Chapter 12
Chapter 12
[Prince Consort, the Princess Has Been Beaten to Death – 11]
Emperor Gaozu consulted the old companions in the space. “I have decided to appoint a Crown Prince.”
Ying Zheng remained silent for a long time before finally nodding. “Since he has grown into a capable man, settling the succession early is wise. Had We confirmed Fusu’s position early in Our own day, what happened afterward might never have… Never mind. Let us not speak of it.”
Thinking of his eldest son Liu Ju, Liu Che grew somber. “Have you truly thought this through? Fathers and sons of the Imperial House are bound by blood, but they are also sovereign and subject. The balance between those roles must be handled with great care.”
Li Shimin sighed as well. “Easy to say, difficult to do.”
Although Zhu Yuanzhang still grieved for his beloved son’s early death, he was not as burdened by regret as the other three. He snorted. “In the end, none of you were close enough to your own sons! Old Zhu never once worried that Biao’er would usurp the throne. I never let another son surpass him by so much as a hair. When I went out to campaign, I trusted him with the entire rear. If you will not cherish your own son, whose child do you plan to cherish?!”
Then he turned to Emperor Gaozu. “I say appointing the Crown Prince is the right thing to do! Anguo is your eldest son, born to Empress Miao. The old ministers trust him, and the boy himself has the strength to stand on his own. With such a fine child, what is there to distrust? Settling his title early will be good for you, for Anguo, and for all your other sons. To say something that strikes straight at the heart, this boy reminds me of Biao’er when he was young…”
Zhu Yuanzhang also sank into sorrow.
Emperor Gaozu listened without speaking. Upon returning to the palace, he sent Luan Anguo to pay his respects to Empress Miao, then summoned Liao Yuanyan, Miao Xiangping, and several other trusted pillars of the state. He came straight to the point. “We intend to name an heir. Which of Our sons do you believe should be chosen?”
Every man standing in the study was an old minister who had followed Luan Zhenghuan in conquering the realm. Their natural preference was the Eldest Imperial Son, Luan Anguo. Seeing that the emperor had summoned only old retainers, they understood his intention and readily followed his lead. “The Eldest Imperial Son possesses outstanding character and pure natural gifts. His martial bearing resembles Your Majesty’s. He is worthy of this great responsibility!”
Emperor Gaozu nodded in satisfaction. Without hesitation, he ordered the edict drafted at once and instructed the appropriate offices to select an auspicious date for the ceremony appointing the Crown Prince.
…
After returning to the palace, Empress Miao had begun investigating the collusion between people inside and outside the harem. Two days had passed, and she had already found several leads. She was checking the register of palace eunuchs with her female officials when her second son, Luan Dingbang, rushed in excitedly.
“Mother, did you hear? Father took Eldest Brother hunting this afternoon, and Eldest Brother killed a bear! An actual bear!”
Empress Miao stared for a moment. Seeing his delight, she knew that neither her husband nor her son had been injured, and joy filled her eyes. “Is that so? He has certainly improved. This deserves a banquet of its own.”
As she spoke, palace attendants ushered Luan Anguo into the front hall to pay his respects. After saluting his mother with perfect courtesy, he said warmly, “Your son returned unharmed. Mother need not worry.”
Empress Miao understood and appreciated the consideration behind his words. She ordered an attendant to prepare tea, then asked about the day. “Did everything go smoothly? Was there any accident? Did your father say anything to you?”
Luan Anguo remembered his father’s affectionate gaze during the encounter with the bear and the laughing words with which they had parted. He had begun to understand something, but nothing was settled yet. Unwilling to speak too early and leave his mother fretting, he merely smiled. “Everything went well.”
After a brief pause, he added, “Father truly has become himself again.”
Empress Miao’s gaze grew even gentler when she heard him say Father rather than Your Majesty. “You are one family. Did he cease to be your father merely because he became emperor?”
Luan Dingbang leaned closer and eagerly asked his brother, “Eldest Brother, was the bear big? Was it fierce? How did you kill it? The next time something like this happens, you have to take me with you!”
Luan Jiaojiao emerged from the inner hall and gave a small snort. “Do you think everyone is like Eldest Brother? With those paltry skills of yours, you would probably be scared witless!”
Empress Miao could not suppress her laughter. Nothing could have made her happier than seeing her three children gathered harmoniously around her.
Hurried footsteps sounded outside. A trusted female official entered with an irrepressible smile, bowed to the assembled members of the imperial family, and announced joyfully, “The Duke of E and the Duke of Zhenguo are coming under the Son of Heaven’s command, bearing his imperial tally and an edict. They should arrive here within a quarter of an hour!”
Then she added, “The edict is for His Highness the Eldest Imperial Son.”
For the Duke of E and the Duke of Zhenguo to come together and proclaim an edict, the matter had to be momentous. An edict delivered to the Eldest Imperial Son at this time was far more likely to grant a reward than a punishment.
What sort of reward would require two founding heroes to deliver it?
The Crown Prince!
Startled and delighted, Empress Miao exchanged a look with her eldest son and rose to welcome the Son of Heaven’s envoys outside the hall.
Men were ordinarily forbidden from entering the harem, but an exception was made today. The Imperial Guards formed ranks on either side and cleared a path. Dressed in court robes and carrying the imperial edict in both hands, Liao Yuanyan entered Fengyi Palace alongside the Duke of Zhenguo.
It was indeed an edict appointing the heir.
Empress Miao knelt as Liao Yuanyan read the long decree filled with praise. She heard her son offer thanks in a voice that was slightly taut but still calm, yet everything felt unreal. Only when palace attendants helped her to her feet and she saw Liao Yuanyan smiling at mother and son did the moment acquire a trace of substance.
With his gentle, cultivated smile, Liao Yuanyan said, “This subject congratulates His Highness the Crown Prince and offers congratulations to Her Majesty as well.”
It would have been a lie to say Empress Miao felt no excitement. As Empress, she had given her children the natural advantage of legitimate birth. If one of them failed to inherit the throne in the end, their future could easily be imagined. Now that an explicit edict had been issued, the great stone in her heart finally fell away. She had no doubts or fears left.
She said sincerely, “We must also thank Mr. Liao for his help.”
As Liao Yuanyan’s student, Luan Anguo also offered him the solemn bow of a junior to his teacher. “This student thanks you, sir.”
“It was the smallest effort, hardly worth mentioning. Such courtesy from Your Majesty and Your Highness is more than I can bear.”
Liao Yuanyan hurriedly waved away their thanks. Finally, he said, “Ultimately, His Majesty saw the matter clearly and possesses wisdom granted by Heaven. Otherwise, I could have argued myself hoarse without accomplishing a thing.”
Empress Miao and Luan Anguo exchanged a glance, matching smiles in their eyes.
The emperor had been on the throne for less than two years. The noble daughters newly selected for the palace had not yet had time to bear sons, while the only one to give birth had delivered a princess. There had naturally been nothing to fight over yet. They were still girding themselves for the struggle and scheming to conceive sons when, before the contest for the succession could even begin, the curtain fell.
Most court officials approved of the appointment.
The young dynasty now had an heir, ensuring an orderly succession to the throne. The officials gained a new object for their loyalty, and the decision would prevent rival factions and destructive party struggles once the other imperial sons came of age. From the perspective of the state, it was unquestionably a good thing.
As for the common people…
Oh, give it a rest. What ordinary commoner cared about that?
Filling their stomachs was real. Everything else was empty talk.
The emperor’s journey with thorns strapped to his back had caused too great a commotion to remain hidden. The story soon spread madly through the streets. Storytellers even turned the affair into scripts. The common people listened with great relish, then chattered over it from every direction once the performance ended.
“So an emperor lives just like us little folk. Husband and wife quarrel too!”
“But what the emperor did before was truly ugly. How could he listen to a lesser wife’s whispering and drive out the proper wife who suffered beside him all those years?”
“At least he admitted his mistake and changed. Didn’t he bring the Empress back?”
“Good thing he did. Otherwise, how pitiful would the Empress’s children be without their mother?”
“The lesser wife is the hateful one, fanning the flames. That seductive vixen!”
Control over public speech was not especially strict at the time, but ordinary people still feared imperial power and did not dare criticize the emperor too freely. The seductive vixen Noble Consort Qin therefore absorbed all the concentrated fire. She became a notorious villain in every street and alley, and some people even adapted the affair for the stage.
Because it concerned the Imperial House, the Governor of Jingzhao did not dare decide the matter himself. He submitted a memorial asking the emperor how it should be handled.
Now that Luan Anguo was Crown Prince, Emperor Gaozu required him to attend court and participate in government each day. Memorials from the Six Ministries also went to him first. He wrote proposed responses and placed them inside the memorials, after which Emperor Gaozu revised them as appropriate.
The Governor of Jingzhao’s memorial therefore reached the young Crown Prince first. Luan Anguo sat upright behind his desk and considered the matter in silence before taking up his brush. “To dam the people’s mouths is more dangerous than damming a river. When a blocked river bursts, the harm it causes is sure to be great; the people are the same. Therefore, those who manage rivers open channels and let the waters flow, while those who govern the people allow them to speak their minds.”
When Emperor Gaozu opened the memorial and glanced at the Crown Prince’s proposed response, he began to chuckle.
His laughter made Luan Anguo doubt himself. Sitting even straighter, he asked, “Is there some flaw in your son’s response?”
“None.” Emperor Gaozu propped his chin on one hand and said lazily, “I was only thinking that one day I ought to take your mother out of the palace to join the fun and see how that play is performed.”
Luan Anguo imagined the lively drama onstage with its real subjects seated in the audience and could not help laughing as well.
All state affairs had been settled and the policy program submitted to the imperial desk. Its substance was simply lighter labor service, lower taxes, and time for the people to recover. Emperor Gaozu took up his brush, corrected several inappropriate points, and sent it on to the Six Ministries. Then he stretched his limbs and went to visit Consort Shu Chang in her palace.
The System asked hesitantly, “Do you intend to use her to placate the old noble faction?”
“No,” Emperor Gaozu said. “It is because, of all the women in the harem, We think she is the prettiest right now.”
The System’s glow froze.
It asked in confusion, “I thought you disliked her arrogant temper?”
Emperor Gaozu said, “That does not stop me from sleeping with her.”
The System fell silent.
Once again, it began to question the meaning of existence. “Are you sure it isn’t to placate the old noble faction? Like in those novels and television dramas, where a woman’s family has rendered great service or holds enormous power, so the emperor has to favor their daughter as a sign of imperial grace…”
“Private communication between the palace and the outside world is strictly forbidden. A palace consort might die without seeing her family more than a handful of times. How would they know whom We favor and whom We do not? Do you think this is the modern age, with Us checking in and posting a daily status update?”
Emperor Gaozu continued speechlessly, “If We truly wished to demonstrate imperial favor, We would be better off sleeping with her elder brother. We could discuss state affairs at court during the day, then continue talking business in the bedchamber after finishing the other business at night. The Last Crown Prince of the Former Dynasty and the Founding Emperor of the present one-why, it would even count as a marriage alliance. Ha! Three birds with one stone!”