[History of the Sui Dynasty Palace] [17]

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Chapter Seventeen: Guarding Against Ghosts and People - Midnight Changes, Joy Turns to Jealousy, Slander Spreads All Night. It is said that when Ziye was holding a banquet and playing music at the Bamboo Grove Hall to quell the ghostly calamity, the host, Shou Jizhi, led his accomplices, armed with knives, into the Hualin Garden and stormed to the front of the Bamboo Grove Hall. Ziye caught sight of the group entering the hall with knives, their ferocity alarming him. He knew something was wrong. In a panic, he threw down his cup, rose from his seat, grabbed his bow and arrows for shooting ghosts, and drew them. He aimed at Shou Jizhi, who was leading the charge. With a thud, the arrow flew out, but in his panic, he missed, and the first arrow flew into the hall. Ziye tried to draw his bow again, but he was too flustered to do so. At that moment, Shou Jizhi had already leaped in front of Ziye, raised his knife, and swung it towards Ziye's face. Before Ziye could draw his sword, he parried
the blade with his precious bow. With a snap, the bow broke in two, and Ziye hastily abandoned it and fled. Jizhi, however, was not about to let him escape and pursued him closely. Reaching him, Jizhi thrust his blade into Ziye's back. Ziye immediately fell to the ground, and Jizhi struck again, killing the tyrannical and cruel Ziye, who was only seventeen years old and had reigned for less than a year.
Seeing Ziye dead, the palace attendants, maids, and sorcerers in the Bamboo Grove Hall scattered in panic. Jizhi and the others shouted in unison, "We were here on the Empress Dowager's secret decree to eliminate the tyrant. Now the tyrant is dead. The matter is settled; the rest are no longer involved. There is no need for panic!" Hearing this, everyone calmed down. Only Princess Shanyin and Consort Xie, who had collapsed in shock when Jizhi and his men stormed into the Bamboo Grove Hall, were helped up by several palace maids. Upon seeing Ziye's murder, the two women paled and wept bitterly. The palace maids comforted them, saying, "This was a secret decree from the Empress Dowager; only the Emperor was killed, the others are innocent. Princess and Her Majesty, please comfort us." The two women nodded listlessly and were helped back to their palaces by the maids to rest.
Meanwhile, Shou Jizhi and his men, having killed Ziye, left the Hualin Garden and went straight to the Secretariat where Prince Xiangdong, Yu, was imprisoned. It was late at night, and Prince Xiangdong was already asleep. Shou Jizhi and his men roused him from his bed, and he bowed and prostrated himself before them. Although Prince Xiangdong had conspired with Jizhi and his men to assassinate him, he had not known of the uprising beforehand. Now, waking from his dream, he was both surprised and delighted. He was immediately urged to the inner court by Prince Jian'an, Xiuren, and Prince Shanyang, Xiuyou.
Before he could even finish, he was helped to the East Hall. The chief attendant, Ruan Dianfu, presented him with a white hat and black boots, and he hastily ascended the throne to summon the officials. The officials, knowing that Ziye was indeed too licentious and tyrannical, utterly unfit to be a ruler, all submitted to the Prince of Xiangdong's ascension to the throne, bowing and acknowledging his subservience. The Grand Secretary, Dai Mingbao, drafted the Empress Dowager's edict, which was then read aloud to the assembly. It was nothing more than a description of Ziye's incompetence and tyranny, and of the
Prince of Xiangdong's wisdom and competence. I won't bother copying these tired, tired phrases. By the time the edict was finished, the sun was high in the sky, and the sky was bright. Prince Yu of Xiangdong, also because of Princess Shanyin's licentious behavior in the palace and Consort Xie's shameless and incestuous conduct, requested the Empress Dowager's decree to order their immediate execution. Princess Shanyin and Consort Xie already knew that with Ziye's death, the iceberg would collapse, and they themselves would surely perish. Now, having received the Empress Dowager's decree, they both committed suicide by poison. The thirty male favorites of Princess Shanyin were all expelled from the palace.
Ziye's sycophant Hua Yuan'er, and the rest of his treacherous associates, were either killed or expelled—these are all well and good.
Ziye's body lay exposed in the Bamboo Grove Hall, and for a time, no one paid him any attention.
Fortunately, the Minister of Works, Wang Yu, visited the Prince of Xiangdong and said, "Although Ziye was cruel and immoral, he did once ascend the throne and rule the world. His funeral should be properly conducted to avoid public criticism." The Prince of Xiangdong found this reasonable and immediately ordered a hastily prepared funeral, followed by a simple burial. Prince Yu of Xiangdong then formally ascended the throne on the first day of the twelfth month of that year, changing the era name to Taishi and bestowing great honors upon his meritorious officials.
At this time, Prince Xiuren of Jian'an, upon Emperor Yu of Song promoting General Liu Daolong of the Left Guard to the position of Commander of the Central Guard, submitted a memorial resigning his post, stating, "I do not wish to serve in the same court as Liu Daolong." The memorial offered no explanation, leaving Emperor Yu utterly bewildered and astonished. Only after inquiring with his advisors did Emperor Yu realize the truth: during the reign of Emperor Ziye, Liu Daolong had also been a favorite. One day, Emperor Ziye summoned Prince Xiuren's mother, Lady Yang, to the palace and immediately ordered Daolong to rape her. Seeing Lady Yang's mature beauty and alluring charm, Daolong, aroused, raped her as ordered. Moreover, he did so openly and brazenly in public. How could Xiuren bear such humiliation and continue serving alongside Daolong in court? Emperor Yu, upon discovering the truth, was furious and ordered Daolong's execution. Dao Long traded his life for a moment of licentious pleasure, demonstrating that lust is the root of all evil, and that even in the unseen realm, retribution may follow.
Now, after Prince Xiang Yu ascended the throne, the Song court should have presented an atmosphere of peace and tranquility. However, Emperor Yu was a cruel and suspicious man. Later, when Prince Jin'an, Xun, rebelled, after the rebellion was quelled, he massacred as many as fourteen princes, cruelly torturing his own family. Empress Dowager Lu, however, greatly favored Prince Jin'an Xun and had hoped for his success during his rebellion. After Xun's defeat and death, Empress Dowager Lu was filled with resentment. One day, she summoned Emperor Yu to the palace, feigning to serve him wine, but instead gave him a cup of poisoned wine. Yu, caught off guard, was about to drink it when a eunuch secretly tugged at his clothes from behind. Yu then realized something was wrong.
The cunning Emperor Yu of Song, seizing the opportunity, rose with a cup in hand and presented it to Empress Dowager Lu, saying, "This wine is offered to you in celebration of your long life!" Empress Dowager Lu, unable to refuse, reluctantly drank it all. Not long after, she succumbed to the poison and died. Although this was Empress Dowager Lu's own doing, Emperor Yu's heart was undeniably cruel! But let's leave that aside for now. For several chapters, I've focused on the Southern Song Dynasty, neglecting the Northern Wei. Now, however, I must turn my attention to the Northern Wei.
Emperor Tuoba Jun of Northern Wei died after fourteen years on the throne, and his son, Crown Prince Hong, ascended the throne at the young age of twelve. Empress Dowager Feng ruled as regent. This empress dowager was a remarkable woman, possessing great wisdom and resourcefulness, and she handled state affairs with ease. Unfortunately, she also suffered from a serious flaw: lust and greed. Consider these four words—even a man shouldn't utter them, how could a woman?
Yet the Empress Dowager, unable to bear widowhood and the desolate years she spent, still held onto her youthful glory. It was a twist of fate, an inescapable destiny. One day, by chance, Li Yi, the younger brother of the Minister Li Fu, was appointed to the palace guard. Li Yi was as handsome as Pan An, dashing and charming. Empress Dowager Feng, seeing him, was immediately captivated. That very night, she ordered a palace maid to summon Li Yi to her palace for a banquet. When the banquet ended and the moon rose, the two entered the boudoir and made love. From then on, their love was intense, and they met secretly constantly. Everyone in the palace knew, but because Empress Dowager Feng was so powerful, no one dared to speak out or reveal their affair. Therefore, Prince Wei, Hong, remained completely unaware. It wasn't until later, when Li Su, the governor of Xiangzhou, presented a memorial detailing over thirty crimes committed by the Li brothers. King Hong of Wei was furious and immediately had Li Fu and Li Yi killed. Empress Dowager Feng, deeply infatuated with her lover, was heartbroken to see him killed and unable to intervene or seek help. She secretly harbored resentment towards King Hong. She bribed her attendants to add poison to his food. King Hong never imagined that shortly after eating, he would feel as if a thousand sharp knives were stabbing him inside. He collapsed to the ground, bleeding from all seven orifices, and died at the young age of twenty-three.
Empress Dowager Feng immediately ordered her attendants to wipe away the blood and lay the body on the imperial bed before announcing, "King Hong of Wei has died suddenly." No court officials dared to inquire further. Empress Dowager Feng then resumed ruling as regent, assisting King Hong in making all decisions, and was honored as Grand Empress Dowager. At this time, however, Empress Dowager Feng's favor shifted to another person: the Grand Diviner Wang Rui. He was handsome and robust, which stirred Empress Feng's heart. Before long, she appointed him to fill Li Luan's vacancy, promoting him to the position of Minister. Wang Rui was overjoyed; he had gained a high position and was close to her, and became even more infatuated with Empress Feng. However, not long after, Empress Feng fell in love with Li Chong, the Secretary of the Imperial Secretariat, who was also a handsome young man, and soon she was hooked. Wang Rui couldn't help but feel jealous. But Empress Feng was preoccupied with her new favorite, and had no time to spare for his old flame. Although Wang Rui was full of grievances, he had no way to vent them and kept them bottled up inside.
A few days later, Empress Feng finally put Li Chong aside and returned to her old flame. Wang Rui then acted coquettishly and infatuatedly on her pillow, imitating the behavior of women, forgetting that he was a man. Empress Feng knew that she had neglected him for many days and that he was feeling jealous, so she sincerely comforted him.
Wang Rui, though calming down, still harbored resentment towards Li Chong for taking away his share of the spoils. Whenever he saw Li Chong, his anger was always on display, and he would use sarcastic and mocking remarks to provoke him. Li Chong knew it was because of Empress Feng, but although younger than Wang Rui, Li Chong was more cunning, and no matter what, he would always just smile and remain silent.
One day, Wang Rui and Li Chong met again in the palace. Li Chong immediately lowered his head and walked away, but overheard Wang Rui angrily say, "Don't rely on the Empress Dowager's favor; one day I'll take your life!" Li Chong heard this and remembered it. That night, Empress Feng summoned Li Chong to the palace to serve her in bed. Empress Feng had been in bed for some time, but Li Chong hadn't appeared. Empress Feng was quite surprised and asked him why.
Li Chong immediately prostrated himself on the ground and said, “Your humble servant is deeply grateful for the Empress Dowager’s extraordinary favor, how could I
not do my utmost to repay it? However, I have no ill will towards Minister Wang Rui, yet for some reason, he always shows his anger when he sees me. His words make me feel uncomfortable. I know my sins are grave, and I fear that arguing with him might disturb the Empress Dowager, so I have always endured it. Today, I encountered Wang Rui again in the palace. I immediately walked away to avoid him, but he said angrily, ‘Don’t rely on the Empress Dowager’s favor.’ If such words were to be heard by outsiders, it would damage the Empress Dowager’s reputation and make my sins even more grave! Therefore, from now on, I dare not enter the palace to serve the Empress Dowager.” "It's not that I'm afraid Wang Rui will harm me, but I'm truly worried about implicating the Empress Dowager,"
Li Chong said tactfully. Empress Feng felt pity for him and, smiling, pulled him onto the bed, saying, "You silly child, you're so pitiful. Don't be afraid of that scoundrel Wang Rui; I'll take care of everything. If that fellow truly doesn't know what's good for him, I won't forgive him! Just relax, he really wouldn't dare to harm you, would he?"
Li Chong said, "I've already said my life isn't important, but I'm afraid he'll be ungrateful and spread rumors..." Empress Feng flew into a rage, saying, "If he dares to do that, I'll take his life first. Tomorrow , I
'll give him a warning." That night, Li Chong flattered Empress Feng to her satisfaction. The next evening, Empress Feng summoned Wang Rui to the palace. Wang Rui, summoned, arrived with great joy. Upon entering Empress Feng's palace, he saw her stern expression and his heart sank. Knowing something was amiss, he still smiled and stepped forward. Empress Feng said sternly, "Wang Rui, in what way have I wronged you? How dare you be so ungrateful!
What kind of place is this palace? How dare you speak such nonsense!" Wang Rui hurriedly prostrated himself on the ground, saying, "This humble subject has received the Empress Dowager's boundless favor; how could I be ungrateful? I would never dare to utter any nonsense in the palace." Empress Feng sneered, "That's easy to say. Think back to yesterday in the palace; did you say anything?" Hearing the word "yesterday," Wang Rui thought of Li Chong and couldn't help but think bitterly: Li Chong, Li Chong, you dared to speak ill of me in front of the Empress Dowager! I swear I will not rest until I kill you!
Wang Rui only knew his own intentions and forgot Empress Feng's reply. Seeing him prostrate on the ground, silent, Empress Feng assumed he had run out of words and sneered, "Now you understand? If you dare do this again, watch your head!" Wang Rui seized this opportunity to beg for mercy. Empress Feng smiled and calmed down, still summoning him to her bedchamber. From then on, Wang Rui... Li Chong harbored a deep hatred. It is truly a case of: A jealous man vying for favor in the deep palace, a man protecting a woman.
To know what happens next, please read the next chapter.

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[History of the Sui Dynasty Palace] [17]

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