Xia Houshu was still thinking about his cousin's words, but Xia Houchun took a sip of tea, turned to look at Qinan's position again, and murmured: "I should have seen this person before."
"Think about it more carefully?" Xia Houchun suddenly became interested. She had been thinking about this person for so long and had not figured it out. It would be a good thing if she could know his bottom line from her cousin. She approached Xia Houchun and whispered.
: "He once said his name was Qinan and he also ran a study."
"The surname is Qi?"
"Are you sure?" Xia Houshu asked in shock.
Censor Qi Xiang was famous for his outspokenness and uprightness. It is said that he not only had high standards for himself, but also had strict control over his family members and children. Every time there was a banquet in Beijing, the women of his family always dressed up in the simplest way.
, but he is simple yet very decent, and never makes people feel that he is losing his status. People outside say that he is honest and honest. He has been an official in the government for many years, but he has never been greedy for others. The whole family relies on his little salary and salary.
Living on the ancestral property, life was relatively tight, so the family members never wore fancy clothes or ornaments when they went out, never ate delicacies and game, and did not have a large number of followers to cheer for them.
If Qi Nan is really a member of the Qi family, then the assassination at Huguo Temple can be understood. After all, a person like Qi Yushi, who cannot tolerate a grain of sand in his eyes, will definitely make countless enemies in the court. He is just venting his anger.
There are really some things that children should not do.
The strange thing is that Qinan often appeared next to her after that, and his attitude was ambiguous. Now it seems that there is only one explanation - she was targeted.
But she is just a woman and has never participated in government affairs. Why is this person always staring at her?
Want to start with her to find out the faults of the Duke of Yue? This is not like the Qi family’s style!
Xia Houchun didn't know about the past between her sister and Qin Nan. She just thought she was curious about Qin Nan's identity. She thought about it seriously for a long time and said: "I remember that Qi Yushi had four sons. The eldest son of the Qi family broke down his horse when he was young.
After that, Qi Erlang's temperament changed drastically and he rarely went out; Qi Erlang married my aunt's fourth cousin, whom I have met, but she was not this person; Qi Silang was only in his teens this year, so he was not the right age; as for Qi Sanlang...
Although I have never met him in person, it is said that he was implicated in the incident involving his sister Qi Yinshuang and disappeared. His whereabouts are still unknown. Could this be him? "
Xia Houshu suddenly felt that she knew a terrible secret. She had also heard of the Qi Yinshuang that her cousin was talking about. She was a legendary woman who was closely related to several major events that caused a stir in the government and the public. She couldn't help but recall the secret about the palace.
Xin's records and folk rumors.
In the seventeenth year of the late Emperor Jingtai's reign, there was a severe drought in the Northern Plains. Farming and livestock were not prosperous. The border guards were afraid of invasion and wrote to the court, asking for troops to be deployed in advance. At that time, the late Emperor was ill and ordered the prince Duguheng to supervise the country. The prince saw
After finishing the memorial, he dismissed it and said bluntly that the guard general was unreasonable and had no general style, so he could not get rid of it.
In June, the Beiyuan Army marched south in large numbers, burning, looting, and conquering cities and territories. Although the border guards deployed their defenses in advance, the disparity in strength was huge. Moreover, the enemy had been planning for a long time and was determined to make a desperate move. In less than seven days, they lost consecutive battles.
Two cities.
The late emperor's condition had improved. When he heard the news, he became furious and vomited blood in front of the courtiers. He angrily accused the prince of being arrogant, having no foresight and being unable to bear the heavy responsibility. He then ordered the third son of the emperor, Jin Wang Duguche, to lead the army.
Defend the enemy.
At that time, Princess Xiao of Jin Dynasty was pregnant. After she became pregnant, she accidentally fell down in the palace and almost had a miscarriage. This frightened Dugu Che and made the entire Jin Dynasty very nervous. However, the national crisis was imminent and the emperor's life was in danger.
In violation of the imperial edict, Dugu Che resolutely bid farewell to his wife and led his troops to the expedition.
The Northern Plains was well prepared, the attack was fierce, and the battle was very fierce. The King of Jin defended the enemy for two months and was unable to return. Some ministers in the court wrote to impeach the Crown Prince for his inability to supervise the country. This led to the Northern Plains being in a state of ruin, and the Southern Qi retreating steadily, losing the country established by their ancestors. Lao
The emperor had no choice but to take care of the affairs of the state personally despite his illness.
In mid-August, it was the Mid-Autumn Festival. Due to the strong enemy forces in Beiyuan and the tense military situation, there was no grand celebration in the palace. There was a lot of discussion in the government and the public. Ministers wrote letters of impeachment to the prince every now and then, accusing him of delaying the war and being unfit to serve as a heir. The old emperor was in such a state.
He was so angry that he fainted during the snow-like impeachment memorial, and had to order the prince to be confined to the East Palace to reflect on his mistakes.
In September, the Crown Princess Gao Yuehua hosted a banquet in the East Palace for the female relatives of the third-rank officials and above in the East Palace in the name of appreciating laurels, in an attempt to save the country through a curve, win over people's hearts, and help the Crown Prince escape the siege.
In the middle of the banquet, the Crown Princess led her female relatives to Guiyuan to enjoy the flowers. Qi Yinshuang, the daughter of the imperial censor Qi Xiang, suddenly ran out of a hut in the garden disheveled and shouted for help.
Among the female relatives, those who were already married women probably guessed what was going on and were horrified when they saw this. However, they did not expect that the person chasing out of the house was actually the naked Prince Dugu Heng.
There had long been rumors in the palace that the prince was lustful and had bad personal ethics. However, the princess strongly opposed the people below to send beauties to the East Palace on the grounds that the prince was the crown prince of a country and to prevent his beauty from harming the country. She successively selected beautiful women for the prince.
The concubine she accepted was not as good-looking as herself, but the prince was not allowed to find a new love. Even the maids around her would be expelled from the palace if they looked at the prince more than once, and would be handed over to the custody of her natal brother, thus shattering the relationship.
Countless girls dream that they can fly up a branch and become a phoenix with their beauty.
When Qi Yinshuang met the Crown Princess, she seemed to have grasped a life-saving straw. She knelt down in front of her, scolded the Crown Prince for being lustful and destroying her innocence, and begged the Crown Princess to make the decision for her.
However, the prince stopped and stood there with an indifferent expression. The unmarried official family members who entered the palace were frightened and quickly turned their backs. Mrs. Qi, who was walking behind, staggered up and rushed forward, holding her daughter in her arms and crying loudly.
Qi Yinshuang has a beautiful appearance and simple and elegant clothes. Among the women in rich clothes and heavy makeup, she looks fresh and refined, not to be played with. Therefore, her experience is even more shocking and pitiful.
The Crown Princess hated any woman who dared to seduce the Prince, and even more hated the Prince's dissolute behavior. However, in front of so many people, she had to force herself to remain calm and show generosity and fairness.
The princess quickly thought of a countermeasure.
She ordered people to send Mrs. Qi and Qi Yinshuang to the side hall for comfort, and brought the other officials and family members back to the main hall to continue the banquet. Then she turned around and ordered the east palace to be sealed off so that the matter could not be publicized, and then ordered her close relatives to arrive one by one.
The officials and their families reported to their homes that the sweet-scented osmanthus was blooming well this year and the princess wanted to stay with the officials and their families for one more day.
Those official family members were not in the mood to eat or drink. They either quickly invited some entourage or whispered in low voices, guessing how the prince and princess should give an explanation to the Qi family.
Not long after, the East Palace was locked, and a group of guards with swords suddenly appeared outside the main hall.
The officials and their family members complained secretly, but they dared not speak out in anger.
Since Nan Qi had no official family members entering the palace to attend a banquet and stay together, the officials in the capital were in an uproar. They sent people to the palace gate to ask for the reason. However, the guards at the palace gate had already been bribed by the Crown Princess, and the answer was that the Crown Princess stayed with all the official family members.
There was nothing more than admiring the sweet-scented osmanthus, and they were allowed to go home with peace of mind.
Although the prince and the princess tried their best to block the news, there is no airtight wall in the world, and the news of Qi Yinshuang's humiliation in the palace spread like wildfire.
The imperial censor Qi Xiang was originally an upright and outspoken person. After hearing the news, he was furious. His third son Qi Zhirui was also furious. The father and son led more than a dozen servants to knock on the palace door at night regardless of the palace ban, and beat the drum of injustice to the sky.
He loudly rebuked the prince for his lack of virtue, colluded with the prince's concubine, insulted the official female family members, and begged the Holy One to uphold justice.
Other officials in the capital who had their female relatives entering the palace for the banquet were originally anxious. After hearing what happened to Qi Yinshuang, they couldn't help but worry about the safety and reputation of their own female relatives. However, bringing people into the palace at night can be considered as a crime.
Regarding the serious crime of decapitation for rebellion, they were also afraid that the rumors would be wrong and they would harm the whole family by rushing to agree with it. Therefore, when they saw Qi Xiang and his son making trouble in the palace, they just watched from the other side and tried to fish in troubled waters.
The sound of the grievance drum was so loud that most of the capital city heard it. Every household stood in the courtyard and listened quietly with clasped hands, whispering, and the sound naturally spread to the Jiuchong Palace.
Since ancient times, anyone who has made a complaint, no matter how big or small the case is, must be tried seriously.
The old emperor, who had not yet recovered from his serious illness, struggled to sit up and ordered the eunuch beside him to go and explore.
Before the inner prisoner could exert any effort, the commander of the Imperial Guard who had already discovered the situation was waiting outside the palace. It was just a matter of concern for the prince and courtiers. The old emperor was not in good health at the moment. Not long ago, he was so angry that he vomited blood because of the prince's dereliction of duty. At this time
, he didn’t know whether to tell the truth or not. However, the drums of grievance at the gate of the palace had not stopped. Even if he wanted to hide it, he could not hide it, so he had to tell the truth.
When the old emperor heard that it was Yushi Qi who beat the drum because the censor's daughter was humiliated by the prince, he couldn't help but spurt out another mouthful of blood. He collapsed on the dragon chair with a clang and held it in for a while.
In a tone of voice, he roared: "Bring me that traitor!"
In the splendid Jinluan Palace, the old emperor was sitting upright with a sigh of relief. Among the two groups of people kneeling under His Majesty, one side was Qi Xiang and his son who were filled with grief and anger but tried their best to restrain themselves, and the other side was uneasy and still kept defending themselves.
The prince and princess.
When the old palace maid came out of the side hall and informed the old emperor that Qi Yinshuang had indeed lost her innocence, Qi Xiang instantly collapsed to the ground, bursting into tears. A father's sadness, self-blame and anger were beyond words.
When the prince saw this, he immediately shouted that Qi Yinshuang had seduced him. He also argued that he did not know that Qi Yinshuang was the daughter of Qi Yushi, and thought that she was the concubine selected by the prince for her.
The Crown Princess also hurriedly nodded in agreement, saying that she had indeed chosen a beautiful concubine for the Crown Prince a while ago.
The old emperor slowly stood up from the dragon chair, walked unsteadily to the prince, used all his strength, and suddenly kicked the prince in the chest, almost losing his balance. Then he said angrily: "You traitor!
I ordered you to stop and think about your mistakes, is this how you deal with me? I'm not dead yet!"
The prince who was kicked to the ground was so frightened that he burst into tears. He quickly got up and continued to kneel, kowtowing continuously: "Father, forgive me! It was she who seduced me. It's only my fault that I didn't control it! I knew it."
I'm wrong, please forgive me!"
The Crown Princess next to her also had a panicked look on her face, and she could only accompany the Crown Prince and kowtow to admit her mistake, arguing: "Today we are inviting the official family members of Beijing's fourth-rank officials and above. I dare not slack off at all.
So the banquet was arranged in the main hall, and many people were borrowed from the mother's palace to help. I really don't know why the Qi family girl came to the garden alone!"
The implication is to support the prince's statement that the girl from the Qi family deliberately clings to him and deliberately avoids people to seduce the prince.
