In short, the court officials argued for a long time but could not come to a conclusion.
This matter has been shelved for the time being.
After the court session, Zhao Zixu went to Queen Lu in Kunning Palace.
Zhao Zixu told Queen Lu about the matter of Princess Pingting. He came to see the Queen to hear her opinion.
Empress Lu is Princess Pingting's biological sister. When her sister was sent to marry, she was unable to persuade His Majesty. Now that her sister's husband is dead and her sister wants to return to Song, she will definitely side with her sister and will not care about state affairs.
"Your Majesty, our dynasty is different from foreign tribes. We in the Central Plains value the relationship between father and son, ruler and subject, and ethical principles must not be violated. Since Your Majesty has asked me, I will tell you my opinion, and I must have my own selfish motives. My sister Pingting married into Tibet to show her loyalty to the country. Just as her brother-in-law died, the Tibetan king said he wanted to take her as his concubine. He is trying to kill her."
Empress Lu lifted her skirt and knelt before Zhao Zixu, saying, "Your Majesty, you know that Sister Pingting has a strong temper. If you allow Pingting to remarry the Tibetan king or any other Tibetan noble, she will definitely commit suicide. I do not want you to die. I want you to live. Because of you, my mother and father have been at odds for many years, and their love is weak. Every time I see my mother missing you and feeling sad, I feel terrible too."
Two lines of clear tears fell, wetting her beautiful face. Queen Lu thought that for many years, she had never been biased or selfish in the concubines in the harem or in other matters. Now she wanted to be partial for once.
She kowtowed deeply to Zhao Zixu and pleaded, "Your Majesty, I hope you will consider our relationship as husband and wife and comply with Pingting's wishes and welcome my sister back to the court."
Zhao Zixu sighed and personally helped Queen Lu up. He didn't make a decision so quickly because the Lu family had worked hard over the years even though they had no merits.
Princess Pingting had originally been married off to Tubo in place of a royal princess. She had made great contributions and had made great contributions. The Minister of the Chancellery had not expressed his opinion, so he came to the palace to hear what the Queen had to say.
What the queen said was exactly what he expected.
"I will carefully consider what the Queen said." Zhao Zixu showed no emotion on his face. No one knew whether he would consider Queen Lu's words.
Except himself.
Coming out of Kunning Palace, Zhao Zixu walked to the Empress Dowager's Cining Palace.
The Queen Mother had just learned about Princess Pingting's affairs with Tubo, and she also knew that His Majesty had not yet made a decision and would come to her for advice.
"Your Majesty, what do you think?" asked the Queen Mother.
Zhao Zixu spread his hands and said, "I haven't made up my mind yet. The court officials all have their own opinions. The Queen is not without reason. Cousin Pingting has a strong temper, just like my aunt. I'm afraid that once I order her to remarry in Tubo, she will commit suicide. Moreover, it was me and my mother who decided..."
He stopped talking here and glanced at the empress dowager's expression.
The Queen Mother took over the conversation, "Back then, it was I who forced your uncle and aunt to agree to marry Pingting off to a distant land, and then Your Majesty issued an edict to confer the title of Princess Pingting. Your Majesty, do you feel guilty? Serving the country loyally and sharing the worries of the sovereign is the duty of a minister. Your Majesty, there is no need to feel guilty."
"If it wasn't Pingting who married into Tubo, it would have been someone else. I'm just afraid that Pingting would rather die than remarry." Zhao Zixu said.
The Queen Mother looked at Zhao Zixu. "Your Majesty, do you want Pingting to remarry the King of Tubo? That's unacceptable. Requiring Pingting to marry her husband's uncle as a concubine would undoubtedly destroy her. Such a paradoxical move would only damage the reputation of Your Majesty and the Song Dynasty. It would be great if Pingting could return to court, but if she can't, then she must not be allowed to marry the King of Tubo."
The old marriage customs of Tibet were really hard to accept. The Queen Mother came from a prominent family, and marrying her uncle was against ethics and was unacceptable to the world.
It doesn’t matter whether Princess Pingting returns to the court or not. The shame of marrying her husband’s uncle should not be placed on Princess Pingting.
The Queen Mother could not accept this outcome happening to her niece.
Zhao Zixu said, "Mother is right. I have thought about this as well."
After coming out of the Empress Dowager's palace, Zhao Zixu returned to the palace to review memorials.
…
The lotus leaves in the imperial garden are tall and green, and the lotus flowers stand tall and charming.
The cool breeze dispels the summer heat.
Zhao Zixu summoned Ye Zelin to the palace to play chess. Gambling was a common hobby of theirs, and while playing, they could chat about government affairs.
"What do you think about Princess Pingting's matter, Yu Shi?"
"Your Majesty has probably made up his mind, so why bother asking me for my opinion?" Ye Zelin confidently made a move. "If those ministers knew that Your Majesty followed my advice, they might report me, saying that I relied on Your Majesty's favor to make decisions on your behalf, and that I died unjustly."
"If I wish to welcome Princess Pingting back to the court, Yu Shi would be willing to be the welcoming envoy."
"If Your Majesty needs me, I must go. However, since Your Majesty just called me by my name, I don't think it's necessary to send me as an envoy to Tibet."
There is no regret after making a move, and every chess move is carefully considered. Ye Zelin said, "Your Majesty, please allow me to say something. Back then, the border was unstable, and marrying the princess off was a helpless move. Now that our Song Dynasty is full of elite soldiers and generals, it is not impossible to welcome the princess back to the court."
Zhao Zixu made a move and said with a smile, "So Ye Qing agrees to take Princess Pingting back."
"Ye Qing didn't say anything, and Yu Shi didn't say anything either."
Zhao Zixu, "..."
When Madam Huaping heard that Shangshu Ling was silent at the court meeting, she thought that he also agreed with her daughter's remarriage to the Tubo King. She immediately returned to Shangshu Ling's residence from her mother's home, the Marquis Wenyuan Mansion, and had a big quarrel with him.
On that day, the relationship between the couple dropped to freezing point, and the already not-so-harmonious relationship entered a cold war mode.
For the sake of her daughter, Lady Huaping was in a stalemate with the Minister of the Chancellery. She visited ministers who had a say and asked them to speak for her daughter. She even went to the palace and begged the Queen Mother to find a way to welcome Princess Pingting back to Song Dynasty.
The Queen Mother expressed her great difficulty in welcoming Princess Pingting back to the court.
In a fit of anger, Mrs. Huaping moved back to her parents' home and even ignored her youngest son, leaving him directly to his father, the Minister of the Chancellery.
The Minister of the Chancellery silently said that it was not that he did not want to find a way to deal with his daughter Pingting's problem, but that he had no other choice. No matter how powerful he was, he was still a minister and had to listen to the emperor. Could he still make the decision for the emperor?
Mrs. Huaping mercilessly said that he was hypocritical and only cared about his lost face.
A day later, Zhao Zixu issued an imperial decree, appointing the Minister of the Honglu Temple as the chief envoy and Pei Xuan'an, the third place winner in the imperial examination, as the deputy envoy, to lead a delegation of more than a hundred people to Tubo to negotiate and welcome Princess Pingting back to the court, and asked the Minister of the Honglu Temple to bring an imperial decree.
This decree was to express gratitude for Princess Pingting's loyalty and to grant her the title of Princess Rong'an...
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