novelaction Chapter 399 The Queen Has the Final Say
Chapter 399 The Queen Has the Final Say
At that moment, Xuan Yue's dormant heart was rekindled and began beating again.
"Sister." Seeing Xuan Yue didn't say anything, Xuan Shu panicked and said quickly, "I just said it casually, don't take it to heart."
Xuanshu understands her sister.
Her words will not change Xuan Yue's mind about not getting married...
Xuan Yue's voice interrupted Xuan Shu's thoughts. She said, "Master Cheng is indeed good."
"But he can't marry into the family."
Xuanshu was silent. She knew of course that Cheng Fengqi would not be able to marry into the emperor's family. Cheng Fengqi had always sided with His Majesty. Now, at such a young age, he was already a minister and had a bright future.
Compared to him, she and her elder sister were just newcomers who had just entered the court, and there were still countless difficulties and obstacles waiting for them.
"Don't think too much." Xuan Yue smiled at Xuan Shu, "Dad and Mom are still waiting for us at home."
After a pause, Xuan Yue instructed Xuan Shu again, "You can keep a concubine, but it's best to find one from a good family and don't change them too frequently. Before keeping one, you should check your body first to make sure you don't have any illnesses... Forget it, I'll arrange for a doctor to check your pulse regularly."
She was mainly worried about syphilis and wanted her younger sister to be infected.
Xuan Shu hadn't really thought of this. She reached out and took Xuan Yue's arm. "Sister, don't you think I'm being unorthodox?"
She just thought that her elder sister would scold her.
Xuan Yue said: "Many men in the world have many wives and concubines. Many who don't take concubines don't do so because they don't want to, but because they don't dare or don't have the money."
"People like Daddy and His Majesty are a minority. Why should I blame you?"
Xuan Shu was so moved when he heard this that he hugged Xuan Yue and said, "Sister, sister, you are the best sister in the world."
Xuanshu's eyes turned and he asked again: "Why not, sister?"
"What?" Xuan Yue didn't react for a moment.
Xuanshu replied as a matter of course, "Sister isn't planning on getting married. Since you have feelings for Master Cheng, why not enjoy yourself while you can?"
This……
Xuan Yue was genuinely stunned for a moment.
Xuanshu's words were completely beyond her consideration. She had just talked about Xuanshu's affairs very well, but when it came to her own turn, she was completely at a loss.
She hadn't thought about it, but...
"Let it be." Xuan Yue's words sounded a little unnatural. Fortunately, the carriage soon arrived at the Xuan family. The two sisters had to face Master Xuan and Madam Xuan and had no time to discuss these things anymore.
The next day, early in the morning, in the court.
Xie Yao was very quick. After praising Cheng Fengqi, Xuan Shu and Xuan Yue, she directly announced the assessment of female officials and announced that all women could sign up for the first assessment.
Later on, they will have to participate in scientific examinations like men.
As soon as Xie Yao said this, the entire court was in an uproar. This was a development that many court officials had expected, so many of them had been making small moves in recent days.
Whether it was the initial obstruction when Xuanshu and Xuanyue were ordered to provide disaster relief, or the public opinion in Yuanzhou, or even the assassination attempt on the way back to Beijing after the disaster relief work was completed...
All of them were done by these people.
"Your Majesty, you can't do that!" A shrill voice sounded, which meant that after the court officials knelt down, half of the court officials in the Golden Palace knelt down with a thud.
"Your Majesty, this is a perverse act that goes against our ancestral rules and must not be allowed!"
"Your Majesty, please think again!"
Everyone kneeling down repeated in unison, "Your Majesty, please reconsider!"
Xiao Ji sat at the head of the table, watching the scene with cold eyes, "I had a dream yesterday."
The throne room was quiet.
"I dreamed of the late emperor and the ancestors of the imperial family. They told me that promoting the use of female officials... is very good."
There was silence in the Golden Palace.
Xiao Ji spoke with great confidence and conviction.
Aren’t we all using ancestral rules to oppress others?
So will he.
After a moment of stunned silence, the court officials naturally continued trying to speak and persuade Xiao Ji.
This is a dispute and debate.
But unfortunately, those who opposed were in the minority, and after Xiao Ji and Xie Yao expressed their opinions, they didn't even need to say anything else.
There were people who stood up in the court, led by Cheng Fengqi, Zhao Hao, Li Shuo and others. Xuan Yue and Xuan Shu naturally refused to give in.
There is also the silent majority.
Under such circumstances, the voices of those who opposed gradually became lower and they seemed to lack confidence.
Even many people have only now clearly realized one thing: the emperor and empress's control over the court has reached such an extent!
Originally, during the time of the previous emperor, the power of the aristocratic families had been weakened. Later, when Xiao Ji came to power, the aristocratic families became even more desolate.
The rising stars like Cheng Fengqi are very likely to take away the shares that currently belong to these aristocratic families in the future.
Although these people are unwilling, they are still trying hard to fight.
In the end, it was Xiao Ji who made the final decision, announcing that the matter was settled and there was no need for further discussion, thus ending the morning court session.
However, when leaving the Golden Palace, many court officials had very ugly expressions on their faces.
But the emperor and empress had enough patience to carry out this matter, so they didn't have to consider their feelings.
Moreover, the assassination of Xuan Yue and Xuan Shu has caused a sensation in the capital, arousing public outrage.
The Dali Temple and the Ministry of Justice are jointly investigating this matter... They haven't even cleaned up their act yet, and they feel like nothing is going right.
The election of female officials naturally caused a great uproar in the capital.
There were countless people who opposed it, especially those scholars and students, who already felt that studying hard for many years was very difficult.
There are countless students in the world, but there is only one top scholar in three years. In the past, there were many people with unfulfilled ambitions. Now, no matter how many competitors there are, people will naturally oppose it!
But it was not just these students who spoke out this time, but also countless women. As for the Yuanzhou area, they directly expressed their support.
Because I was angry.
Xuan Yue and Xuan Shu made great contributions to disaster relief and were considered meritorious officials of the Xia Kingdom. However, they encountered assassination attempts many times on their way back to Beijing, and the news of their narrow escapes spread.
The intention to suppress is too obvious.
There are many educated men and many educated women. Even many women who do not study stand up without hesitation after hearing the news.
As long as they know that the Queen's move is beneficial to women all over the world, it will be enough to make them stand up!
Under such circumstances, Princess Yongle also stood up and publicly expressed her support for the election of female officials.
As soon as this incident happened, there was another wave of turmoil in the capital.
Although Grand Duke Yongle has retired from the court for many years, she still has some influence and a group of supporters, many of whom are older people.
The elders in the family, such as the old lords, are at the age where they can make decisions.
But no matter how controversial this matter is among people in the capital, it is proceeding in an orderly manner.
Naturally, the queen after Xie Yao was the one who was scolded the most harshly, and was even labeled the "evil queen", accusing her of deceiving the emperor and doing such a perverse thing.
But there are also many people who support Xie Yao.
In order to resist the word "evil queen", her supporters call her "the most virtuous queen in history"!
Xie Yao was originally listening to Zhu Qing and Si Nan talking about the situation outside very seriously. When she heard this name, she couldn't help but laughed.
"This... I really don't deserve it." If she continues to blow, won't she fly to heaven?
Xiao Ji disagreed, "Queen, there's no need to be so modest. I think what they say is quite reasonable."
Xie Yao glared at Xiao Ji.
Judging from Xiao Ji's attitude, she even suspected that Xiao Ji had secretly spread this name.
She asked, "Is Your Majesty the wisest ruler of all time?"
Xiao Ji raised his eyebrows slightly, "She and the most virtuous empress of all time are a perfect match, indeed."
Xie Yao couldn't help laughing again, and after a while she asked, "How's the situation at the Xuan family?"
She and Xiao Ji were in the palace, and no matter how angry those people outside were, the most they could do was scold them.
But Xuan Yue, Xuan Shu and even Cheng Fengqi are different. They all support her and Xiao Ji, and they are still outside the palace. They are just afraid that those who have lost their minds will do something excessive.
It would be bad if they were hurt.
"Please rest assured, Your Majesty. The Jinwu Guard has been deployed outside the Xuan residence. The two Masters Xuan will be accompanied by guards whenever they go out. They will definitely be safe."
Xie Yao nodded, "Besides that, the families of these implicated court officials must also be protected."
The Wucheng Bingmasi mainly focused on blocking the enemy and did not suppress them forcefully.
The human heart cannot be suppressed.
As vested interests, it is understandable that these people want to oppose Xie Yao's move on the snacks on their plates.
Xie Yao would not force them to do anything, but she would not give up on the plan just because of their obstruction.
No matter how many men oppose it, they are only half of the people.
She would not abandon the other half of her subjects for the sake of one half. As her subjects, they should enjoy equal rights.
Xie Yao thought for a moment and then said, "The weather is getting colder. Tell the soldiers of the Five Cities Military Department to prepare some ginger soup and hot water. Don't let those scholars freeze to death."
Zhu Qing understood immediately.
What the Queen said was "don't freeze to death", which means that as long as they don't die, they can freeze to death.
It's okay to freeze them a little, just to make these people think more clearly, but don't let anyone die.
This is exactly what Xie Yao meant.
……
It was a bitterly cold winter day, and with the election of female officials approaching, these scholars were extremely anxious and desperately wanted the emperor and empress to change their minds.
Therefore, he stayed outside various government offices all day.
On this day, snowflakes suddenly fell in the capital, and the sky at noon suddenly became gloomy.
The cold wind was howling and heavy snow was falling.
Most of the scholars who came here to protest were originally from poor families or farming families. After all, even if the powerful and wealthy wanted to protest, they would not take the lead.
The conditions were already average, and winter clothes weren't particularly warm. We had been here for several days in a row, so people were crowded together and huddled together to feel a little warmth.
But the howling cold wind blew, and even if we huddled together, we couldn't feel any warmth.
We were all scholars and had to save face, so naturally we wouldn't crowd together too tightly. The cold wind seemed to be everywhere, chilling people to the bone.
The noisy crowd also became silent.
Many people were thinking of quitting, but no one wanted to be the first to say it out loud... it would be disrespectful.
They have been here for several days, but the emperor and empress have not reacted at all, which shows that the emperor and empress do not care about them at all.
What good will it do to fight again?
After all...
boom!
In such silence, the sound of a heavy object hitting the ground was particularly clear.
Everyone looked in the direction of the sound—
I saw a student standing at the edge falling heavily to the ground. The people around him subconsciously stepped aside. After they realized what was happening, they rushed to help and comfort him.
At this moment, a strong voice rang out, "Make way, make way, make way, everyone!"
But they were the Jinwu Guards on duty, wearing thick cotton jackets. They had weapons in their hands. When these words were spoken, the scholars were all shocked.
But some people still stood up and said, "What are you trying to do?!"
The leading Jinwu Guard captain held a bowl of black ginger soup in his hand, and the spicy smell of ginger filled the air.
He gestured for everyone to look at the scholar on the ground and said, "This man's face is flushed. He must have caught a cold and passed out. The ginger soup in my hand is just for him to dispel the cold. Do you still want to stop him?"
After saying that, the captain of the Jinwu Guard picked up the bowl and took a sip.
He was proving to these people that what he was holding was indeed ginger soup, and he had even drunk it himself, so as to avoid any trouble later after saving people today.
Seeing this, everyone hesitated and then made way.
The team leader helped the scholar up from the ground, poured him ginger soup of just the right temperature, called a doctor to examine him, and finally prescribed a medicine on the spot.
Then he asked, "Does anyone know him? Do you know where he lives?"
The Jinwu Guards wanted to send him back.
After the Jinwu Guards performed this series of actions, the students present were stunned. It was the first time they had seen such a thing.
Just... weird.
At this moment, someone in the crowd couldn't help but ask, "Did you do this on purpose? Doctor Jiang Tang has already prepared..."
The Jinwu Guard captain immediately stood up, clasped his hands together in front of his right upper body as a sign of respect, and then proudly said, "These are all orders from the Empress."
"The Empress said that all of you students are the pillars of the Xia Nation and nothing can happen to you, so she specifically ordered us to prepare these."
As soon as these words were spoken, the crowd immediately began to talk.
Obviously, no one expected that the Queen, whom they called the "Evil Queen", actually cared so much about their safety.
Someone stood up in the crowd and told the address of the seriously ill student, watching as the Jinwu Guards were about to send him back.
Immediately, some students followed voluntarily to prevent the Jinwu Guards from "dealing with" this person.
The team leader didn't mind and readily agreed. Then he said to the other students, "The Queen also said that she fully respects your freedom of speech. You are free to protest here."
"If you can't bear it anymore, you can come to us for ginger soup."
"Enough."
The already silent scholars became even more silent...
The Queen Mother did not suppress or resist, and she even "thoughtfully" prepared ginger soup and a doctor, but... she felt even more aggrieved.
Everyone had already thought of retreating, and now it was even more so.
Not long after, the Jinwu Guards came back with the students who escorted the unconscious student, but they all looked dejected and no longer had the high morale they had when they first arrived.
Several people entered the crowd and nodded to those who cared about the unconscious scholar, indicating that the unconscious scholar had been safely sent back to his residence.