A Qing princess in the Republican era
From the turn of the new century, the Qing empire has been heralded with ominous impediments one after the other. Their miserable defeat at the boxer rebellion only marked the beginning. Inside the walls of the forbidden city, the power struggle between the emperor and the empress dowager was growing ever intense. Outside the walls, nationalists and revolutionaries were clamoring to overthrow the dynasty. The times have gone tumultuous wherein causes of celebration were fleeting. In 1905, a most welcome news from the inner court came. It has been more than a decade since the emperor married and accepted concubines, but he still did not have a son to inherit the throne. With much anticipation, the emperor looked forward to the birth of a prince. However, much to his disappointment, the child was another daughter. In 1912, despite the edict of abdication being issued, the future of Aisin Gioro Wan Li, once known as Gulun Gongzhu Wan Li or Princess Wan Li of the first rank, was still looking bright. Bound by an internal verbal agreement between her mother and the new president of the republic of China, she was promised to marry the 3rd son of the president, Yuan Kezhen, upon reaching adulthood. However, not everything goes as planned. With the assassination of the president and the short-lived restoration of the Qing dynasty, Wan Li had to escape the forbidden city. Wan Li was a princess, but she was still a maiden born in imperial China. Growing up, she was mostly educated only with the moral principles and social code of behaviour called the three obediences and four virtues. Her personality was gentle, kind, shy, and meek. Instilled to her were traits and beliefs of an ideal wife leaning on dependency to a powerful and influential husband. How was she to survive without the privilege of her birthright during the extraordinary times of the republican era? -- This novel will have at least 3 major arcs. (Yes, I have written that far… at least inside my head. Haha!) 1. Wan Li's childhood in the palace/ forbidden city (qing dynasty until early republican era) Age: 0-12 2. After Wan Li escapes the Forbidden city (early republican era/ Warlord era) Age: 12-16 3. Wan Li in Shanghai. (Republican/ Warlord era) Age 16 onwards — What to expect? This novel will have romance, a lot of it later on but it doesn’t revolve entirely on that. There will be politics. Very necessary as it’s what propels the story forward. Character growth, definitely. For the better or the worse, all there but remember each character would be as human as can be. Drama, face slapping, some darkness, adventure, betrayal, all of it will be in this novel. R-18? There will be but definitely not in the early chapters. Oh and this will have a happy ending, though the roads reaching that would be bumpy. — Cover art: the pictures were grabbed from pinterest then edited by me. Important note to readers: Many events in the novel were based from historical facts. Again, many but not all. Some characters were inspired from historical figures. Take note: INSPIRED. Thus, they definitely have different attributes whether looks or personalities. In this regard, please do not assume that they’re one and the same. The characters here were created by me, so if they’re kinda evil or too kind, don’t think that the real historical figure was. Again, though this is historical, it’s still a work of fiction. So a lot of things and reasons leading to certain factual events may have been romanticized by the author (me).
Chapter 5: Longest 24 hours I
"Niang niang! Niang niang! Urgent news! Urgent news!" Lady-in-waiting Yang cried as she kneeled outside the empress' room.
The panicked cry roused Empress Ruyi from her slumber. Recognizing the voice as Lady Yang's, she quickly invited her to come in.
Lady Yang scrambled to enter the room, "Niang niang, huang shang… huang shang has passed…."
Empress Ruyi thought that her ears have heard wrong. Although it has been more than 3 years since she gave birth to Wan Li, she was still holding up hopes that the day she and emperor Gongxu reconcile would come soon. Besides, how could a healthy man die just like that? "How could that be?" she asked bewildered.
"Niang niang, they said that it was because of an illness. However, eunuch Wu… eunuch Wu's body was found hanging on a beam in his room! Niang niang, nubi believes that…"
"Have you seen Huang Shang's body yourself?" Empress Ruyi clarified. She does not believe it. If that were the case, with her love for him, there should be some form of connection telling her that her other half was gone!
"No… but nubi has…" Lady Yang who was about to continue narrating had to pause because of the loud footsteps coming from outside.
Then, Lady-in-waiting Zhu knocked on the door.
"What is it?" Empress Ruyi asked.
"Niang niang, Head eunuch Lui arrived with urgent orders from the empress dowager… Lao Foye asks for niang niang to prepare and head to the palace of heavenly purity immediately… Head eunuch Lui is waiting outside to escort niang niang there…" Lady Zhu reported.
"Alright." Empress Ruyi, knowing that the call has something to do with Emperor Gongxu, quickly replied. Then, she turned to look at Lady Yang who was assisting her up. "Let's talk about it after I come back." She instructed.
--
*Bang bang bang
The loud banging on the gates woke up everyone in Prince Zaili's mansion.
"Who could be so brave as to dare intrude in benwang's mansion at this hour!?" Prince Zaili complained as he stood up from the bed.
When he went out of his pavilion, palace servants were already in his courtyard.
"Wangye, pardon this nucai's intrusion. However, Empress dowager Cixui has issued an imperial order." Head Eunuch Lui announced.
Prince Zaili frowned. Who wants to receive an order from that old fogey? His brother was the emperor, but that power hungry bitch was just… anyway, she's so old and will die soon. With that thought, he kneeled, along with everyone who was present.
Head Eunuch Lui opened the imperial scroll. "Emperor Gongxu has issued an imperial edict that he will adopt Prince Zaili's first son, Aisin Gioro Li Shan, who is promising and of right age. In this light, for safety reasons, Empress Dowager orders that Li Shan be brought to the palace immediately."
Hearing those words, Prince Zaili started protesting. Besides, he knew that if his brother intended to adopt a child, he would tell him. Most of all, he would not select his 2-year-old son. "What are you saying? Benwang's son is barely 3 years old! Also, Benwang can bring him to the palace tomorrow! Has Huang Shang truly agreed to this!?"
"Sorry Wangye. This is Lao Foye's orders." Head Eunuch Lui apologized, then he ordered the palace guards, "Search for the child."
The people in Prince Zaili's mansion wanted to oppose the orders but they were outnumbered. In the end, there were no other children of Li Shan's age in the mansion, and he was found quickly.
Li Shan, who was just a young boy, did not recognize the men who suddenly came. One of them carried him so he started crying and thrashing. When they reached the courtyard, he saw his father and mother started calling them.
"Ahma!!!! E' niang!!!! Nanny!!!! Wah!!!! Wah!!! Wah!!!!" Li Shan cried.
Prince Zaili fisted his hand in rage but was helpless. On the other hand, the wangfei, and the nanny went to pacify Li Shan.
Head Eunuch Lui seeing this was able to confirm that they have taken the correct child. "Place him inside the palanquin." He ordered.
The child held on the edges of the palanquin not wanting to be taken away. He only calmed down when the nanny held and carried him.
Seeing this and knowing how much the dowager hated crying children, Eunuch Lui ordered to take the nanny with the child.
--
Arriving inside the palace of heavenly purity, empress Ruyi was welcomed by the sight of Empress dowager Cixui dabbing her eyes while looking at emperor Gongxu who was lying on his back. His face was blue and… she staggered as she walked. As she got nearer and nearer, she started to clearly see that he was lifeless. Her heart immediately wrenched, and her teardrops began to fall.
As she stood by his side, the nearest she got to him after she gave birth to Wan Li, she could not stop the whimper that escaped her. She grasped his cold hand with both of hers as she cried in grief.
--
TBC
Glossary:
Niang niang- form of address to the empress or other imperial women by those directly under her.
E'niang- mother (for imperial family members)
Ahma- father (for imperial family members)
Li Shan was emperor Gongxu's nephew, making him 2 generations below empress dowager cixui. This meant that when Li shan becomes emperor, Fengwan would be the next empress dowager.