The Lucky Farmgirl

The Empress hesitated for a moment. She wasn’t worried about Mingda and Changyu being bullied by their husband’s families. The Wei Family was upright and honest, and if Wei Zhi were ranked second in terms of character in Great Jin, probably no one would dare claim first.

The sons he raised, regardless of their talents, at least had commendable character. They were, at the very least, gentlemen.

She solely worried about Changyu bullying others, never the other way around.

As for Mingda, she was even less worried.

The Bai Family was full of straightforward and honest people, which was why she had agreed to the marriage at the time. Another reason was Bai Er’s affection for Mingda.

However, bodyguards were still necessary. Not to prevent them from being bullied by their husband’s families, but because having bodyguards would make it easier for them to manage their affairs outside.

No one knows a daughter better than her mother. She knew the temperament of her two daughters, and having some bodyguards around was useful.

But a thousand wasn’t necessary.

According to the regulations, the princesses of Great Jin all had bodyguards, ranging from eighty to five hundred, depending on the emperor’s favor and reward for them.

At present, the princess with the most bodyguards was the emperor’s sister, Princess Zhao. However, since Princess Zhao had passed away, most of the remaining princesses had about two or three hundred bodyguards.

It wasn’t that the emperor was stingy, but those bodyguards were funded by the national treasury, so besides the particularly favored princesses, few could receive the highest rank of five hundred.

The emperor initially chose five hundred bodyguards for Mingda, but he now felt that five hundred was insufficient.

Didn’t the woman from the Wang Family have a dowry?

She certainly had one, but she was still bullied. Why was that?

Because the dowry wasn’t substantial enough. If her dowry were sufficient, could the Ma Family have so easily undermined her?

Unfortunately, the Empress was unwilling; otherwise, he could support an additional five hundred. At worst, the extra expenses could come from his private treasury, or Mingda could handle it herself by giving her more estates. Even doing nothing, the income would cover the military salaries.

The emperor strategized in his heart, then said to the Empress, "Previously, Yin Li mentioned that the capital is crowded, and even the houses in Yongzhou are sparse and becoming crowded. Many people coming to the capital have no choice but to live in the villages below, which is quite inconvenient for travel. I think it would be better to expand Yongzhou City and build a new city street."

The Empress looked at him and asked, "Where does Your Majesty plan to expand?"

The emperor coughed lightly and said, "I think the southwest of Yongzhou is quite good. That area is near the Wei River, the land is flat, and it’s close to the capital. By the way, isn’t Yongzhou City not far from Liyang, and Liyang is near Wannian County? If we expand over there, in the future Yongzhou and the capital could practically be connected. This would make travel to the capital much closer and more convenient for travelers."

The Empress, although aware of his ulterior motives, briefly considered that it indeed benefits the people and nodded with a smile. However, she still reminded him, "Your Majesty, don’t go too far."

The emperor was elated and nodded repeatedly, holding the Empress’s hand, saying, "I know, don’t worry."

The next day, the emperor mentioned the matter to the court officials. Wei Zhi and others were aware of the increasing number of people flocking to Chang’an, especially now, in times of peace and prosperity. Each year, more people come here to study, conduct business, and work.

The wealthy can naturally afford to buy or rent houses in the capital city, but what about those without much money or assets?

Even locals might end up being squeezed out of the capital.

A couple of years ago, Wei Zhi proposed expanding Chang’an, but it was shelved due to various issues. Now, while it’s not an expansion of the capital city, expanding Yongzhou is a good alternative.

Yongzhou is a secondary capital, not far from the main capital, just a two-hour journey, and the area chosen by the emperor for expansion is even closer. By improving the roads, it would take about an hour to reach Wannian County from the new city, providing convenience for the poor students who study in the capital.

Thus, after some discussion, it was agreed that the Ministry of Revenue and the Ministry of Public Works would need to survey the area, compile data, and then submit it to the court officials for further deliberation.

With this major issue shelved for now, the people found by Yin Li presented a memorial to impeach Governor Ma for improper household management, exposing the hidden dealings of the Wang Family, Ms.Cui, and the Ma Family to the public.

The ministers in the court showed little change in expression, but inwardly there was a lot of murmuring and surprise.

The most severely damaged by this wasn’t Ms. Wang, nor even the Ma Family, but Ms. Cui.

Although the memorial did not mention it explicitly, anyone who inquired would know that the woman from the Wang Family was sent back to the Ma Family by her aunt, Ms. Cui. It was because of this that the Ma Family dared to torment the woman from the Wang Family without restraint.

When people felt sympathy for the Wang Family woman, they couldn’t help but question Ms. Cui’s upbringing. This became a fatal blow for Ms. Cui, whose current survival depended on her marriage connections.

Within the capital, the women from the Cui family in various households deeply resented Ms. Wang Cui, yet there was nothing they could do at the moment. They had to pretend to be united against the Ma Family first.

Even Madam Tang did not expect the matter to escalate to the court. They had been discreet enough, which made her frown with some concern.

Lord Tang consoled her with a smile, saying, "Don’t worry. With things coming to light, Ms. Cui can’t let it go easily. Rest assured, even if your father doesn’t act, Ms. Cui won’t let the Ma Family off the hook. They will surely put all the blame on the Ma Family."

He added, "Now, all you need to do is keep a close watch on the Ma Family and prevent them from acting desperately against the child."

Madam Tang said, "I’ve already written to my father."

She sighed, "With this incident, our Wang Family has become well-known."

Lord Tang chuckled and said, "Well, Ms. Cui is bearing the brunt too. Don’t be afraid."

Madam Tang gave him a sidelong glance and said, "What’s there to be happy about? Our Wang Family’s back house has quite a few women from the Cui Family too."

Not to mention, her grandmother’s surname was Cui!

Lord Tang rubbed his nose and said, "It’s my fault; I shouldn’t be gloating like this. Let’s write a comforting letter to your father."

"Get out, aren’t you worried enough about father being troubled?"

Actually, the Wang Patriarch wasn’t overly worried. Taiyuan wasn’t very far from the capital, so news traveled relatively quickly. He had just received news of Ma Hongzhong returning to Bingzhou black and blue, and soon after, he learned about the court affairs.

Bingzhou isn’t far from Taiyuan, and the Ma Family still resides in a county close to Taiyuan, only an hour away by fast horse.

Before Ma Hongzhong entered the county town, Wang Cheng intercepted and beat him once more. Without Madam Tang’s deterrence this time, he was harsher, not to the point of crippling Ma Hongzhong, but the injuries looked quite severe.

Afterwards, Wang Cheng returned home with Fourth Sister and Fifth Sister and their spouses.

The Wang Patriarch personally saw them, inquired about Ma Hongzhong’s reaction, and upon receiving news from the capital, he summoned a steward and said, "Go to the Ma Family and bring out the young master."

Wang Geng was taken aback and said, "Uncle, if we take the child out at this time, and if the Ma Family accuses us of kidnapping..."

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