Lingxiu took out a box of ink, a pen, and a piece of paper from her sleeve and hinted to Lady Fucha, "Your Highness, as long as you get Lord Fucha to approve of the Emperor's new policies and make the Emperor happy, are you afraid that you won't have a chance to leave this cold palace in the future?"
Lingxiu's words made Fucha realize the truth instantly, as if she had just woken up from a dream.
Fucha's father, Fucha Argon, was merely a low-ranking official of the fourth rank, but his father, the late Lord Fucha, had once been a high-ranking official in the Kangxi Emperor's court and the former tutor of the deposed crown prince. If they could stand up and support the Fourth Prince's new policies, it would greatly shake the stubborn conservative forces.
At that time, it will not be difficult to see the Emperor!
Fucha's eyes immediately lit up with hope. She looked at Lingxiu with gratitude and said, "Thank you for your mercy, Your Majesty." But then she hesitated and said, "I just... I don't know what new policies His Majesty has. Please enlighten me, Your Majesty."
The women in the inner palace are not allowed to interfere in politics. Having spent so much time in the inner palace, and now confined to the cold palace, she naturally doesn't know what new policies the Fourth Prince has in store.
Lingxiu smiled and said, "Recently, His Majesty has been promoting the policy of merging the poll tax into the land tax, which has been opposed by many in the court. The old faction of ministers in the court is even more opposed, so it is difficult to implement this policy. However, Your Majesty knows His Majesty's character. He has always been decisive and swift. In that case, Your Majesty, do you not know how to write this letter?"
Lady Fucha immediately understood and nodded, saying, "I understand, I'll write it right away!"
She took a pen, leaned over an abandoned, dusty table, and began to write a letter.
The letter was simply a plea for her father to endorse the Fourth Prince's new policy of merging land tax and poll tax in court, so as to alleviate her current predicament in the harem.
Perhaps it was because she hadn't held a pen in a long time, or perhaps she was too excited, but her hand trembled a little. She thought for a long time before she started to write, and it took her a long time to finish the letter.
With trembling hands, she handed the letter to Lingxiu, her eyes brimming with tears of emotion. "Please convey my gratitude to Her Majesty the Empress. Once I leave the palace, I will never forget her kindness!"
Lingxiu smiled slightly and took the letter from Fucha's hand with her jade-like hand. "This servant will convey Your Highness's wishes and pass this letter on to Your Highness's father. As long as Your Highness remembers Your Highness's kindness, that will be enough."
Once Lingxiu left, Lady Fucha was no longer dejected. She seemed to have rekindled her fighting spirit and looked forward to the day when the emperor would welcome her out of the cold palace.
Lingxiu returned to the Empress's palace and handed the letter to the Empress.
After reading the letter and learning about Fucha's words and deeds from Lingxiu, the Empress was relieved to know that Fucha was grateful to her. She then instructed Lingxiu to arrange for someone to deliver the letter to Fucha's residence.
The next day, Lord Fucha submitted a memorial praising the new policy of merging land tax and poll tax, and described its benefits from various perspectives. After reading it, the Fourth Prince was greatly pleased.
The Fourth Prince and the Thirteenth Prince had long been planning this new policy, firstly to reduce the burden on the people, and secondly to break the trend of some people seizing land. However, since the Fourth Prince announced the implementation of the new policy, it has been opposed by a group of ministers, who cited a series of negative impacts, making the implementation of the new policy extremely difficult. Now, Lord Fucha's memorial is undoubtedly a good start.
Lord Fucha held a high official position in the court. Once he spoke first, others would naturally follow suit, making it easier to implement the new policies.
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