Chapter 47: Midnight Intrusion: Baring Heart, Opening Chest

Ciqing Palace, just past midnight.

With the summer heat deepening, ice blocks were placed in every pavilion and hall so the nobles could sleep peacefully.

When she lived in the separate palace, Chen Empress Dowager had never enjoyed such treatment; now, rare as it was, she relished this cool summer night and had gone to sleep early.

At this hour, the usual eunuchs and maids had long since withdrawn.

Chen Empress Dowager, with her elegant neck and slender form, rested peacefully upon the bed.

Suddenly, an uneasy expression crept across her face; her delicate brows slowly furrowed, as if haunted by a nightmare.

A sudden pang of heartache jolted her awake.

Weary, she tugged the bell beside her bed, intending to summon a maid for water.

But after waiting a while, no maid came.

Instead, someone unexpected entered.

Chen Empress Dowager blurted out: “Mother, how are you here?”

Her eyes filled with suspicion as she watched her aging mother slowly step in from the outer chamber.

These past days, the Chen family had repeatedly sent messengers to contact her; she had given them not the slightest courtesy, rejecting them all.

Now her own mother had entered Ciqing Palace! How had she gotten in!?

Chen’s mother regarded her daughter with a complex expression.

Yet she offered no explanation, merely sat gently on the edge of the bed and said: “Empress Dowager, you’ve grown much thinner.”

Chen Empress Dowager frowned, drew back, and called out: “Someone! Come here!”

That cry brought no one.

Chen’s mother took Chen Empress Dowager’s hand and said tenderly: “Chen Suan was the one who brought me into the household—he still owes me this much.”

“Come, let Mother dress you. We’ll go to the main hall—I have words for you.”

Chen Empress Dowager stared blankly at her mother.

She was no fool; the fact that her cry brought no one told her everything.

What nonsense about Chen Suan owing her favors—there were others in the palace.

This was clearly a replay of the past.

Back then, when she was banished to the cold palace, the Chen family had sold her out exactly like this.

Now it was the same again… if she went to the main hall, what awaited her would surely be Li Shi and Li Jin, Feng Bao, and the rest.

Thinking of this, she let out a bitter laugh.

Seeing her mother move to dress her, she suddenly stilled her emotions, sat upright, and said firmly: “Dress me in my ceremonial robes!”

Chen’s mother fell silent, then nodded after a long while.

The two exchanged no words, stood in silence, delayed for a long time, then finally fetched the ceremonial attire and began to dress.

The Empress Dowager’s ceremonial robes were worn only for investiture, temple visits, and court assemblies; her demand for them now clearly marked this moment as extraordinary.

Chen Empress Dowager allowed her mother to fasten her ornaments, then took the crown into her own hands.

The crown was a circular frame, covered in jadeite, adorned with nine dragons and four phoenixes—unparalleled in dignity.

Once dressed, she gently adjusted the twelve-tree floral ornament atop the crown and stepped forward first: “Let’s go. I want to see who dares visit me in the dead of night.”

…

The main hall of Ciqing Palace.

Chen Empress Dowager saw the second unexpected person of the night.

It was the Emperor!

After Chen’s mother withdrew, the vast hall held only the reigning Emperor and the Empress Dowager.

Zhu Yijun glanced at the ceremonial robes on Chen Housheng and gauged her state of mind.

Yet he maintained full ceremonial decorum: “Your servant, Emperor Jun, pays homage to Mother Empress Dowager.”

Chen Empress Dowager stared steadily at the Emperor, her expression dazed.

She had assumed Li Shi was waiting for her; she had never imagined it would be this young Emperor, whom she had even come to like.

Her gaze, drawn back from the hall’s entrance, returned to the Emperor with confusion.

Had he come as a front for his birth mother?

Or had the inner court fallen entirely under his control?

Chen Empress Dowager gave a slight nod and probed: “Your Majesty’s midnight visit to me violates propriety. What is your purpose?”

But the Emperor’s reply took her entirely by surprise.

Zhu Yijun bowed again, as if burdened by countless emotions: “I have come, Mother, to question you!”

Chen Empress Dowager said nothing, waiting for him to continue.

Zhu Yijun went on: “Mother, Gao Gong has bullied the Directorate of Palace Affairs, coerced the sovereign, and insulted my birth mother—surely he acted with your backing!”

“Now, in court, Gao Gong speaks with absolute authority, oppresses the sovereign, and makes my life unbearable—yet I cannot believe this is your doing!”

“I’ve gone days without sleep, tossing and turning through the nights—today, I could bear it no longer and came to ask you directly!”

“Mother! Am I not your son?”

Zhu Yijun knew well the power of striking first and shaping perception.

Even if he meant to pressure Chen Empress Dowager, he would never resort to brute force.

Seizing the moral high ground was essential.

Humans are masters of self-deception.

If she did not feel morally compromised, her psyche would violently recoil under pressure—I am innocent, why does everyone persecute me?

Should she become emotionally overwhelmed and, seeing all hope lost, hurl herself against the hall’s pillar, Zhu Yijun would be covered in mud—whether guilty or not, he’d be blamed.

Once entangled in such a scandal, it would be a lifelong political stain.

Censors, unofficial histories, conspiracies—like flies, they would swarm beneath his seat.

If Chen Empress Dowager died here tonight, no matter who truly caused it, outsiders would blame him.

At that point, not only would his grip on power be shaken, but even Gao Gong would seize this flaw to make a final desperate lunge.

Even the entire literati class, the court and the realm, would place a massive question mark over this Emperor.

Under such conditions, progress would not be impossible—but it would be twice as hard.

Thus, this was his only concern tonight.

He must gently pressure Chen Empress Dowager—absolutely no room for tragedy.

Chen Empress Dowager, clad in ceremonial robes, moved with serene grace toward him.

She studied the Emperor from head to toe.

A fine son—truly a fine son.

Without her noticing, he had amassed such overwhelming power.

She had thought he came for Li Shi; now she saw she had underestimated this Holy Monarch.

Chen Empress Dowager’s face was expressionless: “Of course you are my son.”

“Precisely because you are my son, I have overseen state affairs for you, entrusted the old ministers, for you are still young—you overthink.”

She knew well he had come with backing—every corner of Ciqing Palace was likely his.

But she would not admit fault.

Worst case, a length of white silk—she had waited three years in the cold palace already.

It could not get worse.

Yet Zhu Yijun had no interest in her pretense.

He stripped away all disguise and, looking at Chen Empress Dowager with pain, said: “I know the two courts are at odds; I understand your actions have cause.”

“But… what fault have I committed?”

He lifted his chin stubbornly, meeting her gaze directly: “My birth mother is mother; my legal mother is mother too.”

“Now, this conflict between the two courts is tearing me apart inside!”

“I wish to honor you, Mother, and let both of you enjoy every honor.”

“Mother, if there is even the slightest chance, please do not force me into the sin of filial impiety.”

“My heart is sincere—please understand!”

This argument was unassailable.

The Emperor had always been filial, regularly paying respects, sharing fine things with her.

More than that, his frequent inquiries into scholarship proved he was truly filial and kind.

The only one she ever felt slightly guilty toward was the Emperor.

But… that was before. Now that he had broken into Ciqing Palace at night, and still played the victim, he was grossly underestimating her.

She met his gaze squarely and spoke sharply: “You broke into Ciqing Palace at night—just to put on this performance?”

Had he truly been so obedient, he would never have secretly seized control of the inner court.

Nor would he have stormed her bedchamber, leaving her unable to summon even a single attendant.

Zhu Yijun shook his head, voice broken: “Mother has her vigilance; I have my grievances. Had there been any other way, I would never have broken into the palace at night.”

“I know you plan to brand me as unfilial, to depose me.”

“Had Gao Gong not privately threatened to install my four-year-old obedient younger brother as emperor, why would I have panicked so much as to disrespect you?”

Chen Empress Dowager froze.

This took her completely off guard; she asked instinctively: “The Chief Grand Secretary said he would depose you!?”

She didn’t even know about this herself.

Seeing he had thrown off the rhythm, Zhu Yijun pressed his advantage.

He lifted his head, his expression stubborn: “Why must Mother ask such a question? Without your approval, how could Gao Gong have spoken these words?”

Zhu Yijun could never allow this Empress Dowager to portray herself as a perfect victim—only he was worthy of that role.

Empress Dowager Chen fell silent.

Though she and Gao Gong shared some tacit understanding, their ultimate goals were different.

She herself cared little for state and realm.

What Gao Gong thought was none of her concern; at best, they merely exchanged favors.

Thinking of this, Empress Dowager Chen finally sighed and helped her son to his feet.

She turned her head awkwardly and added, “I didn’t mean it that way.”

Deposing the Emperor was shocking, but she truly didn’t care.

She paid no mind to grand strategy or the realm.

All she wanted was to settle the accounts that needed settling; the rest, she had no heart left to tangle with.

Empress Dowager Chen glanced toward the palace gates, where all was silent, then continued: “Perhaps I’ve spoken too late—should the Emperor prepare to kill me over this?”

The Emperor had come this far—he certainly wasn’t here to complain to her.

Perhaps he merely sought peace of mind, and thought a few words with his own mother would make it easier to act.

But Zhu Yijun did not accept this assumption; instead, he looked at Empress Dowager Chen with disbelief: “Mother sees me this way?”

He suddenly seemed hollowed out: “I longed to speak with Mother face to face, but I was always barred from Ciqing Palace.”

“Now, to see you even once, I was forced to resort to this desperate measure.”

He whispered: “I know why Mother relies on Gao Gong.”

“You resent being the Empress Consort yet bearing no child of your own; you resent that my late father moved you to another palace...”

Before he could finish.

Empress Dowager Chen lost composure—she whirled around, fixing the Emperor with a piercing gaze, each word deliberate: “Who do you think caused it?!”

The Emperor knew nothing—how could he dare come here to persuade her?

If all matters of state could be settled by words alone, why did the Great Ming maintain so many armies?

To her surprise, Zhu Yijun nodded: “I naturally know.”

“Not only do I know—I’ve brought the mastermind behind it all for you.”

Empress Dowager Chen fell silent.

She stared at the Emperor: “Brought... brought him?”

Zhu Yijun stepped forward and supported Empress Dowager Chen: “I’ll take you to see him.”

Empress Dowager Chen pressed her lips shut and allowed the Emperor to lead her to the screen.

In her mind, Li Shi would turn from behind it at any moment and sneer at her.

But again, she was wrong—the Emperor shoved the screen over, revealing a corpse!

It was Feng Bao!

The Emperor’s voice rang with fury: “Feng Bao betrayed the throne and corrupted the state—his crimes are grave!”

“During Jiajing’s reign, he used the Eastern Depot to carry out treacherous deeds; I believe the deaths of several of my late father’s children are tied to him!”

“During Longqing’s reign, he flattered and offered him wolfish medicines, causing my late father to die young!”

“Now, I’ve heard he sowed discord between the two palaces, poisoning the inner court—his death is too good for him!”

“I slew this villain myself—not only to uphold the law, but to avenge Mother!”

Some things cannot be untangled.

The best solution is not to untangle them.

If there’s someone who can be killed, kill them quickly—have a surface resolution, and that’s enough.

To dig deeper... would be truly ungrateful.

Empress Dowager Chen’s gaze never left Feng Bao’s body.

She seemed stunned—and yet, somehow, satisfied.

She stared blankly at Feng Bao’s corpse.

Just as Zhu Yijun thought the matter was settled and the Empress Dowager would take the offered escape route—

She murmured: “You’ve never lived outside the palace, seen little of the world. Do you know—if a commoner is bitten by a dog, does he chase the dog, or go after the owner?”

This was a direct slap in the face.

Zhu Yijun sighed.

He didn’t want to know, nor did he need to know, who in the inner palace had done these sordid things.

That was why he never intended to extract anything from Chen Hong.

But based on his guess, it was unlikely Li Empress Dowager had ordered it.

Yet many things are beyond human will.

As Empress Dowager Chen said, a dog is still a dog—the debt must be settled with the owner.

What could he do? He couldn’t drag Li Empress Dowager here to satisfy her rage.

Fortunately, he didn’t need to please this Empress Dowager—so long as she didn’t become so extreme as to kill herself in the hall, it was enough.

Zhu Yijun spoke: “Mother’s rebuke is just.”

“All faults under heaven lie upon me.”

“Feng Bao, a servant who betrayed his master—this is the master’s fault.”

“All blame must fall upon my late father!”

He turned his face toward Empress Dowager Chen and continued: “But a son does not speak of his father’s faults. Since my late father has passed, this debt must now rest upon me, his son.”

“Mother may strike or punish—let me take it in your stead.”

Empress Dowager Chen sneered: “What a filial son you are...”

Her cold mockery was about to spill forth—

When suddenly a cry, thick with emotion, rang out: “Mother!”

Zhu Yijun suddenly knelt and performed the full filial bow.

He spoke sincerely: “I know Mother once resented me—I may be filial, but I am not your own flesh and blood.”

“But please, Mother, do not scorn my sincere heart!”

“Whether as stepmother or birthmother, I have always regarded you as my closest kin—never once treated you differently!”

“If you doubt it—I am willing to tear out my heart and liver and lay them before you!”

With that—

Zhu Yijun suddenly acted.

He tore open his robe, exposing his bare chest.

Then he pulled the bloodied dagger from Feng Bao’s body, wrapped it in a scrap of cloth, and held it out with both hands toward Empress Dowager Chen.

This sudden act threw Empress Dowager Chen into panic.

The Emperor stood motionless, facing death without fear—Empress Dowager Chen was stunned into silence.

Only Zhu Xizhong, outside the hall, held his breath, watching.

He knew the dagger in the Emperor’s hand was a blunt, bladeless weapon arranged in advance.

Though it could not wound, even a graze or bump would be his, Zhu Xizhong’s, crime!

Even though the Emperor had ordered him to enter only if the Empress Dowager moved first—

He had already resolved: if she showed any sign of picking up the dagger, he would rush in and pin her down.

Time seemed to freeze.

Feng Bao’s blood still dripped from the dagger.

The solemn atmosphere reached its peak.

The Emperor, bare-chested, was testing the Empress Dowager’s limits.

This act, like something from the Twenty-Four Filial Exemplars, left the parties involved utterly flustered.

This was not simple self-pity.

This was the Emperor demonstrating in action to the Empress Dowager:

Either compromise and yield—or face open conflict.

There was no third option.

No matter what Empress Dowager Chen had planned—whether targeting the Chen family, retaliating against Li Empress Dowager, or merely tasting power—tonight, she must pass through the Emperor’s gauntlet.

Escalating conflict is also a negotiation tactic.

Zhu Yijun bowed his head, waiting for Empress Dowager Chen’s decision.

This choice would not decide his fate—but hers.

Whether she believed him or chose to accept this face-saving exit, he would never trouble her again.

Conversely, if she refused this exit, he had no other choice but to let her waste away in grief.

It was also squeezing her options.

Thus, she could only choose between compromise or killing her own son—quietly eliminating the possibility of suicide as revenge.

Time passed slowly.

Empress Dowager Chen took a deep breath and calmed herself.

She had witnessed the former emperor’s greed and lust, the heartless man who banished his lawful wife.

Now, seeing this emperor risk himself to mend the rift between the two palaces, she felt it a marvel.

The emperor had shown her, through action, that if she wished to support Gao Gong and disrupt the inner palace, she would have to step over his corpse.

What a filial son indeed—forcing her this way.

How dare he?

Betting on her softness, that she hadn’t yet gone mad?

Or was it genuine devotion, pure filial piety?

Or… if she so much as moved, would he instantly loose an arrow that pierced her through?

One son, one mother—one kneeling, one standing—the scene nearly froze.

No one moved.

Zhu Yijun waited patiently; Empress Dowager Chen stared blankly, while Zhu Xixiao outside was the most anxious of all.

Finally.

Zhu Yijun heard Empress Dowager Chen’s voice.

“To force me, Your Majesty has certainly gone to great lengths.”

Zhu Yijun lifted his head and saw Empress Dowager Chen, eyes shut tight in pain.

She turned away and waved her hand, signaling the emperor to discard the dagger.

Zhu Yijun tossed it carelessly outward, letting Zhu Xixiao retrieve it, then turned back and said: “My schemes are for the sake of this family.”

“Please, Mother, do not be angry. I shall surely serve and honor you henceforth.”

The performance had gone far enough.

No faces were torn, all had a way to retreat—no obstacle to the real business.

Of course, for now, Empress Dowager Chen should not see outsiders; wait until the situation stabilizes, then truly honor her.

Empress Dowager Chen seemed drained of all strength, weary: “Where are Chen Hong and the others?”

Zhu Yijun showed no hesitation: “All have earned death—I have executed them all.”

The debt of the former emperor’s premature death from too many tiger-wolf medicines should be laid at Chen Hong’s door.

Killing a few eunuchs who sought their own doom, and wiping clean all past debts—isn’t that a good thing?

Empress Dowager Chen grew even weaker.

She wished to rebuke the emperor, yet understood: such a threat to imperial authority, with the power to overturn the table, had spared her life—that was mercy enough; to speak of a few eunuchs was absurd.

But they had been her servants for years; her heart ached.

Her face hollow, she waved her hand: “No need for attendants. Do whatever you must, Emperor.”

Zhu Yijun did not answer.

She appeared resigned to life or death—he could not simply abandon her.

He spoke softly: “Mother, wait a moment.”

Saying this, Zhu Yijun stepped out.

Empress Dowager Chen sank into self-pity, saying nothing.

Not long after, the emperor’s voice sounded again: “Mother, look.”

Empress Dowager Chen turned her head and saw Zhang Hong cradling a girl of over a year old.

Zhu Yijun spoke gently: “This is the sixth daughter of the late emperor, born to Imperial Concubine Wang—Zhu Yaoe. She is now one year and nine months.”

“After Imperial Concubine Wang died in childbirth, she has been raised by Imperial Concubine Qin.”

“Now that Mother has taken her rightful place as Empress of the Inner Palace, Empress of All Under Heaven, she should naturally be entrusted to you.”

Empress Dowager Chen slowly walked forward, gazing at the infant in Zhang Hong’s arms.

She reached out and gently touched her twice.

Then turned to face the emperor squarely.

This young emperor—she could no longer tell how much was feigned, how much true.

Indeed, she was beginning to fear her own son—this insight into human hearts, it was not human.

Was he afraid she would take her own life and threaten his throne?

Or simply saw her lonely and helpless, and gave her a daughter to care for?

She took Zhu Yaoe into her arms and asked absently: “Emperor, what is your true purpose tonight?”

Zhu Yijun met her gaze, respectfully: “Mother, I truly came for nothing else—to resolve your heart’s knot.”

“Yet since I am here, I recall one matter: the rewards at tomorrow’s Xuanzhimen ceremony had some errors; I must revise the edict.”

“It only lacks your name added.”

Empress Dowager Chen suddenly understood: “You mean to dismiss Gao Gong!?”

She knew perfectly well what she had done.

Precisely because she supported Gao Gong, he had suppressed both inner and outer factions.

Only days passed, and now the emperor breaks into Ciqing Palace—surely, this is why.

But Zhu Yijun shook his head: “Grand Secretary Gao is a three-generation elder, virtuous and esteemed, his merits immense—I would never dismiss him.”

His tone was deep, inscrutable: “I shall reward him handsomely.”

Empress Dowager Chen was startled, yet did not press further.

For such matters now, she had lost all interest.

She nodded vaguely: “Give me the edict.”

That meant she agreed to add her name.

Zhu Yijun stood still, motionless.

After a pause, he slowly said: “No need to trouble Mother… I have already sent someone to fetch the imperial seals.”

Empress Dowager Chen fell silent.

The two remained wordless for a long while.

Finally, Zhu Yijun bowed respectfully: “Mother, I take my leave.”

Empress Dowager Chen merely held Zhu Yaoe, saying nothing.

When the emperor had withdrawn, she glanced at his back, and let out a bitter laugh.

Laughing, she suddenly began to weep.

…

Zhu Yijun tilted his head, listening to the sounds within the hall.

Hearing faint, intermittent sobs, he finally relaxed.

Crying was good—it released emotion, and she would not easily take her own life.

As he walked out, he felt a quiet reflection: this was likely the last time he would so feign youth before the two palaces.

Now, Zhang Juzheng shared his tacit understanding.

Empress Li could only rely on him.

Gao Yi regarded him as his true sovereign.

The lecture officials saw him as a genius.

After tomorrow, when he expels Gao Gong and reorganizes the Grand Secretariat,

He will be, in the eyes of the two palaces, the court ministers, the noble families, and the eunuchs, the true and upright Son of Heaven!

The Emperor is the Emperor!

Zhu Xixiao walked silently behind the emperor, suddenly noticing the emperor unconsciously rubbing his abdomen—then, finding nothing there, he clasped his hands behind his back, walking calmly, composed.

This posture, he strangely felt, had transformed the emperor’s aura.

No longer a boy emperor—he resembled a ruler who had held supreme power for years!

Still puzzling, he suddenly heard the emperor speak to him: “Zhu Qing, clean up before you leave.”

Zhu Xixiao’s thoughts halted; he bowed and replied, “Yes,” then withdrew.

Zhu Yijun then instructed Zhang Hong: “Go, find two cats and send them to Mother. Also, have the Chen family women visit her often.”

Zhang Hong hurriedly replied: “I shall arrange it tomorrow.”

As Zhu Yijun walked out, he seemed to remember something else: “For now, you personally attend to my mother. She has no one to serve her—she will be easily bullied.”

“If you need more staff, ask Li Jin.”

Zhang Hong understood the implication: “I shall ensure the Empress Dowager suffers no indignity, nor shall anyone disturb her peace.”

Zhu Yijun nodded.

As soon as he stepped out of Ciqing Palace, he saw Jiang Keqian waiting outside with the edict.

Zhu Yijun took it, glanced at it briefly—it bore the imperial and both palace seals—and returned it to Jiang Keqian.

He ordered: “Let’s go. Rest.”

He looked up at the fading white rainbow, murmuring: “Tomorrow will be busy.”

—

Should be Sanjiang on Sunday, up for subscription next week.

(End of Chapter)