Chapter Seventy-Nine: The Campaign for Yanyi (Part Three)

Page 1 of 3
Daming Palace, Hall of Cherished Joy.

The spring night was fleeting. Empress Wu rose languidly from her bed while Xue Huaiyi knelt at her feet to help her put on her shoes, his movements gentle to the extreme. He stared at her elegant feet beneath her skirt, eyes burning with desire.

"Go and call for breakfast," Empress Wu said softly, raising her foot and giving Xue Huaiyi a light kick to the forehead. His strength depleted and his posture unsteady, he tumbled to the floor like a rolling gourd.

With a mocking snort, Empress Wu turned and swept out of her chambers, her bearing both regal and ethereal.

Xue Huaiyi clutched his waist and massaged it for a long while, desolate and sorrowful. Time waits for no one; the Empress seemed ageless, but he himself was worn in both body and spirit, no longer able to keep pace.

Outside the hall, the court ladies Shangguan Wan’er and Xie Yaohuan, together with the assembled maidservants, had been waiting for some time. As soon as Empress Wu appeared, they hurried forward to assist: dressing her, washing, arranging her hair, and touching up her makeup. Their hands moved in seamless coordination—appearing chaotic, but in reality never interfering with each other. In no time, Empress Wu was radiant, her presence dazzling.

By now, Xue Huaiyi had brought in the breakfast. The Empress was of robust appetite and health, and she ate heartily: a full dish of dried red worms as the main course, two delicate flower-patterned rice cakes for dessert, and a bowl of taro soup before finally laying down her chopsticks and rinsing her mouth.

"Wan’er, bring me the memorials. The rest of you may withdraw," Empress Wu said, waving Xue Huaiyi and the others away.

The maids withdrew softly, like drifting clouds. But Xue Huaiyi lingered, bowing low. "Your Majesty, I have another matter to report. Quan Ce, Assistant Minister at the Office of State Ceremonies—"

Empress Wu cut him off coldly. "Leave."

Xue Huaiyi fell silent at once, swallowed, and retreated obediently from the Hall of Cherished Joy.

Seeing the Empress’s mood, Shangguan Wan’er immediately abandoned her intention to speak on Quan Ce’s behalf. She presented the memorials, sorted by category, leaving those concerning Quan Ce until the end.

Unexpectedly, Empress Wu asked first, "Where are the memorials regarding Quan Ce? Bring them here for my review."

Surprised but swift, Shangguan Wan’er handed her a stack of memorials.

Empress Wu perused them with keen interest, her brows dancing. Some memorials impeached Quan Ce for feigned suffering and plotting treachery; others called for a thorough investigation to uncover the truth; still others accused Wu Yanyi of outrageous misconduct and abuse of power. Each waxed eloquent, citing the classics, but none escaped the circle of unclear facts—making much of rumor and fragmentary evidence, almost laughable in their grasping.

As she read, Empress Wu’s smile faded. There were simply too many memorials condemning Wu Yanyi, page after page. Even the Deputy Commander of the Imperial Cavalry had submitted one, accusing Wu Yanyi—his direct superior—of lax discipline, abuse of colleagues, and rampant cruelty.

Her face darkened as she read on. The next memorials were from members of the Wu clan: the newly promoted Minister of Rites, Wu Youxu, accused Wu Yanyi of flouting law and hierarchy and disgracing the family name; the Minister of Land, Wu Youji, accused him of wanton tyranny and disregarding the decorum of the court and clan.

These two, it seemed, knew some inside story—likely after consulting with Quan Ce.

Page 2 of 3

The same dismissive snort, but now cold as ice. Empress Wu flipped through a few more memorials, found nothing urgent, and instructed Shangguan Wan’er and Xie Yaohuan to handle them for now; she would read them later.

She walked to the window and gazed across the Taiye Pool behind the Hall of Purple Radiance. A chilly wind lifted her lavender shawl, her slender fingers ceaselessly twisting the fabric, shadows flickering in her eyes.

Wu Yanyi had chosen this moment to cause a scandal, igniting heated debate at court—a grievous offense. But Quan Ce, retreating to advance, had ensnared Wu Yanyi, causing seditious elements at court to resurface and even drawing in two Wu clansmen as cover. Such calculating maneuvering was equally infuriating—if not more so—than Wu Yanyi’s recklessness.

Empress Wu frowned in thought for some time before a cold, mocking smile appeared on her lips.

"Deliver my decree: summon the Grand Chancellors of the Secretariat, Duke Wu Chengsi, the judiciary from the Ministry of Justice, the Court of Judicial Review, and the Censorate, as well as Quan Ce, Wu Yanyi, and the others to audience."

A string of blue-robed eunuchs sped off, each carrying orders to government offices and mansions across the capital.

"Are they all assembled?" Empress Wu stood at the balustrade. The assembled ministers did not dare enter the hall; they lined up in two rows along the Dragon’s Tail Path, bowing low. Without turning, her voice, cold and cutting as the wind, lashed out. "Wu Yanyi, kneel."

Wu Yanyi stepped forward obediently, knelt, and trembled.

"The Imperial Cavalry of the North is my personal guard. Who gave you the authority to move them at your whim?"

"I am guilty, Imperial Aunt..." Wu Yanyi stammered in terror, using a familial title.

A sharp slap rang out—Empress Wu herself struck him, sending him reeling with a crimson handprint on his cheek.

"The Princess Yiyang’s residence is a royal household. Without my decree, who gave you leave to attack it?"

Another heavy slap landed on the other side of his face.

"Let this be a lesson. Next time, I will not raise my hand—axes and blades shall fall, and there will be no mercy."

"Thank you, Your Majesty, for your boundless grace!" Wu Yanyi kowtowed, his forehead thudding hard against the dragon-engraved floor.

Empress Wu cast him a cool glance. "Enough, rise. Now, before the assembled ministers, tell me: On what grounds did you arrest the servants of Quan Ce’s household? What evidence of crime?"

Wu Yanyi’s face was streaked with blood, but he answered excitedly, "I have proof! The maid Shuang Li in Quan Ce’s household is a descendant of the traitor Chu Suiliang. Quan Ce harbored the offspring of a criminal, plotting rebellion!"

He then presented a series of documents tracing Shuang Li’s lineage: from Chu Suiliang’s exile, the sale of his family to the Entertainment Bureau, to the mysterious rescue and her eventual placement in Princess Yiyang’s household. The entire sequence was clear, with witnesses and evidence—though it conspicuously omitted the Empress’s own command placing Shuang Li there.

Page 3 of 3

Quan Ce tensed. If Wu Yanyi was investigating so thoroughly, he would not have missed such a crucial detail—unless...

"Quan Ce, are you aware of your crime?" Empress Wu, busy reviewing the memorials annotated by Shangguan Wan’er, marked them idly, barely paying attention. The moment Wu Yanyi finished, she asked directly for his confession.

"I am aware of my crime," Quan Ce admitted crisply, saying nothing more.

Wu Yanyi was beside himself with excitement; his bloodied face looked ferocious. The other senior ministers exchanged surprised glances.

A faint smile played on Empress Wu’s lips. "What does Shuang Li do in your household?"

"Shuang Li is young and frail; she serves in my study," Quan Ce answered, embarrassed. "Your Majesty once rebuked me for my poor handwriting. Shuang Li’s calligraphy is excellent, so I have been learning from her."

At this, Shangguan Wan’er and Xie Yaohuan burst out laughing, lightening the tense atmosphere.

Seeing the Empress unfazed, the ministers relaxed and joined in the laughter. Su Weidao teased, "No wonder the Assistant Minister’s style has improved! Calligraphy is but a vehicle—it cannot be the measure of a man. It seems you lead by example, sir. If one judged only by calligraphy, we might lose you yet!"

The court roared with laughter. Wu Yanyi scowled. He had exposed a grave crime, yet they treated it lightly. He shot a look at Wu Chengsi, who coughed and said, "Quan Ce has harbored a criminal’s descendant with ulterior motives. Nephew, I believe a thorough investigation is warranted to see if any others are involved."

Empress Wu shot him a glance, her smile forced and her head shaking slightly. Chengsi was competent as an official, but as a man, he lacked caution.

"Enough. That Shuang Li is just a servant in Quan Ce’s household—no different than she was in the Entertainment Bureau." Empress Wu turned away, delivering her judgment. "Quan Ce for negligence in employing her; Wu Yanyi for reckless action. Fifty strokes of the cane for each."

Wu Yanyi’s eyes bulged in disbelief; this was far from the outcome he’d expected. He blurted, "Father?!"

"Silence! Take him away," Wu Chengsi shouted, kicking him over and ordering the guards to drag him off for punishment. The fool—one more word, and Quan Ce’s fifty strokes might end up on his own back as well.

Alas, his intervention came too late. Empress Wu paused in her steps. "Wu Yanyi, I order you to restore Princess Yiyang’s residence to its former state. Do you understand?"

"I—I obey," Wu Yanyi replied, prostrate on the ground, feeling the world to be unbearably dark.