Chapter 889
Officially Abolished
Empress Dowager Sun was especially favored by Emperor Xuanzong. She was in charge of the harem when she was a concubine, and later became empress and then empress dowager. Not only her sons but also her daughters-in-law were very filial to her. She could easily accomplish whatever she wanted in the harem.
Once the order was given, the late emperor's harem was placed under control, and even Empress Qian's movements were restricted.
Empress Dowager Sun was genuinely afraid that Empress Qian would commit suicide, because she had acted too affectionately since the emperor was captured.
When their son was alive, the couple were indeed deeply in love, but she never imagined that her love would be this deep.
Because, although her son respected Lady Qian, she knew that, in terms of affection, his favorite was actually Consort Liu.
The women in the harem thought it was time for them to be forced to commit suicide, and waited anxiously for the poisoned wine and the white silk.
They waited and waited, but instead of poison and a white silk ribbon, they received an imperial edict.
The new emperor, following the wishes of his predecessor, abolished the practice of human sacrifice, and from then on, no living person was allowed to be buried alive in the royal family.
Xiao'e knelt in the crowd. She couldn't understand the imperial edict, only a few key words. She was somewhat incredulous until the eunuch who was announcing the decree knelt down. Her friend Qiaozhen rushed up to her, excitedly saying, "Xiao'e, Xiao'e, did you hear that? His Majesty has abolished the practice of funerary sacrifice. We don't have to die!"
Xiao'e slumped to the ground, her hands still trembling slightly: "Really?"
Qiaozhen nodded vigorously: "Really!"
Both of them were only fourteen years old and were the lowest-ranking palace maids in the palace. But five days ago, they were suddenly selected as ladies to serve the late emperor.
The two had been in the palace for a year, but they hadn't seen many concubines, let alone the emperor. Xiao'e washed clothes for the female officials in the palace, while Qiaozhen was responsible for sweeping a section of the palace road. Each month, they had to give half of their monthly salary to their superiors, and the other half was theirs.
But palace maids still need to spend money every month.
They never imagined they could become the emperor's concubines.
Actually, they aren't either.
The emperor is dead. He was noble before his death, and he should be noble after his death. Therefore, he should bring more concubines, palace maids and eunuchs to serve him in the afterlife.
Xiao'e and the others were excited, and the concubines living in the secluded palace were equally excited.
Consort Liu, her limbs weak, was helped up by her head maid and sat down on the wooden couch in the room, still somewhat dazed.
The head palace maid was excited, but because of the national mourning, she dared not show it too obviously. She suppressed her joy and showed her grief, so her face looked somewhat distorted.
"Mother--"
Consort Liu, regaining her senses, asked again, "The practice of funerary sacrifice has been abolished?"
"It's over. The imperial seal has been affixed; it's His Majesty's will!"
Consort Liu immediately corrected: "No, this is the late emperor's will! The late emperor was benevolent!"
The head palace maid was taken aback, but nodded repeatedly after realizing what she meant.
"Go and prepare the Buddhist hall. I want to pray for the late emperor. The palace gates are tightly closed, and I will not see anyone who comes these days."
The head palace maid agreed and immediately led people to close the door and tidy up the Buddhist hall.
The other concubines may not have been as clever as Consort Jing, but they knew they should keep a low profile at this time, so they all closed their doors and refused to see guests.
Kunning Palace was very quiet. Empress Qian had been sitting motionless in her chair since receiving the imperial edict.
The ladies-in-waiting looked at her with worry and unease.
A young female official stepped forward, took her hand, and said softly, "Your Majesty, please accept my condolences. His Majesty has always cherished you. If he knew about this, he would be happy. Even if he is lonely, we will meet again after a hundred years."
Empress Qian suddenly laughed, her tense expression relaxing.
An older female official, her face pale, ignored the younger one and knelt down with a thud, pressing her forehead to the back of her hand and kowtowing: "Your Majesty! If you are to be buried alive with the emperor, the imperial edict will be null and void. The twenty-eight concubines, forty-six palace maids, and sixteen eunuchs on the list will all be buried with you. From now on, the practice of burying concubines alive with the emperor will be difficult to abolish. For thousands of generations, the concubines, princesses, palace maids, and eunuchs will have to be buried alive with the emperor. Your Majesty—" Empress Qian's expression was gentle as she nodded and said, "I know, Aunt Sui Shu, don't worry."
Upon hearing this, the older female official's expression relaxed, and she respectfully kowtowed three more times to Empress Qian before rising and stepping aside.
The young female official's expression turned sour from the moment she stepped forward and knelt down, but she quickly composed herself, lowered her eyes, and stood to the side.
Sui Shu also stepped back, but Empress Qian called out to her, "Aunt, please stay and take care of me."
Sui Shu agreed with a stiff face.
Zhu Qiyu's imperial edict spread rapidly throughout the Ming Dynasty, and the first to be affected were the imperial family members in the capital.
When the princes and dukes of the imperial clan heard this, they were all in an uproar.
The majority expressed their opposition: "These are rules set by our ancestors, how can they be changed?"
A small minority expressed support but retorted bluntly: "Haven't we changed enough things from our ancestors? Why can't we change this? I've disliked this practice of funerary sacrifice for a long time."
"Stop talking nonsense. When have we ever changed the things of our ancestors?"
"Of course there are. Let's not talk about the distant past. Just take the practice of funerary sacrifice. Our ancestors only mentioned the sacrifice of concubines without children, but in recent years, how many concubines with children have been sacrificed?"
Throughout the imperial harem, how many concubines with children were ultimately forced to commit suicide due to the emperor's will, the new emperor's decree, and the new empress dowager's explicit or implicit suggestions?
Upon hearing this, the clamoring members of the imperial clan fell silent for a moment. This statement could not be taken too seriously. If it were, not only would they offend Zhu Qiyu's lineage, but they would also offend other princes in similar situations.
Zhu Qiyu said with a stern face: "The edict has been issued and my mind is made up. This is also my elder brother's last wish. From now on, no member of the royal family shall be allowed to commit suicide, not even a servant."
The imperial edict had already been issued. It was the first official decree issued by Zhu Qiyu after he returned to the capital and was placed on the dragon throne. It was also in accordance with the will of the late emperor. In other words, it was the will of two emperors. The opposition from the imperial clansmen was useless.
The princes and dukes quickly realized that it was not worth offending the new emperor at this time. Moreover, they heard that the empress dowager had also agreed to fight for the posthumous title of the late emperor. If they argued at this time, wouldn't they offend both the new emperor and the empress dowager?
Oh, and it will also offend many of the concubines' families.
Although the late emperor did not have many concubines, and the highest-ranking official in his family was only a third-rank official, future emperors would still have concubines.
They are now strongly opposing it, and they don't know if they will inadvertently offend those officials.
Few members of the Ming Dynasty imperial family held official positions, as no one wanted to offend officials in power.
After all, it's easier to deal with the King of Hell than with his underlings, so they made a few noises, but when they realized the new emperor was unlikely to change his mind, they quickly gave up.
They call this "a wise person knows when to yield."
Zhu Qiyu was dumbfounded. He hadn't expected it to be so easy; these people had actually jumped around just like Pan Yun had said.
Zhu Qiyu looked puzzled.
Whenever he had a doubt, he couldn't help but go to Pan Yun.
"When my elder brother was alive, I participated most in the council meetings of the imperial clan. Any disputed matter would be discussed for ten days or half a month, and sometimes even a year or two. Especially the older members of the imperial clan, they could be very harsh when they scolded people. How come they agreed so easily this time?"
Pan Yun: "They are just not kind-hearted, not stupid. Opposing the abolition of funerary sacrifice will not only offend the new emperor and empress dowager, but also the officials of this dynasty, the officials of the next dynasty, the officials of the dynasty after that, as well as countless literati. Even among the imperial family, there are many voices in favor."
She said, "There are many members of the royal family who, like the former King Zhou, felt this was cruel and wanted their wives and concubines to live. However, they were either powerless to do so or did not want to cause trouble, so they remained silent. Now that Your Highness has issued an imperial decree, they will naturally obey it gladly."
"Only truly mentally deficient and cruel people would insist on human sacrifice."
Zhu Qiyu breathed a sigh of relief, understanding dawned on him.
Pan Yun asked with a smile, "Have the officials agreed on the new posthumous title?"
Zhu Qiyu hummed in agreement and then said, "The character 'Ying' has just been chosen and has already been reported to the Empress Dowager." (End of Chapter)