The Child Emperor

Chapter 46: The Word on the Back

The Emperor spending the night at the Empress’s Qiuxin Palace was a big deal, and one could not simply go there. Han Ruzi had to first return to his Tai-an Palace to take a bath and change clothes.  Zuo Ji stayed near the Emperor, hovering about, occasionally giving a lazy yawn as he impatiently chastised Zhang Youcai or Dong Qing E. “Move faster, lowly servant! The dogs in the palace are more obedient than you. Don’t worry, Your Majesty, I shall train them for you.”

Nobody responded to Zuo Ji as he spoke to himself, which only caused him to be more pleased with himself.

Taking a chance when Zuo Ji was not paying attention, Zhang Youcai shook his head at the Emperor. He had not yet found out how the Grand Consort was communicating with the outside. This was only the first day, and Han Ruzi had not placed much hopes on it. So he blinked his eyes to reassure Zhang Youcai.

Dong Qing E focused on assisting the Emperor change clothes. She did not give any hints, but in the end, she used her finger to write out a character on the Emperor’s back. She was afraid the Emperor could not discern what she had wrote, so she wrote it a second time.

This character did not have many strokes, but Han Ruzi did not recognize it. With Zuo Ji around, he could not ask, so he could only pretend to have gotten the message and set out for Qiuxin Palace. Zuo Ji stopped Dong Qing E and Zhang Youcai saying, “There is no need for you two.”

Dong and Zhang withdrew, and remained at the Emperor’s quarters.

The Empress had gotten the news, and was in full regalia in Qiuxin Palace, awaiting the Emperor’s arrival. The two of them sat down, and drank a few cups of wine opposite each other, while several servant-girls took turns coming forward and saying words of congratulations. The ceremony was simple but lasted for an hour. Only after that did the two of them enter the room to rest.

Removing her outer garments, the Empress’s adult demeanor vanished. She was just a skinny girl. She sat by the bed uneasy, no trace of the savvy and assertiveness she had showed when questioning Zuo Ji and the female attendant.

Han Ruzi sat by the bedside, maintaining a distance from the Empress. He looked at her, hesitant.

The Empress turned her had and looked at the Emperor. She was shocked by the expression on his face. The Empress’s brows were creased, while he was biting his lips. He looked like he was in deep thought, and also like he was about to enter into a life-and-death battle.

“Your Majesty…”

Han Ruzi’s attention was recalled. “Ah… Sorry. I was thinking… I was thinking…” He did not know how to start saying what he wanted to say. After thinking on it, he found that there was no need for him to beat around the bush. At worst, he would just be in deeper danger than he already was. “Can I trust you?”

The Empress was initially confused, but subsequently showed a resolute gaze. She nodded. “I am your Empress, and always will be. Your Majesty can trust me.”

“Very well.” Han Ruzi did not speak immediately, but instead went to the door and pressed his ears against it. He listened for a while, and found that it was quiet outside. The servant-girls would probably not dare move away from their stations at this time, nor would they dare eavesdrop.

He returned to the bedside. “Tell me, what does the Cui clan plan to do?”

The Empress was even more confused. She stood up, shorter than the Emperor by a head, and said, “The Cui clan… My clan… Does Your Majesty suspect something?”

“There are some things that I do not understand. I hope that you can give me some clarifications.”

Cui Xiaojun was only twelve, but she had undergone excellent education, and knew of many matters. She roughly understood what the Emperor meant, and said seriously, “I know, the Cui clan is too powerful and is a destabilizing force in the Imperial Court. I am the Empress of Chu, whatever Your Majesty wants to do, I will stand by Your Majesty’s side.”

Han Ruzi smiled. “What can I do now? The problem is… something once told me: a person may be selfish, but must not be so selfish as to believe that others are not selfish.”

The Empress smiled as well. “The person who said that to Your Majesty was a little insolent. But I understand what he meant.”

“Hence I am confused. I know what the Empress Dowager and the senior officials want. I also know the thoughts of many other people. But I do not know what the Cui clan is thinking of. Grand Tutor Cui… Your father, he leads an army outside, and has sent you to the palace. Even though he knows that the Empress Dowager is consolidating power, he does not appear anxious at all.”

Cui Xiaojun looked at the Emperor quietly. This youth was not only the Emperor of Chu, but also her husband. In all the education that she had received, the core virtue she was taught was submission. First, submission to her father, and then, submission to her husband. She had wholly accepted this, never pausing to consider why, nor would she start now.

“I have three older brothers, one younger brother. My father once had ambitions, wanting to groom them into outstanding individuals. In the end, on the night I was married, two of my older brothers got drunk and got into a public brawl. Nobody could restrain them. My mother had no choice but to come out from the inner sanctums of the manor and tearfully plead with them to stop. Brothers like this — does Your Majesty think that they could have any farsighted plans? The Cui clan wishes to stay in power in order to enjoy luxury. When they heard that I was to be Empress, the whole family was excited, and the only sentence on their lips was, ‘the Cui clan’s position is secured for another decade’.”

“Do they not know that you were about to marry a puppet Emperor?” Han Ruzi found it hard to imagine that the Cui clan, the Empress Dowager’s archnemesis, were a bunch of such characters.

“They only cared about the title of Empress, and then went back to their merriment. There are a few sensible ones in the clan, but they would not amount to anything. Only my father…”

“As far as I am aware, Grand Tutor Cui is the only one the Empress Dowager is weary of.”

The Empress sighed lightly. “Father is never content. He does not have further ambitions, but he always feels that the Cui clan’s position is not secure. He often says that that the clan’s wealth and prestige came too easily, so it would also be lost quickly. If he did not make plans for the future, the entire Cui clan would crumble. But Father is the only one in the clan who is worried, and always bemoans having raised four useless sons who were inferior to a single nephew.”

“Nephew… Prince Donghai?” Han Ruzi was a little shocked, but he suddenly felt a jolt in his heart as his body let out a thin layer of sweat. He finally realized that the character that Dong Qing E had written on his back was the word “Dong” for “Donghai”.

“Mm, that’s him,” the Empress said with a rather solemn expression. It seemed like she did not like mentioning this cousin of hers.

“Really? Prince Donghai?” Han Ruzi asked again, leaning forward. He found it unbelievable, yet the many thoughts springing up in his head told him that this was the truth.

“He is very smart. My father holds him in esteem. But I think he is too smart.”

Han Ruzi was increasingly shocked. He said blankly, “Prince Donghai likes you very much.”

“Phft!” Cui Xiaojun spit towards the ground, her face growing red as her regal demeanor disappeared. “He is talking nonsense. He… My mother just casually said that she wanted our families to be closer, and then he decided to take it seriously. But he is a scumbag. My sisters, and the other daughters of my relatives, have all caught his fancy. He said… when he becomes Emperor, he would take us all into the palace as his Empress and concubines. When my older sister got married two years ago, he even threw a tantrum. But the person he likes the most is not me, but my third older sister. He said that he wanted her to be his Empress. I’m not submissive towards him, so I can only be a consort.”

Han Ruzi could imagine Prince Donghai throwing a tantrum, but he still did not understand. “Grand Tutor Cui… Does your father realize that Prince Donghai is such a person?”

The Empress nodded her head. “To be more precise, the person my father holds in esteem is Prince Donghai’s mother, my aunt. Father always says that this younger sister of his is the smartest person in the family. Back then, she was able to see that the Graceful Emperor had a chance of becoming Crown Prince, and insisted on marrying him, even willing to forgo being his principal wife. Prince Donghai may have a weird temper, but he is as smart as my aunt. He has a photographic memory, and always has ideas. Back then, Teacher Luo did not wish to teach at our clan’s manor, but decided to do so after meeting with Prince Donghai.”

Han Ruzi’s mind was blown. At first he did not dare believe what he was hearing, but gradually, things became clear and he grew to increasingly believe the Empress’s words.

“No wonder, when I said that I would not touch you, Prince Donghai immediately agreed. He was afraid that you would tell me the truth!”

“Your Majesty does not wish to touch me?” Cui Xiaojun’s already large eyes grew even wider. She finally understood why the Emperor always kept a distance from her.

Han Ruzi blushed. “That is to deal with the Empress Dowager…”

“My aunt and mother have continuously instructed me not to mention Prince Donghai to anybody in the palace. But I have do not wish to hide anything from Your Majesty,” the Empress said resolutely.

Han Ruzi smiled gratefully. “Oh, so Luo Huan-zhang got to know about things between the Empress Dowager and the Grand Consort from Prince Donghai’s mother…”

Things became clear immediately. Prince Donghai had grown up in the Cui manor, but his mother had always stayed in the prince’s manor. Only when the prince became the Graceful Emperor, did she move to the Imperial Palace. She must have seen the hidden tensions between the Shang-guan sisters. She might even have established communications with the Grand Consort way back then.

And those four imperial edicts. Han Ruzi’s heart tightened as he realized that he had made a big mistake.

One of those edicts has been given to the Empress Dowager, to reassure her. But it isolated the Emperor even more, and might even be used to attack the Cui clan’s enemies.

“Does the Cui clan and Marquis Piyuan have enmity?” Han Ruzi asked.

The Empress shook her head in confusion. “I do not know. Father never talks about such matters at home.”

The more Han Ruzi thought about it, the more he understood: Luo Huan-zhang still had three edicts in his hands. The one removing Grand Tutor Cui from office will not be used. It was requested for just to fool the Emperor. The other two edicts were his true objectives. One to remove Shang-guan Xu from office, the other to take control of the Palace Guards. And then everything will be settled — the Cui clan would wield power again, this time more assuredly than before, because the Emperor would be Prince Donghai, who had grown up in the Cui clan. And the Empress would be a daughter of the Cui clan, as to which daughter, it was not important.

“So that’s how it is.” Han Ruzi mumbled. The Cui clan had made an advance by taking a step back. They had hidden a knife beside the Empress Dowager. The liaison between the Grand Consort and Luo Huan-zhang was Prince Donghai. Every morning after lessons at the Soaring Clouds Pavilion, he would walk behind. He had ample opportunity to exchange communications with Luo Huan-zhang.

Hence, everyone’s self-interest has been completely unmasked.

The Grand Consort did not just want revenge, but also to replace her older sister as Empress Dowager. But how could she be sure that the Cui clan would keep their promises after gaining power? Prince Donghai has his own mother, and would not need to acknowledge someone else to be his mother, unlike Han Ruzi.

Luo Huan-zhang would have rendered great, meritorious service. Even though he says that he does not wish to be an official, he would be the person whom the new Emperor would be most grateful to. Would he continue to influence the Emperor without an official position, or would he soar to the highest ranks of officialdom?

Han Ruzi straightened his back. He suddenly thought of Dong Qing E. What the Grand Consort treated as top secret, the servant-girl found out within a day.

Han Ruzi felt a headache coming. He lifted his hand and knocked his head a few times. Zhang Youcai had said that the servants of the palace had their own channels of information that even the Empress Dowager did not know of. Perhaps they could help the Emperor?

Meng E had said that she would soon send the third batch of pills. When the Emperor was at his most dangerous, would she be willing to lend a helping hand in exchange for a more secure favor?

And the Empress — even though she was of the Cui clan, she had already proven that she was willing to stand by the Emperor. Perhaps there was something to be done.

Han Ruzi grew increasingly perplexed. He could not help but bemoan, “What in the world is Yang Feng doing?” He desperately needed guidance.

At the same time, Yang Feng was also thinking of the Emperor, anxious to return to the palace.