CompletedIn the spring of the third year of the Shangwu era, Zhang Chunfeng was promoted to the position of Chancellor of the Court. Wearing a red robe, he rode a horse swiftly, enjoying all the sights of Chang'an.
On the same day, in a village on the border of Jiangnan, a fool named Zhang Chuntian died, leaving behind a widow named Li Xiuman.
No one knew that the Chancellor, who was still far away in the capital that day, rode several horses to death and returned to the mourning hall that very night.
And no one knew that Zhang Chunfeng, whom the Empress had praised as "gentle, modest, and respectful," would actually seize the widow's waist in the mourning hall and subject her to all sorts of humiliation.