The Lonely City Closed

Chapter 81

Liu Chang's advice did not change the current emperor's decision. However, a month later, when the Lady of Anding gave birth to the tenth princess, the current emperor did not extend the same favor.

Of course, he did not forget to bestow titles and rewards upon Qiu He herself. In recent years, he had been eager to expand the imperial lineage, so he carefully selected ten young women to fill the harem, known as the "Ten Pavilions." Qiu He, Lady of Anding County, and Lady of Qinghe County were among them. Each of the Ten Pavilions was equipped with palace maids, eunuchs, and supervisors, and their expenses and supplies were very generous, but their titles were only those of Lady of County or Lady of Prefecture, and they had not been promoted for many years.

One day, Consort Miao and the princess went to visit Qiuhe. Several ladies from the Ten Pavilions were also there. When the Emperor entered, Consort Miao asked him if he had decided on a title for Qiuhe. He smiled and said, "I have already given the order to have the court officials write an imperial edict to promote Qiuhe to the rank of Beauty."

Upon hearing this, Qiu He struggled to her feet and bowed, saying, "I was born into a humble family, and I am already fortunate to have received Your Majesty's favor in giving birth to a princess. Moreover, Your Majesty cherishes the Ninth Princess, bestowing upon her generous gifts and even releasing prisoners to pray for her well-being. My daughter and I have already received too much grace. If Your Majesty were to further elevate my rank, making me a concubine, it would be an act that diminishes my blessings. I am deeply grateful for Your Majesty's kindness, but I dare not accept it. I humbly beg Your Majesty to rescind your decree."

The Lonely City Closes (A Princess Who Fell in Love with a Eunuch) Who Can Share the Brocade of Love? 5. Ten Pavilions

Chapter word count: 2631 Update time: 09-07-05 10:33

5. Ten Pavilions

(2416 words)

The Emperor helped Qiuhe up and said, “You have been by my side for many years, though your rank and position are low. You have always been respectful, virtuous, and kind. Moreover, you have now given birth to a princess. It is only natural for you to be promoted. There is no need for you to refuse.”

Qiuhe continued, "I am unfortunate, having given birth to only one daughter. Having not produced an heir for the Emperor, how dare I presume to claim merit and be promoted? The Lady holds the fourth rank; such a high rank should be filled by someone of talent and virtue. I am already among the Ten Ministers, and all my needs are met; I dare not presume to rise to such a position."

After thinking it over, the Emperor said to her, "If you feel that it is inappropriate to suddenly be promoted to the rank of Beauty, then how about I first promote you to the rank of Noble Lady? The rank of Noble Lady is the fifth rank of the Inner Court Ladies. Promotions in order will not cause any controversy."

Qiu He shook her head, seemingly wanting to decline, but the ten ladies-in-waiting all spoke up, urging her to accept the promotion. Among them, Lady Liu of Pengcheng County half-jokingly made her point clearly: "Sister, we sisters have served the Emperor for many years, but we are still just lowly palace maids. We don't even have proper seats when we attend banquets. Now that you are so lucky, you have given birth to a princess first, and we sisters are all very happy, hoping to benefit from your and the little princess's good fortune. If you are promoted, we can at least follow behind and try to get a position as a concubine or a noble lady. But if you insist on declining, and refuse to be promoted even after giving birth to a princess, then we unlucky ones will have no choice but to continue to drift along without any title or position, and we don't know when we will ever have a chance to rise in rank."

What she said was indeed true. The promotion of concubines in the harem required the approval of the Secretariat. If Qiuhe, who had given birth to a princess, was not promoted, any other concubine who wanted to surpass her in rank would be rejected by the Secretariat.

Qiuhe hesitated for a moment, then did not insist on declining. So the Emperor promoted her to the rank of Noble Lady, and at the same time restored her father's official position, bestowing upon him the title of Inner Palace Attendant.

After Lady Anding gave birth to the tenth princess, the current emperor followed the precedent and ordered her to be promoted. Since her original title was one rank higher than Qiuhe's, she was granted the title of Beauty in order of seniority.

At the banquet celebrating the Ninth Princess's full moon, the other ten ladies of the palace brought up the matter of being promoted "by virtue of" the Emperor. The Emperor shook his head and said, "In the current dynasty, if a concubine is promoted, she must have performed good deeds if it is not due to the favor of her son. Now you have requested promotions on your own, but there is no precedent for it, so the court will not approve it."

The magistrate of Pengcheng County then laughed and said, "Your Majesty is the emperor, a sage. Your words are law. Who would dare to disobey or disobey a single word from Your Majesty?"

The Emperor laughed and said, "You don't believe me? Fine, let's give it a try." He then turned to Ren Shouzhong beside him and asked, "Are the ministers still in the Secretariat?"

Ren Shouzhong bowed and replied, "I am still in the Secretariat discussing matters."

The Emperor nodded and ordered, "Bring me pen and ink. I will write down the title of the poem, and you can send someone to deliver it to Master Fu."

After the eunuch presented the brush and ink, the Emperor wrote the inscription and had it sent to the Secretariat. A short while later, the eunuch returned and handed the inscription back with both hands: "Lord Fu said that among the ten ladies-in-waiting, only Consort Dong and Consort Zhou gave birth to princesses. The other ladies have not been promoted, and the Secretariat dares not issue an edict."

The ten women exchanged bewildered glances. The Emperor laughed heartily and said, "Well? Now you should believe me, shouldn't you?"

Consort Miao smiled and said to the ladies, "You are young and don't understand the key points. The Emperor is good-natured and has spoiled the officials in the court. Now they all have big tempers. Especially the ministers in the Secretariat. Ever since Minister Du, if the Emperor wants to promote someone, nine times out of ten they will be rejected."

Lady Pengcheng was still not giving up. She turned her shimmering eyes toward the Emperor and said reproachfully, "Isn't it true that imperial edicts don't always have to be issued and implemented through the Secretariat? Isn't there such a thing as an imperial edict? If Your Majesty personally writes one for us to be promoted, we can take the imperial seal to collect our monthly salaries. Wouldn't that be feasible?"

The Emperor smiled and sighed, about to explain something, but was stopped by the Princess. The Princess winked at him while smiling, deliberately persuading him: "Father, officials in the court are rewarded for their service over the years. Lady Liu and the others have served you for so many years; they certainly deserve a promotion. Why don't you personally write down their promotions and have them pay the officials a raise? What harm would there be?"

The Emperor understood and readily agreed, ordering someone to bring pen, ink, and colored paper. He first asked Lady Pengcheng, "What official position does Lady Liu wish to transfer to?"

Lady Pengcheng was overjoyed and immediately replied, "Sister Dong is only a noble lady, and I dare not presume to be above the fifth rank. Your Majesty, please promote me to the rank of talented lady."

The emperor smiled and indeed picked up his pen to write: "I appoint Lady Liu, the Lady of Pengcheng County, as a talented woman."

Lady Pengcheng hurriedly smiled and thanked the emperor, happily accepting the imperial seal and examining it closely. The other ladies of the Ten Pavilions who had not yet been promoted then surged forward, all surrounding the emperor and asking for the imperial seal. The emperor granted their requests, writing one for each of them. Only Lady Qinghe remained in her original position, not joining the crowd in asking for the imperial edict.

Seeing this, the Empress smiled and asked Lady Qinghe, "Why doesn't Lady Zhang ask His Majesty to issue an imperial edict?"

The Qinghe County official bowed and said, "My salary is more than enough for me, so why should I ask for a promotion and increased salary?"

Before long, it was time for the palace maids to receive their monthly stipends. That day, the princess went to visit Qiuhe and, seeing the clear and beautiful weather, invited her to go to the rear garden to admire the flowers. The emperor also came over after court and chatted with the two women. After a while, suddenly, a group of young ladies, led by the Lady of Pengcheng County, arrived one after another, each holding an imperial seal, frowning and pouting, all showing displeasure.

“Your Majesty,” the Lady of Pengcheng County said, raising her imperial edict and addressing the emperor, “Just now, I had someone show the imperial seal to the official in charge of distributing salaries, asking him to give me my monthly allowance. Unexpectedly, he refused outright, saying that since it was not an imperial edict from the Central Secretariat, he dared not comply and could only return it.”

The other ladies chattered on, recounting their own experiences, which were largely the same as those of Lady Pengcheng—all had submitted imperial edicts requesting increased salaries but been refused. Seeing that the Emperor was neither surprised nor angry, Lady Pengcheng grew even angrier, tearing the edict in half with a mixture of anger and resentment. She then threw it on the ground and stomped on it twice, exclaiming indignantly, "So it's not acceptable after all!"

The ladies followed suit, each destroying the imperial brush they had obtained, scattering fragments of colored paper all over the ground.

The Emperor remained calm and composed, laughing heartily, "I told you long ago that the court would not approve of unjustified promotions, but you all refused to believe me until this happened. This matter is not over yet. Just wait and see. Within three days, there will be censors who will submit a memorial at the meeting to discuss this matter."

As expected. Two days later, Fan Shidao, the Assistant Director of the Imperial Academy, submitted a memorial stating: "I have heard that the ladies-in-waiting of the various palaces, including Princess Zhou and Princess Dong, were granted the title of 'Talented Lady' by imperial decree, but their appointments were not issued by the Secretariat. Yet, many in the inner palace covet their promotions. The promotions of Zhou and Dong are acceptable, but what title do the ladies-in-waiting have for promotion? The rank of 'Talented Lady' is already high, and there was a fixed number in ancient times. The Tang dynasty only allowed seven, and during the reigns of our ancestors, the palace had no more than two or three hundred attendants, with very few holding the fifth rank. If all the ladies-in-waiting were promoted, there would be no need for further promotions." "Alas, outsiders cannot know the full details, only that Your Majesty's favor is excessive and your grace is unrestrained. The nature of wives, women, and commoners is the same; excessive favor breeds disrespect, and unrestrained grace breeds insatiable resentment. It is essential to manage them according to the proper methods. Furthermore, the expenditures are too cumbersome, and the demands too extensive. The salary of a single talented woman equals the monthly taxes of a hundred middle-class households, not to mention the annual bestowals. Moreover, imperial edicts are not issued by the relevant officials; how can this be considered a matter of imperial authority?"

"Excessive favor breeds disrespect and arrogance; unrestrained kindness breeds insatiable resentment." This statement seems to have a hidden meaning, and the behavior of Lady Pengcheng attracted the special attention of the Censorate. Soon after, the Censor-in-Chief Han Jiang discovered that Lady Pengcheng had engaged in illicit activities by requesting audiences, and reported this to the Emperor. The Emperor then rigorously investigated the palace women of the Ten Pavilions, selecting other unruly and arrogant individuals to be expelled from the palace along with Lady Pengcheng, demoted to female Daoist nuns, or forced to shave their heads and become nuns. As for Lady Qinghe, after the Empress's suggestion and the approval of the Secretariat, she was similarly promoted to the rank of Talented Lady.

This incident also allowed those in the inner palace to witness once again the power of the Censors. After lamenting the ordeal of the Ten Pavilions, Consort Miao secretly told the princess that the Censors were the emperor's second pair of eyes. To put it bluntly, they were sometimes practically like his father. If they found a mistake, they would hold onto it and insist on handling it according to their wishes. They also interfered in a wide range of affairs, meddling in both state affairs and the emperor's personal matters. Therefore, they were like a sword hanging over your head. When you were away from home, you had to be careful in everything you did, lest they have something to say about you, and lest that sword fall.

The Lonely City Closes (A Princess Who Fell in Love with a Eunuch) Who Can Share the Brocade of Love? 6. Lantern Festival

Chapter word count: 4524 Update time: 09-07-05 10:33

6. Shangyuan Festival

(4009 words)

The period around the end of each year is always the busiest time. I am responsible for collecting and sending gifts to the princess's residence, as well as handling social affairs between the imperial palace, the imperial family, and relatives. I am busy until after the Lantern Festival. On the 18th day of the first month of the fifth year of Jiayou, after all the ceremonies were completed and the princess returned from the palace, I finally managed to take a day to visit Cui Bai and other old friends in the capital.

When he returned home that evening, he went to pay his respects to the princess as usual, only to find her door tightly closed. Although there was light on, it was completely silent inside.

I knocked lightly on the door a few times and heard Jiaqingzi's voice coming from inside: "The princess has rested. If there is anything, come and report it tomorrow."

Dinner had just ended, and the princess shouldn't be asleep so early, so I answered from outside the door, "It's me."

The door suddenly opened, and Jiaqingzi appeared before me, but the princess was nowhere to be seen in the room.