Work overtime

Chapter 782

Jiang Yuebai's heart was broken when she saw the Second Princess coming back with a melancholy look on her face. She decided to carry out a major cleansing of the Japanese pirates who invaded the coastal areas!

It turned out that the two guards who were protecting the second princess died on the way back due to lack of medical care and medicine. This made the second princess truly realize the cruelty of war, the sense of responsibility of the soldiers and the preciousness of life. It turned out that those legendary figures were actually all survivors who crawled out of the mountains of corpses and seas of blood.

The second princess lived in the Cining Palace, helping her mother take care of her younger brothers and sisters. Her life was ordinary and she seemed no different, but she would often cry quietly when no one was around.

Jiang Yuebai was very worried about the Second Princess's post-war trauma and her reluctance to marry Bater. She held the Second Princess's hand and said:
"Hua'er, it was my fault before. I only considered the overall situation and didn't consider you. Now I have figured it out. Nothing is more important than your happiness. Tell me who you like. I will make the arrangements for you and order the Ministry of Rites to choose an auspicious day for your wedding as soon as possible."

The second princess' tears fell.

Jiang Yuebai quickly coaxed, "Don't cry, don't cry. Be good, don't cry. Mother has come up with another solution."

The second princess shed even more tears.

There is a huge inner struggle.

Once you choose to marry Bater, you not only have to go to the distant grassland, away from your family, give birth to a child for your enemy and become his wife, but you also have to stay on the grassland, raise your son and become the new Khan.

Such a life will be a suffocating life.

But when she thought about the possibility of war, devastation, and the loss of countless civilians and soldiers' lives, she couldn't just stand by and watch.

"Are you going to let Xiaowu go in my place? I don't want to go. How can I bear to let Xiaowu suffer?" The second princess asked with tears in her eyes.

"No," Jiang Yuebai gathered the hair around her daughter's ears, "Mother will have her own way. You don't have to worry. But you will probably have to live with another identity and another face in the future. Are you willing?"

The Second Princess nodded, "Is it really possible?"

Jiang Yuebai said, "The Queen Mother will find a woman who looks like you to go in your place. You have to write down as much as possible about your hobbies, habits, and things that happened in your childhood. After you change your appearance, you will live in your cousin's house. From now on, you will be your cousin's daughter and call me aunt. Remember?"

The second eldest princess nestled in her mother's arms, lowered her eyes, and responded softly, "Okay."

Jiang Yuebai then asked, "Who is your sweetheart?"

The second eldest princess was shy and showed the demeanor of a little girl, and did not answer for a long time. Jiang Yuebai sighed that this was the state of a young girl who was moved, and it reminded her of herself in the past.

After a long while, the Second Princess, still holding the pipa and half covering her face, said, "Yes, yes, it's Brother Qi Ming."

"Oh. It's him!" Jiang Yuebai suddenly realized and couldn't help laughing.

When Jiang Yuebai was looking for a schoolmate for her five children that year, she saw Qi Ming for the first time and thought that this young man looked very pleasing to the eye and was particularly suitable as a son-in-law. Unexpectedly, she had predicted the marriage of her second daughter so early.

The second eldest princess called out in a low voice timidly, "Mother..."

Jiang Yuebai patted the Second Princess on the back and said, "Alright, alright. Qi Ming is a good kid. The Queen Mother agreed. But you have to spend a year training your double so that it looks real."

The second eldest princess stood up and knelt respectfully at her mother's feet, "Hua'er thanks you very much for your help."

As he said this, he kowtowed deeply.

"Silly child, get up quickly." Jiang Yuebai helped the second princess up.

The second eldest princess couldn't help but ask, "But wouldn't the life of the girl who went in my place be ruined?"

Jiang Yuebai said seriously, "Many things have to be done by someone. Life is never perfect, there will always be gains and losses. Just like you, once you decide to let someone else marry you, from now on you are no longer the second princess, you can no longer call me mother, but another person, living with a new identity, and you must keep your mouth shut to everyone.

You will marry Qi Ming in two years, and you must not tell him who you are. Otherwise, war between the Mongols and the Han people is likely to break out again, and people will suffer. Which of the two lives do you want to choose?"

The second princess answered without hesitation, "I choose the second one. I want to marry him."

Jiang Yuebai summoned Huan Tai Wanyi to come and paint a portrait of the Second Princess.

A few days later, a girl named Ali, who had the exact same figure and face shape as the Second Princess, was brought into the harem for strict etiquette training.

At the same time, a completely unfamiliar girl appeared in the home of Jiang Yuebai's cousin, Jiang Bingqian, the Minister of Works. Her name was Jiang Li. It was said that she was a distant niece who came to seek refuge and was adopted as the fourth daughter. This girl was smart and cute, and was very much liked by the Queen Mother. She often went in and out of the palace and was often allowed to stay in the palace by the Queen Mother.

Because Jiang Yuebai was born into a commoner family and all his sisters had passed away, his act of honoring a descendant of the same clan did not arouse any suspicion.

Colleagues in the court began to get close to Jiang Bingqian and inquire about Jiang Li's age and requirements for a son-in-law.

Half a month later, Ali's etiquette training began to show results, and Jiang Yuebai used the disguise mask rewarded by the system on him. Because Ali didn't like to laugh, his appearance and temperament looked almost exactly like Li Zihua.

When the second princess saw a person who looked almost exactly like herself appear before her, she felt mixed emotions, surprised and upset.

Only then did the second princess clearly and intuitively realize that she had lost her status as the eldest princess forever, and there was no room for regret, because her mother had told her from the beginning that once her appearance was changed, she could never change it back.

The two often ate and lived together, and did activities together. The Second Princess often told A-li about her likes and feelings, as well as various past events. A-li carefully recorded them all, and would review and practice them from time to time.

In March of the ninth year of Taixing, the triennial imperial examination was held to select talents.

The fourth prince lived up to everyone's expectations. In the last three months, with the emperor personally tutoring and supervising him, he passed the imperial examination without having his salary deducted. According to his ability, he could have won the second place. But his brother, the emperor, thought that the ranking was not important, not to mention that the emperor's personal tutoring was strictly considered cheating. So he ranked him second and arranged him to work in the Ministry of Personnel as a sixth-rank official.

Jiang Yuebai's younger brother Jiang Bingliang hung out with the top scorers and his grades were also very outstanding. According to his ability, he could have won the second place, but there was nothing he could do. His eldest nephew was the emperor, so his ranking was also lowered to the second place, and he was arranged to work in another core department, the Ministry of Revenue, as a sixth-rank official. The top scorer was naturally Lu Changlin. He was the companion of the crown prince. He was outstanding in all aspects and was famous when he was studying in the Imperial College. He deserved the title of the top scorer. His performance in the palace examination was amazing. According to convention, he was directly admitted to the Hanlin Academy, a cadre reserve base.

The Hanlin Academy is not an ordinary place, nor is it a place dedicated to writing and printing storybooks. Although they are indeed responsible for coordinating this matter.

The newly-appointed scholars who entered the Hanlin Academy were trained as the emperor's close ministers, and they were responsible for the affairs that the emperor was in charge of. Except for the top three in the first class, the second and third place in the second class had to take an exam to enter. And after three years, they had to take a "graduation exam" for another screening. It can be said that this was a place where only the best of the best could stay.

As long as you don't make mistakes, you will enter the center sooner or later. The promotion speed is faster than anywhere else.

But there are exceptions to everything. Some people are good at taking exams or studying, but not good at handling government affairs. Some are not good at being officials. Some, like Han Shaofu, have the ability but no interest. So there are always some exceptions left in each issue. These people with alternative talents are responsible for writing storybooks and doing official propaganda work.

Because of Lu Changlin's status as the emperor's companion, everyone was wondering whether Lu Changlin would be summoned to become the emperor's consort.

In the same year, Concubine Xie's daughter, Princess Kangning, turned fourteen and moved into the Princess Residence to live with the Second Princess. Princess Kangning probably inherited the genes of her grandmother, a Jiangnan woman. She was petite, with bright eyes, a bit of pride between her brows, and quite a bit of her mother's charm.

Because she was still young, just fourteen, Jiang Yuebai planned to arrange a marriage for her in two years.

By October of that year, Ali's words and actions seemed exactly like those of the former Second Princess.

Jiang Yuebai wrote to Bater and told him that the Second Princess agreed to get married after she turned sixteen the following year, but Bater needed to swear before the gods and write a document that he would only have her for his whole life, otherwise he would be letting her down.

Bater did exactly what he was told, swore an oath in a Yellow Sect temple near the Anbei Protectorate, and signed a written agreement in the presence of monks and the Protectorate.

The winter of that year was extremely cold. A fatal pneumonia broke out in the December Palace. Jiang Yuebai's youngest son, the Fourteenth Prince, fell seriously ill, had a high fever, and eventually died.

Also dying of illness were the fourteenth princess born to Concubine Xuan, the eleventh princess born to Concubine Lu, Concubine Cui who raised the eleventh princess, and Concubine Xie who raised the fourth princess.

Concubine Hua's mother also died of illness this winter. Jiang Yuebai saw that her eyes were red and she was in a state of dismay. Only after asking others did he know the reason. In the past six years, Ye Xiang's family was still in chaos. Ye Xiang changed a younger concubine, and it seemed that he wanted to anger his original wife to death. Concubine Hua's mother was so angry that she was always in poor health. Finally, she died this winter. Concubine Hua wanted to go back to see her mother off, but the Queen Mother had just lost her son, so she didn't dare to mention it.

Jiang Yuebai specially allowed Concubine Hua to go out of the palace to see his mother off, and also sent a memorial service in the name of the empress dowager, so that she could arrange for a decent burial for her mother before returning to the palace, so as to avoid being humiliated by concubines after her death.

This caused Concubine Hua Taishu to hold Jiang Yuebai and cry before she left, repeating over and over again, "I have no way to repay your kindness, I can only serve you like a slave in my next life."

Jiang Yuebai was heartbroken by the death of his youngest son, the Fourteenth Prince. He fell seriously ill and was left with a cough that could not be cured and his health was much worse than before.

She took the initiative to propose to the six ministers that the emperor was already sixteen years old and was mature enough to handle political affairs, so he could rule the country independently. Starting from the first month of the next year, the power would be returned to the emperor in advance. The court was relieved, and the situation of Wu's meddling in politics in history would finally not happen again.

In fact, not only the ministers, Li Chengji also breathed a sigh of relief. His mother has been too capable and hardworking over the years. Even if he works very hard and makes rapid progress, he still cannot match his mother's level of handling political affairs.

He felt that he was extremely hardworking, so he often felt tired and exhausted, but his mother, who was 17 years older than him, was always energetic, active in thinking, and sharp in insight, which made him feel inferior.

Even though he has been in power for nearly ten years, he could not help but notice the gaze behind the curtain behind him. He was always nervous and anxious, walking on thin ice, and dared not slack off even a little.

Now that his mother had offered to return power to him, he was finally relieved. He was extremely grateful for this and would pay his respects to his mother every day without fail, taking the initiative to report to her on the progress of the court and asking for advice on how to deal with some difficult problems.

The relationship between mother and son is unprecedentedly harmonious and close.

The following year, the tenth year of Taixing, the Imperial Astronomical Observatory selected a good day in April to send the second eldest princess to marry.

Jiang Yuebai arranged for the Jinyiwei to escort Ali and sent a huge amount of dowry, including a large number of precious books, artworks, gold and silver jewelry, and daily necessities, and married Ali to the grassland in a grand manner.

Qi Ming was among the escorting guards.

Jiang Yuebai did not arrange this on purpose. Qi Ming passed the exam and became the top martial arts scholar, and held an important position in the Jinyiwei. The princess's wedding was a major event related to the peace and friendship between the Mongolian and Han peoples, so it was reasonable and legal for him to volunteer to see her off.

After seeing off the Second Princess, Li Chengji lamented to the Queen Mother, "Qi Ming went to drink with the Fourth Princess several times this month, and he got drunk every time. I wonder if he likes the Second Princess. When I asked him, he didn't admit it."

Jiang Yuebai continued, "As a member of the royal family, your every move affects the people of the world, and there are always many things you have to do. You have it, your mother has it, and your sister has it too. The most important thing is to learn to open up to yourself. Your marriage should also be put on the agenda. What do you think?"

The emperor and the empress, two people who were in charge of the country, could not even consider the nickname of their eldest son.

Afterwards I discovered that both "Ding Ding" and "Ji'er" are a bit strange and point to the same meaning.

Fortunately, the crown prince was established early, so calling him crown prince saved a lot of trouble.

Jiang Yuebai had been keeping the Second Princess' identity change a secret from Li Chengji to avoid unnecessary trouble. But it was unclear whether the Emperor had secretly investigated the matter and chose to pretend not to know.

"If you ask my son, he wants to choose a Mongolian woman as his queen."

Jiang Yuebai was shocked. She had originally planned to do the same. She was still thinking about how to persuade her son to agree and accept it. Unexpectedly, the mother and son had such a tacit understanding.

The Qing Dynasty was able to handle the relationship with Mongolia well in the future. In addition to the historical origin of intermarriage between ethnic minorities for many years, more importantly, since Nurhaci officially launched the Later Jin regime, he attached great importance to mutual marriage and political marriage. During the reigns of Huang Taiji and Shunzhi, the marriage between Manchus and Mongols reached its peak.

After the Ming Dynasty conquered the Oirat Tatars, it granted the original tribal leaders the title of king, such as Mahamu as the King of Shunning, Tuboluo as the King of Anle, and Taiping as the King of Xianyi, giving them the noble treatment and status of princes. It also supported them to take up positions in the central or local governments, weakened and hollowed out their sphere of influence, and turned them into Mongolian nobles with empty titles but no real power.

On the other hand, through the mixed administrative system of the Eight Banners, the vertical administrative governance of the Mongolian areas was strengthened, and the over-reliance on these tribal leaders was no longer excessive, forming a clever check and balance with them, making these nobles similar to the gentry in the inland areas.

At the same time, in the past six years, under the leadership of Jiang Yuebai, Mongolian nobles and the upper class of the Ming Dynasty continued to intermarry. With the rise of many small towns, the Mongolian-Han trade was further strengthened. With the migration of merchants and people from many places in the Central Plains, Mongolian became the second official language, and intermarriage between ethnic groups was extremely frequent, with a high degree of integration.

In addition, by building many Yellow Sect temples, monks were incorporated into the civil service system of the Ming Dynasty, and they were paid wages and provided with various welfare benefits. Monks were also canonized by the court to improve their religious status. This not only solved the livelihood of the grassland herders and greatly guaranteed their basic survival, but also enriched their spiritual life and reduced violent conflicts. Moreover, a large number of young and middle-aged men entered the temples to practice, no longer married and had children, and no longer fought for their livelihoods, which further promoted local stability.

It can be said that the relationship between Mongolians and Han people is no longer what it used to be, and has undergone a qualitative change compared with the previous two dynasties.