Chapter Twenty-Seven: The Empress Dowager Plans to Gift the Tiger Tally

Empress Dowager Liao lowered her arm, gently tracing the edge of the armrest on her chair, and said, “Sir’s courage in facing death truly commands my admiration!”

A faint smile appeared on Hao Lian Chunshui’s lips as he quietly sighed in relief—his life had been spared for now.

Even Prince Liang, Liu Li, was inwardly pleased at this moment. As long as the Empress Dowager kept the learned gentleman, it indirectly meant she tacitly approved of Liu Li’s actions.

Zhang Bao stole a glance at the Empress Dowager, only to find her watching him as well. Shaking her head, she waited until the guards had pushed Hao Lian Chunshui back into the hall before continuing, “In the past, the Prime Minister was visited thrice by the late emperor and casually replied with the strategy at Longzhong, which eventually led to the tripartite division of the realm. The scholar Cao Zhi also composed a poem within seven steps, using the theme of brotherhood, awakening his brother’s fraternal affection and thus sparing his life.”

She paused, then resumed, “The time has not yet come, and perhaps your insight into fate truly cannot be divulged. Today, I will not test your schemes or stratagems. However, poetry, prose, song, or a proclamation surely have nothing to do with the secrets of heaven. If you can, within seven steps, compose a work—be it poem, prose, song, or proclamation—on the current state of the realm, and if I find it fine and remarkable, I will spare your life and permit you to assist Prince Liang. If not, you shall still die!”

A cold sweat broke out once again on Hao Lian Chunshui’s brow, as if he had fallen from the warmth of sunrise into a frozen cellar. For indeed, poetry, prose, song, and proclamations were certainly not matters of fate.

At this, Prince Liang, Liu Li, chuckled quietly, whispering, “Sir, you are a man of great talent, versed in astronomy above and geography below. Surely such humble tasks as poetry or song are nothing to you.” He closed his eyes, searching his memory for poems or verses the learned gentleman had composed in daily life.

“Release the gentleman. Let him begin,” the Empress Dowager ordered, her gaze fixed unwaveringly on the scholar.

Liu Li pondered for a moment, deeply puzzled; try as he might, he could not recall any original works by the gentleman—all he had ever spoken were those of the ancients or folk tales. Lifting his head, he saw the scholar raise his foot, unable to step forward for a long while.

“If you do not take another step, I will disregard the seven-step covenant,” the Empress Dowager said sternly.

Hao Lian Chunshui’s eyes darted about. He wiped the sweat from his forehead and finally took the first step.

“One step…”

“Sir, that is four steps now!”

“Five, six, seven! Begin!” the Empress Dowager urged, seeing his hesitance, prompting him in the regular rhythm.

“Ah… Now, the realm is divided into three, and Yizhou is weary and depleted…” Hao Lian Chunshui clenched his fists, striving to steady his trembling, while racking his brains for analyses of the current state of the world.

The Empress Dowager nodded. “Indeed, that aligns with the analysis in the Prime Minister’s Memorial on the Expedition. Continue?”

Hao Lian Chunshui was aghast—was that truly from the Memorial on the Expedition? In his nervousness, he had begun to recite Zhuge Liang’s memorial! No, he must change it.

“However… however…” Hao Lian Chunshui raised his head and declared loudly, “Yet the Wei forces are numerous and well-commanded, and Sun Wu holds the east across the river, thus… thus…”

He looked up and saw the Empress Dowager’s expression growing increasingly grim. Panic-stricken, he forgot all the lines he had just recalled.

“Thus… thus…” Whether or not there was true substance in his chest was now plain for all to see.

The Empress Dowager repeated “Good” three times, then said coldly, “To think you would dare to deceive me in my own house! Do you take me for a mere woman, easy to fool? Very well, since you do not fear death, I shall oblige you! Drag him out and beat him to death!”

“Empress Dowager, please—” Now truly terrified, Hao Lian Chunshui saw her gesture to the guards once more and, in desperation, began to beg for his life. “Spare me, Your Majesty!”

But she was unmoved. He turned imploringly toward Prince Liang, only to see Liu Li glaring back at him.

Prince Liang, Liu Li, was filled with resentment. “So your claims of being taught by a great master and practicing civil and military strategy were all lies?”

Hao Lian Chunshui dared not hide anything now. The Empress Dowager was not as easily deceived as the ignorant prince. He hurriedly confessed, “I was originally a waiter at an inn in Chengdu. Having listened to the guests’ conversations, I memorized and inquired about a few things. One day I met Your Highness, grew greedy, and tried to fool you for wealth and honor. I never expected the Empress Dowager to be so wise—I can scarcely escape with my life. Please, Your Highness, spare me!”

“You!” Liu Li felt a crushing weight in his chest. He had been utterly duped! Now, looking back, he realized he was the biggest fool under heaven, led astray by a few flattering words. He turned and knelt, saying, “Mother, your son was wrong. I will never again dare entertain such reckless thoughts. Please punish me!”

The Empress Dowager smiled faintly and waved her hand. The guards dragged the despairing Hao Lian Chunshui out of the hall and into the courtyard, where the punishment began.

For a time, Hao Lian Chunshui’s cries, pleas for mercy, and the sound of sticks striking flesh rose and fell in the courtyard, but he never again uttered words of fearing not death.

The beating lasted nearly half an hour. Finally, the Empress Dowager turned to Prince Liang and said, “His Majesty sent that painting to tell me and you that when faced with a great mountain and a mighty tiger, even they proceed with utmost caution and seek a foolproof plan. For you, it is all the more impossible!”

She pointed toward the courtyard. “His Majesty sees things with utmost clarity. Look at you—fooled dizzy by a common innkeeper, nearly causing a disaster. Fortunately, His Majesty is broad-minded and does not hold it against you, otherwise even I could not protect you.”

“Yes, yes!” Liu Li kowtowed repeatedly. “Mother’s lesson is entirely right!”

He then looked up and asked, “Mother, will my imperial brother hold a grudge against me because of this? What should I do?”

The Empress Dowager replied, “That is nothing you need worry about. Since His Majesty merely sent a painting as a warning, as long as you do not repeat your mistakes, he will not pursue the matter. Still, I see that His Majesty has endured much over the years—whether he chooses to continue enduring or return to power, as his kin, we ought to help him!”

Standing aside, Zhang Bao nodded imperceptibly.

Liu Li said, “Mother speaks truly. I shall follow the ancients’ example, bear the birch and plead for forgiveness, show my sincerity, and lighten my brother’s burdens!”

The Empress Dowager shook her head. “Bearing the birch and pleading for forgiveness is necessary, but as for easing the emperor’s burdens, you had best leave that be. Just behave yourself and, when you come of age, go to your fief. As a fellow prince, your position is sensitive; it is better to keep your distance from the emperor.”

“Yes,” Liu Li sighed in assent.

The Empress Dowager continued, “It seems I must now discard the imperial tiger tally of the palace guards!” She turned and instructed Zhang Bao, “Prepare for tomorrow. We will visit His Majesty, and I will hand the tiger tally over to him.”

Puzzled, Liu Li asked, “Mother, since His Majesty has not asked for it, why take such a step?”

The Empress Dowager replied, “His Majesty does not hold your faults against you, so I must thank him! Besides, if we want his trust, we must make a gesture. Only a fool like you would be taken in by mere words—you think His Majesty is the same?”

With nothing to say, Liu Li bowed his head in shame.

Zhang Bao also knelt, exclaiming, “Your Majesty is wise!”