Chronicle of Emperor Jing

No matter how twists and turns the process was, no matter how embarrassing and hard to see people later, Wei Yan finally embarked on a trip to Youzhou on the eighteenth day of the first lunar month.

For this result, some people are happy, some are worried, and some people are mixed. Of course, more people don't feel any pain or itching. It's just different from person to person.

Empress Xie thought that when the man left, the emperor would no longer continue to stay in the concubine palace like a month ago. She ordered people to carefully inquire about where the emperor was going to be tonight. After the news came, she didn't know Whether to be happy or angry.

"Your Majesty didn't turn over any concubine's brand, and still stayed alone in the bedroom." The servant who came to report knelt on the ground, and carefully reported the news he had inquired from Tong Shisi.

While reporting, he took a peek at the queen's uncertain face, his voice became lower and lower, and then quietly retreated and knelt in the dark, for fear that if he was not careful, the queen's anger would burn on him .

The empress should have been delighted when she heard the news, since the man had been on the dragon couch, the emperor had never visited any concubine except for staying in her Kunning Palace as usual.From a good point of view, it can be said that no matter how absurd the emperor acted, he still maintained some respect for her, but from another point of view, it was always extremely reconciled.

Since the first emperor was dying, she was designated as the emperor's wife, and she began to receive education from the queen.Everyone told her that as a queen, she must be dignified, virtuous, understanding and tolerant. Only in this way can she respect the world and be respected by the emperor.As for the emperor's favor, it's good to have it, but don't worry too much about it if you don't.As a queen, she doesn't need to rely on the emperor's favor to gain a foothold in the harem.

After the wedding, the emperor did not spoil her alone, but respected her very much.Moreover, the emperor never cared much about the concubines in the harem. Sometimes he didn't even bother to turn over the cards. Instead, he toured the harem one by one. The concubines all had a share, and none of them failed. It was truly achieved. Balanced rain and dew.

Since the emperor doesn't care about anyone, she has the highest status and the respect of the emperor, so naturally there is nothing unwilling.

But now, she discovered that the emperor would actually dote on someone like this.

She understands all the big truths, and she knows that she shouldn't mind this matter so much, but every time she thinks about it, the unwillingness in her heart can't be suppressed no matter what.

She thought about it and thought about it, but in the end she was sent to clean the palace.

Although there is only a wall between the Kunning Palace where the empress lives and the Qianqing Palace where the emperor lives, this high palace wall is the natural barrier between the harem and the inner court.

The imperial city of the Jing Dynasty is slightly different from the previous dynasty. It is divided into three parts: the outer court, the inner court, and the harem.The Qianqing Palace and its affiliated palaces belong to the inner court, while the Kunning Palace and the East and West Twelve Palaces belong to the Harem.

In the harem, except for the empress who can come to Qianqing Palace to see the emperor, other concubines are not allowed to set foot here without their will.

It is said that in the previous dynasty, the Qianqing Palace should also be regarded as part of the harem, but after the founding of the Jing Dynasty, Gaozu deliberately divided the Qianqing Palace from the harem in order to prevent future generations from indulging in beauty, neglecting political affairs, and repeating the mistakes of the previous dynasty. After going out, a bunch of ancestral rules were left behind, so as to prevent future generations from singing and singing every night without paying attention to government affairs. The rules that concubines in the harem are not allowed to stay in the Qianqing Palace come from that time, and of course the queen is still not an exception.

However, there are policies and countermeasures. Although the ancestral family law is there, the successive kings can still find ways to circumvent these rules. The strong directly modify the archives of daily life and housekeeping, and the cowardly can sneak out of the warehouse, and the concubines are not allowed to stay overnight. , as well as the maids who have not been conferred, as kings, no matter how bad they are, they will never wrong themselves in this regard.

Emperor Jing of this generation is naturally also a lord who refuses to wrong himself. Besides, his mother, the most powerful woman in the dynasty, the current queen mother, never wants his only son to be wronged in this regard, as long as he does not neglect political affairs, Regarding his absurd behavior in this regard, he has always turned a blind eye to his absurd behavior, and only when he is really too nonsense, will he hide a few words from him.

In view of this, the number of times the young emperor messed up is definitely not rare, and the queen's rumors are not once or twice.The queen herself didn't understand why she was always tense this time, always paying attention to this matter, and refused to relax a little.

When the empress's phoenix chariot entered the Qianqing Palace, she saw that the entire main hall was brightly lit. The emperor's posture of being busy with political affairs was indeed well placed.Of course, to her surprise, the emperor didn't fool people this time, he was really busy with political affairs.

"The concubine heard that His Majesty has been busy with political affairs recently, so he specially prepared some midnight snacks. I hope that when His Majesty is busy with state affairs, he must also be careful of the body of the dragon." After the queen greeted her, she took the ice flower almond bird's nest soup from the maid's hand, and took it forward with her own hands. .

"The queen has a heart." Emperor Jing left the pile of documents, took the hand of the queen, and sat down on the couch next to him. He really comforted her with a few words, as if the unhappiness in Zhaoren Hall many days ago was not there at all. Same happened.

However, although his attitude was gentle and his tone was amiable, in the end he still ignored the longing in the queen's eyes, and sent Gao Yong to send her back to the palace on the grounds that the night was heavy.

This night, the four words "sleeping alone in the bedroom" on Emperor Jing's daily life were not mixed with any water.

If there is one, there will be two, and if there is two, there will be three. After three nights like this, even the Queen Mother was alarmed.

In this huge palace, the thoughts of tens of thousands of people revolve around only one person, and every little change of this person will attract the attention of all directions.The emperor has no selfish affairs. When it concerns the emperor, even trivial matters are state affairs, let alone the emperor's sexual affairs.

It's not enough to play and sing every night to neglect the government, but it is also worrying to be diligent in political affairs and neglect the harem.In a sense, the emperor is the most powerful person in the world, but also the least powerful person in the world who can do whatever he wants.

"Is Your Majesty feeling unwell?" The Empress Dowager naturally knew that the emperor's "diligence in political affairs and neglecting the palace" some time ago was just an excuse to deceive others, but now that no one is in front of him, the emperor still lives alone in the palace, so she couldn't help but worry.

The emperor was at the age when the needs were the strongest, so she was so pure and ascetic that she could only think about whether she was feeling unwell.

"Mother, don't worry, I'm just worrying about a few political affairs, and I can't be interested in it for a while." It is a fact that Emperor Jing is worried about political affairs, and it is also true that he can't be interested in sexual affairs, but there is no causal relationship between these two facts, but he If these two facts are to be combined into a causal theory, since no one is a roundworm in his belly, no one will jump out and refute that it is not.

"Is Your Majesty worrying about Enke?"

"Yes. I know well that the aristocratic clan opposes me. What I didn't expect is that even officials from the Han clan would object." As I said before, although Emperor Jing was very unhappy with Qi Yuanheng himself, it didn't affect his thinking about famous people like Qi Yuanheng. After two days of thinking about the reason for living outside the temple, he made an order at the court meeting that he would try to add an Enke for the Han people in the future. He did not expect that as soon as this order was issued, it would be opposed by the civil and military forces of the Manchu Dynasty.

"Ten years of hard work, and once a fish leaps into the dragon's gate. Your Majesty's Enke has wiped out all their hard work. No wonder they feel unbalanced in their hearts. This Enke has existed in all dynasties, but this dynasty only used it during the time of Gaozu. At that time, after many years of fighting, the talents of the court were withered, and the emperor would hold it only to appease the old officials of the former court. Later, after the government was well-rounded and everything went smoothly, it was abandoned. Naturally, there are reasons for opposition from the ministers. Your Majesty should not act too hastily. If you have time, you might as well listen to the voices of the people." The Empress Dowager taught earnestly.

"Empress mother?" When Emperor Jing heard the words folk, his first thought was that he went out of the palace privately during the Lantern Festival, and was discovered by the empress dowager. At this time, the empress dowager mentioned that she wanted to settle the score with him after the fall?

However, he carefully observed the look of the queen mother, and it didn't look like her.

"Although it is said that the son of a thousand gold can't sit on the court, and His Majesty's status as the ninety-five-year-old should not risk himself, but His Majesty grew up in the hands of women in the deep palace, and only relying on the secret reports of secret guards, he is responsible for all the affairs of the people. If you don't know anything, you will inevitably make a joke of "why not eat minced meat". The Ai family used to not allow His Majesty to leave the palace privately, because His Majesty was still young at that time, and it was inevitable that he would listen to one side. Now that His Majesty has grown up, Everything has its own opinions, and it is necessary to go out of the palace occasionally to understand the people's sentiments, but in everything, one's own safety must be the first consideration." The Queen Mother continued.

"Thank you, Empress Dowager, I have been taught." After listening to the Empress Dowager's instruction, Emperor Jing bowed respectfully and bid farewell.

Regardless of the extent of the grudge between their mother and son, his mother was always his first teacher on the road to emperor, and also the most important teacher.

After another four or five days like this, Emperor Jing received Wei Yan's invitation to An Zhezi, and the secret Zhezi of the secret guard was sent up shortly thereafter.

There is nothing special about Wei Yan's invitation to An, first he greeted Sheng An, then explained where they had traveled, and finally asked him not to forget to take care of the dragon body when he was worrying about political affairs.

Emperor Jing suspected that such an invitation book had a fixed format, except for the blank section in the middle, which was filled in by oneself, the other parts were exactly the same.He always casually flipped through this kind of invitation papers and threw them aside, but this time he read them carefully from the beginning to the end with great interest.

As for the secrets of the hidden guards, it is much more interesting. For example, how Wei Yan hid in the cabin for two days before he dared to come out to meet people. For example, how many meals Wei Yan eats a day, for example, when does Wei Yan rest? Get up and so on and so on.

When Gao Yong brought the tea in, he saw the smile on the corner of the emperor's mouth from a distance, he quietly put the teacup by the emperor's hand, and then backed out.The emperor was in a better mood, and those who served him breathed a sigh of relief.

With the support of the Empress Dowager, it is much more convenient for Emperor Jing to go out of the palace and inspect the people's sentiments. Although Shen Mo, the commander of Shen, still has a black face, he has listed a lot of rules that are not allowed and that is not allowed. Of course Commander Shen agreed one by one, but he almost forgot when he turned around.

There was no court meeting that day, and Emperor Jing took people out of the palace before noon. Except for a few personal guards, there were no other people around. lunch.

The best restaurant in the capital is Zuixianju, but these few days the examination is approaching, the capital is crowded with candidates from all the states in the country, and the teahouses and restaurants are full of people. Emperor Jing was a little dizzy, so he gave up these lively places and focused on finding a quiet place.

Hard work paid off, wandering the streets for a long time until the hungry group finally found a quiet teahouse in the depths of a certain alley.

This teahouse is hidden in the depths of the alley. The facade is not big, but the inside is not small. , There are also faintly arranged seats in the pavilions under the corridors in the courtyard.

Although the teahouse doesn't sell wine and food, it sells some snacks at least. Emperor Jing took a peek at it and found that it wasn't noisy inside, so he stopped being picky and entered first.It's a pity that they came at an unlucky time, the seats in the courtyard and the private rooms were all taken, only the upstairs lobby had some seats left.

Upstairs is much quieter than downstairs, and there are few people near the window. In addition to the fact that the tea upstairs is ten cents more expensive than downstairs, one of the reasons is that the weather is still cold.

After being seated, Emperor Jing asked for a pot of "Mingqian Tea" and several dishes of dim sum.

When the refreshments came, he tasted it after trying left and right. The "Mingqian tea" was really "Mingqian tea". Unfortunately, it was made last year, but the dim sum here is not bad, not inferior to the craftsmanship of the royal chefs in the palace. When Wei Yan comes back, you might as well bring him over to have a taste.

Although the upstairs is quiet, it is still a teahouse. It is not as good as the people at the tables beside him. They all speak softly, so as not to disturb the emperor in the main seat. Gradually, voices from all over the place reach Emperor Jing's ears.Seeing the faces around the attendants getting paler and paler, Emperor Jing laughed.

This teahouse is very interesting, but if there is a charge of criticizing the government, I wonder if it can continue to open?

At this moment, several scholars at the table on the right were discussing the Enke matter proposed by Emperor Jing a few days ago.

"It sounds good to say that the local government recommends talented people to participate in Enke, and who is talented and who is not is not up to the officials. In the end, I am afraid that it will be human favors that pave the way." Scholar A was annoyed.

"Brother Tai's words are very true. Those corrupt officials even have the opportunity to take advantage of the examination to make money. When they encounter such an opportunity, they can make a lot of money." Scholar B echoed.

"It probably won't be so bad at the beginning, but it will definitely be unavoidable in the long run. Besides, this Enke is unfair to the students who have worked so hard to get into the government school." Scholar C sighed with emotion.

"That one is really too young..." Scholar Ding concluded.

Listening to the words, and carefully distinguishing, all the tea guests in this teahouse can't do without state affairs and government affairs. The people who accompanied the emperor today, sweating in the winter, and those who are not at the emperor's table, dare to secretly Wipe it off with your sleeve, those at the emperor's table no longer know what expression to use to deal with themselves.

What is this place?Don't these people have the courage to talk about state affairs and criticize the government?And they were still criticizing the emperor's actions in front of the emperor. Aren't they afraid that the emperor's anger would flow into rivers?

The attendants were trembling, and the tea drinkers who didn't know were still there eloquently pointing Jiangshan and scolding Fang Qiu, the person who was criticized as worthless, but the old god was drinking tea leisurely.

When Qi Yuanheng came out of the private room, he saw the people at these tables. The ugly faces of the people next to him were in such an obvious contrast with the leisurely and contented person in the middle that he fell into his eyes immediately.He called out "Trouble" in his heart, summoned the waiter to give some careful instructions, then straightened his clothes and walked forward.

This teahouse has actually been open for some time.At the beginning, the owner just wanted to find a place for gatherings of friends and friends, so he found a quiet place deep in the alley, but unexpectedly planted willows and willows in the shade. Gradually, the place gained a little reputation and became a gathering place for scholars and scholars in Kyoto. one of the locations.Some time ago, due to the renovation of the interior, it was closed for more than half a year, but unexpectedly, it only opened for a few days after the year, and it ushered in the "evil star" in front of it.

Qi Yuanheng smiled bitterly in his heart as he walked, thinking that the owner of the teahouse should go to the temple to burn incense and worship Buddha to get rid of bad luck, but even if he wants to burn incense and worship Buddha, he has to pass the current hurdle.

Qi Yuanheng is not a fool, he knew immediately when he first met him that day, this "Prince Prince" must have a noble status.Although the "Prince Prince" has changed his clothes to hide his identity, his imposing manner and expression, and his habit of always commanding his words despite trying to hide it, cannot be easily changed. , who always uses his body to block the flow of people to protect his safety, he will understand who it is without saying much.

On a whim that day, I confronted him a few words. When I was guessing lantern riddles at the lantern festival, I pretended I didn’t know his identity and didn’t let him get any points. I thought that there would be no goodbye, but a short time passed unexpectedly. To be able to meet again in just a few days, it can only be said that people are not as good as heaven.

With such a troublesome identity for this person, he walked all the way and listened carefully to a few topics that everyone was discussing. Qi Yuanheng only felt that one head was as big as two.If it wasn't for his friendship with the owner of the teahouse, if it wasn't for the fact that this place is more carefree, if it wasn't for the fear of the consequences of the anger of the owner in front of him, he really didn't want to go into this troubled water.

When the owner of the teahouse received the report from the waiter and hurriedly prepared the things that Qi Yuanheng asked him to prepare, Qi Yuanheng had already greeted the distinguished guest in his capacity as the owner.

The greetings between the two, if it must be counted as greetings, no one else could find anything wrong with it, but in their warm tones, every word was sharp and sharp, it was so lively when you came and I went.

One said, "You are busy with business affairs. It is really a blessing to come to the small shop today." The implication is that our temple is too small to receive you, a great god. Where did you come from? where to go.

One answer is "the fragrance of wine is not afraid of the deep alley, and your store has a good reputation. It is really interesting to come here today to taste it carefully." Words are blatant threats.

Although Jing Chao's suppression of public opinion is not very strict, it's just that any store that opens its doors for business will generally follow the principle of sailing carefully for ten thousand years, and require customers to stay in the store in order to avoid "disaster from the mouth" one day. "Don't talk about state affairs", like the teahouse in front of you, where all the guests can't do without state affairs and government affairs, and the noise is no less than that of the ministers and workers in the temple, it really deserves the word "interesting" up.

If others say "interesting", Qi Yuanheng can say "interesting" with a smile on his face, but he dare not really take it as "interesting" when the host in front of him says "interesting".Talking about state affairs and criticizing government affairs is not a serious crime as far as Jinglu is concerned, but state affairs and government affairs will inevitably involve the lord who sits on the highest place. I really couldn't eat and walked away.

As soon as Emperor Jing said the word "interesting", it gave Qi Yuanheng a headache. He thought for a while before taking his words.

"Our shop is a teahouse. Since it is a teahouse, there is a lot of tea, so naturally there is a lot of saliva. Although Shengdou's humble opinion is shallow, it cannot be considered as an elegant hall, but this kind of enthusiasm for the country and the people, even today's sages can do it. I understand the painstaking efforts of the grassroots." After finishing speaking, Qi Yuanheng pretended not to know the identity of the person in front of him, and bowed his hands in the direction of the imperial city to show his respect for mentioning Jinshang, "There is a saying among the people, three The cobbler is worthy of Zhuge Liang, although these foolish opinions are just superficial opinions that waste saliva, but if there is a little bit of it that can be heard by the heavens and adopted by the present, it will be my blessing."

"The Great Layman Qi wants to talk about the mouth of the people, rather than Fangchuan." Emperor Jing raised his brows and directly helped him complete what he hadn't finished.

Although Qi Yuanheng's words sounded very sweet, they actually dug a hole, waiting for him to jump.

The meaning of these words, if you discern carefully, it means that if he is a sage, he will naturally be able to understand the painstaking efforts of these small people who care about the country and the people. If he cannot understand, it is naturally because he is not sage enough.

This "Brother Yuanheng" of Wei Yan's family is not as scheming as usual.