“Where’s Zhao’er? Have you seen Zhao’er?” Noble Consort Wei woke from her faint, hair uncombed, face unwashed, her eyes swollen like walnuts. She clutched at the serving maid, demanding her son.
The maid faltered: “Niang Niang forgets—Second Prince is in the Empress Dowager’s palace, he hasn’t yet returned…”
“—Go bring Zhao’er back! Go!” Noble Consort Wei shoved her hard.
The maid prostrated in fright. Noble Consort Wei, still seething, kicked her. The maid took the blows without moving, only crying in terror: “Niang Niang, spare this servant!”
“Fine, fine—none of you will go? Then I’ll go myself!” In fury, Noble Consort Wei lifted her skirts and rushed toward the palace gates, only to see several unfamiliar guards closing Yongning Palace’s doors, fastening them with a heavy sealing lock.
Noble Consort Wei’s face drained. “You dog slaves—what are you doing!”
The guards said coldly: “By imperial edict, the palace is sealed. His Majesty orders that Niang Niang cultivate yourself in peace. No need to step out this gate, and no need to worry about Second Prince.”
“This… this is to cast me into the Cold Palace? I don’t believe it—His Majesty wouldn’t treat me so, I don’t believe it!” Noble Consort Wei screamed hoarsely, clawing at the crack in the door, pulling with all her might. “I want to see His Majesty! Let me out!”
“His Majesty will not see Niang Niang again. Please let go, lest you be injured.”
Staring at their stone-faced indifference, Noble Consort Wei burst into tears: “If His Majesty won’t see me, at least let me see Zhao’er! He’s my flesh and blood, the child I bore after ten months’ hardship, nearly dying in childbirth—my son! Give Zhao’er back to me, give him back!”
The guards pushed her aside without expression and continued shutting the door. One muttered: “And whose child isn’t born of ten months’ pain? When you executed palace maids at whim, did you pity their Mothers’ sons?”
Their captain shot him a glare. “Less nonsense.”
Noble Consort Wei, overcome with rage and grief, cast aside every shred of palace-bred decorum. She collapsed on the threshold, slapping her thighs, weeping and cursing, snot and tears running: “Mother, you must’ve been blind or heartless, to shove me into the palace, begging for this bitter fate! Neglect and cold shoulders all these years weren’t enough? Now I can’t even walk out a door without being blocked left and right… Zhao’er is my only hope, and you still want to steal him away—I won’t live!”
“…Enough bawling!” the captain snapped, finally losing patience. He barked at the others, “Well? Get Niang Niang back inside!”
Two guards stepped forward, seizing her arms left and right, dragging her back in.
As she struggled, one of them muttered low and cold by her ear: “Others’ only hope—you burned it to ashes yourself. Heaven’s wheel turns. Who can you blame?”
Noble Consort Wei froze, then scratched him hard with her nails, grinding her teeth: “It’s the Crown Prince, isn’t it? That conniving brat pulled strings behind my back… I want to see the Empress Dowager! Let me go!”
The guard flung her down in the courtyard, sneering: “My young lord bids me tell you—live well, the days ahead are long.”
The palace gates boomed shut. Noble Consort Wei sat there, motionless, dazed.
The rattling of the iron lock jolted her awake. She wiped her tear-streaked face with her sleeve, clenched her molars, and from her ink-dark pupils flashed a venomous gleam: “Then let’s see whose days last longer!”
—
Inside Cining Palace, the Empress Dowager’s first order after returning from the Ancestral Temple was to summon the Second Prince.
Zhu Hezhao, long a darling in her eyes, stretched out his little hands as soon as he saw her, cooing: “Grandma, hug! Hug!”
The Empress Dowager silently stepped back, then slowly bent half-kneeled, scrutinizing her grandson with a gaze so sharp it made one’s heart tremble.
When Zhu Hezhao tried to wrap his arms around her neck, she stopped him, holding his head and face between her palms. Her blade-like gaze scraped across his brows, eyes, nose, and lips. After a long moment she finally exhaled faintly, murmuring: “He resembles.”
She let go and rose. The child, sensing some grievance, clung to her legs and cried. The Empress Dowager no longer had the heart to hold him. She ordered the maid: “Soothe him. Tell His Majesty that Zhao’er will continue to be raised here in Cining Palace. Consort Shu already has two daughters, and in a few years they’ll be marrying—she’ll be far too busy.”
The maid obeyed and carried the Second Prince away.
The Empress Dowager sank back onto her luohan couch, letting Qiong Gu knead her neck and shoulders, sighing heavily: “Useless!”
Qiong Gu, recalling rumors from court, asked softly: “Your Majesty… truly won’t save the Wei clan?”
The Empress Dowager reclined against cushions, eyes half-closed: “How to save? Their handle fell into enemy hands—witnesses and evidence both ironclad, caught red-handed with an imperial criminal at their gates. Tell me, how to save!”
Qiong Gu thought for a moment, then suggested: “Cut off the fire at the root?”
The Empress Dowager knew she meant Su Yan.
That boy—young in years, yet masterful at stirring tempests, no obedient subject at all. Yet His Majesty doted on him too much. To strike at him was to clash head-on with the emperor—folly.
Better to send him far away, out of sight, out of mind.
The Empress Dowager waved a hand, neither yes nor no.
Qiong Gu ventured again: “Has Your Majesty considered… fostering another as support?”
The Empress Dowager sighed: “Among the whole court, only the Wei clan holds natural advantage—they are my sister’s in-laws, and the Second Prince’s maternal kin. All these years, the Wei clan has obeyed my every word, for they too seek Zhao’er enthroned as heir. With Zhao’er’s lifeline in hand, they would never betray me. Those other ministers, though they mouth ‘we serve the Empress Dowager as loyal hounds and horses,’ how many are truly so steadfast?”
“The humble one sees that among the Grand Secretaries, Lord Jiao and Lord Wang are deeply loyal to Your Majesty.”
She meant Vice-Chancellor Jiao Yang and Wang Qianhe.
“Them?” The Empress Dowager sneered. “Li Chengfeng grows feeble, and the Grand Chancellor’s seat will be vacant sooner or later. Their eyes are fixed on that chair. Since His Majesty gives them no favor, they come currying mine, seeking another path. You think I don’t see through them?”
Qiong Gu reminded her: “There are still quite a few old ministers. Though they appear silent on the surface, in truth they still hold affection for the Empress Dowager’s past kindness.”
“You mean that bunch of old fellows,” the Empress Dowager sighed. “When the Emperor first ascended the throne, those senior officials who had grown unwieldy since the late emperor’s time took advantage of his youth. They threw their weight around, always wanting to meddle with the court’s affairs. I had no choice but to intervene personally—rallying the late emperor’s old retainers to help the Emperor suppress and sweep out those who would not obey—only then did he gain the right to speak.
“Yet look now, more than ten years have passed, the Emperor’s prestige grows heavier by the day, while his discontent with me, his own Mother, and the restrictions he places on me, become all the more obvious. If I summon the Grand Masters a few times more than usual, he calls them wicked monks of heresy. If I want to promote a few of my own people, he claims their conduct and ability are unworthy of office. Even when the various circuits and prefectures send a few qionghua blossoms to please me, he takes issue with it.”
The Empress Dowager’s voice grew heavier as she spoke, until finally she slapped the armrest, questioning the Emperor across the distance: “Do you still remember what you said the night before you ascended the throne, when restless in spirit you came to me? You said you did not wish to be a lonely sovereign; you said that whenever you faced difficulties and felt like retreating, you wished for a hand to press firmly on your back, to tell you, ‘No matter how rugged the road ahead, I will walk it with you to the very end.’”
“All these years, tell me, when have I, as your Royal Mother, not supported you?”
“You wanted to honor the late emperor’s temple name, you insisted on keeping the Embroidered Guards, you created a new assessment system for officials—when the old ministers came weeping to me because their interests had been harmed, not once did I speak up for them. Even when you insisted on making that Zhang woman, whom I greatly disliked, your empress, in the end I nodded my assent! Tell me yourself—have I, as your Royal Mother, wronged you in any way?”
“And yet what do you do? Fully aware of the knot in my heart, fully aware that your third brother died so miserably, fully aware of the Grand Masters’ divinations—that Zhang is the reincarnation of that Mo woman, that her son has come to claim my life as a debt—yet still you insist on making Zhu Helin the crown prince!”
“You had so few sons, for fourteen years only this one prince, and I endured it. But now you have Zhao’er, and in the future there will be more sons—yet you refuse to heed my counsel, and insist on setting your eyes on such a crooked, rotten fruit!”
“The Empress Dowager took a long breath, yet could not calm her agitation. She said bitterly: ‘At the very least, even Ah Wu would be more suitable than him!’”
Qiong Gu was shocked: “Your Majesty, he is the son of a prince, not of the main line.”
The Empress Dowager let out a cold laugh: “If I had pushed Cheng’er up as emperor back then, would he not have been the orthodox heir? Eldest son, younger son—what difference is there? The one who is filial to me, that is my good son!”
—It was words of anger. Qiong Gu knew this, yet could not persuade her in such a temper, and could only say: “The Emperor may not be like Yu Wang, who delights in pleasing Your Majesty, but he is most filial. Have you forgotten? That time when Your Majesty had a severe cold, the Emperor, though suffering from a headache himself, kept vigil all night at your bedside. Every bowl of medicine, he first tasted himself before offering it to you.”
The Empress Dowager fell silent for a moment, seemingly touched, then at last said: “He only wants to place me there as a clay idol to be worshiped. A clay idol cannot speak, cannot interfere—but I am unwilling to be the most exalted clay idol under heaven.”
—
Su Yan handed the completed memorial of impeachment to Censor Chu Qiu, who had come to visit him, entrusting him to present it to the court.
Chu Qiu was deeply moved, bowing with cupped hands: “That you entrust me with such a grave matter—how could I fail your trust? Righteousness comes first. To punish evil for the nation and the people—I would die without regret.”
This was the true backbone of a censor! Su Yan returned the salute: “I leave it in your hands, Brother Lingchuan.”
Let us not yet speak of how, at the next day’s court session, Chu Qiu, together with a group of Censors from the Censorate, launched a fierce assault on the Wei family, and even urged that this memorial be printed in the imperial bulletin and circulated throughout the realm;
Nor of how the “Down-With-Wei” faction thus rallied around Su Twelve’s banner, and the east wind on the court gradually overwhelmed the west wind.
Let us speak only of the Northern Surveillance Bureau’s prison, where late at night, a visitor came to see the prisoners.
The jailer barked: “Ahead lies the cells of important criminals. Visitors are not permitted to enter!”
The visitor lifted back the hood of her cloak, revealing a head full of pearls and jade ornaments, and a face closely resembling the Empress Dowager’s: “I am Madam Qin.”
None in the capital did not know—Madam Qin was the Empress Dowager’s most cherished younger sister. Even her maiden surname, “Qin,” had been specially permitted to be retained by the Empress Dowager, so that after marriage she was not called “Madam Wei.” The Empress Dowager had declared that Madam Qin had rendered great merit to the late emperor.
By coincidence, before the late emperor ascended the throne, his princely title had been “Qin Wang.” Thus the surname “Qin” carried an extra measure of distinction, and Madam Qin took pride in it.
At this moment, the “gravely ill Mother” whom Noble Consort Wei had spoken of, though a little pale and wan, bore no obvious signs of illness. Carrying a food box, she came alone into the sunless prison of the Embroidered Guards.
In front of the jailers, Madam Qin displayed the waist token personally bestowed by the Empress Dowager.
“I do not make things difficult for you. I only wish to visit my husband and younger brother-in-law. This is human feeling; even His Majesty would understand and approve. Please grant me this favor.” She spoke gently, then handed over a large bundle of banknotes.
The jailer hesitated a moment, then pocketed the notes, nodding: “One stick of incense’s time. Speak your words and then leave… the things must be inspected.”
Madam Qin agreed and handed him the food box.
After checking, and confirming it was only wine and dishes, with nothing concealed and no poison, he let her into the cell.
Her husband’s cell lay ahead, but Madam Qin first went to see her younger brother-in-law.
Marquis Fengan, Wei Jun, upon seeing her, was overjoyed, saying the prison was no place for human beings, and begging her to plead with the Empress Dowager at once to have himself and his elder brother released.
Madam Qin ignored this plea, instead saying: “Your son is ill.”
Wei Jun had only one son, a tyrant of the capital, spoiled beyond measure. Hearing this, he was greatly alarmed: “What illness? Has a physician seen him? What did the physician say?”
Madam Qin said: “Physicians are of no use. This is an illness that only you, his father, can cure.”
“—I can cure it? What kind of illness is it?”
“If you do not take responsibility for the entire Wei family, he will die of this illness.”
Wei Jun froze in shock, then burst into fury: “You want me alone to take the fall? With such a grave charge, how could I possibly bear it alone?!”
“Whether you can bear it or not, you must!” Madam Qin remained unmoved. “If you shoulder it, your son lives, the rest of the Wei family lives. If you refuse, then all will be doomed. You tell me—which will you choose?”
“Wei family’s ‘others’… isn’t it just you husband and wife?” Wei Jun, worked up with rage, burst into violent coughing and wheezing.
Madam Qin said: “In any case, you’re already left with only half a life. To use it to protect your son and your elder brother and sister-in-law—what loss is that to you? Rest assured, from now on we will treat our nephew as if he were our own flesh and blood. Whatever my son Que’er has, he will never lack a single thing.”
After recovering from his fit, Wei Jun turned the matter over and over in his mind, finding no second path out. Still unwilling, he asked: “Can the Empress Dowager not step forward to save the Wei family?”
Madam Qin proudly declared: “What I mean, is what the Empress Dowager means.”
At that, Wei Jun was left with no way out at all. For the sake of his son, for the sake of not letting his own bloodline be cut off, he finally steeled his heart and said: “I’ll bear it!”
Madam Qin gave him a formal bow: “On behalf of my husband, on behalf of the entire Wei family, I thank my dear uncle.”
Wei Jun’s smile was more bitter than tears: “You’re thanking me for the two of you.”
Madam Qin added: “Also for your son.”
Wei Jun panted like a bellows, and with the air of one awaiting death, waved his hand: “Go. Treat my son well—otherwise, even as a ghost, I won’t spare you two.”
Madam Qin left Wei Jun’s cell and went on to Wei Yan’s, where she gave some instructions.
A jailer came to urge her out. Madam Qin pulled her hood back down over her head and face, and quietly left the prison.
After she was gone, that jailer felt the bulging silver in his chest pocket. Suddenly both his legs began to shake, his whole back breaking out in patches of cold sweat that refused to fade.
—He thought of his superior, Shen Tongzhi. He thought of what sort of miserable end awaited him if Lord Life-Taking Qilang ever learned what he had done today!
Shuddering all over, he still gripped the heavy bribe tight in his hand, muttering to himself with desperate resolve: “Man dies for wealth, bird dies for food.”
—
“What did you say?”
Su Yan, his internal injuries somewhat improved, was slowly pacing beneath the old peach tree in the courtyard when Shen Qi hurried in to tell him something wholly unexpected.
He was astonished: “Wei Jun took all the blame onto himself? He is not the sort of man of deep affection and loyalty. Sacrificing the self to save the whole family—something like that, I’d never believe he’d do even if beaten to death. I thought those two brothers would bite each other in the joint trial, scrambling to drag the other down to hell.”
Shen Qi agreed with his assessment, but this, indeed, had happened.
“Wei Jun even wrote a very detailed confession, essentially clearing Wei Yan completely—at most leaving him with negligence in managing the household, a failure of strict discipline. Wei Yan himself also claimed he knew nothing of those accusations. Their confessions were astonishingly consistent.” Shen Qi reported.
Su Yan frowned: “Did the two of them collude on their testimony?”
“They were held separately, precisely to prevent collusion,” Shen Qi replied. “The Ministry of Justice, the Embroidered Guards, and the Censorate held a joint trial. Once they obtained Wei Jun’s confession, the Ministry immediately reported it, and the whole court knew.”
Su Yan was silent for a moment, then shook his head: “Someone is trying hard to protect the Wei family, unwilling to see it wiped out completely… What is His Majesty’s stance?”
“No immediate decision. But I hear the cabinet is drafting an edict—Vice Chancellor Jiao Yang has taken the pen, preparing to present it for imperial review.”
That “I hear” source was no doubt one of Shen Qi’s planted informants among the clerks of the cabinet. Su Yan saw through it but did not expose it. Instead he asked: “And Li Gelao?”
“Li Chengfeng took a fall a couple days ago—mild stroke, his speech is even unclear now.” Shen Qi said.
Su Yan sighed: “The struggle for the Chief Grand Chancellor has already begun.”
Out of the blue, Shen Qi asked: “Do you mean to compete for it as well?”
Even burdened with heavy thoughts, Su Yan laughed: “Me? Compete for Chief Grand Chancellor? Qilang, are you joking? At my age, with what qualifications could I contend for a seat one step below the throne, above ten thousand, akin to a prime minister?”
Shen Qi said firmly: “Age will grow, qualifications will come.”
Su Yan shook his head: “Let’s not chase shadows. Tell me, regarding Wei Jun’s case—how does His Majesty intend to handle it?”
Shen Qi did not answer—for he could not.
Upon returning to the Northern Surveillance Bureau, he pulled out every jailer who had been on duty that day, interrogating them one by one. Very quickly he caught the one who had taken a heavy bribe and let Madam Qin inside.
Before Shen Qi could even mete out judgment, the jailer had already been scared out of his wits, stammering only that Madam Qin came bearing the Empress Dowager’s command, and that a petty underling like him could not possibly resist.
Shen Qi asked coolly: “Did Madam Qin cut out your tongue on the spot, so that you could not even send me word?”
The jailer burst into wailing tears, kowtowing again and again, saying he had been blinded by greed and would never offend again.
“Since your tongue is useless, why keep it?” Shen Qi drove the interrogation awl he had been toying with into the man’s mouth, then drew his Xiuchun saber and hacked off both his hands. “Later you can use those banknotes you took to have a pair of golden hands made, and hug them for the rest of your life.”
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