Chapter 211 Amending the Law
Of all these events, the fact that "the Emperor killed the Empress Dowager" was something she had not anticipated.
Two days before the banquet, Physician Wen came to see her.
She asked about everything that happened during her mother's childbirth, and the old doctor's shifty eyes immediately alerted her to something amiss.
She extracted the truth about what happened that day from him with almost no effort.
To be honest, she had never seen her mother since she was born, nor had they ever lived together, so she had no feelings for her at all.
When I was little, my father would always tell me how amazing my mother was and how deep the bond between them was.
When she heard all this, all she could think was that she had to do better than her!
She had always believed that her mother's death was just an accident during childbirth.
After learning about the switch, she suspected that Cui Yunyi was behind it.
But unexpectedly, the truth is often even more cruel.
Such a woman died so easily.
He died from a careless remark.
She died because of a man's fear.
...
That's why she added this scene at the last minute.
The purpose was not only to supposedly reveal the truth, but also to make the emperor completely lose the trust of all his followers and loyalists.
"When the birds are all gone, the good bow is put away; when the cunning rabbit is dead, the hunting dog is cooked."
Even if he were the emperor, killing a meritorious official would be considered "unbenevolent," and killing his first wife would be considered "unjust."
An unrighteous and unjust monarch has long since deviated from the Confucian ideal of "the ruler should act as a ruler, the minister as a minister, the father as a father, and the son as a son."
The historians would record this in the history books without mercy, making him bear the infamy for all time.
Censors and upright officials relentlessly submitted memorials to him, rebuking him mercilessly and causing him to completely lose his position in the court.
When the emperor lost his virtue, the people's hearts, and he was seriously ill and dying, it was only natural for the ministers to suggest that the emperor make her, the eldest princess with the "legitimate bloodline," the crown prince.
This was also the only remaining value of her father's life.
In the presence of civil and military officials, he personally issued the edict establishing the heir apparent, and then died of a serious illness.
As the emperor's chosen successor, she ascended the throne legitimately, following the emperor's will.
Who in the world would dare to disagree?
Even if Chen Yanqing reappears in front of the world with that face, it won't change anything.
The outcome is decided.
...
This New Year's Eve banquet turned into a "major purge" of the Qi court, resulting in the loss of most of the important officials.
Cui Shiliang was the first to be punished; his treason was confirmed, and he was executed on the spot.
Following closely behind were Minister Lin and Minister Liu, one of whom died at the hands of Cui Shiliang, and the other died amidst the chaos of soldiers' attacks.
Several elderly officials, some over sixty years old, also died tragically on the spot.
A large number of positions in the imperial court suddenly became vacant.
Zheng Xiang also injured his thigh in the chaos of battle, and the injury was so severe that he could not get out of bed.
Li Yuanzhao ordered him to rest at home and not to report for duty every day.
Now, only Chancellor Su remains in the court to manage government affairs.
Is this Prime Minister Su truly eager for advancement, or has he already pledged allegiance to the Eldest Princess?
They followed Li Yuanzhao's lead in everything.
As a result, everyone in the court and the public clearly realized that the entire court had become the domain of the eldest princess.
Once she issued her order, there was no further obstruction; even the most stubborn officials fell silent.
After all, the eldest princess is currently purging her traitorous associates, and everyone is on edge, with no one daring to risk their family's lives.
The trial of the Cui family's treason case was quickly concluded.
All members of Cui Shiliang's three clans, regardless of age or gender, were to be taken to the execution ground and beheaded as a warning to the public.
All collateral relatives within the nine generations were exiled to the bitterly cold far north, never to return to the capital.
Those distant relatives of the Cui family were so frightened that they changed their surnames overnight, fearing they would be affected by this catastrophic disaster.
The once illustrious Cui family, known as the "Number One Family of the Great Qi," vanished completely.
The Feng family was not spared either; they were all ordered to be executed.
The Lu family, which had once been affiliated with the Cui family, was exiled, except for Lu Lingfeng, who was sentenced to beheading.
From then on, two of the five great families were gone.
In addition, all officials who had ever been closely associated with the Cui family or who had spoken on behalf of the Cui family in court, regardless of their rank, were stripped of their titles and exiled to the frontier.
Amidst this somber atmosphere, Li Yuanzhao's other two appointment decrees stood out conspicuously.
First, Ru Mo was appointed as the general of the Longwu Army, and simultaneously commanded both the Jinwu Guard and the Longwu Army.
The Imperial Guards were in charge of maintaining order in the capital, while the Dragon Martial Army protected the palace. Both forces were under Ru Mo's control. In addition, there was another Imperial Guard that was already firmly in Shen Chu Rong's hands. This meant that the entire military force of the capital had completely fallen into the hands of the Eldest Princess.
Secondly, Su Qingci was ordered to temporarily take charge of the Ministry of Justice and lead the revision of the "Great Qi Law".
This appointment, though seemingly temporary, actually carries a deeper meaning.
Although Su Qingci was not officially appointed as the Minister of Justice, he had actual jurisdiction over the Ministry of Justice.
More importantly, the phrase "major in law" is crucial.
This means that the "Great Qi Law," which has been in use for many years, is about to be revised.
It's just unclear which clauses will be revised.
Immediately, not only the officials in the court, but also many ordinary people in the countryside began to talk about it.
The men were all worried that the revision of the law was a pavement for the princess to give women more power and to secure her future rule.
If that's the case, wouldn't most of the vested interests of these men be taken away?
Wouldn't all those principles of the Three Cardinal Guides and Five Constant Virtues, such as "the ruler guides the subject, the father guides the son, and the husband guides the wife," be completely disrupted?
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