the Duke of Chu were discussing this matter in the study. The Duke of Chu sat on the couch with a thick blanket draped over his legs and said:
“Prince Yong and the Emperor are not from the same mother. The royal family has always been distant, so the Emperor doesn’t care who Prince Yong’s daughter marries. If Princess Yalin were to marry Xie Ning’an, the Emperor might even suspect that Prince Yong is colluding with the Xie family.”
Jiang Yu picked up the steaming teapot from the stove and said while brewing tea, "The Empress Dowager is a bit soft-hearted. She knows the Emperor's thoughts and wants to stop Princess Yalin."
The Duke of Chu nodded, then looked at Jiang Yu and said, "Don't just talk about the royal family, all the big families are like this, women are used as tools for political marriages. However, parents who love their children will choose their children carefully when it comes to marriage."
He took the tea Jiang Yu handed him, looked at her seriously, and said, "You can be ruthless in your actions, but I know you're also soft-hearted. From now on, when you're in charge, if you don't want to use unmarried men and women in the family as tools for political marriages, then do as you please."
However, if anyone, like Princess Yalin, is willing to die for a man and endanger the safety of the family, they will be expelled immediately.
Jiang Yu was taken aback, then nodded. Marrying someone of equal social standing has always been the way things are throughout history. As long as the families are well-matched, it's essentially a marriage alliance. Jiang Yu wasn't particularly opposed to it. Of course, she wouldn't force men and women in her clan to marry certain people; it would be best if they liked each other.
But if someone in the family becomes obsessed with love, she will absolutely not hesitate. Want love? Then live your life with your love, and forget about the family.
Thinking about this, Jiang Yu suddenly felt that her thoughts were similar to those of the wicked parents in some TV dramas from her past life, who prevented their children from seeking true love. She couldn't help but raise the corners of her lips.
The Duke of Chu took a sip of tea, changed the subject, and asked Jiang Yu, "How is the review of the official document going?"
Jiang Yu snapped out of her thoughts and replied, "I've looked at most of it; all that's left are some official documents related to military supplies."
The Duke of Chu hummed in agreement. "Have you noticed anything wrong?"
Jiang Yu nodded, "There are some problems with the tax and river accounts."
After listening, the Duke of Chu pondered for a while before asking, "Where do you intend to begin?"
"Taxes," Jiang Yu said calmly and firmly, "let's start with the areas outside Beijing."
Duke Chu nodded, "Yes, starting outside the capital will reduce resistance. Just tell me what you need when the time comes."
Jiang Yu smiled and nodded at him. Some people wanted to send her to the archives to organize official documents, to kill time. But they probably didn't realize that in government agencies, the easiest place to find loopholes is in the archives.
With three provinces and six ministries, and subordinate counties and prefectures at all levels, everything required official correspondence. To cover up wrongdoing, one would have to manipulate these documents. However, within such a vast national institution, with its interdepartmental collaboration, concealing the truth through official documents was extremely difficult.
Jiang Yu spent the past six months diligently organizing official documents for the Ministry of Revenue in the Imperial Archives, and this wasn't for nothing. She wasn't just going through the motions in her official career; she wanted to climb the ranks step by step. If there was no value in staying in the Imperial Archives, why would she have stayed there for six months?
Whether it was the people in the Ministry of Revenue, the powerful and wealthy people in the capital, or even the Emperor, after seeing Jiang Yu's behavior over the past six months, they all felt that Jiang Yu was nothing special. A woman is a woman, and even if she became an official, she preferred to do things peacefully and steadily.
The emperor felt a sense of disappointment that was difficult to articulate.
After finishing her business with the Duke of Chu, Jiang Yu put on her cloak and returned to Yunfeng Courtyard. With only a month until the New Year, the capital was bitterly cold. A heavy snowfall a couple of days prior had made the blue brick ground slippery, and Jiang Yu carefully walked, lifting her skirt as she went.
At the crossroads, she encountered the butler, Li Zhong, followed by an elderly man with white hair and beard. Upon seeing her, Li Zhong immediately bowed, "Young Miss."
The old man behind him, upon hearing Li Zhong's address, also gave Jiang Yu a slight bow. Jiang Yu told the two to dispense with the formalities, then looked at the old man and asked, "How is my brother's condition?"
The old man shook his head, "It takes too long, there's nothing I can do."
Jiang Yu looked disappointed, but still said to the old man, "Thank you for your hard work."
The old man quickly replied, "It's nothing, Miss, you're too kind."
Li Zhong led the old man away, and Jiang Yu said to Chunxue and Xiahe, "Let's go see your brother."
She turned and walked towards Jiang Jiamu's courtyard. In the past six months, many famous doctors from the common people had been invited to the Duke of Chu's mansion to treat Jiang Jiamu. Even the imperial physicians from the Imperial Hospital had come to see him, but everyone shook their heads after examining him.
Jiang Yu let out a long sigh, feeling a tightness in her chest.
Soon they arrived at Jiang Jiamu's yard, where they saw Jiang Yunkang and Jiang Yuan building a snowman. The two little ones' noses were red from the cold, but their eyes were bright and sparkling.
"Auntie."
"Auntie."
The two little ones ran over when they saw her. Jiang Yu touched their hands, which were both warm. She turned to look at the snowman they had built and asked, "Is that a dog?"
A moment of silence followed, and then Jiang Yuan said, "It's piled up for my younger brother, Yun Kang."
Jiang Yu: "......."
Xia He and Chun Xue: "..." We mustn't laugh, or the young lady will be even more embarrassed.
"Then why are there two pointy ears?" Jiang Yu couldn't tell what the pile of snow was, but she guessed it was a dog's because of the two pointy ears.
Hearing her words, Jiang Yunkang snorted and took off the tiger-head hat from his head. "I told you I didn't want to wear it, but Mother insisted on making me wear it."
Jiang Yu: "..." I was wrong, it was really hard to guess.
"Pfft!" A laugh rang out, and the group looked over to see Wu Zhengyan standing under the eaves. Seeing Jiang Yu and the others looking over, she smiled and walked over, saying, "It looks so good on you, and it's warm too."
Jiang Yunkang pursed his lips and remained silent. Wu Zhengyan ignored him and pulled Jiang Yu inside, saying, "He was born in the Year of the Tiger, so I made him a tiger head hat. He liked it when he first put it on, but now he's angry."
Jiang Yu couldn't help but laugh, "It's my fault."
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