CH 85: The Cui Manor

Cui Xiaojun did not have to go back to her maiden home to gather information. On the third day of the first month, the tactic used by the Grand Tutor Cui Hong against the Empress Dowager became public. As Yang Feng said, he had already made his move, it just hadn’t been recognized by outsiders at first.

Since the Empress Dowager’s older brother, Shang-guan Xu, had lost his position as the Grand Marshal of the Southern Army, he had been staying idle at home with the honorary title of General. Just before the new Emperor’s ascension, he was recommended for a new position by several officials.

Among those recommending him were both officials of the central government and local officials. It was hard to say who among them wanted to curry favor with the Empress Dowager and who were acting on the instruction of the Cui clan. Regardless, the recommendation memorials were delivered to the Hall of Diligent Administration through various channels. While not many, they were enough to draw the attention of the senior officials.

Han Ruzi saw these memorials in the court bulletin. He didn’t pay special attention, only looking at the response from the Hall of Diligent Administration, ie the Empress Dowager’s response. The Empress Dowager had rejected the first few memorials, but on the second day of the new Emperor’s reign, she agreed to the last one, appointing Shang-guan Xu as the Captain of the Guard, in charge of the imperial palace’s security.

Even after being betrayed by her own sister, the Empress Dowager had no choice but to trust her older brother. With a series of incidents happening within the palace, she couldn’t entrust its security to outsiders anymore.

Liu Kunsheng, who had only been Captain of the Guard for half a year, was transferred to be a Commandant of the Northern Army. His rank was raised by half, but it was a demotion in terms of prestige and importance.

Until this moment, not many people saw the intention behind these memorials. Perhaps even the Empress Dowager herself hadn’t figured it out.

Like most people, Han Ruzi thought that these recommendations came from the Empress Dowager’s instructions or tacit approval.

On the third day of the first month, the true intention of recommending Shang-guan Xu was revealed. An official of the fifth rank from the Imperial Censorate submitted a memorial, first praising the Empress Dowager’s correct choice, as there were precedents of Imperial In-laws being appointed as the Captain of the Guard. Then, he bluntly pointed out a problem: the Empress Dowager’s brother, Shang-guan Xu, was ennobled, while the current Emperor’s maternal uncles were still stuck in the humid southern regions. This was unfair, and they should be immediately transferred back to the Capital.

The new Emperor Han Xu was born into great adversity, his parents both deceased, and his maternal uncles of the Wu clan were demoted to the south. They had not been in contact for many years, and now they were being remembered.

This memorial hadn’t been published in the court bulletin yet. That evening, Yang Feng brought back a copy of the memorial and said to the Weary Marquis, “This is Cui Hong’s masterstroke.”

“Cui Hong wants to use the new Emperor’s uncles to confront the Empress Dowager?” This was Han Ruzi’s first reaction.

Yang Feng shook his head, “The Wu clan has been away from the Capital for too long. They have no base in the court. Even if they come back, they will not pose much of a threat to the Empress Dowager.”

Yang Feng was not going to reveal the answer directly, so Han Ruzi could only continue thinking. After a while, he finally understood, “The real meaning of this memorial is to announce to the world that Shang-guan Xu is not the new Emperor’s uncle!”

Yang Feng nodded.

“Prince Donghai and I are sons of the Graceful Emperor, so it’s entirely correct for us to honor the Empress Dowager as mother. However, the new Emperor is the orphan of Crown Prince Yong, and has no relation to the Empress Dowager. Everyone is aware of this, but no one dares to break the silence. This memorial has started it. Once the Wu clan returns to the capital, the wind direction will be even more unfavorable for the Empress Dowager.”

“Correct, so the Empress Dowager must retaliate. Think about what the Empress Dowager will do?” Yang Feng posed a new question.

“Refuse the Wu clan’s return to the capital? Punish the officials who submitted the memorial?”

“If the Empress Dowager held undisputed power, she might do so. But she is currently seeking the support of senior officials, and the officials must stand on the side of rites and decorum.”

“Rites? Decorum?'”

“The ruler acts as a ruler; a subject acts as a subject; the father acts as a fathers; a son acts as a son. Confucian rites and decorum dictate what people of various status should and should not do. Among all, the officials care about Confucian rites and decorum the most. They use it to control the common people below them, and use it to restrain the sovereign who stands above them.

“But don’t the officials also have to follow rites and decorum?”

“Of course, but what they gain is far more than what they give. Emperors tend to be unwilling to follow rites and decorum. As supreme rulers, decorum demands too much from them. They would have to be saintly sages, and emperors do not want to be saintly sages. Commoners are also reluctant to follow rites and decorum. As inferiors, rites and decorum for them is more about obedience and giving, with little to gain.”

“Rites and decorum rely on precedent.” Han Ruzi murmured, recalling that the Grand Consort had once said that precedent was the strongest power in the court, and that sometimes even the emperor cannot break through it.

“You could say that. In any case, the Empress Dowager cannot directly reject the proposal. Just wait, in a few days there will be more such memorials. There is a group of people in the court whose determination to maintain decorum is even stronger than the soldiers guarding the borders. They cannot be bought, but they can be unwittingly used.”

“So, the Empress Dowager promoting Yuan Jiuding as the Minister of Rites and Decorum was to prepare for this day?”

“The Empress Dowager might not have been able to anticipate Cui clan’s move, but she knew that her position was in many ways inconsistent with rites and decorum, so she wanted to rely on Yuan Jiuding’s support.”

The struggle between the Empress Dowager and Cui Hong had just begun, with only vanguards being dispatched from both sides. The generals hadn’t yet made their moves, and many spectators hadn’t even noticed that the battle had been ignited.

Han Ruzi only needed to watch from the sidelines, but he had to visit the Cui family’s residence.

He had agreed to let Cui Xiaojun go home to visit her family. The Lady of the Weary Marquis was not an ordinary woman, she couldn’t just say she was going home. It had to be reported in advance, not only to the Cui clan but also to the Ministry of Rites and Decorum, to ensure the proper ceremonies were adhered to.

Looking back, Han Ruzi realized that he had been bound by rites and decorum since the moment he entered the palace. He originally thought that all this was directed by the Empress Dowager, but in reality, the Empress Dowager was just making use of existing conventions to her own advantage.

The Cui clan replied, welcoming their daughter to visit home, and also invited the Weary Marquis.

Logically speaking, this was also part of the expected ritual, but Han Ruzi was still surprised. He ultimately accepted the invitation, wanting to see how the Cui family would treat him, the disgraced son-in-law, former emperor. Moreover, Cui Xiaojun also hoped to return home with her husband.

On the afternoon of the seventh day of the first month, the Weary Marquis and his wife visited the Cui clan’s manor. During the previous few days, memorials advocating for the Imperial In-law, Lady Wu, began to pile up in the Hall of Diligent Administration, all unanswered.

The visiting etiquette of the Weary Marquis was carefully designed by both the Bureau of Imperial Clan Affairs and the Ministry of Rites and Decorum. Since Grand Tutor Cui Hong was not at home, it eliminated some of the ceremonial complications. Cui Hong’s eldest son, Cui Sheng, and his wife welcomed the couple outside the main gate. They led them into the antechamber, exchanged formal greetings, then went to the main hall to serve tea. After a few pleasantries, Cui Sheng’s wife invited the wife of the Weary Marquis to visit her grandmother in the inner residence.

The formal ceremonies ended here.

Cui Xiaojun went to the inner residence to meet with her female relatives. There, without the supervision of the decorum official, they could freely express their heartfelt feelings to each other. Han Ruzi, however, stayed in the main hall, drinking tea with his head bowed. Occasionally he would raise his head and make eye contact with Cui Sheng. Even though the decorum official had been invited out of the room for a drink, the two men still had nothing to say.

Han Ruzi was relieved that he did not have to meet the elder matriarch of the Cui clan. The image of the old woman’s hysterical fits upon her visits was deeply ingrained in his mind. Even though Lady Cui always said her grandmother was not so bad, he couldn’t change his impression.

As for Cui Sheng, he was the one who had anxiously run to ask his grandmother for help, panicking before inquiring more about the matter at hand at the time.

Today’s Cui Sheng seemed more steady, but a bit distracted. From time to time he would yawn, as if he hadn’t gotten enough sleep.

Han Ruzi finally understood what it meant to feel like each day was dragging on for a year. When discussing current affairs with Yang Feng in the study, he did not feel tired all day long. Even the daily horse-stance training, he was getting accustomed to it and was able to persist in one go. But sitting in the spacious main hall of the Cui clan’s manor, sipping the supposedly very expensive top-quality tea, he felt uncomfortable in less than half an hour.

“Is the Marquis’ manor… not as big as the palace?” Cui Sheng finally managed to blurt out a sentence.

Han Ruzi nodded, unable to muster a verbal response.

Cui Sheng also felt embarrassed, he chuckled awkwardly twice and lowered his head to drink his tea.

Footsteps sounded at the entrance, a person walked in, strode directly up to the Weary Marquis, and rudely sized him up.

Cui Sheng seemed relieved, immediately got up, affectionately hugged the newcomer’s shoulder, and introduced, “Lord Marquis, this is my second younger brother, Cui Teng. You two are about the same age, get to know each other.”

Cui Teng was fifteen or sixteen, his face still bore a lot of youthful innocence. He was half a head taller than his older brother, his body round and plump, not exactly fat nor muscular, just evenly distributed flesh, like an oversized baby.

Han Ruzi stood up and was just about to speak when Cui Teng stretched out his hand and pushed him back into the chair, saying, “Give me back my sister.”

Han Ruzi finally realized the benefit of etiquette and convention. However, since the decorum official was not present, he could only figure out how to handle this awkward situation himself. So he sat there, smiling, and said, “Your sister is in the back courtyard, visiting with Elder Laojun…”

“I’ve seen her already, I asked her to stay here, but she disagreed and insisted on leaving with you,” Cui Teng said angrily. His face turned red, like a ripe apple. It would have been a pleasing color, but on the face of a teenager, it seemed somewhat odd.

Han Ruzi was genuinely worried that Cui Teng would spit on him.

Cui Sheng hurriedly pulled his brother aside, “Our sister is married, she’s not a part of the Cui family anymore. I’ve never seen you care so much about her before.”

“What I care about isn’t her, it’s Prince Donghai. Now that sister has gone with him, Prince Donghai…”

Cui Sheng angrily interrupted, “Second brother, what kind of talk is that? This is not proper!”

“How is it not proper? He is a deposed emperor, why are we still appeasing him? When our father leads the troops…”

Cui Sheng reached out to cover his brother’s mouth, Cui Teng resisted, and the two started to scuffle in front of their guest. Two servants at the door were now looking down, pretending they couldn’t see or hear.

Cui Xiaojun had once said that everyone in her family was unseemly, with only her father striving hard to hold everything together. Han Ruzi now finally understood what she meant. No wonder Cui Hong admired his nephew, Prince Donghai, so much.

Cui Teng backed off a few steps, “Big brother, don’t stop me, I’m not here to fight.”

“Go, go find your good-for-nothing friends and play,” Cui Sheng said impatiently.

Cui Teng stared at the Weary Marquis, “Let’s roll a dice. If you win, I won’t say a word. If you lose, leave my sister here.”

Cui Sheng’s face turned even redder with anger than his brother’s, he pushed him towards the door, “Go on, you worthless fellow, how dare you stake our sister in a bet!”

Cui Teng was pushed out, Cui Sheng sternly told the two servants, “Don’t let him in again, he’s disgracing our family!”

The servants responded, but they knew very well that they couldn’t stop the wild young master of their household.

“Marquis, please forgive my younger brother. He’s been spoiled since he was a child and still has the temperament of a child even in his teens. Once you get to know him better, you’ll see that he is a good person. He even has more friends outside than I do. Everyone says he is generous and has a spirit of justice, that he could become a great hero in the future.”

Han Ruzi managed a non-committal smile. Going by Yang Feng’s classification, Cui Teng could at most be considered a strongman relying on his status to bully others.

Just when they were about to lapse into another round of endless silence, a man rushed in from outside. He was almost stopped by the servants at the door, who initially mistook him for the young master. When they realized that he was an official sent from the Bureau of Imperial Clan Affairs, they quickly stepped aside.

The decorum official, having just drunk a few cups of hot wine and being anxious, rushed in with a flushed face, forgetting basic etiquette, and directly said, “The Empress Dowager urgently summons you, Lord Marquis. She has ordered you to enter the palace immediately.”