Can't a princess ascend the throne?

Chapter 185 There’s going to be chaos

Minister Chen's tone sounded somewhat sour. Their Ministry of War was responsible for transporting weapons, mobilizing troops, and even providing for the soldiers' food, clothing, and lodging on the frontiers—everything cost money. Yet, they always needed that miserly old Zhu to allocate funds, and every time he asked for it, it was like he was being threatened! So hesitant and indecisive! He was never quick and decisive. It was just asking him to allocate money, not asking him to pay out of his own pocket, yet he treated Minister Chen like a mortal enemy. Just thinking about his face made Minister Chen angry, but he still had to smile and be polite. If they ruined their relationship, he might get his funds withheld next time.

Seeing the gleaming silver flowing into the national treasury, Minister Chen was also envious. He wanted to replenish the frontier soldiers with a new batch of firearms. They were about to fight the northern barbarians, and how could they fight without good weapons?

No, he had to find some time to talk to Old Zhu and get them to allocate more funds. Just then, Minister Chen keenly noticed that his daughter's tone was off when she mentioned Princess Ying. Speaking of which, his daughter Zijing had been educated since childhood, and none of her five older brothers could compare to her.

If it weren't for the restrictions imposed by her status as a woman, she might have even become the top scholar in the imperial examinations. Wait a minute, could this be why Zijing feels so stifled?

It's true that there's no precedent for this, which makes things difficult. But if Princess Ying returns, her official rank will be greatly promoted. Wouldn't that mean women can also be granted official positions and titles in our court?
Hiss! The thought of this possibility made Minister Chen restless. His own daughter was clearly very talented; why should another boy surpass her? He needed to have a talk with His Majesty about this. All the people of the land were His Majesty's children; how could he show favoritism based on gender? This was unacceptable.

Leaving aside Minister Chen's eagerness to find an opportunity to chat with His Majesty, in an extremely luxurious courtyard in the capital, a slightly frail figure angrily slammed his calligraphy brush to the ground. The fine jade brush shattered into several pieces, ink splattering everywhere. Even so, the figure was not appeased, and smashed all the brush holders on the table to the ground, scattering various high-quality calligraphy brushes worth a fortune across the floor. Next came the inkstone and paperweight…

Hearing the crisp cracking sound, the figure finally breathed a sigh of relief and gestured to the attendants beside him to begin. A maidservant carried bolts of brand-new pearl-embroidered brocade. This pearl-embroidered brocade was extremely rare; each batch required a master craftsman with at least twenty years of experience to carefully weave various patterns onto a three-story-high loom, then use the finest silkworm silk to add its luster. A single bolt took at least three years to weave, and even the annual tribute to His Majesty consisted of only a handful of ten bolts. This was partly because of its undeniable beauty, and partly because the pearl-embroidered brocade was incredibly fragile; a slight mishap could cause the threads to come undone, resulting in the complete destruction of the fabric. Therefore, even the royal family used it sparingly.

But there are at least thirty pieces of such precious pearl brocade in this room.

At the weak figure's command, thirty maids simultaneously grabbed one end of the pearl-embroidered brocade and tore it apart with their delicate hands.

"Stab!"

"Sizzle!"

The sound of tearing pearl-embroidered quilts echoed throughout the room. Only after the quilts continued to tear did the frail figure sitting in the large armchair finally show a comfortable expression.

After a full half hour, all thirty bolts of pearl-embroidered brocade in the room were torn to shreds. Only then did the frail, aged figure casually wave his hand, dismissing the servants.

At this moment, the aide who had been waiting anxiously by the side only dared to cautiously step forward when he saw that his master's complexion had improved.

"Please don't be angry. If you really care, why don't I send someone to ambush them on the way and leave those ungrateful ones out of town?"

"madness."

The figure slowly uttered those two words, not too angry. Perhaps the sound of the pearl brocade being torn had calmed his anger considerably. His tone was gentle, which put the advisor's mind at ease.

"Are you afraid His Majesty won't be able to catch you when you make your move now?" "Yes, yes, yes, your subordinate is ignorant."

"Alright, tell your men to add fuel to the fire. His Majesty doesn't want the common people to know that Yancheng has run out of salt. We can't keep it from the people of the world too. After all, they are all subjects of the Great Jing Dynasty. As our compatriots, we have to spread some word to calm them down. If we're a step too late and can't buy salt, we'll have to spend the rest of our lives on vinegar cloth. Wouldn't that be too pitiful?"

"Yes, yes, Your Majesty is wise and decisive."

"If you know, then do it. Later, bring over that batch of white jade fans from the storeroom. I've been holding back a lot of anger that I can't vent. Find a few skillful girls to tear them apart; that would be much more interesting."

"We will obey our master."

Each of those white jade fans was made of the finest Hetian jade, and the cheapest one cost five hundred taels. But to the master, they were nothing more than a noise.

Only when one can reach the level of a master can one's life be considered worthwhile!

###

Gradually, people found that salt was becoming increasingly difficult to buy. Although salt was now controlled by the imperial court, it couldn't stop the smuggling of salt, which was 20,000 to 30,000 taels cheaper than official salt. But now everyone found that not only was official salt unavailable, but even the smugglers who used to be everywhere were nowhere to be found.

Those who weren't initially in a hurry started to panic when they saw this situation, but the more anxious they became, the more they realized they couldn't buy salt at all. Salt is something that's enough for daily consumption; ordinary families don't buy large quantities and store them at home. They use it as needed. When neighbors discovered they couldn't buy salt, a sense of anxiety began to spread among ordinary households.

The wealthy families weren't worried; they usually bought supplies in bulk, and they still had surplus grain at home. However, they could clearly feel that they were running out of salt.

Some unscrupulous individuals even took the opportunity to raise prices, and the prices of some normally priced grains, oils, soy sauces, and vinegars also began to increase, making life increasingly difficult for ordinary people.

Fortunately, it's just a salt shortage. If it were a food shortage, this period would have been enough to cause a major uproar, but things aren't much better now.

Today's small court assembly only had a few important ministers discussing matters with His Majesty in the Hall of Health Preservation. Many ministers were worried and, disregarding His Majesty's grief over the recent loss of the eldest prince, brought up the matter.

"Your Majesty, the people are increasingly agitated because they cannot buy salt. Several fights have broken out in the streets in the past few days, all because of the salt hoarding, and some of them have even resulted in bloodshed and injuries. This situation cannot continue. If there is any remaining salt in Yancheng, please transfer it in as soon as possible."

(End of this chapter)