The emperor narrowed his eyes and stared intently at the girl kneeling on the ground. The once proud and unyielding young girl had changed. The pride between her eyebrows had been smoothed out, but that unyielding spirit still remained.
She said she was Shen Yuning, no longer Xue Yuning. However, there was only one Xue Yuning in the world, and that would never change.
Suddenly, he burst into laughter. Right, if it weren't for her unyielding nature, how would she have been so bold as to walk thousands of miles, from one township to another, using the pretext of looking for embroidery women to publicize the laws of the Great Zhou Dynasty?
The emperor tapped his finger on the armrest of his chair and said indifferently, "Get up, girl Yuning."
Shen Yuning was taken aback, her eyes filled with inquiry and doubt.
The emperor didn't look at her but turned to Chen Wenwei and asked, "Lord Chen said that you've governed Yun County well, and this girl Yuning has contributed a great deal?"
Chen Wenwei quickly bowed and said, "Exactly."
How could Shen Yuning dare to take the credit? She quickly defended herself, "Your Majesty, it's Lord Chen who has led the people of Yun County from being the poorest county in Lingcheng to becoming one of the wealthiest counties in the Great Zhou Dynasty. It's all Lord Chen's own achievement. This humble girl doesn't dare to claim credit. I've only done the tiniest of things."
"In the Great Zhou Dynasty, those who buy and sell women and children will be flogged thirty times for a minor offense and exiled a thousand miles for a major one. However, in the case files submitted by Lord Chen, there are so many women and children who have suffered, and no one has come forward to seek justice for them. Everyone thought that dealing with women and children was their own business. This is just Yun County, a small county. Considering the number of counties in the Great Zhou Dynasty, how many unjust cases have not been recorded? They are all living people. Women and children are also the people of our Great Zhou Dynasty."
The emperor was a bit heart - stricken. He drank some tea to calm his emotions and continued, "However, starting from Yun County, the whole Great Zhou Dynasty has now started to popularize the laws. Every prefecture has issued orders, and local officials regularly organize activities to publicize the laws of the Great Zhou Dynasty. This is your credit, Yuning."
Shen Yuning raised her head. In her impression, the emperor had always been high - above, looking down on all sentient beings. Where had she ever seen such a scene where he was facing her and seriously discussing people's livelihood issues?
She showed a happy expression and said, "This is not my credit. It's all due to Your Majesty's dedication to the country."
The emperor had heard such high - sounding words too many times and didn't really care. He waved his hand and said, "I've always been clear about rewards and punishments. Girl Yuning, tell me, what reward do you want?"
The emperor had already thought about gold, silver, jade, jewelry, and other treasures. Asking this question was just out of habit. Usually, when he wanted to reward someone, he would ask this question, and everyone's answer would, of course, be the same, saying some grand principles and that they didn't want any rewards.
But Shen Yuning raised her head and asked, "Really? Your Majesty, this humble girl has a request."
The emperor was slightly stunned, and then he laughed. This Shen Yuning had always been different since she was a child. Perhaps she had had a hard time in the civilian world and missed the good old days in the Marquis's Mansion. Although he didn't like to interfere in his officials' family affairs, he could grant this woman a title like a county princess or a rural princess. Without real power or fiefs, just giving some annual salaries and rewards would be enough.
Seeing that the emperor had agreed, Shen Yuning quickly added, "In the Great Zhou Dynasty, women cannot establish their own households independently. They have to rely on their fathers, brothers, or clan members. However, my biological father has passed away, my eldest brother has committed a crime, and my second brother has married into another family. If my eldest brother is sentenced to death in the future, this humble girl and my young niece will have to return to Shenjiapo and be taken care of by our uncles and aunts until I get married. If my eldest brother is not sentenced to death, when he comes back, this humble girl and my niece will still be coerced by him as we are today. This humble girl sincerely requests Your Majesty to grant this humble girl and my niece the right to establish our own household."
The emperor was stunned for a long time. He didn't expect that the young girl's request was just to establish an independent household. If he rewarded her, she would no longer be an ordinary commoner, and her elder brother, uncles, and aunts naturally couldn't control her. But she only asked for the right to establish a household, probably for the niece she mentioned.
He dusted off his sleeves, didn't hesitate for long, and nodded, "Approved."
Shen Yuning was overjoyed. She raised her head and looked at the emperor without hesitation and continued to ask, "Your Majesty, what about the matter of the gambling house?"
The emperor stood up and said, "Matters in the court are not for girls to get involved in."
Although Shen Yuning had been mentally prepared, she still said unyieldingly, "Your Majesty, this humble girl believes that women are no less capable than men. In ancient times, there were Cai Wenji and Ban Zhao, who were extremely talented, knowledgeable about astronomy and geography, well - versed in history, and had made great achievements. They were much better than ordinary men. If we judge heroes by gender, it's really an unwise move."
Cold sweat broke out on Chen Wenwei's forehead. He smiled bitterly in his heart. Although he knew Shen Yuning's personality well, he still couldn't handle her outspoken long - winded speech. It seemed that she wasn't afraid of the emperor at all. What if the emperor was furious? Could she bear it?
Sure enough, the emperor turned back and asked, "Are you saying that I'm not a wise king?"
Shen Yuning knelt down again and said, "This humble girl doesn't dare. Your Majesty is a wise king through the ages. It's precisely because of a monarch like Your Majesty that this humble girl has dared to pursue her ambitions and bravely speak up for the common people, for women, and children."
The words were high - sounding, but there was nothing wrong with them. If he admitted that what she said was right, then he should show the attitude of a wise king.
The emperor sighed helplessly and said, "You little girl..."
He didn't say much more. He came in a hurry and left in a hurry.
But when he was about to go out, the emperor turned his head and saw a young man standing behind. The young man hung his head and didn't look at him. For no reason, the emperor felt as if he had seen him somewhere before.
Chen Wenwei had followed him out. Since the emperor had come to Yun County, his jurisdiction, he naturally couldn't take it lightly. He closely followed and served the emperor, not daring to relax for a moment.
The emperor's train of thought was interrupted by Chen Wenwei. When he looked back at the young man, for some reason, the young man had disappeared in the blink of an eye.
Not long after, the emperor's imperial edict was issued. Shen Yuning of Shen's Embroidery Workshop had made contributions to the country. She was granted the title of Rural Princess of Rongchang and the right to establish a female household. Her niece, Shen Yuanbao, was also allowed to be raised by the Rural Princess of Rongchang.
After that, except for the first one whose plaque was inscribed by the emperor himself, all the other embroidery workshops and dyeing workshops of Shen's Embroidery Workshop were renamed Rongchang Commercial Firm. Moreover, the embroidery workshop had leaped to become one of the most well - known cloth merchants in the Great Zhou Dynasty.
This news made Shen Yuning's whole family extremely happy. Especially Old Man Zhang, who thought that Shen Yuning had finally turned her life around and had a bright future ahead.
He no longer urged Zhang Rong to find a matchmaker for Yuning. Instead, he secretly pulled Shen Yuning aside and said, "Girl Yuning, in the past, your status was not high enough. But now it's different. You're a rural princess personally conferred by the emperor. I've heard that rural princesses are comparable to the emperor's daughters and have a very noble status. You... are now worthy of Lord Chen."
Only then did Shen Yuning understand that Old Man Zhang thought that the reason why she hadn't found a marriage for a long time was that she was too picky. She didn't want to marry an ordinary family but couldn't find someone with a more noble status, so she had been delaying.
She smiled slightly and said, "Uncle, Lord Chen and I are old friends. I don't have any other feelings for him."
Old Man Zhang still looked worried and shook his head, saying, "Yuning, you're not an ordinary girl. I won't urge you about your marriage. But since you have no feelings for Lord Chen, it's better to have less contact with him in the future."
Shen Yuning knew that the world was very strict with women. For example, last time, Shen Jingui had said that she was Lord Chen Wenwei's mistress, which had already damaged her reputation. Fortunately, the common people just thought that Shen Jingui was just making random accusations and didn't take it seriously. But if she really had too much contact with Lord Chen and was wrongly guessed by others, it wouldn't do her any good.
Old Man Zhang continued, "You're still young and don't understand men's minds. Even if you're upright and proper, with your looks, after getting along for a long time, Lord Chen may not be able to resist having feelings for you. Although you're a rural princess, Lord Chen has a good family background. If he insists on marrying you, you may not be able to do anything about it. It's better to have less contact to avoid future troubles."
Shen Yuning was quite surprised and asked, "You're only worried about future troubles for me? Aren't you worried that I won't be able to get married?"
Old Man Zhang waved his hand indifferently and said, "I was worried before, but what's there to worry about now? As the saying goes, the emperor's daughter doesn't have to worry about getting married. You're a rural princess, almost the same as the emperor's daughter. How could you not be able to get married?"
However, these words were heard by Shen Fugui, and he had another argument with his father - in - law. He was so eager that he seemed to want to marry Shen Yuning off tomorrow.
The family was extremely lively. Shen Yuning didn't mind the noise. She happily went to watch Yuanbao write. She saw that Yuanbao was sitting up straight, and her pen - holding posture was much more proper than before. Thinking about it carefully, Yuanbao's every move recently seemed to be more proper than before.
Shen Yuning couldn't help but be a bit curious and asked, "Yuanbao, have you been stimulated by something recently?"
Yuanbao gave her aunt a sidelong glance, quickly averted her eyes, then looked back at her, pursed her lips, and showed a gentle smile. "Aunt, now that I'm a child of a rural princess's family, I naturally can't be the same as before. And I think you're just being too lazy. You just added a surname in front of my nickname. The name Shen Yuanbao really doesn't sound good."
It turned out that she thought her status was different, so she couldn't be as rough as before. Shen Yuning didn't mind either. She stroked Yuanbao's head and said, "It's not that I'm being lazy. When the eunuch in the palace asked your name, I said you were Yuanbao. I didn't know they would just write it down like that. Anyway, your name is also recorded as Yuanbao in the family register. It would be troublesome to change it."
Yuanbao muttered, "I don't mind the trouble. I've read in books that the names of women are either poetic or powerful. I don't want the name Yuanbao."
Shen Yuning quickly asked, "So what do you think? Are you going to choose your own name?"
Yuanbao blushed and took out a piece of paper from beside the desk. There were densely written various names on it, but each name had been crossed out, obviously showing that she was not satisfied.
Shen Yuning looked down and said, "Wenhui, Zhaoji, Huiban... This..."
Weren't these all the names of famous talented women in ancient times? But why were they all crossed out?
After looking for a while, she finally saw a name that hadn't been crossed out at the end: Xuanji.
Shen Yuning stared blankly at Yuanbao.
Yuanbao looked serious and said, "I was taught by Brother Xuanzhi. There's a character in this name that's the same as his. It's just right."
Shen Yuning looked at her speechlessly, took a deep breath, and said, "Alright, Shen Xuanji. After our household registration arrives in Yun County, I'll change your name."
However, it was obvious that the name that Yuanbao thought was good wasn't liked by Xuanzhi. After a few days, he helped her change the name she liked to: Weirui.
Shen Yuning scratched her nose and asked, "It's okay, but why did you give up the chance to have the same name as a famous talented woman?"
Yuanbao was now more dignified than Shen Yuning, a former noble girl who had been taught to follow etiquette since childhood. "Brother Xuanzhi said that since he's your younger brother, he's my elder. If I take the name Xuanji, it would seem like I'm of the same generation as him. It's not appropriate."
Shen Yuning was speechless. She thought to herself that you two aren't from the same clan. What's appropriate or not?