bookcurios Chapter 292 Man’s calculation is not as good as God’s calculation
Chapter 292 Man’s calculation is not as good as God’s calculation
reputation.
Since ancient times, whether emperors issued a general amnesty or implemented benevolent policies, it was all for the sake of reputation.
The voice of the empress became increasingly powerful, and there was even no case of anyone sacrificing their lives for the country to oppose the empress's ascension to the throne. This made some bureaucrats who could not tolerate a woman in power quite dissatisfied.
When civilians die, no sound is made.
If you want to die in a blaze of glory, you will definitely need the cooperation of the gentry and wealthy families.
In this way, the rumors would intensify until they spread like huge waves to the city of Bianjing, directly affecting the empress who sat in the seat that belonged to a man.
So soon, these people set their sights on Ma Longxing, a wealthy businessman who had business dealings between Lin'an and Bianjing.
The wealthy businessman Ma Longxing had only one daughter, Ma.
If this family sacrificed their lives for the country, their wealth would be second only to that of the richest man in Lin'an...
……
But man proposes, God disposes.
In this copy world, Sheng Molan is this day.
A few days later, when the entire family of the so-called "Ma family" committed suicide in their house in Bianjing City to follow the late emperor and left a wall of blood-written letters denouncing the empress's rule as contrary to common sense and intolerable, the drum for reporting to the emperor was struck.
Who is beating the drum?
They are Ma Longxing and his daughter.
For a time, Bianjing, which had been in panic due to the news of the death of the entire Ma family, was in turmoil again.
A person who is already dead goes to beat the drum to appeal for justice?
When the Dengwen Drum is struck, there must be a grievance, and the Dengwen Drum Court will interrogate the case. If it is not handled, it will be reported to the Dengwen Procuratorial Court, and all details must be reviewed by the emperor himself.
If it is not a military secret or a matter of state but a statement of one's wishes, one must make one's innocence known to the world. During the trial at the Dengwen Drum Court, common people, women and children can all attend.
(According to the information I have found, beating drums will only lead to being beaten in the Qing Dynasty. If there is any historical material that clearly records that in the Song Dynasty, beating drums would be beaten before playing, please post it and let me know.)
In the presence of almost all the people who could spare the time to go to the main hall of the Drum Court to attend the trial, Ma Longxing cried loudly and described the threats and difficulties he had suffered in recent days.
"I don't want to die! I will not hang myself with my daughter! We were forced to do this!"
This sentence is still passed on from mouth to mouth after the trial.
When the story spread beyond Bianjing, it became one of the "Strange Stories of Bianjing" that was talked about in teahouses three to five years later, with the wronged souls beating drums to appeal for justice.
As the investigation progressed, the case became more and more connected like a spider web.
In recent years, some merchants whose descendants have never been seen or whose names have been traced have received attention from the Ministry of Justice and the Dali Temple.
After reviewing a series of old files, the Bai Mansion and the Ningyuan Marquis Mansion came to the fore.
The Marquis's Mansion was in debt and unable to repay it, so they forced their original wife, Da Qin, to death, and then swallowed up Bai's huge dowry to repay the debt. After she gave birth, they abandoned her and married Xiao Qin.
Ningyuan Hou and his second legitimate son were not on good terms. Gu Tingye, the second legitimate son of Ningyuan Hou, was known as a playboy and a good-for-nothing, which was a topic of conversation among everyone in Bianjing City.
Now that the news had spread from the Dali Temple and the evidence was conclusive, the people of Tokyo who were well aware of the situation supported the teahouses and restaurants for several months simply by relying on their imagination.
Xiao Qin's actions could not be hidden from those who were interested. Gu Da and Gu Tingyu, who had been immersed in a world of lies and were born with weak constitutions, vomited blood on the spot.
The original Ma family case had long been forgotten by the audience, and people began to pay attention to the "family affairs" of the lively Ningyuan Marquis Mansion.
Amidst clues, word of mouth, and hearsay, true and false news are mixed together.
After careful identification, the Dali Temple discovered the dried bones of a mother and daughter behind the barren mountain.
The second son of Ningyuan Marquis, the wife of Bai's son who was forced to death by Ningyuan Marquis, and the granddaughter of Yu Lao Tai Shi, killed her husband's daughter and concubine.
Legally speaking, if a mistress beats or kills her mistress, as long as she has a legitimate reason, it basically does not violate ancient laws.
But, it happened that it was the Northern Song Dynasty now.
Even maids had to be given human rights and kindness and were hired as female servants in the Northern Song Dynasty.
Yu Yanhong is ruthless in her work, and although she tries not to leave any evidence, she also does a very clean job of cleaning up.
However, as long as one is alive, there will always be something he fears.
For ancient people, the imperial power and the majesty of the emperor were what they feared from the bottom of their hearts.
In addition, the interrogation left her with no way to defend herself, so Yu Yanhong pleaded guilty and was sentenced to death.
Ningyuan Hou was stripped of his title, his eldest son died of illness, and his second son had already been expelled from the family. The ones affected were the children born to his second wife, Xiao Qin.
Ningyuan Hou is from the Gu family, and the Gu family of the same origin...
After the fall of Empress Dowager Cao, Gu simply stayed indoors and began to claim illness.
Gu was seriously ill, and there was no direct evidence that he had colluded with Empress Dowager Cao to participate in the regicide, so he was able to "escape."
Because the task that Empress Dowager Cao gave to Gu was to use Qi Heng as a chess piece to recruit powerful political allies with the title of Duke of Qi.
But at this time, the people in Bian Jing who were solving the case, whose emotions had already risen, began to repeatedly scrutinize the once high and mighty Princess Pingning with critical tinted glasses.
There were dozens of lives on his hands, if not hundreds, and most of them were powerless female servants who were only good-looking and had no one to rely on.
Not only did he disregard human life, but he was also overly arrogant and tried to seize power in both dynasties.
Two pregnant concubines of the Duke of Qi's mansion also died at the hands of Gu.
Although there is a lack of evidence now, Gu cannot come up with a convincing argument to prove his innocence.
After a spontaneous petition and seeing the fire burning fiercely, the victim's concubine's family finally "plucked up the courage" to report the case to the Dali Temple and brought their daughter's last suicide note to sue Princess Pingning.
Soon, Gu was demoted to a commoner, but the Duke of Qi, noting their old friendship, settled her in a mansion in a county town far away from Bian Jing.
Although she had lost her status, if she could stay contented for the rest of her life, she could have no worries about food and clothing.
After suffering a series of setbacks, Qi Heng felt confused about his future. Looking at the Empress Molan sitting at the top, he chose to resign. After returning home, he became depressed and unable to recover.
Gu deserved it.
As for Qi Heng, 70% of the fault was his own, and 30% was due to the family and world situation and he had no choice.
Sowing causes results.
As for Qi Heng, Molan didn't think that he was in trouble without cause.
The names of all the enemies were crossed out one by one on the list, and Molan's life goal was about to come to an end.
During her pregnancy, the empress did not introduce any new policies, but steadily advanced the government affairs left over from the previous emperor.
This is on the surface.
Secretly, taking advantage of the disturbances, Molan has cleared out the dissidents, divided half of the military power in the hands of the Duke of Yingguo, and, along with the major impacts after the fall of the Gu family, took control of the military affairs in his own hands.
Yao Yiyi shines in the Ministry of Industry according to her wild imagination. At the same time, various weapons begin to appear in the hands of ancient craftsmen.
In addition, crops that were previously only grown in Shengjia Village have gradually begun the first wave of planting in areas with suitable soil.
According to their respective birth dates, this autumn, when the royal heir is born, will be an unprecedented year of abundance.
The days go by one after another.
As her due date was approaching, the empress cancelled her morning court session and instead held court alone in the Wende Hall.
Sitting on a specially raised and soft couch, the empress did not slow down in reviewing the memorials.
but……
For a group of grown men, seeing an empress with a belly that seemed to be able to fit several balls sitting in front of them as if nothing had happened was a thrilling feeling.
Even during every conversation, seeing the empress frowning in dissatisfaction, he couldn't help but tremble in his heart, fearing that in the next second he would get "excessively angry and break his amniotic fluid, causing premature birth."
Who wouldn’t be afraid?
Some people just want to protect themselves, some people unconditionally trust the dragon energy and destiny of the so-called emperor, and some people... begin to have other ideas.
Either out of loyalty or out of conservatism.
In their understanding, it is not easy to carry multiple babies safely to July.
The imperial physician predicted that there would be movement in the first week after the eighth month.
"Seven out of ten will survive, and eight out of ten will not. This pregnancy is most likely doomed."
The idea that a bottle is not even half full and the fact that giving birth is like passing through the gates of hell for women made them worry about the country and people of the Song Dynasty once again.
Those who give advice are not necessarily loyal, but the old man with white beard walked forward tremblingly, knelt on the ground, and kowtowed, as if he was ready to die for his advice, which made the empress sigh.
She put down the pen in her hand that was marking the memorials with her full attention.
"If I am to appoint a crown prince now and everything goes well, what shall I do with the crown prince?"
The old ministers suggested that a crown prince should be chosen from among the royal family members before the birth of the baby.
One of the problems that arises from this is,
"I gave him the opportunity to rise to prominence and become the best among men. If I am safe and sound, will he really be willing to give up?"
"Regardless of whether I am safe or not, if I go to the royal family to find another son to be the crown prince, then I will inherit the will of the previous emperor and ascend the throne. Wouldn't that be a joke?"
"Why, I have been here for nearly a year to find royal heirs for you, win over factions, and create a puppet emperor?!"
"I dare not, old minister!"
The old man who had given advice earlier was left speechless after being asked four questions in a row by the empress.
The purpose of establishing a crown prince is to ensure the stability of the country, but... so many problems that will threaten the stability of the palace will arise immediately after the crown prince is established.
There is no guarantee that the scandal of plotting to murder the emperor or the royal heir will happen again in the palace within a year.
This...if this came true, then he who proposed this would be a sinner for all eternity and the initiator of destroying the Song Dynasty's century-old foundation.
An old minister who could serve in Bian Jing until this age obviously had the indispensable brains in addition to his loyalty.
At this moment, he also realized that he might have become a pawn of someone with ulterior motives.
He immediately apologized, but the empress ignored him and continued to scare him.
"My dear, I'm afraid you don't care about the country and people of the Zhao family.
You want to cut off the bloodline of the Zhao family."
"This old minister is terrified! Please forgive me, Your Majesty!"
The empress smiled and did not mention any issues of treatment. She just smiled and said,
"So, if anything unexpected happens during childbirth, my throne will be inherited by my younger brother Sheng Changtong.
By then, this country will have changed its name."
She paused, deliberately and slowly shifted her gaze from the puzzled faces of everyone present, then lowered her head and stroked her belly, and then said,
"So, my dear ministers, please hope that I will live and give birth to a child of the Zhao family safely."
Everyone, even Sheng Changtong who 'happened' to be there, knelt directly on the ground with their heads pressed against the floor, not daring to even breathe.
She was clearly just a weak woman who looked powerless, and was clearly in the weakest period of pregnancy before giving birth. She was clearly smiling charmingly like a flower blooming in spring, but the thorns and fangs that were winding around her vines made their backs wet in an instant.
Is this the so-called imperial power?
They didn't know, but at this moment everyone felt fear instinctively.
"Well, why are you all so dumb?
A few days ago, which of you mentioned that my mother could be allowed to enter the palace to serve me?
I have thought about it for a long time and feel that although this matter has no precedent, it is not inappropriate.
With the company of my biological mother and her experience, I believe the chances of my unborn child and I being safe will be greatly increased."
……
The empress's water broke.
The breaking of the amniotic fluid does not mean immediate birth. A few hours is enough time for the palace ladies to summon the ladies to the palace for examination and changing of clothes.
The ladies entered the palace, saying it was to pray for blessings, but in fact they were there to witness.
It can be seen that these children all came out of the empress's belly, not from outside.
As a woman, and especially as a female emperor, no one would say such nonsense as "the delivery room is filthy" and wait to be beheaded.
After the lady agreed to wear the robes provided by the palace, comb her hair again, wash her face and hands, and burn incense, she walked into the unprecedentedly spacious delivery room and sat down. What she saw was the empress who was also half-lying on the couch waiting to give birth.
The empress had not done her makeup at this time, her hair was simply tied up, and she was wearing a solid-colored middle-length dress. Although it was simple, she did not look haggard or frightened at all.
I have heard for a long time that the fourth daughter of the Sheng family is extremely beautiful but she seldom goes out to socialize. She is rarely seen except at banquets attended by "important people".
Now looking at it again, it is indeed... this person should only exist in heaven.
Soon, it was time for production.
As if it was an illusion, the delivery room was filled with a strong and exotic fragrance of plants and trees.
This natural-seeming fragrance made some ladies look around unconsciously, but they could not find it and could only attribute it to the fragrance of grass and trees brought by the wind.
Soon, amidst the blood and the busyness of palace maids and midwives, the child landed safely with a cry.
The dukes and their wives who also had childbirth experience or were proficient in medicine also stood by, ready to sit and help or comfort.
Mrs. Cui, the wife of the Duke of England, is naturally the warm-hearted one.
She stood next to Lin Qinshuang, staring at the movements of the palace maids and midwife's hands, fearing that they would do something small.
"The first baby was born safely, a princess."
Old Mrs. Cui carefully took the child, held it in her arms, and announced to the person sitting far away who couldn't see clearly.
The empress was in good condition, her eyes were determined, and she didn't even cry out in pain.
Soon, the second and third babies were born naturally.
"The second baby is a healthy prince!"
"The third baby is here, and it's also a healthy little prince!"
But at this time, the midwife had not stopped her movements, and Old Mrs. Cui, who already had two babies in her arms, began to realize that something was wrong.
Looking at the little rag ball being brought back by Longsha, she cried out,
"Four?! Come help, it's also a little prince!"
“There’s more…?”
"All, all are princes!"
"Come quickly, Madam Fuguo, come and lend a hand!"
"What? I want to lend a hand too???"