Schlimme Dinge passieren oft

Kapitel 51

Regular Member

(The Heart of a Flower)

Eyes Charming (73-74): The Mortal World / Xin Yi

May 20, 2003, 09:11:13 NetEase Culture Milan Lady

The mortal world

Wang Pang's death caused Wang Anshi immense grief and disillusionment. Coupled with the growing estrangement between him and Emperor Zhao Xu, Zhao Xu's attitude towards Wang Anshi's policies, which had initially been almost entirely compliant, became increasingly dismissive. As Wang Anshi later lamented, "Even if I only followed him five-tenths, it would be acceptable." Therefore, Wang Anshi was determined to resign as prime minister. Although Zhao Xu tried to persuade him to stay, Wang Anshi feigned illness and withdrew from state affairs. On October 22nd of the ninth year of the Xining era, Zhao Xu finally accepted Wang Anshi's resignation, relieving him of his position as prime minister and appointing him as the prefect of Jiangning. Wang Anshi quickly left the capital with his family, taking Wang Pang's coffin with him to Jiangning for burial.

After Wang Anshi was dismissed as chancellor, Zhao Xu promoted his relative by marriage, Wu Chong, to the position of co-champion alongside Wang Gui. Wu Chong wanted to abolish the New Policies as Sima Guang suggested, but Cai Que, the Vice Chancellor, advised him that Emperor Zhao Xu was determined to implement the New Policies, and abolishing them would go against the emperor's will. Wu Chong then continued to implement the New Policies as Zhao Xu intended. Zhao Xu initially appointed Wu Chong because he admired his integrity as a relative of Wang Anshi, but he gradually realized that Wu Chong's governing principles and stance differed greatly from his own. Therefore, he dismissed Wu Chong from his position as chancellor, leaving only Wang Gui as co-champion. After Wu Chong was dismissed from his post as prime minister, he died in depression in the third year of the Yuanfeng era (Emperor Zhao Xu changed the era name to Yuanfeng in the eleventh year of the Xining era). His family members all blamed Wang Anshi, believing that they would not have suffered such misfortune if they had not married into the Wang family. Wu Anshi was a petty person who had always been at odds with his wife, and now he resented Wang Anshi even more. So he vented all his resentment on Wang Yu, beating and scolding her every day. Wang Yu's temperament was very different from her brother and sister. She was too docile and weak and dared not resist. During this time, she only wrote a poem with tears in her eyes and sent it to her parents in Jiangning to complain: "The west wind blows into the small window screen, the autumn air should pity me for missing home. I look at the thousands of miles of rivers and mountains with hatred, and still look at the yellow flowers with tears in my eyes." A few years later, Wang Anshi's eldest daughter died of illness due to depression.

In October of the second year of the Yuanfeng era, Empress Dowager Cao passed away at the age of sixty-four. Before her death, she summoned Emperor Xu, personally rose, and took a bundle of memorials from her golden cabinet. She sealed them herself and handed them to Xu, saying, "Open these after I die, but keep the contents to yourself; do not punish anyone involved." Xu tearfully agreed and accepted the memorials. The Empress Dowager then ordered pen and ink to be brought, and wrote the four characters "博爱亲民" (broad love and compassion for the people) for Xu, saying, "This is my last will and testament. I hope you understand its true meaning." She soon closed her eyes and passed away. Xu, along with Hao, Yun, and everyone in the palace, wept bitterly. Later, Xu remembered the memorials entrusted to him by the Empress Dowager. Upon opening them, he discovered they were memorials from officials who had advised Emperor Renzong against making Emperor Yingzong his heir, all of which the Empress Dowager had secretly suppressed and hidden. Xu was shocked and then deeply saddened. He was even more grateful for his grandmother's kindness. However, in accordance with the Empress Dowager's instructions, he did not pursue the crimes of the ministers who submitted the memorial. He honored the Empress Dowager with the posthumous title of Cisheng Guangxian and performed the full rites of mourning for her.

In February of the eighth year of the Yuanfeng era, Emperor Zhao Xu fell seriously ill. Chancellor Wang Gui petitioned for the early establishment of an heir apparent for the sake of the ancestral temples and the state, and also requested the Empress Dowager to rule from behind a screen. Emperor Zhao Xu nodded in agreement and renamed his sixth son, Prince Yan'an Zhao Yong, as Zhao Xu, and established him as Crown Prince. Zhao Xu was the son of Zhu Xichan, born in December of the ninth year of the Xining era. After giving birth to her son, Zhu Xichan was promoted to Zhaorong, then to Xianfei, and shortly after, to Defei. However, Cai Que and Xing Shu, seeing that Zhao Xu was still young, not even ten years old, secretly conspired to enthrone Zhao Hao as emperor in order to gain merit and power.

On the fifth day of the third month of the eighth year of Yuanfeng, Xu summoned Hao on his deathbed, dismissed everyone else, and solemnly said to Hao, "Hao, please forgive your elder brother."

Hao said gently, "Your Majesty, what are you saying? I am foolish and unworthy of Your Majesty's trust."

Xu shook his head and slowly said, "That's not what I meant... Wanji... forgive me..."

Hao remained silent. Xu gazed at him expectantly, even with a hint of pleading. After a long while, Hao nodded and said, "Brother, whatever you have done, I forgive you."

Emperor Xu was relieved. He passed away that night in the Funing Palace at the age of thirty-eight. His temple name was Shenzong.

After Emperor Xu Fu closed his eyes, Empress Dowager Gao summoned Hao to Baoci Palace and told him about Cai Que and others' intention to enthrone him as emperor, asking him what his plans were. Hao replied, "My elder brother has already established a crown prince, and I have no improper thoughts."

Empress Dowager Gao nodded and said, "These officials want to frame you for crimes, but fortunately you are so reasonable and know when to advance and retreat, which is a blessing to our ancestors and the country. But from now on you should find a way to avoid suspicion."

Hao replied, "Your subject understands." He then returned to his residence, locked himself in the palace, and refused to come into contact with any of his ministers. Seeing that he was not cooperating, Cai Que and Xing Shu had no choice but to abandon their plan to depose the crown prince and install Hao in his place.

Crown Prince Zhao Xu successfully ascended the throne, and his temple name was Zhezong. He honored Empress Dowager Gao as Grand Empress Dowager, Empress Xiang as Empress Dowager, and Consort Zhu as Imperial Concubine Dowager. He also invited Grand Empress Dowager Gao to rule from behind a screen.

In October of that year, on the anniversary of Empress Dowager Cao's death, Hao went to Yongzhao Mausoleum to offer sacrifices. After the ceremony, while resting in the hall, he suddenly heard someone calling him from behind. Turning around, he discovered it was Ruosang, a palace maid who had served Consort Wan. He was utterly astonished, for Ruosang had become mute after Consort Wan's death and had been taken in by the Empress Dowager in Qingshou Palace. For over ten years, no one had heard her speak. After the Empress Dowager's passing, she had volunteered to come to Yongzhao Mausoleum to guard the tomb.

Ruosang slowly explained to Hao in a hoarse and deliberate voice, “The Empress Dowager gave me just a cup of ordinary tea, but she stared at me and said, ‘Remember, this is a mute potion. After drinking it, you will be unable to speak, not a single word.’ I understood what the Empress Dowager meant, so after drinking the tea, I kept my mouth shut, pretending to be mute and not saying a word. The Empress Dowager wanted me to keep quiet because I knew the cause of the Princess’s death. Over the years, I have always felt that Your Highness is the most innocent in this whole affair. Your Highness has never known the truth, has he? Now that the Empress Dowager and the late Emperor have passed away, I have no more scruples. If Your Highness wants to know, I will tell you about this matter.”

Hao lowered his head and pondered for a long time before finally sighing, "Thank you. But what's done is done, there's no need to mention it again."

The following year, the reign title was changed to the first year of the Yuan You era. Empress Dowager Gao dismissed Cai Que from his position as prime minister, ordering him to govern Chenzhou. Sima Guang was promoted to Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of Personnel and concurrently served as Vice Minister of the Chancellery. A number of officials from the old party were also reinstated. After Sima Guang came to power, he gradually abolished all the new laws. At that time, Wang Anshi, who had retired to his "Banshan Garden" in Jiangning and was enfeoffed as Duke of Jing, was able to barely maintain his composure when he heard that the Market Regulation, Land Survey and Equal Taxation, and Baojia systems were being abolished. However, when he heard that the Exemption from Service Law was also being abolished and the old Service Law was being reinstated, he finally lost his composure and exclaimed in astonishment, "Is it really going to be abolished like this? Sima Junshi is too arbitrary! This law should not be abolished. It was a very mature and perfect law that I discussed and studied with the late emperor for two years before being implemented!" From then on, he was so worried that he fell seriously ill and died on the sixth day of the fourth month of the first year of the Yuan You era at the age of sixty-six.

The imperial court posthumously conferred upon Wang Anshi the title of Grand Tutor. Su Shi, who had been summoned back to the capital by Empress Dowager Gao to serve as a secretary in the Imperial Secretariat, was ordered to write an imperial edict entitled "Wang Anshi Conferred the Title of Grand Tutor" for the young Emperor Zhao Xu. The edict was exquisite, affirming Wang Anshi's three immortal achievements in establishing virtue, merit, and words. The entire edict praised Wang Anshi's personality, character, and talent, but cleverly omitted and simplified his political achievements during his years as prime minister.

In September of the eighth year of the Yuan You era, Empress Dowager Gao passed away. The following year, the young and ambitious Zhao Xu immediately changed the era name to Shaosheng, intending to inherit the late emperor's will and reinstate the new laws. After assuming personal rule, he ruthlessly dismissed old-fashioned officials, appointing Zhang Dun as prime minister, Cai Jing as minister of revenue, and Cai Bian from Hanlin scholar and lecturer to compiler and director of the National History Institute, who, following Zhao Xu's orders, was responsible for revising the "Veritable Records of Emperor Shenzong," overturning previous rulings. After gaining power, Zhang Dun, Cai Jing, Cai Bian, and others launched a fierce crackdown on old-fashioned officials, and almost all officials who had been favored by Empress Dowager Gao during the Yuan You era were dismissed and exiled. Although Zhao Xu, like his father, had the desire to revitalize the Song Dynasty through the new laws, he was too rash and impulsive in his actions, lacking the vision and talent of his father, Zhao Xu, and was easily swayed by sycophants, leading to increasing political chaos. Fifteen years after his ascension to the throne, Zhao Xu died on the eighth day of the first month of the third year of the Yuan Fu era, at the young age of twenty-five. After his death without an heir, Empress Dowager Xiang arranged for Zhao Xu's eleventh son, Prince Duan, Zhao Ji, to ascend the throne as Emperor Huizong. Zhao Ji was determined to follow his father and brother's policies, continuing to employ officials from the new faction. However, the "new faction," led by Cai Jing, now contained far more treacherous and wicked individuals than during Emperor Shenzong's reign, and their policies differed significantly from those of Wang Anshi. After seizing power, Cai Jing ruthlessly suppressed the Yuan You faction, labeling them a treacherous party and exiling them all. Their names were inscribed on a stele, listing 120 individuals, known as the "Party Members' Stele." Cai Jing later became prime minister, serving as Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of Personnel and concurrently as Vice Minister of the Chancellery, while Cai Bian became the Privy Councilor. The brothers shared immense power, leading many to lament that the Zhao family's empire had almost become the Cai family's. Meanwhile, the Song Dynasty grew increasingly weak due to years of infighting between the two factions and the manipulation of power by treacherous officials.

Cai Bian's meteoric rise was undoubtedly aided by Wen'er's assistance. They married in the ninth year of the Xining era, and the following year, Cai Bian passed the imperial examination at the young age of eighteen. In the sixth year of the Yuanfeng era, at the age of twenty-four, Cai Bian was summoned by Emperor Zhao Xu to lecture on the *Zhou Li* (Rites of Zhou) at the Miying Pavilion. After Emperor Zhezong Zhao Xu assumed personal rule, Wen'er, with the help of Consort Zhu, enabled Cai Bian to gain favor and rise through the ranks. Whether in family or state affairs, Cai Bian always obeyed Wen'er's advice. Even after assuming power, he would first consult with Wen'er in bed before discussing state affairs in court. Other officials often whispered among themselves, "The things we do every day are actually just the leftovers from Lady Cai's coughs and spits!" When Cai Bian was appointed Right Chancellor, he held a grand banquet to celebrate, and entertainers sang a satirical song: "The Right Chancellor's grand appointment today is all thanks to his wife's influence." Thus, the story of Cai Bian's fear of his wife and her involvement in politics became a laughing stock both inside and outside the court.

Later, probably at Wen'er's instigation, Cai Bian petitioned the emperor to posthumously confer upon Wang Anshi the title of Prince of Shu, and to have him enshrined in the Temple of Confucius, ranking above Mencius and alongside Yan Hui, receiving offerings from Confucian scholars throughout the land. At the time, actors composed a play satirizing this event: In the temple, Confucius sat upright, with Yan Hui, Mencius, and Wang Anshi attending him to one side. Confucius instructed them to sit down, and Wang Anshi bowed, inviting Mencius to take the seat of honor. Mencius declined, saying, "Rank is determined by official titles; I am but a duke, while you, sir, are a true king. Why be so humble?" Wang Anshi then bowed, inviting Yan Hui to take the seat of honor. Yan Hui replied, "I am but a humble man from a lowly alley, with no accomplishments in my life. You, sir, are a true Confucian scholar of the enlightened age; to refuse again would be excessive humility." Wang Anshi then took the seat of honor, making Confucius uneasy, and he wanted to rise and offer his seat to him. Wang Anshi, flustered, bowed and repeatedly said, "I dare not!" While the two were still refusing to agree, Zilu, who had witnessed this scene, couldn't swallow his anger. He stormed to the nearby ancestral hall and dragged out Gongye Chang, Confucius's son-in-law. Gongye Chang, utterly embarrassed, scratched the back of his head and asked, "What crime have I committed?" Zilu scolded him, "You don't know how to protect your father-in-law! Look at how other sons-in-law act!"

Although this was just a joke, it shows the extent to which Cai Bian loved his wife and respected his father-in-law.

Xin Yi

After Wang Pang's death, Pang Di wept day and night for several days. Hao, worried that she was too grief-stricken or even contemplating suicide, stayed by her side without changing his clothes or leaving her side for a moment to take care of her. Finally, one day, Pang Di calmed down and stopped crying. The two looked at each other silently in the dim light of dusk, their figures already frail and haggard.

Pang Di smiled calmly and said, "I'm fine." For the next twenty years, she never shed another tear.

They lived together for twenty years, supporting and cherishing each other. Hao's titles were successively changed from Prince of Qi to Prince of Yong, Prince of Yang, Prince of Xu, Prince of Ji, and Prince of Chu. He was appointed Minister of Works, Grand Tutor, and Military Governor of Huainan and Jingnan, his official rank and titles becoming increasingly prestigious. At the beginning of the Yuan You era, Hao again applied to leave the palace to live outside. Emperor Zhezong Zhao Xu then issued an edict granting him the first district of Xianyi Ward in Bianjing to build his princely residence, inscribing it with the words "Close to the Virtuous." Because Zhao Xu was grateful for Hao's refusal to seize the throne and greatly admired his character, he treated his second uncle with exceptional kindness and respect. Every time Hao entered the palace to pay his respects, Zhao Xu would respectfully perform the kinship rites. Hao maintained a calm and detached attitude towards all this treatment, so different from that of his elder brother when he was alive. For someone who had twice relinquished the struggle for the throne, what he truly valued was no longer power and glory; he preferred to live a peaceful and tranquil life with his wife with a serious attitude.

They had three children: Prince Zhao Xiaoqian of Jinkang, Duke Zhao Xiaoxi of Yongguo, and Princess Zhao Xinyi of Yi'an.

One spring afternoon, Xiaoqian was practicing riding and archery in the garden of the Prince's Mansion, while Xiaoxi and Xinyi were playing children's games on the other side. Pangdi sat idly in the garden pavilion, looking at her three children with tenderness. When Hao gently walked over and draped a cloak over her shoulders, she looked up and smiled slightly at him.

Hao sat down beside her, gazed at her for a long time, and then suddenly asked, "Di, are you happy?"

She sighed softly, "What reason do I have not to be happy?"

Hao said, "But now you never shed a tear, whether you're happy or sad, as if you've suddenly lost a kind of emotion."

She smiled faintly and said, "Because I am very happy now, naturally I have no tears to shed."

At this moment, Xiaoqian ran over happily, holding a bow and arrow in one hand and a willow branch in the other, and shouted to them, "Father, Mother, look, I can hit a willow leaf from a hundred paces away!"

Pang Di smiled and pulled him to sit down, wiping the sweat from his forehead with a plain handkerchief. Then she turned to Hao and said, "Look, our son is becoming more and more like you."

Later, Empress Dowager Gao fell ill, and Hao visited her in the palace every day, personally attending to her and administering her medicine. However, Empress Dowager Gao's illness did not improve, and Hao himself contracted a serious illness. By the third year of the Shaosheng era, Hao's condition had worsened day by day. Not only were his family members extremely worried, but even Emperor Zhao Xu was deeply concerned. He frequently led imperial physicians to the Prince's residence to examine him and sent people to keep watch day and night at the residence, reporting the latest developments in the patient's condition to the palace every morning and evening. Whenever Zhao Xu heard that Hao showed any signs of improvement, he would be overjoyed.

In September of the third year of the Shaosheng era, Hao's illness worsened. One late night, Pang Di sat by his bedside, watching his face gradually lose its vitality. In an instant, tears streamed down her face. Hao, hearing the sound, slowly opened his eyes and smiled, saying, "You're crying again. I thought you had shed all the tears of your life twenty years ago. I've exchanged half my life for this one tear from you, but it's not in vain." He then called his two sons over and instructed them, "After your father passes away, you must take good care of your mother and not let her suffer any more trouble."

Xiaoqian and Xiaoxi knelt down and agreed with tears in their eyes.

Pang Di choked back tears as she held his hand and said, "Hao, don't leave me."

Hao sighed, "I'm sorry, I originally wanted to take care of you myself for the rest of your days." A moment later, he regained his gentle smile and said to her, "Don't be too sad, try to think more positively. Su Shi wrote two lines that are very beautiful: 'Don't say that all things turn to nothing in the end, for before they turn to nothing, they are just a dream.'"

He passed away peacefully at the age of forty-seven. Upon hearing the news, Zhao Xu rushed to pay his respects, suspended court for five days, and observed mourning for him. He posthumously honored him with the title "Rong" and ordered him to be buried in his Yonghou Mausoleum. After Emperor Huizong Zhao Ji ascended the throne, he further enfeoffed Hao as the Prince of Wu, historically known as "Prince Rong of Wu".

On the evening of Qingming Festival in the second year of Emperor Huizong's Chongning reign, the leather carriage of Prince Zhao Xiaoqian of Jinkang returned from outside and stopped outside the gate of Prince Wu Rong's mansion in the first district of Xianyi Ward.

A girl of about sixteen or seventeen years old jumped off the car with a smile and hurriedly walked towards the mansion, clutching her skirt.

She wore a pure white silk dress with a light gauze overlay, the hem and sleeves adorned with faint pink peach blossom patterns. On her head was a veiled hat with a long gauze curtain hanging down, which she had now lifted, letting it sway gracefully in the wind as she moved forward.

She walked through several winding corridors into the inner courtyard and went straight to the princess's bedroom without stopping.

A maid inside saw her approaching figure and immediately smiled, saying, "Your Highness, the Princess is back!"

As she spoke, Pang Di was pouring water from a small vase into a blue-and-white porcelain bowl containing delicate lotus flowers. Hearing the sound, she looked up towards the door and saw the girl. A bright smile finally appeared on her aging and gloomy face.

That was her daughter with Hao—Princess Yi'an, Zhao Xinyi.

As soon as Xin Yi entered the room, she saw her and immediately came over, tugging at her sleeve and scolding, "Mother, the imperial physician said you're not feeling well and need to rest in bed. Why are you up again now?"

Pang Di said, "I've been sleeping all day. Now I'll get up and water the flowers." She looked her daughter up and down, shaking her head. "Can't you walk a little slower? You're not acting like a proper young lady at all!"

Xin Yi stuck out her tongue and said, "When my father was alive, he often complained that I was always jumping around and didn't have any of my mother's graceful movements and elegant demeanor."

Pang Di smiled and gently stroked Xin Yi's delicate, bright, and pretty little face, saying, "But thinking back, when I was your age, I also liked to skip and jump while walking."

Xin Yi smiled and quickly walked to the lotus flowers to examine them for a while. Then she turned back and said, "I put that pot of two-colored lotus flowers in my father's tomb as my mother instructed."

Pang Di nodded, her brows furrowed slightly, filled with endless melancholy.

Xin Yi reached out and smoothed the wrinkles between her brows, saying, "Mother, don't frown! You've always been depressed since Father passed away. Tell me, what can make you happier?"

Pang Di smiled faintly without answering, and only asked, "You seem to be in a very good mood today. Did something interesting happen?"

Xin Yi's eyes lit up, and she said excitedly, "I met an interesting person. On my way back from sweeping the tombs at Yonghou Mausoleum with my brothers, we met a young gentleman. He was elegant and eloquent, clearly from a noble family. He and my two brothers hit it off immediately, and standing in the light rain among the apricot blossoms, he talked to them about state affairs. He bluntly said that the Emperor indulged in sensual pleasures all day long, prioritizing enjoyment over politics, causing the court to gradually fall into the hands of treacherous officials. He hoped that my brothers could find a way to persuade him... He was dressed in white, with a light robe and loose belt, his clothes fluttering in the wind. He spoke of heavy political matters, but his expression was relaxed and composed... He even smiled at me and casually composed a poem for me called 'Yan'er Mei'..." She suddenly stopped, surprised, and asked, "Mother, what's wrong? Are you unhappy about what I'm saying? Then I won't say anymore..."

Pang Di gently wiped her eyes, still smiling as she looked at her daughter. Then, she plucked a rhododendron petal that had fallen onto the brim of her daughter's hat and said, "How is the scenery in the countryside? It must be full of flowers on the way home, right? I saw it all through Xin Yi's eyes..."