Who Cares

172

Chapter 172 Snuff out
Old Madam Zuo knew that her granddaughter’s literary talent was brilliant, but she didn’t know that in just a few years she had improved to this point. This article was divided into twenty chapters, namely virtue, self-cultivation, cautiousness, thriftiness… Treating relatives, etc. It covers almost all aspects of women as the empress and imperial concubines. It also elaborated the details of how to treat people, and eloquently explained the style of the mother of the country.

Without this article, the world would have never imagined what kind of things the empress should do and what she would look like. With this article, they could realize that while having supreme power and respect, the empress had so many obligations and responsibilities. She shouldn’t be too extravagant, and favor evil and help the wicked. It was precisely because she was the empress that she should practice frugality, punish evil and promote good, and set an example for the titled women of the imperial court and even all women in the world. It was precisely because she was the empress that this article did not talk about how women should be humble and submissive, but instead emphasized self-reliance, discerning good and evil, and cultivating virtue.

After Old Madam Zuo read the manuscript and handed it over to Zhong shi, she said firmly, “If this article is attached to the palace rules as a preface, and once it is implemented, it will be known to everyone in the world. You will establish yourself as a virtuous empress. Whether you can do what you say is the biggest question.”

Guan Suyi chuckled, then said, “Why not? Right now Wei Kingdom has just been established, the population has withered, the taxes has been sharply reduced, and the country treasury is empty. If even the imperial family does not abide by frugality, it will only allow the extravagance to prevail, causing great waste and at the same time stripping away the blood and sweat of the people. How did I grow up from childhood to adulthood, grandmother know very well. The brocade clothes and magnificent dress are only worn this year, in the past only have simple meals and sackcloth clothes, but you never see me unable to stand the suffering. As long as I can eat enough and dress warmly, isn’t life the same?”

Zhong shi hesitated, “Have you ever asked about the emperor’s attitude? If you insist on being frugal, and he is extravagant…”

“Hmm… His Majesty lived more miserably than me when he was young, he’s not a person who enjoys luxury. He is now worried about the huge military expenditure. I will save the harem expense, and hand it over to him as military fund. Now the border is in chaos, the southwest staring like a tiger watching his prey. Everything else can be saved, but the troops can’t be economized. If I do this, he will certainly approve it. Once the palace become more frugal, the courtiers will not dare to be too extravagance and wasteful. In this way, the problem of the empty treasury can be alleviated.”

Old Madam Zuo then made a decision, “Alright, I will enter this article as the preface of the palace rules. After you discuss it with the emperor, I will start compiling it. Your grandmother has no other skills, but I knows the secrets of the past dynasties in great detail. If you want to control the Six Palaces from top to bottom, I will definitely help you formulate the strictest rules and give you the greatest authority, and I will never let the world criticize you. It’s only natural that the superiors make the rules, and the subordinates shall obey the rules.” At the end she lowered her voice and said word by word, “As long as you firmly grasp the power, no one can move you even if you lose your favor.”

Guan Suyi nodded seriously, her eyes darkened. Seeing that the two of them had already made up their minds, Zhong shi didn’t say anything.

After the article was handed over to Emperor Sheng Yuan for reading, he really liked it very much. He even gave Old Madam Zuo a token that allowed her to enter and leave the palace at any time, and helped Madam compile the palace rules. As the saying goes, “there is no way to make a circle without rules“, these women in the palace were fighting all day long, and they had already make the foul atmosphere. It was time to rectify inside and outside, clean up from top to bottom. Others only thought that Old Madam Zuo was writing the history of the Jiuli clan, so they didn’t care about her frequent visits.