?Among the many famous officials who personally created the Zhenguan rule of the Tang Dynasty, Fang Xuanling's name is a household name. The Fang Mou in Emperor Taizong Li Shimin's so-called "Fang Mou Du Jue" refers to Fang Xuanling's expertise in making suggestions. However, what made this famous official in the early Tang Dynasty even more famous was his wife Fang (née Yue), who was famous for her fiery temperament. title), it is said that it comes from this lady's feat.
What is going on? Let's start at the beginning.
Fang Xuanling was born into a family of officials. His father, Fang Yanqian, was fond of learning, was familiar with the Five Classics, and was rich in eloquence. He was a famous scholar in Shandong during the Wei and Qi years. Later he became an official in Sui Dynasty. Fang Xuanling was intelligent since childhood, and was influenced by his father. He was good at poetry and writing, well read in classics and history, proficient in Confucian classics, and had superb calligraphy. He was a promising young man. However, when he was 14 years old, his father Fang Yanqian was framed and imprisoned, and his family property was confiscated, so he had to live on the streets. Fortunately, he was taken in by his family friend Yue's family, where he spent more than two years. During this period, the daughter of the Yue family fell in love with Fang Xuanling. Later, his father was rehabilitated and his family status was restored, and the two families became in-laws. Fang Xuanling and this Miss Yue finally became friends with Qin and Jin. It can be seen that Fang Xuanling's "pride" is actually his deep love for his wife. After Fang Xuanling became successful, he refused to take concubines many times and always treated Mrs. Fang with respect.
The news that Fang Xuanling was afraid of hen was almost unknown to everyone at that time. There was even a saying circulated in the court that Fang Xuanling "went to court to pay homage to your majesty, and to pay homage to his wife after going to court." These words soon reached the ears of Emperor Li Shimin. Li Shimin was probably very curious about this and wanted to see for himself how powerful Mrs. Fang was so that Fang Xuanling respected her as much as himself. So at a court meeting, taking advantage of the opportunity for the countries in the northern and western regions to pay homage to the Khan and present beauties and pearls, Li Shimin, Wei Zheng and others exchanged ulterior looks with each other and began to "test" Mr. Fang. Wei Zheng, who always liked to confront the emperor in the court, suddenly stood up and seriously asked the emperor what to do with these tribute treasures and beauties, expressing his "concern" that these tributes might make the emperor lose his playfulness. Emperor Li immediately made a gesture of understanding Wei Aiqing's worries and expressed that he would use these offerings to various departments that needed money so that they could benefit the people of the world. As he talked, Wei Zheng talked about the beauties who were brought as tribute: they are not usable assets, so what should they do with them? Emperor Li, who was already very happy in his heart, glanced at Fang Xuanling beside him in a pretentious manner, and replied unhurriedly: "Fang Qing is diligent in official duties and has done a lot of hard work. These beauties will be given to you." Become Fang Aiqing's concubine."
When Fang Xuanling heard what the emperor said, she jumped up from the table as if her butt had been burned by a hot iron, and tried her best to refuse. He said that he would never dare to accept it. However, Emperor Li, who had always been kind and cheerful, suddenly changed his expression, and issued a decree to Fang Xuanling with a stern voice. He even asked, knowingly, that being gifted a beautiful woman by the emperor was nothing new, so why did Aiqing resist the decree and be disrespectful? Fang Xuanling had no choice but to tell her that his wife was fierce and would definitely not accept it. Seeing that Fang Xuanling was indeed henpecked, Emperor Li and Master Wei seemed particularly unreasonable. Li Shimin immediately issued an order to Wei Zheng, asking him to personally take these beauties and accompany Fang Xuanling back to the palace as a supervisor. If Mrs. Fang did not comply, he would immediately summon her to the palace to meet the king. Looking at Li Wei and Li Wei who looked upright, Fang Xuanling had no choice but to obey.
When the group came to Fang's mansion, Wei Zheng met with Mrs. Fang and read out the emperor's imperial edict. Mrs. Fang was furious when she heard this and refused to accept the order to thank her. He also ordered his family members to hold the dick in their hands and not allow the gifted beauty to enter. He followed Wei Zheng into the palace. Li Shimin tried hard to persuade him to accept the beauty in the court, but Mrs. Fang was so determined that she even refused to give him the emperor's face.
When the emperor saw this, he was furious and said: "If I would rather live without jealousy, would I rather die with jealousy? (Do you want to abandon jealousy and live, or do you want to die with jealousy?)" Mrs. Fang actually replied immediately: "I am rather jealous. And die (I would rather die with jealousy)!" The emperor then ordered his men to bring a glass of poisoned wine and told Mrs. Fang that if Mrs. Fang is willing to accept the beauty, everything will be fine; if she doesn't, she will die with a glass of poisoned wine! Unexpectedly, Mrs. Fang didn't say anything when she heard this. She came to the servant and drank the wine in one gulp. At this time, even the emperor was dumbfounded, and kept saying: "I am afraid of seeing you, let alone Yu Xuanling? (Mrs. Fang's temperament scares even me, let alone Fang Xuanling?)". Of course, what the emperor gave to Mrs. Fang was not poisonous wine, but a cup of vinegar. As a result, the allusion about Mrs. Fang's desperate jealousy has been passed down.
Of course, Mrs. Fang was not an overbearing and unreasonable woman. On the contrary, according to historical records, she was not only gentle and beautiful, but also a virtuous wife who understood righteousness, was strong and dedicated. It is recorded in "Taiping Guangji": Before Fang Xuanling became famous, he suffered from a serious illness and almost died. Fang Xuanling thought that her time was running out, so she asked Mrs. Fang, who was still young, to remarry someone else after her death. Unexpectedly, Mrs. Fang burst into tears when she heard this, and even hid in the inner room and dug out one of her eyes as a sign of resignation. Fang Xuanling was deeply moved by her determination not to remarry. Later, under the careful care of Mrs. Fang, Fang Xuanling's condition slowed down and she gradually recovered, and she and her wife lived in love for the rest of their lives. This record may not be true, but it shows Mrs. Fang's noble integrity, which makes Fang Xuanling's henpeckedness even more respected by the world.