"In Hangzhou, an orphan girl's family property was seized by her uncles. When the fairy Liu Xian appeared, her uncles turned into pigs and dogs."
"In Qingjiang Prefecture, a man pawned his wife, who was a follower of Liu Xian. Afterwards, the man, who was mentally unstable, went to the Nanfeng Pavilion and served more than ten customers every day."
"When a family drowned their baby girl, the baby's mother prayed to a spirit, and everyone in the family was castrated?"
With a snap, Zhu Yuanzhang closed the memorial from the Embroidered Uniform Guard in his hand. His lips trembled, and he could no longer read it. Suddenly, he felt unwell.
Since the last time, he had a feeling that Liu Xian would make a big move, so he paid more attention to her. Who knew that Liu Xian would indeed make a big move.
It went to fulfill the wishes of believers, and it was very effective. At least as far as he knew, a large number of people in the countryside had already become believers in Liu Xian, and they seemed to be very devout.
—The majority of them are women.
"Why did you stop reading? I found it quite interesting."
It turned out that Empress Ma was listening nearby, her eyes sparkling, and she seemed to really enjoy listening.
"Liu Xian has gone too far. The crimes these people have committed do not warrant such punishment," Zhu Yuanzhang said instinctively as an emperor.
Orphaned girls being exploited and their families' property seized, husbands selling their wives, and infanticide—these are all illegal acts under the laws of the Ming Dynasty, yet no one intervenes; they represent the gray areas of society.
In most people's eyes, the family property of a family without sons should naturally go to the clan. What's wrong with selling a wife if the family can't make ends meet? Isn't it just that there are no girls to sell?
Let alone drowning female infants, even officials and wealthy families kill female infants. Raising girls is useless, so why waste food to raise them?
Empress Ma sighed, a look of bewilderment flashing in her eyes:
“My father only had one daughter, me, and no sons. Moreover, he was quite wealthy.”
Therefore, if her father hadn't entrusted her to his close friend Guo Zixing before his death, Empress Ma knew she wouldn't have had a good end either.
In this world, there is no path for an orphan girl. Relatives are not a source of support; instead, they are the first to gnaw on your flesh and blood.
Even if she wasn't an orphan, the suffering she would endure in the future would be endless; to be born a girl means to cry her whole life.
Zhu Yuanzhang held the empress in his arms, silently comforting her, while at the same time feeling a strange unease in his heart.
He began to think silently that Liu Xian's appearance was probably to win over believers, since it was a demon and it would take some time for the people to accept this.
As for being too ruthless, can you expect a monster to know what mercy is?
Zhu Yuanzhang pondered the matter but found nothing amiss. Just then, Empress Ma sighed and said:
"Liu Xian saved these women, which is also a blessing. It's good that she was ruthless. She taught them a lesson, and the other women will have an easier time."
"Wait!" Zhu Yuanzhang suddenly shouted. Empress Ma looked up in surprise and blurted out:
"What's wrong?"
The emperor's brows furrowed, and he said hastily, "I know, I know why it was wrong!"
"Women of the world, yes, why has the Willow Immortal manifested so many times to help women? It is to change the status of women."
Empress Ma asked in bewilderment, "What's wrong with women's status being elevated?"
Zhu Yuanzhang looked steadily at his wife for a moment, then calmly said:
"Because originally there was no place for women in this world, men occupied high positions, and women were at most assistants. But now it's different, Liu Xian wants to win the hearts of all women."
"Women's status has improved, but my dynasty and power cannot be delegated to women. Ministers, nobles, and scholars will not tolerate women seizing power."
Will women accept this?
Empress Ma sat up straight and said calmly, "No, they won't accept this."
Zhu Yuanzhang clenched his fist tightly and said bitterly:
"Previously, when Liu Xian asked me to build a temple, I didn't take it to heart, thinking it would be similar to a city god temple at most."
But now that these women are here, Liu Xian will surely allow the resentful ones to enter the temple.
"With a large following and a well-organized structure..."
Zhu Yuanzhang thought of many things. There is an ancient saying that the most important matters of a country are war and sacrifice.
It explains the most important essence of the state very clearly: Rong refers to military power and authority, and Si refers to sacrifices and the people's faith.
One controls the body, the other controls the mind.
Those powerful shamans who could manipulate the court during the Shang and Zhou dynasties, Zhang Jiao who instigated the Yellow Turban Rebellion, and the 480 temples amidst the misty rain of the Southern Dynasties.
Liu Xian's ambitions are truly grand!
In his impulsive act, Zhu Yuanzhang nearly ordered the army to cooperate with Nongyu in suppressing the snake demon, only to be utterly destroyed.
However, all of this is just his imagination. It would be very difficult for Liu Xian to actually achieve this level, at least within the next thirty years, or even forever.
Moreover, that giant serpent coiling in the sky seems capable of swallowing the heavens and the earth. What if we can't defeat it?
Just as Zhu Yuanzhang was hesitant and troubled, someone came from outside to report that Liu Xian's disciple requested an audience.
What a coincidence?
Zhu Yuanzhang waved for the man to come in, and exchanged a glance with Empress Ma.
As soon as Bai Susu entered, she nodded and greeted him as usual. Behind her was a young woman, gentle and delicate, with a smile on her lips, but her eyes and brows carried a hint of ruthlessness.
"Susu, sit down and have a cup of tea before we talk."
Empress Ma spoke warmly, as she had met Bai Susu many times and was quite familiar with her, so she spoke first to ease the atmosphere.
"Thank you, Your Majesty, but there's no need for you to sit." Bai Susu turned to Zhu Yuanzhang, her face tense, and beckoned the woman behind her to come forward.
"Your Majesty, this is Miss Yu, who is also the priestess of the Liuxian Temple. Tomorrow she will be going to manage the temple in Suzhou Prefecture."
This passage reveals a lot of information. First, Miss Yu reminds Zhu Yuanzhang of the owner of a certain miraculous appearance by the Willow Fairy. Second, assigning this person to manage a temple in a prefecture—
This proves that his guess was correct; Liu Xian did indeed have the idea of having a woman in charge of the temple.
Zhu Yuanzhang nodded expressionlessly, his killing intent surging once more, when Bai Susu continued:
"There is one more thing. Liu Xian asked me to tell His Majesty that her request is for royal women to be able to enter the temple for cultivation."
Huh?! Zhu Yuanzhang couldn't hold back any longer and hurriedly asked:
"That's really what Liu Xian said."
"Absolutely true." Bai Susu's words carried a hint of displeasure.
Zhu Yuanzhang felt no offense at all. After the two left as if they had just taken a stroll, his eyes lit up with excitement, and he finally couldn't help but burst into laughter.
"Hahahaha, Liu Xian, you really have calculated everything perfectly."
Indeed, Empress Ma has now come to her senses.
Royal women entering the temple naturally obtained good positions, and since there were many of them, the royal family eventually gained some control over the temple.
It wasn't completely out of control, and there were even benefits, so Zhu Yuanzhang naturally tolerated it; in fact, he had even better ideas for it.
Liu Xian sought the path to divinity and succeeded. According to Nongyu, his true form would inevitably leave this world, at most occasionally manifesting divine power. If he failed, Liu Xian would die.
Both of these results indicate that Liu Xian cannot stay for long.
Later, royal women gradually infiltrated, and perhaps the temple, this religious organization, was controlled by the royal family!
Zhu Yuanzhang chuckled. His Zhu family was indeed blessed with good feng shui; both their sons and daughters were useful.
No, we need to pay more attention to the princesses' growth.
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