Chapter 30: Creative Pressures for Progeny

Once these words were spoken, everyone fell silent. It was a fact that the Emperor had no heirs, but it was hardly a reasonable basis for Empress Dowager Wen to refuse to return power to the throne. Yet, when such an unreasonable statement was delivered in a pitiful, plaintive tone by the usually formidable Empress Dowager, the courtiers were momentarily stunned, unable to find the words to argue back.

Striking while the iron was hot, Empress Dowager Wen continued in the gentle tone of a loving mother. "I am not a woman greedy for power. It is simply that the Emperor’s succession is of the utmost importance. Once the Emperor has an heir, I shall certainly return governance to him, content to spend my days playing with my grandchildren, and I will never again interfere in court affairs."

Having said this, she did not wait for the courtiers to respond. "Very well, let the matter be settled thus. As for the other impeachment petitions, I shall review them one by one after I have consulted with the Emperor."

The courtiers looked at one another in dismay. Was that it? If the Emperor had a child, the Empress Dowager would return power? Was this just a clever way to pressure him into procreation? And what about the main event—the protests where officials would threaten to bash their heads against the pillars? The grand debate over the restoration of imperial authority, which should have been a firestorm of controversy, ended as quietly and absurdly as a joke, reduced to nothing more than a lecture on family planning.

***

"Your Majesty, that old wretch Gu is truly hateful. If not for him, the issue of returning power wouldn't be brought up every single year," Shaoyin said, her anger boiling over. Having served Empress Dowager Wen for many years, she had watched her transform from a beautiful woman into one whose hair was now streaked with gray. To see her attacked by courtiers for her dedication to the nation made Shaoyin feel that the Empress Dowager was being deeply wronged.

The Empress Dowager, however, was not particularly angry. She smiled with a look of disdain. "Old man Gu is a pedantic scholar. He is rigid and famously harsh toward women, treating the *Book of Women* and *Admonitions for Women* as the ultimate guides for female conduct. Hmph," she scoffed. "Does he think I don’t know about the sordid affairs within his own family? Any one of them, if dragged into the light, would be enough to make the world laugh."

"Your Majesty, Grand Tutor Gu did not succeed in his petition today, and he will surely not let the matter rest," Shaoyin whispered.

"He is indeed a nuisance. He has opposed me for ten years. I have been too lenient with him; it is time he made room for someone else." The Empress Dowager narrowed her eyes, gazing at the azure sky framed by the high red walls.

Shaoyin hesitated, then leaned in to advise, "Your Majesty, you have poured your heart and blood into the Great Yu, only to bear an undeserved reputation for wickedness. If Empress Wu could once ascend the throne as Emperor, why should you not do the same?"

"Insolent!" Empress Dowager Wen snapped, her voice cold with intimidation. "Who gave you the audacity to spout such nonsense in my presence!"

Shaoyin fell to her knees with a heavy thud, slapping her own face repeatedly. "Your Majesty, this servant knows she was wrong! I only felt pained for you; I felt you were wronged. I know my sin, please, I beg for mercy!"

The Empress Dowager shot her a fierce, chilling look. "In consideration of your years of loyal service and lack of prior mistakes, I shall spare you this time. Kneel here for six hours. If you err again, I shall have your head."

Shaoyin collapsed onto the floor. As she watched the Empress Dowager walk away, a flicker of deep-seated malice crossed her tear-streaked face.

***

Shortly after the court session, as the officials were still reeling from the shock and the lingering, shamed anger at having been dismissed so easily, they remained unaware that a piece of doggerel verse was spreading silently among the common people.

*"The Wen beauty is a wolf in disguise,*
*Killing the mother, stealing the child, a cruel, brazen prize.*
*Twenty-three years of injustice and pain,*
*When will the soul find peace, and truth break the chain?"*

It seemed that overnight, the children in the streets of Bianliang were singing this rhyme. When asked what it meant, they would shake their heads, knowing only that the rhythm was catchy and easy to sing. If asked who taught it to them or where it started, they knew nothing at all.

At the same time, a folk novella titled *The Pearl Covered in Dust* became a city-wide sensation. Even Song Shiyu, who had been elusive of late, brought a copy back to provide some entertainment for Li Yunnuan.

During dinner, Li Xubai flipped through the pages. The title sounded like a typical, old-fashioned tale of domestic intrigue and "swapped daughters," but the story actually concerned a merchant family’s scheme to steal a child to claim an inheritance. It felt strangely familiar, though he could not recall where he had heard such a story before.

"Sister-in-law, this story doesn't seem finished," Li Yunnuan said, thoroughly engrossed. She had spent the entire afternoon reading it and was left wanting more.

Song Shiyu nodded. "It is incomplete. They say this is just the first volume; the second is currently being printed. Once it’s in the bookstores, I’ll buy it for you."

Li Yunnuan remained lost in the plot, worried about the fate of the characters. "Sister-in-law, do you think the young master will ever be reunited with his true mother? Can a civet cat really be used to swap a newborn baby?"

A civet cat? Li Xubai suddenly remembered something and blurted out, "Is this story about the 'Civet Cat Swaps the Prince'?"

"What Prince? It’s a young master!" Song Shiyu exclaimed, startled. "Do you want to lose your head for gossiping about the imperial palace?"

"We’re in our own home," Li Xubai said dismissively. "I’ve heard of a play quite like this, though in that version, it’s not a young master, but the Crown Prince who is swapped."

At this, everyone’s interest was piqued. Forgetting the walls might have ears, they pressed Li Xubai for the details.

Li Xubai thought for a moment. "It’s said the Emperor had no sons and declared that whichever consort bore a son first would be made Empress, and that child would be the Crown Prince. Two consorts became pregnant at the same time. One went into labor early, and the other swapped her child with a civet cat. The mother was executed as a monster. Later, the other consort's son died, so she raised the boy swapped by the cat as her own, and he became the Crown Prince and eventually the Emperor."

"And later? Did the young Emperor ever find out who his true mother was?" Li Yunnuan asked.

"He did, but by then his mother was already dead. It was too late," Li Xubai replied.

Li Xuzhang looked saddened. "The tree wants to remain still, but the wind will not cease; the child wishes to care for his parents, but they are gone. That young Emperor was truly pitiful."

"Wait," Song Shiyu’s expression shifted. She asked Li Yunnuan sternly, "What was that rhyme you said the children were singing?"

Li Yunnuan repeated it, confused. "Sister-in-law, what’s wrong?"

Song Shiyu clenched her fists tightly and whispered, "The current Empress Dowager’s surname is Wen. Her given name is Jiao'e."

"No, that can't be!" Li Xubai shook his head repeatedly, rejecting the implication. "It’s impossible. The 'Civet Cat' story is just a play. The palace is guarded so strictly; who could possibly steal an imperial prince? It’s impossible!"

Song Shiyu was not so optimistic. The mystery that had baffled her in her previous life suddenly cleared. Without realizing her voice was trembling, she said, "Swapping a prince with a civet cat is indeed impossible. But if... if the Emperor himself had acquiesced, Empress Dowager Wen could certainly have snatched a child."

The group stared at each other in silence.

Li Xubai leaned back, saying lightly, "Even if she snatched one child, or even eight or ten, what does that have to do with us? Shouldn't we just eat, drink, and not let such things weigh on our hearts?"

"You don't know what you're talking about!" Song Shiyu snapped, suddenly furious. She stood up abruptly and rushed out into the vast, dark night.