Chapter 274: Inner Courtyard of the Palace (Part 1)
Chapter 274: Inner Courtyard of the Palace (Part 1)
There were many Imperial Guards in front of the Dali Temple. Chen Mengsheng, holding the ossuary wrapped in red silk in his hand, strode to the injustice drum and beat it vigorously. The leader of the Imperial Guard in front of the Dali Temple cursed: "What crazy man dares to come to Dali?" If you have any grievances, you should go to the Lin'an County Magistrate. Where is the Dali Temple? You know that if you are justified or unreasonable, you should first strike with twenty killing sticks."
Chen Mengsheng ignored the leader and continued to beat the drum of grievances. All the people in Lin'an City came over. They wanted to see who was so heartless that he dared to come to Dali Temple to complain. Not long after, a man in Qingyi ran out of Dali Temple. The servant of Zaomao asked: "Who plays the drum? Mr. Hu Gansi of Dali Temple called the drummer to the court for questioning."
Chen Mengsheng was escorted by four Imperial Guards into the Yamen Hall of Dali Temple. He looked up at a large and upright plaque, and underneath sat a lean court official who was about fifty years old. On both sides of the hall stood solemn Imperial Guards with cold eyebrows and cold eyes. He watched Chen Mengsheng come in holding a big red silk bag.
"Hey! Who is here? Why are you playing drums in Dali Temple? If you don't kneel down when you see me, come here, wait with the killing stick!" Hu Gansi, who was sitting in the hall, slapped the gavel, and two rows of forbidden troops copied it. Fire and water are ruthless and the stick will come to beat Chen Mengsheng. Hu Gansi was the favorite disciple of the late Prime Minister Zhang Jun. He was a loyal, brave and upright official. He asked someone to kill Chen Mengsheng with a stick. It was not an abuse of lynching. Dali Temple was the supreme law of the Southern Song Dynasty. Since Taizu of the Song Dynasty, when ordinary people entered Dali Temple in an important place, they had established the rule of killing people and making remarks.
Chen Mengsheng laughed loudly and said: "I, Chen Mengsheng, kneel to heaven and earth, and to my parents and mentors. Even if I meet the current emperor, I will not kneel down."
"What a courageous dog! How can you be so arrogant in Dali Temple? Give me another twenty boards... Wait, what did you say your name was? Chen Mengsheng? A few years ago, the censor prince Qi made a rebellion in Lin'an City. But you saved the current dynasty?" Hu Gansi suddenly remembered that when his mentor Zhang Jun was dying, the censor prince conspired with the Jin people to cause rebellion, and his mentor had never forgotten the name Chen Mengsheng on the sickbed.
Chen Mengsheng nodded and said: "A few years ago in the Liuhe Bay Censor's Mansion, I was the one who used thunder fire to knock off Wang Ziqi's dagger."
"Hahaha, ah! It turns out that the master has arrived. My mentor did not forget his merits when he passed away. He posted lists in Lin'an City several times to look for the master. I never expected that the master would come to Dali Temple today. Hu Gansi would like to thank my mentor in advance. Master." Hu Gansi got up, left his seat, straightened his clothes, walked down the hall and came to Chen Mengsheng to bow and salute. All the Imperial Guards in the hall were stunned, and Chen Mengsheng was also stunned by the sudden change...
Hu Gansi dismissed the imperial guards on both sides, ordered people to move the seats and serve fragrant tea, and then asked in confusion: "I wonder what grievances Master came to Dali Temple to defend today? Is there anyone in the world who dares to do nothing to Master? A courtesy?"
Chen Mengsheng walked to the seat, placed the red silk parcel in his hand on the seat and sighed softly: "I am not the only one who has been wronged, but Princess Roufu in the bone niche!"
Hu Gansi was shocked and said: "What? Princess Roufu? Master, you...are you kidding me? Princess Roufu is now well in Lin'an Palace, how could she be wronged and still be in the bone niche?" "In?" Hu Gansi saw that Chen Mengsheng didn't seem to be joking, but he really couldn't figure out what Chen Mengsheng meant.
"Master Hu, the Princess Roufu in Lin'an Palace is fake. The real princess's bones are in this box!"
Hu Gansi said angrily: "That's nonsense. The rebel army Yang Zheng led the princess back to the palace. Everyone knows that the princess was sent to Lin'an in the fourth year of Emperor Jianyan's reign. Later, after Empress Dowager Xianren escorted Emperor Huizong's coffin back to the palace, I have never said that Princess Roufu is fake, how can you make me believe it?"
Chen Mengsheng chuckled and said: "If I hadn't met the princess's wronged soul, I would have gone to Dali Temple to seek justice for the princess after knowing the whole story."
Hu Gansi looked around at the Imperial Guards on both sides and whispered: "Master, this is just unbelievable. There are many eyes and ears here. Please come to the back hall and talk about it."
Chen Mengsheng picked up the niche box and nodded, then followed Hu Gansi to the study room in the back hall. Hu Gansi hurriedly ordered his servants to guard the door and prevent anyone from snooping in. Chen Mengsheng and Hu Gansi were left in the back hall. Hu Gansi looked at Chen Mengsheng from side to side. Ichiban said: "If the master had not saved the emperor's life, just what you said just now would have been enough to kill you if it was heard by the palace."
Chen Mengsheng said calmly: "When there is injustice in the world, someone will stand up for it. I have already thought about the pros and cons of being able to enter your Dali Temple. I came to you when I saw you dared to handle the censor's case in accordance with the law. "
"Master, it's not that I don't believe you. I... I... really don't agree with what you said. It's just you and me here. I don't have to hide it from you. Princess Roufu returned to the court and was overjoyed to be granted the title The eldest princess of Fu State chose Yongzhou Defense Commander Gao Shirong as her consort, just to make up for the suffering she suffered in the Jin Kingdom. In the twelfth year of Shaoxing, Empress Dowager Xianren was released to Lin'an by the Jin people. A strange thing did happen, but it cannot be because of it. That matter means that the princess is fake. Master, please tell me the details of your encounter with the princess’s innocent soul. If you are really suspicious, I will take you to see Prime Minister Shi Hao immediately.”
Chen Mengsheng opened the ossuary and said: "Princess Roufu fled south from the Five Kingdoms City with the army and was killed by her maid Jingshan outside Linzi City in Shandong Province and her body was buried among the rocks of Yingzui Mountain. Jingshan relied on her relationship with the princess. Similarly, he stole the princess's crested hairpin and was sent to Lin'an by the rebels under his false name. This is the jade Buddha bead that was worn on the princess's body. Master Hu must be able to tell whether it is a palace item."
Hu Gansi took the jade Buddha bead from the broken bones without looking at it. When he saw it, he was startled and cried out: "Master... it is indeed a palace object, and there is also the name of Concubine Zhu Shen on the bead chain." What's the number? It seems that the strange things that happened to Queen Mother Xianren after she returned to the court were really not caused by a curse!"
Hu Gansi held the jade Buddha bead, walked to the door and shouted to the leader of the imperial army outside: "Prepare the car, I want to go to the Prime Minister's Mansion with the master."
"What is this strange thing? Why is it cursed?" Chen Mengsheng asked in confusion.
"Master, Queen Mother Xianren went blind overnight after she returned to Lin'an City. I heard that Concubine Wei Xian had promised Emperor Qinzong to intercede for him when she was in the Kingdom of Jin, and asked Gaozong to write to King Wanyan Sheng of Jin to ask him Song Qinzong was released. She also swore a poisonous oath to make her blind if she could not save Song Qinzong. However, Concubine Wei Xian was Gaozong's biological mother. After rescuing Qinzong, Gaozong's throne would inevitably be in danger, so Concubine Wei Xian returned to Lin'an Palace. Emperor Gaozong was not asked to rescue Emperor Qinzong, and he was blinded the next day. Now that I think about it, maybe there was someone else who blinded the Queen Mother Xianren. If I find out that Princess Roufu is a fake. If she wants to hide the truth, I will definitely not let her off lightly." Hu Gansi said angrily.
"Report, Mr. Hu's carriage and horses are ready, sir, please get in." The leader of the Forbidden Army knelt outside the door and shouted from a distance.
Hu Gansi pulled Chen Mengsheng and said: "Master, come with me to see Prime Minister Shi Hao. He is resourceful and will make judgments." Chen Mengsheng picked up the princess's bones and hurriedly followed Hu Gansi into the carriage...
Shi Hao, courtesy name Zhiweng, was born in Yin County, Mingzhou (today's Ningbo, Zhejiang Province). In the 15th year of Shaoxing in the Southern Song Dynasty (1145), he was promoted to Doctor of Guozi by Professor Wenzhou except Taixue Zheng. He suggested to Emperor Gaozong that he should establish a prince, and he was known as such. In the imperial court, Xiaozong came to the throne in the 32nd year of Shaoxing, and Shi Hao was appointed as counselor and political officer. After Zhang Jun's death, Xiaozong of the Song Dynasty worshiped him as the right prime minister. Shi Hao was a generous politician. Once, he argued with the emperor in order to save an innocent citizen, Lu Qingtong, who was sentenced to death. He got up and resigned angrily. After Song Xiaozong realized his mistake, he returned to the court as an official. This man had the courage to use tactics and was another good prime minister in the Southern Song Dynasty after Zhang Jun.
Hu Gansi's carriage arrived at the Prime Minister's Mansion and asked about the servants in the Prime Minister's Mansion. He learned that Shi Hao was in the study. Holding Concubine Zhu Shen's jade Buddha beads in his hand, he ran straight into Shi Hao's study. Shi Hao was reading memorials from various places in the study. Suddenly, Hu Gansi pushed the door open and looked at Hu Gansi with a frown, not knowing what the big deal was. Hu Gansi drove away the book boy in Shi Hao's study and shouted: "Weng Zhi, something serious has happened. That Princess Roufu is a fake. Queen Mother Xianren’s eyes must have been damaged by her during her lifetime!..."
Shi Hao closed the playlist and watched Hu Gansi leading a strange black man without saying a word. Hearing Hu Gansi tell the story about Princess Roufu, he breathed out after a while. He said to Hu Gansi: " The Supreme Emperor is most taboo about anyone mentioning the fact that the Jin people defeated the Song Dynasty and captured the royal family. Who is this man?"
Hu Gansi said anxiously: "He is Chen Mengsheng, the emperor's master back then. Doesn't the emperor still want to find him as his national master?"
"Oh! It turns out that Chen Mengsheng has long admired the famous name, but do you have any real evidence for Princess Roufu? You don't know that Princess Fu Guo wants to be protected by the Supreme Emperor. Don't talk nonsense without solid evidence." Shi Hao drank. He took a sip of tea and said calmly.
Hu Gansi patted the jade Buddha beads on the desk and said, "This is the evidence!"
Shi Hao twisted the jade Buddha beads and said, "It is true that this is an object from the palace, but it cannot prove that Princess Roufu is a fake. Besides, the royal family was kidnapped by the Jin people. What can an object in the palace mean?"
Chen Mengsheng held up the bone niche and said: "The real princess's bones are here. As long as I can meet the emperor, I can let the soul of Princess Roufu come out and explain it clearly."
Shi Hao shook his head and said: "So what if I meet the emperor? There are too many tricks to deceive people in the world. The theory of soul cannot be convinced by the world."
Chen Mengsheng smiled and said: "I went to Dali Temple instead of the palace just to seek justice for Princess Roufu, so that everyone in the world knows the injustice suffered by Princess Roufu. Princess Roufu once told me that in her crested hairpin There is a secret that only the royal family knows..."
"Wait! What did you say? When the Queen Mother Xianren asked about Princess Roufu's crested hairpin on her 80th birthday, I remember that she was at a loss. I was Dr. Guozi at that time and it was a little strange. I still feel uncomfortable when you say that. I really doubt the authenticity of Princess Roufu. Master, this matter is not trivial and may cause you to be killed! Are you willing to enter the palace with me?..."