CH 371: Favored Consort

Han Ruzi slept late and rose early, left several orders for Prince Donghai, then went directly to the Hall of Diligent Administration to handle court affairs with the Chancellor and others. Shen Mingzhi tentatively made arrangements for two officials according to his own judgment, and the Emperor expressed approval for both.

The Emperor’s only requirement for the Chancellor was to stabilize the court ministers and regional officials – for now, he didn’t need them to accomplish anything, just not to cause trouble.

Han Ruzi returned to the Weary Marquis’s residence for lunch. After the meal, Zhang Youcai stepped forward and asked, “Should we send the Gentle Consort back to the palace this afternoon?”

The palace consorts took turns coming to the Weary Marquis’s residence to serve the Emperor, each for three days. Gentle Consort Deng Yun’s time was up.

Han Ruzi hesitated for a moment. “Let her stay one more day.”

“Yes.” Zhang Youcai agreed respectfully, but couldn’t help showing a trace of dissatisfaction on his face.

Han Ruzi raised his hand and tapped the eunuch’s forehead, laughing. “Mind your own business.”

Zhang Youcai cried out and covered his head, but became even bolder. “Your Majesty, with so many consorts, why… why… must you favor the Gentle Consort? She killed the chickens and ducks in the residence – shouldn’t she be punished?”

“Do you really want to know what We are thinking?”

Zhang Youcai almost wanted to answer “yes,” but suddenly realized this was a trap. As a close attendant, deliberately prying into the Emperor’s thoughts would bring great trouble. Having been a eunuch since childhood, he understood this principle somewhat. He quickly shook his head. “I’m very stupid. Even if Your Majesty explained, I wouldn’t understand. I’ll go notify Gentle Consort and the palace right away…”

In the afternoon, Han Ruzi summoned several people. Prince Donghai had already brought them and introduced them to the Emperor in order.

The first was Zhuo Ruhe. When the Emperor was trapped in Jincheng City, he had led troops to break the siege but became a Xiongnu prisoner. During his captivity, he had shown great integrity, and after returning to the Capital, he received generous rewards but still hadn’t been promoted.

Han Ruzi had originally intended to have Zhuo Ruhe govern Luoyang, but now changed his mind.

“Cloud Dream Marsh?” Zhuo Ruhe was quite surprised. “I am naturally willing to go, but I don’t understand military tactics. I fear I might delay the court’s great plan to suppress the bandits.”

“No matter. Others will be responsible for suppressing bandits. You should focus on governing the people. We have only two requirements: remove corrupt officials and pacify the populace.”

Zhuo Ruhe kowtowed in gratitude. As long as it wasn’t leading troops in battle, he was quite confident.

Cloud Dream Marsh was a vast region spanning several prefectures. Zhuo Ruhe was appointed as Censor of Jiangnan, serving as an imperial commissioner specifically to oversee the administration of these prefectures. He could act at his discretion with officials below the prefect level, punishing first and reporting later, and his impeachments of prefects could be sent directly to the Emperor.

Beyond civil administration, there also needed to be military prowess. The next person Han Ruzi summoned was a general named Shao Kejian, selected by the Ministry of War. He excelled at naval and infantry warfare. Han Ruzi had personally examined him and felt he truly had exceptional abilities. This was their third meeting, where he would receive detailed instructions.

“Suppressing bandits shouldn’t be rushed. When you go to Cloud Dream Marsh, focus mainly on gathering military intelligence. We give you one year to thoroughly investigate the terrain, bandit strongholds, and number of bandit troops in the marsh, and calculate how many forces the court will need. After one year, We will do our best to meet your requirements.”

Shao Kejian also kowtowed in gratitude. He already had a preliminary plan that he had explained to the Emperor in detail previously. He indeed needed time to gather enemy intelligence, and one year would be sufficient.

Han Ruzi then called three noble scions and entrusted them to Shao Kejian to take along to Cloud Dream Marsh to participate in bandit suppression.

These three had all performed outstandingly during the imperial tour. One was named Xie Cun, son of the Praiseworthy Marquis. Han Ruzi had once considered appointing him as a judicial officer, but this person preferred to be a general. Another was Miao Yuan, son of Marchioness Ping’en. Regardless, he had indeed shown strong ambition, and the Emperor wanted to give him an opportunity.

Next, Han Ruzi met with Hua Bin.

Both Hua Bin and his father were in prison, and now no one would come to rescue them. Before the Emperor, Hua Bin no longer showed his former arrogance or dejection, prostrating himself and remaining extremely humble.

Hua Bin had spent some time in Cloud Dream Marsh and had been an honored guest of the great bandit chief Luan Banxiong. He was quite familiar with the various factions in the marsh. Discovering the Emperor’s interest, he immediately spoke at length without any concealment.

Regarding Hua Bin, Han Ruzi didn’t immediately appoint him to any position. After listening, he had him sent back to prison.

Cui Teng had remained by the Emperor’s side throughout, and while he couldn’t help with other matters, he had opinions about Hua Bin. “Your Majesty isn’t planning to use Hua Bin to suppress the bandits, are you? That old fox has wicked intentions – once he returns to Cloud Dream Marsh, he’ll surely betray us.”

“That’s why we need someone who can keep a close eye on him.” Since he intended to use bandits to control bandits, Han Ruzi had to be unconventional in his approach.

“I can do it!” Cui Teng patted his chest in self-recommendation. “Even without sleep, I’ll watch him like a hawk.”

“That won’t be necessary. Can you serve as a messenger for me?”

“Of course! To meet the Great Chanyu? I’ll definitely not fail in my mission.”

Han Ruzi smiled and shook his head, having the eunuchs prepare paper and ink. He personally wrote a letter and handed it to Cui Teng. “This letter bears no official seal and isn’t a formal court document, so it must be delivered by someone from my inner circle to convince the recipient of its authenticity.”

Cui Teng immediately brightened, grinning widely. “So Your Majesty is making me a temporary seal! What a fine seal I am – I can walk on my own and even return, hehe. Who should I deliver the letter to?”

“Yang Feng.”

Cui Teng nodded knowingly, as if he had grasped something profound, though in reality he hadn’t thought anything through.

To utilize the power of the pugilist world to sow discord among or even break apart the Cloud Dream Marsh bandits, no one was more suitable than Yang Feng to serve as the “general” commanding the overall situation. However, Han Ruzi couldn’t issue direct imperial edicts to Yang Feng – instead, he had to seek his opinion in a personal capacity.

Han Ruzi had gained some understanding of the ways of the pugilist world, and with Yang Feng, this approach was sometimes more effective than court protocols.

Having met everyone he needed to see, what remained was drafting the imperial edicts to formalize the afternoon’s decisions into official documents. Prince Donghai took the opportunity to step forward and said, “There’s one more person – would Your Majesty like to meet him?”

Having observed everything thus far, Prince Donghai had already understood the Emperor’s strategy and felt he could recommend someone.

Han Ruzi thought for a moment. “You go talk with him first.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

Cui Teng listened in bewilderment. “Who are you talking about? You didn’t even mention a name.”

Han Ruzi’s own calligraphy was poor, so he summoned a Hanlin Academy scholar to write for him while he dictated. Having no time to deal with Cui Teng, Cui Teng could only walk over to Prince Donghai and quietly ask again.

This wasn’t really a secret, but Prince Donghai said mysteriously, “A fate seer.”

Cui Teng still couldn’t recall who that was.

“His name is Lin Kunshan. He’s also imprisoned and has considerable connections to Cloud Dream Marsh.”

“Hmph, and here I thought it was someone important.” Cui Teng didn’t take Lin Kunshan seriously.

The bandit suppression plan had finally taken shape and could be implemented step by step. Although it would take a year to see results, Han Ruzi no longer had to spend day and night devising strategies and could finally relax to do other things.

At dusk, he returned to the palace to pay respects to the two Empress Dowagers. His birth mother, Empress Dowager Cining, was delighted to hear that the Emperor had kept the Gentle Consort Shu for an extra day. “The Gentle Consort seems a bit odd, but as long as Your Majesty likes her, that’s good. Your Majesty is still young – there’s no rush for anything. Take care of your health, don’t sleep too late, don’t overindulge in bedroom affairs, and remember there’s more than one consort in the palace…”

Han Ruzi understood his mother’s good intentions but really didn’t want to have such conversations. Using the excuse that the palace gates would soon close, he hurriedly took his leave, and used the same excuse to avoid seeing the Empress.

The Emperor could of course have the palace gates opened at any time, but he didn’t want to casually break established rules.

At the Weary Marquis’s residence, Gentle Consort Shu Deng Yun had already prepared a table of food and wine. This time everything was made in the kitchen without using the residence’s chickens and ducks.

Deng Yun was quite skilled in cooking and personally supervised, even lending a hand. The dishes she made tasted remarkably different from usual. Han Ruzi praised them lavishly, making Deng Yun even more pleased as she urged the Emperor to eat more, though she herself dared not eat much, especially avoiding wine.

After their passionate encounter in bed, Deng Yun nestled against the Emperor. She wasn’t the shy type and dared to say anything: “I’ve already gotten ahead by sharing a bed with Your Majesty first. It would be wonderful if I could also be first to bear Your Majesty a son.”

Han Ruzi gave a perfunctory grunt in response.

Deng Yun asked again, “Why has the Empress never given birth? Has she seen the imperial physicians?”

“That’s none of your concern.”

Deng Yun detected the coldness in the Emperor’s tone but didn’t get angry or retreat. Instead, she pressed closer. “If I bear the eldest son, could he become Crown Prince?”

“That depends on the circumstances.”

“Does it depend on whether the Empress can bear a son?”

“Yes.”

“What if—just hypothetically—the Empress never gives birth?”

“Then it would depend on whether the other consorts bear sons.”

“But mine would be the first! Doesn’t the eldest son take precedence?”

“Without a heir from the principal wife, ability takes precedence. The Great Chu realm cannot be casually handed over to just any son of mine. So if you truly bear a son, raise him well.”

“Any child I raise will never be mediocre.” Deng Yun was brimming with confidence.

“If your son becomes Crown Prince, wouldn’t the Deng family’s power reach the heavens?”

“He would be Your Majesty’s son,” Deng Yun corrected. “All are maternal relatives—if the Cui clan can ‘reach the heavens,’ why can’t the Deng family?” Deng Yun gently caressed the Emperor. “I feel certain I can conceive. Your Majesty… shall we try once more?”

Gentle Consort Deng Yun stayed at the Weary Marquis’s residence not for one extra day, but for three. What followed was the normal rotation, and when her turn came again, it was still three days—no longer—but everyone inside and outside the palace already knew that the Gentle Consort was favored, her status rivaling that of the Empress.

Han Ruzi would occasionally return to spend the night in the palace, always staying in the Empress’s Qiuxin Palace. Their affection remained unchanged, but they never discussed the other consorts, especially not Gentle Consort Deng Yun.

Deng Yun was bold and ambitious, making no effort to hide this before the Emperor. This indeed increased her appeal, but it also lessened Han Ruzi’s feelings of guilt: he needed to establish a favored consort to shield the Empress from potential attacks, and Deng Yun’s background and character were perfectly suited for this.

Han Ruzi hoped the palace could remain peaceful and uneventful, but if conflict truly arose, he had to ensure the Empress would not be affected.

Yang Feng’s reply coincided perfectly with the Emperor’s plans. He had already gathered a group of pugilist world members to challenge the great bandits of Cloud Dream Marsh. The public reason was that Luan Banxiong had colluded with foreign tribes and betrayed the Chu people. This strategy was very effective—though the pugilist world had been powerless to rescue the Emperor when he was besieged, pursuing traitors of the people could stir righteous indignation in many people. The Du grandfather and grandson had left early to join Yang Feng.

Yang Feng wanted to take both Hua Bin and Lin Kunshan with him.

Han Ruzi began turning his attention toward Donghai, where ships were being built—a process requiring much more time, at least three years or more—but qualified generals needed to be selected in advance.

Just then, Donghai sent an urgent official document that disrupted Han Ruzi’s planning.

The document had nothing to do with pirates, yet it would make it impossible for both the court and the rear palace to maintain their tranquility.

Empress Dowager Cining’s Wang family members had been found by local officials.