Chapter 3: Turning the Tables in Court, Taking On the Emperor

Great Li had endured for more than two hundred years under sixteen emperors.

But the glory of its golden age had gone into the imperial tomb with the late sovereign.

The splendor of his reign, when countless nations came to pay homage, had vanished like passing clouds. Only in the idle reminiscences of old clerks could a few echoes still be heard.

What remained was the crushing weight of land annexation, endless frontier alarms, and factional struggles at court.

The great families swallowed up the fields. Displaced peasants crowded the highways. The frontier sent word of war three times a year, while the factions at court concerned themselves only with tearing one another down.

When the current emperor took the throne, he proclaimed a new era: Jingyuan.

Emperor Jingyuan was the late emperor’s seventh son.

During his father’s reign, he had neither drawn attention to himself nor formed a faction for private gain. He had lain low among the imperial princes, presenting an entirely unremarkable face.

The crown prince was deposed. The Prince of Qi rebelled. The Prince of Yong was demoted. In the end, the dragon throne fell to the least conspicuous prince of all.

Some said he was lucky.

Others said he had hidden his abilities well.

Yet in the ten years of his reign, government had deteriorated, imperial authority had weakened, and the regional princes had grown ever more arrogant.

At court and beyond it, in the streets and among the common people, the same rumor circulated in private: this mediocre ruler would probably squander everything the late emperor had spent his whole life building.

The principal hall of the inner court was called Zichen Hall.

Vermilion pillars soared upward, while blue-green pearls beneath the sweeping eaves scattered points of starlight.

Maps of the heavens and the realm covered the walls. Gilded dragons coiled around the beams. At the center of the vaulted roof hung an enormous coffered ceiling, carved with a curling dragon holding a luminous pearl in its mouth.

Whenever court convened and the candles were lit, the pearl cast a pale, cold glow, bathing the figures below as though they stood beneath water.

The morning audience had long since ended. Yet the Vice Ministers of the Six Ministries still stood along either side of Zichen Hall, gripping their court tablets and exchanging guarded looks.

Six vice ministers, twelve eyes, all busy calculating.

Each was trying to guess why the emperor had gathered them here today.

Some thought it concerned frontier military pay. Others suspected flooding in Hedong. Others wondered whether the regional princes were coming to the capital.

Then an announcement rang out from beyond the doors.

“The Duke of Liang’s legitimate grandson has arrived!”

All six men’s expressions changed.

So yesterday’s rumors were true.

The Duke of Liang’s household was in serious trouble.

On the raised imperial dais, the emperor wore his ceremonial dragon robes. His face was as still as a tranquil lake, betraying neither pleasure nor anger.

“Let him enter,” Emperor Jingyuan said.

Shortly afterward, Li Xuanzhen entered Zichen Hall, followed by two Imperial Guard soldiers.

The moment he stepped inside, he felt the oppressive atmosphere.

Twelve eyes settled on him, each carrying thoughts too complicated to read.

His brow tightened for an instant.

Something was definitely wrong.

He was a wastrel notorious for outrageous talk. Even if the emperor intended to question him personally, surely there was no need for a gathering this grand.

The six vice ministers had plenty of work to do. Insulting the late emperor and boasting about marrying a princess should, at most, have earned a wastrel a separate interrogation by the Ministry of Justice or the Court of Judicial Review. There was no reason to assemble all Six Ministries.

This looked more like a joint hearing.

Or even a verdict to be delivered before the throne.

Then Li Xuanzhen saw the figure behind the Vice Minister of Justice, and everything clicked.

The young man was Zhao Ji, a concubine-born son of the Duke of Zhao. He was about Li Xuanzhen’s age, and another of Tai’an’s famous wastrels.

Zhao Ji stood half a step behind Cui Zheng, Vice Minister of Justice, his head lowered in apparent deference. But the smugness in his eyes was impossible to hide.

Li Xuanzhen gave a cold laugh.

The people who had framed him were showing themselves. No more guessing required.

The Duke of Zhao’s household.

Well, well. The Duke of Zhao’s household indeed.

Li Xuanzhen advanced a few steps, bowed toward the dais, and cupped his hands respectfully.

“Your subject Li Xuanzhen pays his respects to Your Majesty.”

Emperor Jingyuan acknowledged him with a nod.

“Li Xuanzhen. Do you admit to the two acts of insolence committed yesterday?”

Li Xuanzhen saluted. “I admit to both, Your Majesty.”

“Good,” the emperor said coldly. “Then will you accept your punishment?”

Li Xuanzhen gave a cold laugh and shook his head.

“Your Majesty, I am innocent. How could I willingly accept punishment?”

The emperor’s brow furrowed at once.

All six vice ministers caught their breath.

Cui Zheng stepped forward, pointed at Li Xuanzhen, and barked, “Insolence! How dare you behave so outrageously before His Majesty?”

Li Xuanzhen ignored him.

“Your Majesty, I committed both acts deliberately.”

Emperor Jingyuan’s expression gradually darkened.

He had intended to use this affair to put pressure on the Duke of Liang’s household and strengthen imperial authority.

Naturally, he could not actually take Li Xuanzhen’s life.

The boy was the duke’s legitimate grandson, and his father had died for the nation. Both sentiment and reason supported sparing him execution.

But he would not escape punishment.

Above all, though the old duke had taken no part in court affairs for years, fifty thousand soldiers of the Realm-Guarding Army still held the northern frontier and obeyed him alone.

Forty-five thousand light cavalry. Five thousand heavy cavalry in black armor.

In wartime, those fifty thousand were Great Li’s keenest weapon against its enemies.

In peacetime, they were a blade suspended over imperial authority.

Great Li could field three hundred thousand armored soldiers, yet none could stop the iron hooves of the Realm-Guarding Army’s fifty thousand.

In other words, should the old duke entertain other ambitions, he could order his army to fight its way from the northern frontier straight to Tai’an’s walls.

The late emperor had possessed enough prestige to keep him in check.

For ten years now, Emperor Jingyuan had sent rewards to the northern troops annually and heaped honors upon them, yet he had never brought the Realm-Guarding Army fully under imperial control.

Li Zhenbei stood like some deathless old door god at the entrance to the northern frontier, keeping the Eastern Hu out of Great Li while guarding his own last means of making his voice heard.

The emperor spoke in a low voice, his face cold.

“You mean to say you did it on purpose?”

Li Xuanzhen nodded. “Your Majesty, to tell you the truth, I received word through unofficial channels that evildoers intended to harm my household.

“My grandfather has spent more than forty years fighting for Great Li. My father gave his life for it.

“Generation after generation, our household has been a pillar of the nation.

“With no other choice, I offered myself as bait, hoping to draw out those who harbor evil intentions.

“I beg Your Majesty to uphold justice for me, and for the Duke of Liang’s household.”

Neither cringing nor defiant, he dropped to his knees and struck his forehead hard against the floor.

Thud.

The sound struck the golden paving bricks of Zichen Hall, and the hearts of the six vice ministers as well.

Emperor Jingyuan’s frown deepened.

He had meant to condemn this wastrel. Instead, the wastrel had seized the initiative.

The six vice ministers felt much the same.

They had already guessed why the emperor had kept them behind. Only a joint accusation by all six could ensure that the Duke of Liang’s legitimate grandson received his due punishment.

Now things were going in precisely the opposite direction from the emperor’s original design.

Zhao Ji was even more bewildered. He was supposed to be the one bringing a complaint! Why was Li Xuanzhen claiming to have been wronged?

Was he planning to turn the accusation around?

Emperor Jingyuan narrowed his eyes, his gaze moving briefly between the two young men.

Very well. He wanted to hear what this wastrel had to say.

Did he actually possess evidence? Or did the duke’s grandson mean to muddy the waters and escape responsibility?

The emperor spoke slowly.

“You are correct. The Duke of Liang’s household has produced generations of outstanding men, all pillars of Great Li.

“But your offenses yesterday did occur. Tell Us what evidence you have.

“If you have truly been wronged, We shall uphold justice for you.

“If this is mere fabrication, We shall punish you severely.”

That was exactly what Li Xuanzhen had wanted to hear.

He rose, turned toward the Vice Minister of Justice, and pointed.

“Your Majesty, this is the man who framed me and my household!”

Cui Zheng was stunned.

He was here to sit in judgment. In plain terms, he was a spectator.

How had he become involved?

He hurriedly looked toward the emperor. “Your Majesty, he is slandering me…”

Before the emperor could speak, Li Xuanzhen gave an embarrassed smile and shifted his pointing finger.

“My apologies. Wrong man.

“It’s the person behind Lord Cui who framed me and the Duke of Liang’s household.”

Now Zhao Ji stared blankly at the finger aimed at him.

He had brought the complaint. One sentence from Li Xuanzhen, and he had become the accused.

He opened his mouth, ready to speak.

Li Xuanzhen had no intention of giving him the chance.

“Your Majesty, yesterday at the Imperial Academy, Young Master Zhao incited me to utter that outrageous claim about marrying a princess.

“At Hundred Flowers House last night, he again egged me on, urging me to hold a lavish banquet and scatter gold and silver.

“Only afterward did I realize that Zhao Ji had arranged everything in advance, intending to drag my household into trouble. I beg Your Majesty to see the truth.”

Silence filled the hall.

Emperor Jingyuan frowned at Zhao Ji.

“Is what the Duke of Liang’s grandson says true?”

Zhao Ji’s mind went blank.

Fortunately, Cui Zheng gave a light cough, jolting him back to his senses.

Zhao Ji hastily bowed and cupped his hands.

“Your Majesty, he’s talking nonsense.

“He did all of it himself. It has nothing to do with me. I beg Your Majesty to investigate.”

Li Xuanzhen snorted and stepped forward.

“You dare say it has nothing to do with you?

“Then answer me this. Who put up ten taels of gold as a prize yesterday, saying whoever dared declare he’d ‘marry a princess’ could have it?

“I merely put myself in the game to find out what you were after, Zhao Ji, with all your vicious ambitions.

“Were you joking around, or did you mean something more?

“As things stand, Zhao Ji, your household seems to have a very serious problem!”

His voice rose sharply.

“Could it be the Duke of Zhao’s household is planning something big?”

Zhao Ji panicked. “That’s slander!”

Li Xuanzhen snorted. “Your memory seems rather poor, Young Master Zhao.

“I wasn’t the only person present yesterday.

“Lü Feng, Chen Tu, and Wu Zhaoxu were there too.

“Your Majesty need only summon those three for questioning. Then we’ll know whether I’m telling the truth.”

Zhao Ji’s heart sank.

The six vice ministers were equally alarmed.

None had expected Li Xuanzhen to dare drag the households of three more dukes—Lü, Chen, and Wu—into this mess.

The Duke of Lü’s former subordinates were scattered throughout the three frontier regions.

The Duke of Chen’s household controlled the profits of Hedong’s salt and iron trades.

The Duke of Wu’s family had intermarried with the great scholarly clans south of the river for three generations.

Add those three to the Duke of Liang’s household, already implicated, and the Duke of Zhao’s, the original complainant, and all five of Great Li’s ducal houses were now involved.

The situation was gradually slipping beyond Emperor Jingyuan’s control.

On the dais, the emperor tapped the armrest of his throne. His face remained as calm as a lake. His thoughts were anything but.

These ducal families spent their days enjoying themselves in Tai’an. They appeared unconcerned with affairs of state, yet their ears reached everywhere.

Factional strife never ceased at court. Beneath the surface, their connections intertwined like roots.

Even as emperor, moving against any one of them was difficult.

Today, a single wastrel had dragged all five before the throne.

Punishing everyone was no simple matter!

Sweat had begun to bead on the brows of some of the vice ministers.

They realized that this audience was scarcely a matter of questioning one wastrel.

It was a contest among five dukes, a test of strength between the throne and the hereditary nobility.

One misstep could shake the entire court.

Just then, another shrill announcement sounded outside Zichen Hall.

“Your Majesty, Chancellor Zhang requests an audience.”

Emperor Jingyuan raised his brows.

“The Duke of Lü requests an audience, accompanied by his son.”

“The Duke of Chen requests an audience, accompanied by his son.”

“The Duke of Wu requests an audience, accompanied by his son.”

“The Duke of Liang requests an audience, bearing a coffin.”