Crossing the East Palace

The folk customs of Datang are open, and above the court, the officials and censors are quite backbone, not to mention that they are going to join the crown prince, even Emperor Tianyuan, they have been joined for countless times.

Therefore, Tang Luojin had long treated it calmly.

It's just that he is still a little unhappy.

Not because of being ginsenged, but because I haven't woken up yet.

There is nothing in the stomach.

"Your Highness, eat this bowl of bird's nest and fish paste porridge before leaving." He Liu took a small jade bowl the size of a child's palm, and brought it to Tang Luojin. Anyway, moisten the throat and cushion the stomach."

No matter how much there is, Heliu doesn't dare to fill it too much, for fear that Tang Luojin will suddenly want to go to the toilet during the court meeting.

Tang Luojin knew that today's affairs might not be good, so he only took three mouthfuls of such a small bowl of bird's nest and fish porridge, and then put it down.

Xu Youwei knew how Emperor Tianyuan loved the Crown Prince, so he hurriedly said: "Your Highness, let's eat more. The ministers in Zichen Palace have other state affairs to discuss, so it's okay to wait a little longer."

Tang Luojin put down the spoon, took the mouthwash tea brought by the little palace maid, rinsed her mouth, wiped the corners of her lips, and saw a fat man half-blocked by Ze Lan at the door, it was Yan Qingsong.

Yan Qingsong held his right index finger horizontally, and clenched the other four fingers into a fist, and gestured towards him.

Tang Luojin lowered his eyebrows slightly, Yan Qingsong knew that Tang Luojin understood, and ran away quietly again.

Only then did Tang Luojin say: "They can wait, but father and emperor can't. Eunuch Xu, let's go."

Xu Youwei didn't say anything else, and bowed and led Tang Luojin to Zichen Hall.

There are generally two types of court meetings in Taitang. One is the Great Dynasty, where the emperor will accept the worship of his officials on New Year's Day, Winter Solstice and Daqing. This kind of court meeting is mainly based on etiquette; Only those who have reached the fifth rank and enshrined officials, Yuanwailang, supervisory censors, and Dr. Taichang can have the opportunity to go to court every day.During the Chang Dynasty, it was the time for the emperor and ministers to deal with the daily affairs of the country.

It so happens that today is the Chang Dynasty, and it will be held in Zichen Hall.

When Tang Luojin arrived in the hall, Emperor Tianyuan sat on the upper seat and knelt, and the other ministers knelt on the left and right sides.

Tang Luojin saluted Emperor Tianyuan first: "My son is late, and I hope my father will forgive me."

How could Emperor Tianyuan blame him?Pointing to the table and desk that were just placed on the lower right of him, he said: "Xiaoqi sit here. If you are hungry, have some snacks first."

Thanks to the crown prince, in the past, the ministers could only get one snack and a pot of tea on the table next to the table in the court, but today, like the crown prince, they got four snacks, a pot of tea, and a small bowl of porridge .

Tang Luojin agreed, and then waited for the ministers to stand up and salute him before sitting down in their seats.

Although at this time there were already seats passed down from the barbarians, but on some important occasions, Datang would still continue the tradition of the ancients, kneeling and communicating.

Tang Luojin originally thought that his body was only seven years old, and even if those censors wanted to join him, they would wait for him to exchange greetings with Emperor Tianyuan before talking. The 40-year-old man got up from the seat, knelt in the middle, and began to cry bitterly without saying a word.

After crying for a while, she still had to take a look at Tang Luojin.

Tang Luojin: "..."

Emperor Tianyuan knew that this person came with bad intentions, but he had no choice but to ask: "What's wrong with Xu Qing? Why do you want to cry like this in the court?"

That middle-aged man, just now in the palace, just read the crown prince's imperial censor Xu Zhi with confidence, heard that Emperor Tianyuan asked him, and immediately poured out all the words he had prepared.

"The Holy Majesty is kind and misses the joys and sorrows of the minister. The minister is very grateful. However, although the minister is grateful to the Holy Majesty and respects the Holy Majesty and the prince, but the prince is wrong, the minister has to say it."

Xu Zhi bowed in Tang Luojin's direction. He thought that Tang Luojin would stand up and help him up in a symbolic way, but the seven-year-old child was sitting on the mat with a blank expression on his face, with a pair of bright black eyes staring at him without blinking. He sees.

Xu Zhi was so stared at that his heart skipped a beat, and he came back to his senses after a while. He continued to cry and said, "I am forty-six this year, and my first wife is forty-five. At that time, in order to provide for the ministers to study the imperial examinations, to sell embroidery for takeaway, to manage the housework at home, to be filial to their parents, to raise younger brothers and sisters, and to have three sons and two daughters. She is a filial and benevolent generation. The second daughter of the minister, learned female labor from her in-law since childhood. Every needle and thread on the minister's body is from the hands of the in-law and the youngest daughter. The emperor asked why the minister suffered? I love my family very much and respect and respect my in-law. , regards his daughter as the daughter of the palm, but now he can only watch his wife and daughter being insulted and reprimanded by others. As a husband and a father, how can I not cry bitterly? How can I not feel sorry for my family?"

"I am not talented, and I dare not use credit to coerce the emperor and the prince. However, I studied at the age of six, passed the examination as a scholar at the age of 22, passed the examination at the age of 27, and passed the examination of the second-class Jinshi at the age of 28. Since then, I have been an official in the court. More than ten years Come, trembling, lest you make a mistake in your errands. Although you have no merit, you are loyal and devoted to the Holy One, to Datang, and to the people. Your minister is loyal to Datang, and does not seek wealth, fame, power, or power. Beautiful, I only hope to help my family to be safe and happy.”

Xu Zhi straightened up on his knees, with tears in his eyes, looked straight at Tang Luojin and said, "However, as the crown prince of Datang, His Highness is supposed to cherish loyal and good ministers, but why does he still speak out when he knows that there are foot-bound female relatives in many families? Evil words, claiming that footbinding is only for pleasing men and increasing the burden on the country? Can your Highness know that the wife and daughter of a minister, when hearing these words from His Highness, almost want to hit the pillar to death in shame and indignation? Can your Highness know that, How inconsistent are His Highness's words and deeds with the status of the crown prince?"

Afterwards, without waiting for Tang Luojin to reply, Xu Zhi turned his head to look at the surrounding ministers again: "Since Xu has become such an early bird, colleagues, is it true that none of you has a foot-binding woman in your family? Don't you think that women's foot binding is to better abide by women's morals, obey the three obediences and four virtues, and confine themselves to one room so that they can take care of their husbands?"

Xu Zhi came prepared, and there were not many people in the court who fully supported the prince. As soon as he said this, some ministers really stood up in twos and threes.

They are willing to stand up now, but they don't want to oppose the prince, but want the prince to admit that he said something wrong, scolded the wrong person, and want the prince to admit that women's footbinding is the proper meaning, that's all.

However, Tang Luojin would not give any of the results they wanted, nor would they.

"In this way, you adults really think that binding women's feet is what they should mean?" Tang Luojin felt that she was not tall enough to kneel on the mat, so she simply stood up and walked a few In front of the kneeling minister, he raised his chin and said, "If there are women who refuse to bind their feet, is it a big mistake?"

Those who can stand up and speak for Xu Zhi are old-fashioned people.

Hearing Tang Luojin's question, someone immediately said: "Your Highness is serious. Women's foot binding is to show their future husbands that they abide by women's morals. They are willing to bind their feet and live in the back house for the rest of their lives. Observe the three obediences and four virtues, and respect your parents-in-law. , raising children is not like some big-footed women who walk around the streets all day without even knowing how to wear a veiled hat, which can be seen in the words of their wives.”

Xu Zhi is shrewd. Whatever he says, even if the ministers around him don't agree with him, they won't criticize him too much.

But when the person who spoke just now opened his mouth, he offended many people.

Now that the national strength of Datang is growing day by day, and the folk customs are open, whether Xiaojiabiyu or everyone is a lady, if you have free time, accompanied by your father and brother at home, put on bearded clothes or serve men, and there are many people walking on the street. He opened his mouth, but said that these women's "women's words and women's virtues" are not good, they immediately took a look at this person, and secretly remembered this matter in their hearts.

Seeing that the situation was not good, Xu Zhi hurriedly said: "If a woman's feet are bound since she was a child, it can be seen that she is determined to abide by the three obediences and four virtues. Such a woman will definitely be able to abide by the women's morals, care for her husband and teach her children; The rules in the family are strict, and the girls we teach, regardless of whether their feet are bound or not, are a model among girls. It's just—"

Seeing the anger of the crowd, Xu Zhi changed the subject and said to Tang Luojin, "It's just that although His Highness spoke sharply, he never apologized for insulting the minister's wife and daughter. Although the crown prince is the king, we are the ministers. However, His Highness insulted his wife and daughter for no reason, how innocent is his wife and daughter? I wish to die in order to seek justice!"

No one expected that Xu Zhi would hold on to the prince like this.

Not to mention that when the crown prince said those words, he was clearly discussing political affairs from the perspective of the imperial court. Taking a step back, even if the crown prince really uttered obscenities, it was not something Xu Zhi, a censor, should teach.

Emperor Tianyuan also darkened his face.

He really wanted to train Tang Luojin, but he absolutely had no intention of saving Tang Luojin's face.

The crown prince, the crown prince, is naturally the face of Datang.These people are deliberately trying to save Tang Luojin's face, isn't it because they are dissatisfied with Tang Luojin, the crown prince?

Tang Luojin was not annoyed when he heard the words, but walked towards Xu Zhi step by step, stood still, and said: "Master Xu is so sure that Gu is wrong, so Master Xu is sure that Gu really scolded the minister Wife and daughter? Do you have evidence?"

Xu Zhidao: "Words that come out of your mouth are like the wind that blows your ears. How can there be evidence? However, the prince's words were overheard by the palace lady, and then they came out from the palace. The minister naturally knew about it. There is no evidence, but there are witnesses."

As soon as he finished speaking, Xu Zhi's face turned pale.

The matter in the palace, when it is spread out, it will be spread out.If everyone knew about it, it would be hard to say who passed it on, and who secretly inquired about the affairs in the palace.But Xu Zhi looked at the prince who was as tall as himself kneeling in front of him, couldn't help being careless for a while, and said the word "witness".

Emperor Tianyuan broke out before Tang Luojin: "Witness?" He had been emperor for ten years, and his power was growing, so he kept a close eye on Xu Zhidao, "Who passed the words between me and the prince to your ears? Since you have a witness, then call him out, so that I can see what kind of slave is so bold that he dares to spread the word about the affairs of the palace! And Xu Qing, you, knowingly inquired about me His words and deeds are taboo, but he committed the crime knowingly, not only prying into my words and deeds, shielding the informer, but also using this as an excuse to implicate the crown prince, Xu Qing, Xu Qing, you are so brave!"

Xu Zhi's face was pale, and he wanted to confess the eldest prince in his heart, but who is the eldest prince?The eldest prince is also the emperor's son, and he is the eldest son of the emperor who is eight years older than the prince. The emperor loves the prince so much, so why doesn't he remember the elder prince? If he really confesses the eldest prince, he will really have no chance to stand up.

"Chen, I'm confused!" Xu Zhi fell to the ground, "I was confused for a while, and I heard two eunuchs whispering outside the Zichen Palace by chance, and then I knew about it. What I miss most in my life is my wife and children. The minister's wife and minister's daughter are insulted, and the minister will do such things in a moment of anger."

"It's my fault to listen to the eunuch's words indiscriminately, and to accidentally know the words and deeds of the sage. But, your majesty, the minister's mistake is wrong. How can it not be wrong for His Royal Highness to scold the minister's wife and daughter like this?" Xu Zhidao, "I am at fault, willing Receive the punishment, I hope the crown prince breaks the law and commits the same crime as the common people!"

Tang Luojin knew right away that Xu Zhi probably guessed that he would not get any good results this time, and probably lost his official position.If he loses his official position, he loses his position, but Xu Zhi is still not reconciled. The censor of the former court tried to admonish him with his death, forcing him to apologize to the ministers and reduce his prestige.It can be seen from his thoughts.

Emperor Tianyuan snorted coldly and said: "Since you know you are wrong, then you will be punished." He waved his hand and said, "Remove Xu Zhi's official uniform, remove his official position, and keep his fame. Since Xu Qing only wants his family to be safe and happy, he will return to his hometown and have a good time Keep your family safe and happy!"

Xu Zhi didn't realize that Emperor Tianyuan refused to give him the honor of Jinshi, so he couldn't help begging for mercy: "The emperor, the emperor, the minister, the minister didn't intend to spy on the affairs of the palace, the minister just happened to happen..."

Xu Youwei had already brought people up to him, and said: "Master Xu, let's take off his clothes and hats by himself, so as to save our family from doing it, and the adults will take a copy."

Xu Zhi knew that there was no turning point for this matter, so he had to kowtow again and Xie En left.

As soon as Xu Zhi left, a minister pointed out that although Xu Zhi was at fault, what he said was not wrong. The crown prince is young, so it is right to make mistakes, but if he knows the mistakes and does not correct them, it is a big mistake.

Although there were many euphemisms in the words, in Tang Luojin's ears, this person said so.

Emperor Tianyuan glanced at Tang Luojin: "The prince said, are you wrong?"

Tang Luojin said: "A woman's feet are bound. Firstly, her body is hairy and skinny. Her parents dare not damage her. After her feet are bound, her body becomes deformed and she hurts herself. dragging, beauty is beautiful, but not as strong as a woman with feet of heaven, and can give birth to healthier offspring. For the offspring of a woman with bound feet, it is unkind to fail to make the offspring healthy; thirdly, for the common people As far as the common people are concerned, once all commoner women have their feet bound, who should do the work that these commoner women do? Although Datang is becoming more and more powerful, looking around, many small barbarian countries are still staring at each other. Seeing that he was weak, he came up and gnawed off a piece of meat from my Datang body! In such a critical time, it is common for Datang men to serve in the army to protect their families and the country.

For officials and officials, men can pay a ransom to redeem their homes, so as not to be drafted; but for ordinary people, since men want to leave home, the family affairs will be taken care of by women at home.If a woman has natural feet and a strong body, she can naturally plow the fields outside, serve her parents-in-law and raise children inside; however, if a woman has small feet, holds a three-inch golden lotus in her hand, and walks swaying gracefully. How to support a home?For Yu Datang, it is infidelity for women who bind their feet.

Foot binding is so unfilial, unkind, and unfaithful, except in the boudoir, what use is it to please men? "

Seeing that some of the ministers changed their colors immediately, Tang Luojin did not let go, and continued to say with a cold face: "Datang has been fighting for years, and in the future, Datang will become more prosperous and powerful, defeating Turks, Tubo, etc., especially if it is Datang's priority. For the sake of the country, women don’t make their bodies strong for the sake of the country, but they want to do such unfilial, unkind, and unfaithful things, and become a burden to the court, so what’s wrong with the words that are reprimanded by the solitary?”

What Tang Luojin said, of course, was not at fault in every single word.

"Of course, if the woman's feet were not bound voluntarily, then the wrong person should be the woman's parents and elder brothers who killed her daughter and sister."

However, at this time, the man's control over the woman was slightly out of control, so he wanted to use other means to restrain the woman in the boudoir.There is no better means than footbinding.

The faces of the men present were not very good-looking.

Some of them have foot-bound women in their families, and their faces are even more ugly.Some thought that what the prince said was reasonable, and wished they could go underground immediately so that no one could see them;

"Although what the prince said is reasonable, it is still the opinion of the whole family." Prime Minister Li saw that no one could come up with a good way to oppose it for a while, so he had to say, "Whether foot binding should be banned or become popular, I implore the emperor, wait for the minister to wait." Write down the memorial and discuss it another day."

Emperor Tianyuan knew that the wind of foot binding did not start in a day, and, not to mention the ministers in the court, even Emperor Tianyuan himself had different ideas about the three-inch golden lotus.If he hadn't taken care of Datang's power, he wouldn't have thought about changing this atmosphere.

It's just that even if you want to change it, it's not a one-day job.

"That's fine." Emperor Tianyuan turned his head to look at Tang Luojin, "It's just that this matter involves the prince. Then, until this matter is completely resolved, the prince will go to court with me every day to discuss this matter. "

Before Tang Luojin could shirk, some ministers objected.

"This matter is absolutely impossible. Although the crown prince is not a prince, he is not married. According to the ancestors' rules, only after the prince gets married can he enter the court and participate in political affairs. The emperor must not violate the ancestors' rules."

Emperor Tianyuan waved his hands when he heard the words: "Then the prince will go to the court, and he is not allowed to speak at will except for the foot binding. In this way, it is not considered a violation of the ancestor's rules. Let it go, today's business is over, everyone go back."

The emperor drove people away like this, and all the ministers felt anxious, but they had no choice but to leave.

Emperor Tianyuan left Tang Luojin behind, and the father and son muttered a lot of words, Emperor Tianyuan called all the palace servants who had been around the father and son that day, and asked them to interrogate him severely, and he must find out who will The person who said Tang Luojin's words.

Tang Luojin looked at it for a while, then went to the harem.

He originally wanted to go to the East Palace to study, but he looked up at the sun and changed his mind and went to Changle Palace.

In the Changle Palace, the Empress Dowager and the Empress Dowager were sullenly watching the imperial doctor bandage the wound on the third prince's leg.

Tang Luojin went in, and after saluting, he wondered, "Brother Sanhuang, what's wrong? Why did you suddenly hurt your leg?"

The empress dowager's face was very ugly, she sighed: "The first prince and the second prince raced horses, but before the two could win, they accidentally startled the third prince's horse. That's why he hurt his leg."

Tang Luojin was the crown prince, and he was taught by the three masters and three masters of the East Palace alone and accompanied by him.As for the other princes, they all studied and practiced martial arts together, things like today are actually not uncommon.It's just that the third prince was injured too badly today, which made both the empress dowager and the empress dowager look down.

The third prince is twelve years old this year, and he is born of Jiang Meiren, the fourth rank.Jiang Meiren's father was the only official in Jiang Meiren's family, and he was still the most inconspicuous county official, and he had not been promoted for more than ten years.Jiang Meiren herself was not favored, and the third prince was taught to be very timid by him, so it was no wonder that when the first prince and the second prince were fighting, they often suffered disasters.

"Bone hurt for a hundred days. Brother Sanhuang has injured his leg bone, so he must have a good life." Tang Luojin said politely, and ordered Xiaojing to go to the East Palace to get good medicinal materials and supplements and send them to the third prince's residence .After doing this, the third prince was carried away with a little panic.

The Empress Dowager sighed: "Your big brother and second brother have really grown up."

It was so big that in order to compete for the reserve position, it would mutilate the prince who refused to stand on their side.

If it wasn't for the luck of the third prince today, the third prince's right leg might end up being limped anyway.

Tang Luojin probably guessed the empress dowager's sigh, but his status was more embarrassing than the first and second princes, so he didn't follow what the empress dowager said, but said: "The elder brother and the second emperor are indeed old I just don’t know, what kind of emperor’s sister-in-law did great-grandmother and grandmother want to find for the two emperor brothers?”

The Empress Dowager knew that the matter of the eldest and second princes had to be dealt with by Emperor Tian Yuan, so she let go of her worries and said with a smile: "Then Xiao Qi said, what kind of sister-in-law do you want to find? Xiao Qi said, great-grandmother followed Xiao Qi Look for the one that Qi likes. It is necessary to find someone that Xiao Qi likes, Xiao Qi said, okay?"

Tang Luojin's dark eyeballs lit up immediately.

On the second day, news spread from the palace that the Empress Dowager and the Empress Dowager wanted to choose a concubine and side concubine for the eldest prince and the second prince.

Many people in the court became excited and hurriedly ordered the female family members who had orders to come into the palace to ask.

In the end, nothing else was asked, only one thing was asked—whether the eldest concubine or other concubines in the future, no matter whether they are concubines, side concubines, or girls with small feet, they are not allowed to be selected.Moreover, the crown prince hates foot binding very much. In the East Palace, if a woman with bound feet is willing to let her feet go, she can stay. Drive out of the East Palace.

The crown prince hates footbinding so far, and in the future, if there is a woman with small feet, she will not stay in the crown prince's womb.

Tang Luojin had just resorted to a trick, and she was in a good mood. When she returned to the palace, she was about to take a bath and change clothes when she saw He Liu walking in angrily.

"Your Highness, today is the return date for the Eldest Princess and the Fifth Princess. The Eldest Princess is fine, but, but the Fifth Princess..." He Liu was annoyed, "The Fifth Princess bound her feet without authorization. The Empress Dowager asked, she She actually said that she was willing to experience the pain of footbinding for the sisters first, and then take care of the feet of other sisters in the future, so that she has experience. The fifth princess also said that she wanted to live in Qingning Palace and honor the queen. Her attitude is low, Unexpectedly, it is not too different from those concubines that slaves and maids usually see. Poor Concubine Xin is ranked from the first-rank concubine, and Xinfei's natal family is reused by the emperor, how can the fifth princess say such a thing!"

Tang Luojin: "..."

He suddenly felt that even if he didn't come here through time travel and didn't know about the son-changing that happened when he was just born, he would probably eventually discover the magic of the bloodline through the similarity between mother and daughter.