lady, please calm down

In the winter of the 22nd year of the founding of the country, the 83-year-old former Prime Minister, Duke of Korea, and Grand Tutor Cai Yuan passed away in his hometown.

The Emperor of Chu accompanied Concubine Cai to Tongshan to pay his respects and posthumously named him Duke Wen Zhong of Cai.

He ignored the dissuasion of the officials, emphasized filial piety, and offered sacrifices to the deceased with his sons and nephews.
He can be said to be the first person to be honored after the founding of the Great Chu.

However, it can also be seen from this that although Cai Yuan, who was both your Majesty's father and teacher, is gone, the Cai family's favor to your Majesty has not diminished in the slightest.

Originally a family of clerks in a county town, under the relay of two generations of Prime Minister Cai and Concubine Gui, they grew into an official family comparable to the Chen family of Yingchuan.

Now that Cai Yuan has passed away, whether within the family or in the eyes of outsiders, Cai Yun and Cai Kun seem to have no aura as the head of the family. Instead, it is the imperial concubine who has a say in family affairs.

However, the Cai family is now one of the most prominent families in Da Chu. The family is full of nobles, but it is headed by a woman. It is not good to say it out loud, and everyone knows it.

On the seventh day of the twelfth lunar month, the day after Cai Wenzhong was buried, a meeting within the Cai family seemed to confirm the rumors about Cai Huan's status within the family.

Perhaps it was because it would be awkward for a woman to sit at the head of a meeting with a group of men, so that night, the eldest and second wives each brought their wives, and the main hall of the Cai family's ancestral home was packed with people.

All the men and women in the family were dressed in white, with sad looks on their faces, as if they had not yet recovered from the grief of Cai Yuan's death.

When Cai Huan, who looked exhausted, asked his brothers and nephews what they were going to do next, Cai Yun, the eldest son of the Cai family, was the first to speak: "I have already drafted a memorial of mourning and will give it to Your Majesty tomorrow."

It is natural to observe mourning for one's parents.

Not to mention that after his father passed away, only his mother was left who needed someone to take care of her and accompany her. Just to say that Cai Yuan's kindness to his many children and grandchildren was not just the simple grace of raising them. It can be said that without Cai Yuan's decisive decision in his early years, there would be no Cai family today.

Cai Yun still remembers what his father said to him after the emperor raided the Zheng family's old house at night when the emperor was an official in Tongshan.

As soon as he finished speaking, Cai Long, the eldest son of the eldest son's family and the grandson of the Cai family, followed his father and said, "Aunt, my nephew has also drafted a memorial to accompany your father in mourning and accompany your grandmother."

As soon as the eldest son of the family expressed their opinion, Cai Kun of the second son and his two sons also spoke up one after another, expressing their desire to stay in their hometown to mourn for their father and grandfather.

This is normal. For an official, filial piety and loyalty are the two most important qualities.

No matter who it is at this moment, if they show any hesitation, it means that there is a serious flaw in their quality.

On the side, Cai Kun's wife You couldn't help but look at the second son Cai Wei. Coincidentally, Cai Wei's wife, Princess Chen Rao of Shu, who was holding her youngest son, also looked over. The mother-in-law and daughter-in-law looked at each other briefly, feeling a little awkward.
Seven years ago, because Youshi ignored the wishes of Shu Kingdom and forced Cai Wei to take a concubine, the relationship between the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law was not harmonious.

Later, the farce was ended with Cai Huan's intervention and Cai Kun and his wife leaving Beijing.

As a result, Youshi, who had not yet had enough of being the mistress of the household, actually formed a split family. The mother-in-law and daughter-in-law were three thousand miles apart, so Youshi naturally could no longer interfere with this small family, and Shu became the mistress of the Cai family in Beijing.

Later, I don’t know whether it was because the prescription that Taoist Taixu gave to Cai Wei took effect, or because Rao’er was in a good mood without her mother-in-law, but in seven years, she gave birth to two sons and a daughter, completely washing away the injustice of her "inability to lay eggs."

Because the two lived too far apart and Cai Kun and his son each had their own duties, the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law had only met once or twice over the years.

It's a peaceful time now.

But even if the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law are not on good terms, Rao'er can see her mother-in-law's worry from the brief glance they just exchanged. Her husband, Cai Wei, is now about to complete three years as the Third Department's Duzhi Lang, and there is a great possibility that he will be promoted after the inspection.
Rao'er secretly inquired from her mother and learned that her father intended to let her husband work as a minister in the Ministry of Commerce.

The Cai family's children have always been insightful in business and taxation, and their talents can be considered to be fully utilized.

If he becomes the Vice Minister of Commerce, Cai Wei, who is just 30 years old, will officially enter the ranks of senior officials of the Great Chu. As a wife, Rao'er naturally hopes that her husband will have a bright future. On a big scale, this means she is doing her best for the country and serving her father; on a small scale, she can return to the palace to reunite with her sisters, which will give her face.

However, unexpectedly, at such a critical moment, my husband passed away.

Rao'er knew that her mother-in-law's look just now wanted her to persuade her husband that he should not observe mourning at this time. Youshi herself did not dare to say this. After being driven out of Tokyo by her sister-in-law fifteen years after the founding of the country, Youshi now had to hold her buttocks between her legs when farting in front of Cai Huan.

But Rao'er couldn't say these words!

How can anyone advise people not to be filial?
But at this moment, Cai Hua, who was sitting at the head of the table, spoke slowly, "Brother Long, your filial piety will surely please your grandfather, but..."

Cai Hua suddenly changed the subject, "If your grandfather were still alive, he would definitely not want to see you do this."

At this point, Cai Huan's emotions seemed to fluctuate a little, her eyes slightly reddened, and then she seemed to comfort herself or persuade her family, "Your grandfather was already eighty-three years old, he passed away in his sleep without any illness or disaster, it should be a happy funeral. He valued his family the most in his life, he certainly would not want to see his children and grandchildren stay at home in mourning for the sake of filial piety, wasting their time serving the country in vain."

But the eldest grandson Cai Long immediately stood up and said, "Aunt, my nephew is the eldest grandson of the eldest son, so my nephew and father will stay in the hometown to mourn for my grandfather. Silang will be examined soon, so he should return to Beijing as soon as possible."

The mourning period can be completed by the eldest son alone, or all the children and grandchildren of the family can participate.

But in the eyes of the world, the more children and grandchildren involved, the more filial they appear.

In such an environment, even if Cai Kun wanted to avoid being criticized, he couldn't remain silent. He stood up quickly. But before he could say anything, Cai Huan waved her hand to stop him from speaking. She said, "Brother, don't say anything. On the way back, I have already made up my mind. I will let my eldest brother stay at home to mourn and accompany my mother, Long Ge'er, to take up the post of the Supervisor of Salt, Iron and Steel in Huaibei Road. I have discussed this matter with His Majesty."

When everyone heard this, they all thought it was a good idea.

Caizhou, the capital of Huaibei Road, is only a hundred miles away from Tongshan. Cai Long took up the post here without interrupting his official career and could also take care of his elderly father and grandmother nearby.

Secondly, a fifth-rank doctor was appointed to a local position as a fourth-rank official, which was both a promotion and increased his experience in local service.

It can be said that he took both filial piety and official career into consideration.

It can also be regarded as some compensation for Cai Yun, who sacrificed his official career to take care of all the men in his family.

After arranging the eldest son's house, Cai Huan said to Cai Kun, Cai Wei and others, "As for my second brother, you can go wherever you are supposed to go. The officialdom is changing rapidly. If all the men in my family stay at home in mourning, who knows what the situation will be like in three years? Daddy's years of hard work cannot be ruined for fame."

There were more than a dozen men and women from the Cai family present, including high-ranking officials like Cai Yun and Cai Kun, as well as rising talents like Cai Long and Cai Wei.

But only Cai Hua dared to say this.
Seeing that Cai Kun was still a little hesitant, Cai Huan dispelled everyone's last worries with one sentence, "Tomorrow, you should continue to submit your memorials for mourning. His Majesty will not allow it."

Well, Cai Huan has made arrangements for everything the Cai family thought of and didn’t think of, and has taken both the inside and the outside into consideration.

Cai Yun looked up and saw that his sister, who in his impression loved fancy clothes and makeup, now had obvious wrinkles on her face. He couldn't help but sigh in his heart, if Huan'er were a man, he would definitely defeat me and my second brother.

After a silent sigh, he finally said: "Why don't you thank your aunt quickly."

Then, led by the eldest grandson Cai Long, all three generations of the Cai family bowed together, "Thank you, aunt, for making proper arrangements for your nephew."

That night, Cai Huan did not stay at the ancestral home, but left the city and returned to Luliu Village.

Go to bed early in winter, and by the end of the hour of Hai, the village is completely silent.

In the warm sedan, Cai Hua, who had been working hard for several days, felt drowsy. However, after entering the manor, she was awakened by a palace servant outside the sedan, "Your Majesty~Your Majesty" "Are you home?"

Cai Huan asked in a daze, and there was a response from outside. Cai Huan felt strange, so she perked up and lifted the curtain to take a look. She saw the Emperor of Great Chu, her chosen husband, sitting on the steps of the courtyard gate. When he saw her lift the curtain, he suddenly grinned.

Cai Huan couldn't help but feel dazed. When she first met him that year, he loved to smile like this.

In the blink of an eye, that was already more than 30 years ago.

Cai Huan, who was originally in a depressed mood due to her father's death, suddenly felt much better for no reason.

She quickly got off the sedan chair, walked to the steps in two or three steps, looked down at Chen Chu, and said with a giggle: "My dear, it's late at night and it's freezing cold. Why don't you go back to bed?"

Chen Chu raised his head and laughed, "Waiting for my wife. My wife is a snake and is most afraid of cold weather. If she doesn't have a husband to warm her hands and feet, she will probably not be able to sleep well all night."

Cai Huan laughed, poked Chen Chu's forehead with her finger very naturally, and sat down on the steps side by side with Chen Chu.

The palace servant beside him lowered his head quickly, pretending that he couldn't see the emperor's head being poked.
"Let's go back."

"No, sit here with me for a while."

Cai Huan rejected Chen Chu's suggestion, tilted her head and leaned on the latter's shoulder, staring at the street lights in Luliu Village in the cold night for a long time.

"What are you thinking about?"

"I was thinking, hey, back then I insisted on renting the Luliu Village to you, but Daddy was not very happy and called me a spendthrift. Later, Chulang made me proud, and Daddy changed his tone when he mentioned this matter again. Whenever people asked about it, he would say that it was he who saw that you were extraordinary, and he went against everyone's opinion and rented the village to Chulang, the old man, who only knows how to flatter himself."

Her tone was extremely relaxed, but as Cai Huan spoke, two lines of tears slowly flowed from her narrow and charming eyes.

Chen Chu noticed something was wrong and turned around to take a look, but he did not try to comfort her. He just tightened his arms around Cai Huan's waist.

Cai Huan smiled and wiped her tears, then smiled again, "Who would have thought that the old man would leave like this? I have been a worry to him since I was a child, and I always liked to talk back at him. I don't know if he will regret having a daughter like me."

Cai Huan, who had always been calm and composed in front of others since returning to Tongshan, did not express a little bit of the pain of losing her father until this moment.

Chen Chu shook Cai Huan's hand and said, "You are talking nonsense. In the 15th year of the founding of the country, before my father-in-law left Beijing to return home, we had a conversation. My father-in-law said that the prosperity of the Cai family was apparently due to Cai Yuan, but in fact it was due to Huan'er. My father-in-law also said that if Huan'er was a boy, he would not be as good as a father. He also said that the fact that he could give birth to Huan'er in his life was the thing he was most proud of."

"Tsk, after all, you just dislike me because I'm a girl."

Cai Hua twisted her mouth, as if she was deliberately using this attitude to hide her sadness.

But Chen Chu laughed and said, "Then let's do it in the next life. In the next life, Huan'er will be the man and I will be the woman, and I will be your good wife and helper."

"Pfft~"

Cai Hua burst into laughter and said, "Then I will follow your example and have three wives and four concubines, so that you can also think about how to be jealous all day long, how about that?"

“Not so good”

"Hahaha"

After they both burst into laughter, Cai Hua suddenly fell silent again. After a long while, she said, "Chu Lang, my father is gone. There is no one in this world to support me. In the future, please do not be indifferent to me just because I am old and ugly."

"You've been saying this for thirty years. When have I ever been cold to you?"

"If there is something wrong, correct it. If there is nothing wrong, try to improve it. By the way, don't forget the other thing you promised me!"

"Which one?"

"A hundred years later, I want to be buried with you."

The death of Cai Yuan marked the beginning of the death of many founding heroes of the Chu State.

Over the next ten years, Duke of Korea Chen Jingyan, General Peng Er, Jiang Huaixiong and other civil and military ministers died one after another.

In the 41st year of the founding of the country, the Emperor and Empress of Chu died within a month one after another.

At this time, the court officials were in the process of taking over from the old ones, and the situation was not 100% stable.

Fortunately, Imperial Concubine Cai personally stepped forward to stabilize the old ministers, allowing for a smooth transition of the court.

Two years later, the situation was completely stable. Concubine Cai joined forces with Queen Tang to eliminate the influence of the four Tongshan families in the Sihai Commercial Bank one by one. From then on, the four families only had the right to supervise and distribute dividends, but no longer had the right to manage.

Since the imperial concubine started with her natal family, the Chen, Ximen, and Xu families in Yingchuan had nothing to say.

After doing all this, Concubine Cai handed over the Sihai Trading Company to the Queen and taught her almost hand-in-hand how to manage the Sihai Trading Company. At this point, the Great Chu formed two different financial paths: the court and the royal family.

The court finances are responsible for domestic taxes.

Royal finances, mainly responsible for overseas trade.

The latter no longer had to worry about being sidelined by the imperial court's finances.
In the 46th year after the founding of the country, Concubine Cai, who had been told by Taoist Wugen in her early years that she had "a face that would not allow her to live a long life", was already 79 years old, but she became the longest-lived person in the harem.

At the end of summer that year, it was the anniversary of the death of the late emperor.

Accompanied by the Emperor and the Empress, the Empress Dowager went to the Imperial Mausoleum in western Beijing to pay homage.

On the way, the concubine complained to the emperor, "The late emperor was ruthless. It has been six years since his death, and I have never seen him in my dreams."

Although the concubine dowager was not the emperor's biological mother, she raised him in his childhood and helped him a lot in his later years. Even when she blamed the late emperor, the emperor could only comfort him with gentle words.

The emperor treated the dowager empress as if she were his biological mother.

At midnight that night, the concubine suddenly woke up from her dream and cried incessantly.

The Emperor and his wife came over overnight and learned that it was the first time in six years that the late Emperor had appeared in the Dowager's dream.
The chapter "Chu History. Chronicle of Emperor Gaozu. Empress Wenlie Gao" records that "In August of the 46th year of the founding of the country, when she was about to pay a visit to the Western Mausoleum, that night, Empress Wenlie Gao dreamed of the late emperor, who was as happy as ever, and was so sad that she could not sleep."

From that day on, the concubine refused to eat or drink, and died seven days later.

The emperor was deeply saddened and posthumously named the concubine Wenlie Gaohou. In accordance with the late emperor's order, she was buried in the Western Mausoleum with Emperor Gaozu and Empress Duanci Gao Zhao. (End of this chapter)