[History of the Sui Dynasty Palace] [08]

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Chapter Eight: Trouble Arises from Within, Evil Deceives Rampant, Misfortune Strikes
from Within, Rebellious Son Plots. It is said that after the Jinglun Palace was built, Emperor Tao of Wei, in his spare time, would discuss the doctrines of Zhuangzi and Laozi with Kou Qianzhi, but that is another story. Now, let's talk about a eunuch under Emperor Tao's command named Zong Ai. This man was naturally sycophantic and flattering, deeply favored by Emperor Tao. He presented a beautiful woman to Emperor Tao. This woman was beautiful, with fair and smooth skin, plump but not foolish, and skilled in internal vision, as well as singing, dancing, and eloquent speech. Emperor Tao, having obtained her, naturally doted on her. This woman's original surname was Zhang, and her name was Wanqing. She was originally the first courtesan in the Pingcheng brothel. Zong Ai, wanting to secure the emperor's favor, spent a fortune to buy her and presented her to Emperor Tao. After Emperor Tao favored her, he made her Consort Zhang, and from then on, he favored Zong Ai even more. Emperor Tao then ordered Consort Zhang to also go to the Jinglun Palace to listen to Kou Qianzhi's sermons. Thus, a sorcerer and enchantress concocted a scandalous affair.
It turned out that Consort Zhang entered the Jinglun Palace and, upon seeing Kou Qianzhi, was immediately captivated.
Qianzhi was handsome, with a flowing beard, long eyebrows, slender eyes, fair skin, and a robust physique. Consort Zhang, intentionally or unintentionally, began to flirt with him. However, Qianzhi, a street ruffian, seeing Consort Zhang's affections, refused to refuse. They exchanged glances and soon slept together, fulfilling their desires. From then on, they used the Jinglun Palace, where sermons were held, as their sanctuary for sexual intercourse. The Wei Emperor, despite his curses, never imagined that the considerable expense spent building the Jinglun Palace, intended to connect with the gods, would instead lead to the union of Consort Zhang and Qianzhi—a truly laughable situation. Meanwhile, Zong Ai, relying on Consort Zhang's connections, gained the Wei Emperor's increasing trust, and he colluded with eunuchs to form a faction for personal gain.
However, because Crown Prince Huang had long known that Zong Ai was a wicked man and had always been at odds with him, he harbored a deep resentment. Furthermore, Qiu Ni Daosheng, a censor, was a favorite of the Crown Prince, but Qiu Ni Daosheng also had a long-standing feud with Zong Ai. Zong Ai had a beloved concubine named Meiniang, who was seduced by Qiu Ni Daosheng's adopted son, Wang Zhenzhong. Zong Ai discovered the affair, and Meiniang hanged herself. Wang Zhenzhong, however, was hiding in Qiu Ni Daosheng's house. Zong Ai demanded Zhenzhong from Daosheng, but Daosheng refused, saying that Zhenzhong was not hiding in his house and that Zong Ai could search for him if he didn't believe him.
Enraged, Zong Ai, without thinking, led a dozen servants into Qiu Ni Daosheng's house. Daosheng had hidden Wang Zhenzhong in the embroidered bed in his daughter Fangyun's room. Zong Ai and his family searched everywhere, but there was no trace of Zhenzhong. When they reached the door of Daosheng's daughter's room, Zong Ai tried to barge in, but Daosheng blocked his way with both hands, saying, "Wait, Attendant Zong, let me explain before you search!" Zong Ai asked, "What is it?" Daosheng replied, "The inner room is my daughter Fangyun's boudoir. She is an unmarried young lady. I won't stop you from searching. If you find Wang Zhenzhong, I have nothing to say, and you can do whatever you want with her, Lord Zong. If you don't find him, then what? Now, Lord Zong, you must give me an answer." Zong Ai and his servants exchanged bewildered glances, speechless. Daosheng urged him repeatedly, and Zong Ai hardened his heart, saying, "Even if it's your daughter's boudoir, I will search it. If I find nothing, I will confess my guilt and apologize and kowtow on your behalf and your daughter's behalf, how about that?" Daosheng had originally intended to scare Zong Ai away with these words. Now, hearing that Zong Ai still wanted to search, he couldn't help but panic. However, he had already spoken, and he couldn't go back on his word to stop Zong Ai from searching. Having no choice but to steel himself and let them in, he lowered his hands and said, "Alright! Please come in."
Zong Ai and his servants rushed into the room, but there was no sign of Wang Zhenzhong anywhere. Only the embroidered bed curtains hung low. Zong Ai went straight to the bed, and Dao Sheng inwardly cried out in alarm.
Zong Ai lifted the curtains, and inside the brocade quilt, something was raised high—a person, of course. Zong Ai was overjoyed, but when he lifted the quilt to look, he was so frightened he stumbled back, while Dao Sheng's spirits lifted instantly. There was no Wang Zhenzhong inside the quilt, but a young girl.
At this moment, the girl gracefully got out of bed, straightened her clothes, her eyebrows furrowed, her almond eyes wide open, and pointed a dagger at Zong Ai, saying, "Who are you? How dare you trespass into someone's boudoir, lifting the curtains and quilts? What are your intentions?" Dao Sheng also sneered coldly from the side. Zong Ai, knowing he had been tricked, had no choice but to sheepishly apologize and kowtow to Dao Sheng, then to the young girl, before he was allowed to lead his servants back. Dao Sheng then asked the girl, "Xing'er, where did Young Master Wang hide?" Xing'er replied, "When you were at the door, Young Master Wang jumped onto the roof through the back window and is hiding somewhere." Dao Sheng was delighted and later gave Xing'er to Wang Zhenzhong. It turned out that Xing'er was a maidservant of Dao Sheng's daughter, Fang Yun. Since Zhenzhong was hiding in Fang Yun's room, Fang Yun naturally wanted to avoid suspicion. Xing'er was left in the room, and as Dao Sheng's daughter, she inadvertently caused Zong Ai embarrassment.
From then on, Zong Ai and Dao Sheng harbored a deep grudge. Ever since the Emperor of Wei favored him, Zong Ai would daily speak ill of the Crown Prince to the Emperor, and the Emperor believed him without question. Zong Ai then accused Qiu Ni Daosheng of being the first villain in the Crown Prince's service. The Wei Emperor had Daosheng killed, and soon after, killed more than ten of the Crown Prince's men. Crown Prince Huang, shocked and frightened, fell ill and died shortly after. Afterwards, the Wei Emperor, reflecting on the Crown Prince's past conduct, realized he had acted reasonably well and regretted his actions. He posthumously honored Huang as Crown Prince Jingmu and showed particular favor to Huang's son, Jun. Zong Ai, seeing the Wei Emperor's reaction, was secretly alarmed, fearing punishment.
Adding to his unease, the affair between Consort Zhang and Guan Qianzhi was exposed. Consort Zhang committed suicide, while Guan Qianzhi escaped. Zong Ai, even more uneasy, harbored evil intentions.
That night, in the dead of night, he took advantage of the Wei Emperor sleeping alone in the palace and murdered him. He then led the eunuchs to kill Prince Dongping, Han, and three other officials: He Pi, Xue Ti, and Lan Yan. These three had wanted to enthrone Prince Dongping, Han, but Zong Ai disagreed with Han and thus killed them. They then enthroned Prince Nan'an, Nai, as emperor. The Wei officials, daring not to disobey, all bowed their heads in submission. As was customary, a general amnesty was declared, the era name was changed to Yongping, Helian Ting was honored as Empress Dowager, and Emperor Tao of Wei was posthumously honored as Emperor Taiwu. Zong Ai was appointed Grand Marshal, General-in-Chief, Commander-in-Chief of all military affairs, and concurrently served as Secretary of the Imperial Secretariat, and was enfeoffed as Prince of Fengyi. At this time, Zong Ai's power was immense, drawing the attention of court officials. Soon, even Emperor Nai of Wei began to fear him. Zong Ai, cunning and shrewd, had already seen this coming. He struck first, secretly ordering the eunuch Jia Zhou and others to assassinate Emperor Nai. His killing of two emperors enraged Liu Ni, the Imperial Guard Commander; Yuan He, the Palace Attendant; Lu Li, the Minister of the Imperial Secretariat; and Changsun Kehou. They quickly devised a plan: on one hand, they enthroned Imperial Grandson Jun; on the other hand, they captured Zong Ai, Jia Zhou, and other treacherous officials, killing them one by one. They then enthroned Imperial Grandson Jun as emperor, changed the era name to Xing'an, and lavishly rewarded meritorious officials, thus stabilizing the state of the nation.
Unexpectedly, such turmoil erupted in the Northern Wei court. Meanwhile, a great calamity also broke out in the Southern Song Dynasty. At this point, I must abandon the Northern Wei and speak of the Southern Song. It turns out that Crown Prince Shao of the Southern Song Emperor Yilong, since the death of his mother, Empress Yuan, harbored deep resentment towards Consort Pan and her son, Jun. Fearing harm from Shao, Jun flattered and fawned upon him, even managing to make Shao forget his past grievances and become very friendly with Jun. At this time, Shao's sister, Princess Dongyang, had a maidservant named Wang Yingwu who associated with the sorceress Yan Daoyu. Yan Daoyu was extremely cunning. She befriended Wang Yingwu, intending to cultivate a relationship with her and use Wang Yingwu to gain an audience with Princess Dongyang. She soon achieved her goal, and through Wang Yingwu's introduction, met Princess Dongyang and fabricated a blatant lie, claiming to possess extraordinary supernatural powers. The princess then deeply believed in Yan Daoyu. At that time, Shao and Jun frequently visited the princess's residence. The princess then told them about Daoyu's magical arts. Both harbored ulterior motives, as their misconduct had frequently drawn reprimands from Emperor Yilong. They begged the princess to introduce Daoyu to them. They then asked Daoyu to use magic to prevent Emperor Yilong from discovering their wrongdoings and thus avoid constant reprimands.
Daoyu then performed a ritual, setting up an incense table, prostrating himself on the ground, and muttering incantations. He then claimed to have summoned a celestial being. Daoyu then engaged in a long dialogue with the heavens before concluding. He then told the two, "I have already asked the celestial being to cover up your transgressions; Your Highnesses can rest assured." The two were overjoyed and richly rewarded Daoyu.
However, Daoyu knew that such trickery was useless, so he harbored evil intentions and used witchcraft to carve an image of Emperor Yilong of Song out of jade. Wang Yingwu conspired with her master-servant Chen Tianxing and eunuch Chen Qingguo to bury the jade statue beneath Hanzhang Palace, intending to bewitch the Song emperor. Wang Yingwu was inherently lewd and had long been having an affair with Chen Tianxing, their mutual attraction explaining why Tianxing agreed to their scheme. However, Princess Dongyang, seeing that Yingwu had grown up, wished to marry her off. Therefore, Jun made the decision on her behalf, marrying Wang Yingwu to Shen Huaiyuan, a minor official, as a concubine.
The parrot, originally quite alluring, was a prized possession of Shen Huaiyuan after he married her. However, the parrot harbored ulterior motives, fearing that Chen Tianxing, out of jealousy, would reveal the affair. And indeed, the most venomous heart in the world is that of a woman; she had forgotten the past kindness Tianxing had shown her. So, she struck first, going to Crown Prince Shao and saying, "Chen Tianxing is plotting a coup and is about to expose the affair!" Crown Prince Shao, without verifying the truth, believed the parrot and had Chen Tianxing killed.
This also alarmed the eunuch Chen Qingguo, who was also involved in the conspiracy. He thought that besides Chen Tianxing, only he knew about the jade statue buried by Prince Hanzhang. If the parrot and her accomplices could kill Tianxing, why couldn't they kill him to silence him? The more he thought about it, the more dangerous it seemed. He decided it was best to secretly inform Emperor Yilong first.
Emperor Yilong was furious and, at Prince Hanzhang's residence, unearthed the buried jade statue. Emperor Yilong then ordered the arrest of Yan Daoyu and Wang Yingwu. Daoyu, having heard the news early, escaped and went to Jingkou to seek refuge with Prince Shixing, Jun. Wang Yingwu, however, was arrested and imprisoned. Emperor Yilong also issued a stern decree reprimanding Crown Prince Shao and Prince Shixing, Jun. Seeing their scheme exposed, the two had no choice but to submit a memorial of apology. Prince Shixing, Jun, secretly entered the capital from Jingkou and went to the palace to inquire about news from Consort Pan. When Consort Pan saw her son, she wept and said, "You've acted so foolishly. After that incident, your father returned to the palace that very night, furious. He said to me, 'It's one thing for Crown Prince Shao to be wicked and hoping to ascend the throne early. But how can Hu Tou Jun's nickname be associated with him? I think you and your son will have nowhere to die if I die!' At that time, I pleaded with your father on your behalf, asking him to calm down.
From now on, my son, you must repent and stop your reckless behavior. If you continue to be so wicked, you might as well kill me first!" Consort Pan finished speaking, tears streaming down her face. Jun, however, was unmoved and instead laughed loudly, "What a woman's view! What does she know about worldly affairs? It's all up to people; you don't need to worry about me." With that, he turned and left. Seeing this, Consort Pan could only sigh, helpless.
Now, Emperor Yilong, seeing his two sons so rebellious, secretly harbored the idea of deposing Crown Prince Shao and punishing Prince Shixing, Jun. On that very day, he secretly summoned the court officials Wang Sengchuo and Xu Zhanzhi to discuss the matter. The two, emphasizing its gravity, advised Emperor Yilong to be careful not to leak it. Therefore, whenever they discussed the matter, they would walk around the wall to prevent eavesdropping. Consort Pan, deeply loving her son, constantly sent people to inquire. However, due to her tight security, they couldn't glean anything. Consort Pan then waited until Emperor Yilong returned to his bedchamber. She used her influence on him, feigning to recount the crimes of Crown Prince Shao and Prince Shixing, urging Emperor Yilong to severely punish them. The Song emperor, believing Consort Pan's good intentions, revealed all their secret plots. Consort Pan remembered them. The next day, she sent someone to inform Prince Shixing, Jun. Jun then informed Crown Prince Shao. At this point, Crown Prince Shao realized that if he didn't act first, his own life would be in danger. He then summoned his trusted confidants, including Chen Shu'er and Zhang Chaozhi, to plot the assassination. On that day, before dawn, Crown Prince Shao led the Eastern Palace troops towards the palace. It was truly a case of: "In the past, I spared the life of this treacherous child; today, it has become a plot for regicide."
To find out what happens next, please read the next chapter.

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[History of the Sui Dynasty Palace] [08]

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