Bao Zheng was a well-known loyalist of the Northern Song Dynasty, who tried many cases and returned the innocence of many people. Later generations have a sense of admiration for Bao Zheng, and in order to praise Bao Zheng's political achievements, posterity has written many legends for him. Including the most famous "Bao Gong Case". There are many classic cases in "Bao Gong Case", including the "Gongmei Case" and "Tanuki Cat for Prince" that have been handed down to this day. In these cases, the most interesting is probably the "Tanuki cat for the prince".
In the case of "Tanuki For Prince", the protagonist is Emperor Zhao Zhen of Song Renzong. He was originally the supreme emperor, but after he became emperor, he was involved in an old affair, and this past made Zhao Zhen no longer believe in people's hearts. In the novel, the case of "Tanuki For Prince" ushered in a happy ending, but in reality, Zhao Zhen was not so lucky.
In the novel, Zhao Zhen's father, Zhao Heng, had two concubines at the time, namely Concubine Liu and Concubine Li. It just so happened that the two concubines were pregnant at the same time. Therefore, Zhao Heng said to the two of them, if the husband has a son, then he will make this person's son the prince. Although Concubine Liu and Concubine Li did not show much joy on the surface, secretly, the two were competing.
Unexpectedly, Concubine Li was still one step ahead, and Mr. Li gave birth to a son, that is, the later Zhao Zhen. After this matter reached Concubine Liu, she immediately ordered Wen Po and the eunuch to join forces to kill the child, and asked her to put the tanuki cat that had been skinned in the swaddling, and said that it was a child that Concubine Li had just given birth to. The courage of the stable wife and the eunuch was very small, and did not dare to strangle Zhao Zhen, so she secretly sent him to the Eighth Princess without Concubine Liu, and begged the Eighth Princess to raise him well.
When Zhao Heng learned that Concubine Li had given birth to a freak, he thought she was ominous and beat her into the Cold Palace. Princess Liu, who was weak-hearted, wanted to destroy the corpse and destroy the traces, so she directly sent someone to assassinate Concubine Li, but fortunately, Concubine Li fled to the people, which could escape the disaster.
Subsequently, Concubine Liu also gave birth to a prince, and Zhao Heng immediately fulfilled his promise and made him crown prince. Unexpectedly, this child actually died at the age of six. The childless Zhao Heng had to turn his attention to his own brother, and in the end, he made Zhao Zhen, the "child" of the Eighth Prince, the crown prince.
In this way, after more than twenty years, Princess Li met Bao Zheng in the folk and told Bao Zheng everything that happened more than twenty years ago. Bao Zheng felt very heartache after hearing this, and decided to return Li Fei's innocence. Under Bao Zheng's arrangement, Zhao Zhen and Concubine Li became acquainted, and Concubine Liu chose to commit suicide.
The ending in the novel is very beautiful, after all, Zhao Zhen can still recognize his birth mother. But in reality, Zhao Zhen could never call his birth mother a mother.
In real history, Zhao Heng had a total of five sons, but they all seemed to have been under some kind of spell, and finally they all died prematurely. Concubine Liu wanted to take this opportunity to give birth to a son for Zhao Heng in order to consolidate her position. But unexpectedly, Liu Fei had no fertility. In a hurry, she decided to dedicate the palace maid Li Shi to Zhao Heng.
Sure enough, it didn't take long for Lee to give birth to a baby boy. Zhao Heng was very happy, named him Zhao Zhen, and also made him crown prince. When Concubine Liu saw this, she directly snatched Zhao Zhen into her own hands and said that this was her own son. As for Li Shi, she was driven to guard the imperial tomb.
After Zhao Heng's death, Zhao Zhen, who was only thirteen years old, ascended the throne, and Concubine Liu also became Empress Liu. At this time, Empress Liu showed her ambition, saying that the emperor was still too young to understand the major affairs of the state, so she had to listen to the government and assist the emperor. Over time, Empress Liu's behavior became more and more excessive, and she not only killed many heroes, but also often wore dragon robes to the early dynasty.
Empress Liu's power became larger and larger, and no one dared to tell Zhao Zhen about his true identity. Ten years later, Li Shi, who guarded the mausoleum, died, and she did not see her son until before her death. The following year, Empress Liu also died. As soon as Empress Liu died, the Eighth Princess told Zhao Zhen his identity and said that Li Shi was most likely killed by Empress Liu.
After investigation and confirmation, Zhao Zhen collapsed, because it was indeed Empress Liu who killed his birth mother. What frightened him even more was that he actually called out to the woman's mother for more than twenty years. Zhao Zhen, who learned the truth, immediately issued a self-condemnation edict to rebuke his filial piety, and at the same time, he also posthumously made Li Shi empress.
During the investigation, his subordinates also told a secret, that is, Empress Liu had an affair with her uncle Gong Mei. In the matter of poisoning Li Shi, Gong Mei was also involved in the whole process. Therefore, Zhao Zhen personally led an army to surround Gong Mei's mansion, and then went to Li's spiritual hall for an autopsy. However, after arriving at the Spirit Hall, Zhao Zhen found that Li Shi was buried very well, not only had many funerary items, but also embalmed Li s body with mercury. Looking at all this, Zhao Zhen's heart softened, and he immediately released Gong Mei's family.
summary:
Emperor Zhao Zhen was actually very kind, although the truth of the matter was very cruel, but after seeing his mother's coffin, he felt that everything should be relieved. In the face of the murderer of his birth mother, Zhao Zhen finally did not kill him and let him go. However, in Zhao Zhen's heart, it was very difficult to let go of all this, after all, it had caused great damage to his soul.