Chapter 841: Risking One's Life
That night Luo Qinghan went back to Weiyang Palace to sleep.
The next morning.
After Luo Qinghan finished washing up and was having breakfast, he suddenly remembered what happened to Chen Wanyi last night and gave instructions to the eunuch Chang who was standing beside him.
"Pass on my decree. Chen Wanyi has been disrespectful in front of the emperor. Her green badge will be removed. She will not be summoned to the emperor's bedchamber again."
"Yes."
Although the emperor had never summoned concubines to sleep with him, Chen Wanyi was the first one in the harem to be told by the emperor that she no longer needed to sleep with him.
After this matter spread, it immediately caused quite a stir in the harem.
Those concubines who had been eager to curry favor with the emperor before were now much calmer.
They originally thought that they could take advantage of the imperial concubine's house arrest to go to the emperor and win his favor.
However, the lesson of Chen Wanyi was right in front of them, which made them a little scared. What if they ended up like Chen Wanyi, failing to improve the emperor's favor and instead causing the emperor to dislike them? That would be a loss.
In Ningxin Palace, Chen Wanyi almost fainted after hearing the contents of the imperial edict.
She gritted her teeth and held on.
After the person who delivered the imperial edict left, Chen Wanyi finally couldn't hold on any longer and fell down on the couch.
When she thought about the fact that she would never be able to serve the emperor in the emperor's bedchamber again and would have to live as a widow for the rest of her life, what was the difference between this and being banished to the cold palace?
She was overwhelmed with grief and fell on the table and burst into tears.
Inside the Misty Rain Palace.
Liu Xu told Concubine Lao about Chen Wanyi's punishment, and there was a hint of gloating in her words.
"She was forced to imitate others, and now she is suffering the consequences!"
The concubine also laughed for a long time, and then looked thoughtful.
"Both of them imitated Concubine Xiao, so why did the Imperial Concubine succeed in gaining the Emperor's favor? But Chen Wanyi was disliked by the Emperor?"
Liu Xu curled her lips: "Maybe the Imperial Concubine's acting skills are better, and her imitation is more like Concubine Xiao."
Concubine Lao: "It shouldn't be that simple."
Liu Xu looked at her in confusion.
However, Concubine Lao did not continue the topic, but asked about another matter.
"Father's birthday is in two days. Have you prepared all the gifts?"
Liu Xu nodded: "It has been prepared as you ordered."
That afternoon, Concubine Lao went to the imperial study in person to ask to see the emperor.
She mentioned her father's birthday and wanted to leave the palace to celebrate it with her father.
The father of Concubine Lao was the imperial tutor of the dynasty and also Luo Qinghan's teacher.
For the sake of his teacher, Luo Qinghan agreed to Concubine Lao's request without saying a word.
The concubine wanted to spend more time with the emperor, but the emperor was busy dealing with official business and had no intention of paying attention to her, so he had her sent away directly.
Concubine Lao was extremely disappointed and left reluctantly.
Two days passed in a flash.
Concubine Tuber went out of the palace to celebrate her father's birthday.
The Bai Mansion is particularly lively today, with guests filling the room and laughter everywhere.
This time, Concubine Lao was very low-key. She did not let anyone know and quietly entered the Bai Mansion through the back door.
As long as someone passed the message, the title of "Concubine Tuberculosis" would definitely be mentioned.
Where will she put her face then?
So she simply didn't allow anyone to pass on the message.
…
At the morning court today, the emperor announced publicly that he would reform the tax system.
This news was like a bomb, exploding in the court.
Everyone was caught off guard.
People kept coming forward to dissuade the emperor from this idea.
However, the emperor insisted on his own opinion and refused to compromise.
The two sides are at a stalemate.
Today's morning court ended in a bad mood.
After the court meeting, six cabinet ministers followed the emperor to the imperial study.
The emperor asked them about their ideas for tax reform?
Of the six, three were opposed, two were neutral, and only one supported it.
The only person who supported him was Wanjun.
Wan Jun was originally the Prince's Grand Tutor. After the Prince ascended the throne, he was promoted to Grand Tutor. At the same time, he entered the cabinet and reached the first rank, becoming the Grand Secretary of Wenyuan Pavilion.
He is now over seventy years old and is the oldest among the six cabinet ministers.
Due to his poor health, he usually did not enter the palace and only appeared during the grand court meetings on the first and fifteenth day of each month.
The emperor sympathized with his old age and frailty and would not disturb him unless necessary.
As the only one among the six cabinet ministers who supported tax reform, Wan Jun immediately became the focus of everyone's attention.
Wanjun said slowly.
"I think tax reform is imperative, but what other colleagues said also makes sense. The tax system is related to the foundation of the country. Reforming the tax system is equivalent to shaking the foundation of the country. We must be cautious and must not act too hastily."
He said this in a gentle manner, and coupled with his frail appearance, the three cabinet ministers who wanted to scold him for his brazen words were too embarrassed to speak.
But we should still oppose what should be opposed.
The three men spoke one after another, emphasizing the harm caused by tax reform.
They were all cultured people who represented the cutting edge of knowledge in this dynasty and were extremely good at debate.
Everyone spoke quoting from classics and making sense.
The other two cabinet ministers who held a neutral attitude did not speak. Only when their names were called did they say a few words to show that they were indeed listening.
No matter how the other three argued, Wanjun always looked calm, neither angry nor anxious.
The atmosphere seems calm, but in fact there are undercurrents.
Luo Qinghan sat at the top, watching them bicker quietly.
It was not until it was late that he sent everyone away, leaving only Wanjun alone.
Luo Qinghan stood up, walked over and sat down next to Wanjun.
He touched the cup in front of Wanjun and found that the tea was a little cold, so he immediately asked someone to change it to a cup of hot tea for Wanjun.
Wanjun hurriedly thanked him.
Luo Qinghan looked at his cloudy eyes and sighed softly: "I didn't expect that the teacher would support tax reform."
Although Luo Qinghan no longer needs a teacher to teach him, as the saying goes, a teacher is a father for life, he still calls Wan Jun "teacher" in private to show respect.
In fact, Wanjun also comes from a noble family.
The tax reform will affect the interests of the aristocratic families, so Wanjun should oppose it.
But he unexpectedly expressed his support.
This was something Luo Qinghan had not expected.
Wan Jun asked slowly, "Your Majesty, have you anticipated that many people would oppose the tax reform?"
Luo Qinghan nodded: "We have a vested interest in each other, so it's understandable that we object."
Wan Jun: "Then do you want to continue?"
Luo Qinghan: "Some things have to be done by someone."
The aristocratic families monopolize most of the country's resources, but it is the common people who pay the taxes.
This is equivalent to relying on the lowest-level civilians to feed the entire country.
Regardless of whether it is fair or not, the system itself is deformed.
It's like a frail body with a huge head on top. If the body cannot become strong, the overly large head will only become a burden to the body, and sooner or later the body will collapse completely because it cannot bear the weight.
So reform is imperative.
Wanjun looked at the young emperor in front of him and couldn't help but sigh.
"Even if you become the emperor, you will still be the same as before."
He is so brave and fearless that he risks his own life.
…
Today is the last day of the surrounding activities. The activities will end at midnight tonight. I wish you all good luck.
Today is the last day of this month. If you don’t use your monthly ticket, it will expire. Everyone, please check to see if there are any monthly tickets left?
(End of this chapter)
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