Shan Sa - Empress

If Chun Sui Liang was to be believed, I had killed my own daughter to achieve the rank of Empress. I could remain silent no longer; I burst out: “Have this hideous creature destroyed, this vile animal who dares to suggest such slander before the sovereign!”

Wu Ji’s icy voice replied: “Sui Liang received a decree from the previous Emperor: ”All his sins shall be forgiven.“ No one can touch him.”

Chu Sui Liang suddenly launched himself at the platform on which Little Phoenix was sitting and cracked his head against one of the steps. His head split open, and the blood ran down his face.

“Majesty,” he proclaimed, “if you do not listen to me, your servant would rather die!”

“Get out!” the Emperor exploded angrily. “Throw this insolent creature out of my palace! Get out, all of you, out, leave me alone.”

But the Great Ministers had decided to see their fight through to the end. That very evening, Han Yuan had this letter sent to the sovereign: “Your servant has heard that if the king appoints his queen, then they are to represent Heaven and Earth. Their complementary virtues, like the sun and the moon, are to light up the four oceans; but if the sun and the moon are darkened, darkness reigns over the world. Like husband, like wife-even the common people can find their own kind. Can the Son of Heaven act against his nature? An Empress is the mother of ten thousand kingdoms; she is a conductor of good and evil. That is why the Emperor Yellow was assisted by Mo Mu, whose face was ugly, and the King of Yin lost his way because of the very beautiful Lady Da Ji. As for the great Zhou dynasty, it was destroyed by mistress Bao Si, a be-witchingly beautiful woman. I hope Your Majesty will choose in such a way that he is not a laughing stock for all eternity.”

Lai Ji wrote, “Your servant has read that the Emperor appointed his empress to honor the temples of the Ancestors, to watch over the earth and the heavens, to represent the forces of this earth, and to act as a model for the imperial princesses. That is why she was chosen from an illustrious family. She must be peaceful, virtuous, submissive, and unselfish; she must earn the respect of the four seas and satisfy the wishes of the gods. That is why the Emperor of Letters founded the Zhou dynasty, but the commoner Bao Si ruined it with her smile; the Emperor of Piety of the Han dynasty married a slave girl, the slender dancer Summer Swallow; he had no further descendants, and his empire collapsed. Look at the tragedies of these two dynasties and think about our own!”

Wu Ji was clearly behind all this slander. He and his companions were already stained with the blood of their political enemies; how could they scorn my name, I who had neither poisoned nor made curses, nor organized assassinations? They knew my face; they could see I was no devastating beauty. Could they then not see that something other than physical pleasure tied me to Little Phoenix and that we were determined to be together for eternity? How dare they announce that they had spied some evil force in me because I was of lowly origins! By calling me a conspirator capable of destroying an entire dynasty, these men were betraying their fear: With my help, the sovereign would wrest the power that they had held for too long. I, a concubine imprisoned in the Imperial City, had enough will to confront every one of these men!

The caricature the ministers painted of me hurt, but the insults only strengthened my resolve. I adopted the fierce determination they attributed to me, stripped Chu Sui Liang of his duties for treason, and drove him out of the Capital. Great General Li Ji secured the army’s support for me. Wu Ji was powerless as he watched his enemies taking orders from the Emperor and the officials who were commoners climbing to the rank of minister. In the depths of the gynaeceum, I received permission from Little Phoenix to correspond with our supporters in the Outer Court. And so, under my instructions, Great General Li Ji announced that the government should not concern itself with the sovereign’s private affairs. Xu Jing Zong, the Minister of Rites, exclaimed, “When a peasant becomes rich after a good harvest, he feels the temptation to take a more beautiful wife. When a prince ascends to the imperial throne, should he not choose a wife of higher quality? The Son of Heaven is master of the four seas; why does he not have the right to appoint his empress? This is no one’s business. Let us not weary ourselves!”

A petition was put before the Great Secretariat and transmitted to the Emperor: One hundred officials wanted the Empress to be revoked. The Council of Great Ministers was forced to accept this imperial decree immediately: “The Empress Wang and the Resplendent Wife Xiao, having committed murder, are stripped of their positions and deposed to become commoners. Their mothers and brothers shall be exiled to the south of the Extreme Mountain.”

Six days later, in keeping with ritual, the Court called for a new mistress. The Emperor published the edict that I had written myself: “Lady Wu is descended from an ancient and glorious lineage. She has been chosen by the Inner Court, which values her intelligence and virtue.

Her presence has swiftly filled the garden of orchids with light. She has spread her goodness and sweetness to the women of the gynaeceum. In the past, I fulfilled my filial duties to the Emperor Father, who granted me the privilege of never leaving his side. Seeing that I tended him so well that I forgot to sleep and without ever being disturbed by the beauties all around me, the Emperor decided to reward my attentions by offering me Lady Wu, like the concubine Zheng Jiun whom the Emperor of Annunciation of the Han dynasty gave to his heir long ago. In keeping with the wishes of the previous sovereign, I have decided to appoint her Empress.“

On the first day of the eleventh moon in that sixth year of Eternal Magnificence, I was dressed in a full tunic of dark indigo painted with pheasants, those venerated symbols of power and fertility, and I wore my leather belt with the gold clasp hung with jade ornaments. The Great General was appointed as the Imperial Envoy, and I received from his hand the Empress’s seal and golden blade. So for this event to be a celebration of victory, I would not settle for holding the festivities in the intimacy of the gynaeceum, as prescribed by Imperial Protocol. At my instigation, the Emperor summoned kings and princes, ministers and generals, governors and foreign ambassadors, and a gathering of ten thousand subjects before the gates of the Inner Palace.

Twelve trees of gold set with pearls and diamonds, twelve carved flowers, and two phoenixes with their wings outstretched were pinned to my topknot that was two cubits high and crafted over many hours by the imperial hairdressers. My head weighed down on my shoulders like a palace, a mountain, a star. As I climbed the steps to the top of the Gate of Serene Loyalty, I saw the immaculate blue of the sky draw nearer. The music played by three thousand musicians and the cheers from dignitaries who had come from the four corners of the Empire faded as I rose up. Suddenly I stepped into the silence of vastness. Up there, there was not a breath of wind; eternity spread its wings like a giant bird. An intense heat and a proud, dazzling light emanated from the sun. Beside Little Phoenix, I could see the earth unfolding like a painting: the fields, rivers, mountains, and the millions of Chinese souls prostrating themselves at my feet and begging for my protection.

I was thirty years old, and my second life was beginning. I had no more fears or worries. A new path appeared for me at the top of the Gate of Serene Loyalty, inviting me to reach heights not known to any man. With Little Phoenix, I would build the greatest dynasty of all time; I would beget the most beautiful civilization.