Love in Red Dust - Chapter 6

Chapter 6

Because of his hearing impairment, his world had always been profoundly quiet. He could not hear the melody of music, the murmur of flowing water, or the rustle of falling leaves, nor could he hear the sounds of wind or rain. With one of the six senses missing, the cosmos felt vast and still, his heart like a calm, tranquil sea. Though born into the imperial family, he possessed a serenity and detachment that others lacked, making him appear all the more steady and reliable.

To speak with him, one had to first capture his attention. The Emperor reached out and tapped his elbow; Hongce immediately set down his teacup and turned, his clear, emerald-like eyes capable of piercing right through a person's heart.

"Anba Lingwu was executed at noon..." The Emperor slowly rotated his thumb ring. It was a festive day, and discussing such matters was a dampener, but as a ruler, he truly had too much to worry about. Each and every affair weighed heavily on his heart, and he could not find relief even when he sought it. Fearing to ruin the Retired Emperor’s refined mood, he asked in a low voice, "Did any complications arise?"

Hongce replied, "Your Majesty may rest assured; even if there were complications, they would never have dared to erupt today. This case ends here. As for the earlier events, it is best to cover them up where possible. If you stir the silt at the bottom of the old lotus pond, all you will see is a bowl of ink."

The Emperor nodded, sighing wistfully. "The 'Records of Wei Zheng’s Admonitions' says, 'Governance is extremely difficult; if the law is too strict, one fears it will unjustly harm the innocent; if the law is too lenient, one cannot suppress the treacherous.' I find myself in that very situation now. Father is getting on in years, and since I have taken charge, I cannot trouble him with so many affairs. The world is at peace, yet we are raising 'great rats'—on the surface, it looks like a blossoming garden, but underneath, it is a bundle of rotten straw."

Hongce said, "It has been this way since ancient times. Government affairs are thorny and not unique to our era. The country is prosperous, and while there are many who fish for silver, there is still the rule of law, and they still do not dare to be overly reckless. Bringing Anba Lingwu to justice is a warning to all ministers. Your Majesty only needs to observe. If the source is clear, the flow will be clear. If you are determined to govern, while one cannot say it will be entirely eradicated, suppressing seventy or eighty percent is still possible."

The Emperor turned his head slightly. Under the candlelight, his thick brows slowly furrowed. "Combating corruption is an old cliché. I have dragged out more than one imperial relative to serve as a sacrificial goat, but what has it changed? The banner lords are the ones leading the defiance. If I do not execute them, how am I to answer to the people of the world?"

Hongce remained calm and indifferent. After a slight pause, he moistened his lips and said, "One may plan slowly. Pulling everything up at once risks tearing tendons and breaking bones. If you organize with one hand while promoting with the other, the gaps will not be left too wide. Great responsibility cannot be held by one person alone, which is why it is shared with others. Your Majesty’s wisdom shines bright; you must already have your own plans. Your subject has spoken foolishly—if I have said anything improper, I hope you will just laugh it off."

This brother of his had always been extraordinary. The young masters raised in the capital were experts in dog-fighting, womanizing, and idling away their time; when it came to real governance, there were only two or three who were truly capable. Now that he had returned from Khalkha, even with his hearing impairment, he remained a pillar of strength one could rely upon. The Emperor mused for a moment and then added, "The Chahar garrison needs to be expanded, and military supplies must follow. This time, I will send someone to oversee an artillery battalion—dozens of rifles, large and small. Not for any other reason, but to keep a close eye on the Prince of Chahar. Ever since the incident in Khalkha, I have been calculating—they are like livestock left to roam; if you do not draw a fence, they will trample the crops. In your opinion, whom should I send?"

Everyone had previously been discussing candidates for the assistant administrator of Ningguta; now, were they choosing for Chahar as well? To Hongce, it made little difference; going anywhere was the same. The court supported a group of empty-headed imperial clansmen who could eat and drink with peace of mind, but he could not. He had never understood why his Imperial Father had sent him to govern Khalkha, and it seemed there were many hidden motives concealed from him. When his hearing was still sharp, he had never been able to uncover the reason; now that he was afflicted with this illness and had exhausted all ways to cure it, he simply chose to be a stable deaf man, no longer wishing to probe deeper.

He shifted his body slightly. "I spent over ten years in the Mongol regions; I can get accustomed to the work there quickly. Your Majesty need not ask others; I shall pack and depart tomorrow."

The Emperor pressed his hand down. "Do not be in such a hurry. With so many people in the court, why must it be you? Only recently, Hongsun was making a fuss about wanting to go to Ningguta. Once word reached the Changchun Garden, the Empress Dowager was heartbroken beyond measure. I intend to transfer him to Chahar, with the infantry commander Geng Li accompanying him. Do you think that is feasible?"

Hongce was an insightful man. Since Hongsun was going to Chahar, someone else would have to be considered for Ningguta. He replied with a "Yes." "The north is also vital; with tens of thousands of armored soldiers and banner men, a riot would be no small matter. Your subject awaits your instruction. If you wish to send me, I can depart on any given day."

The Emperor nodded and smiled. "There is no rush for that. First, order Lu Yuan to go there and handle the aftermath. Have him examine the population registers year by year. Once the morale of the military is stabilized, it will not be too late to handle the rest."

As the adults discussed, the child in the Retired Emperor’s arms began to squirm. The old master asked what was wrong, but the little Prince, wearing open-crotch trousers, simply flicked his hips and urinated happily onto the floor. That urination was remarkably well-timed, not touching the Retired Emperor's clothes at all. Children, they say, are praised to the heavens for the slightest bit of cleverness. The Retired Emperor laughed and rewarded the little Prince with a small Japanese sword. He did not wait any longer and ordered the steward nearby, "Hongyang is not even as good as a child! When he arrives, do not let him enter the garden; let him wait at the Hall of Nine Classics. In this entire room, who is like him? Don't let him start saying his carriage wheel broke again—he’s useless. The whole family waiting for one man—he thinks too highly of himself!" As he spoke, he stood up and led the others outside. After walking two steps, he turned back to add, "Send someone to reprimand him—reprimand him severely. If you show him leniency, you will only indulge him further. His wife is a fool too; those two spineless, dim-witted people—what a match they are!"

While it did not seem like he was in a towering rage, no one helped plead for him. The banquet was held in the Western Garden, and everyone crowded around the Retired Emperor as they walked over. As soon as they entered the hanging flower gate, the scent of flowers mingled with the smell of cosmetics rushed toward them. The imperial consorts and noble ladies were already there, all adorned in silk and jewels. Seeing the Retired Emperor, they gathered in a flurry to offer their salutations—truly a scene of overwhelming prosperity and opulence.

The old dowagers did not enter the garden because the Retired Emperor and the Empress Dowager did not permit anyone else to be between them. It was not that the Empress Dowager was petty, but that the Retired Emperor had given the order. For an emperor to be devoted to one woman, he must neglect a great many others. This was true for the Retired Emperor’s generation, and it was true for the Emperor’s generation as well. The men of the Yuwen family possessed the talent and ambition to shoulder the nation, but when it came to matters of the heart, they could not compromise. Over time, turmoil in the inner chambers was inevitable.

As the younger generation, one could not speak of liking or disliking the Empress Dowager. It was inevitable to feel some resistance since one's own mother had been neglected elsewhere. However, since they all walked in high society, a smile was like a handkerchief or a bracelet carried with one—it was simply necessary and quite painless.

Drinking wine, listening to opera, laughing, and chatting—it was a perfectly fine familial joy, yet to Hongce, there was a layer separating him from it all. When there were too many people, he could not see their lip movements and did not know what they were talking about. He remained inconspicuous in the crowd, unwilling to participate, always very quiet. Actually, this was not bad; good or bad, he heard none of it. With his six senses pure and clear, he could instead see the bigger world.

However, having drunk a bit too much and finding the air in the room stale, he went out alone to catch his breath.

It was the sixteenth of the lunar month, and the moon was so large it felt as if it were right before his eyes. He leaned against the dragon-carved pillar beneath the veranda and raised his hand to unfasten a button at his collar, feeling the air return to his chest and instantly becoming refreshed. He squinted into the distance and saw a person approaching, hunched over—it was Guan Zhaojing, the manager of his mansion. He reached the steps, craned his neck, and grinned, saying, "The banquet has not yet ended, Master, why have you come out? I have ordered someone to switch to a larger carriage; it is spacious inside and has pillows prepared. You can take a nap and be home in no time." He paused and added, "Speaking of spacious... news came from Langrun Garden this evening. I was busy serving you in the garden, and it slipped my mind—the Noble Consort has issued an order: she wants her coffin prepared, and she wants it to be spacious. You must persuade her. People in their seventies or eighties might say such things, but one cannot simply follow the whims of children; doing it too early is unlucky."

People who are tired of living, weary of the world, and waiting for the King of Hell to claim them are the only ones who prepare their own coffins. The Noble Consort in Langrun Garden—the Twelfth Master’s birth mother—was not even fifty yet. Preparing it so early was indeed too hasty.

This was the first time Hongce had heard of this, and for a moment, he could not wrap his head around it. "She wants a coffin?"

"That’s right," Zhaojing said. "Her Ladyship thinks long-term. She only said to have it prepared and to bring it out every year to let it get some air and apply a new layer of lacquer. By the time she is buried, it will have had at least twenty or thirty layers—that is what she means."

To apply that much lacquer was truly a bit unreasonable. Yet the Consort was stubborn; whatever she set her mind to, she would get done, and no one could do anything about it. She only had this one son; she was likely feeling unhappy and wanted to make trouble with him—who else would she turn to?

He pondered for a moment. "Just tell her the coffin shop doesn't have high-quality wood. Tell her I’ll send someone to the south to buy it. Finding good wood is a matter of fate—if we drag it out for a year or two, her enthusiasm will pass, and she will forget about it."

Zhaojing acknowledged this and was about to speak again when Princess Gulun came out from within. She called out, "Father is looking for people; why did Twelfth Brother come here?" She walked up to pull him, saying, "Father was just asking about the selection of consorts; it sounds like he intends to arrange marriages. The brothers above are each better than the last at siring sons, but since the Seventh brother, the line has been broken. He even asked, 'That one, that one—does the Twelfth have a side consort yet?' I think next spring, he will definitely force one upon you."

A man should marry when he comes of age; this was the natural order of things. He had been away in Khalkha for a long time and did not have the habit of the Qi people to find a concubine at thirteen, so until now, there were no outsiders in his mansion; those who moved about were all born into the household.

Whenever there was a family banquet, this topic inevitably came up. He followed her into the hall, but he did not see the Retired Emperor asking directly—the old master had gone off to tend to his grandchildren. Instead, the Empress Dowager and the Empress beckoned to him. After he sat down, the Empress Dowager said, "The Twelfth is twenty-three this year. He spends his days busy with state affairs, neglecting his own future. Empress, see if you have any good families in mind; find a decent young lady to marry to our Twelfth, so that your Imperial Father-in-law can also be relieved of a worry."

The Empress said she did; she had nothing better to do, and she loved playing matchmaker. She began counting on her fingers, "The Second Miss of Duke Chai’s family, the sister of the Minister of the Interior, Jiji, or the Eldest Miss of the Auxiliary General E'erdemutu—that is the true lineage of the old Saihan King; her bloodline is incredibly noble! When she came to the palace last time, she had large double eyelids and was tall—a truly complete young lady."

The Empress Dowager nodded. "How about we set a date for him to meet her? We Qi people don't have so many formalities; we look at the person first, and if there is mutual favor, then we send the betrothal gifts." She asked Hongce, "What does the Twelfth think?"

Isn't it said that the men of the Yuwen family have a predestined fate with love? If you don't encounter it, you don't encounter it; if you do, it is a matter of a lifetime. To marry just anyone now—if things were to blow up in the future, he would have to follow in his father's footsteps. To favor one and leave a whole nest of others weeping was simply not worth it.

He shook his head, his expression still containing a smile. "Someone like me fears I would only burden others. I am in no hurry for marriage; at the moment, the court is fighting corruption. Let us wait until this period passes."

The Empress tried to persuade him: "Both can be done without interfering with each other; what is there to fear? Twelfth, do you know the logic behind raising pigeons? When a flock of pigeons takes to the sky, and one extra returns to the nest at night, how do you handle it? You don't let them fly first; you let them walk on the ground for two days to recognize their home. If it is a male, you find it a female; if it is a female, you pair it with a male. Once they have a family, they will not leave and can live a stable life. Look, even the birds are busy building homes; let alone us, right? Don't say anything more about burdening others. With your character and scholarship, you would stand out even in the Golden Throne Hall. You are a child of the dragon; who would dare be critical, and even if they were, the Emperor would not forgive them."

It seemed he could not refuse, but what to do if he could not refuse? He would just pretend he did not understand. In any case, he was a deaf man; as long as he did not look up, no one could do anything to him.

The Empress spoke for a long time waiting for an answer, but he had drifted off in the middle. He finally said a slow "Ah?" "What did Your Ladyship say? I did not see it clearly."

"Hey, this man!" The Empress was helpless. She blinked her eyes and said to the Empress Dowager, "You cannot force a cow to drink water by pushing its head down; that is not good."

That was true. One might force a person to take money, but one cannot force a person to enter the bridal chamber. The Qi people tasted desire early, but it did not necessarily mean everyone had to be betrothed early. If he had no such intentions, then they would postpone it and discuss it later.