Chapter 511 Chapter 512 [Extremely vicious]
When the Queen Mother returned to the palace, she saw Xiang Yun who had brought the manuscript to Ouchi.
“The folk girl Xiang Yun kowtowed to the Queen Mother, a thousand years old, a thousand years old, a thousand years old!” Xiang Yun Yingying bowed down.
"Hey, are you the woman Ji Xiaolan bought in exchange for three ancient paintings?" When the Queen Mother heard her name, she immediately asked gossiping, "She is really good-looking. No wonder Mr. Ji is attracted to her."
"Queen Mother Rong Bing, Mr. Ji saved me not out of personal love." Upon hearing this, Xiangyun quickly explained.
"Okay, tell me." The Queen Mother said with interest.
?Everyone is curious, and the Queen Mother is no exception. What''s more, Xiang Nan is an important minister of the imperial court and the most talented man in the world. His romantic stories are naturally worth listening to.
Xiangyun then started talking.
How she married Chen Weiyuan, how she was sent by Chen Weiyuan to work as an undercover agent next to Cao Xueqin, how she preserved "A Dream of Red Mansions", and how she met Du Xiaoyue and Xiang Nan... she told them all.
After hearing Xiangyun’s story, the Queen Mother couldn’t help but shed tears, “So it turns out that you are a poor person too. Mr. Ji did a good deed by replacing you with three ancient paintings.”
“Thank you, Queen Mother, for showing mercy.” Xiangyun bowed down.
“Okay, you go down and receive the reward.” The Queen Mother said again.
“Xiangyun can’t leave.” Xiangyun refused.
“Why is this?” The Queen Mother was puzzled.
"The original manuscript of "A Dream of Red Mansions" was messy. Mr. Ji was afraid that it would be inconvenient for the Queen Mother to read it, so he left Xiangyun to read it with him," Xiangyun explained.
When the Queen Mother heard this, she thought, "Mr. Ji is a thoughtful person."
Xiangyun then told the Queen Mother about "A Dream of Red Mansions". The Queen Mother was fascinated and overjoyed.
…
In the Yangxin Hall, Qianlong summoned Heshen and Fukangan to discuss matters.
"Do you think "A Dream of Red Mansions" is really an anti-book?" Qianlong asked, "After reading this book, I really didn''t find the intention to fight against the Qing Dynasty and restore the Ming Dynasty. It seems that I made a wrong order before."
"Your Majesty, you can''t say that." Upon hearing this, Heshen waved his hands and said, "Although "A Dream of Red Mansions" does not have the intention of rebelling against the Qing Dynasty and restoring the Ming Dynasty, its intention is very sinister and goes against the teachings of Confucius and Mencius."
"Oh?! What''s the explanation?" Qianlong was startled and said in confusion.
"Your Majesty, do you think that Jia Baoyu, the protagonist of "A Dream of Red Mansions", never likes to read the Four Books and Five Classics, but only likes to read books like "The Romance of the West Chamber" and "The Peony Pavilion". Isn''t this going against the teachings of Confucius and Mencius?"
“Well, that makes sense, let’s go on.” Qianlong nodded.
"Yes, Your Majesty. There is also Jia Zheng, who is a well-educated man, but he is written as a stubborn, disgusting fake Taoist, hypocrite, and disgusting." He Shen continued, "Isn''t this against education? meaning.”
“Yeah.” Qianlong was convinced.
"So Your Majesty, if people read this book and follow Jia Baoyu''s example and stop reading the Four Books and Five Classics, then who will you rely on to govern the country?" He Shen said alarmingly.
“Oh, what I said to Aiqing hit the nail on the head!” Qianlong clapped his hands excitedly.
“Your Majesty, this servant also agrees with His Majesty’s views. In the past few days, my servant has been investigating the counter-book case and found that there are many people who privately engrave and copy "Dream of Red Mansions" among the people. They have been banned repeatedly, which shows that it is extremely poisonous.
??The slave suggested that all of them should be seized and burned to prevent them from disturbing people''s hearts again. "Fukangan quickly agreed.
Qianlong frowned when he heard this. Since "Dream of Red Mansions" has been widely circulated, it is not appropriate to launch a literary inquisition for such a book.
?If all the people who collected, read, circulated, copied, engraved, marketed, and sold were really arrested and brought to justice, I am afraid that tens of thousands or even hundreds of thousands of people would be implicated.
If the killing is too heavy, it will inevitably lead to civil unrest. You know, although the imperial court had set up literary prisons before, they only arrested a few hundred people at most.
“Your Majesty, I think it is better to revise than to ban.” Seeing this, He Shen suggested with a smile, “If we delete the deviant words in the book and replace them with the teachings of Confucius and Mencius, the book can still be published.”
"He Aiqing thinks this is appropriate?" Qianlong was a little worried.
Since "Dream of Red Mansions" is often privately engraved and copied by the public, major revisions and revisions are definitely not possible. If the revision is not as good as the original version, people will still watch the original version, and then the new version will be useless.
"Your Majesty, the last forty chapters of "A Dream of Red Mansions" have been lost. The ending of the story and the fate of the characters are all presented in the last forty chapters. If we let Jia Baoyu also learn eight-part essay, take the exam for fame, marry a wife and have children, honor his ancestors, and continue to be a loyal minister Dutiful son...doesn’t this bring the story full circle?”
"It makes sense, it makes sense, okay, let''s do it like this." When Qianlong heard this, he was very happy and said, "He Aiqing is worthy of being the pillar of the country. He is far-sighted and prosperous. You should learn more from He Aiqing."
“Yes, Your Majesty.” Fukangan said quickly.
…
"Your Majesty, there is another problem with this matter." He Shen suddenly said again.
“Oh, what else is there to trouble with?” Qianlong frowned.
"The folk girl Xiangyun who Ji Xiaolan took in was Cao Xueqin''s dying maid. She is the one who knows the story of the last forty chapters." He Shenhui reported, "If she jumps out and says we changed it to the last forty chapters, that''s not true. Cao Xueqin’s original intention may cause trouble.”
“Yeah.” Qianlong nodded after hearing this.
? Xiangyun is Cao Xueqin''s dying maid, and this title represents the authority of "A Dream of Red Mansions". If she jumped out and said that the revision of the last forty chapters was not good, and then cooperated with the bookseller to revise the last forty chapters, then the court''s plan would be in vain.
"In Yihe Aiqing''s opinion, how should we deal with this matter?" Qianlong asked again.
“Your Majesty, Xiangyun was originally the wife of the bookseller Chen Weiyuan, and was acquired by Ji Xiaolan in exchange for three ancient paintings. Now she lives in Ji Mansion, she is neither a master nor a servant, and she has never taken a concubine.
There was a lot of discussion between the government and the public, and the servants thought it was very inappropriate. It not only damages the reputation of the discipline scholar, but also tarnishes the face of the imperial court. What''s more, it is not conducive to the education of people''s morals. "
Heshen suggested, "So I suggest that Xiangyun return to Chen Weiyuan and be disciplined by him strictly. Xiangyun is a woman who is raised in a deep courtyard and is not allowed to meet outsiders, so naturally there will be no trouble."
“Well, this is a very good performance with Aiqing. That’s right.” Qianlong nodded.
When Heshen heard this, he immediately laughed.
He knew that since Xiang Nan was willing to exchange three priceless ancient paintings for Xiang Yun, he must be in love with her. In this case, he couldn''t let Xiang Nan be proud and had to break them up.
The more Xiang Nan suffers, the more proud he becomes.
…
Subsequently, He Shen instigated Chen Weiyuan to file a complaint at Shuntian Mansion, saying that Xiang Nan was using his power to bully others, using his official position to oppress others, forcing him to write a letter of divorce to divorce his wife, and beg the government for justice.
??According to Heshen''s instructions, Shuntian Prefecture''s Yin directly ruled that the divorce letter was invalid without even bringing the defendants Xiang Nan and Xiangyun to trial, and asked Xiangyun to return to Chen Weiyuan.
Fortunately, Xiangyun is currently telling stories for the Queen Mother in the palace, and she cannot leave her for a while, so even if Chen Weiyuan recaptures Xiangyun, he will not be able to see her for the time being.
(End of this chapter)