"Because I wish to speak up for them!"
Faced with the Emperor's question, the Fifth Princess gave her answer with striking candor. She held nothing back, speaking directly from her heart.
"Yesterday, when I was outside the palace, I happened to see a young woman. She had a baby girl in her arms, a little boy strapped to her back, and another child holding her hand. On her way back from the river where she had done the laundry, she was scolded by her mother-in-law for returning late.
The old woman berated her, claiming she only ate, drank, and used her son's resources, yet still failed at basic chores. But to me, that young woman looked exhausted. I suspect the labor she does at home is no less than what her husband does outside. The only difference is that she does not earn money."
Yun Shu leaned forward slightly, her voice tinged with thoughtfulness.
"So I wondered, if that woman could earn her own silver, would her mother-in-law's attitude change?"
She paused for a breath, then continued.
"But I later discovered something. Whether it's a teahouse, a restaurant, or a pastry shop, all the attendants are men. Not one hires women.
Father Emperor, may I ask why that is?"
The Emperor fell silent.
He knew the answer well enough. It was the deeply rooted notion that men were superior to women, that men should work in the outside world while women stayed confined to the inner chambers. In many people's eyes, a woman's duty was to manage the household and raise children. That was all they believed her capable of.
In truth, it was simple disdain.
Yun Shu understood this, too. She was not naïve enough to think she could overturn centuries of custom overnight.
But that did not mean she would not start somewhere.
"I may be a princess," she said, lifting her chin, "but I cannot hold a blade to a shopkeeper's neck and force him to hire women. Still, I have the right to choose whom I employ with my own coin.
"Women are meticulous by nature, and the work I intend for them suits that trait perfectly."
"Since you have thought it through, then do as you see fit," said the Emperor.
He had only asked out of curiosity. He cared little whether the laborers were men or women.
"Thank you, Father Emperor!" Yun Shu beamed.
"Rest assured, I shall deliver the first copy of every Capital Weekly directly to you!"
As she spoke, she reached out sneakily, her fingers inching toward the very booklet the Emperor had just finished reading.
"That means I'll take this first one with me to start the printing process."
"Did you not say this one was a gift to We?" the Emperor asked coolly, glancing at her with narrowed eyes.
"A gift, once given, cannot be taken back."
"Who said this is the only gift?" Yun Shu countered with bold confidence.
"Every issue from now on will be a gift! But you know, Father Emperor, I don't have much silver to spare. Buying a manor, collecting stories, printing the pages, hiring help—these things all require coin.
I want to print the first issue quickly and deliver it to the noble ladies and young misses of the capital. If they enjoy it, they may start paying for future issues.
Once they start paying, I'll finally have enough silver to keep sending you this humble gift!"
"You silver-tongued fox!"
With a chuckle, the Emperor snatched the booklet off the desk and tossed it lightly into her arms.
"Now take it and get out."
"Gladly!"
Yun Shu gave an exaggerated bow that barely resembled court etiquette, chirped a loud farewell, and before her final syllable had even left her lips, she had already disappeared from the chamber.
Watching her vanish so swiftly, the Emperor ground his teeth.
"That little scamp ran off so fast. Have I mistreated her or what?"
Li Dehai, who stood silently by, dared not respond.
Had he not just commanded the princess to leave?
—
After leaving the imperial study, Yun Shu set off in high spirits, immediately beginning preparations for the Capital Weekly.
Meanwhile, Yun Chuhuan, having roughly calculated the time, figured that Yun Shu had probably already delivered her "pile of junk" to their Imperial Father by now.
So he cheerfully arrived at the study, arms full of the expensive gift he had purchased the previous day for over five thousand taels of silver.
As he approached the doors, he suddenly recalled how he had been fined one hundred taels of gold last time for stepping in with his left foot first. Determined not to repeat the mistake, he made sure to lead with his right foot this time.
How clever he was!
Giving himself silent praise, Yun Chu Huan entered, bowed properly, and said in a clear voice,
"Greetings, Father Emperor. Long live Your Majesty."
"You may rise," the Emperor replied absentmindedly from behind the dragon desk, his vermillion brush still scribbling across memorials.
He glanced at his son briefly.
"What brings you here today?"
"Replying to Father Emperor," Yun Chu Huan said with a smile, "Yesterday, I went out of the palace with Fifth Sister. I selected a gift especially for you."
Holding a beautifully carved wooden box in both hands, Yun Chu Huan was entirely lost in fantasies of Yun Shu being punished while he himself was rewarded. He did not even notice the simple clay figure that still sat atop the Emperor's desk, completely out of place in the opulent study.
He stepped forward with a wide grin and presented the gift.
"I hope Father Emperor will be pleased."
"How rare, that you would be so thoughtful."
The Emperor finally set his brush down.
This sixth son of his had gone on many outings before, but had never once brought back a gift. Clearly, this time, it was because Yun Shu had set a good example.
Feeling rather pleased, he opened the box.
His satisfaction vanished the moment he saw what lay inside.
A luminous pearl. The size of a thumb.
The Emperor's expression darkened.
He recalled how his daughter, once left with only three copper coins to her name, had used her very first outing not to indulge herself, but to find heartfelt gifts for her father.
And then there was this rascal, who had massive night pearls the size of fists hanging in his carriage as lanterns, yet only brought his own father a single thumb-sized one.
Should he be grateful that his unfilial son even bothered to put on this performance?
With a loud snap, the Emperor closed the box. His voice remained gentle, his smile deceptively warm.
"When you entered the study just now, which foot did you step in with first?"
Yun Chu Huan blinked. "Pardon?"
What sort of question was that?
Had his father not just received his gift? Shouldn't he be pleased?
For a moment, Yun Chu Huan panicked, but then he remembered—he had been careful!
He had stepped in with his right foot.
How wise he was!
Straightening up proudly, Yun Chu Huan replied with confidence.
"Father Emperor, I followed your instruction and entered with my right foot first."
"Ha."
The Emperor gave a low laugh.
"In the Tian Sheng Dynasty, the right is held above the left. You, as a prince, dared to enter the imperial study with your right foot first. Do you take yourself to be more noble than your own father?"