Echoes of My Heart Throughout the Court

Xu Yanmiao almost laughed to death.

[This Dou Shifei is truly a talent! He actually pried seven pearls off seven separate jewelry sets, picking the biggest one from each! Hahahahaha!]

[Prime Minister Dou doesn’t allow him to waste money and only gives him fifty taels of silver each month as an allowance. No wonder he had to take such desperate measures during the courtesan competition! Hahahaha!]

Tsk, tsk, tsk.

Prime Minister Dou’s face turned from livid to utterly expressionless.

His gaze fell upon the wolf-tooth club leaning against the corner, and a sinister smile slowly crept across his face.

---

The stolen items were now “tainted,” and even if retrieved, they could no longer be used. But the betrothal gift exchange still had to proceed.

In his desperation, Prime Minister Dou came up with an idea and whispered a plan to the Minister of Rites, Honglu Temple’s Qingyun. The latter’s eyes lit up more and more as he listened.

“Brilliant! Let’s do it!”

His loud exclamation startled Xu Yanmiao, who nervously tried to blend in with the other Ministry of Personnel officials, pretending to focus on the ceremony. To his surprise, everyone he encountered greeted him with a smile.

Xu Yanmiao cautiously returned their smiles.

[Phew, thank goodness no one caught me slacking off.]

[But why did the Minister of Rites suddenly shout like that? What’s going on?]

Before long, the reason became clear to everyone, including the families of both parties and the invited guests.

The Minister of Rites’ daughter had declared her virtuous intentions, lamenting the lingering influence of decadent practices from the previous dynasty. She had begged her father to send her off with modest gifts to curb the trend of extravagance in the current era.

Impressed by her high moral standards, the Dou family responded in kind, agreeing to exchange modest betrothal gifts.

Of course, “modest” was relative to their social standing. For families as wealthy as theirs, reducing a million-tael dowry to a mere three hundred thousand was seen as a huge sacrifice. To commoners, however, this sum was astronomical.

In any case, the daughter’s reputation as a virtuous and frugal woman soared, winning universal praise. As for whether the actual dowry was truly modest or supplemented in private, that was left to speculation.

Meanwhile, at the Dou family, the anguished screams of their youngest son echoed through the halls as he was beaten so severely he couldn’t leave his bed for half a month. But such minor details hardly mattered.

---

The Emperor himself did not visit the Dou residence.

Although he wanted to give his brother-in-law this honor, Empress Dou personally requested that he refrain, explaining that too much recognition might cause her brother’s household to lose their humility.

The Emperor, always inclined to heed the Empress’s wishes, sent his head eunuch to deliver a congratulatory gift in his stead.

When the eunuch returned, he couldn’t resist sharing the bizarre events he had witnessed at the Dou residence.

“Your Majesty, at today’s betrothal gift exchange, Prime Minister Dou presented surprisingly modest gifts. Yet, instead of being upset, the Minister of Rites joined him in publicly denouncing the extravagance and decadence plaguing our society. Outside the mansion gates, they passionately decried the wasteful customs passed down from the previous dynasty, which burden families at all levels of society.”

“They claimed it was the Minister of Rites’ daughter’s idea, and the people in the streets are now singing her praises as a virtuous and patriotic heroine who cares deeply for the nation.”

Hearing this, the Emperor was reminded of the tail end of the previous dynasty.

Back then, decadence and excess had consumed the nation, from the Emperor and nobility down to the common people. Luxurious clothing, food, and lifestyle practices were celebrated, even among humble tavern girls adorned with rare gems.

The entire empire had exuded a sense of rotting opulence, like a raging fire devouring its fuel.

At the time, no one could have foreseen the abrupt collapse of such a seemingly invincible regime. Many believed it was merely “a little decadent.”

Families, both rich and poor, had embraced excessive wedding customs. While the wealthy could afford it, ordinary families were often left destitute, with many even resorting to debt or infanticide just to survive.

The Emperor sighed deeply. “Life is truly harsh for the common people… When I was young, my family had only a few barren acres of land, yet we could still afford my schooling. But when my eldest brother married and my sister was wed, the family fell into ruin. In the end, I had to sell myself into servitude just to survive.”

The Emperor never shied away from his humble origins, often taking pride in recounting his rise.

After all, who else had climbed from slavery to the throne?

Who else!

Still, the eunuch wisely stayed silent, knowing when to refrain from interrupting.

After his lament, the Emperor ordered, “Instruct the Hanlin Academy to draft a decree regulating wedding expenditures, to be announced throughout the empire.”

This would be an official imperial edict, binding across the land.

“And also convey my verbal commendation. The Minister of Rites, Qingyun, has raised his daughter well. Reward… her for her exemplary virtue.”

Having issued his orders, the Emperor felt much more relaxed. At that moment, a palace servant entered to report, “Consort Zhang says she received Your Majesty’s permission to meet with you shortly. She also heard that you’ve been busy in court all day and worried you hadn’t eaten, so she personally prepared garlic clove noodles.”

The head eunuch raised an eyebrow, silently applauding the consort’s cleverness.

The Emperor, known for his simple tastes rooted in his humble beginnings, favored common foods. Had Consort Zhang sent elaborate dishes, she might have been reprimanded.

The Emperor nodded approvingly, and the noodles were brought to him. As he ate, he asked the eunuch, “Anything else amusing to report?”

The eunuch smiled. “There was an odd incident at the Dou Residence.”

Intrigued, the Emperor perked up. “Oh?”

“It seems that after the ceremony, screams were heard from the Dou residence. Word has it that Prime Minister Dou was chasing his youngest son with a wolf-tooth club.”

The Emperor’s interest deepened as he reached for the plate of melon seeds. “What happened?”

The eunuch shared the juicy details he had uncovered: “Apparently, Prime Minister Dou’s son had been caught by his father after competing with the Prince of Jibei’s son for the favor of a courtesan.”

The Emperor’s excitement instantly deflated. “That’s it?”

Here he was, expecting a dramatic tale of familial betrayal, only to be served a trivial scandal about a courtesan rivalry—not even between father and son, but between unrelated parties!

He set the melon seeds back down, thoroughly disappointed.

“Xu Yanmiao is much better at this—he never fails to deliver.”

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