Steam trains in ancient times (8): Self-humiliation

“What good things did you think of? You are smiling so happily.”

Si Peihuan looked at Si Qi with curiosity. Si Qi shook his head and said it was nothing. He asked, “I’m not at home these days. Do you feel bored?”

Si Peihuan pursed her lips and smiled: “With so many maids in the house, sister will have someone to talk to, so she won’t feel bored.”

“Sister, do you want to study?” Si Qi asked.

Si Peihuan said puzzledly: “Study? What’s the point of studying? It’s better to practice needlework and cooking.”

Si Qi was silent for a moment.

Si Peihuan’s ideas also represented the ideas of the general public of that era.

Given Si Qi’s current status in front of the emperor, if he were to force the emperor to establish a girls’ school so that women could enjoy the same rights as men, the emperor would be embarrassed but might reluctantly agree. However, he would definitely encounter a lot of resistance in the process.

This resistance comes from both outside and inside.

Women lacked confidence in themselves, and did not think about what they could do after studying – it was impossible for them to take the imperial examinations like men or become officials, right?

The only purpose of reading was to establish an image of a talented woman so that she could marry into a good family like the Fourth Princess.

If he wanted to improve the status of women, it was useless to just talk like the Daughter of the World did. Just look at the situation where she was secretly excluded by countless people because of her eccentricity. Few people could be affected by her “spirit”. In the end, she was the only one who felt happy, and everyone around her was disgusted by her. 

But precisely because this matter was treated as a story, it showed that it was rare, a miracle, and a special deed that needed to be singled out and told.

Si Qi thought that if he wanted to help improve the status of women, he might have to start from other aspects.

For example, improving the social value of women.

They could make money and their abilities were no less than men’s. Not to mention whether others would look up to them because of this, they themselves probably couldn’t stand it. They were obviously more awesome than men, so why should they be looked down upon by you?

That was the spontaneous, inner will to become stronger, which sprouted on its own without the need for reminders from others.

Just relying on words and forcibly instilling ideas cannot change people’s minds. The only way to change people’s minds is to rely on real ability.

After Si Qi finished eating, he went to the study to draw some pictures.

Xiu Xiu shook his little golden tail and asked curiously: [Master, what is this? Looks strangely familiar]

Si Qi smiled slightly.

[Jenny Textile Machine]

–

Because Si Qixian’s good strategies to benefit the country and the people attracted the emperor’s joy, in recent months, the emperor praised the crown prince in the court and showed great favor to the prince’s party, which made the prince’s declining reputation towards the imperial court gradually show signs of recovery.

The fourth prince and his family began to feel anxious because of this, and the most obvious manifestation was that the fourth princess began to lose her balance. The attitude that was originally calm and leisurely suddenly became sharp and obvious.

The battle between her and Si Qi in the air during this period of time could be said to have caused an uproar in the capital.

First, Si Qi took out a collection of poems that shocked the entire literary world and attracted countless students to read. It confirmed the fact that the princess had plagiarized and sealed her as a talentless person who deceived the world and stole her reputation.

He also came up with something that was said to be MSG, which was specially supplied to several taverns near Piao Xiang Lou. The dishes they cooked were so delicious that within three days, they took away all the customers of Piao Xiang Lou, so much so that, Piao Xiang Lou, which had to be booked half a month in advance and was always crowded, had not a single customer in sight.

It was also heard that the reason why soap could no longer be seen in the princess’s shop was because Si Qi made a suggestion to His Majesty and revealed that the raw material of soap was animal fat. His Majesty was furious and ordered the fourth princess not to make such extravagance and harmful things to be sold again.

For a time, many princes and nobles threw away the soap at home, not daring to use it anymore. They even scolded Ms. Zhao for deceiving them into using such a thing, so as to clear the air…

In just a few days, the fourth princess, who was at the height of her popularity, was slapped in the face one after another. Si Juren’s skills were not bad.

It was also heard that the reason why His Royal Highness the Crown Prince had been repeatedly used and praised by His Majesty during this period was also because of Si Qi’s advice…

His Highness had gained an extremely capable person as his subordinate.

On this day, the princess and the fourth prince entered the palace to meet the emperor. It was said that the princess had come up with some far-sighted policy and wanted to present it to the emperor.

Unexpectedly, Si Qi was present at the scene. Zhao Er’s face froze, and the memorial in her hand felt inexplicably hot to the touch.

The man in front of her knew that all the good ideas she had proposed in the past were plagiarized from the future Si Qi.

In front of the victim, using the victim’s things to brazenly say that she came up with it… Even though she was so shameless, her cheeks got a little hot.

Will she get slapped in the face again like she did at the poetry meeting last time…

The emperor glanced at Zhao Er a few times and said displeased: “You say you are here to offer good advice, why are you standing there?”

The fourth prince on the side tugged on her sleeve, and Zhao Er came back to her senses.

She suddenly remembered that the memorial she submitted today was not written by Si Qi, but was a famous policy to benefit the country in history and had nothing to do with Si Qi.

Even time travelers couldn’t refute this undoubted and extremely valuable treasure.

Zhao Er instantly became confident again.

She handed what she had in her hand to the approaching eunuch, who presented the memorial she had written to the emperor.

The emperor lowered his eyes and looked at it, his expression was as usual, and his reaction was unexpectedly normal. This made the originally confident daughter of the world suddenly feel uncertain again.

Was it possible that the emperor could not even see the value of this policy?

The emperor said: “My dear, let’s take a look.”

He actually handed the memorial to Si Qi.

Si Qi took it and looked at it for a few times, then sneered shortly after. The attitude made Zhao Er feel angry.

She had always been proud, and her unfailing experience in this world made her think of herself as a transcendent existence that was unparalleled in the world. Of her origins, her vision, and her abilities, which one of these stupid ancients could match them?

Therefore, when Si Qi smiled so contemptuously, she was so conceited that she wanted to kill this guy to vent her anger.

It was really an eyesore.

Si Qi closed the memorial casually, nodded and said: “Digging a canal, well, it is really far-sighted.”

When the daughter of the world heard the compliment, she subconsciously raised her chin, showing the proud look she deserved.

Opening a canal between the north and the south and opening up channels for commercial and cultural exchanges between the north and the south was a great thing that would benefit the future.

In this way, food and cloth from the south could easily reach the north through the canal, and it would also be convenient for the north to transport troops and materials to the south.

Even after a thousand years, this canal could still be used. In the long run, the contribution it had made would definitely be recorded in history.

Even Si Qi had nothing to say now.

Seeing her smug expression, Si Qi sneered again and said, “Do you know that Emperor Qin built the Great Wall and made many people miserable?”

The daughter of the world was stunned.

Si Qi: “The benefits of building the Great Wall will last forever. The merits outweigh the faults, so it is naturally blameless. However, if you are a Qin citizen, woulñd you be able to bear it? Why did Qin perish? Have you ever reflected on it?”

Si Qi looked at the woman in front of him who was still indifferent and thought it was ridiculous: “To build the canal, how much land does it take to dig out and how much manpower is needed? The people soaked their bodies in the river water all day and night in order to work. It took ten years to dig the canal. Do you think the current national strength of Chu can hold that big river? “

The daughter of the world finally came up with this plan, but was rejected by Si Qi in a few words. With all the new and old hatreds added, she couldn’t listen to the so-called truth at all, and retorted angrily, “What do you know? That’s for the country. It’s a great and beneficial project! What’s the point of being criticized by short-sighted people for a while?”

It was as if that group of people could not accept so many of her normal behaviors. People in this era were all short-sighted and stubborn fools, and had no idea how great her advanced ideas were.

Si Qi said indifferently: “This is not just a matter of public opinion. Do you know how many people will die?”

The daughter of the world immediately said: “If you want to achieve great things, how can you not die? It is their honor to sacrifice for the country!”

“…………”

The expressions of the emperor and the fourth prince gradually became ugly, and Si Qi sneered: “Sacrifice for the country? I think it’s because of your reputation! Do you think that your proposal to build a canal will leave your name throughout the ages, which is great, don’t you think? You might as well ‘imagine’ what will happen after the canal is dug? “

The Daughter of the World stared at Si Qi coldly, subconsciously recalling the ending of the dynasty that built the canal.

After……

It seemed that the peasants were unbearable and rebelled, which directly contributed to the rapid demise of that dynasty.

Yes, that dynasty seems to be called…the Sui Dynasty1¹?

The more the daughter of the world thought about it, the more annoyed she became. She thought to herself, damn Si Qi, why did he have to point out this problem? Just find the problem and solve it, it was just a matter of public opinion, just lie a few words and let them work hard for themselves, wasn’t it? There was nothing worth making a fuss about, causing her to make a fool of herself in front of the emperor and her sweetheart.

Seeing that the daughter of the world still looked unhappy, Si Qi mocked directly: “Your shallow knowledge makes me dumbfounded. Not only this time, I have read all the memorials you wrote before. The idea is good, but I have a few doubts, please answer.”

Answer?

The daughter of the world had an intuition that something very bad would happen next, so she subconsciously took two steps back and looked at Si Qi with a livid face.

“Since you wrote those contents, you must be able to answer no matter what questions I ask, right?”

Si Qi looked at the daughter of the world whose expression gradually became stiff, and said with a half-smile: “It can’t be such a coincidence that you also stole it, so I don’t know if I should ask… Hahaha, that doesn’t make sense. “

Si Qi threw the redlined memorial in front of the Daughter of the World and said coldly: “Please answer, Fourth Princess. How should these ‘discerning and far-sighted’ political commentaries written by you personally be run? How does it work, and how does it appear? “

Under the gaze of the emperor and the fourth prince, cold sweat gradually broke out on the forehead of the fourth princess Zhao Er: “This, this, this is…”

How could she know what these policies were exactly? She just watched TV dramas and some history books and knew that these things happened at that time. Don’t expect that a candidate who has memorized the reference answers can really answer other questions on related knowledge points!

The two Chu State authorities who had always believed in the princess’ ability and calmly waited for her answer gradually changed their expressions when the princess became more and more collapsed and could not even say a word.

Could it be that, as Si Qi said, she stole the political commentary from others?

But who in this huge Chu country could come into contact with such confidential matters and come up with so many far-sighted policies…

The fourth prince’s expression suddenly changed, the emperor’s eyes moved slightly, and they quickly thought of the same person.

It was the eldest prince! Chu Feng!

The emperor’s expression became more ugly than ever. This abominable woman, not only took away his royal son’s things, but also kept adding insult to injury to drive a wedge between their father and son. She deserved to die! !

Although Si Qi had already offered a better strategy some time ago, and the emperor could no longer use what the fourth prince had offered before, the emperor would feel uneasy if this matter was not clarified.

He quickly asked the eunuch to invite the prince from the East Palace.

After Chu Feng arrived, he saw the ugly-faced Fourth Prince and his wife below, then looked at Si Qi who looked calm and composed, and slowly breathed a sigh of relief.

It was not that Si Qi was in trouble.

The emperor took out the memorials presented by the fourth prince and looked at the areas marked red by Si Qi. Those were some difficulties that could not be avoided when implementing policies, and they were the most troublesome aspects of implementation.

The fourth princess who wrote these memorials couldn’t answer any of them, and couldn’t even understand the most basic ideas. So… could the prince do it?

The emperor asked the question to the two princes below. The fourth prince looked confused and gave an incorrect answer, which was disappointing.

Prince Chu had discussed these matters many times with his staff, so he was able to answer them well-founded and coherently without having to think too much.

He recounted all the key points of 1, 2, 3, and 4 from beginning to end, without any flaw in every aspect. While speaking, the fourth prince looked pale, and while speaking, the emperor kept nodding his head, and couldn’t help but regretfully said: “I was wrong, I was wrong. ”

Why did he keep misunderstanding something so obvious? Why did he think that just because the Fourth Prince presented the memorial first, all these achievements and ingenuity were thought of by the Fourth Prince?

Who was the truly talented person? He could have see through it if he had the patience to ask. But because he believed in the so-called wisdom and filial piety shown by the fourth prince, he abandoned the eldest prince and ignored him.

Why did he believe that woman who was just trying to gain fame and deceive others? !

At present, the power of the Fourth Prince in the court was getting stronger and stronger. He had many talents under his command. He had people in various departments. His reputation had already surpassed that of the crown prince. Even he had considered more than once whether to change the crown prince and choose the Fourth Prince.

If it weren’t for the fact that the prince had recently been helped by Si Qi and regained the emperor’s trust, Chu Feng’s position as the crown prince would not still be entirely his.

The emperor who felt deeply deceived became more and more angry the more he thought about it, and even the fourth prince who had benefited the most became disgusted with it.

What if the fourth prince was innocent and completely ignorant? How was it possible!

He just pretended to be gentle and kind and didn’t like fighting!

If someone really didn’t care about power, how could he win so many people to be loyal to him instead of the more orthodox and capable prince.

Thinking about the delicate situation in the court under his connivance, the emperor felt deeply tired and waved his hand to let everyone leave.

Although he didn’t say anything, everyone present already felt that the emperor was greatly disappointed in the fourth prince and trusted the prince more and more.

Before Si Qi left, he took a look at the Fourth Prince, who until now was still pretending to be calm, with a gentle face, and the corner of his mouth curled up into a smile that was not a smile.

Let’s see how long he could keep pretending?

That afternoon, in the Fourth Prince’s Mansion.

The fourth prince was sulking alone at home. The more he thought about it, the more angry he became. He called the servant and asked, “Where is the princess?”

The servant replied: “Responding to my lord, the princess has gone to discuss matters with the scholars.”

Discussing, discussing, there was such a big scandal in the imperial study today. No one here knew that the princess had no political mind at all. She stole all the so-called good ideas for governing the country from the prince!

What could such an idiot discuss with those scholars? It was just an excuse to go out and have fun! !

Thinking of the dissatisfaction he had accumulated over the years with the princess’s carefree behavior, and thinking of the disappointed look in his father’s eyes today, the fourth prince angrily threw the tea cup in his hand to the ground and said angrily: “The princess is a woman. You servants see her hanging out with a group of men all day long and don’t know how to stop her. Does the reputation of the palace still exist?!”

The servant looked at the suddenly angry prince in astonishment. He knelt on the ground tremblingly and said quickly: “But, the princess is used to this, and we can’t stop her!”

Used, used, yes! That woman was used to hooking up with other men! But he was not allowed to say more than a few words to a maid, otherwise she would make faces and show off her temper with him. He was a prince! !

He had been married for three years without any children, which had caused many people to talk and make fun of him behind his back, speculating whether he was suffering from a hidden disease. In fact, the woman said she didn’t want to have a child so early, and she drank the anti-pregnancy medicine in front of him, complaining about the bitterness of the medicine and crying to him, which even made him have to hold back his anger to comfort her.

He was not allowed to take concubines, saying that a person can only love one person in his life. Thinking that this woman was good-looking and talented, the fourth prince reluctantly agreed, but what about the woman? While she was saying these words, she was messing around with others outside. Everyone in the capital knew that the fourth prince had married a jealous woman and had to listen to a woman to control everything!

The more the Fourth Prince thought about it, the more he felt his eyes getting darker. In the quiet room, only his breathing could be heard, and a needle could be heard.

But at this moment, several servants who were cleaning outside the house were talking, and their voices were neither soft nor serious, and they happened to fall into the ears of the Fourth Prince.

A servant said: “Master Si is highly regarded by his Majesty, why does he target the Princess like this?”

The other person deliberately lowered his voice, as if he was talking about an important secret, and said mysteriously: “You don’t know, don’t you? It is said that Lord Si made a secret statement that the princess knew Lord Si’s ability before he took refuge with His Highness the Crown Prince so she instigated the Minister of Revenue to kill Mr. Si!”

The servant wondered: “It would make sense to say that after Lord Si surrendered to His Highness the Crown Prince, the princess wanted to deal with Lord Si for the sake of the fourth prince. Why did Lord Si do nothing and why did the princess target Lord Si for no reason?”

“Hey, you still don’t understand the character of our princess?” The servant said helplessly: “The princess is jealous and will never allow anyone better than her to appear in front of her. Lord Si is so powerful. The princess felt that if such a person appeared in front of the prince, he would overpower her and make the prince no longer rely on the princess as before. Therefore, she did not win over Lord Si for the prince like other ministers, but planned to kill him directly! “

“Hiss – don’t tell me, this is really something that the princess can do! Oh, it’s a pity that the prince missed such a capable person because of the princess! This Lord Si’s strength can be compared to one hundred! He was forced by the princess to turn to the crown prince, and even developed a grudge against the fourth prince…”

“Isn’t that right! Lord Si had no fame at the beginning. With our prince’s huge reputation, if he wanted to get in touch with the other party, who wouldn’t be able to win over him? Compared to the crown prince, of course he would choose our prince!”

“The princess said that she has gathered many connections for the prince, and her hard work has paid off. But in fact, her own interests outweigh everything else. She would rather ruin the prince’s future than make the prince rely on herself… eh.”

“Now that the princess has been repeatedly suppressed by Lord Si, she has reaped the consequences. It’s a pity that she has implicated our prince… which makes the crown prince more and more valued by your majesty.”

“You know a lot, don’t you?”

“Why don’t you know? There are so many ministers coming and going in the prince’s palace, it’s hard not to know!”

“Do you think the prince knows that the princess is like this?”

“It’s really hard to say! After all, those ministers are more afraid of the princess than the prince, and they dare not tell the prince many things! I also overheard this in private! What’s more… The prince relies on the princess so much, I’m afraid he can only pretend to be confused even if he knows it in his heart. “

“Hey, that’s right…isn’t it the princess who has the final say in this palace?”

In the study, the servant who also heard these conversations was so frightened that he wished he could faint and die without having to face the prince whose face was as dark as iron.

The prince sat in a chair with extremely low pressure, holding his forehead with one hand, and said in a tired tone: “Do you think so too?”

The servant kowtowed as hard as he could, his forehead hitting the ground, not daring to say a word.

The fourth prince shouted angrily: “Say!”

An angry roar came out of the house, and the two servants who were chatting outside the house immediately dropped the brooms in their hands in shock and looked at each other – why was the prince here? !

There were tears in the eyes of the servant who was forced to accept the question, and he replied tremblingly: “Responding to the prince… Princess, the princess does have a high status in the palace… Your Majesty, spare my life!!”

“…” Seeing the other party in such a frightened state, the fourth prince could not tell what the other party was really thinking. The remaining power of the princess was such that the other party could not even say “The prince is the master of the palace” against his will.

After all, he indulged that woman too much.

Notes

1. The Sui dynasty was a short-lived Chinese imperial dynasty that ruled from 581 to 618 and founded by Yang Jian.The Sui engaged in many construction mega-projects, including the Grand Canal. These mega-projects were led by an efficient centralized bureaucracy, but forcibly conscripted millions of workers at a heavy human cost. The dynasty disintegrated under a series of popular revolts culminating in the assassination of Emperor Yang by his minister. ↩︎