Chapter 071: Stealing the Spotlight

The three cabinet ministers entered the palace to meet the Empress Dowager, and the whole affair lasted less than the time it takes for a stick of incense to burn. When they emerged from the Hall of Benevolent Tranquility, their faces were grim, clearly showing they had failed to persuade her.

Once they were certain no one was around, Gao Gu lowered his voice and asked the other two, “Gentlemen, I can understand some of the other matters Her Majesty mentioned, but where is this imperial princess she speaks of supposed to come from?”

Just now, Chen Xun had opposed the plan on the grounds that there was no imperial princess of suitable age for a marriage alliance, but the Empress Dowager had replied that she had her own arrangements and would not make empty promises, telling them not to worry. Her mysterious attitude left the three ministers thoroughly perplexed.

Chen Xun gave a bitter laugh. “I’ve been puzzling over that as well. She can hardly conjure one out of thin air, can she?”

Miao Zhong, exasperated, declared, “Whatever else may be said, a marriage alliance is absolutely out of the question. We must inform the officials of the Empress Dowager’s intentions at once. There is no time to lose, or the situation will spiral out of control!”

Not long after the ministers left the palace, news spread that the Empress Dowager had indeed decided on a marriage alliance with the Oirat. The court and the realm were thrown into an uproar.

Led by the cabinet ministers, the officials’ memorials of protest flew toward the Hall of Benevolent Tranquility like a flurry of snow.

Throughout history, interference in government by the inner palace had always been taboo, and since her son Zhu Qizhen had begun ruling in his own right, Empress Dowager Sun had seldom involved herself in affairs of state.

Now, gazing at the mountain of memorials, the Empress Dowager was almost driven to fainting with rage. Previously, when she’d asked the ministers to find a way to save the emperor, they had merely paid lip service, none willing to do their utmost. Now that she herself had devised a solution, they opposed her at every turn, making it abundantly clear they were bullying a widow and her orphaned child!

“Burn them—burn them all for me!” the Empress Dowager roared, pointing furiously at the pile of memorials as she recovered her breath.

Li Yongchang offered a wry smile. “Your Majesty, burning them is useless. Those ministers are already waiting outside the palace gate, demanding an audience with you.”

“These lawless scoundrels!” The words of the memorials rankled in the Empress Dowager’s chest. What did they mean, “the Son of Heaven guards the nation’s gates”? What did they mean by, “the sovereign gives his life for the altars of state”? Or, “the people come first, the altars of state second, and the ruler last”?

It was a blatant indictment of the emperor! If the Son of Heaven could not safeguard the land and the realm, leading the army to a disastrous defeat and leaving the capital in peril, and had himself been captured by the Oirat—what was left? In such circumstances, the emperor ought to die to atone for his failure, but instead of that, he was now helping the enemy open the gates, heedless of the lives of millions. Such a one was unworthy of the throne!

In her anger, the Empress Dowager suddenly recalled something and asked, “Why do so many of the ministers’ memorials contain those same phrases? Are they copying someone?”

Li Yongchang had already looked into this and replied cautiously, “Your Majesty, I had already set people to inquire. It turns out that the lines which have been so widely quoted came from a memorial written by Xue Rui, a student in the Directorate of Astronomy.”

The Empress Dowager gnashed her teeth. “A mere student, and he dares to bark out his arrogance? Sooner or later I shall tear out his tongue!”

“Please, Your Majesty, calm your anger. I will find a chance to teach him a proper lesson for you,” Li Yongchang said, hurrying to soothe her as best he could.

Before long, a palace attendant hurried into the hall and handed the Empress Dowager a letter. Seeing the signature at the bottom, the Empress Dowager, for once, grew nervous. With trembling hands, she tore open the envelope and unfolded the letter.

She had barely read a few lines when a wave of dizziness swept over her, and she nearly collapsed to the floor.

“Your Majesty, what is wrong? Quickly, fetch the imperial physician!” Li Yongchang was terrified, shouting to the palace maids and attendants.

After the physician administered acupuncture, the Empress Dowager recovered a little. But she seemed to have suffered a deep shock; her eyes stared blankly at the ceiling as she muttered to herself, “Why will she not agree? Was it that my terms were not generous enough, or does her hatred run so deep she cannot forgive me...?”

...

As the matter of the marriage alliance fermented over half a day, the uproar grew ever greater. Opposition within the court far outstripped any support. Civil and military officials began gathering outside the Meridian Gate of their own accord, demanding an audience with the Empress Dowager, refusing to rise from their knees until she agreed to see them.

The situation looked dangerously close to a forced abdication. Seeing how serious things had become, Prince Cheng Zhu Qiyu could no longer pretend ignorance and came in person to the gate to persuade the officials to disperse.

Alas, their resolve was unshakable. They would not relent unless the Empress Dowager withdrew her command.

Finding them unmoved, Prince Cheng sent word to the Empress Dowager to ask how to proceed.

Within the Hall of Benevolent Tranquility, as news from every quarter arrived, the Empress Dowager realized the matter was hopeless. She had been too naive about the marriage alliance, assuming her generous terms would guarantee a candidate, only to find herself flatly refused. At the same time, she had overlooked the opinions of her ministers, believing this was a family matter of the imperial house and not the concern of outsiders, and that she could see it through by her own will.

But the officials saw it differently. For them, nothing concerning the imperial family was a small matter; a marriage alliance touched the fate of the dynasty itself. To agree to one in the wake of military defeat would give the Oirat the impression that Ming was rotten within, its strength a mere facade, and that it could not withstand a blow.

For all these reasons, the Empress Dowager found herself isolated and unsupported. Faced with a mounting tide of opposition, she was forced to abandon the plan and ordered the news to be relayed to the civil and military officials.

With the Empress Dowager’s decree, the officials finally breathed a sigh of relief.

When the news reached the Directorate of Astronomy, the officers there, hearing that Xue Rui had brought honor to their institution, called him to the office and lavished him with praise.

But Xue Rui himself was utterly baffled. The lines quoted in the memorials had obviously been written by Liu Jin in his policy submission—why was everyone saying he had written them?

Back in the archive room, Xue Rui sought out Liu Jin and asked, “What happened with your policy proposal? Why do people say I wrote it?”

Unaware of the marriage alliance crisis, Liu Jin was puzzled. “You didn’t write it, but you did dictate it. I noted at the end that the content was dictated by you and written down by me. Is there a problem?”

“I...” Xue Rui was speechless.

As he recounted the turmoil in the court, everyone instinctively looked toward Fan Yan. It was he who had first raised the issue of the marriage alliance, and now the city was in an uproar, the Empress Dowager herself alarmed.

Though the Empress Dowager had abandoned the plan, the consequences were far-reaching. This fellow was the true culprit!

Fan Yan himself hadn’t expected things to turn out this way and was rather worried about being punished by the court. However, with so many people present, he did not want to show fear and forced himself to appear calm. “Prince Cheng said we should encourage open discussion, and that we won’t be held responsible for mistakes. I’m not afraid.”

Liu Jin, having heard that the policy proposal he collaborated on with Xue Rui had been widely cited by officials, was secretly delighted, but Xue Rui could not bring himself to smile.

All they saw was Xue Rui’s moment in the sun, but they failed to realize that he would now be an object of the Empress Dowager’s enmity. She could do nothing against the high officials, but dealing with a lowly student of astronomy would be all too easy for her.

Moreover, none of this was recorded in the official chronicles. There had never been such a crisis over a marriage alliance. Now not only had it happened, but Xue Rui had become embroiled in it, a sign that history was already beginning to shift in subtle ways.

Whether for good or ill, he could not yet say. Of course, his worries were not for sharing. For now, he could only take things one step at a time.

At long last, when work was over, Xue Rui went straight home to Stone Alley. He had officially become a student of astronomy, and naturally wanted to bring the good news to his family. He knew Mistress Liu and her attendants would be overjoyed.