Chapter 79: The Draft.
The Crown Prince will be married in July, and his bride will be the daughter of the Minister of the Court of Judicial Review, whom he had previously been betrothed to.
The Court of Judicial Review (Dali Temple) was in charge of criminal justice and operated independently of the Six Ministries.
Although the Minister of the Court of Judicial Review held a prestigious position, he was only a fourth-rank official and had almost no chance of entering the Grand Secretariat.
Qin Lie's choice of such a Crown Princess clearly indicates his unwillingness for the Crown Prince to rely on his wife's family's influence, and even more so, his desire to prevent the possibility of powerful maternal relatives seizing control.
On the second day after the wedding, the Crown Prince and his wife entered the palace to express their gratitude.
The Crown Prince was not yet seventeen, and his figure had not yet fully developed. The Crown Princess was two years older than him. To be chosen as the Crown Princess, she was naturally beautiful. Although she looked shy at the moment, her behavior was graceful and poised, showing that she was a very steady and proper person.
The Empress Dowager and the Empress Dowager both kept their palace gates tightly closed. Qin Lie and Ling Yi gave them a few words of advice and generously rewarded them with some gifts.
As they were leaving, the Crown Prince instinctively reached for his wife's hand. She had already grasped it, but then, perhaps suddenly remembering the presence of their elders, she abruptly released it. Unaware, the Crown Prince foolishly reached out again. The Crown Princess, left with no other option, gently slapped the back of his hand. Only then did the Crown Prince realize his mistake and quickly withdrew his hand.
The two thought their robes were too loose to be noticed, but little did they know that Lingyi had seen everything. She couldn't help but chuckle. The two men froze, then quickened their pace and disappeared through the palace gates as if fleeing.
Qin Lie was not very satisfied with the Crown Prince's performance today—he was getting married, yet he looked so dull and foolish.
But then she turned around and spoke up for the young couple, saying, "Children are easily embarrassed; if they see it, they see it, so why laugh out loud?"
Lingyi said, “You don’t understand. I’m happy for them. Only when you’re young and married can you feel this way. As you grow older, I’m afraid you’ll never be able to find this feeling again.”
Qin Lie didn't say anything more, but instead took her hand with tenderness.
Their youthful marriage was something he was destined never to give her.
She had only mentioned it casually and hadn't thought of that aspect. After meeting the Crown Princess, she still had her own things to do. "I'll go check on the school and be back before dinner."
Qin Lie pursed his thin lips. This was another consequence of his inability to refuse her. How could an imperial concubine leave the palace so often?
But since he had already agreed, he couldn't go back on his word now. He could only watch with a sullen face as she disguised herself and happily left the palace.
When Lingyi arrived at the girls' school, the thirteenth princess was not there. Upon asking, she learned that the princess had accompanied the two female generals back to Jizhou on business.
However, there are now more than a dozen more noble ladies than before, and the courses have not been neglected. Now, there is another teacher instructing the noble ladies.
When the seventh prince entered the capital, he ordered the historians to delete the content about him forcing his younger sister to commit adultery and defecting from the capital. When the historians refused, he killed them and ordered the next historian to delete the content. He continued to kill seven historians in this way until all the civil and military officials knelt outside the palace gates and begged for mercy, and only then did he have to stop.
The actions of the seventh prince were recorded by the son of the seventh historian.
The first six were a family of historians spanning three generations, over two hundred years, whose lineage was wiped out by the massacre.
The newly arrived scholar was the only surviving member of that family of historians. He was able to survive because women were not allowed to hold official positions or write history.
Lingyi had long since stopped taking the blame for her family's mistakes, but when she saw her, she still wanted to bow deeply.
The Master stopped her: "Your Majesty, there is no need to feel guilty. Let alone the fact that you have never wronged me. If anyone should bow, it should be me, on behalf of the people of Zhuozhou, Jiangnan, and even the whole world, to thank you for your great virtue. I should also thank you for giving me a place to stay, a place to sleep, and a place to eat, all with just a few words."
Lingyi was surprised, but then she thought that since she came from a family of historians, she must have her own way of finding out the inside story.
The Master's so-called "talking" was nothing more than spending two out of every ten days telling stories from history books to the noble ladies, while spending the rest of the time in his room compiling history, specifically the Han Dynasty history.
Lingyi has read many historical records, but has never seen a Han Shi (a historical text), and only today does she realize that historical books also need to be revised.
Some historians, due to imperial power or personal motives, had to delete, embellish, or even maliciously slander certain periods of history, requiring other historians to conduct further research before the final record could be compiled.
Lingyi looked at the table, and the page she turned to happened to be about the years of natural disasters around the fifteenth year of Emperor Jiahe's reign.
It is written that Emperor Jiahe was obsessed with elixirs and single-mindedly pursued the Dao, engaging in massive construction projects while neglecting to provide relief for disasters. Years passed with starving corpses on the roads, and in several northern prefectures, people even resorted to cannibalism...
Lingyi wanted to look at it again, but the teacher had already put it away, saying, "This is not something Your Highness should see."
Emperor Jiahe was, after all, the father of the Imperial Noble Consort. She was far too careless to allow the Imperial Noble Consort to see these things.
Lingyi said, "Master, you have been in the capital all this time, so there may have been some oversights. We should add a sentence: the people in the disaster-stricken areas are suffering terribly, which has led to the rise of the White Lotus Sect, where people have been misled and their lives have become even more difficult..."
The Master looked at her in shock, and Lingyi smiled slightly: "Master, may I borrow the part of the Han history that you have revised?"
When Qin Lie returned from the previous dynasty, the princess had already returned to Qianqing Palace. She was able to leave the palace to attend the girls' school, but the price was that she had to spend ten days a month in Qianqing Palace. Lingyi was so engrossed in her studies that she didn't even notice him enter.
"What are you looking at so intently?"
Lingyi reluctantly put down the book, saying, "Let's see how our great Han ancestors established their achievements and seized the country."
Qin Lie said, "Only you would dare to say such a thing to me, especially inside the Qianqing Palace."
Ling Yi said, “By taking history as a mirror, we can understand the rise and fall of today. The Great Han Dynasty was so corrupt and rotten after its founding, but wasn’t it initially the will of the people? Who could have predicted that it would end so hastily in less than a hundred years?”
Qin Lie laughed: "The princess seems to be looking at a book with a lot of melancholy in her eyes."
Lingyi said, "I am now living a life of luxury, so what is there to be sad about? It's just that I heard something when I left the palace this time."
"What is it?"
Ling Yi hesitated and said, "It's not a big deal. Perhaps because I've lived in Huangzhou and bought grain when distributing porridge, I'm more sensitive to grain and land prices. Normally, with the stabilization of the country and the reclamation of fertile land, grain prices should have been declining year after year, while land prices should have been rising. But for some reason, since the beginning of summer, land deed prices have fallen, while grain prices have increased by 20%."
Qin Lie pondered for a moment and understood the key point. He slammed his hand heavily on the table, his face gloomy. He simply told them not to wait for him to return for the meal and then went to the front court.
He didn't return until after midnight.
He deliberately moved quietly, not wanting Yigen to be still awake and reading.
Upon further inquiry with the palace servants, Qin Lie learned that she had been engrossed in reading ever since he left, and had not even eaten dinner. Qin Lie's expression darkened.
Fearing he would confiscate her books, Lingyi complained first, "I've been waiting for you to come back for dinner, which is why I'm so late. Why didn't you even tell me you were coming back?"
Upon hearing that she was waiting for him to return for his meal, Qin Lie couldn't help but beam with joy, deliberately ignoring the possibility that she might be the one to accuse him first. "It was my fault for being so careless. I will definitely send someone to inform the princess first in the future."
The imperial kitchen always prepared food for them. Their dinner was not luxurious; it consisted of only four small dishes and white porridge.
Qin Lie ate quickly, finishing two bowls of porridge. He had only finished half of Lingyi's bowl when he started talking to her about grain prices.
It turned out that he had rushed out today because he had previously discussed with the cabinet the issue of how, due to years of war, the population had plummeted and fields lay fallow. Therefore, they had been encouraging agriculture and allocating houses and land to displaced people. In recent years, with the period of recuperation and restoration, the population had rebounded, and fields had been cultivated. A few years ago, land taxes were reinstated, but they were collected uniformly according to the standards of Ji Province. However, land taxes in Ji Province were already low, and with the continued reduction and exemption of poll taxes, this situation would inevitably lead to a situation where the people are rich but the country is poor.
After several months of discussions with the cabinet, he finally came up with a preliminary plan: to register and fix the land currently held by everyone, so that land would no longer be distributed in the future, and to collect a 20% tax on the sale of land. The land tax would be levied according to the actual situation of each prefecture and county, and the population tax would be collected together with the land tax.
Before long, even with just a rough outline, there were already actions taken outside.
The purpose of acquiring land at low prices is to obtain as much land as possible before securing a fixed plot; the price is deliberately kept low.
The rise in grain prices is due to the knowledge that some people have less grain left after paying their taxes in the fall and will have to buy grain to get through the winter. They take the opportunity to drive up grain prices to make a profit.
Qin Lie was furious because the matter had only been settled a few days ago, yet things had progressed so rapidly outside. Moreover, he had not only taken in the Xie family's spies who were monitoring the officials, but the court had also been gathering information from the common people. He had learned of such a significant matter as grain prices from the princess; those people might not dare to hide it from him, but they could deliberately delay reporting it to allow certain individuals to profit.
The key to governing a country lies in preventing problems before they arise. With his temperament, and having become the emperor, he naturally could not tolerate such behavior.
He was initially filled with anger, but now he was faced with steaming hot porridge and her gentle gaze.
Although they are from the imperial family, at this moment they are no different from ordinary people. The husband is working hard outside, while the wife stays at home to take care of him.
All anger vanished instantly; this is the essence of overcoming strength with gentleness.
Qin Lie's tenderness was given to the princess, but the emperor's anger burned in the court.
Two of the five cabinet ministers were dismissed overnight, and one of them was even imprisoned.
Those in charge of listening to the people's sentiments in the imperial court, from top to bottom, lost more than dozens of heads.
Only then did the court officials truly understand the new emperor's methods; he was unconcerned with trivial matters and would laugh off most unintentional mistakes.
But if you insist on deceiving him, you'll have to see if your family's necks are tough enough.
This greatly changed the court's cumbersome and complicated atmosphere that had existed since the previous dynasty. Once an imperial edict was issued, it was strictly enforced, and no one dared to shirk their duties or be negligent. This year was a rare good year, with neither drought nor flood throughout the country, but as the year drew to a close, Qin Lie's brows furrowed more and more tightly.
—The Crown Prince has been married for nearly half a year, but the Crown Princess has not yet become pregnant.
In reality, it was only half a year, which is not a long time.
But he only had three sons, which was far too few for an emperor.
Human life is so fragile; a cold or an accident can easily take it away.
Even in times of peace and prosperity, less than half of the children survive to adulthood.
He should have been in the prime of his life and shouldn't have had such concerns, but he only had one woman in his harem, and the princess was no longer able to have children.
The memorials urging him to appoint an empress and take concubines never ceased, but he simply suppressed them.
His urgency was not only to silence the ministers, but also to guard against any unforeseen circumstances.
Since he himself could not produce one, he hoped that the Crown Prince would give birth to a grandson as soon as possible to continue the imperial lineage.
.
In March of the second year of the Tiansheng era, with no movement from the Eastern Palace, the Emperor finally ordered a selection of consorts.
Although the imperial edict was clearly issued to select a consort for Prince Gong and a concubine for the Crown Prince, it was obvious that many ministers did not think so.
The Emperor is only thirty-five years old, in the prime of his life. The position of Empress is vacant. Being a Princess or the Crown Prince's Consort is not as glorious as being the Empress. Even if we don't mention family honor, even if the Crown Prince and Prince Gong are both extremely handsome, how can they compare to the Emperor's good looks and majesty?
Some people may try to hide their true intentions, but others are too lazy to even pretend.
The selection process involved multiple rounds of selection, with only a few dozen people ultimately chosen by the nobility in the palace.
However, some of the selected candidates had already made a name for themselves before they even entered the palace.
Qin Yinrong ran to Chonghua Palace to complain.
The Cheng family acquired a concubine's daughter who resembled Cheng Hui by eight or nine points, while the Duke's mansion acquired a legitimate daughter who resembled Lingyi by seven or eight points. Both of them were on the list of candidates for the imperial concubine selection.
Qin Yinrong said indignantly, "Your Majesty, why don't you send someone to the Imperial Household Department to cross out their names!"
Lingyi was surprised to find that it was Qin Yinrong, who used to look down on her the most, who came to remind her. She leaned lazily against the couch and said, "I've heard that they are all talented and beautiful, and they haven't done anything wrong. Why cross them out?"
Qin Yinrong asked anxiously, "Do you mean you want to let them in and share Father Emperor's favor?"
Lingyi said, "I can only take care of myself. If the Emperor takes a fancy to them, I can stop him this time, but I can't stop him next time."
Not only did she not want to stop them, she was even somewhat eager to watch the spectacle.
Unfortunately, someone had designs on her.
Outside the girls' school, the Duchess obsequiously stopped her carriage.
The Duchess was the second princess of Emperor Jiahe. At that time, Emperor Jiahe had few children, and she was quite favored. She was betrothed to an extremely noble family in Da Han. Now, in the Da Xian Dynasty, the noble family is still a noble family, and she is still a titled lady.
Lingyi looked at her youngest daughter, who stood shyly beside the Duchess. No wonder she looked somewhat like her; they were aunt and niece.
In terms of appearance, they are only about 40-50% similar, but what is rare is that their demeanor and mannerisms are 80-90% similar, and their clothing and style are almost 100% identical.
Lingyi stopped Qin Yinrong, who was about to speak, and carefully examined the youngest daughter. She said sincerely, "These clothes are a bit too old-fashioned for you. At such a young age, you should wear brighter colors."
After all, she was ten years older than her and held the status of an Imperial Noble Consort, so she tried to dress as solemnly as possible when going out to meet people.
This is clearly not a good match for a young girl.
The Duchess, however, thought that Lingyi was pointing fingers at them and immediately expressed her loyalty.
First, she lamented that the Emperor had few children. Then, she hesitantly recounted how the Imperial Noble Consort monopolized the Emperor's affections, which aroused the jealousy of the ministers and gave her a poor reputation among the common people. She then expressed her anxiety at the thought of Lingyi's isolation and helplessness in the palace. Finally, she stated that although she was reluctant, she was still willing to let her daughter stay in the palace to keep Lingyi company and help Lingyi maintain the Emperor's favor. She also said that any princes she gave birth to would become Huan'er's helpers.
Lingyi was deeply moved. After returning to the palace, she ordered that one of the Duke's most favored concubines be granted the title of Imperial Noblewoman to commend her for accompanying the Duchess, securing the Duchess's favor, and for the sons she bore becoming good helpers to the Duchess's only son.
A concubine is still a concubine; even if she is deeply favored by the Duke, she is still someone who cannot be brought into the open.
Throughout history, for a concubine to be granted a title, her children had to be exceptionally outstanding and petition the emperor for such an honor. Moreover, the title could not be bestowed upon the legal mother; usually, both the legal mother and the biological mother were granted titles, with the legal mother typically holding a half-rank higher than the biological mother.
Now, the Imperial Noble Consort has rashly interfered in other people's private quarters, disregarding orthodoxy, and has been granted an extraordinary reward in order to vent her anger. This is far too arrogant and domineering, and an imperial censor immediately submitted a memorial to impeach her.
If it were before the draft, they would never have dared to do it.
The emperor agreed to the selection of concubines, ostensibly to choose consorts for the princes, but since everyone was a man, they all knew the truth in their hearts.
Even if a woman is a celestial being descended to earth, after seeing her and sleeping with her for so many years, she should be tired and fed up by now.
The emperor might be too embarrassed to admit it, but as a subject, one should naturally try to relieve the king's worries. Submitting a small memorial is just a way to save face, and the severity of the punishment is entirely up to the emperor.
The attentive minister placed this memorial on top of the list.
As expected, when the emperor saw the memorial, a rare smile appeared on his usually stern face.
The censor couldn't help but feel smug. This emperor was cold and domineering, never showing his emotions, and was naturally taciturn. Even after more than a year on the throne, no one could fathom his temperament. Now, the censor had accurately predicted his fate; how could he not be pleased?
Qin Lie smiled, rose and walked down from the hall, addressing the assembled ministers: "While the Imperial Noble Consort's actions were inappropriate, they are understandable given her deep affection for me. Therefore, I hereby order her to have her salary reduced by half a year and to confine herself to reflect on her actions for three months. What do you all think?"
Seeing his smug look, what else could the ministers say but "Your Majesty is wise"?
Back at the Qianqing Palace, Lingyi said angrily, "You're just making excuses to prevent me from leaving the palace!"
Normally, aside from leaving the palace once a month, she spends almost all her time in either the Qianqing Palace or the Chonghua Palace when she's in the palace. Why would he need to confine her? This time, he's even locked her up in the Qianqing Palace to reflect on her mistakes, and she can't even return to the Chonghua Palace!
Qin Lie refused to admit that he was making a fuss over nothing, and only coaxed her by saying, "It was just for the ministers to see. Who told you to give a concubine an official title just because you were jealous? It's definitely giving people something to talk about."
When he mentioned "feeling jealous," he paused, and the corners of his mouth couldn't help but curl up again.
Lingyi retorted angrily, "I'm not jealous!"
The more she said this, the happier Qin Lie became. He suppressed a smile and said, "Good, good, Princess, you're not jealous. But to make such a big fuss over choosing a concubine is really outrageous. In that case, those young ladies don't need to come to the palace."
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