The spring rain is drizzling, the chill is chilling and the cold is heartbreaking.
Wen Xingzhou left without taking the tributes that Liu Jin had brought.
Wu Tianci sat alone in front of the tea table, his eyes fixed on the cup of tea that had already gone cold but which Wen Xingzhou had not tasted.
He was confused.
"Liu Jin,"
"The servant is here!"
"I... am I really wrong?"
Liu Jin choked and bowed quickly, but did not dare to say a word - who dared to say that the emperor was wrong?
If Liu Jin dared to speak out, he would probably be dragged out and beheaded by the emperor immediately!
"I find it strange. Why does Father think that all people are born equal? Is this really equal?"
"I was born into the royal family, enjoying fine clothes and delicious food since childhood. Those peasants were born into farming families, dealing with mud and dirt since childhood. Can this be considered equality?"
"Besides... I am the emperor! In such a vast country with a population of nearly 500 million, there is only one emperor. How can there be equality?"
"Even ordinary people can become sages! They can become Yao and Shun... There are countless ordinary people, who can truly become a sage, a Yao or Shun?"
"I accepted 50 million taels of silver from Tuoba Wang... Tuoba Wang is my subject. Is there anything wrong with him paying tribute to me?"
"I am not a ungrateful person. Since I have accepted the money from Tuoba Wang, I will pardon someone who is not unforgivable... Do they really have to force me to take this step?"
Wu Tianci suddenly sneered twice, his pupils shrinking, "You actually invited my mentor here, you must have put a lot of thought into it."
"Forget it. This time, for the sake of my mentor... bring the road network plan from the Ministry of Chancellery... Don't let Yan Xiwen and the others come to the Imperial Study. I... don't want to see them."
"I obey your command!"
…
…
In this matter, the emperor finally took a step back after Wen Xingzhou took action.
But the far-reaching impact of this incident has just begun.
The emperor should have been closest to his three prime ministers, but since this incident, the emperor has never summoned any of them again.
Even when they wanted to come to the imperial study to meet the emperor, they were stopped outside by the guards.
The gap between the emperor and his subjects suddenly became like an abyss. Yan Xiwen and others could not cross it, and Emperor Wu Tianci was absolutely unwilling to come over.
The affairs of the court gradually began to be conveyed through Liu Jin, and the emperor also established a new institution - the inner court!
The court in the palace!
Liu Jin was appointed by the emperor as the chief eunuch of the inner court and the eunuch in charge of writing, responsible for the correspondence between the inner court and the outer court.
The three ministries and the cabinet were collectively called the Outer Court.
Fu Xiaoguan took all the ladies in the harem away, leaving behind a large number of palaces. Wu Tianci gave those palaces closest to the Hall of Mental Cultivation to Liu Jin and others, turning those palaces into public housing in the inner court.
He pioneered the establishment of one factory and twelve prisons.
The first factory is the internal factory.
The Twelve Censors were a small imperial court, corresponding to the twenty-four departments under the three provinces and six ministries of the outer court.
Each of the twelve prisons had a chief, whose official title was Jianzheng, except for the chief of the inner factory, whose official title was Changgong.
As the chief eunuch of the inner court, Liu Jin led one factory and twelve prisons in the inner court.
Of course, everyone in the court knew about this.
Many officials were quite disappointed, thinking that the emperor was becoming more and more outrageous, and that things had suddenly completely changed from when Fu Xiaoguan was in power.
But no one can change this.
Even though Wen Xingzhou came to the Imperial Study once more, the little emperor still did as he pleased, because he felt that in this inner court, he was the true emperor whose words were law.
They were all newly recruited eunuchs, and they all obeyed his orders. No one dared to talk back to him, and of course no one dared to disobey his orders.
In the blink of an eye, it is midsummer.
There was ice in the Yangxin Palace that Liu Jin had sent long ago. There was no heat in it and it was very cool.
Wu Tianci hasn't been to the imperial study for a long time, and it has become his cage.
He lives happily in this little world.
"How is the construction of Changling Villa going?"
Liu Jin bowed and said, "Your Majesty, we are proceeding according to the original construction schedule. The main construction will be completed by the end of next year, but the interior decoration, garden construction, and the improvement of the animal kennels... I'm afraid it will take another two or three years."
"Oh, very good. Do it carefully. From now on, our inner court will be set up in the other courtyard, away from this place. I will feel more comfortable there."
"...I obey your command!"
"By the way, how many people have been recruited in the inner factory? How are their skills?"
"This... the emperor requires martial arts masters, but martial arts masters are unwilling to purify themselves... Therefore, therefore, there are only five people in the inner factory now."
Wu Tianci frowned slightly, "Is that so? It doesn't matter if they don't want to purify themselves. I'll recruit them all and let you control them. Tell them that as long as they are loyal to me, I will definitely not treat them unfairly!"
"I obey your command!"
"Has anything happened in the outer court recently?"
"I heard that Far North Road was hit by a plague that spread to three prefectures. Ning Yuchun, the prime minister, brought many medical officers to Far North Road."
"As for the rest... it's nothing serious. Oh, Lord Zhuo did pass on some news. He said, regarding the Crown Princess, both Prime Minister Qin and Prime Minister Ning disagree with marrying their daughters to the Emperor..."
Wu Tianci's mood suddenly turned bad, "Humph!"
His brows knitted together, "Shameless bastards! Whether I can even fancy their daughter is still a question, and they are so ungrateful!"
"I want to select a talent show!"
"Draft an imperial edict for the Secretariat, telling Yan Xiwen that I have reached adulthood and require a nationwide selection... Send all eunuchs from the Inner Palace and Imperial Household Departments to select talented and beautiful women for me from all over the country!"
"Remember, in Jinling... you must select the daughters of Qin Mowen and Ning Yuchun. I want to see what they dare to do to me after I take them into the harem and then banish them to the cold palace!"
Liu Jin was startled and quickly bowed, saying, "Your Majesty, I, your servant, must serve you at your side! Otherwise... let Zhao Hou handle the trip to Nanjing. He's an old man in the palace and has always handled things with prudence. What do you think, Your Majesty?"
When Wu Tianci heard this, he felt that it made some sense. After all, Liu Jin was an easy servant to command.
"That's settled then."
On this day, an imperial edict was issued from the inner court and landed on the desk of Yan Xiwen in the Ministry of Shangshu.
Yan Xiwen was shocked because Fu Xiaoguan had already abolished the bad custom of selecting concubines - he said that even the emperor could not use his power to snatch women!
Introductions are possible, but they must be mutually agreed.
But the emperor's decree clearly stated that a nationwide selection of concubines was required... This, this is ridiculous!
Yan Xiwen was depressed.
He thought for a moment, took out a piece of paper, and wrote a few words on it quickly -
"Your Majesty, please know:
The bill abolishing the selection of concubines by the Emperor is written in Article 21, Section 3 of the "Code of Conduct for the Imperial Family". Your Majesty, please review it!
This is an outdated custom that has long been abandoned by the Emperor, so the Secretariat will not accept this order!"
"If Your Majesty wishes to choose a concubine, I can ask the Ministry of Revenue to recommend a woman of high moral character and integrity to Your Majesty. However, it would be best if both parties were in love. Your Majesty, please take the Emperor Emeritus as a mirror and prioritize state affairs!"
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