Chapter 196: You Must Not Take His Majesty to a Brothel!

"Do not try to smear the innocent without cause. It is only because the great philanthropists cannot bear to see the poor and the laborers suffer that they are willing to lend money. Do you think that is something anyone can borrow whenever they want? Gu Xiancheng, your family is wealthy; you do not know the hardships of the common people. When the commoners, who are struggling to make ends meet, finally borrow grain or money, they are filled with gratitude. Do not come here and spout blood!" Gu Xiancheng immediately found a foothold for his rebuttal.

Looking at this problem from the perspective of the commoners, anyone who has to mortgage all their farmland is at the end of their rope. If you want to borrow money from a great philanthropist, you have to find someone to plead on your behalf; otherwise, how could you borrow it just because you want to? If you don't kowtow twice after borrowing, express your deep gratitude, and say a few auspicious words, you are being ungrateful!

"Hahaha!" Jiao Hong laughed loudly for several moments, then sneered, "I am smearing your innocence? If it were truly pure and clean, would it be a frame-up?"

"What you say is a reversal of cause and effect. It is because the commoners have no money and no grain, and have been exploited to the extreme, that they are forced to kowtow everywhere to borrow. Your ability to reverse cause and effect is truly formidable. With straw taxes, grain rents, and private demands from the local government, the people are forced into a life of misery—that is why it is like this!"

"Are you perhaps also going to say that because the imperial court imposes harsh taxes and levies at will, and creates all sorts of pretexts, the villagers have to seek refuge under the great families to beg for protection?"

Zhu Yijun revealed a hint of a smile. At this moment, Jiao Hong's edge was fully exposed, but soon, his first sharp corner would be knocked off. He wanted to take the imperial examinations, but he had offended the top scholar of the previous session. If this fellow were to lobby a little in the Hanlin Academy, it would be difficult for Jiao Hong to even attend the Metropolitan Examination.

"Why are you silent again? I said what you wanted to say, so you have no way to speak?" Jiao Hong shook his head with amusement. He was already prepared; once Gu Xiancheng spoke like that, Jiao Hong's counterattack would immediately follow like a shadow. The Great Ming's current vigorous land measurement was powerful evidence.

"Censor Geng, is this your student? What a glib tongue and sharp teeth." Sun Jiegao's face had been rebuffed, and although his expression remained mild, his tone grew increasingly cold.

Jiao Hong was ungrateful.

Geng Dingxiang knew that pleading today was already a failure. Hearing Sun Jiegao's words, he felt displeased in his heart. Geng Dingxiang was, after all, a person of status. In the court, he was in charge of rectifying academic administration, and he himself had some ability. He said with a sarcastic tone, "He is indeed my student. Having a little talent, he is so arrogant. Look at what he has said to people—they have nothing left to say."

By calling his own disciple arrogant, he was actually scolding Gu Xiancheng for being incompetent—unable to win an argument, so he had to ask others for help.

"Jiao Hong, what is your background? What is your ancestral home?" Sun Jiegao did not want to directly fall out with Geng Dingxiang either; he intended to take action himself to teach this mad scholar a lesson. Once in the capital, even a dragon had to coil itself for him!

"My father is a Commandant of the Cavalry in Jiangning." Jiao Hong chose to answer directly; what was there to be ashamed of in being from a military household?

"A hereditary military official, fourth rank. You are from Jiangning; who else is in your family?" Sun Jiegao asked with a smile.

Jiao Hong continued, "My ancestors fought alongside the founding Emperor Zhu Yuanzhang and settled in Nanjing. During the Zhengde and Jiajing eras, famine and plague followed one another, and the family withered away. Only my father remains."

"Oh, so you are both from a military household and a humble family." Sun Jiegao put on an expression of sudden realization.

Jiao Hong was exposed, but he did not care in the slightest, saying, "So what? That only further proves that what Gu Xiancheng said is wrong. He said I do not know the hardships of the common people. Yes, my family has a pedigree, but that remaining threshold is already broken and tattered. I know the suffering of the people because I am also one of the people."

The Great Ming court faced deficits every year. For hereditary military officials, one had to borrow travel money to go to the capital to inherit their titles. Li Chengliang had no travel money and was delayed until he was forty. Moreover, these military officials did not have much of a salary. Jiao Hong's family had long since fallen into decline.

"A broken-down household coming to the city to beg for food." Sun Jiegao wanted to scold Jiao Hong until he broke, but after he said this, Jiao Hong remained unmoved.

Jiao Hong tilted his head slightly, looking at Sun Jiegao, his eyes growing even more disdainful. He sneered and said, "What kind of famous Confucian scholar is this? The court is full of such rats who only look at pedigree. This official position, it is fine not to hold it; this Metropolitan Examination, it is fine not to take it."

"Mencius said: Shun was raised from the fields; Fu Yue was raised from the building of walls; Jiao Ge was raised from the fish and salt; Guan Yiwu was raised from the ranks of the officers; Sun Shu'ao was raised from the sea; Bai Li Xi was raised from the market."

"Looking at the past today, and looking at the present with the past, the Sage Mencius did not look at background. Today's base scholars treat people lightly and bones cheaply."

"I am ashamed to be associated with you!"

Jiao Hong went all out, citing classics to bombard Sun Jiegao directly. He had heard that this Sun Jiegao could not even win a debate against the twelve-year-old Emperor. Seeing him today, it was indeed so; he was nothing but a weak and cowardly man who was neither grand nor resolute.

Sun Jiegao lost a round, knowing that his entry point this time was not good. He said, "Young man, do not be too arrogant. The path you hold is, after all, a minor path. The so-called exploitation is spoken of by people who remove people and things; it is the words of one person. How can there be talk of exploitation in the world?"

"Eagles on the grassland hunt foxes, foxes hunt rabbits and rats, and rabbits and rats gnaw on grass roots and stems. It is nothing more than this; there is fundamentally no such thing as exploitation."

"People castrate pigs so that they grow faster and are easier to slaughter for meat. Is this also humans exploiting pigs, rabbits, sheep, and chickens? Clearly not. The myriad things in the world are endless; how can there be talk of exploitation?"

"The world is just like this. Why is the Grand Secretary able to act so recklessly? Is it not because His Majesty cannot personally govern, and others can only lie dormant? The Grand Secretary is just that majestic eagle flying in the sky over the grassland, taking and seizing as he pleases."

Sun Jiegao's words made even Geng Dingxiang feel a sense of sympathy. Zhang Juzheng said he wanted to arrest He Xinyin and Zeng Guang, and he arrested them as soon as he said so. He Xinyin was caught in Huguang, and Zeng Guang was pinned down as soon as he stepped off the pleasure boat.

As the head of the Chongzheng Academy, Geng Dingxiang was indeed terrified by Zhang Juzheng's recklessness.

Geng Dingxiang's stance was never firm, just like most people.

Jiao Hong's brows were tightly furrowed. Sun Jiegao's words extended the relationship between people to the myriad things, and it seemed it should be so.

For a moment, Jiao Hong was actually unable to refute.

"Not so, not so." A slightly high-pitched voice came, and a noble young master dressed in blue fine-spun wool appeared in front of the private room door.

"Who are you? Why are you trespassing on a private banquet?" Sun Jiegao asked with furrowed brows. He only felt that the noble young master in front of him, wearing green and purple, looked familiar, but he had forgotten where he had seen him.

Sun Jiegao could no longer recognize the young Emperor. He had seen the Emperor two years ago, and at that time, he was kneeling on the ground to pay his respects and did not dare to look closely. Now, the young Emperor had grown much taller.

Sun Jiegao still did not have the qualifications to go to the throne room; he always stood outside, not daring to move.

Sun Jiegao did not dare to underestimate the person in front of him. Fine-spun wool was mostly used directly by the palace; if one wanted to buy it, one had to find connections. This attire, plus the pile of trinkets hanging from his waist, and the two people following him, showed at a glance that he was not from an ordinary family.

A man with a clean face and no beard was clearly a eunuch, his eyes revealing a sinister look, while the other looked fierce and menacing. Although he was young, he did not look like a good person at all.

The imperial court prohibited the private use of eunuchs, but there were many wealthy families who used them privately.

These two were none other than Zhang Hong and Luo Sigong.

Zhu Yijun said with a smile, "I am from the Huang family of Penglai. I am also from a military household. Hearing you arguing so fiercely today, I was intrigued and came over to join in the fun."

"Is this the Huang family of Penglai that has marriage ties with the family of Marquis Qi Jiguang of Qian'an?" After Sun Jiegao went through the nobles in his mind, a smile appeared on his face.

Qi Jiguang was from Shandong, and he had a younger brother named Qi Jimei. After Qi Jiguang became successful, Qi Jimei married the eldest daughter of the Huang family. As soon as Sun Jiegao heard "Huang family of Penglai," this family immediately came to mind.

Zhu Yijun did not say much, but after sitting down, he opened his mouth and said, "I think what you said is wrong. Humans are the most intelligent of all things. Humans and eagles, foxes, snakes, rats, and grass are different. Humans are humans. I am a human. Standing from the perspective of a human, humans should not be mentioned in the same breath as eagles, foxes, snakes, rats, and grass."

"Do you want to be mentioned in the same breath as eagles, foxes, snakes, rats, and grass?"

Zhu Yijun's question did not respect the old or love the young at all; he was asking if Sun Jiegao was a human.

"It is just a metaphor, just a metaphor." Sun Jiegao actually did not want to offend such a powerful family. If this child went to complain to Marquis Qi, the Marquis might not do anything, but if Zhang Juzheng found out, Sun Jiegao would definitely suffer.

Sun Jiegao also did not want to deny the fact that he was a human.

"Look, you refuse to be mentioned in the same breath as snakes and rats, yet you borrow the affairs of snakes and rats to compare the exploitation between humans. This is wrong, isn't it?" Zhu Yijun said with a smile, "If it is a discussion between humans, exploitation is universally present. As of now, the Great Ming court is exploiting the wealthy, and the wealthy are exploiting the commoners."

"But just because this phenomenon is universal, does it mean it is reasonable? Just because it has always been this way, does it mean it is right?"

If the court does not exploit the wealthy, the wealthy must not exploit the commoners.

Sun Jiegao finally could not help but answer, "It has always been this way, so naturally it is right! Otherwise, why would everyone do it?"

Zhu Yijun immediately said, "Then why does the imperial court not execute the ancestral laws of the Hongwu era? For corruption of fifty taels, skin the person and stuff the skin with straw, then stand it in the Earth Temple for people to see clearly. Just because it has always been this way, does it mean it is right?"

Sun Jiegao immediately panicked. The Examination Law was already harsh enough, and now the court was killing corrupt officials. If such a cruel punishment were reopened, he, Sun Jiegao, would directly be a sinner. He immediately said, "Stop spouting nonsense! When did the founding Emperor ever skin people and stuff them with straw? There is no such written record, and even less so any actual cases. The National History and Veritable Records have no such entries."

Zhu Yijun said with a smile, "Then there is the written law from the 30th year of Hongwu, which states that for corruption of eighty guan, one shall be hanged. At that time, scholars had integrity, and the people had no worries about being plundered."

Zhu Yijun had read every volume of the Great Ming Collected Statutes that had been compiled, and he had taken notes! He was speaking from the reality of practice; the decree of the 30th year of Hongwu stated that corruption of eighty guan was punishable by hanging.

By this standard, Liu Liangbi and Pei Zhongzhang would have been hanged tens of thousands of times over. But the current social reality was that corruption would not lead to hanging, but rather the recovery of the corrupt funds and exile to the border for military service.

"This, this, this, this cannot be said nonsense!" Sun Jiegao had accepted eight hundred taels of silver from Gu Xiancheng. If it were according to the old Hongwu precedents, he would have to be hanged ten times over.

"So, just because it has always been this way does not mean it is right, right? It should also be like this. Universal existence does not equal reasonableness; it only means it cannot be solved at the moment." Zhu Yijun won another round.

This Sun Jiegao was not very capable, or perhaps it was that Zhu Yijun was too glib.

Zhu Yijun took out a silver coin, threw it on the table, flipped it over, and said with a smile, "Actually, only discussing labor intensity and time to determine use value is one-sided. In exchange value, supply and demand occupy a huge proportion. Discussing price while setting aside value is just like discussing value while setting aside price—it lacks the reality of practice."

"Value and price are the surface and the interior of each other. This fits the characteristics of the theory of contradiction—opposing yet unified, just like this imperial silver coin, one body with two sides."

"Do you have anything else to say?" Zhu Yijun looked at Sun Jiegao. Since he had entered as the opposing debater and won a round, he naturally had to continue the competition.

Sun Jiegao said that exploitation was a matter of course, so reducing the universal existence of exploitation was the duty of the imperial court. The specific definition of exploitation is based on the means of production, depriving labor of its value gratuitously or at an extremely unreasonable price.

"Discussing supply and demand is very important, just as important as discussing income and expenditure in accounts. This has many uses for studying price fluctuations. In any case, supply and demand must be discussed." Sun Jiegao had no more points, but he believed that supply and demand were very necessary to discuss.

If the Ancient Tomb Sect were to be stratified, Sun Jiegao lived near the surface, belonging to the confused.

Zhu Yijun did not refute further. He had already said that supply and demand were problems that must be discussed; relying entirely on labor intensity and time did not conform to practice.

Supply and demand must, of course, be discussed.

Jiao Hong saw Sun Jiegao starting to talk nonsense and was amused. He took out a visiting card and said, "You are truly an interesting child. I have an invitation; if you go to the Southern Yamen, you can look for me to hang out."

Zhu Yijun put away the invitation and said with a beaming smile, "Can I go to a brothel? My teacher is strict and won't let me go to brothels."

"You are not allowed at your age; you can only go after you are sixteen." Jiao Hong's smile grew even wider.

Zhu Yijun got up and left. The discussion about supply and demand continued. Zhu Yijun returned to his private room and saw Zhang Juzheng tossing a silver coin.

After he left, Jiao Hong also got up to take his leave. Half a sentence is too much when words are not speculative. Since they were not of the same path, there was no need to continue sitting at the same table.

Zhu Yijun heard the movement and signaled Zhang Hong to invite Jiao Hong and Geng Dingxiang to the private room.

Geng Dingxiang saw Zhang Juzheng and was directly stunned!

Geng Dingxiang did not recognize the young Emperor, but he recognized Zhang Juzheng. The person sitting in the main seat was naturally the Emperor of Great Ming.

In Great Ming, the only people who dared to sit in the main seat while eating with Zhang Juzheng were the Emperor and Zhang Juzheng's parents.

"Paying respects to Your Majesty, Long live Your Majesty..." Geng Dingxiang kowtowed directly. He had already guessed it; not paying respects would be intentional transgression. Jiao Hong was directly stupid, stunned for a long time before he was about to kneel. The two were supported by the Embroidered Uniform Guards, who signaled them to speak softly.

Zhu Yijun signaled them not to be overly polite and to take their seats.

Jiao Hong looked at His Majesty in a daze. Being glib at such a young age matched Jiao Hong's stereotype of the Great Ming Emperor.

Previously, the young Emperor had scolded Sun Jiegao until he could not lift his head. This matter was widely known, especially with the constant rendering by the military supervisor Zhang Jin and the Songjiang military commander Zhang Cheng.

Civil officials and eunuchs had been enemies for a thousand years. Now that they had finally found an opportunity, how could they not render and humiliate them to the fullest?!

"You must not take His Majesty to a brothel!" As soon as Jiao Hong sat down, Zhang Juzheng gave a direct verbal warning, his voice not loud, but his tone was stern.

Emperor Huizong of Song and his officials whoring with Li Shishi had become a laughingstock for all ages. Great Ming had also had a scandal before, and such a scandal must not happen again. Even if His Majesty really took a fancy to a brothel woman, she would have to be washed clean, her background washed clean, before she could come ashore.

Jiao Hong was so scared that he kept saying yes. Zhang Juzheng's educational requirements for the young Emperor were strict, as everyone in the world knew. He actually wanted to take the Emperor to a brothel; that was no longer just generally bold.

"I will give you a waist tag for the Quan Chu Quanchu Quanchu Huiguan. If anyone makes things difficult for you during the Metropolitan Examination, go to the Quan Chu Quanchu Quanchu Huiguan and find You Qi; he will inform me." Zhang Juzheng took out a waist tag for the Quan Chu Quanchu Quanchu Huiguan and handed it to Jiao Hong, signaling him to hold it well.

Marquis Qi Jiguang looked at the waist tag, full of smiles. He knew the power of that waist tag; it was more useful than the Dengwen Drum.

When Wang Chonggu wanted to bully Qi Jiguang, Zhang Juzheng directly gave Wang Chonggu a combination of punches in the court, beating Wang Chonggu until he was dizzy.

"I have no money." Jiao Hong looked at the waist tag and held his breath for a long time before saying.

Holding this waist tag cost two thousand taels of silver a year. Jiao Hong's father was a hereditary military official, and his salary was not thick. It was thanks to his father starting to do business in his early years that the family still had a little money to support him in seeking studies everywhere, but this was already the limit.

Whether there is good fortune depends entirely on Jiao Hong himself.

Jiao Hong could not even afford the eight hundred taels of tuition for Sun Jiegao.

Sometimes, the opportunity is right in front of you; it is not that you don't want to grab it, but that you can't grab it.

Jiao Hong was actually not very interested in entering the officialdom. The main thing was that this officialdom was foul and had no meaning at all. A person like him could not settle down in the officialdom, and he did not want to attach himself to the powerful. He did not agree with some of Zhang Juzheng's practices.

Especially the destruction of sixty-four academies. Among these sixty-four, there were quite a few who were fellow disciples of the Wang School of Heart Learning.

In his view, Zhang Juzheng was a disciple of Heart Learning. After taking charge of the country, he first exterminated Xu Jie, then arrested He Xinyin, a person of Heart Learning, and destroyed sixty-four academies. He was simply a traitor to the Wang School of Heart Learning.

Of course, Jiao Hong also knew that Zhang Juzheng was very powerful, and the theory of contradiction was truly powerful.

Jiao Hong's understanding of Zhang Juzheng was very twisted.

"There is no need to pay ice and charcoal tributes now." Zhang Juzheng said with a smile, "The Inspector-General Hai is killing the atmosphere of corruption in the court. If this were caught by the Inspector-General Hai, wouldn't my Happy Forest of Steles be a foot high?"

"Take it."

Maintaining the Quan Jin, Quan Chu, and Quan Zhe Quanchu Quanchu Huiguan required a lot of silver. If these ice and charcoal tributes were not collected, how could they be maintained?

Asking the Emperor for a budget was a method proposed by Ge Shouli, who shouldered the power of the master's prestige. Moreover, it did not go through the national treasury, but through the inner treasury.

And there was an Examination Law. For example, this year, the Jin Party's clan party was liquidated, and the Jin Party's funds were directly cut. Wang Chonggu came to the door and said that it was all because of his nephew, and he was prepared to sponsor it to get through the difficulties.

But Ge Shouli refused. Taking the money of the powerful was just being an official for the powerful.

Ge Shouli, the master of party building, was still discussing with Zhang Juzheng what the regulations for the examination of each party were.

The sign of the Quan Chu Quanchu Quanchu Huiguan was actually very worth two thousand taels, especially for those who could do things. For those who did nothing, this sign was not even worth thinking about.

Jiao Hong saw that he did not accept money, but still refused to accept it. After careful consideration, he asked, "Teacher, why kill He Xinyin? Not thinking of fellow disciple feelings is one thing, but why harm him? Is it all because in the 35th year of Jiajing, He Xinyin debated with you in the capital and offended you?"

"He, together with Zeng Guang, gathered glib-tongued people to go to Yunnan, Guizhou, and Qian, inciting the Tusi to rebel. I must kill him." Zhang Juzheng put down the waist tag and pondered for a moment, then understood the reason. He looked at Jiao Hong and asked, "Don't you know?"

Jiao Hong heard this, his brows furrowed, and he said, "I don't know. I saw the copied reports, and there was nothing about what He Xinyin had committed."

"Indeed." Zhang Juzheng shook his head.

"Taking things out of context." Zhu Yijun said sincerely.

This trick is tried and true; the imperial court's gazettes are copied by the copying offices whenever they reach the local level.

When these documents were copied, they were inevitably taken out of context. It might be to attract attention, picking out a single sentence, or it might be instructed by someone to copy it wrongly on purpose.

Jiao Hong's face became very ugly, clenching his fists. He prided himself on being different from the base scholars, but now it seemed there was no difference!

He had still been deceived by others. Such a simple trick, and he had still fallen for it!

Zhang Juzheng's face was slightly puzzled, and finally he smiled with relief. This smile contained how much helplessness.

As the Grand Secretary of the Empire, he knew this trick very well. This was a universally existing phenomenon. Behind this problem involved a more terrifying problem, which was that the credibility of the imperial court was bankrupt. The credibility of the imperial court had been systematically destroyed, and most people no longer trusted the imperial court.

This systematic destruction was in every aspect.

Even a Confucian scholar like Jiao Hong, who was already a very smart and pragmatic Confucian scholar, when he heard that the imperial court was killing people, did not feel that He Xinyin deserved to die, but felt that Zhang Juzheng was killing people because of old grudges, making the imperial court look like his one-man show, doing whatever he wanted.

Understanding Tan Lun, recognizing Tan Lun, becoming Tan Lun. Tan Lun was not shouting and killing from the beginning; was this not forced?

Zhang Juzheng could better understand why Tan Lun was so radical every time.

"Just pull this group of base scholars together and chop them all. There might be some who are wronged, but chopping one every other one, there are still too many who slipped through the net!" Zhu Yijun exhaled a breath of depression. What kind of business was this?

Jiao Hong put away the waist tag of the Quan Chu Quanchu Quanchu Huiguan; he might really be able to use it.

This Sun Jiegao did not dare to do anything to the Huang family, but he had plenty of ways to deal with him, a humble family that only had one threshold left.

This meal was eaten very quietly. Eating without speaking, sleeping without talking. However, the next-door private room kept coming with all kinds of lively sounds. Not long after, silk and bamboo music sounded, along with the laughter of orioles and swallows.

When Zhu Yijun was leaving with his people, he suddenly heard a voice full of charm.

"The little young master is truly handsome. Are you here to break your fast? Come to sister here, sister will help you open your eyes and see the methods of our fireworks world. I guarantee the young master will linger and forget to return." A woman with a very enchanting figure, seeing that Zhu Yijun was handsome and dashing, felt her heart move for a moment and spoke jokingly.

Zhao Mengyou directly pulled his knife out by a third. Zhu Yijun pressed Zhao Mengyou's hand, signaling him not to make a fuss.

"What are you being fierce for! I, Liu Qiniang, am also the top courtesan of this Yanxing Tower. Breaking the fast for your young master doesn't cost your young master any silver." This Liu Qiniang, glared at by Zhao Mengyou, was so scared that her body went soft.

Zhao Mengyou was the military commander in Yunyang in the 5th year of Longqing, and was a good friend of the bloodthirsty Ling Yunyi, the Yunyang Governor. Yunyang had many civil riots, and Zhao Mengyou was also a fierce man who had killed thieves and powerful families.

"The family is strict. Thank you for the fairy's kindness." Zhu Yijun answered with a smile and left Yanxing Tower. Fairy, goddess, were all terms for brothel women.

If Zhu Yijun had not answered this, Feng Bao would have had to sink this Liu Qiniang into a well when he turned back.

"Seventh girl, you are here. I have finally found you. That Master Sun has come many times, naming you to serve him. You should go quickly. Just treat it as helping the old madam, okay? Ancestor!" A heavily made-up old madam saw Liu Qiniang and immediately rushed over.

"Then go." Liu Qiniang was also helpless. She had pushed it away many times. If she pushed it away again, Sun Jiegao might disregard propriety and culture and directly explode.

Liu Qiniang and the old madam walked a few steps, and were stopped by a servant, walking around and into a side room.

The old madam saw the person in front of her, and her soul almost flew out. The old madam had never seen this person, but it was said that he was the greatest noble of Yanxing Tower. He had no beard on his face, and this noble had only one hobby, which was sinking wells.

"Liu Qiniang, you stay. Old madam, you go out and find someone to deal with Sun Jiegao." Xu Jue's tone was still mild.

Xu Jue looked at Liu Qiniang. This top courtesan was not bad, but that was limited to not bad. He said calmly, "From today on, you don't have to be in Yanxing Tower. Go to the Yongsheng Woolen Mill and be a weaver. Although life is not as extravagant as here, it is steady."

"But the matter of redeeming myself..." Liu Qiniang's expression could be described as extremely wonderful. She didn't know what had happened at all, just asked in a daze.

"Just take this waist tag and go." Xu Jue took a waist tag of the Yongsheng Woolen Mill from the drawer and handed it to Liu Qiniang.

Liu Qiniang went to the Yongsheng Woolen Mill with countless doubts.

Xu Jue did this under Feng Bao's instruction. Feng Bao's fundamental purpose in doing this was to maintain the face of the royal family. In case His Majesty grew up in the future and held all power, and suddenly remembered such a person, it would not lead to anything that would damage the face of the royal family.

Speaking of which, it was also a scandal of the Zhu family.

In the 13th year of Zhengtong, Emperor Yingzong of Ming, Zhu Qizhen, issued an edict to select palace maids to enter the palace, and those who were not selected would leave the palace.

The daughter of Shi Xuan, a battalion commander of the Miyun Guard, was selected as a palace concubine, but there were too many selected. The officials were arguing fiercely, and Emperor Yingzong's mother, Empress Dowager Sun, had to issue an imperial decree saying: Do not exceed the regulations of the nine concubines. This Shi Xuan's daughter took a sum of money and left the palace.

Qi Shao, the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Justice, saw this woman and liked her very much. He asked the Vice Minister of the Ministry of War, Xu Qi, and the Imperial Son-in-law, Zhao Hui, to act as matchmakers to marry Shi Xuan's daughter.

This Vice Minister Qi Shao and Shi Xuan's daughter had a grand wedding. Unexpectedly, hey, this Emperor Yingzong issued another edict, summoning Shi Xuan's daughter to enter the palace to serve.

Didn't this cause chaos? The Emperor of Great Ming was snatching a woman from an official.

This Shi Xuan's daughter was already married, so naturally, she could not enter the palace to serve.

Xu Qi and Zhao Hui, who acted as matchmakers, hurriedly bribed the treacherous eunuch Wang Zhen. Wang Zhen immediately convicted Qi Shao, who was imprisoned in June and executed in early July, handling it as an emergency.

After her husband died, this widowed daughter of Shi Xuan entered the Bai Yi Nunnery and became a nun.

The Emperor snatching a woman from a subject was not a glorious thing, but according to the ancestral laws, women who had spoken to His Majesty had to be settled properly. If His Majesty did not mention it, the woman could only remarry after three or five years. This was the rule in the palace, to avoid making a joke.

Weaver Liu Qiniang's new life began.

Liu Qiniang made an embroidered bag. Although she didn't know who that little young master was, she knew it was all because of that little young master. She was full of expectations for her new life.

A new life is to live as a human being.

Life in Yanxing Tower was extremely extravagant. Some people might like that kind of extravagant life, but Liu Qiniang knew that those extravagances were poisons that killed people. She had seen many, many tragedies with her own eyes: some had made a lifelong commitment with scholars, only to look forward to them in vain; some were thrown into the woodshed to fend for themselves when they were sick; some were beaten black and blue by guests but still had to force a smile; some were beaten to death by guests and were casually carried and thrown into the mass grave without anyone asking;

Now, Liu Qiniang is a weaver.

Asking for monthly tickets, Aowu!!!!!

End of chapter ===== CHAPTER 197 =====