Tang Dynasty woman

Chapter 45 The Empress Dowager in the Era of Wei
Zhongzong indulged Empress Wei, and Empress Wei indulged Princess Anle.Princess An Le takes power and accepts bribes, is extravagant, and has a whimsical dream. She dreams of becoming the crown princess...

1. Princess Anle takes power

Once Wu Zetian died, all officials surnamed Wu were resigned from their posts, but Wu Sansi was meritorious for killing two Zhangs, and Shangguan Zhaorong and Princess Taiping spoke good words in front of Zhongzong, so his title was even higher. For a while, Wu Sansi, Zhang Jianzhi, Li Duozuo, Huan Yanfan and Fan Yiban, the ministers who made great contributions to the restoration of Zhongzong, joined forces with Empress Wei, Princess Taiping, Princess Anle, and Princess Changning, and went up and down the court inside and outside the palace. Get authority.

The beautiful and intelligent Princess Anle is the youngest daughter of Empress Wei. Her son-in-law is Wu Yanxiu, the second son of Wu Chengsi.Not only Zhongzong and Empress Wei loved Princess Anle very much, and allowed her to do whatever she wanted since she was a child, even her grandmother, Emperor Zetian, loved her very much. Gradually, Princess Anle became proud of her favor.

When Zhongzong and his wife were still imprisoned in Fangzhou, Princess Anle stayed in the palace of his grandmother, Emperor Zetian.At that time, Wu Chengsi's nephew Wu Chongxun, who was about the same age as her, often came and went in and out of the palace. He was especially favored because of his youth and beauty, and being the nephew of Emperor Zetian. Under many romantic cases.There was a lot of rumors outside that Wu Chongxun had raped his grandmother and aunt, and Wu Zetian assigned Princess Anle to Wu Chongxun because of the rumors.But it turned out that the Merry Man and the Merry Princess had already hooked up secretly, so within six months after their marriage, Princess Anle gave birth to a boy.

At that time, the husband and wife were harmonious and beautiful, and their lives were really happy.Wu Chongxun, who didn't want to come to the son-in-law's mansion often to play, won love from his beautiful cousin Wu Yanxiu. The two uncles and sisters flirted and scolded in the mansion and never avoided people's eyes and ears. Wu Chongxun was afraid of the power of the princess, so he had to pretend to be deaf and dumb. Injustice and anger are stuffy in the stomach.Soon after, Wu Chongxun, who knew each other well, died when Zhongzong returned to the court. Under the instruction of Princess Anle, Empress Wei recruited Wu Yanxiu as her son-in-law.On the day of her wedding, Empress Wei actually lent the queen's full ceremonial guards and horses to the princess for use, and the ministers wanted to win the queen's favor, so they gave money to the people in the capital privately. From Anfumen to the palace, the lights along the way shine brighter than daylight.

Wu Yanxiu was awarded the title of Princess Shang'anle, who was not only granted the title of Taichangqing, but also the right-hand general, the prince's son-in-law, and the Duke of Heng, and was given a house in Jinchengfang.However, Princess An Le was not satisfied, so she built a large consort's mansion in the downtown area. A flying building spanned the long street. Handmaids took a lot of money and sprinkled it into the street.Seeing the passers-by people rushing to snatch in the street, Princess Anle laughed heartily.

Princess Anle built an Anle Buddhist Temple on the hill behind the mansion, which is resplendent and magnificent.Another long corridor was built, which meanders and leads to the son-in-law's mansion.The strangest thing is that there are no statues of gods and Buddhas in the Buddhist temple, but only a lotus platform. Princess Anle is happy, so she dresses up as Guanyin, with white clothes and jade-like feet, sitting cross-legged. On the lotus platform, the maids and eunuchs in the mansion were ordered to pay homage around the Buddha seat, calling the Living Buddha in unison.Wu Yanxiu watched the princess play the role of Guanyin, and she became more and more clean and beautiful, so she also bowed down under the lotus platform. The princess nodded and smiled unconsciously as she was bowed down by her son-in-law on the lotus platform.

A year later, Princess Anle gave birth to a boy. Empress Wei gave a banquet to all the officials in the palace, and ordered all temples in the capital to perform plays to reward the gods.Zhongzong and Empress Wei also visited the concubine's mansion to comfort the princess, and rewarded [-] laundering money. Emperor Zhongzong immediately issued an edict in the concubine's mansion to amnesty the world.

Princess Anle collected skillful craftsmen from all over the world to create an incense burner with hundreds of treasures.Although the body of the furnace is only three feet high, there are four doors and four small bridges, carved with flowers, plants, birds and animals, as well as the heavens, Jiyue, Qilin, Luanfeng, white cranes, flying immortals. No, the body of the furnace is also inlaid with treasures such as pearls, agate, colored glaze, amber, glass, coral, and cherts.A total of 300 million yuan was spent, and all the private money from the princess's dowry had been spent.Empress Wei also gave Princess Anle 100 million of her own money in private, but it was not enough for her to squander, so she sold officials and nobles with Shangguan Wan'er, Princess Changning, and Princess Taiping.Of course, it was formal and legal for them to do so, because Emperor Zhongzong ordered Anle and Princess Taiping to set up their own mansions and set up officials. Regardless of whether the butcher or the pawns, they only need to pay 30 yuan, and the princesses can immediately send ink to give officials.At one time, there were five or six thousand officials appointed by the three princesses, such as Yuanwai, Tongzheng, Trial Photographer, Prosecutor, and Judgment. Officials from those two provinces had no right to intervene, let alone dare to inquire.

Zhongzong also ordered Shangguan Wan'er to take charge of life because Shangguan Wan'er was proficient in literature and ink and was able to manage the government.Therefore, Wan'er's power is not small.Among the three princesses, Princess Anle is the most powerful. Anyone who is willing to pay a huge amount of money and has exceptional requirements will come to ask for Princess Anle.Princess Anle wrote her own edict according to her request, and took it into the palace. While watching the emperor signing, Princess Anle sent the edict she wrote to the dragon case, covering the words on the edict with one hand, and grabbed her father with the other Emperor Zhongzong saw that Princess Anle was cute and charming, so he smiled and obeyed her, and signed the edict without even looking at what was written in the edict.Therefore, there were often local tyrants and bad sticks in the capital area who followed Princess Anle's door and suddenly issued an imperial edict to appoint a high official. Not only did the officials not know about it, but even Emperor Zhongzong himself was baffled.

2. Bold fantasy

Princess Anle was raised by Wu Zetian's side since she was a child, and she was used to the arbitrariness of a female emperor who dominates the world and dominates the court, so she thought that her son can be the crown prince, why can't her daughter be the crown prince?So Princess Anle chattered in front of Zhongzong every day, begging her father to make her the empress dowager.After hearing this, Emperor Zhongzong not only didn't blame him, but he laughed loudly. He stroked Princess Anle's neck and said, "It won't be too late to make my daughter the empress dowager after your mother becomes the empress!" Every day, after empress Wei, she also imitated Wu Zetian to listen to the government. She said it today and said it tomorrow, and Empress Wei was really moved by her words.

Zhongzong sat in the court to listen to the government, and Empress Wei was also behind the throne, sitting in the tent with a dense curtain, listening to the government together. Every time a minister played something, the emperor had not yet issued an order, only a crisp soprano voice could be heard coming from the curtain. After coming out, Emperor Zhongzong issued an edict accordingly.From then on, because Zhongzong was weak and sick, Empress Wei often advised the emperor to quit the court, and she acted arbitrarily in everything, ten times more powerful than Wu Zetian.For the sake of husband and wife in need, Zhong Zong was too embarrassed to stop her.Originally, empress Wei relied on sharing weal and woe to monopolize affairs everywhere, but now that he listened to the government behind the curtain, Emperor Zhongzong had been suppressed by the empress invisibly.

As soon as Princess Anle saw her mother and took power, she became more eager to be the crown princess, and told Queen Wei about it every day, so Queen Wei sat at court every day, and Princess Anle also sat aside to listen to the government.

(End of this chapter)