boyutpedia Chapter 297 All Noble Families Hate the Empress
Chapter 297 All Noble Families Hate the Empress
Shen Shixi was stunned by Li Yuanke's stroke of genius!
I couldn't help but glance at him!
[Is Li Yuanke out of his mind? Whose daughter is he trying to ruin? He's in his seventies or eighties, marrying her is just a waste of her time!]
She thought Liang Ji would be embarrassed and decline, but instead, he was in high spirits, saying, "This old minister has indeed taken a liking to a woman, but unfortunately, she is a widow. Although she is in the prime of her life, to say that she would be this old minister's principal wife would be far too much of an honor for her!"
Upon hearing this, Shen Shixi immediately became furious and laughed, "Then congratulations to Prime Minister Liang! An eighteen-year-old bride and an eighty-year-old groom, white hair against red makeup, a pair of lovers in the bridal quilt, a pear blossom tree pressing down on a crabapple! Thinking about it that way, it's quite a sight!"
Pfft! Almost everyone lowered their heads and shrugged, trying to suppress their laughter until their stomachs hurt.
Li Yuanke couldn't help it either. He couldn't lower his head, so he turned his head away and picked up his teacup to cover his lips, which he couldn't suppress no matter how hard he tried. Because he couldn't help but laugh out loud, he had to switch to coughing mode to cover it up.
Liang Ji was furious. What did the Empress mean by this? Was she objecting?
Do you think he's an old cow eating young grass?
Is he that old?
Who is he? It's her good fortune that he even takes a liking to that widow!
Before he could even speak, the Empress said, "Prime Minister Liang's spirit is truly admirable. He is vigorous despite his age, and his ambition remains undiminished. If he had this indomitable spirit in governing the country and bringing peace to the people, it would be a blessing for the court!"
Liang Ji retorted indignantly, "Your Majesty must have some misunderstanding about this old minister. I may lack other qualities, but I am certainly loyal to the Emperor. Your Majesty has been ruling as regent for nearly a year, and you should know me well. I have never committed any act of deceiving the Emperor!"
Shen Shixi said, "I'm blind, I didn't see it!"
Liang Ji was choking on his words; he had never seen anyone act so unpredictably.
Now that Shen Shixi is pregnant, she can only use her mouth and not her hands, so her tongue is exceptionally sharp. She glanced sideways at the old man.
"Among all the officials, Prime Minister Liang and Prime Minister Cui have the highest rank and the heaviest responsibilities. I have not seen you share the Emperor's burdens, nor have I seen you have the people's livelihood in your hearts. I have only seen you staring at the Emperor's harem all day long."
Should we change your positions, or give you a part-time job like annotating the Tongshi Ji?
Liang Ji and Cui Fangli felt deeply humiliated and knelt down to beg the emperor to intervene.
"If Your Majesty the Empress cannot tolerate this old minister, then we have no choice but to resign!" Liang Ji cried, tears streaming down his face, as if he were truly in love.
Shen Shixi said, "Then resign! I don't mind being the bad guy!"
"Why must Your Majesty be so ruthless?" Cui Fangli said. "What have we, your humble servants, done to offend Your Majesty? The Emperor's harem is not merely a family matter; it concerns the imperial heir and is also a matter of state!"
Shen Shixi said, "Stop talking so high and mighty! You two have been officials in the court for a long time. Back when your granddaughters hadn't entered the palace, the emperor had few children. Why didn't you care about the emperor's harem then?"
As the Empress, I am still alive. What right do you have to concern yourselves with this? Does the Emperor have few children? Is governing the country easy? Are you made of iron? Does every girl from your family who enters the palace have to be favored and loved?
"Back when Empress Pei was alive, she wasn't as domineering as you all. What, you're not listening to me? Are you going to rebel and drag me down from my position as Empress?"
Several military officers were already eyeing it covetously!
The civil officials on the emperor's side were also dissatisfied.
Minister of Revenue Gao Chengbi then said, "I have always heard that officials hope for harmony between the Emperor and Empress, as this is a blessing for the court! No matter how noble the granddaughters of the two prime ministers are, once they enter the palace, they will only be concubines. Instead of thinking about how to respect the Empress and assist her, they only think about how to gain His Majesty's favor. What is the reason for this?"
It's almost as if they're saying, "Aren't you just too impatient with loneliness?"
Minister of Rites Lu Shixun said, "Her Majesty the Empress is currently pregnant with the heir of the principal wife. You two are being far too hasty. If you were to upset Her Majesty and cause her any harm, I wonder if you two could bear the consequences?"
Xue Baicheng had fought alongside Shen Shixi and greatly admired him, so he naturally spoke up for him. However, as a military general, his words could infuriate anyone.
"Your Majesty the Empress is far too kind. If it were my wife, she would beat anyone in the inner quarters to death for gossiping like that. Let's see if anyone dares to be a long-tongued woman and tell such things to their own family. It's outrageous!"
[Damn it, I actually need a military commander to teach me how to manage my harem? How utterly embarrassing!]
Shen Shixi then said, "Commander Xue's words are reasonable, and the advice of a good general cannot be ignored by me! Bai Ping, you personally take two nannies from the Censorate back to the palace, and have Consort Liang and Consort Cui each slap twenty times, as a warning to others!"
Bai Ping, barely suppressing her laughter, replied, "Yes!"
With that, he left in a hurry.
Li Yuanke acted as if he were deaf, not hearing anything, and was only watching what was happening on the field.
Liang Ji and Cui Fangli were furious.
Cui Fangli knelt and pleaded, "Your Majesty, we are not convinced! We have never heard any complaints. Since Your Majesty's arrival in the capital, the misfortune of the harem is a well-known fact. Why should the people of the harem speak? Your Majesty, Commander Xue is ignorant of the situation and has given reckless advice, bewitching the Empress. This is a grave crime!"
Xue Baicheng said, "How come I haven't heard that the Emperor is having an affair? Isn't the Empress pregnant? The Emperor personally led the army for nine months, fighting a bitter and fierce battle. After returning, he didn't even have a few days to rest before having to arrange the wedding. Isn't that tiring?"
"Shouldn't we not neglect the Empress after the wedding? She's only been pregnant for a few days; shouldn't we spend some time with her? Is your granddaughter already so impatient? Does she have any virtue left?"
This time, Shen Shixi had to suppress her laughter, and she picked up her teacup to cover her grinning mouth.
Liang Ji wept bitterly, saying, "Your Majesty, now that Commander Xue has uttered these words, how can Consort Liang possibly live with any face left! Before entering the palace, Consort Liang had a well-deserved reputation in the capital, yet Commander Liang has spoken of me in such a vulgar and offensive manner. I am utterly ashamed!"
Li Yuanke said, "If Liang Baolin commits suicide, I will absolutely not implicate the Liang family; I am willing to grant his request!"
Xue Baicheng hurriedly replied, "Your Majesty is wise!"
Apart from Liang and Xue's faction, everyone else in the stands echoed their opinion.
Anyone else would be in this predicament, torn between life and death, wishing they could just disappear on the spot. But Liang Ji, an old fellow from a prominent family, has two main characteristics: first, he has a large collection of books at home, and second, he has a thicker skin than a city wall.
Pretending not to understand Li Yuanke's words, he earnestly expressed his gratitude, saying, "Your subject thanks Your Majesty for your great kindness!"
He expressed his gratitude without mentioning suicide.
This left Li Yuanke unsure of what move to make next.
Shen Shixi said, "I also deeply agree. Whether the women in the harem are willing to live or die, I will not stop them. I want to see how history will record me after they are all dead. Will my merits outweigh my demerits, or will my demerits outweigh my merits?"
You've all made a mistake if you think you can use this to manipulate me! I don't care about virtue or not. Although I am the Empress, I don't covet that reputation for virtue!
"Although the Liang and Cui families are prominent clans, renowned for their scholarly traditions, not all scholars in the world come from your families. You can meet with scholars from all over the world and see what kind of person I am in their eyes!"
Both of them broke out in a cold sweat.
In the past few years of the Great Zhou Dynasty, the changes in the scholarly world have been particularly great. Printing technology has advanced by leaps and bounds, and some printing technologies have emerged out of nowhere, such as mimeographing. Papermaking technology has improved, bookstores have sprung up everywhere, and the price of books has only decreased and not increased.
In particular, some basic books, such as the Four Books and Five Classics and the Nine Chapters on the Mathematical Art, are ridiculously cheap.
The bookstores seemed to have gotten their hands on a huge pile of books from who-knows-where, and you could buy one for just a few coins. Even a cowherd could get his hands on one and read it aloud in the breeze.
No one in the world doesn't speak well of the Empress. Book prices have been reduced, the monopoly has been broken, and only the common people at the bottom of society have benefited.
This is also why aristocratic families hate Shen Shixi.