The Child Emperor

Han Ruzi sat straight as an arrow on the couch, his eyes following the shifting sunrays on the floor. He kept at it, from dawn to dusk. Even during meals, he often stole a look distractedly.

It had been five days. The number of occasions in which he had spoken could be counted on one hand. Other than watching the changing sunrays, there was nothing he had to do.

The Meng siblings did not appear again. For all he knew, they had already left the palace which they disliked so much. Prince Donghai came by every morning to accompany the Emperor in paying respects to the Empress Dowager, but he kept a cold face, being even more silent than the Emperor. Yang Feng came and went like a shadow, as usual. It was as though he had forgotten his duties of taking care of the Emperor. Even when he made an appearance, it would only be a cursory one, asking about some trivialities, never discussing other matters.

How was the investigation into the assassination? Were more people implicated? Was Liu Jie dead or alive? Has Grand Tutor Cui Hong set out on the military expedition? Any news from Qi? What did ‘marry an Empress’ entail? All these matters were intimately relevant to the Emperor, yet Han Ruzi received not even a shred of information.

Eunuchs and servant-girls came and went. Most of the time, they abided in adjacent rooms, trying their best not to interact with the Emperor. Han Ruzi had also lost interest in conversing with them, preferring to sit around dully, or pace around the room and count steps to pass the time.

How long more could he tolerate such a life? On the afternoon of the fifth day, Han Ruzi asked himself that question but he had no answer. He even fantasized about what would happen if he went insane: Prince Donghai would surely be very happy; the Empress Dowager would not be sad; Mother did not even know anything about the going-ons of the palace. What about Yang Feng? He said that he would carve a path, yet he was nowhere to be seen.

The door was pushed opened silently. Yang Feng strode in, and the spot he stood on was right in the way of the sunray’s path. Han Ruzi shook his head looking for the sunray, and only after a while did he realize that the Palace Attendant was staring at him.

“Heh! I didn’t think that you would come. There was a dish of celery during lunch that was delicious. I had quite a bit of it. Being able to eat fresh vegetables during this season is such a luxury. It seems like there are some perks to being Emperor after all.”

Yang Feng moved forward a few steps, coming closer to the Emperor. “Is Your Majesty grumbling?”

“Me? Grumbling? Impossible. Cough…  with so many officials to share Our burdens, We are comforted.” Han Ruzi said seriously.

Such lies were fooling nobody. Yang Feng bowed slightly and said, “I had thought that you were worth nurturing. It seems like I ought to reconsider.”

“When you say nurturing do you mean abandoning?” The fire in Han Ruzi’s heart suddenly arose.  He did not mind being alone. What he minded was being isolated from information. So many things were happening, yet he had no one to seek information from.

“Surely I had to observe you for a while, to see whether you are able to stand on your own feet. Otherwise I wouldn’t be able to help you even if I were a deity.” Yang Feng’s tone grew increasingly stern, even doing away with formal terms of address.

Han Ruzi stared at Yang Feng, suddenly realizing that he did not know this eunuch well at all. The two of them did not interact much; he had even spoken to Yang Feng a lot less than he had to Prince Donghai. Yet this person had unceremoniously declared that he had been observing him, and also wanted his complete trust.

Mother had said not to trust anyone. Han Ruzi sighed lightly. “I have disappointed you.”

“Everyone gets into a slump some times. It is good as long as Your Majesty pulls it together.”

Han Ruzi stood up and stretched his arms and legs. “I’m good now.”

“Mm.” Yang Feng nodded. “May Your Majesty state your views.”

Han Ruzi was confused. “My views? In the entire Imperial Palace, I am the one who knows the least.”

“The Emperor is always ignorant.”

“It’s impossible that past Emperors were like me.”

“When the Founding Emperor was fighting for the world, he was trapped numerous times. His life often hung in the balance, only seeing throngs of enemies while trusted generals by his side grew few. The news from the outside only became increasingly dire, as city after city fell to the enemy. At that time, the Founding Emperor was worse than ignorant. But did he stop thinking and formulating his views? No. He continued to believe that Chu would emerge victorious.”

Han Ruzi pondered for a while. “What about the Martial Emperor? Surely he wasn’t ignorant.”

“The Martial Emperor knew much. But one might say, too much. From the Imperial Palace to the Imperial Court, from nobles to commoners, from proximity to remote locations, everyone hoped to be able to pass on information to the Martial Emperor. Such information were often contradictory. Good and bad, victory and defeat, righteous and evil… Even a few words could cause a change in the overall picture. Relying on such information, the Martial Emperor was as good as ignorant. Guesses, deductions, flashes of inspiration… Every Emperor must learn how to exercise judgment in the worst of circumstances.”

Han Ruzi could not argue against Yang Feng, and so continued along his line of thinking. In fact, he had considered matters over the past several days, only that he was unwilling to speak his views too quickly. “Grand Tutor Cui has led the army to the Princedom of Qi.”

“Mm. They set out three days ago.” Yang Feng did not expect the Emperor to know the details, only to have a grasp on the general situation.

“Liu Jie and the assassin’s accomplices were taken to Qi.”

“Wrong. They are being held by the Court of Judicial Review, to be investigated by the various Judicial Offices.”

“Liu Jie was not taken away?” Han Ruzi was very disappointed, but he quickly understood. “Grand Tutor Cui was only using the issue to figure out the Empress Dowager’s true intentions. Once his goals were reached, he needed to attain her trust, and hence he left Liu Jie and the others in the Capital.”

“Mm.”

“Is Liu Jie in danger?”

“Don’t waste your time trying to predict the unpredictable.”

“In that case… Grand Tutor Cui’s daugher. She’s really going to enter the palace to be Empress.”

“Is Your Majesty unhappy?”

“The Empress will be a daughter of the Cui clan. I… How old is she?”

“Twelve. One year younger than Your Majesty.”

“She will not enter the palace so soon, right? We are both so young.”

“The betrothal is in three days. Barring any accidents, when the Qi expedition is over and Grand Tutor Cui returns to the Capital, Your Majesty shall be wed.”

“But… But…” Han Ruzi still found it unbelievable.

“The previous dynasty once had an eight year-old Empress. Twelve is not unusual.”

Han Ruzi helplessly sighed. “What is the Empress Dowager up to? I thought… Once things settled down, she would… She would get rid of me and enthrone a new Emperor.”

“Where would a new Emperor come from?”

“The Martial Emperor had many descendants. Any one of them would do. Like Prince Donghai.”

“Prince Donghai would not do. The Cui clan is powerful enough. They mustn’t be allowed to add an Emperor to their ranks. As for other descendants in cadet branches of the Imperial Clan, there are too many of them. Any competition will be intense, which would not be to the benefit to the Chu Empire, nor to the Empress Dowager. She, more than anyone, hopes for political stability in the Imperial Court.”

Ham Ruzi thought for a while. “Then I’m stumped. Surely the Empress Dowager will not let me continue to be Emperor?”

“Your Majesty will grow older. Once you come of age, the Empress Dowager will find it difficult to continue to wield power and reign over the court.” Yang Feng had wanted to let the Emperor consider things further, but he suddenly realized that he had made a mistake. The Emperor was only thirteen years old. Regardless of how clever he was, there were some things that he could not think of. “The Empress Dowager needs Your Majesty to father a Crown Prince. Only the future Crown Prince would be able to legitimately ascend to the throne and allow the Empress Dowager to legitimately continue to reign.”

“How would I father…” Han Ruzi felt like it was a joke, but he suddenly had an epiphany. “Hence the Empress Dowager wants to appoint an Empress. But… Surely it’s too much of a hurry. The Empress and I…”

Han Ruzi had thought of many things, but he did not expect that his greatest use was to father a child, and this child would cost him his life.

“The Crown Prince need not be the Empress’s son. But once there is an Empress, things would become easy to manage.”

“Things are not easy at all.” Han Ruzi shook his head rigorously. “In any case, I would not… How does one have a son? I should take precautions.”

Yang Feng’s usually stern face broke into a slight smile. “Your Majesty need not be nervous. That would be something to worry about in two to three years’ time. In the meantime, Your Majesty is safe.”

Han Ruzi did not know whether this was fortunate or unfortunate news. “What can I do? Two to three years is not a long time.”

“Wait.”

“Just wait and do nothing? I’m afraid I would go insane in two to three years.”

“Your Majesty will have matters to attend to, even if you wish to avoid it.”

Han Ruzi’s eyes brightened up. It seemed like Yang Feng did not come here just to reprimand the Emperor.

“In the past few days, at least five senior officials have written petitions, suggesting that the Empress Dowager appoints a teacher for Your Majesty. This can be considered a start. Your Majesty will interact with more senior officials, and may also learn many necessary skills of being an Emperor.”

“Was this put together by you, Lord Yang?” Han Ruzi’s eyes grew even brighter. The thought of being able to leave this room, to interact with people other than eunuchs and servant-girls — Han Ruzi was so excited that his heart started beating faster.

“No. I am not acquainted with any of the officials who submitted petitions.” Yang Feng was not willing to take credit for this. “Your Majesty is supreme sovereign. Whether imbecilic  or wise, whether independent or a figurehead, outstanding figures from all over the world will find ways to be in your presence, in order to earn merits and be promoted to higher office. The Martial Emperor had too many of such fellows around, and hence he had to take an axe to separate the wheat from the chaff; Your Majesty has too few, but few is better than none. How to take advantage of such opportunity — that would depend on Your Majesty’s and my abilities.”

Han Ruzi’s heart beat even faster. Even though he had not accomplished anything, it felt like the top of his head was about to erupt with overflowing enthusiasm.

He forced himself to remain calm, and considered matters. He decided to ask the biggest question that he had in his mind. “What was behind the assassination attempt?”

“I have said it before. Your Majesty should not ask me for the truth, because I do not know.”

“I don’t need the truth. I just want to hear Lord Yang’s opinion.”

Yang Feng was perfunctory about this matter. He was different from the wide-eyed Emperor. He had too many secrets, and was very far from revealing all of them. “The assassin was real. But as to the assassin’s background, each party has their own view.”

“And what is Lord Yang’s view?” Han Ruzi pressed the matter. The Empress Dowager’s view was already apparent: to blame the assassination on Prince Qi so as to use the opportunity to eliminate this external threat, as well as to reach a settlement with the Cui clan to solidify the Shang-guan clan’s position.

“The assassin might very well have been sent by Prince Qi.” Yang Feng decided to reveal a little of his true opinions. “But I will not stop there. I will continue investigating.”

This was what Han Ruzi had expected. “Lord Yang. You also believe that there is more to my Imperial Brother’s death, right?”

Yang Feng made a rather improper gesture, raising his hand and lightly tapping the Emperor’s shoulder. “Do not let too much information interfere with Your Majesty’s line of thought. Sometimes, ignorance is bliss. Your Majesty should only pay attention to matters which are of importance.”

“Producing an heir is definitely not one of them.” Han Ruzi was quite grossed out by the whole matter.