Chapter 114
Chapter 114
[After Five of the Prince’s Wives Died – 2]
Ying Zheng’s secret decree was not announced to the public, but the Imperial Guards could hardly surround the Prince of Chu’s residence without attracting attention.
When Noble Consort Wang heard the news, her lovely face instantly lost its color. She struck the table with one palm and snapped, “Nonsense! His Majesty dotes on Mingde. How could he possibly confine him? You wretched maid, how dare you falsely invoke an imperial decree!”
The palace maid kept her head lowered and dared not speak. Only after a long while did she say quietly, “This slave would never dare lie. His Highness the Prince of Chu’s residence truly has been surrounded.”
Noble Consort Wang knew the maid would never dare fabricate something so serious. Yet she refused to believe-could not bear to believe-what she had heard.
Why would His Majesty suddenly confine Mingde when everything had been perfectly fine?
Mingde was his favorite son and the Empress Dowager’s most beloved grandson!
That was right. She still had the Empress Dowager to rely on!
The panic in Noble Consort Wang’s heart eased slightly. She cast a cold glance at the maid trembling on the floor and ordered her to rise. Then she sent someone out of the palace to investigate. No matter what, she had to learn exactly what had happened today.
The first Empress had died young, while the Empress Dowager took no interest in inner-palace affairs. Noble Consort Liu and Noble Consort Wang therefore administered the palace together. Armed with that authority, Eunuch Gu from Noble Consort Wang’s household personally led several men out of the palace to investigate the Prince of Chu’s residence.
Both the Prince of Chu and his birth mother were deeply favored, and the Empress Dowager supported them. His residence stood not far from the imperial city, only half an hour away by sedan chair.
On an ordinary trip outside the palace, Eunuch Gu would have put on airs and insisted on traveling by sedan. Today, however, the situation was urgent. He ignored all ceremony, found a horse, and reached the Prince of Chu’s gates in less than a quarter of an hour. Before he had even dismounted, he saw Imperial Guards posted densely around the residence.
Eunuch Gu inwardly cried that things were bad and reined in his horse. The guards stationed at the main gate saw someone approaching and stepped forward to signal him to stop.
The Imperial Guards served in the palace. When they recognized the ranked eunuch uniform Eunuch Gu wore, they treated him with a measure of courtesy. They explained that His Majesty had decreed no one inside the Prince of Chu’s residence could leave without permission, while no outsider could enter. He should not linger and must depart immediately.
One look at the formation told Eunuch Gu the matter was serious. The palace knew the Prince of Chu had been confined, but no one realized the restrictions were this severe. Outsiders could not enter, and those inside could not leave. They were not even allowed a single meeting.
If Eunuch Gu returned to his mistress empty-handed after leaving the palace and admitted he knew nothing, Noble Consort Wang would skin him alive.
He refused to leave. Instead, he took several banknotes from his sleeve and offered them with a flattering smile. “Brothers, take these and buy yourselves some tea…”
Most men who served in the Imperial Guards were sons of noble or official families. Who among them lacked such a trivial amount of silver?
More importantly, the Emperor had issued this assignment without warning. If anything went wrong, who would take the blame?
They were willing to offer conveniences in minor matters, but they retained their judgment when principles were at stake. “Many thanks for your kindness, Eunuch Gu, but we brothers fear we are not fortunate enough to accept.”
Eunuch Gu tried several more pleasant remarks. The guards still refused.
He believed he had shown them more than enough respect, yet these men refused the offered wine and insisted on drinking the penalty cup. At once, he raised Noble Consort Wang’s banner. After bowing toward the imperial palace, he demanded sharply, “We came today on the Noble Consort’s business. Who dares stop Us? You men keep obstructing the way. Has something happened to His Highness, so you dare not let Us find out? Remember, the Prince of Chu is not only the beloved son of His Majesty and the Noble Consort. He is also the Empress Dowager’s most treasured grandson. Do not lose sight of who you are merely because someone showed you a little favor, or you may block your own path in the future!”
The Imperial Guards had argued with him long enough to grow thoroughly irritated. Now he was threatening them openly and obliquely, and displeasure inevitably appeared on their faces. Only consideration for Noble Consort Wang behind him kept them from losing their tempers.
“We are merely guards at the gate. How could we decide such an important matter? If you truly wish to enter, go speak with Grand Commander Xin!”
Eunuch Gu was equally furious. “Why didn’t you say that earlier? You wasted half an hour of Our time for nothing!”
With that, he flung his sleeves and departed.
The guards watched him leave and could not resist spitting at his back. Noble Consort Wang and her son had enjoyed favor for years and had the Empress Dowager behind them. If one of her eunuchs was already this arrogant, how much worse must the Prince of Chu be?
After the Commander of the Imperial Guards delivered the secret decree, the Prince of Chu immediately launched a threefold assault: “I don’t believe it,” “Imperial Father would never treat me this way,” and “Some villain must have deceived Imperial Father.” Then he tried to leave the residence and enter the palace to demand an explanation from the Emperor.
The Commander’s assignment was to keep the man from running around. More than that, the Emperor had made his disgust with this son clear in both word and manner. If the Commander let the Prince enter the palace now, he might as well throw away his official hat himself.
He stopped the Prince at once. The Prince of Chu flew into a rage, and the two even came to blows.
In pure martial skill, three Princes of Chu tied together could not defeat the Commander. Unfortunately, the Prince remained the Emperor’s son and the Empress Dowager’s beloved grandson. The Commander did not dare strike hard. He endured several blows, then sternly talked the man down before leaving with misfortune written all over his face.
Eunuch Gu had accumulated a bellyful of anger from the guards. When he encountered the Commander, his tone was far from polite. After a perfunctory salute, he said, “We came on Noble Consort Wang’s orders to visit His Highness the Prince of Chu. Grand Commander Xin, please grant Us this convenience!”
The Commander of the Imperial Guards was nursing an even greater fury than Eunuch Gu. He knew there was virtually no chance the Prince of Chu would inherit the throne, and judging by the Prince’s conduct, the man was hardly broad-minded. Why would the Commander risk losing his post merely to do someone a favor? His expression immediately chilled, and he said in an icy voice, “His Majesty has decreed that no one inside the princely residence may leave and no outsider may enter without permission. Violators are to be killed without mercy!”
Eunuch Gu’s face darkened. “Grand Commander Xin, don’t refuse a toast only to be forced to drink a forfeit. There is a long road ahead of us, wouldn’t you agree?”
The Commander was so furious that he laughed. Resting a hand on the hilt of his saber, he said slowly, “I said you may not enter. That is His Majesty’s decree.”
Mistaking the Commander’s measured tone for fear, Eunuch Gu broke into a grin, shoved him aside, and strode forward. “And what can you do if We insist on going in?”
The last word had barely left his lips when Eunuch Gu felt a faint sting across his neck, as though it had been grazed by the impossibly sharp edge of a sheet of paper. He raised a hand to touch it, only for his palm to come away drenched in hot blood.
His pupils constricted. Terror flooded his eyes. Clutching his throat, he crumpled to the ground with a thud, unable to utter so much as half a word.
The eunuchs who had accompanied him stared in shock. Their fingers trembled as they pointed at the Commander, but not one of them could speak.
The Commander had no time to waste on them. He ordered his men to remove Eunuch Gu’s body, then entered the palace to report what had happened.
The other eunuchs realized the situation had gone terribly wrong and hurriedly rode back to the palace to inform Noble Consort Wang. Even so, they were already a step too late.
The Commander had only just fought with the Prince of Chu-or, more accurately, had been forced to endure several punches because of the Prince’s status. He inevitably looked somewhat disheveled, his robes rumpled and his crown and hair slightly askew. Without stopping to tidy himself, he entered the palace and requested an audience outside the Imperial Study.
After walking a circuit of the hall grounds, Ying Zheng had returned to the Imperial Study to attend to state affairs. When a eunuch reported that the Commander of the Imperial Guards sought an audience, there was naturally no reason to refuse him.
The moment the Commander entered, he dropped to his knees. He did not mention his own grievances and merely confessed his supposed offense: to obey the imperial command, he had been forced to kill a eunuch who had attempted to trespass. He feared he might have offended Noble Consort Wang and begged His Majesty’s forgiveness.
Ying Zheng despised that ill-omened son of his, the Prince of Chu. He likewise disliked Noble Consort Wang’s conduct, and he hated others defying his commands even more. With those three sources of displeasure combined, how could Noble Consort Wang and her son possibly come to a good end?
He glanced at the Commander’s rumpled collar and disordered crown. “Who did you fight?”
The Commander bowed his head to the floor. “His Highness the Prince of Chu is young and impetuous and failed to appreciate Your Majesty’s kind intentions. He wished to enter the palace and argue his case before you. This subject kept Your Majesty’s instructions firmly in mind, however, and could not allow anyone from the residence to leave, so this subject stepped forward to stop him. A minor dispute arose, but the misunderstanding was soon resolved.”
Ying Zheng understood that this account had doubtless been polished. But no fish could live in water that was too clear. So long as the man carried out his orders, there was no need to scrutinize every detail.
He nodded. “As you said, you were acting on Our command. What crime have you committed? Rise.”
The Commander obeyed. When the Emperor gave no further instructions, he bowed and withdrew.
He had taken only a few backward steps toward the door when he heard the Emperor instruct the attendants, “Issue a decree. Noble Consort Wang failed to control her servants and defied Our will. From this day forward, she is stripped of her authority to jointly administer the Six Palaces. Abolish her rank as Noble Consort and demote her to Talented Lady. As for palace affairs, have Noble Consort Liu discuss them with the other members of the Four Consorts.”
The eunuch seemed startled and paused for several moments before respectfully accepting the order.
The Commander inwardly cheered. His feet never slowed, however, and he swiftly withdrew.
When Noble Consort Wang learned from the young eunuchs who had returned to the palace that Eunuch Gu had been killed, her elegant brows shot upward in fury. She knew, however, that the order to confine her son had come from the Emperor and did not dare make a scene before him. Instead, she went to her inner chambers, changed into a plain dress, and prepared to plead her grievances before the Empress Dowager.
She had only just finished changing when the eunuch bearing the imperial decree arrived. There was a hint of pity in the look he gave her.
An ominous premonition instantly rose in Noble Consort Wang’s heart. By the time she finished hearing the decree, her exquisite face had gone deathly pale, without a trace of blood.
She had been stripped of her authority to jointly administer the Six Palaces and demoted to Talented Lady.
A Noble Consort stood at the very pinnacle of the Emperor’s consorts, a rank equivalent to that of a chief minister. But what was a mere Talented Lady?
It was only the fifth rank, common enough to find by the handful!
The eunuch delivering the decree could not help but pity her shock and anguish, but the Emperor’s will could not be defied. He sighed almost inaudibly. “Talented Lady Wang? Receive the decree.”
Talented Lady Wang accepted it numbly. She lowered her gaze, only for the vivid vermilion seal to make her eyes ache.
The Prince of Chu had always been arrogant, and Talented Lady Wang was hardly humble herself. Yet when it came to the people serving at the Emperor’s side, she had never been stingy with the money she spent to win them over.
She forced back her tears and had a palace maid help her to her feet. Clutching the decree that seemed to pierce straight through her heart, she said hoarsely, “Neither my imperial son nor I know what offense we committed to provoke His Majesty’s anger. I should have understood when I sought an audience at the Imperial Study earlier, but…”
Her voice broke before she could finish. Looking at the eunuch who had delivered the decree as though he were her last lifeline, she pleaded, “Eunuch, please offer me a word or two of guidance.”
Even a starving camel was larger than a horse. The eunuch did not dare put on airs. After a brief pause, he said in a low voice, “It seems to have something to do with the five Princess Consorts of Chu who died violent deaths…”
With that, he bowed and departed.
Talented Lady Wang stared after him in bewilderment, then collapsed back into her chair. “His Majesty has turned against my son and me because of that? But my Mingde is clearly the one who suffered the greatest wrong!”
The tears she had fought so hard to restrain finally spilled down her cheeks. She wiped them away, rose, and said, “Come. We will seek an audience with the Empress Dowager at once!”
…
While the Commander of the Imperial Guards went to surround the Prince of Chu’s residence, Vice Minister Pan Zhenghe headed to the Court of Judicial Review to select several skilled investigators and experienced coroners for the case.
Since they would be acting on the Emperor’s orders, the Chief Minister of the Court of Judicial Review did not object. He promptly sent for the investigators and coroners his subordinate had named.
It had already been around noon when Pan Zhenghe entered the palace, and the usual mealtime had long since passed. When Madam Pan saw that her husband had not returned, she guessed that official business must have delayed him. He could eat elsewhere, but he could not casually miss the medicine he had recently begun taking three times a day. She therefore poured the medicinal decoction into a container and went to the Court of Judicial Review to find him.
After half a day of rushing about, Pan Zhenghe had long since forgotten his medicine. Delighted when his wife brought it to him, he praised her repeatedly for her thoughtfulness, then lifted the bowl of still-warm medicine and drained it in one swallow.
Madam Pan noticed the worry on her husband’s face. As she put away the empty bowl, she could not resist asking, “Have you encountered some difficulty? You don’t look well, Husband.”
Seeing that no one else was nearby and knowing his wife was not one to gossip, Pan Zhenghe lowered his voice and explained the assignment he had received. At the end, he complained bitterly, “That is the Prince of Chu-the son of Noble Consort Wang and a powerful contender for the position of heir apparent! His Majesty wants me to investigate a case in his residence. Isn’t that putting me in an impossible position? If he ascends the throne in the future, won’t he make my life miserable?”
Madam Pan stared at him, but she did not panic. Instead, she looked at her husband in surprise and suddenly reached out to feel his forehead. “You don’t have a fever. Why have you become so muddleheaded?”
Pan Zhenghe smiled bitterly. “My lady, please don’t tease me.”
Madam Pan laughed as well. “Husband, you have always been clever. Why are you confused now? His Majesty ordered the Imperial Guards to surround the Prince of Chu’s residence, then ordered you to investigate the matter thoroughly. It is obvious that he has no intention of naming the Prince of Chu his heir.”
Pan Zhenghe looked puzzled. “Oh?”
“Think about it. The Prince of Chu married five Princess Consorts in succession within a single year, and every one of them died a violent death. Is that not strange and terrifying?”
Madam Pan slowly explained, “If a person was responsible, then that person must hate the Prince of Chu deeply to have done such a thing. But consider this: when the Prince established his own residence, every detail was arranged by his birth mother, Noble Consort Wang, and the Wang clan is no minor family. Just who could this mastermind be, to evade the eyes and ears of both the Prince of Chu and Noble Consort Wang and take the lives of five Princess Consorts in succession?”
She continued her analysis. “Either this person possesses power so immense that neither Noble Consort Wang nor the Prince of Chu can compare, or the two of them are utter fools. Their own residence has become a sieve, five Princess Consorts have died right under their noses, and they still know nothing!”
“Husband, what absurd ideas are running through your head?”
Madam Pan did not know whether to laugh or cry. “His Majesty is the Son of Heaven. Why would he target the Prince of Chu for no reason and take the lives of five Princess Consorts? He has no reason to do such a thing. Forgive me for speaking disrespectfully, but if His Majesty were truly responsible, why would he order you to investigate the matter thoroughly?”
Pan Zhenghe finally understood. “That is true.”
After a brief pause, Pan Zhenghe ventured, “Unless…?”
Madam Pan lowered her voice. “Unless the Prince of Chu killed all five Princess Consorts himself!”
Pan Zhenghe jumped in alarm. “You mustn’t say such things! What could he possibly gain from it?”
“It is only a guess.”
Madam Pan spread her hands helplessly and continued in a soft voice, “So far, we have only considered human action. But what if the truth is something more uncanny-what if it is the will of Heaven? Five Princess Consorts died one after another, which suggests the problem did not lie with any one woman, but with the status of Princess Consort of Chu itself. If that is the case, what sort of man does that make the Prince of Chu? Someone cursed by Heaven and Earth, whom ordinary people must not approach lightly?”
Her voice fell even lower. “Husband, if a man caused five wives to die within a single year and you heard about it, would you not be afraid?”
The expression on Pan Zhenghe’s face froze.
Madam Pan asked in her usual gentle tone, “If that man were your own son, would you not feel uneasy?”
Pan Zhenghe nearly split apart on the spot.
Utterly horrified, Pan Zhenghe rubbed his forehead. His mouth felt dry, and no matter how hard he thought, he could not make sense of it. “A single conversation with you is worth ten years of study. But why did none of this seem wrong to me before? The logic is so simple!”
It was not only him. No one in the entire imperial capital seemed to find it especially strange that five of the Prince of Chu’s Princess Consorts had died within a single year.
A fleeting bewilderment crossed Pan Zhenghe’s mind, but he soon found an answer. “He is the Empress Dowager’s favorite grandson, after all. No wonder Her Majesty ordered everyone to keep silent. For that matter, if Her Majesty had not insisted, the Ministry of Rites could never have allowed the Prince of Chu to marry five Princess Consorts within a single year…”
Madam Pan also sensed that something was amiss, but the feeling soon faded.