Chapter Eighty-Five: Palace of Compassion and Tranquility

Empress Dowager Zhang warmly led Liaochen into the Palace of Compassion and Tranquility, with Yunhua holding a fox and Gu Dayong following closely behind.

Because Empress Dowager Zhang had been practicing Daoism with Yunhua for a long time, the Palace of Compassion and Tranquility had been transformed to resemble a Daoist temple. Not only was it filled with the lingering aroma of calming incense, but even the eunuchs and palace maids were dressed in Daoist attire, a sight that briefly left Liaochen startled.

In the Palace of Compassion and Tranquility, chairs were reserved exclusively for the Empress Dowager. Perhaps in consideration of receiving Liaochen, a chair and a small round tea table had been hastily brought in and placed within the hall. Liaochen seated himself, while Yunhua, still holding the fox, sat right beside the Empress Dowager. Such a presumptuous act went completely unnoticed by the eunuchs, maids, and even Gu Dayong, making it obvious that Yunhua sitting alongside the Empress Dowager on the imperial throne was a frequent occurrence.

Yunhua had lost her mother at a very young age, and her bond with the Empress Dowager was truly that of mother and daughter, if not deeper. Such exceptional favor surpassed even that of a true princess.

As for Gu Dayong, no matter how majestic and powerful he appeared outside, within the walls of the Palace of Compassion and Tranquility, he was nothing more than a domestic servant. He obediently took his place standing behind the palace eunuchs and maids, completely stripping away any pretense of his authority as the Commander of the Western Depot.

"Has the True Man traveled to the capital this time on account of the Shrine of Loyalty?" Two cups of fine tea were served, still radiating a pure fragrance. The Empress Dowager voiced the question lingering in her heart.

The Great Ming dynasty maintained an ancestral rule prohibiting the inner court from interfering in state affairs. Therefore, no matter how great the uproar over the Shrine of Loyalty had been, Empress Dowager Zhang had shown no intention of intervening. She remained utterly devoted to her Daoist cultivation within the Palace of Compassion and Tranquility, never once inquiring about it.

Yet, she was, after all, the biological mother of the Zhengde Emperor and the Empress Dowager of the Great Ming. How could she not care for the realm of her own son? Having spent twenty years by the side of the Hongzhi Emperor, even if the imperial couple rarely discussed court politics, she had long since penetrated the storms and stresses of the imperial court. To become the mother of a nation and sit securely upon the throne of the Empress Dowager—could any such woman be ordinary?

Moreover, the intrigues and power struggles within the inner court were every bit as fierce as those in the outer court. A woman who could capture the exclusive devotion of an emperor throughout his lifetime could never be a person of mediocre talent.

"Reporting to the Empress Dowager, this humble Daoist has indeed come for the Shrine of Loyalty," Liaochen naturally did not deny his purpose.

"With the disturbance at the palace gates and hundreds of officials and scholars cast into prison, does the True Man still intend to build the Shrine of Loyalty?" the Empress Dowager asked.

Liaochen knew that for the Empress Dowager to ask such a question, she must certainly view the Shrine of Loyalty with disfavor. The chaos at the palace gates was by no means a fortunate event, and someone had undoubtedly whispered things into her ear behind the scenes—most likely taking care to keep it from Yunhua. Fortunately, the Empress Dowager showed no sign of blame. Perhaps this was the good karma he had forged with Empress Dowager Zhang by extending the life of the Hongzhi Emperor!

Liaochen did not answer whether he would continue his endeavor. Instead, he paused momentarily and said directly, "The literary arts of the Great Ming flourish greatly, which is a fortunate thing. Yet the fortune of a dynasty relies upon the harmonious balance of both the civil and the military. If the literary arts do not thrive, internal troubles remain difficult to resolve; if martial prowess does not flourish, foreign invasions are surely to be feared."

The Empress Dowager understood the meaning behind Liaochen's words. The civil officials of the Great Ming were excessively powerful; while suppressing military generals, they simultaneously suppressed the military strength of the empire. If this state of affairs continued indefinitely, it would bring about the disasters faced by the former Song dynasty. However, understanding was one thing, but believing it quite another. The northern nomads had never possessed a dynasty lasting a hundred years; to speak of an alien dynasty enduring for over two centuries beyond the present era would cause people in the current Great Ming to laugh their teeth away.

Yet, when these very words were spoken from the lips of the True Man Protector of the Country, their weight was vastly different!

"Is the Daoist implying that my Great Ming faces the calamity of being overthrown by a foreign race?" The Empress Dowager lost all desire to taste her tea, asking with a trace of anxiety.

Liaochen smiled without offering an answer. This was a heavenly secret; how could it be spoken of recklessly? The illusion cast within Li Dongyang's estate had been based upon Liaochen's own memories rather than a genuine deduction of the Heavenly Way. Furthermore, as the senior Grand Secretary of the dynasty, Li Dongyang was naturally a man capable of keeping secrets. Otherwise, Liaochen would never have dared to speak so casually.

The Empress Dowager was different; anxiety clouded her judgment. Moreover, she was a woman and the mother of the Son of Heaven. With so many people here with different agendas, if he were to speak plainly, it would certainly not take half a day for the entire capital to know, and within a year, the entire realm would be aware.

Should that happen, Liaochen would inevitably be struck and killed by divine lightning.

Since ancient times, predicting the fate of an imperial court had always been an endeavor that severely depleted one's fortune and longevity. Were not Yuan Tiangang and Li Chunfeng formidable? Yet they still brought great disasters upon their own descendants. Liu Bowen possessed knowledge that encompassed heaven and earth and contributed to the founding of the Great Ming, but did he not still meet a violent death? Jiang Taigong composed the Myriad Year Chant and enjoyed the protection of founding the Zhou dynasty, yet he could not prevent the Qi clan from replacing the Jiang lineage, ultimately resulting in the extinction of sacrifices to the Jiang surname. Zhuge Liang attempted a single divination through the Horse-Front Classics, yet he still died of illness on the Wuzhang Plains, rendering even the Seven-Star Prayer for Life utterly useless.

"It was this mourning widow who spoke out of turn! May the True Man not take offense." The Empress Dowager was, after all, an intelligent woman. The moment she saw Liaochen seal his lips, she immediately came to her senses, realizing she had asked a question she ought not to have raised—especially within the crowded and gossipy confines of the Palace of Compassion and Tranquility.

Since affairs of state could not be discussed, they could only turn to private matters. Empress Dowager Zhang was now a widow, and the sole person capable of causing her worry was the Zhengde Emperor.

For reasons unknown, three whole years had passed since Zhengde's grand wedding, yet not a single concubine within the inner court showed any sign of pregnancy. This matter plagued Empress Dowager Zhang day and night. One had to understand that the imperial succession of Zhengde concerned not only the continuation of the ancestral incense and fire, but also the crucial matter of consolidating the empire and transmitting the state. Yet her own son constantly lingered in the Leopard Quarter, leaving the Empress and her consorts unable to catch even a glimpse of the Emperor for ten days or half a month at a time. How could things be allowed to continue this way?

Empress Dowager Zhang pondered for a long time. With a single glance, the eunuchs and maids of the Palace of Compassion and Tranquility, including Gu Dayong, withdrew entirely, making it evident that the questions to follow were strictly confidential.

"The True Man possesses boundless divine powers and must surely understand both the past and the future. I wonder how many heirs my imperial son is destined to have?" Empress Dowager Zhang asked.

Upon hearing this, Liaochen felt his heart sink. The very reason he had been reluctant to enter the capital was precisely to avoid facing this exact question! The Zhengde Emperor was destined by fate to be childless, and the imperial dragon qi of the realm was shifting toward Anlu in Hubei. The imperial star of the future Jiajing Emperor had already risen—how could it be something Liaochen could easily alter?

Given the relationship between Liaochen and the Hongzhi Emperor, the Zhengde Emperor, and Empress Dowager Zhang, Liaochen had absolutely no reason to refuse help. However, the Heavenly Way possessed its own fixed numbers. The previous time, he had exhausted his heart's blood, pushing his entire cultivation to its absolute limits with the Seven-Star Prayer for Life to reverse the heavenly numbers, which had already constituted a severe infringement upon the Way of Heaven and a direct defiance of the heavenly mandate. How could he dare to reverse the heavenly numbers once more simply to extend an heir for Zhengde?

Whether the Zhengde Emperor had sons concerned the transmission of the Great Ming empire and impacted the grand momentum of the entire world. The karmic implications were monstrous. Liaochen wished neither to become a target of the Heavenly Way's wrath nor to suffer the backlash of the dragon qi. This was something he could under no circumstances agree to. If things continued down this path, no amount of merit accumulated by Liaochen would ever be enough to offset the toll!

"Empress Dowager, the Son of Heaven is naturally protected by the Heavenly Way, which concerns the vital breath of the entire realm. It is beyond the power of this humble Daoist to casually deduce. I beg Your Majesty the Empress Dowager to forgive me." Liaochen was not a man skilled in glib speech, and furthermore, someone of Liaochen's level of cultivation could not casually utter falsehoods. He had no choice but to offer such an evasive reply.

"Why does the True Man speak thus?" The Empress Dowager's complexion instantly turned pale. Although Empress Dowager Zhang did not know the exact extent of Liaochen's abilities, the title of a terrestrial immortal was by no means an empty exaggeration. Now that Liaochen uttered such words, how could Empress Dowager Zhang—who had witnessed all manner of evasive excuses—fail to comprehend the implication hidden beneath them?

If the grand momentum of the empire could be deduced millennia in advance, how could True Man Liaochen possibly fail to calculate how many heirs her imperial son would have?

Why could he not speak of it?

Empress Dowager Zhang instantly associated this with the most terrifying outcome, her face draining of all color.

The transmission of the empire and the ancestral shrines of the state—if an unspeakable tragedy were truly destined to occur, how could she, Empress Dowager Zhang, face the late Emperor and the ancestral spirits of the Zhu family after her own hundred years had passed?