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Chapter 54: The Empress Dowager Rules Behind the Curtain
Chapter 54: The Empress Dowager Rules Behind the Curtain
Chapter 54: Chapter 54: The Empress Dowager Rules Behind the Curtain
Autumn wind, autumn rain.
Su Water.
The river’s surface was shrouded in mist, as the black-canopied boat swiftly headed towards the shore.
Zhou Yi stood at the bow, gently pushing with the long pole, unable to hide the look of disappointment on his face.
Some days ago, he had received word from the Jinyiwei that a white jade turtle had appeared along the shores of Su Water—a legendary auspicious beast not far from Divine Capital. Zhou Yi had taken leave to investigate.
Having finally caught the white jade turtle, he discovered that it was a man-made auspicious sign!
“Who knows whose brilliant idea it was to inlay thin slices of white jade on the turtle’s shell and even intentionally carve the Eight Trigrams into it?”
Zhou Yi admitted the craftsman’s skill was remarkable, as the jade stone and turtle shell seemed inseparable; ordinary people couldn’t tell the difference at all.
Whoever fabricated the auspicious turtle had also been spreading rumors to hype up its discovery. Now that Zhou Yi had intercepted and stewed the creature ahead of time, he wondered if they would create another one.
Su Water Dock.
The rainy weather had silenced the usual hustle and bustle.
Zhou Yi brought the boat to shore and saw robust soldiers in full armor carefully inspecting all the boats coming and going.
“The Imperial Guard! What kind of incident has occurred in Divine Capital?”
The Imperial Guard, unlike the Capital Garrison or the local military, was directly under the emperor’s command and generally would not be tasked with such labor-intensive activity.
Zhou Yi showed his Heavenly Prison Waist Token. His reputation as Young Master Zhou was well-known in Divine Capital City, and he did not encounter any trouble with the Imperial Guard.
At the gates of Divine Capital City, he was stopped again for inspection by the Imperial Guard.
The city’s shops had their doors and windows shut tight, and military patrols could be seen on the streets from time to time, questioning any suspicious passerby thoroughly.
“I can smell a familiar scent!”
Zhou Yi had lived through four dynasties, and only when there was a major upheaval at the Imperial Court was the air filled with such tension.
…
Heavenly Prison.
It was chaotic and filled with the never-ending shouts of the inmates pleading their innocence.
Colonel Lu, with his grizzled beard, directed the prison guards to segregate the incarcerated officials.
Some were from influential families, others from poor families, some had relatives who might be reinstated into positions of power, or families with a significant amount of silver…
Zhou Yi asked in a low voice, “Old Lu, what happened at the Imperial Court?”
“You lucky rascal, you weren’t in Divine Capital these past few days. For specifics, ask them.” Colonel Lu was getting on in years, close to retiring, and his speech was increasingly cautious and guarded.
“Lucky? I went through all that trouble for nothing more than a pot of turtle soup!”
Zhou Yi picked up a bucket from the kitchen and served according to the numbering of the prison cells, with preferential treatment in mind.
In front of the first ten cells in Wing Yi, were the officials with strong backgrounds and connections—their porridge was thicker and in greater quantity. The next ten cells housed the officials with silver, though not all of them bought extra food.
Zhou Yi followed the covert markings left by the prison guards, giving those who had sent silver an extra ladle of thin porridge, whereas those who hadn’t received only the watery broth.
With different treatments within the same cell, the starving officials naturally knew what needed to be done.
Unwritten rules couldn’t be stated openly, for that would be considered solicitation of bribes. It was something that people had to figure out for themselves through hints and subtleties!
At the very end.
Yi twenty, the cell number.
There was a solitary old man locked inside. Zhou Yi felt the figure looked familiar and as he approached, recognition dawned upon him.
“Yo, Old Yu, you’ve landed here again!”
A flicker of embarrassment passed over Yu Su’s face, quickly replaced by delight, “Ah, Brother Li is finally back! Warm up a jug of wine for me and bring two of Zhang’s pig trotters.”
Zhou Yi laughed, “I get it, Old Yu is just biding his time for the right opportunity, eh?”
“How can you mock me like this…”
Yu Su’s face turned red as he retorted, “You’ve also said that failure is the mother of success. How can my momentary failure be considered a loss?”
“Well now you have two mothers.”
Zhou Yi teased a few more times, but seeing Yu Su’s face darken, he went to the kitchen to find wine and meat.
Yu Su looked like he hadn’t eaten well for three or five days, wolfing down the food with his head buried in his plate, gulping down the meat and wine without a trace of the “competent official for governing the country” he was known to be in Fengyang.
A short while later.
“Burp.”
Yu Su let out a satisfied belch, his spirits considerably restored, then suddenly said dejectedly, “Laugh if you wish, on account of this meal, I am no match for Chancellor Zhang’s deep strategies.”
“What exactly happened?”
Zhou Yi could vaguely guess that a coup had taken place in the palace, and it seemed that the Zhang family had won.
Yu Su said, “In a few days, His Majesty will announce that due to poor health, he will rest and recuperate in Shangyang Palace, and abdicate to the Crown Prince…”
Zhou Yi nodded slightly, “That doesn’t sound too bad, Old Yu, aren’t you the one who always insisted on the succession of the eldest legitimate son?”
“I do not care who ascends the throne, I was simply seizing the opportunity to garner His Majesty’s support for military and administrative reform. Moreover, since the Chongming dynasty, for three successive generations the eldest legitimate son did not inherit the throne, which greatly harmed the foundation of our state. The succession of the Crown Prince is indeed a good thing.”
Yu Su slowly said, “However, Empress Zhang claimed that His Majesty is too young and would rule from behind a curtain!”
“…”
Zhou Yi calculated the Crown Prince’s age, he was either forty-three or forty-four, so the claim of youthfulness was downright nonsensical.
“By doing this, isn’t the Zhang family pushing itself into a dead end?”
“Hmph! Chancellor Zhang had anticipated His Majesty’s thoughts and prearranged his tactics, leading His Majesty to initiate a palace coup with military force.”
Yu Su said, “He just miscalculated the Zhang faction’s loyalty, or perhaps couldn’t help it, forcing Empress Zhang to have no choice but to govern from behind a curtain!”
“The Zhang faction!”
Zhou Yi muttered to himself, understanding what Yu Su meant; Empress Zhang was carried away by the overwhelming situation.
The Zhang family was no longer just one family or surname, but a bond of interests for countless people, which once broken would be difficult to maintain.
Chancellor Zhang planned for his grandson, the Crown Prince, to ascend the throne, with the Zhang family gradually relinquishing power afterward. The new emperor, either out of blood ties or the acquisition of power, would likely not purge and annihilate the Zhang family completely.
Now with Empress Zhang governing from behind a curtain, she was sustaining the interests of the “Zhang faction” within the Imperial Court, leaving the Zhang family with nothing but rebellion as their only path!
Zhou Yi curiously asked, “Old Yu, Chancellor Zhang has been dead for twenty-one years, how did he calculate the Emperor’s moves?”
“In my view, it wasn’t Chancellor Zhang’s calculation, but the Emperor walking right into the trap!”
Yu Su said, “Chancellor Zhang obtained a scroll of a demonic Cultivation Technique before his death, which could devour others’ Inner Qi, rapidly producing Innate Grandmasters in large numbers. He bequeathed it to His Majesty on his deathbed, repeatedly admonishing that with this demonic technique, one could consolidate one’s position beyond their rank, with no one daring to rebel and cause chaos.”
“That seems to make some sense.”
Zhou Yi was aware of a Grandmaster’s strength; although they couldn’t confront an entire army, they could easily make a thousand-mile dash to take the enemy general’s head.
“If the technique were complete, that would be the case.”
Yu Su said coldly, “Chancellor Zhang had long predicted the Emperor’s personality, the technique given had a major flaw. When facing someone who cultivated the complete technique, all of one’s own cultivation could be devoured.”
Zhou Yi said in surprise, “Chancellor Zhang could foresee the Emperor eliminating the Zhang family, but how did he determine that the Emperor would rely on Innate Grandmasters?”
“Before his death, Chancellor Zhang also left a scroll of Memorials for Governing the Country, ninety-nine percent of which indeed contained sound strategies for ruling the country.”
Yu Su explained, “Over these years, His Majesty implemented the memorials, reestablishing the Jinyiwei, supporting the nobility and clans, securing his position on the throne, believing that he had fully grasped the content of the memorials.”
Zhou Yi clicked his tongue, “And the remaining one percent is what?”
“The memorials repeatedly mentioned that whoever possessed an Innate Grandmaster would have the world, and only an Innate Grandmaster could act with impunity and so on,” said Yu Su.
Yu Su went on, “Having governed for more than twenty years, His Majesty had unshakable faith in the memorials, so in this palace change, his confidence was in the eight Innate Grandmasters, and the outcome is self-evident.”
Zhou Yi said puzzledly, “Didn’t Chancellor Zhang fear the Emperor might think of some other way?”
“There’s no need for His Majesty to think; I have long had the means to unravel and expose them. The Zhang family will certainly have no power to resist!” said Yu Su, pointing at himself, then he sighed, “Alas, His Majesty relied on Zhongzong when he was young, and on Chancellor Zhang during his middle years, garnering much criticism for mediocrity and dullness, so he always wanted to prove himself.”
Emperor Jinglong might have known that overthrowing the Zhang family through Yu Su would be a more secure approach, but he wanted to prove himself.
Ironically, the method Emperor Jinglong chose to prove himself was learned from Chancellor Zhang’s memorials, and the result had essentially been determined from the start!
“Chancellor Zhang was truly… formidable!”
Zhou Yi couldn’t find the right words for a moment. Crafty and cunning, scheming and calculating, full of tricks – none of these terms seemed to fully describe him.
After all, if Emperor Jinglong hadn’t let the Zhang family down, allowing the Crown Prince to ascend the throne smoothly, there wouldn’t have been such dramatic changes.
The respectful title of Wen Zhonggong would have been passed down through history.
Zhou Yi asked again, “Over the years, the Officials and nobility have been praising His Majesty day in and day out, how could they readily accept the abdication and regency so easily?”
Yu Su shook his head, “The Officials praised His Majesty because he met their needs, and now, the new Sovereign suits them even better!”
Zhou Yi suddenly understood, feeling quite sorry for Emperor Jinglong.
When the Officials needed him, they lauded Emperor Jinglong as a reincarnation of an ancient sage; now that he was no longer needed, they couldn’t wait for him to be reincarnated even sooner.