On the day Wen De's army broke into the city, Emperor Renjing committed suicide in the Golden Palace. Before he died, he poisoned all his concubines and heirs to death. It is said that he would rather die than be humiliated alive.
Wen Qing was very speechless about this. The winner is right while the loser is wrong. He couldn't accept the reality and escaped with death. In fact, in her opinion, it was just cowardice, and he didn't even dare to face defeat.
But it's good to be dead, so she doesn't have to worry about how to arrange them. After all, she was taking the route of being benevolent. Killing them would be detrimental to the persona, if she didn't kill them, she had to be on guard at all times. Dead meaning the main problem has been resolved.
The gates of the palace opened wide, and hundreds of civil and military officials of the Chen Dynasty lined up on both sides to welcome them as a sign of their submission to the new emperor.
Shen Ke, dressed in an official uniform, stood in the crowd with a smile that couldn't be concealed. The Minister of the Revenue next to him couldn't stand it anymore, and bumped him with his elbow, "Why are you so happy? Although Emperor Wen De is a woman, we still don't know what she will do to us, the old ministers! Even if he doesn't kill us to get rid of problems from the roots, we will never be used again. That's why our future is bleak!"
Shen Ke smiled, "No, I have a good future!"
He was not worried about the future at all, because he was going to be the king's father! Is there a better future than this?
The Minister of Revenue was wondering why he was so optimistic. Then he saw a team of iron cavalry galloping in the distance, with the leader dressed in a red fur cloak, silver armor giving a cold luster under the sun. As if the angels had descended.
And Shen Ke, who was beside him, showed his smiling teeth and even greeted her without fear of death...
Don't be a fool all right?
The Minister of Revenue was deeply worried about this former colleague, and could not bear to see him being whipped by the new emperor. Then he saw the new emperor dismount, stepped over a few steps to reach Shen Ke, and bow in greeting, "Father."
Fa, fa, fa, father?!
The old minister stared blankly at this scene, even forgetting his plan to bow down to express his sincerity to the new emperor.
Seeing their reactions, Shen Ke was happy in his heart. It was worthwhile for him to wait here with everyone. Such a happy event must be shown off before you could feel at ease. The more others were envious, the more fulfilled he felt. If he didn't show off, then the big happy event will not have enough flavor.
Who was bragging about raising their sons to be talented, and their daughters are all married to a higher status, sigh! He cannot but raise a daughter to be the Emperor. Nothing at all, it was nothing.
Wen Qing saw his uncontrollable smugness as if he could float to the sky if he didn't hold back! She couldn't help smiling, "Father should go rest for a while, I have already sent someone to pick up Grandmother, Mother, and Little Brother. When our family is reunited, we will discuss the events of these years in detail."
After Shen Ke was gone, Wen Qing began to deal with the matter at hand. Emperor Renjing built a mausoleum for himself as early as when he ascended the throne, so it was enough to bury his body in it, and the others were buried according to regulations. Even if he died, Wen Qing would not make things difficult for him in the future.
Including those ministers, she did not kill them all, and they were still retained. They would only be adjusted and replaced slowly after she ascended the throne.
Shen Wenshu has been ignorant these days. Although she has long heard from the ghost that Emperor Wen De is Shen Wenqing, she still couldn't believe it until Shen Wenqing ascended the throne.
Her younger sister, who was jealous and vicious in her previous life, was raised in the boudoir and fought in the back house, had become an emperor once she was reborn? As a woman, she rebelled and became an emperor! And succeed! And no one objected!!
If she hadn't seen it with her own eyes, no, even if she saw it with her own eyes, she still couldn't believe it. How could she have changed so much? Or, since when did she change?
Was it when she without a care in the world said that she died tragically in her previous life? Or when she said with a smile that the outcome of marrying someone was the same? Shen Wenshu was a little confused. At that time, she only thought that the other party was trying to persuade her and didn't think deeply. Now that she thinks about it, she had already decided to take a path that was completely different from her previous life, right?
They were all reborn. After she was reborn, she still couldn't escape the limitations of her previous life. Just thinking about finding a good man to live her whole life with. But Shen Wenqing dared to walk a thrilling road where flowers and thorns coexist, and she succeeded.
At this moment, Shen Wenshu finally understood that she was different from Shen Wenqing Both in terms of mood and vision, she would never reach the level of Shen Wenqing.
When she looked up, she saw Ling Tianci was teasing her son with a puppet, and a smile appeared in the corner of her eyes. It didn't matter, it was good for Shen Wenqing to have the world, but she had a husband who loved her and a lively and lovely child. Everyone's pursuits are different, and the happiness she wants is as simple as that.
After Shen Wenqing ascended the throne, she named her father Shen Ke as the Overlord, her mother, Li Shi as the Empress Dowager, and her Grandmother as the Great Empress Dowager. Her three younger brothers were each crowned kings, even Shen Wenshi was crowned Grand Princess.
She also appointed Sun Chaoyun as the Duke of Zhen, Lin Zhihang as the Prime Minister, and the others were rewarded for meritorious deeds. At the beginning of the country's founding, the country was granted amnesty and exempted from taxes for three years. The fields were re-measured, and all the good fields hoarded by the royal family in the previous dynasties were also allocated to the common people. The people hailed the wise Majesty.
The villagers of Lin Village were re-measuring the land under the leadership of the officials and Li Zheng, and everyone had smiles on their faces.
"Her Majesty is wife, she has returned all the land to us."
"Isn't that right? In the previous dynasty, the taxes were so heavy that we couldn't fill our stomachs for a year, not to mention when there was a disaster? Once you encounter either natural or man-made disasters, you won't be able to live, and can only sell the land. But isn’t it terrible for farmers to lose their fields? The land tax and rent fee were so high that we simply can't support our family. It's good now, Her Majesty has returned the land to us!"
"Her Majesty is benevolent, removing that fatuous emperor should have been done ages ago! Emperor Wen De was sent by God to save us!"
"I know, I know, do you still need to say it? I tell you, my cousin's 7th aunt's son's daughter's 4th aunt's grandmother's eldest cousin saw the dragon on top of Emperor Wen De with his own eyes..."
*T/n: That was one hell of a family relationship to translate…
……
While measuring the land, the villagers discussed with interest the auspiciousness of Emperor Wende before, anyone can interject a few sentences. The land is divided according to the head. One man is fifteen Mu and one woman is ten Mu. Everything was going well, but an accident happened when they measured it for one family.
"My son is still alive, he must be alive, he can't live without his fields!" Lin Qiao's face was haggard, but she still insisted on the theory. Next to her stood her daughter, Lin Jinru, who supported her timidly and whispered, "Mother..."
Li Zheng was in a dilemma. He also knew the difficulties of the mother and daughter. The only son went to the battlefield and there has been no news until today. Afraid he's already doomed. But the mother and daughter insisted that he was still alive, just to comfort themselves. Having land is a good thing in the village, and everyone wanted one more share, but there was no reason for a dead person to get a share. If that is the case, all the ancestors who have been buried in the family will be reported. Won't it be messy?
"Zhihang's mother, I can't decide on this matter. The village head does not agree to include Zhihang, and I have no way. Besides, you and Jinru are the only two in your family. Can you finish planting so many fields?
Lin Qiao said with a sad expression, "But my son is still alive..." The voice gradually became lower, and the people next to her couldn't bear to say anything. Although their mother and daughter are pitiful, who is willing to give up the fifteen acres of land?
In the end, they were only allocated the 20 acres that their mother and daughter deserved. Lin Qiao was very tired and took her daughter home. Before reaching the door of the house, she was stopped by a group of menacing people.
"Lin Qiao Shi, your daughter, and my son have already divorced, when will you give us back the dowry?"
Lin Qiao shivered angrily, "I didn't ask you a cent of the dowry, what did you ask me to give back?"
"Nonsense! You asked us for 22 taels of silver at the time, and now you want to turn your face and deny the account?"
Lin Qiao almost fainted from the shameless behavior of these people, and Lin Jinru was also pale and shaky.
Lin Jinru is sixteen years old this year, and two years ago, she arranged a marriage with the Wang family from the next village. That family is not easy to get along with. But seeing that the child is reasonable and diligent, Lin Qiao agreed. After all, their home conditions are not good, and it is good to find such a person.
When they were engaged, the Wang family said they had no money, so they didn't take the dowry and said they will make it up for them later. Lin Qiao was not a person who sold her daughter for the bride price, so she agreed. They never even cared when the Wang family come several times to ask for money. Both mother and daughter were soft-tempered people, and they couldn't do things like tearing their skins and arguing with others. But their forbearance made the Wang family's act even worse.
When they came to their house, they didn't say anything and even grabbed the freshly harvested grains. Later, seeing that there was no more oil and water to take, they proposed to break the marriage.
Lin Qiao was dizzy when she was angry. Why did she endure the arrogance of the Wang family? Wasn't she just afraid that her daughter will be divorced and her reputation ruined? Never thought they would divorce in the end. They also made false accusations about her daughter's bad behavior, although others may not believe it, but in this way, who would want to marry her daughter?
They were now even coming to their door to ask for the dowry. When did she ever receive any from them?
"You don't have money, right? If you don't have the money, just give the 20 Mu of land!"
Lin Qiao was speechless. So their goal was the 20 Mu of land which was just divided this morning! How can there be such a shameless person!
"I didn't receive your dowry, much less return them!"
The Wang family laughed strangely, "You never received? Then where did you get the money for your medical treatment? To treat your illness, your son joined the army and gave you the two taels of silver. If you have money, how can he go and deliver his life? You have taken medicine for half a year, and the two taels of silver were not enough! Our Wang family kindly gave you a betrothal gift money for you to see a doctor, and what did you do?
Shameless!
Lin Jinru couldn't help it anymore, and shouted angrily, "The money was sent back by my Brother!"
"Yo? Where did your Brother get the money? If your brother had the money, would he still go to die on the battlefield?"
Lin's mother and daughter are not opponents of these people. No matter what they say, they are blocked by them. Even the onlookers think that they may owe the Wang family money. Lin Jinru shed tears angrily, but she had no other way. Looking at the aggressive faces of those people, she could only cry out in her heart, where are you, Brother? Why haven't you come back?
"The Prime Minister is here!"