The clinking of jade beads behind the pearl curtain stopped.
A cough came from the imperial steps.
The sound was very light. Yet, as it fell into the vast and empty Golden Throne Room, it masked all sounds of breathing. The civil and military officials lowered their heads in unison, no one daring to move recklessly.
Xu Qinghuan knelt on the golden bricks, currently staring at the patterns on the floor tiles a few feet ahead, lost in thought.
Extremely light footsteps emerged from the shadows of the side hall. An old eunuch dressed in a crimson uniform walked out. He held a mahogany tray with both hands. The edges of the tray were polished smooth. The old eunuch walked down the jade steps and stopped at the very front of the officials' ranks.
Xu Qinghuan raised her head.
Two items lay on the tray. On the left was a stack of blueprints. The edges of the Xuan paper were curled, bearing heavy ink drawings of complex gears and spools. On the right was a celadon plate. Inside the plate sat a palm-sized, entirely black cube, its surface crusted with a frost-like layer of coarse salt grains.
These were the blueprints for the Spinning Jenny, and the Xu family's meat brick, laced with quicklime and inferior offal.
The old eunuch carried the tray and walked a circle between the ranks of civil and military officials. The officials lifted their eyelids, swept their gazes over the items on the tray, and quickly withdrew their sights.
A voice sounded from behind the pearl curtain.
"The Xu family of Jiangning has sent these two items into the capital."
Emperor Tiansheng's voice echoed above the great hall.
"The northern borders have suffered continuous blizzards, and the supply routes have been cut off for half a month. Three thousand soldiers had no rice for their pots. The Xu family procured this dried meat and delivered it to the front lines. The meat was mixed with strong liquor and heavy salt. The soldiers melted it with snow water and ate it, stabilizing the defense line."
"The machine on these blueprints has been tested in Jiangning for a month. The Ministry of Revenue calculated the accounts overnight. A single loom yields ten times the previous output. If implemented throughout Great Qian, the national treasury could collect an additional three million taels of silver annually."
Emperor Tiansheng paused.
"The Xu family of Jiangning has exhausted their family wealth to relieve the nation's distress, solved the emergency at the borders, and enriched the treasury. They have performed a great merit for the state."
These words were spoken very slowly; Emperor Tiansheng had set the tone.
At the very front of the civil officials' ranks, there was movement.
A completely white-haired old man took a step forward, stepping out of the line. It was none other than the Grand Secretary of the Cabinet, Xu Jie!
Holding an ivory tablet in both hands, Xu Jie walked to the center of the aisle. He bowed deeply toward the imperial steps.
"Your Majesty is infinitely wise."
Xu Jie stood up straight, turned around, and faced Xu Qinghuan and Xu Youde who were kneeling behind him, without looking at the tray in the eunuch's hands.
"Although the Xu family comes from a merchant background, they possess the demeanor of outstanding patriots. Exhausting their wealth to relieve the desperate crisis in the northern borders is an act of great righteousness."
The hands with which Xu Jie held the tablet raised a few inches higher.
"County Princess Xu, as a woman, was not confined to the inner courtyard, but developed such a divine machine to benefit the masses. She is truly a wondrous woman of our Great Qian!"
Xu Qinghuan looked at Xu Jie; the expression on his face seemed very solemn. Xu Qinghuan listened to these phrases: exhausting family wealth, benefiting the masses, a wondrous woman of Great Qian.
In just a few words, Xu Jie elevated the Xu family from mere nouveau riche of Jiangning County to the altar of Great Qian's meritorious heroes.
As soon as Xu Jie finished speaking.
The ranks on both sides of the great hall immediately stirred, the rustling of fabric blending into a continuous wave.
Dozens of officials in various colored uniforms stepped out of their ranks in unison, walked into the aisle, and lined up behind Xu Jie. Everyone raised their tablets with both hands and bowed together.
"The Xu family is righteous!"
"County Princess Xu has performed great merit for the state!"
The loud cheers exploded within the Golden Throne Room. The sound crashed against the massive coiled-dragon pillars and reverberated back and forth across the ceiling.
Xu Qinghuan knelt on the ground. Above her head was nothing but praise for her.
These officials had never been to Jiangning, nor had they ever seen confidential items like the loom.
As for this braised meat, it was better not to recall it.
The royal court was truly interesting.
This meat brick was originally a toxic ration she made to trigger the system's evil deeds and beg the emperor for exile. Yet, this entire court of civil and military officials had been writing memorials to impeach Xu Youde for corruption and bribery just a few days ago.
Today, however, they followed the Grand Secretary to praise the Xu family to the skies.
Was this the Xu family? Was this the number one noble family in the world?
A tree that stands out in the forest will be destroyed by the wind.
The Xu family had money in their hands, private soldiers of the Lingering Garden in Jiangning behind them, and now they had acquired this heaven-defying reputation. Once this hat of "wondrous woman" was permanently pinned on her, the Xu family would completely become a living target for the entire court.
Xu Qinghuan definitely could not accept this reputation.
The loud cheers were still echoing in the hall.
Xu Qinghuan gently kowtowed and said:
"Your Majesty, your subject dares not claim credit."
Xu Qinghuan raised her voice and shouted it once more.
"Your Majesty, your subject dares not claim credit."
The cheers in the hall immediately died down. Xu Jie turned his head to look at her.
"That meat brick is no peerless military ration."
Xu Qinghuan stared at the blue brick ahead.
"My father is greedy for wealth; when purchasing military rations, he was reluctant to spend a high price for good meat. Therefore, I went to the low-grade slaughterhouses outside the city and collected the cheapest fatty meat and offal."
"To prevent it from spoiling, I poured in the coarsest salt. To increase the weight and make up the numbers, I added quicklime to the meat."
A faint sound of sharp intakes of breath came from the ranks of officials.
Xu Qinghuan did not pause.
"Saving a few coins on a pot of meat, after making several thousand catties, we could embezzle tens of thousands of taels of silver to stuff into our own pockets."
"This meat was originally sent to my own brother. The current situation is merely a case of unintentional actions bearing unexpected fruit."
Xu Qinghuan rested both hands on the golden bricks and pressed her head close to the ground.
"All my actions are full of the stench of money and calculation."
"I did it only for my own selfish interests, being rich and cruel. These titles of 'great righteousness' and 'wondrous woman', I cannot bear, nor do I dare to bear."
The loud cheers completely stopped.
The hall was so quiet that one could hear a pin drop.
A few seconds later, sounds of conversation arose. The officials in the front turned their heads and whispered to the people beside them.
The murmurs came from all directions, but the looks the officials gave Xu Qinghuan remained unchanged.
Putting on an act? Who wouldn't know how to do that!
A burst of laughter came from behind the pearl curtain.
Emperor Tiansheng was laughing; the laughter went from deep to extremely penetrating. The laughter drowned out all the conversations in the great hall.
Xu Jie lowered his tablet and bowed his head. The officials immediately shut their mouths, and those whispering to each other quickly stood up straight. Silence was restored in the hall once again.
The laughter ceased.
"What a fine 'selfish interest', what a fine 'rich and cruel'."
Emperor Tiansheng's voice came down. The speaking pace was very slow.
"The heavy snows in the northern borders have sealed the mountains, cutting off the roads. For every picul of grain transported to the border pass, ten piculs are lost along the way. Ordinary wine and meat freeze into solid lumps of ice in a single day, impossible to thaw."
"Even if the meat chunks you sent were made of offal. Adding coarse salt prevents rot, and adding quicklime generates heat to melt the snow. The soldiers wash down the grease with this mouthful of hot soup, enabling them to hold their swords steadily and march into battle to kill the enemy."
Emperor Tiansheng ignored the matter of embezzling military supplies.
"I do not look at how much silver you saved; I only look at the fact that these thousands of soldiers survived."
The fingers of Xu Qinghuan, who was prostrated on the ground, gripped tightly into the crevices of the golden bricks.
Emperor Tiansheng continued speaking.
"You laid off the female workers."
A soft tapping sound came from the armrest of the dragon throne.
"There are plenty of weavers in this world. Your one machine does the work of ten people, so the Ministry of Revenue can build a thousand, ten thousand of them."
"As the output of cloth increases tenfold or a hundredfold, Great Qian's national treasury will be piled high with gold and silver."
"You describe such monumental merit as a merchant's greedy calculation. You do not seek empty fame, fearing that I will reward you too heavily."
The Emperor's words left no room for rebuttal.
"You are a pure and loyal subject."
"If I say your contributions have blessed the nation, then you have rendered a great service."
Xu Qinghuan did not reply. She could not refute it.
The Emperor had stripped her of the right to tarnish her own reputation. He did not care how much silver the Xu family had embezzled; all that mattered was that this machine was firmly in his grasp.
The Emperor merely needed to sharpen the Xu family as his blade, bestow upon them the title of meritorious subjects, and thrust them into the royal court to deal with the noble factions.
Beside her, Xu Youde shifted his knees.
He prostrated his upper body, aiming his forehead at the golden floor tiles.
Thud.
With a muffled sound, Xu Youde's forehead struck heavily against the ground.
"Your subject, Xu Youde, kowtows in gratitude for Your Majesty's heavenly grace!"
He did not lift his head, instead kowtowing a second time. The sound of his forehead hitting the floor echoed loudly.
Xu Qinghuan turned her head, seeing her father's hands trembling as they pressed against the floor. Inside this great hall, there was no reasoning to be had.
As the absolute weight of imperial power pressed down, Xu Youde could only kowtow and give thanks. And the Xu family had no choice but to accept this fatal grace.
A commotion broke out at the rear of the civil officials' ranks.
Several officials stepped aside, clearing a path. An official dressed in a dark green robe strode out.
The man had gaunt cheeks and high cheekbones. He held an ivory court tablet in both hands; this was the Left Assistant Censor-in-Chief of the Censorate, Wei Zheng.
Wei Zheng walked forward along the central aisle, passing the officials standing on either side, and stopped at the foot of the imperial steps.
Every gaze in the great hall converged upon Wei Zheng, the officials holding their collective breath.
Wei Zheng stood firm. He turned around, putting his back to the dragon throne.
Looking down from his vantage point, Wei Zheng stared coldly at Xu Youde kneeling on the floor.
Xu Qinghuan followed Wei Zheng's line of sight. Wei Zheng was looking at Xu Youde; he was not looking at her.
Having failed to destroy Xu Qinghuan with excessive praise, and with the Emperor steadfastly protecting her, this group of officials had immediately changed their target. Xu Qinghuan was a remarkable woman under the Emperor's protection. But Xu Youde was merely the wealthiest man in Jiangning; if one were to investigate Jiangning County, ledgers detailing his corruption could be found by the pile.
Wei Zheng stood rooted to the spot, his eyes fixed on Xu Youde's dark green robe and his forehead, which was already red from kowtowing.
No one in the hall spoke. The oppressive atmosphere was even heavier than when they had been loudly proclaiming righteous causes moments ago.
Gripping his court tablet with both hands, Wei Zheng raised it high once more, turned back to face the heavy beaded curtains of the throne, and bowed deeply.
"Your subject, Wei Zheng, has a memorial to present."
