Extra Aftertaste
Yongping Chronicle
On the fifth day of the first lunar month in the seventh year of Yongping, a meteor as big as a cup flew westward from the Weaver Girl, illuminating the earth. On the 20th day of the same month, the Empress Dowager Yin Lihua died at the age of 60. The coffin was about to be carried out of the palace, accompanied by ministers and officials, the eunuchs played drums and blew three times, and the bells and drums were rang, and the emperor mourned.
The emperor wanted to honor the emperor with a posthumous title, but the ministers reported to the emperor, saying, "The Han Dynasty's mother had no posthumous title, so the empress can be called by the emperor's posthumous title. Even though the Lü family is in power and the superiors are in charge of the system, there is no special title."
The emperor retorted: "How can Lu and Shangguan be compared with my mother?"
The ministers were speechless, so they decided on his posthumous title - Guanglie!
The posthumous name of the emperor was "Guang", the one who made great contributions to the people's well-being was called "Lie", and the one who was virtuous and abided by the law was called "Lie".
Sikong reported Empress Guanglie's posthumous title to the ancestral temple.
Guangwu's original mausoleum is 323 steps square and 66 feet high. The walls are surrounded by Sima Gate. The sleeping hall and the bell tower are all within the surrounding walls. The dikes enclose fields of 12 hectares, 57 mu and 85 steps.
On the eighth day of the second month, the soil of the original mausoleum was unsealed, the tomb passage was opened, and the cemetery passage was opened. The emperor paid homage in the side hall, and the Taichang guided the coffin of Empress Guanglie into the tomb passage and removed the mourning stick. The coffins of the emperor and the empress were placed side by side on the left and right, and they were buried in the same tomb. The Zhong Changshi held the mourning stick, and the emperor knelt down and cried in front of the coffins of Emperor Guangwu and Empress Guanglie.
In the eighth year of Yongping, in winter, in October, the reconstruction of the North Palace was completed.
The North Palace and the South Palace are side by side, and each palace is luxurious and magnificent, with pavilions, terraces, and clear springs, just like a fairyland on earth. After the completion of the North Palace, the emperor ordered the Queen's Palace to move into the North Palace, and the West Palace, the original residence of Empress Guanglie, was sealed in the South Palace. All the things used by Empress Guanglie during her lifetime were placed in the original way, as if she were still alive.
In that year, envoys returned from their mission to the Western Regions and welcomed Buddhist monks from India to spread Buddhism throughout China. The first Buddhist temple, the White Horse Temple, was built in Luoyang.
In the ninth year of Yongping, Guangling King Liu Jing behaved recklessly and intended to rebel, but the emperor, considering their brotherly relationship, did not pursue the matter.
In February of the tenth year of Yongping, King Guangling Liu Jing committed suicide out of fear of punishment.
The eleventh year of Yongping, spring, the first month.
King Liu Fu of Pei, King Liu Ying of Chu, King Liu Kang of Jinan, King Liu Cang of Dongping, King Liu Yan of Huaiyang, King Liu Yan of Zhongshan and King Liu Jing of Langye came to the capital to pay homage.
Liu Cang went to Yuntai to pay homage to the portraits of the twenty-eight meritorious officials. After seeing the twenty-eight people, he added the portraits of Wang Chang, Li Tong, Dou Rong and Zhuo Mao, a total of thirty-two people, but the only one missing was Ma Yuan.
The fact that Ma Yuan was wrongly accused might have been an unspeakable secret outside the court, but to them, it was already a well-known fact.
"All those involved in the incident are no longer with us. Why not take this opportunity to vindicate Ma Yuan? Tell the world about Ma Yuan's merits and virtues, and show the queen's admiration and filial piety?"
After hearing this, the emperor did not answer, but just looked at the portraits, turned around and gave Prince Dongping a meaningful smile, which was quite subtle.
Prince Dongping was stunned at first, then he suddenly realized.
In the 13th year of Yongping, Liu Ying, the King of Chu, plotted treason and rebellion. His ministers recommended his execution, but the emperor could not bear to do so and abolished Liu Ying's title. He pardoned Queen Mother Xu and allowed her to stay in the Chu Palace, and rewarded her with 500 households in Tangmu. Guo Song, the Marquis of Xinli, and Guo Jun, the Marquis of Fagan, were both released from prison and their kingdoms were abolished.
In the 14th year of Yongping, when he was escorted to Danyang County, the former King of Chu Liu Ying committed suicide. Because of Liu Ying's case, thousands of people were imprisoned, from the royal family of Luoyang to the marquis, to the gentry and heroes of various states and counties. Some were killed, some were exiled, and people at that time called it the "Chu Prison".
In May, Liu Yuanshou, son of the late King of Guangling Liu Jing, was granted the title of Marquis of Guangling.
In the 15th year of Yongping, Huaiyang King Liu Yan committed treason and cursed the emperor.
After the charges were verified, the ministers requested that Liu Yan be executed. The emperor was grateful that Liu Yan's crime was lighter than Liu Ying's, so he changed Liu Yan's title to King of Fuling, with a fief of only two counties.
On the night of December 30th, the sixteenth year of Yongping.
The sand in the clepsydra dripped silently. The emperor stood on the steps under the veranda of the West Palace, looking up at the starry sky quietly, without saying a word.
Empress Ma came from behind, dismissed the maid, and gently put a mink fur coat on him. The emperor did not move, still staring at the ink-like night sky.
The world is bustling, but it passes in a flash.
It turns out that ten years have passed.
He held a piece of evil-repelling jade in his palm, and his rough fingertips had rubbed the smooth surface countless times. Every time he sat in the court and faced the chaotic remonstrances of the ministers, and could not come to a satisfactory conclusion, he would unconsciously touch the jade pendant. He knew the little actions each of them made in private, some of which moved him , and some of which made him angry. Relying on the huge power behind the small thing, he even controlled the power of his relatives and dared not act rashly. People all said that this emperor who succeeded Guangwu in the Han Dynasty was politically vigilant and observant. He liked to use his ears and eyes to reveal the truth, and all the ministers were reprimanded.
He had a bad temper and could not be as tolerant and gentle as his father, who could always smile no matter what happened. He was more like his mother, and could not help but beat his ministers with his cane when they did something wrong. No wonder the official Yao Song who was beaten crawled under the bed to confront him when he could not bear the beating any more, saying that he had never seen an emperor beat an official himself.
The jade in his palm felt so hot that he couldn't help but laugh silently.
His mother...Empress Guanglie Yin Lihua.
When he was young, he often complained to his brothers and sisters that his mother had a bad temper. Now it seems that the blood flowing in his body is really all thanks to her.
He really looks like his mother, doesn't he? But he asked himself that he had been an emperor for seventeen years, and he had worked diligently and conscientiously , and he had lived up to his ancestors and the people. He would never forget his parents' dying wishes, and his lifelong pursuit was to strive to be a good emperor and be worthy of being the master of this beautiful country.
"Your Majesty, it's time to rest." The night was chilly and windy. The emperor's health had not been good in recent years, and Empress Ma was always worried about him.
The emperor looked back at her. She was always so dignified. She had made an indelible contribution to the peace and harmony of the harem over the years. He could not be as devoted as his father, and was afraid to favor her alone. She knew it but was always tolerant and understanding. As a relative of the emperor, Ma was just like Yin, keeping a low profile and not competing. Her brothers and uncles did not become prosperous because she became the queen.
As for the maternal relatives, the Guo family...
He would always remember the oath he had made with the bloody iron needle when he was fourteen. He had his own methods and principles for being an emperor. Although his personality was born very different from his father's, he was influenced by his parents and it was impossible to describe him in simple words.
"What time is it?" It was less than seven o'clock in the night and it was already the new year, the New Year's Day when all officials would come to celebrate.
"Go take a nap. We have to hold court before dawn, and then go to the Yuan Mausoleum to pay homage. If you don't get enough rest, you will be exhausted."
Thinking that it would be inappropriate for him to go to see his parents in such a haggard and sickly state, he nodded and said, "No need to go back to the North Palace. Stay with me in the Queen Mother's bedroom for a while."
Queen Ma obeyed and took his hand, and the two of them walked into the West Palace together.
That night, he was lying in the dressing room of the West Palace, and heard the sound of the flying slave calling from outside the window. He sat up from the bed, and the flying slave was perched on the threshold, jumping and looking back frequently, very agile. He suddenly felt playful and got out of bed. At that moment, he forgot how to call the flying slave, and opened his arms like a child, and followed quietly on tiptoe.
The flying slave flew up and down until it reached the bedroom. He clasped his arms and flapped his wings, and the flying slave spread its wings and flew into the room. He laughed, lifted the bead curtain, and went around the screen.
The light was hazy, and the orange candlelight danced in front of her eyes. Her mother Yin Lihua sat on the bed, with wooden tablets piled all around her, writing by candlelight. Her father Liu Xiu silently took off her silk shoes for her and muttered, "Stop writing, take a rest."
Lihua raised her eyebrows, and her playful smile spread out like a glow: "You bully me because my handwriting is not good, I must practice my handwriting to make you convinced."
"I accept, I accept... Madam, if you say it's fine, then it's fine. How can I not accept it?" Liu Xiu soaked her feet in the hot water and asked, "Is it hot?"
"Just right." She bit her lower lip and smiled, her face flushed. She suddenly threw away the brush, leaned over and whispered something in his ear.
Liu Xiu still smiled faintly and dotingly, but Lihua was relentless and forced him to turn around. She grabbed his collar with her left hand, blew a breath with her right hand, and quickly reached into his collar, letting out a strange laugh.
Liu Xiu took a deep breath and shook his head helplessly.
"Hahaha, it's really warm."
"It's so cold, your hands are frozen. I told you to take a break, but you didn't listen."
Lihua slowly scratched his back with a mischievous smile on her face. Sure enough, not long after, Liu Xiu began to tremble all over and couldn't help shouting, "Lihua, stop messing around..."
"And you said you weren't ticklish...haha..."
Liu Xiu couldn't help laughing and twisted his body to avoid her teasing. But Lihua was not willing to give up easily. The two of them twisted and hugged each other playfully and rolled onto the bed piled with books.
The emperor was stunned and was about to step forward to pay his respects when he suddenly heard a bang. A bundle of scrolls on the bed was kicked under the bed, knocking over the golden basin of water.
The candlelight went out, and it was pitch black all around. Only faint cooing sounds could be heard in his ears. He shouted, "Father! Mother!"
Empress Ma hurriedly pushed the emperor awake, and the emperor opened his eyes and looked back blankly at the dim room. In a moment, two lines of tears silently slid down his cheeks.
On the first day of the first lunar month in the seventeenth year of Yongping, New Year's Day, all officials and princes and vassal kings came to congratulate.
At the hour of the rising water in the day, the emperor and the empress led the civil and military officials to the Yuan Mausoleum for worship. At that time, the fog was heavy and the temperature was extremely low. The towering mound of the Yuan Mausoleum was planted with apricot trees. The emperor stood in front of the mausoleum and looked up. He saw thousands of trees condensing nectar, just like pear blossoms blooming all over the Yuan Mausoleum.
Buddhism says that nectar is immortality and eternal life.
The emperor then ordered all officials to collect nectar from the trees on the mausoleum and offer it to his deceased parents.
That night, when the hustle and bustle of the day had faded away, the emperor did not return to the North Palace to celebrate the festival with his concubines, but went to the bedroom in the West Palace and knelt quietly in front of the bed.
On the bed was a mirror box that was used by Empress Dowager Yin when she was alive. He took out the ornaments in the box one by one and held them in his hands. Looking at those familiar old things and recalling the vivid dream of yesterday, he finally couldn't help but burst into tears.
Empress Ma and a group of maids and eunuchs all knelt on the ground, weeping unbearably.
On the sixth day of the sixth month in the eighteenth year of Yongping, Emperor Yongping Liu Zhuang died in the front hall of the Eastern Palace at the age of forty-eight.
On that day, Crown Prince Liu Zhuang ascended the throne and honored Empress Ma as the Empress Dowager.
The previous emperor was given the posthumous title "Ming" and the temple name "Xianzong".
Emperor Xianzong Xiaoming claimed that he had no virtue and his will said: I will not build a palace or temple. My spirit tablet can be kept in Empress Guanglie's dressing room.
(End of the book)
