Nuns serve the emperor and are born to the emperor
In ancient Chinese feudal dynasties, the emperor's status was extremely noble, and he was the symbol of the most concentrated power in the country. No one dares to disobey the emperor's orders, and his subordinates will go all out to fulfill them.
Therefore, the struggle for imperial power was always very fierce.
As the supreme monarch, in addition to holding the power of the country, the emperor also enjoys supreme privileges, including the ability to choose the most beautiful woman in the world as a concubine, accompany him through the long years, give birth to children for him, and continue the bloodline of the imperial family.
It is known that the emperor's harem was large-scale, and in addition to the official empress, he also canonized many other concubines. In ancient TV dramas, we often hear the phrase "flopping", because the emperor needs to randomly choose one of the many concubines in the harem to accompany him through the night.
This has the advantage of not allowing a concubine to be the sole favor, and it also ensures that the emperor's power will not be weakened as a result.
This unremarkable woman was favored by the emperor by chance, which changed her tragic fate. She is Song Renzong's mother, Concubine Li Chen.
Although Concubine Li Chen was born in a famous family, her family was ill-fated. Her father, Li Rende, served as the Zuoban Dianzhi in the Qiantang River area of Hangzhou, although he was only a Jiupin Sesame Official, his living conditions were much better than ordinary people.
Originally, the life of the family was warm and harmonious, but after Concubine Li Chen's mother died early due to a vicious illness, it became no longer peaceful. Her father married his second wife in middle age, and this stepmother was not as arrogant and domineering as the traditional concept, treating Concubine Li Chen with respect and non-interference.
Although Concubine Li Chen lost her mother at a young age, she lived a stable life and spent her childhood happily.
Concubine Li originally thought that her life would change because of this, but this happiness did not last long. Her father died of illness, and the family's economy was wiped out overnight.
The stepmother is a weak woman who remarries with a son, and she is already under great pressure, and now she is even more grief-stricken. Concubine Li Chen was well aware of her situation, and in order not to let her stepmother bear more burdens, she decided to run away from home.
However, the difficulties of life are far beyond her imagination, and she lacks life experience and does not know how to survive in society at all.
At the crossroads of her life, she came to a temple where she hoped that she could say goodbye to the troubles of the world and live a life with few desires. So, with determination, she stepped into the temple gate and began her vegetarian Buddhist practice.
At the same time, in the distant harem of the Song Dynasty, a queen named Liu E, although she lived a worry-free life, her heart was full of bitterness. Although Song Zhenzong loved her very much and the two had a harmonious relationship, in the royal family, it was an important duty as a concubine to continue the descendants for the royal family, but for many years, they never had children of their own.
Empress Liu realized her wishes, and often went to the temple to pray for Guanyin. One day, she and her maid met Concubine Li Chen's nunnery near the temple. She was about to return to the palace after worshipping the Buddha, but she caught a glimpse of Concubine Li Chen, who had been slim and elegant.
Although he has shaved his hair and is dressed plainly, he has a unique temperament that makes people stop. Empress Liu had a plan and decided to bring her back to the palace. Although Concubine Li was unwilling, she did not dare to disobey the emperor's order, and silently returned to the palace with Empress Liu.
As soon as Liu E returned to the palace, she planned a strategy to stabilize her position step by step. She arranged Concubine Li in the emperor's bedroom and put her in charge of bathing and changing clothes for the emperor every day.
As time passed, Song Zhenzong had more and more opportunities to contact Concubine Li, and Concubine Li's outstanding beauty was even more unforgettable. In the end, Song Zhenzong named her a concubine, and from then on, Song Zhenzong couldn't let go of this woman who created a gentle township for him.
Concubine Li's pregnancy went well, and as Liu E had planned, she soon became pregnant with royal blood. After ten months of pregnancy, Concubine Li Chen finally ushered in the moment of childbirth and successfully gave birth to a baby boy for Song Zhenzong.
Song Zhenzong was overjoyed and immediately rushed to visit his son and named him Zhao Zhen. Concubine Li, who was immersed in the happiness and joy of having an heir, didn't expect that before she could hold her child with her own hands, he had already been taken away by the maid.
Song Zhenzong ordered Concubine Li Chen's child to be passed on to Liu E, although Concubine Li resisted, but the emperor's order was difficult to disobey. After experiencing the pain of losing her child, Concubine Li became pregnant and gave birth to a lovely princess, and she was finally able to raise her own flesh and blood with her own hands.
However, the sudden death of her daughter made her suffer the blow of losing her flesh and blood again, and she was devastated by the loss. Depression and illness made her unable to afford to be sick, wheezing all day long, and finally died suddenly, completely disappointed in the world.
After Liu E learned that Zhao Zhen was not her biological son, she did not tell him about it. She raised Zhao Zhen wholeheartedly and raised him into a knowledgeable person. Years later, Song Zhenzong died, and Empress Liu began to help Zhao Zhen run the court.
Under the supervision of his mother, the young Song Renzong gradually grew up, and he devoted himself to the reform of official governance, promoted economic development, and cared about the suffering of the people, becoming a famous Ming monarch in history.
When the world is praising Liu E's godson, what they don't know is that there is a woman with a bumpy fate who can never recognize her own son, which is also the origin of the saying "the most ruthless emperor's family".