Chapter 44: CH 43

Han Ruzi received impeccable care. He lay in bed for the entire day, only needing to lift his hands to get dressed and open his mouth to eat. He rejected drinking his medicinal soups but it was of no use. The entire room was filled with the thick scent of medicinal herbs, and every two hours a new medical concoction would be brought to him. He could not reject it — the eunuchs would beg while kneeling on the ground, the Grand Consort would persuade him with kind words, and the Empress would shed tears while staying by his bedside.

The Grand Consort would come visit at least three times every day. Each time, she would find out every detail about the Emperor’s situation, making sure that nothing was wrong before leaving.

Prince Donghai came over first thing in the morning the next day. He looked reluctant but he had no choice — he had to show proper brotherly affections. Not only did he have to visit, he had to test the medicine and food that were served to the Emperor.

Even though the medicinal soups were bitter, trying a small mouthful was bearable. What Prince Donghai could not bear was testing the food. Even though he never stood on ceremony when sharing a meal with the Emperor, grabbing whatever food he wanted, he felt humiliated when required to test the Emperor’s food. “You are not even poisoned, nor do your stomach pains have anything to do with the Cui clan. Why must I test your food? This is the job of servants.”

Whenever the two brothers were left alone in the room, Prince Donghai would ask quietly, “Your stomach pain is faked, right? How do you do it? Tell me.”

Han Ruzi could only shake his head while smiling. “How would I be able to do something like that. The imperial doctors have already seen to me.”

Nor were the imperial doctors able to resolve Prince Donghai’s questions.

Another day passed, and the Empress rushed to the Emperor’s quarters from the Qiuxin Palace. She cried the moment she entered the room because she was the last person to know about something so serious.

On hearing the Empress’s entrance being announced from outside, Prince Donghai immediately withdrew from the bedside and knelt at one side, performing the proper ceremonies of  a subject. The Empress did not pay any attention to this cousin of hers, sitting by the Emperor’s bed, looking at the Emperor with tears.

Prince Donghai took his leave quietly, and the Empress still did not turn back. Prince Donghai awkwardly withdrew from the room, his medicine and food testing services no longer required.

Han Ruzi felt a little sorry for Prince Donghai. Just a little.

Of all the persons who came to visit the Emperor, one was the strangest. Neither did he check on his health like the imperial doctors, nor did he perform the various miscellaneous tasks of the servants. He just occasionally stood by the side, and then quickly left. Whenever he was around, the Grand Consort would surely mention the Empress Dowager, and Prince Donghai dared not display the slightest amount of disrespect. Even the Empress’s tears would flow more.

That person was the Imperial Recorder, whose job was to record the Emperor’s every move within the Imperial Palace.

Han Ruzi did not understand the rules of the palace, but he felt like the Imperial Recorder’s visits seemed to be a little too frequent. One did not know how imbecilic or nonsensical he would describe the Emperor as being.

It was under the watchful eyes of the Imperial Recorder that everyone’s concern seemed to take on a shade of falsity. When he left again, the Empress remained sobbing. Perhaps her grief was somewhat genuine, though Han Ruzi did not understand why this was so. He did not come into contact with the Empress much — other than dealing with Zuo Ji together, they did share any other experiences.

Most importantly, the Empress was of the Cui clan. If that were not the case, Han Ruzi would have liked to bring her over to his side.

Whether the Imperial Recorder was present or not, only two people were genuine in their careful service of the Emperor.

Zhang Youcai and Dong Qing E had suffered much under the hands of Zuo Ji, but the two of them truly did not know much information. Hence, they were released. And on the very next day, they heard the news: Zuo Ji was slapped in the Hall of Diligent Administration, and his whole face was covered in blood. When he returned to the palace, he was too injured to even get out of bed. He had suffered more than they had.

And the one who had caused all this was the Emperor. Even though Zhang Youcai and Dong Qing E did not understand how the Emperor’s stomach pains could arrive at just the right time, they believed one thing: the Emperor had taken revenge on their behalf. That they were not personally present in the hall and had only heard of what had happened, only served to cement that belief.

The two of them were right: the Emperor was indeed taking revenge on their behalf. But it was not for nothing.

Grand Tutor Cui was on the way back to the Capital. Though the Grand Consort had not mentioned the matter again, just by looking at her expressions he was sure that the four imperial edicts had been furtively sealed and handed over to Luo Huan-zhang.

The final showdown with the Empress Dowager was fast approaching. There was nothing much more for Han Ruzi to do, but he hoped that when the time came, he could have two more trustworthy people by his side, and not have to completely rely on the Grand Consort and Luo Huan-zhang for protection.

Dong Qing E was a dainty servant-girl, while Zhang Youcai was not yet even fifteen. Nor did they know martial arts. In times of danger, the protection they could render was practically negligible. Han Ruzi only did this because he did not want to sit around and do nothing.

On the fifth day since his stomach pains, the imperial doctor announced confidently that the Emperor was safe and sound. Everything reverted to normal, and everyone heaved a sigh of relief. As did Han Ruzi, even though he knew that he had not fallen ill. He was tired of lying on the bed and being served by others. He desperately wanted to get a breath of fresh hair outdoors.

All he could do was walk a few rounds around the courtyard of Tai-an Palace. He was accompanied by a large group of servants, all of them reaching out with their hands as though the Emperor was a child learning to walk and needing their support.

In the evening, the excess personnel left. After eating dinner, Han Ruzi went to bed early, but found himself tossing and turning, unable to fall asleep. Zhang Youcai and Dong Qing E had been tired out by the past few days, falling asleep almost immediately.

Han Ruzi quietly calculated: in at most five days, Grand Tutor Cui would return to the Capital. The officials would greet him outside the city, and Grand Marshal Shang-guan Xu would surely be amongst them. At that time, the officials armed with the imperial edicts would take action, stripping both of them of their seals of office. At the same time, another group of officials would enter the palace, remove the Captain of the Guards from his office, and take control of the Palace Guards. After that, the soldiers would be split into two, one to protect the Emperor, the other to arrest the Empress Dowager.

That was the plan as Han Ruzi imagined it. He guessed that Luo Huan-zhang’s true plan would be cleverer.

He suddenly thought of the Meng siblings. Both of them were martial arts experts, and were loyal only to the Empress Dowager. They would pose a problem. If the Empress Dowager had more martial arts experts like the Meng siblings at her disposal, that would be an even greater problem. Was Luo Huan-zhang prepared for such things? Surely he must have gotten to know the situation from the Grand Consort…

The more Han Ruzi thought of the matter, the more perturbed he was, and the more he was unable to fall asleep. He was tossing around in frustration when he saw a shadow move. After a while, Zhang Youcai and Dong Qing E’s snores grew softer.

“You?” Han Ruzi sat up.

“Mm.” It was still that cold voice.

“Where did you go? You have been away for so long?” Han Ruzi did not realize that he had taken on a grumbling tone.

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“The Empress Dowager sent me out of the palace.” Meng E’s voice was emotionless. “Luckily, I made it back in time for you to hand you more pills.”

“In time? What would have happened if you did not make it in time?”

“Nothing much. The other pills would have been eaten in vain and your efforts would have been wasted. Open your mouth.”

Han Ruzi had much to say, but the moment he opened his mouth, a pill was shoved in and he could only swallow.

“I heard that you had a little performance in the Hall of Diligent Administration?” Of course, Meng E knew the truth of the matter.

“When did you come back? Where did you go? Will you be going out again?” Han Ruzi asked about some other matters.

“Do not do such things in the future. It may cause my brother to become suspicious.”

“Were you on a mission to kill for the Empress Dowager? Who… was killed?” Han Ruzi thought of his own mother, and could not help but worry.

Neither of them answered the other’s questions, and both fell silent for a while. Meng E spoke first, “Training in inner qi requires focus. You should not meddle in irrelevant affairs. There are many instances of the strong bullying the weak in the palace — there is no need to take revenge for the two of them. That is not very emperor-like of you.”

“So an Emperor should be emotionless and heartless, and let those around him be bullied?”

Meng E went silent again for a while. “In any case, you should not meddle.”

“Inner qi cannot help me survive, nor can it help me be a true Emperor. Meng E, you yourself are meddling. Why are you helping me? The chances of me wielding power is lower than… becoming the most powerful martial artist in the world.”

Meng E’s response was to jab and smack the Emperor. As she was leaving, she said, “Teaching you inner qi is to improve your chances a little, and also to improve my chances a little. Perhaps… it is because we are in similar situations. I will return within ten days.”

Similar situations? Han Ruzi could not figure out what situation the Meng siblings were in, such that they needed the help of the Emperor or Empress Dowager of the Chu Empire.

Meng E held her secrets from him, and he also held secrets from her. She said that she would return in ten days, but they might become enemies in five days.

Han Ruzi did not know what technique Meng E employed with her jabs and smacks, but Han Ruzi felt that the inner qi in his body was flowing more smoothly. Not only could he keep up the flow for longer, there would be a sudden burst at some part of his body, then after flowing for a while, it would disappear.

Was this inner qi? He did not feel like he had gotten much out of it, but his mind had quietened down. Soon, he fell asleep.

The next day, the Emperor’s life went back to normal. However, he did not go for lessons at the Soaring Clouds Pavilion, and instead headed to the Hall of Diligent Administration, where he stayed for the entire morning.

There were more officials present than usual, nearly twenty of them.

The Empress Dowager needed to show the officials that the Emperor was safe and sound.

Han Ruzi saw the Chief Censor of the Right, Shen Zhiming. He was one of the Five Trusted Officials. he had previously been dispatched to the various lords of Guan-dong, and had just returned to the Capital. Yang Feng, who had accompanied him, was still nowhere to be seen.

Shen Zhiming gave a briefing on his mission. At first, the lords of Guan-dong adopted a wait-and-see attitude. When the imperial envoy arrived, most of them changed their positions and sent their armies in support. They had played a part in Grand Tutor Cui being able to defeat the Qi army at Luoyang, but some of them were disingenuous. On the surface, they would appear to accept the imperial call to arms, but they would give excuses to postpone the sending of troops. Only when the Qi army was defeated did they quickly send out their army.

As for how to deal with these lords who were of two minds, the officials were in disagreement. After debating for an hour, the Empress Dowager chose one of the views presented: not to pursue the matter for now, and focus on rounding up the remnants of the Qi rebels.

Shen Zhiming mentioned Yang Feng. The Palace Attendant was still in Qi pursuing the fate seer, Chunyu Xiao.

Chunyu Xiao was regarded as the main instigator of Prince Qi’s rebellion. Prince Qi had already been captured, but this person was still nowhere to be found.

Han Ruzi found it strange. Yang Feng was a man of great ambitions. Why was he so interested in some fate seer?

Shen Zhiming did not say much about the matter, and quickly turned to the most important matter for discussion this morning: he had returned to the Capital from the north, and brought back certain news. Even though Prince Qi had been defeated, the Xiongnu tribes refused to retreat, and continually sent scouts to Chu territory. Generals who were experts on the Xiongnu were all of the opinion that the Xiongnu would make a large incursion this autumn.

it seemed like the peace between the Chu and the Xiongnu that had been maintained for more than ten years was about to be broken.

Precedent had its uses again. Many officials had experienced war during the reign of the Martial Emperor, and knew how to deal with such a matter. Hence, they made various suggestions for the Empress Dowager to decide.

At noon, the Grand Consort walked out of the side-chamber and announced the Empress Dowager’s decision. She looked very normal to everyone else, but Han Ruzi could sense a trace of panic.

He soon realized why.

“The Empress Dowager believes that, rather than being defensive and waiting for battle, it would be better to attack while morale is high from our previous victory. Grand Tutor Cui has recently suppressed the Qi rebellion, and the army has not yet been disbanded. He should move the army to the northern border, and seek an opportune moment to take the battle to the Xiongnu.”

The officials were rather surprised, but Han Ruzi’s heart fell to his stomach. Not allowing Cui Hong to return to the Capital at this time was not a good moment. It was possible that the Empress Dowager had sensed danger.

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