Chapter 5: An Audience with the Grand Dowager [Exclusive Release on Jinjiang·The Rose Court]
“Ying, we are about to enter the Rose Court to pay our respects to your Grandmother. She adores you dearly. Though this is your first meeting, she sent lavish gifts during the winter for your birth, your third-day purification ritual, your full-month celebration, and even your hundredth-day ceremony. But—if you dare act as mischievously as you did in front of your grandfather earlier, I swear I’ll tan your little bottom once we return home!”
Qin Ying blinked up at her mother, Wang Ling, whose narrowed eyes held no room for negotiation. The child promptly flashed a cherubic smile of compliance.
Satisfied, Wang Ling tilted her chin toward Chun, her attendant. The young maidservant hurried ahead to announce their arrival.
…
After a while, when Qin Ying was carried by her mother across the palace threshold and just entered the front yard, she opened her mouth in surprise.
The yard looked like a big garden, colorful, lush and beautifully maintained.
Next to the west wall, there is a row of half-human-high roses planted, and on the east wall, there is a whole wall of roses climbing up.
In April, the roses are in full bloom, and the roses are in full bloom. When the breeze blows, the flowers on the wall are trembling in the wind, adding a touch of color to the solemn and dark palace walls, as if the whole palace has become softer. This does not conform to the serious Qin Feng, but is very consistent with Chu Feng's romance.
Seeing her mother's relaxed and happy expression when she admired the flower wall, which was obviously different from her nervous look when she went to visit her grandfather, Qin Ying had an idea in her mind. She thought that her grandmother and her mother had a pretty good relationship. Her grandmother, who loved growing flowers and plants, should be a person who loved life and had a very easy-going temperament.
So, his father actually inherited his grandmother's personality?
Just as she was thinking about this, Qin Ying was carried by her mother who kept walking all the way through the front yard, through the middle yard, and as soon as she entered the back yard, she saw a slim middle-aged beautiful woman in beige palace dress, smiling and walking quickly towards them with several palace maids.
Seeing the person coming, Wang Ling also hurriedly held his son, quickened his pace, took a few steps forward, bowed slightly and said:
"Ling pays homage to the mother."
"Hahahaha, Ling, you're welcome. Hurry up and get up. You're still holding the child. Don't drop the little guy."
The noble lady of the Chu royal family from Yunmengze smiled gently and helped her daughter-in-law up, while carefully looking at the little baby who was looking at her with curiosity.
Seeing the cute little thing, the smile in her eyes became even brighter. She lowered her head slightly, gently pinched Qin Ying's little hand with her white fingers, shook it up and down twice, and smiled softly with her eyebrows curved:
"Little darling, I guess you are my mother, right? I am your eldest mother."
"You are so handsome! Your features resemble His Majesty, but the expression on your face is exactly the same as your father's when he was a child."
Although her grandmother's Hubei accent was difficult to understand, Qin Ying's eyes lit up instantly when she could feel her grandmother's loving kindness. She grinned and said "Ahhh" as she tried to straighten her body from her mother's arms.
Seeing her son getting so excited after hearing her mother-in-law's praise, Wang Ling said to her mother-in-law with a mixture of laughter and tears:
"Mother, please stop praising this shameless little rascal! Before entering the palace, I stressed to him many times not to act naughty. But just now in Zhangtai Palace, as soon as he got into my father's arms, he forcibly pulled out several of my father's beard hairs and messed up his beautifully groomed beard like a chicken coop. He ruined my father's image in front of all the palace people. I was almost shocked!"
Watching his mother opening and closing her mouth and speaking a long paragraph at a very fast speed, Qin Ying couldn't help blinking. Well, he almost understood that his mother was complaining about him to his grandmother.
Mrs. Qiang looked at her daughter-in-law's helpless expression, then looked at her grandson who was in her daughter-in-law's arms, tilting his head slightly as he listened to his mother talking. The chubby little boy straightened his ears and looked very focused, which instantly made her laugh out loud.
She stretched out her arms curiously and took her grandson from her daughter-in-law's arms. She lowered her head and touched the little guy's tender face affectionately, then smiled at her daughter-in-law and said comfortingly:
"Ling, you don't have to be too cautious in Zhangtai Palace. Although His Majesty looks intimidating, he is a magnanimous person and would not argue with a baby like Ying."
"It's hot outside, you two should come with me into the palace and have a cup of honey water."
"Yes, thank you, mother."
Wang Ling smiled and nodded, then affectionately reached out to support her mother-in-law who was holding her son. The mother-in-law and daughter-in-law walked into the hall, chatting and laughing.
After the two adults and one child sat down on the seats in the hall at the back of the palace, the palace maids hurriedly brought a few cups of honey water garnished with red dates on a tray.
Wang Ling picked up the copper cup and took a sip of warm water. Qin Ying, who was sitting in her grandmother's arms, was also fed a few mouthfuls of sweet honey water by her grandmother with a small spoon.
He opened his mouth to drink water while observing the decorations in the hall. Unexpectedly, the next moment he was completely attracted by his mother's words.
Today, the status of women has not been subjected to crazy suppression, and there is no strict rule in the palace that "women in the harem are not allowed to interfere in politics or discuss politics."
Wang Ling drank half a cup of honey water to moisten her slightly dry throat. Seeing the bright smile on her grandmother's face because she had her grandson, she hesitated for a few breaths, then frowned slightly, looked at her grandmother and asked softly:
"Mother, do you know what my beloved said at the court this morning that angered His Majesty and earned him a month's confinement?"
When Mrs. Qiang heard her daughter-in-law suddenly mention her stubborn eldest son, she paused with her right hand while lowering her head and smiling as she fed her grandson honey water with a small spoon.
Seeing this, the palace maid standing by hurriedly reached out and took the small copper spoon from her wife.
Qin Ying also looked up at his grandmother with curiosity. He also wanted to know what his unfortunate father had said that angered heaven and man to make the First Emperor so angry.
Mi Qiang glanced at her grandson's confused eyes, then looked at her daughter-in-law who was worried. After a moment's silence, she shook her head helplessly and smiled bitterly.
"What else could it be? Isn't it still because of the county system issue?"
"Ah?" Wang Ling's eyes widened in shock at this answer, and she frowned in disbelief. "But mother, I heard that Prime Minister Wang and Li Sitingwei have been arguing for over two months about the conflict between the county system and the feudal system in the previous dynasty. Didn't father already decide that after unification, the entire country would be divided into 36 counties and the county system would be implemented? Why is my beloved still talking about this today?"
Amidst his mother's long, shocked, hurried, and garbled chatter, coded with mosaics, Qin Ying, who listened diligently, finally grasped a few key words: "feudal system," "county system," "unification," and "thirty-six counties." Surprised, he touched his slightly swollen belly with his little hand, figuring out the exact timeframe. It seemed the Qin Empire had only just been unified! No wonder his own father was so busy and away from home all day!
Mi Qiang also closed her eyes, nodded, and sighed:
"Alas, Ling, you also know Fusu's temper. Once he makes up his mind, nine horses can't pull him back."
"Even though Your Majesty has already approved the county system, Confucian scholars are the best writers. Confucian scholars who have been attacking the county system have not stopped writing these days."
"Fusu had a clear preference for Confucianism from a young age, and the teachers he became close to were all Confucian scholars. As the eldest son, he was the leader of all the children in the palace."
"Aren't Gao and Jianglu getting married soon? Fusu advised His Majesty at today's court meeting, suggesting that even if His Majesty didn't grant his younger brothers the title of lord, he could grant them fiefdoms and collect taxes to make their post-wedding lives more comfortable. But His Majesty flatly rejected his proposal."
"Your Majesty made it clear at the court meeting that, regardless of the feudal lords granted before unification, after the unification of Great Qin, all land will be remeasured, and all taxes accruing from the land will be collected into the national treasury. After unification, whether it's the children of the royal family or the nobles within the imperial clan, if they don't make outstanding contributions to Great Qin, they will no longer be granted any land, other than the monthly allowance they receive on time."
Hearing this, Wang Ling opened his mouth in astonishment and commented in a low voice with a complicated expression:
"This... Mother, your Majesty's thoughts and ideas truly go far beyond those of an ordinary monarch. This is the first time I've seen a monarch who doesn't seek the welfare of his own children. While it's clear that your father's thoughts and ideas are for the good of Great Qin, this blanket policy will surely drive the clan elders within the royal family into a corner."
"Ah, isn't it?" Madam Qiang gently pinched her grandson's soft belly in her arms, reminiscing about the past. "Your Majesty has always been very cold and hard. He will do whatever he says."
"As the saying goes, to deprive someone of their wealth is like killing their parents. For so many years, Your Majesty has never had a harmonious relationship with the Qin royal family. Otherwise, when Chang'an Jun raised the banner of rebellion in Tunliu in the eighth year of Qin Wangzheng's reign, the members of the Xianyang royal family would not have followed his lead."
"Although your majesty's decree is very distressing, there is nothing much to say. After all, your majesty is not even planning to grant fiefs to his own children, let alone grant land to his clan members."
"In this matter, I also think that Your Majesty is right. It is indeed that the stubborn elder brother Fusu loves his younger brothers and sisters too much and is always working for the welfare of these younger ones."
"If you speak privately in Zhangtai Palace, His Majesty might not pay any attention to him. But if he were to speak out in front of the entire court, those clan members would be like cats smelling fish, clawing and shouting at him. How could His Majesty tolerate that? Not to mention His Majesty's anger, he has been punished to face the wall in the royal mausoleum for a month of reflection. After I figure out the whole story, I'm so eager to pry his head open and see what's inside!"
"The eldest son of the Qin dynasty is always at odds with his father's policies! He's lucky to be the eldest son, as his many younger brothers and sisters are all worthless. If any of them were to stand out, I'd be worried about the future of your eldest son's family and unable to sleep at night!"
Seeing her usually good-tempered mother-in-law angrily scolding her husband, Wang Ling quickly reached out and gently patted her mother-in-law's arm, coaxing her in a gentle voice:
"Alas, mother, please don't calm down. My father has returned to the capital yesterday. After your daughter-in-law sees him, she will ask him to persuade my beloved in the court and not let him go against the emperor."
"Oh, Ling, you're thoughtful."
Mi Qiang also smiled and pulled the back of her daughter-in-law's hand.
After listening to the entire conversation between the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law, Qin Ying, who only understood half of the content, didn't know what to say.
He really didn't know how to evaluate his unlucky father. As a good elder brother who loved his younger siblings, there was obviously nothing wrong with him. But for a crown prince of an empire, his father still had a lot of experience to gain.
Think about it, his great-grandfather (Zichu) who died young had even given his rebellious uncle (Chengqiao) the title of "Lord of Chang'an" at a young age, while his own grandfather had 18 sons, but when he died, there was no crown prince, not even a "lord" was canonized! He was truly ruthless and impartial, with only the Great Qin Empire in his heart.
From the perspective of an imperial policymaker, my father's thinking was correct. All land taxes should belong to the national treasury, not the private property of a noble. Just look at how the Zhu family fell into poverty in their later years. It was because Zhu, doting on his descendants, wished to siphon all the good things into their bowls, leading to the financial ruin of the late Ming Dynasty by the vast and fertile Zhu clan. By the end of the Ming Dynasty, the common people were starving, while the Zhu family members were gorging themselves on fat.
Oh, thinking about it, he found that his love for his grandfather had increased. He was so happy that he couldn't help but grin and laugh foolishly. The mother-in-law and daughter-in-law, who were in a depressed mood because their son/husband was put in solitary confinement, heard the sound made by the baby and subconsciously looked down at him.
Seeing the gazes of the nanny and mother, Qin Ying was about to wave his little hands, but the next moment his little body froze. The little baby immediately stretched out his two short arms and babbled, trying hurriedly to let the wet nurse Chun beside him hold him. He also twisted his little butt hard to try to climb out of the nanny's arms.
This sudden action startled Madam Qiang. She turned to look at her daughter-in-law and asked in confusion, "Ling, what happened to Ying?"
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