Chapter 487 Women's Rights (Special thanks to the book friend Xiang Wang Zi Zai for his six monthly tickets!)

Chai Zongxun smiled and said:
“That being said, as long as the government is well governed, even though Fusang is geographically poor, it will not be a problem to ensure that the local people have enough food and drink.

In the future, the land of Fusang will still need to be enfeoffed as a vassal king by the emperor's son to guard it."

After lunch, the concubines played go and chatted with Empress Dowager Fu, while Chai Zongxun walked back to the palace for a nap.

After taking a nap for about an hour in the Qingshou Hall, Chai Zongxun got up and went to the Yangxin Hall.

When he entered the hall, Zhang Qixian, Xiang Minzhong and Chai were already standing respectfully in the hall waiting.

Chai Zongxun looked at Chai, whom he had never seen before. He saw that she should be less than 30 years old, with a bright and beautiful face and a gentle temperament.

After the greeting, Chai Zongxun casually asked Chai a few questions, confirming that she had no relatives with the royal family, and then said:

“Chai, don’t be alarmed.

Although you are not a member of the royal family, you are still my "relative", and I will never let you suffer any injustice!

Whatever you want in your heart, just tell me directly."

Chai was overjoyed and thanked him:

"Thank you very much, Your Majesty, for your mercy."

Chai Zongxun nodded slightly, looked at Zhang Qixian and Xiang Minzhong, and said:

"I have heard about what happened between you.

Although remarriage is a common human nature, both Zhang Aiqing and Xiang Aiqing are important officials in the court. If the two men fight for one woman, it will drag on for a long time and cause countless disputes among the people. It is ultimately not conducive to the dignity of the court. "

The three of them bowed and apologized. Zhang Qixian and Xiang Minzhong said in unison:
"We were foolish and disturbed Your Majesty with our personal affairs. We are guilty of death!"

Chai Zongxun said:

"Lord Zhang, I heard that you and Madam Chai are in love and are planning to get married again?"

Zhang Qixian and Chai in the hall looked at each other and said:

"Your Majesty, both Madam Chai and I are widows, and we get along well. We do intend to remarry."

Chai also nodded in agreement.

Chai Zongxun looked at Xiang Minzhong and said:

"My dear Xiang, did Xue Weiji's second son privately negotiate with you to give you the Xue family's ancestral home and all its treasures, calligraphy and paintings for 200,000 taels, along with your stepmother Chai?"

Xiang Minzhong said:

"Your Majesty, Xue Weiji's two sons are both useless and addicted to gambling.

After their father's death, the two of them had been spending money like water in the opera houses in Bianjing every day. Sooner or later, they would squander all the ancestral fortune of the Xue family.

I think of the Xue family, from Xue Juzheng to Xue Weizhi, two generations of officials, who had a rich collection. It would be a pity if Xue Weizhi's two sons sold it at such a low price and used it for gambling.

So he couldn't resist the two men's pleading and agreed to the deal."

Chai said boldly:

"Your Majesty, this is a deal that my two step-sons secretly reached with Minister Xiang without telling me, and I have no say in it.

When my husband passed away, he knew that his two sons were useless and addicted to gambling, so he specifically instructed me to give him a dowry of 100,000 taels of silver and his family property to ensure that I would have a worry-free life in the future. Moreover, according to the laws of our Great Zhou, widows and slaves have personal autonomy and can remarry with their own property. How can my two step-sons decide whether I can remarry or buy and sell my property? "

Chai Zongxun smiled and said:
"My dear minister, you said it very well! You are indeed a member of my family, brave and resourceful!
This is exactly the fact. The two good-for-nothing and rebellious sons of the Xue family, who were addicted to gambling, dared to secretly buy and sell the ancestral property and secretly arrange for their stepmother to remarry?
This is really unreasonable! "

When Xiang Minzhong heard this, he was immediately disappointed to see that the emperor did not support him. At the same time, he was worried about the money that he had already paid half to the Xue brothers.

Chai Zongxun continued:
"When Chai was in the Xue family, she was a virtuous woman and was loved by Xue Huaiji. The family property left to her is what she deserves!
What is there to be jealous of these two rebellious sons of the Xue family?
This matter is up to Chai herself. As long as Chai is willing to take her property and remarry, let it be, and no one can stop her. "

Chai and Zhang Qixian were both very happy. After the three of them bowed deeply to Chai Zongxun to express their gratitude, they left the hall together.

Shortly after leaving the palace, Xiang Minzhong sent his servants to the "Taiye Lake" in the north of the city to find the Xue brothers who were lingering there listening to music, and brought them to Xiang's mansion.

After greeting each other in the main hall of the front courtyard of the Xiang Mansion and sitting down as host and guest, Xiang Minzhong frowned and said:
"My two dear nephews, according to the laws of our Great Zhou, a widow can take her private property and remarry on her own accord, but I, the Shangshu, have been fooled by you two!
He even swore that Chai was determined to marry this minister as his second wife and defrauded this minister of a huge sum of money!

For the sake of Governor Xue, I will not go too far. As long as you return half of the deposit, this matter will be over!"

The Xue brothers looked at each other, speechless for a long time.

Xiang Minzhong said unhappily:

"Why, don't you two nephews know that His Majesty already knows about this? If it weren't for my mediation, His Majesty would have punished us long ago!"

Seeing that he couldn't escape, the eldest of the Xue brothers said with a pale face:

"Xiang... Xiang Sir, it's not that my brother and I don't want to return the money, it's really... it's really that we have spent 60,000 taels of silver in these days!"

Xiang Minzhong was angry and amused, and said:
"You are truly the "good sons" of Governor Xue! It's only been over a month, and you two have already gambled away more than 60,000 taels?!"

The Xue brothers looked at each other and said awkwardly:
"Master Xiang, these 60,000 taels were not all gambled away by my brother. A lot of them were for other expenses, and my brother did not spend them recklessly..."

Xiang Minzhong said angrily:

"No use for wasting money? It seems like you two brothers think spending money is a skill!

Now that His Majesty has spoken, allowing Chai to remarry with her private property, it would be fine if the two of you return all the 100,000 silver taels to this Minister.

If you can't return it, you two have cheated and deceived, and dared to defraud a huge amount of money from the officials of the court. As the Minister of Justice, I dare not bend the law for personal gain!"

After Xiang Minzhong finished speaking, he served tea to the guest.

The Xue brothers were horrified and wanted to ask Xiang Minzhong for more time, but they were driven out of the house by Xiang's servants.

More than half a month later, on New Year's Eve of the 36th year of Kaixi, Grand Tutor Zhang Qixian successfully married Chai as his second wife, and her 100,000 private properties were also brought into the Zhang Mansion as a dowry.

The Zhang family held a grand wedding banquet for six days, and more than 100,000 relatives and friends came to attend the banquet.

Emperor Chai Zongxun ordered the eunuch Zhen Wei to attend the banquet and gave him a famous painting called "Harmony of Zither and Se".

Under the coercion of the Minister of Justice Xiang Minzhong, the Xue brothers had to sell all the properties, fields, and shops left to them by their father Xue Weizhi. Finally, they returned the 2 taels of silver to Xiang Minzhong before the February deadline, thus avoiding disaster.

After this case gradually spread throughout the Great Zhou Dynasty, it was cited by judicial officials and juries across the country as a classic precedent for sentencing women to remarry.

When the women of the Great Zhou heard this and saw how Emperor Chai Zongxun protected women's personal freedom, rights and property, they were all extremely encouraged.

With this spirit, women in the Great Zhou Dynasty no longer accepted injustice in their daily lives. Instead, many of them took injustice to the government and the judiciary, thus starting a slow but continuous improvement in the status of women.

(End of this chapter)

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