Golden Stage

Please let me know where my translations can be improved!

Chapter 6 – Imperial Summons

This year was destined to be restless. As the end of the year approached, immediately following the resoundingly shocking case of the Eastern Tatar diplomatic corps encountering an ambush, another rumor about the Northern Yan commander began to quietly spread among the high officials and n.o.bility, traveling with the speed and momentum of a spark starting a prairie fire——

The Marquis of Jing Ning Fu Shen was a cutsleeve with the pa.s.sion of Longyang and the penchant for bitten peach1.

This news appeared strange and of questionable validity, but upon careful consideration, there were some areas that warranted deliberation. Moreover, it was the nature of people not to fear using the most lowly conjecture to complete the "truth". Before long, a vivid and colorful account of Fu Shen"s romantic history since joining the military had already spread widely throughout the n.o.ble families. For certain people, it even became the topic of idle conversation after meals.

In the state of Great Zhou, this preference for the male style was not a particularly extraordinary thing, and the common people were particularly tolerant. But when this sort of matter involved a general holding military power, it was no longer as simple as a "recreational interest."

The previous dynasty was called “Yue,” and had held the throne for more than a hundred years. Among them, there was an emperor famous through the ages for his romance, posthumously t.i.tled2 Ancestor Su.

Before Ancestor Su was made crown prince, he bestowed favor on a beauty surnamed Han. After ascending to the throne, he not only sealed Lady Han as a n.o.ble Consort, but also granted t.i.tles to her father and brothers. n.o.ble Consort Han"s younger brother, named Han Cang, was a man recorded in history as "graceful and elegant in appearance, with the looks of a beautiful woman and the nature of bright pearls and fine jade." Because of his elder sister, Han Cang entered the Luan honor guard. While escorting the emperor"s carriage on a tour, he showed his face before the emperor and Ancestor Su fell in love with him at first sight. After returning to the palace, Ancestor Su was unable to forget that face, and actually disregarded the traditional worldly customs to welcome Han Cang into the palace. Though he ever-increasingly received the emperor"s favor, he was excluded from the status of imperial concubine, so Ancestor Su established a t.i.tle of “n.o.ble Gentleman3“ equal in t.i.tle to n.o.ble Consort, so this older sister and younger brother both attended upon the same monarch.

The Great Yue Dynasty had never had such a precedent, so from the high courts to the common people, there were none who were not shocked. The civil and military officials alike made endless strenuous admonishments, itching to form a line and kowtow themselves to death in front of the palace. 

Although Ancestor Su was a universally shocking romantic, upon casting aside that second ident.i.ty, he was first and foremost the emperor, the lord of the entire state. He could not tolerate being criticized by a bunch of good-for-nothings for a minor personal affair. In a fit of rage, this cunning emperor actually made an imperial decree allowing high-ranking scholar-officials to take male concubines, and officials above the sixth level4 to take a male wife equal in status to a proper wife. 

Whenever those above obtain benefits, those below will inevitably follow. As soon as this precedent was established, although bystanders took the majority in court, many scholars immediately began to praise the cutsleeve pa.s.sion as refined and sophisticated. The common people thus followed suit, and this southern wind has continued to flourish ever since, showing no signs of weakening. Ancestor Su remained on the throne for nearly thirty years, and none of the great ministers dared to pet.i.tion the emperor to abolish this decree.

Later when the previous Yue dynasty grew increasingly feeble, the emperor at the time, Ancestor Xuan, felt this southern wind had become a rampant fad that violated the traditional heavenly principles and caused population decline, plummeting numbers of robust men, and difficulty with agriculture. As a result, he issued a decree prohibiting marriage between men among the common people. This imperial edict released male concubines home and returned them their body contracts, enabling them to become re-naturalized as heads of their own households. However, there were still exceptions made outside the range of the law—Ancestor Xuan not longer allowed men with the status of proper wife to remain in their husband"s family, but also bestowed a special grace: Of officials from the sixth rank or above, dukes and marquises who earned n.o.bility through meritorious service, and members of the imperial family… those who volunteered to marry a man as proper wife were allowed to pet.i.tion the emperor to grant them a marriage5. 

This edict of grace became Ancestor Xuan"s trump card to check and balance the various powerful ministers and n.o.ble relatives. In particular, for those with t.i.tles of n.o.bility pa.s.sed through inheritance, marrying a male wife meant the lack of legitimate children. As a result, the n.o.ble t.i.tle would have no valid heritors and would be taken back by the imperial court after death. 

After the demise of the Yue Dynasty, this “soft knife that slew men without drawing blood” saw continued use up to the present day due to its outstanding efficacy. Since the founding of the Great Zhou Dynasty, there had been more than a dozen great ministers who were bestowed male marriages by the emperor. All had possessed high positions and heavy importance, and held the power to stir up the winds and clouds. 

The commander of the Northern Yan Army, the Marquis of Jing Ning, the eldest son of the Duke of Ying… what all these ident.i.ties most feared was the phrase “cutsleeve."

How many people were eyeing him covetously, like tigers stalking their prey? The emperor himself was just in the middle of worrying about a lack of excuse to take back the military power in his hands. Why did this rumor spring up among the upper-cla.s.s now, precisely at this critical juncture? 

Fu Shen was leading a quiet and peaceful life in retirement at home, not interacting with relatives and friends, so he naturally had no way to know about these rumors. His subordinates had already heard far too many unreliable gossip about the Marquis of Jing Ning. Having witnessed the entire menagerie of extravagant embellishments and horror stories, they had long since stopped paying any attention no matter how strange these tales became. 

But even if it had required extra vigilance, they should never have allowed this rumor to spread in such an unrestrained way.

The mastermind was sharpening their sword in the dark, while the actual protagonist of the affair was completely uninformed6 and ignorant. 

When the somewhat more vigilant Yan Xiaohan heard this rumor from the mouths of the Flying Dragon Guard, his heart immediately sped up and his instinct warned him of trouble.

That night, he did not wait for Fu Shen"s answer. Given this specific situation, even the most tenacious person would not remain unshaken. Yan Xiaohan had taken the upper hand in their long standing disagreement, but unfortunately this did not actually make him happy.

The Yuantai Emperor had not allowed the Flying Dragon Guard to take the case of the Eastern Tatar diplomatic envoy encountering an ambush, so Yan Xiaohan could only choose to investigate in private. The doubts spanning his heart had not disappeared. Even though Fu Shen had said Yan Xiaohan held too high an opinion of him, a man who had emerged unscathed from battlefields falling to such an ambush was akin to a duck mysteriously drowning in a water tank. And that was without mentioning the unusual and inexplicable elements written all over this ambush—even with the methods of the Flying Dragon Guard at his disposal, Yan Xiaohan was still unable to identify the mastermind.  

Fu Shen"s att.i.tude made him suspect that there were some other secrets behind this case, and Yan Xiaohan needed to find the truth lying behind it.

It was not because of justice, nor because of morality, but because he wielded an incomparably sharp blade in the emperor"s name. Only when he could see the turbulent undercurrent hidden under the water"s surface would he be able to control the direction of the blade, instead of being countered by its edge or swept away by the undercurrent.

Successive generations of this dynasty"s emperors had all placed extremely heavy emphasis on the imperial guard. The internal holdings of the Imperial City were guarded by the troops of the Golden Crow, the Luan Ceremonial, the Nine Gates, the Dashing Cavalry, and the Leopard Scabbard7. Each of these five troops were then split into Left and Right branches, for a total of ten guards making up the "Ten Protectors of the Southern Office." Within the imperial palace itself were Feather Forest, the Divine Pivot, and the Divine Martial, each of which were also split into Left and Right divisions. These six troops were specialized as bodyguards, and together they were called the "Six Armies of the Northern Office." Outside of these, the Flying Dragon Guard held inspector powers over all officials and made its rounds over all four borders. The commanding officer of the Flying Dragon Guard was a Higher 3rd-rank4 official known as the Royal Inspector Envoy, with the power to secretly present pet.i.tions and memorials to the foot of the emperor himself. 

All the high generals of the Northern Office Armies were members of the Flying Dragon Guard. As the Royal Inspector Envoy, Yan Xiaohan was ranked above the other generals, and therefore held the real power as commander over all the Imperial Guards of the Northern Office. 

The rumor that “the Marquis of Jing Ning was a cutsleeve" had been brought into the imperial guards by the high general of the Left Divine Pivot, Wei Xuzhou. The Wei family was huge, with numerous in-laws and relatives to the point where it could claim familial connections with the majority of the n.o.ble families in the capital. General Wei was even more blessed by heaven—within the Imperial Guards, one could not find another man more enthusiastic than him when it came to playing matchmaker and propagating idle gossip and hearsay.

The discord between Yan Xiaohan and Fu Shen was well known in the Flying Dragon Guard, so Wei Xuzhou gloated in the latter"s misfortune: “This rumor is really too disgusting. Looking at the Marquis of Jing Ning"s usual aloof and n.o.ble spirit, I originally thought he was going to have to spend his whole lifetime alone with just his left and right hands for company hahahaha…..”

Yan Xiaohan"s brows furrowed deeply: "Where did this news come from?"

General Wei said: “From my second aunt"s8 younger sister"s husband"s cousin9… that is, the wife of the Marquis of Liu En. The Marquis"s family has an unbetrothed daughter who had taken a fancy to the Marquis of Jing Ning. It took some inquiring around in private before they learned there was such a secret.”

Yan Xiaohan ma.s.saged his forehead, having absolutely no desire to talk to this fellow.

“Sir,” Wei Xuzhou circled around him twice, finding his reaction strange: “The Marquis of Jing Ning himself has not started to worry about having such a hobby, how come you"re worrying in his place?”

It was strange. Too strange.

A man who had been lucky for many years suddenly having a completely reversal of fortunes and running out of luck10… What had Fu Shen done to arouse the wrath of heaven and the anger of men? Why were monsters and demons coming out like a swarm of bees, all using countless tricks and methods to scheme and plot against him? 

“There is something off about this matter. Brother Wei, if I may trouble you to check where exactly this news about the Marquis of Jing Ning being a cutsleeve originated from——” Yan Xiaohan had not finished speaking when a young eunuch in blue robes suddenly entered the outer hall. This newcomer was the disciple of Tian-gonggong11, the Pen-Holding Eunuch12 for the emperor himself. Seeing his arrival, the two men hurriedly halted their dialogue and went forward to listen to his words. That little eunuch spoke the verbal instructions he had been given: "His Majesty orders Sir Yan to present himself before the emperor in the Hall of Mental Cultivation13.”

Hearing this, Wei Xuzhou consciously moved to withdraw, but Yan Xiaohan suddenly made a hand gesture to him behind his back, while he said: “Gonggong11 please wait for a moment, I have a few words of official business I wish to hand over to General Wei.”

The little eunuch"s reply was unreasonable: “This is an order from the emperor himself. Does Sir Yan wish to have His Majesty wait for you?”

Yan Xiaohan"s lips showed a hint of what could be a smile. This was his most commonly seen expression, incredibly gentle while also seeming like he was about to enjoy a meal of human flesh.

“As the Flying Dragon Guard Royal Inspector Envoy, this official"s every move and action is in accordance with the imperial will. Gonggong"s words just now render this situation rather difficult for me.”

The eunuch was originally all false bravado and bl.u.s.ter in the first place. Now seeing Yan Xiaohan"s smile, the eunuch immediately remembered the horror stories told around the palace regarding the Flying Dragon Guard Royal Inspector Envoy. His face changed dramatically, and it took great effort for him to calm down and yield the way: “If this is the case, Sir Yan may do as he wishes.”

The very confused General Wei was pulled by him to the writing desk. Yan Xiaohan casually picked up a few random files just for show, while lowering his voice to whisper: “Take a trip to the Marquis of Jing Ning"s residence in my place, and inform him of the news being pa.s.sed around outside. Tell Fu Shen he must take care and start preparing early. No matter what happens, he must first hold on and refrain from acting rashly and recklessly.”

The flames of Wei Xuzhou"s gossip-loving heart were stoked, but seeing how Yan Xiaohan had a serious expression that did not seem to be joking, he hurriedly nodded: "Sir, please rest a.s.sured, you may leave it to me."

No matter how just confident and a.s.sured Yan Xiaohan made himself out to be in his words, he couldn"t actually make a eunuch conveying imperial orders wait for too long. He could only temporarily drop this messy affair and rush towards the Hall of Mental Cultivation. 

The Pen-holding Eunuch12 Tian Tong had never been on agreeable terms with the Flying Dragon Guard. This little eunuch shared his Shifu"s same hatred for this enemy, and was thus unwilling to disclose any information. As a result, only when Yan Xiaohan entered the Hall of Mental Cultivation did he discover that besides the Yuantai Emperor, the crown prince Sun Yunliang was also inside the hall. 

“This insignificant minister pays respect to Your Majesty, as well as to Your Royal Highness the crown prince.”

"My beloved subject, you may rise."

The Yuantai Emperor was well-built and tall in stature, with an imposing and majestic aura. The cast of his face showed a hint of plump fullness in his cheeks, and two deep lines of wrinkles ran down the sides of his nose, above his slightly thin lips. These features came together for an overall stern, dictatorial, and ruthless appearance. This emperor could indeed be called intelligent and capable, leaning towards the serious side given his usual reserved and taciturn nature. But at this moment, he looked to be in a good mood—there was even the hint of a smile on his face, which swept away the anger and gloom that had been brought on by the case regarding the diplomatic corps a while back, making him appear significantly more kindly and amiable.

It looked like whatever happened was not bad news. Yan Xiaohan"s heart settled down slightly. He quietly thought that perhaps the successive chain of shady tricks and plots in the past few days had made him too high-strung, if he was becoming fl.u.s.tered and frightened at the slightest things.

The crown prince"s expressionless face was stretched taut as he stood to the side in attendance. Yan Xiaohan could sense his gaze falling on himself, not with maliciousness, but with a kind of probing inquiry akin to a threading needle.

“The crown prince may return to the East Palace.” The Yuantai Emperor expressed his desire to have Yan Xiaohan stay for a one-on-one talk. Upon thinking it over, he gave the crown prince a rare sentence of encouragement: “You handled the matter today excellently.”

Having received this praise, the crown prince"s primary purpose today had been achieved and he was no longer so reluctant to give up his spot. He retracted his gaze towards Yan Xiaohan and even smiled at him, before bowing and asking for leave to withdraw. 

That smile seemed to contain some form of ridicule and pity, which caused an ominous premonition to suddenly rise in Yan Xiaohan"s heart.

Footnotes (doing research into these phrases with historical origins is surprisingly fun, though it takes a lot of time):

1. This sentence uses three antiquated Chinese euphemisms for h.o.m.os.e.xuality, all with somewhat historical references. 

A) 断袖 "Cutsleeve" is a reference to Emperor Ai of the Han Dynasty, who cherished his male lover Dong Xian so much that he cut off his sleeve rather than wake the sleeping Dong Xian in his arms. (They did not have a happy ending.)

B) 龙阳 "Longyang" is a reference to another historical figure, the Lord of Long Yang who was favored by King Anxi of the State of Wei during the Warring States period. According to one legend, Lord Long Yang was out fishing with King Anxi when he caught a fish and then began to weep. When King Anxi asked him what was wrong, Long Yang expressed his worries that just like how he would discard the fish upon catching a bigger one, King Anxi would discard him upon finding a more beautiful lover. King Anxi rea.s.sured him and declared he would execute anyone who mentioned any other beauties to him.

C) 分桃 "Bitten peach" is a reference to the semi-legendary figure Mizi Xia, who was favored by Duke Ling of Wei. In one story, Mizi Xia bit into a peach and found it sweet, so he offered the other half of the peach to the Duke. (Later on when the Duke lost interest in him and accused him of a crime, "he once offered me a half-eaten peach" was no longer framed in a romantic way RIP.)

2. 庙号 lit. "Temple t.i.tle" refers to the name given to an emperor after his death, when his spirit tablet is erected in the imperial ancestral temple. Usually it includes 宗 (zōng) or 祖 (zǔ), which mean “ancestor.”

3. 贵君: 贵 = "n.o.ble" just like in the t.i.tle of n.o.ble Consort, while 君 can mean anything from gentleman to lord to ruler. 

4. There were a total of nine ranks of officials, which are themselves split into a "higher" 正 and "lower" 从. For example, the top rank 正一品 ["Higher 1st-Rank"] would include the highest three civil official posts of 太师 [Grand Preceptor], 太傅 [Grand Tutor], and 太保 [Grand Guardian]. Sadly I still can"t give very good approximations of how high a “3rd rank official” is since it tended to change between dynasties, but overall it"s pretty up there.

5. 赐婚 lit. "gift/grant/bestow/confer + marriage" is usually used in the context of the emperor "gifting" someone a bride. This could be a reward for meritorious service, it could be a very undesirable marriage, or it could even be both of the above. And of course, there are very few who would dare refuse a "gift" from the emperor. 

6. 耳目闭塞 lit. "Ears stuffed and eyes shut"

7. Yeah I probably completely butchered these troop names, and yes this is going to continue happening. Pretty much all of these names are actual historical names for troops in the 禁军 [lit. "forbidden army"] AKA the imperial guard. Here"s some extra background that might explain the names better:

Now for the Northern Office…

8. 二婶 is “second + aunt”, but more specifically it is referring to the wife of his father"s younger brother. In particular, the 二 “second” implies Wei Xuzhou"s father was the eldest son of his generation while this aunt is the wife of the second son.

9. 表姐 specifically means an older female cousin.

10. 喝凉水都塞牙 lit. "even cold drinking water gets stuck between their teeth" is used to describe an extremely unlucky person

11. 公公 (gōng gong) is how eunuchs in the imperial palace are addressed, similar to how the women of the imperial harem are called 娘娘 (niáng niang).

12. 秉笔太监: 秉笔 can mean either "hold the pen" or "write." Essentially, this eunuch surnamed Tian is a very close confidant of the emperor, since he is allowed to write for the emperor.

13. 养心殿 lit. "Nourishing/Cultivating + Heart/Mind + Hall/Palace" is an actual hall that still exists within the Chinese imperial palace.