Chapter 79: Who Can Be Devoted?

Jing Kang Emperor listened to Tian Mi’s words, somewhat at a loss for words. She was such a good child—truly a comfort and a relief.

“The new plows and officials from the Ministry of Agriculture have tested it, and it truly saves time and effort. I’ll remember this. When the winter wheat yields come in, I will definitely reward you.”

Tian Mi smiled and thanked him, and the Emperor then dismissed her.

Well, at least the boss remembers your contributions. Bai Mucheng’s little schemes had peeled away several layers. He took all the credit for these things and counted them as her merit.

Tian Mi, along with Xiao Mama, was preparing to return to the gathering point to meet Madam Lin and the others. On the way, they ran into three members of the Jia family. Their haughty gazes were uncomfortable. As they passed Tian Mi, they glanced at her from the corner of their eyes, as if looking down on her.

Who the hell are you? Have I offended you?

Tian Mi didn’t even recognize them and chose to ignore them.

Once they reached a quieter spot, Tian Mi finally asked Xiao Mama, “Who were those three people just now?”

Xiao Mama replied, “Those are the Old Madam, the Madam, and the Miss of the Jia family. The head of the civil officials. Her daughter is married to Lord Chen.”

Ah! So they were upset about their son-in-law being criticized. Hmph! If their own family can’t teach their children well, who can they blame?

Xiao Mama continued, “Literary officials don’t shed blood in their work, but they can be the most effective when it comes to killing. The Princess must be cautious.”

If they wanted to take revenge on her, what would they do? In this era, the most ruthless way to deal with a woman was to ruin her reputation, making it so that she couldn’t show her face in public.

Tian Mi was a widow, and she had barely met anyone in the capital. They shouldn’t be able to ruin her reputation. Besides, Tian Mi wasn’t afraid of people ruining her reputation. She was someone who intended to find a wealthy, handsome man to keep her—did she care about this? Ridiculous.

Tian Mi asked, “What’s their detailed background? Who are their family members?”

Xiao Mama was very clear about these things.

Jia Taishi had three sons, but the second son was illegitimate. In this era, although illegitimate children could participate in the imperial exams, many families allowed their illegitimate sons to engage in business to pave the way for the legitimate sons. So, Jia Taishi’s illegitimate son had also entered the official ranks.

All three sons of the Jia family had passed the exams and achieved fame!

This was the monopoly of knowledge and the advantage of noble families in this era.

But what could the wife do about this? Women in this era were mostly like caged birds! Their fate was controlled by men. How pitiful!

Tian Mi didn’t want to waste her good mood on these irrelevant people.

When they arrived at the gathering point, they found Madam Lin and her daughter were sitting with a few other madams and young ladies in a pavilion, sipping tea and chatting. Upon seeing Tian Mi, Madam Lin immediately walked over and said, “I was just looking for you! Let me introduce you to some of the ladies.”

The women here were all from the frontier families and were straightforward in their conversations.

One madam took her hand and said, “Princess, you’re the first one to speak up for us. Thank you so much.”

“Yes, yes!” the others agreed.

Madam Lin introduced, “This is Madam Li, the wife of General Li from the city’s defense.”

“And this is Madam Fang, from the Imperial Guards.”

Tian Mi nodded and greeted everyone, exchanging introductions.

The three madams, their daughters, and the young men were off playing.

Lin Yuting said, “Princess, we were just talking about the upcoming talent show! We specialize in archery and swordsmanship, but those civil officials always steal the spotlight with their fancy performances. It’s really frustrating.”

Tian Mi replied, “Don’t worry about those things. What they’ve learned may impress people momentarily, but it’s all for show. What you’re learning is something that will benefit you for a lifetime. When you have time, practice and enjoy it, but don’t take it too seriously.”

Lin Yuting and the other girls laughed, “Haha, Princess, your words are always so nice.”

“Have you signed up for the competition?” Tian Mi asked.

Lin Yixue replied, “We’ve signed up for three events, but it’s not as extravagant as what the civil officials have.”

Oh! The children of military families were at a disadvantage in this area! The civil officials had been taught music, chess, calligraphy, and painting from a young age, while they had been practicing with swords and spears!

In this era, girls who wielded swords weren’t taken seriously.

Lin Yuting said, “I’m practicing sword dance with my sister, Li Jie is practicing archery with the other young men, and Fang Jie is participating in the equestrian competition.”

It seems that the banquet today will be quite lively.

Tian Mi said, “It would be beautiful if you could dance with music to accompany your swords!”

Lin Yuting’s eyes widened as she asked, “What kind of music?”

Tian Mi smiled, “Something with more rhythm, you can try it out.”

Tian Mi hummed a few notes of The Sword Dance Like a Dream.

Both sisters’ eyes lit up! They were still inexperienced in this.

Actually, most sword dances are accompanied by the sound of the guqin, but they had grown up on the frontier and didn’t know how to play the guqin, and neither did Tian Mi.

Lin Yuting said, “Princess, could you hum the melody for us so we can ask the palace musicians to play it?”

They certainly didn’t dare ask the Princess to play it for them! Tian Mi, being kind, naturally wouldn’t refuse this small request.

So, they went to the court musicians’ quarters, which was quite large and crowded, with people practicing dances, singing, and playing instruments. Each area was bustling with activity.

Lin Yixue found a woman in a corner of the room playing the guqin. She appeared to be in her twenties, an age where musicians in the imperial orchestra were often sidelined.

The woman nodded at Lin Yixue. Lin Yuting and Tian Mi followed her to a quiet, secluded garden at the back.

The musician, named Peng Dan, was skilled at playing the guqin. Now, the Emperor had little interest in music, so musicians like her had little opportunity to showcase their talents. She was getting older and, if nothing changed, she would likely retire from the palace in the next couple of years.

Tian Mi hummed the entire piece, and Peng Dan’s eyes lit up. The fast-paced rhythm flowed like a stream, perfect for sword dancing, and the melody was also very pleasant—it was a truly excellent piece of music.

The sisters began to practice with wooden swords, following the rhythm. The more they danced, the more immersed they became, the more into it they felt.

Watching them, Tian Mi felt more and more that this was the right feeling. If only someone could sing as well, it would be perfect. Here she was, a rich lady, enjoying a drink while watching this performance. How blissful it would be!

She wanted to see handsome men dancing with swords and hear beautiful men singing! Hehehe! Playing the fool!

Many beautiful women often wonder why emperors can’t be devoted to just one person. But it’s not hard to understand.

For example, imagine yourself as an emperor. Your harem is filled with women, and now you’re in the middle of an argument. One of your concubines looks like a great beauty, and she’s arguing with another concubine about who gets to dine with you tonight. Meanwhile, some other concubines—like Lady Lun, Lady Yang, and Lady Li—are all complaining that the prince doesn’t know how to behave and is trying to charm you. They’re asking you to punish him. As the emperor, whom do you listen to? Who do you deal with?

Then, the empress comes in, looking all wronged and saying that the empress dowager is bullying her and asking you to depose the empress.

Would you immediately agree to depose the empress? But then you look and see that the empress was once Wu Xianzu in her youth.

Damn! What could the empress have done wrong?

Now look at the favorite concubine—she’s not wrong either. They’re all just fighting because they love you. What could they have done wrong?

You’re the emperor, for heaven’s sake! What’s wrong with having more than one concubine?

They’re all being good! I’ve still got treasures in my vault, and I’ll reward each of them.

Wait, wait! No! We can’t spoil the children!

Ladies, tell me truthfully—if you were the emperor with a harem like this, could you really remain devoted to just one?

If you had power, wealth, and influence, could you really stay loyal to just one person?

Looking at the sun’s position, Xiao Mama said, “It’s almost time for the banquet. We should head back. Being late would be disrespectful.”

The Lin sisters put down their wooden swords and walked with Tian Mi back to the banquet hall.

Lin Yuting, her face flushed from dancing, chirped excitedly, “Princess, I’ve never felt so free while dancing with a sword, it’s so invigorating.”

Lin Yixue added, “Today, we’re definitely going to be the top performers!”

The two girls had a healthy, sun-kissed complexion and were very likable in their personalities. In this era, however, women were expected to have fair skin, so Tian Mi’s pinkish liquid helped them out.