Chapter 15: Giant Greed
Zhao Su, who had made up her mind, was not polite and raised her toothpicks to eat.
Empress Dowager Lu ate a few mouthfuls of meat, and then opened her mouth, “How did you go back yesterday?”
Zhao Su waist straight, as if with the department leader to report work: “Yesterday after going back, seniors see and hear, all the Empress Dowager these decades for the achievements made in Da Liang, especially the Empress Dowager in the promotion of women’s status in this area of the efforts made by the seniors admire, you are the idol of seniors!”
“And?”
Zhao Su silenced for a moment, there was also the Shi En bit. But could this be said or not?
She made a few turns in her head, then peered across the room, “There’s still one thing that the late generation has some doubts about.”
“Speak.”
“That Lord Shi who committed the crime at the Ministry of Rites, could it be that he is one of your people, Empress Dowager?”
Empress Dowager Lu lifted her unexpected eyelids, “Not stupid either.”
Zhao Su cleared his throat.
After a few rounds of trial performances, Empress Dowager Lu’s gesture of scalding mutton was already very skillful. She said, “Did you hear the Emperor’s words just now?”
Sincerely ……
“His Majesty went and returned just now, scaring me so much that I didn’t dare to move, so I had to stay behind. But I didn’t hear anything!”
Only a fool would admit to eavesdropping!
“That’s too bad.” Empress Dowager Lu was rather regretful, “I was just about to talk to you about this case. After all, you are also a big family lady, you can’t always be the cook, can you? Thinking about the fact that you come from the twenty-first century, maybe you can also have some value to play with.”
Zhao Su’s heart moved, but she didn’t fall for it.
Empress Lu said again, “Do you know why Shi En can’t be severely punished?”
This one was still really puzzling.
Zhao Su tried, “Empress Dowager still has something to say straight ……”
“What else to say? What is there to say?” Empress Dowager Lu said, “You didn’t even hear it, wouldn’t it be in vain to say it?”
All right, the tricks are pretty slick.
Zhao Su said, “To tell the truth, just now, although I tried not to hear, but the sound is not controlled, it ran into my ears by itself.”
“Really?”
“Right! Exactly!”
Empress Dowager Lu put down her dental chopsticks, “Then what did you hear?”
“…… You and the Emperor were talking about Shi En just now?”
“That’s right.” Empress Dowager Lu looked at her, “Then are you wondering why I am protecting him?”
Did that even need to be said?
Zhao Su didn’t hold back either, “There must be a deeper meaning for the Empress Dowager to do this, and it’s definitely not something that mere mortals like me can comprehend.”
Seriously, yesterday, listening to Aunt An said Shi En this matter, Zhao Su at that time thought that Empress Dowager Lu was very confused, but just now listening to her and the emperor that conversation, they think Shi En if not Empress Dowager Lu’s people will not make sense.
With only a few words with the emperor, Empress Dowager Lu everywhere reveals the intention to protect Shi En, as the Empress Dowager, even if the emperor is her own son, the hands of a few loyal subordinates is also usual.
Only she is a little difficult to understand the change of the Empress Dowager Lu, she obviously did a lot of merit for the women of the Great Liang, a flower and moon will be, the feudal customs are removed a lot, from the tone of the clouds want to clothes can be seen in the world’s heart, the Empress Dowager how respected, according to say that she should be a sensible person. But why does she still want to protect a Shi En?
The Flower Moon Society was founded by her, for Shi En this worm, shouldn’t she get rid of it more quickly?
Empress Lu said, “Other people may not be able to comprehend this, but you certainly can and must.”
What kind of refreshing and agreeable speech was this?
Zhao Su is not a courtier, so why must he understand?
But when the superior’s thinking is correct, he has to hold the stage, and when his thinking is incorrect, he has to round the stage, Zhao Su lowered his head, “Shi En is working for the Empress Dowager, and even dares to be corrupt and pervert the law, and His Majesty is bound to think of the gods of the earth and grain if he is to be severely punished. The Empress Dowager is wise and honorable, yet she is trying to protect him at this moment, I think this Shi En’s crime may not be that big, the Empress Dowager is merciful and willing to give him a chance.”
“He has embezzled one hundred thousand taels.”
“……”
Empress Dowager Lu continued, “One tael of silver in this dynasty can buy two and a half stones of rice. The amount he embezzled on the impeachment report is enough for you to buy many mansions and manors.”
Zhao Su remembers that the price of rice across the country is five dollars a catty, a stone of rice is fifty-nine pounds, one tael of silver for two and a half stones of rice, wouldn’t it be worth more than seven hundred dollars? One hundred thousand taels of silver, crikey, that’s more than seventy million dollars! A vice minister of culture, a corruption of seventy to eighty million dollars, how can this not be said to have committed something considered small ah!
The question is, since he’s a big corrupt, doesn’t Empress Dowager Lu have no reason to protect him?
Empress Dowager Lu took a leaky spoon and scalded two slices of tripe, wrapped in the oil dish: “Do you know the Flower Moon Club?”
“Oh, late generation yesterday on the way back not only saw a flower moon meeting martial arts leader, but also met a medical leader, and later heard a lot of great achievements of the Empress Dowager. Thank you very much for your efforts for the women of the world, thanks to the Empress Dowager’s wise decisions, the women of Great Liang did not live so suffocating. It also allows the late generation to enjoy the blessings of the prosperous era of Great Liang under the empress dowager’s rule as soon as they arrive!”
Empress Dowager Lu had also gone from a house fight to a palace fight, breaking out of the sky with difficulty step by step, it was rare for her to think of the women of the world when she was starting her own life, this bosom should certainly be recognized.
Empress Lu also did not have the slightest modesty: “I was only ten years old when I crossed over, and at that time, in the Lu family, I was framed by the daughter born of my stepmother, and my own father beat me, the first eldest daughter of the board, and then threw it to the Tianfu to fend for herself.
“Later, I cleaned up my stepmother’s slag father all together, met the late emperor, and was told that the daughter of a bereaved mother was not worthy of the late emperor who had a good birth, and all along the way all kinds of things were countless examples of women’s dignity being trampled on.
“But this society is so.
“If it wasn’t for this palace, you who traveled across should indeed be busy copying the Women’s Discipline and the Women’s Commandments at this moment in the Zhao family. And there’s no way you’d have the chance to hang around outside all day.”
Zhao Su bowed her waist deeply, “That’s why I feel immensely honored and happy to have crossed over under General Lu’s rule!”
“Unfortunately,” Empress Dowager Lu sighed, “You won’t be able to enjoy this blessing for much longer.”
“…… How do you say that?”
“Because it hurts the interests of some people.”
Zhao Su paused slightly, “Please also ask the Empress Dowager for clarification.”
Empress Dowager Lu did not answer directly, she picked some green onion leaves into her bowl and then asked her in return, “Do you have ideals?”
“……”
Ideals were something that Zhao Su also had.
But it was clear that she was still a mole in her hands, and this sudden talk about life ideals was more or less disconcerting.
“I do have ideals.”
Without waiting for her to respond, Empress Dowager Lu went down: “My initial ideal was to break the tradition of male superiority and female inferiority, so that the women of the world would lift their backs and live with some dignity, but later realized that it was too difficult to actually do so.
“There’s really a limit to what I can do with just one person’s strength.”