The Second Master of the Red Chamber

Seeing that the old man wasn't too old-fashioned, Jia Lian also had the idea of ​​taking him on as a disciple.

"As the Minister of Revenue, Lord Lu is in charge of the nation's finances and grain; his thinking needs to be even more flexible."

Our Great Wei has enjoyed a long period of peace, and there is a long-standing tradition of valuing sons over daughters among the people.

Lord Lu, do you know how many men in the common people cannot afford to get married?

"If this continues, what consequences do you foresee, Lord Lu?"

Lu Zhongxiang's expression changed.

Even though he had been in a high position in the government for a long time and could hardly see the suffering of the common people, he knew that what Jia Lian was saying was an objective reality.

If ordinary people at the bottom of society can't find wives, at the very least, the population won't grow.

In severe cases, it can cause conflicts among the people and even lead to unrest.

Knowing how much the population increases is the biggest indicator of whether a period is a golden age or whether an emperor has made great achievements.

Thinking about this, Lu Zhongxiang began to understand Jia Lian's meaning.

"The prince's intention is to sell these Korean women to men in the countryside who cannot find wives."

No, no, no, this isn't right.

Since they can't even get married, they probably can't afford to buy one either, right?

Lu Zhongxiang knew that the Korean women Jia Lian brought back were worth at least ten taels of silver each.

This price is almost enough to marry a wife in the countryside.

Why bother buying from the imperial court?

Jia Lian sneered: "It seems that Lord Lu has been an official for too long and can no longer stand on the side of the people."

Faced with such a crucial matter concerning people's livelihood and the nation's well-being, how could they still be thinking about making money?

"Um... This old minister is ashamed."

Despite this, Lu Zhongxiang felt no shame.

If a Minister of Revenue isn't meticulous in his calculations, can he be considered competent?
However, he did understand what Jia Lian meant.

"Does Your Highness mean to distribute these Korean women free of charge to those who can't find wives?"

Jia Lian revealed an expression that suggested he was a promising young man.

Then he added: "Although it is to solve people's livelihood problems, these North Korean women were, after all, bought by the court with money."

It cannot be distributed indiscriminately, otherwise, if it is given to those who do not appreciate it, not only will the court's painstaking efforts be wasted, but it will also cause injustice.

Therefore, I propose that Lord Lu have someone identify, according to the household registration, those poor people who have reached adulthood but have not yet married, and who must not have any bad habits, and distribute them according to their eligibility.

This would not only solve the problem of resettling these Korean women, but also facilitate countless marriages and earn the court a good reputation.

Upon hearing this, Lu Zhongxiang felt that if they really followed Jia Lian's suggestion, it might actually become a good policy and bring good reputation to the court.

Looking at the young prince before him, he thought to himself that it was truly rare for someone of the Prince of Pingliao's status to be so considerate of the people.

In this light, if this person were to actually take that position in the future, it would be a good thing for the Great Wei and for all the people of the world.

"This old minister understands."

After going down there, I will handle the matter carefully according to the prince's instructions, striving not to disappoint the prince's original intention of wholeheartedly serving the people.

"and many more."

"Does Your Highness have any further instructions?"

Jia Lian glanced at Lu Zhongxiang and asked, "Is this how you plan to get things done?"

"Um, does Your Highness have any other instructions?"

Lu Zhongxiang considered himself a capable person, but now, standing in front of Jia Lian, he suddenly felt that he was truly incompetent.

Then he recalled what others had said about Jia Lian, saying that this Prince Pingliao had a long-term vision and acted without regard for trivial matters, making it difficult for ordinary people to keep up with his thoughts.

I initially took it as mere flattery, but now it seems there's no smoke without fire.

"These Korean women, after all, were presented to the court by Korea. A batch was selected and sent to the palace to serve the nobles."

Furthermore, the saying goes, "It is not scarcity that is to be feared, but inequality."

To prevent looting and plundering from occurring after the policy is implemented.

This was also to increase the revenue for the imperial court.

You can let the noble mansions and wealthy merchants in the capital make their selections first.

As for the price, let's set it high.

Well, let's start with five hundred taels of silver. The earlier someone chooses, the higher the price.

"Does Lord Lu understand what I mean?"

Lu Zhongxiang was speechless: "Five hundred taels? Is Your Highness serious?"

"Don't worry, someone will make a bid."

Lu Zhongxiang felt that the price was outrageously high.

You should know that even as the Minister of Revenue, a first-rank official, his annual salary was only this much.

Spending so much money just to buy a North Korean woman?
But then I thought about it again, and considering the style of these wealthy gentlemen in the capital, it seems like they might actually do it!

Besides, weren't we just talking to him about national strength and people's livelihood?

How did we suddenly start talking about business again?

However, his original intention in coming to Jia Lian was to solve the problem of resettling these Korean women.

Upon closer examination, it became clear that they could first extort money from the wealthy people in the capital to recoup the costs for the imperial court.

The rest, those they looked down on or were unwilling to pay a high price for, were given away for free to poor people so they could get married and have children. It was truly a win-win situation.

He had already made up his mind. Although he wanted to ask about more specific measures, he felt that if he continued to ask, Jia Lian would really start to doubt his competence and ability.

After offering a few compliments, he prepared to take his leave.

Princess Zhaoyang interjected, "After listening to you talk for so long, I suddenly remembered that I am short of manpower in my household."

Since my brother brought back so many Korean women from Korea, why don't I select some to take back and train?

But Lord Lu, rest assured, I have no intention of taking advantage of the imperial court.

"As you've said, five hundred taels each, how about I pay?"

Lu Zhongxiang quickly replied, "Look what the princess said. Since they are people the princess commands, we should naturally offer them to her. How could we dare to take the princess's money?"

Lu Zhongxiang was also surprised to find that Princess Zhaoyang was so wealthy and powerful.

However, he wasn't stupid; he really dared to rip off Princess Zhaoyang.

Moreover, Princess Zhaoyang's words could be seen as a reminder to him.

At that time, not only the palace, but also the Prince of Pingliao's residence will have to send a batch there.

Well, as for the Crown Prince's residence, I've heard that the Crown Prince isn't interested in women and prefers playthings, so forget about it.

Princess Zhaoyang waved her hand, not really caring.

She really doesn't lack money now.

When she first left the palace to establish her own residence, her elders gave her a lot.

Jia Lian even secretly gave her a silver note containing 500,000 taels of silver.

To this day, not even half of those banknotes have been used.

After all, she's not just sitting around doing nothing; she now has her own business.

Even if she doesn't work hard to make money, she will never run out of money.

Therefore, she didn't really mind spending five hundred taels to pick out some maids she liked and take them home.
Firstly, these women from foreign lands, having no background in the Great Wei, would be easier to train to be loyal.

Princess Zhaoyang was left with some trauma after being betrayed by her maid.

Secondly, it could be seen as a way to set an example for the Ministry of Revenue. She was willing, but Lu Zhongxiang was not.

It was finally agreed that Princess Zhaoyang could choose at cost price.

The so-called cost price is the price North Korea discounts. The value of each of these more than three thousand women in silver has been categorized in the register.

Princess Zhaoyang went to select maids and deal with the remnants of Prince Yun's faction.

Jia Lian checked his watch and realized that the rest time had passed, so he returned to the main hall where the coffin was kept in state, just in time to see the eunuchs changing the ice on the coffin.

The Emperor Emeritus passed away during the hottest part of the day.

To prevent decay, after the Emperor Emeritus's body was placed in the coffin, the sealed coffin was placed inside a much larger, giant coffin.

Sufficient ice was placed between the two coffins, and it was added and replaced regularly to prevent any trace of decay from escaping from the coffins and affecting the dignity of the imperial family.

To ensure the supply of ice for this purpose, the concubines in the harem had almost no ice available after the death of the retired emperor.

Even so, after more than a month, the ice stored in the several ice cellars throughout the palace was almost gone.

As for shortening the period of rest in peace and burying the body as soon as possible, that is impossible.

The funeral rites for the emperor have their own set of rules, and the date cannot be missed even for a single day.

Now that it's August, the rate at which the ice melts has slowed down significantly.

However, upon entering the mourning hall, one can still feel a chilling aura.

That was melted ice water from the giant coffin, flowing through the cracks into the grooves below and radiating outwards in all directions.

After inspecting the condition of the coffin, another official from the Ministry of Rites came to report on the situation.

This includes the route taken by the Emperor Emeritus's coffin as it left the palace, as well as the aristocratic families along the way who offered ice to him, and so on.

After confirming that all the necessary precautions were correct and reporting to Emperor Ningkang, Jia Lian stayed in the palace with peace of mind, awaiting the funeral procession.

……

Xiaoci County is where the imperial tombs are located.

All the emperors and empresses of the Great Wei Dynasty were buried here.

The design and construction of the Emperor Emeritus's mausoleum began in his later years, and it has been twenty years since then!
The budget has been continuously increased over time, and to date, the area occupied is even larger than that of the mausoleum of Emperor Taizu.

After more than ten days, the grand funeral procession finally entered the imperial mausoleum.

After a brief settling-in, Jia Lian came to pay his respects to the Empress.

As soon as I entered the small courtyard where the Empress was staying, I saw Sister Feng standing on the corridor, directing the palace maids and eunuchs to do their work.

"You guys, move this pot of crabapple away, trim it neatly, and put it in the back."

Bring up those two pots of chrysanthemums. The Empress enjoys admiring chrysanthemums; seeing them when she wakes up will cheer her up.

Feng Jie was busy when she saw Jia Lian and hurriedly came down the corridor to greet him: "Why have you come? Mother is tired from the journey. We just helped her to bed. You've come at a bad time."

"It's alright. Since Mother has gone to sleep, we won't disturb her."

As Jia Lian spoke, he looked around and teased, "What, you've already won over the Empress Dowager so quickly, and you're even managing things for her here?"

"Stop talking nonsense. What do you mean I'm managing the household for Mother? I only helped you take care of Mother because I saw how busy you've been on your journey."

My mother saw that I was diligent, which is why she allowed me to stay by her side.

Sister Feng tried to explain, her expression somewhat shy.

Jia Lian then laughed.

That's right, that's the real Sister Feng.

How could Sister Feng, who could trample on all the daughters-in-law and granddaughters-in-law of the Jia family and make Grandmother Jia happy, not get along well with her elders?

The incident at Weiyang Palace was an exception.

At that time, the Empress Dowager summoned her with the intention of disciplining her, so naturally she had no room to maneuver.

In the past two or three years, Sister Feng has almost never entered the palace in order to avoid the Empress Dowager's wrath.

Now that the Empress Dowager's influence has waned, it's unlikely she still cares about her, so it's time for her to make a comeback.

When he returns to the world, this small palace will be taken over.

Without lingering there, Jia Lian gave Feng Jie a few words of advice, telling her to take good care of the Empress, and then headed to the back.

The main courtyard behind was also where the Empress Dowager stayed.

Although the Empress Dowager has little presence now, her status is undeniable, and no one dares to treat her with disrespect.

The Empress was known for her virtue and adherence to traditional wifely virtues, and she would not compete with the Empress Dowager.

Therefore, she took the initiative to arrange for the Empress Dowager to live in the main courtyard, while she herself lived in the small courtyard in front.

Perhaps because the Empress Dowager was young, she did not rest.

When Jia Lian arrived, she was playing chess with Princess Zhaoyang in the courtyard.

When he saw Jia Lian, he was indifferent.

"Brother Wang, you've come at the right time. Please sit down and take a look at me."

My grandmother is bullying me again.

Princess Zhaoyang got up and pulled Jia Lian over, asking him for guidance.

Jia Lian first bowed to the Empress Dowager before lowering his head to watch the game.

Contrary to Princess Zhaoyang's claim that she was being bullied, the game was actually evenly matched.

So Jia Lian shook his head: "You're putting me in a difficult position. You know my chess skills; I can't even beat you. How can I give you pointers?"

"I don't care, if we lose, it's your fault."

After being pressed down to sit by Princess Zhaoyang, Jia Lian did not hesitate. He briefly examined the chessboard and then placed his piece.

The Empress Dowager said nothing, maintaining her exquisitely beautiful face as she silently played chess.

No one spoke anymore.

Princess Zhaoyang stood beside Jia Lian, leaning on his shoulder.

She glanced at the chessboard one moment and then at her own grandmother the next.

I feel that my grandmother is much more serious now than when we were playing chess just now.

As expected, less than half a moment later, under the Empress Dowager's increasingly fierce offensive, Jia Lian gradually became unable to make a move.

So he could only look apologetically at Princess Zhaoyang, and then bow to the Empress Dowager, saying, "Grandmother's chess skills are superb; I am ashamed to admit that I am no match for her."

Upon hearing Jia Lian's words, the Empress Dowager's initial excitement at winning the game immediately vanished.

She glanced at Jia Lian and spoke for the first time: "I originally thought you were just being modest, but I didn't expect your chess skills to be really inferior to Zhao Yang's. It's disappointing."

After saying that, she stood up, said she was tired, and went back to the palace.

Seeing Jia Lian fail again, Princess Zhaoyang chuckled, then pressed down Jia Lian's arm as he respectfully saw off the Empress Dowager, and teased, "You, aren't you usually so good at coaxing girls?"

Why do I always end up making the Empress Dowager angry?

Jia Lian shrugged: "I don't know, and I didn't say anything."

Princess Zhaoyang pressed Jia Lian back down onto the stone bench, and then sat in the seat that the Empress Dowager had previously occupied.

She waved away the palace maids who wanted to help collect the chess pieces, and while doing so herself, she leaned forward and whispered to Jia Lian, "Don't you know that the Empress Dowager doesn't like you calling her Empress Dowager?"

"Uh, what should I call her?"

"I don't know either, just don't follow our calls."

"It would be better to call her Empress Dowager."

"Ok."

Jia Lian agreed verbally, but inwardly he scoffed, thinking to himself that menopausal women were not to be trifled with.

By the way, is it menopause at thirty-four? (End of Chapter)