Chapter 133: What, Another One Dead?
Chapter 133: What, Another One Dead?
Yang Xin never got a chance to commit regicide. By three in the afternoon, Zhu Changluo had already swallowed the fatal Red Pill…
The next day, before dawn.
The early hours of the first day of the ninth month, in the forty-eighth year of the Wanli era, or the first year of the Taichang era.
“Hurry, all of you, quickly!”
An old eunuch anxiously walked out of the Qianqing Palace, holding a lantern. He waved his arm to hurry the younger eunuchs following him. Behind him, the Qianqing Hall was ablaze with light, filled with agitated eunuchs and palace maids rushing about, the scene chaotic as if the world was ending.
Next, Concubine Li entered the scene…
“Why aren’t you moving faster? Go straight to Fang Congzhe and Han Kuang! Tell them His Majesty is about to be no more!”
The woman also urged anxiously.
Hidden in the shadows atop the roof, Yang Xin silently observed the pandemonium. The old eunuch and the younger ones ran hastily towards the Qianqing Gate, heading to summon Fang Congzhe who was still waiting in the Grand Secretariat. Barring surprises, Fang Congzhe wouldn’t make it to see the emperor one last time. The Great Ming’s Taichang Emperor, who had ascended the throne less than a month ago, was nearing his final breath. Standing before the doorway watching the eunuchs leave, Concubine Li showed no trace of sorrow on her face. Instead, there was only irritation…
“This old fool! Why didn’t you give me a proper title earlier?!”
She muttered under her breath.
She was still only a “Concubine Selected” (
Xuanshi
).
Even though she was already living in the Qianqing Palace – a residence traditionally reserved for the Empress – and Zhu Changluo had promised to make her Imperial Noble Consort, her luck was truly abysmal.
His Majesty the Emperor simply hadn’t had time to fulfill his promise!
The woman stamped her foot resentfully.
She then turned and hurried back inside. Behind her, a little girl, rubbing sleep from her eyes, wandered out the door and stretched out her hands to catch raindrops falling from the roof. Oblivious to the turmoil behind her, she played until a palace maid scooped her up and quickly carried her back inside. At that moment, the little girl peered drowsily over the maid’s shoulder, catching sight of a black shadow. Like a ghost, it dropped from the roof into the shade below, then bizarrely rose up and vanished into the enveloping darkness.
Yang Xin had to get away fast.
Fang Congzhe received the summons first, but then learned that Zhu Changluo had died. To absolve himself of responsibility, this unscrupulous old man didn’t rush over immediately. Instead, he secretly drafted an Imperial Edict within the Grand Secretariat, granting Li Kezhuo a reward in the name of the Taichang Emperor. This aimed to prove the emperor had willingly taken the Red Pill…
This was hardly loyal.
The moment the emperor breathed his last, his first act was to shift blame onto the dead man’s shoulders.
Naturally, that wasn’t the main point.
The key was he was so preoccupied with this scheme that he missed the chance to enter the Qianqing Palace first and seize control over Tianqi. He could have commanded the situation then, even sending for his trusted allies before the Donglin Faction arrived, securing the palace. He was well-placed to do so: as the long-serving Chief Grand Secretary, his influence ran deep, unlike the newly promoted Donglin officials favored by Zhu Changluo. Had he secured Tianqi first, the Donglin Faction couldn’t have played their subsequent moves. But he underestimated their fervor. By the time Han Kuang, Liu Yijing, and even Yang Lian arrived, they all entered the Qianqing Palace together.
And so he ceded the initiative.
Among those who later entered the palace, apart from a few Ministers like Huang Kechan and Zhou Jiamo, the rest were Donglin members or their supporters, notably the top eunuch Wang An at that time.
Yang Lian, leveraging his existing connection with Wang An (built earlier through Wang Wenyan), swiftly seized control. Partnering with Wang An, they snatched Tianqi from the Qianqing Palace.
Tianqi was inside the Qianqing Palace, but Concubine Li had hidden him away in a side chamber.
This woman harbored no grander ambition. The idea that she wanted to be like Empress Wu was a wildly exaggerated joke; even the real Wu would have laughed at it.
All she wanted was for the ministers to honor the promise Taichang had made to her earlier. He had already agreed, even informing Fang Congzhe and others, to draft an edict making her Imperial Noble Consort. But she wanted to be Empress, which the ministers refused. The Empress title became impossible, and the Imperial Noble Consort position, due to the ensuing chaos, never materialized. Still, Taichang’s oral promise hadn’t been revoked. If the Grand Secretariat drafted the edict, she would be Imperial Noble Consort; if not, she remained a lowly Concubine Selected. With Taichang now dead, her last hope was to control Tianqi and force him to fulfill the promise.
However, who did she think she was?!
A woman with no real power trying to defy the scholar-officials?
They simply ignored her. They took Tianqi away, or rather, snatched him – Wang An pulling him along, Yang Lian and the others shoving him into a palanquin. The so-called honorable scholars of the Donglin Faction hoisted it and carried him straight to the Eastern Palace, the Crown Prince’s residence. Previously, Tianqi, being underage and despite being named Grand Imperial Son by Wanli, lived in the Qianqing Palace with Taichang. Going to the Eastern Palace first would formally establish his position as Crown Prince, before proceeding to the Qianqing Palace to ascend the throne as Emperor.
Concubine Li then tried to stubbornly remain in the Qianqing Palace.
Because Tianqi had to hold the accession ceremony there, and if she participated as his mother, it would lend de facto recognition to her status as Empress Dowager.
But Yang Lian struck her and drove her out.
It must be said that Yang Lian’s death later was partly his own fault. He was too arrogant. The emperor’s body wasn’t even cold yet, and he, one of the emperor’s most trusted men, joined another favorite, Wang An, to bully the woman the emperor left behind. Regardless of whether Concubine Li was right or wrong, one fact stood: At life’s end, Taichang entrusted her with raising Tianqi to adulthood. She was, in effect, Tianqi’s stepmother, the woman Taichang entrusted with his orphan son. Yang Lian hunted her down like a stray dog, forcing her to flee barefoot, weeping in fear, while eunuchs and maids serving her were beaten and humiliated; even her daughter’s hair ornaments were ripped off in her arms.
Did Yang Lian honor Taichang?
He was just a minor Right Supervising Secretary, Military Division, not even Chief Supervising Secretary – a mere seventh-rank official! Barely a sesame-seed official.
Though low in rank, his position held power.
A Supervising Secretary in the Great Ming Dynasty was indeed formidable.
Yet, as a seventh-rank official treated by Taichang as a minister entrusted with his legacy, charged with the emperor’s orphaned son and widowed consort, he responded in this manner. Thus, when Tianqi later executed him, he died without injustice. Whatever his ultimate motivations, he violated the fundamental duty of a minister. His utterly domineering behavior throughout the entire Palace Removal Case cemented his tragic fate.
Ultimately, every outcome has its antecedent cause.
Of course, Yang Xin loved this.
Without their arrogance, how could he put on his own performance? But before that, he needed to hurry home. He had to join the grand stage of this political drama in his role as Deputy Commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard.
The Yang Residence.
Amidst frantic barking from dogs, Yang Xin landed in his courtyard as the first light of dawn broke.
“Who’s there?!”
A sharp shout immediately challenged him.
The window of the main room opposite snapped open. A hand crossbow extended, held by a startled Huang Ying wearing only her undershirt…
“You haven’t been keeping some young lover here, have you?”
Yang Xin yelled in shock.
Huang Ying’s face flushed crimson instantly. She dropped the crossbow and scrambled to shut the window. But before she could latch it, Yang Xin had already poked his head through. Reaching both arms forward, he grabbed her tight. He lowered his head, buried his face into her, and shook it fiercely back and forth. Then popped his head back up…
“Hurry! Find my official robes!” he ordered.
Then he looked surprised at the figures behind Huang Ying. Xiaocao, and the little girl they’d met during the salt-trading trip, were both on the bed, staring at him in astonishment.
“Why do you need official robes?” Huang Ying asked, smoothing her rumpled clothes.
“Quickly now! The emperor is dead!” Yang Xin announced.
“What?! Another one dead?” Huang Ying gasped, eyes wide.
“Well… though it’s rather irreverent to put it that way… yes, the Great Ming Dynasty has indeed lost another emperor,” Yang Xin clarified.
Huang Ying threw her outer robe on, swiftly unlocked a chest, and pulled out his official robes. Since his Flying Fish Robe was unwearable unless specially remade, he had to put on the unused court uniform he actually held rank in. Within moments, with Huang Ying and the others helping, he was dressed in the red robes of a third-grade military official. He pinned the leopard emblem to his chest, placed the black gauze hat squarely on his head, and strode out, chest puffed out. His servants, though bewildered, quickly prepared his horse. Deputy Commander Yang mounted up. Bathed in the first rays of dawn lightening the horizon, he rode proudly out of his gate.
“Deputy Commander Yang?”
Chief He, who had just risen himself, stood just outside, stunned.
“Chief He! Apologies for returning late yesterday evening and missing the chance to invite you for a drink!” Yang Xin greeted him with a cupped fist salute.
The other man hurriedly bowed in return.
“Deputy Commander Yang returned victorious from Liaodong! This old man should be holding a victory banquet for you! It’s all over the Capital Gazette ! How you slaughtered the Jiannu in Liaodong with their heads tumbling, even chopped down one of their great generals! Truly, Deputy Commander Yang is like the War God descended – where you go, Jiannu rebels have but one fate!” Chief He hurriedly spewed flattery.
“Hah! Well said!” Yang Xin laughed heartily.
By now, more people appeared on the street. While exchanging pleasantries with his neighbors, Yang Xin made his way towards the gate of the Xianyi Neighborhood. Soon outside it, the growing number of pedestrians also began recognizing him, bowing respectfully as he passed.
Especially the soldiers of the Night Patrol Unit just concluding their shift.
Yang Xin held considerable clout among Capital Garrison Military Households. Many vividly remembered the mass Military Household protest he had led. Moreover, the Yue Fei Temple was now complete. The Duke Yansheng, leader of the scholar-officials, had inaugurated it with the first sacrifice. Following his petition, Emperor Wanli issued an edict establishing Guan-Yue Temples combined nationwide. On the Duke’s further request, an order decreed that Civil and Military officials must henceforth mutually attend sacrifices at the Confucian Temple and the Guan-Yue Temple annually.
Although their daily lives hadn’t drastically shifted, military households felt their status had risen.
And they credited Yang Xin.
Coupled with his undefeated military record, he was becoming their Capital Garrison idol. His triumphant reappearance in the capital now, riding the crest of his latest victory, was sure to cause a stir.
Yang Xin continued forward.
Soon he turned toward the Chang’an Right Gate. Just as he rounded the corner, he spotted a squad of Imperial Guards sprinting towards him. At their head was Xu Xianchun. Xu clearly hadn’t expected to meet him here and immediately spurred his horse faster, closing the distance swiftly and pulling up beside him…
“Deputy Commander Yang! Come with us to the palace quickly! His Majesty the Emperor passed away!” Xu Xianchun urgently shouted.