Quick Wear: Who said soft girls have to be obedient! biu!

The news that the second prince was executed for treason, Concubine Ning was sentenced to death, and the emperor was seriously ill in bed reached Suzhou on the day Shuiyue was getting married.

Amid the noise of gongs and drums, Gu Zhen felt the atmosphere of impending storm.

The emperor is not dead, but seriously ill.

She knew that it was Cui Yan who gave advice to the Third Prince in order to gain a good reputation and prepare for the implementation of new policies in the future.

As expected, the third prince was made crown prince and temporarily in charge of state affairs.

However, the emperor still could not survive the winter.

The first thing the new emperor did when he ascended the throne was to carry out drastic reforms.

He vigorously promoted the imperial examination system, separated civil and military powers, wrote the book "On the People", excluded the gentry, cracked down on the concept of family background, and restricted intermarriage among aristocratic families. A series of economic policies allowed aristocratic families to increase taxes.

Most importantly, official schools were established in various places to encourage civilians to read and learn to write.

Students from poor families were promoted to serve in the imperial court, while officials who depended on aristocratic families were demoted or transferred, or their power was stripped away.

This series of measures was met with strong counterattack from the aristocratic families.

They united and tried to force the new emperor to compromise, but the Cui family, which had always been the head of the aristocratic families, betrayed them.

The new emperor issued an edict to grant a marriage between Cui Yan and Gu Zhen, and appointed Cui Yan as the Minister of Education, in charge of official schools, and fully responsible for promoting the implementation of the new cultural and educational policies.

Cui Yan received the order and immediately opened the Cui Family Library to the public for scholars to copy and borrow books. He also donated 10,000 taels of silver to undertake the construction of official schools in Suzhou and ordered several of his clan members to teach in the official schools.

Cui You, the second son of the Cui family, was appointed as a doctor of education, in charge of the dissemination of educational ideas and cooperating with his brother to implement the new policy.

The Cui family rebelled, and the remaining three aristocratic families and some inferior families quickly collapsed under the new emperor's attacks one by one.

The aristocratic families that had stood on this land and monopolized cultural power for a hundred years finally collapsed bit by bit.

Time will prove everything, Cui Yan believes that his choice is correct.

But now he was facing the thundering wrath from his father and clan.

Cui Yan knelt in the ancestral hall and was whipped dozens of times.

Cui Fangjian panted heavily, pointed at Cui Yan and cursed: "Unfilial son! I handed over the family business to you, what did you do? The century-old foundation of our ancestors was destroyed in your hands!"

The noble families hold much more than just a few books.

Land, gold, silver, connections, resources. Without entering officialdom, they can influence the majesty of the court. That is the foundation of their family!

Now Cui Yan handed them over to the new emperor!

"I didn't know you had made so many arrangements in private!" Cui Fangjian whipped him hard with a whip. "I trusted you to hand over the family seal, but you betrayed the family! I'll beat you to death, you unfilial son! You bastard!"

Several clan elders were sitting in the hall, watching Cui Yan being punished coldly.

Cui Yan felt sad. They only cared about family inheritance, but they didn't know how many people in this land were illiterate and didn't understand the world. If the court wanted to develop and make the country rich and the people strong, the common people must stand up and compete with the aristocratic families!

"Father, are you going to go against the court?" Cui Yan looked straight at Cui Fangjian. "If the noble families don't compromise, what awaits you is the Huo family's army of 500,000 soldiers and horses. You can rely on your financial and human resources to hide overseas, but what about those who rely on the noble families to survive? Why should they sacrifice their lives in vain?"

The price of refusing to cooperate is rivers of blood.

"My Cui family has supported them for a hundred years, and this is the consequence we must bear," Cui Fangjian said with a gloomy face. "You are kind, but have you ever thought that without benefits and support, you will forever lose the halo of the eldest son of the Cui family. Do you think that the new emperor will let you go when he takes power?"

Demolishing bridges after crossing them is a compulsory course for every emperor.

Cui Yan lowered his eyes and said, "I have arranged for someone to send you and several elders back to the old house in Yun County. After I complete my mission, I will resign. The new emperor will not do anything to me."

Cui Fangjian's body swayed, and he covered his chest: "You are going to make the Cui family disappear in the crowd!"

Leaving Suzhou and retiring from the world, handing over the family business accumulated over a hundred years to others, what a heroic act!

Cui Fangjian quickly made a choice in his mind. Now the other noble families were like fence-sitters. Seeing that things were not going well, they all surrendered to the court. They had to protect some interests. Their Cui family could not disappear from everyone's sight.

"Your marriage with the girl from the Gu family is an appointed marriage. I can accept it, but you are not allowed to resign. The court is in need of people right now. You must stay in the capital and protect the inheritance of my Cui family!"

Cui Yan sneered in his heart, this is weighing the pros and cons.

But my father didn't know that what the imperial court feared most was the greed and ambition of the aristocratic families.

He refused to respond.

Cui Fangjian whipped him again with great force, and Cui Yan gritted his teeth and endured it.

At this time, Lim Guan Eng arrived. Xie Xun, supporting her mother-in-law, came in and saw the hideous wound on her son's back. She rushed over to stop Cui Fangjian and said, "Master, Yan'er is your son. How could you kill him like this!"

Cui Fangjian pushed his wife away. He thought that the Xie family was not a good family either. He sensed something was wrong, so he quickly opened the library and recruited a group of common students to study in the clan school. Not only did he not charge them money, he also provided them with meals.

The Cui family knew exactly what this plan was!

Cui Yan gritted his teeth, stood up and supported his mother. Xie Xun threw himself into his son's arms and cried bitterly.

Lim Guan Eng slammed the ground with his cane: "You bastard, what did your wife do wrong that you pushed her like that! Get down on your knees!"

Cui Fangjian did not dare to disobey his mother's orders, and knelt down in front of Lim Guan Eng.

"Since ancient times, the emperor has been the leader of the ministers. Jian'er, your family has never served in the government for hundreds of years and has never faced the emperor. Have you forgotten who is the emperor and who is the people?"

It is just a matter of words for that person to kill someone.

If I can’t touch the Cui family, then I can’t touch you, Cui Fangjian?

“My old bones won’t live long, and neither will you,” Lim Guan Eng pointed at the elders, “but you should think more about your descendants. Whether their lives are long or short depends on your thoughts!”

The elders wiped the sweat from their heads. They had been so used to being local tyrants in Suzhou that they had actually forgotten one thing.

In this world, everyone has the surname Shen.

Cui Fangjian had cold sweat on his back, but he was still somewhat unwilling to accept it. Over the years, many emperors had failed to shake the foundation of the aristocratic family, and they all relied on their unity. But now, the traitor was his son, which made Cui Fangjian extremely hateful.

"Mother, since Yan'er has entered the government, then..."

Lim Guan Eng hit Cui Fangjian on the shoulder with a stick: "Shut up! Yan'er has his own decision on what he wants. You will now officially resign as the head of the family and escort me to Yun County. I am not in good health. As a son, you cannot be unfilial!"

The pressure of filial piety weighed on Cui Fangjian's shoulders. He didn't dare to refute, but he knew he was powerless to change the situation.

.

Cui Yan didn't tell Gu Zhen about his injury, but he was afraid that she would smell it, so he didn't come to see Gu Zhen for several days.

Lim Guan Eng was a man of action and he set off for Yun County with his son and daughter-in-law the next day.

Without Cui Fangjian's support, those elders were powerless and were forced to return to their hometown with their families.

In the huge Cui family mansion, only the brothers Cui Yan and Cui You are left.

Gu Zhen was worried, so she asked someone to help her go to Cui Yan's yard. Before she even entered, she heard Cui Yan's breathing.

She was so anxious that she ran inside without caring that she couldn't see.

"Miss, be careful!" The maid didn't catch her and hurried after her.

Cui Yan hurriedly put down his clothes and rushed out just in time to catch Gu Zhen who was about to fall.

"What are you doing! What if you fall?" Cui Yan was frightened and picked up Gu Zhen and went into the house.

Gu Zhen leaned in and sniffed: "Are you hurt? Did Cui Fangjian hit you?!"

"......" Cui Yan was speechless, "Zhen'er, that's father, you can't call him by his name."

Gu Zhen came out of his arms, "Where's Xu Jun? Is your young master seriously injured? Tell me."

Xu Jun received the warning look from the young master, but he was more afraid of the future young lady. He hesitated for a moment and made a decisive choice: "Heavy! Miss Gu, my young master doesn't have a single piece of good skin on his back!"