In October of the fifth year of Xianping (1002) of Song Zhenzong, a sensational event occurred in the court: the two prime ministers were demoted at the same time, Xiang Minzhong was dismissed as the head of the household department, and Zhang Qixian was responsible for being Taichangqing, and the branch office was Luoyang, Xijing. The reason for all this stems from a scandal between the two prime ministers in order to marry a widow.
This widow is Xue Weiji's widow, young and childless. Due to the discord with Xue Weiji's two sons, Xue Anshang and Xue Anmin, she had the idea of remarrying. Xue Weiji, as the second generation of officials, his adoptive father Xue Juzheng served as the prime minister in the Taizu and Taizong dynasties, and his status was prominent. Xue Weiji's series of inappropriate behaviors reached the ears of the emperor Zhao Guangyi at the time.
Xue Weiji died at the age of 42, and later Prime Minister Xiang Minzhong proposed to the late Xue Weiji, the widow of Xue Weiji, the leading general of the army, and was rejected. It turned out that the object of Chai's affection was Zhang Qixian, the former minister of the dynasty. However, when the marriage failed to be fulfilled, Xue Anshang suddenly objected: "I don't agree with this marriage. He thought that Chai's remarriage would take away his father's property, so he sued the matter to Kaifeng Mansion, and at the same time opposed Chai's was not to be outdone, but sued Xiang Minzhong. Zhang Qixian was the prime minister of the Taizong Dynasty, and was appointed to judge the deployment of the Yongxing Army and the Mabu Army at that timeAnd Xue Anshang's grandfather, Xue Juzheng, served as the prime minister of the Taizu Dynasty for more than ten years, and there are still many protégés and former officials in the court. In the case of involving many parties, Kaifeng Mansion did not dare to offend anyone, so it could only report the case to the imperial court for processing.
After Song Zhenzong learned of this, he did not make it public, but secretly sent someone to interrogate the Chai family. However, the outcome of the interrogation was completely different from Xue's statement. Therefore, Song Zhenzong had no choice but to submit the matter to the Yushitai for trial. However, as the trial progressed, the case took a dramatic turn.
Chai did not shy away from standing up and filed a counter-complaint, accusing another prime minister of buying the Xue family's old house at a low price from Minzhong and proposing to her. Because she did not agree, she was ashamed of the prime minister, so she instructed Xue Anshang to falsely accuse her. Because Xue Anshang and his brothers have never been successful, Song Zhenzong had issued an edict earlier to prohibit their ancestors' inheritance.
After Song Zhenzong's personal concern, the results of the review were finally released: Xiang Minzhong was dismissed as a household servant and transferred to the Yongxing Army;Zhang Qixian was responsible for being Taichangqing, and he was assigned to Xijing;Zhang Zongzhi was demoted to Haizhou Don't Drive;Xue Anshang was sentenced to flogging for selling the property in violation of the edict, and the property sold was redeemed by them, and told the Yushitai and Kaifeng Mansion to supervise it at any time in the future. The prime minister's plan for dealing with it also required a book to be made in the name of Song Zhenzong.
As for Chai's family, she naturally couldn't get married as she wished, and this dispute finally came to an end.