Empress Dowager Wei slowly shook her head and said: "It's not that someone is gossiping, but the Ai family wants to make an exception today. The Ai family did this for the sake of the harmony of our royal family, not to interfere with the laws of the court. If the emperor thinks that the Ai family said what he said today,
If it's wrong, you don't have to listen to me. The Aijia just tell me what I think, and the emperor can make his own decision."
Guo Chong frowned and said, "What on earth is the queen trying to say? Please tell your son clearly. The son must obey the queen's instructions."
"Okay, let's get straight to the point. The Aijia heard that your second brother Guo Bing had some troubles recently, right? Did he kill someone? He's still a fourth-grade official, right?"
Guo Chong's heart skipped a beat and his brows furrowed. He didn't expect that the Queen Mother was actually talking about this matter. In fact, the matter could not be hidden from the Queen Mother, and Guo Chong had always wanted to find an opportunity to report it to the Queen Mother. But before the results of the handling came out,
, he would not report it to the Queen Mother, because the punishment in his mind would be very serious, and he was afraid that informing the Queen Mother in advance would cause complications. So he decided to wait until the case was found out and the punishment was determined before telling the Queen Mother. Until then.
When all is said and done, even if the Queen Mother has any objections, she can still justify herself on the grounds that the court's decision and national laws cannot be changed.
In fact, based on Guo Chong's understanding of the Queen Mother, as long as Guo Bing's crime is really determined to be the deliberate killing of court officials, resistance to the implementation of the new law, and harm to the country and the country, the Queen Mother may not object. But he still decided to nip it in the bud.
However, the Queen Mother actually took the initiative to ask at this time, which was definitely not a good thing. Guo Chong immediately thought that someone had reported the matter to the Queen Mother and begged for mercy. He heard that Princess Liang had come to Beijing, and the princess had also come to Beijing.
, although neither mother nor daughter entered the palace, there is no guarantee that there was no one to bring the letter to the palace. Perhaps this is related to this.
"Mother, I originally planned to report this matter to my mother, but the truth of the case has not yet been found out. I have ordered Fang Dunru to have full authority to investigate the case. When the case becomes clear, I will report it to my mother."
Guo Chong said in a deep voice.
The Queen Mother Wei sighed, pondered for a long time, and whispered: "Your Majesty, the Ai family has not achieved much in this life. The only thing that makes the Ai family feel happy is the birth of two good sons. Not to mention contributing to the inheritance of the country, but also to the Ai family themselves.
As far as I'm concerned, if a mother is kind and her son is filial and her children and grandchildren are around her knees, her life will not be in vain. You two brothers are very filial. Needless to say, Your Majesty, no one can match your wisdom and sage. Although your second brother is more naughty and has a bad temper,
Your behavior is a bit unconventional, but it is still quite lawful. I remember when you were young, the two brothers had a very good relationship, and Bing'er also listened to you the most and obeyed you. He still respected you as an elder brother. What the Ai family wants to say is,
No matter what Bing'er has done wrong, he is your brother after all, and you must be more considerate of him. Don't look at other people's faces, only look at the face of the Ai family, and I ask the emperor to be more tolerant."
Guo Chong frowned and said nothing. He only thought about who came to tell the Queen Mother about this matter. He should investigate it later. He was strictly not allowed to report outside things in, but someone still did it. This was blatant.
Those who violate one's own will shall not be spared lightly.
"Your Majesty, the Ai family knows that these words should not have been said, but you are all born to me, and you are all my sons. As long as the Ai family is alive for one day, I don't want to see... I don't want to see the one who is looking for you two.
If anything happens to any one of them, it may seem like a major court matter to you, but to the Ai family, it’s a family matter. I have to say a few words to you. Your Majesty, please don’t blame the Ai family for being talkative." The Queen Mother continued softly.
Guo Chong frowned and said: "Mother, please don't worry about this matter. I have told you that I will report to my mother when the case is found out."
Empress Dowager Wei frowned and said, "Have you found out the facts of the case? Oh, the Ai family does know some of the facts of the case. It's just that the Hangzhou magistrate named Kang Zizhen ran wild on the palace's ship and offended Caiwei, who was pregnant with Liujia. You
The second brother had a hot temper. How could he stand still after learning the news? So he dipped him into the river as a punishment. Unexpectedly, he accidentally drowned him. Of course, this crime of manslaughter was inevitable, but it was also these people who were disrespectful to the royal family.
First of all, it’s not that the Ai family is too talkative. Nowadays, people in the world really disrespect our royal family. If a small prefect is like this, why don’t others..."
"Queen mother..." Guo Chong suddenly interrupted the Queen Mother Wei. The Queen Mother Wei looked at Guo Chong in surprise. Guo Chong had never been so rude to her.
Guo Chong also realized his gaffe, coughed and said in a slower tone: "Mother, who did you hear these words from? Is this just manslaughter? The second brother killed a court official, the prefect of Hangzhou.
, where is the fourth-rank official. How could the second brother's reckless behavior not arouse public outrage? None of the officials in the court believed the so-called manslaughter theory. Kang Zizhen did behave improperly and was suspected of being guilty, but he could not drown him privately.
The imperial court has laws and rules. Kang Zizhen is guilty and will be punished by the imperial court. For my second brother’s behavior, do you still have laws in your eyes? Is there still an imperial court? Is there still an imperial brother like me?"
The Queen Mother Wei looked at Guo Chong blankly and said: "Is it that serious? Even if it is a fight between idlers and local gangsters on the street, and one party humiliates others first and is killed, it is just a murder case. When it comes to your mouth, how can it be like this?
Are you flouting the laws of the imperial court?"
Guo Chong shook his head and said: "Mother, do you know who this Kang Zizhen is? He is a leading member of the reform faction that is implementing the new law. It was Yan Zhengsu and Fang Dunru who recommended him to go to Hangzhou to fully implement the new law.
He also did a good job in Hangzhou, and the implementation of the new law was very successful. However, the second brother had many constraints in Hangzhou and refused to cooperate. In fact, there had been a grudge between them for a long time. This is by no means as simple as manslaughter, nor is it what you call it.
There is a motive and a purpose behind the fights and killings among the gangsters on the street. I will tell you clearly that my second brother has always opposed the reform and said a lot of excessive things. It’s okay that he does not support his reform to enrich the country and strengthen the army.
However, he dared to hate the reform and even sabotage the reform, killing the most effective generals of the reform faction. This is a declaration of war on the new law and a declaration of war on me. How can I tolerate it?"
Queen Mother Wei stared blankly at Guo Chong and said softly: "Then according to the emperor's wishes, how should we deal with your second brother?"
Guo Chong frowned and said, "My son said, we need to find out the facts before speaking."
"What if it's really what you said? How will you deal with him?" Queen Mother Wei asked softly.
Guo Chong frowned and thought for a while, then said in a deep voice: "Mother, I am the lord of the Great Zhou Dynasty and the emperor of all the people in the world. Billions of eyes are looking at my son. I must take their feelings into consideration when I act. Not to mention my son.
I have tried my best to implement the new law, and now it has achieved initial results. We are just around the corner to make the country rich and powerful. At this juncture, I will not allow anyone to destroy the current situation, nor will I let the people of the world down. My second brother's behavior this time is too arrogant and reckless.
If my son protects him, the world will be disappointed with him. Therefore, the two ministers cannot show favoritism and can only act in accordance with the law. Mother, all this is for the sake of my country and the country of the Great Zhou Dynasty. I hope my mother can understand my son's heart.
"
Queen Mother Wei slowly stood up and turned her head. Guo Chong raised his head and said, "Queen Mother..."
Empress Dowager Wei waved her hand and said softly: "Your Majesty, please go back. The Ai family wants to have some peace and quiet."
"Mother, you must understand my son's heart. My son must think about the country..." Guo Chong shouted.
Queen Mother Wei turned around, her face already full of tears. Guo Chong panicked and stood up hurriedly: "Queen Mother, what's wrong with you?"
Empress Dowager Wei cried and said: "The Ai family understands the emperor's thoughts. The Ai family won't say anything anymore. The Ai family wants to move to Yuntai Temple from today on."
"Mother, why is this...? You live well in the palace, why do you have to..."
"The Aijia must recite Buddha's name all day long to atone for their sins, because the Aijia did not fulfill your father's last wish. Your father told me before his death that as long as I live, the human tragedy of brothers killing each other cannot happen. He said, if I fail to stop it,
All this happened, and I will be punished when I get to the spring. I have no courage to go to the spring to see the late emperor, so I want to go to the temple to pray to the Buddha for atonement. After I die, I will go to hell, and your father will not forgive me.
"Yes." Queen Mother Wei said softly.
Guo Chong frowned and shouted: "Mother, what are you talking about? How can brothers kill each other? Can't I punish the second brother for doing such a wrong thing? How should the people of the world see me? How can the new law be implemented? The imperial court
Is the law in vain? Is this true for everyone? How can I, my minister, be the emperor?"
Empress Dowager Wei said softly: "I don't blame you. You did everything right. I only blame myself for not raising your second brother properly, which caused him to cause such a big trouble. It's all my fault. I put too much thought into it."
It's on you. I didn't pay much attention to him when I was little. But what can I do? You were born prematurely at seven months old. In the coldest month of winter, the palace was as cold as an ice cellar. What was left of you was no bigger than a cat.
Lying there, I was breathless. The imperial doctor in the palace said, you can't survive and asked me to give up. But I don't care, you are my son, I can't let you die. I held you in my arms and warmed you for three days.
For three days and three nights, you finally cried."
With tears in her eyes, Empress Dowager Wei was immersed in the situation of that year and continued: "Your Majesty, do you know how I felt when I heard your cry? I was so happy that I went crazy. I thank God for all the gods.
, thank them for blessing you. Once you cry, you have hope. After that, although you were still thin and sick, often convulsed, and almost couldn't come back several times. But I always believed that you could live. My
My son will never die, I firmly believe this. At that time, I was just a little concubine, and your father didn’t come to visit me very often. The concubines in the palace all laughed at me, saying that I was crazy for wanting to be in power and that I missed my mother.
Because of the price of my son, I want to be successful. But only I know that, I don’t want those things, I just want my son to live. In this way, for half a year, under my careful care, you finally came to life. My painstaking efforts have not been
In vain. On the second day of June, that’s right, that was the day you smiled at me. You had been crying before, but that day was the first time you smiled at your mother. When you smiled, I knew you were okay, Aijia
My son will be fine. You laughed that day, but I cried so hard that my heart broke."
