My life is like walking on thin ice

Chapter 296: Three Types of Unfilial Acts?

As the saying goes, there is no trivial matter in a royal family.

Even the most trivial chat contains important events that can influence the ancestral temple, the country, and even the progress of civilization.

At this moment, Empress Cao said, "Your Majesty is well, come to see me often," but she very cleverly used the word "see" to imply that Liu Rong went to the Pepper Palace just to "see" Empress Cao, but did not do anything else he should do.

As the head of the Liu family and the undisputed helmsman of the harem affairs, Empress Dowager Dou immediately expressed her opinion: Emperor, this is too much.

Then Empress Dowager Li stepped forward and shared the information she had obtained with Empress Cao and Empress Dowager Dou, saying roughly: Don't worry, my son has his own considerations. It's not that he dislikes the Empress, but that he is worried that the Empress will have difficulty giving birth, so he is dragging his feet.

This is a topic that is not suitable for public discussion or even cannot be discussed directly. If it were discussed among the common people or between mother-in-law and daughter-in-law in the families of princes and nobles, it should have ended here.

——Empress Cao should have stood up and said: It is the child's fault for causing grandmother and mother-in-law to worry;
Empress Dowager Li comforted him with gentle words: My son still likes the queen~
Finally, Empress Dowager Dou stepped forward and made the final decision: Don’t worry, Queen. I will talk to the Emperor later and he will not let the Queen suffer such an injustice…

But in the royal family, the topic has developed to this point, but it is far from over.

At this moment, Queen Cao was full of doubts.

From the bottom of my heart, Queen Cao, I am very worried!

He was worried that the current Emperor Rong was like this, and that it was because he or his maternal family, the Pingyang Marquis line, had done something to displease the Emperor, which is why Liu Rong punished or warned the Pingyang Marquis family in this way: thunder, lightning, rain and dew are all the Emperor's grace!

Whatever I give out, I can take back at any time!
If this is true, then Cao Shu, a woman trapped in the imperial palace, has no better solution.

I can only contact my mother's clan to find out what has angered the emperor, and then try to calm him down.

But just now, Empress Dowager Li's words made Cao Shu a little unsure.

——If Liu Rong was angry with the Pingyang Marquis family because of other things, then maybe he would calm down someday and spend the night in the Pepper Room every now and then.

But according to what Empress Dowager Li said, Liu Rong was obviously inclined to avoid staying in the Pepper Room for a short period of time and follow the Zhougong etiquette with Empress Cao.

This is a serious matter!
Any qualified politician - even someone with a little political sense - cannot fail to understand: when the emperor finds a seemingly reasonable reason for an unreasonable action, then there is something wrong with this matter!
The reasons or excuses that the emperor had tried so hard to find might not be true.
The key point is that the emperor went to such great lengths and was determined to continue this unreasonable move.

This can be easily seen by giving a few examples.

——During the reign of Emperor Taizu Gao, Crown Prince Liu Ying was a Confucianist and weak person, which made Emperor Taizu dislike him.

When Lady Qi came to favor, the third prince Liu Ruyi's status also rose, and Emperor Taizu Gaodi commented on him as being "very similar to myself!"
Everyone in and outside the court was shocked when they heard this, and they immediately went to find Emperor Taizu Liu Bang and advised him tactfully: Your Majesty has already appointed the Crown Prince, but now you say that another prince is like his father and similar to you. This is probably shaking the foundation of the ancestral temple and the country, and condoning certain unhealthy tendencies.

Unexpectedly, Emperor Taizu Liu Bang immediately waved his hand and said nonchalantly: The reason why the prince is the crown prince is because he is the eldest son and is quite loved by the court and the outside world;
I feel that my youngest son is similar to me, and as a father, I am just more partial to a son who is more like me...

By this time, all the heroes and meritorious officials in the court knew that the matter was serious.

why?
Because if Liu Bang at that time had not thought of replacing the crown prince and replacing Liu Ying with Liu Ruyi, he would have certainly said: "Ah? Is this really the case?"

I just said that my youngest son looks like me, but he caused such great harm to the ancestral temple and the country?
What you reminded me is so right. I will never say this or do this again!

——This is the attitude that the emperor should have after his "unintentional mistake".

But Liu Bang chose to find a seemingly reasonable but actually extremely perfunctory reason for his obviously inappropriate and even inappropriate behavior.

The reasons that the kings find at such times and in similar situations can actually be directly translated as: I give you face and give you a reasonable explanation;

But you want me to change and stop doing this?
Don't even think about it!

As a result, everyone inside and outside the court heard the Xuan sound and understood the elegant intention: Your Majesty, I'm afraid you want to depose the crown prince and enthrone Prince of Zhao Liu Ruyi!
This was the beginning of a series of disputes that followed.

During the reign of Emperor Taizong Xiaowen, it was still the same emperor who promoted his youngest son as his "filial father" and "like himself", which led to instability in the crown prince and unrest among the people inside and outside the court.

But this time, it was Crown Prince Liu Qi who was vying with King of Liang Liu Yi.

At that time, Madam Shen was favored, and the fourth son Liu Yi, born to Madam Shen, was the only one favored by Emperor Taizong.

The same comments of "like his father" and "similar to myself", plus the fact that Jia Yi, the tutor of the Prince of Liang, still caused alarm inside and outside the court;
He went to the palace to meet the emperor and advise Emperor Taizong: The crown prince has been chosen, and Your Majesty should not let your young son have inappropriate thoughts in this way.

Some people even brought up the incident during the reign of Emperor Taizu Gao as a subtle reminder to Emperor Taizong: deposing the eldest son and enthroning the youngest will never work!
Not only will it not work, but it will also bring unnecessary disaster to the mother of the young child.

Madam Qi's previous experience is a lesson for you. Your Majesty, please consider your own situation...

The same logic applies - if Emperor Taizong had not had this intention, he would have immediately taken off his hat and apologized, saying: I should have said something inappropriate.

But Emperor Taizong's reaction at that time shocked the entire court and its people.

——Emperor Taizong said, Madam Shen was born in a humble family and went through a lot of hardships to give birth to the royal heir. I cannot bear to treat her harshly.

Again, the content of this reason is not important at all.

What’s important is that the emperor would rather find a reason to explain himself than stop and mend his ways.

Unsurprisingly, Emperor Taizong's attitude made everyone in and outside the court feel depressed: things had gotten serious again.

To be honest, if Liang Huai Wang Liu Yi had not accidentally fallen off his horse, which directly led to the then Crown Prince Liu Qi suddenly becoming as stable as a rock, it would be hard to say who the "Emperor Jing" of the Han Dynasty's Wenjing reign would have been.

There are many similar cases - without exception, they all follow the iron rule: as long as the emperor does not bow his head, there is something fishy;
Whenever the emperor starts making excuses that don't make sense, things are bound to get serious!
The words that Empress Dowager Li said in defense of the emperor's son made Empress Cao feel that things were about to get serious.

Unlike Empress Cao who was worried, Empress Dowager Li at this time was feeling complacent about being able to defend her beloved son.

——It was hard for Empress Dowager Li to say how much she liked or was satisfied with her daughter-in-law, Cao.

But at least her last name wasn't Chen, her name wasn't A Jiao, and she wasn't Princess Guantao's woman - so Empress Dowager Li's impression of Cao was already quite high.

In addition, Cao came from a wealthy family, her words, deeds, and manners were impeccable, and she was extremely respectful to the two empress dowagers. No matter how picky Empress Dowager Li was, it was difficult for her to dislike this sensible new daughter-in-law.

During the past period of time, which is more than half a year or nearly a year since the death of Emperor Xiaojing, Empress Dowager Li has been adapting to her new identity while slowly figuring out the situation.

What is slightly different from what is expected is that when there is a Grand Empress Dowager in Changle Palace, the status of the Empress Dowager is no different from that of the Queen.

——There is also a powerful mother-in-law above her.

If there is any difference, it is that the queen can be deposed, but the queen mother cannot.

In other words, compared to the past "Li Ji", Li, who became the queen mother, only got the rights that the queen should have, and the guarantee that she could not be deposed. For a normal queen mother, this was obviously a bit aggrieved.

But for Queen Mother Li, this was just right.

At present, Empress Dowager Li, as the Empress Dowager, is unconditionally loved by people inside and outside the palace, and even by people all over the world;
While enjoying the status that a queen dowager should have, she does not have to shoulder the specific responsibilities that a queen dowager should have.

The existence of Empress Dowager Dou also gave Empress Dowager Li, a political rookie who had never even been an empress but directly jumped to the position of empress dowager, enough time to adapt to her identity, adjust her mindset, and learn.

At present, Empress Dowager Li is living a very comfortable life.

They just eat and drink every day, rest when they are tired, and chat with their brothers and sisters from their mother's clan when they are bored, without having to worry about people accusing them of "having connections with in-laws".

——Because the Queen Mother has the right to contact her in-laws.

The only hope is that the emperor's son can have a big fat boy to help him pass the boring time in the deep palace...

"Go and give the emperor a message."

"Then let the emperor come to Changle tomorrow night to have dinner with me and the Queen Mother."

"——Let's talk about filial piety."

Compared to Empress Cao's trepidation and treading on thin ice, and Empress Dowager Li's calmness and peace, Empress Dowager Dou accurately judged the current situation.

——What Empress Dowager Li just said is most likely true.

The reason why Emperor Rong distanced himself from the Empress Dowager was probably to prevent Empress Cao from having difficulty in childbirth and causing accidents.

In other words: Emperor Rong has high expectations for Empress Cao and the eldest son she will surely give birth to in the future!
After thinking about it for a while, Empress Dowager Dou roughly understood: the current Emperor Rong would most likely restore the system of primogeniture in the inheritance of the Han throne in order to consolidate the foundation of the country.

As a result, the importance of Empress Cao, and even the future ceiling of the Pingyang Marquis family behind her, suddenly rose to a higher level in the mind of Empress Dowager Dou.

It was just that Empress Dowager Dou was not in a position to discuss this matter with her granddaughter Empress Cao in detail as an ancestor: The Emperor thought this way, the Empress should not think too much...

The best way is to gather all the parties involved together as the head of the family and let them speak for themselves.

Then the old queen mother would mediate.

Especially the sentence "Let the emperor come and chat with me and the empress dowager about filial piety", which basically gave Liu Rong the main theme of this Hongmen Banquet in advance.

——Be filial!
The Empress Dowager specifically requested the Emperor to come for dinner and to show his filial piety. In other words, the Emperor did not fulfill his filial duty to the Crown Prince in some aspects.

When it comes to Liu Rong, it is obviously the infamous saying: There are three kinds of unfilial behavior, and the worst is to have no descendants...

"Thank you, Empress Dowager..."

Vaguely sensing the old empress dowager's intention, Empress Cao's uneasiness did not abate, but she did not forget to thank her grandmother-in-law in a proper manner.

The old queen smiled warmly, nodded, and waved gently;

When Cao came forward, he groped and took Empress Cao's hand.

After a long while, Fang said intriguingly: "Queen, please take care of yourself."

"If you have nothing to do, come to my Changle Palace more often."

"——The Imperial Physician's Office is located in Changle Palace."

"Every time she came to Changle, the Queen would go to the Imperial Physician's Office to look for the Imperial Physician's Order."

"I will send someone to tell the imperial physician about the specific matters."

"If your mother's family has any method to stabilize the pregnancy and have a child - as long as it is not an unorthodox method, Queen, you can prepare it."

"The Emperor's favor towards the Imperial Concubine has probably only been within the past two years..."

These words were not an inference from Empress Dowager Dou, but more like a promise.

——In a few months, Empress Cao turned seventeen.

In the common people, women who have not yet married at this age have already paid a two-year late marriage fine.

As for those women who meet the last age limit of marrying at the age of fifteen, if they have not been able to conceive children two years after marriage, they have already started paying the "late childbearing" fine.

Liu Rong was concerned about Empress Cao and did not want her to take on the risk of childbirth. Empress Dowager Dou could understand this but could not accept it.

For an emperor, forget about governing the country with civil or military powers, being a king at home and dominating abroad - before doing all these, the first thing he should do is to leave behind an heir who can inherit the ancestral temple for the sake of the country!

Only with an heir can the emperor's throne, and even the ancestral temple and the country be considered stable, and only then can the emperor be allowed to fight and do other things.

Empress Dowager Dou was very clear that her grandson, the emperor, had lofty ambitions and a high aspiration.

Moreover, Liu Rong must have been clear about how much benefit a son - or at least a child - could bring to his imperial prestige.

The old empress dowager didn't care and wasn't interested in what Liu Rong was planning.

However, as for Liu Rong's life plan of "late marriage and late childbearing", the old empress could only give a symbolic two years at most.

Within two years, whether it is Empress Cao or other concubines in the harem - someone must be pregnant with the royal heir!
Otherwise, even if the old queen mother was completely out of public interest, she would let Liu Rong understand clearly: There are three kinds of unfilial behavior, and the worst is to have no descendants...

“There may be renewed fighting on the North Wall this fall.”

"If there are any brothers and sisters of the Queen who are capable of being used, they can recommend themselves to the Emperor."

"——Using military merit to support the relatives by marriage, and then using the relatives by marriage to consolidate the foundation of the country and support the crown prince, is something that my Han family has always done."

"Queen, you must also make plans for the unborn prince..."

(End of this chapter)