Chapter 94
At the morning court on December 8, Di Nian, the Vice Censor-in-Chief, spoke up to the throne. "Your Majesty, rumors have been spreading wildly outside the palace. Everyone is saying that the Second Miss Cui is carrying Your Majesty's child. If we turn a blind eye to this, I fear it will tarnish Your Majesty's sacred dignity. You must issue a public statement to clear things up."
He added, "Your Majesty's virtue shines bright, illuminating all corners of the realm. Your Majesty's great glory represents state affairs, not just private family matters."
The entire hall fell dead silent in an instant. Not long ago, Grand Secretary Han, and later Grand Secretary Feng, were both sent home to recuperate for daring to meddle in the Emperor's private affairs. Di Nian truly had nerves of steel!
The Emperor, who was sitting cross-legged on the imperial throne, glanced down at the assembled court officials and let out a cold snort. "Great glory?"
All the court officials held their breath and kept silent, only Di Nian stood his ground stubbornly, waiting for the Emperor to give him a reply.
This time, the Emperor did not fly into a rage. He admitted openly and unashamedly, "The child is mine."
An uproar broke out in the great hall, with the sounds of people gasping and exclaiming rising one after another.
Even if some had vaguely suspected the truth, it was a world of difference from hearing the Emperor confirm it with his own mouth.
In their eyes, the Emperor had always been a paragon of restraint and purity, and not even a single maid was allowed to stay in the Benyuan Hall and Yanhua Hall. Yet privately, he had a secret affair with the Second Miss Cui, and she was now carrying his child.
The imperial family of Great Ying strictly forbade intergenerational marriages. The Emperor clearly knew this rule, but he failed to control himself, and when confronted, he admitted it straightforwardly. Where did that leave the rituals and laws that the court held sacred?
Even more astonishingly, in the middle of the whole court's uproar, the Emperor summoned Minister Gu of the Rites Ministry to come forward. "I want to make the Second Miss Cui, the daughter of Lord Cui who serves as a Yuanwai Lang in the Works Ministry, my empress. The Rites Ministry shall start making preparations immediately."
The Emperor wanted to make the Second Miss Cui his empress? Not to mention that it violated the seniority taboo, even if the rules allowed it, how could an unmarried woman who was already pregnant be fit to be the empress?
Gu Zhi, who was Minister Gu, stepped forward with a heavy heart. He had only been promoted from Vice Minister of the Revenue Ministry to Minister of Rites a few days ago, and before he could even get settled in his new post, he was faced with this thorny situation. He did not know whether he should accept the order or not.
Thinking of the Emperor's all-seeing, all-knowing mind, he suddenly wondered if the Emperor had promoted him to the position of Rites Minister precisely for this very moment.
Not long before, his youngest daughter, together with the granddaughter of Grand Secretary Shen and four other young ladies, had been selected by Emperor Xuanning and sent to Funing Palace as candidates for the Prince Wei's concubines. With no other way out, he and Grand Secretary Shen had heard that the Second Miss Cui's restaurant and pastry shop were opening for business, so they sent their servants to the pastry shop to buy a large number of pastries to distribute to all their relatives and friends, as a gesture of showing support for the Second Miss Cui.
They had not expected much from this small act, but the next day, the then-Prince Wei issued an order to send all six selected young ladies back to their homes. Before that, he and Grand Secretary Shen had tried to approach Prince Wei many times, but after the Prince finished handling political affairs, he would either doze off or meditate, and they could not even get a word in with him.
So his youngest daughter being allowed to return home must have been because they had shown support at the Second Miss Cui's shop, the Second Miss Cui had mentioned this matter to Prince Wei, and only then did Prince Wei bother to make arrangements for such a personal affair. He and Grand Secretary Shen owed the Second Miss Cui a favor.
But the intergenerational marriage was a rule that no one in the Great Ying imperial family could cross. The example of Prince Ding during the reign of Emperor Taizong was right there in history. How could he take on the task the Emperor had assigned?
If he accepted the order, he would become the target of public criticism, and the censors would attack him relentlessly. He would definitely be branded as a sycophant currying favor with the Emperor.
But if he refused, that would be gross disrespect against the Emperor. Given the Emperor's temper, his fate would be no better than that of Grand Secretary Han and Grand Secretary Feng.
Moreover, the Li family, Grand Empress Dowager Li and Chief Minister Li would never allow the Emperor to make the Second Miss Cui the empress. This matter was bound to see a fierce power struggle. If he chose to obey the Emperor now, but the Li family managed to stop the Emperor's plan later, he would become Chief Minister Li's sworn enemy. Would he still have a foothold in the imperial court then?
It was early winter, and the underground heating had already been turned on, but the great hall still felt chilly. Yet Minister Gu was so anxious that sweat dripped down his forehead. In his distress, he glanced over at Grand Secretary Shen, and saw Grand Secretary Shen nod slightly at him. He steeled his heart, stepped forward and said, "I accept Your Majesty's oral decree. I will start the preparations as soon as the court is dismissed."
His response was like a drop of water splashing into a pot of hot oil, and the entire hall erupted into chaos.
Di Nian pointed at his nose and shouted at him, "You sycophant! Your Majesty is breaking the rituals and laws, yet you do not dissuade him, instead you help him go further down the wrong path..."
Wan Shan, the Left Censor-in-Chief of the Censorate, stepped forward and bowed to the throne. "Your Majesty, this taboo marriage must not be allowed. How can we announce this to the people? If we let this go, the moral code of our realm will collapse, and it will bring endless harm to future generations. I urge Your Majesty to think twice."
With the Left Censor-in-Chief taking the lead, in the blink of an eye, many civil and military officials stepped out of their ranks and knelt down in unison. "We cannot set such a precedent that ignores the ethics and moral principles. We urge Your Majesty to think twice."
Even those who remained in their original positions were wavering. Looking around, the vast majority of court officials found this arrangement unacceptable.
Amidst the public outcry, Chief Minister Li stepped forward from the crowd. "Rituals and laws should also leave room for human feelings. Now that things have come to this, the Second Miss Cui is already carrying Your Majesty's flesh and blood. Your Majesty has no heirs so far, so this child is the most precious treasure to the entire realm. Besides, the Cui family has no blood relation with the imperial family. The Second Miss Cui is only nominally your cousin niece, and her relation to you is even more distant than that of Prince Ding's cousin niece who was already outside the five generations of kin back in the time of Emperor Taizong.
Why not let the Second Miss Cui give birth to the child first? Then we can work out a proper statement that can be explained to all the people. Once we have quelled the public's doubts, the Second Miss Cui can live a quiet life in the palace and keep Your Majesty company. That would be a workable arrangement."
Chief Minister Li had always been a man whose word carried immense weight in the court. Although he had kept a low profile since the Emperor ascended the throne, his prestige was still unshakable. After he spoke, many officials' attitudes began to soften.
Chief Minister Li wiped the sweat off his forehead, and continued to propose, "Your Majesty, the appointment of an empress is a matter of utmost importance. How can it be decided so hastily? We should select the best candidates from all the young ladies of noble families. The late Emperor had selected six young ladies and sent them to Grand Empress Dowager Li at Funing Palace before his passing. The late Emperor's last wish must not be let down. Only six candidates are not enough. Why not add another six, and send all twelve of them to the palace, so that the Two Palace Grand Empresses Dowager and Empress Dowager Xu can help Your Majesty select the empress and concubines that suit Your Majesty's heart."
No sooner had Chief Minister Li finished his words than Grand Secretary Shen spoke up. "My granddaughter is untalented and unvirtuous. She dare not come to offend Your Majesty with her presence."
Minister Gu also said, "My daughter is naughty and mischievous. Last time she already gave the Grand Empress Dowager a big headache. We dare not let her come to the palace again."
Then a general stepped out from the ranks of military officials. It was Meng Huaizong, the Commander of the Right Imperial Guard. "My younger sister is rough and unrefined. She truly cannot come to the palace to make a fool of herself."
Among the six originally selected young ladies, half of them had their families reject the proposal outright.
Chief Minister Li did not take offense. "Then we shall follow the old precedent and draw up a new list of candidates."
On the imperial dais, the Emperor flicked his fingers lightly on the table in front of his throne. Over the long years, the court officials had long worked out the meaning behind the Emperor's finger-flicks. This two-finger flick, to put it politely, was a signal for everyone to quiet down, and to put it bluntly, it was an order for everyone to shut up.
The great hall fell quiet again. The Emperor pulled on a faint smile, and he seemed quite satisfied with the situation unfolding before him.
No one had ever seen the Emperor smile before. All the court officials were chilled to the bone. Those who had just stepped out to remonstrate boldly now shrank their shoulders, and even Di Nian took a few steps back.
The Emperor waved his hand repeatedly, and with the movement, a strong gust of wind shot out one after another. Black chess pieces connected in a line, flying toward the group of officials who had stepped out to protest, then split into more than a dozen afterimages and shot toward the feet of the assembled crowd.
Court officials scrambled to get out of the way in a total mess, their hearts still pounding with fright. When they spotted the half-finger-deep, uniformly sized pits embedded in the floor tiles, they all forgot that losing composure before the imperial throne was a serious offense. They gaped and panted, their hands trembling against their chests.
What if they had been a split second slower dodging? That chess piece would have punched a hole right through their foot.
With a maimed foot, their official career would be finished. Why would they ever dare to stand up to the emperor?
The emperor turned to Minister Gu, who did not hesitate for even a split second before stepping forward at once. "Your subject respectfully receives the sacred edict. After the court adjourns, I will look up the old precedents and start arranging the formal betrothal to the Cui family as soon as possible."
The emperor nodded. "Bring the findings to me once you are done."
After saying that, he flicked a finger again, then said without looking down at the court, "Dismissed, all who have no further matters to report."
Watching the emperor leave the main hall, all the court officials let out a long breath in unison, then raised their hands at the same time to wipe the sweat off their brows.
They had long heard that the chess pieces the emperor threw out could take lives, but the several Grand Secretaries had always kept tight-lipped about the matter, so the rest of the officials had never witnessed it for themselves and never felt that much fear.
Now that they had faced it firsthand, they knew exactly how terrifying it was, enough to make their guts turn cold.
The emperor's stance was unyielding, a blatant threat. He was determined to take Second Miss Cui as his empress, and anyone who dared to object would not be spared—he would not hesitate to punch a hole through them with one of his chess pieces.
Many court officials looked to Chief Minister Li to take charge. Chief Minister Li waved his hand and said, "His Majesty holds a grudge against me. It is better for me not to speak up right now. Alas, the Grand Empress Dowager Li is still waiting for me to report to her. Let us adjourn for now."
With Chief Minister Li gone, the officials, still reeling from the shock of the emperor's flying chess piece and well aware their flesh and blood could never withstand such a blow, left the hall one after another, their hearts still racing with lingering fear.
By midday, the court officials who had not yet left YanHua Palace saw that the emperor did not have his meal served in the West Pavilion as he usually did. Instead, he walked out of YanHua Palace with Buyan. The officials followed closely behind and saw the emperor heading for the west gate of the Funing Palace back garden, where Second Miss Cui was said to be residing in the Moon-Drenched Retreat.
This made their private relationship completely out in the open. The emperor was so unapologetic about going to see Second Miss Cui that he even wanted to have lunch with her. If Second Miss Cui gave birth to a son, he would surely be made the crown prince right away.
That was just how people were. When no one had any hope of getting something, no one would hold delusions about it.
But if someone else got there first and blocked off all other paths, the resentment of unequal treatment would make everyone rise up in a group, doing everything they could to pull that person down.
Wan Shan, the Left Censor-in-Chief, gathered the court officials who had spoken out earlier that morning. "I refuse to believe His Majesty can execute all of us at once. If we stand united, we will go kneel outside the Duan Gate, and let the people of Yingcheng see our determination to risk our lives to remonstrate with the emperor."
Most of the officials agreed, and they split up to summon even more fifth-rank and lower-rank officials.
But Di Nian, who had been the very first to speak up at the morning court, hid away. The gust-like, sharp chess piece kept flashing across his eyes, and he truly did not dare to go through with it.
Wan Shan's move was ruthless. Even in the previous dynasty, the harshest death remonstrances from court officials only involved kneeling for a long time outside the Fengtian Gate. Gathering that many court officials to protest there would keep the whole matter contained within the imperial palace.
But Wan Shan wanted to kneel outside the Duan Gate, the main gate connecting the imperial city to the inner city. Once they knelt there, word would spread like wildfire, drawing crowds of onlookers from all over Yingcheng, and soon the news would spread far and wide, blowing the situation completely out of proportion.
With so many common people watching, the emperor would find it very hard to punish any of them. Everyone else might get away with it, but Wan Shan, the leader, would definitely lose his official position for good.
But Wan Shan was on very close personal terms with Chief Minister Li. Once the emperor backed down, Wan Shan would only have to lie low for a while, and Chief Minister Li would surely find a way to bring him back to the court. It seemed like a pretty safe bet.
Everyone understood clearly: although Wan Shan was leading the uproar, Chief Minister Li's stance was the real key. It remained to be seen how the emperor would break through this deadlock.
The emperor had lunch with Cui Lanyin, took a short walk to aid digestion, and after watching Cui Lanyin get fully dressed and ready, Qian He came to report that the Left Censor-in-Chief had led more than two hundred court officials to kneel outside the Duan Gate. By that time, the news of the emperor and Cui Lanyin's private relationship had spread to every street and alley in Yingcheng.
Cui Lanyin stood up. "I'm heading over now?"
The emperor said, "Shouldn't I let Qian He go with you?"
Cui Lanyin glanced at him sideways. "This is my first step to establish my authority. If Old Qian comes along, it will defeat the whole purpose. It will make me look too young and incapable, like I need an old hand waiting to step in and take over at any moment. That would ruin my reputation as the fierce Second Cui. I have to go by myself."
Qian He was so amused by her words that he chuckled nonstop.
The emperor stopped insisting. "Chiyun and Chiyue will follow you every step of the way. The moment anything goes wrong, you can strike to kill. I will take full responsibility for everything."
Cui Lanyin had already heard about him using chess pieces to intimidate the court officials that morning. She grinned playfully and said, "Does that mean I should start learning to carry the chess jar for you?"
The emperor said in all seriousness, "That's a good idea. When the time comes, you hold the jar, and I throw the chess pieces. We two, as husband and wife, will be absolutely unstoppable."
Just thinking about that scene made Cui Lanyin laugh so hard she bent over.
The emperor walked her out after all, and did not head back to YanHua Palace until he had watched her walk west.
Since entering the palace, Cui Lanyin had only wandered around the eastern parts of the palace complex. The farthest west she had ever been was the Benyuan Palace.
She never imagined she would ever set foot in Fu'an Palace, but here she was, taking the initiative to pay a visit today.
The moment she arrived at the grand entrance of Fu'an Palace, Xing Kun inside had already received the news, and came out to greet her with a wide smile. "Second Miss, what a distinguished guest! The Grand Empress Dowager had just laid down to rest, but she has risen again now. Please, come right in."
"Thank you for your trouble," Cui Lanyin replied in a lukewarm, unemotional tone, following Xing Kun at a leisurely pace into the west chamber of the back hall, where Grand Empress Dowager Li lived.
She was here, and she was going to give the Li family their first taste of what was coming [kiss emoji]
