chapter 2
The Chancellor had been the one to place the Empress on the throne.
Yet in the span of a few short days, his wife had been forced to slap herself, his son had been called filthy, and the wedding had been postponed. The old man was so heartbroken that he immediately fell ill.
The Empress expressed her concern and, while she was at it, took all affairs of state back into her own hands.
The Chancellor was shocked but gratified. Then his illness worsened so dramatically overnight that he could no longer leave his bed or attend morning court.
Something about it felt wrong.
…
Salt and iron were the foundations of the realm. With salt running short across the provinces, the Minister of Revenue spoke at great length in morning court.
When it was the Empress’s turn to answer, the Minister of Works cut her off with, “Your Majesty has spent too long within the women’s quarters to understand such matters.”
No one would have been so insolent while the Chancellor was present.
The Empress rested her cheek on one hand and listened in silence for a long while. Then she asked how I would record this page.
I wrote:
[The Empress does not wish to speak. The Empress believes every one of you is talking out of his ass.]
The court fell silent. Both ministers stared at me in disbelief.
The Empress’s gaze sharpened as she rose from the dragon throne.
“The capital is nearly out of salt. One of you proposes lowering the salt tax, the other building new salt fields, yet neither says a word about the rampant illegal trade.”
“Do you take me for blind, or has all the money gone into your own pockets?”
The illegal salt trade had defied every dynasty’s attempts to stamp it out. Too many interests were entangled behind it. While Father was alive, he had warned me not to ask questions.
Now the Chancellor was absent, and the Empress dared expose the conflict openly. Was she not being too rash?
After court, I worried over it until I finally told her a story.
“When I was little, Father gave me a wolf cub. It was the smallest in its pack, so I fed it meat every day and protected it.”
“When it disobeyed, I shut it outside and let the other wolves bully it. After suffering a few times, it learned who its master was.”
“Your Majesty, a wolf caught in the game never realizes it is being manipulated.”
The Empress looked up from her couch. She was beautiful without being coy, and something indescribably alluring lived in her smile.
“Yuqing, if I was never a wolf to begin with, then I have no need to concern myself with their games.”
I pondered her words for a long time and still did not understand.
If she was not a wolf, what was she?
…
A few days later, the Empress handed the Minister of Works a method for distilling and purifying sea salt and ordered him to arrange trials.
The writing was unfamiliar and the implements unlike anything we had seen. Could anyone truly make it work?
The minister looked troubled. “Your Majesty has lived too long in seclusion to know that salt extracted from seawater is coarse and unfit for use.”
The Empress glanced at me. I immediately wrote:
[The Minister of Works despises the Empress from the bottom of his heart.]
His face went white. Clutching the paper, he retreated. “This official meant no such thing! I will make the arrangements at once!”
The Empress nodded, satisfied.
Seven days passed without progress. When questioned, the minister sighed that he had sent people to do it, but the raw materials were still on the road.
Another seven days passed. The materials had arrived, but the tools had not.
A month later, everything was finally prepared, only for the workers to catch cold. After several months, no one mentioned the matter at all.
How could an assignment personally given by the Empress be brushed aside so lightly?
Just as I was growing indignant, astonishing news swept the capital. Someone had perfected the method. The refined salt was remarkably pure, and production had increased tenfold.
The genius responsible was none other than Wei Yu, the Minister of Works’ wife.
When the minister next appeared in the imperial study, he was trembling with excitement.
“This subject has fulfilled his charge! After laboring day and night, I have perfected the method of refining sea salt. In all the world, if I rank second in salt production, no man dares claim first!”
The Empress sipped her tea and looked at me.
I wrote at once:
[The Minister of Works is talking out of his ass.]
He froze, his old face shifting from green to red.
“To serve the realm, this subject would gladly sacrifice his life!”
I added:
[The Minister of Works enjoys stealing credit.]
The study went silent.
Wei Yu was soon summoned to the palace. The Empress regarded her with approval.
“You come from a distinguished family, and your intelligence is no less than any man’s.”
Wei Yu’s eyes reddened. Before she could answer, her husband cut in.
“It is my lowly wife’s good fortune to serve Your Majesty! I have always maintained strict discipline at home. Under my guidance, every woman of my household is virtuous and obedient.”
The Empress forced out a cold laugh. “Minister, does your mouth ever get tired?”
His expression stiffened, and he knelt obediently.
The Empress rewarded Wei Yu lavishly and praised her brilliance, never sparing the minister another glance. As they were leaving, he cast the Empress a resentful look.
My brush moved at once.
[The Minister of Works is insatiably greedy.]
He shuddered and abandoned every further hope.
The Empress suddenly spoke. “Look at me. I almost forgot something.”
“What is your name?”
Flattered beyond belief, Lady Wei knelt and answered softly.
“Wei Yu, is it? That day, I gave the salt-refining method to both you and your husband. He squandered the chance. You seized it.”
“Now I will give you another.”
“I intend to establish a Salt Bureau in the capital. You will direct its affairs with the rank of a fourth-grade official. Do you dare accept?”
Every person in the room stared.
…
I could hardly believe the Empress had entrusted something so important to Wei Yu.
Completely at ease, the Empress told me, “Do you know this? Women who become leaders are often more ambitious than men. They work harder, hold themselves to higher standards, remain more loyal, and are more willing to keep learning throughout their lives.”
“Women are not incapable. The age they live in has merely chained their feet.”