The Imperial Guard’s Revenge
Chapter 111 Reward
Yikun Palace was in the inner palace. While the emperor was recuperating there, it was naturally inconvenient for officials to enter and report matters. So, for the past two days, aside from Lu Heng and the eunuchs, no one was able to see the emperor.
The emperor issued an order to move back to Qianqing Palace. Even though he was still recuperating, this indicated that he was preparing to resume his governance.
After leaving the palace, Lu Heng tapped Wang Yanqing’s forehead lightly in the carriage and said with a meaningful tone: “You really have some nerve, daring to say whatever comes to mind.”
Compared to past palace rebellions, this one was strange but not particularly complex. Since the Ming Dynasty had developed to this point, political power was stable, the country was strong, and all factions were balanced. The concubines, officials, and eunuchs had no reason to instigate a rebellion.
Anyone with a discerning eye could tell that these palace maids didn’t act on someone’s orders to kill the emperor. They were merely driven to the brink by harsh policies and revolted in desperation.
But who would dare say this out loud? Even if the emperor logically believed it, the first official to expose the truth would inevitably be punished.
Anyone who had managed to stay in the emperor’s inner circle was a fox of a thousand years, unwilling to sacrifice themselves for others. However, the palace rebellion needed to be resolved. With war imminent, it was crucial to resolve the situation quickly and stabilize things. If they didnt, the rebellion would inevitably evolve into a political purge, and everyone would be busy with factional struggles. What would happen to the war in the southeastern coast then?
The Imperial Guards’ purpose was to maintain the stability of the dynasty. Compared to the stability of the Ming Dynasty, whether facts were straight or twisted, whether they were praised or villains in the history books, didn’t matter at all to the Imperial Guards. Moreover, Lu Heng was also gambling. While others dared not expose the truth, Lu Heng chose to do so. After the emperor’s moment of pain, he would only trust him more.
That’s why Lu Heng brought Wang Yanqing. Wang Yanqing was a woman from the common folk, not tied to any official interests, and with Lu Heng vouching for her, she was seen as completely trustworthy. The emperor was most likely to accept her words.
In the end, the emperor didn’t lash out and allowed Wang Yanqing to leave in peace, probably understanding Lu Heng’s “good intentions.”
Lu Heng had anticipated that Wang Yanqing might not be very polite, especially since she had scolded him without mercy recently, but he hadn’t expected her to be this blunt.
Wang Yanqing nearly pointed directly at the emperor and told him that it was his actions that had driven them to the brink.
“It’s the truth.” Wang Yanqing said dismissively, “You told me not to meddle in your schemes and to speak plainly.”
“If a man will be punished by heaven and earth if he does not work for himself. How can the pursuit of gain be called a scheme?” Lu Heng vowed, “Besides, my promotion is for your sake too.”
Wang Yanqing shot him a cold look, sneering lightly: “Nonsense.”
“It’s the truth.” Lu Heng said earnestly, then suddenly grinned as he looked at her, “Ancient texts say a man must have five qualities to properly pursue a woman, Pan-Lu-Deng-Xiao-Xian. Among the five, I lack in the last one, leisure. So, I had no choice but to raise my official rank a little, at least to make up for it a bit.
|| The 5 qualities a man needs to attract a woman by ancient text … (潘驴邓小闲) Pan-As beautiful as Pan An (poet known for his looks). Lu-As sexually competent as a donkey. Deng-As rich as Deng Tong (a wealthy man in the Han Dynasty). Xiao-Must be patient and have a good temper. Xian-Refers to leisure and having time for a relationship.
Wang Yanqing furrowed her brows as she listened: “Which ancient text says that? I’ve never heard of it.”
Her tone was natural yet puzzled. Lu Heng looked at her damp eyes and smiled in amusement, the sound of his laughter even causing a slight vibration in his chest: “It’s not from a famous book. If you don’t know it, then it’s fine.”
Seeing him laugh so freely, Wang Yanqing became even more suspicious that this wasn’t a good thing. She pressed on, unwilling to let it go: “What does Pan-Lu-Deng-Xiao-Xian mean?”
Lu Heng laughed even harder, unable to stop himself from rubbing her cheek: “You’ll understand it eventually.”
He paused for a moment after speaking, staring deep into her eyes, implying something as he said: “But if you want to know now, I can tell you.”
Wang Yanqing was utterly confused, but her instincts told her something was wrong. Lu Heng’s eyes were clearly thinking about something base. She pushed his hand away and tried her best to maintain an aloof demeanor, but her voice betrayed her embarrassment and frustration: “Who cares what books you read? I don’t want to know.”
“Is that so?” Lu Heng’s gaze remained locked on Wang Yanqing, his eyes flashing with flickers of light, like a delicate net, and he sighed ambiguously, “What a pity.”
Lu Heng watched Wang Yanqing’s cute, confused expression, and he thought to himself that it was indeed a shame. He had spoken such bold words in front of her, and she hadn’t even understood.
Why did his heart feel so restless?
Wang Yanqing was so embarrassed by Lu Heng’s tone that her face turned red. She knew he was clearly teasing her, yet she couldn’t understand what it meant. This feeling was really irritating.
She secretly cursed Lu Heng, wondering what kind of lewd books he read every day. She knew that if the conversation continued, she would be the one at a disadvantage. So, she pretended to be indifferent and coldly said: “In public, no one cares about your private matters. Since Yang Jinying has already been investigated, you won’t need me anymore, right?”
Lu Heng thought to himself, this wouldn’t do. Although he couldn’t leave his official duties during the day, he picked up and dropped off Wang Yanqing every time. The more they interacted, the more opportunities it created. He quickly switched to a serious expression, assuming a businesslike demeanor, and said solemnly: “The emperor has ordered a thorough investigation of the imperial harem, not just Yang Jinying. If anyone follows in her footsteps, the harem will never know peace. So tomorrow, you’ll have to continue your investigation and question everyone else in the palace to see if anyone else harbors ill intentions.”
Wang Yanqing was overwhelmed by the sheer weight of it: “Question everyone else?”
That would take ages.
Lu Heng briefly felt a flicker of guilt, but it was quickly drowned out by his shamelessness. He didn’t even blink, maintaining a serious face as he said: “That’s right. This concerns national security and political stability. Qing Qing, it’s all depending on you.”
Wang Yanqing, still in a daze, found herself shouldering the immense responsibility of maintaining the stability of the country. She vaguely felt something was off, but such a statement, especially coming from someone in authority, was impossible to refuse for any loyal subject of the Ming Dynasty. She slowly nodded, though her eyes were still filled with confusion.
Lu Heng then went on to explain the dynamics within the imperial harem. If spoken simply, it was just a matter of a few factions vying for power. But when explaining the details, the story could stretch on for three full days and nights without pause. Lu Heng deliberately made the explanation scattered, jumping from one point to another, so by the time the carriage stopped, he still hadn’t finished.
Wang Yanqing was dizzy from all the names and could only ask him to come inside. She grabbed paper and a pen to carefully organize the relationships between the various people. Lu Heng, with great patience, continued explaining, clearly hoping to delay things until he could stay the night. However, there were still matters waiting for him at the palace, and he could only reluctantly adjust his tone and logic. After sitting for a while, he left with obvious reluctance.
Wang Yanqing, seeing how gentlemanly Lu Heng was, couldn’t help but feel surprised. Lu Heng, maintaining his dignified demeanor as he left, thought bitterly to himself that palace affairs needed to be resolved quickly. Next time, he must stay the night.
Once something was initiated, repeating it a few times made it seem natural. With an overnight stay, wouldn’t it be a matter of time before he ended up staying longer?
·
The emperor finally resumed governing, and the court was filled with joy and celebration. Although the emperor still did not attend court, he lived in the Qianqing Palace, and at least high-ranking officials were able to see him.
Not long ago, many had thought the emperor was under Lu Heng’s control. Now that the emperor had made an appearance, the officials finally felt relieved.
After the emperor returned to Qianqing Palace, the outcome of the palace rebellion was quickly revealed. The palace maid, Yang Jinying, and others were executed by the Imperial Guards, and more than ten members of their families were executed as well. Imperial Concubine Duan and Concubine Wang Ning blamed themselves for the mismanagement of the palace and committed suicide.
Empress Fang, who had saved the emperor, was elevated, and her father, Fang Rui, was made the Marquis of Taihe. It was rare for an empress’s family to be granted a noble title, the last being Empress Zhang of Emperor Xiaozong, who had been favored and thus brought glory to her family. Now, because Empress Fang had saved the emperor, her family also gained honor.
However, if saying that Empress Fang was the biggest winner from this palace rebellion would be far from accurate. Although Fang Rui was made a marquis, he had no real power. He was given a nominal position in the Imperial Guard in Nanjing, receiving only a stipend. When Fang Rui died, it would be difficult for the title, Marquis of Taihe, to be passed on to his son, essentially making it an honorary title with little practical value.
But the other hero of the rebellion gained far more than that. Lu Heng was promoted to the Supreme Commander-in-Chief of the Second Rank, in charge of the Department of Military Affairs, and concurrently serving as the Commander of the Imperial Guards.
The Supreme Commander-in-Chief was one of the three highest military positions in a province, alongside the Provincial Governor and the Provincial Inspector. Often it was a ceremonial title given to reward loyal officials or the emperor’s family members. However, Lu Heng was young and held a very high position, with real power as the Commander of the Imperial Guard. He was not under the jurisdiction of the Five Military Governance, and no other military official had any authority over him. In the capital, he was practically unchallenged.
The greatest credit for the rebellion went to those who had saved the emperor, and Lu Heng had saved him twice. It almost seemed like fate was serving him on a silver platter. His military position completely surpassed that of Guo Xun, and within the army, no one could match him. The only person who could possibly restrain him was the Head Auxiliary of the Cabinet.
In the court, people secretly muttered about how outrageous it all was, but when they saw Lu Heng, they could do nothing but respectfully address him as “Chief Commander Lu.” Lu Heng’s career was so brilliant that there was no precedent to compare it to. People didn’t know whether to envy him for being favored by fate, or to be jealous of how he always managed to turn danger into safety.
It was even more absurd that the Imperial Guards and the East and West Departments actually joined forces in conducting the investigations in the capital. To put it into perspective, the Imperial Guards existed to monitor the officials, the East Department was created to monitor the Imperial Guards, and the West Department was established to monitor the East Department. From the beginning, the three departments had been in a constant power struggle, and now they were working together, this was unheard of.
The palace rebellion, a bizarre and dangerous plot in which the palace maids had conspired to murder the emperor, came to an end with the arrival of spring, as the snow melted, and the ice thawed. Because it took place in the year of Renyin, it was later known as the Renyin Palace Rebellion.
Wang Yanqing, who was involved in all of this, did not feel any clear changes brought about by the Renyin Palace Rebellion, such as Lu Heng’s promotion. She was busy moving throughout the palace to complete the interrogations. Yang Jinying’s case seemed to be resolved, but its ripples continued to spread. Today, Yang Jinying tried to strangle the emperor with a rope while he was asleep. Would there be others plotting to kill the emperor tomorrow?
The emperor needed to investigate all potential dangers in the palace. In other words, he wanted to know what everyone around him was thinking.
Wang Yanqing went out every morning and was escorted back by Lu Heng at dusk, with a schedule more regular than many officials. It seemed a tacit understanding had been reached. Every day, after Wang Yanqing entered the palace, she would be guided by the West Department eunuchs to where she was to inquire. Wang Yanqing used Yang Jinying’s investigation to assess whether anyone harbored ill intentions, then recorded her judgments on paper. Then, before leaving the palace, an eunuch from the West Department would take the papers away.
Wang Yanqing never thought too much about where these papers were sent or what they were used for.
One day, Wang Yanqing was suddenly taken to the Qianqing Palace. She entered through a side door and, upon entering, found several wet nurses and older maids gathered around a swaddled baby, carefully trying to soothe the child and prevent it from crying.
When they noticed Wang Yanqing’s arrival, the wet nurses and maids looked nervous and quickly bowed towards her in fear. Clearly, they heard the rumors circulating in the harem, believing that Wang Yanqing could read a person’s thoughts just by looking into their eyes.
This was a complete misunderstanding. If Wang Yanqing had such powers, she wouldn’t have been deceived for two years. Wang Yanqing was wondering why she had been brought to the Qianqing Palace, but upon seeing the grand princess, she began to have an inkling of a guess.
The wet nurses and older maids’ gazes flickered and avoided meeting Wang Yanqing’s eyes, desperately suppressing their emotions, afraid of being seen through. Only the grand princess, with her round, bright eyes, looked at Wang Yanqing with curiosity.
Wang Yanqing also stared back at her seriously. The two of them locked eyes for a moment, and then the grand princess suddenly grinned.
Her smile was innocent and pure, her round eyes curving into crescent moons, just like her mother.
Wang Yanqing couldn’t help but sigh inwardly. Adults often had too many dirty, hypocritical thoughts they dared not reveal, while children were fearless, full of love for the world. The princess, who should have been the empire’s most beloved jewel, did not know that she had just lost her biological mother, and the one responsible for her mother’s death was her own legitimate mother.
After the death of Imperial Concubine Duan, the emperor was worried that something might happen to the grand princess and kept her by his side for a while. But Qianqing Palace was not a place for long-term residence, and the emperor did not have the patience to raise an infant for long. The grand princess would inevitably need to be fostered by another concubine.
It was well known in the harem that the grand princess was highly sought after, her favor would ensure that whoever took her in would receive endless rewards and privileges. Thus, all the concubines vied to become the grand princess’s foster mother. Empress Fang, the biological mother of the three princes, and several other childless concubines secretly pulled strings, constantly sending messages to the Qianqing Palace.
Today, the emperor had summoned Wang Yanqing, and he seemed to have decided where the grand princess would go.
|| Translator’s Note: Hi All! 🥰 Thank you for reading, as always. I apologize for the inconsistent posting lately, I have been swamped finishing up the semester, but things should return to schedule by early December. I appreciate all of you and hope you’ve been enjoying the novel ~~