Civet cats are also called raccoons. It is said that civet cats are natural enemies of cats. Have you ever heard of them?

In the novel "Three Chivalrous Men and Five Righteousness" in the late Qing Dynasty, a story of "a civet cat for a prince" was described, in which the legendary experience of the protagonist was almost a household name, and it was well known to all women and children.

This story happened in the period of Northern Song Zhenzong. In his later years, Zhenzong's two concubines Liu and Li were pregnant at the same time. Liu, who is scheming, changed Li Gang's baby into a skinned civet cat in order to be the official queen, and slandered Li Sheng as a monster.

Zhenzong was furious and put Li in limbo and made him queen. Later, the baby boy born to Li Fei was made a prince and ascended the throne after many twists and turns. This is Injong.

With the help of Bao Zheng, Injong learned the truth, found a mother living in the folk, and the mother and son were reunited. Injong sealed Bao Zheng, and the reunion ended. And Liu also got the punishment he deserved.

This story is widely circulated. In recent years, there have been TV series with similar content to reproduce this story. When kind people shed tears for Li's misfortune, they unconsciously went into a misunderstanding and believed the story. As we all know, this story has been "joked" by playwrights, which is far from the truth of history.

Injong Zhao Zhen reigned for 42 years and was the longest-serving emperor in the Song Dynasty. During his reign, the country was stable and peaceful, the economy was prosperous, and science, technology and culture developed greatly. During his reign, many famous ministers and talents stood out. Generally speaking, Injong was a successful emperor.

There are different opinions about his life experience. Whether Renzong is the son of Emperor Liu of Zhenzong or the biological son of Li Feizi, whether it is a novel or a drama, people almost agree that Renzong was born, not the son of Queen Liu.

According to Biography of the Song Dynasty, Yuan Lee was the maid of the empress Liu. She was solemn and taciturn, loved by the true Sect and became one of the concubines in the harem. After giving birth to Injong, she became a talented person and later became a graceful instrument.

Before Li Fei, Zhenzong gave birth to five boys, all of whom died. At this time, Zong Zheng was worried and was in an awkward position where no one succeeded to the throne.

At that time, Injong was just born, still in infancy, and was taken away by Liu Defa. He took Injong as his son and raised him with Yang.

However, Li Wanyi was disqualified from raising his son by himself. After Song Renzong acceded to the throne, Li "remained silent in the palace like all ladies-in-waiting". Others are afraid to tell the truth to Injong for fear of the power of Empress Dowager Liu.

Therefore, Renzong always thought that he was born of Queen Liu, calling him the "big queen" and Yang the "little queen". The relationship between mother and child has always been harmonious. It was not until the first year that Li was seriously ill that he was granted the title, and he died soon, at the age of 46.

1034, after the death of Queen Liu, 24-year-old Injong came to power, and the secret gradually became public. As for who told Injong the truth first, there are two versions.

One said that it was Yang (now Queen Zhang Hui) who advised him: "This is not the mother of the emperor. The emperor has his own mother." Yang Congren Zong began to take care of her diet and daily life when she was a child, and Injong also had great feelings for her. It is very possible for Yang to tell the truth in such a political environment.

Another way of saying it is that Uncle Zhao Yan Yuan told Injong: "Your Majesty was born in Li Chenfei, and your imperial concubine died unexpectedly." After Renzong's death, Zhao lived in seclusion for more than ten years, closed the door to the country and ignored the state affairs. When Injong was in power, Zhao suddenly came back to tell the truth, which should be reasonable.

In a word, Injong learned of his life experience, and at the same time he was angry and sad. He immediately sent troops to surround the residence of Queen Liu, find out the truth and deal with it.

He suspected that his mother was dead, so he had to open the coffin for inspection. When the coffin was opened, I saw Li Fei, who had been soaked in mercury and was in good health, lying peacefully in the coffin, dressed beautifully. Renzong sighed: "Can people be trusted?" He immediately ordered the soldiers who surrounded Liu Zhai to be disbanded and burned incense and prayed in front of the portrait of Queen Liu.

In fact, after her death, Empress Liu was prepared to hold a funeral with the etiquette of ordinary imperial court, but the Prime Minister urged Empress Liu to say that in order to preserve the Liu family, she must be reburied.

Empress Liu realized the seriousness of the problem and decided to dress up for the funeral with the queen's clothes and use a mercury coffin. Although his birth mother was buried, it failed to dilute Injong's infinite guilt for Lee. He posthumously awarded the Empress Dowager Wei Liu Zhuang and Empress Li Weizhuang.

At this point, the truth came out. In this case of "taking care of children", Liu Fei and Li Fei do exist, but they are by no means legendary, and there is no shadow of civet cats. The legend of "changing civet cats into princes" came into being after later generations further processed Queen Liu.

In addition, Bao Zheng did not actually participate in the whole process of Injong's confession, because it happened before the first year of Injong's Ming Dow (AD 1032), when Bao Zheng was still a civilian.

Until the fourth year of Injong (AD 1037), Bao Zheng, a 29-year-old scholar, left home to work in Tianchang County when he was about 40 years old. He has never been to Beijing for a long time. How did he help Injong find his birth mother?