Chapter 26 Questioning Your Father
Seven days later, Emperor Rong Ai's coffin was led to the imperial mausoleum.
According to historical records, on August 23, 164 of the Dayong Dynasty, Crown Prince Zhao Chun ascended the throne, changed the reign title to the first year of Anlong, and honored his adoptive mother, Empress Chi, as the Empress Dowager Tianzun, granting her the power to manage government affairs, instruct officials, and reward the army.
From this day on, the prelude to the ten-year regency of Empress Dowager Tianzun in the Dayong Dynasty began.
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Inside the Tianji Palace, the Golden Crow Guards stood on both sides of the palace with solemn expressions.
This was the first time the new emperor had presided over court since ascending the throne. However, the person standing before the throne was not the new emperor Zhao Chun, but the Empress Dowager Chi Lu.
She wore a flat crown and a black crown with phoenixes embroidered on the shoulders. Except for the lack of dragon patterns, this dress was almost the same as the emperor's, and looked very intimidating.
The newly enthroned emperor, Zhao Chun, on the other hand, hunched his neck as he sat in a wheelchair beside the throne with his head lowered. The white jade beads hanging from the front of his crown almost covered most of his face, and his overly loose robes also made him look very weak.
Civil and military officials lined up at the foot of the imperial throne, kneeling in homage and chanting in unison, "Long live the emperor! Long live the emperor! Long live the emperor! Thousand years! Thousand years! Thousand years!"
The voices were so loud and uniform that they shook the entire hall.
Zhao Chun, also known as Zhao Mingyue who was wearing a human skin mask, secretly glanced down and saw only heads kneeling on the ground all over the hall.
When she thought about these princes and ministers who never looked at her straight in the eye, now kneeling at her feet with their butts sticking out, she was so happy that she had to use a lot of effort to suppress the corners of her mouth that were raised.
No wonder so many people throughout history have wanted to be emperor. It turns out that being an emperor feels so good.
Just at this moment, several eyes looked over at her, both openly and covertly. Zhao Mingyue hurriedly restrained her smile, lowered her head, and her expression returned to being dull.
A'niang asked her to sit in a wheelchair, firstly to pretend to be sick, and secondly to cover up the height difference between her and Zhao Chun.
We must not get carried away or let these officials see the clues.
However, her worries were obviously unnecessary.
The human skin mask that Chi Li bought with points has a certain confusing effect, which will make people who see it firmly believe that she is Zhao Chun.
The court officials below did not doubt her identity. The reason they secretly looked up at her was that they thought she performed very poorly.
Looking at her pale face, trembling lips, and the way she curled up in the chair like a quail, there was absolutely no regal aura at all!
All the ministers frowned, with expressions of dissatisfaction on their faces.
How could the new emperor have become so cowardly? No wonder people say that a strong mother inevitably leads to a weak son. The new emperor had been raised by Empress Dowager Chi for several years, and she had really lost all her temper!
However, Li Mian, the chief courtier kneeling in the front row, had an attitude as if he had seen through it all.
Ever since he was severely scolded by Zhao Chun in Mingde Hall last time, he knew that this man was a hopeless person and gave up on him completely.
A coward like him was lucky enough to be born in an imperial family and became the emperor.
At that time, the previous emperor had difficulty in having children, so Zhao Chun was made the crown prince as soon as he was born. It was he who proposed to keep the son and separate the mother to ensure that power would not fall into the hands of relatives by marriage.
But who would have known that after Queen Li left, Queen Chi came.
What's even more hateful is that Chi Zhenyi was so cruel that not only did she kill his beloved grandson, she also tried her best to suppress his right to speak in the court. This is simply unforgivable!
I thought angrily in my heart that I must find a way to bring her down.
The Minister of Rites Liu Yu was equally angry, but his anger was about Chi Kuai's clothes.
A queen dowager actually wore a crown robe to meet with court officials. Did she disregard the patriarchal etiquette and the distinction between men and women? It was simply an insult to the ancestors!
But he didn't dare say this in front of Chi Qian. He thought to himself that he must find a fearless censor to give her advice, even at the cost of his own life, so that she would never dare to violate the ancestral rituals again.
Chi Lu sat calmly on the throne. After they knelt to their satisfaction, she raised her hand and said, "My dear ministers, please stand up."
The ministers then stood up, their legs trembling, and said, "Thank you, Your Majesty."
Chi Qi lowered her eyes and observed their expressions, and naturally did not miss the anger in the eyes and brows of Li Mian and others.
She curled up the corners of her mouth in pleasure. It's really nice to see how you hate me but can't get rid of my frustrated look.
Compared to playing a vicious queen, a tyrannical and brutal monarch seems to be more exciting.
However, even though her mind was full of evil ideas, she spoke in a high-sounding manner.
"From now on, I will govern the country on behalf of the new emperor. I will open up the channels for communication, accept advice with an open mind, and bring peace and prosperity to the people!"
The court officials looked at each other, then at Li Mian, waiting for his reaction before they could follow.
Li Mian felt the attention of his ministers and was about to speak when Song Guangyi stepped out of the line, knelt on both knees, and said excitedly: "Your Majesty is wise! Thanks to your grace, our Dayong Dynasty will surely prosper economically and culturally, and create another era of prosperity."
Li Mian was so angry after hearing Song Guangyi's flattery that his face turned blue. He couldn't help but turn around and glared at him coldly, with murderous intent in his eyes.
Song Guangyi was not afraid of him at all. He glared at him sideways and said, "Now that Empress Dowager Chi is in power, what are you, a mere prime minister? You might step down one day!"
Chi Lu observed the two men's secret exchange and smiled slightly. "My dear Lord Song, please stand up. I don't have such great ability alone. I have to rely on Prime Minister Li and the ministers to work together to govern the country."
At this point, Li Mian could only suppress his anger and said in a deep voice, "Your Majesty, I will do my best to assist you."
The ministers followed suit and said, "We, your Majesty, will do our utmost to assist you."
Chi Li nodded in satisfaction, "That's great."
She didn't care what these officials thought in their hearts. At least on the surface and in legal terms, they had to listen to her.
This is all thanks to Li Mian. If he hadn't jumped out so quickly to establish her authority, she might not have been able to gain a foothold so quickly.
Thinking of this, the smile on Chi Qi's face became more genuine.
Today was her first time attending the parliament. As the saying goes, a new official has three things to do when he takes office, and she was no exception.
Chi Lu smiled and looked at the ministers. "Today, I have three imperial edicts for you to draft and issue throughout the country. Wu Shishu, announce the edicts."
"Yes." Wu Wenxiu, who was standing by, had been waiting for a long time. He straightened his back, unfolded the imperial edict in his hand, and read it aloud.
Her voice was calm and clear, and every word was heard clearly by everyone in the hall. The court officials listened attentively, and slowly, they all frowned.
These three edicts say:
1. A general amnesty will be granted to all the people. Those who commit the ten evil deeds will be expelled from the country except for the crime of disharmony.
2. Change the land allocation method, grant one hectare to adult women and middle-aged women, and an additional twenty mu to households.
3. Change the Zhenfu Division into Yiluan Division, and merge the Jinwu Guard into Yiluan Division. From now on, all major cases will be directly handed over to Yiluan Division for handling without going through the Ministry of Justice.
Wu Wenxiu had just finished reading the imperial edict, and before he could even close it, the Minister of Justice Zhu Fangfang stood up and said, "Your Majesty, please forgive my objection!"
"Among the ten unforgivable sins, the eighth is discord, which refers to murdering or assaulting relatives. Any wife suing her husband or a wife killing her husband falls under the category of discord. If these women were pardoned, wouldn't all women in the world follow suit? This sin should not be pardoned!"
Wu Wenxiu was furious when she heard this, but before she could open her mouth to refute, Li Xiaoci also stood up and said, "I second the motion!"
When Li Xiaoci heard that Chi Lu was going to grant amnesty to those who were guilty of discord, he immediately thought of his daughter Li Jiying, and his heart sank to the bottom.
Last time in prison, this unfilial daughter was shouting that she would sue him for killing his wives and concubines. If she were released now, it would be disastrous. I'm afraid she would file a lawsuit in front of Empress Dowager Chi.
Empress Dowager Chi was worried that she couldn't find any evidence against him and his father. Doing this was like handing a knife to her!
Thinking of this, Li Xiaoci was filled with righteous indignation and said, "Your Majesty, if women who commit the crime of discord are not sentenced to death, won't all the men in the world be wary of the women beside them, and even sleep in vain? If so, how can the country be at peace when families are in turmoil?!"
Li Mian nodded approvingly, and the court officials also agreed, nodding in agreement, "Yes! Yes!"
Seeing how excited they were, spitting out saliva, Chi Qi couldn't help but sneer in her heart.
If they knew that she was the woman who committed the crime of discord and murdered the late emperor, wouldn't they be so angry that they would die on the spot?
However, she had anticipated this kind of situation. Each of these three decrees violated the interests of these people, and they would definitely oppose it fiercely.
But she didn't expect that their reasons for opposition would be so ridiculous.
Since you think women have such great abilities that can shake the foundation of the country, then let women be the ones to take charge.
In this way, she wouldn't have to face these idiots every day and could let Zhao Mingyue take the position directly.
Chi Li was about to speak when Wu Wenxiu suddenly yelled angrily, "Bullshit! You're just confusing right and wrong!"
"I've looked through 108 files from the Ministry of Justice. Every case of husband-killing was because the woman had been subjected to long-term beatings and insults from her husband, until she could no longer bear it and was forced to resist and kill!"
"You even let off rapists and wife-murderers so easily, how dare you say they shouldn't be pardoned!"
"If this crime is as heinous as you say, why isn't murdering his wife among the ten unforgivable sins? Why isn't it even punishable by a fine, only a fine?"
"An official appointed by the imperial court seems to have no sympathy for the people, no mercy, and even no humanity. And yet he talks about governing the country and ensuring the people's safety. It's a joke!"
Wu Wenxiu's cheeks flushed and his expression was furious. He spoke these words without even taking a breath, and his voice became louder and louder.
Every word he spoke was powerful and he scolded the court officials so harshly that the whole court was silent.
Li Mian was so angry that his beard was shaking. He had never been insulted like this by a woman before, especially in the court.
But he wanted to curse back, but he felt it would be a loss of face. Women are unreasonable, and if he argued with them, he would only be laughed at even if he won.
He just said four words, "Nonsense." His tone was full of disdain.
Zhu Fangfang, the Minister of Justice, had no such scruples. He snorted, completely ignoring the facts Wu Wenxiu said, and directly accused her of something wrong. "These are all ancestral laws, established when the country was founded. Is Wu Shishu questioning Taizu?"
Wu Wenxiu then realized that it was useless to reason with them.
These three imperial edicts were not all the ideas of Empress Dowager Chi, she also made many suggestions.
The first one was drafted by her after reading through countless files and spending countless days and nights.
She originally thought that there was no one more miserable than her in the world, having her property confiscated, becoming a criminal slave, and working day and night in a slave house.
But after reading those files and seeing those horrifying words like beating, eye gouging, nose cutting, rape, etc., I realized that there are so many women in the world who are hundreds or thousands of times more miserable than her.
Compared with them, she was so lucky. She was taught and enlightened by her mother when she was young, and appreciated by the empress dowager when she grew up. It can be said that her life was smooth sailing.
She once told Chi Lan that she wanted power because she wanted to take revenge on those who bullied her; now, she still wants power because she wants to take revenge on those who bully women.
Looking at the arrogant and disdainful expressions of Zhu Fangfang and Li Mian, she could no longer bear it, so she closed the memorial in her hand and threw it at them.
"I questioned your father, you are not human beings, you are a bunch of beasts!"
With a bang, the memorial hit Li Mian's face and then fell to the ground.
It is not very harmful, but extremely insulting.
--hiss!
All the officials in the court gasped.
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