All the members are good people, only the host is a pervert

Since marrying Li Changchun, Lin Ruan's annual outings to various banquets have increased significantly. As the number of banquets she attends increases, her interactions with the ladies and gentlemen of the capital become closer, and the news she hears naturally becomes richer and more diverse.

One day, Lin Ruan received news from the wife of the Minister of Works: the Minister of Rites had arranged a marriage for his third son, with the beloved daughter of his subordinate, Doctor Wang. This seemed like a perfect match, but the Minister's son had been frail and sickly since childhood, and tragically passed away shortly after the marriage was arranged. Common sense would have stigmatized Doctor Wang's daughter as a "husband-killer," but to everyone's surprise, she volunteered to visit the family ancestral temple to observe chastity and filial piety for her late husband.

Lin Ruan didn't want to listen to the Shangshu's wife's praise for the woman's loyalty. Her first reaction after hearing about this was a surge of anger in her heart, and then she felt that this matter was like a pillow delivered to her when she was dozing off.

The next morning during the court session, an imperial censor reported the matter to the emperor.

The emperor smiled faintly upon hearing this and said, "If this young lady truly possesses such unwavering loyalty, then I may bestow upon her a chastity archway to honor her sincerity and loyalty, and at the same time reward her family for their careful education."

Although Doctor Wang of the Ministry of Rites lacked the authority to participate in court discussions, the officials were gloating and proud, as if they had been honored. Before the Minister of Rites could offer his thanks on Doctor Wang's behalf, the Imperial Censor quickly declared, "Your Majesty, the chastity arches were originally intended to protect the property of women who refused to remarry. There have already been cases of clans forcing women to remain chaste for the sake of honor. If you reward Doctor Wang for this, I'm afraid many will follow suit, potentially destabilizing the foundation of the nation."

He knelt and held up his memorial with both hands: "Your Highness, Wang Mian, the Minister of Rites, has disregarded the safety of the nation for his own selfish interests, sowing the seeds of endless disaster for my future promotion!"

The emperor sat up straight and said in a deep voice, "Hand the memorial to me."

The Minister of Rites could no longer bear it and angrily shouted, "Left Censor, you are simply exaggerating. Since ancient times, women have been considered the most humble and weak, and have always regarded their husbands as their heaven and remained faithful to them. Moreover, Miss Wang has voluntarily remained faithful to her fiancé. How can such a role model for women shake the foundation of the country?"

The Left Censor retorted, "The people are the foundation of the state; without the people, there is no state. Because the idea of male superiority and female inferiority is deeply ingrained in people's minds, most baby girls born to poor families are drowned or abandoned, leading to an imbalance in the sexes. It's already difficult for men from poor families to find wives, and the people have long held a deep taboo against women remarrying. Now, if we add incentives to remain chaste for unmarried men, how many marriageable women will be left? And how many men will be unable to find wives? If this continues, the population of Sheng Dynasty will continue to decline. Who knows when, there will be no people left. Without people, how can there be a state?"

The Minister of Rites spoke righteously, "Since Emperor Taizong, our dynasty has always upheld the ancient sage's philosophy of 'preserving Heavenly principles and suppressing human desires.' The Chastity Archway was even erected by Emperor Taizong himself. How dare you make irresponsible remarks about Emperor Taizong? Isn't that a crime of great disrespect?"

The Left Censor retorted without hesitation, "The previous dynasty suffered from social disorder, moral decline, and the collapse of rituals and music, which led to the demise of the nation. That's why Emperor Taizong advocated the doctrine of 'preserving Heavenly Laws and suppressing human desires.' Now, the people of Dasheng adhere strictly to rituals and laws. How could there be any unrighteous tendencies?"

"Back when our dynasty was first established, the people had just escaped the suffering brought by war. Countless brave men died in the flames of war, leaving only women to care for the elderly and children at home. Emperor Taizong, with a kind heart, specially granted chastity arches to protect the property and safety of these elderly, weak women, and children as a deterrent. However, time flies, the world changes, and people's hearts are fickle. How can I be said to be disrespectful to Emperor Taizong?"

At this time, the Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of Revenue stepped forward and said, "Your Majesty, please allow me to report something that is somewhat related to what the Left Vice Minister has reported."

The emperor said, "I grant your request."

The Right Vice Minister said, "Some time ago, the Ministry of Revenue collected the household registers of the people. I discovered that there were not enough unmarried women to marry existing men. This means that many men will be childless. There are also hundreds of thousands of widows and orphans who have no land or property to their names and rely entirely on support from their families, making their lives difficult."

"Your Majesty, I request that you allow the court to establish a household for women, so that widows and young children can have an account to register their land and not be left without a livelihood when their husbands die. I also request that you issue an edict to encourage women to remarry, so that the people can reproduce and live in peace and contentment."

The Left Censor said, "As the saying goes, what goes up must come down. Your Majesty, if Doctor Wang can order his daughters to observe chastity for their fiancés in the family temple today, over time, the people will also see this as the right path. If this is the norm for unmarried women, how much more difficult must it be for widows to remarry?"

As the emperor listened to the ministers talking to each other, he was also thinking in his heart, just as the Minister of Revenue said, a large number of widows and young children have no land to sow seeds, and there is a lot of land in Sheng Dynasty that is barren because no one cultivates it. It would be better to set up female households so that these people can also have land to cultivate. Not only will they have a livelihood, but the court's tax revenue will also increase.

However, encouraging women to remarry was contrary to the decree issued by Emperor Taizong, and the emperor was also worried that a hasty change in the decree would destabilize the Sheng Dynasty.

At this time, the Minister of Revenue stepped forward and said, "Your Majesty, I believe that the word chastity does not only refer to a woman's chastity. Since ancient times, women who have been awarded the Chastity Arch have all achieved great things. It is only through random speculation that the people have forcibly associated the word chastity with women's chastity. Although most of the Chastity Arches awarded in our dynasty have been widows, they have raised outstanding descendants who have benefited the people. Therefore, I implore Your Majesty to send people to educate the people and let them understand the painstaking efforts of issuing Chastity Arches, rather than allowing certain people with ulterior motives to use them to oppress women and children and tarnish the reputation of this decree."

The emperor frowned slightly, pondering the Minister's words. In fact, rather than saying that Emperor Taizong hadn't anticipated the negative consequences of the Chastity Arch, he preferred to attribute this situation to the common people's ignorance and misunderstanding of the court's decrees.

Watching the court arguing fiercely, the emperor finally raised his hand to signal an end to the dispute and announced loudly, "Since that's the case, I agree. After the court session, the Minister of Revenue, the Minister of Rites, and the Vice Minister of Revenue will all go to my imperial study to discuss this matter. Also, Doctor Wang from the Ministry of Rites, considering the woman's difficult situation, I will refrain from blaming him for now and allow him some face. I order him to bring his daughter home immediately. After all, there has never been a case of a woman remaining faithful to her fiancé in our Dasheng Dynasty!"