Nine years ago, Emperor Hongwu felt that Concubine Guo was too stupid and hoped that she would be smarter so that she could suppress the troubles in the harem and give him a peaceful harem.
Nine years later, Emperor Hongwu thought that if Concubine Guo had been dumber, the prince would not have had to die if Hu Shanwei had deceived her.
But things in this world, even if he is an emperor, there are too many things that are not satisfactory, and he can't even protect his children.
He was the emperor and a father. He felt pain when he saw his children killing each other, falling down one by one and dying in great pain. Concubine Guo lost her son, and he lost another son fifty days later.
Moreover, his son died because of his mistake and underestimation of Concubine Guo's judgment ability.
Just like that, the son he had placed high hopes on and the heir he had been training for twenty-five years died from arsenic.
Everything has to be started from scratch.
Emperor Hongwu stood up from the dragon throne and slowly walked towards Concubine Guo. At the beginning, this woman was just a political gift sent by the Guo family to warm the bed and show their loyalty. She was lively, docile, and had no ambition. She was a beautiful and stupid woman.
She also coincidentally gave birth to his tenth son two months after the founding of the Ming Dynasty, and even the ranking was so perfect. So for a long time, he treated this woman like a pet, watching her grow and transform step by step, clumsily copying Empress Xiaoci, cultivating the shell of a virtuous queen for herself, which brought him surprises.
Then, just when he had accepted her and was about to make her queen, she gave him a "surprise" by poisoning the prince.
Seeing Emperor Hongwu walking towards her step by step, Concubine Guo first took two steps back, and then stopped. She straightened her plain clothes, even dipped her fingers in the cold tea in the cup, and gathered up her hair, still maintaining her decency and dignity.
Emperor Hongwu waved his hand, and the eunuch brought a tray with a cup of poisoned wine on it.
Emperor Hongwu said: "Don't blame me for being heartless. This is the path you chose. Your Guo family is full of loyal and brave people who serve the court faithfully. You can't have a concubine who plots to murder the crown prince. I won't vent my anger on the Guo family. Your death will be caused by a sudden heart attack due to excessive grief over the death of King Luhuang. I will give you a grand funeral."
Concubine Guo had two elder brothers. The eldest brother, Guo Xing, Marquis of Gongchang, died of illness after touring the northern border in the 17th year of Hongwu. Emperor Hongwu posthumously conferred him the title of Duke of Shaanxi, the posthumous name "Xuanwu", and buried him in Jubao Mountain.
The second elder brother, Wuding Marquis Guo Ying, is still in charge of the imperial guards. In addition, Guo Ying's eldest son Guo Zhen is the consort of Princess Yongjia, and Guo Ying's second daughter Guo married the 24th son of Emperor Hongwu, Prince Ying Zhu Dong, and is the Princess of Ying. The couple has gone to Anlu, Hubei to be enfeoffed.
Therefore, the Guo family has imperial concubines, princes, dukes, marquises, princes-in-law, and princesses. In addition, the brothers Guo Ying and Guo Xing were also good at giving birth to sons, most of whom were brave and good at fighting, and were the pillars of the country.
The Guo family was powerful, with extensive influence in the court, and was loyal. Therefore, Concubine Guo guessed that Emperor Hongwu would only sentence her to death for the sake of the overall situation and would not touch the Guo family at all. That's why she dared to set up the Hongmen Banquet to poison the prince without worrying about implicating her entire clan.
After nine years of training, the once naive and innocent Concubine Guo Ning has become adept at guessing the emperor's mind and weighing the pros and cons. Her decision to poison the prince was not a momentary act of anger due to the pain of losing her son, but the result of careful consideration and repeated deliberation after weighing the pros and cons.
Before the Hongmen Banquet, she even sent her trusted confidante, Madam Guo, back to the Guo family to retire. She also sent her "military advisor" Hu Shanwei to the Xiaoling Mausoleum on the pretext of burning scriptures for Empress Xiaoci to clear him of the suspicion of leaking information. She was also able to use Emperor Hongwu's feelings for Empress Xiaoci to avoid Hu Shanwei being involved in the political whirlpool of the death of the Eastern Palace.
The only thing Concubine Guo didn't consider was herself. She had no intention of getting away with it. She decided to sacrifice her life for revenge.
Concubine Guo bowed to Emperor Hongwu and said, "Thank you for your grace, Your Majesty. The prince killed my son, and I killed the prince. Both crimes are unforgivable. I am willing to die to apologize and end our grudge."
Concubine Guo calmly picked up the poisoned wine. At this moment, Emperor Hongwu was reluctant to part with her. This was the woman he almost considered his wife! She had a lot of shadows of Empress Xiaoci, which made him feel a little emotional.
Emperor Hongwu asked her, "Before you die, do you have anything else to say?"
Concubine Guo looked towards the northeast Xiaoling Mausoleum and said, "If possible, please tell Hu Shanwei that I am sorry. I am very sorry. I have failed her expectations. I know that she admires Empress Xiaoci and wants to train me to be the second Empress Xiaoci. I have tried my best. I have tried very hard. With her help, I, who others think is hopeless, can turn decay into magic. But I really cannot accept the position of empress in exchange for the life of my own son."
"Indeed, I have always dreamed of becoming the Queen. When the Emperor ordered the reconstruction of Kunning Palace, I was so happy that I went crazy and was so excited that I didn't even notice that I had lost a shoe..."
A tear fell into the poisoned wine. Concubine Guo smiled with tears in her eyes and said, "I was silly at that time, but I was happy from the bottom of my heart. I felt that this day was full of hope and that as long as I paid, there would be rewards... But I never thought that being the queen of the Ming Dynasty would cost me such a tragic price in the end. I would have to give up my most cherished son in exchange. I don't want it anymore. I can't sit in the position of queen calmly and play the role of a loving mother and a filial son to the prince who killed my son every day. I am not Empress Xiaoci, and I will never have the endurance of Empress Xiaoci in my life. Your Majesty, I will go to the underworld to accompany our son. I believe he is not far away on the road to the underworld. Take care, Your Majesty, I am leaving now."
After saying this, Concubine Guo drank the poisoned wine in one gulp.
Concubine Guo walked very fast, her limbs twitching and her breathing rapid. Emperor Hongwu closed his eyes and only opened them when he heard that Concubine Guo's movements had completely disappeared.
He saw Concubine Guo die with her eyes wide open and a smile on her face.
At this time, the eunuch outside ran in, "Your Majesty, the prince... is dead!"
Concubine Guo and the crown prince died almost at the same time.
Emperor Hongwu slumped beside the body of Concubine Guo. In an instant, the overall situation, strategy, checks and balances all disappeared. He was just a man who had lost two loved ones.
Why did this happen? I planned everything to the best of my ability and minimize the loss, but reality did not develop in the direction he planned, but towards the worst result he did not expect.
When Emperor Hongwu was thinking, the cry of a young boy brought him back to reality:
"Grandpa Emperor! My father is gone! What should I do, Grandpa Emperor?"
It was the eldest grandson of the emperor, Zhu Yunwen. Emperor Hongwu covered the remains of Concubine Gui with the handkerchief he had not given away, and slowly walked out of the room. There was already a lot of crying outside, and the voice of Crown Princess Lu was the most desolate.
"The prince...died of illness. Do you understand?"
Lying on the sickbed, the prince was bleeding from all seven orifices, his face was distorted with pain, his pupils were dilated and red, as if he was possessed, and his bedding was covered with incontinent urine, feces and blood. How could he have died of illness
The chief judge of the Imperial Medical Bureau had seen even more horrific deaths - for example, the two sons born to Concubine Da Ding jumped off the building together in the Xiaoling Mausoleum, and their skulls were smashed. The imperial doctors had to piece together the broken bones and sew them together.
Therefore, the judge's first reaction was, "Indeed, the prince died of illness caused by overwork."
As an emperor, one must consider the overall situation and put the stability of the Ming Dynasty first. As for the truth... the truth is not important.
Everyone said, "We obey your order." Crown Prince Zhu Biao died of illness due to overwork. This was the truth. Anyone who dared to say that he was poisoned would be disobeying your order and would be beheaded.
The eldest grandson of the emperor, Zhu Yunwen, looked at his father's miserable condition and was about to say something when his mother, Crown Princess Lu, covered his mouth with her hands.
Emperor Hongwu said, "You all withdraw and prepare for the prince's funeral. The imperial physician and the judge will stay and clean up the prince's body."
The judge was very experienced and had a magical hand. When the prince's eyes were wide open and could not be closed, he glued his eyelids shut. When his face was hideous, he applied a hot towel to his face, pierced his acupuncture points with silver needles, and massaged his face with his fingers to restore the muscles to their original position. When the seven orifices were bleeding, he used cotton wrapped on a small stick to slowly wipe and clean it...
Half an hour later, everyone saw the prince lying on the coffin. His face was peaceful, and he looked clean and tidy, as if he was asleep.
In the 25th year of Hongwu, Crown Prince Zhu Biao died at the age of 37.
When Emperor Hongwu was 37 years old, he was fighting a decisive battle with Han Wang Chen Youliang in Poyang Lake. He burned down the camps and won the battle with a smaller force. Chen Youliang retreated to Caoxie Mountain and refused to surrender. When he tried to break out, he was shot in the eye and his head was pierced by an arrow from Concubine Guo's second brother Guo Ying.
In the early spring of the following year, Chen Youliang's son opened the gate and surrendered. Driven by the desire to conquer, Emperor Hongwu took Chen Youliang's concubine Da as his empress and gave birth to two sons.
Fifteen years later, Concubine Da Ding seduced Concubine Guo's son, Prince Lu Zhu Tan, to take elixirs to "cultivate immortality", but was discovered by Hu Shanwei. Concubine Da Ding was poisoned to death by Emperor Hongwu. Her two sons attacked the Xiaoling Mausoleum, and after failing to abduct Prince Lu Zhu Tan, they held hands and jumped off the city wall and died.
Nine years later, Prince Lu's addiction to elixir relapsed, and the crown prince found an opportunity to poison him to death by mixing arsenic with alum. Fifty days later, Imperial Concubine Guo put the same poison in vegetarian crabs, and killed the crown prince.
When the prince died, Concubine Guo drank the poisoned wine given by Emperor Hongwu and followed her son without hesitation.
Revenge is an endless vicious cycle, forming a closed loop of cause and effect. Wherever this closed loop goes, countless lives are ruthlessly crushed. No matter how cruel the truth is, in the end, it will still be whitewashed.
The next day, the news of the prince's death reached the Xiaoling Mausoleum, and the whole court was shocked. Mu Chun, who had just sent his own father to the tomb, did not even need to change into mourning clothes. He went straight into the palace to mourn in those clothes. According to the rules, he cried for the prince together with the civil and military officials at Chunhe Gate.
Emperor Hongwu suspended court for one day, wore mourning clothes for twelve days, the common people in the capital stopped getting married for sixty days, and the ministers stopped getting married for thirty days.
Emperor Hongwu decided the posthumous title of Crown Prince Zhu Biao - Yiwen, and he was thereafter called Crown Prince Yiwen.
Since Crown Prince Yiwen died at the age of 37 and no tomb was prepared, Emperor Hongwu ordered the Ministry of Rites to bury Crown Prince Yiwen to the east of the Xiaoling Mausoleum. There had never been a precedent in history for a crown prince to be buried in the imperial mausoleum, but Emperor Hongwu insisted on doing so, and the Ministry of Rites had no choice but to do so.
When Hu Shanwei of Xiaoling heard the news, her first reaction was that Concubine Guo had taken action!
The prince is dead, which means that Concubine Guo's revenge was successful. So now... Hu Shanwei was terrified and decided to end his vacation early and go home.
palace.
But before she could leave the Xiaoling Mausoleum, Mao Xiang led the Jinyiwei to block the place. Behind him followed a carriage with a coffin inside.
Hu Shanwei realized something, she rushed into the carriage, pushed open the coffin lid with her bare hands, and saw the smiling face of Concubine Guo.
She spent nine years of hard work, teaching Guo from scratch how to be a qualified queen. She gave her advice in person, using both soft and hard tactics, sometimes giving her a warning, sometimes speaking in a gentle voice. She spent nine years of her youth and countless energy on Guo, hoping that Guo would be able to govern the harem like Empress Xiaoci did, stabilize the court, prevent any more disturbances, and prevent so many innocent people from dying.
She rebuilt Guo, a woman with "innumerable shortcomings", using Empress Xiaoci as a model. Like a craftsman, she reshaped Guo bit by bit. Guo was very cooperative and never got angry with her no matter how unpleasant her words were. She corrected her mistakes immediately and would correct them again if she made the same mistake. The two of them worked together and their goal was almost within reach.
After nine years of hard work, all was in vain.
"No!"
Hu Shanwei couldn't believe it. She reached out to touch Concubine Guo in the coffin, "This is not true, your majesty, wake up! Don't sleep anymore! Without King Luhuang, your majesty still has a grandson and Guoer. Your majesty's bloodline is not cut off. Your majesty will be crowned queen soon. This has been your long-cherished wish. No matter how noble a concubine is, she is still a concubine! Didn't you always tell me that you wanted to be the principal wife? Wake up! Wake up!"
Hu Shanwei was on the verge of collapse. In the end, she even forgot the honorific title of "Empress" and started calling them "you and me". Ji Gang forcibly pulled her away from the coffin and closed the coffin lid.
"The imperial concubine left you a will, saying she was sorry and that she had failed you. She knew you wanted to make her the second Empress Xiaoci, and she had tried hard, but she couldn't accept the position of Empress in exchange for her son's life. She was sorry."
Mao Xiang said, "Concubine Guo cannot die on the same day as the Crown Prince, otherwise the news will spread all over the city, and the Guo family and the Eastern Palace may be at odds, so Concubine Guo's death is temporarily kept secret, and her body is kept in the Xiaoling Mausoleum. She only said that she was too sad about the death of King Luhuang and was seriously ill, so she could not attend the Crown Prince's funeral. Hu Siyan must keep this a secret. The Emperor has spared you this time, but there won't be a next time. The Emperor has ordered you to return to the palace immediately and take charge of Zhongcui Palace, and carry out the orders as before. Otherwise... you will be charged with disobeying the Emperor's order."
Emperor Hongwu wanted to kill her entire family again.
Since Concubine Guo was still "alive" and seriously ill, her most trusted female official Hu Shanwei had to stay by her side and take charge of the affairs to complete this "empty city plan".
Hu Shanwei didn't know how she got back to the palace. Her mind was full of every detail of her interactions with Concubine Guo over the past nine years. Now she understood that after nine years of getting along, she understood Concubine Guo and Concubine Guo also understood her. Concubine Guo saw through her lies but did not expose them. She even sent her away before taking any action to avoid implicating her.
Concubine Guo's behavior is completely different from her previous behavior.
When Hu Shanwei first met Concubine Guo, Guo was still Concubine Guo Ning. At that time, Empress Xiaoci issued the "Instructions/Admonitions for Virtuous Concubines of the Zhao and Song Dynasties" and asked Palace Administrator Fan to explain it. All the concubines in the six palaces in the east and west had to go to Kunning Palace to stand and listen.
Concubine Guo Ning had been pampered since childhood, how could she have suffered such hardships? On the first day, she said she was tired and sick. The first bird to stick its head out was shot, and Empress Xiaoci immediately ordered the female official Tongshi who was in charge of arranging the sleeping chamberlains to remove her name from the sleeping chamberlains, "asking her to take good care of her illness." Concubine Guo Ning was frustrated and went to class obediently the next day.
Later, the little princess's adoptive mothers died one after another. Concubine Guo Ning gave Hu Shanwei valuable gifts, hoping to bribe him and ask her to "speak well" to Empress Xiaoci so as to gain custody of the little princess... Hu Shanwei accepted the gifts and showed the gift list to Empress Xiaoci in detail. Concubine Guo Ning was embarrassed again.
Concubine Guo Ning was simply hitting the east wall, and the west wall again. Relying on the strong backing of her mother's family, she acted recklessly. However, no matter what stupid things she did, she was always open and aboveboard, and did not push others out to be cannon fodder. She really made stupid mistakes on her own merits, and each person has his own consequences.
Her son, King Luhuang, has exactly the same temper as her.
She had obviously had many grievances with Hu Shanwei, but after she encountered numerous obstacles in taking over the power of the harem, she put aside her past grievances, went to Xiaoling Mausoleum three times to visit him at his cottage, invited Hu Shanwei into the harem like a treasure, and believed in Hu Shanwei wholeheartedly and obeyed his every word.
In this way, nine years passed quickly, and Concubine Guo Ning experienced a complete transformation and became the current Concubine Guo. She became smart, capable, and able to take on the responsibility of a mother of a country. She knew how to use strategies, and when she and the prince perished together, she also used a small trick to save Hu Shanwei from the disaster and use the Xiaoling Mausoleum as a shelter.
Now, Hu Shanwei is still Hu Siyan, and Concubine Guo has become a cold corpse in a coffin, hidden next to the coffin of Empress Xiaoci in the underground palace of Xiaoling Mausoleum.
A month later, Concubine Guo passed away. After Prince Yiwen's funeral, the palace held another funeral.
Emperor Hongwu proposed the posthumous title of "Duan Jing". After Concubine Hu, Concubine Chengmu Sun, and Concubine Huixian Li who were demoted to commoners, Concubine Duanjing Guo became the fourth concubine of the Ming Dynasty to die.
Emperor Hongwu ordered the Ministry of Rites to emulate the funeral of the highly respected Consort Chengmu Sun and to give Consort Duanjing Guo a grand funeral.
Not only that, Emperor Hongwu also issued an edict, ordering all the princes who had been enfeoffed to return to the capital, and that their princesses, children and their entire families must attend the funeral of Consort Duanjing Guo.
The court and the public were shocked and talked about it a lot. They thought that Prince Yiwen was dead and that Emperor Hongwu wanted to choose a prince from among the princes who had reached adulthood to be the crown prince. So he took the opportunity of the funeral of Consort Duanjing Guo to summon the princes back to the capital for selection.
The emperor was 62 years old, and he had to establish a foundation for the country and appoint a new crown prince as soon as possible, otherwise it would cause unrest in the country. Therefore, all the princes rushed to the capital with their families, fearing that if they arrived too late, they would be accused of being unfilial and lose the possibility of becoming the crown prince.
Within a month, all the princes arrived. According to the new mourning system, the sons had to observe mourning for their stepmothers for a year. Concubine Guo was different from the other three concubines. She came from a famous family. If she lived longer, she would have become the empress of the Ming Dynasty. The Guo family had two dukes, a marquis, a prince consort, and a princess. It was a big family.
So at the funeral of Concubine Duan Jing, the princes cried in competition, as if they were crying for their own mother.
After the funeral, Emperor Hongwu sighed to the princes, "I am old. Your tenth brother, Prince Luhuang, your eldest brother, Prince Yiwen, and your stepmother, Consort Duanjing, Guo, have all left me. I am very lonely. This time you brought the children to the capital. I have never seen many of these grandchildren before. I want to make up for it and spend more time with them to comfort my broken heart. You are busy with affairs in your vassal states, especially the princes guarding the borders. You should go back with your princesses first, and leave the children here to talk to me."
When the father proposes the idea of having grandchildren, who as a son dares not agree
If you don't agree, it would be unfilial, and if you are unfilial, you will have no chance of becoming the crown prince.
Moreover, if the child stayed in the capital, he could also speak well of his father. So the princes vied with each other to agree to keep their children in the capital so that they could fulfill their filial duty.
After the princes and princesses returned to their fiefdoms one after another, Emperor Hongwu suddenly announced that his eldest grandson Zhu Yunwen would be the crown prince, thus confirming the throne of the country!
After establishing the Crown Prince, Emperor Hongwu kept the eldest sons or princes of the various vassal kings and left them to study in the capital, and sent his other grandchildren back to their fiefdoms one after another.
Among them, Emperor Hongwu left the four most powerful children of Prince of Yan in the capital, namely Prince of Yan's Crown Prince Zhu Gaochi, the second son Zhu Gaoxu, the third daughter Princess Ancheng, and the fourth daughter Princess Xianning.
The news of the crown prince being enthroned and his own children being detained in the capital reached the princes' palaces in various places almost at the same time. Only then did the princes understand that their own father had made a big plan to consolidate the position of the crown prince!
We were all deceived! Father never intended to choose the crown prince from among us brothers! Father had decided from the beginning that the crown prince would be the eldest grandson Zhu Yunwen!
He not only lost the position of crown prince, but also lost his child.
How can one describe the current situation of the princes of the Ming Dynasty? They are so worried!
In Zhongcui Palace, Hu Shanwei heard this explosive news without even raising his eyebrows. He sighed at the portrait of Consort Guo, "Did you hear that? The royal family is ruthless. The emperor will squeeze out the usefulness of everyone, even the dead. The emperor used your funeral to stage a 'cup of wine to release military power' to trick the princes into leaving their sons and children in the capital. In this way, the emperor canonized the eldest grandson as the crown prince, and none of the princes who are uncles dared to object. There is no other way. The children are hostages in the capital. Who dares to act rashly?"
Hu Shanwei lit a stick of incense and murmured, "Now I think it's better for you to leave. This is a place where people are eaten without leaving any bones. Brothers, fathers and sons, husbands and wives, and even grandparents and grandchildren all scheme against each other. I hope that in the next life, you will not be involved with the royal family again. Rest in peace."
The author has something to say: In fact, the death of Concubine Guo is just an appetizer for the history of palace fighting in the five dynasties of the Ming Dynasty. The main course has not yet been served. Don’t think that the previous history is so tortuous and cruel, because there are more intense palace fighting to come.
Fly Hand, I am so excited when I write this.