[Romantic Anecdotes of the Tang Dynasty Court] [49] [Author: Xu Xiaotian]

page views:1 Publication date:2023-03-24

Chapter Forty-Nine: The Crimson Staff Flies, Consorts Met Tragic Death; Fragrant Wood Pendants, the Emperor's Son
Slandered. Princess Taiping found herself in a thatched hut in the desolate mountains. Fortunately, a woodcutter took great care of her, providing her with water and food. On the second day, Princess Taiping looked at the beautiful mountains and the tranquil place. Having lived a life of wealth and luxury, she felt as if she had entered a different world, and gradually cast aside her worries. Seeing that the woodcutter was honest and strong, she felt somewhat at ease knowing she had found someone to rely on. During the day, the woodcutter went up the mountain to gather firewood as usual. Princess Taiping, having nothing to do in the hut, would clean and tidy it up for him, and then fetch a jar of water from the stream to wipe the windows, bed, and tables.
These were things the princess had never done since birth, but now, doing them, she found them quite enjoyable.
The princess, unaccustomed to such tasks, busied herself for a while, until she was drenched in sweat and felt hot all over. She took off her outer garment and draped it over the bed frame. She then tidied her hair slightly, turned to look out the window, and saw the setting sun casting its light on the mountaintop. The woodcutter was returning, singing in the distance.
Princess Taiping, seeing the innocent and carefree joy in his eyes, was moved by his expression and felt happy herself. The woodcutter caught two live rabbits from the firewood, took them to the courtyard, killed them, skinned them, washed them, and put them on the earthen stove to simmer. The aroma of the meat filled the air. Princess Taiping, smelling it, felt her mouth water. After he finished simmering the rabbits, he came into the house, opened the wooden cabinet behind the bed, took out several pieces of coarse cloth clothing, picked out a set, smiled at the princess, and walked towards the stream. When the princess turned around, she saw a piece of the woodcutter's cloth robe left on the bed, conveniently covering the short-sleeved garment, the two garments side by side. The princess looked at it, and her heart stirred; her gaze was fixed on the cloth robe, her thoughts wandering. A moment later, the woodcutter returned from the stream, having washed himself clean, and changed into clean clothes. He busily cooked, tore the rabbit meat into small pieces, set up the wooden table, and sat opposite the princess to eat. They ate in silence. After the meal, the woodcutter took out many reeds from his bundle of firewood. He first removed the dirty bedding from the bed, then spread the reeds thickly and softly on the bed. He opened the wooden cabinet, took out a piece of cloth, and covered the reeds with it, creating a thick, soft mattress. He then took another clean cotton quilt and folded it at the head of the bed. Although the quilt was patched with a square of blue cloth and a square of white cloth, it appeared very clean. The woodcutter had been busy for a while, but it was already late. He spread his own bedding on the ground and went to lie down, leaving the bed for the princess. The princess was very grateful for the woodcutter's actions. The thatched hut was very cramped; with the bedding spread out in front of the bed, there was no room to stand, so she had no choice but to climb onto the bed to sleep.
That night, the princess's heart was different from the previous night. She was restless, lost in thought, and tossed and turned for half the night, unable to sleep. Strangely enough, she could hear the woodcutter sleeping on the ground also unable to sleep, only making rustling and tossing sounds. The princess's heart skipped a beat, and she sat up in bed, intending to clear her mind. At this moment, the princess was sitting on the edge of the bed, her legs dangling below. She moved her legs slightly, and suddenly a hand reached out from the darkness and gently grasped her legs. A warm breath rose from her legs and went straight to her heart. At this moment, the princess could no longer hold on, and secretly reached out to grasp the woodcutter's hand. Although the princess was now a woman over forty, even in this extremely difficult and dangerous situation, she could not lose heart when it came to matters of the heart. During the day, she had already taken a liking to the woodcutter's strong physique, and now, feeling a sense of kinship in their shared hardship, the two spent a passionate night together.
Until the sun was high in the sky the next day, they got up together, and the princess made up her mind to spend the rest of her life with the woodcutter. Immediately, she took off all the precious jewels and jade ornaments she always wore, estimating that they could fetch at least tens of thousands of taels of silver, and gave them all to the woodcutter, instructing him to take them to the city to sell. She then told him her whole life story.
When the woodcutter heard that she was a princess, he was stunned, his eyes fixed on the princess's beautiful face, wondering if he had encountered a deity. In a flash, he became cheerful again, jumping and laughing throughout the room. The princess stopped him and told him that she had received the silver and they would escape to a remote, secluded county to live as a long-term couple. The woodcutter was overjoyed and couldn't help but lick the princess's arm. The princess stroked the woodcutter's neck, and the two were affectionate for a while. Only then did the woodcutter take the treasure and head towards the main road into the city.
Meanwhile, the princess sat in her thatched hut, waiting. With nothing to do, she picked up a tattered robe worn by the woodcutter, turned her back to him, and sat in the sunlight mending it. Just then, more than ten soldiers rushed into the hut and seized the princess's hands and feet. A palace attendant went up, tied the princess's body with rope, and dragged her out of the hut. The poor princess cried pitifully, but the soldiers showed no mercy. They dragged her along the mountain path, where a cart was parked by the roadside. They pushed the princess into the cart, surrounded by soldiers, and headed towards the main road to the capital. Upon entering the capital, the princess was again sent to the mansion and imprisoned in a small room. As night fell, a eunuch arrived with an imperial edict, ordering the princess to commit suicide. Princess Taiping, knowing her fate was sealed, knelt down, tears streaming down her face, thanked the emperor, and took off her white silk sash, placing it around her neck. Two eunuchs then strangled her, killing the once-romantic princess.
The next day, a troop of soldiers was sent to search the thatched hut in the southern mountains. They found a man dressed in rural attire, also hanged from the roof ridge. Beside him, they found a bag of precious jewels and jade, which he had not sold; this was clearly the infatuated woodcutter.
He had received a night of kindness from the princess, and in doing so, had given up his innocent life for her. After Emperor Xuanzong had ordered Princess Taiping's death, he discovered that her eldest son, Chongjian, was indeed very virtuous. When Princess Taiping secretly plotted a rebellion, Chongjian earnestly advised against it. His mother, enraged, ordered her servants to seize him and beat him severely. Chongjian was so badly beaten that he was bedridden and unable to walk. Only after the princess's death did Emperor Xuanzong bring him to the palace, personally comfort him, restore his official position, and bestow upon
him the surname Li. Seeing that Princess Taiping was gone, Xuanzong elevated Lady Yang to the rank of Consort Yuanxian, and soon after, she gave birth to a prince. This
prince's life was saved by the scholar Zhang Yue. Zhang Yue was skilled in fortune-telling. After the prince's birth, Emperor Xuanzong showed Zhang Yue his birth date and time. Zhang Yue took it home and carefully calculated, knowing that this prince would be difficult to raise. Emperor Xuanzong casually mentioned this to Empress Wang, who was also childless. She took the prince in and raised him, showering him with affection. He later became Emperor Suzong. Zhang Yue thus gained the emperor's trust and rose to the position of prime minister. Consort Yuanxian gave birth to another daughter, Princess Ningqin, who married Zhang Ji, the son of Zhang Yue, around the age of eighteen. But that's another story.
Now, after Emperor Ruizong abdicated to become the Retired Emperor, although he wasn't old, he was often ill and his spirit was weak. He lived in the West Palace, fasting and chanting Buddhist scriptures daily. Remembering the tragic deaths of Empress Liu and Consort Dou, he held a grand Buddhist ceremony in the palace to pray for their souls. Consort Dou was the birth mother of Emperor Xuanzong. Today, with the ceremony being held in the West Palace, she and Empress Wang went to the West Palace to worship the gods and Buddhas and pay their respects to the Retired Emperor. Empress Liu was originally married to Ruizong when he was a prince during the Yifeng era. She was initially granted the title of Ruren, and five years later, she was promoted to Princess Consort. She gave birth to Prince Ning and Princess Dai, Prince Shou. After Wu Zetian became Empress Dowager, Ruizong ascended the throne and made Liu his empress. After Wu Zetian declared herself Empress, Emperor Ruizong was demoted to Crown Prince and imprisoned in the palace. Empress Liu was further demoted to Princess Consort and separated from Ruizong, unable to see him. At this time, Empress Liu lived with Consort Dou in the inner palace. Consort Dou was a concubine whom Ruizong had taken as a concubine when he was appointed Prince Xiang. After Ruizong ascended the throne, she was promoted to Consort Dou, and she gave birth to Emperor Xuanzong and two princesses, Jinxian and Yuzhen. With Ruizong imprisoned, the two consorts wept day and night.
Every evening at dusk, when all was quiet, the two women would burn incense and pray to the heavens, offering themselves in place of Emperor Ruizong so that he might see the light of day sooner. Their secret was discovered by the palace maids guarding them, who secretly informed Empress Wu Zetian that the two concubines cursed the heavens every night. Enraged, Wu Zetian ordered her eunuchs to bring the two lowly maids before her for punishment. Soon after, Empress Liu and Consort Dou were seized by a group of fierce eunuchs and dragged before Wu Zetian. The two poor concubines, seeing this misfortune fall from the sky, were terrified and turned pale. Upon seeing Empress Wu Zetian, they could only kowtow and beg for mercy. Empress Wu Zetian, seeing them, was furious. With a shout of "Strike!", she ordered seven or eight vermilion-lacquered sticks to beat the two concubines mercilessly, causing them to roll on the ground, screaming in agony, "Heavens! Long live the Empress!" Empress Wu Zetian, still enraged, ordered the tongues of the two concubines to be cut out by the roots. Both women, frail and delicate, could not endure the agony and fainted immediately. Seeing that they were beyond saving, Empress Wu Zetian decreed that the bodies of the two lowly maids be mutilated. When executioners arrived, they carried the bodies away to a secluded spot in the imperial garden, where they were chopped into twenty or thirty pieces and scattered across the grass. The next day, a large flock of crows gathered on the grass, carrying the carcasses, and flew away in all directions.
Now, Emperor Ruizong, remembering the gruesome deaths of Empress Liu and Consort Dou, and finding no trace of their bodies, had to hire skilled Taoist priests to build an altar in the imperial garden to summon their souls. He prepared the empresses' clothing and crowns, placed them in two empty coffins, and used the Empress Dowager's carriage and banners for the funeral procession.
Passing through the streets of the capital, everyone who witnessed it felt a pang of sorrow. The coffins were then carried to the southern suburbs of the eastern capital and buried, where two grand mausoleums were built. An imperial edict was issued posthumously honoring Lady Liu as Empress Suming Shunsheng and Lady Dou as Empress Zhaocheng Shunsheng. The tomb of Empress Suming Shunsheng was called Huiling, and the tomb of Empress Zhaocheng Shunsheng was called Jingling. After the burial of the two empresses, the retired emperor was constantly melancholy and his spirits declined sharply. Emperor Xuanzong took the retired emperor to Anfu Gate for three days to watch music, intending to alleviate his sorrow. However, after the music, he fell ill and lay in bed in the West Palace. In June of the fourth year of the Kaiyuan era, the retired emperor passed away in Baifu Hall at the age of fifty-five.
Emperor Xuanzong observed mourning in the palace, entrusting all important court affairs to Chancellor Zhang Yue. With little to do in the palace, the emperor often spent time with his concubines, chatting and laughing to relieve his boredom.
At that time, Xuanzong had favored more than forty concubines in the harem. With such favor, he had many children, a total of thirty princes. Consort Liu Hua gave birth to Cong, the sixth son Wan, and the twelfth son Sui. Consort Zhao gave birth to a son named Ying. Empress Yuanxian gave birth to Emperor Suzong. Consort Qian gave birth to a son named Yan. Consort Huangfu gave birth to a son named Yao. Consort Liu gave birth to a son named Ju. Consort Wu Hui gave birth to her fifteenth son, Min; her eighteenth son, Mao; and her twenty-first son, Qi. Consort Gao gave birth to a son named Bin. Consort Guo Shunyi gave birth to a son named Lin. Consort Liu gave birth to a son named Bin. Consort Zhong gave birth to a son named Huan. Consort Zhen gave birth to a son named Huang. Consort Yan gave birth to a son named Bin. Consort Wang gave birth to a son named Gui. Consort Chen gave birth to a son named Gong. Consort Zheng gave birth to a son named Tian. Consort Wu Xianyi gave birth to a son named Xuan, and then a thirtieth son named Jing. The remaining seven sons died young.
Among all the concubines, Emperor Xuanzong's most favored was Consort Yuanxian. After giving birth to the third prince, Heng, Lady Yang gave birth to Princess Ningqin. She was very weak and often ill, passing away at the age of ten. Emperor Xuanzong, recalling their past affections and the scene of medicine being prepared in the palace walls, was deeply saddened. He originally intended to posthumously honor her as Empress, but decided against it out of respect for Empress Wang. At this time, there was a Consort Wu Hui, also favored by Xuanzong. She was the daughter of Prince Heng'an, Wu Youzhi, and had been raised in the palace since childhood, seeing Xuanzong daily. When Xuanzong was a prince, he and the consort had developed a secret affair. After Xuanzong ascended the throne, he bestowed upon Wu Hui the title of Consort Hui.
Among all the consorts, Consort Hui best understood Xuanzong's temperament; whenever Xuanzong visited her, everything was arranged to suit his tastes, making the emperor very comfortable. Consort Hui was also very beautiful; though she didn't speak much, her quiet presence was pleasing to the eye. Therefore, after Lady Yang's death, Emperor Xuanzong often sat in Consort Hui's palace, which greatly relieved his worries, and Consort Hui became very favored. She gave birth to two princes and one princess, all of whom died before the age of three. Consort Hui wept bitterly, and the emperor tried his best to comfort her. Then she gave birth to another prince named Mao. Xuanzong wanted to please Consort Hui, so he bestowed upon him the title of Prince Shou while he was still an infant. Fearing that raising him in the palace would bring bad luck, he took him out of the palace and fostered him in the Prince Ning's residence. After the birth of Prince Shou, she gave birth to Prince Sheng and two princesses, Xianyi and Dahua. At that time, Empress Wang held great power in the palace. Relying on being the empress chosen by the retired emperor, she usually did not pay attention to the other concubines. Empress Wang had also been involved in the rebellion of Princess Taiping, and thus became arrogant because of her merits. However, after many years in the palace, she had no children. Seeing that the emperor favored Consort Wu Hui, she was very jealous and resentful. Whenever she saw the emperor, she would speak ill of Consort Wu Hui. Sometimes, when the Empress and Consort Hui met, the two would quarrel incessantly. At this time, Consort Hui was six months pregnant, and the Empress's jealousy only intensified. However, due to several bouts of crying and fussing, the pregnancy was disturbed, and she miscarried. When the Emperor learned of this, he was filled with both hatred and sorrow, and immediately considered deposing the Empress.
One day, when Jiang Jiao entered the palace to report, Emperor Xuanzong mentioned the matter of deposing the Empress.
Jiang Jiao quickly knelt down and said, "The discord between the Emperor and Empress is not a blessing for the country!" Unexpectedly, Jiang Jiao turned around and went to the Empress to inform her. The Empress was terrified and immediately summoned her brother-in-law, Wang Shouyi, to the palace. The two siblings discussed a way to resist. The Empress's idea was to poison Consort Hui first. After Shouyi's repeated persuasion, the Empress remembered that the monk Mingwu of Chongsheng Temple in the capital had long possessed the ability to cast spells, so she ordered Shouyi to consult with Mingwu. Mingwu, a friend of Shouyi, upon hearing Shouyi's words, claimed to possess a method to reconcile the Emperor and Empress and to ensure the Empress would bear a son. Shouyi was overjoyed and immediately sent him ten thousand taels of silver. Mingwu then built a seven-tiered altar in the temple, arranging it according to the twenty-eight constellations, with twenty-eight young monks holding banners and canopies, standing on the seven tiers. He secretly entered the palace, stole a garment worn by the Emperor, inscribed with his birth date and time, and placed it beneath the altar. Every day at dawn, the monk ascended the altar to worship the Big Dipper for forty-nine days. Having completed his meritorious deed, he took a piece of fragrant wood from the altar and gave it to Wang Shouyi, who respectfully took it to the palace, instructing the Empress to hang it on her black inner garment, saying that the Emperor would naturally favor her. The Empress believed him and wore the fragrant wood with her day and night. Meanwhile, the disagreements between Consort Hui and the Empress deepened, each having their trusted maids lurking around to gather information. Consort Hui was already informed of the Empress's every move. The Emperor was now spending nights with Consort Hui, who was determined to curry favor with him, depose the Empress, and secure her position as the Empress. After their pleasures subsided, she lied, claiming that the Empress had secretly ordered monks at Chong Sheng Temple to perform a curse, adding, "The Empress still wears a soul-snatching wooden charm, intending to steal the Emperor's soul, hoping that after Your Majesty's death, the Imperial Uncle will rebel and declare himself Emperor." Emperor Xuanzong, already disliking the Empress, was enraged by Consort Hui's instigation. He didn't summon the palace guards and rushed to the Empress's palace himself. The maids, seeing the Emperor's fury, rushed in without even announcing his arrival. The Empress sat at her dressing table, doing her hair. Seeing the Emperor standing behind her in the mirror, she was startled and quickly turned around. Seeing the Emperor's face turn ashen with rage, she knew disaster was imminent and immediately knelt and kowtowed. At that moment, the Empress was letting her hair down when the Emperor reached out and grabbed her hair by the side. The Empress was quite petite, and the Emperor lifted her up, reaching out his right hand. With a tearing sound, his apron was ripped open, revealing her close-fitting belt. At a glance, a piece of fragrant wood hung from the belt. The Emperor, now trembling with rage, snatched the fragrant wood from his hand and saw that it was engraved with the three characters "霹雳木" (Pili Wood), below which were the characters for Heaven, Earth, Sun, and Moon. On the reverse side, the three characters "李隆基" (Li Longji) were neatly engraved. Li Longji was the name of Emperor Xuanzong. The Emperor thought to himself, "Now I understand what Consort Hui meant when she said she wanted to steal my soul." He reached out and slapped the Empress across the face, causing her poor cheek to swell immediately. Knowing the Emperor's temper, he was about to kick her further when many concubines rushed in, kneeling down to beg for the Empress's mercy.
A few concubines who had gained some favor helped the Emperor sit down in a chair.
The Empress, still kneeling, kowtowed and wept, recounting the whole story, hoping to regain the Emperor's favor. She explained that she had used this curse, detailing how she received Jiang Jiao's secret report, how she had asked the Imperial Uncle Wang Shouyi to request the monk Mingwu to perform a ritual, and how she had obtained the thunderbolt wood to hang there. The Emperor, already aware of Consort Hui's words, refused to listen to the Empress. He repeatedly shouted, "Tie this lowly servant up and send her to the Ministry of Justice to be executed!" No one dared disobey this imperial decree. Four eunuchs rushed in and restrained the Empress. The Empress, panicked, crawled on the ground, struggling and refusing to get up. He said, "Even if Your Majesty doesn't remember the hardships my husband and I went through, does Your Majesty not remember that Ah Zhong took off his purple half-sleeve and exchanged it for flour, just for birthday soup dumplings?"
A single sentence touched the emperor's heart; Ah Zhong was the nickname of the empress's father, Ren Jiao.
Just as things were reaching a climax, news arrived that Chancellor Zhang Yue had entered the palace. Zhang Yue was a trusted minister of Emperor Xuanzong, frequently visiting the palace. He disregarded everything and entered the empress's chambers. Seeing the empress lying on the ground in such a pitiful state, he quickly removed his hat and prostrated himself in kowtow. The emperor then said, "The empress intends to kill me!" Zhang Yue hurriedly explained, "No one is more noble than the emperor, and no one is closer than husband and wife! The empress holds the position of Empress, enjoying the utmost favor. Even if the couple is not on good terms, she would never harbor any intention to harm Your Majesty! Without Your Majesty, the empress would lose all her favor. Though the empress may be foolish, she would not be so foolish as to do this!" Hearing Zhang Yue's words, Emperor Xuanzong gradually calmed down and immediately issued an edict, demoting the empress to commoner status. Jiang Jiao, Wang Shouyi, and the Buddhist monk Mingwu were all beheaded. The emperor then considered making Consort Hui the empress. When the censor Pan Haoli submitted a memorial, he said: "According to the Book of Rites, the hatred between parents and children cannot be shared under Heaven; in the Spring and Autumn Annals, a son who does not avenge his parents is not a son. Your Majesty wishes to make Wu a consort. How can you show this to the scholars of the world? The consort is second only to her uncle, a decision made after careful consideration; she is also second only to her father, a favored daughter of Yan Xiu; both are violations of the established order and moral principles, and are universally condemned! Even a wicked tree that casts its shade will not deter a man of integrity; even a gushing spring will not be drunk by an honest man; even ordinary men and women choose their partners carefully, how much more so the Son of Heaven? I urge you to carefully select a member of the noble family, in accordance with the will of the gods! In the Spring and Autumn Annals, the meeting of Xia Fu of Song was without reason..." "I am a concubine; Duke Huan of Qi swore on the day of Kuiqiu that he would not take a concubine as his wife; this shows that the sage clearly distinguished between legitimate and illegitimate children, and
once the distinction was established, the desire for power and competition would cease. Nowadays, people often say that the Right Chancellor wants to gain favor by establishing a new empress. Now, the Crown Prince is not born to Consort Hui, but she has a son; if he were to marry
the Emperor, the position of heir would be insecure. The ancients advised against this for a reason!" Emperor Xuanzong read this memorial and, considering that Consort Hui was the descendant of a criminal, feared that making her empress would incur the wrath of his ancestors, so he had no choice but to abandon the idea. However, from then on, there was no empress in the palace, and Consort Hui's power grew day by day, becoming as powerful as if she were an empress. Because Pan Haoli had this memorial, Emperor Xuanzong hated him to the end, found a fault in him, and dismissed Pan Haoli
from his post as censor. Emperor Xuanzong also doted on Consort Hui, spending every day in her palace. Taking advantage of this, Consort Hui slandered the concubines she did not favor to the emperor, and they were all banished to obscurity. Among them was Consort Lin, who had once been favored by the emperor. However, since the arrival of Consort Wu Hui, Consort Lin's favor had gradually faded, and she had now been banished to the Cold Palace.
Consort Lin, however, did not resent the emperor, only Consort Wu Hui. Consort Lin had accumulated a great deal of silver in the palace. She entrusted
this silver to a eunuch surnamed Huang, who took it out of the palace to buy a stunningly beautiful woman to wait for the emperor outside the palace. This woman would then share Consort Wu Hui's favor, allowing Consort Lin to vent her anger. That winter, the emperor, as usual, went to various imperial tombs to pay respects to his ancestors. Passing through Luzhou City, he stayed overnight at a temporary palace. As dusk settled, a stunningly beautiful woman suddenly appeared, carrying a tray and offering wine and dishes. Her pair of fair and slender hands had already stirred the emperor's heart. Emperor Xuanzong decreed that the woman be kept. A night of passion engulfed the emperor's entire heart. The woman claimed to be surnamed Zhao, the daughter of Zhao, the palace guard. Emperor Xuanzong believed her and showered her with affection.
The next day, he issued an edict making Zhao a Consort Li and promoting Zhao to the rank of Minister. After lingering in the palace for five or six days, he took Consort Li to the imperial palace and had a beautifully prepared room in the imperial garden for her to settle in. From then on, Xuanzong was inseparable from Consort Li, spending all his time in her palace, completely forgetting about Consort Wu Hui. Consort Li was originally from a prostitute family. She was bought by Eunuch Huang for three thousand taels of silver at the behest of Consort Lin and placed in Zhao's household. When Emperor Xuanzong was lonely, she was presented to him. Consort Li used her alluring skills from her family home, and the emperor fell into her trap. To find out what happens next, please read the next chapter.

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[Romantic Anecdotes of the Tang Dynasty Court] [49] [Author: Xu Xiaotian]

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