Chapter 363 Discussing with the Minister of Rites
"I, your Majesty, would like to ask you, Your Majesty, since ancient times, the world has always adhered to the Three Bonds and Five Constant Virtues. These principles, passed down from our ancestors, emphasize the rites and laws of Heaven, Earth, the Emperor, Parents, and Teachers. Your Majesty, do you find anything unreasonable in these principles?"
"What our ancestors passed down must have its reasons."
Fortunately, although the emperor was not in good shape, the queen was still the dignified queen. It was obvious that she was a reasonable person. Minister Liu breathed a sigh of relief, and his voice sounded a lot more relaxed.
"It's good that Queen, you agree with the old principles.
As the Minister of Rites, I know that the new dynasty has only been established for a short time and many aspects of etiquette and laws are not yet perfect. They need to be further considered according to the previous dynasty.
But the marriage law that the emperor just mentioned is something I have never heard of before!"
"Old Liu, you're shortsighted, aren't you? You haven't met me before. If you had met me earlier, wouldn't you have smelled it a long time ago? Of course, it's not too late now."
"I don't want to ask now!"
Looking at this emperor who showed no intention of developing any imperial bearing, Old Liu suddenly remembered the fear he felt when he was dominated by him as the emperor's teacher.
He took a deep breath and didn't want to argue with the stupid guy, so he could only continue to reason with the smart guy.
"Empress, it's not that I'm short-sighted, it's just that the Emperor's ideas are too wild!"
He weighed the booklet that the emperor had just stuffed in his hand and gave Minister Liu some earnest advice.
"Don't even mention whether this so-called marriage law can be accepted by me. Even if I accept it, will others be willing to accept it?
It is simply a fantasy for women to share rights with men! I just want to ask, how can they share?
Since ancient times, men have been the breadwinners and women the homemakers, with men responsible for establishing the household and women for managing the small details. Could it be that the situation is about to be reversed?
Let women rule the country and let men stay in the inner chambers to raise children?
If this gets out, it will be ridiculous!"
The louder Old Liu spoke, the more he spoke, mainly because he really felt that he couldn't do this job anymore!
Having a bizarre emperor who was afraid of his wife was already a difficult matter to describe. But what was going on now? Was the Jiang family daughter planning to openly usurp the throne?
The more the old man thought about it, the more complicated it became, and the more disappointed he looked at the emperor, the more he felt.
You are an emperor after all, so what can happen if you stand up for once?
I'm the Minister of Rites, not your old servant! If I dare to agree to this marriage law today, I'm sure I won't live to see the end of the year, or I'll be assassinated.
The Minister of Rites fell to his knees with a bang.
"Your Majesty, my life is also a life!
Think about it carefully, since you ascended the throne, have any old ministers ever jumped out to cause trouble?
As for the issues of etiquette and rules, I, Liu Maosheng, swear to heaven that I absolutely turned a blind eye! You even nearly poked my eyes out, and I didn't even utter a word.
But you're not going to give me any chance to live now, are you? If I dare to agree with you on this marriage law, how will I ever have the face to stand before the court? I'll probably be labeled a traitor for the rest of my life!
Your Majesty, as an emperor, you cannot just care about yourself and ignore the lives of your ministers, Your Majesty! Life is indeed not easy for me, an old minister!"
It was obvious that he was really forced into a corner. The Minister of Rites spat out a lot of saliva in anger, and the emperor looked innocent.
"Look at you, Old Liu. If you have something to say, let's just talk it out. Why are you crying?"
"Have you even given me a chance to explain yourself? You're planning to reverse the universe, you're going to take me to heaven! I'd rather not live any longer. There's no point in living!"
Minister Liu beat his chest in grief, squinted his eyes and acted very hard as if he was trying to commit suicide, which made the emperor and empress twitch their lips.
"Lord Liu, please retract your magical powers. The Emperor didn't explain himself clearly just now. Why don't you sit down and listen to me explain in detail?"
Finally, the Queen was forced to speak. Old Liu immediately stopped crying and stood up, wiping the corners of his eyes clean. Hey, it was that powerful Minister of Rites again.
A sly smile flashed in Jiang Wan's eyes.
I have long known that the Minister of Rites is a very smooth and flexible person, and it is best to deal with such a smart person.
"Please speak frankly, Your Majesty. I am all ears."
Old Liu still politely bowed to the Queen before sitting down. Anyway, his attitude had just been made clear, and now it depended on how the Queen was going to bargain.
Li Chengxiu, who felt that his brain was not as good as his wife's, also sat aside obediently, watching how his wife fooled people, oh no, how she spoke eloquently.
"Master Liu, the emperor didn't explain his words clearly just now, so you misunderstood.
In fact, the marriage law we are talking about does not intend to overturn the Tian Gang. It is just to formalize the existing rules and regulations and make some minor changes to make them more comprehensive.
This can also be regarded as setting a specific rule for marriage between men and women in Dayu, so that everyone can follow it in the future."
"I wonder, Your Majesty, what kind of rules are you going to set? Please forgive me for my age and my dim mind, which prevents me from understanding your profound meaning."
"It's very simple. For example, monogamy has existed since ancient times, right?
I don't think I've ever heard of anyone marrying two wives at the same time, so shouldn't we just record this kind of thing in the law?"
Jiang Wan's tone was very relaxed, as if he was chatting with the other person about what flavor of white rice porridge to eat tonight.
The Minister of Rites carefully considered the other party's words and felt that there seemed to be no trap in it, so he nodded.
"Don't worry, Empress. Monogamy was clearly stipulated in the previous dynasty. Anyone who divorces his wife without reason and remarries, or takes a concubine as his wife, will be punished accordingly."
"This shows that our ancestors were farsighted and farsighted. This is exactly how it should be. Otherwise, wouldn't things be a mess?"
After nodding in agreement, she then discussed with a smile.
"However, Master Liu, I think this rule could be slightly modified. Monogamy is right, but isn't taking concubines a little inappropriate?
Lord Liu, please listen to what I have to say first before you express your opinion.
I'm not saying men can't take concubines. Our ancestors once said that there are three types of unfilial behavior: not having offspring is the worst. Let's not worry about what the original meaning was, but nowadays, people generally agree that not having offspring is considered the greatest form of unfilial behavior. Is that correct?"
Minister Liu thought about it and nodded.
Jiang Wan smiled with satisfaction.
"I absolutely agree with this statement. Not only does not having children hurt a family, but the damage to the country is even greater.
Especially since we in Dayu suffered so many casualties in the past few years, the population today has been reduced by almost half compared to the heyday of the previous dynasty!"
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