Marrying the Crown Prince

"Then, you mentioned the matter of your granddaughter-in-law reading through the memorials."

"I dare to guess that you summoned me here for this matter."

"Your Highness and your granddaughter-in-law are newly married and living in perfect harmony. Since he has come to ask Your Majesty for help, you certainly cannot be asked to punish your granddaughter-in-law."

"Thus, we arrive at two conclusions."

"Firstly, His Highness requests His Majesty's forgiveness for his granddaughter-in-law's mistake; secondly, His Highness hopes that his granddaughter-in-law can learn something from you."

After saying that, Zhou Zhou cautiously raised his eyes to look at the Empress Dowager.

The Empress Dowager's expression was indifferent, and her emotions were unreadable.

So...did I answer correctly or incorrectly? Is the Empress Dowager satisfied or not?

Seeing Zhou Zhou's eyes, which looked like a little mouse stealing food, the Empress Dowager finally smiled. "No wonder both father and son praised you. You are indeed intelligent."

The Empress Dowager was saying nice things, but it sounded strange.

Sure enough, she changed the subject, "However, one cannot handle state affairs with mere cleverness."

“Grandmother is right,” Zhou Zhou nodded vigorously in agreement. “I couldn’t understand what those adults were writing. I only understood it because of His Highness’s explanation.”

Empress Dowager: "..."

How could she act so convincingly?

His words were sincere and heartfelt, as if they came straight from his lungs.

"Shut up." The Empress Dowager glanced at Zhou Zhou, feeling that if she continued to beat around the bush like this, she wouldn't get to the point for at least half an hour.

Zhou Zhou awkwardly shut up.

"You guessed right, Jinyou did indeed send you here to learn from me," the Empress Dowager said, taking a scroll from a shelf in the table. "This is from the library; take a look."

Zhou Zhou opened it and found that it contained past years' imperial examination questions and debates on the list of successful candidates.

"Grandmother, this...this is..."

An idea popped into Zhou Zhou's head, his heart pounded, excitement spread throughout his body, and his eyes became bright and alert.

The Empress Dowager nodded slightly and called out loudly towards the door, "Changzhu."

The nanny who had been waiting at the door immediately pushed the door open and came in, saying, "Empress Dowager, Crown Princess."

"Go brew a pot of good tea, and send a maid to the kitchen to fetch some delicious snacks," the Empress Dowager instructed.

This book contains a great deal of information, and the scholars who answered the questions all loved to cite classical texts. While it may not be considered obscure or difficult to understand, it is certainly not something you can grasp at a glance.

Seeing that Zhou Zhou was reading with great effort, the Empress Dowager did not disturb her. Instead, she took out a storybook and leisurely read while drinking tea and eating snacks.

By the time Zhou Zhou finished reading all three policy essays from that year, an hour and a half had passed.

She rubbed her sore neck; all the bones in her body were cracking from not moving for so long.

The Empress Dowager closed the storybook, looked at Zhou Zhou, and asked, "How was it?"

"The adults' strategies are so brilliant that I'm afraid my granddaughter-in-law will never reach such heights in her lifetime."

"Hmm." The Empress Dowager felt that this was true. Among the emperors of this world, it was rare to find one with such outstanding literary talent, but governing a country did not require the ruler to have great talent.

A wise ruler is one who can distinguish right from wrong, knows how to use people effectively, is compassionate, and has the world in his heart.

"We don't participate in the imperial examinations, so it doesn't matter if we don't have their abilities," the Empress Dowager said. "We are emperors, and the world we assist is for ten thousand years, so what we know is different from what they know."

The Empress Dowager pointed to the first essay and asked, "Tell me, what's so good about this essay?"

"This official proposed a solution to the flood problem."

The article cites the story of Yu the Great controlling the floods to illustrate the point that it is better to let water flow through than to block it.

“It just so happens that there are no rivers in Huizhou north of the Lijiang River. Huizhou is famous for its tea production and should be a prosperous and wealthy place. However, since water brings wealth, there are no rivers flowing through that area, so the tea can only be sold to wealthy merchants at low prices.”

"If this continues, the rich will get richer, while the poor will remain poor."

"This official proposed to build an artificial river and open a canal to connect the Lijiang River with Huizhou. This would not only solve the problem of flooding in the Lijiang River, but also break the problem of water transport obstruction in Huizhou."

The Empress Dowager nodded, "However, since ancient times, the construction of canals has required the imposition of corvée labor, which is laborious and wasteful of resources. It is not a feasible approach."

"This is where this gentleman's brilliance lies. The latter half of the article is all about measures to enrich the country. With silver, heavy investment can be made, and the suffering of corvée labor can no longer be called suffering." Zhou Zhou sighed with admiration, but along with his admiration, he also had some doubts.

The author of this article was surnamed Meng and named Zixing. Throughout the centuries of the Chen Kingdom, historical records did not specifically mention his achievements.

As for the Huizhou Canal, it was opened to traffic as early as eighty years ago. The official in charge at that time was named Wei Fan, who had no connection with this Mencius.

It’s weird.

How could someone who can write such articles have accomplished nothing?

Seemingly noticing Zhou Zhou's confusion, the Empress Dowager spoke slowly, her tone very calm, "When the Huizhou Canal started construction, the official in charge was indeed Meng Zixing."

“Then…” Zhou Zhou was stunned.

"Ha!" The Empress Dowager sneered. "Look at the articles he wrote, for the country and the people, he deserves to be called a devoted servant; who would have thought that when the canal was started, most of the money intended for conscripting laborers was embezzled."

"The people are suffering terribly. Fortunately, it was discovered in time, otherwise..."

At this point, the Empress Dowager paused, staring intently at Zhou Zhou, and said, word by word, "Water can carry a boat, but it can also capsize it."

The Empress Dowager's eyes were like hanging pearls, and she made no attempt to hide the ruthlessness in them. They were as sharp as a sword, with a cold and piercing light, and there was not a trace of warmth in her eyes.

Under such pressure, Zhou Zhou's breathing even paused for a moment, but she was an excellent actress, so no change was visible on her face.

The Empress Dowager lowered her eyes, withdrew her tyranny, and her expression returned to its previous calm. "Look at these people, they talk a good game, but look at what they do."

"Therefore, we should not only listen to what they say, but also see what they do. More importantly, we should go and listen to and see for ourselves how the people actually live."

"Yes, granddaughter-in-law understands."

Seeing that it was almost time, the Empress Dowager didn't bother to keep him any longer and said directly, "You've been sitting here for quite a while now. That's enough for today. Just come back before 9 a.m. tomorrow."

Zhou Zhou obediently stood up. "Yes, granddaughter-in-law will come to pay her respects to the Empress Dowager again tomorrow."

The Empress Dowager nodded, then, seeing that she still hadn't left, she raised an eyebrow. "What is it? Is there anything else?"

"Grandmother, I'd like to take this book back to read." Zhou Zhou raised her face with a smile, her expression full of anticipation.

"No, and it's not necessary." The Empress Dowager refused without hesitation.

Zhou Zhou gritted his teeth.

"Water overflows when it is full, and the moon wanes after it is full." The Empress Dowager rarely spoke up to explain. "You have seen enough today. If you can understand the intricacies of this matter, then today's task is accomplished."

"Yes, granddaughter-in-law understands."

"It's getting late, let's go back quickly."

"Granddaughter-in-law takes her leave." Zhou Zhou bowed and withdrew.