The political situation was turbulent and chaos arose.
Zhongzhao was ambitious. They wanted to take advantage of the endless war between Nansheng and Dongqing to send troops to take advantage and expand their territory.
However, they also had a head full of lawsuits. The internal struggle was unprecedentedly fierce and the lives of the people were getting worse.
Perhaps it was because they were nearing their end and followed in the footsteps of Nansheng and Zhongzhao. There were already several peasant armies that tried to rebel in Zhongzhao.
However, the scale of the rebel army was too small. Before they could make any waves, they were brutally suppressed by the official army.
The civil society was restless. The aristocratic families that had their own armies also had their own worries. There was a faint sign that the feudal lords were going to split.
At this sensitive time, a shocking piece of news came out of the Zhongzhao palace.
Empress Du was a wooden man who had turned into a demon!
The ambitious feudal lords couldn't hold back and used this as an excuse to scold the current emperor for going against the grain and allowing a demon to harm the palace. They even spread the news. Who knew if the emperor, princes, and princesses in the palace were still human?
This rumor spread quickly and the already weakened imperial power was on the verge of collapse.
Of course, the imperial family would never admit to this rumor and denied it.
However, Empress Du was dead and the behavior of the imperial family was suspicious. The people were more and more convinced of the rumors about the wooden demon.
The emperor ordered that after Empress Du died, she was not allowed to enter the imperial mausoleum or enjoy offerings. He also took back the golden seals that Empress Du had used when she was conferred the title.
Although he didn't say that she was abolished, this treatment was no different from abolishing her.
Within Zhongzhao, who didn't know that Empress Du was favored by the emperor?
If she wasn't favored, how could Empress Du's "Four Self-Accomplishment Classics for Women" be so popular in Zhongzhao?
Now that Empress Du was dead, if there wasn't something fishy going on, why would the emperor treat the woman he once loved so cruelly?
After some thought, the people's guess was actually very close to the truth.
When Empress Du was unlucky, the Du family was the first to bear the brunt.
The Du family was already starting to decline. Who knew that the virtuous Empress Du would appear? Her "Four Self-Accomplishment Classics for Women" was praised by the world's famous scholars and was set as a role model for women. The Du family also benefited from it and couldn't help but feel elated. Even their bones became a few pounds lighter.
Now that their backer had fallen and they had offended many aristocratic families with heavy military power, they would sooner or later be dealt with by others.
Therefore, this branch of the Du family did not have an easy time.
When they were in the limelight, everyone wanted to bask in the limelight. When they were in dire straits, any Tom, Dick, or Harry could kick them when they were down.
Faced with the huge difference in their situation, many of the Du clansmen started to complain about Empress Du.
However, the descendants of Emperor Du were all dead, and their corpses were nowhere to be found. With nowhere to vent their anger, they could only vent their anger on Du Wuniang.
Du Wuniang was Feng Jin's eldest brother, Feng Gui's first wife, the original Madam Feng-Du.
After her separation from Feng Gui, she was safely sent back to Zhongzhao.
According to the increasingly abnormal atmosphere in Zhongzhao, as a woman who had been chased out by her husband's family, she should be caught and drowned.
However, she had Feng Gui's permission to release her wife. The person who sent her back was also a trusted aide whom Feng Gui had carefully selected.
After a series of struggles, Du Wuniang barely managed to keep her life. She was casually sent to a Buddhist hall by Madam Du to become a nun.
Du Wuniang hated Feng Gui in her heart. She had been thinking about how to use her family's influence to exert pressure on Feng Gui and make him welcome her back on his knees. However, the cruel reality hit her hard. Not to mention using her family's influence, if Feng Gui had not sent his trusted aide to deal with Madam Du, she would have long been tied up and drowned. Even so, she had never felt a shred of gratitude or remorse.
Du Wuniang learned from Empress Du's style of doing things. She used her opponent as a stepping stone to climb to the top, thus earning her virtuous reputation.
Now that Empress Du had passed away and the Du clan was implicated, Du Wuniang, who was in the Buddhist hall, was naturally not having a good time.
They did not want her life, but they sent female servants to humiliate her every day. They even made ugly male servants watch her being humiliated.
According to the contents of the Four Self-Accomplishment Classics for Women, Du Wuniang should have committed suicide to protect her reputation.
However, just as Feng Gui had mocked, she had always been strict with others and lenient with herself. Her life was so important, how could she give it up so easily? She could use the Four Self-Accomplishment Classics for Women to restrain others and suppress her opponents, but she would never use it to punish herself.
Du Wuniang was in dire straits, but her ex-husband, Feng Gui, was unexpectedly blessed.
Ever since Shangyang County was taken over by Jiang Pengji, the lives of the people in the county were guaranteed. Feng Gui finally did not have to be so busy that he could not return home.
When he had more free time, he would devote himself to reading. Occasionally, he would go out to visit friends and participate in scholarly gatherings and poetry gatherings. He personally taught his two children how to read.
With Du Wuniang as an example, Feng Gui personally asked about his two children's daily lives.
One day, he had just returned from outside. There was already someone waiting for him outside the manor.
Feng Gui was secretly surprised. He followed the person to see his father, Feng Ren.
"Huai Zhang, come over and take a look at this."
As soon as he entered, Feng Gui saw his father, Feng Ren, sitting on a mat. Beside him was a stack of books.
Unlike the usual scroll-bound books that he was familiar with, these books were fastened with white thread.
"Father … this is?"
Feng Gui walked forward and picked up one of the books. It felt smooth and cold to the touch. When he opened the title page, he saw a familiar name.
He flipped through it again. The profound meaning inside was thought-provoking.
Feng Gui came from a noble family that had been passed down for close to a thousand years. After many years of accumulation, the family had a collection of more than a hundred thousand books.
Feng Gui didn't dare to say that he had read all of them, but he had some impression of them. However, he was completely unfamiliar with the books in his hands.
In other words, it was highly possible that these books were newly published.
The newly published books even used expensive paper. It was extremely extravagant.
"They were sent here from Wanzhou not long ago," Feng Ren said.
"Second Brother gave them to you?" Feng Gui was the first to think of his younger brother.
Feng Ren shook his head and said, "That's not the case. These were given to me by the Wanzhou Magistrate, Liu Xi. Not only do I have them, but other famous scholars also have them. "
When Feng Gui heard this, his expression cracked.
Not to mention the contents of the books, just the paper alone was worth no less than 200,000 strings of coins.
Even if Liu Xi owned a papermaking workshop and was very wealthy, he couldn't afford to squander like this, could he?
Gifting one set wasn't enough, and he even gave it to other famous scholars?
Feng Ren said, "Take a look at the contents."
Feng Gui did as he was told and read carefully. Not long after, he was fascinated.
Feng Ren snorted and said, "Liu Xi played a very big game of chess. The bait he threw out was too tempting."
Feng Gui agreed with him. He could see clearly that the potential value of this set of books was immeasurable.
Feng Ren threw another bomb at Feng Gui, causing him to be at a loss for what to do.
"The Wanzhou Magistrate, Liu Xi, not only generously gifted books, but he also generously expressed his willingness to write books for the world's scholars," Feng Ren said. "Do you still remember the Golden Scale Pavilion of the previous dynasty? In his letter, Liu Xi mentioned that he wanted to rebuild the Golden Scale Pavilion and provide it to the world's poor scholars for free … Currently, only I have received this letter. The others have only received books. "
Feng Gui lowered his gaze and said, "Liu Xi, this is …"
You've already exceeded your reading limit for today. If you want to read more, please log in.
Login
Select text and click 'Report' to let us know about any bad translation.
