The Empress Dowager is Terrifying
The spring chill still lingered in the April night air. Yuanqian brought over a satin-faced coverlet and gently draped it over Wan Bi’s knees, reminding her softly, “Your Highness… it is already the Zi Hour.”1
In Yuanqian’s memory, her mistress had never stayed up so late. To say something treasonous, even when the Late Emperor passed away, the Empress Dowager had eaten and slept as she should. She was just quiet for a time, presumably out of grief. But this was the first time she had ever been so restless, unable to eat or sleep—and all because of a little eunuch from the Bureau of Imperial Gardens.
How could Wan Bi possibly sleep? The palace servants were all afraid of dying and unwilling to work in Ning’an Palace; of course Wan Bi knew this. But she had truly never seen a slave as audacious as that Yao Xi, one with guts big enough to envelop the heavens, who would defy a command on pain of death.2 That slave wanted to die? She would not allow it. That slave didn’t want to enter Ning’an Palace? She would force him to. It had always been the master who chose the slave, never the other way around.
“You haven’t found him?” Wan Bi was genuinely afraid that the little eunuch was dead. Otherwise, at whom could she vent this bellyful of rage?
Yuanqian repeated the Chief Eunuch’s original words. “He is not at the Bureau of Imperial Gardens. The people there said that Yao Xi claimed he was coming to Ning’an Palace for night duty and left very early.” The Empress Dowager despised eunuchs, so not even the Chief Eunuch of Ning’an Palace was permitted to enter her rooms to report. Anything that needed to be said was relayed through her. As for why the Empress Dowager hated eunuchs to the bone? That was another story.
Many possibilities flashed through Wan Bi’s mind. Had the little castrated donkey run away? Thrown himself down a well and died? Or had he run into someone on the way and been dealt with?
Regarding that last point, Wan Bi felt it was highly likely. Given that little castrated donkey’s reckless and foolish nature, ignorant of the immensity of heaven and earth, he might well have offended some ill-tempered concubine and met with misfortune. “Ask at every palace. The gates are locked, so he can’t have escaped. How can a living person just vanish into thin air?”
“This slave-girl obeys,” Yuanqian said. Her heart ached for her mistress, and she tried again to persuade her earnestly, “Your Highness, why don’t you rest first? It’s not worth harming your health over a lowly slave.”
Wan Bi stubbornly shook her head.
Her feelings right now were somewhat complicated. There was the anger of being offended, the indignation of being scorned, and also… a little bit of worry? Her life had been far too smooth. As a child, she was doted on by a father who loved his daughter as his own life; when she grew up, she was spoiled by the deeply infatuated Late Emperor. For a slave like Yao Xi to suddenly appear… a strange desire for conquest rose in Wan Bi’s heart. She wanted to tame that little castrated donkey who looked upon her with such utter disdain.
The prerequisite, of course, was that the little castrated donkey was still alive! The little eunuch’s face couldn’t help but surface in Wan Bi’s mind.
Clang, clang, clang!
What Yao Xi heard was not the drum of the third watch, but the death knell of her own life.
She felt her way along the palace wall in the darkness, heading toward the area with the densest concentration of lights. Yao Xi knew that unless the Empress Dowager had the disposition of a Bodhisattva, she might have a sliver of a chance at survival. But it was obvious the Empress Dowager did not. She had spoken offensively during the day and then shirked her duty and defied an order at night. With Her Highness’s temper, even nine lives wouldn’t be enough for the chopping block.
The lights grew closer. Where there were lights, there were people. Yao Xi wanted to quickly find someone to help lead the way to Ning’an Palace. Maybe Her Highness had already gone to sleep, and the little steward at the gate hadn’t had time to report the matter yet. As long as she could find a way to intercept the news, her life would be saved.
The palace was very, very quiet late at night. Yao Xi heard footsteps and voices. Just as she thought she had circled back to the main palace road and could finally head to Ning’an Palace, she heard her own name.
“That bastard Yao Xi, courting death on his own and dragging down all of us from the Bureau of Imperial Gardens with him.”
“It’s my turn to deliver things to the Directorate of Imperial Cuisine tomorrow. With the mess Yao Xi’s made, I won’t get any sleep for two days.”
“There’s no one living in the palaces over there. We don’t need to look, right?”
“We’d better check. The sooner we get him to Ning’an Palace, the sooner we can go back to sleep. I’m just afraid that if the Empress Dowager can’t catch that kid, she’ll take her anger out on us at the Bureau of Imperial Gardens. If my monthly stipend gets docked, I won’t be able to pay back the silver I borrowed from my godfather last month.”
…
The two spoke as they walked in Yao Xi’s direction. Fortunately, the palaces in this area were all uninhabited, and the lanterns they carried didn’t illuminate very far, so they didn’t spot her.
Yao Xi knew it was too late for damage control. The Empress Dowager was making a huge fuss and sending people to capture her.3 If she fell into the Empress Dowager’s hands, it would be far worse than a simple death. There were countless ways to torture people in the palace. She had heard some of the old eunuchs talk about it; their assessment of certain punishments was: compared to that, the pain of having one’s balls cut is nothing.
Just hearing about it was enough to make Yao Xi feel a chill in her crotch. She tiptoed away into the darkness, wanting to find a quiet place to hang herself before the Empress Dowager’s people could catch her.
She needed to find a tall tree.
After passing through a grove of short trees and fumbling her way up a slope in the dark, Yao Xi saw a lit pavilion in the distance. The pavilion was built halfway up a small hill, and next to it was a large, lush tree. Standing on the pavilion’s railing, she could just manage to tie her sash to the tree. That tree was practically born to be hanged from.
Only when Yao Xi walked up to the pavilion did she realize there was a young woman inside. Fine wine and delicacies were laid out on the table, and the person sat there, pouring and drinking all by herself. Judging by the setup, this person was certainly one of the masters of the palace, though for some reason there was no one in attendance.
Ready to be on her way, Yao Xi decided to go in and ask for a cup of wine. A little alcohol might make the final journey less painful. On any other day, she certainly wouldn’t have the nerve, but once she had resolved to die, she no longer cared about anything.
The woman in the pavilion seemed to be drunk. When she tried to pour more wine, her hand trembled so badly that more spilled on the table than went into the cup. Xibao walked into the pavilion and gave the woman a slight bow. “This slave will serve you.”
Longyi was startled. She lifted her intoxicated face to look at the person beside her. A delicate-featured eunuch had taken the wine pot and was steadily pouring her a cup. Immediately after, he picked up an empty cup and poured one for himself.
“Did I grant you wine? And you’re just drinking it,” Longyi said, propping her cheek on one hand, a muddled smile on her face.
“I beg you, Master, on account of this slave’s life being short, grant this slave a final cup for the road.” Without waiting for Longyi’s command, Yao Xi sat down on a stone stool and downed the wine heroically. The wine was mellow and smooth on the palate, with a fragrant, lingering aftertaste. Yao Xi had never drunk anything so fine, and she poured herself another cup.
“Hey! Leave some for me,” Longyi said playfully, thinking this eunuch was both bold and amusing. “You say your life is short? Did you commit a crime or fall ill?”
Yao Xi recounted, blow by blow, how she had offended the Empress Dowager.
Longyi slapped the table and burst out laughing. “Well done.”
This gave Yao Xi a fright. She had brought disaster upon herself with her foolish words; now, facing certain death, she could only accept her fate. But she couldn’t just watch this young master get herself into trouble with drunken, careless words. “You mustn’t be like me, letting disaster come from your mouth.4 It would be terrible if someone heard you. This matter isn’t the Empress Dowager’s fault, either. It was magnanimous enough of Her Highness to spare my life. I can only blame myself for getting lost tonight.”
“Lost?” Longyi thought this eunuch must be quite stupid to get lost in the palace. As large as the Imperial Palace was, you could just stop anyone and ask for directions. She was in Wangyue Pavilion, and Ning’an Palace was in the complete opposite direction. It seemed this little eunuch wasn’t very bright; his offense against the Empress Dowager was likely a case of the ignorant being fearless.5
Yao Xi picked at some of the dishes and nodded. “I remember following the original path, but it just got more and more deserted, and I couldn’t see a single light. It was like being trapped by a ghost building a wall; I couldn’t get out no matter what.6 It’s also because I don’t often run errands in the palace, so I’m not very clear on which paths have been changed, or which of the ladies has moved palaces.”
Longyi’s heart tightened. A path had been changed? There really was a path that had been changed. She was staying in the palace for a while and was used to living in more spacious quarters, so she had two unoccupied palace buildings connected, and the palace path that separated them was naturally gone. She was also a person who liked quiet, and that area was mostly uninhabited, so of course there weren’t many lights.
Viewed this way, it seemed it was her own fault that this little eunuch had failed in his duty. After talking for a bit and feeling the night breeze, Longyi had sobered up some. Seeing the little eunuch drinking sullenly with a troubled expression, she couldn’t help but ask, “So what are your plans?”
“Eat and drink my fill, then find a tree and hang myself. If I’m caught by the Empress Dowager, I’ll inevitably suffer physical torment. This slave is afraid of pain.” Yao Xi lifted the wine pot and found it empty. She tipped it over her cup, and only a single drop fell out, a drop as crystal clear as a tear shed by the pot in farewell.
Longyi felt she must have been truly, incredibly drunk. Watching this eunuch speak of death under the lamplight, she saw a kind of stern beauty in him. His pale, translucent skin was veiled in a faint halo of light, and his dark, deep eyes held a water-like calm. For a moment, Longyi felt that the person before her might be a celestial being who had accidentally fallen into the mortal world. She had seen thousands upon thousands of eunuchs, but this one was truly different from her impression of them.
“Perhaps the Empress Dowager won’t hold it against you?” Longyi said this, but she didn’t believe it herself. That woman, Wan Bi, was called the Demon Empress. It might be a slight exaggeration, but it was by no means undeserved.
Yao Xi thought this young master must be new to the palace, and had probably been sheltered in the inner chambers before her arrival, for she clearly had not heard of the Empress Dowager’s reputation. When a person is about to die, their words are good.7 Yao Xi offered her some heartfelt advice. “In the future, when you are in the palace, it would be best for you to avoid that person as well. There aren’t many masters in this palace who are as easy to talk to as you are.”
Seeing that the wine was gone and the food was cold, Yao Xi worried that the Empress Dowager’s people would find their way here. She stood up to take her leave. “Thank you for the wine, Master. This slave must be on my way now and dares not delay any longer.” She had originally planned to end things in this pavilion, but since someone was here, it wouldn’t be right to frighten them. So, she decided to head further up and find another tree.
Longyi was genuinely impressed that this eunuch could speak of death so calmly; at first listen, one might think he was just stepping out for a bit. But Longyi knew that once this eunuch left, he would not be coming back. “I’ve had too much to drink. It’s dark and windy, I can’t get back on my own. Why don’t you escort me part of the way?”
Yao Xi hesitated. By rights, having received the kindness of a cup of wine, she should escort the person back. But she was worried about running into the Empress Dowager’s people on the way. “This slave is afraid of being captured by the Empress Dowager’s people… If I don’t die soon, it’ll be too late.”
It was the first time Longyi had ever seen someone in such a hurry to die. She propped herself up on the stone table and stood up unsteadily. “My palace isn’t far from Wangyue Pavilion. If we run into the Empress Dowager’s people on the road, you can just abandon me and hide. How about it?”
Sigh! Yao Xi was also afraid something might happen to this tipsy young master. She would just consider it accumulating merit for her next life; perhaps she would be reborn into a good family. She raised her arm and bent her body slightly. “This slave will escort you back to your palace, Master.”
Longyi placed her hand on Yao Xi’s, smiling as she gave her thanks. “Thank you, Gonggong.”
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