I studied in modern times

Chapter 786: Death of the Prince Consort (1)

The 17th day of April, the second year of Yuanyou, was the beginning of disaster for Zhang Dunli and his wife.

First, he was punished by imperial decree from the palace.

Although the punishment was very light, very light, it marked the beginning of bad luck.

then……

The censor impeached Zhang Dunli for crimes such as being domineering, disrespectful to the emperor and his father, and deceiving the emperor.

Immediately afterwards, the Empress Dowager sent an envoy to summon the couple to the Qingshou Palace and severely reprimanded them.

The couple knelt in the Qingshou Palace for more than an hour before the Grand Empress Dowager finally calmed her rage after being persuaded by Empress Dowager Xiang.

It looked like this matter was about to pass.

A new letter of impeachment pushed the couple into the abyss!

There has been a long period of drought in the capital, and it is because there are treacherous ministers in the country!

Today, the world recognizes that the emperor is wise and sage, the two palaces are benevolent and holy, and the court is full of righteous people!

So - your humble servants are willing to die a thousand times, foolishly believing that the flatterer is among the relatives...Now, the prince consort is domineering, lawless, and deceiving the emperor, and everyone in the court and the public knows about it, and people are in an uproar!
However, the public all believed that the drought in the capital was caused by the lawlessness of the prince consort, which caused the yin and yang to be shaken and the five elements to be out of order!
The most fatal point is the last sentence of the memorial: I have seen the disasters and anomalies in the Spring and Autumn Period, and I know that disasters arise from trivial matters, and troubles arise from neglect! Dong Zhongshu said: Disasters are punishments from heaven, and anomalies are the power of heaven! The punishment is unknown, and the power is feared!
Since this year, disasters have occurred frequently.

First, the earthquake occurred in Shaohua Mountain, and then Mount Xiyue shook.

Since March, there has been a long drought in the capital area and the wheat and crops are not growing!

Isn’t this a disaster?

Every word is hurtful and unpredictable.

After reading the impeachment letter, the Empress Dowager's face turned pale.

At that time, an order was issued to send someone to escort Zhang Dunli and his wife back to the mansion.

He also issued an edict to summon the Grand Chancellor, the Ministry of Justice, and the Dali Temple for discussion.

I thought this nightmare would end here.

However, on the next day, on the 18th day of the fourth month, Chang Jing, who had disappeared, suddenly appeared in Kaifeng Prefecture and struck the Dengwen Drum, which had not been struck for a long time.

The sound of drums shakes the streets!

Kaifeng Prefecture was alarmed, and its officials gathered under the drum for reporting.

This guy opened his clothes and displayed the blood letter he carried with him to everyone.

The blood letter, word for word, accused Zhang Dunli of colluding with the monk Xiu Zai of Fayun Temple to defraud believers, amass people's wealth, open a pawnshop, set up a private court, hire scoundrels to injure people, and let thugs harm people and oppress the good...

Every detail is written down clearly.

Chang Jing even read out loudly the contents of the blood letter in public.

If that were all, it would be fine.

The essential……

After reading the blood letter in public, Chang Jing suddenly drew his sword and committed suicide.

This is an accusation of death!

In a society dominated by Confucianism, this accusation itself represents justice!
Kaifeng Prefecture did not dare to cover it up and reported it directly to the palace.

So, everything is irreversible.

Things are collapsing towards an irreversible point.

At noon that day, an imperial decree was issued from the palace, ordering the imperial concubine Zhang Dunli to await punishment.

Then, a large number of imperial guards blocked Princess Shoukang's residence.

Officials from the Ministry of Justice, the Dali Temple, and the Zongzheng Temple successively entered Princess Shoukang's residence and searched it in accordance with the emperor's order.

The censors of the Censorate worked on the spot and checked all the texts, pictures, calligraphy and paintings, and poetry collections they found one by one.

At the same time, Kaifeng Prefecture sent out troops to seal off the Fayun Temple.

All monks involved in the case, including Xiuzai, were detained.

But the nightmare is not over yet.

On April 19th, a servant hired by Zhang Dunli came forward to report that he had heard the prince consort curse his emperor and his father, saying that there were words that were unbearable to speak!

After interrogation, it was found that more than one person heard the prince consort cursing the emperor and his father.

Each other's confessions can corroborate each other!
When this incident happened, the government and the public were shocked!

The palace was even quieter!
……

"Okay! Okay..." Empress Dowager Xiang looked at the confession sent by the Censorate.

She felt a little dizzy and her whole body was shaky.

I just felt short of breath, dizzy, and my chest was stuffy!

When the attendants saw this, they hurried forward and supported Empress Dowager Xiang.

"Empress...Empress..."

It took Empress Dowager Xiang a long time to finally recover.

She looked at the signed confessions in front of her and almost roared at her subordinates, "Right now! Immediately! Send someone to Princess Shoukang's residence!"

"Take these confessions and interrogate the princess and her husband!"

"How dare they?!"

"How dare they!"

Empress Dowager Xiang had never lost her composure like she did now.

She has been a very quiet person since she was a child.

But now, Zhang Dunli has really stepped on her bottom line and touched her reverse scale!
Sixth brother is such a good and filial child!

Zhang Dunli actually dared to curse Sixth Brother to die young!
Unforgivable!

Absolutely no forgiveness!
Her maternal instinct made it impossible for her to suppress her panic and fear after reading the confession.

She has lost two children.

We can't lose this last child again!
This is also the most frightening thing, the worst nightmare!
And now, this nightmare was stimulated by Zhang Dunli's words, and Empress Dowager Xiang inevitably began to react to it.

……

Zhao Xu looked at the confession in front of him and murmured in his heart: "Zhang Dunli, ah Zhang Dunli... I really didn't wrong you!"

"It turns out he has a wolfish ambition!"

He raised his head slightly, leaned back on the cushion, looked up at the sky at a 45-degree angle, and shed a tear: "I... have I ever betrayed my husband? Why did my husband treat me like this?"

The decadent look of an innocent boy who has been beaten by reality.

When they saw him, they all lowered their heads and said nothing.

Truly, the confessions of the servants in the princess's residence were too horrifying!
According to the testimonies of many of the princess' servants and maids, the princess' husband once said to her, "I see that the current ruler has committed such a perverse act, which has aroused the wrath of heaven and the resentment of the people. The Buddha is furious and has sent down such a disaster!"

"I'm afraid it may not last long..."

"If there is a royal carriage one day..."

As for why these servants dared to confess?
This is the special historical background of the Song Dynasty.

Except for the palace maids and eunuchs, all servants in other households are hired workers!

What about cooks, maids, servants...even concubines...

It's all written in black and white, a signed deed with an agreed upon term.

It's okay at normal times, but once the time comes and the monkeys scatter when the tree falls, these people will sell out their employers without any scruples!
It will not be like in the past, where we will work closely with our boss to keep secrets together.

The case of Chen Shiru murdering his mother and the case of Chen Yi's lack of discipline in the boudoir were both typical cases of servants coming forward to report the crimes!

This principle is also the same in modern times.

Apart from spiritual capitalists, which worker would empathize with his boss?

For just three or five strings of cash a month, you want people to risk their lives and be executed by their clan?

joke!

Normally, the boss is powerful, so it is useless even if the servants report him.

However, once the time comes when the monkeys scatter when the tree falls, the servants will decisively betray their master and take the reward money from the government.

This is also the reason why Zhao Xu is certain that as long as he wants, Zhang Dunli will definitely fall!
Without him!

The servants in the hired labor system will take action.

Including the singers, dancers, and retainers kept by Zhang Dunli.

That’s right, Zhao Xu could never have imagined that he could dig out such a big melon right from the start!
Zhang Dunli can be sentenced to death directly!

……

Qingshou Palace.

The Empress Dowager looked at Liang Weijian who had returned to report.

She asked softly, "How is the Empress Dowager Baoci Palace?"

"I'm telling you, Her Majesty. Her Majesty of Baoci Palace is still angry..." Liang Wei replied simply, "I heard that an imperial decree has been issued, ordering officials to interrogate and call the prince consort and the princess for a confrontation!"

The Empress Dowager heaved a sigh of relief and said, "It's only natural for the Empress Dowager to be angry!"

If it were her, if her only support, the child who served her like a biological mother, was cursed like this, she would not even bother to ask, and would directly send someone to give a cup of poisoned wine.

However... even though she understood, the Empress Dowager still felt a little uncomfortable.

Because this was the first time since she took over the throne that Baoci Palace had issued an order directly to the officials without consulting her!

The Empress Dowager was very worried that Baoci Palace would keep its distance from her in the future.

Even, become wary and cautious of her.

The Empress Dowager knew the temperament of her daughter-in-law.

On weekdays, he seemed low-key and humble, and had no hobbies. He only ate vegetarian food and chanted Buddhist scriptures in the palace, occasionally met with ladies of honor, and was very restrictive towards the Xiang family's in-laws.

However, once you touch her red line, her counterattack will be unexpected!

For example, the days after the emperor fell seriously ill in the eighth year of Yuanfeng.

Empress Dowager Xiang, who was the empress at the time, did many things secretly.

The Empress Dowager only knew about it, and she summoned Ming, the biological mother of Cai Que, who was then the Right Prime Minister, and sent people to the Daxiangguo Temple to pray for the late emperor in the name of the government.

In private, the eunuchs and female officials around Empress Dowager Xiang, such as Yan Shouqin and Palace Shang Zhang, were also actively carrying out activities in secret.

Later, Empress Dowager Xiang issued an imperial decree to recall Shi Deyi, the emperor's confidant who had been under house arrest at the time.

And let this big Diao Cang serve the current emperor.

This gave the government the first reliable force.

Then, with the help of Shi Deyi and his Investigation Department, he won over all the generals of the three yamen, the officials in charge of the Imperial City Department, and the close officials.

As a result, the emperor gained the loyalty of the Imperial City Administration and the three yamen imperial guards before and after the succession.

After the emperor successfully ascended the throne, the queen, who was meticulous and did everything flawlessly, once again became the quiet queen dowager who is filial to her aunt and respectful to ministers.

Over the past two years, the Grand Empress Dowager almost forgot that the Empress Dowager of Baoci Palace once had such an unknown side.

And now, under the stimulation of Zhang Dunli, in the eighth year of Yuanfeng, the bride who dared to talk back to her and fight with her came back again.

This made the Empress Dowager worried, so she asked, "How is the emperor?"

She was more worried about her grandson in Funing Palace than the Queen Mother.

Because of this incident, the government also became distant from her.

That Zhang Dunli deserves to be tortured to death!

"Reporting to the Queen..." Liang Weijian whispered, "The Queen has been sitting in the study room of Funing Palace for a whole day..."

"I heard that there was crying in the study..."

When the Empress Dowager heard this, she couldn't help but stand up and prepare to go to the Funing Palace to take a look.

But she only took two steps, then stopped and returned to her cushion.

"Wait a little longer!"

She knew that if she went there now, it would be awkward.

After all, Prince Consort Zhang Dunli is Princess Shoukang's husband, her son-in-law.

Zhang Dunli is doing such a evil thing now.

If she just passed by like this, the public would inevitably think that she, as a mother, was trying to cover up something.

So, she began to complain: "I told the late emperor that..."

"When choosing a prince consort, we should focus on meritorious military officials!"

"How can Zhang Dunli marry a princess if he is not the descendant of a meritorious official?"

"But the late emperor wouldn't listen!"

But he didn't care at all about what happened before choosing a husband for Princess Shoukang.

Princess Fukang, the beloved daughter of Ren Miao, died tragically!

It was for this reason that in the third year of Xining, the late emperor made the painful decision not to choose a son-in-law for his sister from among the nobles.

……

Princess Shoukang's residence.

At this point, it has become a cage.

The son-in-law Zhang Dunli and Princess Shoukang were isolated and placed under house arrest in side rooms.

The princess was treated better, with no shortage of maids, servants, and utensils.

But that's all.

Because Baoci Palace sent Zhang, a palace lady who worked beside Empress Dowager Xiang, to the princess' residence to question the princess in person.

Zhang was a personal maid who followed Empress Dowager Xiang into the palace from the Xiang family.

She and Empress Dowager Xiang were master and servant in name, but in reality they were sisters.

Sending Zhang to the Empress Dowager itself implies the attitude of Baoci Palace - no matter what, it must be investigated thoroughly!
Therefore, Princess Shoukang was extremely nervous at this time.

She knew that her destiny would change from then on.

I’m afraid I can’t save my husband.

Even if it was me, I would probably be sent to Chongzhen Zisheng Academy to practice.

The only thing she can fight for now is probably to save her son.

At the very least, he couldn't let his beloved son end up in the same situation as Zhao Shiju's other sons - being confined in a small house without sunlight, being fed like livestock.

So, when Zhang arrived, she just took a look at the transcribed confession and directly admitted that Zhang Dunli had indeed said such words to her that day.

"Madam, please report this to His Majesty the Emperor, the Grand Empress Dowager, and Her Majesty the Empress Dowager..."

"That day, the prince consort said something out of turn after drinking... I never meant to curse the king or his father!"

"I should have reported my husband's inappropriate remarks to the court and asked for punishment myself..."

"Of course... I was confused for a moment and forgot the righteousness between the ruler and his subjects... I beg the two palaces and the Emperor to forgive me!"

Princess Shoukang knew very well that resistance was useless and quibbling was impossible now.

It would only increase the hatred of the Queen Mother and the Emperor towards her and her son.

Only by sincerely confessing her guilt can she have a chance of survival and earn a glimmer of hope for the future of her beloved son Zhang Bingyuan.

Anything else is courting death!

"As for the rest?" Princess Shoukang looked at the confessions of the people in Fayun Temple and said softly, "I am a concubine who only knows how to take care of my husband and children at home. I know nothing about what is happening outside!"

Zhang looked at Princess Shoukang's calm expression and nodded slightly. Then she ordered the copyist behind her to fetch the princess's confession and said to her, "Princess, please take a look..."

Princess Shoukang read it carefully, nodded, then picked up a pen and signed her confession on the paper.

……

Different from Princess Shoukang's relatively decent inquiry.

Zhang Dunli is facing an all-star interrogation lineup!
At this moment, there were three imperial censors wearing xiezhi crowns sitting in front of him.

It was during this impeachment case that the Censors Wang Di, Lu Tao and Zhu Guangting became famous.

And on the screen behind the two censors sat Zhang Shangying, the junior secretary who was here to record the order from the capital.

In addition, guarding the door was Di Yong, the commander of the Dragon Guards.

The person present as a third party, listening and supervising, was Liu Weijian, the supervisor of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the attendant of the Dowager's Residence.

"Prince consort..." Wang Di walked up to Zhang Dunli with a pile of confessions in his hand: "Take a look at all these confessions..."

“……” Zhang Dunli opened his mouth but said nothing in the end.

He lowered his head and looked at the confession in front of him.

There are confessions from his servants and also from Fayun Temple.

He only glanced at it and shook his head, "False accusations! All false accusations!"

Did he know what it meant to admit these confessions?
It means that he is guilty of cursing his king and father!

This is going to kill the whole family!
He doesn't want to die!
Wang Di looked at him quietly and said, "Write this down. The prince consort refused to confess, roared in public, and had a bad attitude!"

At this time, there was a coughing sound outside the door.

Everyone turned their heads and saw the person coming. It was Liu Weijian.

Then the big Diao Dang said softly, "The princess has signed and confessed!"

"I admit that it was just nonsense from the prince consort after drinking, and it was not intentional!"

Zhang Dunli listened, swallowed, and collapsed.

Then he started yelling as if he had grabbed a life-saving straw: "Yes..."

"I was drunk and said something wrong. It was not intentional!"

"I beg your Majesty the Emperor, the Grand Empress Dowager, and your Majesty the Empress Dowager to look into this matter clearly!"

Everyone present looked at each other and smiled knowingly.

Everyone knows that they have made a fortune.

They set a precedent in the Song Dynasty!
Completely toppled a royal consort!
(End of this chapter)