Li Er’s emotions were fluctuating violently! This was already the third round of questioning. Who knew what he wanted to ask this time? In his heart, Yun Ye was laughing so hard he could burst into bloom. It had always been Li Er who tormented him until his little heart pounded wildly. Now it was good—he too had such a day? He’d wanted revenge long ago but never expected it would take nearly thirty years for the opportunity.
The bedchamber was chaotic. The neatly stacked charts were scattered across the floor again, and there seemed to be bloodstains on the ground. A eunuch lay prostrate on the floor, trembling as he wiped with a cloth. Li Er sat on the soft couch, breathing heavily. Seeing Yun Ye just entering the bedchamber, he looked up and asked: “Does this matter have precedent?”
Yun Ye thought for a moment and said: “Both good and bad examples exist. Yao and Shun did this, and the result was the realm living in peace and prosperity. This is a good example passed down through ten thousand generations. King Wuling of Zhao also did this, but he was starved to death in Qiusha Palace! His end was miserable!”
“Do you think I will become like Yao and Shun, or become like King Wuling of Zhao?”
Hearing the emperor ask this, Yun Ye laughed heartily: “Your Majesty will certainly become a sage ruler like Yao and Shun. As for King Wuling of Zhao, he didn’t teach his son well. He only taught him the ruthless side of being a sovereign, so he deserved it. Our Great Tang was founded on filial piety and righteousness. Your Majesty’s veneration of the late emperor is witnessed by all under heaven. Your subject believes that even if you lent Chengqian a thousand times the courage, he wouldn’t dare do that. Once the Great Tang’s reputation for filial piety and righteousness collapses, the realm will return to the scene at the end of Sui—that would be a great catastrophe!”
“Your subject wanted to invite Your Majesty to view Lingnan in earlier years. The reason there was no follow-up was concern for Your Majesty’s safety. Once Your Majesty abdicates, we sovereign and subject can make a trip to Lingnan. Now Lingnan has Duan Meng’s Xuanjia Army guarding it. I hear Lianzhou has reached the point where doors aren’t locked at night and lost items aren’t picked up from the road. Hepu is now at a good time for pearl harvesting. This is one of the Yun family’s pillar industries. Those pearl-diving girls all strip down completely naked…”
“Get out!” Li Er’s sleeve waved, and Yun Ye could only emerge from the great hall once again.
Li Er hadn’t summoned him for questioning, but as a manifestation of his own anxiety and agitation. He must very clearly understand how much benefit this suggestion would bring to the Great Tang dynasty. According to his usual method of first considering advantages and disadvantages, he had long seen through the pros and cons. The reason for his anxiety was that he disappointedly discovered he had reached his curtain call. This method brought more benefit than harm to the Great Tang Empire.
Let him worry then! This time Yun Ye didn’t go far. Taking Wang Cai, who had a flowered garment in his mouth, he went to the imperial kitchen. This fellow must have secretly gone to the rear palace just now and stolen clothes a palace maid had hung out to dry.
Ever since Wang Cai was whipped at the rear palace gate last time, the furious Yun Ye and Li Tai had beaten the fellow who struck Wang Cai with whips until he was half-dead. If Li Er hadn’t driven the two out of the palace, that guard would have barely kept his life. So Wang Cai could wander everywhere in the imperial palace. Once he even went to Yang Fei’s greenhouse and came back with a bellyful of melons and fruits—quite tyrannical. Now everyone knew that accidentally offending Duke of Chu was no big deal, but it was best not to harm that horse. Duke of Chu regarded that horse like his very life.
The head chefs in the imperial kitchen were all old acquaintances. Seeing Yun Ye come looking for food—it was already noon, and it seemed His Majesty hadn’t granted the Duke a meal—he could only come find it himself.
After eating rough meals for over two years, seeing the imperial kitchen’s various ingredients dazzling in abundance, how could he restrain himself? Especially the sea cucumbers kept in sand jars with seawater made Yun Ye drool. He wanted nothing else—just this, braised sea cucumber with scallions, one basin, then another basin of rice would do. When eating, one should eat to one’s heart’s content.
The imperial palace in spring always had a coal smoke smell. This couldn’t be helped. Everyone in Chang’an now burned coal for warmth and cooking. The imperial palace was quite a bit higher than other places, exactly at the height where coal smoke and dust suspended, plus the imperial city was in the downwind position. The emperor could be said to worry before all under heaven worried.
But today was nice. It had rained last night. Sitting in the pavilion alone, he launched an attack on two basins. Outside the pavilion, a weeping palace maid was competing with Wang Cai for the flowered garment. Wang Cai bit the garment tightly, shaking his head and refusing to let go, no matter how the palace maid pleaded.
He wouldn’t bother with it. In a bit he’d compensate the palace maid some money and that would be that. Just as he was thinking this, Wang Cai released his mouth and quickly ran behind Yun Ye, wanting Yun Ye to shield him so that woman wouldn’t see him.
Only Zhangsun could make Wang Cai this fearful. The ostrich method wouldn’t work. Zhangsun entered the pavilion with a dark expression. Seeing Yun Ye eating, she paused and said: “Why haven’t you left the palace yet?”
After Yun Ye put down his chopsticks and stood to invite Zhangsun to sit, he said: “In just moments, His Majesty summoned your subject back twice. Your subject worries His Majesty may summon your subject again, so I’m waiting to avoid trouble later.”
Zhangsun glanced at Yun Ye’s rice basin and smiled bitterly: “After hearing your suggestion, His Majesty can’t sit or stand still, yet you’re doing well—still in the mood to eat sea cucumber. Tell me, were those words truly your own thoughts, or were you commissioned by someone else?”
“Your Majesty, such a brilliant yet bold idea—who besides your subject do you think could conceive it? What’s important about this matter isn’t His Majesty abdicating, but making this affair into the Great Tang’s perpetual precedent! That is to say, when Chengqian reaches that age in the future, he must also take this step. As long as it becomes perpetual precedent, the Great Tang realm will benefit greatly.”
“This is also the conclusion your subject reached through two years of contemplation. When each emperor ascends, legal legitimacy and orthodoxy are extremely important. Your subject has actually considered many methods—for instance, placing the succession edict behind the plaque in Wanmin Palace’s great hall. After the previous emperor’s dragon chariot ascends to heaven, trusted ministers open and read the edict.”
“Later I discovered this also isn’t suitable. As long as they’re subjects, they’ll have selfish motives. Who doesn’t have selfish motives? Only the previous Majesty doesn’t. That’s why there’s the suggestion to help mount the horse and escort a distance. This way, no one has any objection to the new emperor’s ruling authority, and the court can be calm and peaceful. As long as the question of whom to depend on doesn’t exist, ministers will find it very easy to choose—just stand on the side of the emperor His Majesty has selected. No need to think much. This way, the possibility of factional struggle is greatly reduced.”
“What’s difficult now is for His Majesty. Imperial power has already permeated His Majesty’s bones and blood. Once it must be stripped away, it’s absolutely an extremely cruel matter for His Majesty. However, this matter can only be found with a magnificently talented sovereign like His Majesty. Only such a sovereign would have such will and vision. If encountering a muddled sovereign, the words your subject has spoken would be enough for beheading.”
“His Majesty suffers because he cares about the Great Tang. If he didn’t care about the Great Tang’s future, just driving your subject out would be fine—no need for such pain.”
Zhangsun looked straight at Yun Ye and said: “Since it’s a good method, why not write it in a memorial and send it through the Central Secretariat? Instead, you remonstrate alone. According to the Academy’s words, the success rate is very low.” Having spoken, Zhangsun also pushed the basin of sea cucumber toward Yun Ye, indicating he could continue eating lest it get cold.
Yun Ye smiled. Zhangsun’s questioning was a continuation of Li Er’s questioning, but before the Empress he was much more relaxed. In two or three moves he finished the rice, rinsed his mouth with tea, then said to the Empress: “Your subject is making a suggestion to His Majesty, not forcing abdication. Think about it—if your subject’s memorial went through the Central Secretariat, what kind of situation would arise?”
“With your subject as the big head in front taking the brunt, your subject dares say a large group of officials would immediately submit petitions requesting His Majesty abdicate. What is this? This is forcing abdication! Would His Majesty accept this? All under heaven was conquered by His Majesty. Others have no right to dictate about the throne. At that time, if Chang’an city isn’t bloody, it would be haunted.”
“To form an institution, one must follow reason to achieve success. Not the slightest pressure can be applied to His Majesty. It can only be His Majesty himself who, after consideration, makes the decision—to implement or not implement, these two results.”
“After your subject speaks these words today, upon leaving the palace I’ll never mention this matter. Even if His Majesty asks, your subject will categorically deny it. This is just a possibility, a suggestion. As for what decision to make is His Majesty’s affair. Your subject has fulfilled all the duties of a subject and can return home with an open heart to farm.”
“Spring has arrived. Once seeds are scattered into the soil, sooner or later they will sprout, finally bearing abundant fruit. Only then might the pain and hope in between become sweet mellow wine. National progress and growth always cannot be separated from sacrifice and pain. This includes commoners, soldiers, scholars, ministers, princes, the Crown Prince, and His Majesty. All of us together contribute to let the Great Tang’s glorious name pass down through ten thousand generations. This country belongs to all of us. I’ve never forgotten this point.”
When Yun Ye spoke to the emotional part, his eyes also reddened somewhat. Zhangsun dabbed at the corners of her eyes with a handkerchief, looked at Yun Ye and said: “The Yun family divided into three—is this the sacrifice and pain made?”
“It doesn’t count. This is the path the Yun family must take. Your subject feels doing this is very fair, especially toward my children. If your subject couldn’t be selfless at heart, how would I dare admonish His Majesty this way?”
This time when Yun Ye led Wang Cai out of the imperial palace, Duan Hong didn’t jump out. He looked back two or three times but didn’t see other eunuchs either. Yun Ye smiled helplessly, allowing Wang Cai to bite his finger and lead him toward the direction of the West Market. Today, Yun Ye didn’t have a single guard beside him. He felt he needed to get accustomed to accepting plainness. In the Great Tang, he was just a Tang person…
After Li Er heard Zhangsun’s full account, the originally extremely irritable Li Er became quiet. Smiling, he ordered eunuchs to spread the maps on the floor again. This time they laid out not only sea charts but also maps of the Nine Provinces’ territories. The bedchamber couldn’t fit them all, so Li Er ordered eunuchs to spread the maps outside the hall in the sunlight. Still not wearing shoes, hands behind his back, he strolled on the maps. Though his body was hunched, each step had a tiger’s stride and dragon’s gait, like an aged lion king inspecting his territory…