Fan Qie's poems are plain and simple, abandoning all the glitz and allusions. Even ordinary people can understand the main idea. "Grave Digging Song" is about people digging up old graves to grab good feng shui. The old soul said to the new soul, "Don't be proud. It's very sad that I was dug up today. But everyone wants a good feng shui land. When will you be dug up? You have so many descendants. One day, your descendants will dig up your ancestor's grave to bury this good land."
This poem by Fan Qie questions the common perception that bloodline inheritance and filial piety are mainstream, and he believes that human nature is selfish, and that the feng shui treasure land of ancestors will be dug up by "the great-great-grandson if not the great-grandson."
Of course, the literal meaning is digging one's own ancestors' graves, and it can also be extended to mean that the foundation established by the ancestors was destroyed by later unfilial descendants.
This is the "Grave Digging Song" mentioned by Fan Shanggong in her letter. Hu Shanwei closed the "Collection of Poems by Fan Deji" and wondered, who is this referring to? Fan Deji has so many poems, why did Fan Shanggong pick out this one? Descendants? Inheritance? What is Fan Shanggong afraid of
Hu Shanwei was also a Shang Gong. Any disturbance in the palace could hardly escape the eyes of Shang Gong. She knew the most secrets of the royal family. Could it be that some great royal scandal became the death warrant of Shang Gong Fan
But before that, Lady Fan was Lady Fan, and she knew more private matters, almost every one of which was enough to cost a person’s life. What exactly was this matter
For a moment, there were so many things to think about that I didn't know where to start.
Hu Shanwei asked Cao Shanggong and Cui Shangyi, "Have you got any clues in the past few days?"
In recent years, Lady Cao has remained the same. She was able to exit the palace cleanly and swiftly. She has an optimistic and cheerful personality and lives a leisurely life, so she ages slowly.
Cao Shang Gong sighed, "With no clues to use, there are many people who take advantage of the opportunity to cheat. Even officials in the court lose their power and become unpopular. What's more, retired female officials like us are heretical in the eyes of many people for not getting married or living with relatives and setting up our own households. The customs of Yangzhou are considered civilized. I usually live with Cui Shangyi behind closed doors. Relying on my status as a female official, no one dares to bully us. It's good enough for us to live a peaceful and carefree life. If we want to do something, we will be stretched to the limit immediately. There is nothing we can do except wait for news in Guazhou."
Concubine Cao is a straightforward person who speaks the truth. She has retired and there is only so much she can do for Concubine Fan.
Cui Shangyi has obviously aged in the past three years, but beauty fades with age, and age has its own beauty, just like a gradually drying rose. There is a faint, lightning-like scar on her left cheek, which she usually covers with makeup, but now she is in mourning for Fan Shanggong and has washed off all her makeup, so it can be seen at a glance.
As one of the only two survivors of the Hongwu Dynasty harem (the other was Zhang Taipin), Cui Shangyi is definitely not lucky to be alive today. She said with a melancholy look, "If the Jinyiwei were still there, I would have a way to find out the truth. But Emperor Gaozu disbanded the Jinyiwei in order to quell the people's grievances, and also executed the commander Mao Xiang by slicing. The Jinyiwei who used to supervise the eyes and ears of the world are like dandelions, scattered and drifting, not to mention that they can't protect themselves, who has the energy to help me?"
Cui Shangyi laughed at herself, "I used to work for Emperor Gaozu, and everything in the world could not escape my eyes. But now, I have become deaf and blind. Even if I think the death of Fan Shanggong is strange, it is the same as Cao Shanggong. There is nothing I can do except wait."
Cao Shang Gong picked up the kettle to refill the teapot and said, "Now that we have you, we have a glimmer of hope besides waiting. In the past three years, you have traveled all over the place, and apart from exchanging letters, you have not made any other noise. Now if you don't make a sound, it will be nothing. If you make a sound, it will be amazing. You have piled up a mountain of silver in Guazhou. There will be brave men under a huge reward. Even if we don't have any clues, it will make the mastermind panic."
At night, Hu Shanwei invited monks and Taoists to perform rituals on the riverside to pray for the souls of the dead, not only those of Lady Fan, but also those of other passengers who died.
The sounds of chanting and beating drums continued all night long.
Water ghosts and river gods who were good at swimming from all over the Ming Dynasty began to search in sections of the Yangtze River where the incident occurred. They also set up large nets downstream to prevent the bodies from drifting from the Yangtze River to the sea.
Shocked! A mountain of silver appeared at the Yangzhou Guazhou Port terminal!
The power of money is infinite.
More than half a month had passed since the merchant ship capsized, killing more than ten people. The incident had not spread beyond Jiangnan and was about to disappear, but Guazhou Yinshan immediately made the news of the ship that leaked and capsized in the middle of the night known to everyone.
Almost overnight, the Yinshan incident spread to the entire Jiangnan region. Three days later, almost the entire Ming Dynasty knew about it. In Kunming, Yunnan, Mu Chun was playing with her daughter alone. When she heard the news, she was very moved: Sister Shanwei hasn't changed at all. She was born to do great things. She either doesn't take action or turns the world upside down.
Emperor Gaozu, whose body was already cold in the Xiaoling Mausoleum, angrily lifted the lid of his coffin: I knew it! I knew it was right to let her leave the palace and get married! She is the biggest variable. With her around, things always go in an uncontrollable direction. I have arranged everything well, why are you forcing her to come back!
Naturally, this matter also spread to the harem, and everyone in the palace was shocked.
Lady Fan is good at using thundering methods. When she was the Palace Director in the Palace Administration Office, she would be ruthless to anyone who violated the palace rules. She was known as Fan the King of Hell. Later, when she became a Lady Fang, she needed to coordinate six bureaus and one department. Her temper became softer than before, but she was still strong.
Therefore, when Lady Fan was missing for almost a month due to a passenger ship capsizing on the way, Hu Shanwei, the youngest lady in the palace in the past, piled up a mountain of silver in Guazhou to look for the missing Lady Fan. When the news spread to the palace, all the concubines in the harem were shocked.
Most of the palace people were sad and crying, but the palace rules were strict and it was not allowed to set up altars for private worship and burning incense. They could only silently hope for a miracle and that Concubine Fan would survive.
Some people secretly applauded and said that Fan Yanwang deserved the fate he had today.
The most radical person was the female official named Wang, who was a close confidant of Lady Fan. Wang Dianzheng was originally a lowly official slave. When Shen Qionglian was a female tutor, she was selected to study and passed the examination to become a female official, starting as an eighth-rank female historian. Lady Fan saw that she was hardworking and ambitious, and that she was somewhat like Hu Shanwei in the past, so she intended to cultivate her and promoted her all the way to become a sixth-rank Dianzheng.
When Wang Dianzheng heard the bad news about Consort Fan and the reward offered by Hu Shanwei with a mountain of silver, he immediately broke down and cried, then locked himself in the room. He thought to himself that Emperor Gaozu had ordered the death of the Crown Princess before his death, and Consort Fan asked me to deliver the poisoned wine, but I was stopped by the Crown Prince on the way.
The Crown Prince was the heir to the throne, and if I resisted, I would die. I had no choice but to cooperate with him to deceive Fan Gongzheng, saying that the Crown Princess had drunk poison and died. Later, Fan Shanggong was also bribed by the Crown Prince to keep the matter secret.
Fan Shang Gong was a smart person. As soon as Emperor Gaozu died, she "happened" to be ill. She fell ill at the right time and left the palace in the name of recuperation. However, halfway through the journey, the passenger ship leaked and capsized, and she died just like that... Even Fan Shang Gong, such a powerful old fox, couldn't escape, let alone me
The next day, when the palace maid was bringing hot water to help Wang Dianzheng wash up, she knocked on the door for a long time but there was no response. The palace maid hurriedly called a few strong eunuchs to break down the door, and found that Wang Dianzheng had hanged himself.
Wang Dianzheng left a suicide note, saying that he was shocked to hear the sad news about Lady Fan and was deeply saddened. He had no intention of living in this world and only wanted to die quickly and follow Lady Fan.
Committing suicide in the palace was a serious crime that would implicate the entire family, but Wang Dian was a government slave with no family, and she died because of the death of Concubine Fan. Therefore, Empress Ma made an exception and did not punish her. She ordered her to be carried out of the palace and buried properly.
Empress Dowager Lu of the Cining Palace heard this and called Empress Ma over to give her a lecture, "… As the Empress of the Ming Dynasty, you should be the mother of the country and be careful in what you say and do. Are the rules of the palace just for show? If you kill yourself, your entire family should be executed. Even if Wang Dianzheng has no family or friends, you should punish her. If you can't punish her family, you should grind her bones and scatter her ashes. You let her go this time and ordered her to be buried? Who in the palace will respect the rules in the future?"
Since becoming the queen, she has not had a peaceful day. Empress Ma was shocked to hear the bad news about Fan Gongzheng, and was very sad. After all, he had served her for two months and had done nothing wrong. They had a relationship of monarch and subject. When she was the Crown Prince's Consort for the previous three years, she also received guidance from Fan Shanggong. Wang Dian was Fan Shanggong's confidant, and was deeply shocked by this. Although he committed suicide and violated the palace rules, he sacrificed himself to follow his former master Fan Shanggong. This character is still admirable.
Therefore, Queen Ma knew that Wang Dianzheng had made a serious mistake, but she did not punish her.
Empress Ma was in a bad mood. She waited patiently for Empress Dowager Lu to finish her lecture and said, "There are rules and human feelings in this world. Once the rules and human feelings cannot be achieved, the superiors need to make judgments and handle the matter appropriately. I am the queen and I command the six palaces. Now everyone in the palace is sad about the death of Concubine Fan. If we blindly deal with the dead Wang Dianzheng according to the rules, it will definitely chill people's hearts. So I order a burial and pardon his crime of suicide. Don't pursue it further."
Empress Ma had no idea how panicked Empress Dowager Lu was feeling: although Emperor Jianwen had told her why the Empress Dowager had been "recuperating" in the Eastern Palace for three years, Emperor Jianwen did not dare to tell his wife the details of such a life-threatening matter as Emperor Gaozu had ordered the Empress Dowager to be executed before his death. The fewer people who knew about this, the better.
Seeing that her words were contradicted by her daughter-in-law again, Empress Dowager Lu was so angry that she pointed at Empress Ma and said, "Okay, okay, I just gave you a few instructions in vain. I let you do all the good things. I am a bad person. What's the point of being the empress dowager? The emperor doesn't listen to me, and even you don't listen to me. I am just a puppet empress dowager. I will go to Fengxian Palace to cry for the late emperor!"
This previous emperor was of course Emperor Xiaokang Zhu Biao.
While trying to stop them, Empress Ma winked and ordered someone to call Emperor Jianwen over. The Cining Palace immediately fell into chaos.
In the previous dynasty, Emperor Jianwen was discussing with his cousin, Duke of Cao Li Jinglong, how to find a legitimate reason to depose his fifth uncle, Prince of Zhou Zhu Su.
Li Jinglong's father, Li Wenzhong, was the nephew of Emperor Gaozu and a founding general of the Ming Dynasty. The only pity was that he died too early, in the 19th year of Hongwu. Li Jinglong was the only son. He was familiar with military books since childhood and often went to Huguang, Shaanxi and other places to train troops. He was good at arranging formations and dispatching troops. Every time he performed, he was top-notch. Emperor Gaozu liked this nephew very much. In addition, he had pure blood and was loyal, so he left Li Jinglong to his grandson Zhu Yunwen. The cousins were very close. After Emperor Jianwen ascended the throne, he gave the first vassal king to be reduced to Li Jinglong, which showed his trust in this cousin.
Li Jinglong offered a plan, saying: "King Zhou has always been devoted to the study of medicine and has never fought with the world. He has published many medical works, so he has a high reputation among the people. It is difficult to find fault with him. If we are not careful, it may cause unrest among the people in the vassal state."
"However, the second son of the King of Zhou, Zhu Youxun, the King of Runan, is jealous of his brother, Zhu Youdun, the Crown Prince of Zhou, and wants to seize the throne. The Emperor simply promised him that as long as he reports that the King of Zhou and the Crown Prince of Zhou are planning a rebellion, he will be allowed to inherit the throne of the King of Zhou in the future. Since the King of Zhou has been accused of treason by his own son, we have a reason to send troops and escort the King of Zhou to the capital to be punished."
Prince Zhou Zhu Su was the younger brother of Prince Yan Zhu Di. Unlike his elder brother who was brave and good at fighting, Prince Zhou was not good at literature but liked to tinker with medicine. The Prince Zhou's Palace employed a group of famous medical experts to compile medical books, including Ru Siyao and Qian Taiyi. The Prince Zhou's Palace published medical books such as "Pocket Prescriptions", "Puji Prescriptions", "Baosheng Yufang", and "Jiuhuang Bencao", which were highly respected by the people and regarded as a good deed. Who would believe that this medical idiot Prince Zhou suddenly wanted to rebel
However, the court could not take action without a legitimate reason.
Emperor Jianwen hesitated, "It's probably not right for father and son to kill each other."
Li Jinglong said, "Because they are father and son, the testimony of the son is convincing and others will believe it. The testimony of ordinary people will be considered as false accusations. Your Majesty, this is the best and fastest way I can find today. It is better to reduce the power of the vassal states sooner rather than later."
There really was no better way than this. Emperor Jianwen nodded in agreement: "You want the Prince of Runan to submit a petition immediately. I agree to his terms."
Anyway, it will not be a problem to take back the fiefdom and military power in the future and raise a puppet King Zhou.
"Your Majesty is wise." Li Jinglong took the order and left.
Arrangements had been made for Prince Zhou, and Emperor Jianwen was anxiously discussing with his ministers how to depose Prince Dai. Si Yan, who was beside Empress Ma, came to invite him over, saying that Empress Dowager Lu was clamoring to go to Fengxian Hall to cry for Emperor Xiaokang.
Forcing my mother to cry for the late emperor would be unfilial.
Even the emperor dared not wear the hat of being unfilial.
There were constant troubles in the previous dynasty and frequent fires in the harem. Emperor Jianwen was almost driven crazy by his mother. He quickly suspended state affairs and ran to the Cining Palace to comfort his mother.
After all, Empress Ma was the mistress of the harem. She ordered Empress Dowager Lu not to step out of the Cining Palace. The palace servants guarded the gates and fought with the people in the Cining Palace.
When Emperor Jianwen arrived, everyone stopped and knelt down to welcome him. Looking at the palace maids with disheveled hair and untidy clothes, Emperor Jianwen was immediately furious: "Look at yourselves, what a disgrace!"
Concubine Fan left the palace and died. The people sent to Jinan could not find any news of Hu Rong. The position of Concubine Fan in the harem was still vacant, people's morale was low, palace rules were lax, and the empress dowager was stirring up trouble. There was even a collective fight. Emperor Jianwen was born and raised in the harem, but he had never seen such a chaotic scene.
When Emperor Jianwen entered the Cining Palace, the fearful and angry Empress Dowager Lu pushed Empress Ma away and said, "Go away! I have been sick in the East Palace for three years and I am tired of it! I can't believe that I have worked so hard to raise the emperor, but you don't even have the freedom to step out of the Cining Palace!"
When Empress Ma saw a bright yellow figure at the door, she immediately felt weak all over and was pushed to the ground by Empress Dowager Lu.
Emperor Jianwen hurried over to help his wife up. Empress Dowager Lu, a seasoned expert in palace fighting in the Eastern Palace, saw this and sneered, "These are all tricks I have left. Your Majesty, don't be fooled by this vixen. When she tried to stop me just now, she was so strong and powerful that she could move mountains and conquer the world. But when your Majesty comes, she becomes a beauty lamp that goes out with a single blow!"
Empress Ma leaned against her husband and struggled to stand up. "Your Majesty, the Queen Mother did not mean it, nor did she really want to cry for Emperor Xiaokang. She just said some nonsense in anger."
Empress Dowager Lu was so angry that she was shaking. "Pretend! You are still pretending to be virtuous!"
"Enough!" Emperor Jianwen helped his wife sit on the chair. "Empress Dowager, the Queen has always spoken for you. Whether it was serving tea or patting your back, she never complained and always said it was what she should do. She was patient at every step. Why did the Queen Dowager humiliate her again and again? She is my wife, the Queen of the Ming Dynasty! Husband and wife are one. If you humiliate her, you are humiliating me!"
Seeing her usually obedient son lose his temper, Empress Dowager Lu knew that this time the incident had gotten out of hand, so she immediately changed her strategy, using gentleness to overcome strength, she shed tears, and cried, "You two are one, so I am superfluous? You didn't even ask me why I was angry with you, the queen. She... She actually sent Wang Dianzheng, who committed the serious crime of suicide, out of the palace and buried him properly. I taught her that as a queen, she should not knowingly commit crimes and should clearly distinguish between rewards and punishments. She got impatient and used her status as queen to pressure me, saying that the queen has the right to pardon his crime."
Emperor Jianwen said: "Of course the Queen has this privilege, otherwise how can she be called the Queen?"
Empress Dowager Lu was anxious, "Why did Wang Dianzheng die? Could it be that you, the emperor—"
"Empress Dowager!" Emperor Jianwen quickly interrupted my mother and winked, "Why did the Empress Dowager have to quarrel with the Queen over a criminal? Queen, you are tired, go back and rest, and I will take care of the Empress Dowager."
Empress Ma and her husband had already established a tacit understanding over the past three years. She knew that the mother and son wanted to talk about something private, so she quickly said goodbye and left. However, a question emerged in her mind: The empress dowager's last words seemed to imply that there was another secret behind Wang Dianzheng's death. Was this secret related to the emperor
After his wife left, Emperor Jianwen blamed Empress Dowager Lu, "I have long said not to touch Consort Fan, but the Empress Dowager refused to listen and sent people to assassinate Consort Fan, but the matter was not done cleanly. Now there is a mountain of silver in Guazhou, tempting the world to sift the water of the Yangtze River almost with a sieve. Sooner or later, it will be exposed. I still have to help the Empress Dowager to clean up the mess and stop Hu Shanwei. I beg the Empress Dowager, please don't cause trouble again, okay?"
Empress Dowager Lu was shocked. "Emperor, what are you talking about? Wasn't it the Emperor who ordered the removal of Concubine Fan?"
Emperor Jianwen's eyes turned cold, "Queen Dowager, please stop pretending. I've had enough of your lies."
Empress Dowager Lu's eyes turned colder. "Emperor, I have done enough for you. I don't want to bear the infamy of murdering a concubine for you."
In the Cining Palace, neither mother nor son admitted the mistake and kept blaming each other.
The author has something to say: Good night everyone~