Chapter 172 From now on, Jiang Yu will be the new Duke of Chu
The aftermath of the events involving the Kang Prince's Mansion and the Tang family lasted a hectic half-month before finally concluding, just as the year was drawing to a close and the court was about to close for the New Year. At this time, a memorial from the Duke of Chu, deposing his heir and placing Jiang Yu in his place of the title, was delivered to the emperor.
After reading the Duke of Chu's memorial, the Emperor remained silent for a long time before rising and heading towards the Empress Dowager's Cining Palace. He had expected the Duke of Chu to allow Jiang Yu to inherit the title, but he hadn't anticipated that the Duke of Chu would bestow the title upon Jiang Yu while he was still alive.
Upon arriving at Cining Palace, he recounted the events described in the Duke of Chu's memorial to the Empress Dowager. The Empress Dowager sighed deeply and said, "He wanted to do everything he could before he died. What are your thoughts?"
The emperor remained silent, while the empress dowager gave a soft hum, "You still think Jiang Yu is a woman and want to manipulate her, don't you?"
The emperor, his thoughts exposed, looked somewhat embarrassed. "That's not what I meant," he said.
"I will not interfere in your court affairs, but I would like to say that as an emperor, you should be broad-minded. As long as someone is loyal and serves the court, what difference does it make whether they are male or female?"
The Empress Dowager then spoke of the former Empress of Da Gan, saying, "Let's not even talk about Jiang Yu's great achievements this time. Just consider the women who were highly valued during the reign of Emperor Gaozu. Which of them was inferior to the male officials? Women can become officials, and you can select useful talents from a wider pool of talent. This will only benefit you and Da Gan, and will not cause any harm."
“I know,” the emperor said. “I’m just worried that if too many women become officials, it will affect the court.”
"Hmph!" The Empress Dowager snorted heavily again. "Affect the court? I think you're afraid of affecting the status of you men!"
The emperor, his thoughts exposed again, opened his mouth awkwardly, unsure how to explain. He couldn't bring himself to say that men were inherently superior to women in this society, but the person sitting before him was his own mother, a woman.
Then the Empress Dowager said, "You are the emperor of a great nation, and all people, regardless of gender, are your subjects. What good does it do to elevate the status of men and lower the status of women, except to make men superior to women? Does it make your army stronger or increase your tax revenue?"
emperor:"......."
“I used to hate myself for being a woman. If I were a man, would my father have ignored me like that, and would my stepmother have humiliated me like that?”
The Empress Dowager recalled the events of that year, and her face was filled with sorrow again. She continued, "After Jiang Yu entered the court as an official, I suddenly realized that it was not wrong for me to be born a woman. The mistake was that society gave women too few opportunities."
"Mother, your son did not say he disagreed." The emperor was a filial son, and seeing that the empress dowager was sad, he immediately gave in.
The Empress Dowager waved her hand, "What I want to say is not just about Jiang Yu; you should understand."
The emperor fell silent again. He had originally intended to agree to Jiang Yu's request to inherit the title, but he just wanted to delay it. That's why he could soften his stance with the Empress Dowager on this matter, but he couldn't agree to anything else.
He couldn't imagine what it would be like if women and men had the same status in this society.
The Empress Dowager knew she couldn't reason with him and didn't want to trouble herself with this matter; she only wanted to enjoy her remaining years. She stood up and said, "I'm a little tired; you should go and do your work."
This was an attempt to send him away. The emperor knew she was unhappy, so he stood up and said, "I have angered you, Mother. It is my fault."
The Empress Dowager waved her hand, turned, and walked towards her bedchamber. The Emperor watched her figure disappear before turning and leaving. Back in his study, he approved the Duke of Chu's memorial.
Then he wrote another imperial edict granting Jiang Yu the title and handed it to Zhao Fuquan, saying, "Take it over."
"yes."
As the chief eunuch, Zhao Fuquan's act of delivering imperial edicts carried a different significance than that of other junior eunuchs. At the very least, it demonstrated that the emperor valued the Duke of Chu's mansion and Jiang Yu highly.
Two days ago, the capital city had just experienced a snowfall. Although the roads had been cleared, they were still a vast expanse of white. Zhao Fuquan led a troop of eunuchs out of the palace and arrived at the Duke of Chu's residence in a grand procession, attracting considerable attention.
For a time, everyone was speculating again about what reward the Emperor would bestow upon the Duke of Chu's mansion. Meanwhile, ever since Jiang Yu, who had been living in exile, returned to the Duke of Chu's mansion, things had visibly improved day by day.
Regardless of what others were saying, when the Duke of Chu and Jiang Yu heard Li Zhong's report that Zhao Fuquan had come to deliver the imperial edict, they hurriedly led their entire family to the front hall.
"Lord Duke, how have you been lately?" Zhao Fuquan greeted the Duke of Chu with a smile.
The Duke of Chu, supported by Jiang Yu, replied, "It's still the same as always. Thank you for your concern, Father-in-law."
Zhao Fuquan naturally knew that the Duke of Chu's health was already at its limit, otherwise he would not have abdicated and allowed Jiang Yu to inherit the title. He then said with a smile, "Lord Jiang is young and promising, the Duke of Chu is fortunate."
The Duke of Chu laughed and made a few modest remarks, then Zhao Fuquan began to read the imperial edict. Everyone knelt down, listening to the edict; most wore smiles, with only a few exceptions, such as Jiang Chengye, whose expression was less than pleasant. But who cared?
After reading the imperial edict, Zhao Fuquan looked at Jiang Yu and said, "Congratulations, Duke of Chu."
With the imperial decree issued, Jiang Yu became the new Duke of Chu. Jiang Yu greeted him with a smile, and then Li Zhong presented him with a generous purse and saw him off.
In the hall, the old Duke of Chu looked at everyone in the mansion and said, "I suppose you all already know this news. From now on, Jiang Yu will be the new Duke of Chu and the person in charge of this family. Her words are law."
Everyone immediately agreed, and then the old Duke of Chu waved for them to leave, leaving only Jiang Chengye's family. He said, "I won't say anything more. Yun Kang, kneel down to your aunt."
Jiang Yunkang was somewhat confused, but he still knelt obediently in front of Jiang Yu. Then he heard the old Duke of Chu say again, "From now on, you must respect your aunt as your own father, listen to her teachings, and kowtow."
Jiang Yunkang kowtowed three times to Jiang Yu, and Jiang Yu bent down to help him up and said with a smile, "Don't be nervous, you can just stay by my side from now on."
Jiang Yu looked at Jiang Jiamu and his wife, "I will write a memorial in a moment to request that Yun Kang be appointed as the heir apparent of the Duke of Chu."
These words stunned Jiang Jiamu and his wife, as did Jiang Chengye and Lu Yifang. None of them had expected Jiang Yu to make Yun Kang the heir. She was only twenty years old; she might remarry in the future, and anyone would pass the title to their child, right?
Tears streamed down Wu Zhengyan's face as she bowed to Jiang Yu, saying, "Thank you, little sister, thank you, little sister..."
She didn't know what else to say, and for a moment she only knew to say this.
Jiang Jiamu also bowed deeply to Jiang Yu, who quickly helped him up and said with a smile, "Yun Kang is a smart and sensible child. My grandfather and I both like him very much."
"Thank you." Jiang Jiamu didn't know what else to say to express his gratitude, so he only said this in the end.
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