Chapter 29 The Prince Observes Government
"That's good, it saves some energy." said Concubine Shu.
As the two were talking, the second prince Li Lin came in from outside.
Li Lin looks very much like his uncle, the Duke of Zhenguo, with sharp eyebrows and bright eyes, a dignified bearing, and walks with the gait of a tiger and a dragon.
Like the Duke of Zhenguo, he was good at martial arts but not at literature.
He was good at archery, horse riding, and arranging troops, and he was far ahead of all the princes.
After coming in, he first respectfully paid his respects to Concubine Xian and Concubine Shu, and then sat down next to Concubine Xian, looking quite absent-minded.
Seeing her son remained silent for a while, Concubine Shu asked, "Lin'er, what's wrong? Are you worried?"
Li Lin looked up at his mother and smiled faintly, "It's okay. Something happened today that I can't quite figure out."
Concubine Shu narrowed her eyes, turned her head and said, "Oh, what's the matter? Tell me."
Li Lin looked at the virtuous concubine beside him, thought for a moment and said, "It's nothing serious. I just didn't see my elder brother in school today."
Xianfei laughed and said, "Lin'er, you want to ask why the eldest prince went to Taiji Palace to learn how to handle state affairs, right?"
After hearing this, Li Lin turned to look at Consort Xian and asked, "Does Consort Xian know?"
The virtuous concubine placed the teacup in her hand on the table and said, "Don't worry about it. It will be your turn tomorrow."
Concubine Shu frowned and said, "Oh, why is that? Could it be..."
Xian Fei glanced at Shu Fei and said, "Well, it's just what you think."
After hearing this, Concubine Shu sneered and said, "Back when she was in the Eastern Palace, if you and I hadn't given her face, she wouldn't have been able to sit in that position safely.
We are not involved in this situation now, it is purely because of her own stupidity."
The second prince listened for a long time and finally understood.
He whispered, "Mother, are you talking about the Xie family?"
"Well, if you understand, just shut up and don't talk nonsense." Concubine Shu scolded.
Li Lin nodded and said, "Is this because the emperor is dissatisfied with the Xie family and wants us to learn government affairs and punish the Xie family?"
Concubine Shu felt that her son's brain was hopeless. Like his uncle, he was brave but lacked wisdom.
My stupid son is not fit to be an emperor, so let it be.
So he simply and perfunctorily said "hmm".
After hearing this, Li Lin stopped thinking about it and smiled as he chatted with Concubine Shu to make her happy.
After Li Lin left, Concubine Shu looked at Concubine Xian and said, "Lin'er is very similar to my elder brother. It would be great for him to become a wealthy and noble prince in the future."
The virtuous concubine said: "Even if you become a prince, there will be people who plot against you."
Concubine Shu: "That's different. At least it's better than this palace where people are eaten without leaving any bones."
The virtuous concubine looked at the sky in the distance and said, "Well, what you said is right.
Look at the sky in this palace, it is all in square pieces.
Alas... Ever since I entered the palace, even wanting to see the vast blue sky and white clouds has become a luxury."
The two fell into silence.
Kunning Palace.
The Queen and her capable Nanny Wu were also discussing the matter.
When the queen heard the news, she was very angry.
"Your Majesty, are you planning to depose the Crown Prince?"
Nanny Wu said, "Your Majesty, please calm down. It's not necessary to depose the Crown Prince.
This may be because His Majesty is dissatisfied with you and the Xie family, and is using this to punish us."
The Queen's face was gloomy, and she was filled with anger, with her eyebrows raised:
"Humph, he has been dissatisfied with me from the beginning, how can he be satisfied with the Xie family?
Over the years, I have diligently helped him manage the harem and raise the crown prince. What else could he be dissatisfied with?"
Nanny Wu said, "This may be the intention of the Grand Princess of Jinyang. After all, that day in the Imperial Ancestral Temple, the Crown Prince frequently looked to you to discuss the problems he encountered.
Yesterday, I heard that the Crown Prince went to Taiji Palace to plead with you, and he also met the Grand Princess of Jinyang. Perhaps the Crown Prince's response displeased Her Royal Highness the Grand Princess.
Speaking of this, the queen became even angrier and slammed the table, saying, "When did it become her turn as an old woman who couldn't get married to call the shots in this palace?"
Nanny Wu said, "Your Majesty, please be careful with your words. Her Royal Highness the Grand Princess and Your Majesty grew up together in the Eastern Palace.
You forgot that you took over the palace affairs of the Eastern Palace from her.
In the first few years, your words were not as effective as hers in many matters in the Eastern Palace."
The queen nodded after hearing this, her rationality returning a little: "When I entered the palace, no one in the entire palace dared to provoke him.
Her father, the emperor, and her mother treat her better than His Majesty, but His Majesty also listens to her.
She helps the Eastern Palace handle government affairs, and I even heard her scold His Majesty for being stupid and foolish.
But His Majesty seemed to be used to it and didn't care at all.
She went to Chunshan these years and thought that the big Buddha had finally left, but unexpectedly it came back again.
As soon as I returned to the palace, I instigated His Majesty to seize my power and let the adult princes handle state affairs.
It's obvious that you want to make things difficult for me."
At this point, the Queen suddenly looked up at Nanny Wu and said, "You said she came back this time, isn't it because of me?"
Nanny Wu shook her head and said, "That may not be the case. Judging from the attitude of the Grand Princess, she is still respectful to you.
This time, it is probably because Your Majesty was poisoned and Princess Zhaoqing was causing political chaos that he came down the mountain.
After all, she is the only one who can control Princess Zhaoqing.
I heard that yesterday morning, Her Royal Highness the Grand Princess chased Princess Zhaoqing and beat her with the ruler bestowed by the late emperor.
Everyone in the Taiji Palace saw it.
Afterwards, Princess Zhaoqing was punished by being forced to kneel in Fengxian Hall for a whole day until the palace gates were locked.
Therefore, your Majesty, you may have been accidentally injured."
After hearing this, the Queen thought carefully and realized that the Grand Princess of Jinyang did not seem to be targeting her as she was targeting Zhaoqing.
I felt a little relieved.
However, he still had doubts about the adult prince learning to handle state affairs.
Nanny Wu continued, "The virtuous concubine's appearance this time is clearly aimed at the noble concubine. Your Majesty, it would be better to remain calm and observe for a while before making any decisions."
The queen thought so and stopped talking.
In the side hall of Taiji Palace.
The eldest prince was reading a memorial submitted by the Ministry of Justice regarding a murder case.
It is said that Feng Yunniang, the wife of Jiang Erlang from the Jingzhao Jiang family, committed adultery with her cousin Qiu Chong and became pregnant.
Logically speaking, Jiang Erlang should be the victim, so he wanted to divorce his wife.
But his wife is a relative of the Duke of Qiao, and his cousin is also a direct descendant of the Duke of Qiao.
Because Jiang Erlang and Feng Yunniang had two legitimate sons, for the sake of the children, the two families negotiated privately and Jiang Erlang decided not to divorce his wife for the time being.
Instead, she wanted to return the child to her cousin from the Qiu family after the child was born, and from then on, the two families would have no further contact with each other.
The Qiu family also had to compensate the Jiang family for two coal mines, and the matter was settled.
Who would have known that after the child was born last month, Jiang Erlang was unhappy and drank some wine. The more he thought about it, the angrier he became, and he actually dropped the newborn baby to death.
He also beat his wife half to death and had her thrown back to her parents' home.
As a result, Jiang Erlang's wife, who had just given birth and was weak, was beaten severely by Jiang Erlang and died the next day.
Now the Qiu family is not going to accept this. I have paid compensation for the mine and both parties have reached an agreement. Are you going to kill both the mother and the son?
So he filed a lawsuit and sued Jiang Erlang in Jingzhao Prefecture.
The matter caused quite a stir. Jiang Erlang was the nephew of Jiang Xing, the prefect of Jingzhao Prefecture, so Jiang Xing had to apply for recusation, and the case was handed over to the Dali Temple.
The case was very simple, and the Dali Temple quickly issued a verdict.
In the first verdict, Mrs. Jiang Feng Yunniang committed adultery with her cousin, and according to the laws of the Jin Dynasty, Qiu Chong was sentenced to fines and beatings.
In the second trial, Jiang Erlang was convicted of intentional homicide and sentenced to death.
Now the Jiang family was not happy about this. The cause of the incident was the other party's fault. They were clearly the victims, so why were they sentenced to death?
So he appealed, and finally the memorial was submitted to the emperor.
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