The Child Emperor

The Grand Consort and senior officials looked at the Emperor expectantly. He had performed stunningly before the Heir of Qi, so both sides believed that the Emperor would continue making the right choices this time.

“With Your Majesty’s leave, this subject would like to ask: does Your Majesty know what an era name entails?” An official stepped forward and asked.

This person had a short stature, and was inconspicuous amongst the officials present. Han Ruzi remembered him: he was the Chief Censor of the Left, Xiao Sheng. Prince Donghai had once said that Xiao Sheng belonged to the Cui faction, yet during that prior meeting, he had castigated Grand Tutor Cui’s defeat along with the other officials.

Xiao Sheng was not one of the Five Trusted Officials. It was because the Chief Censor of the Right, Shen Zhiming, had gone to the various prefectures to announce the Imperial Edict that Xiao Sheng was called to attend the meeting.

“We have some idea. Could Lord Xiao reintroduce the issue to Us?”

Xiao Sheng stole a glance at the Grand Consort, and knelt down. “Every Emperor of every dynasty had his own era name. In the previous dynasty, it was even common for an Emperor to have several era names, often changing era names whenever there is an auspicious omen from the heavens. When the Chu Empire was established, the Founding Emperor laid down a rule: to select an era name from the Dao De Jing, and every Emperor is to have one for life. The populace often uses the era name to refer to the Emperor: for example the Martial Emperor is known as ‘Emperor Zhongmiao’, the Graceful Emperor is known as ‘Emperor Xianghe’, while the Thoughtful Emperor is known as ‘Emperor Gongcheng’. Having two Emperors use the same era name would not only break the Founding Emperor’s rule, it would also confuse the people of the realm.”

“But is it not common for a new Emperor to use the previous era name for some time?” Han Ruzi asked.

The Grand Consort observed the proceedings, her expression unchanging.

“It would be used until January[1] of the following year, at most. Sometimes it would be changed in the middle of the year.” For Xiao Sheng to say these words before the Grand Consort was rather bold. The other officials remained silent, but one could tell from their expression that they were inclined to support the Chief Censor’s position.

Han Ruzi nodded to the senior officials, acknowledging his understanding of the matter. He also nodded to the Grand Consort, indicating that she did not need to worry.

As he did not expect to encounter such a situation, it was not possible for Han Ruzi to have thought things through completely. He could only slow the pace of his speech so that he had more time to think. “The Thoughtful Emperor was Our Imperial Brother. He met the misfortune of passing in his prime, causing grief to Heaven and Man. The era name Gongcheng should be used until the first month of next year. Right now, it is only May. The Empress Dowager’s grief has yet to abate, while the rebellion in Guan-dong has yet to be pacified. There are many other matters to address and we should not add more to our plate. Discussions on the era name should be adjourned till December.”

The Grand Consort’s expression stiffened slightly. Chief Censor of the Left Xiao Sheng was not satisfied either. He wanted to continue to argue, but Chancellor Yin Wuhai spoke first. “Your Majesty is wise. The issue of era names is not urgent. The rebellion of Qi has destabilized the realm. The Xiongnu in the North, the Yue tribes in the South, the Qiang tribes in the West, and the various lords of the East, bear signs of trouble. We must stabilize the realm as soon as possble.”

And hence the topic of discussion reverted to the war situation. The Grand Consort did not persist in her agenda, and withdrew to the side-chamber.

In the evening, the Grand Consort went to the Emperor’s quarters and ordered the servants to withdraw. She stared at the Emperor for quite a while before smiling, “The Empress Dowager and I have underestimated Your Majesty. Your Majesty is not an ordinary child.”

“Neither did the Empress Dowager seem to treat me as a child.” Han Ruzi was prepared for a debate with the Grand Consort, now that he knew that the Empress Dowager had not completely controlled the officials of the court and would never dare to depose a newly ascended Emperor without just cause.

“Mm, and the Empress Dowager is wrong for that.” The Grand Consort was not angry. “Though the senior officials seem to treat Your Majesty as an adult, anxious for Your Majesty to reign personally.”

So as to not implicate any of the senior officials, Han Ruzi did not respond to that.

“The senior officials are not simple. Your Majesty and the Empress Dowager wield authority, but the senior officials have the ability to bend authority out of shape. Especially the pen-brush that they wield. It does not matter what kind of person Your Majesty is, nor is it important what kind of person the Empress Dowager is. It is the pen that writes the word: what they say is who you are. Once you get a reputation, it will be difficult to change it.”

Han Ruzi remained silent.

“Sometimes I wonder, do the senior officials truly need an actual, living Emperor? Over the past few years, three Emperors have passed away, yet not much has changed in the Imperial Court. When the Graceful Emperor reigned, he tried very hard to make some changes. He promoted some, demoted others. Yet imperceptibly, those demoted would return, and those promoted would disappear. They were well and alive, yet they would seldom appear in the petitions. Only upon asking would one find out that they have been dispatched to positions outside of the Capital. As for the reason, just one word: precedent.”

 It was as though the Grand Consort had forgotten the Emperor’s existence. Her eyes squinted and her brows creased. “There exist too many precedents. It is said that the entire bureaucracy of the Imperial Court relies on precedent — without precedent the Empire would collapse. Hence, as long as the Emperor does not pay attention, precedent would play its role and imperceptibly alter the Emperor’s original intentions.”

“The Emperor is not infallible, and hence requires regulation by precedent.” Han Ruzi understood that the “Emperor” being referred to here was the Empress Dowager, not him.

“That’s all well and good, but in that case, to whom does the realm belong? Hence I have always suspected that the officials do not need an actual, living and breathing, Emperor. They need an ornament, an idol, silent and unthinking. Then everything would be determined by precedent, and precedent would be controlled by the officials.”

The Grand Consort stood up. She was not here to give the Emperor a lesson so she did not intend to speak further. “Rest, Your Majesty. The eighteenth of May is an auspicious day. The Empress will enter the palace then.”

Han Ruzi stood up in shock. “But the rebellion in Qi has not ended.”

“The Empress Dowager believes that crowning an Empress should not be conflated with Grand Tutor Cui’s successes or defeats in battle. Since the betrothal arrangements have been completed, the wedding should be held sooner rather than later. Moreover, this is not just the Empress Dowager’s intention — the various departments of the Ministry of Rites have been working on the matter and everything is ready. This is precedent as well — as long nobody stops it, it will proceed smoothly and naturally, without needing Your Majesty to worry about a thing.”

With the Grand Consort gone, Han Ruzi returned to his quarters to rest. He lay on the bed and thought for a while, before reaching a risky decision: he must not submit so easily, otherwise the Empress Dowager will only take more. Hence, he must open communications with the officials and seek their assistance.

This was not the same as the “secret edict” idea that Prince Donghai had once suggested. At that time, he knew nothing about the officials, and the officials knew nothing about him. Recklessly seeking assistance would only cause trouble. And the way things went proved the correctness of his judgment: not only did Prince Donghai reveal the secret, the Minister of Rites, Yuan Jiu-ding, had also handed the note over to Yang Feng of his own accord.

But things were different now. The Emperor and the officials had established some mutual understanding. Although it was still superficial, at least the officials believed that the Emperor behaved seriously.

What would Yang Feng think? Han Ruzi shook his head to himself. Yang Feng would surely disagree with the Emperor’s plan. But Yang Feng was far away in Guan-dong, and this eunuch held many secrets: who could guarantee that his actions were always taken in the best interests of the Emperor?

Having made up his mind, Han Ruzi slept easily, silently practicing breathing against the flow.

Making a decision was easy, but executing it would be difficult. Issuing a “secret edict” was out of the question. Han Ruzi hoped to be able to speak face-to-face to a senior official. The first difficulty was in which senior official to select.

From the next day onwards, Han Ruzi made full use of his mornings in the Hall of Diligent Administration to intently observe every senior official.

Chancellor Yin Wuhai was the first to be eliminated. He was too old, too pliable. Even though he would occasionally take a position contrary to the Empress Dowager, he would never persist. He was not reliable.

Chief Commander Han Xing was eliminated as well. As an elder of the Imperial clan, Han Xing was not interested in protecting the personal interests of the Emperor. Moreover, his title of Chief Commander was largely ceremonial, and he did not actually command any soldiers.

Chief Censor of the Left Xiao Sheng, and Minister of Personnel Feng Ju, were also eliminated. The first had unspoken ties with the Cui clan, while the latter was someone without initiative and could not perform his own duties properly.

There were some other senior officials who attended the sessions at the Hall of Diligent Administration in shifts. Two of them seemed honest and loyal, but they were seldom around and it was not possible for the Emperor to come into contact with them.

A few days later, Han Ruzi turned his attention to the young nobles in his entourage.

The young nobles were the scions of notables in the Empire, and were the future pillars of the Imperial Court. Even though they did not hold official positions, their fathers or grandfathers were important officials.

After several more days of observation, Han Ruzi chose Zhang Yanghao.

Zhang Yanghao’s grandfather, Marquis Piyuan, had just returned to the Capital to recover from his injuries. Many officials had paid him a visit. There were many signs that indicated that Marquis Piyuan was prideful, and was not close to either the Cui clan or the Shang-guan clan. He had a good reputation in court and a certain degree of influence.

Han Ruzi used an indirect method of coming into contact with Zhang Yanghao. He would approach a young noble to practice the Hundred-Step Fist every afternoon. Only on the fifth day did he approach Zhang Yanghao.

Zhang Yanghao’s mood was much better than the previous days. His fists danced ferociously like a tiger leaping in the wind. Yet he did not be insolent before the Emperor and did not use his full strength.

The two only exchanged a few blows when Zhang Yanghao was chased away by someone.  The Emperor did not even have the chance to demonstrate his goodwill with a smile.

Prince Donghai had come with a sullen expression. When Zhang Yanghao had withdrawn, he growled, “Congrats, eh. You will be marrying the Empress in three days.”

As the Emperor’s wedding grew close, Prince Donghai’s temper worsened. Han Ruzi was used to it and did not mind. He pushed Prince Donghai’s doughy arms aside and said, “You know what I think.”

Prince Donghai’s fists moved more agitatedly. “What could you think? Such fortunate happenstance — surely you would be happy to acquiesce.”

Han Ruzi found Prince Donghai totally unreasonable.

Meng Che came around to keep an eye on the Emperor and Prince Donghai. The two of them kept quiet and pretended to spar with their fists and kicks.

By the side, the spar between two young nobles had turned too serious and the two started fighting. Meng Che went over to separate them. Prince Donghai neared the Emperor and said, “Then where has the drive that you displayed when you rejected the servant-girl gone? There’s nothing the Empress Dowager can do if you staunchly refuse.”

“So you know of it!”

“Who in Cining Palace doesn’t? Everyone is just pretending otherwise. Speak the truth: have you practiced on servant-girls such that… you are going to use what you’ve practiced on my cousin!”  Prince Donghai’s eyes looked like they were about to erupt into flames. He had never had to practice forbearance for such a long time, and he was about to finally explode.

“What nonsense are you talking about.” Han Ruzi was relieved that he did not seek assistance from Prince Donghai. This fellow was too emotional.

“Nonsense? If you can do it, can I not speak it?” Prince Donghai pounced forward. Han Ruzi was well-prepared, and his fist hit Prince Donghai’s stomach. He had performed the move correctly, but his strength cannot be compared to Meng Che. Prince Donghai groaned but he was not pushed back. He grabbed the Emperor’s neck with both hands, and the two of them struggled with each other.

Those present thought that the Emperor and Prince Donghai were just horsing around as brothers. But when they realized something was not right a while later, they were all shocked. Meng Che strode forwards in two steps to separate the two, but he did not dare use too much force. The other eunuchs and attendants came forward anxiously as they separated the two in a flurry of confusion.

There were more people who pulled Prince Donghai away. Feeling that this was unfair, he shouted angrily, “Treachery! You are all treacherous subjects! When I…”

Someone stuffed his mouth.

The afternoon’s martial lesson ended abruptly. The Emperor was escorted back to Cining Palace, while Prince Donghai was brought somewhere.

Han Ruzi felt angry. He could not calm down even when he returned to his room, and kept pacing around. Zhang Youcai and Dong Qing E followed behind him, wishing to help the Emperor change, but unable to find the opportunity.

Finally, Han Ruzi calmed down. He wished to change out of the robes he had wore for training, but did not need to be assisted by eunuchs and servant-girls. As he undid his waistband, he reached for a small ball of paper stuffed inside.

Someone had actually used the “secret edict” method on the Emperor.

[1] I’ll be using the English months of the solar calendar for ease of translation, but it would be the lunar calendar used in the story, as was traditionally used in ancient China.