Zhurou

Chapter 253 What a pity

After getting inspiration from Han Yichang, Zhang Yi immediately left the study and went straight back to the inner house to find his wife.

Mrs. Zhang was hurriedly called in by the servants. She thought something big had happened. As soon as she entered the room, she saw her husband sitting on a chair, talking to his maid standing beside them.

The latter was submissive and restrained.

Mrs. Zhang walked closer and listened to the two people's conversation, which was all about the royal family and relatives in the capital, the names and origins of the ladies of honor, and the lively occasions of all sizes in the capital recently.

She was very puzzled for a moment.

It should be noted that Zhang Yi used the excuse of being busy with official duties and never cared about the interpersonal relationships in the rear house, let alone the social interactions of the female family members.

She came closer, sat down at the bottom, and asked, "Sir, why did you come to me in such a hurry? I don't know what's the matter?"

Zhang Yi waved his hand, told the chamberlain to leave, and then asked again, "Do you know anyone who is familiar with Concubine Li?"

Madam Zhang was stunned, and after a long time of careful recollection, she finally said, "There is no one in the Li family, and she has only been known for the past one or two years. Your Excellency asked me this question so suddenly that I am at a loss for words."

It turned out that Concubine Li was an ordinary palace maid. It was just that the retired emperor was drinking and having fun with others in the imperial garden in the middle of the night, reciting poems and painting. She was drunk and met the two of them by chance when she was looking for a place to relieve herself.

It happened in just one night, and a daughter was born. The mother was given a title because of her son.

However, the retired emperor had many children and even more concubines, and he had many hobbies of his own. He was too busy to take care of them all, and had long forgotten about this palace maid whom he had met by chance.

The palace was full of shrewd people, and the emperor didn't even remember them. Empress Li at the time had no background at all and couldn't offer any benefits, so naturally no one paid any attention to her. The mother and daughter lived in obscurity for more than ten years.

Until the Di soldiers marched south, took the emperor north to Xiazhou, and abducted countless people and property, including the princes and princesses, clan relatives and ministers.

As for Empress Li, perhaps God had mercy on her, or perhaps she was not destined to die. She was with her personal maid at the time. The latter noticed something was wrong and suggested something. The two of them hid in a dry well together and thus escaped the disaster.

It was a pity that her daughter was unlucky and was abducted by the Di people.

Not long after, Zhao Hong was enthroned as emperor.

Empress Li, who survived by chance and was the only remaining concubine in the retired emperor's palace, became Concubine Dowager Li.

Now she is the only child, and although she has been displaced, she is the highest in seniority, so she speaks much louder than usual.

Because mother and daughter are closely connected, when she was still in Caizhou, she was afraid that her daughter would be bullied in Xiazhou, so she repeatedly asked for a title for her. Although the title of the Great Jin Dynasty might not be useful in the Northern Dynasties, and many princesses who had received titles early on, and even concubines in the harem, lived a very miserable life, she had no other choice.

This person was limited by her background and knowledge, and her material was ordinary. Although she was the Concubine Dowager, she should have been the one behind the curtain. However, she did not dare to speak, and the two governments were happy for her to keep silent, so she rarely appeared in the previous dynasty.

As for other social contacts, she didn't know many of them. When she fled south, she was afraid of being betrayed, so she had even less contact with outsiders.

As soon as the emperor returned to the capital, not only did Zhang Yi and others follow him almost immediately, but even Madam Zhang returned to the capital soon after. Only Concubine Li stayed in Caizhou until she heard that the Di army was defeated and there was no possibility of going south. Then she hurriedly wrote a letter to return to the capital and urged them to go and pick up the emperor, the princess and others.

This time, she and Prime Minister Sun Chong returned to the capital in response to the imperial edict, and she came with them.

"Go and ask around to see who can talk to her," Zhang Yi ordered.

Madam Zhang asked, "Master wants me to find out, but I don't know what it is. If you can tell me something, I can be careful and avoid accidentally breaking taboos."

Zhang Yi had nothing to hide from his wife, not to mention that he needed her to help him with things.

Zhang Yi said, "The princess is old enough to get married. She has no parents and only one brother. Logically, the elders should make the decision. The emperor can't come back for the time being, so only Concubine Li is left."

Mrs. Zhang felt that the situation was both puzzling and difficult.

After all, she was not an ordinary person. She was born in an aristocratic family and had traveled with her husband for decades. She had her own experience. After a little thought, she thought about it and thought about her husband's frequent complaints when he returned home. She had some idea in her mind and said, "The master wants to ask the princess to marry. Your Highness is of the right age to marry. There is nothing wrong with this. However, although I am not in the court, I often hear about the things in the previous court and the palace. Does the princess listen to what Concubine Li says?"

He added: "Besides, given the princess' current situation, if she wants to get married, who can she marry?"

It has always been a marriage of equal status. If a princess wants to marry a prince consort, according to the story and the old rules, the emperor should choose from among the talented people. The candidate must be both talented and beautiful, have a clean family background, and preferably have a docile personality.

Even with such careful selection, there were only a few princesses and their princes-in-law who lived a good life in the past.

When the late emperor was alive, the eldest princess's husband took the princess's dowry and went out to have fun. He stayed away from home for half a year on the pretext of traveling. He also secretly redeemed an actor in Shaoxing and even had a child with him.

The eldest princess died young and did not have time to take care of many details. If her wet nurse had not gone to the palace to report her to the emperor, it would be unknown who would have gotten the large amount of dowry in the end.

In the past, the position of a consort to the emperor was a noble one, but after the current princess took power, the court revised the rules and abolished the regulation that a consort to the emperor could not hold an actual position. At that time, the court was in chaos and the country was in turmoil. She intended to recruit from among the ministers of the dynasty in order to reassure the people and control the government.

When the rules were first amended, the princess had just taken power, and there had been discussions within the court and the public. All those in the court who were not too far behind in age were counted, and there were very few who were suitable. Now that she had established herself, she could fight off the two governments when there were disagreements. How could she easily compromise herself?

Madam Zhang asked herself, after all these years of managing the household, if someone asked her to step down and raise her grandchildren, and leave everything to others, she would not mind the menial tasks, but if they asked her to give up all her financial and human rights, she would definitely not agree, not to mention the princess' current position.

Zhang Yi sneered and said, "You don't have to worry about that - whether to listen or not may not be decided by her."

Mrs. Zhang was extremely dissatisfied, but she didn't want to argue with her husband about such a thing, so she said, "Then I will go and ask first. However, since the clan law has been changed, the prince consort can also hold a real position. I think many new officials in the court can be selected. Wasn't there a rumor last time that mentioned Minister Lu?"

Zhang Yi shook his head and said, "Lü Xianzhang is timid and indecisive. How can he suppress Zhao? If he really becomes a consort, I'm afraid that the former Peng Xianggong's faction will have to change their surname to Zhao."

He added: "Besides, although a consort can hold a real job, he still has many concerns. He has to avoid suspicion in his actions. Even if he has made achievements, he will be criticized for his status as a consort in the future. Who would be willing to gamble with his future if he has some ambitions? If you want a beauty, you can find one anywhere. Even if you are a few points short, more..." At this point, Zhang Yi saw that his wife looked wrong, so he quickly swallowed back the words that were on his lips, "Just take a few more concubines," and then he said embarrassedly: "... Lu Xianzhang is not so short-sighted."

He added: "Besides, even if he is willing, the rest of the people in the Political Affairs Hall will not agree."

Madam Zhang could not help but say, "As for Minister Lu, he is at least handsome, gentle, and young and promising. Perhaps he can be favored by the princess. But if such people are not selected, once the princess is looking for a prince consort, she will have to move out and set up a residence. Even if she can live in the palace at first, if she gets pregnant, even if she is willing, she will not be able to interfere in court affairs. How can she agree?"

What Zhang Yi wanted was for the princess to be unable to interfere in the affairs of the court. At this time, he said righteously, "I also didn't ask her to marry an ordinary villager. She invited Pei Yong to come that day, and now the court is unable to suppress her, so it's just right to marry her to Pei Yong - whoever caused the trouble should take care of it. You can't say that this is wronging her, right?"

Mrs. Zhang was dumbfounded and speechless for a long time.

"Recruit...recruit the Jiedushi Pei Yong as a consort?" She stuttered for a moment. "According to what you said, even Lu Xianzhang didn't agree, so how could Pei Yong agree?"

"If you can set him up, he will have to do it even if he doesn't want to, unless he rebels right away - if that's the case, he won't come to Beijing."

Zhang Yi stroked his long beard and felt it was very clean and smooth. He felt relieved and said to his wife, "Go and find out. Don't be in a hurry to spread the news, so as to avoid unnecessary trouble."

Mrs. Zhang was full of doubts and did not agree with it. She thought that the princess would definitely not agree, but she also felt that the governor Pei Yong was not stupid. After all, it was said that the princess was often arbitrary and domineering in the court, and Pei Yong was domineering and arrogant. If these two people had such personalities, if they really got married, wouldn't they be a couple of resentment in the future?

But since she had been instructed, she would not meddle in such trivial matters and just sent someone to go out and inquire.

There were quite a few people who followed Sun Chong back to the capital this time. In fact, since the emperor returned to the capital and received the news that the Di people could no longer make a comeback, those who had followed him to Caizhou before began to return one after another.

When they were in Caizhou before, Zhao Mingzhi was the one who held them back. Later, when Zhao Mingzhi traveled west, he also left Mo Xiang and others behind. He also ordered his personal soldiers to guard the residence and not allow anyone to enter or leave at will. This made it difficult for Concubine Li to communicate with the outside world.

But when Zhao Hong returned to the capital, Mo Xiang and his personal soldiers also accompanied him to protect the emperor, and there were only a few guards left in Caizhou.

After all, Concubine Li had a special status and was the only one in power at the time. She was originally in a state of panic, but when she learned that the Di soldiers had retreated, she perked up and had some leisure time to enjoy herself. She often looked for some ladies of noble birth to talk to. After a while, through introductions, she got to know several Taoist nuns and the like.

She was now a dowager empress, with the highest salary. Even if Zhao Mingzhi and his brother were to deduct money from her, they could not deduct money from the Empress Dowager. Now Dowager Li had money and her words were influential. Once she returned to Beijing, those Taoist nuns would naturally follow her in a hurry.

Mrs. Zhang inquired about the man's background clearly before telling her husband.

Zhang Yi frowned when he heard this.

He had always ignored these people, and after learning that some of them had a lot of ghost stories, he was even more disgusted. He only thought about his own plans, and suddenly laughed out loud, saying, "I thought it would be very troublesome, but from this point of view, it seems that God is helping me."

Sure enough, the next morning, his subordinates went to make arrangements themselves.

  ***

Zhang Yi and others were planning to employ Taoist nuns here. In the palace, Concubine Li, who had returned to the capital for several days, was also planning to summon those Taoist nuns into the palace.

This summer was particularly rainy. Seeing the heavy rain outside, she just paced back and forth under the eaves, looking at the road in the distance from time to time.

The palace maid Chunlu beside her advised: "It's raining heavily outside, Your Majesty, why don't you go back to the house and wait."

Concubine Li was already feeling annoyed, and could not help but angrily said, "It's so dark in there, and so stuffy, just like a rat hole, what's the point of going back!"

He complained again, "There are so many palaces in the palace. Even though Ciming Palace is the Queen Mother's bedroom, it's not suitable for me to live there. But can't I live in the other palaces such as Renming and Ciyuan? They are bright, comfortable, and not remote. Why do you send me to a place like this?"

Chunlu said hurriedly: "Your Highness, please only say this here. If you are in front of outsiders, please be careful..."

Concubine Li snorted coldly, "I don't need to. She said that the Renming and Ciyuan halls are leaking - it's really funny. Can't they be repaired? Picking up a few tiles, replacing a few beams, and adding some furniture is not difficult. She pretends to be so frugal in everything for others to see. She only lives in a side hall. She has a good reputation, but she uses me to make things difficult for her! Why!"

He cursed again, "When she was not in Caizhou, I was able to live in a big house and enjoy a good life. But now that I am back in the capital, I am with her. I am not given good food or a good place to sleep. I am suffering every day again!"

Chunlu didn't dare to say anything.

After scolding the food and lodging, Concubine Li stamped her feet and scolded again: "The Di bandits have been defeated for so long, but no one has been sent north by the court. It's not that they don't feel sorry for the flesh that has fallen from their bodies. Zhao Mingzhi is just a little girl. She is so powerful in the palace. How could she care about the difficulties of other sisters? How many times have I urged her in the past? How many times have I urged Your Majesty? You know that these two siblings are so heartless and cruel that they never care."

As she spoke, tears began to creep into her voice again, and she said, "I have pity for my precious pearl!"

Chunlu hurriedly stepped forward and handed a handkerchief to Concubine Li to wipe her tears, and whispered, "My lady, I see those people behind are looking here..."

Concubine Li looked back and saw that several eunuchs and palace servants were looking at her, looking curiously. She was even more angry and cursed in a low voice: "Sooner or later, all these traitors will be beaten to death!"

The two were still talking when someone came back hurriedly in the rain. It turned out to be a palace maid.

Concubine Li didn't care about the heavy rain and went to meet him, asking, "Did you get the badge to enter the palace?"

The maid was soaked all over, her hair was wet too, she said with a bitter face, shaking her head, "I haven't seen His Highness, I only saw Mo Xiang, she said His Highness had just said that the city and the outside of the city are in chaos, the palace should be strictly guarded, and strangers should not be allowed in and out easily, if the queen has something to seek the Buddhist way, she can summon the masters of Sanqing Temple and Daxiangguo Temple to come, if she needs someone to accompany her, she will inform His Highness and select a suitable person in the capital to enter the palace and stay with her for a long time."

After all the talk, the matter of Concubine Li summoning two Taoist nuns into the palace was completely denied.

When Concubine Li heard this, she was so angry that she almost fell backwards. She gritted her teeth and cursed, "This bitch!"

At this moment, a bolt of lightning struck from the sky. A few breaths later, a loud thunder boomed, coming from far away and frightening Concubine Li so much that she could not help but take a few steps back.

She was still in shock and stood holding the door, looking at the dark sky in the distance. She felt hatred and anger in her heart and cursed inwardly: Why didn't this thunder kill Zhao Mingzhi!

  But after he finished cursing, he felt despair again and thought to himself: I am over 30 years old, and Zhao Mingzhi is only more than 10 years old. I can't kill her by delaying her. How long will this hard life last?

She also thought: When she heard that the Di bandit leader wanted her to marry him, it was such a pity that he died so early. Why couldn't there be another bandit leader in the world who could marry this woman off far away as soon as possible?