Qing Yao

Chapter 241 Not a Thigh, But an Iron Fist
Problems should be solved; harmony in the family brings prosperity.

Zhao An returned to the villa and found Wanqing, questioning her: "If you won't let Chunlan's unborn child have the surname Zhao, then what will it have?"

"You can have any surname, but you're not allowed to have the surname Zhao."

The little girl, instead of feeling guilty when she realized her scheme had been exposed, was quite "assertive".

Looking at the little girl, who was only seventeen years old by Chinese reckoning, acting like a tigress, Zhao An was both amused and exasperated: "Isn't this just being unreasonable?"

“How am I being unreasonable? Mother said that you are already a fourth-rank official at such a young age, and you might become a provincial governor or governor in the future, or even a minister or a high-ranking official. Why should Luo Chunlan get all the benefits of your official position, while I, the legal wife, get nothing?”

The benefits the young maid mentioned likely refer to the imperial edicts bestowed by the court upon the wives of officials of the fourth rank or above.

This is what is commonly referred to as a Lady of Imperial Decree.

The title "Madam" was not used casually. The Ministry of Rites stipulated that only the principal wives of officials of the first and second ranks could be called "Madam," while the stepmother was called "Grand Madam." Officials of the third rank were called "Shuren," those of the fourth rank were called "Gongren," those of the fifth rank were called "Yiren," those of the sixth rank were called "Anren," and those of the seventh rank and below were called "Ruren."

If there is no official title or rank, then she is called "wife".

According to the system established during the Ming and Qing dynasties, the wives of officials of the fifth rank or above who had made outstanding contributions had the opportunity to receive imperial honors. With these honors, the official's principal wife also enjoyed certain political privileges. If she was an official in the capital, the wife of the official title could enter the palace to participate in palace banquets.

For an official's wife, this is undoubtedly the greatest honor and prestige.

Often, wives of officials with imperial titles wielded considerable influence in the local area. Relying on their husbands' power and their own privileges, they would directly interfere in local affairs, even dragging their honest husbands down with them for a little money, leading to the collapse and corruption of the entire family, and ultimately resulting in the downfall of both husband and wife.

In Ming Dynasty vernacular novels, noblewomen are usually portrayed as villains, either protecting their nephews or breaking up couples.

Xu Shilin's snake spirit mother was an exception.

Wanqing was still young and obviously wouldn't have any thoughts about "corruption"; she was simply upset.

Indeed, her husband was promoted to the fourth rank of grain commissioner at a young age, and his future career was limitless. Anyone who thought about it would feel that it was not worthwhile for her to be an invisible wife behind the scenes. That's why the little girl realized what was going on and started causing trouble.

This can also be interpreted as the young girl fighting for her legal rights.

Of course, it cannot be ruled out that the mother-in-law, Li, played a negative role, which is understandable, given the universal love and concern of parents.

If the son-in-law were just a seventh-rank official, the mother-in-law might not have had too many thoughts. But now that the son-in-law has been promoted to the fourth-rank grain commissioner, it's only natural for the mother-in-law to whisper some words of advice for the sake of her daughter's future.

Times change.

"Even if the imperial court bestows an official title, it will belong to Chunlan. After all, she is Zhao Youlu's legal wife. Without Zhao Youlu's status, I wouldn't be able to get this official position. Why do you bother with that empty title? Listen to me, be good. We won't fight for that kind of trivial thing. I'll buy you Chanel later."

Zhao An thought Wanqing was young and easy to coax, so he used sweet talk and even loosened her clothes, ready to nip the problem in the bud.

"No, you have to give me an explanation for this!"

Unexpectedly, the little girl was determined, holding onto his pants tightly while giving Zhao An two choices.

Either Zhao An agrees to let her replace Luo Chunlan as the legal wife, or Zhao An divorces Luo Chunlan, who is legally his wife, and then marries her again.

Another interpretation of "a sparrow occupying a dove's nest".

“You divorce Luo Chunlan and marry me, and I will help you take Chunlan as a concubine. That way, I will be in charge of the household, and you can just focus on being your official.”

The little girl's earnest expression gave off the vibe of an eighteen-year-old great-grandmother reborn.

Legally, Zhao An could divorce his wife and remarry, so the young girl could rightfully become Zhao Youlu's legal wife and enjoy all the glory and benefits that came with her husband's official status.

After being divorced, the original wife basically never had any contact with him again. However, if Zhao An were to take his original wife back as a concubine, there seems to be no relevant legal prohibition.

The Qing law only stipulated: "Anyone who takes a wife as a concubine shall be punished with one hundred strokes of the cane. If a wife is alive and a concubine is taken as a wife, the punishment shall be ninety strokes of the cane, and the offender shall be punished accordingly. If a man takes another wife, he shall also be punished with ninety strokes of the cane."

So, the young woman helped her husband exploit a legal loophole—by divorcing Luo Chunlan and welcoming me as his legal wife, she would then help him take Luo Chunlan as a concubine, perfectly circumventing all legal constraints and achieving a new kind of sleight of hand.

As expected of the county magistrate's granddaughter, she's quick-witted.

"A woman's virtue lies in her lack of talent; our ancestors were right."

Looking at Wanqing, who was also a junior high school student, Zhao An was annoyed. He had been trying to exploit the old man's bug, but Wanqing had been trying to exploit his bug. What's the old saying?
Yes, people who aren't family don't enter the same door.

He awkwardly withdrew his hands, which were about to unzip his pants, and muttered, "Do you know what a young official like me is most afraid of?"

"what?"

The little girl was puzzled.

Zhao An sighed: "It's a matter of conduct."

What constitutes a matter of work style?

The little girl genuinely doesn't understand; she's not pretending.

"It's just divorcing his wife for no reason."

Zhao An explained that it wasn't that he didn't want to cooperate with Wanqing in exploiting legal loopholes to achieve a perfect swap of wives and concubines; rather, it was because so many people were watching him, envious of him, and even more people were hoping for his downfall.

"If I were to divorce Chunlan now, what would the court think of me? I'd be a modern-day Chen Shimei! Do you want me to rise higher and higher in my official career, or do you want me to pack my bags and go back to Xinghua to farm with you?"

The ideal was good, but reality was cruel. Zhao An poured cold water on the little girl who was immersed in her beautiful dream.

Style issues are a minor matter, but they are often the best weapon for political enemies to deal with their opponents.

It seems the old man disliked officials divorcing their wives and remarrying.

If we do as the little girl says, and this gets back to the old master's ears, even if the Grand Secretary and the Grand Secretary Fu speak well of him, the old master will no longer like him, and he might be completely stripped of his title.

Although he knew Jesus, Zhao Anzhen didn't want to bother him until the very last step.

After Zhao An said that, Wanqing realized that things were not going in the best direction she had envisioned. Helpless, she had to give up her idea of ​​"climbing the social ladder" and instead insisted on pretending to be fake together.

Anyway, after arriving in Jiangning, everyone in the grain transport office could only call her "Madam," and Luo Chunlan had to be a concubine. No matter how Zhao An tried to coax her, she refused to back down.

Enraged, Zhao An blurted out, "You'd rather not be the granddaughter of a county magistrate and instead choose to be a country bumpkin? I think you're out of your mind."

The little girl retorted sharply: "Why did you choose to become Zhao Youlu instead of the perfectly good Zhao An? Your brain isn't much better."

"."

Zhao An was furious: "If you don't listen to me, I'll beat you up!"

"Go ahead and hit me if you dare!"

The little girl was not afraid at all. She grabbed Zhao An's fist, which he was bluffing with in mid-air, and slammed it into her own stomach: "Go ahead and hit me, see if your Zhao family's great-grandfather, old great-grandfather, and great-great-grandfather will come looking for you tonight!"

Zhao An couldn't bear to hit his young wife, but he was too embarrassed to back down, so he changed the subject and asked with a puzzled look, "What does it have to do with my old man whether I hit you or not?"

"Lao Wangwang" is a dialect term used in the Jianghuai region to refer to one's ancestors. During the Qingming Festival and the winter solstice, every household will cook a few dishes at home and burn some paper money in front of the door to invite the "Lao Wangwang" to come home for a meal.

A ritual to commemorate ancestors.

"Because the one in my belly is the legitimate grandson of your Zhao family!" The little girl's eyes shone with immense pride.

Zhao An was startled: "Your period hasn't come this month?"

"My mother had a doctor check my pulse, and it's probably true that I'm pregnant."

As she spoke, the little girl touched her belly, her eyes filled with pride and a maternal glow.

Zhao An was certainly happy that Wanqing was pregnant, but he also felt a little guilty because the little girl was only seventeen years old this year. She had become a mother at such a young age, and he didn't know if the delivery would go smoothly.

His original idea was to wait two years before having children, but unfortunately, there were no tools available in that era, so there was no way to avoid it.

We can't exactly make him use fish intestines or sheep intestines.

What else is there to say? Even if it's not for the sake of the young girl's unborn child, the feelings of the "old men" must also be considered.

"Whatever you say, whatever you say. It's just playing house, it doesn't matter who plays it."

He chuckled and coaxed Wanqing into bed, then started discussing whether the baby was a boy or a girl, what its name would be, and finally suggested that since the baby was still young, he, as the father, wanted to go in and see what the baby looked like.

He gave a completely different answer to Chunlan, saying that Wanqing was younger and he should be more accommodating, and that as her husband, he would definitely treat both of them equally and try his best to please both.

Chunlan was easy to coax. After all, her background was what it was, and she knew that no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't compete with the county magistrate's granddaughter, especially since she was a widow with a child in tow.

Zhao An's genuine care for the mother and daughter, treating Xiao Xiao as his own, is the greatest blessing she has ever received.

Even if we take a step back and say that it wasn't for Zhao An, she wouldn't be living the good life she has now.

Women have an emotional side, but they are more practical.

With Zhao An's tireless efforts to appease her, she could only acquiesce to the fact that she would lose her "wife" status after going to Jiangning.

He no longer felt aggrieved about mentioning Xiaoxiao's trip to Songjiang, while Zhao An had someone prepare a car to take Zhao Youlu's parents to the dock.

Originally, Zhao An wanted the canal gang to arrange a boat to take him there, but Lao Song insisted on hiring a passenger boat for the sake of secrecy. When Zhao An delivered the person, Lao Song, dressed in plain clothes, was chatting with the boatman at the bow of the boat, looking just like an ordinary person going to Jiangnan to visit relatives.

Just before boarding the ship, Zhao Youlu's father, Zhao Sixi, glanced at Zhao An, who had been extremely filial to him these past two days, and without saying anything, simply nodded slightly before pulling his wife, Chen, onto the ship.

Even after the passenger ship had sailed far away, Chunlan still held Xiaoxiao on the shore, reluctant to part with her.

Zhao An promised Chunlan that he would take her to visit her parents in Songjiang after the baby was born.

Zhao Youlu's parents left on the nineteenth day of the first lunar month. Manager Shi had already returned from his New Year's holiday in Beijing.

We met at Huamanlou that evening, and Lao Ding was there too.

Zhao An told Manager Shi about his plan to open a money shop in partnership with Magistrate Ding. He asked Manager Shi to help him get a loan of 100,000 taels of silver for the money shop's start-up capital, and also to introduce some financial professionals to Magistrate Ding. He also asked Manager Shi to introduce any loan services that Xianfeng Bank had to offer.

Since Manager Shi has been working closely with Zhao An, he naturally helped with this matter, and the cooperation strategy was determined in just a few words.

Next, of course, comes eating and drinking.

During the meal, Manager Shi mentioned several pieces of news he had heard in Beijing. One was that the Gurkhas on the plateau had launched an attack on Shigatse, committing widespread burning, killing, and looting. The resident minister in Tibet, Baotai, backed down at the last minute and even submitted a memorial suggesting that the two main lamas be moved to Qinghai, meaning that the plateau should be abandoned.

Upon hearing the news, the imperial court severely reprimanded Bao Tai and ordered Fukang'an, along with the advisors Hailancha and Kuilin, to lead 2,000 Solon soldiers from Xi'an to the plateau immediately. Together with the 16,000 Green Standard Army soldiers who had already been stationed on the plateau, the imperial court mobilized nearly 20,000 troops to the plateau in total, while the number of laborers conscripted from various places for this campaign reached as many as 100,000.

It is estimated that this war will last at least one or two years and will cost a lot of money.

Zhao An was confused. Wasn't it said that the battle on the plateau was fought by Fukang'an and Hailancha leading the Solon troops? How come it now seems that the main Qing army on the plateau consisted of more than 10,000 Green Standard Army soldiers?

It is estimated that the old master fabricated the battle record for Fukang'an and the Eight Banners, directly erasing the achievements of these more than 10,000 Green Standard Army soldiers.

Zhao An thought of someone: Yang Yuchun, one of the two famous Han Chinese generals in the mid-Qing Dynasty.

This person should also be on the plateau now.

Another was Yang Fang, a general who quelled Zhang Ge'er's rebellion during the Daoguang era. He was a very capable fighter and could be considered the top general of the Qing army during the Daoguang era. However, this famous general came up with the idea of ​​using a toilet to deal with the British army during the Opium War, which became a laughing stock.

Yang Yuchun and Yang Fang are about the same age, and neither of them should have made a fortune yet. It's a pity they are too far away from Zhao An, otherwise they could be recruited for his own use.

The second matter concerns He Shen. After Fukang'an led his troops out, He Shen suggested to the old master that his brother He Lin be reassigned as the deputy commander of the Han Army of the Plain Blue Banner and go to Fukang'an's army to be in charge of logistics and supplies.

The old master approved it and even granted He Lin the titles of Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of War and Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of Works, to facilitate He Lin's management of the logistics affairs of the army on the plateau.

Rumors circulated that Heshen sent his younger brother to the plateau not only to train and gain military merit, but also to have Helin succeed the elderly Li Shijie as the Governor-General of Sichuan.

This created a situation where the elder brother was in power and the younger brother was out of power.

Zhao An knew that this was the beginning of Heshen's foray into military power, and it was quite successful. It was a pity that Fukang'an and Helin died young.

The third thing concerns Zhao An.

Manager Shi put down his wine cup and said with a smile, "Some people in the palace said that the Emperor did not appoint Lord Zhao to supervise the grain supply route, but rather to supervise the grain supply route himself. It seems that Minister Fu misunderstood."

"what?"

Zhao An and Lao Ding were stunned when they heard that Shi Zhanggui was called by his name.

"Did I hear that right?!"

Old Ding was completely bewildered: What a joke! This is the appointment of a fourth-rank official, how could you have misheard?

"You mean I can't continue operating this grain route?"

Zhao An's face turned pale. He was so happy to be going to take up his post, and he had already accepted all the gifts and honors from the Yangzhou officials. He couldn't very well slink away and return them.

Shopkeeper Shi hurriedly said, "Lord Zhao, you can go to Jiangning to take up your post with peace of mind. I don't know the specifics either, but with Grand Secretary He in charge, this matter is a done deal."

“Old Shi, from now on, speak in one breath. You scared me.”

Zhao An breathed a sigh of relief, picked up the towel on the table, and vigorously wiped his face.

Shopkeeper Shi thought for a moment, then reminded him, "However, there is something you should be wary of after you go to Jiangning."

"what's up?"

Zhao An's hand trembled slightly as he wiped the towel.

"Your Excellency is in charge of the Jiang'an Grain Circuit, which is under the jurisdiction of the Governor of Anhui. The Governor of Anhui, Zhu Gui, is the teacher of the Fifteenth Prince, Prince Jia. This man and Grand Secretary He have always been at odds. Your Excellency should be aware of this."

Shopkeeper Shi meant well in reminding him, but Zhao An was quite certain of it. He was just worried about how to get on Jiaqing's good side, and now that he could please Teacher Zhu, he could get on Jiaqing's good side.

Unexpectedly, Manager Shi still had some news to share.

"By the way, I heard from people in the Imperial Household Department that Master Hu, who previously imprisoned the Lord, was also Prince Jia's teacher. In addition, the Fuzhou General Kuilun, who gave the Lord twenty lashes, is said to be very close to Prince Jia."

Manager Shi said with some concern, "With these two around, I'm worried that Zhu Gui might do something to harm you, sir."

(End of this chapter)