Chapter 565
Chapter 565
After a long moment, Zhu Ying posed another question.
“My third question is: what is your ambition?”
This was not a difficult question; it was a normal one to ask during a matchmaking session. Jin Mucong thought for a moment before speaking.
“My ambition? You mean the thing I want to do most in my heart?”
Zhu Ying nodded.
“To write novels and become the most famous and greatest master of the craft. I want people to be reading my books wherever there are people in this world.”
Zhu Ying was taken aback. Did he know what her dream was? It was to live in her manor forever, do nothing, and read endlessly every day. The more peculiar the book, the better. When she had asked the many young talents she’d met before what their dreams were, some had spoken eloquently for over a thousand words, while others were concise and powerful. But their answers could all be summarized in one phrase: to govern the state and pacify the world. Their ambitions seemed lofty and profound, but to put it more directly, it meant, *I want to be a feudal lord and a prime minister, just like your grandfather.* That answer had terrified Zhu Ying.
*If that happens, won't I have to become a prime minister's wife, be a great helpmate, and meet an endless stream of people every day? I'd have to become a part of the world of power and politics. But my, Zhu Ying's, dream is to live a life of leisure until I die, staying home forever. I don't want anyone to seek me out except for those closest to me.*
But looking at Jin Mucong, it seemed their ambitions were vaguely aligned. One wanted to stay home and read books all day, the other to stay home and write them. Weren't they a match made in heaven? Just then, as if remembering something, Jin Mucong took a box from his robes.
“This is a gift for you.”
Zhu Ying accepted the box and opened it.
*What is this? To think there's something in this world I don't recognize.*
“These are eyeglasses. You read every day, and even by candlelight at night, so you must be nearsighted. Do things usually look blurry or hard to see?”
Zhu Ying nodded.
“Yes. When you just came in, all I could see was that you were very fat. I couldn't make out your features clearly.”
“Can you see well now?”
“Even sitting face to face like this, it’s not perfectly clear.”
“Then try putting on the eyeglasses.”
The moment Zhu Ying put them on, she almost jumped in surprise. It had been a long, long time since the world had looked this clear. For many years, her vision had been getting progressively worse, and anything at a distance was just a blur. Of course, these glasses were made by Shen Lang, with a prescription of about 400 diopters. He had guessed her level of nearsightedness, but it didn't matter if it wasn't perfect. As long as she could see better with them on, it was a success. Now, Zhu Ying could see Jin Mucong much more clearly.
*Huh? You’re this fat?*
For a moment, Jin Mucong thought he’d given the wrong gift. Instead of helping him, he had just shown the goddess his not-so-handsome true self in sharp detail. Zhu Ying, however, did not take the glasses off. She loved the bright, clear world.
“Th-they were made by my brother-in-law.”
Zhu Ying nodded, then took out five books. They were *The Boundless Wind and Moon of the Golden X Vase*, *Journey to the West*, and volumes one, two, and three of *Battle Through the Heavens*.
“Did you write all of these?”
Jin Mucong shook his head.
“My brother-in-law told me the stories; I was only in charge of transcribing them.”
“So when do you plan to start writing your own books?”
“I plan to write my own after reading thirty more long novels.”
“Do you know why Shen Lang wants to set us up?”
“For His Highness Ning Zheng.”
Zhu Ying couldn't help but be surprised.
*This fatty isn't dumb, is he?*
That was right. The greater reason Shen Lang wanted to arrange a match between Zhu Ying and Jin Mucong was to send a signal to the Zhu Clan.
*Prime Minister Zhu, you don't have to hang yourself from the tree that is Crown Prince Ning Yi. If Prince Ning Zheng ascends the throne, the Zhu Clan will still be the leader of all civil officials in the realm.*
Shen Lang didn't have high hopes for this marriage succeeding; he just wanted to see how Zhu Hongzhu would react. Would he stand firmly with the Crown Prince until the end, or would he adopt a more ambiguous stance?
“I despise political marriages the most. No one can pressure me into marrying someone. But I have taken every matchmaking session seriously. I have no desire to die old and alone; I want to marry and have children like any other woman. But of all the men I've met, you are the only one who has passed my three questions.”
Jin Mucong did not get carried away by her words. Zhu Ying sighed and continued.
“I have seen many handsome men. My older brother, Zhu Hongxue, for example, is the most handsome man in the world. So I thought I didn't particularly care about a man's appearance, that what I liked most was an interesting soul. Jin Mucong, you probably fall into the category of an interesting person.”
Dumb people could sometimes be interesting.
“Unfortunately, I seem to have overestimated myself. I thought I didn't care about a man's looks, but now I see that I care quite a bit. In fact, if I had to compare, I realize I prioritize a man's appearance more, and then his inner self. Jin Mucong, your inner self is quite interesting, but you are not handsome or charming enough to captivate me. I'm sorry!”
Jin Mucong lowered his head, unable to say a word. He was heartbroken. His love life had ended before it could even begin. In that moment, however, it seemed he had matured by about three years. At least she was brutally honest. She took off the glasses and, with a look of regret, handed them back to Jin Mucong.
***
Inside the royal palace.
King Ning Yuanxian asked Shen Lang.
“Shen Lang, do you think the matchmaking between Zhu Ying and Jin Mucong will succeed?”
“It will surely fail. Women always say they like an interesting soul, but in the end, they choose a pretty face. Men are the same. That's why I'm very honest and say that I only like peerless beauties with devilish figures. The hotter the body, the better.”
The King sneered at Shen Lang's words. Such vulgar taste.
*Take my Consort Bian, for example. She may not be a beauty, but do you know why I love her so?*
*Tch! Ning Yuanxian, let's see what would happen if you were limited to just one wife.*
Besides, Consort Bian was a beautiful woman, just not a peerless one.
“Men learn a lot from meeting women, which is why they say women are a man's school. Jin Mucong needs to attend a few more schools before he can graduate from women and finally start to mature. There's nothing wrong with heartbreak for a man. How can one grow without pain?”
Of course, the most important thing was that Shen Lang had sent a signal to Zhu Hongzhu through this matchmaking. Whether to accept it or not was up to the Prime Minister. The two of them soon cast aside the matter of Jin Mucong and Zhu Ying's meeting.
“Your Majesty, is it true that the Hidden Yuan Society is still refusing to lend the war funds immediately?”
At that question, the King's face instantly turned cold. Not only was the Hidden Yuan Society refusing to lend the money immediately, but they had also publicly sent a signal that the Crown Prince should be the one to borrow it. Wasn't that a direct challenge to Ning Yuanxian's authority?
“Do they think I can't raise the funds without the Hidden Yuan Society? How utterly ridiculous!”
Ning Yuanxian replied coldly to Shen Lang's question.
“Then what does Your Majesty intend to do?”
Time was of the essence. Sovereign Keung was unifying the Savage Tribes at an ever-increasing pace. Furthermore, Queen A-Luonana of the State of Jiang was about to give birth; if war broke out, Jiang would have difficulty providing its full support. The eighty-thousand-strong army had already finished assembling and needed to march south as soon as possible.
But King Ning Yuanxian found it difficult to speak of his method for raising the funds. The method he had in mind was not something to be brought up lightly. He had originally intended not to say it, but he gritted his teeth and finally spoke.
“What if we solicit donations for the war effort from the powerful families of the realm? This battle is not just for my sake, but for theirs as well. Whether they are old, established nobles, new aristocrats, powerful families, or even wealthy merchants, do they not have a responsibility and duty to contribute? Of course, I will bestow honorable rewards upon the donors.”
Ning Yuanxian's words were polished, but their core meaning was simple: solicit donations and sell titles! He would force every noble house to contribute an equal share, and if they refused, he would pressure them by sending their sons and private soldiers to die on the battlefields of the Southern Gull Kingdom. This was an extremely ruthless tactic, one the King had considered using last year but ultimately refrained from.
Compared to soliciting donations, selling titles was even more straightforward. A certain amount of gold contributed would be exchanged for a title of nobility. Shen Lang knew that Ning Yuanxian was a man who crossed certain lines, but he hadn't expected this. The King had already decided in his mind how much each of the new and old noble houses of Yue had to pay. From the several hundred noble houses, he could raise over a million gold coins.
Of course, the real prize was in selling titles of nobility. The Ning Clan was notoriously stingy; even after Zhang Chong had performed such great deeds, he had only been made a viscount. In the twenty years since the King ascended the throne, only a dozen or so people had been newly ennobled, while dozens of families had been stripped of their titles. It was as if he was saying, *No matter how great your deeds, I will not grant you a title.* As a result, two of the four ministers in the Grand Secretariat held no title at all.
How many newly powerful families in the entire State of Yue were desperately hoping for a title? The rarer the title, the more valuable it was, and the higher the price it could command. What good was a high official position if you had no title? When you stepped out of your home, your words lacked weight. Ning Yuanxian had resisted the urge to sell titles for a long time, but now he planned to sell dozens, perhaps even a hundred. This would bring in two million gold coins for the war, but it would certainly cause a great stir.
Of course, such things could be found in the history of Earth as well. During the Qing Dynasty, even government posts were sold. The father of Consort Zhen, who was thrown into a well during the reign of the Guangxu Emperor, sold the post of General of Guangzhou. Prince Qing, Yikuang, and Na Tong worked together to sell offices, and later generations even gave them a nickname that meant they were in the business of selling official posts.
The British Empire was no exception. After World War I, Prime Minister David Lloyd George openly sold peerages to raise money. However, his associate Gregory proved unreliable and accepted money from a swindler, enraging the King. The Prime Minister had to revoke the swindler's title, but some of them, thinking they hadn't paid enough, openly took out their checkbooks and said they had nothing but money and would write a check for any amount desired.
In any case, no matter how one spun it, forcing donations and selling offices would tarnish the nation's reputation and create chaos. It was no different from drinking from a poisoned chalice to quench one's thirst. The King naturally knew that forcing donations from the nobles would inevitably stir them up and breed resentment. And selling titles was an even more shocking act, one that would diminish the authority of the Ning royal family itself. If a title could be bought with money, it would no longer have any value.
“Your Majesty, this will have grave consequences.”