The Child Emperor-Chapter 254: In Front of Tongxuan Hall

Instead of heading to the third gate, Zhang Jing turned into a small alley, seemingly heading west. The Tan brothers gathered all their companions they encountered along the way, quickly assembling several hundred people.

At a small door, Prince Donghai saw several law enforcement officers. Though annoyed inside, he maintained a smile. “Where’s the contact?”

The officers pointed at the door. “Inside.”

Prince Donghai dismounted and turned around again, seeing his three guards still close by, before stepping up to the door and asking hesitantly: “Who is it?”

A voice from inside replied, “I’ll only speak with Prince Donghai.”

“That’s me.”

“Have everyone else withdraw first.”

Prince Donghai was very surprised – none of the plans he knew of had mentioned having an insider in the palace. He looked at the law enforcement officers and the Tan brothers, but everyone seemed just as confused, especially the “Guanghua Tigers” who had originally planned to abandon Prince Donghai and flee, but now encountered an “insider” who would only open the door for the Prince.

As Prince Donghai hesitated, a voice suddenly called from behind, “The palace guards have reached the north gate! They’re ramming it, trying to break in!”

Prince Donghai was quite certain the palace guards would never take his side, so he made a difficult decision: “All of you withdraw, but don’t go too far.”

The three guards were the last to leave, nodding to Prince Donghai to indicate they would stay nearby, ready when called.

“Who exactly are you? Do I know you?”

The voice inside said: “I am Yuan Zifan. Prince Donghai remembers me, right?”

Prince Donghai was startled. “How is it you? Aren’t you… aren’t you the Empress Dowager’s man?” He quickly stepped back.

Seeing Prince Donghai’s reaction through the door crack, Yuan Zifan hurriedly said: “Fear not, Prince Donghai. The Empress Dowager is actually hunting me down now.”

“So that’s why you’re still in the palace.” Prince Donghai understood – Yuan Zifan was indeed brave and resourceful. He had originally been a eunuch posing as a fate seer. After the assassination attempt on Prince Ying, he had lost his usefulness. To escape the Empress Dowager’s pursuit, he had secretly snuck back into the palace to hide right under her nose.

“Huangfu Yi and Lu Congxin have already been silenced. I’m the only one left.”

Prince Donghai still had many doubts, but this wasn’t the time for questions. He immediately said: “No need to say more. I understand. Open the door. After this succeeds, you’ll be the new Director of Palace Attendants. As for the Empress Dowager, she won’t be a problem anymore.”

“Prince Donghai is a good judge of character.”

After the sound of locks turning, the small door opened. Yuan Zifan stood in the doorway wearing palace servant’s clothes, his chin smooth – every bit a eunuch. Prince Donghai almost didn’t recognize him.

“Please follow me,” Yuan Zifan said respectfully.

Though urgent, Prince Donghai remained cautious. “Where to?”

“To Tongxuan Hall. From there we might be able to circle around to the Empress Dowager’s chambers.”

“Say no more, let’s go!” Prince Donghai was overjoyed. He turned and beckoned for everyone to follow, then said to Yuan Zifan: “You’re quite capable, managing to sneak into the palace.”

“Ah, actually Huangfu Yi sensed the Empress Dowager’s intention to silence us, so he made some arrangements in advance. But everything happened so suddenly that he and Lu Congxin didn’t have time.”

The assassination attempt on Prince Ying had been planned by Prince Donghai’s faction. The three fake fate seers were completely unprepared. Only Yuan Zifan, who was present at the scene, reacted quickly enough to escape. But hiding in the palace wasn’t a long-term solution. Living in constant fear each day, he wanted to take a chance when the opportunity arose.

The doorways were difficult for horses to pass through, but Prince Donghai didn’t mind. He followed Yuan Zifan on foot and asked: “There are many doors in the palace. Can you open them all?”

“I have several friends in the palace who are willing to support Prince Donghai. The Empress Dowager believes there are assassins hiding in the palace and has been conducting brutal arrests. Everyone wants to protect themselves.”

Prince Donghai’s confidence swelled again. He muttered to himself: “So it’s this easy to win over palace people. Han Ruzi having help back then wasn’t so impressive after all.”

With Yuan Zifan leading the way and Prince Donghai following, the others came behind. Several hundred people hadn’t caught up yet, but Prince Donghai didn’t care – they would serve as bait to distract the Eight Palace Guard Camps.

They wound their way through various passages. At each doorway, someone would open it to let them through. Prince Donghai was very careful, insisting that after most people passed through, the doors be locked immediately to prevent the guard troops from catching up. When they encountered palace servants, they forced them to join their group.

Yuan Zifan could only get doors opened by people he knew, so they couldn’t take direct routes. They made a half-circle, going around the western side to reach the courtyard in front of the Tongxuan Hall.

By now it was broad daylight. Though the court had been paralyzed for days, protocols remained. Regardless of emergencies, many people had to perform their duties faithfully, going about their usual tasks. For instance, the ceremonial guards in front of the Tongxuan Hall changed shifts on schedule, rain or shine.

The Tongxuan Hall was the main hall of the imperial palace, where emperors ascended the throne, attended major events, and formally received officials. Since today wasn’t a designated important day, the courtyard was empty except for dozens of ceremonial guards. They were all tall and strong, but they didn’t need to fight in battles or learn combat skills – they just had to stand motionless for hours to show their loyalty to the court.

Therefore, when hundreds of people suddenly rushed into the courtyard, even the boldest and most curious ceremonial guards only turned their heads to look once before straightening their backs and gripping their ornate halberds. Facing this group of mysterious intruders, they neither tried to stop them nor questioned them, pretending everything was normal.

Prince Donghai ignored these guards, but his followers were intimidated and all stopped in their tracks, including the law enforcement officers and constables – under normal circumstances, they would never have the chance to appear here.

“Keep up!” Prince Donghai shouted. He understood the value of time – he couldn’t rest easy until the Empress Dowager and Shang-guan Sheng were captured alive.

Yuan Zifan and several eunuchs led the way, hurrying eastward.

Prince Donghai turned to look at the majestic Tongxuan Hall, and suddenly had a thought.

“Wait.” Prince Donghai had changed his mind. He had come close to the emperor’s throne several times before but always missed his chance. Who knew if this attempt would succeed? Would there be another opportunity?

He turned and ran toward the great hall. Yuan Zifan and the others followed behind in confusion, stopping at the steps, not daring to proceed further.

Prince Donghai ran up the stairs leading to the hall alone. Disappointed to find the hall doors tightly shut, there was no time to find someone to open them, and breaking through was impossible. He turned and walked along the platform’s edge, descending the steps one by one while looking down at the crowd in the courtyard – eunuchs, constables, pugilists, and ceremonial guards standing like pillars.

This was not how Prince Donghai had imagined his ascension to the throne.

But he didn’t want to wait any longer. Despite Yuan Zifan’s unexpected help, Prince Donghai still felt uncertain. The Empress Dowager was clearly prepared, and no matter what he did, it would be difficult to achieve a good outcome.

“The Emperor was killed last night!” Prince Donghai shouted. Only in this moment was his heart completely fearless. “The Champion Marquis was poisoned by Prince Ying, the Weary Marquis has left the Capital and given up his claim. Of the four contenders, only I remain!”

Prince Donghai had hoped to see reverence and solemnity, but he had given everyone too little time to prepare. Below the platform, confusion and shock filled everyone’s eyes. Though they had entered the palace to support Prince Donghai’s claim, they had run around without even seeing their enemies. The sudden coronation was difficult for anyone to accept.

“I am the Graceful Emperor’s son!” Prince Donghai persisted. “It is Heaven’s will that I inherit the Great Chu throne today before the Tongxuan Hall!”

The courtyard fell silent. Even the ceremonial guards couldn’t help turning to look at the small figure on the platform, feeling both absurd and terrified.

Yuan Zifan and some eunuchs reacted more quickly, kneeling together and shouting: “Long live the Emperor!”

Tan Ye and Tan Diao led another group to kneel and shout “Long live!” Though this coronation was hasty and abrupt, this was their goal after all, and achieving it early was acceptable.

The law enforcement officers and constables waited a while longer before kneeling. Most only moved their lips without making sound. They supported Prince Donghai becoming emperor but knew clearly that this playlike “coronation” would never be recognized.

Prince Donghai was satisfied, with only two small regrets: first, the shouting wasn’t unified enough to create a thunderous effect; second, dozens of ceremonial guards remained spectators without kneeling with everyone else.

Prince Donghai quickly walked down, looked back at Tongxuan Hall with a sigh, and said to Yuan Zifan and the Tan brothers: “We won’t go to the Empress Dowager’s palace. Let’s leave the city immediately.”

“What?” Several people were still kneeling, not understanding what had come over their “Emperor.”

“The Empress Dowager is prepared. With just our people, we can’t defeat the Eight Palace Guard Camps. Better to open the city gates and let in the Southern Army. With my uncle’s help, we can turn the tide.”

“But the city gates are controlled by the Eight Palace Guard Camps,” Tan Ye reminded him.

Prince Donghai was clearer-headed than ever. “The Empress Dowager and Shang-guan Sheng think they have us surrounded. They must have pulled most of the guard troops from the gates. If we gather more people to attack the gates, we’ll definitely succeed.”

The law enforcement officers who had hesitated to shout “Long live” were now the first to rise in support. Lian Danchen said: “Going north will get us intercepted. Let’s go to the South Gate – we can also let the Southern Army in there.”

The group ran across the wide courtyard, moving quickly until they reached the South Gate. There were guard soldiers stationed there, but not many. Like the ceremonial guards, they were confused by what had happened at Tongxuan Hall. When the many pugilists charged, they lowered their weapons and stepped aside.

A eunuch who recognized the gate officer rushed forward without a word, searched out the keys, and opened a side door.

Outside the South Gate, large groups of people were resting on the ground, quietly waiting for developments inside the palace. They were startled by the crowd rushing out.

Seeing many scholars among them, Prince Donghai immediately understood and shouted: “Follow me! Let’s open the gates to welcome the Weary Marquis!”

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

← CH 253CH 255 →