The Child Emperor

Chapter 221: The Tan Family Daughter

The Princess Consort of Donghai, Lady Tan, was two years older and slightly taller than her husband. Beautiful as a flower with graceful and proper manners, she entered the room and bowed to the Weary Marquis, addressing herself as “your humble servant Tan,” treating him like an emperor.

Prince Donghai stood to the side with a red face, feeling that he was not close enough with Han Ruzi for his wife to meet him personally. He dared not speak up, feeling even more embarrassed knowing that his having been beaten had been discovered.

Han Ruzi was curious about this daughter of the Tan family who was fierce enough to beat Prince Donghai, but felt awkward after meeting her, unsure what to say.

“Your humble servant happened to overhear the Weary Marquis’s conversation with Prince Donghai and was quite inspired. As it seemed incomplete, I boldly sought an audience to offer some humble opinions. I beg the Weary Marquis’s forgiveness for any rudeness.”

“My presence here is enough,” Prince Donghai said stiffly, then quickly added, “But if it’s about the Tan family, you should speak.”

Han Ruzi cupped his hands and said, “Please enlighten us, Princess Consort.”

Prince Donghai vigilantly looked left and right, trying to catch their slightest changes in expression.

Ignoring her husband’s supervision, Lady Tan said, “The Weary Marquis says law enforcement clerks are the foundation of the court, which is correct. Prince Donghai says clerks are disloyal, which is also correct. But concluding that law enforcement clerks cannot be relied upon is somewhat mistaken.”

“Where’s the mistake?” Prince Donghai asked, playing along perfectly.

“Do all imperial clan members want to be emperor?” Lady Tan asked.

“Not many,” Prince Donghai rushed to answer. “Actually just my brother and me and the Champion Marquis. Prince Ying doesn’t count – he’s just a child being used by others.”

“Are all noble children lazy and unambitious?”

“In Shattered Iron City, many noble sons fought bravely alongside common soldiers defending the walls. I saw it myself,” said Prince Donghai.

Lady Tan bowed slightly to the Weary Marquis, confident she had made her point clear: people have different characters and cannot all be judged the same way.

Han Ruzi understood and asked, “How does the Tan family maintain control over the ‘Guanghua Tigers’?”

Prince Donghai had mentioned the Tan family’s close ties with the capital’s law enforcement officials, but this alone wasn’t enough to convince Han Ruzi.

“Through personal relationships,” Lady Tan’s answer was similar to Prince Donghai’s. After a pause, she explained further, “Lian Danchen, though a judicial clerk, is very honest and never accepts bribes from criminals’ families. This has made him many enemies, but only the Tan family respects him and has been supporting him and his family for at least twenty years.”

Prince Donghai interjected, “It was secret support – Lian Danchen only found out a few years ago and was deeply grateful… continue.”

Prince Donghai’s tone towards Lady Tan showed a hint of reverence beneath his stiffness.

“Zhang Jing came from a poor background. At thirteen, he wanted to study to become an official but had no connections. The Tan family supported him for seven years until he was twenty and received his first salary. The Tan family has helped more than just these two law enforcement clerks – seven of the ‘Guanghua Tigers’ have received our family’s aid.”

“I trust these clerks have repaid the Tan family?” Han Ruzi asked.

Lady Tan smiled, “They’ve helped with small matters, but the Tan family never demands favors based on past kindness. Each time we ask for help, we provide compensation. Even this time, the Tan family has made no demands – Lian Danchen and others came to us voluntarily, hoping to serve the Weary Marquis.”

“Me?” Han Ruzi found it incredible, as he had never known any law enforcement clerks before.

“The Empress Dowager once praised the Weary Marquis,” Lady Tan said.

“The Empress Dowager praised him?” Prince Donghai found it even more incredible. “Why haven’t you told me about this?”

Ignoring her husband, Lady Tan continued, “It was last year, when the Weary Marquis was serving at the frontier. The Empress Dowager once spoke in the Guanghua Hall about the difficulties of governing, lamenting the decline of the imperial clan with no one to rely on except the Weary Marquis.”

“Did the Empress Dowager… only mention the Weary Marquis?” Prince Donghai asked.

Lady Tan gave her husband a severe look. “Of course. With the Empress Dowager’s judgment, how could she possibly think highly of you?”

“Just asking,” Prince Donghai mumbled, then asked, “If the Empress Dowager values Han Ruzi so much, why didn’t she let him continue as emperor?”

Lady Tan looked at her husband even more severely. Prince Donghai blushed, “The Empress Dowager wants to maintain power so she needs a puppet, not a real emperor.”

Lady Tan turned to the Weary Marquis: “The ‘Guanghua Tigers’ are the Empress Dowager’s trusted officials and greatly revere her. Though she only praised you once, they’ve kept it in mind. Without this succession dispute and emperor selection, they wouldn’t have acted, but given the opportunity, they believe the Empress Dowager’s judgment cannot be wrong.”

Han Ruzi remained silent, half-believing Lady Tan’s words. After a long while, he said, “Why has the Tan family become involved? I heard the Tan family doesn’t wish to hold official positions.”

Prince Donghai wanted to speak but opened and closed his mouth, letting his wife answer.

“The Tan family was forced by circumstances. We avoided official positions to prevent accusations of forming factions, but we’ve helped too many people over the years. Some became officials, high-ranking ones, and court struggles inevitably affected the Tan family. Especially in recent years, as court struggles intensified, some have threatened to follow the Martial Emperor’s example of eliminating martial heroes and destroy the Tan family completely.”

“Court struggles? Who’s fighting whom?” Han Ruzi had thought the ministers were united.

“Doesn’t the Weary Marquis know? Court officials are divided into several factions, with two main ones: the scholar-officials led by Chancellor Yin Wuhai, and the aristocratic families led by Chief Commander Han Xing. They’ve fought for years without resolution. The Martial Emperor suppressed aristocrats and supported scholar-officials, while the Graceful Emperor did the opposite, though he didn’t have time to implement his policies. Since the Empress Dowager took power, she appeared impartial to both sides while promoting many law enforcement clerks neither faction valued. After Prince Qi’s rebellion, everyone realized that the Empress Dowager sided with the scholar-officials – most rebels arrested by law enforcement clerks were from the aristocratic faction.”

Prince Donghai added, “That’s why on the list of officials who are fifth-rank and above, scholar-officials make up more than half, while imperial clan members and nobles only number about a hundred.”

Though Han Ruzi had heard that the Empress Dowager was courting officials, he remained confused. “Grand Tutor Cui is also a noble, yet many scholar-officials support him.”

“Of course, these factions are just general categories. Scholar-officials fight among themselves, as do aristocratic families. For example, both Chief Censors of the Right and the Left are scholar-officials but dislike each other, and both of them disagree with the Chancellor. They usually seek different patrons and marry into aristocratic families, but when scholar-officials and aristocrats have their final battle, all three side with the scholar-officials.”

Han Ruzi was getting confused. “By your account, law enforcement clerks strike at aristocrats and protect scholar-officials’ interests, so why do they fear the Champion Marquis becoming emperor when scholar-officials support him?”

“Because most law enforcement clerks lack civil examination credentials. They’re merely the Empress Dowager’s tools. Though scholar-officials gained protection, they also lost much power. The ‘Guanghua Tigers’ bypass their superiors to submit memorials directly to the Empress Dowager, greatly displeasing the ministers. Moreover, the Champion Marquis has conflicts with the Empress Dowager – his first act as emperor would be to eliminate these tools.”n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

Prince Donghai laughed, “I knew mother had reasons for arranging my marriage to the Tan family. How do you know so much?”

Lady Tan said coldly, “The Tan family doesn’t seek power, but for self-preservation, we must participate in court politics. Before acting, we must thoroughly investigate our opponents.”

Prince Donghai chuckled.

Han Ruzi didn’t laugh. The court’s complexity far exceeded his imagination. He began to understand why his father, the Graceful Emperor, complained about unreliable ministers, and why his grandfather, the Martial Emperor, would mumble “We are alone” on the throne.

“The Tan family has many business interests, right?” Han Ruzi asked.

Lady Tan paused slightly, “Some, not a small amount.”

“Widely distributed?”

“The Tan family’s interests are mainly in the Capital and northern frontier, but we have connections with merchants everywhere. Does the Weary Marquis need money?”

Prince Donghai guessed Han Ruzi’s purpose and shouted to his wife, “Don’t fall for it! He wants the Tan family to open granaries and aid refugees!”

Lady Tan paused again, “The Tan family already provides porridge relief. If the Weary Marquis asks, we would spend everything we have, though I fear our resources aren’t enough to save all refugees in the realm.”

Han Ruzi smiled, “Of course we can’t expect the Tan family to feed all refugees. I just wondered, if government offices opened their granaries, would the Tan family cooperate?”

“Without hesitation, and we would do it in the Weary Marquis’s name…”

“No, no, please don’t mention my name, and there’s no rush. We must first get local officials to open their granaries.”

“Very well, I’ll discuss with my father to calculate how much grain we can mobilize in each region, waiting only for the Weary Marquis’s word.”

“Many thanks,” Han Ruzi bowed.

Lady Tan returned the bow, “A benevolent heart is an emperor’s heart. The Weary Marquis cares for all under heaven – the throne belongs to none but you.”

Han Ruzi didn’t stand on ceremony. “Then let’s proceed with the original plan. The Tan family will coordinate with law enforcement clerks while I provide a group of death-sworn warriors. When changes occur in the palace, we’ll act quickly to arrest the fate seers and Champion Marquis.”

Prince Donghai, feeling ignored, hurriedly said, “Shang-guan sheng is key – whoever controls the Eight Palace Guard Camps controls the Capital.”

Han Ruzi took his leave, greatly admiring Lady Tan.

Prince Donghai also admired his wife but was somewhat displeased with her appearance today. When alone with his wife, he asked, “Didn’t you tell Han Ruzi too much? Was it necessary?”

“Gaining the Weary Marquis’s trust is more important than anything,” Lady Tan said coldly.

“Was it true about the Empress Dowager praising Han Ruzi?”

Lady Tan nodded, and Prince Donghai’s expression immediately darkened. “Are we really going to help him become emperor?”

Lady Tan looked at her husband, studying him for a moment before saying, “When Grand Consort Cui proposed marriage to the Tan family, she promised me the position of Empress of Great Chu, not Princess Consort of Donghai. Now that I’ve married you, what do you have to worry about?”

Prince Donghai smiled.

It was very late when Han Ruzi returned home, but he still sent servants to summon Yang Feng.

Yang Feng hadn’t slept and quickly came to the study.

Han Ruzi detailed his experience at Prince Donghai’s residence, finally asking, “Why did you never tell me about these court factions and struggles?”

After listening quietly, Yang Feng said, “Don’t you remember? I told you that too much information is worse than none. Now that you know about the ministers’ open and hidden conflicts, how does this help you?”

Han Ruzi was speechless. Indeed, this information didn’t directly help his current bid for the throne. He also realized that Lady Tan had revealed many court secrets but said little about the Tan family itself.

“I’ve thought of a way to perhaps get the local officials to open their granaries,” Han Ruzi changed the subject. He had achieved something significant today.

If you are reading this on an aggregator site, do consider visiting / to support this translation project by leaving a comment.