Han Touzhou seated with the former Consort Han he poured her a cup of tea.
"What happened to His Majesty having sent you to the nunnery?" He asked.
"It was very difficult there and the more I think about it I must have been foolish to have let Yang Jieyu to drive a wedge between the two of us." Consort Han replied.
"Her Highness never resented you at any one point in time." Han Touzhou consoled her.
"She wanted me alive more than anyone else outside the Palace, she chose to protect me." Consort Han muttered.
"But why did you come back?" Han Touzhou inquired.
"The Empress killed my sister, I heard what happened to the whole of your faction, your power in the Imperial Court is crippled and our clan stands on the edge of extinction." Consort Han replied.
"I retained my position as the Left Chancellor, I am enough to get onto my feet again." He remarked.
"Against the Empress only union can grant us survival, sustainability, if we embrace division now I assure you every effort can be a vain one and every ambition an unfeasible dream." Consort Han muttered.
"And what do you think you are going to do?" Han Touzhou asked.
"My noble blood was for me to protect my clan, our people, the Empress commands the harem and it is much significant in her power that I have decided I will take it." Consort Han replied.
"Why?" Han Touzhou asked, "even if you wanted to return to the harem do you think that His Majesty or the Empress would allow it?" He insisted.
"Wu Zhao that Tang Usurper, that Wu woman did it before so why wouldn't I possibly do the same?" She responded.
"My dear, I have already buried enough of my children how is it that I could face my ancestors or your sister in the Netherworld after sending you to the very gutter she strived so hard to keep you from." Han Touzhou scolded.
"The Empress returned to the very gutter she once ran from a long time ago, she's gained so much power and so much influence over the years, I understand that you might feel confident about Cao Zhaoyi but you can never trust her because after all blood is thicker than water." The former Consort Han remarked.
"Are you really going to do this?" Han Touzhou inquired.
"Yang Meizi was determined to live a twisted life to become the Empress and she succeeded while you focus on gaining power in the Imperial Court I'll gain you power in the harem and the Inner Court as well." She confidently replied.
"I understand that I can't stop you, but to support you, protect you, I assure you that I'll do whatever is in my power." Han Touzhou vowed.
"That's enough." Consort Han muttered.
"Now that it is said how do you plan on returning to the Palace, especially into the harem of His Majesty?" He asked.
"I understand that I can't get him to love me but I'll have to play it like the Empress, the harem is a gilded cage, the Palace is a prison and with over forty of the Emperor's concubines the Empress keeps them as political hostages giving them a good life and granting some Courtiers affiliations with the Imperial family, however, these girls help their relatives get ranks and none of them are willing to get pregnant because they are afraid of her, afraid for their children while the Emperor himself hardly knows some of them by name." Consort Han replied.
"What you are trying to say is that the Empress......" Han Touzhou hesitated.
"She has concubines that are loyal to her." She confirmed, "it's the main reason that they can not revolt, the reason that they can not stand up to her, the reason why she firmly runs the harem and the Inner Court, and the people call that psychological subjugation peace and tranquility." Consort Han asserted.
"I'm more marvelled with how crafty she is every day." Han Touzhou said as he leaned closer.
"If we want to gain the harem we need a Prince and as such, we need one loyal concubine at least that could be loyal to us." Consort Han said.
"We should first focus on getting you in the Palace." Han Touzhou reminded her.
"Don't worry." She replied, "there was tale bearing that spread among the people some time back, it was a rumour about my sister's will." She asserted.
"What's the guarantee that it can be a reliable opportunity since it's been more than five years?" Han Touzhou asked.
"You can leave that to me." Consort Han said as she smiled at herself ghastly
"The Empress is unconscious?" Yang Cishan asked.
"So I have heard, Bao Langya confirmed it to me as the Imperial Prince Zhao Jiong is severely down with small pox and Zhao Zeng his elder brother is missing." Jinglan replied.
"Why now of all times?" Yang Cishan asked.
"It doesn't matter, no one knows whether the Empress will awaken or not, our enemies will most likely seize this opportunity to extinguish her." Jinglan asserted.
"There must be a lot of chaos, upheaval." Yang Cishan remarked.
"Bao Langya has given orders for the third Prince Zhao Xun to be confined to his Palace and his security is tight, we are left to hope that Her Highness will gain consciousness." Jinglan reported.
"I too hope so." Yang Cishan said.
The Imperial physician seated right next to the Imperial Prince Zhao Jiong himself well protected started breathing heavily.
"Your Highness?" He called the young boy but the latter shaking violently foam erupted from his mouth while his eyes twitched and everyone in the room started panicking.
The physician picking up some medicine in a nearby bowl tried forcing it down the young boy's neck but it returned and a couple of minutes elapsing he went silent.
The physician shocked they inspected him with their Head studying the condition of his vitals.
"What is it?" One of his subordinates asked.
"His Highness is dying." The Head Physician responded and all those that were present sulked while they bowed their heads in disappointment.
It was getting darker and the Emperor Ningzong seated beside his wife's bed he stared at her intensely.
Eunuch Deng walking in slowly his eyes travelled across the room to the nearby table where the Emperor's meals had been set the past few hours.
It was cold and ants had mounted on all of it while the incense burned and his eyes grew weary, he was still dressed in his Imperial robes.
"Your Majesty." He said to him.
"What's taking her so long?" He asked, "she should have awakened by now." He remarked.
"All will be well." Eunuch Deng muttered.
"For a moment it doesn't feel that way, for a moment I am doubtful you know, for a moment I am afraid that she may remain like this forever." He spoke panicking as he turned around and looked at him while the latter bowed his head.
"What about the Princes?" The Emperor inquired.
"The Imperial Prince Zhao Zeng is still missing but everyone is still searching, his brother....." He hesitated.
"What about him?" Emperor Ningzong asked, "What about Jiong'er?" He insisted on wanting to know.
"His Highness...." Eunuch Deng trying to find the courage to speak up the Empress started moving that for a moment they all turned their attention and fixed it on her.
Eunuch Deng would have sighed inwardly as he got closer to see for himself right when the Empress opened her eyes and looked at her husband.
"Your Majesty?" She spoke in a very lowly tone.
"Yes, it is me." He responded while holding her hands the latter struggling to sit up in bed.
She looked around for a moment and recognized the hall where she was.
"What am I doing here?" She muttered to herself under her breath when she seemed to recall everything that had happened to her earlier in the day.
"Jiong'er?" She said to herself getting out of the bed amidst the Emperor's continuing protests when the doors of the room were flung open and the three facing them a familiar silhouette darkened the doorway.
Silence momentarily prevailing the intruder stepping into the light of the candles and lanterns burning within the room revealed him.
"Beiyuan?" The Empress called his name and himself raising his eyes to her they were bloodshot with tears rolling out, his hair was wet and his clothes were soaked.
"Your Highness?" He spoke in a very sombre tone that the Empress getting up from where she was seated in her bed she watched as he went onto his knees.
"Beiyuan what's wrong with you?" Eunuch Deng asked.
"Forgive me Your Highness, I was too late." He insisted while the Emperor Ningzong curious he ceased the Empress' right hand.
"What is this you are doing Beiyuan?" Emperor Ningzong asked.
"We found His Highness the Imperial Prince Zhao Zeng." Beiyuan replied.
"But.....?" Emperor Ningzong asked.
"The Imperial Prince's corpse was found in the lotus roots close by the Imperial pond of the East Palace." Beiyuan reported loud and clear enough for the Empress to break free and stand out of the bed in front of him.
"I don't get it." Emperor Ningzong said while Beiyuan was in tears.
"Where's Zeng'er?" The Empress asked.
"Forgive me Your Highness." Beiyuan kept on saying.
"I asked you a question?" She reprimanded but the latter keeping quiet she walked up to him fearful in every step she took, her heart shivering and beating fast.
"Don't tell me...?" She muttered.
"He's outside Your Highness." He spoke hesitantly and impatient to hear anything else the young woman walked past him and halted at the doors while the Emperor Ningzong looked at her.
"Mei'er?" He called to her while she nodded.
"I want to see my son." She responded walking out and Xiaoyang standing there in tears herself she bowed her head.
"Your Highness?" She said stepping aside while the Empress looked at a couple of Eunuchs drenched and bearing on what seemed to be a maroon stretcher a body that was covered with a white silk cloth.
She got closer to them while they each looked away and stopping where she could see the protrusions of the head she took a deep breath before she pulled it off slowly.
"Alas pale and turning purple, with dark bags under the eyes and cracked pale white lips, the veins themselves very dark without even a sound of breath and a sign of life, still and silent like the dead of night a face once the cutest had become the most grotesque, hardly recognizable she knew who it was better than anyone else.
"Get up Zeng'er." The Empress whispered, her teary eyes bloodshot and herself trying so hard to refrain from crying.
"Mommy is here with you." She went further to say to him but he couldn't even blink for heaven's sake let alone smile when the Emperor himself appeared at the doorway.
"My son, my beautiful boy please get up and embrace me." She pleaded but to no avail everyone else in tears the Empress seemed more delusional in the end she for what seemed to be the first time conceded defeat as she caressed his head and ran her hands through his hair.
"I was so obsessed with the harem and the Inner Court, I was good at running this Palace, when did I tuck you in at night or even enjoy your last meal with you, Zeng'er, you must hate me, you must hate that your mother didn't protect you." She said and holding him in her hands she hugged him while the Emperor could hardly move.
"Your Highness, please." Xiaoyang said to her.
"What happened to him?" She asked.
"His Highness is suspected to have drowned, there were no signs of struggle found on his body, no rope marks, it's as though he was too weak to fight." One of the Imperial physicians said.
"His Highness drowned." She said.
"Yes." They replied and closing her eyes she raised her face to the sky and slowly letting go of her son's corpse she covered it right when a couple of other Eunuchs rushed into the Courtyard.
"Your Majesty, Your Highness." They said bowing their heads to the two that the Emperor turned and faced them.
"What's the matter?" Emperor Ningzong asked.
"His Highness, the Imperial Prince Zhao Jiong has passed on." The Head Physician said and the Empress hearing this she smiled at herself while she looked at Zhao Zeng's corpse.
"Jiong'er, is also dead?" She asked while the Emperor entirely demoralized he lost the strength in his feet to stand and collapsed onto his knees.
"No." He said as he looked at Zhao Zeng's body and recalled the words of his late son, the Crown Prince Zhao Jun who had perished in his own arms.
"No." He said again as he hurriedly ran out of the Courtyard leaving the Empress behind while she slowly sat in that very spot.
The sky darkened, and the moon was veiled by the clouds it started to roar with thunder as the lightning streaked across it.
A heavy downpour followed, right when the Emperor Ningzong arrived outside the Imperial Prince Zhao Jiong's residence where he found the ladies in waiting led by Manyin and the Palace maids along with a couple of Eunuchs crying on their knees.
"Your Highness?" They mourned at top of their voices their cry came up to the Palace of Cao Zhaoyi who was standing at the top of the staircase facing the Eastern direction.
"Alas." She said to herself.
"The two Princes are dead Ma'am, no one will even dare blame you, Her Highness' foundation will certainly start to crumble, she's broken within." Linxiang remarked.
"Two of her sons with the Emperor happened to die on the same day, what an unfortunate coincidence that is!" Cao Zhaoyi exclaimed while she held her abdomen and gently caressed it watching the raindrops.
"You have got what you wanted Ma'am." Linxiang said.
"Perhaps." Cao Zhaoyi replied while she looked at it, "don't worry my dear child, I have cleared the path to the dragon throne for you." She whispered with a smile on her face and unbeknownst to her, at a distance a Court Lady watched and studied her intensely.
The Empress Yang kneeling under the rain while everyone at a distance was quietly watching her, the gates of the Quadrangle were opened and Yang Cishan rushed in while accompanied by Jinglan and Shi Miyuan to behold her.
There was hardly a whimper coming from her mouth, she seemed immune to the pain and the cold.
"The Princes are dead." Xiaoyang informed them immediately.
"What about Her Highness?" Shi Miyuan asked.
"She'll live through the rain, she'll live through the storm." Xiaoyang replied.
"She's scarred, she's hurting, she can not vent out that rage, that pain will cause her to explode, it'll kill her." Shi Miyuan pointed out.
"Such is motherhood, Her Highness is unfortunate, burying all her children, heaven is cruel, she's become cruel, dying for this country, for monsters, alas I can see what makes her strong." Xiaoyang said as she turned to Shi Miyuan.
"Milady?" He said to her.
"She'll get up from that spot, she has died right there, she's going to burn the Palace to the ground, she'll hunt down all those responsible, she'll turn the world upside down." Xiaoyang spoke threateningly.
"May I guess, such is motherhood?" He rhetorically asked.
"A mother fears nothing, not even the flames of hell." She responded and Shi Miyuan holding up a red parasol while everyone was watching he approached the Empress and held it over her head.
"You're here at last?" She asked.
"I knew you must be waiting for me." He responded.
"It is in peace that sons bury their mothers, in war however, mothers bury their sons." She whispered.
"This is war Your Highness." Shi Miyuan asserted.
"Can you blame me?" She asked him.
"No." He responded.
"I want my sons to rest in peace, I'll follow them but then I must also rest in peace." She said.
"I understand your pain." Shi Miyuan remarked.
"I've got no tears left to cry." She said, "such was how it seemed when the Crown Prince took his life three years ago, those adversaries that I have buried, their swords that make up my throne, they must be dying of laughter in the Netherworld." She said.
"What will you do Your Highness?" He eventually asked her.
"I'll bury my children." She responded as she turned around and raised her head to look at him, "I'll tell you the rest after that." She added before she faced Zhao Zeng's corpse again and touched the fabric covering it.
The Grand Empress Dowager Xie seated in her Chambers, Daiyu walked up to her and bowed her head.
"You seem bothered." She remarked, "it's raining heavily but I could hear the loud wailing of everyone in the Palace and the sound of the mourning drum." She added.
"The Empress' two sons with the Emperor Zhao Zeng and Zhao Jiong have both passed on." She responded.
"Such a tragic fate, the heavens along with their angels have cried." Grand Empress Dowager Xie remarked as she stood up from where she was seated.
"It could be a coincidence but most people think it to be a dark fate." Daiyu mentioned.
"Believe me I know how this story always ends." The Grand Empress Dowager asserted.
"What do you think will happen Your Highness?" Daiyu inquired.
"The Empress' enemies have messed with the wrong person and they have played with fire, all hell will break loose, as there's always that one victim seeking for justice, someone always wants to be the hero for the day." She replied.
"I didn't understand you halfway there." Daiyu pointed out.
"This is where the real battle begins." Grand Empress Dowager Xie replied.
The sun rising over the capital everyone was gathered in the Grand Hall with the coffins of the two Princes each of them dresses in plain white linen.
The Emperor Ningzong and the Empress kneeling ahead of everyone, the Courtiers kept their distance outside the hall in its Courtyard.
"The two Princes dying is a bit too unfortunate for the Imperial house." Some sympathized with them.
"It's troubling." Another remarked and the servants themselves keeping a distance, the Empress looked at the plaques of her two children that were situated right in front of the two coffins.
Han Touzhou next to the new Grand Chancellor Chen Ziqiang they kowtowed together before they knelt upright.
"What do you think?" The older asked.
"About what Your Excellency?" Han Touzhou muttered.
"The Princes' deaths." Chen Ziqiang replied.
"Everyone says it's only natural, all evidence suggests that it's natural, unless perhaps Your Excellency thinks otherwise." Han Touzhou remarked.
"We can say that Her Highness is unfortunate, here we are mourning along with her, it's worth noting that she had a lot of enemies, who knows?" Chen Ziqiang muttered.
"Anyone you would hold responsible?" Han Touzhou asked.
"There are always many demons lurking amongst us, the victims and tyrants understand themselves best." Chen Ziqiang replied.
"I'd be more concerned with what happens after the funeral, what the Empress will do." Han Touzhou spoke up.
"Why?" Chen Ziqiang asked.
"I heard that she knelt in the rain, she watched the corpses of her children being prepared, yet she never even shed a tear amidst all that, there wasn't even a whimper that escaped her." Han Touzhou replied as he turned and looked at Chen Ziqiang.
"You mean to tell me.....?" He said inquisitively.
"I've seen that look on only one type of people, those that are ready to lose everything, after all, there's nothing more dangerous than the vengeance of a mad man, it destroys everything that it comes across without sparing anything." Han Touzhou replied.
The funeral concluded the Empress remained alone in the hall while everyone else had departed and there she stared at the tall statue of the Buddha behind the two coffins and their memorial tablets.
Manyin walked in shortly after and bowing her head she gathered all the courage and could find before she spoke to her.
"Your Highness." She spoke in a lowly tone.
"At ease my dear, tell me what it is that you want to say." She responded.
"Cao Zhaoyi is requesting to have an audience with you." She informed her and the Empress smiling at herself she lightly sighed.
"Let her in." She ordered and the young woman bowing her head she withdrew from the hall while Cao Zhaoyi made her entrance where she knelt on the nearby cushion where the Emperor had previously been.
"You have my condolences." She said.
"You have been awfully silent these days." Empress Yang remarked.
"Han Touzhou's faction is now retired and powerless, when I recall they were so devoted to helping me and backed me up, pushed for me to become the Empress now you possess the power of all those lunatics and they were beaten at their own game." Cao Zhaoyi responded.
"Because until now I had never lost." Empress Yang replied.
"Then what went wrong Your Highness?" Cao Zhaoyi asked.
"Everything." She replied.
"So I have heard, it's your karma, the Crown Prince, the Late Empresses Han and Li, the deposed Crown Princess Cao." She asserted.
"Perhaps." Empress Yang replied, "but I never felt sorry, for a while I had no tears, I have no tears in my eyes, do I regret something However? Yes." She said.
"And what is it?" Cao Zhaoyi asked.
"For a moment I was invincible and nothing in this whole world happened without my knowledge, I could smell anything within the walls of this Palace and not a single person in this Empire, not a single one in this kingdom would even breathe without me knowing of it." The Empress replied.
"Did those senses depart from you Your Highness?" Cao Zhaoyi inquired.
"I always had them all this time I realised later that my only crime was that I was blinded by those momentary victories, not once did I see that my two sons were walking towards their deaths I have been a good Empress at least to the people of this dynasty but the worst mother in the whole world." The Empress said.
"What do I do now Your Highness, the Palace must return to it's gloriously bright and cheerful days." Cao Zhaoyi said.
"Which ones?" The Empress Yang asked.
"You tell me Your Highness." Cao Zhaoyi responded.
"All the days in the Palace will always be filled with darkness and it's pillars, walls and floors covered in blood." The Empress remarked.
"I am tired Your Highness, I'll take my leave." Cao Zhaoyi said as she stood up from where she was kneeling and bowing her head she turned around to walk away.
"This war has just began." Empress Yang said as she turned her head and looked at her back, "it'll only end when I say it will." She added before turning her gaze back to her sons' coffins while Cao Zhaoyi continued her own way.
Stepping out of the hall, Linxiang approached her as halted in her footsteps.
"Ma'am?" She said but the latter holding up her hand signalled for her to halt her speech.
"I'll return to my Palace." She ordered and descending the stairs, her retinue followed while Xiaoyang and Manyin looking at each other they immediately rushed into the hall where they found their mistress still kneeling.
"Your Highness, is everything alright?" Xiaoyang asked while Manyin was feeling guilty.
"Yes." She replied.
"Your Highness?" Manyin called her somberly.
"Is there anything else you wish to tell me?" She asked.
"Your Highness was very stressed out that my brother felt it inappropriate to bother you he asked me to keep this a secret but I don't think that I can do that anymore." She replied.
"Tell me." The Empress calmly ordered.
"One of the Imperial physicians died out of the Palace a couple of days ago and it was alleged that he ran into bandits in the dead of night, However, what's strange is that his last patient was Cao Zhaoyi after she had passed out." Manyin replied and Xiaoyang seemed surprised.
"Cao Zhaoyi?" She asked.
"Yes." Manyin replied.
"Why would she kill an Imperial physician unless she's hiding something." Xiaoyang muttered.
"Enough." Empress Yang said and kowtowing the final time she stood up from where she had been kneeling and she faced them.
"Summon all the others, I urgently need to see them tonight." The Empress ordered abruptly with a rather serious expression on her face her two Head Ladies in waiting didn't dare bother to question her.
"Yes Your Highness." They replied in unison as they withdrew from the Hall immediately.
Cao Zhaoyi arriving inside her Chambers while being accompanied by Linxiang she sat down behind her table.
"You look displeased Ma'am." She remarked.
"As I had expected." Cao Zhaoyi replied while she raised her head and looked at Linxiang, "the Empress looking calm she's inwardly furious, I could almost tell from the glance in her eyes, she was warning me." She asserted.
"What are you going to do Ma'am?" Linxiang inquired.
"We need to be careful in ensuring that my pregnancy remains a secret, the Empress can not know by all means necessary, once the baby is born we could use it as a basis of rebuilding our power in the Imperial Court, in the mean time, I need to have a word with the Grand Chancellor." Cao Zhaoyi replied.
"Should I summon him?" Linxiang inquired.
"No." Cao Zhaoyi immediately declined, "I'll go see him myself." She added determined herself.
The Emperor Ningzong standing on the balcony of his residence he faced the East Palace in a distance.
Shi Miyuan slowly making his way towards him he'd barely noticed while the latter stationed himself by his side.
"Are you thinking about the Late Crown Prince?" He suddenly asked and the young man coming to his senses he recognized him.
"Deputy Grand Secretary?" He muttered surprised.
"Yes." Shi Miyuan responded.
"I have lost four of my children in this Palace, now that I think about it they all died in my arms and so did the Crown Prince, perhaps his death hurt me the most, it surely is very unfortunate." He said.
"I'm so sorry." Shi Miyuan remarked.
"You shouldn't be." The Emperor asserted.
"Perhaps." Shi Miyuan spoke, "my heart is heavy, it breaks for you, they were still young children that were sinless, precious and kind, what is it that they understood about the Monarchy or the outside world when they had a paradise of their on inside here." He remarked.
"Were you here to see the Empress?" Ningzong asked.
"Believe it or not I was here to see you." He responded.
"It's unbelievable that you would feel so concerned about me that much, you thinking so highly of me, so kindly, pitifully, I don't expect any of this concern from you." Emperor Ningzong professed.
"Fate hasn't been kind to us, and neither has our personal History, however I am forced to believe that we all come to share common friends and enemies, strangely enough this world has a way it binds us, deeply, to the extent of relying on each other." Shi Miyuan remarked.
"Perhaps it's that desire, we all share something we love dearly, someone." Emperor Ningzong said.
"We're both men Your Majesty, no one wants to lose to the other between the both of us." Shi Miyuan said.
"I trust your allegiance, I trust your loyalty to the Empress, she sure will need someone to protect her one day when I am not here and the best option that I have is you, of course not that I trust you, it's because I know that you could do anything in the world for her." The Emperor Ningzong said as he turned around and looked at him while he did the same.
"I won't let you or Her Highness down Your Majesty." He said.
"I know." He replied with a sincere smile on his face.
The two still standing there the Empress approached them and pushing apart they looked at her while she bowed her head.
"Your Majesty, Your Excellency." She said to the two while bowing her head.
"Are you alright?" Emperor Ningzong asked as he got closer to her.
"I should be the one asking you that question." She replied, "Your Majesty..." She was saying when he placed his finger on her lip.
"I know." He replied, "perhaps I am just feeling as awful as you are feeling." He asserted.
"It's alright." She remarked and Shi Miyuan excusing himself he left the two while the Emperor held her hand and they chose to walk about the place.
"What did you want to say to me?" Emperor Ningzong asked.
"We are in mourning Your Majesty and I understand, but stability must return to the Court and as you established a new cabinet and bed farewell to the old, it's a matter of national security and political stability, you can not ignore your duties as Emperor for long." She replied.
"But my family needs me." Emperor Ningzong said.
"The people of this country are also your family Your Majesty, it's been ten years since you came to the throne I was suggesting that we hold the farewell feast for the outgoing cabinet and the incoming one." She suggested.
"So soon?" Emperor Ningzong asked.
"In a matter of weeks perhaps, we should relieve the Monarchy of its sorrows, I think it best." She advised.
"Could it make everyone forget the pain?" He asked looking at her, "could it make you forget the pain?" He spoke under his breath.
"It could ease the wounds in my heart, after all Zeng'er and Jiong'er went together those two brothers will keep each other company in the Netherworld, they wouldn't have wanted gloom to fill our hearts for the rest of our lives." Empress Yang responded and hearing this the Emperor held her and pulled her into a very tight hug while Shi Miyuan hidden behind a nearby hedge he could feel his heart aching that he tightly held onto his chest and turned around to look away.
Cao Zhaoyi being accompanied by Linxiang while covering themselves in broad daylight they approached the Chen residence.
Looking at the house it looked simple and comfortable but well-kept.
"Are you sure that this is the Grand Chancellor's residence Ma'am?" Linxiang asked.
"He openly lives a life free of corruption and some of the commons respect him, he was a link for five years so the traits of simplicity are entrenched in him, he is a Staunch Buddhist, an ultra-imperialist, there's no house more perfect for someone like him than this." Cao Zhaoyi responded as she knocked onto the door.
"I see." Linxiang muttered to herself when the gates of the household were flung open and a young man appeared there before them.
"Who are you?" He asked.
"We're humble people that are here to have a word with His Excellency." Cao Zhaoyi responded.
"His Excellency doesn't see anyone." The man informed them.
"Then inform him that we're waiting." Cao Zhaoyi said calmly and the young man seemingly hesitant, Chen Ziqiang getting out of one of the detached houses in his yard he saw them.
"What's going on?" He asked and the boy absent minded Cao Zhaoyi slipped into the yard.
"Your Excellency it is I." She said as removed the veil hanging over her face and revealed herself.
"Ma'am?" He seemed surprised.
"Yes." She replied bowing her head to him.
As if offended he looked away.
"How may I be of help to you Ma'am?" He inquired.
"I was hoping for a small word with you." Cao Zhaoyi responded.
"I'm sorry Ma'am, I don't have time on my hands." He said as he turned around to walk away.
"I'm sure you would find sense in the words I need to tell you, after all serving His Majesty will be surely ordurous and there are many people inside the Palace and outside it that would want you off that seat." Cao Zhaoyi said.
"I am aware Ma'am, nothing you say to me would be new, do you know why?" He inquired.
"Enlighten me Your Excellency." She said while he slowly turned and got closer to her while she did the same until they stood face to face with each other.
"I am aware that I am surrounded by enemies, I am too old that I don't expect to live a very long life either, yes I know that there are strong and powerful men with remarkable characters that believe they can do my job better, but I don't need a woman, no, I won't now to any woman for the sake of my survival because purposefully, I came here to fight." He said to her as he turned around again to walk away.
"You and myself have the same goal, you and myself have a common enemy, your opponents rely on the harem, they rely on the Palace, particularly on the Empress." Cao Zhaoyi muttered.
"I am not afraid of her." Chen Ziqiang said.
"You may have a position but that doesn't mean you have the power, the man on the highest seat in the kingdom can have the least power and I trust that sooner or later, you'll realise that you need me much more than you know." Cao Zhaoyi assured him as she bowed her head and turned around to walk away.
"Who does she think she is?" His retainer asked him.
"Let her be." Chen Ziqiang said as he continued his way while Cao Zhaoyi infuriated she stepped out of his residence.
"Who does he think he is?" Linxiang asked.
"Pride goes before a fall my dear, the only reason he seems strong is because his pride is not broken." Cao Zhaoyi remarked.
"He refused Ma'am." Linxiang reminded her.
"Have a little patience, when he realizes how big an obstacle the Empress could be for him he'll come back crawling on his knees to us." Cao Zhaoyi said as she smiled at herself ghastly before continuing their way.
Being watched by a young man, he quickly made his way to the Palace and the Empress Yang seated in her Chambers with her eyes closed, caressing her black pussy cat while Xiaoyang and Manyin were fanning her he appeared in front of her.
"Your Highness." He said bowing his head.
"Where did Cao Zhaoyi go?" She inquired from him.
"I saw her entering the Grand Chancellor's residence." The man replied and the Empress opening his eyes he stared seriously at him.
"Well done young man." She said and throwing at him a small silk pouch a couple of small golden taels rolled out in front of him.
"Keep an eye on her and you'll get a more handsome reward." She demanded while the latter gathering them all he stood up and withdrew from the hall leaving the Empress with her two ladies in waiting.
"Alas that bitch is finally making her move on him." The Empress remarked.
"Suppose they form an alliance Your Highness?" Manyin inquired.
"Cao Zhaoyi has a secret, there's no doubt on my part that she's gotten smarter at killing people without being caught, regardless of who sides with her or not, I'm bringing the fight to them in full swing." The Empress replied as she looked at the small cat in her hands, "that old Haggard man won't even live long enough." She added determined.
"Don't worry Your Highness, I have already posted our moles in her residence to monitor her movements, words and actions, I assure you, whatever her secret is, we shall surely get to the bottom of it." Xiaoyang reassured her.
Darkness descended over the city and the Empress' supporters gathered in their usual secret room in silence the doors were opened and she walked in.
Standing up, they bowed their heads to her.
"Are we all here?" She asked.
"Yes Your Highness." They replied in unison.
"Very good." She remarked as she sat down in her seat while they sat down with her.
A long silence prevailed before Yang Cishan broke it.
"About the Princes Your Highn......" he was interrupted when she raised her hand.
"I understand your concern." She remarked and he stopped immediately, "I didn't summon you all here because of this, I merely wish we could discuss something urgent." She informed them.
"Is there anything wrong Your Highness?" Peng Zishou inquired.
"You are all aware that His Majesty changed the Grand Chancellor but at the very least we have gained significant power in the Imperial Court Han Touzhou may retain his position but his influence is close to nonexistent." She reminded them.
"Yes Your Majesty." Yang Cishan agreed.
"The Grand Chancellor Chen Ziqiang is new to the political scene and I understand that his existence in the previous regime might lead him to make several dangerous blunders regarding the current state of affairs it has merely come to my concern that we should teach that old dog who the Lord in this country is." Empress Yang muttered.
"And how do you suggest we do that Your Highness?" Master Bao inquired.
We are yet to hold a feast to say farewell to the retired Courtiers and I have received His Majesty's approval, on that day all Ministers and government officials both incoming and outgoing will be gathered here in the Palace." Empress Yang replied, "I want you all on that day to raise an issue that concerns the stability of our nation." She asserted.
"What is it Your Highness?" They asked her.
"I am sure the people are thinking much like I am, our enemies also should have considered it in the very beginning, the East Palace has lacked a master for so long, it's high time someone took on its responsibilities." The Empress replied and each of them surprised they looked at one another and murmured amongst themselves while she let them keep talking.
"Your Highness, you suggest that we push for the investiture of a Crown Prince?" Yang Cishan asked her.
"Yes." She responded assuringly while most of them appeared to be having second thoughts about it.
"But Your Highness, the Princes just passed on, many people will be suspicious." Master Bao said.
"Everything we did to come this far and all the power we have gained, the people we have eliminated, the bodies that we have buried was so that we could place on the throne someone that can trust us and we can trust them, someone that can protect us and we can protect them." The Empress remarked.
"But Your Highness with the Imperial Princes Zhao Jiong and Zhao Zeng dead, it will be very difficult and where on Earth are we going to find a Prince that can do us good enough?" They inquired from her.
"Zhao Zeng and Zhao Jiong were the initial successors the throne needed since they are both Your Highness and the Emperor's biological and legitimate children." Peng Zishou asserted.
"Such may have been the case but this is a very troubling time for us and at a time like this we must stand stronger as I must consolidate my position from which you of all people best understand how good it will be for you." Empress Yang muttered seeing the worry mounting all over them.
"I understand that you are worried, trust me, I have considered everything and I know who the best candidate for this task is." The Empress mentioned.
"Who Your Highness?" They asked her.
"I am referring to the Imperial Prince Zhao Xun." She replied.
"Zhao Xun?" They asked her.
"Yes." She replied.
"Your Highness, how?" Shi Miyuan asked.
"I adopted Zhao Xun and His Majesty supported me as well, he is also a son of the Imperial Clan so it can not be a violation of the law of succession, besides he is excellent with his grades and was such a prodigy in his early years, someone as smart and intelligent as he is is more than capable of running this country, safeguarding the power of the Crown and our own influence." The Empress pushed forward.
"What if one of the Imperial Concubines actually bears a son with the Emperor, what then?" They asked her.
"Now isn't a time to test our chances and neither is it a time for us to rely on what is likely to happen and what isn't." The Empress resolved, "Amongst all of us in this room none best understands the Imperial Prince Zhao Xun like I do and our authority can not be complete unless we bring the East Palace under our control." She seemed to remind them.
"The Imperial Prince Zhao Xun may not be a biological issue but he is Legitimate enough both by name and by blood to ascend the dragon throne in future and the nation does need a Crown Prince for its stability." Master Bao seconded the idea.
"There's nothing more reasonable." Shi Miyuan agreed as well.
"What do you say?" The Empress asked, "will you stand with me on this?" She sought their clarity.
"Everything we have right now is thanks to you Your Majesty and besides, there's nothing more reasonable than this." Yang Cishan said bowing his head.
"Then I'll take it that you all consent to push for the Imperial Prince Zhao Xun to be designated as the Heir Apparent to the dragon throne?" She muttered with a ghastly smile on her face.
"Yes Your Highness." They replied bowing their heads as she stood up and kowtowed to them equally before taking her leave.
Horsemen and Messengers travelling through the streets at night started pinning up notices that were sealed with the Imperial seal all over the capital and at daybreak, people converged around the notice boards and the walls struggling to read their contents.
"What does it say?" The illiterates asked.
"His Majesty is organizing a farewell feast for those outgoing officials from the government next week." One informed the others.
"Aren't they still mourning the Princes?" The people asked.
"According to the notice, it won't be lavish but it will be honourable." The man responded and the people murmuring amongst themselves, Lin Xue along with Chen Ziqiang's retainer present they immediately rushed away.
"A farewell feast?" Han Touzhou asked.
"Yes Your Excellency." Lin Xue responded.
"His Majesty is the type to be sentimental, something like a feast even a week after the funeral of the Imperial Princes is a bit too heartless since we are in a mourning period." He remarked.
"Do you suspect anything Your Excellency?" Lin Xue inquired.
"Half of all politics is merely suspicion and the rest confirmation, it's plausible that considering the current state of affairs in the Imperial Court the Empress is either actively or passively involved we also can't forego the fact that he listens to the Empress most times." Han Touzhou replied.
"It's justified to have a bad feeling about the feast but what is the worst that could happen, or perhaps what is the Empress or even His Majesty up to?" Lin Xue asked.
"Nothing is certain, very many of the Government officials will be present that day if not all of them." Han Touzhou replied immersing himself deeply into his own thoughts.
The Grand Chancellor Chen Ziqiang in his study of his retainer walked in.
"Your Excellency?" He said bowing his head to him.
"What is the problem Mo Qianyu?" He asked.
"There are notices all over the capital and apparently His Majesty has announced his intention to hold a farewell party for the outgoing officials along with the incoming ones in the Palace a week from now." Mo Qianyu replied.
"Aren't we still in the mourning period of the Imperial Princes?" Chen Ziqiang inquired.
"His Majesty promised to keep it very simple but honorable enough, it will match the standards of an Imperial feast at least." Mo Qianyu replied.
"I am very worried then." Chen Ziqiang remarked.
"Is there anything wrong Your Excellency?" Mo Qianyu asked.
"If there's one person the Emperor loves to listen to the most then it is His Empress, having had a word with her the last time I could tell that her character is very rare and herself of all people seems to be the best when it comes to manipulating situations, it's possible that the feast is the Empress' idea which she could have articulated actively or passively but regardless she must have a hidden agenda." Chen Ziqiang responded.
"Then it has to be more than a farewell feast." Mo Qianyu remarked.
"Exactly." Chen Ziqiang assured him.
"Then it is important to know, what is it that the Empress is up to?" Mo Qianyu asked.
"I don't know." Chen Ziqiang replied himself totally confused as well he got lost within his thoughts.
The Empress Yang in her Chambers Xiaoyang walked in and bowed her head to her.
"Your Highness?" She said..
"How is it going?" She inquired.
"His Majesty issued a formal proclamation of the feast, everyone is talking about it in the streets, I am very sure that a number of political circles are equally concerned about it." Xiaoyang responded.
"There's no doubt that Han Touzhou and the Grand Chancellor are equally concerned, but I must say that none will surely seem more cautious of the other when the feast is done." The Empress remarked.
"What will you do Your Highness?" Xiaoyang inquired.
"I was heartless in the very beginning, I managed to get this high from being so, I trusted that every obstacle had to be eliminated and all my adversaries had to face extinction but perhaps I had been too cruel I made a tireless effort to pacify them thinking that perhaps in the future they would be of great use to me but it seems I was mistaken and old habits die hard and the time I realised it I was burying two of my own children this time round instead of one, from my own womb, my own flesh, and blood." The Empress replied as she looked at Xiaoyang, "I am a mother, I am not afraid of going to hell for it which is why I am tired of reasoning with my enemies if I annihilate every last one of them left then perhaps I shall be able to save the only child I have left in the world." She assured her.
"Your Highness, it is I." Manyin interrupted them.
"Come in." She responded and the doors being flung open the latter walked in with the Imperial Prince Zhao Xun.
"Mother?" He called to her as he bowed his head still dressed in his mourning attire.
"I heard that you were at the Imperial mausoleum?" She inquired.
"Yes." He responded and smiling at him she stretched out her hands wide open.
"Come here and lay on my lap, you must be tired." She said to him and slowly making his way to the fairly old woman, he first sat down beside her, and then rested his head on her lap while Xiaoyang and Manyin looked at each other they withdrew from the room leaving the two all alone.
"Mother, I am scared." Zhao Xun said.
"Why is that?" She inquired.
"Zeng'er and Jiong'er are both dead and I'll never have a chance to see them again, I had promised Zeng'er that we would play together when I was reading, he will be angry at me that I didn't keep my promise." He responded.
"Zeng'er had a good heart and he loved you." She said as she continued to caress his hair gently the latter yawned and closing his eyes he fell asleep in the process while she ghastly smiled at him.
"Don't be afraid Xun'er, mother is here for you, I won't let anyone harm you and I will make sure that you become the Emperor of this country, I will make you rise to the Imperial Dragon throne." She promised him so confidently.