Empress Dowager Lu had the courage to risk everything for rebirth—nothing could destroy her yearning for power. If not for her urgency today to recruit Hu Shanwei, Hu Shanwei could never have predicted that the seemingly shallow Empress Dowager harbored ambitions similar to Wu Zetian’s.
The Empress Dowager’s move appeared reckless but was actually meticulously calculated. This secret was a shackle binding Hu Shanwei to her side. The Empress Dowager used it to transform from passive to active—if Hu Shanwei didn’t comply, the Empress Dowager would inform Emperor Jianwen that Hu Shanwei knew this secret, ensuring Hu Shanwei’s certain death.
Empress Dowager Lu looked at Hu Shanwei with anticipation. She had always been “still as a virgin, swift as a fleeing rabbit”—quiet as a pure, innocent white lotus, but once in action, a voracious venus flytrap.
Either don’t move, or gamble big.
Hu Shanwei hadn’t expected Empress Dowager Lu to dig such a deep pit to entice her jump in. Now unable to advance or retreat, she had truly failed to steal the chicken and lost the rice instead.
What to do?
Hu Shanwei considered countermeasures and decided to use delaying tactics first: “This subject thanks the Empress Dowager for her regard. This subject also deeply admires the Empress Dowager’s grand aspirations. However, based on the Empress Dowager’s past credibility, your words don’t seem entirely trustworthy. This subject needs time to verify.”
Empress Dowager Lu smiled: “Palace Director Hu is cautious—I can wait. However, Palace Administrator Wang, the only other person who knew this matter, was also forced by His Majesty to hang herself. That suicide note was also written under coercion. Doesn’t Palace Director Hu find it similar to Baoqin’s death three years ago? I can swear to heaven—Palace Administrator Wang wasn’t killed by me. Back then, the Eastern Palace was my domain, and I could force Baoqin to death. But in today’s rear palace… I lack such ability. It was my dear son using my methods. I’ve done enough for him in this life—I don’t want to take the blame for this.”
Seeing Empress Dowager Lu’s earnest appearance, she was either a master of lies or speaking complete truth.
Hu Shanwei decided to test the Empress Dowager’s depth: “This subject has a question for the Empress Dowager, hoping you can enlighten me.”
Empress Dowager Lu said: “Palace Director Hu, please speak freely.”
Hu Shanwei asked: “Regarding Baoqin’s death in the Eastern Palace back then—how did the Empress Dowager manage to make Baoqin, who clearly knew suicide would doom her entire family, hang herself? From her past correspondence with family, she was a filial, family-caring girl. Palace Administrator Wang was born a government slave with no family—forcing her to suicide was easy, but forcing Baoqin was too difficult. This puzzle has always troubled this subject. Might I be fortunate enough to learn the answer today?”
Empress Dowager Lu hesitated briefly. She knew that not telling the truth would further damage her credibility. Since Baoqin had been dead three years and Hu Shanwei dared not speak of it, she might as well use this as a condition for allegiance.
Empress Dowager Lu said: “Everyone has weaknesses—what they most desire, what they most want to protect. I used this as bait to deceive Baoqin…”
Baoqin’s weakness was the Crown Prince at the time.
Like Empress Dowager Lu, Baoqin was a woman with “ambitions,” and like the Empress Dowager, tied her future to a man. The Crown Prince was then a genius youth—refined, handsome, gentle in nature. Baoqin had served him since childhood, and reaching maturity with awakened feelings, she saw only the Crown Prince, hoping to become his consort someday.
Empress Dowager Lu grasped Baoqin’s weakness, using the lure of future arrangements as the Crown Prince’s concubine, wanting Baoqin to serve as eyes and ears, reporting everything about the Crown Prince, no matter how trivial.
Hu Shanwei inadvertently exposed Baoqin and Empress Dowager Lu’s understanding. The Crown Prince, furious, sent Baoqin to the Eastern Palace to serve his mother.
Baoqin’s dreams shattered, grief-stricken. When Empress Dowager Lu ordered her to spread rumors about Hu Shanwei and Ji Gang’s affair, and after the matter was exposed, she enticed Baoqin: “…You’ve been with the Crown Prince so many years—there are feelings. The Crown Prince is just angry now. You know he’s soft-hearted. I’ll give you an idea: write a suicide note taking blame, saying your unrequited love for the Crown Prince led you astray, then pretend to hang yourself.”
“Before hanging, I’ll send someone to fetch the Crown Prince, finding an excuse for him to come find you. You stand on a stool, listen for someone outside to cough as a signal, then immediately kick away the stool, pretending to hang.”
“The Crown Prince is compassionate—he’ll surely be moved by your devotion…”
Baoqin believed it. She wrote the suicide note, taking responsibility for the rumors, expressing her feelings, threw white silk over a beam, moved an embroidered stool, climbed up, tied a death knot in the silk, and put it around her neck.
Hearing faint footsteps outside and a cough from the lookout, Baoqin, filled with romantic longing, kicked away the stool.
However, the person she waited for never came—only Empress Dowager Lu entered!
“Ugh… heh…”
With her neck strangled, Baoqin couldn’t speak, frantically waving her hands, clawing at air, looking pleadingly at Empress Dowager Lu for rescue.
Empress Dowager Lu looked pityingly at Baoqin struggling in the white silk: “Love makes people foolish. I know you’ve been secretly learning from me—how I dealt with the former Crown Princess Consort, how I maintained harmony with the Crown Prince, playing love games, how I gained exclusive favor in the Eastern Palace, climbing from concubine to Crown Princess Consort position.”
“But you didn’t know that for me, love was merely a means. I was never blinded by love. We’re different.”
“Everyone, including the Crown Prince and Crown Prince, are chess pieces in my eyes. And you… you’re not even a chess piece, just my scapegoat.”
After Baoqin stopped struggling, Empress Dowager Lu waited a while longer. Only when Baoqin’s body began growing cold did she scream and cry: “Someone come! Help!”
Empress Dowager Lu calmly recounted past events, relaxed and casual, as if discussing not life-and-death matters but merely chatting about the weather: “…The rest needs no elaboration. Baoqin had a suicide note, the room showed no signs of struggle, and her body bore no marks of beating or coercion—all evidence pointed to suicide.”
“I thought it was seamless, never expecting Palace Director Hu to immediately unite the Court Bureau of Rites, Imperial Kitchen Bureau, and Embroidered Uniform Guard to set a trap with so-called family letters. I fell for your trick, sending people to kill Baoqin’s family and seize non-existent letters, caught red-handed by the Embroidered Uniform Guard. From then, confined to the Eastern Palace, all confidants purged from the palace by Palace Director Fan, becoming a declawed tiger.”
“I thought enduring until His Majesty’s ascension would regrow my claws. However, the eldest son I devoted my life’s effort to cultivating turned out to be an ungrateful wretch—forget claws, he won’t even give me face.”
Even with Hu Shanwei’s extensive experience, she broke into cold sweat at Empress Dowager Lu’s sinister calculations. The Empress Dowager’s grasp of human desire was as precise as a physician taking pulse, “prescribing accordingly.” This was how Baoqin had actually “committed suicide.”
Seeing Hu Shanwei’s shock, Empress Dowager Lu was quite pleased: “Those who achieve great things don’t worry about trifles. Even the noble-born Empress Xiaokang was defeated by me—an ant-like figure like Baoqin isn’t worth mentioning. Palace Director Hu, be my ally or my opponent—you must choose quickly.”
Empress Dowager Lu leaned close to Hu Shanwei’s ear and whispered: “If I accidentally let something slip and His Majesty finds out, he won’t kill me, but he’ll kill you.”
Both carrot and stick—Empress Dowager Lu wanted to recruit Hu Shanwei using both inducement and intimidation.
“I’m tired.” Empress Dowager Lu raised her voice. “Palace Director Hu has matters to attend—no need to escort me back to Cining Palace. Tomorrow, if you’re free, come to Cining Palace to chat and walk with me, just like today. I found it quite pleasant.”
Hu Shanwei responded: “This subject respectfully sees off the Empress Dowager.”
Empress Dowager Lu departed with her grand procession. Hu Shanwei sat briefly in the water pavilion before returning to the Palace Bureau, summoning the two female officials who had witnessed Emperor Gaozhu’s final day: Shen Qionglian and Huang Weide.
Hu Shanwei said: “You two think carefully—did Palace Director Fan leave Qianqing Palace that day?”
The edict ordering rear palace consorts’ martyrdom was drafted by Shen Qionglian and sealed by Huang Weide with the imperial seal. Both remembered that day’s scene vividly.
Shen Qionglian shook her head: “Emperor Gaozhu greatly trusted Palace Director Fan. After ordering consort martyrdom, he only said he was tired, dismissed us all, keeping only Palace Director Fan by his sickbed. We don’t know what they discussed.”
Huang Weide said: “Though we don’t know Emperor Gaozhu’s subsequent instructions, Palace Director Fan never asked me to bring out the seal. The consort martyrdom edict was Hongwu reign’s second-to-last decree, sealed with the ‘Edict Treasure’—the final edict was ordering the Crown Prince’s succession, sealed with the ‘Imperial Proclamation Treasure.'”
Huang Weide was the Seal-Keeping Female Official responsible for safeguarding imperial seals—essentially, a keeper of stamps. The emperor had twenty-four jade seals for different purposes, used according to document content with corresponding stamps.
For instance, when the emperor appreciated calligraphy or paintings, if finished viewing and granting to ministers, he’d use the “Great Fortune Treasure” indicating grace—recipients could display it proudly. If for personal appreciation and collection, he’d use the “Respectful Literary Seal.”
So being a competent Seal-Keeping Female Official was quite difficult, requiring meticulousness and deep understanding of various court documents—absolutely no mistakes allowed.
Shen Qionglian added: “Between these two edicts, Palace Director Fan came out once, instructing Palace Administrator Wang some matters. Palace Administrator Wang left for about two incense periods, then returned. Palace Director Fan had her enter the bedchamber to discuss something unknown, but soon Palace Director Fan emerged again, summoning the Crown Prince and pillar ministers to the bedchamber for the final succession edict.”
Shen Qionglian had photographic memory, and Huang Weide knew issued documents by heart—these two had the most reliable recollections.
Hu Shanwei asked: “When did the Crown Prince arrive?”
Shen Qionglian thought: “Qianqing Palace was heavily guarded then—none could enter without summons, including the Crown Prince. I remember he came around the same time as Palace Administrator Wang.”
Hu Shanwei captured fragments from their words, like assembling a puzzle, gradually reconstructing Emperor Gaozhu’s final scene:
Consort martyrdom, oral command to Palace Director Fan to poison the Crown Princess Consort—it had to be oral since oral commands needed no sealing. Palace Director Fan ordered confidant Palace Administrator Wang to execute it. Palace Administrator Wang was intercepted by the Crown Prince midway, who deceived both Palace Director Fan and Emperor Hongwu, claiming the Crown Princess Consort was already dead. Without confirming this greatest threat’s elimination, Emperor Hongwu would never have issued the Crown Prince’s succession edict.
So now it was certain the Crown Prince had defied imperial orders to save his mother. Palace Director Fan and Palace Administrator Wang were witnesses.