After he said this, he finally couldn't hold on anymore, his heart broke, his vision went dark, and he fell back in a daze.
Fortunately, the governor of Jiangzhou, Ru Su, stood beside Lu Shen and held him together with the guards on the left and right, so that he did not fall into the river.
The vegetarian didn't dare to stay here for long, so he hurriedly ordered the boatman to return to the helm: "Hurry, go back quickly. The water level is so high, we won't be able to hold out for long after leaving the dam."
For a while, everyone escorted Lu Shen back to the Governor's Mansion, and doctors from all over the city were sent for consultation. They all said, "Your Majesty, you are suffering from excessive grief, plus running around for days, being exposed to rain and cold, so that your heart meridians are blocked. , hurting the five internal organs. Qi is reversed, leading to vomiting blood. There is a feeling of blockage in the pulse channels."
Ru Su, the governor of Jiangzhou, was so anxious that he waved his hand impatiently: "Hurry up and take medicine. It is only proper to wake up the prince. Is there anything important in Luoyang that I need to ask him to make a decision on?"
The doctor prescribed medicine, and Shen Yan ordered someone to take the next dose every two hours. It was not until the evening of the third day that Lu Shen slowly woke up.
Shen Yan knelt in front of the bed and reported: "Master, I ordered experts to look at the remains of the ship, but they said it didn't look like it had been tampered with. Hu Xinggong also interrogated it, and it didn't seem like he was hiding anything. Only, I wanted to check it out. It seems a little strange that there are only two people on the roster. They are the wife's natal family, the disciples of the Yu family. I have asked Hu Xinggong, and according to him, these two people took a boat to Yongzhou on orders from the wife."
Lu Shen looked at the candlelight in the tent and asked coldly: "A guest of the Yu family?"
Shen Yan said: "Yes, but these two are both incompetent scribes, and they are both over fifty years old."
Lu Shen closed his eyes and said silently: "Continue checking."
Shen Yan didn't dare to answer this, so he continued to investigate. Who should he investigate? The current children of the Yu family are not very promising, and their biggest supporter is just their wives. Even if it was really the wife who did it, how could it be that just one of his slaves could investigate it?
Lu Shen ordered: "Bring all the old ladies and madams to Luoyang, and everyone in the Yu family will be severely tortured."
Chapter 87
Lu Shen then fell seriously ill and suffered from high fever day and night, which lasted for many days. He lived in Jiangzhou for more than half a month before he got better.
The ministers who escorted Lin Rong south, ranging from the captain to the servants and servants, Lu Shen held up his sick body, and interrogated them one by one. Lianxing Prison was implicated in Guangzhou, and everyone in Jiangzhou was in danger. The escort Hu Xinggong was tortured, but he only said that he had neglected his duty and was willing to die to apologize. Unfortunately, both human and physical evidence pointed out that Lin Rong's shipwreck was actually a natural disaster that had not happened in decades, rather than a man-made disaster.
Until May, Duke De sent three letters a day, urging him one after another. Even the old aunt wrote to persuade the world to be settled, and not to be without a king for a day. He asked Lu Shen to put the overall situation first. Lu Shen then gave up and personally helped the spirit back to Luoyang.
On May 10th, hundreds of officials urged him to advance. Lu Shen offered sacrifices to heaven and earth in the southern suburbs and worshiped heaven. He ascended the throne as emperor in the Hall of Supreme Harmony, established the country as Dayong, and changed the name to Jingping, which was the first year of Jingping.
On the same day, he consecrated his original wife, Cui, as the Empress of Ming Dynasty. She personally wrote the sacrificial inscription. On the night of the twelfth lunar month, she summoned the Yin and Yang Division of the Imperial Heavenly Supervisor and ordered them to choose a suitable day. The coffin was brought into the palace and the coffin was laid to rest in the Queen's Zi Palace for seventy-seven and forty-nine days. . He disliked that the coffin prepared by the Jiangzhou governor was not good, so he chose a piece of catalpa wood originally prepared by the emperor of the Han Dynasty. He held a hundred-day ritual at Da Ci'en Temple in Luoyang to pray for blessings and salvation, and ordered the Minister of Rites and the magicians to select a site for the construction. Mausoleum.
For a time, the entire city of Luoyang was white and full of sorrow and glory.
In the same month, the Cui clan of Empress Mu of the Ming Dynasty was granted the title of Marquis of Xuanping. Because the eldest princess Cui Juejie and her husband died in the Luoyang Rebellion, very few Cui clan members survived. People at the time lamented the first imperial edict: Empress Cui passed away at a very young age, and she was deeply mourned to preserve the Cui family's wealth.
…
My wife's old illness relapsed and she kept coughing. She was delayed in Yongzhou for many days and did not arrive in Luoyang until the end of May. As soon as I entered the palace gate, everything I saw was white. Everyone in the palace, civil and military officials, were all dressed in white. They immediately sneered: "I'm afraid that when I die, I won't be as honored as her?"
The nun who was serving on the side advised: "When the mother of the country dies, the world mourns. This is the etiquette. My wife is your majesty's biological mother, and your majesty rules the world with filial piety, so you can support me with thousands of miles of mountains and rivers. Besides, your good fortune is still to come, why? Why compare with her?" The implication is that there is no need to care about Lin Rong, a dead person, and there is no way to compare.
After all, the madam couldn't calm down and felt resentful in her heart. After she died, she was even more annoying than when she was alive. When she entered the Renshou Palace, she saw that it was also covered with white curtains. She said with a sullen face: "Even I Do you want to keep filial piety for Cui Shiyi? Pick them all, pick them all for me."
The grandma also tried to persuade: "Madam!"
The wife had a sullen face and immediately threw the teacup: "If anyone wants to persuade her again, just go out and kneel. She died, but she made me, Mr. Yu, have a meal, and my nephews are still lying on the bed. , What’s the point of this? I am the mother-in-law, and she is the daughter-in-law, and now she is paying filial piety for her in my palace. What’s the point of this? Could it be that I am asked to keep filial piety for her instead? "
Everyone did not dare to persuade her any more and all left the hall. Only the nun who had grown up with the wife since childhood and had an unusual friendship poured another tea and offered it to her: "If the wife wants to ask the slaves to go out and kneel down, they have to wait." After this slave has finished speaking, go and kneel down."
"There is something I have wanted to tell my wife for a long time. It is true that the Sixth Master is my wife's son, but he is not only my wife's son, he is also the king of Yongzhou, and now the emperor. My wife always thinks about your majesty five years ago. At six years old, that was a no-brainer.”
The wife was shocked, pointed at the nanny and said: "You..."
The nanny continued: "My wife was angry with the late Sir and refused to take care of Your Majesty, which resulted in the estrangement between mother and son. Now that Queen Cui has been added to the mix, the rift has become even bigger. Therefore, although Your Majesty welcomes His Majesty into the palace, But he has never issued an edict to the Queen Mother of Jin. There is not only a word of filial piety between mother and son, but also affection. If the trouble continues, I am afraid that everyone in the world will laugh at it."
The wife was sitting there, and even though she listened to a third of the story, she still said: "He is unfilial to his biological mother for the sake of his wife. If everyone in the world wants to laugh at him, they will also laugh at him."
The nun sighed: "Madam, don't you understand that whether it's the queen's affairs, the Yu family's affairs, or the empress dowager's edict, your majesty just wants to tell my wife that he is the master of the world, and no one can disobey him, even if he is the empress dowager's edict. Biological mothers are no exception.”
Seeing his wife sitting there in a daze, the nanny put the hot tea in her hand: "Madam, please look away. Your Majesty is no longer five or six years old. What's wrong with you learning from the old lady and enjoying your wealth in peace? First of all, you have to look away. Your Excellency has been gone for many years..."
When the wife heard this, she burst into tears: "Yes, he has been gone for many years..."
Lu Shen went to see her that night. His wife was sitting in the high hall in the palace, fully dressed. Before he could speak, she caught a glimpse of him wearing filial white clothes, and finally couldn't help but said: "It has always been the case that when a queen dies, the emperor can only live with him." Daiyue, twenty-seven days of mourning is enough, why are you still wearing these clothes?"
Lu Shen did not answer this question. He held the tea cup in his hand and watched the new tea sink and float in the bowl. After a while, he asked: "Mom, I went south all the way and was tired of traveling and traveling. I wonder if I can still bear it? At the beginning of the new dynasty, my son Government affairs have been very busy recently, so I couldn't go out of the city to greet him in person, and I hope my mother will forgive me."
The wife said coldly: "There's nothing to say whether you forgive me or not. I just want to ask you one question: when will you release your uncle from prison?"
Lu Shen did not reply to this and said, "My mother is overthinking and angry, and her mind is restless. It would be best to ask the imperial doctor to nurse her back to health."
The wife pointed at Lu Shen, her wrists trembling with anger: "You...are you really going to kill all my Yu family for the Cui family? How has your uncle ever treated you poorly? How has he ever treated the Lu family poorly?"
Lu Shen said coldly: "Yu Shixue rebelled against the law and insulted the mother of the country in prison. This is a crime that should be executed by the whole family. For the sake of my mother, I only killed him, which is already a mercy."
The wife couldn't hear the murderous intent in Lu Shen's tone. She was frightened and hurriedly argued: "Your uncle is a talkative scholar. He ate too much Wushisan. He became delirious under severe torture and talked nonsense. He didn't mean it." Those who insulted Mr. Cui were only a few words apart. You know that your uncle is most cowardly, incompetent and timid. How dare he do anything? If you want to punish him, sentence him He can be exiled for three thousand miles, just leave him alive."
Lu Shen refused to respond and said calmly: "Mom, if you don't kill him today, you will kill him sooner or later. Isn't this his only crime?"
The wife said: "The incident of the Cui family's shipwreck has nothing to do with me. Those two retainers were sent out by me to tell the governor of Jiangzhou to serve as vegetarians and not allow Jiang Cui family to welcome back to Jiangzhou Governor's Princess Mansion. A house is enough. But I didn't want to kill her, I just wanted to make things difficult for her. Shen'er, do you think your mother and I are such cruel and murderous people?"
"Yes, I don't like her, but I will never want to kill her. I just want to ask someone to pass on the order and give her some pain. I don't want her to live in such an easy life. She is just an abandoned woman, more like a royal concubine returning to the province. I returned to Jiangzhou in a glorious manner, and was treated with great courtesy by both civil and military officials along the way. How can the daughter of that poisonous woman from Zhao Yuan and Song live in such an easy life?"
This is indeed the truth. No matter how much my wife hated Lin Rong, she never had murderous intentions. In the beginning, she just wanted to send her away and not let Lin Rong go to Yongzhou to hinder her. Later, even when Lin Rong asked Lu Shenqiang to take her to Yongzhou, he only made sarcastic remarks and simply did not see her later. When Lu Shen's father was alive, he was completely obedient to his wife, which gave her such a temperament.
Lu Shen put down the teacup, stood up, and dusted his sleeves: "I know that my mother had nothing to do with Cui's shipwreck. Otherwise, Yu Shixue would not be the only one to die."
The wife collapsed there, bursting into tears, filled with regret and hatred: "I know, you hate me and blame me for not raising you personally when you were a child?"
Lu Shen shook his head and was no longer interested in talking: "These old things are really irrelevant. Mother, take care of yourself, son, please retire."
When Lu Shen came out of Renshou Palace, it was already drizzling outside. He went straight to his grandmother's Shoukang Palace. Before he entered, he heard the sound of babbling.
He stood at the door and signaled the palace maid Xiao Huangmen to be silent. He saw a fat and white baby sitting on the carpet in the palace, holding a bunch of bells tightly in his hand. Grandma was sitting opposite her, teaching her how to speak with great pains: "Recite to grandma, call daddy... daddy..."
The little baby shook the bell on his hand and could only pronounce vague syllables: "Ah...ah..."
The child was already five months old and was gradually growing taller. His features and eyes were almost exactly the same as Lin Rong's. I don't know what the old lady said, but the child suddenly laughed like a silver bell.
Lu Shen stood there, looking at the child, and suddenly felt great sadness and desolation in his heart.
This child is still so young. In the future, she will learn to speak, learn to walk, call her daddy and grandma, and will have a colorful and noble life. However, her mother, the woman who always had a calm expression and angrily called him a scoundrel, was buried at the bottom of the river and stayed at the age of nineteen forever. During her three years in Yongdi, she must have experienced more hardships and less happiness.
There are many hardships and few joys!
Lu Shen didn't know how long he stood there before the old lady saw him and ordered someone to invite him into the palace. Seeing his lonely expression, she advised him: "You shouldn't be like this. You have to have a balance between sorrow and joy. This is home." I have taught you the truth since you were a child. If your daughter-in-law is still here and sees you like this, how can she not be sad? Those who have gone have gone, and those who are alive have to look forward. What's more, there is still There is A Zhao, for her sake, you have to cheer up."
Speaking of Ah Zhao, she seemed to understand that this was her name. She muttered "Ahhh" vaguely and opened her arms to Lu Shen, which meant she wanted him to hug her.
Lu Shen hugged her and sat on his lap. Ah Zhao grasped a finger tightly and was about to stuff it into his mouth. Suddenly he heard the old lady say: "Have you just met your mother?"
Lu Shen hummed, and the old lady added, "I know your mother. She has a bad temper, but she's not that bad. She was better in the past years. In the past few years, she has become addicted to Wu Shi Powder." , and she became more and more confused. She took the Five Stone Powder at first to relieve the pain after being whipped by the eldest princess, and gradually she couldn't stop. With this in mind, you should also be considerate of her. "
Lu Shen held his daughter in his arms, and his clothes were covered with the little girl's saliva. Suddenly his fingers ached slightly, and he smiled: "This child has teeth?"
The old lady followed his words and changed her subject: "She is only four months old. I have cooked some meat soup and fed it to her in the past few days. She tasted the taste and even refused to eat the wet nurse's milk. , it’s up to you to smile all day long and not cry when you were a child.”
Azhao lay on Lu Shen's shoulder and scratched Lu Shen's hair with his drool-filled hands. He gradually asked her to grab a small piece and poke it in her hand, and pumped it hard. Lu Shen pretended to be in pain, which made her laugh. Little Azhao chuckled.
The old lady also laughed and ordered someone to hand over a wet cotton towel to wipe her hands: "There are some things you don't like to hear, so I have to say them. How many years can I take care of Azhao when I'm old? You always have to I wonder if you have any candidates for choosing concubines and establishing queens. Who do you plan to hand over to raise A Zhao? There are some good daughters from the Xungui family in Yongzhou, and there are also many women from Jiangnan water towns among the civil servants and gentry. I have met them today. One, gentle and gentle."
Lu Shen didn't answer, and then said after a while: "I plan to raise Azhao personally and keep the mourning for Cui for three years. I will talk about the rest at that time."
He sat for a while and then carried Azhao out of the palace. In the thick night fog, father and daughter went straight to the Chengqing Palace where they lived.
Chapter 88
Summer in the fourth year of Jingping came especially early. Just after Xiaoman, there were heavy rains for several days. The whole Luoyang Palace seemed to be full of noisy cicadas.
The palace people gently and carefully transported the square ice cubes to the five couplet rooms on the west side of the Qinzheng Hall. As soon as they entered the door, they heard the minister's voice: "Your Majesty, after three years, People's livelihood in the Central Plains has been restored. This year alone, 20 million stone cotton and more than 1.5 million kilograms of raw silk have been produced. A total of 1.6 million acres of wasteland have been reclaimed. The population of the Central Plains has reached nearly 12 million. household."
He also heard the emperor's deep voice: "Those who govern the world should not exhaust people's wealth, but make people have more wealth. In troubled times, when a new dynasty is established, everyone should take corvee and pay less, encourage farmers to cultivate mulberry trees, and rest with the people." He asked again. : "The land equalization method has achieved great results. How is the progress of the ditches, canals, and restored rivers newly built by local counties and counties this year?"
As soon as he finished speaking, a young man in his twenties next to him stood up immediately with a jade in his hand: "His Majesty's Ministry of Industry took the initiative last year to desilt the Yellow River and to control salt and salt in Fujian and Zhejiang, which has benefited millions... "
The palace servant stood there, not daring to go in at will. He waited for a gentle wave from the small yellow door standing in the inner room, and then carried the ice cubes to the copper urn. After finishing the matter, he barely made the slightest noise and tiptoed out of the palace. .
There was a little Huangmen who was new to the palace. He was from the same hometown as the eunuch in charge. He walked a little further and asked, "Why didn't the adults in the palace just wear official robes? I often heard people say something outside the palace. The nobles and nobles from all over the court come here, and when I enter the palace, I see that they are all wearing blue robes and belts, and only official uniforms are worn during the high dynasty."
The eunuch in charge pinched the little yellow door's ears: "Don't ask questions that shouldn't be asked. Your Majesty has observed the mourning for the late empress for three years. Naturally, you adults will not dare to overstep." He also warned him: "The palace is not as good as the outside. Don’t ask random questions.”
Xiao Huangmen muttered: "Didn't we just hold a memorial ceremony for the third anniversary of the late empress a few days ago, and hold a Dharma assembly for many days at the Daxiangguo Temple? It has been three years, except for filial piety?"
The eunuch in charge immediately raised his eyebrows and glared at him: "Shut up, you are so brave. You dare to talk about this. You are not going to eat today."
I don't know how long it took, but the discussion in the palace was finished, and the palace servants came in with tea and sour plum soup.
The emperor who was sitting in the high hall was still dressed in plain clothes except white clothes. He suddenly smiled and asked: "Do you know, sir, there is a news in Luoyang City. It is said that there is a girl singing next to Jingu Garden. She came all the way from Cangzhou to Luoyang. , Recommending himself as a pillow mat to Marquis Wu An became a great story for a while. Chen Aiqing, your house is near Jingu Garden, have you ever heard of this elegant incident?"
Chen Hanzhi is a smart man. He knows that His Majesty never makes a mistake without knowing anything. He immediately stood up and said: "I have heard a little bit, but it is not an elegant matter. The Ministry of Punishment dismissed a murder case of Cangzhou County Sheriff. This is A family went to Beijing to complain." He paused and then said, "I just don't know how Marquis Wu An was involved in it?"
The Ministry of Punishment did not care about such matters, and the remonstrance was not correct. How could Lu Shen not be angry, and threw the copper paperweight of the auspicious beast in his hand on the table: "Your honorable old minister, who usually relies on the situation to cheat the law and bullies the villagers, I miss him." Military merit is treated generously, but now at the feet of the Emperor, how dare you be so presumptuous."
When the ministers heard this, they all put down their tea bowls and stood up: "Your Majesty, please calm down."
Lu Shen said coldly: "Before I go to the Yamen today, Taige issued a statement detailing how Marquis Wu'an seized people's fields in the village and how he killed people and destroyed their families."
When the ministers came out of the palace, it was already sunset. When they stepped down, they saw a man kneeling on the golden bricks in front of the palace. He had been kneeling for an unknown period of time. His lips were chapped and his face was red from the sun. The ministers were talking to each other. After looking at it, he said on behalf of Mr. De, who had lost his eyesight: "Sir, this is King Anfeng."
Duke Virtue caressed his beard and muttered: "Oh, Your Majesty treats your clan members very well, why is this so? King Kuang Anfeng is your Majesty's fourth cousin, and the Queen Mother loves him very much."
All the ministers shook their heads and did not say anything. They only said: "Your Majesty is angry today. I'm afraid King Anfeng will not be able to get through so easily."
Suddenly, there was a small yellow gate standing at the door of the palace singing: "Xuan'an Feng King has an audience!"
Anfeng King Lu Huang, who was born in the fourth line, was Lu Shen's cousin. He was rich when he was young, and he was the first among the royal relatives. Only last year Lu Huang led his troops into Fujian to quell the rebellion, and was defeated. Not only did he lose his troops, but he also took away his commander's flag and seal, and was almost captured alive. As soon as the report was reported to the Taige, Lu Shen was furious. He immediately dismissed him from the military and ordered him to meditate on his mistakes at home.
Lu Xuan heard the call from the palace and immediately stood up. However, he knelt for too long and felt pain and numbness when he moved a little. He walked into the palace with force and did not dare to look at Lu Shen's face. He knelt down to apologize. : "The guilty minister Lu Huang, please bow to your Majesty. Long live your Majesty."
Lu Shen snorted, picked up a memorial and remained in front of Lu Xuan in a daze: "I heard there is a new play called "The Eleven Mothers Wrathed in the Wanjiang River", have you heard of it?"
Lu Xuan knelt there, a little confused: "Your Majesty, the guilty minister really doesn't know this play. I don't know what is being sung in this play..."
Lu Shen snorted and asked coldly: "You really don't know?"
Lu Huang shook his head: "I really don't know."
Lu Shen waved his hand, and the small yellow door on the side presented a scroll to Lu Huang, and slowly unfolded it. It was the picture of the night banquet in Lu Huang's mansion, with people drinking wine and drinking, maids and actors competing, and Hu Xuan flying in the air.
There were rumors that the new emperor would set up a court guard to monitor every word and deed of the officials. Today, Lu Huang learned the lesson personally. He was so frightened that he suddenly broke out in a cold sweat on his back.
Lu Shen scolded him solemnly: "I ordered you to meditate on your mistakes at home, but you instead invited your friends to accompany you, drank at home day and night, talked about lyrics and composed music. I heard that you also invited a famous southern troupe to sing at home all day long, and there was an excerpt from the play. It's called "The Eleven Mothers Wrathed and Sinked in the Wanjiang River", and it tells the story of a singer who was deceived and sank into the river and died."
As he spoke, his voice became more severe: "Ordinary people know how to avoid tabooing the names of their ancestors. Do you not know that the Queen went on the National Day, or did you not know that the Queen sank into the river? You know them one by one, and you still want to tell them in your mansion. The play was sung for three consecutive days. Could it be that there were hidden connotations in the words, and there was an intention to slander the queen?"
