China by Edward Rutherfurd (historical books to read TXT) 📕

blue. So then I realized what it must mean. The emperor had died, and they were running to start the wedding before anyone forbade them. I hope they made it.

By the time I reached Prince Gong’s mansion, everyone was already dressed in white for imperial mourning. Mandarins, officers, and relations were coming in and out of the house all day and the next. His handsome young brother Prince Chun arrived with his wife. She somewhat resembled her sister the Noble Consort Yi, though not quite so fine, I thought. Then a messenger from north of the Wall rode in and Prince Gong spoke with him alone.

I just kept quiet and remained in the main hall to listen to what people were saying. It wasn’t long before I learned what was going on.

We had a new emperor. That was the first thing. The Noble Consort Yi had been excluded from the emperor’s presence. But when she’d realized that he was on the point of death, she’d taken matters into her own hands, grabbed her little son, forced her way into the emperor’s chamber, woken him up, shown him the boy, and asked if he was the heir. And the emperor had stirred himself, declared that the throne must pass to the child, and said there must be a regency council. That was all-important, because once the emperor chooses an heir in the correct line of succession, then the court must obey his decision.

Some people had wondered whether Prince Sushun wanted to seize the throne for himself; but he really couldn’t now. Everyone in Beijing was full of praise for the Noble Consort Yi.

But who was on the council? Who, as they say, would hold the seals?

There were twenty-five great seals with which imperial decrees were stamped. The regents would hold the seals, therefore, until the boy emperor came of age. As for the council, there was plenty of precedent. First, the new emperor’s uncles. That meant Prince Gong obviously, and at least some of his brothers. People even wondered whether dashing young Prince Chun might be included. It was not unknown for the late emperor’s widow to hold one of the seals also. Then there would be some senior mandarins and other wise men. We had to wait another day for this news.

When it came, it was devastating. None of the uncles, not even Prince Gong, was on the council. All the places had gone to Prince Sushun and his gang. It was against all precedent. It was an outrage. In an attempt, perhaps, to make the thing look more legitimate, the empress and the Noble Consort Yi, because she was the new emperor’s mother, had each been given a seal. The empress, obviously, wouldn’t give any trouble; and the Noble Consort Yi, so recently in disgrace, wasn’t in a position to thwart the council even if she wanted to.

“We don’t believe the late emperor made these provisions at all, whatever state he was in.” That’s what most of the people who came to Prince Gong’s house said. “This is all Prince Sushun’s doing.” And I was expecting Prince Gong to denounce the whole business.

But to my surprise, Prince Gong said nothing at all. Neither that day nor in the days that followed. He quietly continued to maintain order in Beijing and let it be known that he would perform his duties there until such time as the regency council decided otherwise.

Prince Gong did also receive private news from the Hunting Palace. He never confided any of this to me, but the princess did.

“The mandarins at the court up there aren’t at all happy with Prince Sushun,” she told me one day. “One of the censors—you know the censors are allowed to say whatever they wish—anyway, one of the censors has told Prince Sushun that the regency council is illegal and that he should hand all the seals to the empress. Though I don’t know what good that would do, since she hasn’t got an idea in her head.”

“How did Prince Sushun take that?” I asked.

“He was furious. He’d like to get rid of the censor and the empress, and the Noble Consort Yi as well.”

“Could he do it?” I asked anxiously.

“He’s got to be careful. Even some of his own council won’t let him go that far.”

Then we heard Prince Sushun had backed down and that the council had raised both women to the rank of dowager empress, which was a status higher than any of the other regents—at least in theory. But with the regents up in the north while Prince Gong was running Beijing, China was in suspense. No one knew what would happen next.

And there was one other big problem: the dead emperor’s body. It had to be brought to Beijing for official burial. Prince Sushun and his gang would have to come with it. And the weather was still warm. The corpse wasn’t getting any younger. They must have embalmed it, but even so…

Nearly a month passed, and nobody moved. Then Prince Gong and Prince Chun went up together to the Hunting Palace to see the regents there.

The princess was in a terrible state. “I’m just afraid Prince Sushun might poison them,” she said.

“He wouldn’t dare do that,” I reassured her. Not that I had the faintest idea, really.

We heard that Prince Sushun received Prince Gong and Prince Chun very coldly. Almost insulting. But it was agreed Prince Gong should continue to maintain order in the capital for the moment, and he did manage to see the dowager empresses.

When Prince Gong got back here, the word went out: “Prince Gong remains steadfast to his motto: ‘No Private Heart.’ He serves at the pleasure of the Regency.” A lot of people were disappointed and criticized him for not standing up to Prince Sushun. But he was firm.

A little while after this, Prince Chun went north again and saw the empresses before returning. Arrangements were made for the emperor’s body to travel south as soon as possible. The