Chapter 144 Want to make a bet?Yun Chuhuan opened the box and showed it to Yun Shu: "My gift is this box. If the Crown Prince and Concubine Shen need anything, they can use it to store something!" Yun Shu: “…” Wonderful! As expected of Yun Chuhuan, he was even more perfunctory than she had imagined! Yun Shu sighed softly and gave him a thumbs up with emotion: "Yes, this box can hold both small change and some jewelry. It can be used by both the Crown Prince and Concubine Shen. You really took the trouble!" "right?" Yun Chuhuan closed the box again proudly: "I chopped this with an axe myself yesterday, and then spent half a day whittling it with a knife!" An axe, a knife, and eight-year-old Yun Chuhuan. No wonder this box is so ugly yet so distinctive! He clenched his fist into a fist and put it against his lips, hiding the smile that he couldn't hold back. Yun Shu turned her head and lifted the curtain hanging on the carriage window. She just happened to hear people outside discussing what she wanted to hear the most at the moment - "Tiezhu! Tiezhu, wait a minute. I have something to ask you! Have you heard about the new commercial tax?"
"The court just issued a new commercial tax. There are officials at the city gate reading it out!" The man named Tiezhu picked up two baskets of chickens and ducks. Hearing this, he turned around and said: "But that has nothing to do with farmers like us who sell our own chickens and ducks to make a little money. Merchants are required to go to the government office to register themselves!" "Wrong, wrong, it's not the government office, it's the Beijing Chamber of Commerce!" When the person who was speaking in front heard this, he knew that Tiezhu must not have gone to the teahouse to listen to the latest issue of Beijing Weekly yesterday, and he quickly corrected him cheerfully: "And that has a lot to do with us farmers!" "What do you mean?" Tiezhu paused, and a hint of anxiety appeared on his sun-tanned face: "Do we have to hand over the few copper coins we earn to the imperial court?" "What? We depend on this little money to survive!" The people around who were also not particularly familiar with the new business tax heard Tiezhu's loud voice and hurriedly came over to ask: "The court really wants to take our money? We have to go to that Chamber of Commerce..." "No, no, no, that's not what I mean!" The person who spoke earlier saw that everyone had misunderstood, so he quickly explained: “I say it is related because once the new commercial tax is implemented, the profits that those high-ranking officials and aristocratic families have obtained by occupying farmers’ land will have to be handed over to the court! And the more they encroach, the more they have to hand over! You say that those noble families have occupied our land but have not gained any benefit. Then, will there be fewer and fewer cases of forced occupation in the future? " "That's for sure!" The iron column reacts fastest: "Why do such a thankless task? Is your news true or false? When I passed by the city gate yesterday, I didn't hear the officer who read the imperial edict say these things!" "This is not written in the imperial edict, it was written by Princess Saint Ann in the Capital Weekly!" Among the passers-by, some who also knew about this matter mentioned it in passing: "I heard that Princess Saint Ann is now an official and is now the president of the Chamber of Commerce!"
"Isn't Princess Saint Ann a woman?" When this news came out, everyone was even more surprised than when they heard about the new business tax: "Women can also be officials?" "What are you talking about?" Unexpectedly, the person who spoke out in rebuttal this time turned out to be an iron pillar. He stood tall and majestic among a group of people, his voice as loud as a bell: “We in the Tiansheng Dynasty even had a female emperor, so why can’t we have female officials? Besides, how many good things has Princess Saint Ann done for us ordinary people? My son can now go to school for education, my wife can work and earn money at the Tianwaitian Restaurant, and we don’t have to worry about our land being stolen in the future. All these good things are brought to us by Princess Saint Ann! I, Li Tiezhu, don't understand any great principles, I only know that Princess Sheng Ann has done me a favor. If she becomes an official, I, Li Tiezhu, will be the first to support her!" "That's right! As long as it can make our lives better and better, it doesn't matter if she's a male or female official. The most important thing is that she has to be a good official!" Thanks to Yun Shu's tireless brainwashing of everyone through the Beijing Weekly over the past few months, instilling the idea that "women can also hold up half the sky", as well as the tangible benefits she brought to ordinary people, This group of people were very receptive to the news that Yun Shu had become an official. Yun Chuhuan's eyes widened at the simple praises: "This is too impressive! Fifth sister, you lied to me before and said that almost all the civil and military officials in the court were against you becoming an official. I see that there is clearly no one who opposes it!" "Officials are different from ordinary people." Yun Shu pushed Yun Chuhuan's head aside and pointed at a scholar walking by not far away: "Want a bet?" "What are you gambling?" The penniless Sixth Prince suddenly stood up: "Silver?" "Silver is fine." Yun Shu nodded: "One hundred taels, I bet that scholar is the one who opposes me." "Then I bet he isn't!" Fearing that Yun Shu would go back on his word, Yun Chuhuan agreed without hesitation and then started to show off with great joy: "Fifth sister, you just said that officials are different from ordinary people, but this scholar is an ordinary person! And the feather pen printing technology and cheap paper you invented are also very beneficial to him, Fifth Sister. I don't believe he can still oppose you?" "A bunch of ignorant fools!" Almost at the moment when Yun Chuhuan finished speaking, the scholar happened to walk to the side of the crowd, looking angry: "What do you mean male and female officials are not important? Men and women are different and have their own roles. Men build careers and earn money to support the family, while women bear children and take care of household chores. This is a natural thing. This has been true since ancient times! Today, Princess Sheng'an is able to enter the court. Then tomorrow, will women also be able to take part in the imperial examinations? As a woman, she was hanging out in a court full of men. It was fine for the princess, after all, she was of noble status. But if she were an ordinary woman, after she behaved like this, which man would dare to marry her? Ridiculous! Absurd indeed! " "You're ridiculous!"
The slap in the face came so quickly that not only did the hundred taels he had earned disappear, but he also owed Yun Shu another hundred taels. Yun Chuhuan poked his head out of the window in frustration and roared at the top of his voice: "What's wrong with women taking the imperial examinations? What's wrong with women becoming officials? You are obviously afraid that you won't be able to pass the imperial examination as a woman, so you are barking here! A loser like you won’t be able to pass the exam even without a girl! What do you mean by men and women having their own roles? If you really want to have your own roles, you should be staying in the toilet!"