Echoes of My Heart Throughout the Court-Chapter 354: Strike Where It Hurts

After all these chapters, In the Years When I Was a Father—the heartfelt story of Qi Sheng’s journey—has finally been completed today. Thank you for following along through every twist and emotion. Please support on Ko-fi, every bit helps with translation and maintaining this website. Stay tuned for more heartwarming stories ahead!

“Summon Prince Consort Yan Chun to enter the palace and proceed to the Wu Ying Hall.”

Upon receiving the command, a Jinyiwei officer immediately departed at speed.

The Great Emperor of Tiantong rose to his feet as he strode out, his movements full of unspoken authority.

Even Xu Yanmiao, who was only reading the text version through the system, couldn’t help but add a comment in the style of pointless commentary: [Wow! The old emperor really has presence when he gets serious.]

The emperor marched like a dragon and strode like a tiger, exuding a domineering aura. He picked up the winter peach from the ground, rinsed it with warm water from his flask, and took a bite: “Not bad. The flesh isn’t bruised.”

Xu Yanmiao: “……”

Something feels off here?

The frugal emperor munched on his winter peach as he boarded the carriage. Along the way, an imperial censor caught sight of this unusual scene. After a brief moment of shock, he quickly turned his back and pretended not to see anything—lest his colleagues accuse him of being a sycophant for not impeaching His Majesty for disregarding propriety.

When the emperor arrived at Wu Ying Hall, he found that his “son-in-law” was already waiting at the door.

“Hmph!” With a dramatic flick of his sleeve, he walked past her. “Get in.”

[Whoa! So fierce!]

The old emperor subtly looked around—he didn’t see any trace of Xu Yanmiao. This was the palace, not a place where he could skulk around. So… the old emperor’s lips curled up slightly.

What now? Can’t get into the palace from outside? Can’t watch the drama unfold in person, huh?

—At this distance, he was either skulking near the palace gates or peeking around at the Ministry of Personnel.

[Whoa! The Crown Prince!]

The emperor’s smile froze instantly, his eyes locking up as well.

The caught-red-handed Crown Prince tried to play dumb, but failed and was promptly escorted out by the Jinyiwei.

[Whoa! The Crown Prince’s face is so pale—]

The Crown Prince’s eyes lit up. He quickly pulled out a handkerchief to cover his mouth. “Cough cough cough, Father, I…”

He swayed weakly, looking utterly frail.

The surrounding palace servants looked uneasy, and the female prince consort’s face showed visible concern.

The old emperor had been about to get angry, but when he saw his son looking so feeble—especially remembering how he had recently coughed up blood—his stern face softened slightly. “Why did you run out here?”

“…Cough, Father, I heard today is the Child Prodigy Exam…”

In the past, the emperor might’ve snapped, “What does the Prodigy Exam have to do with you? Got any prodigies in your house?”

But recalling the Crown Prince’s recent blood coughing incident and his ghostly pale face now, the emperor hesitated. Finally, he chose to act like a decent human being: “Come inside first, we’ll talk.”

[Oh ho! So the pale face was from the blood loss. And he still wasn’t behaving—snuck spicy beef jerky, got caught by Qin Zheng, and got force-fed a ton of medicine. No wonder he looks so weak.]

[Not to nitpick, but Crown Prince, your health regimen seems wildly inefficient. With a face that pale, who knows how long it’ll take to look rosy again.]

Oh, it won’t take long.

The emperor thought to himself.

He glanced at the Crown Prince’s face, which suddenly flushed with color—because he was too “surprised.”

And as for what he was surprised about…

The emperor’s momentarily softened expression turned fake, and his smile became forced. “Why are you just standing there? Come on in, Your Highness the Crown Prince.”

The Crown Prince instinctively forced a smile. “Father, I just remembered—I haven’t taken my medicine yet. I want to go back and…”

[Eh? Why’s the Crown Prince in such a rush to leave? Wasn’t he in such a hurry he didn’t even take his medicine, all to check out the commotion when he heard his sister’s prince consort had entered the palace? To see what’s really going on, maybe even help out a bit?]

“Heh… hehehe…”

The Crown Prince chuckled awkwardly.

That was the original plan. But now, compared to protecting his brother-in-law, he figured he’d better protect himself first.

The emperor chuckled as well. “No need. A little late won’t kill you. Haven’t you been skipping doses anyway?”

[Eh! The emperor actually knows?!]

The emperor: 🙂

He didn’t. He was just fishing.

The Crown Prince tried to wriggle out of it. “Actually…”

The emperor cut him off coldly: “If you’re done coughing blood, go help me review memorials.”

Xu Yanmiao added curiously: [And if he is still coughing blood?]

The Crown Prince was just as curious, testing the waters: “Then… what if I am still coughing blood?”

The emperor gave a frosty chuckle: “Then you can cough up blood while reviewing the memorials.”

Throughout the whole exchange, the female prince consort kept her eyes down and her face composed, pretending not to witness any of this. Once the emperor entered Wu Ying Hall, she quietly followed inside. The Crown Prince also entered, finding a seat without the slightest guilt.

The emperor didn’t bother with him—out of sight, out of mind. He simply pulled out Yan Chun’s policy essay and threw it in front of her. “Explain.”

Yan Chun immediately became alert, weighing each word carefully before speaking.

First, she sincerely expressed her deep feelings for the country. Then she discussed what current national policies were working and what weren’t. Finally, she laid out what goals needed to be achieved to make the nation stronger—and pointed out the crises it currently faced.

She was telling the truth. That’s exactly why, even though the old emperor knew she had personal motives, he still couldn’t help being drawn into her anxiety.

Yan Chun remained calm and unashamed, speaking with composure: “In response, the solution I came up with is—while the strength of one person is limited, the power of the masses is boundless.”

In short, the more talent a country has, the more prosperous and powerful it becomes. And the root of acquiring talent lies in establishing academies.

Moreover, these academies should be specialized: a liberal arts academy focused on Confucian teachings, a martial academy teaching military strategy and combat, a medical academy for medicine, a social academy for agriculture, and so on.

It would cost a lot of money, but…

Yan Chun lowered her gaze slightly and handed over the budget. “I’ve done the calculations. With the current national strength of Daxia, it’s just within reach.”

Of course, the old emperor knew this well.

He had always wanted to promote education vigorously. Not long after ascending the throne, he sought to restore the social and charity schools from the previous dynasty to provide educational opportunities for children from poor families.

Then the Minister of Revenue came over with an abacus and clacked it by his ear for a whole day, talking his ear off with one central message: Your Majesty, running schools costs money, and we don’t have money. Unless you don’t mind these academies ending up like the ones in the previous dynasty.

—Back in the Zhou Dynasty, education was also widely promoted. It was mandated that every 50 households should establish a community school to provide learning opportunities for farming families. But aside from the ones in the capital, which received regular funding from the national treasury, the rest had to rely on donations from local officials and gentry.

But people willing to shell out their own wealth to give peasants a chance at education were few and far between. Most local officials and gentry weren’t exactly enthusiastic about donating for the people’s benefit. Even those with good intentions could only do it once or twice. Schools needed ongoing maintenance—you couldn’t expect them to keep footing the bill forever. Eventually, many social and charity schools shut down due to lack of funding.

“I know, Your Majesty didn’t want to see that kind of outcome when attempting to revive those schools.”

Back then, the Minister of Revenue Yuan Zheng had spoken with exceptional gentleness and composure, offering a respectful bow: “But the national treasury is truly depleted right now. We can only ask Your Majesty to endure for a little longer.”

—And that “little longer” ended up lasting nearly thirty years.

“Thirty years, huh…”

The old emperor knew full well how costly and difficult this endeavor would be. “How many thirty years does one have in a lifetime?”

Yes, the funds were finally sufficient now—but he didn’t want to wait any longer.

He looked toward Yan Chun, this imperial son-in-law of his, raising an eyebrow and exposing her true motive. “That’s not all, is it? In your policy paper, you also proposed… bringing in female officials?”

Yan Chun lowered her eyes calmly and said unhurriedly, “Yes. In moderation. Just like in the previous dynasty, when female merchants became more common, sending male tax officials to collect from them often proved inconvenient. So, the role of female tax collector was created.”

“I believe men should manage men, and women should manage women. That is the natural law of Yin and Yang, the true harmony of the world.”

The old emperor asked, “Just a few posts?”

Yan Chun nodded. “Yes, just a few positions.”

He was actually a bit moved by her reasoning.

If granting just a few posts could make the government more stable and efficient, then… why not?

—Besides, if the previous dynasty could do it, so could he. What was so difficult about appointing female tax collectors or similar roles?

Yan Chun offered an example. “Your Majesty, take this tax collector role. Without a female tax collector, a male one would need to collect from female merchants. He’d have to choose the timing carefully, only during daylight and with people around. Otherwise, suspicion could arise, and he could be easily manipulated or framed.”

For instance, what if a rival claimed he was harassing the woman?

What if a male official, tempted by his power, couldn’t control himself and demanded that the female merchant sleep with him in exchange for leniency?

Or what if the female merchant, wanting to evade taxes, seduced the male official to achieve her goal?

To this, the old emperor replied, “Daxia has its laws.”

Yan Chun answered, “Yes, but enforcing them would take more time and manpower.”

Investigating a crime takes time, doesn’t it?

Drafting laws takes time, doesn’t it?

Trying a case takes time, doesn’t it?

And after the judgment, if you have to replace the official, it takes time for the new one to assume office, time to get up to speed, and there’s a risk of inefficiency or loopholes—where it once took three days to finish collecting taxes, now it might take five or seven.

“But by assigning female tax collectors, these problems could be avoided more efficiently. Other roles involving contact with common women would also benefit.”

[Brilliant! For a ruler consumed by anxiety and hungry for quick results, you telling him this will boost efficiency—it’s like striking a snake right at its weak spot!]

The Crown Prince nodded.

[Perfectly executed!]

The Crown Prince nodded harder.

[Why is the old emperor staring at the Crown Prince now?]

The Crown Prince slowly looked up—and saw his father already standing in front of him.

“Father…”

DUANG—

The old emperor retracted his fist. The Crown Prince, with a large bump on his head, wobbled and collapsed.

The emperor let out a cold snort.

As an emperor, he could accept officials plotting around him—so long as it benefited the country. He had that level of tolerance. (Of course, mentally noting down who plotted against him was a separate matter.)

But you—his own son—nodding along like that? Whose side are you on?!

[Whoa!] Little Bai Ze gasped. [That punch was perfectly measured—painful, but not damaging! Beautifully done!]

The Crown Prince was extremely miserable.

Xu Yanmiao, could you not praise right now?

After punching his son, the old emperor’s irritation at being manipulated eased a little. He looked to Yan Chun and said flatly, “It’s true that this will improve efficiency. Write a memorial to the throne. List which posts can be divided into male and female roles.”

Yan Chun’s eyes had always been sharp. That was precisely why, in a crowd, she caught the eye of the ambitious and competitive Princess Royal who had to pick a top-notch husband.

Now, the old emperor could clearly see that her eyes sparkled even more.

“Yes, Your Majesty! I will choose wisely!”

The emperor mentally jotted another note in his little black book but smiled on the surface and said, “I’ll trouble you with that then, beloved subject.”

[Alright! Perfect wrap-up!]

The emperor let out a subtle, cold smile.

Not quite perfect…

[Now that that’s settled, I guess there’s no need for me to submit any three-year or five-year plans, right!]

[Woohoo! Happiness! Another blissfully lazy day ahead!]

The old emperor: “!!!”

His heart suddenly skipped a beat.

The emperor gasped.

Wait a minute!

Today definitely wasn’t perfectly settled yet!

Xu Yanmiao! Get back here!!!

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