Refusing to Serve Me? Then Off With Your Head!

No Leader Amongst a Crowd of Dragons

Turns out, even beauties turned scary when they became hysterical.  Her eyes were bulged while her hairpin was messily dangling from her hair.  She no longer looked gentle and amiable.

Perhaps, in Consort De’s mind, since her Father was a good Father, he ought to be a good and loyal minister as well.  Me saying ‘the attempt this time has something to do with your Father’ ended up agitating her to no end.  Her piercing voice of rebuttal almost shook Zhong Hua Palace.  I covered my ears while stepping backwards and even then, I could not block her voice.

She must have never seen the sight of her Father killing people in the battlefield.

Wu Ke’s rabbit-like red eyes were full of admonishing as he looked at her, “Your Ladyship the empress, Consort De has lost her composure, why don’t you do something to comfort her…”

I had to went through an entire day and night worth of shock, where would I find it in me to comfort others?  I asked two maids to stuff Consort De’s mouth with something and to send her back to her own palace to reflect.  Consort De struggled against them while giving me a deadly glare.  She probably thought I was doing this on purpose to stop her from going to the emperor to complain.

I felt truly honored to be someone who was capable of being Consort De’s obstruction.  I watched her as she was dragged away.

My ears had always been fragile, I could only hear nice things and filter out things that might ruin my mood.

After Yan Ping woke up, he visited the emperor to check on his condition before being moved to the Head of Imperial Guard’s quarters to recuperate.

Wu Ke, on the other hand, was very busy.  He was working around the clock without rest, trying to investigate the assassination party.  He was frightening all those officials and was practically warning them to not take matters into their own hands.

All the physicians were on the ready, they did not leave the palace for even a second.  Their Head’s beard was almost plucked clean after being repeatedly pulled by me.  If he had not called for those towering maids to restrain me while giving me a look that was as though I was a rabid dog that needed to be subdued, no beard would be able to grow on his chin anymore.

As he administered golden needles on the unconscious emperor, he whispered softly, “Your Majesty, if you still don’t wake up, the empress will pull out all of this official’s beard….  If I go home looking like this, the wife will not let me in….”

I heard, he was famous for two things:  his obsession with inkstones and his fear for his wife.

There was this famous gossip amongst the palace’s maids that whenever the Head was bestowed with rewards, he would not ask for gold or silver and instead would ask for ink stones.  When he came home, his pocket would be full of only inkstones and nothing else.  That pissed off his wife and she ended up slamming a couple of his prized inkstones to the ground out of anger.  He was heartbroken and was restless for a very long time.

I really admired the way his wife treated him; she was a woman of courage.  I wanted to replicate her ways in my management of the palace.  However, the palace that the emperor had entrusted me was draining me of power.   Everyday, the servants would bring in stacks and stacks of memorials to be reviewed.  In a couple more days, I would probably be buried under this mountain of paper.

The Imperial Censor Department was very busy.  They had dragged a lot of names, including the empress who was apparently crafty and greedy.  The emperor fell ill and the empress was trying to ruin the country by falsely accusing General Hu Guo and even deprived him of food.   Another bunch of people defended me saying that, other than imprisoning the criminals and depriving them off food, I hadn’t done anything to really hurt them.

Everyone had different definitions of ‘crafty and greedy’.  Unfortunately, the emperor was unconscious at the moment, so cry as they may, their complains would be of no use.

Ever since the news of the assassination spreads out, the entire harem turned upside down while there had been civilian unrest in the capital.  Wu Ke took some troops with him to keep the peace in the capital.  Anyone who had different ideas would be captured and brought to the prison.

I was sitting on a long couch in front of the dragon bed.  There was a mountain of memorials in front of me.  I had only finished reviewing a few of them, there were still more to be sent in.  The dragon desk and that long couch was especially brought in under Tian Bing Qing’s instruction because only when I could see the emperor’s face would I be at peace during my sleepless nights.

E Huang served me a bowl of bird’s nest, “Your Ladyship, the physician said that His Majesty has gotten a lot better.  He will regain consciousness soon.  You are so busy, you must take care of your own health.  You are carrying a little prince with you.”

I rubbed my own tummy, our child was right there.  I took the bowl and drank the bird’s nest in one go.  There was a tinge of bitterness in my lips, one that traveled to my heart.

Just then, Tian Bing Qing rushed in, “Your Ladyship, all the concubines are in an uproar.  Consort De has been creating trouble over and over again!”

I got up and almost collapsed from tiredness.  Tian Bing Qing and E Huang supported me.  I took a deep breath before saying, “Help me do my hair.  And then, we will meet the concubines.”

Consort De’s arrival the other day told me one thing; the cage that was the harem was not locked enough.  There were cats and dogs running around, spreading infos.  The empress dowager had gone to Bao Ji Temple while the emperor was unconscious, only I was left in charge.  A portion of the imperial guards had been sent to General Wu Ke to keep the capital under control.  It would be better if all the trouble was focused on one side, so I had ordered all the concubines to live together in Han Xiang Palace, while their maids were to live in a nearby pavilion to look after them.

Han Xiang Palace was so big, it was enough for the concubines to bring one maid each.

<

I used to be in the military, so I copied General Huang Jie’s way of doing things.  There were strict control over the entrance and exit in Han Xiang Palace.  Even the maids who sent water and food were to be closely monitored.  Other than while bathing or changing, every single move they did were monitored.

Just, those concubines were spoiled and were used to luxuries.  They didn’t exactly have good relationships with each other.  Now that they were locked up in one place, one grudge were stacked on top of another and all they did was fight.  I usually never cared for other people’s fight, I wanted to let them resolve their own conflicts.  However, it was clear that those concubines were not good at maintaining good relationships, it had only been two days and Han Xiang Palace had almost turned upside down because of them.

E Huang and Tian Bing Qing followed me while a procession of maids followed us from behind, all the way to Han Xiang Palace.  When we got there, Consort De and Consort Yu and Mei Pin were all fighting like a bunch of chickens in a ring.

In the past, Consort De had a huge mountain backing her in the form of General Hu Guo and the empress dowager.  Even though she did not receive the emperor’s favor, she was still a level higher than the other consorts.  Had I, this paratrooper, not exists, she would have become the empress.

The moment the court changed, the backing she had immediately collapsed.  The rest of the concubines who were frequently oppressed by her naturally didn’t let this chance go.  All kinds of words were thrown and before time, a storm was brewed.

The moment I stepped into Han Xiang Palace, my eyes fell on those squabbling women.  I totally regretted forcing them to exercise.  Now that they were healthy, they had more energy to fight.  If they were as weak and frail as they were back then, they wouldn’t have the ability to pick fight after fight with one another.

“The emperor is sick, seems like all of you are too worried and have gotten into a fight.  Why don’t all of you pray more, from today onward?  Copy more Buddhist scriptures, pray for His Majesty’s health.”

I turned around and a maid carried in a Buddha statue that used to belong to the empress dowager.  Then, one of them brought in the Diamond Sutra.

Consort De was the first one to talk, “Your Ladyship, Mei Pin was rude and lost her conduct, please punish her!”

Mei Pin cried while Consort Yu spoke on her behalf, “Consort De is lying.  She insulted Mei Pin first.”

<

My head hurts from all their arguments.  “Since all of you refused to listen to bengong and also refused to pray for His Majesty’s recovery, why don’t bengong send all of you to Bao Ji Temple tomorrow to serve the empress dowager?  At least, she will not be lonely there.”

Consort Yu froze before looking at me in disbelief, “Your Ladyship, don’t tell us you want to take advantage of His Majesty’s injury to clean out the harem?”

En, how reluctant to leave….

Though they did not receive Feng Zhao Wen’s favor, living in the palace meant living with abundant food and silk.  If I really send them to Bao Ji Temple and made them shave their heads, they would lose the desire to live.

I swept my eyes over all of them before scoffing, “Don’t tell bengong that you think your absence here will be felt?  If there is one thing the palace never lacks, it will be women.  Do you believe bengong if bengong tells you that the moment you leave your palaces, new women will step into your shoes?  And each and every one of them will be younger and prettier than all of you!”

Han Xiang Palace immediately fell into a deep silence.  Even the sobbing had stopped, all of them were stunned.

<

The palace was magnificent and glorious, but all I cared about was one person.

That man who was lying on the dragon bed had a handsome face and a hand that could steer clouds and cover rain.  After so many tactics from him, all that was left of me was tolerance and my love for him.

I was under his protection for too long, I was too used to him doing the fights for me.  Now that he had collapsed, the ugly truth of the world that the invincible emperor had been blocking for me finally reached before my eyes.  I felt helpless.

“Please wake up, Husband!  I cannot handle all these!”  I poked him in the face while whispering to his ears.

Admitting one’s inability was such a disgraceful thing, but, I had done even more embarrassing things in front of him, so this was nothing.

A couple of steps away, E Huang and Tian Bing Qing looked like they really wanted to stop me from bothering His Majesty, but they seemed to anticipate His Majesty regaining consciousness at the same time.

Unfortunately, it seemed like His Majesty had worked too hard for far too long.  He seemed adamant to take this rest, this time.  He wouldn’t wake up no matter what.

I honestly regretted the fact that I only knew how to hide behind him and didn’t share his burden.

Perhaps, if someone had shared it with him, he would be less tired and would have woken up.

Anxious and could not wait any longer, I gritted my teeth and screamed in panic next to his ears, “Your Majesty, Fan Wang is rebelling!  He has surrounded the palace!”

Tian Bing Qing stared at me in shock, “Your Ladyship, you…..”

E Huang disregarded all the future misconducts and rushed to cover my mouth.

………… I was helpless too….  I heard, saying stimulating things to unconscious people would help wake them up faster.

His Majesty had always put the utmost importance on his ruling over the land.  He finally managed to obtain the world after so much efforts, I did not believe he would continue sleeping and let Fan Wang rob it from him.

Unfortunately, I was wrong.  He was probably resolved to rest, this time.  I almost cried when there was no reaction from him.

At that moment, Wu Ke came in with red eyes, saying that I need to attend the court to clarify rumors.

In the end, I had no other choice but to summon the ministers and listen to them from beyond a curtain.