Chapter 314: Volume 1, Chapter 314: Escape

This was Ruan Shurong's first time alone with the Empress, and she was inevitably a little nervous. Hearing the Empress's question, she replied, "This concubine has just returned from Lady Gou's side."

Rong Luoge smiled and nodded. "I heard from Lady Gou that you and she are good sisters."

Ruan Shurong was startled. She had not expected that Gou Jing would truly speak on her behalf before Her Majesty the Empress. Recalling what Gou Jing had previously urged her, and looking again at the plump, healthy First Prince cradled in Her Majesty the Empress's arms, Ruan Shurong's heart began to waver once more.

"This concubine and younger sister Lady Gou got along well even before entering the palace. After entering the palace, we looked out for each other, and our bond grew ever deeper," Ruan Shurong said with a smile.

Hearing this, Rong Luoge knew that Ruan Shurong had not come here to waylay her, but had truly encountered her by chance. Since that was the case, she did not intend to continue chatting idly, and said with a smile, "It is good to have a close friend to look out for each other. I will take the First Prince around for a stroll. Ruan Shurong, please do as you please."

"Respectfully seeing off Her Majesty the Empress." Ruan Shurong curtsied and bowed.

Rong Luoge walked off carrying her son. After thinking it over, she went to Consort Dowager Zhong's place to visit Princess Yile.

Ruan Shurong watched the Empress's retreating figure, looked at the healthy First Prince, and recalled her family's instructions. Her expression could not help but darken.

They had been in the palace for so long, yet His Majesty had never favored any of them, keeping solely to Her Majesty the Empress. Her Majesty the Empress held exclusive favor, yet still wore a pleasant expression when seeing a minor concubine like her. She walked away with a heavy heart.

No wonder His Majesty so favored Her Majesty the Empress—even she herself had grown a little fond of Her Majesty the Empress now.

The deeply favored Her Majesty the Empress was far gentler than Consort Hui, who had never won favor. Recalling Consort Hui's haughty, bossy manner, Ruan Shurong's expression darkened.

Before entering the palace, had any of them not been the apple of their family's eye?

Ruan Shurong was not like Gou Jing. Gou Jing was disappointed in her family, but Ruan Shurong's family treated her well, and she could not easily betray them. Yet neither did she want to be Consort Hui's lapdog. What to do in the end left her in a dilemma.

The imperial court had been calm and peaceful lately. Now the most talked-about matter in the entire capital was Her Majesty the Empress's Weaving Workshop. They had their family members buy cloth to examine closely—the quality of the cloth was indeed fine, and with fresh patterns and low prices, the Empress repeatedly declared this to be His Majesty's initiative to benefit the people, calling it affordable cloth.

Whose face did this slap?

In any case, everyone's expressions were unpleasant. The cloth from the Empress's Weaving Workshop was now called Empress cloth, and the Empress's reputation rose ever higher. Not only had she not been suppressed, but more and more common people supported her—truly a headache.

The better the Empress's reputation, the harder it would be to depose her in the future. This was not a good thing for them.

Even if they wanted to act against Empress cloth, firstly they could not produce its patterns, nor could they press the price that low. The Empress cloth the Empress launched was not for making money at all—it was for reputation.

If the noble houses also lowered the price of cloth from their own Weaving Workshops to match Empress cloth, even if they were willing, they had no jacquard looms, no draw looms, let alone the newly produced dyed cloth whose colors were so vivid they dazzled the eyes.

How did the Empress concoct this kind of pigment?

What was more outrageous was that the Empress's dyed cloth not only had good colors, fine patterns, and low prices—she also gave away pigments for painting, for free!

Many people bought the cloth just for that box of pigment. The noble houses also specially bought some home to study this pigment, and found that it was indeed inferior to what they made themselves, but the pigment was genuinely usable—and the key was that it came free with the purchase of cloth, costing nothing!

How could the Empress come up with so many ideas? The noble houses wanted to fight against Empress cloth, only to find they could not contend with her.

Watching Empress cloth become the best-selling cloth in the capital in less than a month's time left them both angry and furious, and the key was they could think of no way to counter it.

Right at this time, the Ordnance Bureau announced that they could produce cannons. Though everyone thought it was a rumor, the Ordnance Bureau had indeed been working through the night lately. Even the artisans did not go home, taking shifts in day and night rotations.

Compared to Empress cloth, cannons were obviously far more nerve-wracking.

Qingxuan Nation had already suffered defeat and would certainly not wage another major war in the short term. At a time like this, what was His Majesty doing developing cannons?

Recalling that nowadays not even messages could be smuggled into the Hou Gong—whereas previously the Hou Gong had been easy to enter and exit, now the palace gates were strictly guarded, and passing a message was as hard as ascending to heaven—and then thinking of the Empress cloth, dyed cloth, patterned cloth, and the free pigment that came with buying cloth—one by one, these actions made the imperial court boil like a cauldron.

Han Xinglan showed no change of expression at daily court sessions, making it impossible for anyone to discern what His Majesty's intentions truly were.

The Prince of Liang had suddenly left the capital. Though the Emperor said he was sending the Prince of Liang to assist the River Inspection Commissioner in surveying the riverbanks, the Prince of Liang was the first person to stand up and pledge support when His Majesty ascended the throne—he could be called His Majesty's most trusted younger brother. Was his departure from the capital truly for river inspection business?

The River Inspection Commissioner was held by Noble Consort Xu's father, who had already departed over a month ago. Now the Prince of Liang was following after him, which was indeed cause for deep suspicion.

With Empress cloth and the Ordnance Bureau occupying everyone's attention in the capital, though the noble houses suspected the reason for the Prince of Liang's departure, they indeed would not devote their full attention to watching him, only sending people to tail him out of the capital and keep him under surveillance.

After the Prince of Liang left the capital, he immediately split his forces into two routes. He himself put on the airs of a prince, traveling with an entourage in a convincing manner toward Lord Xu's direction, looking as though he were genuinely going for the river inspection duty.

The other route, disguised as ordinary commoners, fanned out into various regions and immediately began spreading word of the capital's Weaving Workshop—household registration, wages, reward silver, housing, and other matters described in glowing terms. The news began to spread.

Though many did not believe it, as word spread from person to person, people's hearts were stirred.

Remaining as unregistered households under the noble houses, toiling year-round only to barely fill their stomachs with wild vegetable dumplings, living in thatched sheds, wearing coarse hemp clothes—they were people who could not see the light of day, normally not daring to go out, able only to huddle in the fields.

But if they truly went to the capital to work, they could have proper household registration, earn wages, and receive generous reward silver for good work. And their children would no longer have to remain unregistered households for generation after generation.

Enduring it themselves was one thing, but looking at their children, many people's hearts were moved.

Household registration and wages were like gleaming gold ingots, making them unable to sleep soundly, unable to enjoy their food and drink. Many unregistered households quietly discussed it in private, and some bold ones took their wives and children and fled in the dead of night.

They were unregistered households anyway—as long as they ran fast enough and were not caught, once they got away they would be free. They wanted to go to the capital, to become artisan households. They wanted proper, legitimate household registration, to walk in the sunlight, to let their children hold their heads high as people, rather than living furtively for generation after generation.

As time passed, more and more people began to flee, finally drawing the attention of the noble houses.