Chapter 24: Surrender (Part I)

Yuqing Palace.

Before the dawn had broken, Qinghe was awakened by the palace maid, Shuyu.

She sat up, feeling dazed, and pushed aside the moon-white satin quilt embroidered with butterfly patterns. A chill seeped through her thin undergarments, biting into her slender, fair skin. It made her feel a little more awake.

"Is the Princess still unable to sleep well?" Shuyu asked softly. "The wet nurse said there is no need to attend lessons today. After paying your respects to the Empress Dowager and the Empress, you may return to rest for a while."

The other palace maids gathered around exchanged glances. Never mind the Princess—they hadn't slept soundly the night before either. They kept thinking about how King Qian was to begin his assault on the city today. Once he breached the palace, who knew what would happen? If King Qian entered the palace directly, they wouldn't be afraid; it would merely mean serving a new Emperor. What they feared was a prolonged siege of the capital, leading to chaos within the palace walls, where everyone would be left to fend for themselves, making it difficult even to survive.

"Mm."

Qinghe stepped out of bed, her feet, white as jade, touching the floor several times before sliding into her soft-soled embroidered slippers. With the support of the maids, she stood up.

"The Princess has grown thin again," Shuyu murmured.

Qinghe shook her head and walked to the vanity mirror. She looked at herself; her delicate, beautiful face lacked color, and a sense of deep despondency lingered in her brows, impossible to shake off.

The maids undressed her and replaced her clothes with a silk-embroidered magpie bodice, covering the fair, delicate skin of her chest. Looking at her own slender silhouette in the mirror, Qinghe suddenly wondered: if her body were to be seen by King Qian...

It was no wonder her mind wandered so. She had had a nightmare the night before, dreaming that just as she was about to be married, King Qian breached the city. He dragged her from her bridal sedan, lifted her red veil, and brought her back to the palace, forcing her to continue living in these familiar halls. She dreamed that the King—whose face was a blur, yet whose presence felt terrifyingly malevolent—threw her onto the bed. She struggled with all her might, but still...

She had been jolted awake by the terror of it.

Qinghe bit her cherry-red lips and asked Shuyu, "Is there... any news from the Marquis of Anyuan?"

Shuyu glanced at her and smiled. "Is the Princess in such a hurry to be married? The wedding date is not until next month. As for the son of the Marquis of Anyuan... you might ask the Empress."

Deep within the palace, it was difficult to know anything of the outside world. The Princess had not yet married and could not correspond with her future husband. Qinghe had never met him; she only knew from others that he was a man of high spirit and striking appearance.

"Never mind."

Qinghe frowned and shook her head. Since the engagement, she had often been troubled by the marriage. She wondered what kind of man her future husband would be and whether they would live in harmony. If she were wronged, should she put on the airs of a Princess? The palace matrons taught her to follow ancestral teachings and serve her in-laws like any common woman, yet others had told her that as a royal Princess, her husband's family should be the ones bowing to her.

However, since King Qian’s army had surrounded the city five days ago, Qinghe had not thought of the wedding once. Even when the Empress had mentioned preparing her dowry two days prior, she had simply listened and forgotten it immediately. How could she possibly have the heart to marry now?

...

Qinghe went to pay her respects to the Empress Dowager, then went to the Kunning Palace to sit with the Empress, hoping to ease her mind. No sooner had she sat down than a eunuch came to deliver a message: "Your Majesty, the Retired Emperor requests that the Empress and the Princess come to the Wanxian Pavilion to observe a ceremony!"

"A ceremony? What ceremony?" Empress Zhang asked.

"To observe the Retired Emperor’s ascension through the consumption of the immortal elixir!"

"Did Father not say he would consume the elixir at the fifth quarter of the Mao hour?" Qinghe asked. She remembered the time; it had already passed.

The eunuch smiled obsequiously. "The Retired Emperor consumed one elixir at the fifth quarter of the Mao hour, but it had no effect. The Taoist masters said that perhaps His Majesty’s earthly ties are not yet severed, and he must bid farewell to his wife and children on earth before he can ascend, unburdened!"

How absurd!

Empress Zhang felt a mix of bitterness and amusement. The Retired Emperor had truly become obsessed to the point of madness, led around by the nose by a group of Taoists. Throughout history, how many emperors had sought immortality, and had any succeeded? It was nothing more than charlatans deceiving them for the sake of wealth and glory.

"Sister-in-law...?" Qinghe asked.

"Let’s go."

Empress Zhang’s expression was cold. The situation outside the city weighed heavily on her heart, and she had felt restless all day; a walk might do her good.

Thus, Qinghe and the Empress went to the Eastern Palace. Upon entering the Wanxian Pavilion, they found that the Empress Dowager and the younger princes and princesses had all been summoned by the Retired Emperor.

"Good, you are all here!"

Seeing them, a smile appeared on the Retired Emperor’s pale face. In the hall, filled with the smoke of burning incense, he looked terrifying. The young princes and princesses dared not approach him, hiding instead behind Empress Zhang.

Qinghe glanced around but did not see her imperial brother. Perhaps her father had deliberately ignored him, or perhaps he could not be summoned.

King Qian outside the city was likely already beginning his assault. The palace was temporarily quiet, but Qinghe did not know how long this silence would last.

While she was lost in thought, her father impatiently swallowed a pill. Under the gaze of everyone present, nothing happened.

"Why have I not ascended?!" The Retired Emperor stared fixedly at the Taoists. Sweat beaded on their foreheads, and they stammered, "The Emperor has not yet arrived! Brother, let us refine another furnace!"

Qinghe could not bear to watch any longer and took the young princes and princesses outside for some air.

By midday, Qinghe saw her uncles and other members of the royal clan arriving at the Wanxian Pavilion. A group of princes knelt before her father:

"Father, let the Emperor surrender!!"

The atmosphere in the Wanxian Pavilion froze. Qinghe witnessed a scene she had never seen in her life: the princes joined together, kneeling and begging the Retired Emperor to force the Emperor to surrender.

The shouting inside the pavilion was fierce. They argued that the city could not hold out, and to preserve the royal clan and save the last of the Chen family bloodline, they must surrender early. With hundreds of thousands of troops outside and court officials inside waiting for the new Emperor to ascend, the city gates could be opened for King Qian at any moment.

Qinghe finally saw what her father was like when he had been Emperor: he slowly recovered from the shock of his failed ascension, sent eunuchs to the gates to assess the battle, and ordered ministers and the Grand Councilors to rush to the palace immediately.

Her father bypassed the reigning Emperor and issued decrees directly to the officials.

...

Qinghe and the Empress returned to the Kunning Palace to wait. More than an hour later, Xia Shouzhong hurried in to report:

"Your Majesty, Princess... the Emperor... has agreed to surrender!!"

"Ah!"

A buzzing sound echoed in Qinghe's mind, as if the heavens and earth had turned upside down. Her hands and feet felt cold and numb. She seemed to hear the crying of her nephews and nieces—did they also understand the consequences of surrender?

Her brother had surrendered?

Qinghe looked at the Empress in a daze, seeing her stand up in shock. On that dignified, majestic face, there was only confusion and helplessness. After a long moment of being lost, the Empress slowly asked:

"He surrendered?"

"Yes, Your Majesty!"

Xia Shouzhong’s face was filled with sorrow. "He surrendered. The Emperor could not withstand them and set his seal on the decree drafted by Prince Zhongshun and the ministers. The Prince personally took the edict to the city gates to proclaim it. It is done; the court has surrendered to King Qian!"

"Surrendered..."

Empress Zhang slowly sat back down in her chair. Her mind raced with a thousand thoughts, and after a long while, she said, "It is perhaps for the best that he surrendered. It saves him from constant anxiety, and the city may find peace sooner. You!" She suddenly turned to Xia Shouzhong and ordered, "Go and serve the Emperor. If anything happens, send someone back to tell me immediately!"

"Yes... Your Majesty."

Xia Shouzhong looked at the Empress with caution, his heart heavy with a complex mix of emotions.

After leaving the Kunning Palace, just as he was about to head toward the Emperor, a young eunuch walked straight up to him. Xia Shouzhong stood his ground, staring at the boy. Given his status at the Empress's side, few in the palace dared to block his path.

"Gonggong," the young eunuch bowed and whispered, "I have a message for you."

Xia Shouzhong glanced around and said coldly, "Come with me."

The young eunuch followed, and after a while, he said, "King Qian has sent word: keep a close watch on the Emperor in the palace. If the Emperor dies, not a single eunuch in the palace will be spared."

"!!!"

The hair on the back of Xia Shouzhong's neck stood up, and he glared at the boy. The young eunuch dared not look up, shaking his head repeatedly to show he knew nothing else. King Qian was still outside the city, and the palace was still under the Emperor’s control. If these treasonous words were known, the Emperor would have him killed before King Qian even arrived.

"Very well."

Xia Shouzhong spoke. "Very well indeed. I understand. You may go, and do not speak of this to anyone."

"Yes, Gonggong!"

The young eunuch hurried away. Xia Shouzhong stood where he was, his mind fixated on one thing:

How was he to keep the Emperor alive?

It was truly absurd. Only days ago, the Emperor was the Son of Heaven, and now it fell to a mere eunuch to find a way to protect him!