Chapter 212: Volume 1, Chapter 212: The Emperor's Exclusive Production

"If it truly comes to the point where the Protector Duke needs to step in, what do you plan to do about Chu Ke? I'm afraid this conflicts a bit with your plan," Han Xinglan asked.

"It's nothing major. Madam Chu didn't want to stay with the Protector Duke anymore, but for the sake of the child, plus the proposal I put forward, she agreed to hold her nose and keep living with him. If that day truly comes, we can turn their own scheme against them. By then, it won't be Madam Chu rushing to divorce the Protector Duke—it'll be the Protector Duke begging Chu Ke to divorce him."

Rong Luoge's expression turned slightly cold as she spoke. "We can seize the opportunity to make demands: the divorce is fine, but Madam Chu can take the child she bears. Once the Protector Duke and Di Yue Nu can finally be together openly, we can start promoting Rong Yan. With Rong Yan's promising official career on one side and the declining Protector Duke on the other, now that would be far more entertaining."

Han Xinglan: ……

He had underestimated a woman's desire for revenge, but it did sound quite satisfying.

"That's a good idea, we can try it," Han Xinglan said at once.

Rong Luoge smiled, but her expression gradually faded. "When that day truly comes and I see Di Yue Nu's fate, only then will I be freed."

Freed on behalf of the original owner—whose tragedy ultimately stemmed from Di Yue Nu and her daughter. Only when they received their comeuppance would Rong Luoge have truly avenged the original owner.

Wasn't Rong Heng's love for Di Yue Nu true?

She wanted to see whether, once the Protector Duke had nothing but an empty title and no real power, Di Yue Nu would still believe that love alone could sustain her and live peacefully with Rong Heng.

Han Xinglan reached over and patted the back of her hand. "Don't be sad."

"I'm not sad." Rong Luoge embraced Han Xinglan. "I just feel that bad people should get the punishment they deserve. It's just that with you, things go more smoothly. Meeting you is my greatest happiness."

Han Xinglan loved hearing this—meeting her was his greatest fortune too.

"Stop thinking about all that. I still have something to discuss with you." Han Xinglan changed the subject, not wanting Rong Luoge to dwell on the mess at the Guo Gong Fu and ruin her mood. He might as well let her think of something else for a change.

"What is it?" Rong Luoge asked suspiciously. "There doesn't seem to be anything major lately, right?"

"The war in the northern frontier will have a result soon. Thanks to the Owl Nation's divine weapons, this campaign was relatively easy for us. But after a great war comes great governance—making sure the common people have full bellies is the most important thing." Han Xinglan had been thinking about this lately. He felt that Luoge had plenty of clever ideas, and might just have a better one.

Like that jacquard loom—that was excellent. Now that patterned cloth was being woven, the merchants at the Ministry of Revenue practically walked with a spring in their step.

Rong Luoge thought for a moment and said, "The most pressing difficulty right now is the land issue. Most of the Owl Nation's land is in the hands of the noble houses, which greatly reduces the tax revenue submitted to the court. When the court has no money, many things become heavily constrained."

Why were the noble houses so emboldened?

Because they had grain, land, and manpower—the strength to wrestle with the Emperor.

Han Xinglan naturally knew this. He pulled a soft cushion over to prop behind himself, then gently helped Rong Luoge lean back against it with him. It was rare to have such a relaxed moment; his voice carried a few extra notes of helplessness and lacked the sternness he showed in court.

"This is a legacy problem. Don't think it was just me—even when the Late Emperor was on the throne, didn't he want to change things? But it's extremely hard to push through. The noble houses close ranks, and the Emperor alone cannot clap with one hand." Han Xinglan sighed softly.

Rong Luoge knew this was a legacy of history—even in history, it took painful upheaval before relief came. She thought for a moment and said, "Have you considered taking a different approach?"

"How so?" Han Xinglan asked with considerable interest.

Rong Luoge thought it over and said, "The core problem is still that the court has no money, and therefore no confidence. Without money, we can't maintain an army. Without a capable army, we can't wrestle with the noble houses."

Han Xinglan nodded. "For Xiao Shen's northern campaign army, even though they tried hard to avoid it, they still had to borrow men from the noble houses."

So no matter how much Chancellor Yun or Chancellor Su jumped around in court, no matter how Han Xinglan wanted to suppress them, without the ability to strike a fatal blow in one move, he couldn't act rashly.

It was like the warlord chaos of the early Republic era— whoever had guns and cannons held the real power to speak.

Although Han Xinglan was slightly better off, bearing the title of Son of Heaven after all, a fair amount of real power had still been carved away by the noble houses. Fortunately, his stance was tough, and the noble houses didn't dare easily wrestle with the Emperor. They just probed each other's bottom lines, then negotiated compromises.

This time, for the northern campaign, Han Xinglan's attitude was extremely firm, and the noble houses took a step back. But other matters wouldn't be so easy.

Especially when it came to dividing up their land—that was tantamount to taking their lives. They would inevitably fight back to the death.

"Hold imperial examinations, with emphasis on admitting scholars from humble backgrounds, to reduce the proportion of noble houses in the court." Han Xinglan looked at Rong Luoge and spoke slowly. "Preparations for the special examination are already underway—the first exam will be held at the start of spring."

"Then the examiners are crucial—His Majesty must think it through carefully. It's best to choose bold, resourceful people who dare to act and get real things done."

"It's not that easy. You can't tell good from bad at first glance—time reveals a person's heart."

"Running errands for the court doesn't require seeing his true heart. As long as he has the methods, that's enough—handle special matters specially," Rong Luoge said with a smile.

Han Xinglan was amused. "That's true in theory, but it's not easy."

"His Majesty has already arranged the imperial examinations, so let's focus on making some money." Rong Luoge traced her finger slowly across Han Xinglan's palm. "The noble houses love luxury goods. I happen to have a recipe for making colored glaze."

"Colored glaze?" Han Xinglan paused and asked.

Rong Luoge nodded. "It's not that difficult, but if we can actually fire it, this thing could become His Majesty's private treasury. Don't use the official kilns—fire it in His Majesty's private kiln. All the money earned would be yours. Let those old fogeys turn green with envy."

In this era, the most important things were still technology and production techniques. Although Rong Luoge couldn't reproduce it with one hundred percent accuracy, she knew the general process, and the rest could be left to artisans for trial and error.

Han Xinglan: ……

He just felt this was indeed Luoge's style—this was simply her nature.

"Tell me, how do you fire this thing?" Han Xinglan asked.

"Quartz sand plus limestone, plus soda ash, ground into powder, then heated in a kiln. But the temperature requirements are very high, so the kiln used for firing needs extra attention…"

Rong Luoge knew that the Owl Nation also had colored glaze, but it was relatively simple low-temperature lead-barium glass. Due to its chemical composition and firing temperature, it would shatter when exposed to hot water. So in ancient China, colored glaze was generally used for ornaments and crafts, and even then, production was quite low.

But Western soda-lime glass was different. Although less transparent, it was sturdy and durable, and wouldn't shatter from heat. Moreover, the transparency issue could be improved.

With a round of promotion, it would be quite viable.

Produced by the Emperor's private kiln—who wouldn't want that?