After their minds were read, the entire court trembled with fear.

Chapter 205 Independent Women's Households

"Daye didn't exist at first either."

[If it wasn't there at the beginning, then it means it is now!]

Shen Zhiyi felt that there was still a way out for the completely unfamiliar lady.

She secretly glanced at the old emperor and, seeing him engrossed in reviewing memorials, offered a compliment.

[The old emperor is truly diligent in his duties; I'll praise him in the daily records. I hope he maintains this, and doesn't notice that Zhang Sheren and I are slacking off.]

The old emperor, pretending to know nothing, smiled helplessly.

"Zhang Sheren, speak."

Zhang Sheren knew that even if the old emperor heard it, he would pretend not to, but he still had to put on an act.

"Women of the previous dynasty could not establish their own households."

Shen Zhiyi interjected, "If everyone in the family is dead, and only one girl is left, can she not establish a household on her own?"

Zhang Sheren shook his head and said, "If only one woman is left in the family, it means that the family line has ended and all their belongings will be confiscated."

With no male heirs, there's no way the concept of independent female households exists anymore.

[Ugh, I finally understand why the preference for sons over daughters has been so strong for thousands of years, why only having a son is considered carrying on the family line, while having only one daughter means the family line will end.]

Shen Zhiyi couldn't help but sneer inwardly.

Zhang Sheren coughed awkwardly.

"However! Our Emperor, no, our Empress once proposed giving women the opportunity to establish their own households. Although the late Emperor did not adopt this proposal, our Emperor has."

Even though the old emperor was a dog, he still had some humanity.

The eavesdropping old emperor thought: This sounds so strange. It's clearly a compliment, but it sounds like an insult.

Zhang Sheren pretended not to hear those words and continued talking to Shen Zhiyi.

"His Majesty adopted the Empress's suggestion and allowed families with only one woman left in three generations to establish their own female households."

[Oh dear, this is tricky. The lady's biological mother is alive, her stepfather is alive, and she hasn't divorced her husband's family yet. She doesn't meet any of the requirements for establishing herself as a woman in her own household.]

The old emperor and Zhang Sheren finally understood.

Shen Zhiyi was thinking about the deputy general's wife.

[She already had depression, but because she used to be a lieutenant of a certain rank, it was temporarily cured. Now that she's no longer a lieutenant of a certain rank, it's become another nightmare. I imagine her depression will gradually relapse.]

Shen Zhiyi was very troubled.

If she doesn't know about this, then she doesn't need to worry.

But now that she knows, she feels terrible if she doesn't care.

But she was just a lowly court attendant, whose job was to record the old emperor's words and deeds every day and to enjoy himself. She couldn't do much else.

[System, can't you just be straightforward...?]

The system jolted awake.

[Host, we must abide by the law!!!]

He's a good leader; he would never commit murder.

"What are you thinking? Do you think a model young man like me would do something like this? I mean, could we make that girl's parents mentally unstable, so that they're practically dead even though they're still alive?"

Those present: It would be better to just kill them.

[Host, you forgot you have a half-brother.]

Shen Zhiyi: I really don't know.

She started looking through the lady's brother.

After reading this.

Well, it's a long story.

Sometimes violent tendencies are hereditary; this son is just like his parents.

Tragic, truly tragic.

Shen Zhiyi's cry of despair lasted for countless days.

Everyone assumed that Shen Zhiyi was just nagging for a few days and then it would all be over.

As a result, this constant nagging lasted for more than ten days.

There was nothing else to enjoy during these ten-odd days of morning court sessions.

Shen Zhiyi's mind was completely occupied with the deputy general's wife, and she couldn't think of anything else.

[Sigh, when will the old emperor ever stop nagging?]

Sigh, it turns out that being a self-reliant woman-owned household is so difficult.

[Sigh, I understand that the Minister of Revenue is always thinking about money, but he could also take a look at the household registration system.]

The Minister of Revenue, who was suddenly called upon, wished he could shout his innocence to the old emperor on the spot.

At this moment, what Daye needs most is silver.

As for household registration, just follow the procedures step by step. As long as nothing goes wrong, there's no need for him to put in any effort.

[Hey, these past few days someone actually came to the Minister of Revenue's residence to ask about women's household affairs.]

The Minister of Revenue tilted his head: Is that so? It's highly likely that the gatekeeper stopped him.

Wait a minute, the person asking the Minister of Revenue about women's affairs looks familiar... Isn't that the personal maidservant of that deputy general's wife?

Shen Zhiyi straightened up, her drowsiness dissipating considerably.

As long as someone hasn't given up on you, you can't give up on yourself!!!

But it seems there's really no way to solve this.

Shen Zhiyi's high spirits immediately deflated, and the entire court of officials also deflated.

Shen Zhiyi hasn't been paying attention to anything else lately; they're so bored.

They wished they could go to the vice general's house one or two times and force the two of them to sign a divorce agreement to settle the matter.

Shen Zhiyi from the province keeps nagging about it.

This Minister of Revenue...

The Minister of Revenue felt a pang of anxiety.

The eyes of all the officials lit up.

Is Shen Zhiyi finally going to say something new?

[Haha, this Minister of Revenue likes to sleep naked.]

All the officials: Ha! We never expected you to be this kind of Minister of Revenue.

[This is actually quite normal, but in Daye, wearing inner clothes is practically the same as not wearing anything at all, let alone sleeping naked. It's considered unkempt, so the Minister of Revenue kept it a secret very well; even his wife didn't know about it.]

This old man wears clothes when he sleeps with other people, but he lets loose when he sleeps alone.

[As a result, last night, hahaha, I was dying of laughter. Last night, the Minister of Revenue slept in his study, of course, naked. Unexpectedly, the roof of the study collapsed last night.]

Shen Zhiyi couldn't help but gloat as she looked at the Minister of Revenue, who was covered in dust and tiles in the picture.

[Tsk tsk tsk, the Minister of Revenue dotes on his youngest son to an extreme degree, to the point that he's now climbing on the roof and tearing off the tiles. Our Minister of Revenue is the first unlucky one to suffer.]

The Minister of Revenue's face turned ashen.

He was furious just thinking about what his unfilial son had done last night.

The roof broke, and the Minister of Revenue, who was sleeping in his blankets, didn't realize what was happening at first. Thinking it was an earthquake, he ran out naked, shouting, "The earth's turned upside down!"

"Pfft."

A few suppressed laughs broke the silence of the morning court session.

This time, the Minister of Revenue's face wasn't just ashen; it turned completely black, blacker than the bottom of a pot.

Because he shouted a few times last night, Shen Zhiyi shouted back a few times, so vividly. Look how capable she is!

[System, please blur my image. If it's the newly appointed Minister of Personnel with his bare bottom, then you don't need to blur it.]

The Minister of Revenue took a deep breath and looked up.

Broken.