After hearing the Emperor’s explanation, the Empress Dowager’s expression finally softened.
“A strange master will, of course, teach a strange disciple,” she said.
“Recluses and mystics are often eccentric,” the Emperor replied with a smile.
The Empress Dowager exhaled and said no more.
“My thanks, Your Majesty,” said Duke Jin’an happily, bowing deeply.
“What are you thanking him for?” the Empress Dowager asked, her face drawn.
Duke Jin’an smiled.
“Why, for easing Your Majesty’s mind,” he said. “Now that Your Majesty is no longer angry, the trouble I caused won’t be such a grave offense – and my sin will be a little lighter.”
The Empress Dowager looked at him.
“In future, stop getting involved with those kinds of people,” she said. “You’ve grown up within the palace – you don’t understand how dangerous people can be outside. Don’t think that just because that woman once seemed foolish, she still is. In her eyes, who the real fool is might not be so certain.”
Duke Jin’an smiled, bowed again, and said respectfully, “I takes my leave.”
“What’s the rush?” the Empress Dowager said sternly. “Stay in the palace and have supper with me before you go.”
“I have been in and out of the palace so often – it hasn’t even been a month since I last left. If I stay for dinner again, people will start to talk,” Duke Jin’an replied with a smile.
The Empress Dowager gave a cold snort.
“Do you think I’m afraid of gossip?” she said.
Duke Jin’an looked up and smiled.
“You may not be afraid, Your Majesty, but I would hate to see you troubled,” he said.
Watching the young man’s figure retreat through the palace doors, the Empress Dowager’s stern expression softened into a smile.
“Such a smooth tongue,” she murmured. “I wonder who he learned it from.”
“It’s my fault,” the Emperor said with a gentle smile. “I’ve been in poor health and haven’t disciplined him enough.”
The Empress Dowager shot him a glare.
“No need to hurry and distance yourself – I know full well, he was raised by me,” she said. “All that glibness, he learned from me.”
The Emperor burst out laughing.
“Looking at it now, that does seem to be the case,” he said with a grin.
The Empress Dowager gave a dismissive tsk, but smiled as well.
“In any case, I do not like that Cheng girl,” she said suddenly, her smile vanishing. “You may reward her as you see fit for the sake of state affairs, but do not let her become in any way entangled with me.”
The Emperor smiled.
“Mother, she’s but a young lady – how could I possibly elevate her further? She’s not a man; I can’t grant her office or title,” he said. “She has rendered merit, so I’ve already rewarded her parents and brothers. Even if I wanted to do more, the court officials would never agree.”
“For a woman, advancement comes only through marriage,” the Empress Dowager said slowly.
“Though Lady Cheng lost her mother early, her father is still alive,” the Emperor said with a gentle smile. “Her marriage is naturally her family’s affair – how could I interfere?”
“Indeed, it is their private matter,” the Empress Dowager replied with a faint smile and a nod. “However, that Lady Cheng once suffered from a grave illness, making her one of those ‘five whom men do not marry.’ Though she was fortunate enough to encounter a master and be cured, the world is full of foolish minds and petty hearts. She has, after all, rendered service to the realm and has her parents and kin – Your Majesty should still keep an eye on things, lest some base, self-serving opportunists try to use her to climb upward.”
The Empress Dowager put particular weight on the words “base, self-serving opportunists.”
The Emperor looked at her for a moment, then nodded.
“Your thoughts are as prudent as ever,” he said.
“And since they’ve all left the capital,” the Empress Dowager continued, “it’s time we turned our attention to family matters as well. Prince Ping and Prince Qing are still young, but Wei-lang will be twenty by the new year.”
The Emperor looked at the Empress Dowager.
In the past, no one had been more opposed to Duke Jin’an’s marriage than she; yet now it was she who had brought up the subject. It seemed the Empress Dowager had entirely given up hope of ever seeing another heir born within the palace.
And indeed, it was only natural to give up such hope. If even in youth it had been difficult to bear children, how could it be easier now, when she was well past her prime?
Like that Tong Neihan who sought immortality – raising a daughter no older than his own granddaughter.
The Emperor couldn’t help but smile, a trace of wry envy in it.
Though most of his children had died young, at least one son remained – grown, steady, and alive.
He could finally let it rest.
The Emperor nodded.
“Then please choose a consort for him,” he said. “Let it be by your hand that his other half is selected.”
Whatever the two inside the hall were saying, Duke Jin’an paid no further attention once he had left. Quickening his pace through the palace corridors, he glanced ahead as he walked.
“Your Highness, there’s no need to hurry,” said the elderly eunuch accompanying him with a smile. “You’re not the only one eager to see Lady Cheng.”
“Who else?” Duke Jin’an asked casually – then widened his eyes the instant he’d spoken.
The old eunuch from the Empress Dowager’s palace only smiled more broadly, his eyes nearly disappearing.
“I merely thought that since Your Highness personally brought Lady Cheng into the palace, it’s fitting that you also see her out,” he said.
Duke Jin’an looked at him and burst into laughter.
“You really do think of everything,” he said.
The old eunuch bowed hastily, still smiling.
“Your Highness flatters me. I wouldn’t dare accept such praise,” he said.
Chief Eunuch was his official rank, and the court officials or his subordinates might address him so. But before a duke of the royal blood, he would always remain a servant.
Duke Jin’an smiled but said nothing more.
“Your Highness, go on ahead – Lady Cheng has been stopped by Master Cui,” the old eunuch said with a smile. “I won’t accompany you further; Her Majesty the Empress Dowager cannot be left unattended.”
Duke Jin’an nodded with a smile.
The two then went their separate ways.
No sooner had the old eunuch returned to the Empress Dowager’s palace than a young eunuch hurried up to him and whispered a few words in his ear. The old eunuch’s expression changed slightly, and his gaze turned toward the palace gates.
“Well, it can’t be helped,” he murmured. “The affairs of this world are never easy to balance – please the brother, and you’ll displease the sister-in-law; win the young one’s favor, and the elder is sure to take offense.”
By that time, Duke Jin’an was already standing beside Cheng Jiao-niang, while Master Cui was bowing low and taking his leave.
“What did he say to you?” Duke Jin’an asked.
“He thanked me,” Cheng Jiao-niang replied.
The two walked side by side toward the gate, their steps slightly out of sync. The eunuch leading the way followed behind them at a respectful distance – neither too near nor too far.
“He said that when he heard me say I study only the melody, not the instrument itself, it was like a sudden revelation to him. He finally understood where his obstacle lay – and now he feels he can break free of it,” Cheng Jiao-niang continued.
“Then he’s right to thank you,” Duke Jin’an said with a smile and a nod.
“But isn’t it Your Highness who made him famous?” Cheng Jiao-niang said.
Duke Jin’an made a small sound of acknowledgment, still smiling.
“Yes, he should thank me too,” he said. “I’ll ask him for a token of gratitude – and when I get it, I’ll split it with you.”
Cheng Jiao-niang smiled faintly.
“All right,” she said.
Outside the Imperial City, two carriages waited separately.
“I won’t see you off any farther – Liu Ge’er needs someone by his side at home,” Duke Jin’an said.
Cheng Jiao-niang bowed and watched as he stepped into his carriage.
Once seated, Duke Jin’an lifted the curtain and waved to her with a smiling glance.
Cheng Jiao-niang bowed again, watching his carriage roll away.
“Miss, please get in,” Ban Qin urged softly, handing her a small hand warmer.
It was quite a long walk from the Empress Dowager’s palace to the city gate.
Cheng Jiao-niang accepted the hand warmer and climbed into the carriage.
The carriage moved slowly along the Imperial Avenue.
The broad avenue was quiet – few carriages, few pedestrians. Most of those passing by were magistrate runners or palace attendants going about their duties.
“Why are there suddenly so many members of the imperial clan in the capital?”
A court official, walking toward the Imperial City, stopped and squinted at the carriage passing by as he spoke.
The man was dressed in a green official robe, boots and hat neat and proper, a silver fish-shaped tally hanging from his belt – clearly dressed for an audience with the Emperor.
“Master Feng, that isn’t a member of the imperial clan,” said the eunuch leading the way with a smile. “That’s Lady Cheng.”
Lady Cheng.
Feng Lin’s expression darkened.
“So now even commoners of no rank can gain direct audience before their betters?” he said coldly. “Does His Majesty not know that the officials waiting for summons from the Imperial Archives are still lined up halfway down the hall?”
“Ah, Master Feng, you’ve only just returned to the capital, so you might not know -though Lady Cheng is a commoner, she has rendered great service…” the eunuch began eagerly, his brows dancing as he prepared to recount the famous stories about Lady Cheng.
And there were many to choose from – everyone in idle moments spoke of her deeds. Usually there was never a chance to tell them oneself, but now, finally, here was someone who hadn’t heard!
Which story should he start with? Maoyuan Mountain? The characters on the tombstone? Or perhaps the newest tale, known only within the palace itself – the purifying zither melody said to be heard only by spirits and immortals?
The eunuch was so excited just thinking about it that he failed to notice the deepening gloom on Master Feng’s face.
“Rendered merit?” Feng Lin said sharply. “If she has rendered merit, has His Majesty not already rewarded her?”
“Yes, yes, of course,” the eunuch nodded quickly. “Her sworn brother, her father and mother – they were all granted honors. My lord, do you know how her merits came about? It’s quite a story–”
“If the rewards have already been granted, then why is she being summoned again and again?” Feng Lin cut him off coldly. “Moreover, she is but a woman. What reason could there possibly be for His Majesty to summon her into the palace?”
Only then did the eunuch finally sense that something was wrong.
“It was to hear her play the qin…” he began weakly.
But before he could finish, he was interrupted once more – this time by Feng Lin’s voice, filled with fury, his eyes glacial as he glared at the eunuch.
“To hear the qin?!” he barked. “When so many ministers, burdened with the affairs of state, still wait in line for audience, this mere girl is allowed to come and go through the Imperial Avenue at will? To hear the qin! Has it come to this – that the Emperor would indulge in pleasure and neglect the business of the realm, and let the whole world see it?”
The eunuch was struck dumb with terror.
He was only a lowly palace attendant with no official rank, not some powerful officer. To be suddenly scolded so harshly by a court official left him utterly bewildered.
And what’s more, this official’s fury was directed at the Emperor himself.
Of course, officials rebuking the Emperor was not unheard of – but still!
“And you, a palace servant in close attendance on His Majesty,” Feng Lin thundered, “not only failed to offer remonstrance, but dared to spread such talk and embellish it with your own tongue – your heart is worthy of death!”
At those words, the eunuch’s legs gave way, and he collapsed to his knees with a thud.
Even a minor civil official in a green robe and silver tally could make an eunuch tremble, for civil officials were always to be feared – three parts more than their military counterparts.
But this one was no pampered court scholar. This was Feng Lin – the infamous Judge Feng, who could order an execution without blinking, the “Ghost Judge” who had waded through a sea of corpses.
The eunuch dared not even beg for mercy now; he only kowtowed again and again, forehead striking the ground, inwardly weeping in despair.
How could he have been so unlucky? Of all the people to escort today, it had to be this ill-omened magistrate! And now – just as expected – disaster had struck.
