The Whole Dynasty Spoils the Tyrant's Beloved Youngest Daughter-Chapter 411: Prejudice Runs Deep

Emperor Yongning has been joyful for many consecutive days, and the amount of food he consumes daily has suddenly increased a bit. Compared to ten days ago, his complexion looks much better, and he seems far from his previous dying state.

Imperial Concubine Hua, observing his gradual recovery, smiled and said: "Your Majesty, Your Majesty, I’ve been coaxing you every day these past days, hoping that you could eat a little more and get healthier, but you couldn’t ingest anything at all. Now, because of a single letter from Ah Ning, you’re this happy. I don’t understand; what’s so magical about Ah Ning’s letter?"

Imperial Concubine Hua teased: "Quickly tell me, so I can treat the problem correctly and have Ah Ning write more of such letters for you to read."

Emperor Yongning replied: "Not every letter from Ah Ning can bring me such joy."

Imperial Concubine Hua said: "I don’t quite understand what Your Majesty means."

Emperor Yongning explained: "Since the Crown Prince passed away, the fake Eldest Prince has handled several capable brothers. Yet those brothers were truly disappointing, allowing him to seize critical evidence, so I never said anything against the fake Eldest Prince because he acted fairly and justly, which was acceptable."

"The problem is, the remaining Princes spend their days mixing in brothels and tea houses, all of them merely gluttonous and useless. The only one who is useful, whom the fake Eldest Prince cannot deal with, is Ah Ning."

"Ah Ning is intelligent, and I have high hopes for her. But, as you know, Imperial Concubine, there has never been a precedent for women ruling the nation, and Ah Ning will face many difficulties if she is to take my place."

"Many court officials have opinions and are unwilling to see her enter the court. However, she has now cleared up County Magistrate Li’s corruption case, so even if those officials have dissent, they should keep their mouths shut."

And if Jun Ning perseveres and doesn’t relax, achieving more political accomplishments, she surely can completely silence those opposing officials.

The only thing that can convince people is always capability.

Previously, the officials’ dissatisfaction seemed directed at Jun Ning for her female identity ascending the political stage. In reality, they felt Jun Ning was pampered from a young age by Emperor Yongning, unlearned and inexperienced with any major affairs, merely coming to court for fun, not business.

The court is where the nation’s eyes focus, very solemn and not to be trifled with.

Jun Ning must truly achieve political accomplishments, showing her earnest attitude, to be accepted and trusted by them.

Emperor Yongning was fully aware of this, so he boldly let Jun Ning go out for training. Jun Ning’s usefulness should be seen not only by him but also by those officials.

"I understand Your Majesty’s intentions, but..." Imperial Concubine Hua couldn’t help but shed tears, "Compared to those, I wish more for Ah Ning to live peacefully, smoothly, joyfully throughout her life. I can’t bear to let Ah Ning live so burdensomely."

"Qiong Hua..." Emperor Yongning held Qiong Hua’s hand beside him and patted it with his other free hand, "I also wish for that. But sometimes in life, there’s no choice; what’s in front is just that one path. If Ah Ning can handle matters but doesn’t step forward sooner, one day, even if she can handle matters, it will all be in vain. Wealth and glory will all fade into illusions."

...

When the riverbank’s construction began, Jun Ning frequently visited the site, observing their use of simple mud to heighten the riverbank. This made her anxious.

The mud was loose, and even when mixed with water to become clumpy, piled high, once the river swelled, it would easily wash away.

No wonder such a not-so-large riverbank was repaired year after year, yet after so many years, it never seems to escape being washed away by floods annually.

If there is no change, it will remain useless efforts, unable to escape being swept away.

Under the scorching sun, Jun Ning said to the craftsmen, "Why not use stones to reinforce the riverbank? Why only use mud? A stone-reinforced riverbank must be more resistant to flooding than one built with mud."

The weather was terribly hot, and the seven craftsmen mixing mud were sunburned with flushed faces, sweat droplets trickling down from their foreheads along their cheeks.

The craftsman closest to Jun Ning, hearing her ask, set down the tool for mixing mud, wiped the sweat off his brow, and said: "Princess, Yuyang County does not lack stones; everyone knows a riverbank built with stone would be more resistant to flooding. But look at this river; the width is extensive. Not just one or two, or a few cartloads of stones can be piled up; we need tons and tons of stones."

"In other words, many laborers are needed to transport stones from far away. But Yuyang County mainly comprises the elderly, women, and children, and they all hold resentment against local officials; even if we wanted to, we couldn’t rally them."

Craftsmen always find this quite distressing and challenging during repair.

They don’t want to make do with mere mud, hence repairing year after year. But with their ability, they cannot change the circumstances; apart from making do, there really is no other way.

Jun Ning waved her hand to create some breeze and said: "I understand."

The craftsman asked quizzically, "Does the Princess have any way to solve this? If there is a way, then we won’t just be mixing mud, we’ll transport stones to build the riverbank this year. Believe that a riverbank built with stones can endure for many years and won’t easily be washed away again."

"I will think of a way first. Since we’re doing this, we should ensure it’s done right," Jun Ning replied. "I’ll find a way to bring stones. Meanwhile, you think about how to mix the mud; adding something to it might make it more resistant to erosion."

As the saying goes, three ordinary folks together are as bright as Zhuge Liang.

But now, these seven craftsmen, with their many years of experience in riverbank repair, still can’t figure out what could be added to the mud.

Jun Ning sighed and didn’t keep it secret, directly saying: "Plant fibers have tensile properties, as long as you add straw to the mud, it can increase the riverbank’s tensile strength."

This phrasing was somewhat convoluted, somewhat hard to understand.

But Jun Ning was anxious about how to get stones, so she skipped explaining further to them.

The craftsmen groped around and guessed until they understood that what the Princess meant was, simply to add straw to the mud. But fearing they might guess wrong, they specially sought Jun Ning’s confirmation before receiving her affirmation.

The craftsmen decided to give it a try.

Jun Ning let them experiment while she returned to contemplating how to transport stones.

Prejudice runs deep.

Convincing those few laborers in Yuyang County, who held great discontent toward the government, to join in building the riverbank, was genuinely difficult.

Frustrated, Jun Ning raked her fingers through her hair, and finally decided to face the challenge and attempt persuasion. Those people, seeing her on the first day, targeted her face, even after she resolved County Magistrate Li’s affair, they remained ungrateful, still hostile towards Jun Ning.

This time, upon seeing Jun Ning, they directly threw rotten vegetable leaves and foul eggs at her.