Volume 1: Chapter 16 - Imperial Concubine Hu
In Longjing, the court appears rather solemn, as Xu Jin, and much of his supporters in the
military are missing.
However, that pales in significance against the missing person meant to be on the throne,
elevated above the court, blocked by a wall of beads.
One of the officials can’t resist his concern and asked the old official beside him.
“Senior, I have just returned from an envoy mission, what has happened to the imperial court,”
the official said, attempting to suppress his voice.
Giving off a long sigh, the man beside him replied in a tired manner,” The emperor had been sick
for almost a month, while the imperial physician refuses to answer about his majesty’s health,
everyone knows that the emperor has not long to live.”
“You have been lucky to have been away from the capital, during this time, Concubine Hu had
nearly replaced everyone in the court with her supporters, while those supporting general Xu had
been accused of corruption and had been exiled from the capital, at least you are an honest man
working for the well being of the empire” the man, with his greying hair tied into a bun, replied.
“Concubine Hu had only not gotten rid of me as I have some relative prestige among the court,
and my declining health,” the official continued.
“Junior, it is best if you bring your family out of the capital, I predict that in a few weeks, the
capital will be running red with blood,” the old official finally finished explaining, before
secretly handing a couple of banknotes into the hand of the young envoy.
“Senior, I cannot possibly accept this much!” the official, startled by the amount on the notes,
hastily returned it back into the hands of the old official.
Giving off a tired laugh, he proposed,” This isn’t much to an old official like me, just take this
and go into the countryside and live a good life,” he paused, before continuing,” If you truly wish
to repay me, just tell me your name.”
“My surname is Hong, and my given name is Wang,” Hong Wang, holding back his emotions,
took the notes from the man with a bow, before remaining in wait for the court to begin.
Before long, the sound of light footsteps could be heard, and an incredibly alluring figure could
be seen.
Concubine Hu’s reputation as the woman most powerful woman is certainly not baseless, her
figure appearance is one that makes a person instinctively want to protect her as if a small doe.
When she had first entered the palace as a lowly concubine, it was said that the emperor was
instantly smitten by her looks, and turned a blind eye toward all her actions, even after she had
ordered the execution of a well-respected official, did the emperor not punish her.
Due to this, her power grew under the watch of the emperor, who not only permitted her
treacherous actions but had even protected her.
While standing beside the throne blocked by a curtain of beads, she still maintains a position of
superiority above the court, standing idly until a eunuch announced the beginning of the court
session.
“The rising revolt is an issue that must be dealt with, I propose sending general Peng with eight
hundred thousand men to deal with the rebels,” Concubine Hu, soon after the beginning of court,
began to speak.
The court agreed almost unanimously to her proposal, except for the old official beside Hong
Wang.
“This servant disagree, the enemy troop only contains at most two hundred thousand men, to
remove troops from our frontiers and trade routes would cause the empire’s financial income to
be greatly reduced, it would be far better to send an envoy to stall for time, until we are able to
mass a large army to crush the rebels” the old official said, before bowing toward the dragon
throne.
Other than a few younger officials, who were inexperienced, the majority of the officials
remained silent out of respect toward the old official, with some even showing approval in their
eyes.
“That is not possible if it were to come to effect, this servant believes the troops stationed at
important trade routes will have to be needed to transfer to reach such an amount of man to
oppose the rebels, causing banditry to run ride in those regions and income from trade to be
greatly ,” the old official beside Hong Wang spoke out, before continuing,” This servant
proposes we sent an envoy toward the rebels, and stall for time until we are able to field a
massive army to decisively defeat them in battle.”
“Imperial Regent, it would be foolish to follow such a tactic, the rebels are undoubtedly the
cause of the emperor’s sickness, if defeated now, the heavens would surely be overjoyed, and
would furthermore extend the life of our emperor,” a high ranking official rebutted, before
looking slightly below Concubine Hu for her to input her opinion.
“Elder Yang, you have been working in court even before the reign of our current emperor, and
the majority of the court respect you,” Concubine Hu said as she shook her head,” However,
your prime long past matters little to me, out of respect, I will simply allow you to remain within
court, however, if you continue once more,” Concubine Hu did not continue, cutting off her
sentence.
Elder Yang showed a slightly bitter smile, before once again bowing toward the dragon throne.
In the end, it was unanimously decided to send troops protecting their Northern and Western
trade routes to intercept Li Ming’s army.
“Furthermore, I propose to construct a garden dedicated toward our sickly emperor, in the hope
of aiding his recovery,” Concubine Hu asked as she looked down the court.
Of course, this was not for the emperor almost near death, but for her own pleasures, yet the
court remain silent, except for an old official.
“How is that possible, our funds will be exhausted by the deployment of troops toward the
rebels, we cannot dedicate any expenses toward such a worthless project for your own
enjoyment,” Elder Yang appears positively livid and stopped using formal language and did not
disguise Concubine Hu’s true intentions.
“Elder Yang, you have insulted the intentions of his majesty,” Concubine Hu said as she looked
disappointly at the old official before telling men to chop off his head.
Hong Wang fell quite uncomfortable as the eunuchs dragged Elder Yang away, within his hands,
the banknotes gave to him still felt warm from Elder Yang’s body heat.
“Concubine Hu, you are ambitious and cruel, however, you do not know how to use man to their
talents, furthermore, you possess a willful nature,” Elder Yang said looking toward Concubine
Hu, before turning toward the officials,” Such an individual will lead not only herself to ruins,
but the nation, I ask of you to abandon the darkness before it is too late, at least it is better than to
be the dog of a madwoman.”
Concubine Hu appeared not the slightest perplex by Elder Yang and continued to hold court.
“Imperial regent, this servant propose to extract funds from the imperial navy to fund the
construction of the garden in wish for his majesty's health,” another official proposed his voice
slightly shaky.
Furrowing her brows, Concubine Hu waited for a moment, before writing an edict, stamping it
with the emperor’s seal, it details the two subjects discussed in court today. After the edict was
retrieved by a eunuch, Concubine Hu dismissed the court session.
As Hong Wang walked out, the scene of Elder Yang’s body detaching from his head could be
observed, appearing slightly pale, Hong Wang gripped the banknotes even harder, before leaving
the palace.
It appears many officials had similarly done so, with some even paying respect to the old
official’s corpse, before leaving for their residence.
Hong Wang had not directly gone to his home, instead, following the directions written on the
back of by Elder Yang’s banknotes, approaching a slightly run-down bank building, he stepped
inside.
A rotten smell could be smelled as he walked past the bodies of those that had died from the cold
or hunger. Wondering what form of a bank would be located in such a terrible place, he walked
into a building, of which the wood that had consisted the gate appeared to be rotten.
A young boy greeted him, before leading him toward the Northern wing of the building silently,
before leaving without a trace.
Without any objectives, Hong Wang simply remained in place, yet before long, a middle-aged
man could be seen.
“Elder Yang had instructed me to ferry away anyone who enters this building, change your
clothes, we’re leaving the capital,” the middle-aged man said as he threw a set of merchant’s
clothes toward Hong Wang.
“There are horses waiting outside the city gates, the guard stationed had been bribed by Elder
Yang, you need not worry,” the middle-aged man began to speak as Hong Wang changed.
“How did you know I had came here with instructions from Elder Yang?” Hong Wang, slightly
perplexed, asked the middle-aged man.
“Look at the feng-shui of this area, it would cause anyone to leave without second thought,
furthermore, your clothes dictate your status and the smell of incense used for court still lingers
on you, naturally you have been selected by Elder Yang,” the middle-aged man replied.
“And what if I do not wish to leave the capital?” Hong Wang had finished changing, looking
toward the middle-aged man, who asked in a polite manner.
“That is impossible, Elder Yang had carefully observed officials before he ferries them away,”
looking toward Hong Wang, he continued,” Therefore you do not have a family in the capital.”
Ultimately, Hong Wang stopped asking questions and obediently followed the middle-aged man,
as they left the building through another door, they soon arrived at the outside of the city gates,
where a carriage commonly used by merchants could be seen.
“There are others within the carriage, make sure to not disturb the others,” the middle-aged man
instructed, before jumping onto the front of the carriage.
When Hong Wang entered, it was a quite surprising sight, as the majority of the people within
seem not to be officials, it appears some commoners had been mingled along with them to
appear less susceptible to detection.
The sound of a whip could be heard, and the carriage soon began to move. Moving toward the
front of the carriage, Hong Wang sat next to the middle-aged man.
“May I ask this gentleman for his name?”
“I was orphaned by Elder Yang, and therefore do not have a surname, I simply go by Ye,” Ye
replied.
“I see, my surname is Hong, while my given name is Wang,” Hong Wang courteously replied.
Giving off a simple grunt, Ye use the whip to increase the speed of the horses, before instructing
Hong Wang to return to the back of the carriage.
Aside from that exchange, the two did not speak any further.
Soon, ten days passed. As the carriage went further inland, garrisons of imperial soldiers could
be seen, but upon seeing their status as merchants, did not disturb them any further, before long,
they had reached the banks of Hejiang.
“There will be a boat waiting at the nearby docks, follow me,” it was the first time the
middle-aged man spoke since leaving the city and thus sounded a little gruff, leading them
silently toward a small boat, he did not enter.
“Follow this boat and it will lead you to Dongan, you will escape prosecution from Concubine
Hu, if desired, you may join her as a civilian worker.
Hong Wang and much of the passengers on the carriage were surprised but did not ask questions,
after all, it is well known that Concubine Hu’s secret police covers every corner of the empire, to
truly escape would require one to leave from her influence.
On this regard, it was quite surprising that their trip was incredibly smooth, with Hong Wang
secretly harbouring many concerns.
The boat soon left the docks and sailed toward Dongan.
The middle-aged man remains on the dock, looking toward the direction of Longjing, and before
long, a group of a man donning distinctive yellow uniforms walked onto the docks, using their
rather strange looking sabre, their slashed toward the middle-aged man.
Still looking toward the capital, he gave a quick sigh, before falling onto the water.