Shan Sa - Empress

My explanation was not enough to calm Little Phoenix. He went further: “I have also heard that half these people are condemned without proof. They are guilty simply of being the friends of the conspirators. Why has Father become so cruel!”

“Highness, promise me you will not say those words before anyone else. You must silence these thoughts in front of your brothers. Your compassion might be denounced. You in turn would be suspected of being allied to the conspirators.”

“Oh, Heavenlight, I regret Empress Mother’s death more than ever. She would know how to soften Father’s harshness and how to heal my uncle’s murderous madness!”

“Highness, wipe your tears, you who dream of being a conqueror, do not be conquered by pity. The sovereign must defend his crown for he has built a powerful empire and made the people happy. Tomorrow, free of these troubles, he will strive again for the prosperity of the dynasty. Compared to this substantial task that benefits millions of individuals, the hundred or so men who are to be decapitated count for nothing!”

Little Phoenix sighed: “Now that my brother the King of Wei has removed his opponent, the title of heir automatically falls to him. He’s a suspicious man, a grudge-bearer. His accession will be the beginning of the end. He will kill all his brothers to keep his crown.”

“The Emperor has not yet announced the name of his successor. This delay proves that he is hesitating, that he has another possibility in mind.”

“What could this other possibility be? The King of Wu, the son of Precious Wife?”

“You, Highness!” I cried indignantly. “Your uncle Wu Ji, the head of the Great Ministers who faithfully keeps alive the memory of the Empress of Learning and Virtue, would never let the child of an imperial concubine accede to the throne. Your heart is pure and your generosity vast. You would be a good and fair sovereign; you would bring prosperity and peace to the Empire.”

Terrified, he shook his head. “There is such madness in your ideas! The King of Wu has been reciting poems since he was four years old. He is the child prodigy, Father’s favorite. I’m just an ordinary prince. I have no desire to reign. My brothers are fascinated by power, but it disgusts me. I would prefer the perilous campaigns of an army commander, far from the plotting at Court. I shall go and talk to my uncle who knows Sovereign Father’s intentions. I will concede my place to the King of Wu.”

“From his mother’s side, the King of Wu bears the blood of Emperor Yang of the overthrown dynasty. He will never be sovereign of ours. If you speak now to Wu Ji, head of the Great Ministers, he will think that you are actually maneuvering to be given the title. It is too soon to guess the future and too late to act. Let life decide this for you!”

A few days later Little Phoenix’s destiny played itself out in the most extraordinary way. The dismissed prince wrote to his father from prison: “… Your servant had already been distinguished with the position of heir, what more could I ask for? Slandered and persecuted by the King of Wei, I sought advice from my counselors to find peace. It was these men and their intrigue that drove me to criminal means… If Your Majesty now appoints the King of Wei as successor, you would be fulfilling the wishes of an underhanded man who will have achieved all he was scheming for…”

After reading this, the Emperor realized that nominating the King of Wei would encourage all the princes to covet the title of heir, and the Empire would not know another moment’s peace. The Great Minister Wu Ji then suggested the King of Jin to the sovereign. He was the ninth imperial son, but the third to be born of the late Empress. Little Phoenix, until then forgotten, became the perfect candidate, and the Court, bowing before Wu Ji’s power, upheld him unanimously.

The King of Wei was stripped of his dignity and exiled to the county of Dong Lai. Little Phoenix was proclaimed heir: He rejected the responsibility but, as refusal was all part of the ritual of imperial nomination, no one realized that his intention was very real. When he wanted to offer his title to the King of Wu, the ministers praised his modesty. In the confusion, Little Phoenix received the seal of Supreme Son.

The sovereign had the following pronouncement inscribed in the Imperial Records: “When the heir strays from his duty and when the king plots to have him removed, both fall from grace.”

WHEN THE NEW heir took up residence in the Eastern Palace, one of his concubines brought a son into the world. At sixteen, Little Phoenix was blessed with every earthly happiness.

I congratulated him, and he replied with a melancholy smile.

“I wanted neither the child nor the title. Both events caught me unawares. When I look at myself in the mirror in the morning, I cannot understand why I already have descendants. In Court, after the audience, dignitaries, and minister gather around me, some ask for my opinion; others give me their advice. Before, great ministers could walk past me as if I were transparent. Now they give me deep bows and invite me to their banquets. Even Sovereign Father has changed. Only yesterday he was distant and treated me like a little boy. Now he showers me with his warmth and attention, as he did with the King of Wei before his downfall. Heavenlight, I don’t recognize myself. I feel I have slipped into a stranger’s body.”

“Little Phoenix, the world has not changed. You have grown up. You are no longer a child lost in dreams. You have become a man, a man of destiny! The sovereign has offered you the seal of the future. With your hands and your thoughts, you will rule the world-you will change it. You will be able to wipe away the lies, to right the wrongs, and spread goodness and compassion!”

“Heavenlight, your words are reassuring and encouraging. But when I am far from you, I lose my confidence again. All this responsibility is beyond me. I am not educated enough; I know nothing about politics. The fact that there are three councils, six ministries, and twenty-four departments gives me a migraine. Amongst all the uncles and brothers and the aunts and sisters who are rushing to offer their loyalty, I cannot tell who is a friend and who is an enemy. I don’t think I am intelligent enough to recognize the traitors and liars who are twice, three times, even four times my age. I’m frightened of people. I will never be ready to reign.”

“Confidence has a long apprenticeship,” I consoled him. “Like physical strength, it is accrued with experience and exercise. You have modesty and lucidity, two qualities that are essential to becoming a good sovereign. Fear nothing, Highness; the Emperor is keeping watch over your education. The Great General Li Ji is your tutor; he is an honest and devoted warrior. You shall be a great sovereign if you do not retreat in the face of difficulty.”

“All this means little to me. I would be the happiest of men if I could have you by my side,” he said, looking deep into my eyes.

“Highness,” I replied in amazement, “I am already by your side!”

“Heavenlight, are you so very blind?” he asked and ran away.

I was filled with a sweet sadness mingled with anger. I remembered the first time we had met: The boy had been smaller than me. Now he was taller than me and wore the beginnings of a mustache. Was I so very blind? Little Phoenix had become a man. He was no longer a little boy seeking the wisdom and consolation of a sister; the feelings he now nurtured for me were a man’s. He saw me as a woman!

The heir found a thousand excuses to visit the Palace of Precious Dew. He tried to catch my eye, but I avoided him and lowered my eyes. As a Talented One of the fifth rank, my body and soul belonged to the sovereign even though he had never honored me. Little Phoenix was expecting an incestuous affection from me that I could not grant him. How had he dared confuse me with those poor women he had seduced and promptly abandoned? How could he allow himself to consider me as an object of amusement and distraction? I wanted us to be connected by an undying friendship, and he was offering me a transient love that would fade with time.