Tang Dynasty woman

Chapter 26 Love and Lore
6. Rescue from righteousness

Wei Zheng is a well-known loyal minister, and he is also worthy of this reputation. Usually, when he sees Gaozu or the prince making mistakes, he always speaks out. Sometimes Gaozu and the prince are so ashamed and angry, they want to kill him. Wei Zheng But he didn't flinch, and continued to persuade him.Later, when he saw Li Shimin's great achievements and power, and the potential to overwhelm the East Palace, he secretly advised Li Jiancheng many times to make an early move.Now Li Jiancheng really died in the hands of Taizong, Wei Zheng returned to his hometown and lived in seclusion.Taizong sent people to search around, and finally found Wei Zheng.

When Wei Zheng entered the court and met Taizong, he bowed and did not worship.Taizong shouted and asked: "Why did you say in front of the first prince that the widow is a treacherous person and alienate my brother?"

After hearing this, Wei Zheng sneered and said, "If the former crown prince was willing to listen to his ministers' advice, why would there be such a disaster today? The former crown prince is clumsy and straightforward, not as good at flattering and tricking as your majesty, and can win people's hearts. However, the straight is a gentleman, and the clever is a villain." ..."

When Taizong saw that Wei Zheng denounced him as a villain, he was furious and said, "What evidence do you have for saying that I am flattering and taking advantage of you? Tell me quickly! If there is anything wrong, don't blame me for being cruel." Wei Zheng calmly said Said: "After killing the former crown prince, His Majesty feared that the Supreme Emperor would commit more crimes. When His Majesty met with the Supreme Emperor in Yande Palace, it was in the heat of summer. The Supreme Emperor sat in the Dongxuan, opening his chest to enjoy the cool air. Your Majesty knelt in front of the Supreme Emperor's knees, and the Supreme Emperor said something." Fraternal fratricide is hateful and deplorable', Your Majesty has nothing to say, just sucks the Taishang Emperor's nipple and pretends to cry, this is the way of flattering and tricking, does Your Majesty still remember this matter?" Wei Zheng finished speaking, Yu Wen Shi Ji said: "The former prince has no way to punish him. Long live the saints and gods. If anyone doesn't respect him, how dare you be rude in the palace?"

Wei Zheng immediately replied loudly: "In the past, Guan Zhong was a minister of Zijiu, and he once shot Duke Huan. Now I just argue a few words with the former prince. How can I say that my minister is rude?" , comforted me with kind words, and immediately decreed that Wei Zheng and Wang Gui should take the post of admonishing doctor together, and if I encounter any unethical things in the future, you are allowed to speak out to the fullest.

Taizong's confidant Hou Junji seized the secret letter sent by Lujiang Wang Ai and the former prince Li Jiancheng. The content of the letter was to instigate Li Jiancheng and Li Yuanji to murder Taizong quickly.Taizong was furious when he saw it, and wanted to get rid of King Lujiang, even though he was Taizu's grandson, Gaozu's younger brother, and Taizong's uncle.

The king of Lujiang had a premonition that something bad was going to happen, so he was unwilling to sit still and waited for death, so he gathered a crowd to start an incident.It was another bloody fight. The king of Lujiang failed and was hanged alive. Taizong decreed that the king of Lujiang should be abolished as a commoner. Jing, the court should frankly show the Grand Duke, and stop begging, so as to avoid catastrophe.According to the play, Emperor Taizong summoned Wang Gui, Wei Ting and Du Yan, the former prince's party feathers, as counselors, and ordered Feng Yili, Xue Wanche and others to return to the capital.For a time, the hearts of the people are calm, and both inside and outside are at peace.At the same time, Emperor Taizong also sent Wei Zheng to comfort the Shandong area, allowing him to act cheaply.

When Wei Zheng was heading towards Shandong, he met Li Zhian, the Qianniu officer of the former prince, and Li Sixing, the guard officer of the first king of Qi, who were thrown into prison cages and escorted to the capital.Wei Zheng immediately ordered the release of the two men, and he said to the escort officer: "The emperor has already issued an edict here, and all the remaining parties in the former East Palace and the Qi Mansion will not be held accountable. Has it turned into fiction?" Taizong praised Wei Zheng for his knowledge and ability to handle things after hearing about this matter, and issued an edict to reward him, and at the same time issued an edict that in the future, everything including the East Palace, the Qi Mansion, and Lujiang Wang Yuan will not be allowed. Those who disobey the order will sit back.

When he visited the border of Shandong, Wei Zheng was stationed in the desolate Caoqiaoyi, where there were only [-] to [-] village and peasant households. Wei Zheng wanted to visit and investigate the suffering of the people, so he stationed in a remote and desolate place.

Early that morning, a police officer dragged a village woman in from outside the door, and the village woman was holding a baby who was still breastfeeding.The messenger held a gown in his hand, knelt down in front of Wei Zheng and presented it.Wei Zheng flipped through it carefully, and saw the words "Made by the Prince of Qi's Mansion" on the back of the collar, so he asked the officer, where did the clothes come from?
The messenger pointed to the village woman and said: "The villain passed by the village woman's house early in the morning, and saw the eaves of her house, drying the clothes. The villain thought that the clothes were only found in the palace on the ground of the capital. How come there are also in the countryside? The villain immediately went in, and when the village woman saw that the villain asked her who she was from, what business her husband did, and where did she get the clothes, she immediately showed a flustered look. After repeated questioning, she always refused to answer. At this moment, she suddenly heard the sound of a child crying in the next room, and the woman became even more alarmed. She ran over immediately, and the villain was waiting for her in the outer room. The woman didn't come out for a long time, but the child's crying became louder. The villain looked in through the crack of the door. It turned out that the woman was holding the child in her arms, and was frantically looking for a place to hide in the house. Get up. The villain was even more suspicious, so he broke into the room and snatched the child, and asked her if the child was her own son and where your husband is now. The woman couldn't hide it, so she said that the child was not her own. She doesn't have a husband, and she's still a girl who hasn't left the court. The villain saw the strangeness of the case, so he brought her into the mansion and asked the lord to interrogate her in person." After the official finished speaking, he stepped back and stood there.

Wei Zheng took a look at this village woman, although she was disheveled and dressed roughly, but she had fair skin and beautiful eyebrows, she was by no means a woman who had lived in the countryside for a long time.Wei Zheng knew that there must be a serious hidden story here, so he drank away the left and right, took the woman into the inner study, and asked the child and the origin of Gunyi in a pleasant manner.At first the woman refused to say anything.Wei Zheng said that he was a consolation envoy sent by the emperor, and he could make decisions for the emperor on all matters, big or small. He also said that he had done the prince's horse washing before, and he always helped pardon any cases related to the former prince.

Then the woman told the whole story while crying: "I used to be a maid named Xiaojuan who was next to Concubine Yang in the palace of Prince Qi. Bloodline. Poor him, less than three months after he was born, King Qi suffered a catastrophe. Concubine Yang knew that his life would not be safe in the future, so she sent an internal official that night, took the travel expenses, protected the maid, and brought this The child fled to the border of Shandong Province and pretended to be a country woman and stayed at Caoqiao Post. Concubine Yang gave this gown to her maidservant to wrap the little prince. When my mother and son meet again, I will use this garment as evidence.' Therefore, the servant girl dare not lose this garment. Now living in this remote place, it is expected that the emperor can't see it, so the servant girl is bold for a while. , I took out the clothes and dried them in the sun. I didn’t want to be seen by the officials in the Lord’s mansion. Now that the case has been solved, the servant girl deserves to die. It’s just that when Concubine Yang entrusted the little prince to the servant girl, I once knelt down to my maidservant, saying that no matter how hard it is, I must save the life of the little prince, so that the king of Qi will not be extinct. Now that the maidservant kowtows to the lord, the lord is willing to take the maidservant to pieces I just ask my lord to look at Concubine Yang and save this little prince's life!"

After the maid Xiaojuan finished speaking, her face was full of tears, she lay down on the ground and kowtowed continuously.Wei Zheng was greatly moved: "An ignorant woman, who knows how to be loyal to her lord, and I am in vain as a minister of the court, how can I not protect the life of an innocent little prince?" So he adopted his maid Xiaojuan and the little prince into the inner house, and again Ask where the internal officer who protected her is now?Maid Xiaojuan said that she died of a sudden illness a month ago.Wei Zheng also ordered the official not to talk nonsense outside, if he leaked the wind, he should be punished severely.

7. The chaste woman without chastity: Princess Li Yuanji
Another concubine of Li Yuanji, Yang Shi, has outstanding beauty and soft temperament. She is the most beautiful among all the concubines, and among the more than 20 concubines favored by Li Yuanji, only this concubine Yang can read and write. Long poems and fus are deeply favored by Li Yuanji.In the third year of entering the mansion, this little prince was born, named Chengzhong.Li Chengzhong looks exactly like his mother, beautiful and smart, both the king and concubine cherish him very much.

Unexpectedly, with a thunderbolt, Li Yuanji was killed at the Xuanwu Gate.Concubine Yang, who was in so much pain, sent her maid and inner officer to take the little prince to escape from the backyard by climbing the wall when the whole house was in a panic.At this time, the mansion was in chaos, only Concubine Yang was very calm, she had the idea of ​​a martyrdom in her heart, she was alone in the room, and was about to take advantage of the unpreparedness to find someone to commit suicide, when suddenly the official of Huangmen came out. A decree from the empress to welcome Concubine Yang into the palace.Concubine Yang thanked her repeatedly and refused to go, but the Huangmen officials immediately forced Concubine Yang to sit in the incense car in the palace and send her to the palace.

After seeing her face, Empress Changsun held Concubine Yang's hand and comforted her repeatedly.It turned out that Concubine Yang and Empress Changsun were relatives. When Empress Changsun was in Prince Qin's mansion, Concubine Yang would often go to the mansion for banquets and conversations. The two were as close as sisters.

Heroes are not shy about being lustful, not to mention that Emperor Taizong has always regarded himself as a hero, and Concubine Yang's beauty is enough to tempt even a hard-hearted heart.Concubine Yang went to Qin Palace to visit Empress Changsun, Li Shimin was always very courteous every time she saw her, but Concubine Yang was always stern and cold, although Li Shimin was full of love, but this beauty was as beautiful as peaches and plums, as cold as ice, like a tree Roses are very fragrant and very beautiful, but they have thorns, so they can't get close to them. At that time, King Qin once sighed and said, such a stunning beauty, who will fall into the hands of someone in the future?

But in front of Empress Changsun, she talked and laughed, charming and lingering, cute and pitiful, Empress Changsun was very happy and often left her in her boudoir to chat and laugh.Concubine Yang often said to Empress Changsun: "The most rare thing in the world is to have lovers and many lovers. A girl can't easily lose herself in the hands of a rich man. The rich and noble people in the world are the most ruthless and undesirable." After talking about her beauty, she tried every means to force her to be a concubine. After her marriage, Empress Changsun joked with her, saying that her younger sister didn't want to lose her life as a rich and noble son, but why did she become the concubine of our Fourth Prince? The face of our Fourth Prince is the ugliest.

No one would have imagined that since the king of Qi got concubine Yang, he had a hundred kinds of true feelings and tender feelings, and he loved only Concubine Yang. Concubine Yang's licentious and violent behavior was completely changed here, and she turned into a gentle and affectionate man.

Gradually, Concubine Yang was moved by King Qi's love, and she couldn't help giving all the tenderness and true love she had hidden in her heart for many years. The two of them really loved each other.

8. Repay love with injustice
After King Qi was killed by rebel soldiers, Emperor Taizong wanted to send troops to search Prince Qi's mansion. When Empress Changsun heard about it, she first thought of Concubine Yang. She didn't know how sad she was at this time. She has followed King Qi underground; moreover, Concubine Yang, who is so delicate and soft, is used to being pampered. Wouldn't it be frightening to see the soldiers go to the mansion to search?So he hurriedly dismissed the Huangmen official and told him to bring Concubine Yang into the palace.Then Empress Changsun, while consoling, prepared a sumptuous banquet and invited all the concubines in the palace to accompany her.Concubine Yin, Concubine Wang, Concubine Yan, Concubine Wei, Meiren Yang, and Concubine Yang Jieyu were all Taizong's favorite concubines.Concubine Yan has a petite figure, and she speaks sweetly, so sweet that people love to listen to it, which relieves worries and boredom.She and Concubine Yang were very affectionate, and took Concubine Yang to her room, where they slept together, and tried to persuade her with all kinds of words.

Concubine Yang's grief was relieved after being persuaded. Seeing that all the concubines were making out with her, she was too embarrassed to be indifferent to them, so she had to say a few perfunctory words, so she gradually dispelled the idea of ​​seeking death; Concerned about the fact that I still have a little prince living outside, thinking that if I commit suicide, even if the little prince grows up to see the light of day in the future, wouldn’t my mother and son never see each other again? Wouldn't it make him an orphan without a father and a mother?Thinking about it this way, she made up her mind to suspend her grief for the time being, and live secretly in order to plan a day when mother and child meet.Then she explained to the eldest grandson queen, who tried her best to keep her to live in the palace, that if she wanted her to live in the palace, she had to do four things: the first thing was to tidy up another palace courtyard, and assign eight maids and eight young ladies. The yellow gate serves her; the second is that although she lives in the palace, she lives freely, and no matter what festivals or festivals she celebrates, she does not accompany her concubines to visit the emperor; , allowing Concubine Yang to burn incense and worship in the morning and evening; the fourth thing is that she can leave the palace at any time.

As long as Concubine Yang was willing to live in the palace, Emperor Taizong immediately agreed to each of these four conditions after listening to Empress Changsun's report, and at that time allocated Yingzi Palace for Concubine Yang to live in.

(End of this chapter)