Chapter 316: Volume 1, Chapter 316 — Isn't This Asking for Their Lives?

Han Xinglan glanced at Shi An, and Shi An immediately grew so nervous he didn't dare breathe loudly. Then he watched as His Majesty turned and walked back, and only then did he let out a slight breath of relief.

Invoking the Empress's name still worked best.

After returning, Han Xinglan washed up but did not rest immediately. Instead, he looked at Shi An and said, "Have people watch closely. Don't let a single one slip through the net."

"Yes, this servant obeys. Your Majesty can rest assured," Shi An replied at once.

Han Xinglan hadn't slept well these past few days and was indeed somewhat tired, so he closed his eyes and seized the time to rest. Once they caught the people, it wouldn't be easy to rest even if he truly wanted to.

Rong Luoge didn't fall asleep until the latter half of the night, but woke before dawn. She stared at the bed curtains to collect herself, and suddenly realized she had grown accustomed to having someone beside her—when that person wasn't there, she felt quite unaccustomed.

She rubbed her eyes and got up, lifted the curtain, slipped on her shoes, and quietly stepped out. The sky outside was still dim and hazy, with only threads of pale blue along the distant horizon.

Outside, she could hear the faint breathing of the palace maids on night duty. Without disturbing them, she sat down on the warm couch by the bed and took out what she hadn't finished the night before to continue working.

Empress cloth... Thinking of this name, Rong Luoge's feelings were very complicated. Ordinary folk were truly a simple and easily moved lot. She hadn't actually done anything earth-shattering—she had only wanted them to be able to wear somewhat pretty and sturdy cloth, and yet they remembered her like this, were grateful to her, and called the cloth she sold "Empress cloth."

If in the past she didn't understand the weight of those three characters, now she knew: what those three characters bestowed upon her was the common people's support and allegiance. Simply put, she had already gained an initial hold on the people's hearts.

And the people's hearts were the hardest thing to earn.

In her previous life, Rong Luoge had been entirely alone, thinking only about how she could survive well—or rather, how she could live better. In truth, she had thought the same way after arriving here.

It was just that she met Han Xinglan, an emperor who loved his people as his own children, and so little by little her path had diverged to follow his.

Their circumstances were in truth very dire. The Empress Dowager was the emperor's own mother, yet she favored her maiden family more. Aristocratic clans held sway in the court, so the emperor's desire to heavily promote scholars of humble origins who had come through the imperial examinations faced obstacles at every turn. Exams were held once every three years, and many scholars passed, but the official posts available to them were too few—so much so that even those who passed as jinshi faced a bleak official career.

Han Xinglan's support of Xiao Shen and his promotion of scholars from humble families was nothing less than a direct challenge to the interests of the aristocratic clans.

This contest of power would, sooner or later, come to a fight to the death.

This time, Han Xifeng had struck first, using the cannons to bait the aristocratic clans into taking the hook.

She didn't know whether it had succeeded.

Rong Luoge watched the daylight along the horizon gradually brighten and let out a long breath.

"Your Highness, you're awake? Why didn't you call this servant?" Rong Xin lifted the curtain and quietly walked in, only to see the Empress sitting at the kang table writing something—she was startled.

Rong Luoge looked up at Rong Xin and smiled. "I just got up too. Have the meal sent in."

Rong Luoge was different from a true person of antiquity. She couldn't take others' day-and-night service for granted. Rong Xin and Que Cai had been with her for longer, so they were less tense on ordinary days, but the other palace servants were different.

Right now Rong Xin could still calmly go to arrange the meal. If it had been before, the slightest show of displeasure from her would likely have meant punishment for the maids who had been on duty the night before.

Palace rules were strict. Rong Luoge couldn't change the big picture, but at least she could make things less arduous for those serving in Phoenix Ceremony Palace.

The young palace maids on night duty outside learned that the Empress had already risen while they had still been sleeping soundly, completely unaware. Their faces went pale with fright. Knowing that the Empress had no intention of blaming them, the two kowtowed through the curtain before going to hand over their shift.

Rong Luoge didn't tell them not to kowtow. If she had dismissed them without allowing it, the two would likely have been frightened out of their wits day and night.

After finishing her breakfast, Rong Luoge went to see her son. Kangkang had just finished nursing. Upon seeing the Empress, he squirmed free from the wet nurse's arms, got down to the ground, and walked toward her step by step.

Rong Luoge crouched down to look at her son, extending her arms to wait for him.

Kangkang smiled so widely his eyes crinkled shut. He took a few careful steps, and when he was almost close enough, he threw himself forward all at once. Mother and son held each other, delighted beyond measure.

Picking up her son, Rong Luoge planned to take the child to the Weaving Workshop for a visit, so she wouldn't sit in Phoenix Ceremony Palace constantly worrying about the Military Ordnance Bureau.

The Weaving Workshop was now bustling with activity. The craftsmen needed to work in rotating shifts—though of course it wasn't the three-shift system of later eras. If she only had them work eight-hour shifts, these craftsmen would probably have kowtowed and begged for forgiveness. Even with just day and night shifts, these men had been terrified at first, and only settled down once their wages were in hand.

Precisely because of this, whenever their shift came around, not a single one of them slacked off. The supervising craftsmen didn't even need to keep watch. Output was high and wastage was low. When Rong Luoge first saw the figures, she herself was quite astonished.

Seeing Rong Luoge arrive with the First Prince, the craftsmen stopped their work wherever she passed and bowed to pay their respects. Rong Luoge nodded in acknowledgment, carried the child around for a look, and then headed to the dye workshop in the back.

Dowager Consort Liu was now full of drive. She had arrived early in the morning and was crouching before the dye vat studying a new pattern. Hearing that the Empress had come, she immediately came out to greet her.

Rong Luoge observed that she looked far more spirited than when she had been in the Hou Gong—clearly, a person needed to get out and work, or all their vitality would drain away.

Dowager Consort Liu couldn't take her eyes off the First Prince. Seeing this, Rong Luoge smiled and said, "Would the Consort hold him for a while? I've been carrying him all the way here, and my arms are sore."

Dowager Consort Liu hurried to wash her hands before taking the First Prince. Who knew the little fellow wouldn't appreciate the gesture—he wriggled down with a fuss and toddled around the courtyard on his own. Que Cai led the wet nurse and palace maids in hurrying after him, watching carefully.

Dowager Consort Liu watched and said to the Empress, "The First Prince has such a strong-willed temperament. He'll certainly amount to something in the future."

"He's still so little," Rong Luoge said with a smile. Then she looked at Dowager Consort Liu and asked with concern, "How is the new color coming along?"

"We're testing it now and there's some promise, but the ratios still need adjusting."

"Color matching is like that—it needs to be adjusted little by little. The Consort needn't rush." Rong Luoge nodded and stood before the dye vat, watching the craftsmen methodically dipping and dyeing the cloth. Though the term "assembly line" didn't exist yet, Rong Luoge was slowly adjusting the procedures and workflow, pushing precisely in that direction.

Ancient times were different from modern ones. Modern assembly lines had no critically important craft secrets; after workers entered the factory, every process was completely separated and scrambled.

But ancient times were different. Craft skill was a artisan household's very livelihood. To ask people to share the skill that had fed their family for generations—wasn't that asking for their lives?