The high-ranking officials in the capital had been living comfortably these past few days.
They had not attended court for a few months and no longer had to wake up in the dark. Sometimes, they did not even have time to eat breakfast before rushing to the palace gates to gather. They had to stand in the hall for four hours and their backs were sore. They also had to drag their tired bodies to various departments to handle various chores...
Now, they could sleep until dawn, drink their morning tea, and slowly make their way to the yamen. If they were the leaders of various departments, as long as they were not seen by the imperial censors, they could relax even more.
Of course, if they received news that morning court was to be held, even the laziest of people would have to restrain themselves and obediently stand at the palace gates for an hour to enjoy the morning breeze.
Although it was still summer, the sun had not risen yet. Wearing thin clothes, it was still a little cold.
Old General Xue stomped his feet and wrapped his clothes tightly around himself. He sighed, "These old bones are getting worse and worse. I wonder how many more days I can attend court..."
Old General Ma walked over and said, "We old bones do not have much time left. Luckily, those children are not bad. Old Xue, you can rest in peace even after you die."
Before the morning court began, when the officials were waiting at the palace gates, they had to line up according to their official rank and department. They were not allowed to walk around casually, nor were they allowed to congregate casually. There would be a special imperial censor to record the officials' behavior and record it as part of their evaluation.
A few imperial censors glanced at the elders of the family of generals who were gathered together, then quickly shifted their gazes away. When they caught a glimpse of an official in the crowd who was secretly touching his buttocks, they immediately walked over with dark expressions and said coldly, "Sir, please pay attention to your manners!"
The official had wanted to quietly adjust his pants but did not expect to be seen by the imperial censor. He could only look at his nose and his heart. After the imperial censor left, he glanced at the few people who were squatting and chatting under a tree not far away. An indescribable bitterness rose in his heart.
This time, Old General Xue did not engage in a verbal battle with Old General Ma. He sighed and said, "What is Her Highness thinking?"
The Her Highness he was referring to was naturally the Eldest Princess.
The incident at the academy had caused a commotion. Countless people in court were waiting to see her make a fool of herself, but she seemed to have completely forgotten about it. She had not done anything in the past few days. The family of generals had wanted to help, but she had rejected them.
A red-faced old general thought for a moment and said, "Her Highness has always had her own ideas. I believe we will know in court today."
Due to their special status, the family of generals maintained a distant relationship with all the princes. However, the Eldest Princess was different. She was a woman, and even if she was close to the family of generals, it would not attract criticism. Moreover, the family of generals and the Princess Residence were closely connected in terms of interests. They were bound together for good or ill. Even if they put aside their feelings, they would naturally pay attention to her matters.
In recent days, the Emperor, who was ill, had almost handed over all the political affairs to the Minister of State to handle. However, every once in a while, he would still hold a morning court session to ensure that he would not be too distant from the political affairs.
The flood of the two provinces was still an extremely important matter. How to control the flood, how to properly settle the refugees, and how to rebuild after the disaster were all important matters for the imperial court. There would be news coming from the frontlines almost every day.
However, the disaster this time was obviously different from the previous years. The original method could not be used, and the situation was not optimistic.
After a round of recommendation by the court officials, the Emperor re-selected officials who were good at controlling the flood. This matter was temporarily put aside. The focus of the debate in the court shifted to another matter.
The establishment of the Eldest Princess's academy could be said to be closely affecting the hearts of many courtiers.
Regardless of their intentions, there was no doubt that countless people were concerned about the progress of this matter.
Emperor Jing looked down and said faintly, "Liu Dayou, tell me, how is the establishment of the academy going?"
This caused many people in the court to be slightly stunned.
The name Liu Dayou was unfamiliar to them.
Although there were many officials in the imperial court and it was impossible for them to know all of them, it was not to the extent that they had never heard of their names.
This could only be blamed on the position of the Magistrate of the Capital City. It was not big, but it was not small either. In the local area, it was already the head of a county. In the Capital City, it was wandering on the edge of the court. It was not even qualified to be noticed by some people.
Of course, what surprised them was not this unfamiliar official, but the establishment of the academy. It was clearly the Eldest Princess who had undertaken the task. Where did this "Liu Dayou" come from?
Seeing a person coming out from the back, many people were already thinking about something.
However, some people still faintly revealed expressions of ridicule and disdain on their faces. From their point of view, this kind of matter was simply impossible. This was because the establishment of the academy would not only involve the capital, but also the entire Jing Kingdom. Even the national treasury would not be able to take out so much silver.
Liu Dayou stepped forward and said respectfully, "Your Majesty, so far, a total of more than 500,000 taels of silver has been raised. Thirteen academies in the Capital City are already under construction."
500,000 taels of silver. This number still made many people's hearts skip a beat.
This was not a small number. Everyone knew that when the Ministry of Rites raised money, they hit a wall at every turn. Not to mention 500,000 taels of silver, they could not even raise 5,000 taels of silver. In just a few days, where did this 500,000 taels of silver come from?
They heard clearly that Liu Dayou said "raise money", which meant that this money was not allocated by the national treasury. Where did they raise it from?
Their doubts did not last long. Liu Dayou had already continued.
"Most of these 500,000 taels of silver were donated by the merchants in the Capital City. I have already followed Your Majesty's instructions and ordered people to build a stone tablet. Once the academy is built, the stone tablet with the names of the donors will be erected in front of the academy, so that the students and the people will remember their contributions to the academy …"
As Liu Dayou spoke slowly, the expressions of many officials in the imperial court changed from confusion and astonishment to shock and fear.
How, how could such a thing happen?
Those people were only lowly merchants. What right did they have to carve their names on the tablet for the students and the people to revere and pass down from generation to generation?
And after today, what would the people of the world think of them?
Even merchants knew to contribute to the country. How could they, the aristocratic families that had been passed down from generation to generation, not know?
One had to know that, unlike the ordinary officials in the imperial court, the reputation of their families had been accumulated bit by bit. They loved the people and were kind and charitable … They had accumulated bit by bit over decades.
With that stone tablet erected in front of the academy, the reputation and fame that they had painstakingly accumulated was all gone.
Bah, what aristocratic families? They were not even as good as merchants. How would they have the face to call themselves aristocratic families in the future?
In particular, the true aristocratic families were able to stand for hundreds of years without falling. They relied on the terrifying reputation that they had accumulated over a long period of time. If even their reputation was gone, and they had even abandoned the trust of the people and the aristocratic families, no matter how large a family was, it would still be at the end of its road.
This simple stone tablet had left these aristocratic families with no other choice.
Donate, they had to donate!
Lost money could be earned again, but lost reputation was irreversible.
Of course, some people's choices were very simple, while others were more difficult.
For example, the officials of the Ministry of Rites had visited …
If they didn't donate, they would definitely be reviled by the people. If the merchants donated, the other aristocratic families would also donate, which would expose them. In the future, would they still have a foothold in the Capital City and the Jing Kingdom?
Donate, how much should they donate? They had previously donated dozens or hundreds of taels of silver, and even had a very unpleasant relationship with the officials of the Ministry of Rites. If they went up to donate again with a straight face, how would they have any face left?
Even if they donated, they wouldn't have much face left. It was obviously a remedial measure, which would make people despise them even more.
So here came the problem.
Should they donate or not?
At this moment, they had never hated the officials of the Ministry of Rites so much.
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