Langhua: The Codependence of a Prince and His General

Treason

Halfway through the last month of the year, snow began to fall.

Xuanyuan Lang looked out into the courtyard and blew warm air onto his hands. "Looks like we'll be in for a cold winter, Mother. Shall we ask for new blankets to keep warm?"

Concubine Liang's health had been on a gradual decline over the years. She did not take care of herself and her appearance nearly as much as the other imperial consorts did, and now she could easily be mistaken as someone older than the Empress. Compared to the Noble Consort, she was positively dowdy. Almost all of the new concubines coming in every year were younger, prettier, and flashier than she was. 

That may be why she had outlasted more than two-thirds of them, though.

Even so, the constant stress of keeping out of harem politics was taking a toll on her. Xuanyuan Lang looked at her worriedly, draping a shawl over her shoulders as she coughed.

"Dongmei," Xuanyuan Lang called. "Add more coals to the fire."

"There's no need... cough... for that." Concubine Liang cleared her throat and forced a smile. "I'm fine. We should be frugal where possible."

There were lines around her eyes now. Xuanyuan Lang had not noticed them so clearly before. "Mother, we're already using barely any coal compared to the other palaces. Surely they won't mind if we use a bit more."

"I'm not talking about the other palaces, Qilang." Concubine Liang cast her gaze outside. "I'm thinking about the commonfolk. I'm afraid this is going to be the beginning of a very long winter."

"Why would you say so?"

She looked down. "Call it a woman's intuition. Things have been... growing restless lately. I've been hearing rumours."

Xuanyuan Lang recalled the First Prince's advice from earlier that year. Could the Noble Consort be making a move at last? "What sort of rumours?"

For some reason, Concubine Liang was avoiding Xuanyuan Lang's gaze. 

"Mother?" The uneasiness in Xuanyuan Lang's heart grew. "Is there something you're not telling me?"

Before he could press her for answers, a high-pitched voice interrupted him from outside Benevolent Palace.

"I come with an order from His Imperial Majesty the Emperor! His Majesty requests the presence of His Highness the Seventh Prince!"

"Father wants to see me?"  The sense of dread felt heavy in the pit of Xuanyuan Lang's stomach even as his feet carried him to the door. He may be a prince, but even he could not afford to delay his response to the Emperor's summons. 

"I'll come with you." Concubine Liang pulled her shawl closer around her and tried to follow him, but the eunuch who had come to call on Xuanyuan Lang stopped her.

"Sorry, Concubine Liang, but His Majesty expressly said that His Highness should come alone. Besides, the mistresses of the harem are not allowed to interfere with the court."

The court? Why was Father calling him to the imperial court session?

Xuanyuan Lang gave his mother a reassuring smile and a small nod, but once he turned around to go with the eunuch, his expression turned solemn. As much as he hated to admit it, he was even shaking slightly and not because of the cold.

He had never attended court sessions before. Those were the meetings held every morning where the Emperor met with all of the most influential officials in the kingdom to discuss the nation's governance. It was a place where even a single word or the slightest movement out of line could lead to execution and the extermination of one's entire bloodline. A place where the trajectory of the entire kingdom and all its inhabitants lives could be set and amended.

What was someone like him supposed to do at a place like that?

"Here comes His Highness the Seventh Prince!" The eunuch announced his arrival when they reached the entrance to the Hall of Governance. Xuanyuan Lang lifted his foot over the tall doorstep and fought to keep his steps steady as he walked past what felt like an endless line of officials dressed in their time-honoured robes, the symbol of all their political power.

None of them were looking at him, which only made it worse.

Finally, he stopped at a certain distance from the front of the hall. Out of the corner of his eyes, he saw the First and Second Princes standing at the very front of the lines on either side of the court. As they were the oldest princes and had already come of age, it was no surprise that they were participating in the court session. But even they could not step any closer to the throne.

No one stood beyond this point except the Emperor and his personal attendants. If anyone tried without permission, they might very well be suspected of plotting an assassination.

At this safe distance from the bright golden seat, Xuanyuan Lang got onto his knees.

"Your son greets you, Your Majesty, Lord Father."

There was a moment's silence. The order to rise did not come. Instead—

"Seventh Prince, Xuanyuan Lang. Do you know your crime?"

If he was not already kneeling, Xuanyuan Lang's legs might have buckled beneath him. As it was, he just bowed his head lower, his voice trembling ever so slightly.

"Forgive me, Father. I know not."

There was a slam on the Emperor's table that made everyone's hearts skip a beat. The Emperor's low voice rumbled. "Show him the evidence."

"Yes, Your Majesty," said the soft voice of the Emperor's most trusted eunuch, Eunuch Yang. He had been serving the Emperor for as long as Xuanyuan Lang could remember. Whenever he saw his father, that kindly old eunuch would be nearby.

Eunuch Yang's feet stopped in front of Xuanyuan Lang. His gaze on the back of the prince's head felt decidedly less warm than usual. "Your Highness the Seventh Prince, please behold."

There was a rustling of paper. Xuanyuan Lang looked up despite himself and saw the letters raining down around him.

The whole hall was so silent that the sound of the letters cutting through the air thundered in his ears. He caught a glimpse and realized that he was surrounded by his own writing.

These were the letters he had sent Hua Yuheng. One every month, and they piled up like snow around him.

"Seventh Prince Xuanyuan Lang. You have been secretly exchanging letters with Hua Yuheng, the son of the disgraced general Hua Meng. Do you admit to this charge?"

The Emperor's words made Xuanyuan Lang's blood run cold. The disgraced general Hua Meng? What was going on?

"Xuanyuan Lang, answer us!"

Xuanyuan Lang stiffened and lowered his head once more, trying to hold his voice steady. "I admit to writing these letters, Father. Please punish me as you see fit."

"As we see fit?" There was something in the Emperor's voice that made Xuanyuan Lang tremble even harder.

"Father, I'm afraid Seventh Brother may not know the true weight of his words." Just then, Xuanyuan Chen stepped out his line to face his father, his head bowed low in a salute. "Seventh Brother is yet young and rarely spends time away from the harem. I ask that we inform him of the severity of the charges to which he is laying claim."

Everything was a mess. Xuanyuan Lang could not comprehend what was happening, but by now he knew one thing—this had gone far beyond the friendly correspondence between two boys. Exchanging letters was a crime, but definitely not one that warranted this reaction.

The Emperor gave Eunuch Yang a look. In his soft voice that nevertheless travelled far into every corner of the hall, the eunuch declared,

"Seventh Prince Xuanyuan Lang, hear this and hear it well.

"The disgraced general Hua Meng has been accused of betraying the kingdom and colluding with the enemy. Unfortunately, he was killed in battle before he could face trial for his crimes, and his residence was searched after his death.

"Together with these letters, we have found proof that he was leaking palace secrets to the enemy camp. And you are now suspected of being an accomplice in his treachery."