Chapter 176
Chapter 176
[After Zhu Yuanzhang Returned to the Great Ming – 26]
Once Zhu Yuanzhang issued the order and the officials approved it, an edict stripping Emperor Emeritus Zhu Qizhen of his imperial title was quickly drafted. An official went to the prison where Zhu Qizhen was held to read it.
He had once been Son of Heaven of the Great Ming. Even stripped of his throne, he remained the former emperor’s son. Zhu Yuanzhang did not mistreat him. He lacked neither food nor clothing, and a brazier warmed his cell. Compared with other prisoners, his life was heavenly.
But Zhu Qizhen had been the former emperor’s Eldest Imperial Son, born to his father’s true love. His provisions had always been the finest, and after becoming emperor, even that went without saying.
Now, though comfortably fed and clothed in prison, he felt no gratitude. He only thought Zhu Qikun inhuman for seizing the throne and imprisoning him. Did Zhu Qikun not fear condemnation beneath Heaven? Did he not fear the former emperor’s judgment after death?!
He was merely a feudal prince’s son who had lucked into the throne. It was bad enough that Zhu Qikun had left him hanging throughout the journey. Now he dared imprison Us!
A cold smile curled Zhu Qizhen’s lips as he seated himself leisurely.
Inviting a god was easy; sending one away was hard. Zhu Qikun wanted to wear down his spirit and teach him who now ruled the Great Ming. Zhu Qizhen would instead teach him where the people’s hopes truly lay, and whether officials and commoners would stand by while he ran wild. The Empress Dowager was still there!
However they had locked him in, they would have to invite him out. He would not move for any ordinary messenger. Zhu Qikun must come personally!
The more Zhu Qizhen thought, the more pleased he became. He began planning how to embarrass Zhu Qikun. Regaining the throne was impossible, but he could at least fight for certain privileges…
Then the prison gate opened. Greetings from the guards drifted in, followed by footsteps drawing closer.
Knowing the true master had arrived, Zhu Qizhen sat straight and assumed an expression untouched by external things. He had maintained the same posture when captured by the Oirats. Now that he stood on Ming soil, what was there to fear?
The footsteps stopped outside his cell.
Zhu Qizhen looked down from his chair. His brow shifted slightly, then returned to normal.
It was Yu Qian.
His expression did not change.
Looking at the Emperor Emeritus inside, Yu Qian felt as though a lifetime had passed. After several moments, he opened the edict.
He neither called Zhu Qizhen to receive it nor ordered him to kneel. Treating him as though invisible, he calmly read, “By the Mandate of Heaven, the Emperor proclaims: Zhu Qizhen, eldest son of Emperor Xuanzong, once ruled the state and inherited the ancestral temples. Yet first he indulged the eunuch faction’s corruption of government, then trusted treacherous villains and led a campaign in person, nearly destroying the nation. Two hundred thousand elite capital troops were lost, living beings devastated, and common people plunged into misery. He has failed his ancestors and the people and can no longer bear Heaven’s Mandate or rule all beneath Heaven!”
Zhu Qizhen had regarded Yu Qian with cold disdain. Now his expression changed violently. “How dare Zhu Qikun?!”
Yu Qian continued as though he had not heard. “The Book of Documents states: the Son of Heaven serves as father and mother to the people and rules the realm. Zhu Qizhen lacks the bearing of a sovereign and the dignity of a Son of Heaven. The Reigning Emperor Zhu Qikun reports respectfully to the ancestors of every Ming reign: from this day, Zhu Qizhen is reduced to a commoner. He shall be flayed, stuffed with straw, and hung in the Imperial Ancestral Temple, that all descendants may take eternal warning and never repeat his crimes. Respect this!”
Yu Qian looked at him calmly, stepped back, bowed, and offered the edict with both hands.
Nearly mad, Zhu Qizhen snatched it and scanned the text. It matched Yu Qian’s words exactly. The crimson imperial seal blazed with cruel brilliance. His cheek twitched violently, his expression between laughter and tears. Suddenly, he flung the edict far away.
“False! It is all false! We are the Son of Heaven. Zhu Qikun would not dare. He would not!”
Yu Qian felt sorrow and emotion but no sympathy. He bent, retrieved the edict, brushed off the dust, and offered it again.
Zhu Qizhen seized his arm and begged through tears, “We know We were wrong! We should not have employed Wang Zhen or indulged his persecution of loyal men and corruption of the court. We should never have overestimated Our abilities and led a campaign that killed so many. The Duke of Yingguo and the others died, and We grieved too! We-no, I know I was wrong. Stop frightening me. Let me go…”
Yu Qian shook his head. “The edict is genuine. His Majesty and this minister did not fabricate it to frighten you.”
Zhu Qizhen’s heart convulsed. Terror drowned him like a tide. “I truly know I was wrong. If Zhu Qikun-if His Majesty does this, it will damage his reputation for a hundred generations too. Let me become an imperial prince and live out my years in a fief. I would never dare oppose His Majesty…”
Yu Qian had seen him before, a young emperor full of confidence and arrogance. How different from this cringing man weeping and begging!
He shook his head inwardly but remained unmoved. Giving a final nod, he placed the edict on the floor with both hands and turned away.
Zhu Qizhen’s face changed. “Duke of Wei! Duke of Wei! Yu Qian, come back!”
In the previous life, sovereign and minister had also been separated by death. Then, Yu Qian had died while Zhu Qizhen sat high on the throne and watched indifferently.
He knew Yu Qian was innocent and had rendered immense service to the state. He knew killing him would provoke criticism and chill the officials’ hearts. So what?
Yu Qian had been a minister favored by Zhu Qiyu. He had to die!
Only after Yu Qian’s death did Zhu Qizhen express regret, while the Empress Dowager sighed and mourned as though they had suddenly awakened after doing wrong.
Not until Zhu Jianshen’s reign was Yu Qian vindicated.
In the previous life, Zhu Qizhen sent Yu Qian to the Yellow Springs. In this life, Zhu Yuanzhang had Yu Qian send him there. Cause and consequence completed their cycle; retribution never failed!
After leaving Zhu Qizhen’s cell, Yu Qian did not immediately report back. He went to another cell to see Yuan Bin and convey the emperor’s will.
“After ascending the throne, His Majesty executed the eunuch faction and removed treacherous villains. He has not deliberately persecuted loyal men once employed by Zhu Qizhen. Before I came, His Majesty specifically mentioned you: ‘Yuan Bin is loyal, brave, upright, and a minister of the state. Zhu Qizhen may be killed, but he may not.’ I have come to escort you from prison.”
Yuan Bin had returned to Beijing with Zhu Qizhen and been imprisoned with him. His old injuries received treatment, and his food and clothing were adequate. But after so long among the Oirats, the torment to body and mind could not be healed in days.
The once-valiant man was now skin and bones, thin-bodied and hollow-cheeked.
Light flashed in Yuan Bin’s eyes when he heard he could leave, then slowly dimmed when he learned Zhu Qizhen’s fate.
“His Majesty… had no choice…” he forced himself to defend Zhu Qizhen.
Yu Qian shook his head. “The Great Ming and its soldiers and people paid far too painful a price for that lack of choice!”
He despised Zhu Qizhen but sincerely admired Yuan Bin. “Lord Yuan, His Majesty ordered your promotion and richly rewarded your family. Come. Leave with me.”
Yuan Bin stared blankly for a long time, then shook his head. “In Oirat territory, I did not betray the Emperor Emeritus. How can I betray him now for wealth and rank? I wish to live and die with him!”
He swept aside his robe, knelt toward the palace, and kowtowed. “His Majesty’s favor is Yuan Bin’s blessing. But Yuan Bin does not know what is good for him and cannot serve His Majesty loyally!”
Yu Qian was moved. “Why must you do this?!”
Yuan Bin rose. “When the Duke of Wei defended Beijing, what did you resolve in your heart?”
Yu Qian’s expression turned solemn. He straightened his robes and bowed. He urged him no further, formally took his leave, and returned to the palace.
Zhu Yuanzhang remained silent for a long time after hearing the report-not for Zhu Qizhen, but for Yuan Bin.
“He truly is a man. A pity he followed Zhu Qizhen. I wonder what Yuan Bin thought in the previous life when, after following Zhu Qizhen home, he was falsely accused, imprisoned, and tortured while Zhu Qizhen ignored him!”
Ying Zheng sighed. “A loyal minister failed to meet an enlightened ruler, leaving a bright pearl buried in dust.”
Emperor Gaozu and Li Shimin lamented as well.
Only Liu Che clicked his tongue. “Living and dying together, never abandoning each other-is this love between men?!”
Zhu Yuanzhang fell silent.
So did the emperors.
Zhu Yuanzhang shouted, “Get lost!”
…
The Empress Dowager removed her ornaments and hairpins, intending to kneel and weep at Fengtian Hall in admission of guilt. Before she could leave, however, guards blocked her inside the palace hall.
Empress Lin arrived with female officials and palace servants. Her clothes were not luxurious and her beauty not exceptional, yet her bearing was extraordinarily graceful, dignified, and proper. After bowing to the Empress Dowager, she turned to the attendants with quiet authority. “The Empress Dowager is Emperor Xuanzong’s wife and Empress Dowager of the Great Ming. How have you served her, allowing her to dress so thinly and plainly? If word spread, people might think His Majesty unfilial and damage the Son of Heaven’s wise reputation!”
As she spoke, she dismissed the Empress Dowager’s trusted attendants.
The Empress Dowager knew husband and wife were working together to strip away her power. Her face whitened. “What does the Empress mean? Do you intend to imprison this Dowager?!”
“This consort would not dare.”
Empress Lin bowed calmly. “But Your Majesty has harmed your health grieving over an unfilial son and must recuperate properly. It would be best not to leave your rooms for the time being.” With a slight smile, she turned and left.
Watching her people taken away, the Empress Dowager’s lips trembled with rage. She hurried after them, only to find the palace gate guarded by strong servants-ostensibly caretakers, in truth wardens. Despairing, she collapsed and wept.
Returning to Fengtian Hall, Empress Lin advised her husband, “Zhu Qizhen’s crimes are unforgivable. Kill him if you must. But the Empress Dowager is Emperor Xuanzong’s wife. You cannot act recklessly…”
Zhu Yuanzhang’s brows shot up. “We insist on killing that old woman!”
“Your Majesty!” Empress Lin coaxed gently. “I know you despise the conduct of Zhu Qizhen and his mother, but one cannot always act for momentary satisfaction. As Son of Heaven, you stripped another Son of Heaven of his title and had him flayed and stuffed. That damages not only Zhu Qizhen’s life and reputation, but the majesty of the imperial office. If something happens to the Empress Dowager too, how will you answer to the realm?”
After several lives, Zhu Yuanzhang had long ceased caring. “After I die, let the flood come! Since I hold power, why should I swallow this anger? If my descendants are wise, good. If they are bastards and get their heads cut off, they deserve it!”
“Your Majesty!” Empress Lin said angrily.
She sat aside and stared at him without blinking.
Seeing she was genuinely angry, Zhu Yuanzhang grew sheepish. After long hesitation, he muttered unhappily, “Then… We will not kill her yet.”
Only then did Empress Lin smile.
After handling the memorials, Zhu Yuanzhang wandered out looking aggrieved. Then he began writing his diary. The entries were only a few words, yet when archaeologists discovered the volume centuries later, it caused a sensation.
…
Twelfth Month, Twenty-First Day.
We have endured that mother and son long enough. They must die!
…
Twelfth Month, Twenty-Third Day.
Zhu Qizhen was flayed, stuffed with straw, and hung in the Imperial Ancestral Temple.
Oh, joy!
…
Twelfth Month, Thirtieth Day.
New Year’s Eve.
After dinner, quietly tested the Empress. Still will not let me kill the Empress Dowager.
My joy is gone!
…
First Month, First Day.
Another day of wanting to kill the Empress Dowager.
But the Empress advised against it.
Do not want to anger her. Endure a little longer.
…
First Month, Nineteenth Day.
The Empress Dowager tried to send out a secret edict sewn into a belt. The Embroidered Uniform Guard discovered it.
Finally found a reason to kill her!
The Empress cannot stop me now!
A whole year’s worth of joy!!!
…
First Month, Twentieth Day.
The Empress Dowager finally died!
Hanged herself.
I hear she cursed me all night before death and swore to haunt me as a ghost.
The supervising eunuch was frightened. She died with her eyes open, and her neck stretched twice the usual length.
Oh-ho!
I said, is that not double the joy?!