Chapter 43: The Harem Interferes in State Affairs
Great Chu Imperial Palace, Main Hall.
The civil and military officials assembled for court, divided into two neat formations. With a thunderous cry of “long live the Emperor,” they knelt in unison.
“Rise.”
On the Dragon Throne, Xiang Ning’s expression was somewhat vacant.
She had been back in the country for over a month now, and the grand ceremony to wed the Empress was almost prepared, awaiting only the arrival of the Han Emperor’s envoys. As for Lü Fubao, since the Imperial Noble Consort was not the principal Empress, no formal wedding was required—an edict in the inner palace would suffice to confer her title.
“I…”
Xiang Ning had just opened her mouth to speak, but closed it again.
Fan Li had been absent from court for over a month; for a time, Xiang Ning thought she could finally rule in her own right. Yet, to her surprise, the Empress Dowager had insisted on having a seat placed behind the Dragon Throne, hung with pearl curtains, and from then on attended court sessions as well.
Was this not the legendary “listening behind the curtains”—the regency of the inner palace?
Xiang Ning was deeply vexed.
From ancient times, only weak or incompetent monarchs had sunk to the point of allowing the inner palace to rule from behind the curtains. She was mortified by such a prospect, and had once gently voiced her objections to the Empress Dowager.
“You are young and inexperienced, lacking in the affairs of governance. I am merely lending you a hand, helping to clear the Fan faction from court. Is that not a good thing?”
“Besides, you are my own child. As Empress Dowager, am I likely to vie with you for the throne?”
The Empress Dowager’s arguments were hard to refute, and Xiang Ning had no answer.
She had to admit, ever since ascending the throne, the Empress Dowager had been her most steadfast pillar of support.
The Empress Dowager commanded immense authority in Chu. So long as Fan Li was absent, her presence alone could cow the entire court!
There was also the chief eunuch, Master Chen, utterly loyal to the Empress Dowager.
In the space of a month, with the Empress Dowager presiding from behind the curtains, a string of imperial edicts had been issued in Xiang Ning’s name, effectively purging many of Fan Li’s faction from office.
At this moment, Xiang Ning gazed down at the officials kneeling below the dais. Each one bowed their head in submission, as if the realm of Chu had never known a time when ministers outshone the sovereign.
Yet all Xiang Ning felt was a profound sense of unreality.
“With Fan Li absent from court, why do I still feel like a puppet?”
“Among the officials Mother dismissed, some were both capable and virtuous; it is truly a loss to strip them of their posts.”
“And the vacancies left behind have been filled by newcomers, all unfamiliar to me—some whose very names I have never heard.”
She instinctively glanced back. Behind the misty pearl curtains, the golden phoenix crown swayed faintly. The Empress Dowager’s once-beautiful features were blurred and indistinct.
“An edict from His Majesty!”
The shrill, sonorous voice of Master Chen pulled Xiang Ning abruptly back to the present.
She frowned slightly, struggling to suppress her frustration.
An imperial decree? How laughable—it was news to her that any new command had been issued.
Clearly, this was once again at the Empress Dowager’s behest.
The officials, having just risen, now dropped once more to their knees in a rustle of silk.
“Gongsun Ou, Director of Granaries, and Guo Ling, Cavalry Commandant of the Hu Riders, have held office for many years without notable achievements. Their abilities are mediocre. Both are hereby dismissed and reduced to commoner status.”
Xiang Ning thought she must have misheard.
Two more officials dismissed!
Gongsun Ou was a high-ranking minister close to the Fan clan; Guo Ling, the Cavalry Commandant, was famed as a stalwart of the garrison!
“Is Mother being too rash? This is blatant targeting of Fan Li.”
She could not shake the feeling that something was amiss.
There must be a reason for the Empress Dowager’s sudden aggression, abandoning her previous restraint.
“Your Majesty, we are wronged!”
Both dismissed officials protested, kneeling in plea.
Gongsun Ou, ever the civil official, was temperate but had tears in his eyes.
“Your Majesty, since my appointment as Director of Granaries, I have reconciled old accounts from the previous reign and replenished the state treasury. Now, with the royal coffers full, even if I have few merits, my toil cannot be denied. How can I be dismissed for mediocrity?”
Guo Ling’s voice boomed, “Your Majesty, I earned my post through merit. On what grounds am I found lacking? Have my years of drilling troops, suppressing bandits, and slaying enemy chieftains counted for nothing?”
Xiang Ning was mortified.
Though she knew both men belonged to the Fan faction, they were nonetheless capable and had rendered real service.
She often envied Fan Li’s ability to attract such talent.
“Why did Mother not consult me first? To dismiss them as ‘incompetent’—the charge hardly fits.”
Uneasy, Xiang Ning shifted on the Dragon Throne, unable to answer the two ministers’ appeals.
“Mother?”
She turned, her voice a tentative whisper.
“I was unaware of these matters. Is this your decision…”
Behind the pearl curtains, the Empress Dowager merely uttered a nasal “mm,” as if displeased.
Xiang Ning was at a loss, but Master Chen acted at once.
The elderly eunuch moved with lightning speed, appearing before the two kneeling officials in an instant.
A terrible crash sounded.
A flash of violet light erupted.
Gongsun Ou did not even have time to shield himself with righteous energy before being struck in the chest. He flew from the hall like a severed kite.
Guo Ling’s cultivation was clearly higher; at least he tried to defend himself.
Master Chen sneered.
Guo Ling’s hastily gathered protective aura solidified for a heartbeat, only to be shattered by a single palm strike.
In the next instant, Master Chen’s right hand formed a claw, plunging into Guo Ling’s abdomen and crushing something within.
Those present all seemed to hear a dull pop—something bursting inside.
They knew Guo Ling was a nascent soul cultivator, but suspected the core he had painstakingly forged was now destroyed.
One of the eight commandants of the Chu garrison, a man ranked among the most senior officers, rendered a cripple by the palace eunuch in open court!
Gongsun Ou, thrown from the hall, was later found to have every meridian shattered—crippled as well.
Master Chen had destroyed two men in a single breath.
Every official tied to the Fan faction broke out in cold sweat, not daring to utter a sound.
Xiang Ning herself had only recently reached the nascent soul stage. Seeing Guo Ling, whose cultivation surpassed her own, so easily ruined, she instinctively clutched her abdomen.
“There are laws in Chu! How can Master Chen act without a formal trial before the Chief Justice?”
Such thoughts churned in her heart, but she did not dare voice them.
Toward Master Chen—or rather, the Empress Dowager to whom he was loyal—she now felt a vague, distant fear.
A fear she had never known, not even when facing Fan Li.
To prevent further tragedy, Xiang Ning summoned her courage and softly asked, “Mother, may we adjourn the court session?”
To adjourn would at least protect the remaining officials—even those of the Fan faction.
She thought she would be granted this small mercy, but the Empress Dowager answered with a chilly laugh.
“Adjourn? You jest, Your Majesty. The morning session has only just begun—there are still ministers with matters to report.”
Xiang Ning was mortified.
Why would Mother grant her no dignity at all?
Moreover, how did she know someone had business to present? Was she clairvoyant?
Lost in these troubled thoughts, Xiang Ning watched as one of the Nine Ministers, the Director of the Imperial Clan, stepped forward from the assembly.
“Your humble servant Li Ben has a matter to report.”
The Director of the Imperial Clan was responsible for royal affairs, and Li Ben was from the Empress Dowager’s own family.
By kinship, he ought to be considered Xiang Ning’s maternal uncle.