I was compiling the daily records during the Wanli reign

Chapter 122 A Clearly Marked Price! The Business Acumen of the Emperor's Chosen Empress
On the thirteenth day of the first lunar month, in the afternoon, the winter sun shone brightly.

On Andingmen Street, the crowds were dense, and almost every tavern and teahouse was packed.

Every now and then you could see several Western Region merchants leading camels, speaking fluent Beijing accents and shouting: Felt carpets! Top-quality felt carpets, cheap for sale!

And this moment.

Shen Nian's father, Shen Yaoshan, and her father-in-law, Gu Dongyi, were chatting in the lobby of a building called "Qingfeng Teahouse".

In recent days.

The most popular topic among the common people in the capital was the selection of an empress for the young Wanli Emperor.

Almost every family with a daughter of marriageable age would participate in the selection, because it was a chance to defy fate.

The current Ming Dynasty.

Daughters from commoner families were more likely to become empresses of the Ming Dynasty than daughters from wealthy or powerful families.

Many ordinary families dreamed that their daughters could become the next Empress Dowager Li, and that their families could suddenly become relatives of the Empress Dowager.

after all.

If a daughter from a bricklayer's family can become the Empress Dowager, then any eligible common girl could become the new Empress Dowager.

Such a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, a chance to rise to the top in one step, excites countless people.

Some nouveau riche businessmen present themselves as coming from scholarly families, cramming at the last minute by hiring multiple tutors to give their daughters of marriageable age a crash course in their studies.

There were also families who, after the birth of their son Wanli, made plans ahead of time, had a lot of daughters, and raised and educated them in the style of well-bred ladies, having already made thorough preparations.

Some wealthy peasants and landlords also slipped money to the local eunuchs in charge of the selection process, hoping they would lower the standards.

Even some impoverished families borrowed money to send their daughters to the palace. Even if they couldn't become the empress, becoming a concubine would be enough to allow the entire family to achieve a leap in social class.

Although they knew it.

The reality is that even if a daughter is selected to enter the palace, she will most likely become a palace maid. If she is lucky, she may be able to leave the palace and get married. If she is unlucky, she can only form a relationship with some eunuchs and find it difficult to enjoy a normal married life.

However, women currently have a low social status.

Many families raise daughters only so that they can find a rich and powerful son-in-law; no one cares about her happiness or aspirations.

at the same time.

The eunuchs in the capital who were responsible for selecting imperial concubines also made a fortune.

The royal selection process consisted of seven rounds.

The first three rounds of selection were conducted by eunuchs, who selected candidates based on multiple external factors such as background, appearance, hair, skin, voice, and the length of their hands and feet.

Those selected will be allowed to travel to the capital, with the imperial court covering all travel expenses.

after that.

The fourth round involved older palace maids from the Forbidden City conducting a more thorough, full-body examination of them.

Anyone with a scar on any part of their body will be eliminated, and as for virginity, it will be checked several times to ensure it is correct.

The fifth round was still a selection process involving eunuchs.

The girls who advance to the fourth round will live in the palace for a month, where trusted eunuchs of the two empress dowagers will examine their personality and speech habits to determine whether they are qualified to become empresses.

This round is quite important.

Although there were written rules and regulations, they were highly subjective and relied heavily on the decisions of eunuchs.

The sixth round of selection was conducted by the two empress dowagers.

Those who could stand before them were all the best of the best, and there were no more than a hundred of them.

They would select three to five women who looked pleasing to the eye to be candidates for empress.

In the final round, the young Wanli Emperor personally made the selections.

But this round is no longer important.

As is customary, the young Wanli Emperor was merely going through the motions, putting on a show. He would have no choice but to choose whichever Empress Dowager Li ultimately favored.

Judging from the selection process, the eunuchs played a very decisive role.

If the chief eunuch Feng Bao disliked a particular concubine or had a grudge against her family, the concubine would never have the opportunity to stand before the two empress dowagers.

As Shen Yaoshan and Gu Dongyi chatted, the conversation drifted to the topic of the royal selection of an empress.

Gu Dongyi couldn't help but sigh, "It was supposed to be a royal talent selection, but some people have turned it into a business, making the streets and alleys a mess!"

“Yes! I’m afraid the higher-ups have no idea that the talent show has become a business,” Shen Yaoshan added.

……

At this moment, in a corner to the side.

Upon hearing these words, a young man dressed in a gray short-sleeved shirt quickly stood up and walked out of the teahouse.

This man's name was A-Gui, and he was a constable from the Northern City Military Command.

Recently, his task has been to sit in plainclothes in various teahouses in the capital, listening to the merchants chat. If they say something wrong or offend anyone, he can extort money from them.

soon.

Ah Gui ran to a private room on the second floor of the teahouse across the street and looked ahead at a man in his thirties wearing a dark blue cross-collar robe.

"Boss, we've found an opportunity. Two merchants have been making irresponsible remarks about the royal selection of an empress..." A-Gui recounted the conversation between Shen Yaoshan and Gu Dongyi word by word.

"Judging from his clothes, he must be very wealthy. Judging from his accent, he's from Jiangnan," A-Gui added.

“Alright, bring them here. Don’t intimidate or use violence yet, in case they have powerful backers,” the man said.

"Understood," A-Gui replied excitedly.

This man in his thirties is Ma Yi, the current deputy commander of the Northern City Military Command.

Since last year, when Zhang Shuntian, the commander of the Beicheng Military Command, Huang Cheng, the deputy commander, and Song Yizhou, the clerk, were severely punished for concealing the entry of Liaodong refugees into the capital, Ma Yi seized the opportunity to become the deputy commander of the Beicheng Military Command.

The Five City Garrison, responsible for "patrolling streets, clearing ditches, preventing fires, and running errands during major events," was a menial office subject to the censors and the imperial guards, making it arguably the lowest level of all government offices in the capital.

But to ordinary people, they are bandits, robbers, and devils.

Ma Yi was able to serve as deputy commander not because of his exceptional abilities, but because he was skilled at cultivating relationships with many eunuchs.

Last year, Ma Yi had the privilege of meeting Feng Bao.

He knelt directly in front of Feng Bao and said something that left Feng Bao speechless but very pleased.

"Master, do you need another godson? If I... I can't make the cut, I'll be your godson's grandson!"

Although Feng Bao, a man of some literary and artistic temperament, did not adopt Ma Yi, a crude and vulgar man, as his godson, he did have one of his godsons adopt Ma Yi as his adopted son.

From then on, Ma Yi stood out.

He is obsequious to his superiors but ruthless to his subordinates, becoming increasingly audacious in his actions.

Recently, the Lantern Festival is approaching.

He needed to pay tribute to his superiors, so he came up with a way to make some money.

He ordered his subordinates to sit in plain clothes in teahouses and taverns in the capital to eavesdrop on the merchants' conversations. If any prohibited words were uttered, he could threaten them and extort money from them.

He is very careful.

It only targets out-of-town merchants who have no power or influence, but dares not target local scholars or merchants.

Just now, Shen Yaoshan and Gu Dongyi's words were not actually prohibited, but in his eyes, they had already crossed the line, and it would be no problem to accuse them of "making irresponsible remarks about the selection of the royal empress".

……

After a while.

Shen Yaoshan and Gu Dongyi were having a pleasant conversation when two constables from the Imperial City Garrison approached.

"You two, come with us!" a police officer said coldly.

"What is it?" Gu Dongyi asked, puzzled.

"You're suspected of making unwarranted comments about the royal selection of a queen. Come with me, and you'll find out everything!"

Seeing that they had no choice but to leave, Shen Yaoshan and Gu Dongyi immediately paid the bill and followed the two police officers outside.

The two thought they were going to the North City Military Command, but instead they were taken to a private room in a teahouse across the street.

A police officer introduced him: "This is Commander Ma, the deputy commander of the North City Military Command!"

"Commander Ma!" Shen Yaoshan and Gu Dongyi greeted him with a smile and cupped their hands. Having witnessed many grand occasions, they had no fear whatsoever.

Ma Yi first had A Gui repeat their conversation, then asked, "Is that what you said?"

Shen Yaoshan and Gu Dongyi didn't think there was anything wrong with what he said, and immediately nodded.

"Cough cough!"

Ma Yi coughed lightly and said, "You are suspected of making unwarranted comments about the selection of the royal empress. Do you know your crime?"

Upon hearing this, Shen Yaoshan and Gu Dongyi knew that this deputy commander was a rip-off. Ma Yi continued, "Now, you have two options. First, if you know someone in the government, go find them to help you, and you might get a lighter punishment. Second, I will immediately send you to the imperial prison, where the lightest punishment will be sixty strokes of the cane."

These are the "two paths" that Ma Yi often talks about.

After the conversation is over, officials who have connections in the government will immediately reveal their powerful backers.

Those without connections would often tremble at the mere mention of "imperial prison," and some might even proactively ask: "Can I pay...can I get out of this predicament?"

Upon hearing this, Shen Yaoshan and Gu Dongyi's expressions remained unchanged, and their responses were even simpler.

"How much money will it take to release us?" Gu Dongyi asked bluntly.

"Haha... I've met a wise person today!" Ma Yi held up one hand and said, "Five hundred taels of silver, and we'll consider today's matter settled!"

Ma Yi's annual salary was equivalent to no more than twenty taels of silver.

He insisted it was five hundred taels.

This was because five hundred taels was the safest amount of money he, as an official, needed to embezzle.

If he were to ask for a thousand taels of silver, it would violate the rules of officialdom. Only a commander-in-chief is entitled to ask for a thousand taels of silver. If he asks for more, he is likely to be punished by his superiors.

Shen Yaoshan smiled slightly.

"No problem, you can send someone to take us to the inn to collect the money later."

Ma Yi was taken aback.

To everyone's surprise, the two agreed so readily.

No bargaining at all.

If the two men could only come up with one hundred taels, he would have accepted it.

At this moment, Ma Yi was overjoyed, as he had suddenly gathered enough money for the Lantern Festival's filial piety gifts.

At this time.

Shen Yaoshan then said, "Commander Ma, how about I add another five hundred taels of silver to ask you for some information? Is that alright?"

"what news?"

"My family also has a woman of marriageable age who is eligible for the imperial concubine selection. I wonder how much money it would cost to get her to appear before the two empress dowagers?"

Ma Yi thought it was some kind of secret, but it turns out it was just this.

He puffed out his chest and said, "As long as you are chaste, healthy, of average or above-average appearance, and can read."

"For the first to third rounds of selection, the price within the jurisdiction of Shuntian Prefecture is one thousand taels, two thousand taels, and three thousand taels, respectively. The fourth round is five thousand taels, and the fifth round is ten thousand taels. Payment is required in advance, and if you are rejected, half of the money will be refunded..."

"If you have no connections, you can come to me for help, and I won't charge you extra money!"

As a loyal lackey of the Eastern Depot, Ma Yi was well aware of this matter.

Shen Yaoshan nodded in satisfaction.

He felt he was being ripped off for extorting 500 taels of silver, but he felt it was well worth the 1,000 taels he spent on this information.

He knew all too well that if the inner palace was in turmoil, the whole country would be in turmoil.

Therefore, after being extorted, he tried to get this information out of Ma Yi.

Ma Yineng said this.

This confirms that the matter of "using the emperor's selection of an empress to seek personal gain" is true. As for what to do next, they left it to Shen Nian.

Perhaps, they can get their thousand taels of silver back.

Shortly after, the two police officers took Shen Yaoshan and Gu Dongyi to the inn to collect the money.

After receiving one thousand taels of silver, the two released Shen Yaoshan and Gu Dongyi.

……

At night, inside the Shen residence.

Shen Yaoshan and Gu Dongyi handed over to Shen Nian a written statement by Ma Yi, the deputy commander of the Beicheng Military Command.

The two knew that this matter was inextricably linked to the Directorate of Ceremonial.

Now Feng Bao is very powerful.

Whether or not this matter should be reported to higher authorities was entirely up to Shen Nian.

After pondering for a moment, Shen Nian said, "Father, Father-in-law, I will report this matter to His Majesty tomorrow and let him decide."

This matter involves the inner court.

Even if Shen Nian is handed over to the cabinet, they will still hand her over to the Imperial Guard for handling.

The Five Cities Garrison is entirely composed of lackeys of the Imperial Guard and is incapable of handling matters impartially.

Therefore, it would be better to hand Shen Nian over to the young Wanli Emperor directly.

Shen Nian predicted that the young Wanli Emperor would definitely fly into a rage.

……

The next day, it was nearly noon.

Shen Nian appeared inside the Wenhua Hall.

There is no daily lecture today, and no need to review memorials, but there is a calligraphy class.

Shen Nian was responsible for supervision and guidance.

Today, Empress Dowager Li is not present, and Feng Bao is not on duty; two other eunuchs are on duty instead.

But they were clearly Feng Bao's men.

While Shen Nian was checking Xiao Wanli's calligraphy, he placed the document written by his father in front of Xiao Wanli.

The young Wanli Emperor was taken aback at first, then opened it and examined it closely.

Before long, Wanli's face darkened.

He was very angry, extremely angry.

He was furious that someone had treated his life's most important event as a business transaction.

He was angry that the amount of silver he usually gave to the lecturers could not exceed eighty taels; if it did, they would be scolded. Meanwhile, these people were making thousands or tens of thousands of taels.

He also wanted to find a beautiful and virtuous empress for his harem.

But what I didn't expect was that all these people cared about was money and profit.

After careful consideration, the young Wanli Emperor realized that the mastermind behind this matter was an inner court eunuch.

Perhaps Feng Bao was also involved.

He immediately stood up and said, "Editor Shen, accompany me for a walk."

"Your subject obeys!" Shen Nian said, bowing.

Immediately, the emperor and his ministers left the Wenhua Hall.

Outside the palace gates, the winter sun shone brightly.

Xiao Wanli and Shen Nian strolled one after the other.

The two eunuchs tactfully kept a distance of about fifty paces from the two men, allowing them to whisper to each other.

The young Wanli Emperor asked, "Editor Shen, where did this document come from?"

Shen Nian recounted in detail to Xiao Wanli what his father and father-in-law had experienced the previous day.

Little Wanli thought about it.

"This matter should not be handed over to the Imperial Guards or the Three Judicial Offices. I do not trust them at all now. If they investigate, they will surely find ways to deceive me!"

"I want to personally find out who is behind this. I plan to have your father and father-in-law take this document to the Imperial Censorate to file a complaint. I want to see the Imperial Censorate's reaction, whether they will show favoritism, and I also want to see the reaction of the Shuntian Prefecture and the Eastern Depot."

In the capital, when commoners sue the Five City Garrison Command, the first place to go is the Imperial Censorate, and then the Shuntian Prefecture will also participate.

If Shen Nian's father and father-in-law were to file a lawsuit, there is a high probability that many behind-the-scenes participants would come forward to cover it up.

The young Wanli Emperor did this clearly to see how many people were involved.

"Don't worry, I will instruct trusted Imperial Guards to protect them and ensure they are not wronged in the slightest. Also, don't let them reveal that you are your father and father-in-law," the young Wanli Emperor added.

"Your subject has no objection, Your subject obeys!" Shen Nian said, bowing.

Shen Nian was overjoyed at this moment.

He felt that the young Wanli Emperor was becoming increasingly intelligent and had more and more of an imperial bearing.

If this matter develops in the direction of "a commoner appealing to the authorities," it will inevitably lead to a process and outcome that no one can imagine.

(End of this chapter)