Reborn as the Crippled King's Beloved
Chapter 454: Why Hasn’t the Empress Dowager Feng’s Decree Come Down Yet?

Chapter 454: Chapter 454: Why Hasn’t the Empress Dowager Feng’s Decree Come Down Yet?

After seeing Yun Miao off through the palace gates, Murong Jiu turned around and saw Jun Yuyan, dressed in plain bright yellow.

She smiled and walked towards him, "When did you arrive? Have you been waiting long?"

"Just got here."

Jun Yuyan reached out to take her hand and noticed it was a bit cold.

"Why didn’t you bring a hand warmer?"

"The sun is so nice, what do I need a hand warmer for? I just stood in a shaded place for a while. Once I’m in the sun, my whole body will warm up."

The sun in spring was extremely gentle.

Jun Yuyan took her hand and walked into the sunlight. Since their ascension to the throne, both had been extremely busy—the funeral rites for the Former Emperor, the court politics, the placement of the palace women—there were endless matters big and small.

It was rare to have a moment like this, with the two holding hands in the quiet amidst the vermilion walls, bathing in the sunlight. Without speaking, it was a rare moment of leisure.

The palace maids and eunuchs couldn’t help but smile when they saw this scene.

At first, they too were tremulous, afraid that with the New Emperor’s ascension, they, the old servants, would be dealt with, just like in the previous reign. When the Former Emperor passed away, half of the palace staff were used for burial sacrifices; they had to die even if they didn’t want to.

But the New Emperor and Empress were magnanimous and merciful. They didn’t let anyone die in sacrifice for the Former Emperor and even allowed those of age who were willing to leave the palace to go.

The original age to leave the palace was set at twenty-six, but the Empress shifted it to twenty-two, so many palace maids happily left the palace instead of wasting their best years there.

Some had nowhere to go, without family or support. Even after leaving the palace, they’d still be slaving for others; they might as well stay in the palace, where at least their monthly wages were higher.

Eunuchs without roots would be even less likely to leave the palace, unless they’d saved enough silver to afford their retirement. Otherwise, after leaving the palace, they’d face not only a lack of family to support them in old age but also discrimination.

Those who wished to leave, did so. Those who remained did so willingly.

As for the spies and informants of others, they had all been caught by Su Kai and sent out of the palace.

There were some who hid well, but it didn’t matter. There weren’t so many masters in the palace anymore, and the New Emperor, Empress, Young Prince, and Little Princess were all guarded by experts. Any spy bold enough to make even the slightest move would end up with no place to bury their corpse.

The Former Emperor’s women, aside from Consort Dowager Qi and a few old people from the Former Emperor’s residence who did not wish to leave, none wanted to stay.

The women who could enter the imperial harem were mostly beautiful and once dreamed of being the sole favorite of the harem. Unfortunately, even the Former Emperor didn’t manage to be fair and impartial; many beauties were forgotten.

They thought they would fade away unremembered in the palace, dying of old age with no one knowing, because once you entered the palace, leaving was harder than reaching the skies.

Who would have known that the first decree issued by the New Emperor was to encourage the remarriage of widows, starting with the Imperial Family? All the Former Emperor’s women could leave the palace and remarry. They were overjoyed, hastily packing their belongings and leaving, fearful that the imperial decree might change if they hesitated even a moment.

Even the women from the Cold Palace were all released.

The women were happy, but countless officials in court opposed it.

For women, their reputation was more important than the heavens, a deeply ingrained concept that had been around since ancient times, rooted in everyone’s hearts. How could the Imperial Family set such an example, encouraging widows to remarry?

However big the uproar was in court, within a few days, the noise had greatly diminished.

Because there were more disagreements to argue about in court politics, encouraging widows to remarry seemed indeed less important compared to state affairs.

So why did Jun Yuyan encourage widows to remarry?

Over the years, the preference for boys over girls had become too severe, leading to more men than women and an excess of bachelors. Moreover, with frequent wars in recent years and soldiers dying in battle, many widows were left behind. These women, unless their husband’s family spoke up, couldn’t leave and were doomed to serve their husband’s family for life, working like oxen and horses. Those with children at least had some hope, but for those without children, their situation was quite miserable. If they could not endure the loneliness and were discovered, they faced the fate of being drowned.

Women are not born to be mere appendages to men; they may voluntarily remain faithful to the men they love, but they also possess the right to refuse.

The imperial decree issued by Jun Yuyan granted them that right.

Of course, customs could not be reversed overnight, and it was possible that those in remote and isolated areas would completely disregard this. But one had to start somewhere good, so that in the future, things could move in a better direction.

Speaking of which, though there were fewer masters in the palace, the reduced number of palace maids and eunuchs did not cause any problems.

Each palace and each department performed their duties. Once they had finished their tasks, they could rest in designated areas. They were relieved of much burden compared to before; work was done faster, psychological stress was gone, and there was no more constant fear of being punished by masters. Everyone’s spirits were much improved and full of vitality.

Therefore, they genuinely respected and loved the new Emperor and Empress.

Seeing the Emperor and Empress walking hand in hand, all of them showed knowing smiles.

Accustomed to the warmth and coldness of palace relations, it now truly seemed different.

...

"Hua Ping, do you think they don’t take me seriously? Even Murong Jiu became the Empress, and no one consulted me. Well, considering she bore twins for me, I can let her be the Empress. But since their entry into the palace, they haven’t come to pay their respects to me even once. Does Murong Jiu not come to greet me out of respect for her mother-in-law?"

Consort Dowager Qi said through gritted teeth, inwardly fuming with anger.

Upon the death of the Former Emperor, she was moved to the palace where the Consort Dowager lived. Back then, things happened so suddenly, she was too worried that Jun Yuyan wouldn’t be able to claim the throne, too anxious to care about her residence.

But to her surprise, she had been living in the Consort Dowager’s Palace for several days without hearing a peep.

Her son had become the Emperor, and she was the rightful Empress Dowager, yet the Emperor delayed issuing the imperial decree. She could only fret internally, growing increasingly dissatisfied.

Hua Ping was her personal attendant and naturally understood what she was thinking.

"Your Majesty, it’s only a matter of time before you become the Empress Dowager. The Emperor is your own flesh and blood; the bond of kinship is indelible. You just need to temper your temper a bit, otherwise, you will only drift further apart."

Consort Dowager Qi snorted coldly, "You’ve grown bolder now, daring to comment on my temper. Are you suggesting that I brought today’s situation upon myself?"

"This servant wouldn’t dare. Please do not be angry. If you get more upset, you’ll get blisters on your mouth. Your Majesty, I have something I wish to tell you today," the attendant said.

Consort Dowager Qi raised an eyebrow, impatiently saying, "What is it? Out with it!"

Her heart was still upset by Jun Yuyan and Murong Jiu, and she was not in a good mood, hence the harsh tone.

"This servant has reached the age to leave the palace, so I’m preparing to go. I hope Your Majesty will take good care of yourself."

Consort Dowager Qi’s usually pampered face cracked upon hearing this.

"What did you say? You want to leave the palace? Weren’t you the one who said your family was poor and could barely make ends meet, that your parents and relatives didn’t care about you, and that you could only enter the palace to earn a living, saving silver for old age? Why do you suddenly want to leave now, and what will you do with the little silver you’ve saved?"