Shan Sa - Empress

My husband had entrusted his people and his empire to me. The Yellow Land devastated by four years of famine was like a vast arid field that needed sowing with new hope. Instead of helping me rebuild it, my son could think only of exploiting the privileges of being Emperor. The young Empress had an ill-fated influence over him; it was she who was encouraging him to set himself free.

A few days later I was informed that the Great Secretary Pei Yan wished to have a secret meeting with me. I sent Gentleness to find him, and he took an underground passageway to reach my calligraphy pavilion. When he saw me, he prostrated himself completely, from head to toe. I was curious to know why he used this salutation that demonstrated total submission, and I ordered him to speak without delay. That very morning, he said, the sovereign’s private officials had come for him to take him to the Palace. Future had dictated two decrees to him. In the first, the son of his wet-nurse was granted a noble position in the fifth imperial rank, and in the second, the Sovereign Lady’s father was appointed Chancellor and made a member of the Council of Great Ministers. All imperial orders had to be approved and published by the Imperial Secretariat, and Pei Yan had tried to dissuade the sovereign, explaining that such unreasonable promotions would encourage the political ambition of the Empress’s family. Future had been so irritated that he had thrown his ink well at the old man, shouting: “I am the Emperor! I do as I please! I shall not only name the Empress’s father Chancellor, but I shall also offer him my empire! No one will be able to stop me!

“Supreme Majesty,” Pei Yan wailed, “the Empress Wei Xuan Zhen’s noble father was military attache in the province of Pu. When his venerable daughter was elevated to the position of Heir’s Wife three years ago, he was promoted to governor of the district of Yu. He has not yet completed his term of office. As he is a man of no particular merit, his extraordinary elevation through the imperial hierarchy would awaken suspicions among officials. Your Supreme Majesty once wrote A Warning to Relations from Outside in which she denounced abuses of power by the families of empresses. Could she now bear to see Lord Wei admitted to the Council of Great Ministers and allow the Empress’s clan to take command of Court? The word of a Chinese Emperor is irreversible. For him to announce before his minister and servants that he will give his Empire to Lord Wei amounts to a solemn undertaking that must be respected. Supreme Majesty, dark clouds have come to eclipse the sun. Earth is shaking with fear. Birds are circling over the Forbidden City, afraid to settle. The Tang dynasty is in danger!”

I remained silent. Pei Yan inched closer to me on his knees and prostrated himself.

“Supreme Majesty, the rightful Emperor wants to give this throne conquered by his ancestors to an outsider. This betrayal is not mere negligence; it is a crime that must be punished! The previous sovereign often used to say that all human beings are equals in the face of justice. May your Supreme Majesty apply the law!”

“ Lord Pei, please give me one night in which to think.”

That evening I ate little. After a long period of prayer, I felt cleansed of all the mire of this earthly world. I took Gentleness with me and climbed to the top of the tower at the observatory. Up there the air was piercingly pure. The moon threw her icy beams over the astronomer’s spheres. In the last three years, the celestial area representing the throne had become darker and darker. That evening I saw through a light veil of clouds that the stars were almost extinguished.

On the sixth day of the second month in the era of the Sacred Heir, I invited court officials to undertake the morning salutation in the Palace of the Crimson Zenith, which was usually reserved for the annual Great Veneration. When Future sat on his throne, I took the seat to his right. He immediately sent a eunuch to ask my serving women why I had called him there and whether we were expecting a visit from a foreign king.

The jangling of weapons reverberated around the hall as men climbed the steps to the palace. The Great Secretary Pei Yan and the vice-secretary; the Great General of the cavalry of the Left, overseer of the imperial Forest of Plumes Guard of the Left; and the Great General of the leading army, overseer of the imperial Forest of Plumes Guard of the Right; came into the audience hall in battle dress.

Pei Yan took a scroll from his sleeve and read out loud the decree I had dictated to him in secret the previous evening: “My son, the Emperor Sacred Heir, the fourth Emperor of the Tang dynasty, has turned his back on the teachings of the previous sovereign by neglecting his sacred duty and by dishonoring his ancestors. His actions have tarnished the reputation of imperial authority. Exercising the power passed on to me by the Emperor Lordly Ancestor, I shall therefore withdraw his crown. He shall be disinherited of all his noble allowances and positions and will bear the simple title of King of Lu Ling.”

Pei Yan stowed the scroll in his sleeve and climbed onto the stage. He pulled the sovereign from his throne.

“Mother!” my son cried in astonishment. “What mistake have I made?”

Instead of questioning the legitimacy of my actions, Future was behaving like a child found in the wrong.

“You offered the Empire to Wei Xuan Zhen,” I said icily. “That was your mistake!”

“It was said in jest, mother.”

“An emperor does not speak in jest before his subjects.”

“Venerable Mother, forgive me! I shall not do it again!”

The man who had reigned for two months over the world’s greatest empire broke down and wept. Princes and Great Ministers remained prostrate at the foot of the stage in the hall. My eyes swept over them looking for my fourth son, Miracle. He crouched with his forehead to the ground, shaking from head to toe.

THE KING OF Yu was called to my palace. When I informed him of the date of his coronation, he stammered: “Venerable Mother, Empress Supreme, our dynasty was founded fifty years ago by the Emperor Lordly Forebear. Since then, the Emperor Eternal Ancestor and my Sovereign Father allowed peace and virtue to triumph over the world. Such a past poses a challenge for their successor. As the youngest in the family, I have never wished for the crown. I have not prepared myself to reign. The honor and power you want to bestow on me are too heavy to bear, and your son has neither the knowledge nor the strength necessary to take them on. To disappoint you would be a crime that your son dares not commit. I would rather remain King of Yu. I beg you, Supreme Mother, choose another candidate!”

Of my four sons, Miracle was the most like my husband. At twenty he still had a pale face and a naive expression, and his voice reminded me of Little Phoenix’s as a young man when he too refused to be emperor. A man who does not like power will suffer from its cruelty. He would be unable to raise his hand in punishment or to untangle the web woven by good and evil. He would be unable to subdue the relations and dignitaries who pose a constant threat to the throne.

“You are my last son,” I sighed. “You shall receive the sacred seal of the dynasty. I have no other choice. You must accept your duty.”

Miracle’s beautiful face was bathed in tears.

“Supreme Mother, my second brother, Wisdom, has been banished for three years. The months of loneliness, the harsh terrain of the south and the weeping of the wind have taught him the error of his past ways. His heart is full of pain and regret. I am sure that if you call him back to the Capital, you will see he has changed completely. He will prostrate himself at your feet and ask your forgiveness. Supreme Mother, I beg your clemency, forgive him the mistakes of youth! He would be a sovereign worthy of your respect.”