"As the concubine of the Ninth Prince, and as a woman, you are going to open a brothel, An Jia, do you have anything to say?"
Now, the Empress Dowager and everyone in the Palace of Heavenly Purity knew about the Frost and Snow Courtyard incident. Even if Emperor Kangxi wanted to help Jiang Ranli, he couldn't just ignore it. Moreover, he also wanted to hear what kind of explanation Jiang Ranli would give.
But do you have something to say? Of course you have something to say. What's wrong with opening a Frost and Snow Courtyard? You didn't steal or rob anything, so there's nothing shameful about it.
Thinking of this, Jiang Ran said, "In reply to the emperor, I have something to say. People say that out of the four classes of people, scholars, farmers, merchants and artisans, merchants are the lowest. So many people look down on merchants because of this. I don't think so, because merchants are an indispensable part of life. Just imagine, if everyone in the world becomes a scholar, farmer, or artisan, where will everyone buy the items they need? At that time, if there are no shops and no merchants, how will the goods circulate? How will the economy prosper? The country's taxes will also be reduced a lot. Moreover, what about merchants? There are many loyal and righteous merchants in history. So, I think there is nothing shameful about doing business."
After she finished speaking, before everyone in the Qianqing Palace could recover from her remarks, they saw the Tenth Prince clapping his hands and cheering.
This Tenth Prince...
Although the Tenth Prince was supporting Jiang Ranli, Jiang Ranli was still at a loss whether to laugh or cry because of his exaggerated cheering. Moreover, his cheering at this time was not helping her at all. Instead, it made the Empress Dowager, Concubine Yi and others even more displeased with her.
"Tenth Prince," the Empress Dowager glanced at the Tenth Prince and reminded him seriously.
Upon hearing the sound, the Tenth Prince slowed down his clapping, looked around, and when he saw that everyone was looking at him, he stopped clapping.
"According to what you said, lowering one's status to become a businessman is a proud thing."
Seeing that the Tenth Prince was not clapping, the Queen Mother immediately attacked Jiang Ranli.
"I don't think doing business is something to be proud of. I just think doing business is not a stain. Businessmen do business with integrity and honesty. They should not be ridiculed or looked down upon," Jiang Ranli answered the Queen Mother calmly.
The Queen Mother snorted coldly upon hearing this, "Even if businessmen should not be ridiculed or looked down upon, what is your identity? You are the Ninth Prince's concubine, and a woman. It would be fine if you did business, but you chose to open a brothel. Wouldn't this make the world laugh at our royal family?"
"In reply to the Empress Dowager, I opened the Frost and Snow Courtyard as a legitimate business. I do not steal or rob, and I have a clear conscience. I know that the Empress Dowager is worried about the reputation of the royal family, but please calm down and let me explain. Although the Frost and Snow Courtyard I opened is a place of entertainment, the money I earned was used to help the people. The people all say that our royal family is kind-hearted and sympathetic to the people."
During the Shandong drought, Jiang Ranli and Jiang Fan used all their savings from the past few years to help the victims, so her words were not an exaggeration.
"Yes, Grandmother, you have lived in the palace for a long time and you may not know the situation outside. Everyone says that Concubine Ninth is kind-hearted and that our royal family cares about the people," the Fourteenth Prince said at the right time.
The Tenth Prince nodded frantically and assisted, "Grandmother, if it weren't for Ninth Brother's concubine, the casualties and losses of the people in Shandong would have been far more than this. Everyone praises Ninth Brother's concubine, saying that Ninth Brother has a good concubine, Father has a good daughter-in-law, and Grandmother, you have a good granddaughter-in-law."
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