Although the emperor's concubine has agreed on a successor, it is impossible to immediately abolish the queen and establish another one.
After all, the aftermath of the Ji family's downfall has not yet ceased - on the day when the entire Ji family was massacred, the regent sent orders to all parties to search for the remaining members of the Ji Party and to kill them all.
But after all, the Ji family has been in power for three dynasties. Even if the building collapses, there are always some loyal people who are willing to risk their lives to cover their escape.
This kind of purge was impossible to achieve in a short period of time. Fortunately, Duke Ye Guo and others had basically eradicated all the Ji family members, and the remaining ones had no time to escape, and generally could not cause any trouble.
It's more important to take advantage of the situation and replace it with your own manpower.
Chunjia must have suffered a loss here. He was in charge for too short a period of time. Even if he hurriedly opened an encore at the beginning of the year, how could the young man who had just entered the official position be the opponent of the regent's team
But even if he suffered a loss, Chunjia could not give up the struggle and would always have to scheming with the regent.
A few days after this, news came from the palace, saying that the Queen Mother, the Queen Mother, learned of the crime and knew she could not escape punishment, so she set herself on fire.
He even tried to take Princess Minghui away before she died, but fortunately the palace officials tried their best to stop her and they failed.
Chunjia, who was extremely pure and filial, burst into tears after hearing the news. He said that although Empress Ji was sorry for the late Emperor Xiaozong, she was still his heir mother. Even if he was brought to such an end, even if it was his own fault, he, as a son of a human being, felt really sad in his heart. Na.
After being comforted by the people around me, I finally recovered. I asked about the eldest princess Minghui again and learned that the eldest princess Minghui was originally ill. After this incident, she became even weaker and could only rest in the palace for this year. Chunjia immediately began to wipe her tears again. He felt really sorry for the "poor imperial sister", and finally ordered him to go to Qingci Palace. The matter was serious and he, a young junior, did not dare to handle it without permission, so he had to ask the Queen Mother for instructions.
Because of what happened at the court meeting that day, everyone knew that Empress Dowager Ji would definitely have bad consequences, so there was no need to worry that Empress Dowager Ji would not be able to bear the bad news.
"The Ai family knows." In just a few days, the Empress Dowager has aged a lot. After hearing the news of Empress Dowager Ji's death, she said quietly, "The emperor can just take care of these things. The Ai family is old and it doesn't matter. Spend more energy worrying about these things.”
After a pause, he asked again, "How is Ji?"
"The clan members are still on their way here." Chunjia said nonchalantly. The Empress Dowager only said that the clan members were not gathered together, so the Ji family was still detained in the mansion and not allowed to go out. One can imagine how prominent and arrogant the Ji family was in the past. I'm sure I won't get used to being under house arrest, but I can't care less about it now.
Although she felt a little uneasy, she just said she was worried about Ji's future. She sighed and said, "What about the queen?"
Chunjia was so busy these two days that she couldn't care about Queen Ji: "The Queen is probably still resting in Yanfu Palace."
"Can I let her come to the Ai family to fulfill her filial piety?" The Empress Dowager pursed her lips. She knew that Empress Ji's position as queen could not be guaranteed. She might be deposed, she might be killed violently, or she might die suddenly after being deposed. In short, Neither will be good.
The entire Ji family, and she, the Empress Dowager, was a little safer.
At least since Chunjia personally denied that she connived with Queen Mother Ji to murder Xiao Zong's heirs, she would not be touched in the short term.
The Empress Dowager made this request as a polite request to spare Empress Ji's life.
But Chunjia pondered for a long time and said: "The queen is sick now and has too much time to take care of herself, but it is difficult to take care of the imperial grandmother. Besides, it is easier for the imperial grandmother to get over her illness. If the imperial grandmother needs someone to take care of her illness, I will ask the concubines and the others to come. ?”
"No need." There was disappointment in the eyes of the Empress Dowager, but she did not get entangled in it. After all, she wanted to discuss the Ji family's guilt after the clan members gathered together. She did not want to talk to Chunjia until the matter was settled. A conflict occurs.
In contrast, Empress Ji's life could be saved if she could, but she could only give up if she couldn't.
"It's all according to the imperial grandmother." Chunjia said with a filial look, "It's just... you have to make the final decision on Empress Ji's funeral. After all, she is still my heir. According to the rules, I have to go to the palace to greet her in person. , Fang is the courtesy that the Queen Mother deserves."
The Empress Dowager heard what he meant, smiled miserably, asked her left and right to take out her own seal, and said calmly: "The emperor can do whatever he wants. I am sorry for my family."
However, Chunjia refused to accept it and said: "Royal Grandma, this is a serious matter. Even with your permission, I dare not take charge of it."
His attitude was resolute, and the Empress Dowager had no choice but to call her confidants to spread out the Four Treasures of the Study in public and dictate an edict. In fact, this edict should have been issued a few days ago, but the Empress Dowager was confused and Chunjia was busy. In order to deal with the regent, he neglected to use his status as the empress dowager to abolish his mother's position as empress dowager and demote her to a commoner.
Well, this is what Empress Dowager Ji should have done when she was alive.
Now, because of the delay, Empress Dowager Ji has died. That means she will be deprived of all her titles and can only be buried with common people's rites. Forget about being buried with Xiaozong, even if she can be given a thin coffin. The emperor is kind.
With the empress dowager's decree to abolish the status of empress dowager Ji, Chunjia naturally did not need to treat this matter with the same attitude as his successor mother, so he left Qingci Palace and once again told everyone to keep the good news secret for a year. She was not allowed to mention the fact that the Ji family had been exterminated to the Empress Dowager, so Shi Shiran returned to Taichu Palace to handle government affairs.
The fate of Queen Mother Ji was expected by everyone, so it did not cause any shock in the Imperial Capital.
Because this is no longer the Queen Mother, there is no need for anyone to express condolences.
On the surface, Chun Jiaping only asked someone to send a message to the palace, asking them to take care of the funeral affairs according to the instructions of the Empress Dowager. At the same time, they must ensure the safety of Princess Huichang, but in private, he asked Sun Yu to send a trustworthy person to rush over: "Look Be clear, is that really Ji Sheng?"
This is not because Chunjia is suspicious, but because the method chosen by Queen Mother Ji to commit suicide is self-immolation. It is said that what was found in the end was a few blackened bones. So who knows if this is Ji Sheng himself
Maybe she used Ji's power in the palace to cover her and found a substitute
Two days after the people from the Imperial City Division set out, the news had not yet returned, and relatives from nearby clans arrived one after another, including the King of Zhou and his wife.
He was of high seniority, his country was powerful, and he was not too young, so he naturally became the leader of the clan.
After entering the capital, of course, you have to shower and change clothes before entering the palace to see the emperor.
After Chunjia explained to him, he was led to Qingci Palace to pay his respects to the Empress Dowager.
The Empress Dowager and the King of Zhou met the clans twice, but the atmosphere at that time was not very good: once when Shenzong passed away, they came to express their condolences and attended the ceremony of Xiaozong's enthronement; once when Xiaozong passed away, they came to express their condolences. , who attended Chunjia's enthronement by the way... Oh no, they did not attend the ceremony of Chunjia's enthronement.
Because after Xiaozong died, the Ji family and the regent were at loggerheads over the choice of the new king. The clan members were afraid of being dragged into the water, so they made excuses and left to express their condolences.
By the time Chunjia was taken to Jianzuo in the imperial capital, they had already returned to their respective kingdoms.
The Empress Dowager didn't care much about these clan members in the past, because these people had always looked at her face, and she was too lazy to pay attention to them.
On the other hand, King Zhou and others, after bowing, sighed: "The Empress Dowager has lost a lot of weight, so she should take care of her body."
"The late emperor was cruel, and the Ai family suffered a hard life. He had gone through so much hardship to give birth to Xiaozong, but he was also unfilial. The father and son left the Ai family long ago, leaving the Ai family alone to survive in this world." Tai Tai. The Empress Dowager said rather sadly, "It would be a good thing if we could reunite as soon as possible."
"Why did the Empress Dowager say this? Although Xiaozong was harmed by others and could not leave any biological children, the emperor of that day is your heir and grandson. He has always been pure, filial and honest. In fact, he is no different from his own son." King Zhou and others said seriously. , "I have given you several great-grandchildren this year. You will have a long time to look after your grandchildren."
The Empress Dowager showed sarcasm, but she didn't say anything to refute. She only made insinuations about how King Zhou and others would treat the Ji family.
"We haven't all arrived yet, so we have to wait until everyone is here before we can talk about such a big matter." Of course, King Zhou and others knew the news that Ji's family had been destroyed, but they didn't dare to tell the Empress Dowager, so they said vaguely, "It's not your fault after all, so don't think too much about it."
"The Ai family never thought that Ji Sheng would do such a thing. She is seeking death like this, and she deserves it even if she is broken into ashes." The Empress Dowager said sadly, "Gong Ye Guo and the others were also shameless and did not teach her well. It's just that There are many children of the Ji family, and some of them are young and well-behaved."
She specifically mentioned a few names. They were all descendants of the Ji family who were in their teens or even a few years old. Most of them were either not particularly talented or had the kind of talent that made people think, "Even if we let him go, he won't be able to do anything." type.
King Zhou and others all sounded a little sad, but they did not dare to show it. They only responded calmly, saying that they would try their best to help mediate: "But there are many relatives in the clan, so it is not certain whether we can convince everyone."
The Empress Dowager did not raise any suspicion. She also knew that what happened this time was too serious. Even if the clan members did not intend to kill the Ji family, in order to prove that they cared about their direct descendants and that they sympathized with Xiaozong's experience, they It is also difficult to argue for a lighter punishment.
Especially there was a regent outside the palace, a master who wanted to kill the Ji family quickly.
When the clan members came to the Imperial Capital, how could he not encourage them
She regretted not wooing these people properly, but then again, if she had known what happened, how could she have let Chun Jia ascend the throne
The Empress Dowager said a lot of soft words, and her attitude was almost pleading. She sent a group of people away.
But when King Zhou and the others left the palace, they reminded each other not to make any comments about Chunjia's actions.
This man who could slaughter the whole family of the Ji family who supported him would not necessarily be merciful to their nominal clan members.
They came all the way here just to catch a fish, but they didn't want to risk their lives here.
However, since Chunjia specially sent someone to invite them here, they must not be allowed to just fish, but they must also be put to some use.
For example, the next day, a vassal king publicly spoke to Chunjia, saying that the empress dowager, ah, no, she was a commoner. Although Ji Sheng committed suicide in fear of crime, in fact, this matter should not be over: because eight years after Chunjia ascended the throne, Here, the harem is similar to that of Xiaozong.
The same concubines became pregnant many times, but none of them failed to give birth.
Therefore, the experience of Genji Xiaozong's harem may not be clear even to the current queen.
For the sake of the emperor's heir, it would be better to conduct a thorough investigation into the life of Empress Yuan.
Although Chunjia pondered for a moment and did not comment after hearing the words, the four families of Luo family, Ouyang family, Meng family and Yin family were very excited.
They thought they were about to get the promised reward!
Without Chunjia's private advice, the next day the four families began to unite with their close ministers to jointly request a thorough investigation into the miscarriage of all the concubines in Chunjia's harem!
Especially the common man Zheng Sangchu!