J'ai passé mon bras autour de la taille fine de l'homme fort

Chapitre 96

Consort Miao asked in surprise, "You can persuade him to leave the capital?"

Ren Shouzhong smiled and bowed slightly, saying, "Lady Miao, please wait for good news."

Ren Shouzhong immediately went to the princess's residence. It is unknown what he said to Li Wei, but the next day, Li Wei indeed submitted a memorial impeaching himself, listing some examples, saying that he had nothing to do with serving the emperor, and earnestly requesting the emperor to punish him and give him an outside post.

With the strong support of Consort Miao and the persuasion of Ren Shouzhong, the current emperor, at Li Wei's request, decided to demote him to the position of Defense Commissioner of Hezhou and order him to leave the capital for an external post.

On the day the Emperor announced the decree demoting Li Wei, Consort Miao sent eunuchs to guard outside the court early in the morning. As soon as the Emperor dismissed the court, she invited him back to inquire about the details. But the result was beyond her expectations—the Emperor handed her the scroll of the decree on demoting the official that had not yet been promulgated, saying, "Under Sima Guang's guidance, the officials of the Censorate and the Remonstrance Bureau in the hall jointly advised that I should rescind the imperial decree."

The two princesses were still playing the konghou in their inner chamber, unaware of the Emperor's arrival. Consort Miao, without even having her summoned to see her father, anxiously pressed the Emperor in a low voice for details. He then recounted the events: "I had my eunuchs read aloud Li Wei's demotion edict in court. The censors were initially silent, then two or three stepped forward, asking if the gatekeeper had been punished for the princess's unauthorized entry and the nighttime opening of the palace gates. I replied that the gatekeeper was acting under orders and had committed no wrongdoing, and I did not wish to pursue the matter. They continued to plead, and more and more people stepped forward, demanding that I punish the gatekeeper. I consistently refused. While the two sides were locked in a standoff, my colleague Sima Guang, who was sitting in the corner of the hall taking notes, suddenly threw down his pen, strode into the hall, and looked around at the assembled censors, saying: 'The gatekeeper's dereliction of duty deserves punishment, but the point is not that. The key issue is why the Princess of Yan disregarded the strict palace regulations and entered the palace at an inopportune time. Why don't you speak frankly about this?'"

Consort Miao was shocked and exclaimed, "He's steered the conversation toward the princess?"

The Emperor nodded, a wry smile on his face. "He delivered a passionate speech in the palace, his criticisms directed directly at Huirou. He said she has always been disrespectful to her mother-in-law and husband, her arrogance known throughout the court and beyond. I heard that before entering the palace this time, the princess had even fought with her mother-in-law, resulting in injury to Lady Yang. Not only did she show no remorse, but she also knocked on the palace gates at night to lodge a complaint within the palace walls, completely disregarding the palace's security and the safety of the Emperor. If this is not stopped, it will surely become the norm..."

At this point, he glanced at me deliberately before continuing, "Sima Guang also said, 'After the princess knocked on the palace gate at night, outsiders made a commotion and raised objections. They all said that there were many eunuchs in the princess's residence, and some of them were not careful enough. The princess and her husband's family were not on good terms, which may have been caused by the eunuchs sowing discord. Your Majesty must take this very seriously. Now, not only should the eunuchs who guarded the palace and the inner and outer gates of the imperial city be punished, but all the eunuchs in the princess's residence should also be investigated by the court and severely punished, so as to maintain the discipline of the imperial guards and the family traditions. The princess has lost her virtue, while Li Wei has always been careful in his service to the princess and has not committed any major offense. Now that right and wrong are clear, if Li Wei is punished while the princess is protected, it would be unfair in terms of both sentiment and reason. If the emperor is so biased, how can he set an example for the world?'"

I lowered my eyes and remained silent. Consort Miao was also speechless for a long time before finally asking, "Sima Guang is so rude, doesn't Your Majesty scold him?"

The Emperor smiled and said, “How could I scold him? What could I say about him? He was stating facts that were generally accepted by the court officials. Every word he said made sense, and I had no way to refute him. Moreover, as soon as he finished speaking, officials began to agree with him. In the end, every official in the Censorate stepped forward to speak for Li Hui. Only when I agreed to withdraw the order to demote the officials did they temporarily shut up.”

The Lonely City Closes (The Princess Who Fell in Love with a Eunuch) Amidst the rubble and the precious pearl, all cast aside and exiled.

Chapter word count: 5289 Update time: 09-07-05 10:38

exile

(4694 words)

After much persuasion from the censors, the Emperor announced the following day that Li Wei would be spared demotion, fined only thirty catties of copper, and allowed to remain in the capital. The princess was displeased upon hearing the news and became even more determined not to return to her residence. At this time, she was unaware that even more worrying matters were about to unfold.

After Sima Guang's sharp rebuke, the censors shifted their focus from the princess's clandestine knocking on the palace gates to the situation within the princess's residence and the problems of the palace officials. First, the censor Wu Ji impeached Ren Shouzhong for "arrogance," specifically for deceiving the imperial son-in-law, Li Wei, frightening Ren Shouzhong into refusing to utter another word about the princess. Then, the other censors continued to elaborate on the "numerous palace officials in the princess's residence, some of whom were not self-disciplined." Hearing rumors, the Censorate began investigating Zhang Chengzhao and Xiaoye'er, and subsequently submitted some evidence privately to the emperor. The emperor then ordered Zhang Chengzhao demoted to guard the imperial mausoleum and perform menial labor, and Xiaoye'er sent to Yaohua Palace. Before the censors could impeach him, the military supervisor Liang Quanyi himself apologized to the emperor, claiming that he had neglected his duties, leading to discord between the princess and her husband's family. He also stated that he had failed to properly oversee the Zhang Chengzhao matter and handled it poorly afterward, thus failing the emperor's trust and daring not to hold a high position and receive a generous salary. He earnestly requested the emperor to punish him. The emperor then punished him accordingly, removing him from his position as supervisor of the residence of Princess Yanguo and appointing him to oversee a remote and secluded place outside the capital with eunuchs.

Supervisor Liang is a kind and gentle man. Over the years, he has respected the princess and her husband, and treated the servants in the household well. He has done nothing wrong; this time, it is all because of us that he has been implicated. I felt deeply apologetic towards him, and upon hearing the news, I immediately went to him and bowed to apologize. He took my arm, smiled faintly, and said, "I knew about the princess and her husband's situation long ago, but I failed to offer proper advice. After the incident, I simply concealed and protected them, truly failing in my role as supervisor. Now, my punishment is not unjust... As for you, there's no point in me saying more about the past. Now, I only hope you can think carefully about what to do in the future... This fire has already started; all you can do is try to escape."

I understand what he means. If this were a fire, then I would be no different from one of the arsonists, and the Emperor would not let me off as if nothing had happened. Besides, neither Zhang Chengzhao nor Liang Quanyi would be the real target of the censors' attacks; their spearheads would be turned against me sooner or later.

That was indeed the case. In the following two days, impeachments against me by the censors and remonstrators began to circulate in the palace, although they did not explicitly name me.

They said that although the position of eunuch in charge of the princess's residence was important, he had been treated with excessive courtesy in the past, not only not as equal to the household servants, but also as equal to the princess's husband, and even the servants treated him as their master... They also said that it was really ill-considered to entrust such an important task to an eunuch who was not yet thirty years old, and now this eunuch was young and careless in his words and deeds, and quite frivolous. For example, he did not wear the eunuch's clothes in the princess's residence, and in front of outsiders he acted as a captain, and even sowed discord between the princess and her husband, causing the couple to fall out...

After witnessing Zhang and Liang leave one after another, the princess clearly realized the danger I was facing. She became extremely nervous and stayed by my side all day long, almost to the point of not leaving my side for a moment. Especially when the emperor came over, she stared at him so warily, as if he were an executioner walking towards me with a big knife in his hand.

Later, she stayed up all night, worried that someone would take me away while she slept. When the Emperor heard that the princess hadn't slept for two whole days, he finally couldn't resist coming to see her again. The first thing the princess said to him was, "Father, have you come to take Huaiji away?"

The Emperor remained silent for a moment, then shook his head. The princess looked at him with great suspicion, then suddenly her eyelashes trembled and tears fell: "Father, would you hurt Huaiji?"

The Emperor sighed, "Have you forgotten what I said back then? Don't be too nice to certain people if you want to protect them."

The princess moved to her father's side, knelt down, looked up at him with tears in her eyes, and pleaded, pulling on his sleeve, "I know I was wrong, I will change, as long as Father spares Huaiji... If Father promises not to hurt him, then I am willing to go back to the princess's residence, and no matter what Li Hui and his mother say, I will never argue with them again."

The Emperor looked down at his daughter, his slightly furrowed brows concealing a thousand sighs. With tenderness, he brushed a few stray hairs from the princess's forehead and said gently, "Alright, Father promises you, I will never harm Huaiji. You can put your mind at ease."

"Really?" the princess asked, half believing.

"Of course, when has your father ever lied to you?" the Emperor said, then smiled and advised her, "You haven't slept for two days, you don't look well, go and rest."

The princess bowed in thanks and slowly stood up, but she still seemed somewhat uneasy, hesitatingly standing in place for a long time.

The Emperor then turned to me and said, "Huaiji, you should also pack your things. Tomorrow you will go back to the Princess's residence with her."

That's right, he was all smiles and even smiled at me. I bowed in agreement, and Consort Miao immediately beamed, personally helping the princess up, saying, "It's alright, it's alright. I told you before, your father is kind-hearted and wouldn't blame Huaiji. You didn't believe me, but now you know, right? Go inside and get some sleep. You haven't slept for the past two days; your complexion is sallow, and even your hair has lost its luster..."

The princess was led into the bedroom by her mother. She walked slowly, turning her head every step of the way. When she reached the door, she paused slightly, glancing back to observe us carefully. Only when she saw that we were all normal did she continue on her way.

After the princess left, the emperor waved for everyone to leave, leaving only me. When it was just the two of us in the room, he said something that resonated deeply: "I may not harm you, but I cannot let you go unpunished."

This was the outcome I had anticipated. I wasn't surprised, nor did I kneel down to beg for leniency; I simply bowed my head and replied with the simplest word: "Yes."

"I must punish you to give the Censorate an explanation; otherwise, the Censorate may soon produce another pile of evidence to question the princess's character and conduct," the Emperor said.

I hesitated for a moment, then whispered, "The princess and I are innocent."

The Emperor gave a cold smile: "Does not having done something like Zhang Chengzhao mean you are innocent? You and he are only fifty steps apart."

I lowered my eyes, speechless. He remained silent for a long time before finally speaking again, announcing my punishment: "Tomorrow I will issue an order to banish you from the capital and assign you to the cleaning and sweeping corps in Xijing."

The Western Capital Sweeping and Cleaning Team, under the jurisdiction of the Inner Attendants Department, had a position called "Sweeping and Cleaning the Courtyard," specifically for resettling disgraced eunuchs. They served in the inner palace of Luoyang (the Western Capital), holding a lowly position. The Western Capital's inner palace was largely a continuation of the Sui and Tang dynasty palace system, rarely visited by the current emperor, and in disrepair. Those serving there were generally disgraced palace women or eunuchs who had committed offenses. For eunuchs entering the Inner Attendants Department, going there was tantamount to severe exile.

However, His Majesty's decision is clearly a show of leniency. If the opinions of the censors and remonstrance officials were followed, I probably wouldn't have survived.

I kneel before His Majesty and express my gratitude as per the ceremony.

“Actually, whether the censors noticed you or not, I would still punish you.” He maintained his indifferent expression and continued, “You are not a stupid person. You should have realized this from the day the princess knocked on the palace gate at night, right?”

I remained silent and nodded.

“If you were smart enough, you could have apologized before the censors even accused you, found a reason like neglecting your duty to serve your master, resigned from your position serving the princess, and asked to stay away from the princess. The punishment would have been lighter, and you might have even been able to stay in Tokyo. But you didn’t do that. Did you perhaps take a chance and think that the princess could protect you?” he asked me.

I smiled sadly and said haltingly, “No. From the day I knocked on the palace gates at night... or perhaps even earlier, I knew that sooner or later I would pay a heavy price for my actions and would have to leave the princess... If the princess cannot see me, she will be very sad... Since separation is inevitable, let it come as late as possible... Therefore, I am unwilling to apologize in advance and hope to protect the princess for a few more days until the day I am ordered to leave and exiled... As for the severity of the punishment and the distance of the exile, it doesn't matter anymore. Anyway, it's the same wherever I am as long as I'm not by the princess's side.”

After hearing my answer, the Emperor looked me up and down with a complex and intriguing gaze. After a moment, he suddenly mentioned Mr. Zhang: "You are Zhang Maoze's student. I used to think that you were very similar to him. But now it seems that what you learned from him was only the tip of the iceberg."

I bowed and said, "Your subject has always been dull-witted."

The Emperor gazed at me, his initially cold and stern expression softening as if melting ice water: "Then you should be glad you're foolish. If you had truly mastered Maoze's teachings and still done what you've done, I would have killed you." He paused, then shook his head and sighed, "However, if you had truly cultivated to Maoze's level, would things have developed to this point?"