The lights in the Qing'e Palace were lit.
Xie Zhou sat on the throne, holding his wife in his arms.
Di Baose and Guo Bing were present.
Xie Zhou sat up straight and asked Guo Bing, "Are you feeling any better?"
Guo replied coldly, "It's done."
Xie Zhou then ignored that. His questions all reflected the attitude of the Prince of Xihe.
Guo Bing knew this, so she just remained polite.
Everyone else is good, but people from Anxiang Courtyard are no longer allowed to go to Qing'e Palace.
Meng Pingting sat quietly. She thought to herself, Pei Huanying and Pei Huanfeng were the legitimate daughters of the Pei family's seven young ladies, but now that the Empress is no longer a member of the Pei family, the Pei family is finished; it seems like none of them are doing well.
Fei Hegu felt that with the fall of the King of Qi, the Eastern Palace was now even higher. There was only one seat in front of it.
Even His Highness coveted that position, Fei Hegu thought to herself that Her Majesty had already set rules for everyone.
Gong Yun didn't have time to think about those things; she had something important to do: "In Jinyu County, Qibu Township, and An Village, there is a large family surnamed Qi."
Fang Tang squeezed in and interjected, "I've heard of that company."
Huan Yue remained silent.
Fang Tang also had some gossip: "Lian Qing wasn't there, and Pei Huanfeng and Pei Yuannu got into a fight."
Oh wow!
Huan Yue's eyes lit up!
Everyone is very interested in this gossip!
Considering that Lian Qing liked Pei Yuannu, and Pei Huanfeng went to seek refuge with him and even argued with Pei Yuannu, how could Lian Qing be happy about that?
Sunny said in a low voice, "Most people can't stand the Pei family's daughters."
Di Baose added, "One is fine, but two would be out of this world."
Huan Yue laughed and said, "Isn't this like two dead men fighting? Or is the Lian family haunted?"
Everyone was startled!
Let Gong Yun get to the point first: "Old Master Qi married a woman surnamed Kong, and they had four sons. Now the old man has passed away, and Kong is eighty years old. The fourth son has ten grandsons, and the tenth grandson has twenty-eight great-grandsons."
Wow, that's a really big house! You can't just have a child whenever you want.
Which woman in the palace didn't want a child?
Di Baose calmly drank her tea.
Is Ju Zhaoxun wondering if there's something wrong with this family?
Gong Yun said, "When the old man was alive, Madam Kong favored her youngest son, and she fought for him when the family property was divided. Now there are four families. The three eldest sons are doing well, but the youngest son is not. The eldest son's third wife is unwilling to support his mother, and neither is his youngest daughter-in-law. The eldest son says that when the family property was divided, it was agreed that his mother would live with the fourth wife, especially since the eldest son's third wife would give her anything and then give it to her youngest son. The youngest daughter-in-law is simple; she just cries poverty."
Everyone listened quietly.
Gong Yun wasn't telling a story, but rather something that bothered her just thinking about it: "That family had about twenty wives and concubines in total, and about ten unmarried daughters. It was a chaotic mess."
Ren Zhaoxun said, "So many people and no one is showing filial piety to the old lady, that's outrageous!"
Gong Yun said, "It's not just that. When the village went to mediate, there were more family members than his. The youngest son has two sons. His eldest son is spoiled by the old lady and indulges in eating, drinking, gambling, and other vices. Now he's over thirty years old, has a wife and children, but doesn't care about his family and keeps looking after his mother and the old lady. The youngest daughter-in-law favors her youngest son, so she tells the eldest son to go after the old lady."
Everyone looked at each other, wondering if the old lady was also at fault.
It takes two to tango.
The trivialities of family life are hard to unravel.
Gong Yun found this to be the most troublesome: "That gambler was extremely shameless. He dragged the old lady to me asking for money. He spouted a bunch of nonsense, saying things like 'Your Majesty is as beautiful as a flower' and 'Long live the Emperor.' He basically said that he knew I could give him money however I wanted. He even tried to talk to me about something. I wanted to beat him up, but the old lady came out to protect me."
Huan Yue smiled.
Di Baose also laughed.
Guo Bing smiled along.
Xie Zhou glanced at her, then at Di Baose, and finally concluded that his wife was the prettiest.
Gong Yun was about to cry: "The old lady grabbed me and cried, saying that her eldest grandson had bullied her. She asked me to sympathize with her."
Ren Zhaoxun learned it from the Empress: "Old White Flower".
Gong Yun nodded: "Especially that shameless one, who even said dirty jokes. I told the old lady that if he offended me, her grandson would have to go to jail. Only then could I escape back."
Di Baose asked, "Did you use the Empress's authority?"
Gong Yun nodded. This was something the Empress had instructed her to do.
The village is full of scoundrels and ruffians; they have no serious business and can only chase after others.
Especially the scoundrels of Sheng'an, most people can't control them.
Despite these rumors, with the Empress in the Eastern Palace, even the most shameless individuals have to be wary.
If they're truly brainless, just beat them up.
Fang Tang interjected, "This family has seven or eight brothers, who do they work for?"
Huan Yue asked Gong Yun, "Do you know which family it is?"
Gong Yun said, "He looks like a servant of some family."
Huan Yue nodded: "A slave's slave's slave's slave."
Palace maids are in high spirits.
Generally, people aren't qualified to drag the main person into this.
For example, even a servant in the Cui family was very capable.
Therefore, Huan Yue has a high starting point and doesn't need to take them seriously.
Although they might cause obstacles when getting things done, the impact is still much smaller.
Gong Yun then asked the Empress, "What should we do?"
Huan Yue discussed with the scoundrel: "There are too many people, they're running rampant in the village..."
Gong Yun nodded: "As the third branch of the family continues to grow, there isn't enough housing, land, money, or maids and wives. They have to nibble away at other families' property."
Xie Zhou understood what his wife meant. Too many people would inevitably lead to conflict.
Therefore, Huan Yue had the simplest solution: "I request that half of the Qi family's children and grandchildren be conscripted. This will give them the opportunity to make a name for themselves."
Di Baose slapped the table excitedly: "Great! As long as I make meritorious contributions and get a title, houses, money, and beauties will not be a problem."
Guo Bing nodded: "There are thirty-eight children and grandchildren in total. Even if we collect half, there will still be a lot left."
Huan Yue said, "I'm not worried about the elderly, weak, women and children in my family, nor am I worried about the house being occupied. It's the best of both worlds."
Ren Zhaoxun laughed and said, "It's like the seedlings in the field are too dense, so we move some of them out and plant another piece of land."
Huan Yue nodded: "So having food to eat is not the end, but the beginning of the next one. After they are fed, we need to arrange for them to do work."
Xie Zhou nodded. The old methods are not enough; we need new ones.
Xie Zhou hugged and kissed his wife, saying, "With a wife like this, what more could a husband ask for!"
The concubines were incredibly jealous! Didn't they understand this principle?
However, they were not qualified to request permission, nor did they dare to suggest conscripting half of the people, as that would surely cause a disturbance.
Gong Yun, having come to terms with it, explained clearly: "Neither the third nor the fourth branch of the family are good people. The fourth branch's gambling addict needs to be caught, and his eldest son has also gone astray; he needs to be properly disciplined."
Yang Churong asked, "What should we do about the old lady?"
Huan Yue said, "Keep an eye on her when you're conscripting people, make sure she doesn't bump into anything. Afterwards, won't the villagers handle it?"
Di Baose said cheerfully, "Old Baihua is very shrewd. She knows it's a requisition by the imperial court. Who is she putting on an act for?"
Huan Yue said, "I'm not in charge of the matter of elder care, but I can make suggestions. I don't care how the family is divided when they split up, because all four branches of the family need to be cared for now."
Di Baose nodded: "If we don't raise them, we'll continue teaching them."
Yu Anu said, "So many children and grandchildren, but no one to take care of them."
Although both sides have problems, is there no solution?
Ju Zhaoxun said, "If the fourth branch of the family does this, aren't you afraid that their children and grandchildren will follow suit?"
When things happen to you, it's too late for regrets.
Gong Yun has left; I'll write the story down when I get back.
Hopefully, this will serve as a warning to a few.
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