According to the rules of Zhou rites, a funeral usually lasts forty-nine days, followed by three years of mourning. As the royal family sets an example for the world, it cannot be violated in the slightest. The forty-nine days of the funeral cannot be less than one day, and the three years of mourning cannot be less than one day. It is too common.
, the servant has already planned the dates for various things, and then just follow them.
Of course, there are always exceptions. After the death of the Empress Dowager, the entire Han Dynasty wore sackcloth and mourned for her. This cannot last for three years. Otherwise, before Liu Che becomes a coward, the people who have no food to eat will have to rebel. The emperor and all the officials
The same is true. As a manager of the world, you cannot go without work for three years, otherwise the world will be in chaos.
After paying homage for forty-nine days, the important offices began to go to work, the emperor also began to go to court, and Xuchang, who presided over the funeral of the Empress Dowager, also had some free time. It was already late at night when he returned to the mansion. After a day of exhaustion, the old man had a sore back and a foot.
As soon as I stepped into the door of the mansion, I almost couldn't stand still.
The housekeeper hurriedly stepped forward to support Xuchang. After waiting for a long time, he limped to the room. It was too late. There was no entertainment in Chang'an City due to the mourning period of the Empress Dowager, so almost everyone went to bed early.
The Bai Zhihou Mansion was also dark, with only the two white lanterns in front of the door still on.
The housekeeper settled Xuchang and quickly went to bring the dinner that had been heated several times. While Xuchang was eating, the housekeeper massaged Xuchang. After two bites of food, Xuchang asked, "Has it been delivered?"
The steward quickly agreed: "It has been delivered, a total of two hundred gold. The villain has inspected it and found that it is the best horseshoe gold, pure gold and pure gold."
Xuchang nodded and stretched his waist that was so painful that he couldn't straighten up: "Okay, remember, no one can say anything about this, not even my wife. If he asks about the source of these things, just say they are the income of the fief, hey
,I am sorry to the Queen Mother!"
"The Marquis has no choice. There are so many people in the house waiting for food. If we don't do this, everyone will starve to death!"
Xuchang shook his head and sighed: "Except for honors and royal rewards, I have never received any money in my life, but now I have done such a thing for a small amount of money. I feel very uncomfortable. I will have no shame to see the Empress Dowager again after I die."
.”
Speaking of the sadness, Xuchang actually shed a few tears. Then he said: "You are right, there is nothing we can do about this. The Empress Dowager will forgive me. Okay, you don't have to work anymore, just go and clean up."
Well, wake me up at midnight tomorrow, there are still a lot of things to do."
"No!" the butler agreed, cleared away Xuchang's dinner dishes, and slowly left.
Xuchang had an uneasy sleep this time. As soon as he closed his eyes, he saw the appearance of the Empress Dowager. Those empty eyes were staring at him, as if questioning, but also a warning, and could even be said to be hatred.
Xu Chang was so frightened that he knelt on the ground, trembling all over, and kept begging, but the Empress Dowager just looked at him quietly, saying nothing or making any move.
A Ji Ling woke up, feeling sore all over. He shouted outside the door, and several servants came in quickly. Xuchang lay on the couch and calmed down: "What time is it?"
"Reporting to Lord Marquis, it's already the fifth update!"
"What? It's the fifth watch? Why don't you ask me to get up? Where is the housekeeper? Last night, I gave the order properly. He asked him to call me at the third watch. Why is it that it's the fifth watch and he still hasn't come? Go and call him.
, how can he afford to miss the big event at this time?"
As Xuchang spoke, he struggled to get up. The servants quickly came over to wash up for Xuchang. There was not much time, and the servant who was sent to find someone came back and knelt at Xuchang's feet: "Report to the Marquis, the housekeeper is missing."
"Gone? What do you mean?"
"I've searched all over the house, but I haven't seen the housekeeper. I heard from the disciple that the housekeeper went out during the second watch and hasn't come back yet."
"Send someone to look for it immediately!" Xuchang was very angry. Today is the last day of Qiqi. The Empress Dowager is going to be buried. As the host of the funeral, how can she not go? Being delayed by a villain is a big deal: "Found it
Bring it back to me, and I will break his legs myself when I come back!"
It’s another busy day. The burial of the Emperor and the Empress Dowager is very cumbersome. This is the empress of the old emperor, so it is necessary to bury them together. Since they want to be buried together, it is best to dig up the tomb of the old emperor and put the coffin of the Empress Dowager into it. This
This is also the reason why the funeral was suspended for forty-nine days. It is definitely not easy to dig an emperor's tomb. Fortunately, everything went smoothly, the door stone was lowered with a bang, and the funeral finally ended without any surprises.
Xuchang was almost paralyzed from exhaustion. He was lifted out of the carriage by four servants and taken to the room where he was given water and beat his chest. After a long struggle, he slowly woke up. The first thing he said after opening his eyes was: "
Where’s the butler?”
No one spoke. After hearing these words, the servants who were busy just now hurriedly knelt on the ground. The eldest son Xu Shen hesitated for a long time, but could not answer his father's simple question.
Xuchang seemed to notice something and struggled to get up: "Where is the person? Is he dead or has he run away?"
Xuchang's mood began to become unstable. Xu Shen quickly helped Xuchang sit down, and then said slowly: "Father, take care of your health, take care of him, take care of him..."
"Tell me, what happened?"
Xu Shen gritted his teeth and frowned: "The housekeeper was taken away by Tingwei!"
"Ah!" Xuchang fell to the ground. There was no movement for a long time, and he didn't even breathe out. Everyone was busy for a while, and then they rescued Xuchang. They gasped and trembled and asked: "Why did Tingwei take it?"
What happened? "What happened?"
Xu Shen said quickly: "I don't know, my father asked them to look for it this morning. After my father left, I found out that Tingwei had taken it away. The child hurriedly went to Tingwei's house to inquire, but Tingwei didn't say anything, and the child didn't know why.
I originally planned to wait for my father to come back and report it, but seeing that my father was tired from working with the child, I was planning to talk about it tomorrow, so when my father asked about it, I had to tell the child."
"Tingwei?" Xu Chang suddenly stood up and ran to the back house. Xu Shen didn't know what happened, so he hurriedly chased after him.
Liu Che sat quietly in his seat. Opposite the table stood Ting Wei Duke Zhai. The old man was very frightened last time. This time he didn't speak when he saw the emperor. There was sweat on his head. He didn't know why the emperor suddenly
He ordered the arrest of the housekeeper of Bai Zhihou's Xuchang family. After he was captured and questioned, Duke Zhai almost collapsed to the ground with fear. Without stopping for a moment, he entered the palace all night to reply to the emperor.
Liu Che read Zhai Gong's memorial word for word and slowly raised his head: "That's it?"
"The housekeeper of Bai Zhihou Mansion only told me this. If there is anything else, I can only ask Bai Zhihou to ask."
Liu Che nodded: "What kind of crime should it be to have so many?"
"Your Majesty, according to the laws of the Han Dynasty, those who embezzle less than ten thousand yuan will be punished with exile. For fifty thousand yuan, they will be beheaded, and for one hundred thousand yuan, they will be punished. If the confession of Bai Zhihou's housekeeper is true, Bai Zhihou should exterminate three clans as a warning to others."
Liu Che rolled up the memorial, nodded and said: "In this case, we will handle it according to the law. In addition, deputy Zhuang Qingzhai may be blamed for it and will also investigate."
"Promise!" Zhai Gong did not dare to say more. He took the memorial from Liu Che, bent down and walked out.
The court hall was noisy. Bai Zhihou Xuchang was kneeling in the middle with his hair disheveled, his head banging on the floor. Tears and runny noses were flowing, but no one dared to say a word for him. Zhuang Qingzhai knelt next to Xuchang with his eyes closed.
He is still calm. He already knows that his official career is over and he has long wanted to retire. This time, he has fulfilled his wish.
Liu Che waited until Tingwei Zhai Gong finished reciting Xuchang's guilt, then slowly straightened up and looked at Xuchang: "Bo Zhihou, what else do you have to say?"
"I deserve to die for my crime of self-government. I don't ask for forgiveness from your majesty just because I was greedy for a moment. But please remember that I have been loyal to the Han Dynasty for so many years. I pray that your majesty will allow me to have a bloodline of the Xu family. I can die in peace!"
"Huh!" Liu Che was furious and stood up: "You dare to embezzle the money for the funeral of the Empress Dowager and still claim to be loyal? Do you want me to forgive you for such a heinous crime? Come on, drag her out!"
The guards in front of the palace swarmed up and dragged Xuchang and Zhuang Qingzhai out of the palace. Zhuang Qingzhai said nothing, and Xuchang was still begging for mercy. After a long time, when Xuchang's voice was no longer heard, Liu Che let out a long breath: "Where is Tingwei?"
?”
"I'm here!"
"Xuchang was corrupt and should be punished according to the law. Three tribes were annihilated. The men were beheaded and the women were thrown into the church. Although Zhuang Qingzhai did not participate, he did not stop it. He was dismissed from office and demoted to a commoner!" Liu Che looked at the faces of the courtiers.
I scanned up and suddenly stared at Han Anguo, the imperial censor.
Han Anguo's heart skipped a beat, and he quickly stood up and knelt down to salute: "Your Majesty, as a royal censor, I did not discover Xuchang's crimes and failed to live up to your Majesty's trust. I have no shame to stand in the court again. I would like to resign and return to my hometown.
Please grant your Majesty’s permission!”
Liu Che's expression softened a little and he nodded slightly: "I can't blame you for this, but as a royal doctor supervising hundreds of officials, you allowed such a nasty thing to happen at the funeral of the Empress Dowager. It's really hateful.
Let’s demote him to the position of Governor of the East China Sea!”
Han Anguo kowtowed quickly: "Thank you, Your Majesty, for showing mercy!"
Corruption is not a serious crime. Although the law is strict, it is very difficult to implement it in practice. The Han Dynasty could also forgive sins with copper coins, so no official in the court could guarantee that he was clean. Besides, Xuchang was very corrupt.
Not much, just five hundred gold, which is far behind the uncle and the prime minister who are still standing on top and sleeping drowsily. Just for such a matter, one is the original prime minister, one is the Taiwei, and there is a royal censor.
.
Returning to the announcement room, Su Kai was already waiting inside. Liu Che took off his outer robe and started busy with today's affairs. He picked up a brush and wrote a few words. After folding them, he sealed them with fire paint and handed them to Su Kai: "Immediately"
Send someone to Louguantai to hand it over to Su Ren."
Su Kai took it with both hands: "Nuo, I will handle it myself."
Liu Che nodded: "You did a good job this time. After delivering the letter, you will stay there for a few days and see your children. There is no need to come back in a hurry."
"Thank you, Your Majesty. I understand."
After seeing Su Kai off, Liu Che lay down comfortably. He tried to find a suitable position but found it uncomfortable no matter how he lay down. Sitting on his knees was really uncomfortable. Whether you are used to it or not, your legs will still become numb over time.
"Liu Jiqing, what do you think of the Su family's things called tables and chairs?"
Liu Jiqing said nothing. Liu Che sighed: "It's really boring to talk to you. Just send someone to bring me a set of tables and chairs from the Su family. I'll try it too. Is it really as good as Su Ren said?"