468: On our Pride

On our Pride

4Xi Feng looked towards the Emperor, who was silent. He put his hands inside the opposite sleeves and bowed. 

"Your Majesty, we are your subjects. We have been with you since your reign and it is odd to see that his majesty considers the decisions of a woman superior to his subjects. The Crown Princess might be brave and work for the Kingdom's growth. However, she forgets to be within her limits. Earlier late Minister Gu also raised this issue. I urge you to remind the Crown Princess of her duties as a woman. We ministers will not tolerate if she tries to step out of her boundaries." 

Xi Feng requested the Emperor, who came into a dilemma. Han Wenji could not ignore the requests of his subjects. Also, he could not limit the Crown Princess because she was different from the other women. 

"Your Majesty, we have growing daughters in our houses. When they heard about the Crown Princess and her behavior, they tried to question us. The rules devised by our forefathers. A woman looks good inside the house, performing her duties. However, if the nation's Crown Princess will show such behavior, then it may befall," another Minister, Tai Jin, spoke and lowered his head while putting his hands in his opposite sleeves. 

"Minister Tai, Minister Xi, you have perceived the words of the Crown Prince in a wrong way. The Crown Princess is an intelligent woman, and we witnessed this a few weeks ago. She does perform her duties as a woman. I do not think discussing the Crown Princess does not seem appropriate," the Prime Minister humbly made the two ministers understand. 

Sheng Li found that they all took a different meaning from his plea request. Sheng Li did not want any women to face the harassment which Chuntao faced the previous day. He realized until now, the Ministers wanted to overthrow him and the Crown Princess, not only one but everyone except the Prime Minister. 

"Prime Minister, this topic is important to discuss because it is worrying us," Xi Feng stated. 

Yongzheng came forward and bowed in front of the Emperor. "Your Majesty, May I speak?" He asked for permission. Sheng Li glanced at him. 

"Prince Yongzheng may speak," the Emperor permitted him. 

"I was one of those who was against the Crown Princess as she defies Confucian teachings most of the time. However, as time passed, I found that the Crown Princess does not like to stay within the four walls and she does follow Confucian teachings. The only thing is she has a rational mindset that most of us men feel insulting. From a young age, we all are taught that women are supposed to follow a definite trend that already had been set up by our forefathers. They mostly get the classes to become a virtuous lady. 

With the Crown Princess, it was the opposite which is admirable. Not everyone can stand against the opposite. If it was a man, then we would have appreciated him. Because it's a woman, we, most of the time, take it on our pride." Yongzheng's words somewhere made every Minister contemplate. 

Han Wenji acknowledged the response of Yongzheng. "The Crown Princess had never abused her powers. She always worked for the people. The Ministers need to align their thoughts with the Crown Princess. The matter that the Crown Prince put forward today is concerning. Even the Palace has slaves, but treating them inhumanely, is not good," Han Wenji pronounced. 

The Ministers acknowledged the decision of the Emperor. "Forgive us, Your Majesty," Tai Jin apologized on the behalf of the Minister.

"I will pass the order to allow the Crown Prince to check on the treatment of slaves," Han Wenji added. 

The Crown Prince was delighted to hear that. He thanked the Emperor. The other important issues were being discussed, and the court session ended before the afternoon. Sheng Li took the scroll of order from Eunuch Jin and left the court. 

~~~~~

Ying Lili and Zhu Lin were shooting arrows while conversing with each other. Ying Lili put the bow down and looked at Zhu Lin. "Princess Zhu Lin, Brother Wanxi is still living his youthful days with a carefree life. However, the day you entered the Palace and reminded the Brother about his weaknesses which most of us ignored, he turned furious towards you," Ying Lili explained to Zhu Lin, who left the arrow from the bow and it hit the bullseye on the target. 

Ying Lili praised Zhu Lin, who handed the bow to the servant. 

"Crown Princess, I do not have any intention to hurt the Sixth Prince. I was straightforward with the Prince regarding his personality," Zhu Lin asserted. 

"He and Younger Brother Yu are the most pampered sons of the Emperor. Brother Wanxi is protected by Sheng Li most of the time. He does not like when someone makes fun of his strength," Ying Lili pronounced. Zhu Lin agreed with the Crown Princess. 

"The Sixth Prince is a gentle soul. One second he is angry, and the other second, he is cheerful. I usually hate the people with weak personalities and dependent ones, but the Sixth Prince is a little amusing character. He is witty and avoids fights using his brain, which is the Sixth Prince's remarkable trait. I wanted to tell this to the Sixth Prince, but he is ignoring me again," Zhu Lin said and heaved a sigh. 

"Did you two fight again?" Ying Lili skeptically looked at her. 

"No, Crown Princess," Zhu Lin replied. "It is because-" she paused and recalled the previous day when she mistakenly kissed Lei Wanxi. That was when he left her in the middle of the market and when she tried apologizing, he scolded her. 

"Because?" Ying Lili was curious to know. 

"He fell in the market because of me, Crown Princess," Zhu Lin did not tell the complete truth to Ying Lili, who already knew what had happened between the two. However, she kept mum. 

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