Volume One: The Young Dragon Opens Its Eyes Chapter 129: The Princess Consort of Qingdu

Chapter 129: The Princess Consort of Qingdu

Upon hearing this, Zhu Qizhen immediately knew that the party involved must be a high-ranking official or a powerful noble. Otherwise, they would never have dared to act in such a manner.

For the common people, this flood was a matter of life and death, but for many of the wealthy and powerful, it was quite another story. The topography of Beijing was such that many areas were unaffected by flooding; generally, it was only the low-lying corners of the city that suffered. The southeast corner of the city wall, which Zhu Qizhen had just inspected, was one such place.

"Who is it?" Zhu Qizhen asked.

Wang Zhen replied, "Jiao Jing, the consort of Princess Qingdu."

Zhu Qizhen sneered and said, "It’s him. It seems he didn't learn his lesson the first time and is eager to court disaster again."

The mention of Jiao Jing instantly brought back a memory from the second year of the Zhengtong era. After the first year of his reign, the Grand Empress Dowager allowed Zhu Qizhen to leave the palace, though he did so infrequently. During his outings, he discovered a problem: there was a tax station set up outside the Xuanwu Gate. When Zhu Qizhen checked the official records, he found that the court had authorized no such tax collection there.

Puzzled, he ordered Ma Shun to investigate. Ma Shun quickly uncovered that the tax station had been set up privately by Jiao Jing, the consort of Princess Qingdu. Zhu Qizhen found it inconceivable that a mere consort would dare to establish a private tax station. He could not forgive it.

His inability to forgive stemmed from several reasons. First, Jiao Jing’s actions were an affront to his authority. In Zhu Qizhen’s view, the power to collect taxes belonged solely to the government—which, in this era, was the Imperial Court and the Emperor himself. What standing did Jiao Jing have to usurp such a prerogative?

Second, the people paying the tax certainly did not believe they were paying a consort; they surely thought they were paying the state. Jiao Jing pocketed the benefits, while the Emperor and the court bore the ill repute. It would be strange indeed for Zhu Qizhen to tolerate such a thing.

Third, it highlighted Zhu Qizhen’s own sense of powerlessness. A great man once said that one could only truly govern Beijing itself. Zhu Qizhen understood that even beyond the city walls, in the countryside, there were many things beyond his control. Such illicit tax stations were common in rural areas—much like the highwaymen and road bandits of certain eras. But he knew that this was happening only a few miles from the palace, at the southern gate of Beijing, where countless people passed daily. If he, the Emperor, could not stop someone from slapping him in the face within ten miles of his own home, how could he swallow such an insult?

Yet, sometimes, it wasn't just a matter of whether he could swallow it. Zhu Qizhen had ordered Yu Qian to impeach Jiao Jing, and for a time, Jiao Jing was universally reviled at court. Although Zhu Qizhen did not come forward personally, he had provided the impetus, bent on bringing about Jiao Jing’s downfall.

However, Princess Qingdu entered the palace, weeping and pleading her case. The Grand Empress Dowager intervened. Princess Qingdu—or rather, the Grand Princess Qingdu—was the seventh daughter of the Hongxi Emperor. Though not born to the Grand Empress Dowager, the latter was her legal mother. With the Grand Empress Dowager’s intervention, Jiao Jing was merely punished with house arrest, and the tax station was dismantled. There was nothing more to be done.

The Grand Empress Dowager had specifically summoned Zhu Qizhen to explain why Jiao Jing should not be executed. First, she believed his crimes did not warrant death. Second, sparing him demonstrated the benevolence of the imperial family toward its own. Third, members of the imperial family could only be punished by the family itself; they could not be executed simply because of a few impeachments by outside officials. Had Zhu Qizhen pushed for the execution himself, she might not have interfered, but he had remained in the background. To the outside world, it appeared as though only the censors and Yu Qian were calling for the execution. Such a thing could not be permitted.

Zhu Qizhen had no choice but to let Jiao Jing go. However, this incident greatly boosted Yu Qian’s reputation, as everyone knew he had nearly sent a royal consort to the executioner’s block.

Wang Zhen was well aware of these circumstances, which colored his tone. For Wang Zhen, the reasons behind the Emperor’s desire to kill his uncle-in-law were irrelevant; what mattered was that the Emperor wanted it done, and he would do everything in his power to fulfill that wish.

"Wang, take the Embroidered Uniform Guard and have Jiao Jing thrown into the Imperial Prison," Zhu Qizhen commanded. "And mind you, I hear my aunt is ill—do not disturb her."

"As you command, Your Majesty," Wang Zhen replied.

A thunderous boom echoed from afar; Ruan An had forcefully blasted a large hole at the base of the city wall, creating another drainage channel in the southeast of Beijing. However, in the torrential rain, it seemed of little use, or at least, far from enough.

On his way back to the palace, Zhu Qizhen saw large detachments of soldiers marching out of the city, wearing their mandarin-duck battle vests, carrying tools to dig drainage ditches through the various wards. They worked in the rain, attempting to divert the accumulated water. The entire city of Beijing was in a feverish state of activity, a fervor that even the relentless downpour could not extinguish.

Lifting the carriage curtain, Zhu Qizhen said to Jin Ying, "Immediately order the Imperial Hospital to provide free medical care to the people and soldiers. Requisition the necessary medicine from across the city. We must prevent an epidemic in the wake of this disaster."

"Yes, Your Majesty," Jin Ying replied.

When dawn broke, Jin Ying returned to the palace, but Zhu Qizhen was so busy he did not even glance at him. Trembling with anxiety, Jin Ying did not dare speak or ask a single question, listening obediently to the orders.

"If this matter is handled well, I will overlook certain things," Zhu Qizhen said. "If not, you may retire to your estate."

Jin Ying exhaled a long breath of relief and kowtowed. "Thank you, Your Majesty." He did not fear the tasks Zhu Qizhen assigned him; he feared being ignored. Eunuchs were creatures who lived by imperial favor. If they had none, they were finished. The ecosystem among eunuchs was even more brutal than that among the ministers. Jin Ying was a smart man; he could see that the Grand Empress Dowager was gradually relinquishing power. The future belonged to the Emperor. Given his own past, if Zhu Qizhen were to discard him, Wang Zhen would have a thousand ways to dispose of him silently.

While Zhu Qizhen was returning to the palace, Wang Zhen had already led the Embroidered Uniform Guard into the Jiao residence. Note that it was the "Jiao residence," not the "Princess’s residence." The latter was where the Princess lived, while this was Jiao Jing’s private villa—a sign that he and the Princess had effectively lived apart for a long time.

This was the norm for the princesses of the Ming dynasty. Their position was an awkward one. They were the Emperor's daughters, golden branches and jade leaves, so they were undoubtedly noble. Yet, in other ways, they were not. The restrictions placed on imperial consorts had tightened bit by bit since the founding of the dynasty. During the reign of the Hongwu Emperor, one of his most trusted officials was the consort Mei Yin, who was eventually killed in the palace by the Yongle Emperor.

Most Ming princesses were married into noble families—families like the Songs of Xining or the Mus of Qian. These were better, as the descendants of meritorious officials did not need to be overly deferential to the princesses. But Princess Qingdu was a daughter by a concubine, and while Jiao Jing’s ancestors had been meritorious officials, they lacked the prestige of the great families. Thus, upon marriage, the household treated the Princess as the absolute authority; even the parents had to bow to her.

Because of this, any man with a shred of pride dreaded marrying a princess. Consorts even had to bribe the palace maids just to share a bed with their wives. It was a suffocating existence. Jiao Jing was just such a consort. His family had coveted the status that came with marrying into the royal family, but Jiao Jing himself despised his low status in the household. He had built this separate villa precisely to avoid living at home. It was because he had built this unauthorized structure that it now blocked the drainage channel. Had it been an official princess residence built by the palace, the experienced craftsmen would have known what could not be disturbed. But the craftsmen Jiao Jing hired were different, and Jiao Jing was so arrogant that he likely wouldn't have cared even if he had known.

This time, however, he had no choice but to care.