Favoring Qie Over Wife (14)

Zhao Cheng's mood was very terrible.

When he went to court that day, and saw the chancellors still bickering in a heated discussion about the delay in northward expansion because of the lack of manpower, his face turned even darker. The fourth prince Zhao Yusheng had long since given up and was watching them with an expression of 'I'm only here to enjoy the show.'

"Exempt soldiers from taxes and labor service, it will provide a large permanent pool of self-supporting military manpower," Zhao Cheng cut them off and said with a cold tone.

His gaze was like a sharp sword, the blade pointing at them. The officials instantly quieted down, the silence in the courtroom so absolute that one could hear a pin drop to the ground.

But who knew, Prime Minister Li's mood wasn't very good too.

"Your Highness, if we do that, the tax base would be further reduced. The constant raids in the borders and the civil war from the previous dynasty had already reduced the tax base by almost two-thirds. If we add in the exemption of the taxes in the militia system that you just introduced..."

Prime Minister Li was one of Zhao Cheng's strongest supporters, so the two of them often didn't argue at court. Zhao Cheng's action of taking in a new concubine just two months after he married Prime Minister Li's eldest di daughter wasn't a secret, so most of them knew the reason behind the Prime Minister's unexpected opposition.

Seeing Prime Minister Li's face, Zhao Cheng was reminded of the reason why he finished so early during his nightly activity with Bai Mei Lien. His expression became even more worse as he cited the Analects almost verbatim, "'If the common people have insufficient, then how can the ruler have enough?' Cut down on elaborate weddings and funerals of both nobles and commoners, prohibit the extravagance of dwellings, carriages, and clothing among the imperial clansmen. That should solve Prime Minister Li's worries."

The expressions of fourth prince Zhao Yusheng and most of the officials there drastically changed.

Oy, oy, oy! This is a problem between the two of you, so why did you drag us in too? Most importantly, Zhao Cheng's idea was sound. If the Emperor heard his proposal and decided to implement such a frugal policy...not good.

Zhao Yusheng stepped forward and clapped the shoulders of his imperial brother heartily. "San ge, why don't you go home and relax a little? You look a bit tired."

How could Zhao Cheng not know his thoughts? He glowered at him and said, "I thank si di's concern for my health, but fuhuang [1] has more need of your concern. Thinking about it, I haven't visited fuhuang for a while. This seems like a good day to give my greetings."

Before any of the court officials could say a word, Zhao Cheng swung his sleeves in a fit of temper and left.

That day, all of them learned a valuable lesson.

Provoke the heavens, provoke the earth, but only third prince Zhao Cheng was not to be provoked! [2]

...

Meanwhile, in the wangfu, the concerned party of Zhao Cheng and Prime Minister Li's fight was currently lying on a couch bed under a Chinese parasol tree, eating a plate of glutinous rice balls covered in coconut flakes.

Song Jia's hair was arranged in a fan he hairstyle with a plum blossom hairpin on the top. A white and long skirt which had lily pads embroidered on it draped off the couch, its hem barely brushing the ground. She looked tranquil and almost fairy-like, as her snow-white skin glistened under the fragmented sunlight that passed through the tree leaves.

"Wang fei, towards that shufei, are you really not going to do anything?"

Ruolan could not hold back herself anymore and blurted out. If she continued to hold back her complaints at this point in time, she would surely vomit blood due to anger.

"Ruolan!" Minglan scolded sternly.

How could a mere slave-servant like them question wang fei's decisions? This Ruolan truly ate a leopard's gall to speak so daringly to the mistress of the fu!

Song Jia raised a hand to stop Minglan. She knew that Ruolan's question was only out of concern for her. How could she have the heart to scold such a loyal yatou?

"Not to worry, wang ye has already assured me that my prestige in the wangfu will never change. Wang ye has great ambitions, so he certainly won't 'favor a qie to destroy a wife [3]'. Rather than spending my time in worry about the new shufei, I'd rather enjoy eating delicious food and reading good books instead. Besides, there will soon be an entertaining play to watch in the wangfu."

"An entertaining play?" Ruolan furrowed her brows. Why did she feel like wang fei is getting harder and harder to understand?

Song Jia smiled. "You'll know soon enough."

She picked another bite-sized glutinous rice ball and popped it into her mouth.

Zhao Cheng, ah Zhao Cheng, did you know that aside from your lover Bai Mei Lien, you also invited a wolf in sheep's clothing into your estate?

Thinking that her days in the wangfu would certainly become interesting from now on, Song Jia had a good appetite and happily devoured her food.

[1] Also another term for 'Father Emperor'

[2] A reference

[3] A serious accusation to make because it is against the 'order of the world' and could lead to dishonor and loss of an official's position.