Quick Wear: I and the Female Match Share the Battle Shirt

Lu Changqing called all the servants in the house out. Bai Lingyi was a little nervous when he saw this and asked, "Does Fourth Sister want to tell me something?"

Lu Changqing looked at Bai Lingyi and said, "Second sister, I have made great contributions in Yanzhou before, and now I am a fourth-rank official. I am also a popular person in front of the government. I will be frank with you sisters. I know that my brother-in-law treats you badly. Do you want to divorce? If you do, I can help you."

Bai Lingyi lowered his head and said, "Dad, Dad won't agree."

"Let me tell you something. The situation in the northwest is tense now. The government will definitely increase the number of troops, and increasing the number of troops will cost money. And these marquisates in the capital are like parasites of the country. Not only do they occupy a large amount of fertile land, but the court has to allocate a large amount of funds every year to support them. It's not that no one in the court has talked about this issue.

In the past, the treasury had money, and the royal family didn’t say anything. Now that the treasury is running out of money, the government will definitely start with these marquisates first.”

Bai Lingyi was shocked, "Is this true?"

Facing the other party's half-believing and half-doubting eyes, Lu Changqing nodded, "I won't lie to you about this kind of thing."

When she returned, she brought up the matter with Zhao Zhen, hoping to transform this magical system of hereditary succession into a model where the title would be removed upon death, which would be more conducive to the imperial rule.

Lu Changqing discovered that he was truly a running dog of the imperial power, and everything he had done so far was to maintain the rule of the landlord class.

"Second sister, please think about it carefully. The emperor has granted me three days of leave. If you have made up your mind to divorce, you can tell me before I leave. Then, after entering the palace, I will go and ask the emperor for help and tell him about the torture you suffered in the Earl's Mansion. The emperor is kind and will help you."

"Is it really possible?"

Lu Changqing did not say anything final. "I will try my best, but you need to think carefully. Once I go to the palace and tell the emperor, if he is willing to do justice for you, you must not regret it halfway. Otherwise, if you anger the emperor, not only will I be punished, but you and your husband's family may also be implicated."

"I'll think about it carefully." Bai Lingyi looked at Lu Changqing, pursed his lips and said, "Fourth sister, I feel that you have changed a lot in the past two years."

"Everyone has to grow up. When I was young, I didn't know much and always wanted to perform better in front of my father and outperform all of you sisters. Later, when I grew up, I realized that no matter how well I performed, in the end I was just a tool of the family."

As soon as Lu Changqing finished speaking, a faint sob was heard from the bed. Lu Changqing and Bai Lingyi looked at each other and realized that Du Hezhi had woken up.

Listening to the suppressed crying in the inner room, Lu Changqing felt that Du Hezhi might not want to see him now, so he stood up and said goodbye, "Since the mistress is asleep, I will come to visit her later and won't delay my second sister."

Lu Changqing came out of Du He's room and went to Lin Wenqing's residence.

"Your third sister is really something. If she doesn't want to get married, then don't get married. She actually left a letter and ran away, saying that she was going to see the world. This world is so chaotic. If a girl like her met bandits and died on the road, her family wouldn't even know about it."

As soon as Lin Wenqing saw Lu Changqing, he started to criticize Bai Xingke.

"You are still the most motivated. It's not in vain that I have loved you all these years."

"Mother, don't say that. The mistress is already so sad. If she hears this, she will probably fall ill again."

Lin Wenqing curled her lips, "If you ask me, it's probably because your mistress offended some gods and goddesses, and you had a bad luck. Your eldest brother became paralyzed and useless, and your third sister ran away from home. In the end, the only ones left were your second daughter who was tortured by her husband's family and your disappointing sixth sister. If I were her, I would get up and go to the temple to pray, and pray to every god and Buddha to see if I could get rid of the coal bad luck on my body."

Lu Changqing changed the subject and asked, "Mom, why didn't you go find Dad?"

Lin Wenqing's tone was somewhat resentful, "Your father didn't send anyone to pick me up, what should I do?"

"What about my younger brother? He didn't even say he would go back to Beijing to pick you up personally?"

"Your brother?" Lin Wenqing snorted coldly, "He hasn't had anyone bring back a single letter in the past few months. I'm afraid he has already forgotten about me, his mother."

Lu Changqing put her arm around Lin Wenqing's shoulders and comforted her, "Mom, it's okay. You still have me. My brother doesn't look like a promising person. Your daughter will take care of you in your old age."

Lin Wenqing raised his fist and hit Lu Changqing unhappily, "How can you talk about your own brother like that?"

"What I said is true. If he had a bright future, he wouldn't have failed to pass the imperial examination after so many years."

When she thought of her useless man, Lin Wenqing couldn't help but sigh, "I don't have any hope for your brother anymore. I just hope he can live a safe and smooth life."

Lu Changqing went to visit Du Hezhi again the next day. This time, she not only saw Bai Lingyi in Du Hezhi's room, but also her younger sister Bai Weijing.

"Weijing, please go out for a while. I have something to talk to your two sisters." Du Hezhi sat on the bed. Her complexion looked better than yesterday.

When there were only three people left in the room, Du Hezhi asked, "Fu Ying, do you still mean what you said to your second sister yesterday?"

"Madam, are you referring to the divorce?"

"Yes."

"Of course it counts." Lu Changqing looked at Bai Lingyi and asked, "Second sister, have you considered getting a divorce?"

Bai Lingyi nodded.

Du Hezhi said: "I have already discussed this with your second sister yesterday. You don't need to inform your father about this. Just nod from me."

Lu Changqing knew what Du Hezhi was worried about, so he said, "Madam, don't worry about Daddy's disapproval. I will write a letter to Daddy to explain this matter. Others dare not offend the Earl's Mansion, but I dare! Don't worry about the Earl's Mansion's revenge. No matter how powerful they are, can they be more powerful than the official family?"

As soon as Lu Changqing returned to the palace, he went to see Zhao Zhen. While asking him to seek justice for Bai Lingyi, he told him about the extravagant and wasteful lifestyle of the powerful people in the capital.

These messy marquises and earls must be eliminated in advance. The rule of hereditary succession is incredibly destructive in the current world of title inflation. Even if the Western Xia and Liao kingdoms did not invade, the national treasury would be emptied just by keeping these parasites.

Take the earldom, which is not as good as the marquis, as an example. If the household is more than 25, the earl will be granted the title. If the household is in actual fiefdom, the monthly payment will be calculated as coins per household, which must be collected from the government together with the monthly salary. In other words, the court had to pay coins to the earldom every month.

This is more than 10,000 coins in ancient times, not more than 10,000 RMB today. Considering the productivity at that time, the purchasing power of the two currencies is completely different.

"I remember that when the late emperor bestowed the title of Loyal and Brave Earl, it was clearly written that 800 acres of land were given, but it is said that they now own 3,000 acres of good land."

Zhao Zhen thought there was something wrong with his ears. He stood up from his chair in astonishment and exclaimed, "How much?!"

"It is said that there are 3,000 acres." Lu Changqing looked up at the pale Zhao Zhen and continued, "This is just the Earl's Mansion. If this is true, it is hard to imagine what the situation will be like for the Marquis' Mansion and the Duke's Mansion."

Zhao Zhen swallowed his saliva, suppressed his anger, and said to Zhang Maoze beside him: "Pingfu, go to the outer court and call Minister Lu and Minister Yan over! Go now! Quickly!"