Chapter 33: Audience with the Emperor

"Come here, what are you doing?"

Several personal guards followed Prince Qian. Seeing a few eunuchs cowering not far away, he called them over and ordered them to state their names and origins.

The eunuchs hurriedly knelt and kowtowed, stammering, "Your Highness Prince Qian, we serve the Old Saint in the Eastern Palace!"

"The Retired Emperor is in the Eastern Palace?"

Chu Yan did not care about their purpose. He issued a direct order: "Go and bring him here!"

The eunuchs raised their heads and exchanged glances, their faces full of hesitation.

Chu Yan said coldly, "Must I repeat myself? Or do you lack the men to break down the palace gates?"

His general, Xiahou Xin, drew his long sword, held it against a eunuch's neck, and barked, "His Highness ordered you to bring the old emperor here. Are you all mute? Go now, or be executed!"

The eunuchs scrambled to say, "Your Highness, the Chief Eunuch of the Daming Palace, Dai Quan, has blocked the Eastern Palace with a hundred men. We cannot get in, which is why we came to report!"

Chu Yan nodded. "So you lack the men. You, go gather some people to help you break down the door." He gestured toward the eunuchs outside the Hall of Supreme Harmony and asked, "Do you know where the Emperor is?"

"We only serve the Old Saint; we do not know the whereabouts of the Emperor," the eunuchs replied.

"Damn the 'Old Saint'! How dare they call him a saint in the presence of Prince Qian?" Ma Ji sneered. The eunuchs kowtowed once more, and Chu Yan waved them away.

Seeing a dozen generals surrounding the golden dais where the dragon throne sat—tapping the incense burners, bronze cranes, and bronze turtles while silently calculating the value of these treasures—Chu Yan walked onto the dais. He touched the dragon throne, looked up at the seven-paneled screen behind it, which was exquisitely carved with golden dragons, and beckoned them over. "Come and take a look."

The generals who had fought alongside him for the empire climbed onto the dais, touching and inspecting everything to their heart's content.

Chu Ming and Xu Zhiyi exchanged glances, stepped onto the dais, and quietly pulled away Xiahou Xin, who was about to sit on the dragon throne.

"Your Highness, look at this chair!" Xu Zhiyi pointed at the throne and smiled. "This is the seat of the Shun Dynasty Emperor. Try sitting on it to see if it fits. If not, we shall have a new one made!"

Chu Yan replied, "There is nothing ill-fitting about it; as long as it is large enough." Saying this, he sat down on the dragon throne.

Seeing him seated, Xu Zhiyi and Chu Ming immediately descended from the dais, knelt facing him, and kowtowed respectfully: "Your subjects pay homage to Your Majesty!"

The civil officials of the Prince Qian’s household realized what was happening and knelt as well.

The many generals on the dais, still clad in armor, seemed to awaken from a dream. They hurried down, surrounded the dais, and knelt on one knee according to military protocol, though, feeling it improper, they soon shifted to both knees.

Everyone in the Hall of Supreme Harmony, including the many personal guards of Prince Qian, knelt before Chu Yan on the dragon throne.

"Well played, Xu Zhiyi, you have used all your cunning here!" Chu Yan laughed, gestured to them, and said, "Everyone, rise."

The crowd stood up.

The generals who had touched the dragon throne earlier were blushing with embarrassment. Having lived and died alongside Prince Qian, they had not yet adapted to the relationship of sovereign and subject.

Chu Yan remarked, "It is said that a country cannot go a day without a ruler, yet today, it so happens that the world has no emperor. We have pulled the old emperor from his seat, and I, the new emperor, have yet to be formally enthroned."

"The world may be without an emperor, but we cannot be without our Great Prince," Chu Ming said respectfully, and the others voiced their agreement.

Before following Prince Qian, their lives had been far from ideal. Xu Zhiyi was a schoolteacher; Chu Ming was a scholar but had no money to purchase an official post; Ma Ji was a butcher; Xiahou Xin was a bandit in the mountains. Only Chang had a higher background as a member of a prominent family. It was only by following Prince Qian that they had earned merit and stood here as the founding heroes of a new dynasty.

Chu Yan smiled slightly, scanned them all, and said, "I have some heartfelt words I wish to share with you, but now is not the time. Once the capital is settled and we have chosen an auspicious day to offer sacrifices to Heaven and Earth in the southern suburbs, we shall talk by candlelight!"

The generals bowed.

Chu Yan did not ascend the throne immediately. Firstly, a date had to be chosen; secondly, stabilizing the capital was of greater importance. In an era of poor transportation, it made little difference whether the news of his enthronement reached the borders a few days early or late.

Seated on the dragon throne in the Hall of Supreme Harmony, he assigned tasks to his subordinates: securing the capital and the palace, ordering the drafting of notices to reassure the public, and dispatching men to guard the city's granaries, military supplies, and armories. He commanded the guard commander Zhou Kaiyue and several civil officials to inventory the national and imperial treasuries.

He further ordered the enclosure of the dozens of prince and duke mansions in the capital, demanding they vacate without taking valuables, and ordered the detention of the imperial clan members to await judgment. Additionally, he arranged for patrols to maintain order while preventing his own soldiers from looting and inciting civil unrest.

"Great Prince," Xu Zhiyi stepped forward and reported, "some nobles are leading armies abroad. If we raid their homes, I fear they may rely on their troops to defy us."

Chu Yan nodded. "Prepare a list for me, and we shall discuss who can be spared."

With the initial arrangements complete, more than half of those in the hall had dispersed. Just then, two eunuchs ran in, whispered to Xia Shouzhong and the other senior eunuchs standing at the entrance, causing their expressions to darken.

Chu Yan looked at them: "What is it? Come here and speak." His voice, carrying from the throne to the hall entrance, remained clear and distinct.

The eunuchs’ expressions changed. When the previous Yongning Emperor and the Retired Emperor held court, they never had such projection, often requiring the eunuchs to relay their words loudly.

"Your Highness!" Xia Shouzhong hurried over, knelt, and said urgently, "The former Shun Emperor is hiding in the Changchun Palace. He has barred the doors with timber, and we cannot break them down! We heard palace maids screaming inside that the Emperor intends to burn himself alive, so we came to report!"

Chu Ming and the others looked on with scrutiny. Li Changjin asked Xia Shouzhong sternly, "Are you trying to lure Prince Qian into the inner palace to ambush him with hidden troops?!"

Xia Shouzhong and the other eunuchs were terrified. They knelt and kowtowed repeatedly, swearing they had no such intentions and no loyalty to the former Shun Emperor.

Chu Yan stood up and said, "Very well, an emperor is still worth my personal effort to accept his surrender. I will take three hundred guards into the inner palace to see. You all go about your business; we will enter the palace again this evening... Xia Shouzhong, where did your emperor previously receive ministers?"

With three hundred fully armed guards, Chu Yan was more than capable of resisting an attack by two or three thousand eunuchs within the high walls of the inner palace. The thousands of eunuchs and maids in the inner palace could not all be fiercely loyal; if there were truly an ambush, someone would find a way to tip him off.

"Returning to Your Highness, in the Linjing Hall!" Xia Shouzhong replied hurriedly.

Chu Yan nodded and told Chu Ming and the others, "You may come to the Linjing Hall this evening. I am going to capture the Shun Emperor and his family."

Everyone in the hall bowed in submission; only Prince Qian dared to speak such words.

Chu Yan left the Hall of Supreme Harmony, selected three hundred guards, mounted his horse, and entered the Qianqing Gate under the guidance of Xia Shouzhong.

Xia Shouzhong glanced back at the three hundred murderous-looking guards and said to Chu Yan with a beaming smile, "Your Highness, behind this gate lies the Emperor's inner palace. Men are never allowed inside... I only mean, please do not be offended if the former Shun Emperor's concubines and young palace maids are frightened."

Chu Yan glanced at him, riding his horse, and said, "Once I see the Shun Emperor, I will deal with his concubines and princes. You will also have your arrangements."

"Yes, yes, Your Highness. If you go this way—the Changchun Palace is over here!"

Led by the eunuchs, Chu Yan arrived at the Western Six Palaces. In the distance, he saw a graceful young girl standing before a palace gate, accompanied by several maids.

Hearing the hoofbeats, she turned to look. Upon seeing Chu Yan and the three hundred armored guards, a look of terror appeared on her delicate, beautiful face, making her look quite pitiful.

"Who is she?" Chu Yan asked.

"Returning to Your Highness, she is the Retired Emperor's daughter, the Seventeenth Princess, titled Qinghe, with the given name Chen Yuzhen." Xia Shouzhong did not hesitate to reveal the princess's private name.

Chu Yan rode up to Princess Qinghe, studied her for a moment, and smiled. "A lovely name."

In an instant, a chill ran down Qinghe's spine.