Chapter 54 Part 1

The deterrent force of uprooting century-old families was much greater than merely confiscating the assets of ordinary wealthy clans, especially the speed of their downfall, which made those with similar ideas afraid to repeat their mistakes.

They had considered every aspect, but they had not anticipated that ordinary commoners would betray them and turn their weapons against their masters.

The families treated the commoners as lowly servants, but Li Jianwei regarded the commoners as cherished subjects, as individuals with independent thoughts. Did the commoners not know how to choose for themselves?

The emperor of the current Li Dynasty was not a muddle-headed ruler like those of the previous dynasty. By following the New Emperor, they could eat their fill and receive land distributions, living honest and steady lives. Was that not good enough?

In the fifth month of the fourth year of Taiping, under Wang Ying’s leadership, forces in Jiaxing Prefecture, Ningbo Prefecture, Taizhou Prefecture, and other areas launched a campaign to encircle and suppress the wokou. They annihilated six thousand enemies on land, then set sail in pursuit and wiped out over three thousand more on the islands, eliminating the elite wokou forces along the coast.

Achieving such results with fewer than five thousand casualties was already impressive. Li Jianwei immediately promoted Wang Ying by one rank and placed the navy training in Fujian under her command as well.

Creatures like the wokou could not be dealt with by merely counterattacking on home soil; they had to be struck at their homeland, their roots dug up, before they would learn what they could and could not do.

Battles far from home soil were bound to increase military expenditures, but fortunately, the Minister of Revenue had a very sharp mind. He incorporated maritime merchants into the ranks of royal merchants, indirectly bringing substantial revenue to the court.

This not only perfectly covered the costs of forming the navy but also freed up a million taels to repair inland waterways.

After routinely rejecting the tri-monthly proposal for selecting consorts as usual, Li Jianwei returned to the Palace of Heavenly Purity to handle the memorials.

“Your Majesty, Yong’an Highness requests an audience,” a female official reported as she approached.

“Let her in,” Li Jianwei said casually, her gaze still fixed on the memorial.

After years of refinement, only the more important memorials reached Li Jianwei. Each one required her careful review.

Where were the unimportant ones? Naturally, they were handled by the Grand Secretariat under Shu Heng’s leadership. For instance, routine greetings from local officials were all approved by Shu Heng on her behalf.

“Greetings, Imperial Sister,” Li Wan said as she bowed, dressed in the uniform of a deputy commander of the Supervisory Guards.

“Wanting to leave the capital for inspections again?” Li Jianwei set down the memorial in her hand and gave the female official a look.

In just a few breaths, the female official fetched a chair and placed it below the imperial desk.

Li Wan plopped down casually. “Imperial Sister, Mother Queen had me look over potential princes consort today, but I didn’t fancy any of them.”

Li Jianwei nodded, waiting for her younger sister to continue.

“Imperial Sister, can I stay unmarried like you?” Li Wan said bluntly. “I don’t want my life tied to someone else’s. I think being on my own is just fine.”

Li Jianwei frowned instinctively. “Is it because none caught your eye, or is there another reason?”

“I met a friend in Jiangnan with great talent for business. I think she qualifies to become a royal merchant, and we even agreed to meet in the capital.”

Li Wan continued, “She did make it to the second round of selection, but her family arranged a husband for her, so the one who came to the capital was her husband, not her.”

“You are the princess, my sister. The prince consort is merely your appendage. I won’t give him much power,” Li Jianwei said.

“Of course, if you don’t like any, you don’t have to marry. You can just keep a few face slaves you fancy.”

Li Wan pursed her lips. “Could I keep some beauties I like instead?”

“As long as you’re not forcibly taking them, keep whatever you like,” Li Jianwei said openly. She did not think marriage was necessary at all, nor did she believe pairings had to be between woman and man.

“You like women?” Li Jianwei asked in return.

Li Wan shook her head. “I don’t have anyone I particularly like, but I’m more comfortable with women around me. For example, my master is pretty good.”

“Imperial Sister, you have no idea how many young noblemen from the families I run into just going out. Running into them on the street is one thing, but when they’re trying to curry favor, their words can’t hide their disdain for me.”

Li Wan couldn’t help complaining. “I haven’t told Mother Queen, but more than half of the ones she picked for me, I’ve already bumped into on the streets. Some even tried to pull off that hero-saving-beauty stunt.”

“Hm?” Li Jianwei raised an eyebrow, catching the key phrase. “They dared to send people to lay hands on you?”

Li Wan answered honestly, “Not exactly. They just rescued some girls being bullied in front of me, probably hoping to make me fond of them.”

If Li Wan had never left the capital, she might have been molded into a standard noble lady of the capital, and those tricks from the young noblemen might actually have worked on her.

But after Li Wan had fled through life-and-death perils to reach the Northern Border, her mindset began to change bit by bit. Not to mention that afterward, she had learned much from Little Shu Daren and was no longer swayed by men’s petty tricks.

Hearing this, Li Jianwei understood. “You can’t refuse Mother Queen directly, so you want me to put in a good word.”

Li Wan flashed a fawning smile. “Imperial Sister understands me best. If I say it, Mother Queen just thinks I’m too young and don’t know better, but if you speak up, it’s different.”

A trace of helplessness flashed in Li Jianwei’s eyes. Actually, Mother Queen did not think her sister was clueless; it was just that Mother Queen was closer to her sister.

Li Jianwei did not deny that Mother Queen treated her well, but she knew full well that she had spent far too little time by Mother Queen’s side, while Li Wan had grown up at Mother Queen’s knee from childhood.

After Father and the brothers met with misfortune, though Mother Queen came to the Northern Border, the mother-daughter bond was not particularly close—at least not like the one between Mother Queen and Li Wan.

After ascending the throne, Li Jianwei had not spent much more time with Mother Queen either. They dined together occasionally, but Mother Queen maintained perfect propriety, making Li Jianwei feel more like she was emperor dining with her mother than daughter accompanying her mother.

Pushing aside those unhelpful thoughts, Li Jianwei agreed to her sister’s small request and relayed it to Mother Queen the next day.

The Empress Dowager was momentarily stunned, then hesitated. “Is that really appropriate? Wanwan is a princess, after all.”

“Precisely because she is a princess, I want her to follow her heart. If she wants to marry, she marries; if not, she can keep some beauties in the princess manor,” Li Jianwei said calmly.

The Empress Dowager fell silent, her brows knitting in clear conflict. After a long moment, she spoke her true feelings. “If neither you nor Wanwan have children, the successor will have to be chosen from the imperial clan. They all have their own parents, and once they ascend, they may seek to honor their birth parents.”

“Mother Queen, such people will not be chosen by me,” Li Jianwei said, relieved inwardly. If that was Mother Queen’s concern, it was easy to address.

Li Jianwei continued, “Mother Queen, when I have candidates in mind, I’ll bring them over young and raise them myself. I won’t keep anyone who’s gone astray.”

“Mother Queen need not worry. Even if they ascend and want to honor their parents, it won’t change that the Li of the Li Dynasty is my Li Jianwei’s Li.”

Li Jianwei was utterly open-minded. She was the founding sovereign—that was an unchangeable fact. As long as her achievements were brilliant enough, no matter who succeeded her, they would have to pay respects at her shrine.

“You’re right. I won’t press Wanwan anymore,” the Empress Dowager said with a soft sigh, a faint melancholy in her heart.

Her youngest daughter was at the age to leave her side too. Both daughters no longer needed their mother’s help.

Li Jianwei noticed Mother Queen’s mood was off and spoke up. “Mother Queen, on ordinary days, you can have the imperial clan’s women bring their children into the palace to let you observe their character in advance. It’ll make it easier for me to select later.”

The Empress Dowager immediately cast aside her worries and began planning for her eldest daughter. “Isn’t that a bit early? You’re not even thirty yet. Even starting from age three, by the time they’re grown, you’ll be under fifty, still in your prime.”

“It’s fine. If there are good seedlings, they can enter officialdom and help share my burdens—not necessarily just as heirs,” Li Jianwei said, looking at Mother Queen with expectation.

“Mother Queen, I have many new policies I want to implement, and I need reliable people to carry them out. I don’t trust recommendations from others. I want you to help me.”

“Mm, using our own people is always better than outsiders,” the Empress Dowager murmured. Her train of thought had been led astray by Li Jianwei, her focus now entirely on carefully selecting future pillars of the state for her daughter.

–

That night, Li Jianwei frolicked with Shu Heng in the bath for a long time. By the end, Shu Heng was utterly spent and could only be carried back to the bed by the still energetic Li Jianwei.

“Little Shu Daren, you say you’ll exercise properly every time, but there’s never any improvement,” Li Jianwei teased, playing with Shu Heng’s fingers.

Long hours of writing had made the pads of Shu Heng’s fingers slightly rough, less smooth than the back of her hand or the softness of her palm.

But the length and flexibility of her fingers were excellent. In Li Jianwei’s view, they were only slightly inferior to her own—fun to toy with by hand or to take in her mouth.

“Your Majesty, this subject has been trying very hard…” Shu Heng’s voice was hoarse. “If Your Majesty finished earlier at night, this subject could have more time during the day to exercise.”

“That would be putting the cart before the horse!” Li Jianwei retorted immediately, cupping Shu Heng’s face and planting a kiss. “No matter, Little Shu Daren was already wonderful. I won’t hold you accountable for any shortcomings in service.”