The Emperor shook his head: “My good minister, how shallow of you. Judging a person solely by looks — how does that show a gentleman’s noble character?”
Of all the people in the capital, he was probably the least qualified to say such a thing. He Chang’an shook his head helplessly: “Then why didn’t Your Majesty take in the foreign princess back then? I could tell she was quite willing to enter the harem.”
Yuwen Jie fell silent.
His standards for women were even higher than He Chang’an’s — not to mention that the foreign princess in question no longer really fell into the category of “woman” at all. How could he possibly let her into the palace? Sending her back where she came from was simply the safer choice.
“Your Majesty.”
Just as He Chang’an was about to tease him further, Eunuch Qin entered and said: “Wanbao Hall has been prepared, and the person has already been brought in.”
“Mm.” Yuwen Jie nodded, rising: “Let the matter of Prime Minister Hua rest as it is. As for Noble Consort Hua, I will handle it myself. It’s getting late — you should head out of the palace too.”
“This subject obeys.”
Glancing curiously at Eunuch Qin, He Chang’an rose and took his leave. Yuwen Jie watched him go, then set off for Wanbao Hall.
“Eunuch, has a new mistress arrived at Wanbao Hall?” He Chang’an asked along the way.
The palace attendant leading the way, who served in front of the Emperor, was extremely courteous toward him: “Indeed. His Majesty has brought in the fourth young lady of the Huo family. Because of her outstanding beauty, she has been granted Wanbao Hall.”
The fourth young lady of the Huo family? He Chang’an paused slightly — the name sounded somewhat familiar. Though he had been away from the capital a long time, he recalled that many people used to say the fourth Huo daughter was the capital’s foremost beauty. Though kept secluded in the inner chambers and rarely seen, her portrait had circulated throughout the capital and won much praise.
Yuwen Jie, too, was a man who appreciated beauty — bringing her into the palace was only to be expected.
Without thinking much more of it, He Chang’an left the palace.
The next day, Hua Chun entered the palace in high spirits for morning court, speaking eloquently before the assembled officials about the specifics of the disaster relief effort, delighting the Emperor, who praised her for the first time.
Though what he actually said was: “The Prime Minister has finally managed to accomplish something practical” — hardly a warm compliment — she didn’t care! This counted as praise! Only praise could make up for her dark circles under the eyes!
Cheerfully leaving court, Hua Chun was just about to head out of the palace when two palace attendants stopped her.
“Prime Minister, the Empress Dowager requests your presence.”
Huh? The Empress Dowager? Hua Chun’s eyes widened. Before she could even work out what the Empress Dowager might want with her, she was directly hoisted up by the two attendants and hurried along at a run, so quickly that when the Emperor came out hoping to have a word with the Prime Minister, he didn’t even catch a glimpse of her coat-tails.
Hua Chun felt rather forlorn about it — she did have legs, she could walk on her own, so why did they have to carry her like this? And besides, since the Empress Dowager’s palace was so far from the front court, why not provide her some means of transport? In the end she simply drew her feet up and let her arms dangle over the two eunuchs’ shoulders, swinging along the whole way like on a swing set until they arrived at Huiming Hall.
The hall was steeped in a solemn fragrance — never mind whether “solemn” was really the right word to describe incense — but the moment she entered the Empress Dowager’s domain, she felt a wave of pressure bearing down on her. She half expected to see an old woman reclining on a couch, draped in jewels, gazing at her with a stern expression.
“This humble official pays respects to the Empress Dowager!”
Kneeling before the curtain, not daring to lift her head, Hua Chun stared fixedly at the lovely pattern on the Persian carpet, studying it intently.
“It’s been a long time, Prime Minister Hua.”
Unexpectedly, the Empress Dowager’s voice was remarkably gentle, light as a feather brushing across a rosewood table: “Yuejian, take the others out. The Prime Minister is no stranger — there’s no need to keep anyone else in the hall.”
“Yes.” The senior palace maid beside her acknowledged, and immediately swept every other eunuch and maid out of the room like some kind of harvester.
Once the hall doors closed, Hua Chun grew even more nervous.
“Jinghua, come here.”
Huh? Hua Chun was taken aback. The Empress Dowager’s voice was so gentle, and she’d even directly used Prime Minister Hua’s courtesy name — however she looked at it, something felt off!
Earlier, it had been the Empress Dowager who’d sent the Emperor to visit her at the Hua estate after her flogging. Later, at court, it was also the Empress Dowager who had granted her a seat. Thinking it over carefully, just how close was the relationship between Prime Minister Hua and the Empress Dowager, exactly?
Rising unsteadily, Hua Chun had a bad feeling — after all, when it came to secret palace affairs, well, what if the Empress Dowager had taken a liking to Hua Jinghua’s face? That would be the death of her!
Closing her eyes, she lifted the gauze curtain before her with the resolve of someone cutting off their own arm to survive.
The Empress Dowager was gazing at her with a kindly expression, dressed in red-and-black palace attire — the formal etiquette for receiving outside officials.
Relieved, Hua Chun couldn’t help but curse herself for being so indecent in her thoughts, then quickly cupped her hands in salute: “Empress Dowager summoned this humble official — is there something you require?”
“There is indeed something I need the Prime Minister’s help with.” Sighing, the Empress Dowager said: “Yesterday the Emperor brought the young lady of the Huo family into the palace and granted her residence at Wanbao Hall. This morning she was already conferred the title of Zhaoyi.”
Pausing slightly, Hua Chun frowned unconsciously. This man who seemed so icy and aloof was actually this interested in women’s beauty?
Her favorable opinion of the Emperor dropped by a good six percentage points on the spot — since ancient times, the more affectionate a man seemed, the more likely he was a scoundrel; if she remembered correctly, not long ago he’d been utterly devoted to Noble Consort Hua.
Still, it wasn’t really her business — why had the Empress Dowager summoned her?
“The Huo family’s young lady is of poor character — this is what I’ve heard,” the Empress Dowager said. “The moment His Majesty leaves court, he heads straight to Wanbao Hall. I feel that the Prime Minister is the only one who can help me guide the Emperor back to the right path.”
Huo Xianrou possessed a bewitching charm and was, by rumor, petty and eager for favor. Leaving such a person by the Emperor’s side naturally left the Empress Dowager uneasy. But there were truly few virtuous and upright consorts left in the harem, and those she herself had placed there did not hold the Emperor’s favor — with no other options, she could only turn to the Prime Minister for help.
“What would the Empress Dowager have this official do?” Hua Chun asked.
“These next few days, please come to the palace often to accompany His Majesty,” the Empress Dowager said. “It would help me keep an eye on him — have him read more, instead of always losing interest in the classics and memorials and only caring for swordplay.”
That sounded rather difficult. Hua Chun laughed dryly to herself — Yuwen Jie usually wished he could slap her against a wall, and now she was supposed to go seek him out on purpose? Wasn’t that just asking to be killed?
So she asked carefully: “Isn’t Noble Consort Hua still in the palace?”
“Ah, don’t even mention her.” The Empress Dowager said helplessly: “Originally, seeing that she came from the Hua family, I gave her no small amount of support, thinking she’d be as loyal and sensible as you. As it turned out…”
Pausing, she continued: “Last night the Emperor already ordered her demoted to Consort Hua, and moved to Youyang Palace. By my estimate, she won’t be summoned to attend His Majesty again for months.”
Drawing a sharp, quiet breath, Hua Chun clicked her tongue. She really had guessed right — Hua Liuying was indeed in far worse shape than Concubine Ren.
Such a masterclass in self-destruction — sharing the Hua surname yet going out of her way to cross Prime Minister Hua. Hua Liuying truly wasn’t suited for high position; those without enough sense who climbed too high fell all the harder. For now it was only a demotion in rank, but hopefully she’d learn something from it — if she kept courting disaster, she might drag the entire Hua family down with her one day.
“Since the Empress Dowager has instructed as much,” she said, “this official will certainly obey.”
It wasn’t as if she had to do much — just get close to the Emperor. She happened to be busy with disaster relief lately anyway, giving her plenty of “unavoidable” excuses to get the Emperor to send her away on her own initiative. Imperial authority outweighed everything, and surely the Empress Dowager wouldn’t blame her for it.
This was the art of tactical retreat — bosses had their ways of squeezing employees, and employees had their special tricks for dodging work. No one here was a child; there was no need to charge headlong into things.
The Empress Dowager looked at her with deep satisfaction and sighed: “If only the Hua family had a daughter as sensible as you — even seated as Empress, she would be worthy of the position.”
Her heart skipped, and Hua Chun glanced at the Empress Dowager in some surprise, then hurriedly bowed modestly.
The Empress Dowager clearly valued Hua Jinghua so highly likely because she’d been moved by his unyielding integrity — after all, someone who, after being flogged like that, held no grudge and continued serving loyally before the throne, was indeed a rare thing.
Of course, the real reason she held no grudge was simply that her skin was thick. Things like pride and moral integrity might matter greatly to people of this era, but to her they meant almost nothing — as long as she could live comfortably, why bother with so many demands?
So modern people really could survive quite well in ancient times — at the very least, they wouldn’t go to their deaths over mere face.
Leaving Huiming Hall, following the Empress Dowager’s instructions, Hua Chun steeled herself and followed Attendant Yuejian to Wanbao Hall.
From far off she could already hear the sound of strings and flutes, and could easily imagine just how licentious a scene awaited inside. Weren’t books always full of such things? An emperor toying with women had a hundred and eighty different methods, from wine-and-meat decadence to tearing silk for a beauty’s smile — too many to count.
But when she reached the door and peeked inside, the scene she saw seemed somewhat off.
There was indeed a beauty dancing — supple-waisted, in thin, gauzy robes. Yet the Emperor seated there…
Was actually reviewing memorials?!
That didn’t fit the mood at all! The beauty’s waist swayed boneless, her bare midriff exposed without a stitch of cloth covering it — even a modern woman like her found it embarrassing to watch — yet Yuwen Jie sat there so composedly, flipping through memorials one after another, occasionally marking them with his vermilion brush.
Feeling somewhat conflicted, Hua Chun didn’t know whether to praise him or say something else entirely.
“Your Majesty.” Attendant Yuejian stepped forward and bowed gracefully: “By the Empress Dowager’s order, this servant has brought Prime Minister Hua to accompany you in study. The Empress Dowager decrees that from today, the Prime Minister may freely enter and leave the harem.”
The vermilion brush paused. Yuwen Jie looked up and frowned at Yuejian.
“Such an absurd decree, and none of you tried to stop Mother?”
Since when was there any reason for an outside official to freely wander into the harem?
“The Empress Dowager’s meaning is that whenever Your Majesty is in the harem, the Prime Minister may come to keep you company,” Yuejian said with a smile. “At other times, of course, he will not come to the harem.”
In other words — sent specifically to watch over him?
The displeasure in his heart deepened further, and the Emperor glanced toward the doorway.
“The Prime Minister is already here — why not come in directly?”
Hua Chun wanted desperately to hide but it was too late; caught red-handed, she hurried in with her head lowered to bow: “This official pays respects to Your Majesty!”
The music of strings and flutes stopped, and the dancing beauty ceased as well. The Emperor looked down at the kneeling figure below, his expression calm as he said: “Rise.”
The gunpowder in his tone was enough to blow her sky-high; Hua Chun was terribly uneasy.
This was the Empress Dowager forcing a duck onto a stage it never wanted to perform on! She hadn’t wanted any of this!