Imperial Uncle Chapter 4

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As the situation has already collapsed into a complete shambles, I let out a long sigh. “Fine. Princess Huai, you’ve already made your scene, and whatever you wanted people to know, they now know. Let’s call it a day for the time being.” I call for guards, and have them take Princess Huai and He Zhong away, locking them into separate meditation rooms.

Princess Huai keeps struggling as she’s being dragged away, giving me a loud tongue-las.h.i.+ng as she goes; some time after they have dragged her off, her voice is still coiling around the rafters.

Yun Yu turns the lid of his cup. “What are the chances of such a lucky coincidence? I never imagined that taking Censor He here to visit you would allow us to witness a once in a lifetime spectacle.”

Minor censor He trembles without a word.

Yun Yu smiles at him. “You don’t need to be scared. You and I saw something we shouldn’t have seen; consider it an eye-opener. Even if Prince Huai wants to do away with all the witnesses to keep this quiet, there are so many people here including me to keep you company, don’t you think?”

Keep this quiet — who could manage to keep everyone quiet?

In all likelihood not a half day will pa.s.s before [my](# “this prince’s) reputation of being the biggest cuckold of all time will spread throughout the entire capital.

Yun Yu takes another sip of his tea. He clicks his tongue. "From what I saw of that young scholar He Zhong earlier, he looks rather delicate. Your taste is leaning more and more toward the plainer fare of late.”

There is a bitterness in my mouth. I feel disinclined to explain myself.

Even if I did explain, who’d believe me? When it comes to my reputation, my explanations have always fallen on deaf ears.

Though it’s true I cut my sleeve, I’ve only ever done so in the pleasure quarters; never have I trespa.s.sed on the unsullied. Two months ago, when it was still winter, this scholar He Zhong was selling calligraphy in the streets, and he’d pa.s.sed out from hunger. In a fit of kindness I took him in and had him a.s.signed some work to do with our bookkeeping. I merely regarded it as a simple good turn to accrue karma, and after all this time I had nearly forgotten all about him. Who could have known that Princess Huai would jump to such conclusions?

In this, I suppose I’m the one who caused him trouble.

Furthermore, I really can’t believe that he could become Princess Huai’s lover, even going so far as to become a father.

Yun Yu sets down his tea cup and rises to go. “Prince Huai, if you’re not going to do away with Censor He and I, then I’m afraid we must be on our way.”

I squeeze out a smile. “I’ve given the two of you plenty to laugh about today, do forgive me for not seeing you out.”

Yun Yu cups his hands1 in parting, and exits unhurriedly with minor censor He. As I sit in my chair, I’m suddenly overcome with a desire for someone to knock me out with a stick.

All the servants and maids are furtively sending me pitiful and inquisitive looks. In the end it’s Zhang Xiao, the oldest steward employed in my estate, who cautiously says to me, “Your highness, about the princess …”

I press my fingers to my temples. “Keep the news from spreading for now. Get a doctor to examine her pulse2 first.”

It seems Princess Huai’s pulse is indeed a joyful one. She’s probably been pregnant for nearly two months.

This child could be anyone’s but mine. Two months happen to match the time frame of He Zhong moving into my estate as well.

The news spreads even faster than I thought it would. It’s only afternoon when a eunuch comes calling with his majesty’s verbal instructions: a summons for me.

Amid the imperial garden, green leaves cast shade and fresh flowers vie for beauty. I step onto the sinuous gallery3; the koi in the pond beneath my feet are accustomed to people feeding them, and as soon as they catch the slightest hint of a silhouette, they happily school themselves into the same place, forming a riot of red to trail the shadow on the pond.

At the end of the gallery, I make a turn past two groups of flowering shrubs and an unusual rock formation. In the palace hall with the door ajar, a figure clad in bright yellow is writing, scroll in hand. After the eunuch announces me and I’m given leave to enter, I step into the hall and kneel before the desk with due ceremony. The bright yellow sleeve s.h.i.+fts, setting down brush and scroll. “You’re here, uncle. Do rise at once, there’s no need for all this formality.”

His majesty hasn’t called me uncle much in recent years; he usually calls me Prince Huai, perhaps Chengjun. Every time he starts calling me uncle again I feel my heart leap to my mouth, since nothing good ever follows.

Sure enough, I rise to find the brows of my emperor cousin nephew lightly furrowed, his imperial countenance full of concern. “I have just received news that a familial rift has been troubling your estate. Is it true?”

“It’s not so bad as to be called a familial rift, just some sundry trifles hardly worth mentioning.”

Qizhe’s brows unfurrow somewhat. Half leaning on the Dragon Throne, he asks, “What do you plan to do with her?”

The empress dowager acted as a matchmaker for this princess of mine, while the emperor officiated our wedding. If I must punish her, then I probably ought to think of these two and send them a note.

So I tell him, “This is a family scandal and I would rather settle it behind closed doors, and I desire time to thoroughly investigate this affair in the estate before considering what comes after.”

Qizhe picks up a memorial before him and flips through its folds. “Since you wish to settle things behind closed doors, I will ask the Ministry of the Imperial Clan to stay out of things for the time being. I heard Princess Huai has already confessed to everything. Do you need to investigate this anew?”

“Even though that is what she claims, ultimately the facts should still be examined. One must not wrongfully accuse the innocent relying on a one-sided story.”

Qizhe closes the memorial. “This ‘one-sided story’ you speak of must be referring to the princess’s claims. Then who would be this 'innocent’?”

“Princess Huai, He Zhong, and all those connected to this, must … be investigated prudently. I believe they must not be wrongfully accused.”

Memorial in hand, Qizhe says, “Oh, so that other relevant person is named He Zhong.” Then a spurious smile seem to appear with a lift at the corner of his mouth. “Uncle, next time you bring someone home, you should be more cautious.”

I sigh inwardly, unable to explain, therefore I do not.

Bowing, I reply, “As your majesty commands, I will make sure to be cautious from now on.”

Qizhe tosses the memorial back onto his desk. “That will do. Since you must still conduct an investigation, you had better return to your estate.”

I kneel with deference to take my leave before retreating outside the palace hall.

Along the gallery, Yun Yu and someone else are walking towards the palace hall, and we come face to face with each other midway.

Yun Yu is smiling. “Seems his majesty’s found out about this real quickly. Your highness, let me declare my innocence — I wasn’t the one who told him. But allow me to speak out of turn once more, you should consider altering your rakish behaviours. To be sure, you can’t trust women, but from the look of this, you can’t trust men either.” Grinning, he shoots a glance at the man beside him. “Chancellor Liu, do you agree?”

I take one look at the man beside Yun Yu, and a bitter laugh escapes me. “Chief Yun, then you shouldn’t be sprinkling salt on my wounds. Chancellor Liu is a man of upright character. Naturally it would be unsuitable for him to say anything about such an affair. Why must you drag someone else into the mire?”

Though Yun Yu is ever caustic, he knows when to stop, so the back and forth comes to a halt here. A few more casual words are exchanged before each of us say our goodbyes.

The man next to him gives me a shallow bow. “We must be going, your highness.”

I nod, returning the courtesy. “Please go ahead, Chancellor Liu.”

As I stare after that ink-blue figure as he retreats to the other end of the gallery with Yun Yu, all kinds of feelings mingle in my heart, yet I cannot help wanting to take just one more glance.

Everyone knows that I, Prince Wei, Jing Weiyi, wear a cut sleeve.

Truthfully, in the beginning it was just an act. My sleeve wasn’t really cut.

Back then I was thinking that it must be exhausting for the empress and my emperor nephew to worry about me so. In the best case scenario, if I were to have progeny, he’d only end up in about the same situation.

Therefore, why not simply let the Prince Huai t.i.tle end in my generation? And so I played at preferring men, to calm the empress and his majesty’s heart.

Tell a lie enough, and you’ll start believing in it yourself. Pretend to have a cut sleeve often enough, and you’ll really have a cut sleeve before you know it.

By the time I realised the act had become the truth, this problem of mine was already irreversible.

I don’t know when it started. At some point someone had become ensconced in my heart. Try as I might I could not erase him.

Stay in the dark too long, and you’d grow fond of the light.

Only ever given leave to have what’s sweet, you’d keep thinking about what’s savoury.

I think, at first, maybe it was just for those reasons that I fell for this person.

I am the imperial court’s biggest cancer, yet he is the most devoted official of this dynasty since Li Yue — another pure pillar of strength standing in surging, silted waters.

Whether in the government or out among the people, he’ll always be the wise chancellor everyone speaks of. Whenever I get to see him, the only address he’ll ever use for me is your highness, and I can only call him Chancellor Liu, nothing more.

Even though I have already read his name and his courtesy name aloud in my heart countless times.

When will the day come that I can address him so amid shared conversation and laughter together?

Tongyi. Liu Yongyi.

Ransi4.

The traditional greeting , which is just cupping of one’s hands and a nod. ↩︎

In Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), a pulse’s rhythm can help a doctor diagnose everything. ↩︎

There are many types of hallways ／ 廊, and for the most part I’m using 'gallery’ since all of them will be covered, and connect one point to another. You can find some cross section diagrams at this . ↩︎

柳桐倚 ／ Liu Tongyi. 然思 ／ Ransi. His surname means willow, and the first name is to lean on a paulownia, or alternatively to rely on a pawlownia. The courtesy name Ransi could be interpreted as upright thoughts. This will all matter later. ↩︎