Chapter 54 Wife’s Dominance

The Grand Princess was the sister of Emperor Sheng Yuan. Although she was not born from the same mother, but they had fought side by side and had a bit of friendship. Back then, when the enemy attacked Hancheng in Liaodong by surprise, it was Her Highness Grand Princess who led the people to defend the city. However, Zhao Luli, a general who was stationed at the border a hundred miles away, because he lost his beloved wife, he drank heavily every day, and when he received the war report, he couldn’t even get up, let alone rush to the rescue. When his subordinates risked beheading and dispatched the army without permission to rescue them, Hancheng was already broken, and hundreds of thousands of people and soldiers were all turned into blood, the tragic scene was like purgatory on earth.

Although the Grand Princess survived by chance, she hated Zhao Luli and Emperor Sheng Yuan since then, so she guarded the border all year round and reluctant to return to the capital. If not for a letter written by Emperor Sheng Yuan a few days ago, saying that recasting of the law and reforming the tax and land system would probably violate the interests of the big aristocratic clan which would caused a violent shock in the court and ordered her to return to the capital to suppress it, or she might not step into the gate of Yanjing City in this lifetime.

However, as soon as she entered the capital, she saw a woman with a peerless beauty scolding Zhao Luli like a dog, but there was no swear word in the whole sentence, which immediately made Grand Princess’ gloomy mood brighten up. Coupled with the fact that her emperor brother was hidden in the crowd, pretending to be an honest bear, but his eyes were full of pain from unrequited feelings, which made her even more happy.

What kind of auspicious day she run into? Some other time, she must make good friends with this Marquis Zhenbei Madam. She got on her horse, tightened the reins, bypassed the crowded streets, turned into a dark alley, and quickly disappeared without a trace.

Zhao Luli was still standing in front of Dengwen Drum with a bewildered expression on his face. Several women who had once admired him whispered, “Fortunately, when my mother asked to let me marry Marquis Zhenbei, he refused, otherwise I would be in this dire straits now. Barely got married already take concubine, the Ye family still so rampant that they brought out Ye Jieyu to suppress the madam of the main house, even had the posture of taking a concubine as wives. If Marquis Zhenbei Madam is not Guan shi, if it replaced with an ordinary woman, she would not be able to live now!”

“Yeah! The Guan family is upright and honest. They dared to fight against Ye Jieyu and the emperor’s relatives, and finally won. Other families don’t have such means, nor can they teach such a courageous woman.”

“Just now everyone is still worrying about Guan shi. I think she can handle it completely. She is loyal, filial, and righteous, return to the truth, and walk on the bright road (TN: doesn’t use shady means). it can even be said to not have worldly desires. The Ye family those demons and monsters, and the Marquis Mansion this despicable and dirty things, simply can’t hurt her at all.”

“This is probably like The Sage said, ‘looking up not ashamed of the sky, looking down not ashamed of people’, really has magnificent spirit, which is admirable.”

“Exactly!” The noble ladies echoed one after another, and they scolded Zhao Luli for a while before dispersing. From then on, there was no more legend of “Jade Son” in the capital. When mentioning Marquis Zhenbei, every womenfolk would shake their heads and spit “disloyal and unfilial, heartless and unrighteous waste”.

“Hey, I said, are you still going to beat the Dengwen drum? If you don’t beat, get out of the way, I want to use it!” A lame beggar hesitated for a long time, and finally stood up, followed by many frail orphans.

“I want to beat the Dengwen drum too, let me go first!” A tearful woman stepped out, picked up the drumstick and struck without hesitation, dong dong, dong dong, dong dong… The dull thunderous sound of the drum spread from near to far, bringing the people who had walked away slowly  gathered again.

Zhao Luli was squeezed out of the crowd, and when he looked back, he found that Marquis Zhenxi and the disguised Emperor Sheng Yuan were standing not far away, staring at him. He didn’t know when the two of them came, but he also too ashamed to step forward to speak, only slightly arching his hands, intending to go first.

“Do you remember what you said when you entered the palace to ask for a marriage decree?” Emperor Sheng Yuan stepped forward and said solemnly, “It seems that Madam can assume the responsibility of a clan wife, but you are not worthy of being a Marquis.” And what he wanted to express more was that Madam could not only bear the responsibility of a clan wife, but also the mother of the country.

But he was not qualified, so he could only hold back.

Seemingly aware of the hatred and bitterness hidden in the depths of the emperor’s eyes, Zhao Luli’s heart beat fiercely, then immediately felt one hole opening up, like something extremely important was slowly lost and never returned. The two stood at a standstill, no one spoke, and suddenly heard the sound of uniform footsteps in the distance, and soon a line of guards surrounded the women and beggars who were beating the drums and asked, “Who is beating the drums? Who is suing? What happened?”

“Reporting to my lord, this woman (this commoner) wants to sue Ye Quanyong for taking a life!” They both knelt and shouted in unison.

The passers-by were in uproar, never expecting this to be the sins of the Ye family again, and they would rather be hit with a hundred heavy sticks. One of them was still a frail woman, which showed that she really hated the Ye family. It wasn’t over yet, just as the two of them finished speaking, another eight to nine-year-old boy staggered to Dengwen Drum, stood on tiptoe to reach for the drumsticks on the stand, and shouted anxiously, “I also want to sue the Ye family for killing people! I was originally the young master of Jinxiu Manor in Willow Lane. My parents, older brothers and sisters, younger siblings, grandparents, and maternal grandparents were all killed by the Ye family! He also robbed my family’s cloth manor and took my mother’s double-sided embroidery technique! I was shoved into a dry well by my mother and only then managed to escape, I have proof!”

The guard couldn’t bear it, and advised, “You are still young, you will definitely not be able to withstand a hundred heavy sticks. If you have any grievances, go to the local authorities to file a complaint, or come back when you grow up.”

“No, when I grow up and come back, Ye Quanyong may have been executed. I would rather die with him than live. I once worshiped the Emperor Teacher in the enlighten school, I know what moral integrity is, what loyalty and filial piety are!”

“Well said! You have a backbone!” A burly man came out, picked up the drumstick and beat it twice, and said loudly, “I beat the drum on behalf of this little brother, and I will bear a hundred heavy sticks for him. There is righteousness in the world, and it is not called treacherous and chaos! The Emperor Teacher dares to sacrifice his life for justice, Marquis Zhenbei Madam dares to stand upright, and the little brother dares to die for his family, we should draw a knife to help when seeing injustice on the road!”

“Yes! Draw a knife to help when seeing injustice on the road, that’s a good one! We are all righteous people, how can I let you get all the glory? I will bear this hundred heavy stick, not only for this little brother, but also for this lady!” Another strong young man came out.

“I’m coming too!”

“I come!”

“And I!”

Infected by all the righteous people, people kept raising their hands in response, and the Xuande Gate was in a state of frenzy. There were also many old and weak women and children who covered their faces and wept, their hearts were shocked. The boy and the woman knelt on the ground and kowtowed again and again, while still refusing, “We understand the good intentions of the elders and fellow countrymen, and we don’t need to implicate others. We will avenge our grievances and sue our grievances ourselves.”

On one hand the guards were captured by the people’s righteousness, and their hearts were greatly touched, but on the other hand, they did not dare to make exception, so they had to send someone to report to their superiors.

Emperor Sheng Yuan’s eyes were slightly red, his throat was blocked, and there was a constant inexplicable emotion surging in his chest. Only then he understood what he was doing and what kind of changes he would bring to the world. If it wasn’t for Madam pointed it out, it might take him five years, ten years, or even longer time to understand the strength of the people’s hearts and supports, and to appreciate the vastness when the public opinions came together.

“If you want to rejuvenate the country, first settle the people. If the people’s heart is good, the injustices in the world will be wiped out. If the people’s heart is evil, the country will be destroyed and the people starving, relatives and friends will be ruined. Zhen open the way to speak and recast the legal code, it’s actually the right thing. You look at them, can you see the war-torn hostility and despair? Can you see the numbness and disheartened of being thrown away from their home? The Emperor Teacher guides by loyalty and righteousness. Zhen willing to be a model, lead by example, and borrowing Madam’s auspicious words, in less than five years the Great Wei will be restore, and within ten years will unify the rivers and mountains. Madam’s words are always right.”

Emperor Sheng Yuan pointed to the positive and energetic people, and there was a sense of pride.

Qin Lingyun nodded in agreement, but sighed in his heart: Nowadays you just say “Madame says this, madam says that”, it has really become a specialty of Sichuan and Shu – rake ears it is Sichuan dialect, it means a man who is afraid of his wife, and still quite enjoying yourself, really falling deeper and deeper.

Looking at the excited people, Zhao Luli had another feeling, as if he fell into the surging river and was about to die. Is this the sin of the Ye family? If things get bigger and bigger, how will it end? The Ye family is over, what about Zhen’er? Won’t the Marquis Mansion be implicated?

While thinking about it, a middle-aged man in an official robe hurried out of the Xuande Gate, sternly rejecting the people’s proposal to be tortured on other’s behalf, and only let the guards done things according to the rules, but secretly told them to use less power, the boards made crackling sound, but only hurt the outer layer of flesh. After a hundred sticks, not to mention two adults, even the boy could get up quickly and thank him. The people were indignant at first, but when they saw what happened later they came to their senses, and endlessly praising him.

“Who is this person? Not confuse the law, but secretly benevolent, thorough from top to bottom, not one drop was leak. He is truly a talent!” Qin Lingyun’s eyes lit up as he praised.

“This person is the eldest disciple of Old Master Guan, Zhou Lekang, and the newly appointed young minister in Prime Minister office.” Emperor Sheng Yuan gave the person a deep look and then waved his hand, “Go back to the palace.”

While walking, his thoughts were mixed, he never expected that even the “double-sided embroidery” was snatched by Ye Zhen with vicious means. So what kind of inside story the life-saving grace from back then? Because of this woman, he lost a brother he treated sincerely, lost the empress who should belong to him, and perhaps missed the only soul that could enter his heart.

His loss, his injustice, his anger, who should he sue? Emperor Sheng Yuan seemed to have a fire burning in his heart. He walked halfway, and suddenly said gloomily, “Go to Heavenly Prison, I will personally interrogate Ye Quanyong.”

Qin Lingyun silently turned around and shed tears of sympathy for Ye Quanyong.

Zhao Luli didn’t dare to keep up. He stood on the side of the road for a while before leaving in a daze. Suddenly, his nose felt a little cold, and when he looked up, he realized that it was raining. The rain was thin and dense, carried along the spring’s chill and dreadfulness, afraid he would get sick after being poured on for a while. He cleared his mind for a moment, and hurriedly ran towards the palace gate in the north, where Liu shi and a pair of children were still kneeling and begging for life.

On this side, Guan Suyi arrived at her maiden house before the rain, took off her cloak, changed into her regular clothes, and then went to the main hall to pay respect. Zhong shi stood anxiously under the porch and waited, with an expression of wanting to speak but hesitated. However, Old Maaster Guan and Guan Father looked as usual, and ordered their servants to prepare dishes and drinks and sit down for a light meal.

“Just now Zhao Luli looking for you to make a scene?” Guan Father opened his mouth under the old man’s gesture.

“Just a piece of waste, it’s not much of a trouble.” Guan Suyi poured wine for her grandfather, her brows and eyes were all calm and indifferent.

Only then did Guan Father nodded and chuckled, “Good, my child is indeed not inferior to men. Marrying a daughter into a high gate and marry a wife from a low gate, one is to promote the family wealth, and the other is to strengthen the husband’s dominance. My Guan family’s wealth is a pair of proud bones, a bold and loyal heart, and does not need the embellishment of other vulgar things. My Guan family’s daughter have a clear conscience, no need to flatter, no need to accept compromise, no need to bear the shame and humiliation. Didn’t his Marquis Zhenbei Mansion let the words out that our Guan family just climbing the marriage? Then let father completely humbled him, and see who climbs who, this is to strengthen wife’s dominance.”

Hearing this, Guan Suyi burst out laughing, but Zhong shi only sighed and shook her head.

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