Tang Dynasty, my wife Wu Zetian

Chapter 78 Concubine Wei and Empress Wu

The Cold Food Festival was originally a festival that arose due to the ban on fire.

Later, because Jie Zitui was burned to death in the Spring and Autumn Period, people admired Jie Zitui's noble qualities and commemorated him with this festival.

The Tang Dynasty advocated loyalty and filial piety, so the emperors of the Tang Dynasty also attached great importance to the Cold Food Festival.

During the festival, the whole country will hold a memorial ceremony. During the festival, fireworks, eating cold food, swinging, outings, and tomb sweeping are prohibited throughout the country.

As an emperor, Li Zhi must also set an example and serve as a role model.

During the Cold Food Festival, he will lead civil and military officials to Zhaoling to pay homage to Emperor Taizong of Tang and Empress Wende.

The details of the worship were handled by the Ministry of Rites and the Taichang Temple. He only needed to go through the motions like on the day of the grand court meeting.

The only trouble is that the large fur crown worn by the priests is more formal than the robes worn at the grand court, and it feels like wearing armor when worn.

During the Tang Dynasty, grand sacrifices were more important than grand court meetings, and Empress Wu would lead the ladies of the harem, the concubines dowagers, and the ladies of the state to participate in the sacrifices.

Before Li Shimin died, he made arrangements for the women in the harem. Those who had sons could live in their sons' fiefdoms, while those who had no sons were arranged to live in temples.

Those with higher status are in Chongsheng Temple, and those with lower status are in Ganye Temple.

It was because of this arrangement that there were no concubines or elders in Li Zhi's harem.

These concubines never attended the grand court meetings, but they never dared to miss the annual Cold Food Festival worship at Zhaoling Mausoleum.

Concubine Wei, Concubine Yan De, Concubine Yang and others also traveled thousands of miles from their sons' fiefdoms a few days in advance just to pay homage to Emperor Taizong.

Zhaoling Mausoleum is located on Jiuyi Mountain, about a hundred miles away from Chang'an City. It is situated on the south side of the Jing River and the south side of the Wei River. It was originally the tomb chosen by Empress Changsun for herself.

After Empress Changsun died, Emperor Taizong of Tang chose this place as his final resting place so that he could be buried with Empress Changsun after his death.

The large group of people set out at noon in the morning and finally arrived at the palace at the foot of Zhaoling Mausoleum in the evening.

For Li Zhi, sacrifice was just a tedious ritual, more tiring than handling official business. After arriving at the palace, he went to bed early.

However, for Empress Wu, the day had just begun.

She first dressed up in the palace, then asked people to inquire. When she learned that Li Zhi had gone to bed, she began tonight's activities.

The first person Wu Meiniang visited was Concubine Wei.

When she was still a concubine of Emperor Taizong, Concubine Wei was already very favored.

At that time, the person Wu Meiniang was most jealous of was Concubine Wei, because she was a married woman and had a daughter with her ex-husband.

Concubine Wei was more than twenty years older than Wu Meiniang and her appearance was not particularly outstanding.

However, it was such a woman who was favored by Emperor Taizong just because she grew up in the Jingzhao Wei family, and gave birth to a son, Prince Ji Li Shen.

Wu Meiniang stayed in the harem for more than ten years, and the ten most youthful years of her life were wasted, and she could only be accompanied by the lonely moon.

When she was alone in her room every day, she envied those favored women in her heart.

Now she has finally reaped the rewards of her hardships and is now the queen.

She wants to meet her old friends with a completely new attitude.

The villa where Concubine Wei rested was located in the west garden of the temporary palace. Wu Meiniang, surrounded by palace maids and eunuchs, came to the villa in a grand manner.

As I passed through the gate and walked along the corridor, I suddenly saw a man coming towards me.

When the man saw Wu Meiniang, he was slightly startled and stood aside with his hands hanging down. When Wu Meiniang approached, he bowed his head and said, "Greetings, Her Majesty the Queen."

He didn't even give his name, hoping that Empress Wu would not take him seriously and ignore him.

Wu Meiniang stopped, looked at him with interest, and said with a smile: "You are the Minister of Agriculture, Wei Shaoqing, right?"

Wei Hongji had never spoken to Empress Wu before, but he never expected that she would recognize him. He was shocked and said with his head down, "This humble official is Wei Hongji."

Wu Meiniang glanced towards the main hall and asked, "What is your relationship with Concubine Wei?"

Wei Hongji said, "Your Highness, the Concubine Dowager is my cousin."

Wu Meiniang said, "Alright, please do as you please, Wei Shaoqing."

After Wei Hongji walked away, Wu Meiniang still looked at his back without saying a word.

Zhang Duohai asked, "Your Highness, what's wrong?"

Wu Meiniang said, "It has been a few days since Concubine Wei returned to Chang'an."

Zhang Duohai said: "Yes, I returned to Chang'an the day before yesterday."

Wu Meiniang said, "That's strange. If Wei Hongji wanted to pay her a visit, he would have done so in Chang'an long ago. Why did he have to come to the temporary palace to pay his respects?"

Zhang Dahai narrowed his eyes and said, "Maybe there is another purpose."

Wu Meiniang nodded.

After Changsun Wuji retired, the aristocratic families began to become restless, and the number of secret contacts increased by more than ten times than before.

Wei Hongji is so sneaky, maybe he is plotting something.

She withdrew her gaze, walked forward, and soon arrived at the back hall.

The eunuchs had informed in advance that Concubine Wei was already waiting outside the door with her entourage from the other courtyard.

"I am Wei, paying my respects to Her Majesty the Queen." Concubine Wei was the first to salute.

Empress Wu smiled slightly, returned the greeting, and said, "I, Wu, greet the Dowager Consort. You don't need to be so polite."

Among the two, although the empress had a higher status, the Tang Dynasty attached great importance to filial piety, and the concubine was the elder. Logically, Wu Meiniang should have performed the ceremony first.

However, Concubine Wei took the initiative to make concessions, obviously because the difference in status between the two far exceeded the difference in generation.

The two of them entered the back hall together and sat on the couch side by side.

Concubine Wei was already in her fifties, with a kind and gentle complexion. It was clear that she was enjoying a very comfortable life in her son's fiefdom. Wu Meiniang looked at her face and said calmly, "When I was in the harem, I owed you so much care. I never forgot it for a moment. Today, I finally see you again. My heart is filled with joy."

When Concubine Wei heard this, her heart tightened.

When she was in the harem, she didn't take Wu Meiniang seriously at all. She neither suppressed her nor took care of her.

However, Wu Meiniang's words seemed to contain a hint of revenge.

A trace of annoyance flashed through Concubine Wei's heart, and she thought to herself, "I didn't offend you back then, so why do you have to take revenge on me now?"

However, thinking of his son Li Shen, he had to swallow his anger, endure it, stand up and bow.

"I am a young and unruly concubine. If I have offended you, please forgive me, Your Majesty."

Wu Meiniang frowned and said nothing.

Seeing that she didn't say anything, Concubine Wei knelt on the ground and said in a hoarse voice: "Your Highness, please forgive me."

Wu Meiniang finally helped her up and said, "It was just a joke, why take it so seriously?"

The two chatted for a while longer. Concubine Wei seemed very cautious and would think for a long time before speaking each time.

Wu Meiniang suddenly felt bored and stood up to say goodbye and left.

After leaving Concubine Wei's villa, Wu Meiniang had no intention of looking for other concubines. Walking on the path back to her own palace, she felt empty in her heart.

After not seeing her for many years, Concubine Wei seemed like a different person.

She was no longer the imperial concubine who sat high and mighty on the sedan chair and never even looked at her in her memory. Instead, she had become a weak and pitiful old woman.

This made her feel no pleasure in revenge.

Wu Meiniang looked up at the bright moon and remained silent for a long time.

Zhang Duohai suddenly said, "Your Highness, Concubine Wei seems to be a little bit abnormal."

Wu Meiniang turned her head suddenly, stared at Zhang Duohai for a while, and said, "Yes, there is indeed something wrong with her. She seems to be afraid of something."

Zhang Duohai asked, "Am I too scared of you?"

Wu Meiniang shook her head.

At first, she also thought that the other party was afraid of her revenge, but after thinking about it carefully, it seemed more like a guilty conscience.

Wu Meiniang walked forward slowly and suddenly said, "If I remember correctly, Princess Linchuan also came to Chang'an with Concubine Wei, right?"

Zhang Duohai said: "Yes, she comes to Zhaoling with the concubine every year."

Wu Meiniang asked, "Why didn't I see her just now?"

Zhang Duohai was surprised and said, "Yes, it's so late, she's not in the yard, where did she go?"

Wu Meiniang said coldly: "Go and check where Princess Linchuan has gone."

In less than half an hour, Zhang Duohai had found out the truth.

Princess Linchuan paid her respects to Xu Chongrong and Concubine Zheng respectively, and played with the two little princesses for a while.

Wu Meiniang immediately issued an order to summon the two little princesses into the palace for questioning.

After receiving the imperial edict, Princess Yi Yang and Princess Gao An came to the palace together.

Princess Gao An had recently been favored by Li Zhi and was no longer as afraid of Empress Wu as before. After paying her respects, she smiled and said, "Mother, do you have something to talk to us about?"

Wu Meiniang smiled and said, "Did Princess Linchuan come to see you just now?"

Princess Gao An smiled and said, "Yes, he also gave my sister and me a pair of white jade rabbits. Right, sister?"

Princess Yi Yang nodded.

Wu Meiniang asked, "What did she say to you?"

Princess Gao An asked curiously, "Why are you asking this?"

Wu Meiniang frowned.

Princess Yiyang quickly said, "Mother, she told us a lot about my mother."

Wu Meiniang's eyes flickered: "What else?"

Princess Gao An smiled and said, "She also said that there are many interesting things in Jiangnan. She hopes we can go and see them when we have the chance."

Wu Meiniang suddenly asked, "Do you know who Xiao Rui is?"

Princess Gao An was pleasantly surprised and said, "I know. Aunt Linchuan just said that he is our cousin and uncle, and he is a very good person!"

Li Zhi married a daughter of the Xiao family, and Xiao Rui married Li Zhi's sister, so Xiao Rui had two levels of kinship with the two princesses.

Wu Meiniang laughed and asked, "How did he get better?"

Princess Gao An smiled and said, "Aunt Linchuan said that he opened many charity halls in Jiangnan, specifically to adopt those poor homeless children. He also opened many pharmacies to provide free medical treatment to the poor."

Wu Meiniang smiled and said, "Yes, it seems that he is indeed a very good person."

Princess Gao An said excitedly: "And he..."

Wu Meiniang yawned and said, "I'm sleepy. I'll listen to you another day. You all can leave."

Princess Gao An opened her eyes wide and thought to herself, "Didn't you call us over here to ask questions? Why are you suddenly sleepy?"

Just as he was about to say something else, Princess Yi Yang pulled him away.

After the two men left, Wu Meiniang slammed her hand on the table and said coldly, "How dare you extend your claws into the harem? Duohai, pass on my decree. Princess Linchuan is no longer allowed to enter the palace!"

(End of this chapter)