After the morning court session dispersed, several senior officials gathered in Ji Bozai’s study to protest his favoritism.
Ji Bozai listened with a smile, then let out a long sigh. “I didn’t realize you all had such strong opinions about Lady Ming. I thought you’d be grateful to her.”
“What’s there to be grateful for?”
“Exactly!”
The officials frowned in unison.
Ji Bozai raised his hand, signaling them to be quiet, then spoke, “My heart belongs to her, so naturally, I tend to favor her. If she were the type to bring ruin to the country, demanding I build grand palaces or squander fortunes, our six cities wouldn’t be in such a peaceful state now.”
“But she isn’t like that. Not only does she advocate for the people, but she’s also used the gold and silver I’ve given her to build Yuan Power Academies for women. She didn’t just build one in Chaoyang, but in all five other cities as well, without using a single coin from the national treasury.”
“Her requests aren’t meant to back you into a corner. Don’t you all have wives, mothers, aunts, and sisters-in-law? Don’t you want their lives to improve?”
The officials were taken aback, their indignation subsiding a bit. Still, they couldn’t help but worry, “This world should be run by men. Her actions make it seem as if women are superior. It’s really…”
“Currently, Qingyun already has more men than women. Her concern for women is like a drop of ink on white paper. You think it’s too conspicuous if the ink spreads a little, but in reality, the ink would need to cover half the paper to be considered fair. We’re nowhere near that point.”
“Of course, Lady Ming doesn’t insist that all women should be on equal footing with men. She only asks that under the same conditions, if women put in the same effort and achieve the same results, they should be placed in the same position as men. Is that so difficult?”
The senior officials exchanged glances, and another spoke up, “Take the Forging Tower, for instance. She only accepts women, not men. The bar for men to learn forging has become much higher…”
“That’s right.”
Ji Bozai shook his head. “Gentlemen, if we’re talking about fairness, we must be thoroughly fair. For hundreds of years in the Qingyun Realm, only men could learn combat arts and forging. Women have only had the opportunity this year. Lady Ming’s preferential treatment for them is precisely to make up for the disparity of these hundreds of years, thus achieving true fairness.”
In the end, it seemed that as long as Lady Ming’s intentions were righteous, it was acceptable.
Some of the senior officials grumbled, “Your Majesty’s infatuation with a woman is not the way of a wise ruler.”
Hearing this, Ji Bozai perked up, smiling, “Are you dissatisfied, my loyal subjects? So am I. Why don’t you raise an army and rebel against me? It’s been a while since I’ve had a chance to flex my muscles. I’m getting bored.”
The imperial study fell silent instantly.
His Majesty had been looking amiable these past few days, and they had almost forgotten that the one sitting on the throne was a madman with extremely high Yuan Power.
Who would ever encourage their officials to rebel?
The senior officials, at their wit’s end, all submitted resignation letters, hoping to use this as leverage. After all, in their view, the realm couldn’t function without them.
To their surprise, Ji Bozai accepted all thirty resignation letters without returning a single one. Overjoyed, he went to find Ming Yi.
“Yi’er, come take a look. Who do you think should replace these positions?”
Ming Yi was in the middle of writing the “Forging Catalog” when she glanced up, raising an eyebrow. “Even Elder Liu is willing to step down?”
Such a lucrative position, allowing one to provide for their family while grooming younger generations, shouldn’t have been given up so easily.
“Who knows? He just insisted on retiring to his hometown.” Ji Bozai pulled out another twenty-odd memorials. “Once he made a fuss, all these people tried to persuade him to stay, saying that if Elder Liu leaves, they’ll all leave too.”
“That’s perfect timing,” Ming Yi put down her brush and stood up. “I’ve recently found quite a few talented individuals fit for governing. Sixteen are scholars from the Hanlin Academy, five are young women from the Forging Tower, and three are widows I met and conversed with at length on the street. Let them give it a try.”
These words startled Buxiu, who was standing nearby, so much that he could barely keep his footing.
The young women from the Forging Tower were one thing, as they had skills, but what about the widows from the street?
Allowing them to enter the court as officials would cause such an uproar!
However, their Emperor only took the list of names Ming Yi handed over, carefully examining the backgrounds and the pros and cons she had listed for each person, before nodding. “We can give it a try.”
Buxiu’s jaw nearly hit the floor in shock.
Ming Yi looked at Ji Bozai seriously. “Your Majesty, are you sure? Doing this might mean you’ll be criticized along with me.”
Currently, the court officials didn’t dare to criticize Ji Bozai directly, only cursing her as a femme fatale bewitching the Emperor. But once widows entered the court, he, as the decision-maker, would inevitably be labeled a foolish ruler.
Ji Bozai gazed at her deeply. “Being with you makes everything a blessing.”
Bai Ying, who had just arrived with tea, heard these words and shuddered, immediately turning to leave.
Ming Yi averted her gaze, feeling a bit uncomfortable. “Then it’s settled. I’ll go inform those individuals.”
With that, she fled the room.
Ji Bozai watched her retreating figure and said to Buxiu with a smile, “Look at her. Even the way her skirt sweeps across the threshold is more beautiful than others.”
Buxiu: “…”
If he wasn’t single-handedly managing the tax operations of the six cities and maintaining peace with his Yuan Power, Buxiu would have been tempted to say, “Your Majesty, you do seem like a ruler besotted with a woman!”
Fortunately, as soon as Ming Yi left, the Emperor returned to normal, beginning to issue orders to the Ministry of Revenue and the Ministry of Rites to prepare for the official appointments.
Those senior officials were no pushovers. Seeing that the Emperor had no intention of asking them to stay, they immediately began hosting tea parties at their homes, discussing the Emperor’s incompetence, nepotism, and how the six cities were headed for destruction.
Many scholars visited to join the discussions, and soon, both the court and the common people began to feel uneasy.
Luo Jiaoyang wasted no time in raiding their tea parties, imprisoning all involved parties for their crimes. However, this didn’t stop the rumors from spreading among the people.
Ming Yi visited Song Lanzhi’s home, only to find her being berated by her mother-in-law.
“A woman should stay at home and do housework, not gallivant about for all to see! And chatting with nobles, no less! I think you’re not content with just causing my son’s death, you want to be the death of me too, you motherless wretch! They say you come from a scholarly family, but from what I can see, you’re only good for seducing men with your body. Now, go chop some firewood!”
Song Lanzhi kept a straight face, bowing her head in respect before turning to go to the courtyard to work. However, she looked back to see a large group of imperial guards flooding through the door.
She was startled, but her mother-in-law was even more terrified. The old woman immediately pushed Song Lanzhi away, saying, “Your Honor, please be clear-sighted. This old woman doesn’t know this girl. She has nothing to do with our family! Don’t implicate innocent people if you’re here to arrest her!”
The guards parted, and Ming Yi stepped over the threshold. Without looking at Song Lanzhi, she first addressed the mother-in-law, “Nothing to do with your family? I thought she was your daughter-in-law?”
“I don’t acknowledge her! I don’t!” The old woman waved her hands frantically. “She caused my son’s death. I should have written her a divorce letter long ago, but she’s been taking advantage of this old woman’s illiteracy. She’s been freeloading in my house all this time… Can anyone here help me write a divorce letter? I want to sever all ties with her right now!”