Chapter 202 The Female Prince Consort
After Qianhuan finished singing the Huangmei Opera "The Female Prime Minister", the monologue on the stage sounded again.
"Feng Suzhen had no choice but to marry the princess under the matchmaking of the emperor and Prime Minister Liu Wenju. On their wedding night, the princess kept urging her husband to go to bed and rest. Feng Suzhen knew that she couldn't hide her body from the princess, so she told her the truth."
Feng Suzhen sang to the princess: I am a girl in the boudoir, please look at the earring mark.
On the stage, the actress who played the princess walked closer and saw that it was actually a woman. The princess immediately felt humiliated.
She sang angrily, "A thunderbolt broke the clear sky, and the prince consort turned out to be a woman! How could I, a woman of royal status, endure such bullying? The more I think about it, the more unbearable it becomes. Follow me to the Golden Palace to see the Holy Lord!"
Feng Suzhen sang: "I know I have offended the royal family, but I did not intend to disrupt the court. Princess, please calm down your anger and allow me to speak out my grievances."
The princess said, "Then I'll give you a chance."
Feng Suzhen sang, "My name is Feng Suzhen. I was betrothed to Li Zhaoting since I was young. My parents despised poverty and loved wealth, so they framed Li and put him in prison. I traveled thousands of miles to the capital just to save my husband's life. I really hoped to gain fame and save my husband, but who knew I would be summoned to the deep palace. Princess grew up in the deep palace, how could she understand the pain of ordinary women? Sister Wang guarded the cold kiln for eighteen years; Liu Cuiping suffered for sixteen years; and Yingtai, the daughter of the previous dynasty, loved Liang Sheng through life and death. This is because their parents despised poverty and loved wealth, and their daughters never forgot their gratitude. Although I am not as virtuous as the previous dynasty, I will save my husband regardless of my own life. Princess is also a girl in the boudoir, don't you think Suzhen saved her husband with all her heart?"
The princess was still very angry: "I admire you for being so dedicated to saving my husband, but you should never have come to the palace and ruined my life!"
Feng Suzhen defended herself, "It's not me who ruined your life, it's the current emperor, your father. It's not the emperor who sent the imperial edict, and it's not Lord Liu who acted as a matchmaker. Even if Suzhen is bold, she wouldn't dare to enter the palace. I'm telling you the truth, and I hope the princess will think carefully. I deserve death for ruining the princess' life, but if the princess spares my husband's life, I will never forget your kindness. You sprinkled nectar on the dead leaves, and your virtuous reputation is known throughout the world. If the princess is unwilling to forgive, I will confess my crime at the Golden Steps. I have no regrets about executing Suzhen, and I beg you to release my husband. As long as my husband can be saved, I will be willing to die in the nine springs."
The monologue sounded, "After hearing Feng Suzhen's story, the princess finally calmed down, so she decided to plead with the emperor on Feng Suzhen's behalf."
The princess said to the emperor, "There is a girl in the folk, with extraordinary literary talent and stunning appearance. She fell in love with a boy when she was young, and the two families arranged for her to be married through a matchmaker. Unfortunately, the boy fell into poverty, and the girl's parents changed their minds."
Feng Suzhen then sang: "My parents despise poverty and love wealth, so they force me to break off the engagement."
Princess: "The young man was born with ambition, and he left the rich family in anger. The girl's parents used a vicious plot to frame her as a thief and sent her to the government office. The girl didn't like the rich or the poor, and would rather die than marry someone else. There was no better way to save the young man, so she had to disguise herself as a man and go to the capital. In the year of the imperial examination, she changed her name and came to seek fame for the young man. Three articles were as beautiful as brocade, and she won the first place on the dragon and tiger list."
Feng Suzhen: "I really hoped to take leave and return home to save the young master, but I didn't expect to cause such a disaster."
Princess: "It's because she looks like Pan An and is lovable. The emperor fell in love with her at first sight. He invited her to be his consort and wanted to marry the princess."
Feng Suzhen: "It is said that 'the emperor's order cannot be disobeyed', and the Grand Master is the matchmaker. I can't refuse no matter how hard I try, so I have to obey the order and enter the palace."
The princess and Feng Suzhen worked together to tell the whole story. After the emperor understood, he angrily ordered: "Feng Suzhen, you are so bold that you dare to disguise yourself as a man to take the imperial examination in Beijing and disrupt the court. Your crime is unforgivable. Come, take Feng Suzhen away and execute her at 3:30 noon."
Then two actors dressed as guards walked onto the stage, picked up Feng Suzhen and dragged her out to be executed.
The princess shouted hurriedly: "Spare his life, spare his life! Oh, father, you can't kill him, oh, you can't kill him."
The emperor asked in confusion: "My son, why can't I kill him?"
The princess pleaded, "Father, I married my husband yesterday. This is known to everyone in the world. If you behead my husband, won't I be a widow for the rest of my life?"
The Emperor: "My son, if I don't kill her, she is a female consort. How can she accompany me for life?"
Prime Minister Liu Wenju also said, "Your Majesty, the prince consort must not be executed, otherwise it will ruin the princess' life."
The emperor was in a dilemma. "I can't kill him, and I can't keep him either. What should I do?"
Prime Minister Liu Wenju, who was acting as matchmaker, offered advice: "I heard that the scholar Li Zhaoting is more talented and beautiful than Feng Suzhen. I will go to Xiangyang Prefecture and bring him into the palace quietly. Let him wear a gauze hat and a red robe, and wear palace flowers and a jade belt. Wouldn't he be a top scholar? The royal family will recruit him as a prince consort and send him to the bridal chamber with music and drums. The princess will have a good husband for life, and the emperor will have a minister who can support the country."
The emperor was delighted and said, "That's great. Then let's recruit Li Zhaoting as our consort."
The princess said hurriedly, "Father, you can't do this. Li Zhaoting and Feng Suzhen have loved each other since they were young. You are marrying Li Zhaoting to me. Isn't this a random match? Feng Suzhen risked her life to be together. How can you bear to separate them now? Father, you can't do this. You can't do this."
The emperor asked, "Then according to your opinion, what should we do?"
Princess: "Father, why don't you adopt Feng Suzhen as your adopted daughter, make her the chivalrous princess, release Li Zhaoting, and reunite them."
The emperor pondered and said, "What about my son?"
At this time, Feng Suzhen's brother Feng Yimin took off his black hat, knelt down and said, "I am the brother of the newly crowned top scholar, and I am willing to take the blame for deceiving the emperor on behalf of my sister."
Prime Minister Liu Wenju saw this and came up with a plan: "Your Majesty, the former champion and eight-province inspector Feng Yimin is still unmarried. Your Majesty might as well recruit him as the princess's consort. This will be the best of both worlds and will surely be remembered forever! This former champion has a handsome face, is well-educated and has great literary talent. I have seen many candidates in the world, but he is the only one who can be considered a hero today! Your Majesty praised him in the past, but because the princess was underage at that time, it was inconvenient to use a matchmaker, so His Majesty did not recruit a consort."
The emperor asked, "What do you think, my son?"
Seeing Feng Yimin's handsome appearance and profound knowledge, the princess shyly said, "My daughter's marriage is entirely up to my father."
The actor who played the emperor laughed loudly and said to Feng Yimin, "Feng Yimin, I want you to be my prince consort. When Li Zhaoting comes to Beijing, we will go to the ceremony together."
Feng Yimin knelt down to express his gratitude, "I thank the Lord for his great grace."
The monologue sounded: "Lovers finally get married. In the bridal chamber, the wedding candles were brightly lit, and Li Zhaoting and Feng Suzhen each held a jade unicorn in their hands. It was exactly:
Poverty and humbleness do not change the love between husband and wife.
We are together through life and death.
Kirins come in pairs.
Twin flowers bloom forever. "