The Child Emperor

continuing sternly, “If anyone seeks to mislead the people with devilish tales, that would be an unpardonable crime.”

In truth, other than Prince Qi and his son,  nobody had publicly doubted the Emperor’s identity.
The debate between the officials was about how to fight the Qi forces, and whether Grand Tutor Cui ought to take responsibility for his defeat in battle.
But the Empress Dowager got to the crux of the issue: the officials needed to be completely convinced of the Emperor’s legitimacy for them to genuinely put in their best efforts.

The debate in the Hall of Diligent Administration quickly resolved itself.
After the Empress Dowager got the officials to rise, everyone started condemning Prince Qi.
Han Ling, the Heir of Qi, remained kneeling, and quickly became the target of everyone’s renunciations.
More than one person smashed him with their Hu baton.
The Empress Dowager had no choice but to get Han Ling taken away.

The officials proceeded to put forward their proposals, with some recommending generals, and some recommending a retreat followed by diplomacy… Finally, the officials banded together to put forth concrete solutions.

Han Ruzi gradually grew calm.
He once again felt like things had nothing to do with him.

Before long, Yang Feng pointed out that the Emperor seemed tired, and with the Empress Dowager’s permission, escorted the Emperor back to the Grand Consort’s Cining Palace to rest.

“Your Majesty should not have done that.” Once they entered the room and the other eunuchs and servant-girls were dismissed, Yang Feng sternly voiced his objection.

“Should not have done what?” asked Han Ruzi.

“Draw the attention of the Empress Dowager and the senior officials.
Nor should you have participated in the conflict between the Imperial Court and Prince Qi.
Keeping yourself out of it would have been the best choice.”

Han Ruzi refused to accept that.
“You said that because I am Emperor, there would be those who would take the initiative and contact me.
You were referring to those young nobles, right?”

“Did someone come into contact with Your Majesty?”

“No.
Not a single one.
No one even so much as dropped a hint.
So I felt that I had to at least do something, to let others know that I am an Emperor worth contacting.
Just like you, Lord Yang — it is because you don’t think I’m a hopeless case, that you are willing to help me.”

Yang Feng was stunned.
This was not the first time he was awed by the Emperor’s early maturity, but the speed of the Emperor’s growth still exceeded his expectations.
For a moment, Yang Feng had no words in response.

“Your Majesty… It was still too rash.
The Empress Dowager will be more weary of Your Majesty in the future.” Yang Feng did not wish to encourage the Emperor’s risk taking behavior.

“There are pros and cons.
We’ll have to see what happens — the pros might well outweigh the cons.”

Yang Feng sighed lightly.
“Those things that Your Majesty said… Were they true?”

“I have some vague memories.” Han Ruzi did not wish to lie to Yang Feng, and hence he spoke sincerely.
“To speak the truth, I do not remember Chancellor Yin.
I just thought that he might very well help me corroborate my story.
Jing Yao’s reaction was unexpected — that statement is etched in my memory but I do not remember who said it.”

“What about ‘this Ruzi is worth teaching’?”

“My mother always spoke of this story.
I think it should be true.”

Yang Feng sighed again.
“Your Majesty, do rest well.
I shall instruct the servants to bring you your meal.”

“Am I to stay here in the future?” Han Ruzi could smell the thick scent of perfume in the room, something which he disliked.

“Mm.
It is for Your Majesty’s safety.”

Yang Feng turned to leave, but Han Ruzi still had things to ask.
He quickly said, “Prince Donghai’s teacher, Luo Huan-zhang, spoke to me about righteousness and benevolence.”

 “Luo Huan-zhang is an accomplished Confucian scholar.
Your Majesty would do well to listen closely to his words.”

“But the things he said were different from what you said.”

Yang Feng realized that he could not treat the Emperor solely as a young child.
Moreover, now that he was residing in the Grand Consort’s palace-chambers, the opportunities for them to speak in private would not be many.
Yang Feng decided not to beat around the bush.

“From the perspective of morality, schemes are a means to an end; from the perspective of schemes, morality is merely a useful, highfalutin symbol.
In my view, both views are too extreme.
Only when one has an unburdened heart, can one act freely.
If one distinguishes between morality and schemes, one leaves behind traces of how one thinks and acts.
One cannot deceive oneself, nor deceive others.
The Founding Emperor’s advantage over King Zhuang and King Chen was in not choosing one extreme over the other, maneuvering freely between cunning schemes and righteous benevolence.”

Han Ruzi was unable to completely understand.
“I do not understand… For example, how should I deal with those young nobles?”

“Your Majesty need only remember one thing: Your Majesty may be selfish, but there must be a limit to that selfishness.
That is, one must not be so selfish as to believe that others are not selfish.
Your Majesty would find it fruitful to extrapolate the desires of others from your own desires.”

Yang Feng left, leaving Han Ruzi more confused than ever.
“Why would I believe that others are not selfish?”

Slowly, he grasped some insights.

The door silently opened.
The one who entered was not a eunuch delivering the Emperor’s meal.
Instead, it was Meng E.
She had been sent to protect the Emperor.
Perhaps she had arrived earlier, only that she did not enter the room.

“I can teach you inner qi now,” Meng E said.

It was at this point that Han Ruzi had an epiphany.
Meng E wished to teach him inner qi, because she could tell that he had a chance at becoming a true Emperor.
She was not some blindly loyal subject — she had her own personal desires.
It must be a very great desire, for her to enter the palace as a guard and to take the initiative to teach him inner qi.

“I wish to learn, but we must first gain each other’s trust.” Han Ruzi needed to understand what her personal desire was.

Meng E gave a puzzled look.
She had thought that the Emperor would be desperate to learn from her.
“How would we gain each other’s trust?”

“Tell me first, what’s the story behind the wound on the Empress Dowager’s wrist?”