Preface
In May 1182, Zhu Xi, the envoy of Changping in eastern Zhejiang of the Southern Song Dynasty, came to Taizhou with a sword in his hand and took away the seal of the local prefect Tang Zhongyou. It is conceivable that the noble envoy of Changping in eastern Zhejiang rarely snatched the seal of a magistrate with his own hands. This already shows the anger in Zhu Xi's heart. Next, he presented six consecutive twists and turns to the Song court, in which he viciously impeached Tang Zhongyou, the prefect of Taizhou, for various crimes. However, these so-called "crimes" are indeed too far-fetched. This makes us wonder -
How can a resolute master of science be so easily angry and frame others? If there really is a black history of oppressing the weak and abusing punishment, should we just brush it off?
The encounter between the prefect and the talented woman
One day in November, Tang Zhongyou took a few fellow villagers and friends to Jianzi Mountain to overlook the mountains and rivers of Taizhou. When he was a teenager, Tang Zhongyou was known for his intelligence, and he often came to see talented people. Now he is the lord of a place, and he has gained both fame and fortune. Just as a group of people were looking from a high place and savoring this rare leisure time, a friend had a whim: Why not go to East Lake and invite some young ladies to cheer up? Tang Zhongyou smiled and agreed, so he ordered someone to invite him.
Soon two young kabuki came to the shore of East Lake, one named Yan Rui and the other named Wang Hui. Both of them are talented and beautiful, Yan Rui is especially intelligent, not only good at music, but also chanting and composing poems. For a while, the flowers by the lake were laughing, and the sound of the beautiful piano was surrounding, and everyone was drunk as if they were in a paradise. Among them, Tang Zhongyou was full of praise for Yan Rui, a rare talented woman - how can there be such a talented woman in the world?
However, what Tang Zhongyou never expected was that Yan Rui in front of him was not actually of noble birth, but was sold by his relatives and became the tragic fate of the official kabuki. may have been too close to fate, and when parting, Tang Zhongyou made a promise drunken and hazy: When he reaches the top of his career, he will definitely let Yan Rui get out of his humble fate.
Master Zhu Lixue's anger framed
However, all this warmth is a mirror flower after all. In May 1182, Zhu Xi, as a master of science and an envoy to Changping in eastern Zhejiang, inspected here. He has always advocated the idea of preserving heavenly principles and destroying people's desires, and believes that lyrics, music, and wine are the biggest sin in life. As soon as he heard about Tang Zhongyou and the talented girl Yunyu, he was immediately furious, and decided that Tang Zhongyou must be an accomplice to the fall of the ill-fated talented girl.
So, he personally led the army to Taizhou and seized Tang Zhongyou's official seal as the first step. Then, he wrote to impeach Tang Zhongyou for his corrupt life and excessive lewdness. The most important evidence is Tang Zhongyou's behavior of helping Yan Rui and others get rid of their identity as kabuki.
Master Zhu Lixue's reputation was like thunder, and the Song court immediately ordered Yan Rui and others to be arrested. What followed was the conceivable punishment to extract confessions—how could a weak woman resist the merciless torture of fists and sticks? Her fate was destined to be toyed with by this angry master of science.
The cry of justice: I have not harmed anyone, you will kill if you want to
However, people are not as good as heaven, and Yan Rui's willpower is far beyond ordinary people. In Taizhou, she has experienced a month of horrific torture, and her body is already skinny and unrecognizable, but she still insists on her innocence. In the face of all kinds of threats and temptations, she only has one sentence: I didn't harm anyone, you can kill if you want to!
Zhu Xi thought that if he switched to his own realm and then used torture such as Ling Chi and capital punishment, this soft and boneless woman would definitely give in. How do you know that Yan Rui was tortured to the point of dying, and she is still righteous and strict - I am innocent with the Tang Governor, and your so-called criminal evidence is all fabricated!
This stubborn attitude annoyed Zhu Xi. Even if a mere kabuki is killed in prison, who cares? What Zhu Xi wants is the validity of her confession, so that she can completely defeat her political opponents. As long as Yan Rui admits to adultery, Tang Zhongyou will have no possibility of turning over.
It is this kind of indifference and cruelty in her heart that made Yan Rui experience life and death in prison, but she still insisted on the bottom line and justice that a "civilian" should have. She understands that as long as she confesses, it is equivalent to harming a good person. Even if you survive and be rich, it is a sin that is based on the suffering of others.
When the jailer told Zhu Xi of her persistence, the master was furious: "I don't believe this woman is tougher than a man!" So the harsh punishment was raised to another level, and Yan Rui died and came back to life again under the stabbing and whipping. She knew she didn't have much to do and that her life was coming to an end. Even so, he will never betray his beliefs.
The attention of the royal family, the facts of the case were revealed to the world
Fortunately, the heavens are not completely blind. When Yan Rui's life was hanging by a thread, this unjust case finally attracted the attention of the royal family. At that time, Song Xiaozong was in the prime of life, and he was an enlightened monarch who attached great importance to public opinion. Yan Rui's tragic situation has become a legend in the city, and folk discussions are boiling. This made Song Xiaozong have to pay extra attention.
One morning in July 1182, Xiaozong was discussing state affairs with his ministers in the court, but he saw the ministers looking at each other and whispering. He couldn't help but curiously ask what the ministers were talking about, only then did he know that the people were now singing about a woman named Yan Rui who had been wrongfully killed, saying that she was framed by Master Zhu Lixue.
Xiaozong was taken aback. Although he had heard about it, he did not know that the details were so tragic. This talented and good-looking woman with an iron will is like the reincarnation of Hades' sister. If it was really an unjust case, how could I do nothing!
So Xiaozong immediately ordered a lenient handling of Yan Rui's case and thoroughly investigated the truth. Soon, the famous Master Zhu Lixue exposed his true face of destroying others and benefiting himself. It turned out that everything was just that he and Tang Zhongyou had political disagreements, and wanted to use the topic to attack political opponents. The Empress Dowager scolded Zhu Xi for abusing torture and framing Zhongliang, and denounced him as a hypocrite.
Zhu Xi was forced to leave the imperial court and lecture among the people. And Tang Zhongyou was also disgusted with the dark officialdom and chose to go to the countryside to teach his apprentices. Yan Rui was reborn, and did not accept the pursuit of the powerful, but chose an ordinary life that was right for everyone.
epilogue
It seems ordinary, but in fact, every embarrassment and sorrow of life, every trampled justice, should not be easily forgotten.
Behind the Yan Rui case, there was a typical party struggle in the Song Dynasty. Zhu Xi and other masters of science are just taking the opportunity to purge dissidents and ignore the value of life. Tang Zhongyou helped the talented woman get rid of her fetters, which was originally a manifestation of the spirit of humanity, but it was regarded as corrupt and degenerate.
And it was Yan Rui's unwavering voice of justice that shook the entire court and exposed the truth of the undercurrent of officialdom. A talented woman can fall for the powerful, and she can temporarily violate herself in a difficult situation. But Yan Rui chose to insist on the truth, even at the cost of her life.
Life is splendid because of faith, and death is magnificent because of faith. When we accuse others of being anti-human and bending the law at every turn, we might as well think about Yan Rui. There will always be a day when injustice will be exposed, and time may not be on the side of the perpetrator.