Novelas PaiPai - Capítulo 31
“You do deserve to die,” the Empress’s tone softened, but her words were not gentle. “Even if you were unaware of Yan Xiu’s treason, having an affair with the Imperial Guards is a serious crime and you should be executed according to the law.”
Shuangyu was terrified and kowtowed to the Empress until her head bled, begging for forgiveness. The Empress remained seated solemnly, looking straight ahead, and did not look down at her at all.
Zhang Meiren, who was standing to the side, chuckled and said, "Shuangyu, the Empress is not as soft-hearted as the Emperor. Kowtowing won't help."
This reminded Shuangyu, and she quickly turned to the Emperor, pleading with him to spare her life. Seeing her weeping so bitterly, the Emperor felt a pang of pity and said to the Empress, "Considering that she has served you for many years, let her off this time."
The Empress did not answer, but rose and went inside. She returned a moment later, now dressed in a different outfit. She wore a nine-dragon, four-phoenix crown, dressed solemnly for the court assembly, and bowed to the Emperor and the Emperor again: "My concubine, Yuan Shuangyu, has been having an affair with a guard and has defiled the palace. According to the law, she should be executed. I beg Your Majesty to allow me to execute Yuan according to the palace rules."
The Emperor said, “Even so, the laws are ultimately made by people, and can be slightly modified. Shuangyu was originally very cautious and had never committed a crime in the many years since she entered the palace. She only committed this crime because she was confused for a moment. It would be better to give her a severe beating in court, which would be enough to punish her.”
The Empress shook her head and said, "This is not acceptable: there is no way to purify the imperial court."
The Emperor, trying to smile, rose to help her up, attempting to reason with her gently: "Your Majesty, please sit down. This matter requires further consideration..."
The Empress refused to be touched by him, stepped back slightly to avoid him, and bowed, saying, "Yuan's crimes are clear and she is innocent. Now everyone has seen it. If Your Majesty pardons her and sets a precedent, it will be difficult to control the people in the six palaces in the future. I hope Your Majesty will consider the overall situation and make a decisive decision to order her death."
Upon hearing the word "death sentence," Shuangyu's cries of grief intensified. She crawled forward on her knees, grabbed the emperor's robe, and pleaded, trembling, "Your Majesty, save me..."
The Emperor sighed and asked the Empress to sit down so that they could discuss the matter further. The Empress insisted on standing solemnly before the Emperor, neither sitting down nor making a sound.
The Emperor was somewhat annoyed. He pointed at Shuangyu and glared coldly at the Empress, saying, "She has served you for many years. Even if you raised a cat or dog, you would have some feelings for her by now, wouldn't you? Why are you so unforgiving and so resolute towards her?"
The Empress bowed slightly and answered clearly, word by word, "Your Majesty, it is precisely because she has been by my side for so many years that I cannot forgive her for doing such a thing."
The Emperor remained silent, and the Empress also said nothing more. One sat while the other stood, and the two faced each other in quiet confrontation. No one else dared to interrupt. In the end, even Shuangyu dared not cry anymore. She knelt blankly before the Emperor, and the people in the hall were as quiet and gloomy as the dolls on the lanterns on the mountain after the Lantern Festival, silent and motionless.
The stalemate lasted for an hour or two, until dawn broke and the morning light gradually illuminated the interior of the hall. He Chengyong then gently approached the emperor and bowed to remind him, "Your Majesty, it's almost time for the morning court session."
The Emperor slowly rose and finally conceded to the Empress: "Very well, you may do as you please with Shuangyu." With that, he turned and left, heading towards his office without even changing his court robes.
The Empress turned to see him off respectfully. Once the Emperor was out of sight, she ordered Ren Shouzhong, "Drag Yuan Shuangyu away and execute him in the East Garden."
(to be continued)
The Lonely City Closes (The Princess Who Fell in Love with a Eunuch) The Waters of Canglang Wash My Tassels 24. Undercurrents
Chapter word count: 6162 Update time: 08-09-13 15:38
24. Undercurrents
The Empress's final decree that day ordered the Imperial City Guard, responsible for protecting the palace, to continue searching for the escaped Wang Sheng. This time, she emphasized: "He must be captured alive, and no prisoners should be spared."
Upon returning to Yifeng Pavilion to report, I was inevitably surrounded and questioned by everyone there, who demanded a detailed account of what had happened that night. By the time no one asked any more questions, it was nearly noon. Because I was concerned about Mr. Zhang's injuries, I went to visit him at his residence without having eaten.
His shoulder was bandaged, but instead of lying down to rest, he stood by the window gazing out, a hint of worry in his eyes. He only sat down to talk to me when I came in. When I asked about his injury, he simply brushed it off with a curt "It's nothing," and didn't mention the previous night. He casually asked about my recent situation, but kept glancing outside as if waiting for something.
After chatting for a while, a eunuch hurried in. I vaguely recognized him as the eunuch who stood in the court. He glanced at me, then looked at Mr. Zhang questioningly, seemingly hesitant. I knew he had something important to tell Mr. Zhang, so I stepped back to a distance. Only then did he whisper something to Mr. Zhang.
Mr. Zhang listened silently, showing no emotion, and only asked after the eunuch finished speaking: "Who is the scholar currently serving in the Hanlin Academy?"
The Hanyuan refers to the Hanlin Academy. During the Qing Dynasty, there was a system of Hanlin scholars staying overnight, which required scholars to be on duty at the Hanyuan at night in preparation for drafting documents on short notice. Staying on duty for several consecutive days was called "?".
The eunuch revealed the name of the person who had recently spoken: "Zhang Fangping."
Mr. Zhang nodded: "Understood."
The eunuch bowed and left. Mr. Zhang pondered for a moment, then looked up at me and told me, "His Majesty spoke of last night's events to the Grand Secretary, and tears welled up in his eyes."
I was startled, a sense of foreboding flashing through my mind: "Is it because the Empress went against His Majesty's wishes?"
"The Emperor didn't say much about this matter," Mr. Zhang said. "What he admired was that he ordered his wife to stay in her room and not to go out, and that Lady Zhang went straight to protect him. He praised Lady Zhang highly."
"What was the minister's reaction?" I asked immediately.
"Most of the ministers wept with him, but only Chen Zhizhong, the Chancellor, remained resolute. The Privy Councilor, Xia Song, seized the opportunity to propose honoring Consort Zhang and promoting her rank, while the Vice Privy Councilor, Liang Shi, said the most urgent matter was to quickly investigate the palace guards' plot to rebel, and that honoring Consort Zhang could be discussed later." Mr. Zhang calmly recounted what he had just heard to me. "As for the events in the palace last night, Xia Song requested that the Emperor order the Censors and eunuchs to investigate within the Forbidden City. The Vice Chancellor, Ding Du, argued that the palace guards' rebellion was a matter of national importance and insisted that the case be handed over to the Censorate for a thorough investigation of all the masterminds, accomplices, and associates inside and outside the palace. The two argued from dawn until noon, and finally the Emperor accepted Xia Song's opinion."
The cases investigated by censors and eunuchs within the palace were mostly those involving palace women, while the Censorate generally handled major and complex cases that the Court of Judicial Review found difficult to adjudicate, as well as major criminal cases ordered to be tried by imperial decree. After Mr. Zhang finished speaking, he didn't immediately express his opinion. I thought he was waiting for me to give my perspective, so I tentatively said, "Xia Song seems to imply that the mastermind was from within the palace, while Ding Du believes it involves officials outside the palace, so..."
Mr. Zhang remained silent, gazing at me quietly for a long time, before saying, "Huaiji, is there anything you can do for me?"
"Of course," I replied without hesitation.
"Do you have any eunuchs in your department who will be testing the meaning of ink?" he asked me.
Originally, "Moyi" was a subject in the imperial examinations, requiring scholars to answer questions about the classics in writing. The current dynasty stipulated that young eunuchs who reached the age of twelve and wished to be promoted to positions above the rank of palace attendant-eunuch must first pass the "Moyi" test.
I replied that I did, and Mr. Zhang got up, walked to the bookshelf, took out a copy of the Book of Han, turned to a page and handed it to me: "Find a sensible eunuch and have him take a few classics and this copy of the Book of Han to the Hanlin Academy tonight to find Scholar Zhang Fangping. First, ask him a few questions about the classics, and then turn to this page and ask him any word or phrase you like."
I took it and saw that the page was from the "Biography of Imperial Relatives" in the Book of Han, which told the story of Consort Feng of Emperor Yuan of Han who bravely shielded the emperor from a bear: Emperor Yuan, accompanied by his concubines, went to the tiger enclosure to watch animal fights. A bear leaped out of the enclosure, climbed the railing, and tried to enter the palace, lunging at the throne. The noble ladies around him, including Consort Fu, cried out in alarm and fled, but Consort Feng stepped forward and stood in front of the bear. After the warriors approached and killed the bear, Emperor Yuan asked Consort Feng, "When a fierce beast came, everyone was terrified and ran away. Why did you step forward and shield Your Majesty?" Consort Feng replied, "A fierce beast will stop once it has a person in its grasp. I feared that the bear would reach the throne and harm Your Majesty, so I willingly shielded it with my body." Emperor Yuan sighed in admiration and from then on held Consort Feng in high esteem.
At first, I didn't understand why Mr. Zhang wanted someone to turn to this page for Scholar Zhang. I stared at that chapter for a long time, and then noticed the last sentence: "Next summer, Consort Feng's son will be made Prince of Xindu, and Consort Feng will be honored as Zhaoyi." Only then did I realize that although Consort Feng sacrificed herself to protect the emperor, the emperor did not show her any special respect afterward. She was later honored as Zhaoyi because her son was made a prince.
So I boldly asked Mr. Zhang, "Are you worried that the Emperor might suddenly promote Consort Zhang?"
Mr. Zhang smiled faintly: "If that's all, it's not too bad. What I'm afraid of is that someone will take advantage of the situation... But the development of other matters is still unclear. For now, let's do this and deal with the others later."
I nodded in agreement. I felt a slight sense of trepidation, yet also a hidden joy, because Mr. Zhang had entrusted me with this matter, which meant he trusted me quite a bit. Finally, I couldn't help but ask him, "Why are you willing to tell me these things, sir?"
He said, "That day, when I saw you rushing over to tell me about Miss Fan, I knew you cared a lot about the Empress."
I lowered my head, feeling somewhat embarrassed. I carefully put the book away and took my leave. Before leaving, I noticed that his blood-stained robe had been washed clean and was now drying in the courtyard. I recognized it as an old garment he had worn many times. It had been stabbed by a thief last night and stained with blood, yet he had not discarded it. So, I asked him curiously, "Sir, I saw you wear this robe when I first entered the palace. You've kept it until now, for quite a few years, haven't you?"
“Thirteen years, five months, and two days,” he answered with remarkable precision.
In my astonishment, I memorized the exact number. Upon returning, I consulted the palace chronicles and deduced that he first received this robe on the 17th day of the ninth month of the first year of the Jing Dynasty. That was the day the current emperor issued an edict establishing Empress Cao. Presumably, this robe was given to him by the empress as a customary gift to palace servants on that day.
Two days later, the Imperial City Guards captured Wang Sheng in the northwest corner tower of the inner city. However, Yang Huaimin, the deputy commander of the Imperial City Guards and the deputy commander of the inner city, disregarded the Empress's decree that Wang Sheng should not be killed after capturing a thief and ordered the guards to dismember Wang Sheng on the spot.