manynovel Chapter 120 She's always been shameless
Chapter 120 She's always been shameless
The two were separated.
Shen Xianzhang shouted angrily, "My daughter is virtuous and kind, and has been gentle and well-mannered since childhood. If it weren't for the Prince of Jin's excessive bullying, she wouldn't have ended up like this!"
Li Yuanke couldn't bear to listen any longer, so he sat on the dragon throne and raised his hand to cover his face.
None of the officials in the hall knew how to respond.
Cui Xuanwei pointed at him and cursed, "Consort Yuan is so arrogant because she has a father like you! Everyone knows you spoil your daughter; if she tells you to go east, you wouldn't dare go west!"
"If you had a daughter like me, you would cherish her like a precious jewel. You old fool, you didn't even raise a good daughter yourself, yet you dared to have the Emperor kill her. If anything happens to my daughter, I will never let your Cui family off the hook!"
Prime Minister Pei was so angry he almost had a stroke. All his decades of self-control had vanished in an instant.
"Your Majesty, I believe this matter must not be tolerated. Minister Shen dared to roar in the court, and Consort Yuan beat the Prince and his wife, causing them serious injuries. This is truly an unprecedented event. If they are not punished, how can we convince the people?"
Li Yuanke was also annoyed. "Alright, this is my family matter, there's no need to discuss it further. I have already made it very clear that Consort Yuan acted this way to protect me. Although Minister Shen has been disrespectful in front of the emperor, considering his deep love for his daughter, he will be fined half a year's salary."
Cui Xuanwei and Fan Liu, both serving as Imperial Censors, are utterly ignorant of the fundamental principles of loyalty between ruler and subject. It's clear they've wasted their education. What face do such people have to serve in the court? They are hereby dismissed, demoted to commoners, exiled three thousand li, and never to be employed again.
The two were struck dumb, and cried out in despair, repenting their sins.
Prime Minister Pei clearly disagreed, and Li Yuanke, already quite impatient, stared coldly at him. "Prime Minister Pei, do you perhaps want me to give this position to the Prince of Jin?"
The fact that the Prince of Jin and his wife did not perform the proper rites when meeting the Emperor on his birthday became widely known, which was indeed contrary to the proper relationship between the emperor and his subjects.
Whether Consort Yuan's beating was due to personal vendetta or to protect the Emperor is ultimately up to the Emperor to decide.
Today, the Empress instructed the women of the inner palace not to come and pay their respects, so Shen Shixi naturally slept until she woke up naturally. After getting up and exercising, she had breakfast and then asked someone to inquire about the affairs of the court.
She was somewhat self-aware; after causing such a scene yesterday, it was no wonder the Pei family wouldn't let her off the hook.
The results are in: her father lost half a year's salary, which is eighty taels of silver.
Eighty taels of silver is a drop in the ocean for a family like the Pei family, but it's a huge sum for the Shen family.
Her father would never embezzle public funds; with 50,000 taels of silver in the Shen family, no one dared to have the slightest ulterior motive.
Shen Shixi sent Chaoyu out of the palace to give her father a hundred taels of silver. "Tell him it's a reward from me. If he refuses, he can buy me all the jewelry."
Her father was afraid she would buy jewelry.
Because once she starts buying, she can't stop.
Imagine if she bought a huge amount of jewelry that she couldn't eat and was only good for decoration when she was barely making ends meet. Wouldn't any elder in the family be furious?
But, as long as one isn't blind, what girl in the world can resist those sparkling and dazzling jewelry?
It's not like she's short of money.
Shen Shixi also gave each of the women in the family a dressing mirror. These mirrors were as big as ordinary round mirrors in later times, with sandalwood edging and support. Such rare items would be priceless in this era.
If you take one out and sell it, you can definitely get a lot of money.
When Chao Yu arrived at the Shen family home, Shen Xianzhang had just returned from the palace. The whole family was sighing and lamenting in the old lady's main room.
The Emperor punished the two censors and also gave the Pei family a warning, but whether the Pei family is willing to let it go, and whether the Emperor will deal with Shen Shixi, is unknown for the time being.
Hearing that Chaoyu had arrived, we hurriedly invited him in.
Chao Yu presented the silver notes and mirror, saying, "This servant has come on the orders of Consort Zhao. Firstly, to deliver a reward, and secondly, to convey a message from Consort Zhao that she is aware of what happened in court today. She said that Your Excellency did a good job. Consort Zhao said that this should be done in the future if such a thing happens again."
Chao Yu spoke the next sentence with great uncertainty.
Shen Xianzhang was so angry he almost fainted. Could there be a next time?
What a tragedy to raise such a daughter.
He has lost all face in court today, a loss that has lasted for decades.
Admittedly, he was really anxious at that moment. He was afraid that the emperor would really have such thoughts after listening to Cui Xuanwei's words. But now that things have changed, doesn't he feel ashamed?
As a court official, how could he bear to be subjected to such a violent fight like a shrew during a grand court assembly, in the Taiji Hall, and in front of the emperor and his ministers?
Shen Shixi did not think so. After all, in later generations, during the Ming Dynasty, it was common for the court to break into a brawl.
Who says only women pull hairpins and braids? Civil officials can be just as shameless when they fight.
But that kind of trend doesn't exist yet!
Shen Xianzhang wanted to lie in bed and quit, but he still had to go to the academy to teach his students the next day.
Shen Shixi's arithmetic textbook was also compiled, and a hundred copies were mimeographed and bound. He studied it himself and had others who were good at arithmetic study it. It was indeed very practical.
There are also addition tables, multiplication tables, and equation-based calculations, which are easy to learn.
Actually, this is mainly based on the understanding of adults.
Mathematics is a very useful subject; at the very least, it can be used in business.
It wasn't until later generations that it developed into a systematic discipline.
Shen Shixi has only systematized this basic discipline for now, laying a foundation. As for how it will develop in the future, she believes that there are giants in every era.
Mathematics was supplemented with some geometry knowledge, such as the calculation of the side length, perimeter and area of triangles, polygons and circles. It was also used by the imperial court when measuring land and carrying out infrastructure projects.
He was originally quite enthusiastic about doing these things, but thinking about what happened in court today, he became hesitant to go out.
Shen Shixi didn't care about any of that; she was shameless and couldn't empathize with people who cared about their reputation.
She was promoted last night, and an imperial edict was issued today. The investiture ceremony is scheduled for three days from now. The Ministry of Rites is making preparations, but this is definitely a done deal. The Empress sent people to deliver the rewards, and everyone else prepared congratulatory gifts to send.
Shen Shixi only accepted the Empress's reward; he refused all the others' gifts.
She doesn't want to congratulate others in the future, so naturally she won't accept any congratulatory gifts, thus reducing such interactions and minimizing trouble.
She neither gave others the opportunity to harm her, nor prevented others from using the return gift to frame her.
In Fengyi Palace, the congratulatory gifts had just been sent out when Lady Gao arrived again.
She seemed blind, failing to see the Empress's face, which was paler than rice paper, and kept questioning, "Was the Empress not at the banquet yesterday? How could she allow that vile woman Shen to humiliate your sister like that, and even beat her like that?"
Lady Gao cried, "Your Majesty, the Princess Consort is the eldest daughter of the Pei family! From childhood to adulthood, I have never even laid a finger on her. She has lived to this day, and with you, her sister, the Empress, she still allows a mere third or fourth-rank concubine to bully her like this!"
Gao pointed to the location of Zhaoyang Palace, "Who does Shen think she is, daring to lay a hand on a prince and his wife? Does she think she's in charge of the palace now? Your Majesty, I truly don't understand!"
The Empress vomited violently and collapsed to the ground.
She has had severe morning sickness since she found out she was pregnant yesterday, vomiting even when she drinks water, and she just can't take it anymore.
Madam Gao glanced at her, feeling both heartache and genuine disappointment. "How can Your Highness be so careless about your health?"
That's as if the empress were pregnant.