Chapter 239 Change

The queen held his hand and shed tears, "Take it as my selfishness. Back then, he took the blame for the crown prince. Exile in Qiongzhou didn't mention the sufferings the couple had suffered all the way. Only the death of their only daughter made me feel that way." I am restless day and night. I always want to do something for them. It is true that after you go, the prince can recall them and even rehabilitate them, but how can it be the same? He is your subject, your prime minister, You exiled him, and you should recall him."

The emperor opened his mouth, and couldn't help but tighten his grip on the queen's hand.

"Teacher often says, knowing your mistakes can make you better, you just, you just change it." The queen's tears fell, "He is the child we have grown up with since childhood, do you really have the heart?"

"Okay," the emperor said with difficulty, "I call him back!"

As soon as these words came out, the emperor's mind cleared up, and he felt his heart, which had been heavy like a boulder, loosen. It turned out that when he thought he was righteous, he was not innocent.

All these years the emperor has been deliberately not thinking about Taifu, not thinking about Qin Wentian and Qin Xinfang, just because he was afraid that he would feel uncomfortable.

At this moment, he realized that he thought he would be relieved not to think about them, but he didn't expect that boulder to keep pressing him down.

The emperor suddenly said: "I will punish myself."

"What?" The queen looked up in astonishment.

After the emperor said this sentence, he found that the following words were not so hard to say, "I swore before my father's spirit that I would work hard to make the Chu army strong and prosperous, and I also promised to the Taifu that I would also serve as a virtuous person. Now I failed to do anything, but fell into the hands of the Tatars again, dishonoring the glory of my ancestors, and ashamed of the people of the world, so I will issue an edict of guilt."

The queen was silent, she put her other hand on his hand, and buried her face in his hand, the emperor felt the palm of his hand wet.

He silently looked at the queen's hair, she was also old, the black hair that used to be all over her head became gray, and was hidden in the hair thinly, but there were too many gray hairs, and it couldn't be hidden at all.

The emperor felt guilty, after all these years he still suffered for her.

The empress also had a complicated heart at this time, guilty of her own edict, except for major natural disasters, ordinary emperors would not sin against her own edict, not to mention the present day where saving face is more important than life?

In fact, he was not like this before. In the first fifteen years after taking office, the emperor could be regarded as a sage king. He used all the talents trained by the Qin Taifu. In three years, the imperial examination was released to replace a group of people, among whom were also wise There are many ministers.

In the first five years, he devoted himself to seeking revenge from the Tatars, so whenever the Tatars were looking for trouble, he would find an excuse to send troops. The wars were big or small, with more wins and fewer losses. Therefore, the Tatars were so intimidated that they never dared to invade the border on a large scale. The life of the people is getting better day by day.

In addition, at that time, he was determined to be a holy king, and the entire Great Chu was lightly taxed, and business was encouraged, and the lives of the people of Great Chu became easier.

The most direct manifestation is the prosperity of the academies. At that time, no matter male schools, female schools, public schools or private schools were very prosperous. In the past, it was difficult for the entire family to support a scholar, but this was not the case more than 20 years ago. Small landlords and rich peasants would send their children to school, and even women would be sent to colleges.

For one thing, the imperial court supported education at that time, even private schools gave a lot of subsidies, and the husband received very little Shuxiu, and because the academies were prosperous, students could go to bookstores to copy books or earn money with knowledge after studying. Can provide their own expenses, which shows the prosperity of business and the prosperity of the academy at that time.

Secondly, the status of women is not weak. Women who have read and written are not only more likely to marry, but they can also find high-paying jobs outside the home. Even if they don’t marry, they can live well by themselves. Therefore, parents who love their daughters are willing Send the girls to school.

At that time, Dachu was thriving, and even the empress would sometimes be complacent and think that as the empress of the holy king, she could also leave her name in history.

But some people will change in the end. Maybe it’s because they live in comfort for a long time and receive more flattery. They gradually become unable to listen to admonitions and criticism, and then go further and further on the road.

Everyone scolded Lan's traitorous concubine, thinking that it was Concubine Lan who seduced the emperor, but only she and Qin Xinfang knew that it was the emperor who changed himself.

Before the Lan family entered the palace, the emperor became more and more fond of pleasure. In the past, he only had four dishes and one soup for a meal. As he became fuller day by day, he was no longer so strict with himself. Because he loved food, he began to order food from the imperial dining room. It became six dishes and one soup, and then eight dishes and two soups. In the end, even if he didn't say anything, the people in the imperial dining room would try their best to study various foods according to his taste.

What is good at the top will be great at the bottom!

Because of Qin Taifu and Qin Linggong's support for education, and the emperor's connivance, the academy was extremely prosperous. Because the emperor began to indulge in pleasure, extravagance and pleasure began to follow.

First, the ministers whom the emperor relied heavily on began to corrupt. The emperor wanted to be a benevolent king, and he didn't want the historian to say that he was harsh.

So far, a precedent has been set. From then on, from the cabinet down to the ninth-rank officials, they all began to scrape the people's fat and anoint them. Some of the upright people advised them. She even talked about this issue with the emperor. The emperor also expressed that he could not tolerate corruption, but he turned around and still did not severely punish her. Most corrupt officials were dismissed from office, and only a small number were exiled.

Once the wind of greed and cruelty started, it was difficult to restrain it. Seeing the emperor being led further and further away by the officials, the empress had no choice but to get anxious. She persuaded and even had conflicts with the emperor.

Only effective admonition is meaningful, and it is stupid to insist on doing it knowing it is invalid, so she can only focus on the prince, hoping that at least her son will not be influenced by his father.

Unexpectedly, their father and son would go farther and farther apart. At first, their political views were at odds, and in the end, their attitude towards life was completely opposite. The contradiction between father and son became deeper and deeper.

So the queen knew that even if there was no Lan family, the emperor would not like the prince, and would find a way to abolish the prince.

From then on, she began to deliberately make some arrangements, even if they really went to the worst step in the end, at least they could leave a bloodline.

It was also at this time that some ministers proposed to choose beautiful women in order to please the emperor.

The first emperor’s treasury was empty, so in order to recuperate, he abolished the custom of selecting beautiful women, and only allowed the palace servants to buy and sell good people who were slaves to enter the palace. Therefore, the number of women in the harem was the least in those thirty years, and there were many concubines. From a family of officials below the third rank.

At that time, the national treasury was full, and the emperor agreed without thinking about it. Even the empress didn't pay much attention to it at that time, because the selection range was not wide at that time, and the notice was issued half a year in advance. Careful people also have time to avoid the draft for their daughter's engagement. At that time, she was more worried about the water conservancy problem of the Yellow River. How could she know that this draft would recruit a big enemy for herself?

Lan's entered the palace in this draft, and the emperor fell in love with her at first sight. Lan's was indeed very beautiful, prettier than most of the people in the palace.

He was promoted from talent to concubine in less than a year, and was promoted to concubine in less than two years. After giving birth to the fourth prince, he was directly named noble concubine.

But the queen really didn't take her seriously. Her opponent has always been the emperor, the ministers of the previous dynasty, and even the Tatars, but not Concubine Lan. Even if she forced her to be banned from the Kunning Palace, she Not too annoyed.

Because it was the emperor's decision, it was useless for her to reverse the situation and defeat Concubine Lan, because the emperor's heart had changed, and there would be others without Concubine Lan.

Concubine Lan Gui is better for her, because she is just a daughter of a mill, and she must rely on the emperor for everything. Even if she recruits many ministers, once she loses the emperor's favor, those ministers will leave her .

Unlike her, even if her natal family is in decline, the family is still there, and the background is there. She doesn't need her natal family to do anything for her, as long as she has a group of relatives and friends who can use her prestige.

As long as Qin Xinfang is still standing behind the crown prince, she will have the elders of the dynasty to rely on. Even if she does not rely on the emperor, she can guarantee that she and the crown prince will be safe and sound.

The premise is that the emperor is not crazy.

But the emperor went crazy fifteen years ago, and he was so crazy that he couldn't listen to anyone, including Concubine Lan Gui.

Back then, the empress wanted to suppress Concubine Lan and force her to intercede for the prince, but seeing the emperor's madness like that, she knew that it would be useless for Concubine Lan to say so.

He wanted to abolish the prince, not only because he wanted the fourth prince to take the throne, but also because the prince was against him from his ideals to his attitude towards life. With a son who was against him everywhere, who would think of leaving the entire family business to him? he?

It's not that he doesn't have a son, let alone he has another beloved son.

So the queen could only suppress the thoughts in her heart and try to find another solution, but she couldn't find it, and it was thanks to Qin Xinfang that she was able to reverse the defeat.

But now, looking at the weak but more sober emperor, the queen couldn't help but feel sad. She still doesn't know why her husband, her majesty, would become what he was before. Changed, she almost thought someone had replaced him.

The emperor looked at the queen silently, and then reached out and patted her on the shoulder for a while and said, "Let the important cabinet ministers come, the crown prince's ascension should also be prepared, and the Tatars, if such a big thing happened, you have to give it to me." They send a letter, and they have to find someone with outstanding literary talents to write the letter."

The queen raised her head, wiped away her tears and said with a smile: "Then who else should I look for? Can you let Mr. You'an come?"

"Junde is good, but Qinghe," the emperor couldn't help curling his lips, "That kid doesn't have a big heart, please tell Youan not to learn from him."

The queen asked with a smile, "How can his heart be smaller than yours?"

The emperor couldn't help but glared at her, "Where is my heart so small?"

But Gu Jingyun still agreed to draft the document.

The queen breathed a sigh of relief, Qin Xinfang was recalled, and the emperor issued an edict to sin against himself, which is equivalent to rehabilitating, and it was the same as the emperor who sentenced him to exile back then. When this point is mentioned in the history books, we will know that Qin Xinfang is true It is not in vain for him to bear the grievances for them for so many years.

And Gu Jingyun was able to draft the document, which meant that his house arrest was also over, and the crime of deceiving the emperor could not be counted, right?