Chapter 11: Newly-appointed Jinshi, sincerely recruiting wealthy ladies!!! (2/2)

Every year, the officials of the local provinces and the three capitals were required to recommend young, talented children to the capital, and the Ministry of Personnel would include this as a performance metric in their records.

They didn’t have to recommend anyone, but they couldn’t submit unqualified candidates.

These recommended children, after being examined by the chancellors, would have the honor of meeting the Emperor. 

The boys were called “Heavenly Youths,” and the girls were called “Heavenly Maidens.”

Lady Jiazhen and the Hour Official were both Heavenly Maidens.

In Lady Qian’s eyes, they were both very intelligent and capable people—at least, they were different from her, a wet nurse who served with her body.

She had also heard that many high-ranking officials were willing to marry a Heavenly Maiden.

They believed that intelligent mothers would give birth to intelligent children.

But…

Lady Qian hesitated. 

Why did the Hour Official immediately change her tune when Lady Jiazhen suggested that she could marry and have children if she didn’t want to work?

Holding the young prince, she pondered thoughtfully.

On the day of the full moon, Ruan Rensui finally met his aunt.

Lady Xiahou’s younger sister was only eleven years old but already showed signs of becoming a beauty. 

Her body was growing quickly, and Ruan Rensui remembered that, although they were sisters, his aunt grew much taller than his mother as an adult.

The Xiahou family members were generally tall and sturdy, and he had inherited this trait.

Lady Xiahou had once worried about her younger daughter’s height, constantly muttering, 

“Stop growing, stop growing, or you’ll be taller than the Chen family’s young master.”

Looking back now, that was actually a good thing.

At least she wasn’t bullied by her husband in the marriage…

Lady Xiahou’s younger sister brought gossip into the palace, something she had been holding in for a while. 

She rushed in, her first words being:

“Mother, Sister, you’ll never guess what kind of eccentricity has emerged among the new scholars!”

Lady Xiahou and Concubine De exchanged puzzled glances.

Ruan Rensui also pricked up his ears.

In the Chongzheng Hall.

“This is truly disgraceful, Your Majesty!”

The current Grand Chancellor of the Secretariat, Ding Xuandu, slammed a colorful tabloid onto the Emperor’s desk, angrily protesting: 

“Your Majesty should strip this scoundrel of his title to set an example! Otherwise, wouldn’t all the new scholars be disgraced alongside him?!”

The Emperor, though confused, tried to calm him: 

“Grand Chancellor Ding, please calm down. Don’t get so worked up. Young people tend to be a bit flamboyant after achieving success…”

As he spoke, he picked up the tabloid Ding Xuandu had thrown down. 

At a glance, his eyebrows shot up, and he was utterly stunned!

The tabloid’s headline screamed in bold letters:

“New Scholar Seeks a Wealthy Wife!!!”

Below was the detailed content.

“Nineteen-year-old new scholar, virgin, good looks, no parents, no relatives, no bad habits, seeks a wealthy wife.”

The man is willing to take her surname, can sign a marriage contract at the capital’s government office, and does not require children.

“Requirements: The woman must have personal assets of at least 500,000 taels, be between 17 and 38 years old, pay a dowry of 50,000 taels upfront, and be willing to fund the man’s luxurious lifestyle.Interested parties, please contact…”

The Emperor: “…”

Ding Xuandu, like a tightly wound frog, stared at him: 

“Your Majesty, this is more than just ‘a bit flamboyant, isn’t it?!”

The Emperor: “…”

***

Not only the Emperor, but even the abstract-minded Concubine De was stunned when she heard Lady Xiahou’s younger sister’s gossip.

“Who is this person? Is he insane?!”

She was dumbfounded: 

“Does he have no shame at all?”

Turning to Lady Jiazhen, who initially looked surprised but now wore a faint smile, Concubine De asked: 

“Sister Jiazhen, will the Emperor strip him of his title?”

Ruan Rensui was also pondering this question.

This is just too shameless…

By the way, who is this person?

Such a famous figure if he really was in the capital, how could I not have heard of him?

He really wanted to ask his aunt for this person’s name.

Lady Xiahou’s train of thought was the same as his. 

She asked her younger daughter in shock: 

“What is this person’s name?”

Lady Xiahou’s younger sister told them: 

“His surname is Wu, but I forgot his given name…”

Ruan Rensui mentally ran through a list of names, thinking:

‘Why didn’t I hear about this Wu person in my past life?’

‘Did Father strip him of his title?’

The three Xiahou women and their grandson were all dumbfounded by this gossip.

Lady Jiazhen, after the initial surprise, remained composed: 

“Why would the Emperor strip Scholar Wu of his title?”

She said: 

“There’s no law in this dynasty that forbids a new scholar from becoming a son-in-law. He’s selling himself, and it’s a willing transaction. It doesn’t break any laws, nor does it harm anyone, does it?”

Concubine De instinctively replied: 

“But he’s just too…”

As she thought of something else, she paused midway and asked another question: 

“Sister Jia Zhen, do you think he can find a buyer?”

“Well… probably?”

Sister Jia Zhen’s tone was also uncertain. 

After a slight pause, she pondered and said, 

“The selling point of Scholar Wu lies in the fact that he’s a newly minted jinshi (scholar who passed the imperial examination). While new jinshi are not exactly rare, they are still considered outstanding talents, and he’s also very young.”

Many new jinshi are already over thirty and still get snatched up as sons-in-law!

A nineteen-year-old new jinshi, with a decent appearance, willing to abandon his surname to marry, and without the burden of parents or family- his value in the marriage market is quite high.

“Noble families wouldn’t want such a son-in-law. In their eyes, a jinshi isn’t particularly precious.” 

“Officials probably wouldn’t want him either, because Scholar Wu carries too much controversy, and the daughters of official families rarely have a dowry exceeding five hundred thousand taels of silver…”

At this point, Sister Jia Zhen’s willow-leaf-like eyebrows raised slightly, and she suddenly realized: 

“Scholar Wu knows exactly what he’s doing. He never intended to marry into a prominent family.”

Consort De instinctively asked, 

“Then what kind of family does he want to marry into?”

Sister Jia Zhen answered without hesitation, 

“Wealthy merchants!”

Only wealthy merchants could both afford the sum Scholar Wu desired and value the prestige of a new jinshi.

Ruan Rensui, hearing this, suddenly had an epiphany!

He knew who Scholar Wu was…

Sister Jia Zhen’s analysis was spot on.

In his previous life, his father hadn’t stripped Scholar Wu of his title.

And most importantly, in the end, that guy really did live off his wife’s wealth…

For the inner court, Scholar Wu’s attempt to cast a wide net to find a wealthy partner was just a bit of gossip, something to discuss and then forget. 

But in the outer court, this matter stirred up quite a storm.

Scholar Wu was boycotted by his fellow jinshi, and the officialdom also had much to criticize about him. 

The one who brought the scandalous pamphlet to the emperor’s attention was Ding Xuandu, a chancellor of the Department of State Affairs and one of the six prime ministers of the Secretariat.

Scholar Wu hadn’t even entered officialdom yet but had already become a thorn in the prime minister’s side. 

For him, this was definitely not a good thing.

It was around this time that Master Zhuo organized a gathering at his home to discuss the recent uproar over Scholar Wu’s attempt to marry into wealth and whether the court should strip him of his title.

The attendees included Master Zhuo’s students and old friends, as well as prominent noblewomen of the capital and representatives of various scholarly schools.

Empress Dowager and Empress Zhu, hearing about this, became very interested and specifically sent people to observe.

Consort De found the whole thing bizarre.

She couldn’t understand why the Empress Dowager and Empress Zhu would be interested in this discussion: 

“What’s there to talk about? I think that Scholar Wu is just seeking attention.”

Sister Jia Zhen, however, looked serious. 

After a moment, she softly told Consort De, 

“The Empress Dowager and Empress Zhu aren’t truly interested in this anecdote, but rather…”

Here, she paused subtly.

Consort De asked in confusion, 

“But why?”

Sister Jia Zhen lowered her voice and whispered, 

“They’re interested in the power women can wield.”

Consort De looked bewildered, “Huh?”

“How were these two things connected?”

Sister Jia Zhen patiently explained to her, 

“What’s wrong with Scholar Wu wanting to marry a wealthy person? He hasn’t committed murder, arson, or any other crime. The ones fiercely criticizing him are mostly men.”

“Because they can’t accept that men can also sell themselves, and do so openly and blatantly.”

“He’s willing to change his ancestral surname, give up his dignity as the head of a household, and even let his children take the mother’s surname, not caring about ancestral sacrifices…”

Sister Jia Zhen’s gaze was calm but firm: 

“Marriage has always been a transaction, but it’s only acceptable for men to buy women. How can women buy men? Wouldn’t that disrupt their rules?”

“Although there are noblewomen who take husbands, they always do so with grace and give men enough face. Now, Scholar Wu is lowering himself, actively selling himself off completely. It’s a disgrace to scholarly dignity!”

Her face showed a mocking expression: 

“To those men, Scholar Wu is a traitor, and traitors must pay the price. If people see that traitors aren’t punished but instead rewarded, wouldn’t there be more traitors in the future?”

In the long run, wouldn’t men’s status become equal to women’s?

That would make life unbearable!

Consort De listened, half-understanding: 

“So the Empress Dowager and Empress Zhu sent their officials to observe…”

“This is the Empress Dowager and the Central Palace showing their stance to the outside world.”

Sister Jia Zhen said, 

“In fact, Master Zhuo’s initiative to organize such a discussion already subtly implies support for this behavior.”

During Empress Dowager’s regency, she had two main supporters: Prime Minister Tang Hong in the court and Master Zhuo outside. 

Given the latter’s status among scholars, his willingness to discuss this matter already indicated a certain leaning.

She wasn’t supporting Scholar Wu personally, but rather the idea that men could also sell themselves through marriage to women.

What? 

Women can sell themselves, but men can’t?

Consort De finally understood and sighed with admiration: 

“Sister Jia Zhen, you’re all so smart! I could never think so deeply!”

Ruan Rensui silently agreed:

‘Me neither!’

Because of Sister Jia Zhen’s analysis, Consort De became interested in the final outcome of this matter. 

Being bold, she skipped all the complicated processes and went straight to the arbiter.

As soon as the emperor arrived and sat down, he was pulled aside by his beloved consort.

Turning to look, he saw the light of curiosity shining in Consort De’s eyes as she eagerly asked, 

“Your Majesty, will you strip Scholar Wu of his title?” 

The emperor was amused, 

“Why are you interested in this?”

Consort De wouldn’t betray Sister Jia Zhen-the emperor was also a man, and men wouldn’t like hearing women talk behind their backs!

She said, “I’m just curious!”

Then she shook the emperor’s arm and urged, 

“Tell me, tell me!”

Ruan Rensui, lying nearby, thought smugly:

‘Haha, I know the answer!’

Is this what it feels like to be a prophet?

Seeing that Consort De was genuinely curious, the emperor didn’t keep her in suspense. 

He laughed, picked up his son, and said, 

“He hasn’t broken any laws, so why should we strip him of his title?”

Although Master Zhuo had never officially served as an official, she could still be considered a politician.

During Empress Dowager’s regency, she wrote several articles in a single day, defending the Empress Dowager against scholarly criticism and providing legal support for a woman to rule. 

Now, to handle this matter, wouldn’t it be overkill?

Master Zhuo never mentioned men or women. 

She focused on one word: “Law”!

As long as Scholar Wu hadn’t violated the laws of the dynasty, his title couldn’t be stripped!

If Ding Xuandu disapproved of Scholar Wu selling himself, he should first defeat the legal scholars in the court and then have the Secretariat and the Supreme Court revise the laws to add a clause prohibiting jinshi from becoming sons-in-law!

This is using one’s own spear to attack one’s own shield.

Court matters should be resolved within the court.

Wang Yuanzhen, a former lady-in-waiting of the Empress Dowager and now a censor in the Censorate, wrote an article published in the court newspaper accompanying the official gazette.

The article roughly criticized certain officials for overstepping their authority in reporting, calling it a bad practice that could undermine court discipline. 

At the end, she suddenly added a subtle remark: For superiors to intervene in lower-level matters also has its nuances.

She didn’t say more, but the implication was thought provoking.

A prime minister of the Secretariat, using public opinion to attack a junior scholar who had really lost their dignity?

The emperor noticed that Ding Xuandu had developed blisters on his mouth within a few days. 

When seen by others, he tried to act as if nothing was wrong.

The emperor: “…”

According to the agreement between Sister Jia Zhen and the emperor, the day after the crown prince’s full moon celebration, she formally bid farewell to Consort De, preparing to return to the Palace Secretariat.

Before leaving, she earnestly recommended a lady official to take her place: 

“Lady Yi is young but has a mature and steady temperament. After I leave, Your Highness can rely on her.”

Consort De showed a hint of surprise.

She looked at Sister Jia Zhen in disbelief, 

“You’re really leaving?”

The latter found it strange, 

“Wasn’t this agreed upon earlier?”

Consort De, holding her son, sulked for a moment before saying, 

“Logically, shouldn’t you have been moved by my sincerity and our time together, choosing to stay and assist me, Sister Jia Zhen?”

Sister Jia Zhen: “…”

Ruan Rensui: “…”

Sister Jia Zhen said sternly, 

“Your Highness, your priority now is to throw away all those (nonsensical) romance novels!”

Consort De: “…”

Consort De, like a frostbitten eggplant, wilted and said, 

“Oh.”