When his personal eunuch hurried in to say that the Emperor had sent him a gift, the Crown Prince Zhao Ling Feng felt a rush of anticipation and headed towards the main reception hall of the East Palace to receive it. As he stepped over the threshold, he was surprised that An He was not amongst the servants waiting at the entry for him. In fact, he recognized none of them and he felt a streak of unease as they all had the miserable air of those who had been commanded to do an unpleasant task.

 

“What is this?” he demanded, staring down at the eunuch who knelt before him, both hands raised in the air, trembling, as he held out a large rectangular box to the Crown Prince. His eyes were glued to the floor and he swallowed before gathering enough courage to open his mouth.

 

“T-The Emperor has commanded that the Crown Prince receive this box. The Emperor said that the your Highness the Crown Prince would understand once you had seen its contents,” the eunuch almost whimpered.

 

The Crown Prince glowered down at the bent head.

 

“There was no decree? No summons?” he asked coldly.

 

“N-No, Your Highness,” the eunuch stuttered.

 

Zhao Ling Feng gestured for one of his personal guards to receive the box. The man quickly moved forward, took the box, and uncoupled the lid, swiftly moving to stand in front of the Crown Price to show him the contents.

 

For a moment, Zhao Ling Feng was struck with elation staring down at the little bronze tiger nestled inside, but then he frowned. Taking the box with shaking fingers, he slowly removed it from the inner casing. As he did so a sheet of paper slipped out and onto the floor.

 

The guard bent to retrieve it, and also offered it to his Master, but the Crown Prince was not moving. Instead he was staring at the thing in his hand.

 

“No…” he whispered. “I don’t believe it…It’s not true…”

 

“Your Highness?” asked the guard.

 

He suddenly snatched the paper up, flapped it open and scanned the writing within. With a howl, he flung it onto the ground and laughed hysterically, his eyes taking on an unholy glow.

 

His personal eunuch rushed forward, picked up the paper, scanned it, and paled.

 

“T-this…This…” he stuttered, appalled.

 

“You don’t have to say it, old man,” the Crown Prince laughed humourlessly. The thing that was in the shape of a tiger, suddenly felt like it was on fire in his hand. Rage slowly swirled in his heart.

 

Turning, Zhao Ling Feng squeezed the fake tally until it had been crumbled to dust in his fist. As he turned his palm to let the remains slide off, the wind carried it away with a puff, scattering it onto the floor and out through an open window into the back garden of the East Palace. His mouth turned dry.

 

“Father Emperor!” he gritted, emphasizing every syllable. Closing his eyes, his jaw flexed as he tried to control the emotions warring on the inside.

 

It had all been a game…To give him the tally at all was to say that he didn’t trust him, but to play a dirty trick like this to provoke him, sending a fake tally along with an empty title and the deed to a barren estate in the north was essentially saying that his father thought him an incompetent, useless son better off dead or exiled.

 

He suddenly slumped over, leaning his hands against the writing table on the dais, exhausted by it all.

 

Abruptly, an old memory intruded on him. He remembered a time when he had sat on his father’s knee while the old man had laughed at some clever thing that he had said. He remembered laughing too, watching his father smile at his mother while she looked serenely beautiful sitting across from them, pushing a plate of sweet Osmanthus cakes toward them, and stuffing some playfully into his father’s mouth.

 

He wondered if his mind had simply played tricks on him to have had such a happy childhood memory. Certainly, this could not be the same father who was now saying, without even speaking a word, that he despised him, that he hated him, that he expected him to rebel at any moment and over-turn the kingdom…that he wanted him dead.

 

He sighed, leaning his head back.

 

“Father Emperor, if I do it, it’s because you forced me. How can you be this cruel to your own son?” he whispered bitterly.

 

In a fit of rage uncharacteristic for the scholarly, elegant and refined Crown Prince of Tiansheng, he swept everything off the table, overturning the ink stone, brushes, splattering ink on scrolls and memorials. He stood, panting, his clothes stained, and his hair falling out of its bun.

 

It was at that moment that his eunuch announced the arrival of his mother.

 

Baring his teeth, dread twisted in the pit of his stomach…Mother Empress…

 

“I don’t want to see the Empress! Tell her I am ill!” he hissed, wanting to hurl something at the servant.

 

The poor man fell to his knees and knocked his head against the floor.

 

“Your Highness Crown Prince! Please…for the sake of your health! Please!” he begged in fright.

 

“What’s this unseemly behaviour?” said a thin, cold voice. “Clean this up, and then leave us.”

 

Sweeping in with the force of a winter wind, the Empress entered with her personal attendants, waving away the prostrated eunuch.

 

The servants immediately went about gathering the spilled and spoilt items, hurrying away with the brushes, ink and splattered scrolls. Another set of servants helped the Empress settle in a carved chair just off the dais, while another set hurried in with tea and snacks. Once everything had been set out, they almost ran back out in their haste to obey.

 

Even with this visit, she exercises every bit of fanfare and authority due to her rank. When did she stop being my mother and only acted as the Empress? Or has she always been like this and only acted motherly in front of my father? Did I just not realize it?

 

Sitting back down, the Crown Prince put a hand to his brow and covered his face. Of all the times to come, Mother…

 

“What? You don’t even bother to greet me? What kind of son is that?” she asked, scornfully. “Only children and weaklings can afford to be grovel indecisively on the ground. This is not the son I gave birth to…”

 

“Mother Empress…for once…just once…Please don’t come into the East Palace just to say such useless things.”

 

“Useless! Who is useless? You’ve been Crown Prince for years, and yet your Father Emperor has never assigned you any true responsibilities. All campaigns were carried out under your younger brothers, born to lower ranking women. Laws, civil projects, none of these things have been given to you!” she quietly hissed.

 

Although the volume of the words said to him was low, they whipped at him with the force of a small hurricane. He put his hand down and glared at her.

 

“Mother Empress…don’t forget yourself. The harem has no business interfering with the business of the Imperial Court and…”

 

“Do you think I wanted to be born a woman?’ she interrupted him. “If I’d been born a man, I would already have been ruling this kingdom instead of being locked away in a golden cage while trying to preserve your ungrateful head!”

 

There was a brief pause and then she sighed, taking a different tact.

 

“My son, did you receive the tally?”

 

He snorted.

 

“Very well. The Guang family was well prepared for this possibility. We will follow the previous plan. My son, you obviously know what you must do,” she said.

 

He nodded.

 

A powerless Crown Prince was the same as half-dead, half-living. Rather than that, he would choose to commit everything to the plan and to the final steps to ascend the throne before any of his brothers could further solidify their influence.

 

If he could not use the tiger tally, then he would have to activate the hidden forces in the South and confirm the other arrangements he had made with the outsiders.  

 

Yes…I must send a message…

 

Thinking deeply, he forgot his mother was still there. However, she had not yet finished.

 

Rising, she stepped onto the dais and patted his head, causing him to stiffen in incredulity. He tried not to shudder in disgust at this uncalled for and uncharacteristic attempt at consolation. In fact, his hair stood on end.

 

She only smiled, oblivious to his reaction.

 

“Come in!” she called to his servants. “Get the Crown Prince cleaned and changed. He cannot be seen like this.”

 

“Yes!”

 

There was a sudden rush of activity as servants poured back in to help him arrange himself, and she swept away, calmly walking toward the entry. At the last moment, she paused as if suddenly remembering something.

 

The smile that she turned to him almost froze his blood in his veins.

 

“Oh…my son…I didn’t come only for this…since I need to vent my anger on your behalf, I arranged some entertainment for you. That cosmetics girl is of no use to us and in fact will cause trouble down the road… to prevent any further issues, I had her drugged and sold. I hope that pleases you, though I know you would have preferred her to enter your harem.”

 

He blinked for a moment, watching her exit.

 

Frightening, he thought to himself. When did you ever act like a mother?

 

He laughed suddenly, shaking, and then threw his head back and continued to laugh.

 

Mother, you have only ever conducted yourself as the Empress of Tiansheng. Very well. I will become the son that you want. I will close my heart and mind to all things except the dragon throne. I will become something truly frightening.

 

Slowly, he allowed his servants to take him into the side chamber to bathe and rest.

 

***

 

Standing next to the Emperor, An He leaned over and quietly whispered something into his ear.

 

“Ennn,” the Emperor grunted.

 

An He cleared his throat and wiped sweat from under his hat, jamming it back down more firmly onto his bald head, while trying not to grind his teeth.

 

“Your Majesty…is it not unnecessarily cruel to torture him like this?” he asked softly.

 

The Emperor slowly raised his eyes and An He hastily took a step back, gulping.

 

“An He…how long have you followed Zhen? Only those with strength are recognized and feared. Only those who have faced adversity can persevere. What kind of actions need to be justified to the likes of you? Go, get lost for me!”

 

An He, held his hat firmly on his head, bowed and hastily escaped from the hall, muttering to himself. Rather than worry about the Emperor’s health and his scheming, An He decided he would go make some chrysanthemum tea.

 

The Emperor sat back, massaging his throbbing arm.

 

In the end, it is always like this…as it was with my brothers and cousins. Why should I coddle my sons and lie about it? They are no longer children. Let them sharpen their weapons and kill each other until only the strongest one is left...Even after that they will still have upstart families to supress…like the ones in the North I could not reach…such is the life of the Emperor. To be feared and hated…it is a lonely existence…it is better to kill all your relatives then to live in fear that they will kill you…

 

He sighed.

 

“Oi…You! Bring me osmanthus cake!” the Emperor jerked his head at a young eunuch standing off to the side. The young man scurried to obey.

 

Sitting back in exhaustion, he stared at the decree on the table in front of him and pressed down the red seal.

 

The last Go piece…I have called him home now… An He…don’t forget that I too was once young and innocent…and then bitterly disappointed by the cage of my own terrible destiny.

 

 

 

 

 

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* 纸老虎 – Basically someone who appears fierce, but is actually powerless.