东宫 Eastern Palace: Hibiscus by Taiye Pond and Willows by the Weiyang Palace (Part 1)

The title of this side story is from a famous poem known as Song of Everlasting Regret, which is about the tragic love story between Emperor Xuanzong and Imperial Consort Yang (Yang Gui Fei), who is known as one of the four beauties in ancient Chinese history. There was tension between her adopted son An Lushan (Military General) and her cousin Yang Guozhong (Prime Minister). As a result, this caused An Lushan to rebel. Emperor Xuanzong fled with Imperial Consort Yang, Yang Guozhong, and his army that was small in numbers. Along the way, the soldiers killed Yang Guozhong as they felt he was the one that had weakened the Tang Dynasty and provoked this rebellion. They also demanded Imperial Consort Yang to be executed as she was the one who had help Yang Guozhong rise to power. Without any other choice, Emperor Xuanzong could only order for Imperial Consort Yang to be executed. Imperial Consort Yang was strangled to death in the courtyard of a temple. After her death, Emperor Xuanzong died in sorrow a few years later. The title of this side story is one of the settings of the poem.

.............

"A'Mu!" I pulled his sleeve, but then I changed the way I called him, and whispered, "Your Highness......"

A'Mu lifted his head, stared at me blankly. He was wearing a plain coloured robe, which made his eyes look even darker, his expression was a bit childish.

According to the palace rules, I was not allowed to call the Crown Prince by his name. However when I went into the palace that year, I was seven years old, A'Mu was younger than I was, he was five years old. We were like brothers, and I was older, always protecting him. When he couldn't memorize the books, I cheated for him under the eyes of the teacher. When he was punished, I could perfectly imitate his handwriting, helping him copy the thick stack of books without revealing any flaws. We were together in the garden playing slingshots, cricket fighting [1], climbing trees, and playing with the palace maids.....

We slowly grew up, but I know our relationship did not changed. If A'Mu had anything that bothers him, he would tell me, and I would be willing to think of ways to help him resolve it.

A'Mu had many things to worry about, because his Majesty only has this one son, so naturally he has high hopes for him. However in front of an emperor that is as wise as his Majesty, anyone else would be insignificant.

A'Mu had once asked me: "How can I be like my father?"

I could not answer.

His Majesty fought well in wars. He once fought in the Western Regions, pacified the south, attacked numerous cities, and established a foundation for the world. Standing in front of the geomancy [2] diagram would cause anyone to have a burning passion. In the past hundred years or so since the founding of the country, the territory of our dynasty has never been so big before. Every year small countries would offer tribute to our country. A'Mu and I had once stood at the top of the Cheng Tian gate with his Majesty, listening to the many citizens shout "Long live his Majesty!" The loudness of the voices could shake the nine cities, even clueless children like us would be astonished during these moments. However his Majesty would just smile faintly and stand at the gate tower briefly, because he refused to stand there for a long period of time, ordering people to pull down the curtains, before directly heading back in the west direction. It seem as though all flourishing moments would just be a passing cloud in the eyes of an emperor that is cold and arrogant.

With such a father, I still felt that A'Mu was pitiful.

His Majesty is skilled in horsemanship and archery. Our dynasty was gained through horses' backs, so I understand the education and training that children of noble families have to go through, starting with archery and horsemanship, followed by literacy and martial arts. I was taught by my father, and among the scholars, my martial arts skills are considered good. However when compared to his Majesty, I was still one hundred and eight thousand miles behind.

I had once seen his Majesty's martial arts skills. That day, A'Mu and I were accompanying his Majesty on a walk in the garden. There was a pair of birds on a tree branch chirping cheerfully. His Majesty took the slingshot from A'Mu's hand and knocked down the pair of birds. The so-called killing two birds with one stone was nothing more than that, the golden ball from the slingshot had badly mutilated the heads of the two birds, which were almost crushed into fine powder. This shows how his Majesty's strength was astonishing.

His Majesty doesn't seem to like anything in pairs. In the past dynasties, when twin lotuses appears in Taiye Pond, it signifies good fortune, and many poets would write poems about it. However in the second year of Qin He[3], even if twin lotuses were found in the Taiye pond, no one dared to report it to his Majesty. Only servant Wang dared to order someone to secretly remove those twin flowers from the pond.

Because of his Majesty's strange temper, when the west garden was being built, the number of rooms in the building were in odd numbers. The Minister of Construction, Nian Zhang, who normally does not have a brave personality was very daring this time. Although the Minister of Rites thinks that this situation would go against the tradition, this was only a garden for the royal family and it's not considered part of the palace, so the Minister of Rites turned a blind eye to the construction of the garden.

The Minister of Rites was very tactful because his Majesty's temper was becoming more violent year after year, but no one dares to persuade him.

His Majesty was not muddleheaded, he still knows how to make good use of people, because the government was in order.

It was just that there wasn't any favored consort in the harem, because his Majesty was not particularly close with any woman. Occasionally he would go out to hunt, but not to the point of indulgence. His subjects were helpless against such an unappetizing emperor.

It was said that there was once a minister who was very worried, because his Majesty has only one son. For a royal family to have such a weak royal line of succession, it would inevitably cause concern.

Countless suggestion reports from the ministers were sent to his Majesty like snowflakes, almost as if his Majesty does not have more sons, then he would be letting down the heavens.

His Majesty only smiled.

After the fourth year of Qin He, Consort Xian, Li Shi, was finally pregnant. Everyone was hoping that she would be able to give birth to another son of his Majesty. Who knew that Li Shi would have a difficult birth and die after giving birth to a princess.

This was Princess Chaoyang.

His Majesty gave the princess the name of the main palace, showing how much he dotes on this daughter. 

Princess Chaoyang was indeed very cute. Perhaps it was pitiful that she had lost her mother at birth, so his Majesty would often bring her to court, placing her on his lap. It seems as if playing with his daughter was more important than the country's matters.

The ministers were angry at first, but gradually they discovered the benefits of having Princess Chaoyang around.

When his Majesty was angry, no one dares to defy the heavens again, but as long as the nanny brings Princess Chaoyang there, she would be able to put an end to situations that were like a catastrophe.

Princess Chaoyang would always be giggling, jumping into his Majesty's embrace as soon as he reaches out his hands.

When his Majesty picks her up, his face would be filled with a smile.

When Princess Chaoyang was four years old, she had property and countless servants. For her, his Majesty did not hesitate to build a palace at Mount Li, just because Princess Chaoyang have asthma, and the imperial doctor advised her to bathe in hot springs more.

Everyone in this world knew that Chaoyang was the only person that was treated as a treasure by his Majesty.

A’Mu would often say to me: “Zhong An, I don’t know who would be lucky enough to marry Chaoyang."

I knew what he meant, whoever marries Chaoyang would have everything in this world.

Chaoyang grew up day by day, cuter and naughtier than when she was a child.

She was the only carefree person in the Imperial Palace.

I would often hear her laughter that was as clear as the sound of bells, which also sounded like a bird that was the best at singing, but isn't she just a smart bird?

When Chaoyang had grown up, she liked to spend time with A’Mu because his Majesty had only one son and one daughter, they were the only siblings. She would often wear men’s clothing, escaping the palace with us to play. Besides no one in the palace was going to stop her. The three of us often go out to tea shops to drink tea, watch sideshows, and listen to storytellers tell stories.

That period of happiness, pureness, and brightness.

Now that I think of the past, that was the happiest time of my life, having A'Mu and Chaoyang by my side.

When Chaoyang died, A'Mu and I were heartbroken.

The person that was deeply hurt was his Majesty, suddenly his hair turned white overnight.

Notes:

[1] 斗蟋蟀 Cricket fighting- Putting crickets in a container to fight, the cricket that loses is the one that either stops chirping or is thrown/escapes out of the container.

[2] 堪舆 Geomancy- Another term for it would be feng shui (风水), which is a traditional practice of placing objects/buildings in certain locations in an auspicious manner. This practice is often done so that it can bring luck to individuals.

[3] 钦和 Qin He- Every emperor's reign would have a different name. Qin He would be the name of Li Cheng Yin's reign, so in this context 钦和二年 would mean in the second year of Li Cheng Yin's reign.

<Chapter 42                                                                                                   Side Story 1 Part 2>