Chapter 192 - 167: Just Deserts

Guo Ruikuo’s words received a great deal of support in the imperial court.

There were three reasons for this.

First was the camaraderie among fellow officials.

Second was their inherent dismissal of women, as they were unwilling to accept that a woman could achieve something of merit.

But the most important point was that the Jiang family had no one influential in the court. After Jiang Ke buried himself in the Hanlin Academy, he discovered he loved scholarly research far more than political strife. The people he associated with were all scholars whose pockets were even cleaner than their faces.

Before the Emperor could speak, Rong Xue Tao stepped forward with a composed air. "Lord Guo is mistaken," he said. "This concerns a miraculous method for preventing smallpox. Why would the Emperor carelessly attribute the credit to an uninvolved party? Gu Zhaoyi must have played a key role for His Majesty to even raise the matter in court today. While it is true, as Lord Guo said, that the Emperor is wise, he is also magnanimous. Faced with an achievement that will benefit generations to come, he is still willing to credit others. This proves His Majesty’s fairness and that he does not hoard glory for himself. His favor toward Gu Zhaoyi is simply a case of appointing the worthy and capable, regardless of minor conventions."

In other words: ’Lord Guo, cut the cheap theatrics. Would the Emperor really use a major affair of state just to burnish a concubine’s reputation? That’s tantamount to calling him an incompetent ruler. You should think before you try to crush your daughter’s enemies.’ After dissing Guo Ruikuo, Rong Xue Tao didn’t forget to praise the Emperor.

Guo Ruikuo shot back, "All the esteemed ministers here support what I have said. Only Lord Rong objects. It must be because the Emperor also mentioned that Noble Princess Consort Rong contributed to the cowpox matter. That is why you speak out of selfish interest to defend her!"

Rong Xue Tao replied, "I am merely speaking a word of justice, yet it seems to have flustered Lord Guo." ’He’s getting rattled.’

With an air of righteous indignation, Guo Ruikuo declared, "Even if Guo Xiao Yi were the one who had earned this merit today, my opinion would not change. A woman should not overstep her bounds to claim credit."

Rong Xue Tao countered, "Then besides giving birth to the Second Prince, has Guo Xiao Yi ever earned any merit?" ’Not only are you rattled, you’re dragging your daughter into it, too.’

Guo Ruikuo sneered, "As a woman, continuing the Royal Family’s bloodline is merit enough. And speaking of which..."

He paused.

He had been about to say, ’Speaking of continuing the bloodline, your Noble Princess Consort Rong has enjoyed years of favor yet remains childless!’ But the words died on his lips. He feared that saying such a thing in front of all the civil and military officials would strike a raw nerve with the Noble Consort, who might then retaliate viciously against Guo Xiao Yi. Ultimately, he shrank back under the intimidating might of the Rong Family and instead cupped his hands toward the Emperor. "No matter how silver-tongued Lord Rong is, I trust only in Your Majesty’s sacred judgment."

Guo Ruikuo felt certain the Emperor would not refute him.

Every one of his sentences had been in praise of the Emperor. He was suggesting that the Emperor should take all the credit himself instead of sharing it with a woman from the harem. Clearly, this was a suggestion that would benefit the Emperor. ’His Majesty is just bewitched by that vixen and hasn’t come to his senses yet.’ It wasn’t that Guo Ruikuo completely disbelieved that Gu Zhaoyi could propose a miraculous cure beneficial to the nation; it was just that even if a woman showed a spark of brilliance, she should not be recognized for it by the court.

It was like when he occasionally brought his political woes home to vent to his wife.

If his wife gave him good advice, he, as her husband, would simply use it. Why would he ever announce to others that the idea came from a mere woman? The Emperor was simply too fond of Gu Zhaoyi.

"Guo Ruikuo," Xie Che called his name, then proceeded to name the colleagues who had just agreed with Lord Guo. "..."

Those whose names were called stepped forward, utterly bewildered.

Among them, Wei Mingjing was more timid. He feared the Emperor might fly into a rage for the sake of a beautiful woman and have all the dissenters dragged out and executed. Just as a wave of immense regret washed over Wei Mingjing, Xie Che said coolly, "The method of using cowpox to prevent smallpox was indeed proposed by Gu Zhaoyi. Since you all have objections, you must not believe in the efficacy of this method. All those whose names I have just called, within three generations and five degrees of kinship, with the exception of any Princes and Princesses, are forbidden from being inoculated with cowpox."

As soon as these words were spoken, the entire court was stunned.

The officials who disliked Guo Ruikuo had to struggle to keep from laughing out loud.

Smallpox was a fatal, infectious disease. Everyone knew that cowpox inoculation could prevent it, making it a monumental blessing that every household should adopt. But these men, they just had to keep hounding Gu Zhaoyi, refusing to acknowledge her contribution. And now, her wonderful discovery would bypass their families. Serves them right!

The Emperor had still shown mercy.

If he had said nine generations, the aristocratic families, all related in some way, would have been too widely implicated.

Rong Xue Tao declared loudly, "The Emperor is wise!"

A crowd of officials behind him also knelt, exclaiming that the Emperor was magnanimous and that Guo Ruikuo and his cronies had gotten exactly what they asked for.

"Your Majesty, that is not what I meant!"

The thought of this calamity affecting three generations and five degrees of kinship sent Guo Ruikuo into a panic.

An official at odds with him said with a laugh, "Lord Guo should be pleased. The ’disaster’ that Gu Zhaoyi cooked up won’t befall you or your family. Alas, I am not so fortunate. I think Gu Zhaoyi’s idea is excellent, and I am willing to lead the way as part of the second group to be inoculated."

The first group, naturally, consisted of commoners of low status and slaves that the Emperor had used as guinea pigs.

Rong Xue Tao, sharp-eyed and quick-witted, saw that the matter was settled and quietly returned to his place among the officials.

Noble Princess Consort Rong could not be promoted any further. Her contribution to the cowpox matter was merely spending silver and using her connections to help Gu Zhaoyi. Fighting for credit was pointless. She should contribute where she could and keep a low profile where she must. The real task was to cultivate an image of being harmless and innocent in front of the Emperor and to project that she was firmly on his side.

Having reached the Rong Family’s level of status, their thoughts were no longer about how to earn merit.

Instead, it was about how to avoid being wiped out in one fell swoop on some pretext for the crime of outshining the Emperor.

Sure enough, though Xie Che said nothing aloud, he was very pleased with Rong Xue Tao’s performance and made a point to praise him in front of the Noble Consort.

The Noble Consort first thanked the Emperor on her brother’s behalf. "Since he was a child, our father taught him that scholarship and military strategy were secondary to loyalty to the throne and love for the country. As long as he hasn’t disappointed Your Majesty, I, his younger sister, can be at ease."

Xie Che listened and nodded slightly, taking her hand. "The names of you both will surely be in the history books."

This business of experimenting with cowpox needed someone to manage it.

It sounded like a wonderful thing, but many in the court were unwilling to see Gu Zhaoyi earn merit and build momentum for the Eldest Prince. If this task were assigned to someone else, they might try to sabotage it. It had to be handled by one of their own to be safe. Xie Che had originally intended to assign the task to Jiang Xian’s father, but she vetoed the idea. "He can be sent as a deputy, but he’s not suited for making major decisions."

She all but branded her own father with the words "unfit for a major role."

In the end, they could only choose someone from the Rong Family.

If you want people to get things done, you naturally have to share the credit. Jiang Xian was in full agreement with this. ’It’s all about making the cake bigger for everyone. In the workplace, if you hog all the credit, that credit might only be worth five points. But if you share it so everyone gets a piece, then everyone will hype up their portion of the credit. What was originally only two points in your hand becomes eight points when everyone fans the flames. The overall value increases dramatically, and the job gets done well.’

The matter of smallpox prevention via cowpox proceeded very smoothly. People from the families of Wei Mingjing, Lu Nandong, Liu Mingyue, and even the Guo Family came to plead for mercy, but they were all turned away before they could even see the Emperor.

Seeing that their four families would soon become the only ones in the Capital who had to worry about smallpox, Mrs. Guo had a flash of insight. "This matter originated with Gu Zhaoyi. Husband, you should be pleading with Gu Zhaoyi. I’m afraid the Emperor will not be swayed."