Father and Son
The 29th day of the 12th lunar month in the second year of the Guangqi reign, the day before New Year's
The Forbidden City was shrouded in a solemn and busy atmosphere. Although national affairs were difficult and the borders were unrest, the palace's New Year ceremonies were not neglected, as if only these rules and pomp that had been passed down for hundreds of years could maintain the last dignity of the royal family.
In the western warm room of the Purple Palace, Emperor Guangqi Ning Yanli, dressed in casual clothes, performed the seal-sealing ceremony with a solemn expression.
The eunuch in front of the emperor carefully brought a golden basin. Emperor Guangqi placed the imperial brush in the water and gently stroked the tip of the brush with his fingertips, washing away all traces of ink from the past year, as if washing away the worries of the past year.
Afterwards, the chief minister of the cabinet and the eunuch in charge of the seal came forward respectfully, placed the cleaned imperial pen into a specially made nanmu box with dragon pattern, and sealed it with yellow silk.
Next is the jade seal with the inscription "The Emperor's Treasure of Heaven".
The heavy jade seal was brought to the table. Emperor Guangqi stretched out his hand and slowly stroked the cool and clear seal with his fingertips, feeling the dragon pattern on it.
He rubbed it for a long time, almost warming up the cold jade, and only at the eunuch's whispered reminder did he hesitantly let go of his hand.
Watching the jade seal being wrapped in yellow silk and sealed in a treasure box.
He kept his eyes on the treasure box for a long time until the eunuchs took it away and placed it in the back hall. Then he sighed softly, as if something important had been taken away from him, and he felt a little empty.
After the ceremony, there will be a holiday until the next year's seal is opened and all government affairs will come to a halt.
But the world is in turmoil, with powerful enemies all around and internal and external troubles. How can it be truly stopped by sealing it with a jade seal?
*
That night, there was a family dinner at Kunning Palace.
The hall was as warm as spring. The red candles on the gilded candlesticks were burning brightly, illuminating the table full of exquisite imperial meals. The bowls and plates were piled high, costing no less than a hundred gold coins.
The queen was dressed appropriately, with a dignified posture, and sat at the bottom.
Crown Prince Ning Chengze, wearing his small crown prince's uniform, sat between his parents.
Since Emperor Guangqi ascended the throne, strict rules have been set for such family banquets. People are not allowed to talk while eating or sleeping, and every move must conform to etiquette. The family has long lost the warmth of an ordinary family.
After all, the prince was still young and had not seen his father for a long time. Seeing that his father seemed to be in a good mood today, he forgot himself for a moment. After finishing his meal, he jumped off the chair and, like he did before in Prince Yong's Mansion, opened his arms and smiled and rushed towards Emperor Guangqi, seeking a hug.
"Father!"
Unexpectedly, Emperor Guangqi's face darkened, and he leaned back slightly to avoid his son's touch. He shouted sternly, "How disgraceful! You are the crown prince of the country, and your every move should be a model for the world. You are so playful and unruly. How can you be a crown prince at all? Withdraw."
The prince was frightened by the sudden shout. His face turned pale instantly. He stood there in a daze, his eyes quickly turning red, and he looked at his mother at a loss.
The queen felt a pain in her heart, as if she had been pricked by a needle.
The husband in front of her is no longer the Prince Yong who used to hold Ze'er and tease her and joke with her.
The throne wrapped him up layer by layer, isolating him from all human warmth. He was even a little afraid of this kind of intimacy, as if any expression of emotion would weaken his authority as an emperor.
She quickly stood up, bowed, and said in a gentle voice, "Your Majesty, please calm down. It was my fault for not teaching her well. From now on, I will strictly discipline Ze'er and make sure he observes the palace etiquette and never misbehave again."
As she spoke, she gently pulled her frightened son over and whispered, "Zer, quickly admit your mistake to your father."
The prince pursed his lips, holding back tears, and imitated his mother, his voice tinged with tears: "Your Highness, I know I was wrong. Please forgive me, Father."
Emperor Guangqi looked at the cautious mother and son in front of him, and his tense expression relaxed a little, with a hint of satisfaction flashing in his eyes. This was what he expected the Emperor, Empress and Crown Prince to be like.
What he needed were absolutely obedient subjects and legal heirs, not a wife and children who required his emotional response.
"Well, it's good that you admit your mistake. Sit down."
He spoke indifferently and picked up the silver chopsticks again.
The family dinner continued in silence.
After a long pause, the Empress put down the silver spoon and cautiously mentioned another traditional New Year tradition: "Your Majesty, tomorrow is New Year's Eve. According to ancestral customs, you must take Ze'er with you to pay your respects to the Emperor Retired, as a sign of filial piety, and pray for his good health and longevity."
Emperor Guangqi paused for a moment while holding the chopsticks.
Go see the emperor.
A strong resistance and irritation surged up from deep within his heart.
His father, the emperor, who was paralyzed by poison and imprisoned in the deep palace by his design, was the starting point of all his political schemes and the shadow that he was most unwilling to face in his heart.
But he couldn't refuse.
After all, filial piety is one of the means he relies on to maintain the legitimacy of his rule.
"I understand."
He responded expressionlessly, with no emotion in his voice.
*
On the morning of New Year's Eve, Emperor Guangqi brought the Crown Prince and the ceremonial guard and went to the Ningshou Palace where the retired emperor was recuperating.
The palace was deep and quiet, with only the sounds of wind and footsteps.
The furnishings here are still gorgeous, but they are filled with a heavy atmosphere of dusk and the smell of medicine.
Entering the inner hall, the light was dim.
Emperor Ning Zhen lay on the wide dragon bed, looking thinner than a year ago, with sunken eye sockets and a pale face. Only the faint rise and fall of his chest proved that he was still alive.
His eyes were open, but his gaze was empty, and he seemed to have no reaction to the outside world.
The Crown Prince often came with his mother and was no stranger to the Emperor. Although he was admonished by his father to be polite, he could not help but move closer and called out softly, "Emperor, Ze'er is here to see you. It's almost New Year's Day."
The emperor's eyes seemed to move slowly, but also seemed not to.
Emperor Guangqi stood a few steps away from the bed, watching all this coldly.
After the routine prayers were finished, the palace maids were asked to take the prince to a side hall to wait.
When only the father and son were left in the hall, the indifference on Emperor Guangqi's face gradually faded, replaced by an extremely complex emotion, a mixture of hatred, pride, fear, and a hint of grievance that even he himself was unwilling to admit.
He walked forward slowly, and finally, he lifted up the corner of his robe, knelt on the cold golden brick floor, and looked up at the speechless and motionless emperor lying on the bed.
"Father," he said in a low voice, carrying a complexity that had been suppressed for many years.
"Do you see? The one sitting on this dragon throne, ruling this vast country, is my son, Emperor Guangqi."
"Do you still remember my mother? The Defei you once loved for a moment? After she died, did you still have eyes for me, your son?"
"You gave all your love and expectations to the deposed crown prince and Ning Lingyi. They are the apple of your eye, the pearls in your palm! What about me? Who am I?"
"I work so hard, and I desperately want a word of praise from you, but you always just glance at me indifferently, as if everything I do is natural. You even treat me as a whetstone to sharpen the deposed crown prince."
"Have you ever thought about what would happen to me if the deposed crown prince ascended the throne? Do you care?"
His voice gradually became excited and filled with hatred: "You don't care, so I shouldn't hate you? How can I not hate you!"
"Now that the deposed crown prince is dead, I win! I'm the one sitting here!"
His voice seemed to be full of pride and anxiety, but he was forcibly suppressing it, and his face was slightly distorted.
"Are you heartbroken? Father, watching your beloved Crown Prince die in front of you, watching your most beloved daughter forced to flee the palace by me, isn't your heart like a knife piercing you?"
Hearing these words, two lines of turbid tears slowly slid down from the emperor's empty eyes, winding down along the wrinkles.
The emperor is still conscious and can hear it!
This discovery made Emperor Guangqi stunned at first, and then he burst into an almost insane pleasure. He laughed softly, and the laughter echoed in the empty bedroom, sounding particularly creepy.
"Hahaha, you can hear it! You can hear it! Good, very good!"
"Of course I want the throne!"
"Why is it that useless prince? Just because he is the legitimate son. Yes, he is the legitimate son, but he is dead. His body has rotted away and turned to ashes long ago."
"Look at this dragon robe. It makes me very satisfied when I wear it now."
"Father, you may not know this yet, but I have posthumously conferred upon my mother the title of Holy Mother Empress Dowager. You don't care about her, but I do!"
"I placed her tablet in the Imperial Ancestral Temple. I want the descendants of the Ning family to pay tribute to her forever!"
As he spoke, he seemed very satisfied and laughed again, but as he laughed, his voice became tired again.
"But why is it so difficult to sit on the throne?"
"Father, tell me, I have obtained the throne I have always dreamed of, but why can't I ever feel truly at ease for a single day?"
"I'm afraid. I'm afraid of losing it! Even more afraid than never having it at all! I hate everyone who covets this throne, everyone who questions me! The deposed crown prince is dead, and Ning Lingyi must die too! Everyone who stands in my way must die!"
"I know those ministers are pretending to obey but secretly disobeying. I know there are undercurrents at court right now, and I may not be able to defeat those entangled old foxes..."
"But it doesn't matter. I can endure it! Just like I endured for years before finally achieving my goal, I can endure it now! I will gradually eliminate all those who oppose me. I will wipe out the Western Qiang and crush the Northern Shuo! I will make history books clearly record that I, Emperor Guangqi, am the true sage and wise ruler of this world!"
"Father, you've been teaching the deposed crown prince how to be an emperor for over twenty years, but you've never taught me. But I don't care!"
"I won't let you die, Father. I want you to watch me do my best to be the emperor!"
After saying that, he stood up, no longer looking at his father who was crying silently on the bed, turned around and strode away.
The heavy palace door slowly closed behind him, separating the inside and the outside, and also separating the unbearable fate between father and son.
*
In the third year of Guangqi's reign, on the first day of the first lunar month, there was a great meeting.
Before dawn, all officials had already stood solemnly on the vast steps in front of the Purple Palace according to their rank. The wind was cold, the flags were fluttering, and the ceremonial guards were solemn.
The ceremony proceeded in order amid the solemn sound of bells and drums.
The first is the "opening ceremony" held in the Zichen Hall.
On the imperial desk, the Golden Cup of Eternal Peace, a symbol of the eternal stability of the country, had already been placed. The wine in the cup was called Tu Su. On the jade candlestick stand beside it, a huge candle called Yuzhu Changdiao had been lit.
Emperor Guangqi bathed, changed his clothes, burned incense and calmed his mind. Under the watchful eyes of the crowd, he first took a red brush, dipped it in cinnabar, and wrote the four words "Peace in the World" on yellow silk.
Afterwards, he led the royal family, nobles, and important civil and military officials to the Taimiao to offer sacrifices to the ancestors of heaven and earth, praying for peace and prosperity in the new year. Finally, he accepted congratulations from all officials in the Purple Palace.
The cheers of "Long live the emperor" surged like a tide, shaking the palace.
Emperor Guangqi sat high on the dragon throne, looking at his ministers crawling at his feet. He felt satisfied as the sun and the moon passed over his shoulders and the mountains and rivers were in his palms.
Unexpectedly, an official from the Imperial Censorate stepped out and said, "Your Majesty, I have a memorial to submit!"
"Your Majesty, there have been rumors in the capital lately that Your Majesty was able to ascend the throne because they promised us great benefits and ceded the three towns of Heshuo in exchange for their cavalry to come south and help Your Majesty accomplish his goals."
"I dare to ask Your Majesty, are these shocking claims just nonsense or are they true?"
This one sentence marked the beginning of the bloody three years of Guangqi.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
