"What did I ask you to remind you about before?" Yunxi suddenly heard what he said. After thinking for a while, he didn't even think of it, so he asked.
"It's about Her Royal Highness Princess Zhongshan..."
Before he finished speaking, Yunxi remembered the matter and suddenly realized: "This matter must be dealt with immediately. Not only this, but also the matter of Baoqin's father dying in battle must be told to Baoqin as soon as possible."
'Not only are these two inner palace matters, there are also several court matters that need to be dealt with.'
Thinking of this, Yunxi put down his pen, gave Xia Fuguan Bao Zhao and others a few words, and got up to return to Kunning Palace.
In Kunning Palace, Xiyao was handling palace affairs when she suddenly heard the young eunuch guarding the door of the hall knelt down and shouted: "I have met your Majesty."
come out.
'His Majesty must have just gone to court at this time, what are you doing when you come back?' She thought, and asked the question after seeing Yunxi.
"Xiyao," Yunxi led her to the inner study and said, "My husband has something to discuss with you."
"Do you still remember the husband you chose for Yunlan at the beginning of last year, named Ye Xiping?"
"I remember that I also met him at that time. He looks very talented and has a temperament similar to that of my cousin Yang Feng. What's wrong with him?" Xiyao asked.
"I asked him to accompany the army when I conquered Annan last year. He died in the battle at the beginning of this year." Yunxi said.
"Ah!" Xiyao exclaimed in surprise when she heard this: "How could it be so?" She knew that after Yunxi selected Ye Xiping as his consort, he sent him to Annan because his hereditary prospects were too low.
Fighting, accumulating some merit and looking better. He died just like that?
"After capturing Hu and his son alive, the army dispersed to recruit the cities of Annan to surrender. Unexpectedly, one city refused to surrender. The general who defended the city ordered thousands of arrows to be fired at the Ming army. Ye Xiping was unable to escape and was killed by an arrow.
"
"Later, my husband ordered that city to be slaughtered. But this has nothing to do with what I want to say now. I just want to discuss it with you. How should I tell Yunlan about this matter?"
"Although Yun Lan and Ye Xiping have no relationship and haven't even met each other a few times, they have already exchanged invitations. The little girl's fiancée suddenly dies, and no one will feel good about it."
"What worries my husband even more is that she already likes Yang Feng. What if she uses this as an excuse not to marry anymore and to remain a widower?"
"So my husband wants you to help talk to Yunlan about this, so that she can feel better and don't have the idea of being a guard. After all, you are both women, and you get along well with each other, so it will be easier for you to talk."
"Ah, my husband doesn't want Yunlan to guard the widowed family, but I understand. However, in the first year of Hongwu, the emperor once issued an edict: "If a widow among the common people died before her husband was thirty years old, and if she does not change her rule after fifty, she will be exempted from the family clan.
The royal family serves as a servant. The royal family sets an example for the world. Going against the emperor's will will also harm the husband's reputation."
"In my opinion, if Yun Lan doesn't want to watch over the family, her husband doesn't have to force her to do so; but if she wants to, it's not a bad thing to let her do so," Xiyao said.
Xiyao is completely practical. She has gotten along well with her three sisters-in-law in the past few years, but after all, she is Yunxi's wife and the empress of the Ming Dynasty, so she has more things to consider.
She knew that there were countless talented people in the world, and it would be easy to choose one more to be Yunlan's consort. However, Zhu Yuanzhang personally made a decree to encourage chastity, and none of his widowed daughters remarried, so Yunxi rashly cast Yunlan as his consort.
Lan's remarriage - yes, in ancient times, remarrying a widower was considered a remarriage - would probably arouse criticism from civil officials and undermine the original intention of Zhu Yuanzhang's decree.
"I must change this law that my grandfather made back then!" Yunxi said firmly.
He immediately walked around the room while talking. "Of course I also know what my grandfather meant back then. The so-called ethical code is that the king is the guide for the ministers, the father is the guide for the son, and the husband is the guide for the wife. So encouraging widows not to remarry is the same as preaching filial piety.
, all to promote the principles of ethics and emphasize that the people of the world are loyal to the emperor. If everyone in the world follows the ethics of ethics, then the Ming Dynasty will never change."
"But can promoting this really guarantee that the Ming Dynasty will never be easy?"
"There is no need to talk about the ancient pre-Qin Dynasty, the time is too old; let's talk about after the Qin Dynasty. The two Han Dynasties had a history of four hundred years, but it was very common for widows to remarry in the Han Dynasty. Princess Pingyang, the sister of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, first married Cao Shou, and then remarried Cao Shou.
Wei Qing, the Han Dynasty did not mess up the generals because of this; although Sima Guang of the Song Dynasty commented that the Han Dynasty was guilty of destroying the Qin Dynasty, this has nothing to do with the princess remarrying."
"This was the case in subsequent dynasties, and in all countries with long history, there was no restriction on widows remarrying. Emperor Taizong of the Tang Dynasty also issued an edict: "When a man is twenty years old, a woman is fifteen years old or above, and after the wife's death,
"The widow's mourning clothes have been removed, and she must apply for marriage to make her reconcile." Although Neo-Confucianism originated in the Song Dynasty, it was also common for widows to remarry in the Song Dynasty: Fan Zhongyan's mother remarried to the Zhu family, and Fan "didn't take it as a taboo" and "nurtured" his stepfather.
"I always want to repay him for his kindness," and asked the court to grant him an official position. After his death, "he will offer a feast every year." This is also recorded in Zhu Xi's "Records of the Words and Deeds of Famous Officials in the Five Dynasties? Fan Wenzheng Gong Zhongyan" who participated in politics."
After enumerating the remarriage of widows in dynasties with long-standing dynasties, Yunxi said: "It can be seen that whether the widow remarries has nothing to do with the long-lasting dynasty."
"In my opinion, if we want to maintain our country forever, we only need to do one thing, and that is for the people to have food to eat. What do ordinary people want, but to have food to eat and clothes to wear? As long as the people can have enough to eat and drink.
, how many people would raise their heads to rebel? If Grandpa Huang could have a peaceful life, how would he have rebelled?"
"The masters of Neo-Confucianism always say that starving to death is a small act of indiscretion but a big deal, and that the laws of nature destroy human desires. But how can ordinary people starve to death just to observe integrity? No matter how much you talk about ethics, it will be of no use to the illiterate people. They won't.
Because Tsunasa Mori would starve to death at home when he was hungry, and he would not give all the grain he harvested to the government to pay taxes when the harvest was bad."
"What's more, Zhu Xi, as a master of Neo-Confucianism, did something like picking up ashes. Even the Neo-Confucian masters themselves have such shortcomings in moral character. How can I believe what they say?"
"I must abolish this decree made by the emperor and cancel the reward of the widow's family after observing the festival for twenty years and the reward of being exempted from the servants of the family."
"Not only that, I also decree that from this year onwards, if a prince dies of illness, his concubines do not need to be buried; after my death in the future, there will be no need for my concubines to be buried." After Zhu Yuanzhang passed away, Yunxi asked whether the emperor's women should be buried.
There was some hesitation due to the desire for exclusivity, but in the end he decided to cancel the burial. 'Even the ancient emperor Zhu Qizhen of the Ming Dynasty could do it, but I can't do it?'
Yunxi talked a lot in one go, which made him thirsty. He picked up the teacup and took a sip of tea. He turned around and saw Xiyao sitting in a daze, staring at him. He laughed and said: "Xiyao,
Why are you looking at your husband like this?"
"Your Majesty, on behalf of all the women in the world, I would like to thank your Majesty for your kindness." Xiyao suddenly stood up, knelt down and said respectfully. She had a clan girl who was forced by her clan to keep the rules after her husband died more than 20 years ago.
She remarried and stayed until she was fifty to earn a plaque of chastity for her brothers and then died shortly after. This incident left a deep impression on Xiyao and was one of the shadows of her childhood. That’s why she was so formal at this time
Thank you Yunxi.
Yunxi didn't know that Xiyao still had such a childhood shadow. He stretched out his hand to help her up and said with a smile: "Queen, I will accept your gratitude to me on behalf of the women in the world."
Xiyao also laughed, joked with him a little, and said: "Since my husband asked me to persuade my second sister, I will go."
"Remember, if she uses this as an excuse not to get married, she must give it up." Yunxi warned.
As expected by Yunxi, Yunlan quickly realized after learning that Ye Xiping was killed in battle: This was a perfect excuse for her not to marry. She liked Yang Feng, but Yang Feng already had a wife and could not marry her, so she did not marry her at all.
She is willing to get married, and now she can just keep the law as an excuse not to get married. She has not thought too long about keeping the law for the rest of her life, but she is not willing to marry anyone else now.
Xiyao heard her reveal what she meant, and immediately persuaded her: "You just died before you got married, and it's not like he passed away after you got married. How can you treat yourself as a widow? Why do you need to keep the secrecy for this?"
"The emperor issued a decree many years ago to encourage widows to observe the festival. As a role model for the world, how can the royal family take the lead in disobeying the emperor's decree?" Yunlan said immediately.
Xiyao had known for a long time that she would use this as a shield, and immediately received: "Your brother has decided to abolish this law and no longer encourage widows to observe the law, so there is no need to set an example for the world."
Yunlan didn't expect Yunxi to do this, and was speechless for a moment, but later found her own reason to refute.
Xiyao knew that it was useless to persuade Yunlan with great principles, so she said: "Second sister, even if you don't think about yourself, you should also think about Yun Yun and Yun Zhi. They won't fall in love like you before they get married.
A man, if they want to remarry after being widowed, but you keep the law, how can they get married?"
"What's more, second sister, you are still young and don't know the pain of observing the festival. In the past six months, my sister-in-law has not been able to see your brother, and it has been very difficult every day. My sister-in-law has an aunt who observes the festival, and sometimes she can't bear it at night, so she has to
You have to stab your arm with a knife before you can fall asleep. How can you observe this festival?" In fact, there are better examples to cite: Although several of Zhu Yuanzhang's daughters did not remarry after becoming widowed, they did a lot of stealing. But
It's hard to talk to an unmarried girl like this, so I can only keep it in my stomach.
Yunlan was frightened by what she said, and then thought of her two younger sisters, and was finally persuaded by her: "Then the younger sister will obey the instructions of the emperor's brother and sister-in-law."
…
…
At the same time, in a large house in the inner village where the family of Jinwu's avant-garde soldiers lived, a woman who was no more than twenty-three or four years old was lying on the bed, with a sallow complexion. She reluctantly smiled at the person in front of her and said: "Ms.
My illness will never be cured, and my husband no longer needs to seek medical treatment."
"My husband is so favored by the emperor now, and he is the queen's cousin. When I pass away, I will definitely marry a better woman than me. I only hope that my husband will take more care of Kecheng, and don't let him suffer."
Bully."
"Nier, your illness will definitely be cured. Your husband will go to the palace immediately and ask your empress to send a doctor to treat you. Your illness will definitely be cured."
As he spoke, he stood up, told his servants to take care of his wife, turned and left the room.
The woman with a sick face couldn't help but ask her personal maid Shu'er to put her ear to her mouth and whispered: "When I die, if the young master marries a lady who is not good for Kecheng, you can
Tell the master to send Kecheng to the old master."
"Yes, ma'am." Shu'er agreed with tears in her eyes.