newbobooks Chapter 16 The Laws of the Great Qin Dynasty
Chapter 16 The Laws of the Great Qin Dynasty
The next day, the entire palace knew that the Thirteenth Princess had been bestowed a title. Some were happy, some were sad. The happy one was, of course, Lady Wang, Ying Wuyou's own mother. The sad ones were the concubines, princes, and princesses of the various palaces, and they all reacted strongly.
There were also some very calm princes and princesses. These were the princes and princesses who had come of age. Who received a title was not of much concern to them. The princesses who had come of age had already married and were estranged from the royal family. The princes who had come of age had all left the palace to establish their own residences. Some were even leading troops in battle or serving as military supervisors. No one cared about the title of a princess.
The remaining young masters and princesses who were still minors all had their own ideas about Ying Wuyou's sudden emergence.
The concubines in the palace were also in an uproar. Some concubines instructed their children to visit Ying Wuyou more often, while others joined forces with other concubines and their children to verbally attack, curse, and slander Ying Wuyou. Still others, through inquiries, learned that Ying Wuyou had gained the king's favor by sending him food, so they all went to their own small kitchens or the imperial kitchen to personally prepare food for him, using all sorts of methods.
Ying Wuyou didn't learn about this until the afternoon. He had spent the morning in class, practicing reading and horse stance. He was unaware of the reactions of the ladies in the palace. Even if he had known, it wouldn't have mattered. The First Emperor's power was too immense; no concubine dared to do anything, no one dared to frame him. Not only did the concubines not dare, but even the eunuchs and maids around him wouldn't dare to collude. The laws of the Qin Dynasty were too strict; no one dared to easily violate them.
In the Qin Dynasty, the King of Qin was the law, and the Qin law was the truth. The Qin law was not only strict, but also had many detailed regulations. Moreover, the Qin law was constantly being expanded, and now it had reached a hundred articles. Every Qin citizen had to be familiar with the Qin law. Whenever a new Qin law was added, Qin officials would go door-to-door to read the Qin law to everyone, from princes and nobles to commoners, to ensure that everyone could memorize it.
In other dynasties, the interests of the families of ministers and concubines in the harem were intertwined, but this did not exist in the Qin Dynasty. For the King of Qin, the concubines in the harem were not important at all, and the ministers of the Qin Dynasty would not think of sending their daughters into the palace to gain favor. Therefore, most of the concubines in the Qin Dynasty were daughters from ordinary families.
Therefore, there was absolutely no connection between the former court and the harem. As for the former court officials being concerned with the king's family affairs, that was even more impossible. In Qin, military merit was paramount; with military merit, one could be ennobled, regardless of birth or family background. However, those with military merit were mostly out in the field leading troops in battle or training soldiers. As for civil officials, they already had little say and were usually very low-key. How could they dare to offer opinions on the Qin king's family affairs? They were simply afraid of living too long.
Therefore, the Qin King's harem was usually very peaceful. This time, Ying Wuyou, as the first princess to be granted a title, caused a great stir in the harem, and the uproar she caused was unimaginable.
After class, Ying Wuyou was surrounded by several classmates who asked him all sorts of questions. One classmate asked, "I heard you were granted a title, is that true?" This classmate was a member of the royal family, Ying Wuyou's cousin, named Ying Nian. Ying Wuyou nodded and said, "My father bestowed a title upon me because of my filial piety. Cousin Nian, you found out so quickly?"
Upon hearing Ying Wuyou's words, the others who had gathered around all gasped. At this moment, Ying Nian spoke up, "I had only heard about it, I didn't expect the rumors to be true. Congratulations, thirteenth cousin!" She then clasped her hands in a fist salute to congratulate her.
Others, not to be outdone, casually remarked, "Tch, what's so great about him?" After this person said that, everyone quickly distanced themselves from him, their faces seemingly saying, "I don't know him, we're not acquainted!"
Ying Wuyou glanced at the man; wasn't this her good brother, Ying Gaoya? This little brat was all skin and bones, no brains at all. Ying Wuyou couldn't be bothered to argue with him. After bidding farewell to everyone, she turned and left. She had many things to do today; she didn't have time to deal with a bunch of brats.
As Ying Wuyou walked away, everyone scattered. Only Ying Gaoya was furious to see that the group of people who used to fawn over him were now avoiding him like the plague. He stormed back to his bedchamber to complain to his mother.
After Ying Wuyou returned to her courtyard, she heard Cui'er report that all the ladies, princes, and princesses had gone to prepare food to send to Zhangtai Palace. Ying Wuyou had also planned to go and express her gratitude. After lunch, she changed into a new dress made from the fabric the King of Qin had bestowed upon her. The pink dress made Ying Wuyou look even more fair and adorable. Ying Wuyou herself was quite fond of her chubby little face, pinching it every now and then; it felt really nice. After dressing, Ying Wuyou, accompanied by Cui'er, headed towards Zhangtai Palace.
From afar, Ying Wuyou could see several people kneeling in front of Zhangtai Hall, including adults and children. Suddenly, Ying Wuyou didn't want to go anymore. These people were clearly not allowed to enter. If she were allowed in, wouldn't she be publicly humiliating them? She wasn't afraid of trouble herself, but she was afraid that her mother would be bullied and that she would cause trouble for her.
If she herself wasn't allowed in, wouldn't that mean that although she had a title, she wasn't favored? This would likely cause her a lot of trouble later. Thinking of this, Ying Wuyou decided to go back first, and then go to the King of Qin to express her gratitude after these people had left.
Ying Wuyou returned the way she came and soon found herself back in her courtyard. She went back to her house, opened the chest, and saw that she had very little silver left. She decided that she must see the King of Qin today and find a way to leave the palace to earn more silver.
After staying in the room for a while, Ying Wuyou and Dafa Lan'er went to Zhangtai Hall to see if those people had left.
After receiving the order, Lan'er went out. She returned after more than half an hour, panting and with flushed cheeks. After catching her breath, she said to Ying Wuyou, "Princess, I saw that all the ladies, young masters, and princesses were driven away by the Imperial Guards."
Ying Wuyou nodded and said, "I know, you should go and rest for a while. You look so tired. It's not a big deal. You could have walked back. Why did you run back?" After saying that, he told Lan'er to leave. Lan'er bowed and thanked him before leaving.
Lan'er was exhausted from running around, but she was happy. Her mistress was now a princess with a title, and she would definitely have more maids around her. Since she wasn't as favored by the princess as Cui'er, she could only try her best to do everything well. That way, even if new maids came to serve the princess, even those more skilled, Lan'er would still have a place. Lan'er understood clearly that she couldn't compete with Cui'er, so she had to work hard in other areas and do her job well. The princess was smart enough to notice, and as she continued to serve the princess, she would also prosper. Therefore, Lan'er worked even harder.