Chapter 267 Extra Talented Lady Li Ziyan Extra Talented Lady Li Ziyan...
"By the providence of Heaven, the Emperor proclaims: The Empress Dowager's adopted daughter, Li Ziyan, is gifted, studious, and inquisitive. Her talents far surpass those of ordinary men. I cherish her talent and cannot bear to waste it. Therefore, I appoint her to the Ministry of Revenue, appointing her to the position of Inspector. This is my decree."
Just as Su Fengzhang thought, if the previous reform of the imperial examination system had advantages and disadvantages, and even though there were people who criticized it, there were also many people who supported it, then now letting Li Ziyan work in the Ministry of Households, even if this position was just a low-level inspector, it had caused an uproar.
The emperor announced the decree directly at the court meeting without any greeting to the civil and military officials, catching them off guard.
Before the decree was even finished, someone jumped up and objected, "Your Majesty, this is absolutely unacceptable. Never before has a woman served in the imperial court. Miss Li is certainly intelligent and known as the most talented woman in the capital, but she didn't pass the imperial examinations, and she's a woman. How can she possibly serve in the Ministry of Revenue?"
The young emperor was about to leave court and return to the harem to play Cuju with the eunuchs, but when he heard this, he grew impatient and asked, "According to you, my dear minister, do you intend to have Li Ziyan take the imperial examination first, and only after she passes can she enter the court as an official?"
"Your Majesty, that's not what I meant. What I meant was that women should stay at home to take care of their husbands and children. How can they show themselves in public? These are not things women should do."
The little emperor became even more impatient and waved his hand, saying, "I didn't let her become a high-ranking official directly. You are also interfering with a lowly official of the ninth rank."
Sometimes, when looking at the little emperor, all the civil and military officials in the court could not help but think of the late emperor. To some extent, the two had very similar thought processes and occasionally said shocking things. The difference was that the little emperor was young and only thought about playing, and had no interest in power.
The man shouted repeatedly, "Your Majesty, this is not about the official rank, but the fact that Li Ziyan is a woman."
The little emperor rolled his eyes and said, "She is the empress dowager's adopted daughter. Don't I know whether it is a boy or a girl? Do I need you to remind me?"
"Alright, alright, you yourself praised her as the most talented woman in the capital. If she's number one, why can't she be an official? I asked her to take the imperial examination, but you refused. This and that won't work. How about you become the emperor?"
I have to say that sometimes being unreasonable is much more effective than reasoning. What was originally going to be argued about ended up being left with the little emperor just waving his sleeves and leaving, leaving the group of people helpless.
Several conservative elders were so angry that their faces turned pale. Even the reformist elders looked unhappy. After all, letting a woman serve as an official in the court, even if she was the most talented woman in the capital, was too much of a challenge to their acceptance.
Unfortunately, on this day, Li Ziyan's grandfather, Lord Li, the Minister of Rites, had not arrived yet. No one knew if he had chosen the timing deliberately, and a group of people began to suspect whether Lord Li had known about it a long time ago.
One of them stopped Su Fengzhang and asked, "Master Su, what do you think about this?"
Su Fengzhang smiled and said, "Since it is the order of His Majesty, then we should just follow it. Do you think we should disobey it?"
The man's face darkened, and he angrily said, "What do you mean by Your Majesty's idea? This imperial decree must have been the intention of Empress Dowager Yun. What is she planning? Isn't ruling from behind the curtain enough? Now she wants to interfere in the court too?"
Su Fengzhang said calmly, "Lord Wang, you can't say that lightly. Queen Mother Yun has worked diligently and wholeheartedly for the benefit of the Great Zhou over the years. Your words are disheartening."
Lord Wang snorted coldly, staring at Su Fengzhang and said, "Lord Su, I know your Su family and the Yun family are related by marriage, and we used to be at the same horns, but what Queen Mother Yun did is nothing but trample on your face."
"You are the Minister of Personnel. The appointment of officials is the responsibility of the Ministry of Personnel. Yet, the Empress Dowager has overstepped the bounds of propriety. Don't you feel the slightest bit of dissatisfaction?"
"For thousands of years, men have protected their country and women have taken care of their husbands and raised their children. If women were allowed to serve in the imperial court, wouldn't the Great Zhou be in chaos?"
Su Fengzhang said, "Lord Wang, that's not right. If I remember correctly, it was not uncommon for women to serve as officials thousands of years ago. It's just that the rules have been strict over the years, so they have to stay at home to take care of their husbands and children."
Lord Wang's face changed as he realized an impossible question: "Lord Su, do you support what Queen Mother Yun did?"
Su Fengzhang smiled and said, "Master Wang, what are you worried about? It's just a small review from the Ministry of Revenue. It's not a big deal. Besides, if Miss Li can get the position, that would be a good thing. If not, she will have to resign and go home without anyone telling her."
Patting Lord Wang on the shoulder, Su Fengzhang left with a smile.
Lord Wang, who was left behind, had an even gloomier expression and a furrowed brow. He suddenly realized that although Su Fengzhang was a man, he must have known about this matter in advance and even reached an agreement with Empress Dowager Yun.
What these people don’t know is that these incredible ideas were originally proposed by Su Fengzhang, and Empress Dowager Yun was the one who cooperated only after being persuaded.
Almost no one supported Li Ziyan's employment. Fortunately, the Ministry of Households was once Su Fengzhang's territory, and the work standards he left behind were still used today, so Li Ziyan did not have any difficulty in moving forward.
This was also a test for her. Su Fengzhang and Queen Mother Yun naturally had their reasons for choosing Li Ziyan.
But the biggest source of power to stop her is the Li family.
As the eldest granddaughter of the Minister of Rites, Lord Li, Li Ziyan was brought to the palace by Empress Dowager Yun to be educated since she was a child.
Some say it's because Empress Dowager Yun is lonely and has no children, or some say they just get along well, but Li Zi Yan spends even more time with Empress Dowager Yun than at home. She is the "daughter" raised by Empress Dowager Yun.
But she is still the eldest daughter of the Li family, and everyone knows that the Li family is standing behind her.
"Kneel down!" It was not enough to describe Minister Li's rage. His cheeks were flushed red and he looked like he wanted to eat someone. However, the person who knelt down with a thud was not his enemy, but his own granddaughter.
Li Ziyan knelt down, but her back was straight and her face was full of stubbornness.
Minister Li grew even more furious upon seeing this. He pointed at her and cursed, "I shouldn't have sent you to the palace in the first place. Now, instead of learning something good, you've picked up these nagging hens!"
Unexpectedly, upon hearing this, Li Ziyan looked up at her grandfather and asked word by word, "Excuse me, Grandfather, what does it mean when a hen crows at dawn?"
"If the rooster is useless, shouldn't someone else be allowed to take the lead?"
"In my granddaughter's opinion, if someone listens to slander, kills loyal and honest people, favors villains and distances themselves from idle people, and oppresses the people, that is the true hens crowing at dawn."
Minister Li became even more furious: "You are such a sharp-tongued person! Haven't you found anything wrong yet?"
Li Ziyan asked coldly, "What did my granddaughter do wrong?"
Minister Li waved his hand and threw the imperial edict at her, cursing, "You are completely ignorant and completely wrong. You are unaware of the impending disaster. You think that Empress Dowager Yun is interested in you? She is using you to slap me in the face."
"When the day comes that you are no longer useful to me, you will be discarded like a worn-out shoe. By then, it will be too late to regret."
"Then I won't let the day come when I am worthless." Li Ziyan said.
Minister Li was so angry that he was shaking all over. "You, you know that once you start working here, you'll be working alongside a bunch of men. How can you maintain your reputation? You're bringing shame to our Li family! You're completely shameless!"
Li Ziyan didn't know what hit her, she suddenly asked: "What about my brother?"
Minister Li was stunned.
Li Ziyan stood up and pressed the issue, "Grandfather, my brother is uneducated and unskillful. He spends his days eating, drinking, whoring and gambling. He's almost turning our house into a brothel and gambling den. Have you ever scolded him for being shameless?"
"As for me, just because I'm a girl, I can't go out and do things openly now?"
"Grandfather, you once said that my brother was far inferior to me in terms of talent and intelligence, and you wished I were a man so I could support the Li family. Now look, even though I'm a girl, I can do things that my brother can't!"
Minister Li was so embarrassed that he became furious and cursed, "You are just making up stories. Yes, your brother is a jerk, but he is still a man. Even if he is a jerk, he is not wrong."
"But what about you? What do you mean by holding up the family? The men in the Li family are still here, so there's no need for you to come!"
Li Ziyan's eyes were red. Even when the Queen Mother asked her, she knew this day would come, but hearing those words still hurt her to the core.
Li Ziyan's voice was a little choked. She stared at her grandfather and asked, "Why not? I am also a descendant of the Li family. I am better than him in every way. Grandfather, why can't you trust me for once?"
"I'll trust you once. Do you know that once you leave this door, the Li family will become a laughing stock in the capital. Everyone will laugh at the Li family for not raising their daughters well. You may not be afraid, but your sisters won't be able to get married."
Hearing this, a hint of hesitation flashed in Li Ziyan's eyes.
Minister Li saw her wavering and quickly said, "Zi Yan, this matter cannot be done. It would be better if your grandfather could refuse His Majesty and say that you are unwell and your wedding is imminent, so you are not up to the task. Then you can still be a good daughter of the Li family."
Hearing this, Li Ziyan's face turned pale. She laughed at herself and said, "How come I didn't know I was engaged?"
She had been accompanying the Empress Dowager in the palace for many years. Seeing that Empress Dowager Yun liked her, her family thought that the Empress Dowager could help her find a better marriage, so they had not helped her find a husband over the years.
Minister Li frowned and said, "Your mother will discuss the marriage, so you don't have to worry."
"Even if you don't think about yourself, you should at least think about your mother and your brothers and sisters. Do you really want the entire Li family to be dragged down because of you?"
Li Ziyan had already made up her mind: "Then please ask grandfather to expel me from the Li family."
Minister Li's expression changed, and he cursed, "Do you think I wouldn't dare? You're simply stubborn and recalcitrant. Do you think you can still be a person of consequence if you leave the Li family? The first person to abandon you will be Empress Dowager Yun."
Li Ziyan said, "Then please ask Grandfather to try."
After saying this, he turned around and was about to leave, but he heard Minister Li shout angrily: "Don't leave! Even if I break your legs today, I will never let you leave the Li family."
Li Ziyan turned back suddenly. At this moment, her eyes made even Li Shangshu unable to look directly at her. "Grandfather, you can break my legs and consider it as repaying the Li family for raising me. But even if my legs are broken, I will crawl out with my hands."
Minister Li was trembling all over. He was obviously not as resolute as he said. If he broke Li Ziyan's legs now, Empress Dowager Yun would definitely hold him accountable. By then, the Li family would not be able to withstand the tyranny of Empress Dowager Yun.
Li Ziyan, however, had seen through her grandfather's outward appearance of strength and inner weakness, and sneered, "Since Grandfather won't take action, then I will leave first. We will wait and see in ten years to see whether it is Grandfather or I who is wrong."
"If I make the wrong choice, I will bear all the bitter consequences alone."
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