Ding Huai looked at Empress Song's shocked expression and continued,"Is the Empress shocked?"
At this moment, Empress Song finally woke up from her extreme shock and chaotic thoughts. She said in a trembling voice,"You... Aren't you afraid that I'll tell the emperor that this is a crime that will wipe out the entire family?”
"I believe that Niangniang won't. Even if Niangniang would, would the emperor believe Niangniang's words?”Ding Huai seemed to have grasped Empress Song's weakness. Empress Song did not know how to respond to every word he said." Besides, does Your Majesty want to see anyone else in the Cold Palace? Don't you want me to avenge you?"”
Empress Song found it difficult to breathe. Every word of this person in front of her was like a hammer striking her heart. The scene of the Song family being annihilated by more than three hundred people seemed to reappear before Empress Song's eyes. Empress Song closed her eyes in pain. Two streams of hot tears flowed down her cheeks and unknowingly wet her clothes.
At this moment, Ding Huai's voice rang out in Empress Song's ears again.""As long as the Empress is not dead, Zhang Rang and the others will not be able to live in peace. Also, among the many concubines in the harem, which one of them didn't want the position of empress? Which one of them didn't want the Empress to die as soon as possible and give up the throne of empress?”
Empress Song's eyes were still tightly shut as she muttered,"Even if this widow doesn't die, the emperor can abolish this widow.”
Seeing that the effect was almost there, Ding Huai continued to drug him and said,"That's right, since the Empress has already been banished to the Cold Palace, the Emperor can depose the Empress at any time and appoint another Empress. However, although the Ten Attendants of the Imperial Court and the others had framed the King of Bohai for rebellion and accused Empress Song of using witchcraft to confuse the harem and curse the Emperor, the Emperor would have found insufficient evidence after the incident and might have been wrongly accused. Secondly, the Emperor had been married to the Empress for many years and had a deep relationship with her. How could he easily depose the Empress when there was insufficient evidence? Although Zhang Rang and the other concubines in the harem had advised him, hadn't the Emperor not deposed the Empress for more than a year?”
As she listened to Ding Huai's analysis, Empress Song slowly opened her beautiful eyes and looked at the older child in front of her with a strange gaze. Such a profound analysis had actually come from the mouth of a child who was only twelve or thirteen years old. From a theoretical point of view, Ding Huai's deduction was flawless. It was just that there were some situations that Ding Huai did not know, so there was a slight flaw in his deduction. However, this was already enough to make Empress Song feel incredulous. At the same time, she had no choice but to admire Ding Huai's incisive analysis.
Ding Huai continued," Although the Emperor has his doubts and is grateful for the deep relationship between husband and wife, he will not harm the Empress for the time being. However, there is no guarantee that Zhang Rang and the others, as well as the impatient concubine in the harem, will bribe assassins to murder the Empress. I'm afraid the Empress knows this better than me. Wasn't I also misunderstood by the Empress just now?”
After hearing Ding Huai's words, Empress Song fell silent. She was having a fierce struggle in her heart. Should she trust this person, should she tell him the reason for the matter, should she let him take revenge for the Song family? However, without any benefits, how could she easily agree to this extremely difficult and almost impossible matter?
Seeing that Empress Song was engaged in an intense mental struggle, Ding Huai did not say anything more. He stood to the side and waited for Empress Song to come to a conclusion.
After a long while, after careful deliberation, Empress Song finally believed that Ding Huai was not sent by the Emperor, Zhang Rang, or a concubine in the harem. She made up her mind to tell Ding Huai the whole story, hoping that he could avenge the Song family. As for the reward, Empress Song had also thought about it, which was,
It turned out that Empress Song had a childhood sweetheart before entering the palace. This person was none other than the initiator of the Yellow Turban Uprising, Zhang Jiao. However, Zhang Jiao was only a failed scholar, while Empress Song was a relative of the imperial family. During the reign of Emperor Zhang of the Han Dynasty, the two sisters of the Song family were chosen to enter the Ye Court at the same time and were conferred the title of noble. The noble of the Song Dynasty even gave birth to Prince Liu Qing, who was once made the Crown Prince and later deposed as the King of Qinghe. Empress Song was the great-granddaughter of the two sisters.
In a feudal society, a marriage of equal social status was a basic requirement. Therefore, although Zhang Jiao and Empress Song had known each other since they were young, they were destined to never be together. After being rejected by the Song Family, Zhang Jiao went to the Fufeng County Deputy, hoping that he could be elected.
Why did Zhang Jiao do this? This had to start from the selection of talents in the Han Dynasty.
The Han Dynasty was a great era in the history of China, and the name of the Han Dynasty came from it. However, the greatness of the Han Dynasty also had a lot to do with its talent selection system. At that time, the main methods used by the government to select talents were: Inspection, the emperor's conscription, the public house and the state and county conscription, private recommendation, examination and payment of funds.
Inspection referred to the inspection and recommendation, and the target was filial piety and honesty (honest, do not take things that are not their own), scholar (in the Eastern Han Dynasty to avoid Liu Xiu's taboo and renamed Mao Cai). The conditions for the candidates to be selected were: 1. They were of noble moral character and had a good family record; 2, to be proficient in one subject, 3, to understand the laws of the country; 4. Fortitude, resourcefulness, and determination. The vast majority of officials in the Han Dynasty were honest in their duties, and the Han Dynasty was also the cleanest era in the history of the Chinese Dynasty, which made the Han Dynasty great.
The emperor's conscription referred to the conscription of some particularly talented people whose fame was so great that they alarmed the emperor. At that time, the representatives were Jia Yi and Sima Xiangru.
The term " Duke's Mansion " and " Prefecture " referred to the high-ranking officials of the prefecture who could appoint some talents for their own use.
Examinations: There was an Imperial College in the Han Dynasty, and its purpose was to obtain a doctor (that is, a teacher at that time).
Paying money referred to spending money to buy an official position. This had a negative impact on the popularity of buying and selling officials in the late Qing Dynasty.
However, Zhang Jiao's parents had died when he was young, and he only had two younger brothers to rely on. In the Han Dynasty, where filial piety was respected, how could Zhang Jiao be elected? Besides, Zhang Jiao's family was almost penniless (not to mention giving gifts, even food was a problem). Although he had the talent of being full of knowledge and had a resolute, resourceful, and unyielding personality, these were not Zhang Jiao's advantages. After waiting for two years, Zhang Jiao finally realized that he was waiting for nothing when the new county magistrate took office. That was why people later thought that Zhang Jiao was a failed scholar.
Song Qing (Empress Song's maiden name) also noticed Zhang Jiao's helplessness. Helpless, Song Qing chose to elope with Zhang Jiao. The two of them successfully escaped with Zhang Jiao's two younger brothers, Zhang Liang and Zhang Bao, when the Song family was unprepared. They settled down in Weinan. Because Song Qing had brought some gold and jewelry with him when he escaped, the four of them lived a good life for a while.
A year later, Song Qing gave birth to a baby girl. Zhang Jiao, who had just become a father, was filled with endless longing for life.
However, bad luck often came when a person was most confident in life. Zhang Jiao and Song Qing's traces were discovered by the Song family.
Today, Zhang Jiao returned home after selling his paintings as usual. However, the moment he arrived at his house, he was beaten up by the servants of the Song family who had been lying in ambush. Zhang Jiao was originally a scholar, but he was quickly knocked out by a few servants who were as ferocious as wolves and tigers. When Zhang Jiao woke up again, he found the scene he didn't want to see the most.
Zhang Liang and Zhang Bao's faces were covered in blood and flesh. Their clothes were torn and tattered, and their black skin could be vaguely seen through the cracks. Moreover, the two of them were firmly tied up with ropes and were lying on the ground. They were already unconscious, but they were still moaning in pain. He had wanted to check on his two younger brothers, but he found that his entire body was in unbearable pain. Although it was not as miserable as his two younger brothers, he must have been injured.
Song Qing and Zhang Ning were nowhere to be found. Zhang Jiao didn't know that the Song family had come. He only thought that the robbers had taken Song Qing and his daughter away. At this moment, Zhang Jiao could only crawl to his two younger brothers and untie them. After he woke them up, he would think about it again. Every time he moved, his body hurt, but Zhang Jiao still gritted his teeth and crawled forward.
Just as Zhang Jiao was about to approach his two brothers, he suddenly felt a drop of water fall on the back of his hand. Then, he saw a pair of embroidered shoes in front of him. Zhang Jiao was very familiar with them. It was Song Qing. Zhang Jiao slowly raised his head. Indeed, it was that face that could move every man. However, this delicate and beautiful face was covered with sparkling pear blossoms. The one that had been dripping just now was one of these pear blossoms.
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