The Child Emperor

Was the Emperor having a stomachache a big deal? Han Ruzi found out.

The two eunuchs guarding the door heard the Emperor’s cries and immediately awoke from their quasi-slumber. They raised their heads like guard-dogs, alert yet confused.

Their reactions were not as quick as one person. Luo Huan-zhang stepped forward and knelt on one knee. He held onto the Emperor and looked into his eyes.

It was only later that Han Ruzi realized that Luo Huan-zhang was checking whether the Emperor’s pains were genuine. This teacher of Prince Donghai could not be blamed for being suspicious. He had just revealed a secret and the Emperor started rolling on the floor mat — it was too coincidental.

But in the moment, Han Ruzi did not think so much. He just felt that he was in pain as he curled into a fetal position. Large beads of sweat flowed from his forehead as he groaned continuously.

From one look, Luo Huan-zhang was convinced that the Emperor was not faking. He told the eunuchs, “Get the imperial doctors.”

The two eunuchs ran about in a panic, until one of them left while the other stayed. The one who stayed was younger, and he knelt on the ground, his body trembling. It was not clear what he thought as he pounced towards the Emperor, as though wishing to die with the Emperor.

Even though Luo Huan-zhang was a scholar, he was not physically weak. He reached with his left hand and pushed the eunuch away. “What are you panicking for. Go inform the Empress Dowager.”

The eunuch swallowed before stumbling his way out of the room.

“What is going on? Is someone harming the Emperor?” Luo Huan-zhang’s expression was serious, like a fierce general rather than a scholar who touted justice and benevolence.

Han Ruzi knew what this was about. The pill that Meng E had fed him had started to work, its effects more serious than he had expected. Suppressing the pangs of pain in his stomach, he said, “No. It could… could be that something was wrong with the food. It’ll get better in a while.”

“This is not a simple matter, Your Majesty…” Luo Huan-zhang was in the middle of speaking when the sound of footsteps came from outside. He lowered his voice and spoke quickly, “The officials of the court are in support of Your Majesty reigning personally. Someone will be in contact soon, please do not be suspicious.”

Han Ruzi was just about to ask who had stuffed the note the previous day when Zuo Ji and a few eunuchs came running in, kneeling on the ground.

“Your Majesty, Your Majesty…” Zuo Ji had never been a calm person. While he had appeared coolly aloof earlier in the day, he now looked like a pitiable worm in a panic, sweat pouring down his head like he would lose consciousness before the Emperor would.

After all, if anything happened to the Emperor, not even the Empress Dowager could save his life.

The pain in his stomach was no longer so apparent. It became a breath of warm qi, seeking a pathway around. It felt more like he had eaten too much chili. Han Ruzi forced himself to sit down, and when he reached out, a piece of cloth of quickly put into his hand. He wiped the sweat off and felt better. “It’s nothing. We are feeling much better. It might have been something We ate.”

“The Imperial Kitchens must take responsibility for this!” Zuo Ji nearly shouted these words.

Luo Huan-zhang knelt and said, “It could be due to over-assertion during martial arts training.”

“Ah, that’s right! His Majesty trains every single afternoon — I have long said that that would not do.” Zuo Ji was in a hurry to push responsibility away. Anyone else would do.

Han Ruzi did not wish for the matter to blow up. He forced a smile and said, “It is but a minor incident. There is no need to make a fuss over it. The Empress Dowager especially should not be alarmed.”

“Does the Empress Dowager not need to be informed?” Zuo Ji said, confusedly.

Han Ruzi shook his head. “There are so many important matters of state that the Empress Dowager has to worry about. Even though We are unable to assist her, We should not add trouble for her.”

Zuo Ji immediately understood. The Empress Dowager was rather suspicious. If she heard of this, a large number of people in the palace would meet their downfall, and he would be substantially responsible as well. He quickly turned to a eunuch and said, “Go get those two back! Don’t let them wag their tongues!”

The eunuch left with his orders. Zuo Ji said to the other eunuchs, “Everyone keep your mouths shut over this, understood?”

Nobody wished to be held responsible, so they all nodded.

Zuo Ji was still worried, so he crawled to the Emperor with his knees. “Is Your Majesty truly alright? What if… what if…”

Han Ruzi stood up and took a deep breath. “Look. We are fine. You all are dismissed. Teacher Luo is about to continue his lesson on national history.”

Most of the eunuchs left but Zuo Ji stayed behind, keeping an eye on the Emperor. The Emperor frowned, and tried to calm his nerves by taking even breaths.

The rest of the lesson by Luo Huan-zhang was nothing out of the ordinary. As he spoke, his gaze was affixed to the scenery outside, as though he was immersed in the glorious accomplishments of the Accomplished Emperor.

It was time to move to the Hall of Diligent Administration. The Emperor rose up and bade farewell to his teacher. The two had the chance to exchange glances. Han Ruzi blinked surreptitiously, while Luo Huan-zhang nodded lightly.

Luo Huan-zhang said that someone would contact the Emperor. Who would that be? Han Ruzi was both curious and excited. It was as he expected — the officials supported the Emperor. Only that the choice of Luo Huan-zhang as the messenger was rather unexpected. But once he thought of it, it made perfect sense.

Luo Huan-zhang was an ordinary citizen, not an official. He was Prince Donghai’s tutor, a guest of the Cui clan — he would be the last person the Empress Dowager would suspect of supporting the Emperor. Other than him, there was truly no one else who could pass a message to the Emperor.

Yet who was the one who stuffed him the note the previous day?

Han Ruzi had many questions, but he could not think on them. The warm qi in his body started moving quicker. He had to focus on breathing against the flow to control the breath of qi. Hence, he had no energy to focus on complex questions.

When the Emperor entered the Hall of Diligent Administration, he received the kowtows of the officials. Good news had just come from Guan-dong. Grand Tutor Cui, after regrouping his forces and receiving reinforcements from the various prefectures, had fought a successful battle outside of Luoyang, routing the Qi army.

It was not clear whether this victory would be sufficient to thoroughly defeat the Qi forces, but everyone believed that it was a turning point. From then onwards, the Princedom of Qi was no longer an existential threat, and the issue for consideration was how to ensure the capture of the rebels, especially Prince Qi himself. If he was able to escape and be at large for more than a month, it would be a humiliation of the Imperial Court.

As for barbarian forces who seized the opportunity to conduct border raids, bandits of the pugilist world, feudal lords with vacillating loyalties, it was time to get even with them.

Han Ruzi was just a listener. He slowly realized that his judgment of the senior officials was somewhat mistaken. Including Chancellor Yin Wuhai, these officials were not incompetent. They had important information of the Empire at the tip of their tongues, such as the pros and cons of various prefects and magistrates, and even the state of local geographies, cultures and economies.

He had once thought the Minister of Personnel Feng Ju was someone without a mind of his own. But he was proven wrong. Feng Ju had the most ideas. He knew which bandits were insignificant, which needed capable generals to be suppressed, and which needed elite soldiers to be destroyed. His suggestions were essentially accepted unanimously.

Now that the Imperial Court held the absolute advantage, these officials no longer had any reason to hide their strengths.

Han Ruzi became to understand why the Accomplished Emperor gave up on seeking revenge on those who opposed him when he was Crown Prince. Without the support of these officials, governing the realm would be impossibly difficult. Just remembering all the names of the local regions and their prefects and magistrates would require too much energy from the Emperor.

If he could get the support of these men, he would surely be able to overcome the Empress Dowager. Han Ruzi’s confidence grew as he hoped to meet the messenger that Luo Huan-zhang had spoken of.

The Minister of Personnel, after proving his administrative abilities, demonstrated his talents at flattery. He flapped his arms energetically as he hailed, “Long live the Emperor! The Heavens have blessed His Majesty! The rebels are defeated just as the imperial wedding looms — one may extrapolate that, when the Empress is enthroned, Prince Qi may well be captured.”

These words were for the Empress Dowager, hence Han Ruzi remained expressionless. He had no choice but to marry an Empress, but he would definitely not sire an heir under the control of the Empress Dowager, regardless of who was to be Empress.

The martial arts class in the afternoon was cancelled. The reason was that the Emperor needed to rest, in preparations for the imperial wedding.

In truth, there was nothing to prepare. Unlike the ascension, the main character this time was the Empress. The daughter of the Cui clan had long been trained by the Ministry of Rites and the Court of Ceremonies, ensuring that there would be no mistakes in her marriage to the Emperor.

Han Ruzi returned to Cining Palace, anxiously awaiting the messenger. He found everyone around him suspicious, even Zhang Youcai and Dong Qing E who were attending to him.

There was a benefit to not going for martial lessons. Han Ruzi’s stomach began to hurt again in the afternoon. This time he was ready, and did not show obvious signs of pain. He silently practiced the breathing technique, not daring to distract himself with miscellaneous thoughts.

In the evening, the Grand Consort brought Prince Donghai along for dinner.

The Grand Consort sat opposite them and watched the two of them eat without eating herself.

Prince Donghai appeared depressed. He kowtowed to the Emperor the moment he arrived, admitting to being in the wrong and promising to change for the better.

What could the Emperor do? This was his brother, the two of them bound by close ties of kinship. Surely he could not condemn him over such a small matter. Han Ruzi forgave Prince Donghai and invited him to dinner. Before the gaze of the Grand Consort, the two princes made up.

Prince Donghai had just been in an embarrassing position before the young nobles, and hence he did not have much of an appetite. He ate a few mouthfuls before putting down his chopsticks. He took over from the servants and served the Emperor his food, causing everyone around to be confused. But after the Grand Consort did not object, and in fact nodded her head, the eunuchs and servant-girls did not worry about it.

“This dish is stir-fry lotus roots. It is known for dispersing heat, comforting the stomach, and calming the mind. Have some, Your Majesty.” Prince Donghai appeared to be overflowing with affection, even trying to be cute. But when he placed the dishes on the table and had his back facing everyone else, his expression grew sullen and his gaze appeared threatening. Once he turned around, he went to get more dishes in a lively manner.

Han Ruzi was not intimidated. He only found it amusing. He did not care about Prince Donghai at all, and pretended not to notice. He ate normally, put down the chopsticks, and indicated that he was done.

The eunuchs and servant-girls got busy, and Han Ruzi once again saw the shadows of “precedent”. But this precedent appeared useful, so no Emperor would seek to change it.

Thinking of “precedent”, Han Ruzi turned towards the Grand Consort. The Grand Consort smiled at him.

The Emperor smiled back. He was not afraid of the Grand Consort. Prince Donghai was full of ambition, and had the powerful Cui clan as his backers, that was his advantage. But the Cui clan was also a weakness, so he often had to act against his own will while the Empress Dowager and the Grand Consort held the Cui clan hostage. As for Han Ruzi, he had nothing, so he was hardly held hostage.

The servants withdrew, and so did Prince Donghai. The Grand Consort stood up but did not leave. She walked slowly, as though checking whether the quarters were to the Emperor’s comfort. When there was no one else, she stopped and turned to the Emperor. “Luo Huan-zhang said that Your Majesty is ready. Is that true?”

Han Ruzi was shocked. He shot out of his seat and breathed unevenly. His stomach began to hurt again. “You… how could it be you?”

The smile on the Grand Consort’s face was slowly wiped off. “If you knew what kind of person the Empress Dowager is, you would understand my choice.”