Changsheng: Peak at the Beginning

If Concubine Hui had previously instigated discord among the literati in front of the emperor, then the response from the imperial doctors now made the emperor even more aware of the disadvantages of foot binding: it harmed women's bodies, made childbirth difficult for women, and also reduced the population of the court.

These two points alone were enough for the emperor to issue an edict to teach those so-called literati a lesson.

So, at the grand court meeting, the emperor distributed the news certified by the Imperial Medical Bureau to the court officials, and then directly issued an order to abolish foot binding, and even stated that if there was someone with bound feet in the family, they would not need to take the imperial examinations, let alone enter officialdom.

Naturally, this decree caused an uproar among the civil and military officials in the court. Han officials headed by Zhang Tingyu strongly opposed it, while royal family members and military generals strongly supported the emperor's decree. After all, there were no women with bound feet in their families, and most of the military generals were bannermen. There were many ways for them to enter the officialdom and they didn't have to rely on the imperial examination.

Various news from the previous dynasty came to the harem, and Concubine Hui couldn't help crying when she heard it. She didn't know what she was thinking in her heart, but when she heard that the emperor had issued the imperial edict, she was so excited that she cried with joy. But later, slowly, Ye Da Ying came to her door, and she cried more and more sadly.

Seeing Concubine Hui crying so sadly, Ye Da Ying just sat for a while and then quickly said goodbye. She went out and walked along the long street. Looking at the tall vermilion walls on both sides that almost blocked the sun, she slowly revealed a smile that became deeper and deeper.

On the second day, Yi Xin directly summoned all the ladies of state and royal family in the capital, expressing her support for the emperor's abolition of foot binding. She also showed the girl she had previously invited into the palace to have her feet bound a pair of "three-inch golden lotus" that were highly praised by men.

How to describe it?

If the feet were still wrapped in cloth, everyone would think that these feet were no longer flesh and blood, but a pair of awls that could be used to drill holes in wood.

When the long foot bindings were taken off, the white and tender feet were so ugly that they were unbearable to look at!

The instep could not be seen at all. A little below the ankle, there was a high bulge. The big toe had been folded toward the sole of the foot, and only a little of the index finger could be seen. Only the middle finger was still intact, and the other two toes on the other side were also missing.

When they turned over to look at the sole of the foot, everyone saw only a gap in front of the heel, and the toes that were not seen from the front were all curled up on the other side of the gap.

The wives of the royal family were either real Manchus, at least they were of the Han army banner, and they had never seen women with bound feet. At this time, several of the younger wives could not bear it any longer and went out to vomit.

After everyone calmed down, Yi Xin said solemnly, "It is said that one's body and hair are given by one's parents. The saints' virtues are spread everywhere, and they never said that women should be excluded."

"All under heaven belongs to the king, and all the people in the land are his subjects. Women are also his subjects. Today, the emperor announced to the world to abolish the bad custom of foot binding. I will assist the emperor and supervise the implementation of this order by women all over the world."

"I hope that after you go back, you will explain what you saw today to the men in your family. I believe that the men in your family are very clear about the emperor's temper. Don't make a mistake because of a momentary lapse of temper and ruin the future of your descendants."

At this time, no woman opposed the emperor's edict for any reason. In fact, many of them wished that women could be freer, even freer.

When the emperor heard that Yi Xin had demonstrated to the ladies of state and royal family what three-inch golden lotus looked like, he also wanted to ask the court officials to see some of the "beauties" that he had written erotic poems to praise.

So the brothel girl whose feet had just been seen by the women declined the emperor's suggestion to cover her whole body and only show her feet, and went directly before the ministers. In front of the court officials, she first took off a pair of exquisite three-inch shoes, then took off a pair of exquisite embroidered socks with many details, and finally took off her long foot bindings one circle at a time, completely displaying all her ugliness and the men's unbearableness in front of the world.

The girl smiled tenderly and softly as she talked about how this pair of three-inch golden lotus feet, which were loved by so many adults, had been developed step by step into their current appearance. As she spoke, she smiled and shed tears. Zhang Tingyu could not bear it, so he knelt down to admit his mistake in front of the emperor and interrupted the girl's further accusations.

As Zhang Tingyu knelt down to apologize, more and more Han officials also knelt down to admit their mistakes and stopped obstructing the emperor's decree. However, they believed that it was a bit too much to prevent anyone with bound feet in their family from taking the imperial examinations and becoming an official.

The emperor sat high on the dragon throne and said, "That day, Concubine Hui knelt down and asked me whether women in the world were my subjects. I was at a loss to answer her for a moment."

"Today, I will issue an order to the whole world. All the people in the land must be my subjects!"

Zhang Tingyu and others raised another question: "If a person who has entered the government has someone with bound feet in his family, how should he deal with it?"

The emperor replied directly: "All those under the age of 40 who have bound feet must have their feet unbound. Those over 40 do not need to have their feet unbound, but this is my only mercy."

It is understood that officials who have entered the civil service must bind the feet of their wives, concubines, daughters and granddaughters. Otherwise, they can only return to their hometown.

The sour Confucian scholars in the community naturally opposed it fiercely, but those who opposed them even more fiercely were the vast majority of women who wanted a pair of normal feet, and the even larger group of farmers.

Yi Xin used the imperial edict to announce the dangers and hazards of foot binding to the world. Within two months, even people in the deep mountains and forests of Guangxi, Yunnan and Guizhou knew that foot binding would cause girls to break their feet, thus harming bone growth and making it increasingly difficult for women to give birth in the future.

There are more men than women in this world, and many people cannot even get married in their entire lives. The rich families keep slaves and concubines, making it even more difficult for the poorer families to get married.

After understanding these principles, even though foot binding had nothing to do with many poor families, they began to support the emperor's will.

The Guillotines are no pushovers, and have now grown to the point where they can directly supervise the world on behalf of the emperor. So with the help of the Guillotines, although the abolition of foot binding has experienced some twists and turns, by the end of the year, those who should have their feet bound had their feet bound, and the children who originally wanted to have their feet bound or had just had their feet bound had all been liberated. The emperor received the Umbrella of the People presented by the Guillotines, and felt extremely happy!

Because Yi Xin had made contributions and the emperor had mentioned Concubine Hui and Ye Da Ying, the people all thought that the emperor's concubines were quite virtuous, and the emperor was naturally a wise ruler.

Although the Shen family was initially criticized by literati because of Concubine Hui's actions, they had a very good reputation among the people. Also, because Concubine Hui suggested promoting her to the rank of noble concubine, all the Shen family's in-laws were honored.

However, without the position of Imperial Concubine, Concubine Xi saw that Imperial Concubine Hui was unhappy with her, and she became more determined to replace Imperial Concubine Jing.