The coup in Chen State was caused by a woman. She was Zheng Mugong, the daughter of Gongzilan. She was known as Xia Ji because she married Xia Yushu, a senior official in Chen State. Xia Yushu died early and left a son named Xia Zhengshu. .From then on, a young and beautiful widow lived in Zhulin with her young son, orphan and widowed mother.
Zhulin was the fiefdom of Uncle Xia Yu, located in the north of Nanxiating Town in Xihua County, Henan Province today. It has beautiful mountains and clear waters and beautiful scenery. Xia Ji and her son lived by collecting land rent and had no worries about food and clothing. The only thing that made them unhappy was that there was less fun in their days. , a little more lonely.
Uncle Xia Yu served in the army of Chen State during his lifetime. He had two good friends, one named Kong Ning and the other named Yi Xingfu. The three of them were officials in the same court and had close contacts because of their good relationship. When Uncle Xia Yu was alive, he often invited Kong Ning and Yi Xingfu. Ning and Yi Xingfu came to Zhulin as guests. Therefore, Xia Ji was very familiar with Kong Ning and Yi Xingfu.
After Uncle Xia Yu's death, Kong Ning and Yi Xing's father, in the name of caring for the orphans of their friends, would come to Zhulin from time to time to visit Xia Ji and her son, and send some gifts or something in between greetings. Xia Ji was naturally very happy and greeted her warmly every time. And entertained them with wine and meat.
Xia Ji was originally a stunningly beautiful woman, with an attractive face and figure, especially her watery almond-shaped eyes, which made her eyes flutter when she glanced at them. In addition, she was born into a noble family, and there was a kind of elegance and harmony in her movements. Noble. More importantly, she is a little widow, like a blooming rose, alluring and enchanting, but she can only admire her beauty alone. Kong Ning and Yi Xingfu are like wild bees and butterflies in the mountains, unable to withstand the temptation. .so they run more and more frequently.
One day, Kong Ning came to Zhulin alone. As soon as he arrived at the gate of the yard, he saw Xia Zhengshu, the son of Uncle Xia Yu, practicing archery alone outside the house. Kong Ning got off his horse, walked up to Xia Zhengshu and said to him: "The weather is good today, uncle will lead me." How about you go hunting?"
Xia Zhengshu was just a teenager. When he heard about hunting, he immediately agreed. He ran and jumped towards the house, calling his mother while running towards his own house.
Xia Ji came out of the house. Her face was red, like peach blossoms, her eyes were bright, and she smiled like a crescent moon. Kong Ning presented the gift she brought. Xia Ji took the gift and invited Kong Ning to sit in the room. sit.
Kong Ning said: "No, the weather is nice today, I will take this child out hunting."
Xia Ji said with a smile: "Shu'er likes hunting. You go early and come back early. I will prepare dinner for you." Xia Ji said and ordered her servants to prepare bows and horses, water and dry food.
After a while, the young man Xia Zhengshu changed his outfit and ran out of the house. The servants had already prepared two sets of bows and horses. Xia Zhengshu got one set for himself, and Kong Ning got a pair of bows and arrows and rode on his own horse. Before leaving, Xia Ji helped Xia Zhengshu's stirrup and warned: "Shu'er, ride carefully and come back soon."
Kong Ning and Xia Zhengshu wandered around the mountains for a long time and only caught a few pheasants, hares and other small prey, but the two of them had a great time.
At noon, they rested by a stream, ate some dry food they had brought, and then continued to wander in the mountains and forests. Unconsciously, the sun turned westward, the weather suddenly changed, dark clouds slowly came over, and raindrops fell. .
The two of them hurriedly rode back. When they returned to Zhu Lin, they were both soaked in the rain. The rain did not stop, but became heavier and heavier. Dark clouds rolled in the sky, lightning and thunder thundered, and countless small creeks flowed in the mountains and forests.
Kong Ning could not return home. Xia Ji asked the servant to boil hot water and asked Xia Zhengshu and Kong Ning to take a bath and change clothes. She also specially took out Uncle Xia Yu's old clothes and asked Kong Ning to change into them. While she was busy with this, She did not forget to order her servants to remove the fur from the game, clean it up, and put it in the pot. By the time a table of wine and food was put on the table, it was already time to light the lamp.
Xia Ji invited Kong Ning to have dinner together. The meal included wine and meat, which was quite sumptuous. Xia Ji, mother and son, and Kong Ning were chatting and laughing, and had a lively meal. During the dinner, Kong Ning covered his face with wine and talked. There is a hint of teasing in it. Xia Ji, a little widow who has been in drought for a long time, is asking for rain. She has already made a pile of dry firewood. When Kong Ning secretly lights a fire, the fire will light up immediately. That night, Kong Ning stayed in Xia Ji's house.
Xia Ji was out of control from then on. Not long after, Yi Xingfu also hooked up with Xia Ji. Later, Chen Linggong also participated. Xia Ji's room was no longer lonely, but there were a lot of laughter and playfulness Call.
Chen Linggong, Kong Ning, and Yi Xingfu came and went in Zhulin. They all knew what was going on, and no one shied away from it. Sometimes, they would also chat together about Xia Ji's little widow. Kind of coquettish.
One day, when the court was over, the ministers left one after another. The three of them chatted in the court hall about the romantic affair in Zhu Lin. When they got excited about it, the three of them laughed and laughed, no matter how big or small they were.
The old minister Xie Zhi walked at the end and got angry when he heard what they said about Xia Ji was very obscene. He walked up angrily and was about to persuade Chen Linggong. When Kong Ning and Yi Xingfu saw this attitude, they hurriedly ran away. Xiezhi said to Chen Linggong: "There should be rules between monarchs and ministers, and there should be etiquette between men and women. How can it be messy? How can it be decent? It's just that you have done those ridiculous things, how can you show off to each other in the court? ?Do you still have any sense of shame? If you don't follow the rules, ignore your sense of shame, and just act nonsense, if this continues, how can the country be undefeated? My lord, please stay away from these two villains. Take it easy and don't go to Zhulin again. .”
Chen Linggong was so ashamed by what he said that he didn't bother to defend himself. He nodded and said perfunctorily: "I understand, you can go down."
One day later, Kong Ning and Yi Xingfu said to Chen Linggong: "Lord, we have heard what Xie Zhi said. What he said makes sense. From now on, please restrain yourself and never go to Zhu Lin again. "
Chen Linggong asked: "So, what about you?"
Kong Ning rolled his eyes and said with a smile: "We can still go. We are not kings, we can't ruin national affairs, and we don't have so many rules to abide by. Why not go?"
Chen Linggong frowned and said, "I would rather offend Xiezhi than go to Zhulin."
Kong Ning said: "That won't work. If the catharsis is there, he will nag you. He will nag you until you are bored, and he will nag you until you listen to him. With him, you don't even want to go to Zhulin. If you want to go to Zhulin, you can't have him."
Chen Linggong was aroused by Kong Ning and said angrily: "Humph, I can't control him anymore? You two go and handle this matter for me."
Kong Ning and Yi Xingfu got the courage after getting Chen Linggong's permission. Not long after, they sent someone to stab Xiezhi to death.
The ministers all knew why Xie Zhi died, and no one dared to speak from then on.
Chen Linggong, Kong Ning and Yi Xingfu became more unscrupulous. They went alone or in groups. Sometimes they would meet by chance. Even so, there would be no embarrassment, but they would eat, drink, talk and laugh together. Xia Ji He also became more open-minded. The monarch and his ministers worked together and had fun.
A few years passed, and Xia Zhengshu gradually grew up. When he first met men and women, he regarded Chen Linggong and the other three as beasts. But because of his mother's face, he kept holding back. But every time he saw Chen Linggong, When Kong Ning, Yi Xingfu and others came to Zhu Lin, he slipped away. It is said that out of sight, out of mind. When he was eighteen years old, in order to please Xia Ji, Chen Linggong asked Xia Zhengshu to inherit his father's position.
After Xia Zhengshu took office, he held a banquet at home to express his gratitude. Chen Linggong, Kong Ning, and Yi Xingfu all arrived. As long as these three people get together, obscene words will flow like water from the floodgates. Xia Ji Although he restrained himself in front of his son, he couldn't help but flash his charming eyes and laugh again and again.
Xia Zhengshu could hold it back at first. But as he drank more and more, Chen Linggong and the others became more and more unrestrained in their talk. Xia Zhengshu could not help but get angry, quietly got up and went out, summoned a few servants to prepare for action. He was worried that he would be injured if he started to use his hands. He came to see his mother, so after assigning the servants' tasks, he returned to the banquet room, called his mother out on some pretext, and locked her in her own bedroom.
Then, he came out and said to his servants: "You have all seen these beasts. The king is not like a king, and the ministers are not like ministers. They are bullying people too much. Now I want to eliminate harm for the country. Just follow me. .After the deed is accomplished, I will give you a generous reward."
After saying that, Xia Zhengshu picked up his father's bronze sword and rushed into the living room with his servants.
Both Kong Ning and Yi Xingfu had some martial arts skills. When he saw Xia Zhengshu coming in, Kong Ning shouted: "No, Xia Zhengshu has rebelled." After saying that, he jumped up and ran away. Yi Xingfu was also smart and started to fight. The furniture around him resisted the servants while rushing out.
Xia Zhengshu ignored them and ran after Chen Linggong. Chen Linggong grabbed a long-handled soup ladle and while parrying, he fled towards the back room as if flying. Xia Zhengshu chased after him. Chen Linggong fled to the door of Xia Ji's bedroom. She went to pull the door, but unexpectedly, the door was locked. Xia Ji heard a knock on the door and understood what happened. She shouted: "Shu'er, don't do anything wrong, you may lose your head."
Xia Zhengshu couldn't care so much. He rushed forward and stabbed Chen Linggong to the ground with just one sword strike. He still didn't understand his hatred and stabbed Chen Linggong in the chest several times. Blood spurted out from Chen Linggong's chest and splashed on Xia Zhengshu. One face and one body. Chen Linggong was killed on the spot.
Xia Zhengshu came back, ready to kill Kong Ning and Yi Xingfu, but these two guys had already broken out of the crowd of servants, climbed over the courtyard wall, and fled.
Kong Ning and Yi Xingfu fled back to the capital. Knowing that the matter was getting serious, they discussed it, went home, packed up some belongings, mounted their fast horses, and went to Chu together.
As for Xia Zhengshu, he asked people to wrap Chen Linggong's body, and then rode straight to the military camp, one man and one horse. He inherited his father's official position, mobilized a team of people, entered the palace, and took control of the court.
The incident happened suddenly. The ministers only wanted to protect themselves and no one resisted. Xia Zhengshu easily took control of the political power. According to the old saying of regicide in various countries, he announced to the outside world that Chen Linggong drank too much and died of a sudden illness. The ministers were originally very concerned about Chen Linggong's absurd behavior. There was anger, and when he died, no one felt sorry for him.
A group of courtiers gathered together, and after a hasty discussion, they appointed Prince Wu as the king, who was Chen Chenggong.
After listening to the story of the envoy from Chen State, King Zhuang of Chu said: "So, Xia Zhengshu seems to be excusable."