THE GREAT RULER

         Zhao Hong seated in his cell heard the doors behind him opening.

         A couple of guards walked in led by Shi Yuzhi.

         "I suppose it is time." He muttered.

         "The sentence must be carried out," Shi Yuzhi muttered, "however, for your sake, Her Highness decided that you shall be executed from the Inner room." He reported.

        "Very well then." Zhao Hong said as he stood up and faced them.

        A pair of Eunuchs bearing in their possession a white cotton fabric moved forward and changed his garments.

        He then marched out of the cell shortly after as he approached the room that had been prepared for him, amidst intense humiliation while the masses present cursed at him, he nonetheless proceeded proudly like he had once done on the same path but previously as the mighty Crown Prince.

         Approaching a pair of crimson does, his death escorts ceased.

         "Proceed on your own at this point." Shi Yuzhi ordered and the young man without any hesitation walked in while the doors remained open behind him.

          It was radiant within and the incense was already burning in the room to give it a sweet fragrance, all the furniture was in order and in particular, a white piece of cotton cloth that was hanging from the ceiling.

          That was it, that was his knell of judgement, for the first time after hours of self-comfort he appeared confident, for the first time in four years he wasn't afraid to die like he had expected it to be.

          He gracefully mounted the stool and put his head through the knot.

         "Forgive me Your Late Majesty, forgive me my Late Father, I sincerely commit my life to you and seek profound repentance, for having even though largely unwilling surrendered myself to those very actions which are in contrast with the mandate of Heaven.

         May my blood water the fields of our people, may my corpse nourish the soils of our farmers, and may I find refuge even in the darkness so that I may not be consumed by pain." He spoke a courageous man, closing his eyes and finally kicking back the little seat.

         It was a short while later, he didn't resist it too much even as his feet swang back and forth.

         The young Emperor Lizong appearing at the gate of the small square was just in time to witness the scene at a distance and unable to hold in the pain he yelled what would have been considered the last words the dying Rebel had.

         "Your Highness...." He cried as he ran over.

         "MU LANG," Zhao Hong thought, "IT HAS BEEN FIVE YEARS, IT HURTS THAT BETWEEN THE BOTH OF US THINGS COULD ONLY END THIS WAY, BUT I HOPE THAT HEAVEN SEES MY GOOD WILL AND GIVES ME ETERNAL PEACE." He concluded before letting go of his final breath.

          Like that, he seized to live a once valiant leader, a man whose own talents and ambitions were too good for the throne and yet most poisonous for the common people.

          By the time the Emperor made his entrance even the fabric holding him was now loose, untying itself he descended only to land in the arms of his Ruler.

          Eunuch Deng ordered the doors to be shut at once to give the young man privacy, in a couple of minutes, the body of his unfortunate political rival had already turned pale and cold leaving prominent bags underneath his closed eyes and tears running out of them.

          "I am sorry Your Highness, I am sorry my brother, I could never protect you and your throne as I promised, I could never help you keep your life." He bitterly sobbed as his tears fell onto the latter's corpse.

          Empress Dowager Yang sashaying through the gates of the Central Palace, she mounted the stairs that led to its main hall, throwing the doors open, she walked into the Innermost chamber where she found the Deposed Consort Cao seated while supposedly waiting for her.

          She proceeded further into her presence and sat down in the seat that was in front of her former rival.

         "Alas, you have made it." Deposed Consort Cao remarked bowing her head.

         "What are you doing here?" She asked.

         "Your Highness...." She responded.

         "Let it be." Empress Dowager Yang said.

         "The Imperial State Tribunal found the Deposed Crown Prince guilty of treason." Deposed Consort Cao said.

         "If you are here to ask me to spare his life there is nothing more that I can do at this point." She remarked.

          "And perhaps the longer Your Highness remains silent the better?" She asked.

          "What more could I do in an atmosphere that is overwhelmed with strong feelings of resentment towards him?" Empress Dowager Yang muttered.

          "After all is it not the politician's way to survive?" Deposed Consort Cao said.

          "He had a chance at life, I gave him a chance to live." Empress Dowager Yang said.

          "Even after all these years, you haven't changed for the better xx14455362." Deposed Consort Cao muttered.

          "So you must think." Empress Dowager Yang proudly responded, "why did you come here in the first place despite knowing that it will cost you your life?" She asked.

          "Don't worry about me Your Highness but for yourself, besides, I don't think that I have that long a life to live." The latter responded.

          "It concerns me very much," Empress Dowager Yang said, "your presence here is uneasy for me, for reasons you are best aware, for me even the mere thought that there can never be two Dowager Empresses, the mere thought that our two Palaces can not face each other in the West." She muttered as the ailing old woman slowly caressed the arm of the seat where she was.

          "I once told you, Your Highness, I once hoped that I would become the Empress of this country, every time in that little damp and filthy cottage I kept on wondering how it would have been if I had become His Late Majesty's Principal Wife, maybe then for once our fates would have been exchanged and you would be the infamous callous wife seated here." She remarked.

         "Perhaps you're not wrong in thinking that I am the stealer of your fate." Empress Dowager Yang professed.

          "The Deposed Crown Prince....." Deposed Consort Cao hesitated.

          "What about him?" Empress Dowager Yang inquired.

          "He is your son." She replied and hearing this the old woman froze for a moment.

          "What!" She exclaimed.

          "The boy you fought with everything you had, the man you staked your life to vanquish, the heir you stripped of his inheritance, he is your son the Imperial Zhao Zeng." Deposed Consort Cao professed.

          "Perhaps after seeing death, you are finally losing it," Empress Dowager Yang said, "my son, the Zhao Zeng I knew, he drowned, at least as it was your handiwork." She professed.

          "Yes," the latter responded, "it was my handiwork, you don't know a thing Your Highness, even before casting him into the well I knew better than anyone that his body however old was somewhat small enough for me to snap his neck, I knew that if I killed him I'd make your life miserable, but even as he was drowning it occurred to me....." She hesitated as she looked her in the eye, "if you could fight fire with fire, iron sharpens iron, diamond cuts diamond, if I wanted to put an end to you I realised that there would be no better way than to use your own son." She confessed.

         "But he didn't beat me." Empress Dowager Yang said, still keeping calm as she sternly looked her opponent in the eye.

          "Perhaps it must be better that you'll live with the guilt of killing your son on one hand while on the other he will certainly believe that he is dying as the son of the Wronged Rebel Grand Prince Zhao Kai." Deposed Consort Cao said when suddenly Xiaoyang spoke from outside.

           "Your Highness it is I." She announced her presence.

           "Come in." Empress Dowager Yang said without any hesitation as the doors were instantly slid open and the latter gracefully walked in, kowtowing to her.

           "What is it?" She asked.

           "His Former Highness the Deposed Crown Prince Zhao Hong received the Imperial Decree, he has perished as per your order of suicide by strangulation." Xiaoyang notified.

           "You may leave." Empress Dowager Yang said.

           "Your Highness...." Xiaoyang appeared uneager to report something else.

           "What is it?" She asked.

           "His Majesty....," she stuttered, "he's with him now." She reported as the old woman barely shifting with concern she withdrew from their presence, leaving the two women as silence lingered between them.

           "This is your tragic fate, Your Highness." Deposed Consort Cao said.

           "I can kill you here." Empress Dowager Yang said still as calm as before.

           "It's no use holding it in Your Highness, you can't hide the pain of losing your own child more so when you are certainly aware that you are the one who killed him." Deposed Consort Cao muttered finally coughing up blood while her eyes turned red, she still struggled to sit upright in her seat.

           "So you expect me to wail?" Empress Dowager Yang inquired as she slowly stood up and walked towards the latter who was slowly starting to gasp for air.

           "All these years you never understood me well enough no matter how hard you tried, had you even come this close then perhaps you would have known that regardless of who it is even if it is my own flesh and blood but as long as they stand in my way I would get rid of them without even a second thought." She professed.

          "No." Deposed Consort Cao rebuked.

          "If I threw myself down the stairs of this Palace and induced my own miscarriage just to supplant the Step Empress Han without a second thought then how so do you think I would have forgiven the Deposed Crown Prince for attempting to put his sword on my neck?" She challenged the latter.

          "How could you be so heartless?" Deposed Consort Cao asked finally vomiting more blood.

          "Because I am not human anymore." Empress Dowager Yang shouted at her, "all your life you loved a man that would never even accord you the smallest piece of his heart or even give you the respect a husband would give his wife, it slowly consumed you and cost you the lives of your children that it made me realised I never wanted to end up a destitute and uncanny wrench like you turned into." She confessed.

          "No." Deposed Consort Cao shouted and with both her hands gathering the strength she could find she clutched at her neck trying to strangle her while the Empress Dowager barely resisted.

          "Yes," the old woman said as she ghastly smiled at her, "even if you tell me this, I lose nothing, after all the man that sits on that throne is my son as well, the son I sent out of the Palace, the son I shielded from both you and Han Touzhou is now the Ruler of this country." She broke it to her.

          "No." Deposed Consort Cao rebuked.

          "In this life or in any other life your Highness, you can never beat me at my own games, you can never beat me at my own schemes because you were always my shadow, it's what you are and it's what you'll always be." She whispered to her while the demented woman coughed up more blood, this time in disappointment as the Empress Dowager seized the candlestick on the nearby table in her hand.

          "I'll make sure I tear you to pieces, and afterwards, I'll send you the pieces of your daughter and all her kin in the Netherworld." She strongly assured her before she swang her hand and struck the Deposed Consort heavily on her head.

          Blood gushed out and sprinkled on her face while the ailing rival letting go she fell in her seat and slowly started bleeding to death with the poison also taking its course as she stood upright and looked at her silently.

          Perhaps cursing her, the last she could see was her rival's eyes open as she released her last breath, inducing the last woman standing to take a deep breath and sigh.

          "Anyone?" She called and the doors opening, Xiaoyang and Manyin walked in.

          "Your Highness?" They said.

          "The Deposed Consort Cao broke His Late Majesty's Decree and entered the Central Palace where she attempted to take the life of the Empress Dowager out of Jealousy, her body shall be mutilated but out of my generosity she will be buried as a Jieyu." She said.

          "Yes, Your Highness." They muttered.

          "Clean this place and invite in a priest to consecrate the room of the nation's mother," she further said, "we can't have the walls of the Central Palace haunted by the ghost of the callous overbearing Consort." She remarked as she cleaned the blood on her face with her handkerchief before she turned around and sashayed out of the room.

        The Late Deposed Crown Prince's shrine was arranged as part of a small residence close to the Imperial mausoleum.

        Emperor Lizong kneeling in front of his corpse, the Deposed Crown Princess Wu made her entrance and kowtowed to pay her last respects.

        "Sister-in-law?" Emperor Lizong muttered.

        "Please don't call me that much Your Majesty." She muttered.

        "It must have been hard." He mentioned.

        "I happened to be going through the area." She mentioned.

        "It has been a while since the both of you were divorced." He reminded her.

        "Perhaps," she muttered, "that much he chose to do go protect me and my family." She confessed and the young man though hardly mentioning it he couldn't help but feel sorry.

        They reserved their silence thereafter as they looked at the wooden memorial tablet that had been erected in front of them.

        Empress Dowager Yang sat in her Chambers quietly as her mind drifted far away.

        She seemed unable to contain her thoughts at the moment as she recalled the words that the dead Deposed Consort Cao had mentioned to her.

        Beiyuan suddenly made his entrance before her and bowed his head.

        "Your Highness." He spoke up, gathering her attention.

        "Has His Majesty returned to the Palace?" She inquired.

        "No." He replied nonchalantly.

        "Why?" She inquired.

        "He chose to escort His Late Highness' body to the family graveyard close to the Imperial Mausoleum." He replied.

        "I didn't think he'd grieve that much." She remarked.

        "Perhaps it is because of old time's sake?" Beiyuan pointed out.

        "I shall go see him." She said.

        "But Your Highness......" The latter speaking in protest she boldly interfered.

        "I doubt that I am wrong to care as much as he does, after all, the Late Deposed Crown Prince was my legal son as well." She asserted.

         "Yes Your Highness." Beiyuan agreed reluctantly as the old woman stood up and sashayed out of the room while the latter followed her closely.

        She arrived at the small shrine and setting foot inside she caught sight of the young Emperor.

        "Your Majesty....?" She called.

        "Are you now satisfied?" He asked disheartened.

        "I beg your pardon." She muttered.

        "The Deposed Crown Prince is dead and can no longer contend with your might so I am asking, are you now satisfied Your Highness?" Emperor Lizong.

         "Calm down Your Majesty." She pleaded with him.

         "How is it that I can be calm, I have lost the one man I sincerely loved and cared for in the whole world, the one man that I could call my friend and perhaps my brother, I lost the one man who at one point in time I had sworn to protect even with my life." Emperor Lizong remarked.

         "It couldn't be helped." Empress Dowager Yang muttered.

         "Perhaps for Your Imperial Highness it certainly couldn't." Zhao Yun mentioned, "this Crown, this throne, as long as I am still alive, the strife for it will never end." He asserted.

         "As it so happens your ancestors shed their blood for it." Empress Dowager Yang calmly remarked as she walked close to the place where her son's corpse was.

         "At least he'll be buried as a Prince of this Country, perhaps I should consider it that your grace is immeasurable." Emperor Lizong said.

         "He was my son after all." She muttered, "that spirit of iron he possessed I gave him, the fiery glare of his was mine to begin with. How can I forget that greed and insatiable thirst as well, after three years of indifference I suppose he took after me." She professed while the young Emperor was puzzled momentarily.

        "You discarded him Your Highness and you killed him." He rubbed it in her face, "the son you adopted to protect you, you killed him with your own hands." He insisted.

         "And I don't have the time to feel sorry, I can not possibly afford to be remorseful." She suddenly spoke up.

        "What more are you going to do Your Highness?" Zhao Yun inquired, "what more will you desire and covet from me at this point?" He challenged her.

        "A mother who murders her son is sinful, a monarch that does that much doesn't deserve to command the confidence of the Imperial Court and the regency unless she is forgiven by the State." She replied.

         "Your Highness...." Emperor Lizong speaking up to refrain her was silenced.

         "I must stay true to my word and step down from my regency." She resolved, "I'll need you to be the filial son and empower me to that position once again along with the Imperial subjects." She said.

         "If you will it Your Highness." The young Emperor muttered.

         "Now you are a good monarch." She flattered him smiling ghastly while studying the expression in his eyes.

         "It's not like I have a choice too Your Highness," he replied, "I should do as you say or else I shall become the undutiful son who will need discarding just like His Late Former Highness." He remarked.

          "And we wouldn't want that to happen." Empress Dowager Yang muttered with a ghastly smile on her face before she turned around, erasing the expression and instantly replacing it with a frown, she sashayed out of the small room.

          Emperor Lizong getting closer to Zhao Hong's body he stared at it.

          "What an unfortunate fate you had Your Highness!" He exclaimed, "you have no idea how it breaks my heart to see you lying here like this." He muttered and waited quietly for a moment as though expecting at least a reaction.

          He got none in the end, not even one at all.

         "I'll be a good Emperor for your sake, I shall certainly hold firmly once the power that has been stolen from us, I shall let you see a beautiful world, I promise, I shall build the country you so fervently wished to build." He swore.

          The Empress Dowager's feet wandering she found herself lost in thought, having advanced for a couple of metres Manyin stopped her.

          "Your Highness, this is not the way to your Chambers." She pointed out.

          "Is it so?" She asked confused raising her eyes only to see an old but well-kept familiar residence.

          "This is the Late Imperial Prince Zhao Zeng's residence." Xiaoyang reported.

          "I haven't been here in a long while," she muttered, "it's so funny to see that it hasn't changed so much in all those years." She remarked as she proceeded further, stepping over the threshold, she advanced towards the stairs that led to the main building after which she made her entrance.

          Barging through the Chambers, Manyin and Xiaoyang progressing the Empress Dowager halted them immediately.

         "I need to be alone." She said.

         "Your Highness.....?" Manyin seemed hesitant.

         "Please." She requested in what felt like a desperate tone that the two unwillingly made their exit from the room leaving the old woman alone.

          She looked around, momentarily reliving the memories within those walls, she raised her eyes up to the little table in front where she had played with him along with her Late Husband.

           She moved closer until she stopped to look at the bed on her left, she was instantly reminded of the times she tucked her son in and kissed him goodnight.

           She slowly approached it and sat down, her eyes gazing intensely at the pillow she picked it up and held it in her arms.

          "Zeng'er?" She whispered but to know avail, she had barely noticed the tears falling from her eyes that she persistently wept while trying to refrain herself from making too much noise.

          "I'm sorry that I couldn't protect you, I am sorry that I killed you." She lamented while the darkness consumed her.

          She had done too much, she had killed too many people, Han Touzhou probably laughing in his grave must have turned upon realising that for once, someone had stolen a match on the Empress Dowager who had him killed.

         Shi Miyuan seated in his study, Dong Hua made his entrance and bowed his head to him while the latter responded with silence.

         "I looked into His Highness." He reported.

         "What about him?" Shi Miyuan inquired and the latter handing over a small record, the old man took it into his hands and perused through its contents.

         "The Grand Internal Prince Consort's background is a bit obscure but reliable sources identified him to have been spotted around the island where Han Touzhou's wife was exiled." He reported.

         "What happened to that old woman?" Shi Miyuan asked.

         "After ten years in exile she fell ill and died, it is asserted that her son committed suicide by burning himself in their house where the villagers were able to collect his remains." Dong Hua reported.

         "Ten years in exile, if I recall that was around nine years ago before the Late Crown Prince Zhao Xun perished." Shi Miyuan pointed out.

         "In deed, it was exactly around that time that Lin Cun became actively involved with the Hanlin Academy and after three years he was able to succeed in passing the official exam but for some reason he refused to be advanced to the position of a Courtier." Dong Hua pointed out.

         "Were there any strange movements during the coup of the Deposed Crown Prince?" Shi Miyuan inquired.

          "No Your Excellency," Dong Hua replied, "I considered the possibility but the results proved him to be unaware. He was in fact a normal citizen ever since the resistance was publicized." He assured the latter who holding onto his chin and caressing it, he went into deep thought.

          "Such a strange accident, his character on the other hand also has me worried, as it is that this much has sufficed from the same area we sent our enemies to die, I can't help it but think what if Han Touzhou's son survived?" He pointed out.

          "I see." Dong Hua muttered.

          "But Han Touzhou's son was the type that hardly ever gained any degree of public recognition." Shi Miyuan said.

          "There was a rumour that was prominent amongst the elite classes that the child was adopted by his wife and having not been his biological father there were times the servants in his household claimed him to be indifferent to the young man because of it." Dong Hua mentioned.

         "It seems we didn't know much about Han Touzhou after all." Shi Miyuan remarked.

          "Everyone knew that he hated to involve his family in his political disputes and besides at that time it didn't seem like they were any bigger a threat to Her Highness than he was." Dong Hua mentioned.

          "But how reliable are the rumours?" Shi Miyuan asked.

          "I am not certain about this Your Excellency." Dong Hua replied.

          "Look into the details of Han Touzhou's son, from birth to his maturity." He resolved.

         "Yes!" Dong Hua seemed startled.

         "I believe there has to be a record at least even if a picture that we might find useful." He remarked.

         "Yes Your Excellency." Dong Hua replied as he withdrew from the room.

         "Who are you Lin Cun," the old man asked himself, "how is it that you acquired that pendant?" He wondered.

         After a couple of hours, Empress Dowager Yang stepped out of her Late son's chamber, surprisingly calm and composed as they had barely expected, she had a strange fire burning within her eyes that they could hardly explain.

         "Are you alright Your Highness?" Xiaoyang inquired.

         "I am fine." She responded, "summon the Grand Secretary." She ordered.

         "What for Your Highness?" Manyin asked her quite surprised.

         "I need to fulfil my promise and step down from my regency." She replied immediately descending the stairs and heading in the direction of the Ciming Palace.

         "Hurry up." Xiaoyang told one of the girls there, "inform the Imperial Grand Chancellor as soon as possible." He ordered as the little one immediately rushed away.

         Emperor Lizong still kneeling in front of Zhao Hong's corpse, Eunuch Ling made his entrance into the room.

         "Your Majesty?" He cried aloud as the young man slightly raised his head over his shoulder.

         "What is it now?" He asked, hardly uninterested in the issue.

         "Her Highness the Empress Dowager has sent for the Imperial Grand Secretary," he reported, "it seems that everyone is aware that she is serious about stepping down from her regency." He remarked.

          "I see." Emperor Lizong muttered nonchalantly.

          "How can you be calm Your Majesty?" The old man asked.

          "Are you that much concerned about me?" Emperor Lizong asked.

          "Your......" Eunuch Deng about to speak up probably in his defence was suddenly interrupted.

          "What do you think people are?" The young man asked as the old man momentarily went speechless.

          "Forgive me Your Majesty." It was all he could bring himself to say.

          "For a woman who could turn an entire nation of people into bloodhounds, she would never bear the burden of the blood of all her victims so she instead chooses to place it upon the hands of all those that might have shared the same thought but were instead too weak to do it themselves." Zhao Yun remarked.

          "What are you saying Your Majesty?" Eunuch Deng asked.

          "Am I too wrong in believing he was blameless?" He mentioned, "suppose we say he was right, suppose he really was guilty, at the end of it all, it just so happens that for some reason he still believed that I should inherit his dream." He remarked.

          "And is that all the Late Deposed Crown Prince wanted?" Eunuch Deng asked.

           "What more did he long for?" Emperor Lizong asked.

           "Karma is cruel as much as fate is Your Majesty, however, if it is even if once you shall desire with your whole heart to possess all the power you believe is rightfully yours, you must live at all costs and you must survive, bend if you must, break if you have too, gravel if its the last possible thing and even surrender if you are without an option but regardless of this, let it make you stronger." Eunuch Deng advised him.

          "Why should I believe you who is not my people?" Emperor Lizong asked.

          "Her Highness chose you for a reason and equally, for Her Highness to come this far she did just as much." The old man said.

          "And why are you telling me this?" Emperor Lizong inquired.

           "Conflict even though inevitable can be minimised and I believe the dreams which Her Highness has for this country are themselves sincere as well, but as we are all survivors and not immortal I suppose you would as well say that you have all the time in the world that she doesn't have." Eunuch Deng responded, "you must remain patient to achieve just as much as Her Highness has achieved, after all, she got just as much by being patient as well." He asserted and bowing his head, he stepped out of the room.

           Shi Miyuan seated in his study the doors were opened and through them the Empress Dowager's Lady-in-waiting made her entrance.

           "Your Excellency." She greeted him.

           "To what do I owe the pleasure?" He asked.

           "Her Highness is proceeding with the renunciation of her position as the Imperial Regent." The young woman reported.

           "Really?" He asked.

           "Yes." She confirmed.

           "Return." He ordered and the young woman bowing her head she stepped out of the room.

           "Anyone?" He called and the doors being opened one of his servants rushed in immediately.

           "Yes, Your Excellency." He muttered.

           "Prepare my official robes." He ordered and the young man bowing his head he immediately rushed off.

          "Her Highness has done what?" Peng Zishou inquired.

          "It appears as though she has made up her mind to step down from her regency." Xiaoyang replied, "she has requested your immediate presence in the Ciming Palace and I believe that it is to officiate an Imperial Edict." She remarked.

          "I see," the old man responded, "what about the Imperial Grand Chancellor?" He inquired.

          "I have sent word to him, he must be aware by now." Xiaoyang replied.

          "I never thought Her Highness would be this serious about the issue surrounding the Deposed Crown Prince's execution but as she seems to be seeking redemption and justification then we must accord it to her." Peng Zishou muttered.

          "Would it not be for the good of the Imperial Court?" Xiaoyang asked.

          "For the welfare of our Greater Heavenly Empire I believe it is still too early to grant His young Majesty excessive power and authority." Peng Zishou asserted.

          "I'd better return to the Palace." Xiaoyang mentioned as she stood up and kowtowed to him.

         "Don't worry, I'll be there in a moment." Peng Zishou assured her and responding with a sincere smile she departed from the vicinity.

         Empress Dowager Yang arriving in her chamber moved to her seat in the audience Hall and sat down with Manyin beside her.

         "Can I do anything for you Your Highness?" She inquired.

         "You have already done too much for today." The old woman replied, "leave me alone for a little while, again." She asserted and the latter withdrawing from her presence she had the doors shut behind her.

         There outside she found her brother Beiyuan standing. 

         "How is Her Highness?" He asked.

         "She appears to be acting very odd ever since the passing of the Deposed Consort Cao and the Former Crown Prince Zhao Hong." She reported.

         "First I heard that wrench came into the Palace and went to the Central Residence of the Empress, the next I heard she died in there and I can't seem to wonder if something went wrong." Beiyuan pointed out.

          "The Deposed Consort committed suicide but prior to that it seemed she had a conversation with Her Highness much as no one is aware of its details." Manyin reported.

         "Could that wrench have told Her Highness something unpleasant?" Beiyuan asked.

         "It's possible on one hand." Manyin replied.

         "What about the other?" He asked.

         "It's also possible that Her Highness is being pressed by guilt considering the fact that at one point in life they were very close like sisters." She replied.

          "I seem to have forgotten that too." Beiyuan pointed out.

         "Many would have." Manyin said as she looked at the empty square.

         "It is only a matter of time before the officials gather." Beiyuan said.

         "I do hope everything works out according to our plan or even better for our own good." Manyin remarked.

         "As you are more worried than I am?" Beiyuan uttered.

         "Given the Empress Dowager's current condition I am afraid I must say, there's a side of her that she appears to have exposed a bit too suddenly and for some reason I am not certain I can trust it." Manyin replied.

         A couple of minutes later, the gates of the Ciming Palace were flung open.

         Shi Miyuan appeared through with the company of hundreds of officials both High and low ranking as they progressed towards the staircase that led to the Empress Dowager's audience Hall.

         Stopping a couple of metres away from its foot, they immediately went onto their knees and bowed their heads once before they raised their hands forward and looked through them at the pair of crimson iron doors that hid her from their sight.

         "Your Highness?" He shouted aloud getting everyone's attention, "what is this business that I hear about your renunciation of regency?" He asked.

         "Yes." Beiyuan spoke up, "Her Highness has summoned the Imperial Grand Secretary." He reported when suddenly, the gates of the residence being opened Peng Zishou's presence was announced.

          He sashayed through to the square where everyone was gathered, holding in his hand the golden scroll as he proceeded down the Empress Dowager's way.

          He then mounted the stairs as Beiyuan and the rest of the ladies in waiting and servants paved way, halting in front of the doors to the audience Hall which were finally opened up to him.

          "May I come in Your Highness?" He requested.

          "Yes." Empress Dowager Yang replied as he showed himself through until eventually he was standing before the old woman.

          He bowed his head and then kowtowed to her.

          "I have heard that Your Highness was disheartened." He remarked.

          "What kind of mother would not lose herself after killing her son?" She asked.

          "Seeing that things have come this far I suppose the world already believes your Highness is faultless, being the mother of the Deposed Crown Prince is different from being the Empress Regent of this country." He said.

          "And whom have the people decided for themselves?" She asked, "who is it they want?" She insisted on knowing.

          "The country needs the Empress Regent." Peng Zishou replied.

          "Whoever the country wants is very different from whom it needs and I believe I asked a clear question Your Excellency." She loudly scolded that her voice was heard from outside.

          "As only the Empress Regent of this country would sacrifice her personal desires and obligations as the mother of the Deposed Crown Prince, who is it that is to blame if it is not we the people for whom you have risked, to step down from your regency would mean that Your Highness considers His Late Majesty sinful for having denied the Greedy Deposed Crown Prince the Imperial Dragon throne, stepping down from your regency would mean that Your Highness has found fault in the judgement of the Imperial State Tribunal and the Court at large." Peng Zishou replied.

         "Then are you saying that no one should be responsible for the Deposed Crown Prince's execution?" She asked aloud.

         "As it so happens His Majesty is also Your Highness' legal son and as his mother is it not you who is obliged to protect him." Peng Zishou asked as the old woman kept quiet.

         "Your Highness raised both Princes and accorded them equal volumes of love, respect and mentorship, you looked out for each of them equally like any mother despite the fact that they were not born from your womb. As the Deposed Crown Prince was rather greedy and unfilial it is rather unfortunate that he gave in to these poisonous thoughts and coveted the Imperial power, he was thus tried as a citizen of this country and executed as a criminal of the State so he is alone to blame for his own cruel and unfortunate end." Peng Zishou said.

          "And what does His Majesty think about this?" She asked as the old man fell silent this time round.

          "The Late Deposed Crown Prince was his brother and even if I am the Regent he is the real Ruler of this country so I  believe that his say in this matter is equally important." She pointed out.

          "Your Highness....." Peng Zishou speaking in protest she interfered.

         "Will you draft the Edict or not?" She asked.

         "I stand with the Courtiers, I am with the entire Imperial Court, I can not sin against His Late Majesty and the people of this country which is why I won't draft the Edict you require." Peng Zishou said as he bowed his head to her.

          "Is this everyone's resolve?" She asked.

          "Yes, Your Highness." He replied.

          "Get out." She ordered and the latter withdrawing instantly, she intentionally smacked the table and threw the things down.

          "It doesn't matter what the world thinks, even if they find me innocent, if His Majesty thinks just as much about me then I want to hear it from him personally, otherwise, I will not just stop at stepping down from my position as the Empress Regent but I shall additionally swallow poison and die on this spot." She shouted aloud.

           The Courtiers outside went in panic and Shi Miyuan seizing the opportunity he led the others in unison.

           "Please Your Highness, withdraw your decision to step down from your regency." They cried in protest as their plea resounded even beyond the walls of the Imperial City.

           "What will you do Your Majesty?" Empress Dowager Yang asked herself, "what will you do now?" She kept on muttering within the darkness as she smiled at herself ghastly.

           Feng Ba standing on his balcony his wife immediately approached him infuriated.

          "So this is where you are?" She mentioned that the latter turned and faced her.

          "Is anything wrong?" He asked.

          "Your Mother in Law just died in the Central Palace and Her Highness asked her mutilated body to be given a proper funeral mocking her, how is it that you have done nothing until now?" She asked.

          "Perhaps you are more able to do something about it since she was your mother and not mine?" He challenged her, "I am ready to listen to whatever advice you have to offer." He mocked the latter into silence.

          "Are you even aware of what's going on in the Palace?" She asked.

          "Perhaps much better than you, Her Highness intends to relinquish her position as the Imperial Regent out of guilt for having consented to the execution of her so-called beloved but sinful son." He replied.

          "Then are you aware that even with the world pleading in her favour she has only asked for His Majesty's say on this or else she'll swallow poison?" Princess Yuping inquired.

          "Maybe not." Feng Ba confidently replied.

          "You know it very well that Her Highness is basically trying to force His Majesty to give her all the power in the world, she's not merely justifying the Late Deposed Crown Prince's execution alone but also eliminating any cause of resistance to her hegemony considering the fact that now all the Provincial Governors are under her direct control." The young woman remarked.

          "Which is all the more reason why we must wait." Feng Ba said.

          "Until when?" Princess Yuping asked.

          "Until His Majesty moves." The latter responded.

          "And when will that be?" Princess Yuping insisted on knowing, "After how long?" She pestered her husband.

          "It's been roughly a year and His Majesty has barely settled on the throne, however, with time even if the Empress Dowager is against it he'll have to take in concubines which will necessitate the presence of an Empress Consort in the Inner Court." Feng Ba mentioned that the latter was suddenly calm momentarily.

          "How sure are we that the Empress Consort will not be one of the Empress Dowager's people?" Princess Yuping inquired.

         "Some politicians may be loyal while on the other hand, others may be greedy, since the Empress' position is guaranteed to give the Emperor's in-laws power then my guess is that if His Majesty is just as willing to end his mother's influence he shall seek not a family she can control but one that can protect and serve him undoubtedly." Feng Ba replied.

         "And suppose His Majesty is deficient in that will we require?" Princess Yuping asked.

         "Then we'll gain control of the Inner Court the same way Her Highness did." Feng Ba replied.

         "Please Your Highness," Yu Tianxi shouted, "do not terminate your regency." The others begged with him.

         "Stepping down is disregarding His Late Majesty's command to oversee the Civil and Military Affairs of our Greater Heavenly Empire and as His Majesty is still inexperienced in handling the affairs of State we simply can not let the country fall into anarchy." Shi Miyuan strongly advocated.

          "Please Your Highness, let not your personal feelings cloud your duty to the people of this country." Peng Zishou said.

          "Do not terminate your regency Your Highness." The Yang Brothers spoke up.

          "Do not terminate your Regency Your Highness." The rest of the officials protested in unison as the old woman remained calm inside, slowly tapping her table she was as patient as she could be which somewhat had Beiyuan and Manyin worried.

          "I can't believe Her Highness is this stubborn." Bao Langya remarked with Xiaoyang standing beside him.

         "She has to be since she's basically offering the Emperor her life." She said.

          "What if he refuses?" Bao Langya inquired.

          "He can't even if he wanted." Xiaoyang replied, "his life, that of his brother and the Empress Dowager's, in particular are tied to each other so in case she dies he will be the defenceless unfilial son who killed his mother." She muttered.

          "Upon such a background he might end up losing his throne by justifying resistance which might not guarantee both his security and that of his brother." The old soldier realised.

           "And if he stands with the officials he is basically giving Her Highness all the authority in the world." Xiaoyang said.

           "Her Highness is in deed one cunning woman!" Bao Langya exclaimed.

           "I admit that before I never understood her but after serving her all these years I couldn't help it but wonder how it so happens that her thoughts are this strange." Xiaoyang mentioned.

           "Perhaps she took after her mother." Bao Langya pointed out, "Madame Zhang though oftenly quiet was very perceptive of politics, she was wise, intelligent and when the situation required her to be malicious, she certainly was." He muttered.

           "Please Your Highness, do not terminate your regency." The officials continuously pleaded on their knees as the hours went by.

          "Your Majesty, it has already been three hours and the sun is about to set." Eunuch Deng pleaded with him.

          "I know." The young man muttered.

          "You don't seem to understand the gravity of the situation Your Highness." Eunuch Deng pointed out.

          "Maybe you can explain it to me." Emperor Lizong shouted at the top of his voice.

          "Your Majesty, please don't let your feelings obstruct your duty for it will wreck the stability of our Greater Heavenly Empire." The old man cautioned, "the Courtiers have endured enough therefore I implore you to obstruct Her Highness' renunciation of her regency." He insisted.

         "So I must hand her the reins of power myself?" He asked.

         "As it can simply not end with the death of the Deposed Crown Prince alone and it's the only way to keep the loyal subjects from rebelling Your Majesty." Eunuch Deng mentioned.

          The young Emperor momentarily silent appeared to give it a deep thought while the old Eunuch studied him earnestly.

         "I'll go to the Ciming Palace." He resolved.

        "Do not terminate your Regency Your Highness." The Courtiers stationed outside still pleaded when the gates of the Square were flung open.

        "His Majesty the Emperor." Eunuch Deng shouted aloud, the sound of trumpets possessing the skies reached through the doors of Ciming Palace straight to where the Empress Dowager sat deep in the darkness that had engulfed her Chambers.

         He stepped over the threshold, in the company of his retinue, dressed in his official robes, he held in his hand the golden tray that possessed the Imperial Jade Seal.

         The Emperor's symbol of power, stationed outside its little golden chest, the key to the mandate of Heaven passed down through the last twelve generations, the voice of a thousand people, the power for which many lives had been lost and too much blood had already been shed.

          The Courtiers looked at him in the grace of a King, with all regality and pomp as he positioned himself at the forefront.

           The old woman was waiting inside, perhaps aware what was going to happen next, she had waited as a lady of the Palace for that very day, for that very moment. Thirty years of struggle, thirty years of bitterness and sacrilege, thirty years of overwhelming greed and lust for power, she had schemed and lost herself through the turbulent currents of life while sacrificing too much for that one moment that was going to change the flow of history and alter the reigns of women who had come before and those to come after her.

           Still in the silence that prevailed through the courtyard, broken and pushed to the furthest point from which he was uncertain to return he knelt before the whole world while offering his heritage to the closed doors.

          "YOUR GRAND HIGHNESS," he called partly calm and partly desperate that for once he felt he had the attention of everyone in the Empire.

          "IS MY MOTHER'S SIN AGAINST THE HEAVEN'S TOO GREAT FOR HER TO BEAR?" He asked hoping for an answer from within but only yielded silence.

         "WAS IT NOT THE LOVE THAT YOU GAVE TO THIS LOWLY YOUNG MAN, BROUGHT FORTH WITH COURTESAN BLOOD? THE MAN YOU GAVE A FAMILY AND A NAME, YOU GAVE A HOME AND YOU GAVE THE WORLD.

          WHAT CAN RELIEVE THIS BITTERNESS WHICH SPRINGS FROM THE BOTTOM OF MY HEART, IT BURNS AND CONSUMES ME LIKE AN INSATIABLE RAGING FIRE THAT IS ETERNAL, AND LEAVES NOTHING BUT UNHEALING SCARS.

          I ASKED MYSELF, WHAT WAS IT THAT I DID TO DESERVE THIS AFFECTION, WHAT IS IT THAT I DID TO DESERVE THE IMPARTIAL LOVE YOU GIVE, I WAS WILLING TO ACKNOWLEDGE THAT I COME SECOND IN YOUR HEART, UNTIL I REALISED THAT THE MILLIONS OF PEOPLE YOU HAVE EMBRACED IN YOUR ARMS IS JUST THE SAME AS LOVING ME OR EVEN SO MUCH MORE.

           AS IT IS A SIN FOR A MOTHER TO KILL HER SON, IS IT NOT A GREATER SIN TO FAIL TO PROTECT HER OTHER AND ALL THOSE IN THE ENTIRE COUNTRY WHO ARE YOUR CHILDREN AS WELL? AND WHICH IS WORSE BETWEEN THE TWO, A MOTHER THAT PUNISHES AN UNFILIAL SON TO CORRECT HIS ERROR AND ONE THAT IDLY WATCHES HIS FAULTS FOR FUTURE GENERATIONS TO CRITICIZE?

           THE DEPOSED CROWN PRINCE SINNED FIRST, NOT ONLY AGAINST OUR FOREFATHERS BUT ALSO AGAINST YOU WHO SHIELDED HIM THROUGH THE STORMS OF HIS LIFE, EVEN SO THAT I ACKNOWLEDGE HE WAS MY BROTHER IT GAVE HIM NO RIGHT TO DEEPLY COVET THE POWER HE WAS STRIPPED OF FOR HAVING FAILED IN HIS RESPONSIBILITIES, THE POWER HE GAVE UP BECAUSE OF HIS INCOMPETENCE IN THE FIRST PLACE.

           I AM NOT THAT PERFECT AND EVEN WHILE STILL MOURNING MY LATE FATHER I AM YET TO LEARN TO PROPERLY GOVERN THIS OUR GREATER HEAVENLY EMPIRE. IT IS FOR ME A BIT TOO EARLY FOR YOU TO CAST ASIDE THE GOVERNMENT FOR MY SAKE AND RENOUNCE THE OFFICE THAT THE WILL OF HEAVEN HAS BESTOWED UPON YOU THROUGH ME.

          PLEASE YOUR GRAND HIGHNESS, NOT AS YOUR SON BUT AS THE RULER OF OUR GREATER HEAVENLY EMPIRE I BEG YOU, CARRY ON YOUR MAGNIFICENT REGENCY AND HOLD IMPERIAL POWER AS DELEGATED BY YOUR PRECEDENT VICARS WITHIN THIS DYANSTY." He mentioned.

          "Please Your Highness, do not terminate your Regency." The rest of the officials joined him in support as they bowed their heads before the Empress Dowager's Hall.

          The Doors were suddenly opened and everyone present raised their eyes in their direction.

          They recognized the silhouette which approached the light to become vivid in their sight.

          The Empress Dowager, despite small strands of gray hair looked youthful having covered most of her hair in a pitch-black dye.

          She wore a set of blue, crimson and golden robes, adorned with the Emperor's Royal Emblems, two dragons and a Sun in between. The clouds winding above her cleavage with lotuses blooming about the hem, at the top of her head was the most beautiful headdress, carved in the image of a black turtle surrounded by four phoenixes facing every direction. The hairpins, numbering to four had their heads carved like dragon faces and ending in five taloned tails.

          One would tell the aura of an Empress had dissipated and that of a mother goddess had emerged, her eyes had a different glow compared to that which she had possessed ever before.

          "AS YOUR MAJESTY THINKS THIS DEEPLY ABOUT ME, HEAVEN HAS AS WELL SPOKEN TO ME, I CAN NOT STOP ASSISTING OUR AUGUST SOVEREIGN IN GOVERNING THIS COUNTRY AND I CAN NOT IGNORE MY LATE HUSBAND'S WISH TO SAFEGUARD THIS GLORIOUS KINGDOM.

           AS MANY OF YOU HAVE WILLED, AS YOU HAVE ALL LENT ME YOUR CONFIDENCE TODAY, I WILL CONTINUE MY REGENCY AND WILL GOVERN LIKE ALL THOSE VICARS THAT PRECEDED ME." She announced raising her hands to the sky.

          "Long Live Your Grand Highness, long Live Our Greater Heavenly Empress Dowager." A new chant emerged from the Officials that the old woman looking at the sky smiled at herself.

          "Mother, I did it." She thought, for a moment content. She could no more feel the apex of power, she had reached it, she had become the all-great Empress Mother, she had justified her reign and of course, without even the slightest opposition in the Court, she had owned up the world.

          Through malice, through heartbreak, through pain, through war, a woman unlike any other had been born, this much she knew, this much she believed, holding onto the slightest hope that she'd beaten the prophecy against her, believing that there never would rise another woman and that she would never become the shadow of another.