Ashes to Crown

Chapter 50: Chapter 14: The Deep Palace

The gauze curtains of the Emperor’s pavilion had been down for a long time, and the music and singing outside had gone on just as long. Only when a voice came from within did the eunuchs on guard signal for the actors to stop and raise the curtains.

The Emperor sat up, still somewhat drowsy, but his spirits were much improved.

”Has Xun arrived?” he asked.

’His Majesty’s memory is getting worse and worse,’ the eunuch thought. He bowed his head and said cautiously, ”He already paid his respects to Your Majesty and has left with the Crown Prince.”

The Emperor grunted in acknowledgement and narrowed his eyes, as if he was just remembering. He reached for the cup of wine that had been poured for him and slowly took a sip.

”What did the Crown Prince say? Why did Xun come to the Capital City?” he asked again.

The eunuch repeated the Crown Prince’s earlier words, and then added what the Crown Prince had left out.

”Liang Siqing asked the Ministry of Justice to help find Miss Chu, and the Ministry of Justice in turn asked the King of Zhongshan to intercept her along her route. After they found her, the Heir of Zhongshan King personally escorted her back.”

Upon hearing this, the Emperor set down his wine cup and narrowed his eyes. ”He brought Miss Chu back? Who told him to? Chu Ling?”

”No, no,” the eunuch said quickly. ”It was just a stroke of bad luck for the Heir of Zhongshan King. While Miss Chu’s party was traveling through the King of Zhongshan’s territory, they ran into mountain bandits. It caused a huge commotion. Government troops were deployed, and many commoners were killed or injured. Since there was a court official in Miss Chu’s party, the King of Zhongshan grew very anxious and made a special trip to the Capital City to explain the situation to the court. He submitted a formal request beforehand, which the Crown Prince approved.”

The Emperor grunted and chuckled. ”My younger brother is such a cautious man. He refuses to give anyone a single word to use against him, terrified someone will do him harm.”

The eunuch breathed a sigh of relief as well and refilled the Emperor’s cup. ”It’s good to be cautious. It shows proper respect for the rules.”

The only ones who could dispense with etiquette before the Emperor were his own sons. Brothers and nephews were not afforded the same privilege.

The Emperor drank his wine slowly, appearing both drunk and sober at the same time. ”What was that business with Chu Ling’s daughter again?”

The eunuch responded, ”Chu Ling’s daughter beat Miss Liang. Liang Siqing refused to let the matter drop, so Chu Ling came to Your Majesty for help, and Your Majesty resolved the trouble for him.”

The Emperor said nothing, simply downing the rest of his wine in one gulp.

”Your Majesty, about Chu Ling’s letter... do you need to reply?” the eunuch asked tentatively. ”He was asking for your instructions regarding that matter—”

The moment the words were out, the Emperor’s expression twisted with rage.

”Why should I reply to him?” he roared. ”Who does he think he is! Daring to lecture me! To blame me! He’s the one who was wrong! ’A true master of war subdues the enemy without fighting, takes their cities without laying siege, and conquers their kingdom without a protracted campaign’—”

He smashed the wine cup in his hand onto the ground. When that wasn’t enough, he flipped over the wine pot, the small table, and everything on it.

These were the words Chu Ling had used to rebuke him all those years ago. That so much time had passed and they were still seared into the Emperor’s heart showed just how deep the rift between them had been. ’Sigh,’ the Chief Eunuch thought, and led everyone in kneeling.

”Your Majesty, please calm your anger!”

The sound of hurried footsteps approached. A flock of palace maids appeared, surrounding a magnificently dressed imperial concubine who glided toward them, calling out, ”Your Majesty! Your Majesty, what’s wrong?”

Seeing this imperial concubine, the eunuchs and actors breathed a collective sigh of relief. ”The Imperial Concubine has arrived,” they cried out.

Consort Zhao was already before the Emperor. She took hold of his arm. ”Who has angered Your Majesty this time?” Without waiting for a reply, she shook his arm playfully. ”Your Majesty, Your Majesty, don’t be angry. Come play chess with me! I’ve learned a new strategy, so I’m sure to beat you this time.”

The consort, though in her thirties, still carried herself like a young maiden. As the beauty swayed his arm, the Emperor’s anger instantly vanished, replaced by a smile in his eyes.

”Just don’t come crying to me when you lose again,” he chuckled.

Consort Zhao took the Emperor’s hand. ”Hurry, hurry.”

The Emperor followed her, stepping over the wreckage on the floor as if his earlier violent rage had never happened.

The eunuchs and actors who remained behind only stood up after the footsteps had faded, breathing a sigh of relief.

One eunuch gave a wry smile. ”Consort Zhao asks who angered His Majesty. If it weren’t for the Third Prince—”

Before he could finish, the Chief Eunuch smacked him on the back of the head.

”Tired of living?” he snapped. ”If you don’t want to live, go throw yourself in a lake tonight.”

The eunuch lowered his head, abashed, not daring to utter another word. He quickly began to clean up the mess.

...

...

Deyang Hall was where the Emperor handled matters of the court. But now that the Emperor had delegated these duties to the Crown Prince, he rarely set foot in it.

Inside Deyang Hall, officials knelt on their mats. The Crown Prince was also seated on the floor, with stacks of memorials piled before him.

His expression was solemn, his powerful build lending him an air of great authority. His eyes scanned the memorials before him, as if he were deep in thought, deliberating on his decisions.

The eunuchs on either side held their breath, silent.

The Crown Prince extended his arms and hefted one stack of memorials, then another. He did this several times before finally pointing at the heaviest pile with satisfaction. ”This one stays. Take the rest away.”

At this decision, the officials whose memorials were not in the chosen stack let out a collective sigh of despair. But no one dared to step forward and argue. On both sides of the hall stood a number of burly men, also wearing official robes, though theirs looked different from the standard attire. These were the Crown Prince’s riding and archery masters, for whom he had created the title of ”Strength Official,” and they swaggered into court alongside him.

If anyone dared to disagree with the Crown Prince in court, these men would not hesitate to physically assault the court officials.

The eunuchs carried over the memorials that had not been selected by weight. The officials retrieved their own documents from the pile and departed in resignation.

”I really can’t wait any longer. This is about disaster relief grain,” one official said, his brow furrowed with worry. He glanced back at the Crown Prince, still seated in the hall.

He gritted his teeth and was about to step forward to plead his case, but another official pulled him back.

”If you anger His Highness, he’ll have you beaten. You’ll be laid up in bed for two weeks, and that will delay things even more,” the other official warned. He gestured toward a Strength Official and gave his colleague a meaningful look.

The official understood. With a sigh of resignation, he pulled a pouch of money from his sleeve, took one of the Strength Officials aside, and whispered, ”Sir, please help me.” He pressed the money pouch into the man’s hand.

The Strength Official, who had a thick, circular beard, accepted the pouch and smiled in satisfaction. But then he feigned helplessness. ”Lord Qi, you can never predict how the Crown Prince will choose the memorials. Today he picks the heaviest stack, tomorrow he might pick the lightest. The day after, it could be the ones in the middle. I can’t make any guarantees—”

Lord Qi’s face was a mask of misery. ”But this truly cannot wait. Thousands of people are waiting for this food—”

The Strength Official wasn’t the type to take money and not deliver. He cleared his throat and lowered his voice. ”Lord Qi, if you want this dealt with quickly, you’d be better off asking Prince Yang for help.”

There were many officials in the court with the surname Yang, but when the Strength Official mentioned him, everyone knew he meant the Crown Prince’s maternal uncle, without needing a full name.

Prince Yang was currently in charge of military affairs at the Grand Commandant Mansion.

The official’s expression was one of resignation. ”But this is a matter for the Household Department—”

’These Strength Officials are all just uncultured brutes,’ Lord Qi thought. ’They don’t understand a thing.’

The Strength Official looked at him as if he were an idiot. ”Whether it’s a matter for the Household Department or the Military Department, it’s all court business, isn’t it?”

’Does that mean all court business is now Prince Yang’s business?’ the official thought with a sense of helplessness. ’Unbelievable...’ Still, he thanked the Strength Official and walked out, clutching his memorial.

’Even if I have to let Prince Yang skim a fortune off the top, at least thousands of people will be able to eat instead of starving to death,’ he resigned himself. ’I’ll just have to accept it.’

Once the officials had dispersed and silence returned to the hall, the Crown Prince idly flipped through a few of the memorials before tossing them aside in annoyance. ”Have you looked into that literary gathering the Third Prince is planning?”

A Strength Official stepped forward. ”We’ve investigated it, Your Highness. The Third Prince is posting notices everywhere, stating that anyone, regardless of status or position, may attend the gathering, provided they can pass an assessment at the entrance to Wangchun Garden.”

The Crown Prince asked, ”What assessment?”

Another Strength Official laughed. ”Just the usual stuff. Poetry, prose, calligraphy, chess, that sort of thing.”

’Poems and ink can’t kill anyone,’ the Crown Prince thought with a nod. ”Keep an eye on everyone who attends. Make sure he doesn’t use this as an opportunity to recruit people he shouldn’t.”

”Our men are stationed everywhere, watching day and night,” the Strength Officials replied in unison. One asked, ”If we find anyone suspicious, should we conduct a thorough investigation—”

The Crown Prince grinned. ”Investigation? No need. What’s there to investigate? Just beat them to death. Problem solved.”

As he spoke, he stood and rolled his shoulders, which let out a series of loud CRACKS.

”Let him know,” he said, ”that no matter what little tricks or schemes he comes up with, they’re no match for my fists.”