Second-hand time travel: Liu Bei, the big-eared bandit

Chapter 258 Diao Chan as Empress
Empress Dowager Dong did not cause any more trouble, after all, she knew that this was going to be a big problem.

In fact, everyone present understood that this was a loss of principle with serious consequences.

Liu Bei had already taken control of the court at top speed and issued his will, thus securing the righteous cause for Liu Xie.

But now the queen has been murdered without trial...

Even if the Empress dies somewhere else, it's fine. Even if it's just a case of a assassin murdering a cook or poisoning her, it's all acceptable. As long as it wasn't done on the spot, at least someone can take the blame, just like the official Tang who poisoned the Empress Dowager.

But now the Empress is dead in the back hall of Deyang Palace, killed by the Empress Dowager herself... There's not even anyone to blame!

The eunuchs and palace maids present certainly knew that the Empress Dowager had caused the accident in order to vent her anger, but what would people outside the palace think?
Or rather, what would the enemy do?
Once He Jin and Yuan Shao get the news...

Unless the empress is executed by law, the blame will definitely fall on Liu Xie!
Liu Bei could even imagine how overjoyed He Jin, Yuan Shao, and others would be upon learning of this...

It should be noted that as long as Empress He was not publicly convicted by the court, she would still be the emperor's principal wife and Liu Xie's nominal mother—just like in common society, the principal wife is the head of the household, and the empress is the mother of all the princes.

These days, the biological mother isn't the real mother; she's just the manufacturer. The real mother is the "master mother"—the phones produced by Foxconn aren't actually from Foxconn; they belong to the brand owner.

As long as the Empress's death is pinned on Liu Xie, it is considered matricide!
Who would allow the person who murdered his mother to ascend to the throne?

Although Liu Xie was only eight years old, that's precisely why he was so easy to frame—one frame led to a whole string of them, and all of them were extremely believable…

Liu Xie's birth mother, Consort Wang, died at the hands of the Empress, so they already had a grudge.

In addition, Empress Dowager Dong had a grudge against the Empress, and indeed had the intention of seeking personal revenge.

—It could easily be said that: "Liu Bei was originally a villain with a long history of misdeeds. Liu Xie, under the influence of Liu Bei and Empress Dong, committed the heinous crime of murdering his mother..."

Given the persuasive power of the scholars Yuan Shao had befriended, it's likely that within a month or two, all the scholars in the land would believe that Liu Xie was a born wicked son who murdered his mother, and that Liu Bei was a great demon who bewitched the princes...

Furthermore, since Liu Bian was the eldest son of the legitimate wife, if He Jin and Yuan Shao were even intelligent enough to be considered monkeys, they would certainly use this as an excuse to overturn the will and install Liu Bian as the successor. Moreover...

He Jin now has ample reason to mobilize all the armies in the land to come to the capital to defend the emperor!
This also provided ample reason to mobilize a large army to kill Liu Xie directly!
A prince wouldn't be easily harmed, but a matricide is a different story...

The most troublesome thing is that the court session is not over yet, and the officials are still outside the Deyang Hall...

The news must be blocked first.

But this matter could not be kept secret for long. The Empress had already entered the palace, and there was no attempt to cover it up in the Southern Palace. Moreover, Liu Bei had already ordered the Empress, He Jin, and others to come and confess their crimes.

If we want to try the Empress's crimes, at least she needs to show her face...

How to solve this problem?

Liu Bei took a deep breath and forced himself to calm down.

"This matter must be kept quiet. All of you must be confined to the palace. Your release will depend on when the Crown Prince ascends the throne... Do you all understand?"

Liu Bei looked around at the palace maids and eunuchs present.

The news of the Empress's death must be concealed for several days, as long as possible, otherwise Luoyang will immediately erupt in rebellion.

Everyone bowed their heads and obeyed. They all understood that being imprisoned was already a sign of Liu Bei's mercy. If it had been a ruthless person, none of them would have survived.

"Where in the palace can we avoid the Empress's people? We need to first place the Empress's body in a quiet place within the palace."

Seeing that everyone was relatively obedient, Liu Bei pointed to the empress on the ground and asked the palace servants present.

“The violent chamber…Dong Hou was raised in the violent chamber when he was young.”

A cicada official answered.

The Chan Guan, also known as the Diao Chan Guan, was an inner official under the Yongle Shaofu (a government office during the Yongle reign). Both palace maids and eunuchs could hold this position.

The headdresses worn by the emperor's close attendants, such as the Attendant-in-Ordinary and the Attendant-in-Ordinary, were called "Diao Chan Crowns". The Imperial Household Department would always have sable tails and cicada feathers on hand. The Cicada Official was usually in charge of the manufacture and distribution of Diao Chan Crowns, and was also responsible for the appearance and upbringing of the royal children.

The cicada official was a young woman who appeared calm and had a very delicate face.

She was also tall, probably around 7 feet 12 inches (1.65 meters), which was considered quite tall for a woman these days.

However, dressed as a cicada official, she resembled a junior eunuch. Without makeup, she blended in with a group of young eunuchs and didn't stand out much, since most eunuchs were of similar height and dressed similarly.

Liu Bei didn't even notice her when she wasn't speaking.

The cicada official was currently protecting Liu Xie, covering his eyes.

Liu Xie held her arm, appearing very affectionate towards the Cicada Official.

The "Baoshi" mentioned by the official in charge of the palace was the palace workshop responsible for weaving and dyeing. The name "Bao" was derived from the idea of ​​exposing the fabric to the sun.

At the same time, the Baoshi (暴室) was also a place for disciplining and training newly arrived palace maids. If palace maids or imperial concubines committed crimes, they were often imprisoned in the Baoshi, hence it was also known as the Baoshi Prison.

After the death of Liu Xie's birth mother, Consort Wang (Wang Rong), Liu Xie was sent to the Baoshi (a place for the emperor to raise children) immediately after birth. He was raised by Zhu Zhi, the steward of the Baoshi, until he was two years old, and then handed over to the Empress Dowager for upbringing.

Liu Bei looked at the image of Empress He on the ground, then at the cicada official, and asked, "What's your name?"

“I entered the workshop to weave at a young age, and later followed Lord Dong into the Yongle Palace, where I was given the name Jiang Li.”

The official looked up at Liu Bei and asked, "Lord Liu, should Lord Dong be escorted out of the palace first?"

The name Jiang Li is obviously from "Li Sao". This cicada official is not surnamed Jiang. This is just a name given to her by the palace.

However, seeing how close Liu Xie was to Jiang Li, Liu Bei understood who had taught Liu Xie to be so precocious.

When Liu Bei planned to place Empress Dowager Dong under house arrest, Jiang Li deliberately showed her closeness to Liu Xie and intentionally talked about her experiences, which clearly showed that she knew how to survive.

"Zilong! Take the Crown Prince to the side hall... Jiang Li, come here..."

Liu Bei summoned Zhao Yun and instructed him to take Liu Xie to a side hall. He then brought Jiang Li to the Empress's corpse and compared the two bodies several times, asking, "Would you be willing to be Empress for a few more days?"

"what?"

Jiang Li was startled: "Me?"

Liu Bei looked around at everyone present, then at the Empress's body, and finally looked at Jiang Li: "Yes, it's you."

"Clean this place up... Zhao Zhong, escort the Empress Dowager back to the palace."

"You all go into the torture chamber. I won't make things difficult for you, but you shouldn't make things difficult for me either... Zilong, send someone to keep an eye on me."

"Zhang Rang, you've done this..."

Liu Bei quickly instructed everyone: "Jiang Li, change into the Empress's clothes and put on the veil..."

The Empress has such a good figure and is so tall, standing at seven feet one inch; only Jiang Li is suitable for her.

……

In the afternoon, the officials returned to the court.

The meeting continues.

Zhang Rang's voice came from outside the palace: "The Empress begs to enter the palace to confess her sins..."

"please!"

Liu Bei, holding Liu Xie's hand, was still presiding over the ceremony at the imperial palace.

All the officials turned to look at the palace gate.

The 'Empress', wearing a veil, followed Zhang Rang into the palace.

"Your subject Liu Bei pays his respects to the Empress and begs for forgiveness for his impending criticism of the Empress."

Liu Bei and Liu Xie bowed in the hall.

Before being convicted and stripped of her title as empress, she still had to observe the proper etiquette.

All the officials also paid their respects.

"Your Majesty, may I ask you, are you willing to admit to the crime of privately murdering Consort Wang Rong eight years ago?"

To avoid being exposed, Liu Bei only mentioned the case of Consort Wang—this was the only case that wouldn't cause controversy, since Liu Xie was watching from the imperial palace.

"I'm willing to admit it."

The 'Queen' nodded, her voice hoarse and choked with sobs, as if she had just been crying.

"Since she has confessed, let's remove the Empress's crown and send He to the imperial prison... We'll decide how to deal with her after His Majesty's death."

Liu Bei then proposed a decision that would not cause controversy.

Liu Bei was a subject, and Liu Xie was a prince. It was not appropriate for them to make a final decision at this time. They could only first define the empress as a criminal who had already confessed to her crimes and send her to prison to wait.

A decision will be made after the new emperor officially ascends the throne.

This aligns with the understanding of all officials and with historical precedent.

(End of this chapter)