Chapter 5 Section five

Using Qingdai to draw eyebrows, rouge to lips, and rich powder makeup to subtly cover up her youthful appearance, Wu Zhao thought of those autumn mornings 14 years ago, how she dressed up for Emperor Taizong in a dark black hole. , the past is like smoke and clouds, and Wu Zhao shed a few tears for the little maid in Yeting Palace.Mother, do you think I am happy? Of course you are happy, as soon as the fifth watch is over, you will be crowned with the empress ribbon, mother Yang said.Mother, do you think I'm lucky? Of course you are lucky, the emperor bestowed great blessings on the Wu family, and the Wu clan will always be grateful for the emperor's kindness.But the daughter is not happy now, this day has come too late.Mother Yang saw that her daughter's face was indeed full of unbelievable sadness. The daughter embedded the moonlight beads specially rewarded by Emperor Gaozong into the temples of the phoenix, and lightly rolled up the upper body of the dress embroidered with twelve colorful pheasant tails. Doing it skillfully and freely, mother Yang suddenly felt that her Mei Niang had long been running outside her mother's memory, so strange and so far away.It was Sikong Li Shi and right chancellor Yu Zhining who sent Gaozong's book, and when the emperor's golden chariot was parked in front of the imperial palace, Li Shi had no intention of looking sideways at Zhongnan Mountain in the west. Out of the autumn mist.The new empress who was registered stepped out of the inner hall facing the late autumn sun. The beauty of the sky and the flattering smile hidden by the canopy made the latter amazed. The four concubines and nine concubines lined up on both sides and prayed in unison. With sorrowful or jealous eyes, Wu Zhao lightly lifted his formal attire and boarded the heavy chariot.The pennant of the new queen is already flying in the wind in the Tai Chi Palace.A guard of honor of more than one hundred people marched to Zetianmen, the main gate of the imperial city.Empress Wuzhao saw from a distance the majestic and majestic towers of Zetianmen overflowing with rouge-like colors. The civil and military palaces under the gate of Zetian, purple robes and jade belts or scarlet robes and gold belts, those who resist her or those who flatter her, they are now like colorful ants swarming under her heavy chariot.Amid the sound of thunderous bells and drums, the new Empress Wu Zhao passed through the Zetian Gate through the Jinping barrier. She tried her best to recall the first time she entered the imperial city 14 years ago, but only remembered that a piece of yellow silk covered the gate. The girl's eyes, she didn't know from which imperial gate she entered this world of honor and disgrace, fourteen years of memories suddenly became a dream at this moment, the new Empress Wu Zhao mourned for fourteen years under the cover of Jinping canopy sad career.The queen's courtship began with Wu Zhao. When the new queen Wu Zhao suddenly appeared on the gate of Suyi, all civil and military officials exclaimed.Many officials saw Wu Zhao's beautiful appearance for the first time, and the faint tears only added to the vicissitudes of life for the woman.Many officials found that the autumn sun was like a huge red crown worn on the phoenix headdress of Empress Wuzhao.If the late warrior governor of Jingzhou knew about it, he would be grateful that the long-cherished wish of Guangzong Yaozu of the Wu family became a reality in the second daughter Mei Niang.The court official who lived a mediocre life received the favor of the emperor for many years after his death, and was posthumously given the title of governor of Bingzhou and Sikong.Empress Wu's mother Yang was named Mrs. Dai, her sister Wu was named Mrs. Korea, and even the queen's half-brothers Yuan Qing, Yuan Shuang, cousins ​​Wei Liang and Huai Shi all enjoyed official fortune and became dignified fourth-rank Beijing. official.

The common people outside the palace wall pointed to the flags, banners and men and horses of the new officials surnamed Wu, and whispered quietly, one person attains the Tao, and the chicken and dog ascend to heaven, while the people inside the palace wall are calm about this place, and they don’t think it’s strange. The ground is like a small hill, and those books are often updated, which is the common sense of the court. Of course, the names of Empress Wang and Concubine Xiao Shu disappeared from the imperial palace jade document. They had been changed to Mang and Xiao respectively by Gaozong, and the officials who guarded the forbidden courtyard of the Leng Palace screamed with the mood of making trouble, Mang eat, Xiao's eating.The former empress and concubine Shu have been reduced to criminals. The palace servants closed the doors and windows of the prison cells according to the order of Empress Wu, and only opened a half-foot hole in the wall for the passing of food and toilets.At first, the eunuchs often lay at the entrance of the cave to listen to the two women's wailing and cursing of Empress Wu. Later, the cell gradually became quiet, perhaps the two women were exhausted.The eunuchs relished the pain of the two female prisoners in the dark, and felt a sense of revenge in their hearts.Thirty years in Hedong and thirty years in Hexi, the emperor's relatives and queens and concubines could not escape this court law. Besides, the eunuchs remembered how cruel and harsh the queen and concubine Shu used to treat their servants.

Gaozong came to the cold palace behind the forest with a heart of compassion that day. He wanted to see if the empress Concubine Shu, who had been demoted again and again, had any intention of repentance, but he pushed all the wooden doors but there was no sign of them. There is a small hole in the wall, and a plate of leftovers is placed in the hole, and a few flies are circling and flying on the fish bones.Queen, concubine Shu, where are you? Gaozong's unfeeling cry fully showed his part as a tender man who cherishes fragrance and jade, and then he saw a skinny hand protruding from the hole in the wall. Faintly passed into the ear.Since we have become prisoners, why does Your Majesty still use the old title?Empress Dowager whimpered in the dark wall and said, if Your Majesty still misses the old love, please change the name of this courtyard to Huixinyuan, and demote us as palace servants to serve Your Majesty.

In another hole in the wall, there was the sound of cups and bowls being smashed. The former concubine Shu, who was surnamed Xiao by Yi, was crying loudly at the hole in the wall. Even in the cell, the stubborn woman still pinned her hopes on her son. Su Festival, the emperor is merciful, let Su Day be the prince.Xiao's begging sounded absurd and funny to the eunuchs. They wanted to laugh, but Gaozong's sad expression made them dare not be presumptuous. Gaozong wept endlessly that day, and the eunuchs saw him bend down and make a promise to the hole in the wall.At this moment of sadness, Gaozong forgot that it was his edict to punish the two women, and he forgot the emperor's rule that the king has no jokes and words like sweat, so the eunuchs present were quite surprised by Gaozong's promise.As soon as Gaozong left, there was no reply, and the eunuchs in the Lenggong waited anxiously for the new fate of the abolished empress and concubine. They guessed the reason for this embarrassing situation, or Gaozong withdrew his mercy in a state of sobriety and reason. heart of.The eunuchs were already unable to look directly at the two pairs of eyes of the Python Xiao family behind the hole in the wall. They shone like phosphorescent light in the silence, anxiously waiting and waiting for sadness. Their eyes watched Gaozong's chariots and horses all day long. film.

The eunuchs in the cold palace finally waited for the will of the Empress Wuzhao. The Mang family and the Xiao family did not want to repent in the palace confinement.The eunuchs opened the door of the cell, and dragged out the abandoned empresses and concubines from the hay dung. The former noble ladies in the palace are now dirty and old, looking like beggars in the market.The eunuchs covered their noses and beat the two female prisoners with whips. The two female prisoners woke up like a dream, and a strange blush appeared on the face of the abandoned Hou Mang. Say, let's fight, please don't let go, since the emperor loves Wu Zhao, I can only repay their great grace with death.The deposed concubine Xiaoshi's resistance to the flogging was within the expectations of the eunuchs. Xiaoshi kicked and bit the eunuchs, but all her resistance was in vain. The furious eunuchs stepped on her hands and feet and executed the flogging. In order to execute the punishment, Xiaoshi screamed and cursed, and the eunuchs later heard that she was cursing Empress Wu Zhao to become a rat in the next life, and that she would become a cat of revenge and bite her throat.Empress Wu Zhao went to Yeting Palace that day. Yeting Palace was several walls away from the cold palace where the abolished concubine was imprisoned. Wu Zhao clearly heard the screams of the two enemies when they were tortured.Wu Zhao was buried in the ritual of burning incense and offering sacrifices, unmoved.The accompanying palace guards and maids did not know who the queen was burning incense for. They stood in front of the open-air sacrificial altar in Yeting Palace, watching the queen's pious and calm expression melt into the mist of incense, but no one knew who the queen was praying for. .A small prisoner came running from the direction of Lenggong dragging a bloody bamboo whip. When he came to the sacrificial case and hesitated to speak, the queen suddenly raised her head and looked at the small prisoner and the bamboo whip in his hand. .The gauntlet is over.Reported by the prison supervisor.

Do they feel remorse?Mang's family seemed to have repentance, and Xiao's curses on Her Majesty the Queen continued.Repentance is fake, curse is real.Empress Wu Zhao smiled and asked again, why did they curse me?mouse.Xiao Xingjian tremblingly told the truth, Xiao said that she would be a cat and kill mice in the next life to avenge her big revenge.Empress Wu Zhao's complexion changed drastically, and after a while a sneer crossed her lips, not everyone has an afterlife, Empress Wu Zhao finally ordered the prison prison to chop off her hands and feet and soak them in the wine tank, so that the two wicked A woman will never climb to the holy world on earth.The palace people in front of the sacrificial altar in Yeting Palace watched the incense sticks remain silent, but in fact, everyone was listening attentively to the movement of the Leng Palace in the distance.The screams in the distance stopped abruptly, and silence returned to the side of the red wall forest.At this time, Empress Wuzhao ordered the palace people to clean up the traces of incense and ash candles. While washing her hands in the gold-plated basin, she revealed the name of the mysterious sacrifice to the palace people. The queen said, I am offering sacrifices to the souls of two senior palace maids , one surnamed Chen and the other surnamed Guan, guess what they are most afraid of?When it rains, they are most afraid of the raindrops getting their faces wet.The queen was thoughtful when she said this, and the palace people thought that she would cover her mouth and snigger like them, but the bright eyes of the queen were clearly shining with tears.The queen finally said emotionally, I will never forget, two poor white-headed palace ladies, it is their ghosts who guided me to where I am today.No one remembers those two white-headed maids, they are just a vicissitudes of memory of Empress Wu Zhao.No one knows whether it is sunny or cloudy in Empress Wu Zhao's heart. The palace people opened the canopy to cover the empress's trip to Ye Ting Yongxiang. The sound, that is the sound of a rosewood ball rolling over time.

Prince Xian On June 7th of the second year of Shangyuan, Yong Wang Li Xian ascended the crown prince.It was a rare hot summer in Chang'an. Prince Xian remembered that at the coronation ceremony, he was sweating profusely and his clothes were flooded. When the Crown Princess Fang wiped his sweat with a mint towel, Prince Xian once whispered to the Crown Princess If the day of the grand ceremony encounters such a fierce heat, God will eventually bring disaster on me.At that time, Prince Hong who died of poisoning had not yet been buried. Prince Hong was hiding in an ice cellar in Luoyang under the title of honoring the emperor.Hong and Xian brothers are just separated by a world of life and death.Hong's sad soul will sleep peacefully under the loess of Gongling. He has no awareness of Xian's world, and Xian saw Hong's red coffin vigilantly on the day of the grand ceremony. He vaguely saw Hong in the sound of bells and drums Flying outside the coffin, I saw the purple face of the deceased and the black blood around the mouth. The head of the deceased was hanging powerlessly on Xian's chest. .Prince Xian suddenly said that his whole body was cold. After the ceremony, the princess put on a cloak to protect him from the cold. The imperial doctor came to check his pulse and found that the new prince's pulse and body were all fine. They guessed that it was caused by a disordered mood. To the state.The imperial doctor's diagnosis was quickly confirmed to be correct, and Prince Xian immediately regained his vitality when he returned to the East Palace. The palace people saw that Prince Xian had been playing chess with Zhao Daosheng that afternoon.Among the many sons and daughters of Emperor Gaozong, he had a special liking for the six sons Xian. Maybe it was because Xian was smart and understanding since he was a child. He practiced prose and martial arts and often had amazing conversations. The other half of Xian's blood may have come from Gaozong's beloved Korean wife Wu Shi, the sister of Empress Wu, a beautiful woman who had died of poisoning incidents common in the court a few years ago.Prince Xian was born on the way back to worship ancestors in Emperor Gaozong's Zhaoling Mausoleum. At that time, Wu Zhaoyi and her sister Wu Shi accompanied her. The palace people remembered that the two chariots of the Wu family sisters were tightly covered with cloth tents. They heard that The cry of the baby, they remember that the cry of the baby was heard from the car of the elder sister Wu, but Zhongyu Shaojian congratulated Gao Zong on the joy of Wu Zhaoyi giving birth to a prince again, so the accompanying palace people all knelt on Wu Zhaoyi Congratulations on the production of dragon tires in front of the car.

The palace people couldn't believe that Wu Zhaoyi had another son in the few months after the sudden death of Princess Si, so they firmly believed that the little prince born under Zhaoling was like a flower seedling grafted with peaches and plums, and Xian's growth would be full of legend. When Xian was playing in the palace when he was young, he saw two little maids pointing at him from a distance. He ran over and asked, what are you talking about me?The two little maids were so frightened that they picked up their skirts and fled.Xian felt strange, so he asked the eunuch who was with him, what are they talking about me?The eunuch replied, they praised the prince for being young and handsome, what dare the two little maidservants say?Xian was a sensitive and suspicious child when he was young. He was deeply impressed by the weird behavior of the two little maids. But at that time, Xian Chenghuan was under the knees of his father and queen. Secrets circulated.Later, Prince Xian found that his mother's eyes on him were far less loving than his father's, far less gentle than her younger brothers Zhe, Dan and younger sister Princess Taiping. He was suspicious, but he believed that it was an assertive mother For the pickiness and resentment of his disobedient son, Prince Xian didn't know about the affair between his father and his aunt Mrs. Han, nor did he know that stories about his life experience had been circulated in the palace for many years.The incident stemmed from the bloody moment when Ru Hua, the maidservant of the Crown Princess, was tortured by cutting her tongue. That day, Prince Xian went to the palace of the Crown Princess Fang, and happened to hear Ru Hua's screams coming from behind the bamboo bushes. Xian asked the Crown Princess, You have always been kind to your servants, why did you go to war with a little maid today?Fang said, Ruhua is full of obscenities, I can't let her defile the East Palace.Xian laughed and said, if a little maidservant can utter dirty words, she will be exonerated after a few lessons.Xian didn't take it seriously at the time, but when he stepped out of the palace room of the princess, he saw several young eunuchs scrubbing the ground with water. There was a bead-shaped blood line extending from behind the mottled bamboo bushes to the front of his steps. The crimson, The intermittent halo of blood exuded a faint cold and residual smell, Prince Xian stood to watch the blood, he asked the little eunuch, is this flowery blood?The little eunuch said it was Ruhua's blood, and that Ruhua had violated the palace rules, which made the princess and the queen furious, and it was the queen who ordered the prison to cut off Ruhua's tongue.

What did she say?Prince Xian couldn't help asking. The little eunuch who washed the blood kowtowed and said, the villain didn't hear it, so he didn't dare to speculate.Prince Xian began to feel that there must be something strange about this matter. He knew that it was difficult to understand the truth from the rigid and cautious Fang, so Prince Xian thought of Zhao Daosheng, his servant whom he regarded as his beloved, and asked Zhao Daosheng to find out Ruhua's true feelings. Unexpectedly, Zhao Daosheng blurted out the truth about his tongue being cut, so he didn't need to go out to find out, Xiao Nu knew all about Ruhua's matter yesterday, but he didn't dare to tell His Highness.

I doted on you for nothing, Prince Xian showed sullen expression, and kicked Zhao Daosheng on the buttock with a flying kick. You and I shared dinner and bed, and we were separated from each other. What we knew yesterday is still tight-lipped today, but I Time to cut your tongue out.Zhao Daosheng knelt on the ground and repeatedly cried out for grievances. He said, it's not that I have been disloyal to His Highness, it's just that you should not talk about this matter. If you talk about it, you may be killed.What can be concealed from Prince Donggong?Prince Xian stamped Zhao Daosheng and yelled, "You said you could save yourself from murder, but if you don't say that, I will pick your heart and lungs with a sword and feed them to stray dogs and wild dogs."Zhao Daosheng was sweating profusely, and finally he closed every door and window in the Prince's Palace, and revealed the sensational secret to Prince Xian.

Your Highness, rumors have been circulating for many years, saying that His Highness was not born to Empress Wu, but His biological mother was the late Mrs. Korea. Prince Xian's angry face suddenly froze, his face was as pale as paper, after a long time he helped Zhao Daosheng up, and brushed his knees to adjust his clothes, Prince Xian held Zhao Daosheng's hand and said, Actually, I have been suspicious for a long time, and today I finally Someone voiced my doubts.But Zhao Daosheng noticed that Prince Xian's smile seemed bitter, and Prince Xian's warm and strong hands became cold and weak. Prince Xian was wary of respecting his mother and staying away from his mother. This wariness intensified after Prince Hong's violent death in Hebi Palace. This time, she excused her elaborate family banquet with an excuse. When Prince Xian declined the banquet for the second time because of gastrointestinal discomfort, Empress Wu's face was already stern. What kind of gastrointestinal discomfort, you are out of fear and precaution.I know what you are afraid of.Empress Wu looked at Prince Xian with a mixture of sorrow and hatred, and said with a sneer, you suspect that I poisoned your brother Hong?Do you suspect that I have a quirk of poisoning parents and children?Empress Wu seemed to know where the shadow between her and Xian's mother and son came from. She once deliberately recalled to Prince Xian all the hardships of giving birth on the post road. What she still felt was suspicion, separation and rejection, and Empress Wu knew that the shadow was entangled between their mother and child like a cobweb, and could not go away.Prince Xian lived in the East Palace for a long time, and he had no attachment to Luoyang, the eastern capital where his father and queen mother lived. Gaozong also noticed this. Dissatisfaction and resentment, Empress Wu said, it is gratifying for Xian to be in power in Chang'an, but doesn't your majesty think that Xian violates the principle of filial piety and fraternity? Li, although His Majesty loves Xian, I feel chills when I think of him.Gaozong noticed that the empress was always displeased when talking about the prince Xian. He thought that the empress mainly hated Xian and his servant Zhao Daosheng's Longyang Duanxiu, and women usually hated such things.Gaozong therefore listed the anecdotes and anecdotes of the kings and male favorites of the past dynasties to dispel the queen's view of women.The queen said to Emperor Gaozong, Your Majesty is well-known and tolerant, and I am afraid that the virtues of a virtuous person will never be comparable to your Majesty.The queen was casually playing with her red sandalwood ball, but the scene of seeing Gaozong sleeping with his sister Wu in the Qizhou Wannian Palace many years ago appeared in front of her eyes. It was an embarrassing moment. The queen thought if that In the summer of last year, my sister did not follow them to leave the palace to escape the summer heat. If she had stopped her sister's love affair with Emperor Gaozong at the right time, the arrogant and rebellious Prince Xian might have changed someone else.Therefore, the mother in the Luoyang Palace often sent a quick ride to deliver family letters to Prince Xian in the capital. The mother taught the son with political principles and filial piety, and an angry volcano was faintly buried between the lines.Prince Xian did not leave any memories of Mrs. Korea. He only heard that she ate poisonous mountain mushrooms and passed away. His father never forgot Mrs. Korea. He later continued his love for Mrs. Korea’s daughter He Lanshi as proof. He Lan's family was conferred the title of Mrs. Wei by her father, and she once amazed Liugong Fendai.What is embarrassing is that the beautiful mother and daughter ended up together by different routes. Mrs. Wei Guo died in another strange poison banquet. The Ministry of Internal Affairs recorded that the murderers were Wu Weiliang and Wu Huaiyuan. It is said that it was a family banquet of the Wu family. , but a bowl of broth is poisonous, Mrs. Wei Guo drank the broth, so she vomited black blood like her mother and fell under the dining table.When Prince Xian knew about his mother, he immediately executed Wu Weiliang and Wu Huaiyuan, her two cousins, who were suspected murderers.Someone once speculated that the Wu brothers wanted to shoot the white deer but got the dead hare, but Prince Xian always felt that this speculation lacked scrutiny. The Wu brothers had no reason to poison their mother, just like they had no reason to poison Mrs. Wei. I even believe that the Wu brothers are just a pair of scapegoats. Prince Xian once revealed a secret idea to Prince Xima Liu Nayan. He told Liu Nayan that he wanted to see the portrait of Mrs. Korea, and Liu Nayan's answer was alert and to the point.When the Korean wife entered the palace as a relative of the emperor, there was no need to ask a painter to paint her, and the portrait would be nowhere to be found.Liu Nayan said with a smile, maybe His Highness can hear the beauty of Mrs. Korea from Tianhou?After all, they are siblings.Why should the Queen Mother be alarmed by trivial matters?As far as the crown prince is concerned, I heard that Mrs. Wei looks exactly like her mother, and His Highness can imagine the demeanor of Mrs. Han from it.Liu Nayan said.Mrs. Wei Guo has been in exile for several years in a poison banquet. I don't even have a memory of her appearance. How can I remember climbing trees and over walls? Then His Highness will use He Lanmin's work as a mirror to reflect the brilliance of Mrs. Korea. His son is like his mother. Maybe he is a living portrait of Mrs. Korea.Liu Nayan said again.The prince was finally speechless. At that time, the news of He Lanmin's violent corpse on the way to exile had just spread to the palace. The remonstrance made by the prince Xima Liu Nayan seemed stupid, but the deep meaning in it had already been grasped by the prince Xian.Prince Xian later lamented three times to Liu Nayan, and he asked Liu Nayan in a relaxed tone, I am the son of the emperor, do you think so?My father's blood is flowing on my body, don't you think? Prince Xima Liu Nayan said, yes, His Highness is the heir of the Tang royal family, and the country and the country are only worried about this. What's the point of the harem's legends?So Prince Xian took off a polo stick with a golden sheath from the wall, and swung the polo stick in the air once or twice, as if he wanted to use this to cast off the heavy burden in his heart.To gather all the polo players in the East Palace, Prince Xian yelled loudly, let's play in such a good weather.Prince Xian rode the bloody horse from the Western Regions presented by his father, and appeared on the pasture of the Royal Garden. He was dressed in a military uniform, which made him look like a hero. It was also the costume that Prince Xian loved since he was a child. Red tasseled helmet, heavily patterned armor and riding boots with spurs , Prince Xian always gallops on the Yuyuan Stadium like a general, laughing and cursing while riding his horse to the ball. The palace people in the East Palace have become accustomed to this.