Shipin Dalizheng

Chapter 355 Grace

Rong Wanli traveled back and forth for an hour or so and finally brought back information about his biological parents, but he seemed a little unsure.

"My godfather said that my biological father's surname is also Rong, Rong Ruogu, and my mother's surname is Zeng. Since I don't know her name, I'll fill in Rong Zengshi."

Rong Tang looked at the red paper Rong Wanli had brought back and felt something was amiss. The name Ruogu was clearly not something an ordinary villager could have. How many people with the surname Rong could there be in the Rong family army? It seemed Rong Wanli's life story was also quite eventful.

The matter was temporarily agreed upon, and early the next morning, Rong Tang handed in a sign and entered the palace.

Nowadays, if there are no important military or political matters, the government office usually opens after the Lantern Festival. It's only the sixth day of the New Year, and Rong Tang is really anxious. Fortunately, everyone knows that he is favored, otherwise he would have to stand outside for a long time.

Li Dequan came out to greet him personally, and said happily, "Young Master, have you had a good year?"

Rong Tang was baffled by his lewd expression. "That's just the way it is in my house. We can't wear red or colorful banners, or set off fireworks to celebrate."

Unexpectedly, Li Dequan burst into laughter. "You still want to hide it from our family? The news that you went to the Jiaofangsi to buy dozens of beautiful concubines on New Year's Eve has even reached the palace. His Majesty just told you to take it easy. You are so young, don't exhaust yourself."

Rong Tang was coughing violently, tears welling up in his eyes, and he was alert in his heart. It turned out that someone had been watching his every move and reporting to Emperor Xuan Ning at any time.

Li Dequan laughed at him and then joked, "His Majesty is playing cards and is addicted to it. He said, either you have something important to say, or you are just here to play with him. Otherwise, don't disturb his interest. If you spoil the fun, he will spank you."

As Rong Tang walked, he analyzed the implicit meaning of Li Dequan's words.

In the Purple Palace, Emperor Xuanning, Concubine Xian, and Zhao Ling were playing Landlord with great enthusiasm.

Seeing him, Emperor Xuanning waved his hands hurriedly, "Come here, Concubine Xian's hands are too smelly, she doesn't even know how to play cards, and I, the landlord, can't even win happily, it feels like I'm bullying a fool."

The virtuous concubine was embarrassed and said, "Your Majesty, please give me some face."

Rong Tang quickly joined the battle. Princess Zhao Ling was tired from fighting. He Daban and Li Dequan pushed each other to the side, and finally Li Dequan took over.

Li Dequan knelt on a cushion, basically watching Emperor Xuan Ning and Rong Tang fighting each other. After a morning, his face was covered with notes.

Emperor Xuanning's face was also full of colorful and wonderful things. It was obvious that Rong Tang had not let him. But Rong Tang's face was also full of red and green paper strips flying between breaths. At this moment, it seemed that there was no monarch or minister, only a duel.

Finally, when the number of notes was counted, Li Dequan had the most, Rong Tang was second, and Emperor Xuanning had the least.

After the three men fought, they also invested capital, fifty taels each. After the battle, Emperor Xuan Ning won twenty taels, Rong Tang barely broke even, and Li Dequan suffered a loss.

Emperor Xuanning was so happy that his teeth were bared with joy. This fight was really exciting. Overall, he won more than he lost, and he was in a very happy mood.

Li Dequan felt as if his heart was being cut out, and he grimaced in pain, "This is half a year's salary for this slave!"

Emperor Xuan Ning hugged him and said, "I won this with my own ability. Don't try to get it back by playing the victim."

Rong Tang protested, "This isn't fair. I've never lost outside. Your Majesty is just too lucky."

"Luck, that is also my strength."

Emperor Xuanning had a great time. He gave the silver ingot to He Daban to keep for him, and then asked Rong Tang, "You came here so early in the morning. Is there something going on?"

Rong Tang patted his head. "I was so busy playing that I forgot about the important things. Years ago, when I was recruiting soldiers in Jiangnan, I boasted that anyone who followed me to defend the country for Your Majesty would be rewarded with an official position and a wife if they performed meritorious service. Your Majesty has given me the official position and the reward, and I have also given you a wife. The total cost is 10,000 taels. Your Majesty, please reimburse me!"

Emperor Xuanning was confused. "When did I agree to give a wife? And what do you mean by you gave it to me?"

Rong Tang blinked, "On New Year's Eve, I bought a group of official slaves and distributed them in the name of Your Majesty. Those guys were overjoyed and swore allegiance to Your Majesty until death."

Emperor Xuan Ning and He Daban stared at each other in bewilderment, feeling a little cheated.

"So you want me to pay for this ten thousand taels? No, no, not a cent. He Daban, kick him out. He came here to blackmail me."

Rong Tang grabbed the hem of his dragon robe and wailed, "Your Majesty, I don't have any money either. This is all I need to find a wife. If you really can't afford it, you can give me less. Five thousand taels? Two thousand taels? One thousand taels is also fine! Otherwise, you can give me anything. I have emptied my family's wealth and only managed to find a few dozen bachelors, and there are still many crying out."

Emperor Xuanning cursed, "How can I find someone for you? And what do you mean by a noble lady worth hundreds of taels? Don't think I don't know the suffering of the common people from the deep palace. Ordinary people can marry with three or five taels of silver. With this ten thousand taels, you can marry three thousand wives."

Rong Tang played dumb, "Ah? So little?"

"What an idiot! He didn't even realize he was being tricked."

Emperor Xuan Ning panted a few times, then thought that most of the 10,000 taels of silver that Rong Tang was cheated of went into the Ministry of Revenue's treasury, and he indirectly made a profit, so he kept silent.

He Dahe knew what was going on, so he tried to smooth things over by saying, "It's expensive, so be it. It's not a waste anyway. After all, she's marrying an officer, and if she has children in the future, they'll be Dai Viet reserve soldiers, too. Your Majesty won't lose out."

Rong Tang said, "That's what I think too. The standard for judging a dynasty's prosperity is how many people it adds each year. But if bachelors can't find wives, how can they have children? I promised to give them wives because I hope that the people of Dai Viet will grow larger and stronger, and I have no selfish motives."

Anyone can speak the truth, but being able to speak to the emperor's heart is a real skill. Emperor Xuanning was not a foolish monarch, so he was able to listen to him.

"What you said does make some sense, but as for the money, I definitely don't have it."

Rong Tang laughed bitterly, "It's okay if you don't have money. At least give me some grace. These official slaves we bought are all paired with officers. They can't still be slaves. Otherwise, the officers' descendants will be implicated, which is not good."

According to the existing legal system, these officials used marriage contracts to bail out their young female relatives when they were first imprisoned. Based on the principle that the crime should not be punished by marrying off women, they are still considered good citizens.

The key point about the group of people that Rong Tangbao released was that the timing was wrong. After the verdict came down, these women had already become slaves in the law. Even if they got married, it would be very troublesome if someone took it seriously.

Compared with paying 10,000 taels of silver, Emperor Xuan Ning felt that it was more cost-effective to just stamp the next decree, and the matter was immediately resolved.

The virtuous concubine watched for a long time and suddenly said, "Your Majesty has already given this favor, why not be more generous and give more grace to the soldiers."

During this period of time, the virtuous concubine had accompanied the emperor quite often. As long as she spoke within the limits, Emperor Xuanning was willing to listen. "My beloved concubine, tell me, what other favors can I afford to grant you?"

The key is to be able to afford it, without having to pay for it.

The virtuous concubine smiled. "I have occasionally seen some older maids in the harem. They are not allowed to leave the palace, cannot get married, and are slow to serve others. In my opinion, we should set a certain age limit and let the maids over that age marry. On the one hand, this will save the palace money, and on the other hand, the maids can marry and have children, which will also increase the population of Dai Viet. Isn't that the best of both worlds?"

Zhao Ling also said, "Father, there are also the older maids in the various mansions who have signed death contracts. If they are not allowed to marry, won't it delay their lives? How about Father issue a decree to benefit the people and let all maids over a certain age marry."