“How is that possible?” Han Daoming’s instinctive reaction was that Han Qian was spouting nonsense and exaggerating dangers. How could anyone from the Han family commit the crime of palace incest? Who would be foolish enough to do such a thing—weren’t the handsome servants and beautiful attendants in the household enough to play with?
“How could you possibly know?” However, Han Jun ignored his father and uncle’s dubious expressions as they looked at Han Qian. He seemed to have been struck by lightning, sitting down hard in his chair with a creaking sound that nearly broke the chair legs. He stared at Han Qian in disbelief, never imagining that Han Qian would know such a secret.
This single question from Han Jun was like a massive boulder suddenly crashing into the heart-lakes of Han Daoming, Han Daochang, Han Duan, and Chen Zhiyong.
They stared at Han Jun dumbstruck. Han Daoming wished he could pick up his chair and smash it over his son’s head.
In this moment, they all understood—Han Jun’s illicit affair wasn’t with Yang Yuanpu’s harem, but with the Empress Dowager. No wonder he had seemed distracted for a period before being transferred from guard duty at Changchun Palace.
Not only the illicit affair itself, but a bastard child had been born as well?!
Had the Empress Dowager’s prolonged illness and seclusion in Changshou Palace, refusing to see outer court officials, been because she was pregnant?
Han Daoming and Han Daochang sat heavily in their chairs, looking as if struck by lightning, momentarily unable to digest such shocking news. They wished they could directly kill Han Jun and destroy all evidence, pretending this had never happened.
Han Duan had always envied Han Jun for serving before the Empress Dowager. He never imagined Han Jun’s relationship with the Empress Dowager had deepened to a degree he had never dared imagine. His mind somewhat frozen, he asked Han Qian:
“If the Empress Dowager can smoothly consolidate power, she surely wouldn’t use this matter to coerce you back to Xuzhou, would she?”
“…”
Han Qian glanced at Han Duan, then looked toward Han Daoming and Han Daochang. Seeing their expressions hadn’t eased due to Han Duan’s sudden question, he thought they at least had some clear recognition of the complexity and cruelty of court struggles. But he didn’t want Han Jun, Han Duan, and Chen Zhiyong harboring any illusions at this moment—he needed to completely destroy their last line of psychological defense. He sighed and said:
“If the Empress Dowager could truly hold power, she naturally wouldn’t force me back to Xuzhou. She might even heavily promote me. But Lü Qingxia and Li Zhigao want me back in Xuzhou, and I dare not act rashly.”
“Are you saying the Empress Dowager is essentially a puppet controlled by Lü Qingxia and Li Zhigao?” Han Duan asked in shock.
“Alas.”
Han Qian pulled over a chair and sat down with somewhat exhausted spirit, speaking slowly:
“You may have heard rumors about the relationship between Marquis Xinchang’s household and Wanhong Pavilion with the previous dynasty’s Divine Mausoleum Bureau, but you may not know more of the intricate inside details. In the twelfth year of Tianyou, I, Feng Yi, Kong Xirong, and Li Chong, son of Li Pu, were all selected as readers attending His Majesty. We were already drawn into their conspiracy then. I nearly died from Yao Xishui’s poisoned wine, so I learned more than most. Over these years, all that Lü Qingxia and Li Pu have schemed and plotted has been to ensure the Empress Dowager and His Majesty became puppets under their control, achieving aims unknown to outsiders. Fortunately, His Majesty and the Empress Dowager were unwilling to become puppets manipulated by others, so the situation wasn’t too dire. Additionally, during the Jingxiang campaign and the vassal reduction wars, His Majesty gained the sincere assistance of Shen Yang, Zheng Hui, Guo Liang, Zhou Dan, Chen Jingzhou and others, while Zheng Yu, Zheng Chang, Zhang Chao, Zhang Han and others merely temporarily relied on the Empress Dowager to consolidate their respective power bases—they had no foundation for long-term alliance with Lü Qingxia and her faction. Only then could I find opportunities to repeatedly thwart their conspiracies, ensuring His Majesty remained free of their control, even causing a rift between Li Pu and Lü Qingxia so they were no longer unified. Lü Qingxia even once restrained her ambitions, advising the Empress Dowager to abandon interfering in government, allowing His Majesty to seemingly hold great power. But I was still negligent. I didn’t expect that under their instigation, His Majesty had long lost trust in me. Nor did I expect Li Zhigao to be Lü Qingxia’s man. Li Zhigao first deceived Li Pu’s trust over these years, then deceived His Majesty’s trust, and has now successfully grasped all Huaixi military authority. There’s one more thing—I didn’t expect that seeing they couldn’t control me, they would turn to working on Han Jun. Moreover, this was their scheme to kill multiple birds with one stone. By the time I received the news, the Empress Dowager had already secretly given birth in Changchun Palace, and the child had already been secretly transferred away by Lü Qingxia to an unknown location. From Changchun Palace came only the message that a palace maid and an ordinary guard had illicitly coupled and been beaten to death…”
Han Duan and Chen Zhiyong looked toward Han Daoming with some disbelief. Their positions weren’t high enough, and their access to information was very limited. Hearing Han Qian speak was like hearing fantastic tales—difficult to distinguish truth from falsehood.
Han Daoming seemed to have been struck hard by a heavy hammer. His face ashen, he sat there. As a minister of the Empress Dowager’s faction, he had witnessed many matters around the Empress Dowager.
The fact that Han Jun had coupled illicitly with the Empress Dowager for so long without any rumors leaking out, and that the Empress Dowager had even occasionally received outer court officials while pregnant without showing any flaws, indicated that either everyone around the Empress Dowager was her direct loyal confidant, or Lü Qingxia’s people had long ago completely controlled everything around the Empress Dowager.
Han Daochang sat there stunned, completely at a loss for words, feeling only threads of cold penetrating from deep within his bones.
“Since the child has already been transferred away, doesn’t this mean the matter cannot be clearly explained?” After gaping for a long while, Han Duan still clung to a thread of hope and illusion, asking hesitantly.
“Where would such matters need real evidence? If they want to use His Majesty’s hand to kill us, they only need to ensure His Majesty believes this happened,” Han Qian said bitterly. “And Han Jun hasn’t dared show his face at Changchun Palace during this time—the Empress Dowager’s heart may already be filled with resentment. If the Empress Dowager wants to break free of their control and destroy the evidence, might she not first think of striking at our Han household? In any case, with such a huge weakness in their hands, they have too many ways to play this, and all initiative is in their hands. You should return to Jinling now. I’ll stage a scene for outsiders to see later. First Uncle, Second Uncle, please don’t blame me if my attitude seems too crude! After I return to Xuzhou, you should also avoid conflicts with Lü Qingxia’s faction as much as possible. I imagine unless they’re pushed to their limits, they won’t easily use this matter as leverage…”
Han Qian signaled for Feng Liao to take two vases from the offerings on the table against the wall, preparing to smash them.
“You yourself said they won’t use this matter to coerce unless pushed to their limits. Since we now know about this and are prepared, we won’t be completely without power to resist.” Han Daoming slightly composed his shocked expression and said in a heavy voice.
“I, Han Qian, have never been willing to be controlled by others. Even if they don’t use this matter to coerce after the war, I will still return to Xuzhou. I live free and content in Xuzhou. I have no great ambitions—with three thousand elite soldiers under my command, defending the Yuan River is more than sufficient. Why suffer remaining here, constantly worried about someone holding a sharp blade to my neck?” Han Qian said.
“What would it take for you to stay? With the Han family’s full support, and with your sister accompanying His Majesty in the palace, isn’t this your opportunity to dominate the court and become imperial tutor once more?” Han Daoming asked, staring at Han Qian suspiciously.
“Dominating the court brings glory and prestige, but throughout history, how many powerful ministers bearing tainted reputations have died well?”
Han Qian shook his head, completely unmoved by Han Daoming’s words.
“If I stayed and could honestly keep my head down, that would be fine. But if I truly had ambitions to dominate the court, once Lü Qingxia and her faction viewed me as a threat that must be eliminated, they would certainly provoke His Majesty to exterminate the Han family. This is precisely why I blamed Feng Liao for not thinking carefully before leading you across the river, First Uncle. A divided Han family is what they hope to see. If you truly supported me with full force, after they survive this crisis, they very likely won’t tolerate us. Could we possibly have a chance to argue before His Majesty that all this was Lü Qingxia’s malicious slander? Lü Qingxia is already over fifty. Say she lives to seventy—I’ll only be in my early forties then. I have time. Why fight with them over temporary pride?”
“Couldn’t this matter be turned around to set a trap for Lü Qingxia and her faction?” Feng Liao interjected from the side.
“Haven’t you done enough damage acting on your own initiative? Is it your turn to randomly offer suggestions?” Han Qian glared at Feng Liao, telling him to shut up.
Next, Han Qian walked to the offering table against the wall, grabbed two vases, and smashed them hard against the pillars. Then he cupped his hands toward Han Daoming, saying, “First Uncle, Second Uncle, when you leave shortly, remember to look appropriately upset! I’m leaving first!”
Feng Liao inwardly found it amusing, thinking—weren’t Han Daoming and the others’ expressions already upset enough?
Watching Han Qian storm out of the courtyard in “exasperated rage,” Han Daoming couldn’t possibly just leave it at that.
The current situation was no longer one they could endure by swallowing their anger before Lü Qingxia’s faction. Now the entire city of officials and ministers had seen them cross the river. Once Han Qian returned to Xuzhou, all suspicions would fall upon their heads.
At that time, without Lü Qingxia even lifting a finger, countless open attacks and hidden arrows would pierce toward them, not to mention that the matter of the Empress Dowager’s child would always hang like a sharp blade above their necks.
After a long while, Han Daochang raised his head and said to his elder brother Han Daoming, “What Feng Liao said is correct. We’re not without means to dig a trap for Lü Qingxia’s faction in reverse, but it would just require wronging Han Jun…”
“What trap? How would I be wronged?” Han Jun asked in confusion.
“…” Han Daoming furrowed his brow tightly, staring at the withered flowers and fallen leaves in the courtyard, unable to decide for a long time.
“If Jun’er were a natural eunuch, and we secretly let His Majesty know of this, should Lü Qingxia dare use this scheme to frame us in the future, we could certainly make her scheme backfire. Jun’er already has two sons and a daughter to continue the family line. We could secretly claim externally that these were all adopted to conceal Jun’er’s hidden deficiency. This plan would be seamless.” Han Daochang urged his elder brother.
“What!” Han Jun felt as if struck by lightning. He never imagined they would think of such a plan to cut off descendants—to castrate him, then falsely claim he was naturally a eunuch…