Chapter 52 I Add a Cover to the Capital (Two Chapters in One)
For all civil and military officials, today is a day that will go down in history!
Just today, in the Golden Palace, right under the emperor's nose, in front of all the officials, the upright Censor Jin actually bumped into the pillar!
It was not uncommon for civil officials to bang their heads against pillars, but Censor Jin was the first person to do so with such determination and passion since the founding of the Yong Dynasty.
In the past, civil servants would just bang their heads against the pillars for show.
One of them made a gesture as if to hit me: "Don't stop me, no one can stop me!"
A group of extras tried to stop them: "No, absolutely not. If anything happens to you, His Majesty will be heartbroken."
The ladder was handed to the emperor, who coughed lightly and said, "My dear minister, why are you doing this? I..."
......
Long afterward, when the court officials recalled what happened that day, they would still be amazed at how Censor Jin was ready to face death with equanimity.
With the determination of a moth to a flame and the calmness of being torn to pieces, with that bang, blood flew all over the sky. It was the dream of a young boy studying hard in the cold window amidst the snow, it was the petals embroidered with love by a girl among the peach blossoms in March, it was the lime chant that young officials recited countless times in their hearts.
The emaciated body of Censor Jin collapsed with a loud bang, which touched everyone's heartstrings.
As Censor Jin fell, the court officials who had just questioned him felt a little guilty.
Before today, whenever Censor Jin opened his mouth, everything he said and pointed out was always dark and offensive.
For example, the Earl of Yan'an, who had just been fined a year's salary not long ago, brought his concubine to the banquet but not his wife.
When this matter came out of the mouth of Censor Jin, it was magnified infinitely. He favored his concubine and killed his wife, which was against morals, disrespectful to the ancient sages, and disrupted the social order. It was unacceptable.
There was also the son of Marquis Baoqing, who lost a whole street gambling. When Marquis Baoqing found out, he scolded his son and the matter was over.
However, Censor Jin submitted a memorial to accuse both the father and the son. He said that Marquis Baoqing failed to manage his household properly and allowed his son to gamble, so he was not worthy of being a father. The eldest son of Marquis Baoqing was arrogant, extravagant, and lustful. He did not know the difference between grains and was lazy, so he was not worthy of being the eldest son.
In the end, Marquis Baoqing broke one of his son's legs in tears, and the matter was finally resolved.
So, when Censor Jin said today that he had a report to make, everyone thought that he was going to report someone again.
But no one expected that Censor Jin did not report anyone. Instead, with tears in his eyes, he passionately requested the emperor to let the Prince of Liang return to his roots and his soul return to his hometown. If he could not attend his father's funeral when he was alive, he should die in front of his father's grave after his death.
Not attending a funeral is unfilial.
He died in front of his father's grave as an apology.
Censor Jin quoted from classics and spoke eloquently, and as a bystander, he explained the importance of Prince Liang returning to his roots.
How important is it?
That is, if Prince Liang died in the capital, someone would follow his example. When the father was sick, the son would claim to be ill and not go to take care of him. When the father died, the son would conceal the fact and avoid mourning.
Censor Jin cited an incident that occurred in Luoshi County two years ago.
It was the year of the major examination. Magistrate Luo Shi had made great efforts to arrange things for him and was on the verge of promotion. However, his father was seriously ill in his hometown and no medicine could cure him.
So County Magistrate Luo Shi sealed his father in a cave, but told others that his father was saved by a wandering immortal, and after recovering from his illness, he followed the immortal on his journey.
At that time, the retired emperor entered the Changshou Palace to cultivate immortality, and the noble families donated money to build Taoist temples. Therefore, County Magistrate Luo Shi's statement deceived everyone and was even written into the county annals by his flatterers.
Not long after, the magistrate was promoted to prefect and left Luoshi County.
After the new prefect took office, two beautiful concubines were sent to him. The prefect was obsessed with the concubines and neglected his original wife. The wife was furious and, during an argument with him, she spoke without thinking and revealed the fact that he had sealed his father in a cave and starved him to death.
So the matter spread from word of mouth among the maids, and reached the ears of someone with ulterior motives, who reported it secretly to the prefect. Unfortunately, this prefect took the position that the prefect originally wanted to assign to one of his own. So when the prefect heard about this, he made some arrangements, gathered witnesses and evidence, and reported the case to the Dali Temple.
The case caused a sensation and Emperor Yongjia personally intervened. The prefect was eventually sentenced to death by slicing.
Now Censor Jin brought up this case. Before the incident of Prince Liang, someone killed his biological father in order to escape mourning. The court at that time sentenced him severely to serve as a warning to others.
But now, the dignified Prince of Liang did not go back to attend his father's funeral, and abandoned his widowed mother and younger brother. Even if he was really sick, what would the world think?
Does it mean you can disrespect your parents just by claiming to be sick?
Therefore, the action of Prince Liang was totally wrong.
Censor Jin believed that although Prince Liang had his reasons for what he did, he was indeed unfilial.
How can we eliminate the impact of this incident in the court and the country? He must atone his sins in front of his father's grave. He must return to Liang to build a hut and observe mourning. Even if he dies, he must die in front of the tomb of King Liang.
There is no way. Prince Liang’s status is too high and his influence is too great. He can only eliminate the impact of this incident by making up for his unfilial behavior. Otherwise, there will inevitably be a second and third County Magistrate Luo Shi.
If the king is like this, the officials are like this, then what about the people?
A gentleman should focus on the fundamentals; once the fundamentals are established, the Way will emerge. Filial piety and brotherly love are the foundation of benevolence!
Filial piety and respect for elders are the foundation of being a human being. If one is not filial to one's biological parents, how can one be loyal to the court?
If this continues, the dynasty will be in danger.
When Censor Jin got so excited, he hit his head against the pillar to express his determination with blood!
Emperor Yongjia had a gloomy expression. He couldn't say whether he liked or disliked Censor Jin. However, before today, Censor Jin was very useful.
The Great Yong Dynasty had been established for more than 120 years. In addition to the Eight Kings, the royal family in Beijing was also deeply rooted and intertwined. There were also those nobles who were self-righteous because of their ancestors' military achievements. These people were thorns in his eyes and thorns in his flesh, but he could not deprive them of their titles or confiscate their property. Just like the Liang Palace, he could not touch them all, but could only influence them little by little, turning them from ambitious wolves into obedient dogs.
So he needs people like Jin Yushi. He needed them before and he will need them in the future. There must be such people in the court at all times.
But he didn't expect that this time, Censor Jin made such a big fuss just for Prince Liang.
Emperor Yongjia did not believe that this was Censor Jin's own decision.
Censor Jin was a man who cared very much about his reputation, so those he attacked were mostly those who already had a bad reputation.
For example, the prince of Baoqing was a famous playboy in the capital.
For example, Prince Consort Xiao, whom he had impeached, had kept a mistress without the eldest princess's knowledge and was despised by the entire royal family.
What Censor Jin is best at is to portray himself as an honest and upright official by giving a hard time to those who are down on them.
But now, everyone in the capital knows that Zhao Tinghan is about to die. Moreover, the Liang Wang Mansion is in a precarious situation and is already a cause for sympathy. Given Jin Yushi's usual behavior, he would not choose Zhao Tinghan as his target.
Emperor Yongjia has decided to have the Embroidered Uniform Guard keep a close eye on Censor Jin after court.
When Censor Jin bumped into someone, he not only broke his own head, but also brought out a lot of voices of approval.
"I second the motion."
"I second the motion."
......
At this moment, a eunuch ran in quickly and whispered a few words in the ear of the eunuch in charge, Eunuch Li. Eunuch Li's expression changed slightly.
The abnormality of Eunuch Li did not escape the eyes of Emperor Yongjia. He remained calm and said, "Summon the imperial physician to see Jin Yushi. By the way, have the imperial physician see Prince Liang to see if his sick body can hold out until he returns to Liang. Alas, Prince Liang is the eldest son of Prince Liang. I watched him grow up. How can I bear to see him..."
The emperor did not say the rest of the words. The ministers secretly guessed in their hearts, wondering whether the emperor could not bear to see Zhao Tinghan die in the capital, or could not bear to see him die on the road.
No minister in the court is a real fool.
Why didn’t Zhao Tinghan return to Liang to attend the funeral?
Is he really too sick to get up?
As a son, even if you can't get up, you should let others carry you back.
But Zhao Tinghan did not go back. Even a fool could see that someone was not allowing him to go back. Zhao Tinghan was afraid that he could not even leave the Prince Liang's Mansion.
Hearing that the second son of Prince Liang was mediocre in talent and docile and polite, the emperor undoubtedly believed that this second son with little presence was far more suitable to inherit the throne than Zhao Tinghan, who grew up in the bloody capital since childhood.
Fortunately, Zhao Tinghan was weak and sickly, otherwise who knows whether he would follow in the footsteps of the Prince of Wu and die in an unclear manner.
So the emperor asked the imperial physician to see Zhao Tinghan. It sounded like he cared about Zhao Tinghan's health. In fact, as long as the imperial physician said that Zhao Tinghan's body could not withstand the hardship of traveling, then Zhao Tinghan would have to stay in the capital obediently and die in the capital.
Because once he is released from the capital, it would be like letting a tiger return to the mountains.
It would be fine if he died, but what if he didn't die and survived?
Could the emperor still not issue an edict to let him inherit the throne?
Of course not.
At this moment, the simple and kind ones have rushed over to accompany Jin Yushi in the charge, while the cunning and treacherous ones remain silent.
Today's court meeting ended in this strange atmosphere.
Just now, Eunuch Li's expression suddenly changed. Emperor Yongjia saw it, and many civil and military officials also saw it.
Eunuch Li is a man who never shows his emotions on his face. What happened today that caused his expression to change so drastically?
It is not known whether this incident happened inside the palace or outside the palace.
However, the ministers who had this question soon had an answer.
As soon as they left the palace, their servant who was waiting outside told them the truth.
There's a strange phenomenon happening in the sky, something big is going to happen in the capital!
At this time, Emperor Yongjia had already learned about this matter from Eunuch Li.
Even Censor Jin, whose wound had just been bandaged by the imperial physician, heard about it.
The ministers outside the palace were shocked by this strange phenomenon that had just happened and might still be continuing. They did not even return to the yamen, but got into their sedan chairs or carriages and headed to the scene of the incident.
Emperor Yongjia frowned deeply. No matter whether it was a good thing or a bad thing, as long as there was a strange phenomenon in the sky, it was a big deal for the emperor, a very big deal.
It was not convenient for Emperor Yongjia to leave the palace, so he called the commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, Lu Gan, and asked Lu Gan to go and see for himself. If it was really a celestial phenomenon, it would be fine. But if someone was causing trouble behind the scenes, Lu Gan could act as he pleased.
Censor Jin sat down on the ground with a thud, and his already sore buttocks hurt even more from the fall.
It’s so scary, those people are so scary, the people in Prince Liang’s Mansion are so scary.
Jin Yushi couldn't bear to think about it. If he hadn't spoken up for justice today and hadn't hit the pillar, then...
Censor Jin suddenly remembered the crows he saw in the Thunder God Temple last night.
Before he even entered the door, a flock of crows flew out of the Temple of Thunder.
Although he was startled at that time, he didn't care.
But now it seems so terrible, so terrible.
A crow, it really is a crow. How can there be so many coincidences in this world? It is obvious that there is a master in Prince Liang’s Mansion. No, it is a god, an immortal, an immortal who can see through everything, drive away gods and raise ghosts, and turn beans into soldiers!
This vision took place in Kuixing Tower.
Time goes back to an hour ago.
The closer it got to the provincial examination, the more scholars came to the capital to prepare for the exam.
The first thing these scholars did when they arrived in the capital was not to find an inn to stay in, but to rush straight to Kuixing Tower to pay homage to Lord Kuixing.
Only in this way can their sincerity be demonstrated.
They will come to worship a second time on the day before the exam.
When the results are announced and they see their names on the list, they will come to Kuixing Tower again. This time they come to express gratitude, or to fulfill a vow.
The nearest event at this time is the provincial examination in August. After the provincial examination, those who come to worship at Kuixing Tower will be the successful candidates in the imperial examination.
In February of the following year, candidates from all over the country would rush to the capital to take part in the triennial imperial examination. Some families with abundant funds would set out for the capital after the Mid-Autumn Festival.
At that time, the procedure was still the same. As soon as you arrived in Beijing, you would come to worship Kuixing, and then come again and again. Those who passed the exam would stay in the capital and wait to take part in the palace examination. Of course, they would still have to come to worship Kuixing and go through the whole procedure again.
All the civil and military officials in the court, as long as they entered the officialdom through the imperial examination, had come to worship Kuixing.
Over the years, thanks to countless generations of scholars who have come one after another, the area around Kuixing Tower has become the most lively and prosperous place in the capital.
Today, when all the civil and military officials entered the palace to attend the court meeting, another group of scholars came to the capital.
They came to Kuixing Tower alone or with servants, carrying luggage and book boxes, full of hope.
Bang, bang, bang, he kowtowed several times. When he raised his head, he saw that all around him and behind him were students like him.
At this moment, their emotions were extremely complicated.
These people are all his competitors. He has to use the pen in his hand to carve a bloody path through them, and then kill all the way until he reaches the emperor.
The scholar was filled with mixed emotions and walked out of the hall with a nervous yet excited heart. This was the capital city, the place he had been dreaming about, and this was his first time here.
Hey, why is it dark?
It was sunny when I just entered, but now the sky is dark.
Is it going to rain?
The scholar subconsciously looked up at the sky, and the next moment he was stunned.
When I looked up, I saw a vast expanse of darkness, like dark clouds pressing down overhead, and it seemed as if a storm was about to come.
The scholar exclaimed, because he saw a crow, a crow!
Countless crows were circling in the sky, as if covering the prosperous and beautiful capital city with a lid!
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