[Red Mansions] Guide to "The Empress of the Wise"

"His Royal Highness!" Xia Qiwen took the lead in saluting. Looking at the princess who was slowly walking to the center of the hall, he knew that this would be a remarkable stroke in history. This was the appearance of an unprecedented character.Xia Qiwen gave a wink, Chang Youzuo was responsible for "inquiring" the princess, or he represented all the ministers to persuade the princess to give up this idea.

Tu Xu walked slowly to the center and sat down on the chair next to Wang Shuo. His face was pale, his eyes were red, his spine was straight, and he never flinched.Sitting on a chair, the little man faced veterans who were several times his age, and his aura was not inferior.

Wang Shuo patted Tu Xu's hand, and said softly, "I'm going to see your father."

Sooner or later, Tu Xu will have to face it himself. Wang Shuo has assisted Tu Geng in dealing with the government for so many years, and he has his own prestige among the courtiers, but Wang Shuo does not want such prestige to affect Tu Xu's judgment on himself. Tu Xu needs such means , to establish their own authority.Besides, she left now, which could give the courtiers a hint that no matter how the "conversation" went, the outcome was doomed, so Wang Shuo didn't care.

Wang Shuo walked around to Tu Geng's bed, and the female doctors were busy back and forth. The imperial doctor sitting on the bedside rolled up his sleeves, his forehead was covered with beads of sweat, Tu Geng's lips were pale, and his breath was like gossamer.Wang Shuo didn't bother these imperial physicians, he found a seat by himself and sat silently. From this direction, he could just see Tu Geng's pale face.

As the sky was getting brighter, Wang Shuo didn't care about the results of Tu Xu's conversation with the important ministers, but calmly ordered: "This morning, I will still be in the court on behalf of His Majesty, Tu Xu will be crowned as a princess, the House of Internal Affairs will prepare court clothes with gold seals, and the Ministry of Rites will prepare sacrificial offerings." Three days later, the palace will enshrine the Empress Dowager, and the Empress Dowager will sacrifice to heaven with the Empress Dowager."

After giving the order, Wang Shuo took Tu Xu back to wash and change clothes, and the remaining ministers were naturally escorted to the main hall by the palace guards and imperial guards.

When more than a dozen people walked to the gazebo in the corridor, Xia Qiwen said to the leader of the female guards who escorted them: "My lord, the old man is old and frail, and he can't walk anymore. Why don't you take a rest here."

The leader of the team was Suzaku's apprentice, who acted according to circumstances, nodded and said: "My lord, please go ahead." He turned around and arranged the female guards outside the pavilion.

Xia Qiwen sat down on the stone bench, sighed and said: "There is still an hour before the morning court, what do you think?"

"What a princess, what an empress, an unprecedented strange thing! Chicken..."

"Shut up!" Xia Qiwen interrupted hastily, "What kind of place is this? Your Majesty has presided over the government for many years, and Her Royal Highness is also the successor appointed by His Majesty's golden words. How many heads do you have!"

"Could it be that for the sake of Gou's life, I just watched this strange thing happen through the ages, and let future generations point at me and wait for my spine to scold me?"

"It's not necessarily scolding. If the empress dowager agrees, at least my old mother and wife will not object." Chang Youzuo said calmly. In recent years, the empress dowager has almost united all the noble ladies who can unite, and respects the female relatives in the upper class. The atmosphere is getting stronger and stronger.After Wang Shuo was able to make the decision, the law gradually changed, no longer favoring men, at least the husband killed his wife with a reduced sentence, and the law that a wife killed her husband without pardon no longer exists.Confucian scholars like them have always paid attention to the Qi family, especially if the old mother agrees, they have no firm opposition.

Weaving workshops began to rise in the south of the Yangtze River. The brocades produced in these workshops were expensive, and those who possessed these skills were all women. The textile industry was naturally dominated by women.With an economic foundation, it is natural to demand political status. In the past two years, Jiangnan had already had a chastity hall. In the name of chastity, he refused to marry, set up a separate household, and refused to hand over the wealth he possessed to others.This matter was approved by His Majesty at the beginning, but now that I think about it, it must be a rainy day.

There are also female officials. In the early years, court female officials were only candidates for the emperor's concubines. Even if there were a few who were not, they were only a means for the daughters of middle-level officials to increase capital. No female officials had ever been able to participate in government affairs.But the empress dowager's female officials help the empress dowager manage the sales homes and old people's homes spread out in several provinces near the capital, and have more and more dealings with imperial institutions such as the Ministry of Households, the Ministry of Industry, the Imperial Hospital, and the Qin Tianjian. These female officials have also gradually entered the world's field of vision.There are also female officials around the queen, who can really participate in major affairs of the court. How many officials who have been sent to Beijing to run officials are no longer willing to go to the homes of serious courtiers, and prefer to flatter these female officials, thinking that they can influence the queen, and the queen can decide The fate of the courtiers.

There is also the woman who was selected as the companion of Princess Tuxu. Now the daughter of an official family is proud of her love of reading and martial arts. Must be a person who loves reading and is good at martial arts.

There are so many details, the careless details at the time, but now I think of it as a thrilling chess game.Chang Youzuo thought about it, and cold sweat gradually broke out on his head.

"Brother Chang, why did you say that? We are here to study the world and study, and we don't care about helping the country. Do we want to see the country that the Tai/ancestor laid down fall into the hands of a different surname?"

"The princess is also surnamed disciple."

"What will happen if the princess descends as a son-in-law in the future? Monarchs and ministers, father and son, if the son follows the mother's surname, what about the etiquette? Mr. Xia Ge, you are our backbone. If you fail, we will be in danger." Another person spoke to Xia Qiwen, hoping He can act as a leader against this crazy idea.

Xia Qiwen didn't want to stand still, but reality didn't give him the choice to stand still.The empress had already told him about Li Tuxu's idea of ​​being the prince, and Xia Qiwen didn't want to do that either. He would rather adopt the clan, but he didn't expect that His Majesty fell ill so quickly, and he didn't have time to work at all.The moment Xia Qiwen learned of His Majesty's illness, Xia Qiwen was shocked, but he realized that Xia Qiwen was almost sure that there was a shadow of a queen in it. This is a virtuous queen praised by the government and the public. Hands, what are their old bones?

The one who is Zongzheng in the clan is Tu Jin, who is the queen’s cousin, and the queen Yu Yong’s family has the great grace to save her life; There are shadows of the Wang family and the Yongwang family.Now the leader of the Jingxi camp has changed, and his wife was the queen's personal maid in the early years.It is impossible to take the road of force □□. It is lucky to save your life and not be chopped up by the queen.

As for taking the Wendou route, Xia Qiwen looked at Gu Que, the Minister of the Ministry of Officials who had been silent all this time. Wen Zhengzi, the Minister of the Ministry, and the queen are very ingenious, and Yu Wenzheng often sighs as a confidant. Now the Minister of the Ministry of Industry is old and sick, and he has long since ignored his affairs. The Ministry of Industry is already Wen Zhengzi's back garden.Thinking about the Queen's usual reputation, how many elders and scholars have memorized books for her, who would believe that she murdered His Majesty?Li Tuxu is the princess. When others say this sentence, everyone will think he is crazy. When the queen says this sentence, everyone has to think about it several times before they dare to speak out. Facts have proved that the queen has said it several times. An example that was not understood by everyone at the time, but the result was unexpected.

Now that the only daughter of the empress is going to ascend the throne, Xia Qiwen really can't find any way to stop it. The folks can set up female households without sons. It's not like the royal family can't set a precedent!

Xia Qiwen half-closed his eyebrows, thinking about his own thoughts, he hardly listened to what the ministers around him were saying.

They can't stay here for too long, someone will come to remind them to go to the main hall soon.

When they arrived at the main hall, those who knew the situation still elected Xia Qiwen as a representative to inform colleagues of what happened last night.Now the people standing in the main hall are all senior members of the second rank or above. It can be said that they are the ones who can really influence the destiny of this country.

Sure enough, as soon as Xia Qiwen's words fell to the ground, there was a buzz of discussion in the side hall. Is this unprecedented thing going to happen in their official careers?

At the beginning, some ministers spoke too aggressively. Xia Qiwen was worried that the guards standing in the corner would violently kill people, but after reminding him for a while, he realized that these guards would not do anything.Even so, Xia Qiwen was always cautious, and never opened his mouth unless it was absolutely necessary.

As time goes by, an inner prisoner in Tsing Yi will come and remind Xia Qiwen in a low voice: "Master Xia, there is still half an hour before the morning court." "Master Xia, there are still three quarters of an hour before the morning court."

As time went by, Xia Qiwen's head became more and more sweaty, and he knew that he had to make a decision at this time.Xia Qiwen finally stood up and expressed his position when there was still a quarter of an hour before the morning court: "We, the courtiers, should obey His Majesty's will." Not listening to those who scolded him for being servile, Xia Qiwen walked silently, holding the same point of view. People also walked over silently, and those scolding and commenting people also found that words have no power at this time, so they shut up silently and insisted on standing on the other side. They are ready to use their lives to protect their beliefs.The side hall became silent, and everyone began to choose their positions tacitly.

In the end, the majority stood on Xia Qiwen's side. When the bell rang, Xia Qiwen led the people behind him and began to walk towards the main hall.And those who stood on the other side of the road did not walk out of the side hall of the main hall under the obstruction of the heavily armed guards.There were muffled groans and short cries for help coming from behind, Xia Qiwen hunched his back but walked steadily, without looking back, he had already made a choice.

As the sun rises, Wang Shuo, who is in a queen's dress, supports the empress dowager, and Tu Xu, who is wearing a dowager's dress, slowly walks up to Danbi. The dragon chair is in the middle, and there is no one on it. On the right is the queen's honor, and the queen is standing in the middle.Hundreds of officials filed in and kowtowed in accordance with the etiquette. Looking at the three women above, the world has been ruled by them.

Wang Shuo looked at these lowered heads in a daze, thinking of the conversation he had just had with Tu Geng.

"I only understand the feelings of the late emperor now." Tu Geng was lifted up, half lying on the thick cushion, so as to ensure his smooth breathing.

"So, like the late emperor, do you want to leave someone behind?" Wang Shuo asked.

"You really know." Tu Geng twitched the corners of his mouth, and didn't ask her when she knew about the big picture. He only asked: "I want to do it, but I haven't had time. You are better than me at this point, so you can be cruel." .”

"The late emperor's successor, it is difficult to say, easy to say, as long as you and I are of the same heart, we still have Xu'er, why is it so far. Unfortunately, the late emperor has his eyes on you, and even more on people's hearts." Wang Shuo couldn't bear it. Live sarcastically.

"You don't understand. After sitting on the throne and enjoying the supreme power, a person is no longer a person, but an emperor. Xu'er is young, so you must be in charge of politics. In the future, you and her will be like me and the late emperor, like the emperor. Any emperor or prince." Tu Geng sighed.

"I won't, I won't ascend the throne, and I won't let power corrupt me. We were determined to make the world peaceful and prosperous. You forgot these vows, but I haven't." Wang Shuo said firmly.

Tu Geng smiled wryly, people who have never tasted that kind of taste would not understand, in the end Tu Geng just smiled and said: "I'll wait."

"Just wait, I will prove it." Wang Shuo smiled.