kvmb Chapter 356 Are husband and wife of one mind?
Chapter 356 Are husband and wife of one mind?
Chapter 356 Are husband and wife of one mind?
Every time Shen Li returned home, she could hear her father cursing Yi Wang for being shameless, deposing the crown prince and now wanting to depose the empress. Did he have to make a scene until the Great Zhao Kingdom was destroyed before he would stop?
"Our Great Zhao has just emerged from the ravages of war, and everything is in ruins. The people's hearts are still unsettled. To propose deposing the empress at this time is simply a wolf's ambition," Shen Zizai said indignantly.
Xiao Bailing and Shen Yue were eating pomegranates on their plates when they heard this, and they didn't know how to respond, so they both looked at Shen Li beside them.
While peeling a pomegranate, Shen Li said, "The Empress has no maternal family influence in court and is out of favor. Now she has been implicated by the deposed Crown Prince, which is quite dangerous for her."
"Does Li'er mean that the Empress might really be deposed?" Xiao Bailing asked.
“Logically speaking, His Majesty should not encourage Prince Yi’s arrogance, but I heard that after the capital was besieged, the Emperor became close to Consort Zheng again.” Shen Li said, spreading her hands: “I wonder if he will be swayed by the pillow talk.”
When the Crown Prince was deposed, the Emperor began to use Li Rui and even the incompetent Eighth Prince Li Xuancai to restrain Prince Yi in order to suppress Prince Yi, while also distancing himself from Consort Zheng.
The fact that Li Rui was later chosen to carry the tiger tally to summon troops from all over the country to serve the emperor also shows that although the emperor liked the Prince of Chess, he did not trust him.
Faced with a life-or-death crisis, the emperor once again chose Consort Zheng, which shows how important Consort Zheng was to the emperor.
The one who will benefit the most from the deposed empress is Consort Zheng. At that time, Consort Zheng will definitely be made the new empress, and Prince Yi will no longer be born out of wedlock and can be rightfully made the crown prince.
The King of Chess advocates for the removal of the Queen; even a dog on the side of the road could see his true intentions.
The emperor naturally understood this, but he couldn't help but soften his heart when it came to his beloved concubine and son.
This time, she will intervene. Only by securing the Empress's position can Li Che rightfully ascend to the throne.
"Hmph, with me here, he can forget about it." Shen Zi's words were firm and resolute.
Shen Li slowly said, "Father, the power of the cabinet ministers is ultimately not as great as that of the Grand Secretary, and that Grand Secretary Wu Yong is a man of the Prince of Yi."
"His foundation is still shallow; he might not be my match in a real fight." Shen Zizai sneered, "He's just taking advantage of my inaction."
Wu Yong entered the cabinet within the same year as Zhou Zhen, and was thus constantly suppressed by Zhou Zhen, without the opportunity to expand his network. He was able to sit in the position of Grand Secretary entirely because of his seniority.
Shen Zi, on the other hand, came from a prominent family and had numerous protégés and former officials, making his influence far greater than that of the Grand Secretary.
However, Shen Zizai never used his power for factional struggles. Even when he supported the crown prince, he only did what he was supposed to do and never played power games.
He is unwilling now, otherwise he could easily overthrow a prime minister with little power and take his place.
"Father, don't worry. With my husband and I here, it won't be so easy for Prince Yi to achieve his goal," Shen Li reassured him.
Upon hearing this, Shen Zizai looked at Shen Li with a serious expression: "Li'er, are you really sure that Chang'an is of one mind with you? He's getting rather close to Prince Yi."
"Father, why are you becoming so suspicious? No one is as close to him as I am. Who could possibly take him away from me?" Shen Li didn't take these words seriously at all.
It's true that Gu Chang'an helped Prince Yi in the past, but that was all part of a collaborative effort to eliminate Li Heng. She couldn't openly say these things to her father, a former member of the Crown Prince's faction, but she was well aware of it in her heart.
Shen Li had heard some things about the court these days, but she spent most of her time eating, drinking, and having fun. She felt that she really needed to take a vacation.
Gu Chang'an said a couple of days ago that he had something on Wu Yong's son, and that if the Flying Fish Guards were to use it, Wu Yong's position as chief minister would be in jeopardy.
As long as Wu Yong falls, the chief minister will be from the Shen family.
Before Shen Zizai, there was a cabinet minister, but that minister had returned to his hometown to observe mourning for his father's death. The mourning period lasted for three years and was called "Ding You".
Now that cabinet minister has been back in his hometown for more than a year and a half, and in another year and a half he will be able to return to the court. Even if Wu Yong falls, the position will not be able to be given to Shen Zizai.
According to Gu Chang'an, this is a very good opportunity.
But Shen Li still didn't use this method. She was used to playing power games, but her father might not be willing to sit in that position in this way.
She spent her days traveling around with her maids, and Kyoto had returned to its former prosperity. Not only were the large shops bustling with people, but the small stalls on both sides of the street were also filled with a dazzling array of trinkets.
Yu Die and Cai Yun loved browsing these stalls the most; with their monthly allowance and reward money from the Gu family, buying these things was just a small amount of money.
Sometimes Shen Li would miss the days of riding horses outside the city. So, on a whim, she would ride a horse out of the city. Lian Qiao and Shao Yao rode horses, while Yu Die and Cai Yun, who couldn't ride horses, took a carriage.
Aside from her maids, she only brought two servants with her, and her entourage was not grand. She wasn't afraid of encountering bandits or anything like that; after all, it was the bandits who should be afraid.
In spring, the mountains are lush and green, and farmers are busy in the fields on both sides of the road, seemingly adding soil to the roots of seedlings.
"Let's go take a look at our village," Shen Li suddenly suggested.
On her way to Rongdi, she rescued a mother and her two daughters who were selling their daughters by the roadside, and had her third brother's caravan help deliver them to the manor.
In addition, there are the wife and daughter of that unfaithful top scholar, the woman and her child who were forcibly taken by the young master of the Xia family, the brother-in-law of the King of Chess, and so on.
She and her mother have taken in many people since she was a child. In her mother's words, it is not difficult to give people food and shelter, but for people who have nowhere else to turn, it is a home.
These people farm the land, pay rent, and earn their own living. As long as they want to do their jobs well, they can always have food to eat and won't be bullied.
Shen Li had never been to the manor before, and today she wanted to go and see how the people there were doing.
She is dressed in men's clothing today for convenience, so that she can go and take a look without disturbing the people in the manor.
"Great! I'd love to see how that little girl is doing too." Peony perked up immediately and no longer wanted to go on the outing.
Others also showed great interest.
The group arrived at the village on horseback and in a carriage. Seeing the paths inside, Shen Li simply left the horses and carriages at the village entrance and had two servants watch over them.
"Let's go inside and take a look around," she said, and then went inside.
The village is usually quiet in the mornings because the adults have all gone to the fields, and some of the children have followed them to play in the fields, resulting in very few people in the village.
As soon as Shen Li entered, she saw only a few elderly people sunbathing in front of their houses, and two or three people chatting together.
She had never been to the village before, and now the environment seemed much better than she had imagined. Although the village roads were dirt roads, they were very smooth because it hadn't rained recently.
Although the peasants lived in mud-brick houses, they kept them very clean and tidy. Most of them kept livestock in their yards, mostly chickens and ducks. The chicks and ducklings were small, fluffy, and very cute.
"Let's raise a few ourselves," Shen Li said, her eyes sparkling as she looked at the chicks through the wooden fence of one of the houses.
"Guests, is there anything I can help you with?" A woman came out of the main room upon hearing the voice. She was wearing an apron around her waist and her hair was tied up in a bun with a coarse cloth. She looked to be in her early thirties.
"Sister-in-law, we were sent by the master to deliver something. We wanted to ask you where the people who came from Jiangnan a while ago are staying?" Shen Li was quick-witted and spoke very naturally.
"So you're from the host's family." The woman, who had initially been somewhat wary, suddenly became warm and friendly. "You must be tired from traveling all this way. Come in and rest your feet. If you don't mind, have some tea."
"Thank you very much then." Shen Li went inside.
They inquired about Zhuangzi's situation and also about the situation of those outsiders.
"At this time of year, the adults are all working in the fields, and the children are at school. To be honest, our eldest daughter has the best heart. She collects the least rent every year, and she even gets bonuses during the New Year and other holidays. She's the best in our village." The woman laughed from the bottom of her heart as she spoke.
"Then, sister-in-law, where is their land? We'd like to go and take a look so we can report back," Shen Li asked.
“I’m going to deliver food to the fields anyway, so come with me.” The woman said, turning her gaze away from Caiyun and the others. “Are you young ladies the young lady’s personal attendants? You are quite beautiful.”
"Yes," Lianqiao replied.
"Then we've found someone to pass on the message. Girls, go back and give our regards to the people of our village. Tell them we are all grateful for her kindness and pray for her health and longevity every day."
Shen Li couldn't help but touch her ear, feeling a little ashamed. She had only been a kind landowner, not doing the farming for free. She felt unworthy of such praise.
Following the woman, we arrived at the fields. The land stretched as far as the eye could see, and although many people were working there, the distance between them was vast.
“This field is really fertile. How much land does Master own here?” Caiyun asked after examining the soil.
Shen Li thought for a moment, and finally looked at Lian Qiao.
“There is very little land in the suburbs of Beijing. We only have one estate, which is responsible for fifty hectares of land,” Lian Qiao said.
“Five…fifty…” Caiyun and Yudie gasped in astonishment.
Is this considered very little?
“This is the smallest plot of land that Miss has. After all, land is extremely valuable under the emperor’s nose, and Miss’s land is all outside the capital,” Lian Qiao continued.
Caiyun and Yudie knew their young lady was wealthy, but they didn't know she owned so much land! No wonder she's poor!
Soon, many women, elderly people, and children came to the fields to deliver meals. The meals were very simple, consisting of coarse grain buns and vegetable soup, with little oil, but the aroma of the grains was very stimulating to the taste buds.
Shen Li looked at the steaming hot steamed buns that had just come out of the pot and couldn't help but swallow. She had never eaten steamed buns like this before.
In my previous life, I was in prison and all I ate were leftovers or food that was about to spoil, which was really unpalatable.
She thought these things in front of her must taste delicious.
"Young man, you must be hungry. There's not much good food in the countryside. If you don't mind, take a couple of steamed buns and I'll serve you some soup."
When the woman leading the way saw Shen Li's expression, she handed Shen Li the steamed buns without saying a word and took a large rough porcelain bowl from the side to serve the soup.