"Brother Sun, there's no need to sigh. If you're not happy about your granddaughter marrying the eldest prince, just refuse. His Majesty and the Empress can't force you to marry into the royal family."
Sanyuan Gong comforted Sun Zhuangyuan.
Sun Zhuangyuan took a sip of his old wine. "I'm sure I can refuse Your Majesty. The worst that can happen is that I'll be imprisoned for a few days. But I'm not sure about the Empress. Who could refuse the Empress these days? Even the Prince of Anxi had to follow the path designed by the Empress."
Duke Sanyuan and Zhou Shi'an felt a sense of sympathy.
Both of them were tricked by the Queen Mother into teaching at Shanhe Academy.
From their own experience, it seems that there is really no way to refuse the Queen.
Unless the Queen decides to give up this marriage.
Zhou Shian sighed, "The Queen always has a way of finding our weaknesses and using the most touching words to stimulate our inner desires."
Sanyuan Gong felt ashamed. "In the final analysis, it's because my six senses are impure and I have too many desires that the Empress was able to take advantage of me."
"Hearing you talk, my heart has chilled to the bone. Both of you stop talking."
Sun Zhuangyuan looked very sad.
Three men with gray beards drank together to relieve their boredom.
"I always feel like I'm on the Queen's pirate ship."
"For you and me, Shanhe Academy is a paradise, not a pirate ship."
"Brother Sun is in trouble. He has to become a relative of the royal family."
Sun Zhuangyuan burst into tears, "Don't say anything, I'm so sad!"
Oh, oh, oh…
Marrying into royalty is terrifying.
…
Gu Jiu has always been particular about efficiency when doing things.
Two days later, she went to Shanhe Academy in person to have tea with Sun Zhuangyuan.
Sun Zhuangyuan wanted to run away.
Sanyuan Gong and Zhou Shi'an held him back, "Brother Sun, you must not run away. You can escape, but you can't. Since the Empress has arrived, you should quickly go to the back mountain courtyard to see her and hear what she has to say."
After much persuasion, Sun Zhuangyuan was finally persuaded.
After watching Grandmaster Sun leave for the other courtyard, Lord Sanyuan said thankfully, "It's a good thing I don't have a granddaughter."
Zhou Shian nodded heavily, "I agree too."
"Brother Zhou, don't be too happy. If the eldest prince's wife isn't from the Sun family, it could be from your Zhou family. By then, you, the most prestigious member of the Zhou family, will still be roasted on the fire."
Zhou Shian waved his hands repeatedly, "I have been away from the family for many years, and I never ask about the affairs of the family. No matter whether he marries his daughter or not, or what the impact is, I will never say a word."
"Brother Zhou is open-minded! But you are from the Chuzhou Zhou family after all. The Zhou family uses your name to do things, and you can't do anything about it."
Zhou Shian smiled bitterly, "So I don't listen, don't watch, and don't think about it."
He was annoyed by the chaotic situation in the clan.
A bunch of hypocrites!
When a family gets big, there are always a few bad guys.
…
Sun Zhuangyuan went to see the Queen Mother with gritted teeth, ready to be questioned.
So, as soon as they met, he got straight to the point, "If Your Majesty intends to marry my granddaughter to the eldest prince, I do not agree to this marriage."
Gu Jiu smiled and asked, "May I know why you refused this marriage?"
"So, the Queen has really taken a fancy to my Xiao Qi?"
"Sun family's Seventh Lady, with outstanding appearance and character, virtuous and dignified, is worthy of being the prince's wife."
“No, no!”
"I am all ears."
Sun Zhuangyuan said bluntly, "The Sun family is wealthy and powerful. If Xiaoqi marries the Crown Prince, the Sun family might become another Pei family, a serious threat to the court. Therefore, this marriage is absolutely unacceptable."
Gu Jiu smiled and said, "If I remember correctly, your Sun family prides itself on being loyal and never taking sides. Back then, the Crown Princess of Crown Prince Renxuan was from the Sun family's eldest branch, and the Sun family never openly supported Crown Prince Renxuan. Therefore, when both Crown Prince Renxuan and Crown Princess passed away, the Sun family only suffered a few setbacks, but their foundation was not shaken. Now that I want to marry Sun's Seventh Lady, the Sun family can follow suit and be loyal and loyal."
Sun Zhuangyuan asked in return, "Will the Empress allow the Sun family to continue to be loyal ministers?"
Gu Jiu asked with a smile: "Is my attitude so important?"
Sun Zhuangyuan nodded repeatedly, "If the Empress agrees that the Sun family will continue to be loyal ministers, I can agree to this marriage. If the answer is no, I beg the Empress to let the Sun family go. There are so many beautiful girls in the world, it doesn't have to be my Xiaoqi."
"Mr. Sun, do you know what I want to do?"
"Your Majesty and His Majesty are worried that the Sun family will become too powerful to be controlled and threaten the court, so they want to provoke internal strife within the Sun family and weaken their family power. Am I right?"
"That's half right."
"I'm so bold as to ask what the other half is."
Gu Jiu shook his head and did not answer the question.
Instead, she asked, "If I insist on marrying Sun Qinniang to the eldest prince, what will you do, sir?"
Sun Zhuangyuan sighed, "I can only accept my fate and go home to wait for death."
"Sir, you are too pessimistic. Things haven't reached that point yet."
Sun Zhuangyuan remained silent.
Gu Jiu smiled knowingly, "Sir, please listen to my plan."
"I am all ears."
Gu Jiu took a sip of tea and said, "The registered population of your Sun family is only about 13,200. We all know that the actual population is far more than this. Conservatively speaking, the population of your Sun clan is about 25,000. Including slaves, there are 70,000 to 80,000 people. Such a large family is astonishing."
Sun Zhuangyuan hurriedly said, "Only four direct branches of the Sun family live in the capital. The other branches are scattered all over the place. Although there may seem to be many people, they are not actually united."
Gu Jiu smiled, "Mr. Sun, what you said is not entirely untrue. The Sun family alone in the capital has 20,000 to 30,000 masters and servants. Most of the Sun family branches live in Dingzhou, their ancestral home, which is only a few days away from the capital. Every year when they worship their ancestors, the main figures of the branch come to the capital and stay for about half a month to a month. This maintains the cohesion of the family. I am not wrong, am I?"
"The Sun family has absolutely no intention of rebellion." Sun Zhuangyuan hastily stated.
Gu Jiu smiled and said, "Mr. Sun, don't be nervous. I didn't say that your Sun family has any rebellious intentions. It's just that such a large family, in my eyes, is an extremely dangerous existence. Mr. Sun, you know that your family has set a very bad example for the people of the world."
"I don't understand what your Majesty means. The Sun family has always taught people to be filial and never taught people to do evil."
"The very existence of your Sun family is an evil. It is a great evil to the court, to the world, and to the common people."
Sun Zhuangyuan was furious. "Your Majesty is of noble status, but you can't slander the Sun family with empty words."
Gu Jiu raised his hand to signal the other party to calm down.
"Mr. Sun, please listen to me carefully. The Sun family has existed in this world for hundreds of years, always surviving together and achieving great success, becoming the world's leading family. With the Sun family as an example, everyone follows."
"Is this also evil?" Sun Zhuangyuan asked himself soul-searchingly.
Gu Jiu affirmed, "Of course it is evil, and a great evil. Nowadays, it is popular among the people to unite the same clans with the same surname. They don't have the same ancestors, but they insist on being together and pretending to be of the same clan. They gather the power of the family and form a group to exclude outsiders.
If a family has a few promising individuals, within twenty years, it will become a local tyrant, not only forcing good people into slavery and seizing fertile farmland, but also powerful enough to compete with the local government. When the government takes action, it must first consult the opinions of these families.
Thus, the strong remain strong, and the weak remain weak. What can ordinary people or small families do? They can only submit to the big families, become vassals, and seek protection from them. If this continues, the world will eventually be destroyed. Tell me, is this evil?
Sun Zhuangyuan frowned, "Acting within the family didn't just start with the Sun family, it's been around since ancient times."
Gu Jiu smiled, "However, your Sun family is the most successful family in the world. Who wouldn't envy the immense power of your family? There's a saying among the people: if you have a daughter, marry one from the Sun family, and if you marry a wife, marry one from the Sun family. It's quite prestigious. A word from your Sun family in the local area is more effective than an imperial decree from the emperor."
The Sun family's ancestral home is Dingzhou, and every government office, from officials to clerks, has long been monopolized by the Sun family and their relatives. Any official who comes to Dingzhou to serve has to follow the Sun family's instructions.
Rather than saying that the imperial court is running Dingzhou, it's more accurate to say that the Sun family is running Dingzhou. Dingzhou's land is fertile, yet tax revenue is decreasing year by year. I don't believe Mr. Sun doesn't know the tricks behind this."
Sun Zhuangyuan was sweating profusely. "This problem exists in every prefecture in the world, not just Dingzhou."
Gu Jiu sneered, "But it is your Sun family that has set a bad example for the world. The Sun family's success has inspired others to follow suit. Looking at the world, in another fifty years, every county and every state will probably be controlled by clan forces. The power of the imperial court will be getting weaker and weaker, and tax revenue will be decreasing."
I dare to ask, by then, will the world be ruled by clans or dynasties? The clans have absorbed the population and taxes of the local areas, but have they ever given back to the local areas? When the imperial court went to war, did the clans contribute a penny or a grain of rice?
The money and food that sustain the imperial court come from the common people. However, the common people not only have to bear taxes and labor service, but also have to endure the oppression and exploitation of local clans and powerful people. If this is not evil, what is it?
Sun Zhuangyuan was breathing rapidly and his face was flushed.
He said anxiously, "The clan has become a powerful force that cannot be disobeyed. Could it be that Your Majesty wants to go against the tide?"
Gu Jiu smiled but said nothing.
Sun Zhuangyuan added, "The clan is the foundation of the region, and that foundation cannot be shaken. The Sun family has its evil deeds, but they have always restrained their descendants, and they dare not harm their neighbors."
Gu Jiu sneered, "Mr. Sun, how long has it been since you returned to Dingzhou? Five years, ten years, or even twenty years? Do you know what Dingzhou looks like now?"
As soon as he finished speaking, Bai Zhong walked into the tea room carrying a basket of information.
Gu Jiu pointed at the basket and said, "Inside it are all evidence of your Sun family's crimes against your neighbors. This is just the tip of the iceberg. Mr. Sun, would you like to open it and see what dirty deeds your family members have done over the years?"
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