flstandardbreds Chapter 421: Using Concubines to Marry Concubines
Chapter 421: Using Concubines to Marry Concubines
[Ordinary people don't have so many bizarre and ridiculous things going on in their lives. How did these court officials manage to do such bizarre and ridiculous things?]
First, there was the Shangshu Mansion, where a pity woman was brought into the palace. To show her pity for her, she favored her concubine and abandoned her wife, causing a great uproar in the capital. Then there was the Minister of Imperial Clan Affairs, one of the Nine Ministers, who used a concubine's dowry to redeem a prostitute. Not only that, but the entire Ministry of Imperial Clan Affairs was completely supported by this concubine. This concubine was a cash cow.
[How does the Emperor manage to remain so calm while reading these memorials all day?]
[Indeed, if the Emperor was this angry about every memorial, he would have died of anger long ago.]
[Perhaps the Emperor is completely unaware of the true situation of those officials.]
Xie Ci’an:…
The queen scolded him right in front of him.
He really didn't take these things to heart before, but he discovered through Gu Jianchu that he could use the family affairs of these court officials to get rid of the thorns in his side that the empress dowager had planted there before. Gradually, he discovered that some family affairs could also expose an official's character and ability to handle things.
However, he still doesn't pay much attention to such things. He is more concerned about whether the officials will make mistakes directly. The reason he paid attention to it was through Achu.
Besides, he really didn't know the inside story of these officials, so he wasn't that angry.
But after learning about it from Ah Chu, it was really disgusting.
What happened to the Minister of Zongzheng Temple?
My cerebellum suddenly shrank. I've seen people who are good at calculating, but I've never seen anyone as good as the Minister of the Imperial Household. The abacus beads on this are on par with those in the Shangshu Mansion. They must be smoking.
[Also, the censors' accusation that the Minister of the Imperial Clan Temple had taken a prostitute as a concubine was not false.]
It is common for people to have three wives and four concubines, but as early as the time of the previous emperor, he had repeatedly ordered that no one was allowed to marry girls from prostitutes, as it would damage the reputation of court officials and the court. If one wanted to marry a concubine, he should marry girls from decent families.
After Xie Ci'an ascended the throne, although he did not mention this matter again and again, this law was not modified by Xie Ci'an, and it still existed, so the matter of marrying a prostitute is indeed worth considering.
What's more, they actually did it.
The Minister of the Imperial Clan's Temple, who was fond of pretentious pursuits, met this courtesan at a poetry gathering. Though she was called a courtesan, she was actually a Yangzhou skinny horse, specially trained to seduce officials and wealthy businessmen. Unlike ordinary courtesans, who were trained to entertain clients, Yangzhou skinny horses had been taught the art of music, chess, calligraphy, painting, poetry, and song since childhood, capable of pretentious pursuits. They had also learned some of the courtesan's tactics, making seducing men a breeze.
The Minister of the Imperial Clan was attracted by the literary talent of Yangzhou Shou Ma, and with some trickery, he quickly seduced him into his hands. He then tried to get him to redeem her. This position was truly unprofitable. Even if his family had some land and shops, he would never be able to come up with 50,000 taels of silver in a short time.
[But he didn't want to give up the skinny Yangzhou horse, so after much thought, he came up with the idea of marrying a concubine to redeem the skinny Yangzhou horse.]
Merchants held the lowest status among the four classes of scholars, farmers, merchants, and artisans. If they wanted to escape this lowly status, they would use their marriages to connect with the wealthy and powerful. A principal wife was absolutely out of the question, but a concubine was possible. The Jiangnan Li family had this idea, as did the Minister of Imperial Clan Affairs, and the two hit it off.
The Li family simply wanted their daughter to marry into a wealthy family. Even if it was just a concubine, their status would rise accordingly. Therefore, the Li family gave the Minister of the Imperial Clan a dowry of 80,000 taels, and voluntarily contributed 50,000 taels to redeem the skinny Yangzhou horse. This kind of generosity is truly unmatched.
After redeeming the skinny Yangzhou horse, the Minister of the Imperial Clan could not wait to bring him into his palace. Not only that, he also doted on him daily. It would have been fine if the skinny Yangzhou horse had been easy to get along with, but he constantly provoked the wife and the merchant's daughter. He truly was an ungrateful person. If it weren't for the merchant's daughter, they would never have been able to redeem her.
[Now that the whole capital knows about this, the censors will report them.]
Since ancient times, few people have taken prostitutes from brothels or concubines home as their wives. Who wouldn't like those women? Most officials in the imperial court liked them, but they would only keep them as mistresses outside. Naturally, no one dared to say anything. However, few would openly bring them home and cause unrest in their homes.
The Shangshu Mansion has been reprimanded. If the Shouzheng Temple Minister who also delivered the memorial escapes, wouldn't it seem that the emperor is being unfair?
Moreover, if these things are left unchecked, it will set a precedent in the future, and more officials will want to take the brothel girls they like back home.
It would be fine if everyone behaved themselves, but if they were to make such a fuss, how could their wives cope with it? The wives of those individuals were all daughters of aristocratic families. They were taught the rules and regulations since childhood and how to become the mistress of the house. They probably couldn't lower themselves to compete for favor with a person of low status.
Gu Jianchu weakly handed the memorial in front of him to Xie Ci'an, "Your Majesty, here is another memorial to take a brothel girl as a concubine. It's from the family of the Minister of Imperial Clan Affairs. They used the dowry of marrying a merchant girl to help buy her freedom with a skinny horse from Yangzhou. Now the mansion is also in chaos. The wife of the Minister of Imperial Clan Affairs is also a soft-tempered person who doesn't care about things, which has caused chaos in the mansion as well."
Xie Ci'an's eyes had become completely gloomy.
He didn't know that these ministers lived a more comfortable life than him. He set an example for the people of the world, but they turned a deaf ear to him and still brought concubines home as usual. It would have been fine if they had just ordinary concubines, but they brought a skinny girl from Yangzhou to bring trouble to their family.
"Heavy wind."
Zhong Feng, who was guarding outside, immediately entered upon hearing the sound. Without waiting for him to bow and greet, Xie Ci'an threw a memorial at him, "Go to the residence of the Minister of Zongzheng Temple and show him this memorial. Tell him to handle the matter for me himself. Otherwise, he doesn't need to come to court. Reflect on your mistakes at home and come to court when you have reflected on them clearly."
Chongfeng didn't dare to say anything more and went out directly with the letter.
This time, it was Gu Jianchu who comforted him, "Your Majesty, please don't get angry. It's not worth it if you get yourself hurt."
Xie Ci'an now understood that if he got angry, Achu would definitely not be angry and would come to comfort him. It was better for him to be angry than Achu to be angry. Achu's anger would not be good for her health either.
Xie Ci'an squeezed Gu Jianchu's hand and said, "I'm not angry."