The Child Emperor

Chapter 76: Old Woman Barging In

After confirming that being abducted was indeed just an accident and that his life was not in danger, Prince Donghai became furious. However, the person he hated the most was not Han Ruzi, but the Empress Dowager. “She locked me up for so long, and I tried to please her in every possible way every day. To my surprise, she just threw me out without any explanation. Two eunuchs tossed me onto the carriage, and I thought…”

Prince Donghai shivered. At that moment, he thought his life was coming to an end, which was why he didn’t dare to make a sound all the way.

“Whom did the Empress Dowager eventually choose to be Emperor?” Han Ruzi only cared about this matter.

“Who else? Both of us were thrown out, she must want to be the Emperor herself!”

“That’s impossible, isn’t it?” Han Ruzi found this notion unbelievable. He turned to Yang Feng, who was walking over, and asked, “Has there ever been a female emperor in history?”

“Only in ancient legends.” Yang Feng stopped in front of the carriage, glanced at Prince Donghai inside, and frowned. He wasn’t interested in whom the Empress Dowager would make the emperor, but he felt that this second carriage was a nuisance. “We have to send him back.”

“Send me where?” Prince Donghai refused to get out of the carriage, gripping the carriage window tightly. “I’m not returning to the palace. I mean, I’m not returning with you. I’m going to the Southern Army to find my uncle and ask him to send me back to the palace…”

Yang Feng abruptly dropped the carriage curtain, turning to Han Ruzi, “We need to send him back to the Cui clan.”

The Manor Clerk had gone to the Bureau of Imperial Clan Affairs to report to his superior, leaving only the Manor Marshal stationed at the Manor, completely at a loss and pacing anxiously. At that moment, he walked over, grabbed Yang Feng’s arm, “Steward Yang, you have to take responsibility for this. I’m just a minor official. I have elders and children depending on me. I can’t afford the trouble…”

Yang Feng patted the carriage, “The person inside was mistakenly picked up. You should return him to the residence of Grand Tutor Cui Hong.”

The Manor Marshal vigorously shook his head, “I won’t do it, this matter has nothing to do with me.”

“The Manor Clerk’s job is to assist the Manor in liaising with various departments of state. What’s the Manor Marshal’s job again?”

The Manor Marshal was speechless. In theory, he was responsible for the safety of the Manor, but the last thing he wanted to deal with right now was this kind of situation.

“The person in the carriage isn’t a family member of the Marquis and is not authorized to be here. Please handle it, Manor Marshal.” Yang Feng pushed Han Ruzi towards the backyard.

Prince Donghai lifted a corner of the carriage curtain, still refusing to come out. He shouted, “Han Ruzi, don’t leave me here, send me back to the Cui’s! You personally send me, not this guy.”

Han Ruzi wanted to speak but was pushed forward by Yang Feng and couldn’t stop. Not far away, a eunuch rushed over from behind, panting, “The people from the Cui clan have arrived, and there are quite a few.”

Yang Feng stopped. “They came fast. Lord Marquis, you stall them for a while. Don’t let them through this door, and don’t talk too much.”

“Me?” Han Ruzi didn’t feel confident, “I’m afraid I can’t…”

“Every situation is a learning experience.” Yang Feng patted the Weary Marquis’s shoulder, turned around, and walked back to the front of the carriage. He called the coachman to drive the carriage into the backyard, followed behind, and ignored whatever Prince Donghai was yelling from inside.

Han Ruzi was in a frenzy. This was not the same as facing the rebels in the palace. Among those who were barging into the Manor, there could be relatives of Cui Xiaojun, which could make things quite awkward.

Yang Feng walked away with a flick of his wrist. Han Ruzi could only figure it out on his own and ordered Zhang Youcai to call over all the eunuchs who had followed them from the palace. They formed a line to block the second gate, and by then, the shouting outside the main gate was already audible. The Manor Marshal was panicking and kept slapping his head; he couldn’t afford to offend the Weary Marquis, and even less the Cui clan.

Han Ruzi called the Manor Marshal over, “Do you want to welcome the Cui clan?”

The Manor Marshal vigorously shook his head.

“Then stand aside with your people, don’t get involved or make a sound.”

The Manor Marshal was extremely relieved. He agreed and ran to relay orders to the soldiers sent by various departments. Then he ran and hid in a room. The others huddled in a corner of the front yard, their eyes sweeping back and forth between the main gate and the second gate, both nervous and curious, wanting to see how the deposed emperor would handle the Cui clan.

The front yard was not large, filled with dozens of soldiers, leaving little empty space.

A large group of people stormed through the main gate, immediately spotting the eunuchs blocking the second gate and the Weary Marquis.

Han Ruzi’s heart sank; most of the newcomers were women, exactly the most awkward situation he had anticipated.

An old woman with an angry face led the group, followed closely by a bunch of women, and a few male servants protecting the perimeter.

The newcomers outnumbered the eunuchs of the Weary Marquis’s Manor by at least twice.

Having met no resistance at the main gate, the intruders were emboldened, shouting and screaming as they entered the yard. The soldiers watching the excitement felt unsafe. Many turned and ducked into various rooms within the manor, listening but not showing their faces.

The old woman stopped in front of the Weary Marquis. She was about the same height as him but rounder. After scrutinizing him up and down a few times, she raised her arm, and everyone behind her fell silent.

Han Ruzi was even more nervous than when facing the Empress Dowager. He coughed twice and was about to speak, but the old woman made her move first.

“You worthless, short-lived, shameless, soulless brat! You dare to snatch a daughter of the Cui clan…”

Her spittle flew in his face, scattered by the cold winter wind like a mix of snowflakes and broken ice. Han Ruzi had nowhere to dodge and could only lean back and slowly retreat.

Zhang Youcai was unwilling to back down. He stepped forward to defend his master but was immediately overwhelmed as soon as he opened his mouth. The old woman pointed at him and shouted, “What do you think you’re doing, jumping up and down like a monkey? Even if you have nothing down there, should you not have eyes up here? What are you, you’re not even qualified to empty the Cui clan’s chamber pots…”

Zhang Youcai was too busy raising his hand to protect his face to have a chance to retort. The pressure on Han Ruzi was slightly relieved. He took a handkerchief from another eunuch to wipe his face and then bravely stepped forward, saying, “Mother-in-law…”

The old woman suddenly stopped mid-sentence, staring angrily at the Weary Marquis.

Han Ruzi realized he had recognized the wrong person. This was not Cui Xiaojun’s mother, but she also didn’t look old enough to be Prince Donghai’s mother. He knew very little about the women of the Cui family and couldn’t guess the identity of this woman. He was momentarily tongue-tied, and the prepared speech could not be delivered.

The old woman turned to a woman and said, “He’s calling you. Aren’t you going to come over and meet your fine son-in-law?”

The woman was in her forties or fifties, not short in height, but she kept bending over and lowering her head, making her appear half a head shorter than the old woman. All she did was agree humbly, not daring to look at the old woman or the Weary Marquis.

It turned out that she was the mother of Cui Xiaojun.

Han Ruzi suddenly remembered that Cui Xiaojun once told him that when her two brothers fought, their mother would be driven to tears. Yet this old woman’s tears had probably all turned into saliva. She would never allow anyone to make her cry.

The awkwardness hadn’t dissipated at all, and Han Ruzi guessed that the old woman must be a senior member of the Cui clan, probably the mother of Grand Tutor Cui and the grandmother of Cui Xiaojun, but he still didn’t know what to call her. He could only blame Yang Feng in his heart, that cunning eunuch was certainly hiding on purpose.

“Elder Madam, this grandson-in-law regrets being remiss in his hospitality…”

Han Ruzi finally thought of something to say, but he was interrupted by the old woman before he could finish. “Who’s grandson-in-law are you? The daughters of the Cui family either marry emperors or enfeoffed lords. You’re but an ousted emperor discarded from the palace, how dare you seek ties with the Cui clan? I’ve heard all about it, yesterday you went around to various departments begging for wealth like a beggar. You have no shame, why are you still clinging to my granddaughter? Hand over Xiaojun now.”

Han Ruzi was angry now, his face slightly reddening. He first bowed in respect, then said, “To try to reclaim a daughter who has been married off, is that the dignity of the Cui family?”

The old woman was not used to being contradicted. She became even more irate, her eyebrows raised, her fighting spirit boiling over. “My granddaughter married an Emperor, are you an Emperor?”

“Xiaojun married Han Ruzi, and I am still Han Ruzi.”

“Ha, listen to your own name! A man who was once Emperor, and you yet call yourself ‘Ruzi’, a child! Xiaojun must not be ruined in your hands. Even if you two have consummated your marriage, which you have not, the Cui clan can still marry her off to a better match.”

Han Ruzi grew even more furious. His decision to share a bed with Cui Xiaojun without consummating the marriage was a palace secret. It was unfathomable how this old woman found out, and she even dared to speak it out loud. It was hard to imagine her as the mother of a top-ranking official of the court.

Having reached this level of anger, Han Ruzi instead cooled down and smiled, “Xiaojun was previously the Empress, but now she is the Lady of the Weary Marquis. If you wish to marry her off to someone better, do you intend for her to be installed as Empress again?”

The young man’s smile made the old woman pause, causing her to take another look at him. The old woman said, “What, do you think the Cui clan is unable to do so?”

The sky was already dark. Since the Empress Dowager had sent out Prince Donghai, she must have already made her move. Whatever of the outcome, it would not be favorable for the Cui clan. The old woman obviously had no knowledge of this, and Han Ruzi smiled again, saying, “Has Noble Consort Cui arrived?”

Han Ruzi looked behind the old woman. There were many women following her, but none of them seemed like the mother of Prince Donghai.

Although Noble Consort Cui was also a consort of the Graceful Emperor, she had not received any further appointment, she could not be called Grand Consort.

The old woman stepped back, “My daughter isn’t here…” Before she finished her sentence, she stepped forward again, glaring and saying: “Stop beating around the bush. After tonight, your life will be in danger. don’t think about involving my granddaughter.”

The old woman led her people and insisted on breaking in, shouting “Xiaojun”. A dozen eunuchs blocked the door, refusing to give way.

Han Ruzi did not want to argue with women, and under the protection of Zhang Youcai, he stepped back. Zhang Youcai, watching the spectacle eagerly, said, “I’ll go help,” and then rushed into the fray.

A woman was squeezed out, stumbling. Han Ruzi stepped forward to steady her, whispering, “Mother-in-law.”

The mother of Cui Xiaojun smiled embarrassingly and immediately pushed away her son-in-law, hiding in the crowd.

While a group of women and eunuchs were arguing fiercely, a young man rushed in from the outside of the gate. He looked around in the crowd and shouted, “Laojun! Laojun!”

It turned out that “Laojun”, was the correct address for old Lady Cui, Han Ruzi thought. Xiaojun must have been dearly loved by the old woman, hence the affectionate nickname “Xiaojun”.[1]

The man called several times, and the chaos finally stopped. The old woman, who was still in highly spirited, was reprimanding the eunuchs in a spray of spit, and it took her a while to turn around. She couldn’t distinguish between friend and foe for a moment and even vented her anger on her own people, “Sheng, you’ve arrived just in time. Quickly drive these dog eunuchs who are blocking the road away. Oh, has any news been released from the palace?”

The man named Cui Sheng was a son of Grand Tutor Cui and had come specifically for this matter. He stepped forward and said, “Things are not good, I heard that Prince Donghai was also sent out of the palace, he came out with my sister.”

Prince Donghai had gotten in the carriage inside the palace, and the escorts did not know who was in it. The Cui clan had no prior knowledge of this. The old woman was stunned, “Prince Donghai is about to become the emperor, how could he be sent out?”

Cui Sheng was upset, “The Empress Dowager that old… old… she has installed someone else as emperor. All officials are rushing to the palace, and all city gates are closed, no one is allowed to enter or leave, I couldn’t go out to inform my father.”

The old woman didn’t believe it and shook her head repeatedly, “It’s impossible. The Graceful Emperor only had two sons. One is here, he’s the deposed emperor, and the other is Prince Donghai. Who else could the Empress Dowager install as emperor?”

Cui Sheng was so anxious that he was stamping his feet, “I haven’t found out the exact news yet, but I heard that several important ministers are very supportive of the new emperor, thinking that he is the most suitable one.”

Han Ruzi, like everyone else, was puzzled. Suddenly, he noticed that Yang Feng had come out from the inside at some point, standing among a group of eunuchs, his face as solemn as still water.

[1] Laojun means “Elder Jun”, and Xiaojun means “Little Jun”. The implication here is that Laojun and Xiaojun were close, hence Xiaojun was nicknamed after Elder Jun.