Quick Transmigration: Underdog Turns out to be Untouchable

Chapter 1246: Chapter 1156: The Female Prime Minister 94

Yin Shuangshuang smiled, ”I wouldn’t presume to instruct you; I’m merely conveying a message from Your Majesty. What Your Majesty detests are those aristocratic families that exploit the people, deceive the court, and oppress the common people while creating chaos in the world. As for those smaller aristocratic families that conduct their affairs properly and diligently serve as officials, there is no animosity.

If the smaller aristocratic families are willing to sincerely pledge allegiance to His Majesty and serve diligently, then His Majesty wouldn’t mind elevating them and granting them titles. County Magistrate Bai, His Majesty is now powerful, suppressing the large aristocratic families throughout the land. Instead of struggling to survive in the cracks between them, why not pledge allegiance to His Majesty, change your fortunes, and enjoy wealth and prosperity in the future, which is far better than living in constant fear nowadays.”

Yin Shuangshuang’s words were a straightforward recruitment strategy, persuading Bai Hengru and Mrs. Chu to convince their aristocratic families to abandon their status and become nobles supporting the Emperor, helping him deal with those aristocratic families.

With the Emperor’s backing, even a small aristocratic family would have the capital to challenge those large families. This is the power of Imperial Power.

Bai Hengru and Mrs. Chu exchanged a glance; Mrs. Chu lacked understanding in this area, and she followed Bai Hengru’s lead, while Bai Hengru was quite tempted but still had some hesitations.

”Aristocratic families have historically been long-standing and enduring, whereas nobles often only enjoy prosperity for one generation. Abandoning an aristocratic status to become a noble, this...” Bai Hengru hesitated and did not continue.

Yin Shuangshuang wasn’t surprised by Bai Hengru’s thinking; she chuckled lightly, ”The notion of aristocratic families enduring for generations is a joke. There are many aristocratic families, creating the illusion that they have always existed.

In reality, only a few aristocratic families have persisted across dynasties, and many aristocratic families have perished in each era. Even those truly lasting aristocratic families often have their legitimate heirs overshadowed by collateral branches.

In the future, collateral branches will inherit from collateral branches, and the descendants of the founding aristocrat families won’t enjoy any benefits despite passing down the family legacy. What good is it to preserve the aristocratic status?

Moreover, the status of aristocratic families in the current dynasty is already declining significantly compared to the previous dynasty. The reigning Emperor has the character of the Grand Ancestor and will not tolerate the arrogance of aristocratic families.

Even if aristocratic families are still jubilantly jumping around, they ultimately have to retreat continuously in front of the Emperor. If aristocratic families could still prevail, I would have already been devoured by them in the Capital City, leaving not even my bones behind—how could I have been appointed as the County Magistrate, entering an official career as a woman?

It’s understandable that you have hesitations, County Magistrate Bai, but I advise you this: preserving an aristocratic family legacy is beneficial, but only if conditions allow. Pledging allegiance to His Majesty may not guarantee the perpetuation of the family legacy, but it does ensure several generations of prosperity for your descendants. If you refuse His Majesty, your aristocratic family may soon be devoured by larger families.

Do you want to continue dreaming of becoming a vast aristocratic family on thin ice or pledge allegiance to His Majesty and obtain a noble’s peaceful and prosperous legacy? It’s up to County Magistrate Bai’s choice.”

After speaking, Yin Shuangshuang rose to take her leave. Nothing should be rushed; she had said everything she needed to say today. Now, she must leave Bai Hengru to consider carefully about the path he should take in the future.

Yin Shuangshuang could tell Bai Hengru was already quite tempted, just unable to let go of some concerns in his heart; he would eventually come to understand.

When Yin Shuangshuang returned home, she coincidentally encountered the village chief coming to see her. The village chief had already changed to Yin Tianqi; his father, the old village chief, had become the Clan Leader and no longer served as the village chief.

Yin Zheng was enthusiastically entertaining Yin Tianqi; when the family was struggling, Yin Tianqi had helped Yin Zheng a lot. His family’s stable position in the village was also due to Yin Zheng’s support.

Yin Tianqi came to discuss with Yin Shuangshuang the construction of a paifang for her in the village and the matter of recording Yin Shuangshuang’s name in the ancestral hall and painting her portrait to hang in the hall.

The construction of the paifang was a court-mandated regulation; for officials, the court would allocate silver to build a paifang in their hometown to honor their achievements.

As for painting and enshrining the portrait in the ancestral hall, that was the ultimate honor for the Yin Family. Only significant achievements or promising members were eligible.

Yin Shuangshuang naturally agreed, but she wouldn’t be able to see the completion of the paifang. Her visit home this time was only a month’s leave from the Emperor; afterward, she would go to Qinglin County to take up her post.

Before Yin Tianqi came, he had already chosen an auspicious day; three days later was the critical day for the ancestral hall opening and paifang commencement. The workers were specially sent by the Emperor from the Ministry of Industry; they were professionals, already at the location, waiting for the auspicious day to start the construction.

The day Yin Shuangshuang returned to the village, the weather was sunny and clear, making it an excellent day. The village had undergone a substantial transformation, built according to the blueprint drawn by Yin Shuangshuang, tidy and clean, even better than the county.

The streets were evenly paved with solid small stones, allowing carriages to pass without wobbling. On either side of the street were orderly two-story villas. Apart from their antique charm, they resembled modern villas.

Every household had large courtyards that no longer grew vegetables but featured delicate flowers and plants. At the village’s end was a massive kiln specifically for burning silver frost charcoal.

All the villagers encountered along the way were dressed respectably, women adorned with exquisite jewelry and elegant dresses, and children clean and neat.

The village’s previous name was no longer used by anyone; people referred to it as Immortal Village, signifying that it was a place where immortals lived, and villagers had an immortal lifestyle.

All these changes were brought by Yin Shuangshuang, so when she entered the village, she was warmly welcomed by everyone, squeezing Yin An, who came to greet her with his elder brother and sister-in-law, completely out of sight, overwhelmed in the crowd.

Yin Shuangshuang smiled, engaging with the villagers; given his frequent encounters, the villagers weren’t as enthusiastic about Yin Zheng and Mrs. Wang who took the opportunity to extract Yin An from the crowd and lead him aside, anxiously watching as Yin Shuangshuang was surrounded, constantly being greeted and watching the spectacle with amusement.

After so long running affairs, Yin An was no longer the timid person that he’d been within the Yin Family. Now he appeared capable, standing tall, with bright and energetic eyes, coupled with decent looks, making him rather noticeable.

Yin An had begun assisting Yin Zheng in managing the cement, glass, and soap workshops, leaving silver frost carbon under Yin Tianqi’s supervision. Yin Tianqi was now considered part of their own circle, entirely trustworthy in character.

Currently, Yin Zheng’s daughter was settled; he and Mrs. Wang were preparing for another child. As the Imperial Merchant, he received respectful acknowledgments as ’Sir.’ Presumably, there shouldn’t be any trouble bothering him.

Yet it was Yin An who worried him because this fourth brother was still stubborn about remaining unmarried, driving Yin Zheng to nag him.

In this joyful atmosphere, a hunched old man suddenly appeared in the distance. The old man shouted something towards Yin Zheng, but amid the crowd and noise, no one heard. So, the old man took a few steps closer to continue shouting.