In ancient times, if a harem woman had no heirs, then her ending must be tragic, because with the increase of age, there will be a steady stream of beautiful young women in the harem, and after all, "I only see the new person laughing, but I don't see the old person crying", and in the end she can only die alone.
On the contrary, if you have a son and a half daughter, maybe you will be deeply favored by the emperor, such as Concubine Ling of Qianlong time, and Liu E, the concubine of Zhao Heng of Song Zhenzong who wants to talk about today, although she can't have children, but she thought of an idea to "borrow the womb to give birth" and find a beautiful nun to sleep.
Liu E's life is quite legendary, she was the daughter of a eunuch family, and her father Liu Tong was the Jiazhou Thorn History during the Song Taizu period, but Liu E was born not long after, her parents died, and she could only be fostered in her mother's mother's house. When she became an adult, because of her slim appearance, she married a silversmith named Gong Mei in Shudi.
Later, the husband and wife came to the capital to develop, and her husband Gong Mei felt that it was difficult to maintain his livelihood, so he had to sell Liu E into the song workshop. Just when Liu E felt that her life was about to usher in a dark day, her beauty and singing attracted Zhao Heng, the king of Han, and in the process of getting along in the future, Liu E's calm and watery feelings also made a little wave.
However, the good times did not last long, and Song Taizong saw that Zhao Heng was getting thinner and thinner, so he asked the nurse beside Zhao Heng. And the nurse didn't like Liu E, so she belittled her fiercely in front of the emperor, saying that Liu E was a woman who was in the dust of the people.
Song Taizong was very angry when he heard this, and ordered Zhao Heng to expel Liu E from the mansion. Liu Heng was reluctant, so he secretly placed Liu E in the house of his henchman Zhang Qi, and had trysts from time to time.
After the death of Song Taizong, Zhao Heng became the emperor and was Song Zhenzong. After coming to power, Zhao Heng recalled Liu E to the palace, although her status was not high, she was still very favored.
However, after a period of time, Liu E's stomach has never moved, and she also knows very well that if she can't have children, then the status of the harem will only get lower and lower.
Liu E was anxious to not have a child, so she went to the temple to pray for blessings, and it was in the temple that she saw a beautiful and well-proportioned nun Li. After some inquiry, I learned that Li was originally an ordinary family in the south of the Yangtze River, although she was as beautiful as a flower, but her parents also died early, and she had to go to the temple to become a nun in order to survive.
After learning the details of the nun, Liu E couldn't help but have a bold idea in her mind, she wanted to "borrow the womb to give birth to a child" and give birth to a prince to maintain her status.
At first, Li did not agree, because she was tired of everything in the world, but when she thought of Liu E's assurance, she would treat her like a relative, which made Li, who had lost the care of her relatives since childhood, very moved, and finally agreed to Liu E's request.
So, the Li family entered the palace as Liu E's maid, and under Liu E's plan, the Li family soon went to the dragon bed. Ten months later, the Li family gave birth to Zhao Heng's only prince, named Zhao Zhen. Liu E was very happy, and Zhao Heng was also very happy to crown her queen.
Liu E treats Zhao Zhen as her own, and teaches very strictly on weekdays, telling about the plan of governing the country. Because she experienced too much warmth and coldness before entering the palace, she told Zhao Zhen to be sympathetic to the people.
After Zhao Heng's death, 13-year-old Zhao Zhen ascended the throne of the Ninth Five-Year Supreme, which was for Song Renzong, Liu E also began to listen to the government, Zhao Zhen worked hard under the influence of Liu E, and appointed people on the basis of merit, such as appointing Fan Zhongyan, implementing new laws, encouraging invention and creation, and so on. The Northern Song Dynasty prospered day by day under the single-minded governance of the monarch and ministers. Zhao Zhen also became a generation of Ming monarchs, ruling the world with benevolence.
Although, Liu E "borrowed the womb to give birth to a child" at first just to maintain her position in the harem, but she was able to teach a wise monarch through the ages, and I have to say that it can be regarded as a great merit.