Zhinv Qixiu was a female disciple of a famous weaver in Xiangyi, a famous city with beautiful scenery, who was unable to continue weaving because of her blindness. Later, Qixiu's father died of the plague. Qixiu's family then moved to Donghai County, which had not yet become a kingdom of the prince Cao Lin. Originally, Qixiu had been relying on her textile skills to support her mother and younger brother, who had limited mobility. Although the family lived in poverty, they still It can be regarded as living and working in peace and contentment.
But later, there was a famine in Donghai County, and the population dropped sharply. In addition, Cao Lin, the king of Donghai, was granted the title of fiefdom here, and the taxes increased a lot. Naturally, there were fewer people buying textiles. Therefore, although the embroidery skills of Qixiu's fabrics were very high, Exquisite, high-quality and cheap, but how can people who don't even have enough to eat have spare money to buy beautiful clothes?
When Qixiu's family was desperate, a textile mother-in-law named Mo found her. Grandma Mo claimed to be the weaver girl in the palace of King Cao Lin of the East China Sea. Grandma Mo said that she admired her weavers very much and was willing to arrange for her to go to Jinyun Pavilion in Luoyang, which specializes in weaving official clothes for the government, and would also give a set of Jinyunfang as a gift. The two-bedroom house was given to Qixiu's family, but Granny Mo also had a condition, that is, Qixiu had to find a way to find out about Luoyang's palace restrictions for Granny Mo every month.
Qixiu's family was naturally overjoyed. With the help of Granny Mo, Qixiu took her mother and younger brother to Jinyunfang in Luoyang. Because of his outstanding embroidery weavers, he was soon promoted to be the little master of Jinyunge Zhinang, who was responsible for weaving official uniforms for the government.
Today, Qixiu came to the palace to hand over the 500 knitted tiger benlang silk clothes to the young master's office.
Yang Fu, the Shaofu, had other official matters to deal with, so Qixiu handed over all the knitted silk clothes to the officials in the Shaofu.
But Qixiu's task today is not simple. She took out a purse containing two hundred five-baht coins, stuffed it into a small official in the Shaofu, and asked the official to take her to Han Yong, the evil-warming attendant of Chonghua Palace.
The little official weighed the heavy purse and agreed with a smile.
Chonghua Hall is the main hall where His Majesty the Emperor's beloved son, His Highness Cao Yin, and the Emperor's beloved daughter, Princess Cao Shu of Pingyuan, live. The chief servant of this hall is the newly promoted Han Yong.
Coming to see Han Yong was also a task assigned to Qixiu by Granny Mo. Very smoothly, Qixiu met Han Yong. After the two of them secretly spied outside Chonghua Hall for a long time, Han Yong handed Qixiu a small package of tightly wrapped medicinal powder.
Han Yong told Qixiu with a smile:
"This is a tranquilizer for His Highness Yin. The imperial doctor said that His Highness Yin's sleep has been unstable and he often has night terrors recently, which should be caused by the 'Ye Crying Man'. It is best to choose a Weaver Girl to entangle the Ye Crying Man. That's why today I entrust you to deliver the medicine."
After hearing this, Qixiu felt a little uneasy in her heart, but she felt that since Han Yong was the chief servant of Chonghua Palace, there should be no problem. She groaned and nodded, indicating her agreement.
A strange smile flashed across Han Yong's face. He handed the medicine bag to Qi Xiu and finally said:
"Remember, just sprinkle the medicinal powder into the jade bowl that His Highness Yin often uses to hold water."
Qixiu nodded again and went into the palace.
After a long while, Pingyuan Princess Cao Shu, who had been playing shuttlecock for half a day in the company of the chambermaid, returned to Chonghua Hall. At only three years old, she staggered to the cradle of her infant brother Cao Yin. After teasing her younger brother Cao Yin for a while, Cao Shu, who was a little thirsty, picked up Cao Yin's jade bowl and drank the water in the bowl.
————
Han Yong, the chief servant of Chonghua Palace, was actually the palace spy arranged by Cao Lin, King of East China Sea, and Sima Yi, Marquis of Wuyang.
He has been secretly in contact with Granny Mo, a subordinate of King Donghai, and the Wuyang Hou Mansion through Qingqingyuan. He is also one of the few people who knows the secret deal between Sima Yi and Cao Lin.
It turns out that King Cao Lin of the East China Sea failed to compete with His Majesty for the crown prince position, and he was still unwilling to accept it. Therefore, he wanted his heirs: Cao Qi or Cao Mao to have the opportunity to inherit the throne.
But for the emperor to adopt a son of the clan, unless the emperor has no biological heirs.
So Cao Lin had a bold idea: to try to make all Cao Rui's princes die young!
Cao Lin, who had cooperated with Wuyang Hou Sima Yi for a long time, promised the Sima family that if his children could succeed to the throne in the future, the Sima family would prosper in the Wei Dynasty for generations to come.
I don’t know what Sima Yi, who was already a very popular minister in the Wei Dynasty, was thinking. He actually agreed to Cao Lin’s request, and the powder he handed to Zhinu Qixiu this time was actually not a sedative at all, but a kind of medicine. poison!
What Han Yong didn't know was that the poison was the colorless and odorless poison "Gan Bing" that the Sima family had obtained from the Western Regions!
————
With a "clang", a jade Boshan incense burner in Shiqian Hall was grabbed by the emperor and smashed to the ground, breaking into powder!
"You guys are talking nonsense. Shu'er has always been healthy. How could something happen to her? How could she get sick!"
At this moment, Emperor Cao Rui, who learned that his beloved daughter suddenly died of illness, lost control of his emotions. He was furious and waved his arms, stamped his feet on the ground, his eyes were red, and he roared loudly.
Just like that, after a long time, the emperor collapsed softly on the ground and burst into tears.
"Princess Pingyuan can no longer be resurrected. Your Majesty, please express your condolences..."
Cao Zhao, the regular servant of Sanqi, was standing aside at the moment. With a slight frown on his face, he could only comfort his cousin in this way.
After a long time, Cao Rui finally calmed down. He said with red eyes and a hoarse voice:
"Chang Si, I have heard that the Grand Commander Chen Qun, the Central Secretary Liu Fang, the Central Secretary Ling Sun Zi, the Shaofu Yang Fu and other ministers have come to Shiqian Palace. I have important matters to discuss with the ministers... "
"yes."
Cao Zhao did not dare to delay, and after instructing the palace official Zhang Danghao to take good care of the emperor, he immediately went to summon all his close ministers.
After Cao Rui was stunned for a moment, he immediately ordered to Cao Zhao who had not gone far:
"My name is Xia Houxuan, come here too..."
————
When Cao Rui saw all the officials gathered, he directly ordered Cao Zhao, Liu Fang, and Sun Zi to draft an edict on the spot:
Cao Shu was given the posthumous title of Princess Pingyuan Yi, a temple was built in Luoyang, and she was buried in Nanling. Taking the grandson of Empress Wen Zhaozhen who died young, the emperor's own nephew Zhen Huang was buried together with Princess Pingyuan Yi. Zhen Huang was posthumously named a marquis, and an heir of the Zhen family was selected for them to take the throne.
After Cao Zhao and others finished drafting the edict, Cao Rui endured his grief and said:
"I want to personally support my Shu'er's spirit and go out of the city to bury her. Also, I feel that things are not going well in Luoyang recently. In a few days, I plan to make an eastward tour and stay in Xudu for a while."
The emperor wanted to attend the funeral in person, and also wanted to visit the capital of Xingxing on an eastward tour. No matter what happened, it was a very planned event.
After hearing this, Chief Sikong Chen Qun did not support the emperor's decision. He advised:
"Your Majesty, it is not etiquette to die at the age of eight, not to mention that Princess Pingyuan is only three years old. Now your Majesty wants to give it as an adult gift. He raises his plain clothes and cries for a baby day and night. This has never happened since ancient times! May your Majesty avoid this useless and harmful thing, which is the greatest hope of this country!
And when your majesty gets out of the car and wants to go to Xuchang, everyone will be surprised when the two palaces are high and low. Everyone will be surprised, and the public and private troubles will be immeasurable. This fact really disturbed the ministers too much. I believe that good and bad fortunes are determined by destiny, and misfortunes and blessings are determined by people. It is useless to move them away to seek peace. If Your Majesty must avoid disasters, I believe that repairing the West Palace in Jinyong City and the Mengjin Villa are all beneficial methods. Why would Your Majesty expose the palace to the outside world?
Moreover, good people and wise people do not move to their homes rashly, so that the towns and cities have no fear. Besides, they are emperors and lords of all kingdoms. How can they be free from movement and stillness? "
Cao Rui, who felt pain in his heart, heard the words and veins popped up on his forehead, but he knew that what Chen Qun said was true, but Chen Qun didn't know his true intention. What's more, Chen Qun was a minister appointed by the late emperor to take care of his orders. He shouldn't argue with him in court, so he suppressed the anger in his heart.
Yang Fu, the young master, also did not agree with the emperor's idea. He also bowed and remonstrated:
"Your Majesty, what Da Sikong said is true. When Emperor Wen and Empress Wuxuan died, Your Majesty did not attend the funeral because Your Majesty attached great importance to the country and prepared for danger. Now Princess Pingyuan is no more than an innocent child, and Your Majesty wants to attend the funeral in person. I I really don’t understand His Majesty’s intentions!”
When Cao Rui heard this, he also didn't get angry at Yang Fu. Cao Rui's voice was terrifyingly calm at this moment:
"My decision has been made, gentlemen, there is no need to say more!"
When Chen Qun, Yang Fu and others saw that the emperor would not listen to the advice, they had no choice but to resign and leave the palace. After Cao Zhao, Liu Fang, and Sun Zi finished drafting the decree, they also left the palace to issue edicts and make corresponding arrangements.
At this moment, only Xia Houxuan and Cao Rui were left in the hall.
Cao Rui looked at his aloof and talented cousin below him. After hesitating for a moment, he finally spoke what was in his heart:
"Taichu, in the past few years, my princes have died prematurely one after another. I have long suspected that someone is doing something secretly. But it is easy to hide from open guns, but hard to guard against hidden arrows. I really have no good way."
Xia Houxuan was shocked when he heard this. He understood that what the emperor said was true. Over the years, the emperor and his wife's daughter, Princess Qi Chang, and the emperor's beloved daughter, Princess Cao Shu of Pingyuan, were originally safe and sound. However, a few years ago The princes Juan and Mu died young when they were just one year old and were crowned kings. Therefore, Xiahou Xuan thought that the sudden death of Pingyuan Princess Cao Shu should be just an accident. If someone really wanted to assassinate the emperor, then this This time, they should have come originally for His Highness Cao Yin. At this time, His Majesty's only heirs were His Highness Cao Yin, who was less than one year old. Since the Emperor asked him to come here, there must be some arrangement. He looked up at the Emperor and asked in a low voice:
"I wonder what your Majesty's plans are?"
Cao Rui lowered his voice and quietly told Xiahou Xuandao:
"At the beginning of the year, I originally wanted to send Yin'er out of the palace to a safe place, but I also thought that Yin'er was probably being watched by someone hiding in the dark. If I rashly let Yin'er leave the palace at this time, I’m just afraid that the situation will be more difficult to grasp.”
When Cao Rui said this, he looked very nervous. He slowly walked down Danqi, came to Xia Houxuan's side, and whispered:
"Taichu, my concubine was pregnant a few months ago. No one else knows about this except me! This time, I want to take a gamble!"
Xia Houxuan was shocked when he heard this, but he was still calm enough. Cao Rui continued:
"This time I arranged the east tour and personally buried Shu'er, all in fact to divert the attention of the people in the dark. I want you to secretly arrange a chariot to take the concubine out of the palace during my east tour, and go all the way there In the house of King Cao Kai of Rencheng City. No matter whether the concubine Wang gives birth to a boy or a girl, remember, the child’s name will be Cao Fang!”
Even though Xia Houxuan had always been calm and collected, he couldn't help but feel a little panic and hesitation at this moment. He understood that there were too many variables and surprises in this matter, and if he was not careful, the emperor's careful plan would be ruined. But he did not choose to escape, because he understood that this matter was related to the country of Wei!
Cao Rui finally said:
"Taichu, I know that your wife is good at medicine, and you are also a young celebrity, knowledgeable in both civil and military affairs, so I want you to be the master of my unborn Fang'er, and I will also trouble your wife to take good care of Wang Concubine and Fang. Son."
Hearing this, Xia Houxuan knelt half on the ground and solemnly swore to the emperor:
"Your Majesty, please rest assured that Xuanding will not let down your Majesty's trust and will be shattered into pieces, and he will also defend the country of Wei!"
When the emperor saw that Xia Houxuan agreed to the matter, he felt relieved.
In March, on Guiyou day, the emperor personally supported the funeral of Princess Cao Shu of Pingyuan Yi, and all the officials mourned her. After Cao Shu was buried in Nanling, the emperor immediately began his eastward tour, driven by the emperor's car and the car of the Empress Dowager Guo. , and a group of civil and military officials marched eastward along the river in a mighty manner. Along the way, Cao Rui personally greeted the widowed and lonely old people in various counties and counties, and gave them grain and silk.
Empress Mao and Deputy General of the Military Guard Cao Xi were respectively entrusted by the emperor to take care of the half-year-old prince Cao Yin in Luoyang.
Just when Cao Rui was on a busy tour to the east and everyone in the court was busy, Xia Houxuan and Li Huigu, a couple in casual clothes, and Wang Guibin, who was pregnant, were driven by Gu Ting himself, and four people dressed in casual clothes In the sealed carriage escorted by the Xuanjia Guards of Changling Marquis Mansion, they headed all the way towards Rencheng Kingdom, the fiefdom of Rencheng King Cao Kai, the son of Rencheng King Cao Zhang.
[Note 1: The name of Princess Qi's birth mother is unknown. As for Cao Fang's origin, "Three Kingdoms" states that the secrets of the palace are unknown. There is also a saying that Cao Fang is the son of Cao Kai, Cao Rui's cousin and King of Rencheng, which is fictionalized here. 】
