Chapter 7

Throughout the afternoon, the Imperial Guards under Xue Duo’s command faithfully executed their military orders. They denied entry to anyone attempting to approach Linfeng Palace, intercepting two separate groups of confidants sent by the Empress.

The second group included not only the Empress’s trusted matron but also the head eunuch serving before the throne, Eunuch Xu Zai’an.

Eunuch Xu was a kind-hearted man who had helped Jiang Luan catch her cats more than once; they shared a small, private rapport. Blocked by the guards outside the gates of Linfeng Palace, Eunuch Xu sighed and called out inside, "Your Highness, oh, Princess Hanyang! The Clan Court has decreed according to ancestral laws that you must go to the ancestral temple to pray and seek blessings. Why has this escalated to such a degree? It was meant to be a punishment in lieu of a caning, but now that you have made such a scene, the Holy One is furious to hear of your refusal. He has already thrown a great tantrum in the Zichen Palace. I fear the consequences will be dire."

Jiang Luan curled her lips silently. If she were to follow the Emperor’s will and go to the ancestral temple outside the city, her end would indeed be dire.

She whispered a few instructions. Matron Yuan stepped out into the courtyard and shouted back across the ranks of the Imperial Guards, "Do inform Eunuch Xu that my Princess is perfectly willing to pray and seek blessings for the Holy One. However, the ancestral temple is located fifty miles into the suburbs, and the area around the capital is in chaos. If the retreating rebel army were to double back and attack the temple, seizing my Princess and forcing her to knock at the city gates, would that not be a repeat of last month’s disaster?"

These words were so piercing that everyone who heard them gasped in unison.

Eunuch Xu shivered from head to toe. Being forced by rebel troops to "knock at the city gates" twice last month was a traumatic memory the Holy One never wished to hear mentioned again. This was, quite literally, stabbing the Emperor in the heart in public.

No one dared to touch the sensitive topic of "knocking at the city gates." The Empress’s matrons retreated with lightning speed. Eunuch Xu, left at the forefront, stammered, "This old servant will... will report this truthfully to the Holy One."

Reclining on her *luohan* bed, Jiang Luan listened as Matron Yuan relayed Eunuch Xu’s reaction, feeling quite satisfied. As for whether her elder brother, the Emperor, heard it, or what he thought after hearing it, she did not truly care.

The words she had shouted were for the ears of Pei Xian, the commander-in-chief.

Last month, the rebels had held the Emperor hostage, forcing him to call for the gates to be opened. They had taken Hulao Pass without shedding blood and nearly breached the capital. Pei Xian had led eighty thousand Black Iron Cavalry in a bloody half-month battle, sacrificing countless lives to secure the city. Any normal person would be unable to tolerate another royal descendant falling into rebel hands and being used for a repeat of that humiliation.

Jiang Luan put herself in his shoes and realized that Pei Xian had an even stronger desire to control his surroundings than most. Given his temperament, the very thought would be infuriating; he could never tolerate it.

As long as Pei Xian could not tolerate it, she would never be sent out of the capital. That was enough.

She gave her orders: "Commander Pei might come tonight. Do not extinguish the lamps in the palace. Have the kitchen prepare some tea and refreshments." She yawned and flopped down, adding, "I am going to sleep for a while. Wake me when he arrives."

Matron Yuan had heard much of this newly risen power broker in the capital but had never met him. Worry-stricken, she said, "Commander Pei’s influence is immense; the Princess should not be negligent. Your clothes will be wrinkled from sleeping, and you will need to change before receiving a guest. It would be better to simply sit and wait for him."

Lying on the bed, Jiang Luan lazily bit her pink fingernail. "He does not care for such trifles. Being able to touch upon the key issues is enough."

Eunuch Xu had left at dusk, with the setting sun hanging on the courtyard wall. Everyone had assumed Commander Pei would arrive by nightfall at the latest. After all, there were boundaries between men and women, and given their statuses as a noble princess and a high-ranking official, there were taboos to respect.

Unexpectedly, they waited until deep into the night.

When Jiang Luan awoke, she looked out through the lamplight and saw shadows shifting in the dim courtyard. At first, she thought he had arrived with his personal guards. But upon closer inspection, she realized it was wrong; the figures in the courtyard were clearly palace maids and eunuchs, and a sedan chair was parked there.

Matron Yuan hurried into the sleeping chamber, anxious. "Princess, you are awake? The Empress has arrived in person! She is sitting in the main hall right now, waiting for you to come out and speak."

Jiang Luan rose slowly, allowing Chunzhe and Xiazhi to straighten her clothes. "The Empress has arrived, but Commander Pei has not?"

Matron Yuan complained, "General Xue received word earlier that he would come. It is already deep into the night, and there is no sign of him. Although he is a relative of the Empress Dowager, he is still an outsider. How could he come to a Princess’s palace in the dead of night?"

Jiang Luan shook her head, yawning as she remarked, "He truly does not concern himself with such things."

***

Pei Xian had spent the entire day at the Government Affairs Hall, engaging in verbal sparring with the high officials, Minister Wang and Minister Li, their polite words concealing sharp blades.

The military order to purge the palace staff had been issued that morning and was being executed immediately. Arrests were already underway in various palaces, and he had to inform the cabinet ministers. The inner court was always intertwined with the outer court.

For instance, by bypassing Empress Xie and making arrests directly within the inner court, he had caused the Empress to lose face. As a deeply entrenched aristocratic clan, the Xie family had a cousin serving as the Jiedushi of Pinglu. He needed to notify the Jiedushi through acquaintances in the Ministry of War, lest the Empress, in her fury, write home and cause the Xie family to grow suspicious.

Then there was Li Chengsi, the Minister of Revenue and a Grand Councilor, known in the court as "Minister Li." He was not a staunch pro-war defender like Minister Wang. During the crisis, he had more than once suggested abandoning the city. Now that the palace was arresting servants who had "abandoned the city and betrayed their masters to flee," Minister Li had been silent all day upon receiving the news.

Furthermore, the imperial censor who had been beaten to the brink of death that morning was a close friend of Minister Wang’s favorite protégé. Minister Wang had barely spoken in the hall all day.

Compared to these matters, the affairs of Linfeng Palace could be delayed for a few hours.

Pei Xian left the Government Affairs Hall only after nightfall. Lost in thought, he walked along the vermillion palace corridor toward Linfeng Palace.

A cacophony of noise, like a tsunami, rushed toward him. Cries for mercy echoed incessantly through the narrow corridor.

"What is this?" He stopped, frowning as he looked at six or seven palace servants tied together in a string, stumbling through the corridor. "Who are these people, making such a racket?"

"Reporting to the Commander." The Black Iron Cavalrymen holding the ropes cupped their hands in a salute. "We caught several servants who served before the throne. When the rebels besieged the imperial city, they attempted to pack up gold and silver to abandon the city and flee. I have verified their identities and recorded their crimes. According to protocol, they are to be sent to the Court of Judicial Review and the Ministry of Justice for trial."

The lead eunuch, dressed in a sea-green brocade robe, screamed loudly, "This old servant was blinded by greed! We had only just reached the city gate when the guarding generals persuaded us to return! Just that once! We never tried to leave the city again! I am Wu Yongcai, a trusted servant of the Holy One! Commander Pei, we were speaking at the Yiyi Palace just this morning! Please, for the sake of the Holy One, spare this old servant's life!"

Pei Xian frowned slightly, and a Black Iron Cavalryman immediately stepped forward to gag Wu Yongcai.

Wu Yongcai continued to wail incoherently: "Just that once!"

Pei Xian stood beneath the palace wall. The night was heavy with clouds and devoid of moonlight; the deep shadow of the wall obscured almost his entire figure, as well as the mockery on his lips.

"I prepared three charges to purge the palace this morning, and you ran headlong into the first one."

"Heaven’s will is hard to defy, Eunuch Wu."

Behind the wall where Wu Yongcai was pleading for mercy lay a stretch of ruins. Located at the northernmost point of the Imperial City, these had been the quarters of the late Emperor’s concubines. During the month the rebels fiercely attacked the city, several halls had been struck by catapults from the North Gate. The beams had collapsed, killing several servants. Fortunately, the concubines had been transferred elsewhere and remained unharmed.

In the chaos of the capital, no one had tended to the ruins. To this day, they remained collapsed, with only emerald glazed tiles scattered among the broken walls and debris, a testament to their former glory.

Standing beneath the vermillion wall, listening to the cries of despair, Pei Xian thought of the vast ruins behind the wall created by the catapults. Were those mere buildings destroyed by the catapults? No, it was the dignity of the Da Wen Dynasty, built over a century, that had been shattered. It was the imperial majesty the court struggled so hard to maintain that had collapsed.

"As an attendant before the throne, you should have been loyal in protecting your master. When the Holy One was captured by rebels and his life hung in the balance, you sought to flee the capital to save your own skins?"

He ordered coldly, "If the evidence is conclusive, there is no need to transfer them to the three judicial offices. Deal with them directly."

"Yes!" The Black Iron Cavalrymen, soldiers who had survived life and death on the battlefield, accepted the order. They were swift and efficient. They dragged the eunuchs to the palace wall, drew their blades, and executed them on the spot as if they were chopping vegetables.

Blood pooled along the cracks in the flagstones. Pei Xian’s thick, black leather military boots were stained slightly, but he stepped over them without concern.

Linfeng Palace was just ahead.

Bright light shone from the half-open doors and windows, clearly indicating the master of the house had not yet slept.

Xue Duo and Ding Jian stepped forward to greet him. They exchanged a glare of resentment before dropping to one knee in unison. "This subordinate greets the Commander!"

Stepping past the kneeling guards and onto the palace steps, he was met by the sight of the Empress’s entourage in the courtyard.

"The Empress is here?" He looked up at the night sky. Based on the position of the stars, it was at least the second watch.

For a royal princess to be disciplined by the Clan Court under ancestral law, with the Empress overseeing the process personally, was perfectly reasonable.

He stopped at the palace gate, musing, "Since the Empress is here, I shall not enter. Xue Duo, relay a message for me—"

Xue Duo’s face changed dramatically. He and Ding Jian spoke in unison, "The Commander cannot leave!"

Xue Duo quickly added, "Princess Hanyang and the Empress are in a standoff inside. Someone is about to die!" He gestured toward the east side of the main hall. "Commander, look there."

"Hmm?" Pei Xian looked in that direction.

Beyond the spacious courtyard stood the main hall of Linfeng Palace. In the center room, the candles were burning brightly, casting two swaying silhouettes against the paper windows. One figure wore a magnificent and heavy phoenix crown, with dignified, wide sleeves and a rigid spine—undoubtedly Empress Xie. Opposite her, another slender, graceful figure sat with elbows propped on the table, holding a sharp object—by its shape, a dagger.

Pei Xian narrowed his eyes. "Why is a dagger involved?"

"The Empress arrived at the first watch. They couldn't come to an agreement, and it ended up like this," Xue Duo muttered.

Ding Jian said angrily, "I told you we shouldn't have let the Empress in! If something happens, are you, Xue Duo, going to take the blame?!"

Xue Duo was also enraged. "I didn't give the Princess that dagger! Do you, Ding Jian, dare to do it but not admit it?"

Ding Jian was furious. "That is the Princess’s own dagger! How could I encourage the Princess to harm herself?"

"Enough." Pei Xian raised a hand, stopping the two from arguing further. "Things have reached this point; there is no use in talking more."

He stepped over the threshold and halted outside the half-open main hall door.

"I, Pei Xian, seek an audience with Princess Hanyang in the dead of night. I am filled with trepidation."

The master of the palace responded quickly. It was not the tight, strained voice he had imagined in such a life-or-death moment. The graceful silhouette on the window paper placed the dagger on her lap, raised a hand to yawn, and a girl’s voice, thick with obvious sleepiness, said,

"Don't be so formal, come in, Commander Pei. You’ve kept me waiting all night; you don't seem very trepidatious at all."