Chapter 8
Chapter 8
[Prince Consort, the Princess Has Been Beaten to Death – 7]
The emperor ordered the eunuchs to summon the consorts of the Six Palaces to Fengyi Palace. Naturally, none dared delay or make excuses. But they had heard that the emperor had escorted the Empress home with tremendous ceremony, and that Noble Consort Qin had gone to the palace gates with her hairpins removed to plead guilty. Inevitably, they pressed a few gifts into willing hands to learn what was happening there.
Once the eunuchs received their benefits, their lips loosened. In a few sentences, they explained what had happened, then urged the consorts to hurry to Fengyi Palace.
Times had changed. Anyone who dallied or showed disrespect would meet no good end before His Majesty.
Noble Consort Qin had been sent to the cold palace?
Noble Consort Qin had actually been sent to the cold palace?!
How was that possible?!
That was the first thought echoing through the mind of every palace consort who heard the news.
Qin Rao came from an outstanding family and possessed peerless beauty. His Majesty had always doted on her. Even when she made a mistake and fell into the Empress’s hands, the rod was raised high and brought down lightly. How could a beauty who alone enjoyed all the emperor’s favor be thrown into the cold palace?!
The consorts were uneasy and afraid. Those of high rank rode in palanquins, while those of low rank went on foot. They gathered hurriedly outside Fengyi Palace and found the same panic upon every face. Their different backgrounds divided them into two factions.
One faction consisted of women who had lived in Luan Zhenghuan’s rear household before he became emperor. They had borne children, came from humbler backgrounds, and obeyed Empress Miao without question. The other consisted of palace consorts taken after Luan Zhenghuan rose to power or ascended the throne. They came from pure, illustrious houses and looked to Qin Rao and the two former-dynasty princesses, Consort Shu and Consort De, as their leaders.
Consort Shu Chang and Consort De Chang were both princesses of the former dynasty, once golden branches and jade leaves. Apart from Qin Rao, they had been the most favored women in Luan Zhenghuan’s harem. Now Qin Rao had been sent to the cold palace. The consorts attached to her were frightened and went to sound out Consort Shu Chang. “Elder Sister Consort Shu, the Empress’s return today was certainly a grand affair. Noble Consort-Lady Qin-has already been deposed. Next…”
Consort Shu Chang’s finely painted brows drew together. Displeasure and faint arrogance entered her expression. “Whatever Lady Qin did wrong, she was still His Majesty’s Noble Consort and the daughter of the Commandery Duke of Fenyang. Even for the Qin Clan’s sake, His Majesty should not have been so heartless.”
Several consorts from great houses murmured agreement. Others were more cautious. They glanced around carefully, lowered their heads, and said nothing.
Consort De Chang was also a Daughter of the Emperor from the previous dynasty, but her birth mother’s rank had been far beneath that of Consort Shu Chang’s mother, and her nature was gentler. Now she ventured timidly, “Since His Majesty has punished Lady Qin, he clearly intends to establish the Empress’s authority. If Elder Sister rashly pleads for Lady Qin, His Majesty may be displeased.”
“Coward!” Consort Shu Chang gave her a cold glance and declared proudly, “You and I are both descendants of Emperor Taizong, blood of the House of Chang. How noble is our lineage? His Majesty has only just ascended the throne. Instead of cultivating the aristocratic clans and great houses, he makes enemies of them. Can that possibly be a lasting policy?”
The rebuke reddened Consort De Chang’s face. Other palace consorts voiced agreement, and the worry between her brows grew deeper.
Some rejoiced while others grieved. As this faction fumed and worried, the old residents of Luan Zhenghuan’s former household were mostly delighted. Zhuang Jieyu smiled at Han Zhaoyi. “Her Majesty’s return is wonderful news. Back when we were in Luoyang, all the sisters used to laugh and play cards together. Nothing was in chaos the way it is here…”
Han Zhaoyi smiled gently and was about to answer when Consort Shu Chang approached slowly, a gauze stole draped over one arm. Han Zhaoyi hurriedly retreated two steps to let her pass, but Consort Shu Chang stopped before her and said sidelong, “Zhuang Jieyu is certainly a fine dog. Your mistress is not even here, yet you are already wagging your tail and begging for favor.”
Zhuang Jieyu’s face went white. Jiang Zhaorong, who always followed Consort Shu Chang’s commands, covered her mouth and laughed. “There is another one over there who hasn’t spoken!”
“That kind is even more hateful,” Consort Shu Chang sneered, drawing out every word. “The dog that bites does not bark.”
Now even Han Zhaoyi looked angry. But she was slow-tempered and poor with words. Her face flushed scarlet, yet she could say nothing.
Zhuang Jieyu could not endure it. After curtsying, she said, “Consort Shu, Han Zhaoyi and this lowly concubine may rank beneath you, but we are all His Majesty’s consorts. If we are beasts, then what are you? If we speak of true mistresses, only His Majesty and Her Majesty the Empress are masters of this palace. You and I are equally lowly concubines serving the woman who rules the household. What is wrong with that?”
“This palace is descended from Emperor Taizong and carries imperial blood. What right have you to compare yourselves to Me?”
Consort Shu Chang flew into a rage, her curved brows shooting upward. “Especially you, Lady Zhuang. In the old residence, you were nothing but a wretched maid who tended flowers and plants for the Empress. One day of favor, and now you wish to climb over My head! A little song today, a pipa tune tomorrow-your whole body full of tricks for seducing men. Clearly, your mistress put great effort into training you!”
Jiang Zhaorong immediately joined the attack. “Consort Shu is kindhearted, which is why she allows Zhuang Jieyu such insolence. I am different. I cannot tolerate the slightest grain of sand in My eye! Before I entered the palace, I watched My mother govern the family’s maids, concubines, and servants. My father’s concubines all behaved properly and never dared overstep. A bewitching creature like you, Zhuang Jieyu, would have been sold off at once. We would never have kept you in the household to corrupt its morals and make us a laughingstock!”
Zhuang Jieyu heard the mockery aimed at both herself and Empress Miao and stepped forward to argue. Han Zhaoyi did not wish to cause trouble at such a moment. She seized Zhuang Jieyu’s arm and shook her head in forbearance.
Consort Shu Chang sneered. Then the palace attendants ahead all bent their knees in greeting, and Luan Jiaojiao emerged with her arms folded, chin raised, and an unbearably smug stride.
“Jiang Zhaorong, you said your mother governed the maids, concubines, and servants at home, and that your father’s concubines behaved properly and never overstepped. You boasted of your upright family traditions and said nobody corrupted the household’s morals. In that case, you should learn from your father’s concubines. Be an obedient concubine. Behave properly, follow every command My mother gives, or I will ask her to sell you off. Then we shall see how you cry!”
Jiang Zhaorong’s lovely face changed. “Princess Zhaoyang, you…”
“You what? Am I wrong?”
Luan Jiaojiao’s brows rose. “At your age, you should have some self-awareness. You entered the palace as a young concubine. Stop pretending you are the principal wife! Your mother is your father’s lawful wife. It is right for her to govern the inner household, and right for your father’s concubines to obey. The principle is so simple. Why did you forget it the moment you became a concubine yourself? Don’t just say the words. Apply them to yourself and carve them into your heart!”
Jiang Zhaorong was humiliated and furious, her pearly teeth clenched. Luan Jiaojiao acted as though she did not see. She turned to Consort Shu Chang, offered half a curtsy, and greeted her with a false smile. “Consort Shu, are you well?”
Consort Shu Chang returned the greeting with a long face. “Princess Zhaoyang.”
Luan Jiaojiao straightened, her tone innocently curious. “Consort Shu, you are a princess of the former dynasty and a descendant of Emperor Taizong. How tremendously noble! By the way, where is your Princess Manor? When will you take Me there for a visit?”
Zhuang Jieyu burst out laughing, avenging the insult she had suffered moments before. Even Han Zhaoyi had to turn away to hide her smile.
Consort Shu Chang’s beautiful face flushed crimson. Her fingers crushed her handkerchief, but she kept her face rigid and said nothing.
Luan Jiaojiao blinked as though she noticed nothing and continued amiably, “I hear princesses can obtain official favor for their Prince Consorts and children. When will you visit your Imperial Father and ask what office he plans to grant My father? While you are there, ask what noble title he will give your children when they are born.”
The words were viciously damaging and impossibly cruel.
A former-dynasty princess remained a princess, and the word itself had value. Add “former dynasty” before it, however, and the value immediately plummeted.
At best, she was still addressed as a princess. At worst, was she not a subject of a fallen nation and a captive of the new dynasty?
Nothing angered Consort Shu Chang more than hearing this. That was precisely why Luan Jiaojiao insisted on saying it.
She could not stand this woman and meant to tear away her false mask of nobility.
Day after day, Consort Shu Chang boasted of her extraordinary noble blood and belittled Mother’s humble birth. Even when she mentioned that Father’s ancestors had been butchers, she could not hide her contempt. If Father had forced her into the palace, that might have been one thing. But she had packed her own bags and eagerly presented herself as his young concubine. Why keep up the act?
Her dynasty had fallen, yet she still put on the airs of a princess and looked down upon everyone around her. Who did she think she was?!
Was a princess of the former dynasty so remarkable?
The princess of the present dynasty was eager to challenge her!
Consort Shu Chang’s face burned as though she had been slapped twice before the crowd. Shame and fury consumed her.
“Princess Zhaoyang!” Suppressing the urge to tear that mouth apart, she snapped, “I am your secondary mother! How dare you speak to Me this way? Such insolence! How did the Empress raise you? But of course-she was born a village woman. What could she know of rites and proper conduct?”
Luan Jiaojiao snorted coldly and turned to Jiang Zhaorong. “Jiang Zhaorong, look at Consort Shu Chang’s expression and listen to her words. Would one of your father’s concubines dare speak to you this way?”
Jiang Zhaorong looked from one to the other and did not dare make a sound. She lowered her head and became an obedient quail.
“Consort Shu Chang, I know you resent this. You look down on Me and My mother. But you had better endure it and learn to live with your tail between your legs!”
Only then did Luan Jiaojiao give Consort Shu Chang a cold glance. “My mother did not become Empress because her natal family was pure and noble, her birth illustrious, or her ancestors extraordinary. She became Empress because she followed My father when he had nothing. She washed his clothes, cooked his meals, and depended upon him as he depended upon her. When My father suffered defeat, she never abandoned him. She weathered every storm at his side! She is worthy of the throne of Empress. You are not!”
Every word pierced Consort Shu Chang’s heart like an awl. Luan Jiaojiao left her not a shred of dignity.
Hatred and resentment filled Consort Shu Chang’s gaze. Her teeth ground audibly. At last, tears of bitter fury fell. “Had treacherous ministers not seized power and destroyed the realm, how could you humiliate Me this way? His Majesty still regards My sister and Me, each a Daughter of the Emperor from the previous dynasty, with extraordinary favor. Yet you dare-you dare…”
Luan Jiaojiao’s brows nearly flew off her face with delight at the woman’s anger. “What does Consort Shu wish to say? I dared speak the truth to your face when others would not? How treasonous of Me?”
Consort Shu Chang had always thought herself above everyone. Never had she endured such humiliation, much less mockery from the daughter of a village woman. As she wept with hatred, the surrounding palace consorts suddenly bent their knees and hailed, “Long live Your Majesty!” Understanding dawned. Like rootless willow fluff, she collapsed into a bow and sobbed, “Your Majesty, please grant this subject-concubine justice!”
Luan Jiaojiao curtsied as well, her urgent gaze fixed upon her father. She looked ready to leap up and start a furious argument the instant he dared side with Consort Shu Chang.
Emperor Gaozu was amused. He rubbed the little girl’s head. “Grant justice? For what? We think Jiaojiao was right.”
Luan Jiaojiao’s tail shot straight up.
Consort Shu Chang looked up in disbelief, shocked tears hanging from her lashes. “Your Majesty! The Princess humiliated this subject-concubine so viciously. Will you truly turn a blind eye?!”
Emperor Gaozu took his daughter’s hand, led her to a stone bench, and sat down. Only then did he reply, “People speak of husband and wife binding their hair and treating each other with equal respect. We have only one wife, the Empress. Naturally, We shall never have another empress. In Our heart, she alone is worthy of that place.”
“As for the rest…” He paused delicately, then smiled again. “She was not wrong. You, your younger sister, Lady Qin, and every woman gathered here-are you not all Our concubines, just as Zhuang Jieyu is? Why insist upon ranking yourselves against one another? It is the pot mocking the kettle.”
Consort Shu Chang felt she had suffered an unbearable humiliation. “Your Majesty, this subject-concubine is a Daughter of the Emperor from the former dynasty, a descendant of Emperor Taizong, blood of the imperial house! Zhuang Jieyu was once nothing but a maid who tended flowers…”
“Virtue is honored before fine robes. Since you pride yourself upon being a Daughter of the Emperor from the former dynasty, how can you fail to grasp so simple a principle?”
“Besides…” Laughter entered Emperor Gaozu’s voice. His bearing remained gracious, but the content of his words made every hair stand on end. “Must We write ‘subject of a fallen nation’ on a plaque and hang it in your palace before you remember that the former dynasty is gone and the House of Luan now rules?”
Consort Shu Chang’s face went deathly white. Even the finest rouge could not conceal her pallor.
Emperor Gaozu ignored it. “Consort Shu, the former dynasty has been gone a long time. We advise you to forget it. And your father became emperor only because he was born to the right family-and because We were born twenty years too late. There is nothing in that to justify your arrogance. Otherwise, let us test bow and horse and see whose family would rule these Nine Provinces!”