Professional Ethics of a Concubine

The Fifth Prince was so frightened and depressed that he was unable to relieve the pain and anxiety in his heart. He sat sadly in the yard, enjoying the wind, the moon and drinking.

In the second half of the night, he got drunk and fell asleep, and was carried back to the house by the servants.

The next morning, as expected, the fifth prince developed a high fever.

When the steward heard the maid's report, he quickly called the court physician to treat the fifth prince, and at the same time did not forget to inform the empress in the palace.

When the empress heard that the fifth prince was ill and had a high fever, she felt distressed and upset. Her ability to withstand stress was so poor...this little thing made her fall down.

The empress shook her head, sighed, and felt a little angry.

However, it is not a good idea to vent this anger on his stupid son, nor can he blame him for anything, since he has been like this for a long time anyway.

His ability to bear is just that, so why blame him any more.

Just like what my son A Jin said, we should recognize the different characteristics of people and assign different responsibilities to them.

Once she makes the disobedient nobles in the country obedient, no one will be bullied by her stupid son. Then, well... she'll see what position to assign to him.

Since she couldn't vent her anger on the Fifth Prince, the empress decided to vent her anger on that old man Bai Chi.

During the morning court session, the empress got furious at Bai Chi. The reason was that several lives had been lost recently in the Bai family's gold and salt mines, some of them died from exhaustion or illness.

This is certainly not the first time that someone has died. Every month, a dozen people die in the Bai family’s gold mine and salt mine, or even more.

When Bai Chi heard the empress scolding him for this, he immediately frowned. However, he was not crazy enough to resist the empress on the spot. He could only say that he would handle the matter and compensate those untouchables.

However, Bai Chi felt extremely humiliated, and his desire to overthrow the empress became stronger and stronger.

Those who died were all untouchables. It would not matter even if there were fifty, let alone five. He could use a little silver to attract more untouchables.

He doesn't even need silver. Just giving them some moldy and stale food can make those untouchables scramble for it and try their best to get into the gold mines and salt mines and work for him.

But the empress actually took action against him just to save the lives of these untouchables and to establish her good reputation of being kind and loving the people!

So angry! So angry!

Haha, but he can’t stand this kind of humiliation for a few more days!

Empress, just wait for me. The day I force you to step down will be the day you will be humiliated under my crotch.

He had long wanted to have a taste of the empress.

-

After the morning court session, the empress disguised herself and left the palace with her loyal guards, Xie Jin, Ye Qingzhi and others.

They left the royal city and walked another ten miles before finding a small uninhabited hill and clearing the surrounding area.

Once they arrived at the place, it took less than an hour for the craftsmen to prepare the ammunition for the muskets and make several mines.

Because the craftsmen were all skilled, the main body of the firearm was already made, and the ratio of gunpowder was also known, so they just had to assemble it.

This musket was developed by the Sixth Prince. It has been improved to the third version. It is well-cast and ingeniously designed.

The empress took a musket without ammunition, looked at it back and forth in her hands, her eyes full of admiration.

The person who can make this kind of musket is truly a talent!

And such a talent is actually a prince of the Great Zhao. According to A Jin, the Sixth Prince only likes to study these challenging new objects and has no thoughts of fighting for power in his mind.

It is truly the favorite of those in power!

It has to be said that the empress is a little envious of the old man, the Emperor of Great Zhao.

His descendants are quite blessed.

"Mom, this musket is still a bit dangerous to use. It might explode and hurt you."

Xie Jin picked up a loaded musket and demonstrated to the empress how to fire a gun. Before firing, he kindly reminded her,

“Mom, this thing is very loud, you might be scared the first time, you can cover your ears first.

This is also a way to protect your ears, because if you are not used to it or get too close, it may cause temporary hearing loss."

The empress frowned and asked her to cover her ears?

In her opinion, covering ears out of fear of loud noises is an act of the weak.

She is the empress. How could she do such a thing, especially in front of her confidants, which would damage her majestic image.

"Your Majesty, please use this earplug. Put it in your ear and it will feel better."

Ye Qingzhi took out a pair of cotton earplugs from her purse and handed them to the empress with a smile.

The empress took it, looked at the earplugs and smiled, praising Ye Qingzhi,

"You are well prepared, very good."

"Your Highness doesn't care, but I don't like this kind of loud noise, so I made some special preparations."

Ye Qingzhi said with a smile.

Xie Jin smiled at Ye Qingzhi and said, "When did you prepare such a good thing? Why didn't you tell me?"

"If I tell His Highness in advance, His Highness will not only laugh at me for being squeamish, but also say that my mind will be used in improper places. I will not be able to take credit in front of His Majesty, so of course I won't tell you."

Ye Qingzhi smiled and spoke in a deliberately joking tone.

In fact, she was too lazy to report this little thing to Xie Jin. She told the maid to put it away after it was done, and then she forgot about it.

Now I remember to take it out when I need it.

The empress also smiled when she heard this, and once again realized Ye Qingzhi's keen mind and her clever mouth. She was so good at talking that it was hard not to like her.

"Have you prepared earplugs for me?" Xie Jin asked her with a smile.

"Of course there are." Ye Qingzhi smiled and plugged Xie Jin's earplugs before putting them in her own earplugs.

The empress also put on her earplugs and signaled Xie Jin that he could demonstrate the musket.

Rumble!

Xie Jin picked up the musket and aimed at a small rock. Suddenly, there was a loud bang and the small rocks flew everywhere.

Although she was wearing earplugs, the empress still frowned subconsciously because of the noise.

When her confidants saw this power, they couldn't help but show fear on their faces. Under the pressure, they straightened their bodies and gripped the hilts at their waists tightly.

"Mom, what do you think?" Xie Jin turned his head and asked loudly with a smile, with a hint of boasting in his expression, like a big child.

"Very good!" The empress praised with bright eyes, "It really opened my eyes! I never thought there are weapons of this power in the world."

"In fact, the range and accuracy are average, and the ammunition is not very stable. There are still many problems." Xie Jin showed off for a while, then returned to normal and gave a more objective evaluation.

"However, this new type of firearm will make a loud noise, has strong damage and a good deterrent effect. It can cause panic and panic among people and horses. When it is used on the battlefield for the first time, it will surely achieve amazing results."

"That's right!" The empress nodded vigorously, agreeing with Xie Jin's words. She was eager to try and said, "Teach me how to do it, and I'll give it a try."

Before Xie Jin could stop him, the empress's trusted general Hu Jin came forward with a troubled look on his face, knelt down and said,

"Your Majesty, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince just mentioned that this gunpowder has the risk of exploding. Please do not try it lightly to prevent accidents due to improper operation."

The empress frowned, somewhat displeased, "Stop talking!"

"Mom, General Hu's worries are somewhat reasonable. You have never been in contact with it, and your son is also worried about your safety." Xie Jin also spoke.

"Then how did you go from not knowing how to learn it?" The empress looked at Xie Jin again, "You can take the risk, but I can't?"

Xie Jin touched his nose, not knowing what to say after being rebuked. He turned his head and looked at Ye Qingzhi, looking at her for help.

"I agree with His Majesty. Since His Majesty wants to try, and considering that the risks are actually controllable, Your Highness should provide assistance instead of blocking it. Your Highness is a little too concerned and messed up."

Ye Qingzhi said with a smile,

"Let the craftsmen come over to check the ammunition, clean the musket, or replace it with a new one. Once all the hidden dangers are eliminated, there will be no more explosions. Isn't that what Your Highness did when he was learning?"

Xie Jin felt that this was also the case, so he nodded and gave in.

"Mother is right. It is because I care too much that I get confused. Mother wants to learn, so I will teach you."

The empress looked at Ye Qingzhi with appreciation and nodded to her. Ye Qingzhi also smiled at the empress.

Xie Jin taught the empress very carefully and seriously how to use the musket. It was actually very simple, just a few words, but Xie Jin repeated it over and over again, which made the empress annoyed.

However, this was also an act of filial piety on the part of her son, and the empress did not want to be mean to him. When he confirmed for the third time whether she understood, the empress took out the musket and fired directly.

Rumble!

It successfully hit a small mound not far away, and immediately sand and gravel splashed, revealing a pit.

"Wow! Awesome!" Ye Qingzhi immediately applauded.

Xie Jin was stunned for a moment, then he smiled and clapped his hands in celebration. He couldn't help but sigh in his heart again at his mother's courage and decisiveness, which was better than most men in the world.

The empress also smiled with satisfaction, put down the musket and stopped using it. She was just having fun, but she also knew to stop when it was enough, otherwise these people would be worried.

Afterwards, they tested the power of the mines and the effect was amazing. With a loud bang, a small hillside collapsed.

After reading it, the empress nodded with great satisfaction, feeling that all the pent-up anger in her heart had been blown away.

"What materials do you need for your gunpowder? I'll send people to search for them and make some more mines. These are all you need for your muskets."

The empress asked.

"Then I'll write it down for Mom later," Xie Jin said.

The empress nodded with satisfaction and could not help but say, "If Xiaowu has half of your talent and determination, I will train him to be my successor."

"What happened to the fifth prince?" Xie Jin asked.

"I have a high fever. I have no other skills, but I drink to drown my sorrows. I am quite sentimental in singing to the moon." The empress said, shaking her head.

"You said what he could do, but I can't even think of what position would be appropriate for him."