Professional Ethics of a Concubine

The Ninth Princess received news of her brother early on, and when he led the envoys from Dayan to the city gate, she was already there waiting to greet him.

"Imperial sister! Han Yan!" The Seventh Prince lifted the curtain of the carriage and saw her. He was also excited and waved at her happily.

"Royal brother!" The Ninth Princess also waved at him excitedly.

When the carriage arrived, the Ninth Princess jumped directly onto it.

"Why are you still so impulsive after getting married? You're still like a little girl." The Seventh Prince teased her, but he was actually very happy to see her like this.

What does this mean? It means that my sister is very happy in Dazhao!

I have to say, my sister’s choice was absolutely correct!

Look at the prosperous and increasingly powerful Zhao, and then look at the current Dayan. Alas... the Seventh Prince's happy mood was suddenly overshadowed.

"Royal brother, I haven't seen you for two years. You seem to be much more mature and stable. Are mother and the others all right?"

The Ninth Princess looked at him and asked with a smile.

"Mother and I are both in dire straits." The Seventh Prince sighed.

"My father encouraged me to fight the crown prince, and my mother was naturally dragged into it. The queen framed her many times, and my mother had no choice but to endure it and suffered a lot of grievances."

The Ninth Princess also sighed upon hearing this and said in relief,

"Father intends to let you fight with my brother to balance the power in the court. It's already very good that my brother can do this.

My brother, please be patient for another two or three years. When the Great Zhao has freed up its troops, we can ask them to send troops to get rid of the crown prince."

"In our Great Yan, the problem is no longer the crown prince's, but the emperor's. You can defeat the crown prince, but what about the emperor? Do you want to rebel and overthrow the emperor as well?"

The Seventh Prince frowned and asked.

The Ninth Princess blinked and said nothing, but her expression already revealed her thoughts.

"You, you..." The Seventh Prince looked at her in surprise and accused her with some emotion, "That's Father!!"

The Ninth Princess immediately smiled at him and tried to fool him with some jokes.

"Okay, my brother, let's not talk about these unhappy things. You should stop living in the guild hall and live in my princess's mansion. I have prepared many of your favorite foods."

"Han Yan, that's our father..." The Seventh Prince was not so easily fooled, especially since he felt that this issue was very serious, so he wanted to make it clear with his sister.

"I am worried about the safety of my brother and mother. You have to suffer the assassination of the crown prince frequently, but father just watched helplessly. It is really too ruthless!"

The Ninth Princess's face also sank.

"Although he is our father, he only cares about his own enjoyment. He can't suppress the nobles, can't protect the people, and even deliberately instigates infighting among his sons. I can't help but blame him!"

The Seventh Prince was silent for a moment before speaking.

"Looking back at history, how many emperors have voluntarily abdicated like the Emperor of Great Zhao? It's normal for my father to be afraid that the power of the prince and I will be too great and threaten his throne. Otherwise, he would have abdicated and given the throne to the prince."

The Ninth Princess frowned and wanted to argue again, but this time the Seventh Prince didn't want to talk anymore and asked instead,

"Where's Xie Zimo? Why didn't he come to greet me? Does he not take me, his brother-in-law, seriously?"

When the Ninth Princess heard that her brother was deliberately picking a fight, she rolled her eyes and said to him,

"He is not in the capital. He is out on an errand. He will not be back for a few days. If he were here, he would come to greet me. And he would definitely be more enthusiastic than me when he sees my brother."

"With his taciturn personality, how can he be enthusiastic?" The Seventh Prince shook his head speechlessly, not believing it at all.

My sister's heart is so biased that it's unbearable to look at.

"He has changed a lot in the past two years. He is very enthusiastic towards me. Sometimes I feel that he talks too much and is noisy."

Although the Ninth Princess was complaining, she had a smile on her face and you could tell at a glance that she was happy.

The Seventh Prince also laughed at her expression and said,

"You still don't want a child now? You're living so well now, have you changed your mind?

Don't blame me for asking this. My mother asked me to ask this. She also asked me to persuade you to have a child as soon as possible. She said she was afraid that you would be lonely in Zhao. If you have a child, you will feel much better. "

"In a few years, when my brother takes the throne, I will give birth!" The Ninth Princess said immediately, "Otherwise I will feel uneasy. If my brother cannot defeat the Crown Prince and he takes the throne as Emperor Yan, there will be no point in me living, let alone giving birth to a child."

“……”The Seventh Prince.

Unexpectedly, he also took the responsibility of whether his sister had children or not!

He is under so much pressure!

-

As the coronation ceremony approaches, all necessary items and work have been prepared.

Today the Royal Clothing Bureau sent a dragon robe for the prince to try on, and if there is anything that does not fit, it will be modified.

When Ye Qingzhi saw the prince wearing the dragon robe, she immediately gave him a thumbs up and flattered him, throwing words like wise, brave, majestic and noble like out of hand.

The dragon robe fits well and there is nothing to modify. After all, the dragon robe is not a slim fit, so it doesn't matter if you are a little fatter or thinner.

The prince took off the dragon robe, and the eunuchs carefully folded it again and put it away before leaving.

"Your Highness, please don't give me a surprise at your coronation ceremony." Ye Qingzhi said.

"I know. I know the importance of things and I'm not the kind of person who would do anything reckless." Xie Jin said with a smile.

"Oh my, I thought His Highness had been bewitched by me, and had forgotten all about etiquette and was just pampering me to the sky."

After hearing what he said, Ye Qingzhi became even more excited. She put on a seductive look and climbed onto him, complaining in a coquettish voice.

Xie Jin picked her up and said with a smile,

"How about I make you the queen after I ascend the throne? With your achievements, it wouldn't be too much to make you the queen."

Ye Qingzhi was stunned. She jumped off him and asked after a pause, "...Your Highness, are you serious?"

"Of course, I have seriously considered this matter." Xie Jin nodded seriously, "But I feel uncomfortable and ashamed of you for conferring the title of Imperial Noble Consort on you.

Because my ability to ascend the throne so quickly, to achieve such success, and the fact that the Zhao royal family is so united today, is completely inseparable from your assistance. "

Ye Qingzhi laughed as she listened, because she could feel Xie Jin's sincerity, so she felt warm and touched.

As she had never thought about this question before, she thought about it carefully before replying,

"Your Highness is right. I do not deny my achievements, nor do I belittle myself. I am indeed worthy of being the queen.

However, if Your Highness asked me whether I cared about being the Queen, I would say that I did not care.

Whether she is Imperial Noble Consort or Empress, it makes no difference to me. It is just an honorary title.

Don't I have the real power of the Queen? I do have it. If I say that the palace affairs should be handled in this way and the Crown Princess doesn't want to do it according to her own wishes, the Crown Princess will only listen to me.

All the court officials know my status in His Highness' heart, and my methods and achievements.

Would they be disrespectful when they saw me? They would be even more respectful than when they were facing the queen.

Let’s not talk about the royal relatives and the side branches of the clan, let’s just talk about your Highness’s family, from the emperor to the empress, to the princes and princesses, who doesn’t like me, recognizes me, or even is grateful to me.

Your Highness, in fact, whether in terms of status, power, or reputation, I am not the queen, but I am better than the queen. I have already obtained a lot.

But the Crown Princess is your Highness's original wife. She gave birth to your Highness' children and took care of your Highness's harem. She has done nothing wrong. She deserves the title of Queen, and it should be her only title."

"Qingqing always thinks a lot about others and takes everything into consideration." Xie Jin sighed.

"This is my principle in life. Leave a way out for everything and don't be too full of anything." Ye Qingzhi said with a smile.

Xie Jin smiled and kissed her, "Okay, then I'll listen to you, Qingqing."

"Thank you, Your Highness." Ye Qingzhi also smiled, "I am very happy that Your Highness is not arbitrary and respects my opinion."

"Qingqing often says this, and it feels like she is pointing at me." Xie Jin said again.

"Good behavior must be emphasized, encouraged and reinforced at all times," Ye Qingzhi said with a smile.

Training a man is sometimes similar to raising a child.

-

Xie Wenyuan was very efficient. He went to Jianghuai and in less than half a month, he arrested three corrupt officials and raided their homes.

In fact, the imperial court has introduced many new policies in the past two years, the official atmosphere has improved, supervision has become stricter, and these officials dare not be too corrupt.

Most of the assets that were confiscated were from previous embezzlement.

Xie Wenyuan distributed most of the gold and silver directly to the local people, and brought back some valuable items such as calligraphy and paintings and jade and presented them to the prince.

"A gift for your coronation." Xie Wenyuan said.

"Put these paintings and calligraphy artifacts in the storehouse of the royal manor first. When Prince Duan comes back, have him sort them out and see where they are most suitable for display so that people can appreciate them."

Xie Jin spoke up.

After he ascended the throne, he was already wealthy and had no special hobby of collecting. Therefore, Xie Jin was not very fond of such treasures. He could look at them, but would not collect them privately.

When Xie Jin heard Ye Qingzhi mention the modern national museum, which was dedicated to displaying and collecting these cultural treasures, he felt that Da Zhao could also establish one.

Because the royal estate is not very large, and only the area of ​​the Poetry Garden can be used as an exhibition hall, these treasures cannot be displayed at all.

"Okay, it's your thing, you decide." Xie Wenyuan had no objection, "Where's Prince Duan? Is he back? I haven't seen him yet."

"I received a letter a few days ago. I will be back by the end of the month." Xie Jin said with a smile.

"I haven't seen him for two years. He has been traveling around with his people, urging government offices to set up schools and collecting all kinds of talents. In the past two years, the rapid spread of government schools in various parts of the Great Zhao is all due to Prince Duan."

"Xiao Si is so capable now, not bad!" Xie Wenyuan praised sincerely, and asked Xie Jin curiously,

"To run a government school, and even a special women's college, does the local treasury have so much money? Can ordinary people afford to go to school? Even if they can afford the tuition, can they afford to buy textbooks, paper and ink?

I know you want to popularize education, but it requires a lot of money.

It was originally intended to be a good thing, but later on, in order to achieve political achievements and pass the assessment, the local government turned it into a disguised form of exploiting the people. "

Xie Jin couldn't help but smile and raise his eyebrows when he heard him say that. "Aren't you not interested in these livelihood projects? Why are you asking about them in detail?"

"I care about these things because I'm afraid you'll get too arrogant and make wrong decisions, which will eventually prevent me from building my plane."

Xie Wenyuan spoke.

Xie Jin didn't expect this to be the reason. He looked at him speechlessly, but still explained,

“The establishment of local official schools and women’s colleges did not rely on local finances, but on the support of local nobles and merchants.

Especially for merchants, the new rules of the imperial court allowed their children to attend official schools and take part in the imperial examinations, which greatly increased their enthusiasm for donating silver.

Basically, every local official school and women's college did not need money from the government, and the money raised was enough.

As for the high cost of paper and books, a few years ago, under the suggestion of Master Ye, papermaking and printing techniques have been greatly improved, and the cost has been decreasing year by year.

The price of books is now more than half cheaper than before, and the price of paper is one-quarter of what it was before, while people's food income is increasing.

So, with one increase and one decrease, it is possible for an ordinary family to afford one person's education.

It is indeed unrealistic to directly talk about universal education for all people now. Our Great Zhao’s productivity has not yet improved qualitatively, and wealth has not accumulated to that level.”

"Hearing you say that, I know you are still very reliable. That's enough. I don't care anymore."

Xie Wenyuan immediately said,

"I'm going to the Institute of Gewu to see Xiaoliu and see if he has invented anything new."

"You should go back to the palace first. The old man Chen Xiao is back. He asked to see me before, but I refused. You should go and talk to him. You two are more familiar with each other."

Xie Jin spoke up.

Old man Chen Xiao is the former Minister Chen, the father-in-law and uncle of the King of Chu.

The relationship is there and it can't be severed.

Xie Wenyuan nodded and returned home.