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“This morning, Geng Zhuo was not released after being hauled away. It seems that the Emperor sent someone to ask if he recognised the error of his ways. After that, no one knows exactly what happened, but he was thrown into the Imperial Prison,” Cai Yi said. He wiped the sweat beading on his forehead, looking more anxious than a mother who’d lost her child.
The Imperial Prison was a place where one could be detained without trial or even investigation. It was out of the jurisdiction of the Dali Court* and the Ministry of Justice.
*T/N: The Da Li Si directly translates into the Temple of Great Reasoning, and is basically the ancient equivalent of the Supreme Court. I have translated this as the Dali Court instead of a temple, because the imagery a temple invokes is pretty different.
Xiao Chengjun sat down at his desk. “Did anyone send in submissions to plead for him?” he asked.
“Many people have handed in submissions pleading for clemency, but the Emperor completely refuses to look at them. He’s just cast them aside,” Cai Yi said, pacing around anxiously. “The palace is already locked. The Minister of the Left wanted to plead with the Emperor on Lord Geng’s behalf, but even he was refused entry.”
The Imperial prison was presently under the control of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, which was staffed entirely by eunuchs. This morning, Geng Zhuo had offended the most powerful eunuch, Shen Lian; there was no way he would be treated well in the Imperial Prison. However, if something untoward were to happen to Geng Zhuo now, the rest of the ministers would be enraged. Outspoken officials had always been seen as crucial to ensuring that the Emperor made well-informed decisions, and even the fiery-tempered Taizu Emperor had never laid a finger on such officials. The consequences would be dire if the current Emperor allowed Geng Zhuo to be harmed as a result of his actions this morning.
Xiao Chengjun was silent for a moment, then exhaled slowly and stood up. “I will go and see my Father Emperor,” he said. As the heir apparent to the throne, he had a duty to try to persuade the Emperor to do what was right.
“There’s no one more appropriate to plead with the Emperor,” Cai Yi agreed. He had calmed down by this time. “However, the Emperor is still in a rage. You also need to be careful.*”
*T/N: Note that what Cai Yi actually said was “Don’t tire yourself out”, but it’s actually a warning not to try too hard to change the Emperor’s mind if he is really stubborn.
Xiao Chengjun exchanged a long look with the Minister of the Crown Prince’s Affairs, the nodded slowly. Cai Yi had an impatient, anxious nature, but his assessment of the ins and outs of a situation were usually unerringly accurate. He indeed could not push the issue with the Emperor too hard, or the Emperor might suspect that he had hidden motivations.
“Reporting to the Crown Prince Consort, the Crown Prince has said you can start eating dinner first. There’s no need to wait for him,” Chang En said. He motioned to the servants to place the food in the outer chambers of Bafeng Hall.
“Understood,” Lou Jing waved his hands to dismiss him, then clambered out of bed and seated himself in front of the food. He picked up his rice bowl. Thinking about how the Crown Prince had solicitously offered him a spoon earlier that day, he felt dissatisfied at the thought of eating without him.
“Dianxia’s palanquin has left the Eastern Palace. I hear that he has gone to seek an audience with the Emperor,” Le Xian said quietly, serving Lou Jing some food.
Lou Jing glanced at the amiable Le Xian, thinking that this young eunuch was not just pleasant to look at, but also quite clever and intuitive. “Tell the kitchen to keep the porridge warm, so that it will still be nice when the Crown Prince returns.”
“Certainly!” Le Xian acknowledged Lou Jing’s instruction happily. This indicated that Lou Jing was prepared to use him, and if he continued to perform well, he would be able to be made Deputy Head Eunuch of the Eastern Palace when Lou Jing started managing the Eastern Palace’s affairs.
Xiao Chengjun went to the Emperor’s sleeping quarters, Panlong Hall, where he was informed that the Chunde Emperor had gone to Luanyi Palace. The Emperor had gone to the hougong so early? The Crown Prince frowned. As a prince, he was allowed to enter the hougong, but the thought of having to try and persuade the Emperor in front of Chen Guifei was extremely off-putting. Whatever he said, Chen Guifei was sure to sing a different tune, and there was certainly no chance of success as long as she was present.
“Go to Luanyi Palace and inform my Father Emperor that I have an urgent matter to discuss,” he instructed An Shun. Xiao Chengjun then asked the palanquin bearers to carry him to the Emperor’s study. He thought it more appropriate to discuss matters of state in the Emperor’s office.
The Emperor’s study wasn’t far from Panlong Hall. The servants had already lit the candles, and it was bright inside Panlong Hall even though nobody was there.
Xiao Chengjun walked in, looked at the submissions piled haphazardly on the Emperor’s table, and gave a small sigh.
A hanging scroll inscribed with the Ruizong Emperor’s motto hung behind the carved dragon seat. Steadfast in governance, faithful to reason. The previous Emperor was a kind and honourable man. In the forty years of his rule, he had never once used the Imperial Prison; there had never been anyone convicted or punished without a fair trial. However, in the mere ten years that the Chunde Emperor had been in power, the number of Imperial ministers that had died in the Imperial Prison could not be counted on two hands.
“Reporting to the Crown Prince, his Majesty instructs that he will hold the audience in the Luanyi Palace.” The voice that spoke was warm and friendly. It was the Emperor’s personal eunuch, Huai Zhong.
Xiao Chengjun was standing with his hands behind his back when Huai Zhong arrived. He turned, looked at the smiling eunuch, and sighed inwardly. His Father Emperor knew to send this senior eunuch to summon him to Luanyi Palace instead of sending a small fry over; there was no way to reject this summons. As he thought this, he felt some disappointment in his heart.
“Let’s go, then,” he said curtly, walking out of the study without waiting for the eunuch to invite him out.
Luanyi Palace had just been renovated in spring, and presented a magnificent sight even from a distance. It looked even more luxurious than the Empress’ Fengyi Palace.
The Chunde Emperor met the Crown Prince in the main hall of Fengyi Palace. “What did you want to see me for?” he asked. He had clearly just eaten his dinner. A palace maid served him a cup of hot tea, the sort that was usually drunk after dinner.
“Father Emperor, erchen* heard that the Imperial Censor Geng Zhuo…” Xiao Chengjun didn’t get to finish his sentence before being interrupted by the Emperor’s cold grunt of disapproval.
*T/N: Erchen is how the Imperial sons who are of age refer to themselves in front of their Father Emperor. Er means son, and chen means minister. Imperial princes who are of age usually are involved in affairs of state, which makes them Imperial Court officials.
“Hmpf, he was impertinent to Zhen. Surely I’m within my rights to punish a mere third-ranked minister for this?” The Chunde Emperor had apparently read the contents of the submissions in his study.
“Father Emperor,” Xiao Chengjun sighed deeply. He tried his best to keep his tone warm and friendly. “The Imperial Censor is a minister in your Court, and Father Emperor is certainly within his rights to discipline one of the ministers, but there is an age-old rule that prohibits the punishment of outspoken ministers. I would suggest that you do not be overly concerned by Geng Zhuo’s words.”
“I am not overly concerned,” the Chunde Emperor said, setting his teacup down with some force. “If he would just say that he sees the error of his ways, I’d be happy to let this go. If he refuses to admit his mistakes, then, is he expecting me to say that I was wrong?”
“In the third year of his reign, the Taizu Emperor was engaging in philanderous activities at night, and the then Imperial Censor Zhang Zhuo forced his way into the palace to scold the Emperor for an hour. The naked Emperor listened to his lecture for an hour, then praised him and rewarded him with ten bolts of fine brocade. The Taizu Emperor said, ‘Fear not the Imperial Censor, fear the history books’,” Xiao Chengjun said, speaking in his usual level tone. “Father Emperor, the Imperial Censor may not be correct, but if you punish him, history will not remember this deed kindly. The Imperial Censor’s death may be nothing, but his death may destroy your good name. I ask Father Emperor not to miss the wood for the trees.”
After the Crown Prince said this long speech, he did not kneel to beg the Emperor to rethink his decision. He continued to stand, his waist bent in a slight bow, as if he were only giving a suggestion.
The Chunde Emperor was silent for a long time.
“Fine. Zhen will release Geng Zhuo tomorrow.”
“Father Emperor is most wise!” Xiao Chengjun now knelt and kowtowed to the Chundue Emperor.
Lou Jing had waited four hours for the Crown Prince to return, but there was still no sign of the latter. He rolled around in bed, bored to tears. Suddenly he caught sight of a small cupboard built into the wall next to the bed. This was where Xiao Chengjun had pulled out the balm yesterday night. What else was in it?
The tiny cupboard had nine compartments, but only three of the compartments had a small cupboard door. Each of those doors was painted red, and decorated with flower carvings. The open compartments held small jade statues carved in symbols that warded off evil. The statues were all permanently affixed to the cupboard shelf so that they would not accidentally fall off and hit someone sleeping on the bed.
This was more or less Lou Jing’s house, so he could poke around in it at will. He sat up and opened one of the small cupboard doors excitedly. There were a number of little black boxes with plum blossom carvings containing the special balm. Lou Jing picked one up and toyed with it. This ointment was really very effective. He would definitely bring some with him the next time he went to fight a war.
Putting down the little box, he opened another cupboard door. It looked like there was nothing inside, but Lou Jing stuck a hand in to feel around nonetheless, and discovered that there was a book inside. This compartment was bigger than it looked – the actual base of the compartment was lower than what it appeared to be from the outside, and the book was concealed in this sunken part of the base. Lou Jing found this to be odd – who stored books in this kind of compartment?
He pulled the book out. It was bound in blue-coloured leather, and had the words “Palace of the Sun*” written on it in flowery lettering. Lou Jing didn’t know what “Palace of the Sun” meant, and flipped the book open. His eyes immediately widened into round saucers. This wasn’t an accounts book or a secret book of records, but a pictorial book, and the pictures depicted two men entwined together in a tight embrace…
*T/N: The sun, or yang, is associated with manhood.
Right at this moment, the door creaked open. The Crown Prince was back.
Lou Jing closed the book casually, put it back into the secret compartment, and closed the cupboard door.
“Why aren’t you asleep?” Xiao Chengjun asked. The moon was already high in the sky, and he had assumed that Lou Jing would be sound asleep by now. He had actually thought of returning to Chongren Hall, in fact, but had eventually decided against it because he thought it would look bad for Lou Jing if they slept apart when it was only the second night after their wedding. He was somewhat surprised that Lou Jing was still wide awake and waiting for him.
“Reporting to the Crown Prince Consort, the porridge has been warmed up.” Before Lou Jing could respond to Xiao Chengjun, Le Xian’s voice floated in from beyond the doorway.
Lou Jing smiled. This little eunuch really knew how to do things. “Send it in,” he said.
Le Xian brought in a bowl of hot red date porridge and a plate of ingredients. He set this down on the small table in the bedchamber, then bowed and left.
“How did you know I haven’t eaten?” Xiao Chengjun asked, looking at the food on the table. Warmth blossomed in his heart.
“Dianxia left so hurriedly. I guessed you wouldn’t have eaten,” Lou Jing said, smiling as he got off the bed. He moved to help the Crown Prince remove the silver guan in his hair. “Why don’t you go take a bath first?”
After Xiao Chengjun had bathed, the hot porridge had cooled down to just the right temperature. Porridge was the best option at this late hour. Eating too much before sleeping would cause indigestion, but not eating was also not ideal. Xiao Chengjun would definitely be hungry in the middle of night if he didn’t eat at all.
The warm little bowl of porridge also warmed Xiao Chengjun’s frosty mood considerably.
“We’re going back to your maiden home to pay respects to your family tomorrow. You should have slept earlier today,” the Crown Prince said, climbing onto the bed. He felt sorry for Lou Jing, who still looked pale and wan.
“Well, I was waiting for you to help me apply medicine to my wounds,” Lou Jing smiled playfully, then thrust the little black box into Xiao Chengjun’s hands.
Looking at the box, Xiao Chengjun felt a little awkward. “You still want to use this medicine?” he asked.
Lou Jing laughed, then undressed and lay chest-down on the bed. “I’ve never seen a medicine that works better than this. If it works, why would I care what its original purpose was?”
Xiao Chengjun hesitated for a moment, but opened the lid in the end. This medicine really did seem to be very good at healing Lou Jing’s wounds, and using it also wouldn’t arouse anyone’s suspicions, which would save them quite a bit of trouble. He dipped his fingers in the ointment and applied them to Lou Jing’s back, which was still black and blue, but looked much better than it had yesterday. It looked like he would probably make a full recovery in a few days’ time.
They had a busy day ahead returning to Lou Jing’s maiden home, so after applying the ointment, Xiao Chengjun washed his hands and blew out the candles, after which they both went to bed.
The wounds on Lou Jing’s back meant that he had to sleep on his chest, and he’d been sleeping that way for half a month now. His neck ached from this awkward sleeping position, and he really didn’t want to sleep chest-down any more. He tried sleeping on his side instead, and when he turned, he saw that the Crown Prince’s eyes were still wide open, staring at the ceiling.
Xiao Chengjun was still worrying about Geng Zhuo. Who knew what would happen to Geng Zhuo over the course of the night? But he had already done all that he could.
“Can’t sleep?” Lou Jing asked from his sideways position. He supported his head with a hand and looked at him. “Don’t worry, my parents won’t make things difficult for you. You’re my wi- husband, after all, and you’re the Crown Prince. They still have to kowtow to you, in fact.” Lou Jing had nearly referred to Xiao Chengjun as his wife, but given that the Crown Prince was such a proper person, he might have been offended if Lou Jing said that. He decided to behave himself. The Crown Prince didn’t seem to be in a joking mood today.
Xiao Chengjun turned to look at him. “Why did your father beat you?” he asked.
“Dianxia, why are you asking this now? Do you also want to punish me?” Lou Jing crept a little closer to Xiao Chengjun, the better to let him see the mock fear in his eyes. The whole reason Lou Jianyu had hit him was precisely because he didn’t want to marry Xiao Chengjun.
“No, that was not my intention,” Xiao Chengjun said helplessly. “I’m just curious as to why the Anguo Gong would agree to your marriage to me. Actually, if he had said no, Father Emperor would also have just gone along with it, and selected someone else.”
The smile on Lou Jing’s face froze.
The author has something to say:
Mini-theater
Crown Prince: Why did your dad want to marry you off to me?
Xiao Jing: It gives him pleasure
Crown Prince: (⊙_⊙) Then why didn’t you object?
Xiao Jing: Because… (⊙ v ⊙) it will give me pleasure