Chapter 38: CH 37

Only after two days did Han Ruzi find the opportunity to speak to the Grand Consort alone.

In name, the person in charge of the affairs of the Imperial Palace was the Empress. But Cui Xiaojun was like the Emperor, bearing the title but none of the powers. All the power was held by the Empress Dowager. While the Empress Dowager was too busy politicking with the senior officials of the court, the affairs of the Imperial Palace was handled by the Grand Consort.

The Grand Consort would make her rounds of the Emperor’s quarters, Taian Palace, once every day. But she could not dismiss the various eunuchs and servant-girls without a reason. 

The Empress Dowager provided the only reason.

“The little Empress lost her temper, causing the Empress Dowager to be afraid that you would side with the Cui clan.” This evening, the Grand Consort could finally dismiss the servants without suspicion.

“With Prince Donghai around, how could I… Oh, that is yet another reason why the Empress Dowager keeps Prince Donghai around.” Han Ruzi understood now that Prince Donghai was a barrier between him and the Cui clan — a constant reminder that the Cui clan could not possibly accept any other Emperor.

“The Empress Dowager is just a little worried. I believe that Your Majesty will not side with the Cui clan. The Cui clan’s power is evident to the entire Imperial Court, and it is also what the Empress Dowager is watches the most closely.”

“I’ve never even thought it. Even if I wanted to, the Cui clan would not accept me.” Indeed, Han Ruzi did not think of getting support from the Cui clan. “What is up with Luo Huan-zhang? He is Prince Donghai’s teacher — should not be a Cui clan supporter?”

“Teacher Luo is not just a guest teacher in the Cui manor. He is a renown Confucian and has taught many disciples, including the Empress Dowager and myself.”

When the Graceful Emperor was still Prince Donghai, he was an ardent supporter of ruling by benevolence and righteousness. To set an example, he invited renown Confucian scholars within the realm to educate his harem. It was not for a long time, and the teacher taught from behind a veil, teacher and student only hearing one another but not seeing one another. Of the many teachers invited, Luo Huan-zhang was the one who left the deepest impression on those within the prince’s manor.

Luo Huan-zhang was not willing to take office, but he enjoyed teaching. He basically never rejected anyone — his students ranged from prince and nobles to common peddlers and soldiers. His network was spread across the entire realm, and many of his friends were even sworn enemies of the Cui clan. He never avoided them, and even socialized with them openly. The Cui clan even had to treat this teacher well in order to maintain a good reputation.

There were many officials in the Imperial Court who were once Teacher Luo’s student. Most of them were orthodox royalist — regardless of who the Emperor was, as long as he ascended to the throne properly, he would be the object of their protection. When they wished to get into contact with the Emperor hidden away within the palace, they naturally thought of Luo Huan-zhang, who was currently teaching the Emperor national history.

And Luo Huan-zhang thought of Grand Consort Shang-guan.

When the Grand Consort was still Virtuous Lady Duan in the then Prince Donghai’s manor, she was responsible for raising the eldest prince. She took this duty to heart, and when the prince needed to be taught, she thought of Luo Huan-zhang immediately and invited him while lavishing great gifts.

However, Luo Huan-zhang was a busy person. At the time, he was wandering the realm, and when he returned to the princedom of Donghai, Prince Donghai’s manor had already invited teachers to teach the young prince. However, they were willing to swap them for Teacher Luo at anytime. When Luo Huan-zhang heard of this, he left immediately, not even staying the night. He was not willing to ruin things for the teachers.

Even so, Lady Duan and the Princess Consort considered Luo Huan-zhang the teacher of the prince. From the age of eight, whenever the prince had any questions, he would write to Luo Huan-zhang for answers. And no matter where Luo Huan-zhang was, he would reply those letters. Only when Prince Donghai became the Crown Prince and the eldest prince became the Imperial Grandson, did Luo Huan-zhang break off contact and stop replying.

The eldest prince’s letters must have contained some details such that Luo Huan-zhang could guess that there were hidden rifts in the relationship between the Shang-guan sisters. He might even have realized it sooner than the sisters themselves. He saw it as something that he should not know about, so he never disclosed it to anyone. But when he needed to find a contact within the Imperial Palace, he quickly thought of the Grand Consort.

This was a risky move. If he guessed wrong, or if the Grand Consort and the Empress Dowager had made up, his attempt would be nothing less than suicidal.

His guess was right.

“Both Teacher Luo and I are not out for fame and fortune. He acts for his ideology of benevolence, I act for revenge. When Your Majesty successfully takes power, you need only reward those officials who secretly supported you. As for Teacher Luo and myself, there is no need to even mention our names.”

Thinking back on his impression of Luo Huan-zhang, Han Ruiz said sincerely, “Prince Donghai is lucky.”

The Grand Consort smiled. “It is the Cui clan that was lucky. At that time, Teacher Luo was visiting a friend in the Capital. This friend happened to have offended the Cui clan, and Teacher Luo agreed to take a position in the Cui clan in order to save his friend. But he never did belong to the Cui clan — not then, and not now. Teacher Luo and his disciplines have always been opposed to interference in matters of state by Imperial In-laws.”

Han Ruzi found that his trust had grown. He finally asked something important, “What do I need to do to subjugate Zuo Ji?”

The Grand Consort kept silent for a while before saying, “The matter with Zuo Ji is too distasteful. I do not wish to speak of it. I can only tell Your Majesty this: every morning, after sending Your Majesty to the Soaring Cloud Pavilion, Zuo Ji will go rest at the Heavenly Music Pavilion. If Your Majesty is able to barge in unexpectedly, you would likely get hold of the means to control him. You need only threaten to report what you see to the Empress Dowager, and Zuo Ji will listen to you.”

Han Ruzi scratched his head. The palace always had matters that “may be done but may not be spoken of”. This caused him to be confused, “Zuo Ji’s secret is unknown to even the Empress Dowager. How do you know of it?”

The Grand Consort smiled, “One sees far when one is atop high places, but it becomes easy to miss something that is right under your nose. The Empress Dowager has her sights on the Cui clan, on the Imperial Court, on Prince Qi thousands of li away, but she has overlooked Zuo Ji, just by her side. I am not the only one who knows of Zuo Ji’s secret, but nobody would tell the Empress Dowager, for fear that she would kill even the informant in her rage.”

The Grand Consort’s smile was wiped off her face. Even as the sister and most trusted person of the Empress Dowager, she did not feel safe in her presence.

The Emperor need not worry of the Empress Dowager’s anger. He was puppet who would be gotten rid of sooner or later.

Han Ruzi thought for a while. “The Heavenly Music Pavilion. If I just suddenly barge in, I’d discover Zuo Ji’s secret?”

“I cannot guarantee it. If Your Majesty barges in half an hour after entering the Soaring Cloud Pavilion, you would be most likely to discover Zuo Ji’s distasteful secret.”

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“Distasteful… How distasteful?”

The Grand Consort shook her head while smiling. Some things she just could not bring herself to say.

The two of them could not speak for long. The Grand Consort got up and said, “I will tell the Empress Dowager that Your Majesty is grateful for the Empress’s help, but remains hostile to the Cui clan.”

“Alright.” Han Ruzi started to consider how he could barge into the Heavenly Music Pavilion while having his lessons at the Soaring Cloud Pavilion. Even though the two places were not far, it was nothing less than an arduous trek for the Emperor. As the Grand Consort made her way to the door, he suddenly realized that he had one more question to ask. “How would you want to take revenge? How would the officials want the Empress Dowager dealt with?”

The Grand Consort bowed slightly. “Taking away the Empress Dowager’s power is the revenge that I want. As for how the Empress Dowager is to be dealt with — when Your Majesty holds the reins of power, it will be for Your Majesty to decide.”

The Emperor’s authority lies beyond ten steps and within a thousand li. Thirteen year-old Han Ruzi could not help but be excited. He knew what the first thing that he wanted to do was. It was not to deal with the Empress Dowager, nor to capture Prince Qi, but it was to fetch his mother to his side. Also, to release Liu Jie and let him continue being the Imperial Sealbearer. If he survives imprisonment, that is.

When he slept that night, Han Ruzi was awakened from his dreams a number of times. He thought he could hear Meng E’s cold voice, but it was just his imagination. He truly wished Meng E would appear, so that he could learn some light-footed martial art techniques from her. He imagined himself running across rooftops and barging into the Heavenly Music Pavilion.

Meng E herself probably could not even do that. She and her brother Meng Che had not appeared for days. Perhaps they had been sent on a mission by the Empress Dowager.

The Grand Consort had suggested a path, but she did not say exactly how to walk it. The Emperor had to figure it out himself.

Ideas do not always come immediately. The next day, Han Ruzi spent the entire day thinking, but to no results. He even thought of asking Prince Donghai for help, but quickly gave up on that idea. The deal with Prince Donghai was a one-time thing — there could not be a second time.

The Emperor’s mother had not replied. Tiger King Wang had found out where Maiden Wang stayed, but he had no suitable excuse for paying a visit. He could only wait for the right opportunity.

This night, when servant-girl Dong Qing E was helping the Emperor change, her palm kept remaining on the Emperor’s body. Young as he was, Han Ruzi understood what this meant, and quickly asked the young eunuch Zhang Youcai to take over. He also resolved to take action quickly.

He did not reprimand Dong Qing E. The servant girl’s every action was clumsy and awkward — it was clear that she was being coerced into doing such things.

Zuo Ji did not just do distasteful things himself. He wanted to force others to be as ugly as he was. Han Ruzi had a sense of what the Grand Consort was referring to, and he felt disgusted. And his resolve to subjugate Zuo Ji only grew stronger.

Inspiration is like when one loses one’s personal effects. You may not find it despite looking all over, but upon a casual glance, you may find it just by your side. Han Ruzi was unable to think of a perfect plan for two days, but on the third day, while having his lesson, he had a flash of inspiration and thought of an idea.

The teacher speaking was an old scholar. He was truly powerful: within the first half-hour, Prince Donghai and the two eunuchs were put soundly to sleep by him. Han Ruzi suddenly stood up and walked towards the door. The old teacher looked at him confused while still reciting passages from the Classic of Music.

Han Ruzi nodded to the old teacher and pointed to his stomach, indicating that he needed to relieve himself.

The old teacher did not object. Prince Donghai lay on his desk asleep, but the two eunuchs by the door quickly awoke. Han Ruzi did not stop and continued walking out, his right hand rubbing against his stomach a few times.

The older eunuch indicated to the young eunuch to follow the Emperor while he remained dozing off.

In the next room, the young eunuch brought a chamber pot to the Emperor, and the idea came to Han Ruzi out of nowhere. “Has this pot not been emptied? Why does it stink so badly?”

“Ah?” The young eunuch usually did his best not to speak to the Emperor. But this time, it was not the Emperor who was afraid. “This servant shall go…”

The eunuch grabbed the chamber pot and quickly ran out. Only the Emperor was left in the room.

The window at the back was open.

If he thought more about it, Han Ruzi might have given up on the chance. But the eunuch would be back soon, and he needed to act immediately.

The Soaring Cloud Pavilion had two levels, and his lessons were held on the upper level. If he left by the window, he would be on the roof of the first level, quite a ways from the ground. But there were some tall trees nearby, one of which happened to be near the window. Han Ruzi did not think too much about it. He jumped onto a branch of the tree, and grabbed some other branch that hung above. He ran towards the trunk in a few steps, and slowly climbed down. The leaves rustled as they fell, but he did not care. If he were discovered by the eunuchs, then he would treat it as a mere incident of mischief.

When he neared the ground, Han Ruzi jumped down. He was relieved. As he turned, he realized that several young nobles were looking at him in disbelief.

An Emperor who sneaks out windows and climbs on trees — it was unheard of! Yet this was what they saw this day.

Nobody spoke. Nobody dared to speak. Only the sounds of the falling leaves could be heard.

“Follow Us,” Han Ruzi said. If these young nobles did not comply, he would have no choice but to admit defeat.

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