jdhmnovel Chapter 166 Zhu Chong 8: Let's make that bastard's life miserable too!
Chapter 166 Zhu Chong 8: Let's make that bastard's life miserable too!
Instead of directly answering Zhu Chongba's question, Empress Ma inexplicably asked, "Do you still remember when we got married?"
Before Zhu Chongba could answer, Empress Ma smiled faintly and said, "At that time, you were wearing a coarse cloth robe, while I was wearing a slit skirt given to me by my adoptive mother. I was thinking that I still had a slit skirt given to me by my adoptive mother, while ordinary women in the countryside probably couldn't even afford a slit skirt."
"Later, you became the Prince of Wu, and then the Emperor, and I became the founding Empress of the Ming Dynasty—an Empress should be the mother of the nation, shouldn't she?"
"So now I'm thinking, let's not worry about whether it's presumptuous or not. From now on, whenever any woman in the world gets married, even if she is of lowly status, I, Ma Xiuying, will allow them to use a phoenix coronet and embroidered robe as their wedding dress. This can be considered as me, the Empress who is the mother of the world, doing something good for the women of the world."
At this point, Empress Ma simply grabbed Zhu Chongba's hand and said, "If you agree to my condition, I will approve the marriage between Jin'er, Yu'er and Magistrate Yang, and you can arrange when they get married. If you don't agree, then I will keep Jin'er and Yu'er for another two years. As for Magistrate Yang, you can figure it out yourself."
Emperor Zhu Chongba was so angry that he laughed immediately.
Look at this, look at this, is this even acceptable!
You, Ma Dajiao, dare to threaten me, the emperor?
Zhu Chongba grasped Empress Ma's hand in return and said, "Look at you, did we say we wouldn't agree? We agreed!"
Empress Ma gave a slight snort and said, "What, you don't seem too happy about it?"
Zhu Chongba immediately shook his head like a rattle drum, and said with a smile, "No, no, when did we say we were unhappy?"
Empress Ma then nodded and said, "Alright, issue the decree tomorrow. After you issue the decree, I will take Biao'er, Jin'er, and Yu'er to Ningyang County to see Magistrate Yang. After I return, you can start preparing for their wedding."
Upon hearing Empress Ma's words, Emperor Zhu, who had been all smiles, immediately stopped smiling and said urgently, "The journey from the capital to Ningyang is arduous. Just let Biao'er take the second, third, and fourth princes. What are you going there for? And Jin'er and Yu'er, young ladies, going to their husbands' homes before marriage, what kind of behavior is that?"
Empress Ma raised her eyebrows and stared at Zhu Chongba, asking, "Can't I go?"
Zhu Chongba was both anxious and angry, and said, "Go! Go! You! Hey! We'll issue the decree tomorrow, and after the decree is issued, we'll have Erhu arrange the guards to accompany you, and we'll also let those two brats from the Chang family go with you. Is that alright?"
Having appeased Empress Ma, Emperor Zhu Chongba grew increasingly angry. The thought of Magistrate Yang, far away in Ningyang, causing him so much trouble, and now trying to trick his two adopted daughters away, while also forcing Empress Ma to leave the capital for a while, fueled his rage. He then pondered how to further annoy Magistrate Yang.
After pondering for a moment, Emperor Zhu suddenly smiled and said, "By the way, sister, you just mentioned how we got married. You wanted to do something good for all the women in the world, but you forgot that you are the mother of the nation, and I, Zhu Chongba, am also the father of all the people. You allow women to wear phoenix coronet and embroidered robes when they get married, so I, Zhu Chongba, will allow all the men in the world to wear scarlet auspicious clothes to marry and welcome their wives. I will allow them to parade through the streets on horseback like the top scholars in the imperial examinations, and I also hope that our Ming Dynasty will produce more top scholars in the future!"
The so-called crimson auspicious robe was an official robe worn only by officials of the sixth or seventh rank and newly appointed scholars such as the top three scholars in the imperial examination.
Perhaps blinded by rage, or perhaps simply wanting to mirror Empress Ma's promise that all women should wear phoenix coronet and embroidered robes for their weddings, Emperor Zhu actually thought of having common men wear scarlet official robes to welcome their brides—the auspicious clothes that you, Yang the Madman, wore when you got married can be worn by everyone in the world!
Empress Ma, however, did not think in that direction. Upon hearing this, she simply smiled and said, "That would be wonderful. The crimson auspicious robe is so festive."
Emperor Zhu Chongba then said after careful consideration, "Also, that scoundrel is all alone. He probably doesn't know what the proper etiquette is for getting married and welcoming a bride, let alone the royal rules. We need to have the Ministry of Rites and the Court of Imperial Clan Affairs send people over to teach him all the rules."
When Empress Ma was not involved, Emperor Zhu Chongba could remain calm in the face of everything, but when Empress Ma was involved, he could no longer remain composed.
Because Empress Ma wanted to visit Magistrate Yang, her prospective son-in-law, in Ningyang County, Emperor Zhu was now acting like a madman, his mind filled with nothing but how to make things difficult for Magistrate Yang.
"By the way, that scoundrel distributed land to Ningyang County last year, which allowed the people of Ningyang County to store up grain and gradually become richer. Although we can't directly make all the places in the world follow Ningyang County's example, Ningyang County was originally under the jurisdiction of Yanzhou Prefecture, and it is very close to Tai'an Prefecture and Jining Prefecture. Let's first let Yanzhou Prefecture, Tai'an Prefecture, and Jining Prefecture follow his example and distribute land to the people."
"And his 'Year-End Summary' and 'Work Report'—we'll have someone make copies of them and send them to the three prefectures of Yanzhou, Jining, and Tai'an, so that the officials in those three places can see how Yang the Madman acts as an official and learn from him. Especially Kong Xida from the Kong family."
"..."
Even Zhu Biao, the Grand Vice Emperor of the Ming Dynasty, who was sitting to the side, was only thinking about returning to the East Palace as soon as possible to avoid overeating in the Kunning Palace.
……
While Emperor Zhu Chongba was going mad in the capital, Yang Shaofeng was lying on a recliner, lost in thought.
With the end of the year approaching and the Lunar New Year just over twenty days away, farm work and various projects have come to a complete halt. The Confucian academy has also closed for the holidays. Even the medicinal herbs to be tested have been sent to Shanxi, and all that remains is to await the results. Meanwhile, the "Work Report" and "Year-End Summary," along with the household registration book and land register, which have been causing headaches for the officials in the court, have been sent to the Ministry of Justice in the capital long ago. As the magistrate of Ningyang County, Yang Shaofeng is at a loss as to what to do.
Cooking Laba porridge?
As a dignified county magistrate, I have the county cooks to prepare Laba porridge for me whenever I want; I don't need to lift a finger.
Handling official business?
Ningyang County was a tiny place, and it was a place with simple and honest folk customs that Chang Yuchun praised. There wasn't even a fight or brawl. In addition, there were no official documents coming from the imperial court, so there was naturally no official business to deal with.
After sitting in the sun in the courtyard for several days, feeling like he was about to mold, Magistrate Yang finally couldn't sit still any longer.
"Someone come here! Fetch the butcher for me. Have him go to the pig farm and slaughter a pig, and also have him slaughter two chickens while he's at it. I need his help!"