The wives of the concubines are empresses

When dealing with the maternity leave and confinement leave for the female officials, Shangguan Wanjun looked at her personal female officials and the imperial ladies-in-waiting with curiosity, wanting to hear their feelings, opinions and thoughts.

"Lianhua Ouhe Muxiang Liuli, don't you have anything to say?"

The four of them looked at each other, not understanding what their master wanted to hear.

Shangguan Wanjun continued to look at the imperial ladies-in-waiting Lu Yan'er, Yuan Xinling, Huan'er and Mo'er.

The lovely Huan'er was suddenly stunned: Why did the emperor suddenly ask for their opinions? Was it because they were female officials?

"Your Majesty, I think this is a good idea. As you said, more talented women will be able to take the imperial examinations and enter the government."

The steady and careful Mo'er roughly guessed what the emperor meant and nodded in agreement with Huan'er.

"Huan'er is right. I am very satisfied with the emperor's policy, but..."

Her pause made Shangguan Wanjun raise her eyes slightly: "Continue."

"Does the Emperor really allow marriages between male and female officials?"

"It has never been prohibited since ancient times."

Yuan Xinling continued, "Your Majesty is right, so there's no question of permission or non-approval. However, isn't Your Majesty worried that if both husband and wife become officials, power will be even more concentrated in the hands of the family?"

Shangguan Wanjun pursed her lips and thought: "I believe that the strong do not need to think too much, they only need to master one skill."

Lu Yaner asked in surprise: "What?"

"Holding great power, balancing the forces of all parties." It is not easy to get ahead, and the right time, place and people are all essential.

God will not always favor a person unless he has enough ability. Then the right time, place and people will naturally move towards the strong, just like the law of attraction.

Lianhua and others lowered their heads to think about what she said, repeatedly weighing it in their minds.

Shangguan Wanjun saw that everyone was lost in thought and asked a soul-searching question.

"Now that the policies are so good, don't you eight want to get married and have children?"

Lu Yaner smiled shyly: "I don't mind getting married and having children, but I'm afraid of marrying the wrong person."

Yuan Xinling nodded: "Yes, Your Majesty, you don't know, my family next door, we quarrel every now and then, and even cry, make a fuss, and even hang ourselves."

Ou He, who was eating melons, looked up in shock: "Ah, it's so serious, please tell me in detail."

"I've been listening for a few months, and I've finally understood. The man is a gambler. He steals whatever money the family has to gamble away. When he loses, he takes it out on the family, cursing at best and beating his wife and children at worst."

Shangguan Wanjun frowned: "Beating and scolding your wife, children, and elders? Dare to hit your elders, this is not treason."

Lu Yan'er sighed, "That's true, but that family might have been scared by the beatings and scolding, so they just cry, make a fuss, and then hang themselves. I've counted, and in just the past few months, I've heard of at least ten cases of hanging. I'm really afraid that one day I'll hear the bad news about that woman."

Lianhua frowned: "There is such a thing. This man is so bad, can't he be replaced?"

Shangguan Wanjun shook her head: "It's easy to say, but hard to act. Once a woman has a child, she becomes soft-hearted and compromises step by step."

Yuan Xinling nodded: "I agree with this. Lady Ming was like this before, but at that time she lived like a wooden person, as if she had lost all her vitality."

Minglan heard what they were saying and just walked in from outside.

"Your Majesty, what else are you saying?"

Yuan Xinling was stunned. Why did Lord Ming come back so suddenly?

Shangguan Wanjun smiled softly and explained, "We are discussing the policy I just mentioned."

Minglan smiled upon hearing this. "I particularly agree with the Emperor's policy. First, it will elevate the status of women. Second, it will balance the status of men and women, maintaining equality beyond biological factors. Third, it will directly increase our dynasty's fertility rate, which is also the beginning and development of social progress."

Seeing that her statement was very accurate, Shangguan Wanjun applauded.

"Very good, worthy of being trained by me personally."

Minglan smiled and joked with her master.

"Your Majesty, your words are a double-edged sword. I admire you."

Shangguan Wanjun pursed her lips and smiled: "You're welcome. By the way, would you consider finding a man to remarry?"

When Minglan heard this, she was so scared that she almost knelt down on the spot.

With a wry smile on her face, she looked up at the empress who was half-seriously joking. Thinking of her own failed marriage, she really had no feelings for men. Moreover, she had long been accustomed to being alone. It was nice to be free and at ease as long as she could feed the whole family.

"I'm fine alone." Your Majesty, please don't mention this again.

Shangguan Wanjun sighed: It's a pity for such a good man. He was hurt by his previous marriage and his in-laws and suffered a lifelong psychological trauma.

"Okay, but you guys should hurry up. Your twenties are the best age for childbearing. By the time you're in your thirties, you'll be considered an advanced maternal age."

The eight people who loved flowers nodded solemnly: "Yes, Your Majesty."

After handling the matter, Shangguan Wanjun felt relieved.

As an empress, the greatest representative of women, she had to set an example for women all over the world, and she had to do her utmost to allow women to enjoy the preferential treatment given to men in the world, and to maintain fairness and justice as much as possible except for physiological factors.

Among them, studying is the first step. She began to implement this plan and policy in the first year of her reign; the second is to serve as an official. Whether it is to enter the government through the imperial examination, to become a military general through the martial arts examination, or to enter the palace as a female official through the examination, these are the three major principles for women in the world to serve as officials.

When the Empress Dowager of the Eastern Palace learned that her daughter's policies not only won the approval of civil and military officials, but also received a lot of support, she was happy and proud of her.

She was very satisfied that her son's efforts over the years since he ascended the throne had received responses and support from the ministers.

It seems that some people are born to manage others; they are born to be rulers.

"Empress Dowager, the Emperor is a role model for us women."

"You are right. The emperor has another great advantage."

"You mean the Emperor likes to praise people?"

"Yes, it's not easy to praise everyone and to praise them to the heart."

"According to the Emperor, if people are generous with their praise, they might get different results."

The Empress Dowager of the Eastern Palace smiled gently and said, "Look at the ministers of the former dynasty, the ladies-in-waiting in the harem, and even the palace maids. It would be hard to find a single person who has not been praised by her."

Nanny Li thought of the rumors that the palace people had privately spread about the empress, saying that not only the concubines and female officials liked the empress, but even the palace maids and eunuchs were all fascinated by the empress's personality and the way she dealt with people.

"In the harem, the Emperor uses both firmness and gentleness to treat his concubines and their spouses; and he uses both kindness and power among his ministers. He is a master at this, and I'm afraid we are not even one or two steps behind him."

The Empress Dowager Donggong smiled helplessly: "It's just the circumstances that force me."

If her prince had not been the empress, he would probably still be acting like a spoiled child in her arms at this age.

Let her think about it, how often does her daughter act coquettishly to her nowadays? Take this year for example, the number of times she acted coquettishly was very few, which instantly made the Empress Dowager Donggong feel particularly distressed for her daughter.