I'm really not King Jing of Zhongshan

Chapter 423 The Reincarnation of Fate

Destiny is actually very wonderful.

Some people are born like this, and they can no longer change it. They simply drift with the tide and accept the arrangement of fate for themselves.

There are also some people who are not reconciled to their fate and fight hard to change their own destiny.

It's just that sometimes, some things are predestined from the day you are born...
Just like Liu Rong, the eldest son of Emperor Xiandi, was destined to be the focus of the entire known world from the day he was born.

Regardless of whether there is a queen or not, and whether the queen has given birth to the eldest son, Liu Rong has been a natural contender for the reserve position since the day he was born.

It's also like a prince like Liu Sheng, or the clan relatives of Liu, who were also destined to be clan princes of the Han family from the day they were born.

Unless there is an accident like Liu Sheng's, it is the fate of the Liu clan to be born and cannot be changed by using clan relatives as vassals to suppress places.

And when the annual rings of fate play a role on Dou Ying, everything begins to become subtle...
"how?"

"Empress Dowager, what kind of regulations are there?"

After Empress Dowager Dou made it clear that she would meet Dou Ying at the Dou's Ancestral Hall, Liu Sheng did not rush to leave, but stayed in the Changxin Hall of Changle Palace.

I don't know if he forgot that his mother, the Empress Dowager Jia, was still by her side, or if he was talking about it specifically for the Empress Dowager Jia—Empress Dowager Dou had just left for less than half an hour, when Liu Sheng began to ask about the situation there.

"Report to His Majesty."

"Just sent back the news: The Empress Dowager was furious in the Dou's ancestral hall, and ordered Wei Qihou to be punished one after another;"

"Wei Qihou was drunk and weak, and couldn't bear the punishment with the stick. The empress dowager summoned his son to take it on his father's behalf."

"At this moment, the Empress Dowager seems to be short of breath, she is resting beside the ancestral hall with a surge of energy and blood."

"Wei Qihou knelt in the ancestral hall and let the son continue to be punished..."

Hearing Xia Que's low-pitched report of the situation on the other side, Liu Sheng couldn't help but heaved a sigh while feeling relieved.

Among them, of course there is disappointment and embarrassment towards the uncle Dou Ying;
But more, in fact, is the admiration for the political figure Empress Dowager Dou.

Analyzing today's incident from a political point of view is actually typical: it can be big or small, it all depends on the mood of those in power.

Let’s say that Dou Ying is harboring the criminal Guan Fu. In a big way, he is harboring the important criminals wanted by the court lieutenant, especially if he is an official. The status of a foreign relative will not help Dou Ying get rid of the crime, but will bring more trouble.

——The fear of returning to the Lu family is not a myth in the legend, but the sword of Damocles that still exists inside and outside the court and hangs above the heads of every relative.

But to put it mildly, if Liu Sheng doesn’t want to punish Dou Ying, he can also explain it to the outside world with a smile: Oh, my cousin, I’m good everywhere, just this one~
It's okay to drink too much, but when you drink too much, you start messing around.

Look, look, look, don't you drink too much again?

With just such an operation, Dou Ying can use a bit of worthless face in exchange for her precious life.

It's just that Dou Ying didn't give Liu Sheng the chance to operate like this -- he didn't give Liu Sheng a chance to excuse Dou Ying.

Even if Dou Ying gave it to Liu Sheng, there is a high probability that Liu Sheng would not do so, but the choice Dou Ying made made Liu Sheng unavoidably sigh: Dou Ying's last intelligence may have been sought for his elder brother Liu Rong. When the storage space is available, it is completely used...

As for Liu Sheng just sighed, of course it was not lamenting that Dou Ying is so stupid now;
It was the Empress Dowager Dou, who was exactly as Liu Sheng expected: even if her eyes were blind, her hair was gray, and her figure was hunched, there was still no need for Liu Sheng to worry even for a moment.

—— Summoning Dou Ying in the Dou's ancestral hall, this is to move the family law, not the national law.

If the law of the country is used, the way of punishing Dou Ying is determined by the "Han Law", and the laws of this era have great flexibility. It is easy to get two completely different punishments for the same crime. way things come.

For example, two people who committed the crime of theft should be punished according to the law, that is, tattooing—carving words on their faces.

At this time, it is easy to happen that the first criminal is forced to steal because of his honesty and duty, and is given a chance to reform himself by the presiding judge. The crime is added to the first class, and the situation of frequent execution occurs.

Therefore, in order to avoid this situation—to avoid the uncertainty that may be brought about by the "Han Law" and the turmoil that may be caused above the court, the Empress Dowager Dou chose to use family law to deal with Dou Ying instead of National Law: "Han Law".

It can also be seen from this that for this matter, the principle that Empress Dowager Dou first abides by is actually to handle the matter in a low-key manner.

To put it more simply, it is to beat children behind closed doors.

This is very important.

For Dou Ying's mistake this time, this is very important.

The reason is simple: the most fatal mistake Dou Ying made this time was to take out the last imperial edict, which was more symbolic than practical, and more honorary than practical.

The edict is something that can easily make the reigning ruler unhappy;
Especially when this will became a shield for someone to do evil, it made those in power even more unhappy.

This is like the iron coupon or gold medal for avoiding death in later generations: it is worthy of you, and theoretically you can indeed use this thing to save your life;

But if there is a day when you really use this stuff to make up for your crimes, it will be somewhat shameless.

It is also for this reason that it seems so correct for Empress Dowager Dou to beat her children behind closed doors.

——The topic of the will is too sensitive...

As long as this matter is put on the bright side, no matter what the final result is, Dou Ying will not be able to escape the suspicion of coercion no matter what.

As for who the last "Jiaozhao" relative of the Han family was and what happened to them, the Empress Dowager Dou can still vividly remember it.

Let's talk about the punishment for Dou Ying: stick punishment, to put it bluntly, is to hit the board.

He hit Dou Ying first, and Dou Ying couldn't take it anymore, so he went to beat Dou Ying's eldest son, while he was so angry that he calmed down in the ancestral hall.

What does it mean?
This is actually Empress Dowager Dou telling Liu Sheng tactfully: Dou Ying can still play the board.

Even if there is an edict from the first emperor, even if it is the old general, the former prince and Taifu, Dou Ying is still just a nephew who wants to play hard in front of Empress Dowager Dou.

Not even Dou Ying himself: even Dou Ying's children and grandchildren can also play the board.

Empress Dowager Dou wanted to tell Liu Sheng through this series of actions: Dou Ying's family is not a scourge.

At least not yet, at least not a scourge that is too big to handle;
At least for now, Dou Ying's family can still be disciplined through other methods of punishment, rather than punishment or even killing.

And Empress Dowager Dou is also very willing to discipline Liu Sheng, who is inconvenient to come forward, to discipline her unfilial sons and nephews...
"Have you found out about the will?"

Another low voice of inquiry sounded, causing the Empress Dowager Jia to be secretly startled;
But Xia Que hurriedly bowed again, subconsciously glanced at the Empress Dowager Jia, and then quickly returned her gaze to the wooden floor in front of her.

"Lang Zhongling has checked."

"In the first eight years of Emperor Xiaojing, Wei Qihou wanted to be the Prime Minister, and the Empress Dowager also had this intention, but in the end this matter could not be carried out."

"Then, Emperor Xian Xiaojing summoned Wei Qihou and talked for a long time, Wei Qihou burst into tears."

"At the time of parting, Emperor Xiaojing sent his palace servants to draw up an edict and bestowed it on Wei Qihou, saying: The crown prince is young and the queen mother is old and weak. If something happens to the country, Wei Qihou can use this edict as the pillar of the country and help the building collapse... "

Hearing the news that he had already heard, Liu Sheng glanced at his mother, Empress Dowager Jia, who was next to him intentionally or unintentionally, obviously wanting to see a 'thoughtful' expression on his mother's face;

When the Empress Dowager Jia turned around from the astonishment and raised her head to look at herself with uneasy eyes, Liu Sheng looked away somewhat unnaturally, and looked towards the direction outside the palace gate, without saying a word for a long time.

The current situation in the court made Liu Sheng deeply feel the constraints of his age.

——Just turned [-], and has not yet held the coronation ceremony, and has not yet formally entered the court to take charge of the government;
The two empress dowagers of the East Palace, although the grandmother Dou Taihuang is the magic needle of Dinghai, it is also a hurdle that Liu Sheng cannot avoid no matter what.

The mother, the Empress Dowager Jia, who was supposed to share some of the pressure for Liu Sheng and "share" some of the power from the Empress Dowager Dou, grew extremely slowly, to the point where Liu Sheng became anxious.

This made Liu Sheng feel more and more how powerless his elder brother Liu Rong was when he missed the crown prince, and how lucky he was to get the crown prince.

——Liu Rong missed the big position, not because he was not suitable to be the emperor, but because Naimu Li Ji was not suitable to be the queen mother;
Compared with Li Ji, the only advantage of the current Empress Dowager Jia seems to be that the lower limit is a bit higher...

"The late emperor gave Wei Qihou such a will, which is really inconsistent with common sense."

"Have you checked the Shiqu Pavilion Imperial Edict Filing Department and the Prime Minister's Imperial Edict Filing Department?"

"Wei Qihou's edict..."

"—Isn't it really a coercion?"

The long silence was urgently pressed by Liu Sheng's words, which seemed to be calm and breezy, but enough to shock people!

Not surprisingly: as soon as Liu Sheng finished speaking, the Empress Dowager Jia, Xia Que, and even the courtiers in the palace all stared wide-eyed in horror, and subconsciously lowered their heads without exception.

This is Changle Palace!
At the moment when Empress Dowager Dou is still alive, the Changle Palace is named Dou!

Liu Sheng is in such a place with the surname Dou, and he said without any scruples that the imperial edict in Dou Ying's hands may be a false edict...

"Re, Your Majesty..."

"Lang Zhongling, it seems that he didn't find a backup of this edict in Shiqu Pavilion and the Prime Minister's Mansion..."

coax! ! !
In an instant, the entire Changxin Hall was filled with a burst of suffocating horror.

The palace people had already lowered their heads and trembled, regretting why they didn't ask for leave today, but heard so many things that shouldn't be heard here.

And under Liu Sheng's expectant, eager, and faintly disappointed gaze, Empress Dowager Jia finally spoke...
"Emperor, just let it go..."

···
"The pillar of Wei Qihou's country has made great contributions to the country, and it is the nephew of the empress dowager, and the nephew of the Dou family is the best among them."

"Even if you are depraved, you should allow yourself to be prosperous and rich."

"—that is, if the last emperor's edict can be investigated, it is absolutely impossible to be a false edict."

"Even if there is no backup, it's just that the late emperor was seriously ill and forgot..."

When the Empress Dowager Jia said these words, Liu Sheng finally looked at his mother with joy that he had not seen for a long time.

The outcome of this matter is actually not important to Liu Sheng at all.

Dou Ying is not an important person at all - he is no longer worthy of Liu Sheng's attention.

As for what to do with Dou Ying, Liu Sheng was also mentally prepared: Dou Ying's life was almost bound to the Empress Dowager Dou.

As long as the Empress Dowager Dou is still breathing—even if she is seriously ill and lying on the couch, as long as her mouth and nose are still panting, Dou Ying can't even touch a hair!

But the Queen Mother Jia's statement was enough to rekindle Liu Sheng's expectations for the future, and he even happily ate two more bowls of rice.

——At least this time, Empress Dowager Jia learned to express her own views and play her own role.

Regardless of whether it is right or wrong, no matter how well it is done, or whether it is done well or not—at least people are willing to do it instead of hiding in a corner and watching...
"My son understands."

"Wei Qihou has done a lot of hard work, and his son will never cause the empress dowager to lose his nephew because of such a trivial matter."

"After all, Wei Qihou's trip this time has not caused any catastrophe..."

···
"Then what, Xiaque?"

"Go, go to Shiqu Pavilion and Xiangfu."

"Let's talk about the first emperor's affairs. Emperor Xiaojing once had a posthumous edict to 'act cheaply' with Wei Qihou Dou Ying, and because of his serious illness and frailty, he forgot to back it up."

"Let Shiqu Pavilion and Xiangfu make up their backups."

"In case in the future, someone who is not open-eyed will jump out and impeach Wei Qihou's coercive edict..."

"—No need."

Unexpectedly, before Liu Sheng finished speaking, the solemn voice of Empress Dowager Dou came from outside the hall;

Almost immediately, Empress Dowager Jia, Tianzisheng, mother and son hurriedly stood up, trotted down the imperial steps, helped Empress Dowager Dou up, and carefully sat back on the upper imperial couch.

Empress Dowager Dou took a deep breath, was silent for a moment, and then let out a long sigh inexplicably.

He took out a piece of donated book from his sleeve and gently handed it to Liu Sheng's chest.

"Wei Qihou, make an edict."

"I have already issued a decree: seize three thousand households in Wei Qihou's Shiyi, and order him to leave Beijing soon and return to the feudal state."

"In the future, after a hundred years of Hou, the son will be demoted to become the Marquis of Guannei..."

···
"The nephew of the Dou family faked the last emperor's edict, and it is me, the empress dowager, who is incapable of discipline."

"I hope that in the future, the Queen Mother can work harder by my side;"

"At this age, my body and bones really can't support this East Palace Changle..."

(End of this chapter)