Chapter 382: Dorgon Is Angry, and the Consequences Are Severe!

"Your Highness," Minister of Rites Qian Qianyi knew his student had a mind of his own and never listened to him, so he did not try to dissuade him, only reminding him, "We are still negotiating a marriage with the Tartar caitiffs! If we establish a Governor-General of Liaodong and a Dongjiang Garrison, is this marriage still to be discussed or not?"

"Discuss it!" Zhu Cilang smiled. "Why wouldn't we? But since we've torn off all pretense, the Princess Dong'e is no longer suitable to be Crown Princess. The Crown Princess is the future Empress, and she cannot be the daughter of an enemy state's prince. What do you all think?"

What? Princess Dong'e is not to be Crown Princess, then who will be Crown Princess?

Wu Xiang and Wu Sanfu perked up at once. They knew that although Wu Sanmei's belly had not yet produced results, Zhu Cilang still doted on her alone. Father and son immediately nodded in agreement, and cast expectant looks at Zhu Cilang.

With the two of them leading, the others chimed in as well — no one wanted to offend the future Empress, the future Empress's father, or the future Empress's brother!

But Zhu Cilang did not mention at all who would become Crown Princess. He simply smiled and said, "Princess Dong'e is not suited to be Our Crown Princess, but she can still be a secondary consort!"

At this, the officials in the Hall of Literary Splendor were all stunned — the only daughter of the Qing Prince Regent, given to you as a concubine? Do you really take yourself for the Great Ancestor, the Exalted Emperor?

Zhu Cilang looked at the stunned ministers and smiled. "It's a marriage negotiation — negotiate as we may, whether it happens is another matter. Even if talks collapse, it would be good to anger Dorgon a little. Who knows, he might just die of rage!"

Die of rage, Dorgon? The ministers in the Hall of Literary Splendor did not know what to say for a moment. What exactly was Zhu Cilang scheming? Making Dorgon die of rage was impossible; at most he would enrage this great Manchu tiger.

If Dorgon flew into a rage, the consequences would surely be severe, would they not?

If Dorgon was provoked to fury, the consequences would certainly not be light. Although Zhu Cilang and his ministers would not feel it for a while, Zu Kefa, who had been ordered to negotiate with Dorgon, was nearly scared out of his wits.

In the end it was Ren Yizhou, the deputy envoy stationed at the marriage-negotiation residence on Haisha Island, who coaxed and persuaded him, and even promised that if Zu Kefa went and never returned, he would look after his wife and children, and would memorialize the Crown Prince to give him a grand funeral. Only then did Zu Kefa steel himself and go to Beijing, and in the end he appeared in the Hall of Martial Valor in the Forbidden City with tears streaming down his face.

In truth, Zu Kefa did not dare refuse to go. What else could he do? Rebel and defect to the enemy, become a fifth-time turncoat? Dorgon's side would not take him! He was a four-time turncoat; surrendering once more would make him a five-time turncoat. Keeping a man like that around wasted grain, let alone giving him an official post! What impression would that give? Could the Great Qing find no one to serve as an official, that it must have a five-time turncoat do it?

He could not defect, and he could not return to the Great Ming. Then where was Zu Kefa to go to save his life? Return to his old home in Liaodong, hide his name, and become a hunter or a farmer? Zu Kefa had been an official for so many years and was used to comfort; he could not endure that hardship.

So Zu Kefa went to Beijing clinging to a sliver of hope — perhaps after Dorgon's fury he would not be killed. Last time he had not been killed, after all. But when he walked into the Hall of Martial Valor and saw the little Shunzhi Emperor yawning and Dorgon with a face full of gloom (actually Dorgon was quite pleased, not gloomy at all), he immediately regretted it, and his tears would not stop no matter what.

Dorgon looked at Zu Kefa's state, frowned, and asked, "Zu Kefa, what is the matter with you? Why are you crying? Has someone in your family died?"

Zu Kefa wiped his tears. "In, in reply to the Prince Regent, it is, it is this humble official who is about to die."

"Aiya, what illness have you caught?" Dorgon looked Zu Kefa over carefully — he did not look ill!

"A sickness of the heart, perhaps!"

"Hmph, has your conscience been eaten by dogs?"

"Should have died long ago."

"Who told you to surrender back and forth?"

"A good death!"

"Even in death he will stink for ten thousand years!"

The Manchu ministers were not kind either. Zu Kefa was about to die, and instead of comforting him, they jeered and mocked.

The Shunzhi Emperor, however, sitting on the throne like a puppet, felt rather sorry for Zu Kefa — this uncle was about to die, and he was still being laughed at by Uncle Dorgon and all the uncles and elders of the court. These uncles and elders were truly too unkind.

Seeing everyone (ignoring Shunzhi) gloating over his misfortune, Zu Kefa regretted it to death — he should never have come to Beijing. And now, well, he was surely doomed.

He sighed and said through tears, "Your Highness misunderstands. This humble official — this envoy — has no illness."

"No illness?" Dorgon was taken aback. "No illness, then why all this talk of life and death?"

"Because, because, because..."

"Speak!" Dorgon was growing impatient. "Zu Kefa, you're a grown man — why are you so hesitant?"

Zu Kefa shook his head. "Your Highness, if I say it, you — you will kill me!"

Dorgon was taken aback. "What nonsense are you talking? Am I such an unreasonable man? Speak, quickly, speak. I give you my word I will not kill you!"

Really? Did that promise count?

Zu Kefa had no choice. He was already inside the Forbidden City, and the personal letter Zhu Cilang had written to Dorgon was on his person. Could he turn around and walk away?

"Your, Your Highness, this is a personal letter from our Crown Prince. He, he, he feels that Your Highness's daughter is not suited to be Crown Princess."

"What?" Dorgon's face darkened at once. "What does he mean by that? He looks down on my daughter?"

"No, no, no," Zu Kefa said, cold sweat covering his forehead, his trembling hands raising Zhu Cilang's personal letter. "His Highness the Crown Prince still, still likes the Princess very much."

"What does he mean?" Dorgon was baffled. His trusted aide Heluohui stepped forward to take the envelope, tore it open, took out the letter inside, found nothing amiss, and handed it to Dorgon with both hands.

At that moment Zu Kefa drew a deep breath and finally spoke the fatal words: "His Highness the Crown Prince merely feels that the Princess cannot be his primary consort. He wishes the Princess to be his secondary consort."

"What? A, a secondary consort..." Dorgon could scarcely believe his ears, nor Zu Kefa's words. He hurriedly lowered his head to read the letter. The letter was written in Zhu Cilang's own hand, in plain language, easy to read.

In the letter, Zhu Cilang told Dorgon that because the Qing's seven great evils — land enclosure, house seizure, impressment, forced head-shaving, fugitive hunting, city massacres, and tomb-robbing — had provoked the wrath of Heaven and the resentment of the people, he could not take Princess Dong'e as his Crown Princess. For the people of the realm would never accept the daughter of a supremely wicked man as Empress! He still hoped, however, that Princess Dong'e could become his secondary consort, and he promised to treat her well and ensure her a lifetime of happiness. To put it plainly: you, the Prince Regent, are a villain, and a villain's daughter cannot be Empress of the Great Ming — she can only be a concubine for His Highness Zhu the Crown Prince!

"Bastard! A bastard son of a turtle... Zhu Cilang is a bastard son of a turtle!" Having finished the letter, Dorgon flew into a wild rage, tearing the letter to shreds while roaring so fiercely that both Zu Kefa and the little Shunzhi Emperor trembled with fear.

"That treacherous whelp Zhu Cilang — he dares to toy with me!" Dorgon bellowed. "He dares to call me a supremely wicked man..."

You are a bad man! The Shunzhi Emperor, sitting behind Dorgon, thought to himself: Zhu Cilang is absolutely right — you are the worst of bad men.

Dorgon was still roaring: "He, he dares to make me give him my daughter as a concubine! He, he, he has gone too far! This is truly, truly infuriating! Wah—"

Die soon, die soon, die soon — the Shunzhi Emperor gazed at Dorgon's back with hopeful eyes.

Dorgon panted rapidly, his sallow face flushed crimson, his eyes nearly bursting with blood — he really did look about to explode with rage. No one in the great hall dared make a sound. Zu Kefa simply dropped to his knees in terror before Dorgon — Dorgon could not reach Zhu Cilang right now, but killing him was a matter of a single word.

But the Qing Prince Regent's fury did not last long. The blood soon drained from his face, returning to its sallow cast, his breathing steadied, and he burst out laughing: "Ha ha ha, good, good — a true hero of these troubled times!"

"Not only is he treacherous and cunning, his skin is thick enough. Clearly he broke the agreement first, yet he turns it around and blames me, and then has the gall to demand my daughter as his concubine. Truly shameless beyond all measure!"

(End of Chapter)