Chapter 744 A Dream of Youth 276
"Your Majesty, the Empress has sent a pot of twin lotus blossoms, saying it will make you feel more at ease." The eunuch instructed the person behind him to bring up the twin lotus blossoms in a rectangular flowerpot with a moon-white glaze.
The Empress Dowager raised her eyebrows slightly, understanding the Empress's thoughts. She felt a warmth in her heart, knowing that her mother had good judgment. Although the daughter of the Prime Minister's family was not of high birth, she was a perfect match for the Emperor.
Although he had his own little schemes, he was steady enough not only for himself but also for the stability of his harem.
Thinking of Li Shu again, the Empress Dowager felt a lump in her throat. Couldn't she just behave herself? She shouldn't covet things that she shouldn't have.
But being right beside the emperor, with such immense power within reach, who could resist? Struggling for power and profit is the norm; wasn't that how she got there too?
The Empress Dowager sighed. She wondered if the Li family had considered what would happen to those who were plotting against the emperor during his illness if he survived this ordeal.
Or perhaps, they never imagined that the emperor would survive the illness.
The emperor, lying in the Hall of Diligent Governance, also saw the turmoil in the court and the harem, but he felt nothing about it, as it was all within his expectations.
Sitting to the side, Elder Shi looked down at the pills on the tray and twitched the corner of his mouth. "If Your Majesty wanted to suppress Buddhism, why make such a fuss?"
He had been worried for a long time. He had finally gotten a good night's sleep after seeing his son recover, but then the emperor had an accident, and only now was he able to see the emperor's face.
Although the emperor's face was somewhat pale, it was not yet to the point of being terminally ill.
Prince Rui calmly sipped his tea, seemingly oblivious to the resentment emanating from Lord Shi, since it wasn't directed at him anyway.
The emperor sat leisurely, with many memorials on the table beside him. He was indeed ill, but it was also true that he was using his illness as an excuse to do some things.
"Ahem, Minister Shi, I won't hide it from you, my health is already failing, and I won't last many more years." He's not young anymore, in his thirties or forties. If it were the late emperor, he would already be buried.
When his father passed away, he was still quite young, and the Empress Dowager and Empress Dowager acted as regents until he grew older and began to rule in his own right.
Given his current health, even with proper care, he probably won't live for many more years, and the future crown prince will likely follow in his footsteps.
Fortunately, the Empress Dowager and Empress were both virtuous, but that was not enough. He wanted to leave a whetstone for the young prince, but he also had to clear the way for him, otherwise the young prince would not be able to hold his position in the court.
"Your Majesty will surely live to be a hundred years old, as long as... you don't take any pills indiscriminately."
Master Shi neither believed in Buddhism nor Taoism. For him, Buddhism and Taoism were merely spiritual sustenance, impractical, and only had a slight educational effect.
emperor:.......
He didn't actually eat it; he was just putting on an act. There were still his people inside, and the pills they took had to go through Director Jiang's hands.
He originally intended to spend a few years gradually reversing the trend of Buddhism's proliferation, but years of famine, river floods and other disasters occurred frequently, the country needed relief funds, and the western expedition was very costly. Then the court began to issue ordination certificates and levy fees, which led to a gradual increase in the number of temples and the growing abuses, which intensified the contradiction between the temple economy and the government's finances.
It influenced everyone from commoners to nobles, such as the aristocracy in Zen Buddhism.
It is not acceptable for one religion to dominate, so the emperor used Taoism to suppress Buddhism as a form of checks and balances.
After he recovered from his illness, he became a Taoist emperor. What the emperor liked, the people followed. The Taoist sect grew even faster and became able to rival Buddhism.
But that's far from enough.
The emperor may personally believe in Taoism, but the country must be governed by Confucianism. At present, Buddhism is violating the precepts and breaking the rules, and does not emphasize moral cultivation. It is a good opportunity to let the scholar-officials criticize it, strengthen the moral cultivation of monks, combine the Confucian principles and etiquette with the traditional Buddhist precepts, and cleanse the Buddhist community of its corrupt practices.
No one could discern the emperor's true intentions, including Yan Xi. However, she gained some insight after seeing the white-bearded Taoist priest receive a commendation.
Is it a conflict between Buddhism and Taoism? Perhaps it's more than that.
Yan Xi murmured to herself, but her heart was at peace.
Beneath the calm surface of the lake, turbulent undercurrents were brewing. Most of the officials who had contacted the empresses and concubines were demoted, and to everyone's surprise, the Empress Dowager's maternal family, the Li family, was also affected.
Li Yu was demoted to the position of Deputy Military Commissioner of Yingzhou, and Consort Jing in the palace was also demoted.
Although the emperor's pretext was still Li Yu's mistakes during the western expedition, everyone was not blind. It was obvious that the Li family had also participated in the rebellion, or at least had the idea but had not put it into action.
Otherwise, it wouldn't be as simple as just being demoted.
The Li family's situation is relatively good; it's likely that the Empress Dowager in the palace exerted considerable effort.
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