On May 16, the seventh year of the Yuan Dynasty (1092 AD), the great Song Dynasty was greeted by the sound of music, bells and drums, and chimes in the capital of the Great Song Dynasty, and the hundred officials and clans were all waiting in and out of the imperial palace.
It turned out that this day was the day of the wedding of Zhao Xu, the great son of the Great Song Dynasty, who had just turned 15 years old.
After the wedding ceremony, Zhezong removed the hijab on the bride's head, and an ordinary-looking, not as beautiful face as expected, appeared in front of Zhezong. Suddenly, the young emperor wrote the disappointment in his heart on his face.
And the new empress Meng Shi would never have thought at this time that her next life would be vividly interpreted with the four words "life is like a play".
1. When you first became an empress, the big wedding day is the "death day"
When Emperor Zhezong Zhao Xu ascended the throne as emperor, he was not yet ten years old when he was put to power by his grandmother Empress Dowager Gao (Empress Yingzong of Song).
In the seventh year of the Yuan Dynasty (1092 AD), Zhezong was 15 years old, reaching the age of pro-government and marriage. Empress Gao and Empress Xiang (Empress Shenzong of Song) selected a famous woman of the same age as Emperor Zhezong and a woman of the same age as Emperor Zhezong from more than 100 family women, Meng Shi, who had a quiet and virtuous temperament.
Once the person has chosen, it is time to choose the right big wedding day.
After some research, the taishi officials in the palace believed that May 16 was an auspicious day of the zodiac, which was suitable for the ceremony of the book. However, according to Taoism, this day is the day when heaven and earth meet, and if the husband and wife live together, they will lose their longevity, so it has always been regarded as a "death day" by the people.
Therefore, Jejong himself did not want to hold a big wedding on this day. However, Taishiguan has his own reasons: the empress dowager is a symbol of heaven and earth, yang and yin, and when combined on this day, it will be rich in grain and peace in guotai and people.
Zhezong still felt taboo and had been hesitant. At this time, Empress Dowager Gao criticized him: "How can the emperor succumb to the bad customs of the people?" Moreover, it is not recorded in the texts, which is not enough for teaching. ”
Therefore, the day of the big wedding was set for May 16.
Because of the taboo, after the big marriage, Zhezong always had an indissoluble knot in his heart, and he was also quite critical of Empress Meng. Therefore, Empress Meng has been living a very cold life in the harem, but fortunately, after giving birth to Princess Fuqing, she felt that the days were more delicious.
2. Wives and concubines competed for favors, and Empress Meng was deposed for the first time
Because he did not like the empress with a plain posture, Zhezong poured his feelings into Liu Jieyu, who was extremely beautiful.
This Liu Jieyu not only looks beautiful like a flower, but also has excellent talent and skill, and is good at guessing Zhezong's intentions, so she is very favored by Zhezong.
As the saying goes, those who are favored always have no fear, and this statement is also fulfilled on Liu Jieyu. Liu Shi was pampered and arrogant, not to mention ordinary concubines, even Empress Meng, she did not pay attention to her, often offended the empress.
Once, Empress Meng took her concubines to the Jingling Palace for worship. According to the ceremonial law, only Empress Meng could sit down, and the other concubines could only stand respectfully on the side.
However, Liu Jieyu was arrogant and rude, refused to stand, and retreated to the curtain alone to pick flowers and sniff herself. Although Empress Meng was displeased when she saw it, she did not say anything. But one of the maids beside Empress Meng hugged the empress and shouted loudly: "Who doesn't stand solemnly under the curtain?" ”
When Liu Jieyu heard this, not only did she not come, but she glared at the maid fiercely, then turned around and simply turned her back to Empress Meng.
Another time, the harem concubines went to the empress dowager's palace as usual to ask for peace, but the empress dowager was unwell and came a little late, so everyone sat outside the palace and waited.
This time, Liu Jieyu deliberately stood aside and did not sit down, for the simple reason: she did not want to sit on an ordinary stool with the concubines, she wanted to sit on a chair with zhu lacquer gold ornaments that only the empress could sit on, and sit on an equal footing with the empress!
The entourage knew Liu Jieyu's thoughts, so they brought her a chair with zhu lacquer and gold ornaments, and Liu Jieyu sat down unceremoniously.
This apparent act of trespassing caused resentment among the other servants. So as soon as Liu Jieyu sat down, someone called out: "The empress dowager has arrived!" Liu Jieyu had to stand up with the others.
Unexpectedly, after waiting for a moment, the empress dowager was not seen, and the concubines all sat down and waited. Liu Jieyu also sat down together, but she did not expect that the chair behind her was moved by whom, and she sat empty on her butt and fell on all fours.
All the concubines laughed in unison when they saw this, and Empress Meng couldn't help but laugh. Liu Jieyu knew that someone had deliberately let her out of the foreign world, and she was angry and gritted her teeth, but she did not dare to attack because she was in the empress dowager's palace at this time.
After returning to her palace, Liu Jieyu cried in front of Zhezong, but refused to tell the truth. The retinue stated the events to Emperor Zhezong, and insisted that the matter must have been ordered by the empress.
Zhezong did not believe that the empress would do such a thing, but he could not stand Liu Jieyu's flirtation, so he had to promise to relieve her anger, so that Liu Jieyu could break her nose and laugh.
Under the wind of Liu Jieyu's pillow, Zhezong became more and more distant from the empress.
In the third year of Shaosheng (1096), Princess Fuqing, the daughter of Empress Meng, suddenly fell ill, and although the doctors in the palace did their best, the princess did not get better.
Empress Meng was in a hurry, so she summoned her sister who knew medical skills to the palace, but the empress's sister did not cure the princess. At this time, when a new Taoist priest who could draw a spell to cure diseases came to the capital, the empress sister asked the Daoist priest for a spell and brought her into the palace to treat the princess.
Empress Meng also knew that spells and witchcraft were forbidden in the palace, so she did not dare to use them. When Emperor Zhezong came to visit his daughter, Empress Meng took the initiative to confess the spell.
Zhezong also understood Empress Meng's love for her daughter and did not blame her. But Empress Meng still burned the spell in front of Zhezong.
After Liu Jieyu knew about this matter, she thought that her opportunity had come. She sent someone to secretly sprinkle paper money on The bedside of Princess Fuqing and cursed the princess for dying. Unexpectedly, a few days later, the princess really died.
Empress Meng, who had always obeyed the law and was very sad, was unusual, and ordered people to pray for blessings in the harem, open the water and land dojo, and pray for her daughter.
Liu Jieyu seized on this matter and made a big fuss, adding fuel to the fire and saying in front of Zhezong that the empress had different intentions, writing spells to curse the court and the emperor, and saying that the empress would pass on the bad luck of the wedding on May 16, the "death day", to Zhezong.
Emperor Zhezong was already jealous of the date of marriage, and now when he heard Liu Jieyu's "report", he could not help but be furious and ordered a strict trial of the matter.
Under the coercion and inducement of Liu Jieyu, the interrogators tortured and tortured the people around Empress Meng one by one. In this way, a confession that did not correspond to the truth was presented to the emperor.
In addition, at this time, the power of the court was the reform faction, and they hated the conservative Empress Gao who had brutally suppressed the reform faction, so they transferred this anger to Empress Meng, who was selected by Empress Gao, and also vigorously encouraged Emperor Zhezong to depose the empress.
In this way, Emperor Zhezong deposed Empress Meng and moved to Yaohua Palace.
3. In the old and new party struggles, Empress Meng was deposed again
After Empress Meng was deposed, although Liu Jieyu overthrew her opponent, she did not get the throne of the empress herself, and Zhezong's middle palace was vacant for three years.
Later, Liu Jieyu was crowned empress because she gave birth to Emperor Zhezong's only son. However, she had only been empress for a month, and her son fell ill and died soon after.
Emperor Zhezong was grief-stricken, believing that he had not treated Empress Meng and Princess Fuqing well, and then fell ill. Three months later, at the age of 25, Tetsujong died.
Because Zhezong was childless, his younger brother Zhao Tuo (赵佶) the Prince of Duan was proclaimed emperor, and he was the famous artistic emperor of the late Northern Song Dynasty, Emperor Huizong of Song.
After Emperor Huizong ascended the throne, he bowed to the empress dowager to listen to the government. Empress Xiang had always hated the Liu clan and liked Empress Meng, so she sent an edict to take Empress Meng back to the palace and honor her as Empress Yuanyou, ranking above Empress Liu of Yuanfu.
But Empress Meng only became empress for two more years this time, and then was deposed again. Unlike the last time she was deposed because of the harem struggle, this time Empress Meng was deposed mainly because of the old and new party struggles.
After Empress Xiang's death, Emperor Huizong reused the traitor Cai Jing and others to deal a harsh blow to the conservative faction. As a person who was selected and loved by Empress Gao and Empress Xiang, Empress Meng was also affected by the party struggle, and she was deposed as empress by Emperor Huizong and once again demoted to Yaohua Palace.
After that, Meng stayed in the Yaohua Palace, which is called a palace and actually has only a few broken rooms, for 25 years, living a lonely and miserable life.
4. Blessed by the abolition, it lasted for 152 years in the Great Song Dynasty
Time passed, and in the blink of an eye, it was the first year of Jing Kang (1126). At this time, the Jin soldiers marched south in a big way, and Emperor Huizong Zhao had hastily passed the throne to his son Zhao Huan.
The Yaohua Palace, where empress Meng lived in the past, suffered a fire and was burned to the ground. She then moved to Yanning Palace, but did not want the Yanning Palace to have a fire later, so Meng shi had to move to live in her brother's house on the outskirts of Beijing.
At the beginning of Jing Kang's second year, Emperor Qinzong Zhao Huan, after consulting with his ministers, decided to take meng back to the palace and once again honor her as Empress Yuanyou. However, before the edict could be issued, the Jin soldiers captured the capital city, and more than 3,000 people of the Song imperial family, including Huizong and Qinzong, were captured by the Jin soldiers and went north.
Meng Shi, on the other hand, was fortunate to escape the disaster because he had been deposed from the palace and lived in a house. Another lucky member of the Northern Song Dynasty royal family was the younger brother of Emperor Qinzong, Zhao Shuo, the King of Kang.
Later, the Jin people deposed the Second Emperor Hui Qin and made Zhang Bangchang, the prime minister of the surrender faction, the pseudo-Chu emperor. However, after the Jin people withdrew their troops, Zhang Bangchang was not supported by the officials and people of the Song Dynasty, so he had to go to the emperor and become the prime minister again.
Therefore, the Northern Song Dynasty royal family in the capital was only Empress Meng, so she was welcomed back to the imperial palace, honored as Empress Yuanyou, and listened to the government of the dynasty.
The first thing Empress Meng did after listening to the government was to send someone to Jeju to send a handwritten yi will, a jade seal to the kang king Zhao Shuo, to pass on the national jade seal, to ride the public opinion, to serve the imperial court, and to ask Zhao Shuo to take the throne as emperor.
With the will of the Imperial Seal and the Empress Dowager, King Zhao of Kang successfully ascended the throne as a court established for Emperor Gaozong of Song and Emperor Gaozong of Song, known in history as the Southern Song Dynasty.
Emperor Gaozong inherited the great unification of the Great Song Dynasty, so that the Great Song, which was originally in danger of being destroyed, could continue. In a sense, Empress Meng's act of making King Kang emperor made a contribution to the reconstruction of the Southern Song Dynasty, indirectly making the Great Song Dynasty last for another 152 years.
Due to the destruction of the capital city, most of the land in the north had fallen into the hands of the Jin people, and Emperor Gaozong had to go all the way south and finally reach Lin'an (present-day Hangzhou).
Later, the Jin invaded the south again, and Emperor Gaozong fled to the southeast coast, while Empress Meng retreated to Hongzhou (present-day Nanchang) in the southwest. On her way to escape, Empress Meng was pursued by Jin Bing, who fled from Hongzhou to Jizhou (present-day Ji'an) and from Jizhou to Qianzhou (present-day Ganzhou), and it was not easy to get rid of Jinbing.
Emperor Gaozong hid on the island for a while, and when he learned that the Jin had withdrawn, he dared to return to land and live in Yuezhou (present-day Shaoxing). After settling down, he sent someone to inquire about Empress Meng's whereabouts.
After learning that Empress Meng was in Qianzhou, he sent someone to take Empress Meng to Yuezhou, and Empress Meng ended her days of fleeing for more than a year.
Emperor Gaozong Zhao, although the emperor was not very good, but always remembered the care of his aunt Empress Meng when she established herself as emperor, so she was very filial to Empress Meng, and when Empress Meng was ill, he waited next to her for several days.
In the first year of Shaoxing (1131), Empress Meng died at the palace in Yuezhou, ending her unfortunate and fortunate legendary life.
Throughout Empress Meng's life, she was made empress twice, but she was deposed twice; she has enjoyed glory and wealth, and has also experienced upheaval and displacement; she has endured the pain of the loss of her daughter, and she has also received the filial affection of the emperor's nephew, but no matter what kind of circumstances, she has always been generous and obedient to people, so she can always be blessed by misfortune, and finally spend her old age peacefully and die well.
This is probably the way of heaven fairness, do not deceive the good!