Cao Shanggong and Cui Shangyi lived in Yangzhou in their old age, and occasionally corresponded with Hu Shanwei. Hu Shanwei had secretly told them the truth about Fan Shanggong's death. The two finally understood why Fan Shanggong repeatedly mentioned her grandfather Fan Qi's masterpiece "Grave Digging Song" in her last letter.
Although Hu Shanwei did not tell the two female officials how she took revenge, they all understood it tacitly when they saw that Emperor Jianwen paid off the blood debt of Concubine Fan with the price of his great beauty.
Everyone has his or her own life. On the other side, unknown to Hu Shanwei, Emperor Yongle ascended the throne, and the cousin of Cao Shanggong in Yangzhou City was involved in the "Fang Xiaoru" rebellion and was imprisoned and dismissed from office.
Fang Xiaoru was a great scholar in Jiangnan and a literary and artistic celebrity, who was highly respected by scholars. At that time, people scrambled to participate in the poetry and literary gatherings organized by Fang Xiaoru. The Cao family was a scholarly family, so naturally they also went to take advantage of the celebrity's traffic. The poems also received personal comments from Fang Xiaoru.
It feels good to get traffic, but it will be a disaster later.
Fang Xiaoru exterminated his entire clan. Before he died, he cursed Emperor Yongle loudly, "I am not afraid of you, a traitor who is plotting to usurp the throne! Forget exterminating three of my clans, even if you exterminate ten of my clans, what's the problem!"
Not satisfied with scolding, he added, "Thousands of years later, Your Majesty still cannot escape the word 'usurpation'!"
This made Emperor Yongle very angry. I said I would exterminate three clans, and you said give me ten.
This request is simply amazing, okay, I will grant you that.
The Ministry of Justice was troubled when it came up with a list of families to be exterminated. In the past, at most nine families were exterminated, so where would the tenth family come from? So they could just count their students and old friends.
In this way, scolding people was satisfying for a while, but all relatives and friends followed to the crematorium. The Cao family was struck by disaster overnight, and the whole family was imprisoned. Only the daughter of the Cao family cleverly escaped and went to Yangzhou to ask her great-aunt Cao Shanggong for help in rescuing her.
Originally, when Lady Cao retired, she chose to live in seclusion in Yangzhou instead of returning to her hometown to retire because she was too lazy to network with her clansmen, or because some tactless clansmen took it upon themselves to introduce her to an official as her second wife.
She had been a female official in the palace for many years, and had been successful. She was promoted to Shang Gong when she was less than 40 years old. However, her personality and attitude towards life were incompatible with the traditional scholarly family. She would feel lonely if she went home, so it would be better for her to live out her retirement in Yangzhou in comfort. Later, she had Cui Shangyi to accompany her. As a female official with the same ideals, she lived in seclusion with both cats and dogs, which made her even happier.
The niece Cao escaped the capture of the soldiers and came to Cao Shanggong for help, which made Cao Shanggong's eyes light up: Oh, this little girl's courage and bravery are similar to someone I have seen before, a bit like Hu Shanwei who was willing to risk everything in the past. If she is given a good beating and sent to the palace, the Cao family will have a successor.
Cao Shang Gong personally went to the capital and found her old colleague Ji Gang, saying that Cao Jia was not a formal student of Fang Xiaoru, but they had only met a few times at poetry gatherings. Cao Jia's political enemies took the opportunity to deal with Cao Jia in order to vacate official positions and make way for others.
This crime was not a big deal and was not a difficult one for Ji Gang, the commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard. Ji Gang was willing to do Cao Shang Gong a favor. At that time, Empress Xu, who had just recovered from a serious illness, came to the capital to hold a ceremony to crown the queen. It was urgent to exercise benevolent governance and use both tactics to stabilize the people's hearts, lest the court officials, who were panicked by Fang Xiaoru's extermination of ten clans, would blame each other and form a clique to attack dissidents, thus repeating the tragedy of the "Lan Yu Case" in the Hongwu Dynasty when more than 5,000 officials were killed.
Emperor Yongle did not want to kill so many people. The scope of the ten clans' punishment was too wide. He could not really be alone. However, the emperor had made a promise, so how could he go back on his word? Emperor Yongle needed a way out.
Cao Shang Gong secretly met with Empress Xu and decided that Cao's daughter would write a petition to the Wumen Gate to redress her father's grievances; the Empress was tolerant and forgave the past. Cao's daughter inherited her great-aunt's strong character and was also smart, so she perfectly cooperated with Empress Xu in the play.
This incident was reported in the imperial gazette as a glorious act of promoting Empress Xu's benevolence, and the so-called disciples and old friends of Fang Xiaoru who were accused of exterminating ten clans were left unresolved. Anyone who acknowledged the legitimacy of Emperor Yongle was released.
After seeing Cao Siyan off, it was already evening. Hu Shanwei and A Lei were having dinner under the grape trellis in the yard. There was a cool breeze. A Lei suddenly stopped eating and said, "Sister, there is a large silver warehouse behind our house. If we dig a hole from here, can we move the silver without anyone noticing?"
Upon hearing this, Hu Shanwei also put down his chopsticks: She is truly my biological daughter. She has perfectly inherited all of Mu Chun's whimsical ideas.
Hu Shanwei was speechless for a moment, then said, "Eat your meal well and go to bed early at night, and don't let your mind wander. You have to follow me to the palace tomorrow to thank the Queen for her gift, so you can't make any mistakes."
The first night after moving into the new house was a dreamless one.
The next morning, Hu Shanwei heard Arei's groundhog-like scream coming from the west wing: "Ah!"
When Hu Shanwei heard this, he thought A Lei was having a nightmare, so he got up and put on his clothes to check, "What happened?"
A Lei sat by the dressing table, holding up a tooth that still had bloodshot teeth, "Tooth... my front tooth fell out."
Hu Shanwei breathed a sigh of relief and took the tooth. "I thought something happened. You screamed so loudly. You are a nine-year-old girl and you are still startled. You are in the period of tooth replacement. If you lose a tooth, it will fall out. A new one will grow out soon."
After saying that, Hu Shanwei took the tooth, walked out of the room, and threw it onto the roof, praying that Arei's tooth replacement would go smoothly.
Arei rinsed his mouth with water. "Today I have to go to the palace to meet the Queen. When I open my mouth to speak, I find that I am missing a big front tooth. My voice will leak. Won't I be laughed at?"
When Hu Shanwei heard the strange pronunciation of A Lei's teeth, he thought it was cute and couldn't help laughing, "Your situation is special. Every child has their teeth changed. It's not considered a breach of etiquette. Don't worry, no one will hold it against you."
A Lei sat down heavily on the embroidered cushion on the dressing table. "They won't say it openly, but I don't know how they will make fun of me behind my back. Besides the Queen, I can also see-"
A Lei seemed to remember something and changed the subject abruptly, "Sister just said that I am a grown-up girl, and now she is saying that someone's child doesn't have teeth. Am I an adult or a child? I am so unlucky. I had a bad luck the first time I entered the palace."
Children are very sleepy, so Hu Shanwei often gets up and takes a long walk. When he gets home, A Lei has just gotten up, and sometimes he even stays in bed and refuses to get up.
This morning, Hu Shanwei was still asleep, but Arei got up for the first time. It was obvious that she was looking forward to entering the palace. The nine-year-old girl knew how to love beauty. She was no longer the black boiled egg with muddy legs who only came to catch shrimps.
Hu Shanwei lamented the fleeting time. In a blink of an eye, the unkempt boiled egg turned into a girl whose good mood was ruined for the whole day if she lost a tooth.
Hu Shanwei doted on Mu Chun, and doted on his daughter even more, and said, "In that case, you rest at home today, and I will go to the palace alone. How about saying that you are not feeling well and come to the palace to thank the emperor another day?"
A Lei was anxious and stood up all of a sudden, "No! I must go with my sister."
Hu Shanwei said, "Then why are you still looking so sad? Hurry up and get dressed, be more energetic, and relax. The more you care, the more people will notice your missing teeth. If you don't care anymore, others will be embarrassed to stare at your temporary shortcomings."
Since he was seven years old, Arei stopped shaving his head. He let his hair grow long and his bangs grow long. He combed the long hair on top of his head into two buns and put on the gauze flowers given by Empress Xu yesterday. He had thick eyebrows, big eyes and a furry pink peach face, which was very festive and cute - he was also cute when he opened his mouth to show the gap in his front teeth.
Hu Shanwei My daughter has grown up. I can’t get enough of looking at her. I think my daughter is the most beautiful girl.
Hu Shanwei's admiring eyes encouraged Arei. Judging from the way her back gradually straightened, she must have regained her confidence.
After returning to the palace, Shen Qionglian, who had been a palace maid for four years, welcomed Hu Shanwei as if she had seen a savior. "I've finally been waiting for you to come back. Being a palace maid is too tiring. I'm a little overwhelmed. I'd rather be a concubine. Come early the day after tomorrow, and I'll hand over all the things I have to you. After that, I'll have to leave the palace temporarily. The emperor has allowed me to leave the palace to rebury our ancestor Shen Xiu with my father and brothers."
What's going on
As soon as he entered the capital, a huge amount of information rushed into Hu Shanwei's brain like a tide. First, there was the drama performed by Palace Lady Cao, her niece Cao Siyan, and Empress Xu. Then Shen Qionglian was going to leave the palace—to rebury Shen Xiu
Didn't Shen Xiu, also known as Shen Wanshan, the richest man in the late Yuan Dynasty, die on the road when he was exiled to Yunnan and Guizhou by Emperor Hongwu? Did Emperor Yongle pardon Shen Xiu's crime
When Zhu Yuanzhang, Chen Youliang and Zhang Shicheng were in a three-kingdoms situation in Jiangnan, Shen Xiu supported King Wu Zhang Shicheng and was Zhang Shicheng's money bag. As a result, he was later liquidated by Zhu Yuanzhang, who unified the country, and was exiled to Yunnan and Guizhou, where he died in a foreign land.
Moreover, the Shen family was raided again and again by the Hongwu Emperor, from the Hu Weiyong rebellion in the early years of the Hongwu Emperor to the Lan Yu case in the late years of the Hongwu Emperor. They were raided and exterminated time and time again. Fortunately, the Shen family members were able to reproduce and often divided the family, so they were not tied to a vine and exterminated. Hu Shanwei clearly remembered that after the Lan Yu case, Shen Qionglian went out of the palace with her father and brother to collect the bodies of the Shen family members who were implicated.
What did Emperor Yongle mean? He allowed the Shen family to travel to Yunnan and Guizhou to move the coffins of their ancestors to the Central Plains for reburial. Did this mean that he would not take action against the Shen family in the future
Hu Shanwei thought, since all the Shen family members had gone to rebury Shen Xiu, who would take care of traveling across the ocean to pass on the news to Empress Xiao Ma and others who were scattered overseas
Hu Shanwei had a thousand thoughts in an instant. He used the excuse of changing clothes to pull Shen Qionglian to talk about Zheng He's voyages to the West. "... In the past four years, you have been a palace lady in the palace. Have there been any rumors in the palace that Empress Ma and the two princes faked their deaths and went overseas? Did Eunuch Sanbao go to the West just to publicize the ascension of the new emperor and to ask all nations to pay homage to the new emperor? Was it not to track down Empress Ma's whereabouts?"
Shen Qionglian shook her head, "I thought something was wrong with you, but it turned out to be because of this. You're too worried. Eunuch Sanbao went to the West, firstly to show the majesty of the new emperor and to announce it to the world, and secondly because the emperor intends to relax the maritime ban. Everyone knows that overseas trade can make money. Our Shen family made its fortune through this, and the tax silver from the court is also generous."
"Your Majesty wants to use the tax silver from overseas trade to subsidize the military expenses of conquering Annan, but the maritime ban is an ancestral rule. Emperor Gaozu once said that no ship was allowed to sail to sea. When Your Majesty was pacifying the rebellion, he also used the excuse that treacherous ministers repeatedly violated the ancestral rule. Now you can't openly say that the maritime ban will be abolished, otherwise wouldn't it be a slap in your own face?"
"So, the eunuch Sanbao's voyage to the West was a hint from the emperor to the people. On the surface, the maritime ban was still in place, but as long as taxes were paid to the court, the emperor would turn a blind eye. At most, the maritime ban was relaxed, and it did not violate the ancestral system. The eunuch Sanbao's trip was also to open up sea routes and pacify pirates along the way to facilitate the passage of Ming merchant ships. This emperor is different from the previous one. He has a deep mind."
"Also, the rumors in and out of the palace now have nothing to do with Empress Ma and her two children, but are related to Emperor Jianwen. It is said that the eunuchs were burned to death on the day of the fire. Emperor Jianwen shaved his head and escaped from the palace wearing monk's clothes. It's ridiculous. There are so many high walls in the palace that even a cat can't jump out, let alone a big monk. Besides, wearing monk's clothes is so conspicuous, it's better to dress up as a eunuch. These are just some rumors like rootless duckweed. You don't need to be nervous. If there is really any movement, I would have secretly asked the Shen family to go to Yunnan to warn you. How could there be no action at all? If the secret of Empress Ma is not kept, our Shen family will be finished with her."
Shen Qionglian's words gave Hu Shanwei a huge shock. She had been away from the political center for four years, and her thinking could not keep up with the current situation. In the past four years, she only learned about the government through the court reports, and she thought she understood it. But when she entered the palace, she realized that she was just a glimpse of the leopard through the tube, and could only see a small part. A leaf blocks the view of the mountain.
It turns out that the eunuch Sanbao went to the West to relax the maritime ban. This is consistent with the court's usual practice, basically no human language, just a look, a hint, and you can experience it yourself.
Shen Qionglian said, "It is the long-cherished wish of our Shen family to relocate the burial site of our ancestor Shen Xiu and return his soul to his homeland. I presented the sea navigation maps and ship drawings left by our ancestors to the emperor for the eunuch Sanbao to use when he sailed to the West. The emperor, mindful of the merits of the Shen family in presenting the maps, allowed my father and brother and I to relocate the burial site of our ancestor. As soon as you return, I will leave the palace, settle our ancestor down, and then come back to be a Shangyi. Remember to keep the position for me. I will be back in a year or two."
Shen Qionglian had long decided to serve the court for the rest of her life and never get married. In addition to her own talent, this talented girl also had a political mind and was able to judge the situation and almost single-handedly clear the name of her ancestor Shen Xiu. Although Emperor Yongle did not say it explicitly, he allowed the female officials of the Shen family in the palace to leave the palace and rebury Shen Xiu, which also hinted at the change in the court's attitude towards the Shen family.
This is the same as Zheng He's voyages to the West. Just take a look and you will experience it for yourself.
Hu Shanwei had nothing to say except to admit defeat. The palace was full of talented people, the newcomer Cao Siyan and the old one Shen Qionglian, all of them were capable of great things and were not inferior to her, Hu Shanwei.
Shen Qionglian gave her a reassurance, and Hu Shanwei felt relieved. As long as it was not for tracking down Empress Xiaoma and the others, it would be fine. As for the rumors circulating in and outside the palace that Emperor Jianwen shaved his head, became a monk and escaped from the palace, she didn't need to care. She lit the fire with her own hands, saw the flames spread to Emperor Jianwen, locked the door with her own hands, and heard Emperor Jianwen's screams and the banging on the door with her own ears.
She was sure that Emperor Jianwen was dead.
After "changing clothes", Hu Shanwei came out with a relaxed look on his face and was personally led by Shen Qionglian to Kunning Palace. The main hall at that time had been burned to ashes, and the current palace was newly built.
Empress Xu was too weak to sit and meet people, so she lay on the couch. Hu Shanwei and A Lei greeted her, and Empress Xu raised her hand and said, "Stand up and take a seat. Miss Hu Shanxiang, come here and let me take a good look at you."
"Yes." Arei came closer and sat on the embroidered cushion beside the couch. Empress Xu stretched out her skinny hand and stroked Arei's peach-like face. "I really like the pair of peacocks you gave me. Every morning and evening when the weather is not too hot, I will go to the courtyard under the corridor to watch the green peacocks dancing. They are so beautiful. I feel like I have a pair of wings and can fly up and overlook the whole world."
Arei tried his best to overcome the obstacle of his teeth and said slowly: "Empress, the Green Peacock was arranged by my sister. I am just offering it to the Queen, and I dare not take credit for it."
Empress Xu smiled and touched her face reluctantly, "What an honest little girl. Ji'er and He'er often mention you. Every time they mention your name, there is a smile in their eyes..."
Hu Shanwei was shocked to see Empress Xu like this. In her impression, Empress Xu was still the heroic image of the past when she was the Princess of Yan, who dared to ride a horse at full speed even when pregnant, led the palace soldiers to search the gambling houses, tied her brother Xu Zengshou behind the horse and dragged him, and forced him to quit gambling.
But now, Empress Xu looked weak and powerless, just like Empress Xiaoci before her death, who was also so haggard. Yunnan had just presented a pair of green peacocks, and she also envied the peacocks for being able to fly.
The only difference is that Empress Xiaoci wanted to die, refused treatment and refused to take medicine, while Empress Xu's eyes are full of desire for life.
Empress Xu didn't want to die.
Hu Shanwei felt sad. It seemed that she was about to send away the third queen of the Ming Dynasty.
Empress Xu talked to A Lei for a few words, and finally said: "The green peacocks are kept in the courtyard. You go and feed them. Maybe they will recognize you. Your sister and I have something to talk about."
Arei said goodbye.
In the East Palace, a little fireman secretly reported to the emperor's eldest grandson Zhu Zhanji, "Mrs. Hu and Miss Hu have entered the palace. Shen Shanggong personally welcomed them and they are now at Kunning Palace."
Zhu Zhanji stood up immediately and said, "I'm going to Kunning Palace to see... the green peacock."
The little fireman said, "I secretly observed that Miss Hu smiled without showing her teeth, and she moved appropriately. However, when she spoke, she was missing a front tooth, and seemed a little uncomfortable."
Zhu Zhanji and A Lei were both born in the spring of the 31st year of Hongwu. Xiao Ji was only a month older than her, so their teeth changed at about the same time. Now both of them are in the second round of teeth change. Xiao Ji's front teeth have become a little loose in the past two days, but have not fallen out yet.
Zhu Zhanji hesitated for a moment and asked the person who was in charge of the tooth replacement to leave. He looked at his loose front teeth in the mirror and picked them with his hands. They were not lost. Based on past experience with tooth replacement, it would take about seven days for them to fall out naturally.
It's too late.
It was hot in the summer and there was an ice basin in the room for cooling down. Zhu Zhanji grabbed a handful of ice cubes and stuffed them into his mouth, deliberately biting hard with his loose front teeth.
With a stutter, the ice broke, the teeth fell out, and his mouth was full of the taste of blood.
Zhu Zhanji spat out the tooth along with the ice cube, picked out the tooth and put it in his purse, rinsed his mouth, and then held another piece of ice in his mouth to stop the bleeding and relieve the pain, then headed towards Kunning Palace.
Now, Sister A Lei won’t feel embarrassed when she sees me. After all, we both have a missing front tooth, so no one will make fun of each other.
The author has something to say: Bang bang, my girlish heart is coming back to life. Thank you to the little angels who voted for me or irrigated me with nutrient solution~
Thanks to the little angels who cast [mines]: Qi Zi, Hei Qiao Liu Xin, Xia~ Taoyuan 1;
Thanks to the little angel who irrigated [nutrient solution]:
Oh, we are 53 bottles; I still need to think of a name, Na Na Ting, Yi Wei 20 bottles; Fan Fan is dreaming, Qi Xiao Miao, Mu Mu, on the first day, Wan Li 10 bottles; Xiao Tao, slightly sour green mango, ling3810 5 bottles; Tian Yi You Lan, Qian Qian mm, Xing Yao Fei Xiang, Qing Xuan Zhu Bai Zhou 19, Guan Guan, Puffer Tony, Da Shao Ye, Tao Zi, Xiao You's Master 1 bottle;
Thank you very much for your support, I will continue to work hard!