It was a long time ago, perhaps during the time of Zhou, or perhaps even earlier. At that time, the entire land between the four seas was ruled by a good, kind emperor, who traveled around the Celestial Empire once every five years, collecting folk songs everywhere in order to judge by them how and where his people lived, and he himself carried out justice and reprisals.
How many unjust sentences the emperor destroyed, how many innocents he saved, how many tears he dried—this is only recorded in the next world...
But a person cannot live without making mistakes, and the emperor also happened to make them: he will either justify an eloquent guilty person, or punish an innocent person who could not justify himself. And the emperor was tormented by this, because he did not have a good adviser here.
The emperor had a wife: such a beauty, the likes of which had never been seen before. The emperor loved her more than himself. The emperor thought that there was no better person in the world than his wife!
But snakes also have beautiful skin.
The empress had a large family. Soon these relatives occupied all the important places throughout the empire. And the earth groaned from extortion and evil...
One day the emperor heard that far away, somewhere in the northeast, there lived in the mountains a man named Yi, wise in mind and simple in heart, who had never allowed any lies to happen in his entire life. The emperor was delighted - this is who he needs! He sent for him, and soon the righteous one was already in the capital.
They brought him to the emperor, and he was surprised that he was not at all afraid of him, but spoke to him the same way as to the last servant...
The emperor was delighted - he had finally found such an adviser who would never betray his soul! The emperor gave him the title of close adviser, placed him in the palace and consulted with him on every matter.
Once the emperor says to his adviser, the Just I:
“I’m afraid that not the whole truth reaches me; the officials do not allow all the offended people to see me.” Is this true or not?
- Yes, sir, it is so! - How can I help? “Order, sir, to place a box with a slot in front of the palace gates, which no one but you would dare open, and also place a large drum.” Let everyone who is offended come, put the paper with their complaint in the box and beat the drum. You will hear, accept the petition and judge fairly.
The emperor did so, and ordered the same drums to be placed in front of the administration of every commander throughout the empire.
The fame spread even more about the mercy and kindness of the emperor, and people blessed the fair adviser. People had been crowding and making noise at the gates since early morning, trying to squeeze through to the box and drum, awaiting the royal decision. The noise and din, like at a fair, stood in front of the palace every day...
The Empress is tired of this. And she ordered that the palace guards seize everyone who approached the box with a petition and first give him fifty blows with “bamboos” - and then allowed him to put the petition in the box and beat the drum.
The number of complainants immediately decreased tenfold... The Just One learned about this and said to the emperor:
- It’s not good, sir, what your empress did - she’s driving the people away from you!
The upset emperor went to the empress and conveyed to her the words of the Just One.
“No, my husband and lord,” answered the empress, “yours is wrong this time too.” Remember what an indecent noise there was in front of the palace, worse than in the bazaar. You spent the whole day, from morning to evening, sorting out complaints, and you were so tired that you couldn’t do anything else. And how many complaints turned out to be unfounded! And now the number of complaints has decreased tenfold, and you have time for other government affairs, there are almost no unfounded complaints... Justice does not suffer from this, because every person who wants to prove the rightness of his case, of course, will agree to undergo an insignificant preliminary bodily test. Now judge for yourself who is right - me or Advisor I?
These words were spoken in such a melodious and convincing voice, accompanied by such a gentle look, that it was hard not to believe them... The new procedure for accepting petitions remained in force, despite I.’s protests.
But gradually complaints began to reach I through another route, not through the royal box. The emperor, according to I's report, removed all the bad officials and punished them, despite the intercession of the empress. The emperor did not know that all those punished were related to the family from which the empress came, or their relatives and servants. That is why those offended were afraid to complain about them in a direct, ordinary way.
The Empress hated the Just One, but could not do anything: the emperor greatly respected and revered And for his justice.
Everything seemed to be going well. But the emperor had a secret ulcer, the pain from which neither the gratitude of the people, nor the wisdom of Yi, nor the love of the empress could destroy. This pain was the absence of a son-heir to whom he could pass on his kingdom after himself.
For a long time the emperor kept his grief to himself and finally consulted with I.
“Sire,” answered the adviser, “both law, custom, and common sense say one thing: if a house made of clay is not strong, build it of stone; if in your garden there are no fruits on one tree, look for them on another...
“I thought about it myself,” said the emperor, “but I wouldn’t want to offend the empress!” “The Empress will still remain the Empress and the first wife, and will not lose any privileges.” But the empress herself will understand that her business is a private one, and yours is a state one... Give, sir, a certain period of time to the empress, and if after that she does not give you hope, then find the empress an assistant!
It is unknown how, but only the empress somehow found out or guessed about I’s advice. Then she hated him even more...
But soon fate smiled on her. She began to gain weight... The emperor was delighted, because he really sincerely and deeply loved his beautiful wife.
A little time passed - the emperor's family affairs were going as well as possible. But one fear worried the emperor: what if he had not a son, but a daughter? His anxiety grew more and more - and finally he decided to send for the great doctor, who could determine any disease from just his pulse. Finding out the sex of an unborn child, of course, will not be difficult for him...
The doctor has arrived. In order not to embarrass him with his presence, not only was the emperor not present at the empress’s doctor’s appointment, but not a single man was either. The Empress received the doctor not in the state rooms, but in her private bedroom, and in the presence of only a few of her favorite court ladies.
The emperor was very afraid whether all decency would be observed during the unusual appearance of a man in the women's quarters. Therefore, the emperor himself, without warning anyone, went through a secret passage to the empress’s half. He knew that in one niche of this passage there was a secret window into the empress’s bedroom, so disguised from the side of the room with decorations that none of the palace women knew about its existence. The Emperor walked up to the window, opened the lid that covered it, and leaned his eye...
An unusual picture opened before him. The room was partitioned off by a large screen. On one side of the screen a doctor was kneeling, and next to him in simple dresses were two or three close ladies of the Empress. On the other side of the screen sat his wife's beloved lady in the dress of the empress. She stretched out her hand to the other side of the screen, and the doctor felt the pulse through the thick silk material, not daring to touch the naked “most august” hand, as he thought. And the empress, also in a simple maid's dress, stood aside... After some time, the doctor finished the examination. Then the lady, dressed as the empress, gave some order, and, oh surprise! The Empress herself approached the doctor and extended her hand to him... The doctor took it, felt the pulse, said something, and then he was released.
The emperor returned to his room and ordered to call a doctor:
- Well, famous doctor, how is the empress’s health? - Great sovereign! There is no doubt that you have been a father for three months already! - Who will I have - a son or a daughter? “Sir, I may be mistaken, I will probably even be mistaken, but I think there will be a daughter!”
To the doctor’s surprise, this news did not greatly upset the emperor. He calmly asked the doctor:
“And besides the empress, you didn’t examine anyone else?” “Yes, sir,” answered the doctor, “on the orders of the empress, I then examined one of the court ladies, who said that she was also preparing to give birth to a child.” - Well, what did you find? “There is no doubt, sir, that this lady is greatly mistaken.” Her liver is too big, so she could never have a baby!
The Emperor shuddered and quickly asked:
- Well, will she have children after?
The doctor caught the emperor's movement and decided that this was one of his favorites, so he hastily replied:
- Of course, of course, they can be, they probably even can be... Only she never needs to see another woman in an interesting position, then she can have a child!
The emperor generously rewarded the doctor and released him, and then he himself walked around for a long time, thoughtful and sad. It is not known what he said to the empress, but only after that she stopped gaining weight, and her beloved lady, who dressed up in her dress, disappeared from the palace.
Then hatred for Yi filled the empress’s entire being. Because who, besides him, could find out and convey to the emperor that she wanted to play out the comedy of motherhood and declare as her own the child who was supposed to be born to her court lady?!
The empress stopped walking, began to eat and sleep poorly, often began to cry and beat not only her trinkets and precious vases, but even her court ladies. Finally she became completely ill and took to her bed.
The emperor was alarmed - he wanted to send for the famous doctor again. But the empress flatly refused.
- Call whatever doctors you want, but I don’t want him! Doctors and wise men came, gave advice and treated the empress. But nothing helped, and she got worse and worse. Finally the empress says to her husband:
- Sovereign! I want to say goodbye to you, because I will die soon! The emperor was in despair: “Doesn’t anyone in the entire empire know how to cure your illness?” - No, there is a way, but only you, sir, will not want to use it! “There is nothing in the world,” the emperor hotly objected, “no matter what I would do, as long as you are healthy!” “Well,” answered the Empress, “I know that you will not change your word... Today in a dream the Great Spirit appeared to me and said: if you want to be healthy, drink the blood from the heart of the Just One. I know, I feel that if you, sir, give me this heart, I will immediately recover, but if you don’t, I will soon die!”
The amazed emperor left his wife, called the Just One, whom he still highly valued, and told him everything that the empress had said.
“Sire,” I said calmly, “if my heart can benefit the empress, take it!”
The emperor hesitated for a long time, but finally, seeing that his wife was getting worse and worse, he decided... The heart of the just was cut out - and the hot, trembling heart was brought to the empress... And indeed: the empress immediately recovered and became even more cheerful, even more beautiful than before.
And the Just One? He didn't die. True, since then no one has seen him in the capital again, but in the Chang-bo-Shan mountains, they say, he was often seen later, although he was without a heart. And he helped many who turned to him, but it was different for everyone: some more, others less. And some were completely refused, even advice, even if they had a great need: this is if they do not deserve help. And the Just One did it so faithfully, so accurately, so fairly, as he had not done even before, when he lived in the capital...
The emperor died, the empress died, everyone forgot about them. But the drums that I set up remain; they can still be seen at the gates of every Yamenya. But so that they do not disturb our gracious bosses too much with their roar, they are now made of solid stone.
Are you asking why Yi has become even fairer than before? Yes, because perfect justice can only exist in the absence of a heart.
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru