Chapter 1399: Come One, Come All — Be This King's Brothers-in-Law!

Du Mumian answered proudly, "I'm the Great King's sister-in-law, and now I'm a woman soldier in the Great King's Guard Regiment!"

At this, the surrounding crowd of the Nouveau Riche Kingdom all looked a bit bewildered.

The Great King's sister-in-law? And a woman guard-soldier too — what kind of relationship was that? Why did it sound so confusing? Was she really just a sister-in-law?

Du Mumian smiled as she looked at the skeptical men of the New Continent, then pointed at the women soldiers standing guard behind her and said, "Our Guard Regiment and the Great Inner Regiment's women soldiers have all sworn sisterhood — we're all sworn sisters. Her Highness the Princess Consort is our leader, and she too has sworn sisterhood with us.

So we're all the Great King's sisters-in-law. Whoever marries one of us becomes His Highness the Great King's brother-in-law!"

"Marry" — when that thick-skinned fellow heard that word, he was practically drooling.

As for becoming the Great King's brother-in-law, he didn't much care. The United States of New Continent had been open for business for over ten years without any Great King — first the America Prefecture governed, then the Parliamentary Government came to manage affairs.

And whether it was the America Prefecture or the later Parliamentary Government, both had done a fine job, and the fortunes of the United States of New Continent had flourished under their governance.

For over ten years, having no Great King had been just fine, so everyone had grown used to "having no sovereign in their eyes." If there was any king in people's hearts, it wasn't the Nouveau Riche King of the United States, but rather the "Stock King" of the neighboring Kingdom of Jiaqing — Zhu Cihuan.

Because here in the United States of New Continent there were quite a few unlucky souls who had "speculated their way over." They all knew the inspirational story of how Zhu Cihuan lost the Retired Emperor Chongzhen's retirement money and had no choice but to flee to the New Continent to start a business and carve out a domain.

As fellow "stock refugees" adrift at the ends of the earth, they all took Zhu Cihuan as their model. Some had even given Zhu Cihuan the nickname "Stock King" because of that dark history, and they felt quite warmly toward him.

Although the Stock King Zhu Cihuan had that unfilial dark history, he had been on the New Continent for many years and often traveled to Huafu City, where he had become well acquainted with the upper echelons of the United States of New Continent. Quite a few people felt that he would actually make a decent Great King — perhaps even better than that United States King who stayed far away in the Ming homeland and never showed his face.

Precisely because the United States King's prestige was low, the so-called "brother-in-law" of the United States King wasn't considered worth much in everyone's eyes.

But still — such beautiful women! Everyone was still very covetous. If one could marry one and take her home, he'd gladly trade a few years of his life for it!

"Miss," the thick-skinned gold prospector said shamelessly, pressing on, "then how does one go about marrying you? How much bride price is needed?"

Du Mumian glanced at him — dark and coarse, beard and hair all a mess. If not for the several-catty gold chain around his neck and the two flintlock pistols stuck in his belt, he'd look exactly like a mountain peasant from Stone Pillar. And yet this peasant who'd merely dug up some gold actually wanted to marry her? Truly a toad lusting after a swan's flesh.

"I don't want any bride price," Du Mumian said loudly, following Zhu Hehao's instructions even though she dearly wanted to give that man a beating. "Whoever wants to marry us sisters-in-law of the Great King must first register, then take an examination. Only if you pass can you marry one of us!"

Even taking a wife required an examination now. Over in the Ming, becoming a Crown Princess required an examination, becoming an official required an examination, entering a good school required an examination. And in the United States of New Continent, marrying a girl from the "Women's Guard Regiment" or the "Great Inner Regiment" also required an examination!

It seemed that in this world changed by Zhu Cilang, examinations were the foremost matter of importance!

"Your Highness the Great King, this is the budget for the twenty-second year of Hongxing just passed by the Parliamentary Government. It includes an annual stipend of five hundred thousand taels of silver prepared for Your Highness, to spend however you please."

"Your Highness the Great King, this is the imperial edict by which the Ming Emperor graciously approved the implementation of the United States parliamentary election procedures in the twentieth year of Hongxing. Please review it!"

Inside the White King's residence, Chief Councilor Wei Zhongcheng and Chief Grand Secretary Zheng Xi were in the meeting hall, reporting to Zhu Hehao on the budget and the United States parliamentary election procedures.

And these two matters, taken together, were actually meant to tell Zhu Hehao the King that the Parliamentary Government was the true boss here in the United States!

Zhu Hehao didn't seem to care whether great power was in his hands or not. He didn't take the documents Wei Zhongcheng and Zheng Xi handed over, but merely said with a smile, "This solitary king already knows — five hundred thousand taels a year, very good! Besides this silver, does this solitary king have any royal estates or royal shops?"

"You do!" Zheng Xi said with a smile. "Your Highness holds shares in the Pacific Bank, and in the four provinces of Mei, Hua, Bo, and Jia you hold three million mu of land that can be cultivated or used for grazing."

"Not bad, not bad." Zhu Hehao nodded with a smile, looking very satisfied. "It seems this solitary king can be a pleasure-enjoying prince in the United States of New Continent. Very well then, you two may go about your business. This king trusts you!"

Wei Zhongcheng and Zheng Xi breathed a sigh of relief inwardly. It seemed this "Nouveau Riche King" did not share his father's temperament — he was not the sort of monarch who insisted on holding great power in his own hands.

One only had to look at how many women he'd brought along to know — this Great King was most likely one who loved beauties more than his domain.

But even if the Nouveau Riche King loved his domain to death, it wouldn't matter. The Parliamentary Government's hold on power in the United States was a rule set by the Hongxing Emperor, and that rule was the very foundation upon which the United States had been established!

The United States of New Continent had never been the domain of one family or one surname — it was a realm that countless shareholders had invested money to build.

Moreover, Zhu Cilang, that "major shareholder," had never directly governed the United States. All along, the United States had practiced self-governance in the King's absence.

What Zhu Hehao now possessed upon arriving in the United States was merely 30% of the parliamentary voting power in the United States Parliamentary Government. According to the Parliamentary Election Law enacted in the twentieth year of Hongxing, this 30% nomination right did not equate to directly nominating 30 councilors, but rather meant that in parliamentary elections, he held 30 votes for every single council seat.

In other words, although the voting power Zhu Hehao held was crucial, he could not unilaterally appoint any single councilor.

If Zheng Xi and Wei Zhongcheng could unite 51% of the voting power, then they could sideline Zhu Hehao!

Furthermore, because the Parliamentary Election Law had been imperially approved in the twentieth year of Hongxing, and a parliamentary election had been held that same year, less than two years had now passed — the councilors' five-year terms were not yet half over. And these councilors were almost all old hands who had pioneered the America Prefecture together with Zheng Xi and Wei Zhongcheng!

Watching Zheng Xi and Wei Zhongcheng depart, the Nouveau Riche King merely sighed softly.

"Great King," a woman's voice sounded from behind Zhu Hehao, "Zheng Xi and Wei Zhongcheng don't seem like loyal subjects at all!"

"Heh, they're all right." Zhu Hehao laughed. "Ahai, what do you think this solitary king should do?"

It turned out this woman was Zhu Hehao's concubine, Ahai.

Since Wu Ahuan was still studying in Yingtian Prefecture, the ones who had accompanied Zhu Hehao to the United States of New Continent were his two concubines, Ahai and Xu Jingzi.

Hearing Zhu Hehao's question, Ahai showed not the slightest awareness that she "shouldn't meddle in politics." Instead, she pondered and said, "Great King, you should use thunderous means to seize these two treacherous ministers who have no respect for their sovereign in one stroke!"

Ahai gritted her silver teeth and said, "You have two thousand guardsmen in hand. If deployed properly, these two traitors wouldn't be worth mentioning."

"Hahaha," Zhu Hehao laughed heartily. "Ahai, why do you immediately think of a shootout? Do you think that with two thousand guardsmen, this solitary king can take on the entire United States, top to bottom?"

"Great King," Ahai said, startled, "could it be that there are no loyal subjects anywhere in the United States?"

"How could there be no loyal subjects?" Zhu Hehao smiled. "Aren't those two exactly that?"

"Which two?"

"Zheng Xi and Wei Zhongcheng!"

"How are they loyal subjects?" Ahai was taken aback. "Those two clearly want to hold the Son of Heaven hostage and command the feudal lords!"

Zhu Hehao waved his hand and said, "A united states is not a monarch's state to begin with... The foundations are different, so of course the rules are different too!"

"Great King..."

Zhu Hehao raised a hand, cutting Ahai off. "Ahai, with Ahuan away, you must take up responsibility. The most urgent matter now is to find suitable husbands for the girls. You'll need to put in extra effort."