After the emperor read her mind, the salted fish concubine effortlessly won the title of empress.

Chapter 94 Relying on the Pei Family

Shen Shixi thought for a moment and said, "The imperial court controls ironware based on two needs: first, to prioritize the production of weapons; and second, because iron is a strategic resource, its control must be strengthened."

Currently, another weakness is the outdated iron smelting technology, leading to a supply shortage. The Emperor only needs to address the root cause: control iron mines and establish a monopoly on ironware. The reason the common people lack ironware is not due to excessive government control, but rather because they cannot purchase it.

The reason they couldn't buy them was because there wasn't a supply of ironware.

We're still living in an era where we use bellows to supply oxygen and heat the iron, and wield sledgehammers to forge iron.

There are three kinds of suffering in the world: rowing a boat, blacksmithing, and selling tofu.

There aren't many blacksmiths, and the demand is huge, so naturally the supply can't keep up.

She turned around, cupped Li Yuanke's face and kissed him. "There should be progress with Li Yuanyin. Build a large furnace to make ironware, just like his blast furnace. Try making civilian ironware first. If it works well, it can be used for weapons."

"Xi'er is so smart!" Li Yuanke understood the supply and demand concept in her words, and in a moment of excitement, he pressed her down on the couch.

Seeing this, everyone inside the hall quickly left and closed the door.

Soon after, inappropriate sounds came from inside, mixed with Shen Shixi's cursing, "Li Yuanke, you bastard, I'm exhausted today, and you still won't let me sleep."

"I'm going to sleep soon, let me sleep first!"

"No~, mmm~, ah~"

Shen Shixi pounded on his shoulder, but it was too late. Her legs were forced to wrap around his waist. Fortunately, he still knew to protect her head and prevent it from hitting the wall.

Afterwards, Li Yuanke carried her to the hot spring. Fearing that Li Yuanke would drag her along again, Shen Shixi kept her distance from him. After washing, she quickly climbed back up and returned to her bedchamber.

Li Yuanke was both annoyed and amused by this.

He never let anyone serve him when he bathed. After he finished, he put on his clothes and returned to his bedchamber. Shen Shixi had already rolled into a corner and was asleep. He picked her up, held her in his arms, and fell into a deep sleep, smelling her fragrance.

Shen Xianzhang didn't sleep; he spent the night organizing his daughter's words, and the more he read them, the more insightful he found them.

Therefore, when he opens the academy in the future, he plans to cultivate talents in three aspects: classics, mathematics, and the study of things.

Shen Xianzhang learned about the science of investigating things from his daughter. From a young age, she liked to tinker with strange and unusual things. Most remarkably, she even helped Li Yuanke modify a crossbow.

Although it was just a suggestion, it was remarkable that it was put into practice.

The Zhou dynasty's arrows had a range that was twenty or thirty paces longer, which was of great significance.

However, some things will inevitably encounter many obstacles when they are done. Shen Xianzhang envisioned the future imperial examination system and the application of talents. This needed to form a complete system and the feasibility of implementation also needed to be considered.

This will inevitably provoke strong opposition from powerful families and clans, who currently control education and the imperial examination system.

Children of ordinary people had no way to even get books, let alone study.

Books are also incredibly expensive; even if you have the money, you can't necessarily buy them—they're monopolized.

The next morning, the court reported that Zhou Yongyu's affair had been investigated. His fiancée was the illegitimate daughter of the Empress's cousin, and he was keeping a mistress in Tianshuijing Lane whose child was already three months old.

"That woman was originally a musician and was not qualified to be a concubine for Young Master Zhou. I asked her and if she was willing, Master could help her find a way to get the Zhou family to accept her, as long as she was willing to cooperate."

"This servant acted on my own initiative; please punish me, Master!"

"You did a good job. In an emergency, you should act expediently. Arrange for people to protect the mother and child and take them to the Zhou family's residence. Have them kneel at the gate and plead their case. Also, have someone go and tell my father to impeach the Zhou family in court and make this a big deal."

"Yes, this servant will find someone to take care of it right away."

Shen Shixi then instructed, "You don't need to hide my affairs from His Majesty."

Dealing with this matter took a little time, so I won't be able to train today. After having breakfast, Shen Shixi went to Fengyi Palace to pay her respects.

She wasn't the last one to arrive today, but seeing her made everyone feel bad. As a concubine, she was able to go back to her parents' home to visit her family. Who wouldn't be jealous?

But this is the grace of the Emperor, and not everyone can obtain it.

Shen Shixi is the only one who can go back.

The Empress arrived, and everyone bowed to her, saying, "Greetings to Your Majesty the Empress!"

Today is the first morning greeting since the Mid-Autumn Festival, and Madam Song has arrived.

The Empress then asked, "Consort Song, how is your sister?"

"Your Majesty, the imperial physician comes to check my pulse every day, and my sister's health is improving day by day. I expect that she will be able to pay her respects to Your Majesty soon." Consort Song was very courteous.

"Whether she pays her respects to me or not is unimportant; what's important is that she recovers." The Empress then asked Shen Shixi, "Yuan Jieyu returned to her parents' home yesterday. Is everything alright there?"

Lin Guiyou muttered, "But she's the only one who can go back. She's only been in the palace for a few days. She can't stay in the palace. She shouldn't have gone in the first place."

Shen Shixi glanced at her and replied to the Empress, "Thank you for your concern, Your Majesty. Everyone else in the family is well, except for my third sister."

What do you mean?

Not only is he favored in the palace, but does he also want to bring his sister into the palace?

The Empress shared this thought; she didn't want another member of the Shen family to enter, and hurriedly asked, "What's wrong?"

"The only son of Censor-in-Chief Zhou Anmo, Zhou Yongyu, defamed my concubine's cousin and wanted to forcibly marry her as his concubine's secondary wife. I heard that Zhou Yongyu's fiancée is also the Empress's cousin, who was born out of wedlock. He must be relying on the Empress's family to dare to be so audacious as to want my legitimate sister to be his concubine."

My poor sister is so young; she's never seen such cruelty. She almost lost her life because of a belt. When I got back and saw the marks on her neck, my heart ached!

Shen Shixi can cry on cue; this ability of hers is suited to be a movie queen. She has had it since she was a child, and it never fails her.

The beauty shed tears, and this was a woman who had always been very strong; she actually softened everyone's hearts with her tears.

The Empress was furious. "Consort Yuan, you mustn't talk nonsense! This is a matter for the Zhou family. What does it have to do with my Pei family?"

Shen Shixi cried, "What kind of down-and-out family is the Zhou family? Although my grandfather is gone, it has only been two years since he passed away. Does that mean all the old kinship is gone and the Zhou family has the right to bully us?"

But who could blame them when the Zhou family had two good in-laws? Song Jieyu's mother was Zhou Yongyu's aunt, and he was also engaged to the Pei family. Otherwise, how dare they openly bully and humiliate my Shen family's daughter!

No one would be willing to let this go so easily.

Consort De was overjoyed to see Shen Shixi finally face off against the Empress. She was truly glad that she had come to pay her respects today.

She was pregnant, so she shouldn't have come to pay her respects. But if she didn't come for a long time, she wouldn't be able to get some important information.

I still have to come here every now and then.

This opportunity will not be missed.

"Seeing Consort Yuan, one can imagine how outstanding the Shen family's daughter is, but using such methods is truly despicable. Your Majesty, what is the Pei family's intention in this matter?" Consort De chimed in.

The Empress had no idea about this, and when she was asked about it, she became very passive.

"I only just learned of this matter myself. If what Consort Yuan said is true, and the Zhou family's young master is so despicable, then even if my Pei family's daughter cannot get married, she will not agree to this marriage with the Zhou family."

However, Consort Yuan is known for her ability to turn black into white, so it's unclear whether this is true or if there's more to the story.

They were practically saying Shen Shixi was slanderous.

(Here it comes! I'll update first before doing anything else, otherwise I'll feel like something's missing. Enjoy reading! (づ￣ 3￣)づ)