SFL Chapter 16

Let’s put it this way, even if Mu Yunfeng becomes the emperor, there’s only one throne. But if he has more than one heir, it’s inevitable that his descendants will be part of the royal relatives.

When Mu Yunfeng was cutting down the expenses of the royal relatives from all aspects, did he consider this issue?

The emperor thought that Mu Yunfeng was still too young. Supporting the royal relatives was done to provide better living conditions for their descendants. Throughout history, every royal family had done so.

As for what Mu Yunfeng said about harming the imperial court’s order, it would indeed impose a burden on the court, but the main reason for the decline of an Empire was not the royal family.

“Father, I have considered this issue.” Mu Yunfeng replied.

“There is a saying from our ancestors: ‘If our descendants are as capable as us, why leave them money? The wise with too much wealth will damage their ambitions. And If our descendants are not as capable as us, why also do we leave them some money? The foolish with too much wealth will increase their faults.'”

“I think this saying makes sense, and I am ready to act upon it. I don’t want our Empire, which was built upon the support of the people, to be overthrown by the descendants of those people hundreds of years later.”

“Our dynasty is not at its end, and it’s even thriving. However, we cannot ignore the filth hidden beneath this prosperity. Otherwise, these things will eventually harm our royal family itself.”

The emperor looked at Mu Yunfeng and said, “You’ve said it all. What else can I say?”

“Since you are prepared for the extinction of your own bloodline among the common people, then I will grant your wish,” the emperor said.

He knew that he needed to play the role of the villain this time.

Mu Yunfeng had elevated the emperor’s reputation among the common people by raising this question, and now it was time for the emperor to contribute.

Rights and duties always came hand in hand.

As the emperor, he naturally understood the consequences of cutting the expenses of the royal family.

Although Mu Yunfeng was the one who raised this issue, the emperor didn’t intend to let him handle it personally. Instead, he was prepared to take full responsibility for this matter.

He’s the emperor. Even if those royal relatives hate him, they can’t do anything to him. However, Mu Yunfeng is different. This time, Mu Yunfeng has truly shaken the foundation of the royal relatives. It would be strange if those people didn’t join forces to tear him apart.

But thinking about the attempts of the Eldest Princess and other royal relatives to interfere in the succession of the throne, the emperor had no good feelings towards these blood-related relatives.

This incident served as a good lesson for them.

*

Two days later, several descendants of the royal relatives, driven by their desire to compete for the title of Flower House Courtesan, squandered money like it was water. This news reached the ears of a high-ranking imperial censor, who immediately submitted a memorial to the emperor.

Using this incident as a pretext, the emperor took direct action against almost all the royal relatives. He not only cut off the substantial funds they received year-round from the Ministry of Revenue but also stripped away their privileges and honor as royal relatives.

Most of the royal relatives were already far from matching the generations before them. They were like leeches, always ready to suck blood but rarely willing to contribute. When the emperor’s decree was issued, countless royal relatives felt like the sky was falling on their heads.

Many of them relied on subsidies from the Ministry of Revenue to make ends meet while indulging in extravagant pleasures. Now, they found themselves in a dire situation, and some even fell seriously ill. For a while, many renowned physicians in the capital were busy visiting various mansions.

This decree undoubtedly sent shockwaves throughout the entire capital. Aside from the disgruntled royal relatives, even the Ministry of Rites dispatched officials to persuade the emperor, arguing that his decision was unreasonable.

However, the emperor turned a deaf ear to the Ministry of Rites’ pleas. His eyes were fixed on the clear data presented by Mu Yunfeng, allowing him to see the consequences of the royal relatives’ continued expansion.

With the state providing for them, the most common activities of the royal relatives were eating, drinking, and reveling in leisure. As for their bloodlines, they were merely a byproduct of their extravagant lifestyles.

Given their status, as long as their offspring were born and survived, the Ministry of Revenue would allocate a share for them. In such an environment, the royal relatives could indulge in producing as many children as they pleased.

The emperor considered his own offspring as the legitimate heirs of the royal family. However, when combined, Mu Yunfeng’s few brothers didn’t even account for a fraction of the annual expenses of all those royal relatives.

Mu Yunfeng used data to make the emperor vividly see how the treasury had been impoverished in the past. Only then did he feel the pain and reluctance.

What contributions had those royal relatives made to the royal family that justified such a loss in feeding them? The emperor carefully thought about it and realized there were none.

Their biggest contribution might be spreading the bloodline of the royal family. However, as Mu Yunfeng pointed out, when a dynasty reached its end and it was time for a change of rule, having more descendants of the royal relatives wouldn’t be of much use.

The emperor fell into contemplation because of the enormous expenditure by the royal relatives. Due to the effective secrecy measures taken by the emperor, even those outside the palace were unaware that the three princes currently holding sway in the capital were the proponents of cutting down expenses for the royal relatives.

Due to their lack of knowledge, even the empress and Su Qianluo, who resided in the rear palace, began to worry.

The empress summoned Mu Yunfeng to the palace and couldn’t help but complain, “Why did your father issue this imperial edict? Now, in just a few generations, the lives of our descendants will be unbearable.”

Just thinking about it made the empress deeply concerned for her yet-to-be-born grandchildren.

Mu Yunfeng tried to persuade the empress with words he had used on the emperor, but as a woman, the empress wasn’t as rational. “Yunfeng, how can you think like this? You will have your own flesh and blood in the future. How can you bear to see them in such a state?”

“Mother, Father has only cut off most of the royal relatives’ expenses. He hasn’t severed their path to official careers. As members of the royal family, their background already surpasses that of over ninety percent of the population. If they can’t make something of themselves with these advantages, they might as well start over in their next lives.”

“To be honest, if my descendants turn out like most of the royal relatives, I’d personally want to break all their legs.” Mu Yunfeng said with a bitter smile.

It wasn’t that he lacked a fatherly heart; it was just that he found having such descendants to be too embarrassing.

So, to prevent his own descendants from turning out like the royal relatives, Mu Yunfeng simply stripped them of the capital they needed for reckless spending. The rest would depend on his and Su Qianluo’s upbringing.

The empress was taken aback by Mu Yunfeng’s attitude. Suddenly, she realized something and looked at Mu Yunfeng, “Was this your idea to bring up to your father? Your father has never dealt with such matters before.”

Mu Yunfeng nodded. Seeing his admission, the empress didn’t know what to say to her son. She never expected that her own son would be the one to harm her own grandchildren.

“Mother, the reason I brought up this matter to Father was twofold. Firstly, it was to reduce unnecessary expenses from the treasury. Secondly, it was to weaken the existing power of the royal relatives. Most of them are currently supporting our first brother and second brother. By cutting off their income sources at the root, I want to see how they’ll support their favored princes in the future when I’ve severed their main source of income.”

Even if those royal relatives had substantial backgrounds, it wouldn’t be the same as before. If they used to take money from the treasury to support their favored princes, now that the Ministry of Revenue had cut off their main expenditures, they would have to dip into their own pockets if they wanted to support their chosen princes.

Engaging in business without capital and spending one’s own savings were two completely different things. The latter undoubtedly weighed much heavier on one’s conscience.

After hearing Mu Yunfeng’s explanation, the empress no longer dwelled on her son’s actions.

“By the way, Mother, I should let you know in advance that I might not have too many offspring. After all, with Father’s edict in place, whoever has more children in the future will suffer more.” Mu Yunfeng openly suggested having “fewer children.”

With the Ministry of Revenue no longer providing financial support to the royal relatives, matters related to the marriage and children of those royal relatives would naturally be handled by their parents. Considering the wealth accumulated by the royal relatives, a few sons might still leave them with a relatively prosperous base, but what about dozens or even hundreds of children?

The picture was too beautiful for one to dare to imagine further.

The Empress happened to know the number of offspring of many royal relatives. Most of them had at least ten children as a baseline. After giving it some thought, the Empress couldn’t help but find it amusing. She didn’t pay much attention to what Mu Yunfeng had said.

In a situation of limited wealth, fewer children naturally meant less division of resources. The more children there were, the less each person would receive.

After explaining things to the Empress, Mu Yunfeng returned to his residence to find his own Wang Fei.

At this moment, Su Qianluo was receiving guests in the living room. The guests were none other than Su Mother and Su Qianluo’s elder cousin, Su Qianhuan. They had come to Su Qianluo’s residence not for casual conversation but to discuss the final arrangements for several of the Su family’s daughters.

“Cousins at home are all engaged. What about the eldest cousin?” Su Qianluo, sitting in the main seat, asked.

“Replying to the Third Princess, Huan’er is also in discussions,” Su Mother replied with a smile.

Hearing her mother’s words, Su Qianhuan blushed and lowered her head. The matter between her and the Fourth Prince was almost settled; both sides understood it without words.

Mu Yunfeng had been busy in the court and hadn’t paid much attention to Su Qianhuan’s affairs. However, Su Qianluo had always kept an eye on it.

Su Qianhuan’s situation with the Fourth Prince had been under her watchful eye for a long time.

Su Qianluo found it strange. Didn’t Su Qianhuan think that the relationship between the Third Prince and the Fourth Prince was awkward?

Before fleeing the marriage, Su Qianhuan had been in discussions for a marriage arrangement with the Third Prince. Just because they hadn’t become husband and wife didn’t mean this relationship could be easily overlooked. The royal princes weren’t like vegetables in the field, to be freely picked by any official’s daughter.

In Su Qianluo’s view, if Su Qianhuan wanted to live a peaceful life, she just needed to marry an inconspicuous husband. At the very least, she should avoid attracting the attention of the royal family. Only then could she lead a stable life.

However, Su Qianhuan herself probably didn’t think that way. She didn’t see any problem with transitioning from the Third Prince’s consort to the Fourth Prince’s consort, nor did she contemplate whether Mu Yunfeng would feel awkward when they met in the future.

Su Qianhuan might not have thought about it herself, but the Su family behind her certainly wouldn’t have missed this issue. However, they still allowed Su Qianhuan to go ahead with it, which raised some interesting questions.

“In the future, all of you cousins will stay in the capital. You should look out with each other and interact more,”  Su mother said.

Apart from Su Qianluo, who was already firmly established as the Third Prince’s consort, there was Su Qianhuan, who wasn’t yet officially the Fourth Prince’s consort. The husbands of the other Su family daughters didn’t come from prominent backgrounds, partly due to their own family backgrounds. So, Su Mother was advising Su Qianhuan and her sisters.

Su Qianluo smiled lightly but didn’t respond to her words, leaving Su mother surprised and a bit uneasy.

“Third Princess, let me share a heartfelt piece of advice with you, don’t take it the wrong way. Women, even after marriage, often rely on their maternal families. A woman’s confidence and standing in her husband’s family are greatly influenced by the support of her maternal family. Once that support is gone, see if her husband’s family will mistreat those women without backing.” Su Mother gently reminded and cautioned Su Qianluo.

She believed that the Third Prince treated and valued Su Qianluo mainly because of her husband’s status. Su Qianluo’s current confidence was largely due to the backing of the Su family. The current head of the Su family was her husband, the eldest son of the Su family. As for Su Qianluo’s biological father, he was just a fifth-ranking official. There was no way the Third Prince would have noticed him.

“In light of what Aunt said, if I ever suffer any injustice from the Third Prince, can Uncle help me seek justice from the royal family?” Su Qianluo asked with a smile.

The expression on  Su Mother froze for a moment, her face showing a bit of awkwardness. Even if she was confident, she didn’t think the Su family could outmatch the Royal family. The question was simply unanswerable.

“Why would the Third Prince be upset with cousin? Is it because, cousin have done something? For example, did you obstruct the Third Prince from taking another concubine or delay his chance to have more offspring?” Su Qianhuan asked with an innocent expression.