She nodded and An Dehai silently walked over and handed me a letter. “I need you to get this to the prince,” she said. “He must rewrite it in his own hand and return it to me. Like you, I am not much more than the daughter of a peasant and my writing is poor. I need a man of letters, a man with political experience to rewrite this for me. But more than that, if he rewrites it for me, I will know that I have his support.”

  An Dehai also handed me a seal of travel that would protect me on the road and provide me with lodging and fresh mounts at all the way stations between Jehol and Peking. Even so, I left under the cover of night to avoid as many of Sushun’s spies as possible. It only took me three days to reach Peking.

  Since the emperor and all of his consorts had long left the Forbidden City, Prince Gong was staying in a room adjacent to the emperor’s quarters. He had been holding court in a library nearby. To the foreigners and officials in Peking, Prince Gong was the face of the empire.

  I could not approach him formally. I didn’t want anyone to know that I needed to talk to him and that I was there on the business of the empress. When I arrived, I walked past the open door of the rooms where the prince was holding court. I glanced inside and saw the prince. I slowed my pace and made sure he saw me. When our eyes met, there was an understanding. He knew that I would not be there without Empress Cixi’s permission. He gave me the slightest of nods, one nearly invisible to anyone not watching for it, and I walked on past. I spent the day in Empress Cixi’s rooms straightening it up. The room had been ransacked, as she feared it would be. I told anyone who asked that I was helping to prepare for the empress’s return.

  That evening, the prince slipped silently into Empress Cixi’s quarters through a side door. It was exciting to be meeting in secret again. He looked older, as if the weight of running the country in his brother’s absence had aged him, but he was still handsome.

  “What are you doing here?” he asked me.

  I pulled the letter out of a pocket in my sleeve. “Her Majesty requests your help. As a well-educated man, she needs you to rewrite this letter for her and then send it back to her. She requires your support at this difficult time.”

  The prince took the letter from me. He skimmed it quickly and then looked at me. “Have you read this?”

  I shook my head.

  “Do you know what it is about?” he asked.

  Again, I shook my head. “She didn’t tell me. She only told me to make sure it got to you.”

  “Why did she send you?” he asked.

  I blushed. “She thinks you and I have a…relationship. She thought I could get it to you and convince you to do as she asked.”

  The prince nearly chuckled. “A ‘relationship’? That woman is a child at heart. Girlish fantasies.”

  “I think she knows,” I said. “About Parkes.”

  He shot me a look. “You didn’t tell her, did you?”

  “Of course not,” I said. “But she hinted. You know how this palace has eyes.”

  “Well, she wasn’t totally wrong in choosing you. You are probably the only woman I would give an audience to.”

  “Why couldn’t she write you herself?” I asked.

  “She has tried,” he said. “But her letters are constantly intercepted by Sushun’s men. They don’t want us collaborating.”

  “Will you help her?” I asked. I didn’t even really know what she needed help with, but my loyalty was to My Lady. If she needed help, I would do whatever I could to secure it for her.

  Prince Gong sighed and shook his head. “I don’t know. This is a lot to ask. And it has never been done before.”

  He looked at me and could see my curiosity was killing me. He gave me a silly grin and finally continued. “She wants to get rid of Sushun and the rest of the council. She wants to be regent. Well, co-regent with Empress Ci’an.”

  “What do you think?” I asked.

  “I think she is a better choice than Sushun. But he was selected by my brother for a reason. The Son of Heaven chose Sushun. I may not be able to see the reasons why, but if Heaven spoke through my brother, shouldn’t I listen? Who am I to disregard his choice?”

  “You’ve done it before,” I said. “When the emperor demanded that Parkes and his men be tortured to death, you defied him. You saved those men.”

  “To what end?” he asked. “Do you know what we have lost? Do you know what is in those cursed treaties I have signed? Millions of taels of gold in indemnities, trade ports in Canton, Shanghai, Peking, Suzhou, Tientsin, Christian missionaries are to be allowed to run freely with the crown’s protection, foreigners are not beholden to our laws, and the largest loss of land we have ever seen. Millions of li to the Russians and the island of Kowloon to the British. And all of this is on top of the money we still owe from the treaties our father signed decades ago! And the Summer Palace. You were there! Beauty and prestige collected by generations of emperors, my forefathers, all burned in a fortnight.”

  “But you saved the throne,” I said. “If he had killed Parkes, if you had not signed the treaties, what would have happened? They would still be here in the Forbidden City. They would have chased us to Jehol. They wouldn’t have allowed us to escape. They could have killed the emperor. They could have claimed China for Britain. They could have put someone else on the throne…”

  The prince gave me a strange look at this point, as if I was reading his mind.

  “They could have put you on the throne,” I said. “That is what they really wanted, isn’t it? They offered to put you on the throne.”

  “No one must ever know that,” he said. “Even Empress Cixi would never trust me if she thought I could be a contender for the throne. But, yes, if I hadn’t agreed, her son would not be emperor.”

  “You gave up the chance to be emperor of China for her son,” I said. “Do not forget that. Do not forget what you did for her, for her son, for your brother. Do not be embarrassed about the treaty you agreed to if it saved your brother’s kingdom. You can’t let those eight men, who are really just all parrots of Sushun, destroy the empire you salvaged.”

  He held up the paper. “My name can’t be on this,” he said. “It will be too suspicious. And it can’t be in my handwriting.”

  “What are we to do?”

  “I will send for my younger brother, Prince Chun. He has the best education of all of us, classically trained. And he has no claim to the throne. Then, I will send the letter and her and Empress Ci’an’s seal with you back to Jehol.”

  “Her seal?” I asked.

  “Yes,” he said. “That is partly what this is about. She needs the seals given to them by Emperor Xianfeng to give authority to imperial edicts since her son is too young to understand or sign them.”

  “What is Empress Ci’an’s role in all this?” I asked.

  “She is probably just following Cixi’s lead. She has no mind or desire to rule. But she will want what is best for their son.”

  “I didn’t know such seals existed,” I said.

  “They don’t really,” he said. “They are just gifts the emperor gives to all of his consorts. They don’t mean anything. But the regents don’t know that.”

  “Clever,” I said.

  The prince nodded. “Yes, she is. Believe me, Yaqian, she is a woman we never want to cross.”

  It took Prince Chun two days to rewrite the edict from Cixi. Then Prince Gong helped me hide the edict inside the lining of my garment and the two seals in one of my bags. It was dark and raining when I went to mount my horse to head back to Jehol. Prince Gong escorted me to the stables and held tightly to my hand.

  “Don’t stop for anyone you don’t know,” he said. “Who knows who has been watching you since you arrived.”

  I held his hand for as long as I could. “Thank you,” I said, “for helping her.”

  “It’s for all of us,” he said.

  “Can you not send some guards with me?” I asked.

  He shook his head. “It would draw too much attention, and people would know I helped you.”

  “I think they will know no matter what,” I said. “If the empress knows about us, other people must already be talking, spreading rumors.”

  “They can only ever be rumors,” he said.

  I nodded in agreement as he pulled me to him for a kiss. Thunder slowly rumbled as our bodies, now drenched by the rain, pressed together. The whole time we had been in the Forbidden City together, practically alone, he had not approached me in any improper way, but now that we were out of time and I had to leave, he couldn’t let me go. There was almost a sadness to his touch. He stopped kissing me and hugged me as tightly as he could. I could see steam rising from him as we stood in the drizzle.

  “Ride as fast as you can,” he whispered. “I could not face what lies ahead without you.”

  “I will always be here for you, my prince,” I whispered back.

  He finally let me go and I mounted the horse. He held on to my hand for as long as he could, but eventually my fingers slipped from his grasp as I galloped into the night.

  * * *

  It took me four days to reach Jehol. The rain was intermittent the whole way. The roads were muddy and I was constantly soaked. I was exhausted, coughing, and sneezing by the time I reached the gate of the Mountain Palace. As I rode through the gate, though, I was seized by a group of guards. They dragged me off the horse and I landed on my feet, hard. I screamed as I collapsed to the ground. They rummaged through my bags, pulling out everything and even tearing up my clothes.

  “What are you doing?” I demanded as I wobbled to my feet.

  “Making sure you aren’t smuggling anything in or out of the palace,” one of the guards sneered. “What were you doing?”

  “I was on an errand for Her Majesty,” I said. “I was making sure her rooms back at the Forbidden City were being prepared for her return. She will not be pleased with how I’ve been treated!”

  The men glared at me and took a few menacing steps toward me.

  “Stop!” a voice yelled. “Mistress Yang, where have you been?” An Dehai asked, pushing his way through the guards.

  “I only just arrived and these men were helping me dismount my horse,” I said.

  An Dehai looked around at my things torn and tossed about, and at me, drenched and covered in mud. “I see,” he replied. “Well, hurry up and come with me. Her Majesty is waiting to hear how the preparations of her rooms are progressing.”

  I nodded and picked up my things, stuffed them in my bag, and followed him toward the empress’s rooms. We walked stiffly and at a normal pace. As soon as we were out of sight of the men, though, I leaned against a wall and nearly toppled over. An Dehai rushed to my side and helped me the rest of the way. When we arrived in the empress’s main hall, she was waiting for me on her throne. I got down on my knees but she quickly rushed to my side.

  “No need for that! Just tell me you were a success,” she nearly begged.

  I only nodded, fearful of who might be watching or listening to us. The empress smiled and ordered a hot bath to be run for me. She and An Dehai helped me hobble into her washroom. Once the door was shut and we were sure we were alone, I asked for a pair of scissors. I took off my robe and carefully cut the stitching on one of my long sleeves. I pulled out the decree, which had been carefully wrapped in several layers of cloth, and handed it to her.

  The empress took the decree from me and held it close to her chest. “You did well,” she said.

  The empress and An Dehai helped me into the tub. The warmth wrapped around me like a blanket and I slowly warmed all the way to my bones. I unwrapped my feet and let the heat relax the pain away. I didn’t want to ever get out, but eventually the water started to cool. I didn’t want to catch a chill again, so I got out, wrapped myself in a new robe, wrapped my feet with new bindings, and made my way to my own room. An Dehai had taken the liberty of making sure I had a roaring fire going. He brought me a bowl of chicken broth steeped with medicinal herbs.

  Thankfully I had a few days to rest and regain my health before we had to set out again. All of the funeral preparations had been made and it was time to return the emperor to the Forbidden City.

  The emperor’s casket would be carried by dozens of men, so it would take two weeks for the emperor to arrive back at the Forbidden City. His casket would be accompanied by Sushun, the seven other grandees, and a large military force. But for the Dowager Empresses, the Tongzhi Emperor, and their retinue, we would arrive five days ahead of Sushun.

  Of course, as a servant, I was not privy to anything that happened next. I had to wait until most of it was over to find out what happened. Rumors were constantly flying, though. Apparently, the empress read the decree to the grandees and provincial governors who had arrived in the city for Emperor Xianfeng’s funeral. She was met with overwhelming support. They didn’t plan to kill Sushun at that time, though. Many of them still believed that the emperor’s wish that Sushun be a court grandee had some purpose to it.

  The day before Sushun was to arrive at the palace, however, Prince Gong went to meet him. Prince Gong claimed that he found Sushun drunk in a tavern and in bed with prostitutes and was outraged. As part of the mourning process, the emperor’s men were to refrain from pleasures of the flesh. Prince Gong, that usually calm and calculating man, had Sushun dragged back to the Forbidden City in chains. Sushun denied the claims, said he was set up, but he was found guilty of betraying the emperor and was sentenced to death by a thousand cuts. Empress Dowager Cixi had his death commuted to public beheading. She couldn’t stand torture. Two other grandees opposed the edict. They were allowed to hang themselves in private. The rest of the minsters submitted to the edict and were allowed to return to their homes, though they were stripped of their rank.

  When the official funeral was finally held, the ceremonies were overseen by the new emperor, Tongzhi, his two mothers as co-regents, and Prince Gong as Prince-Regent. With only three lives lost, Empress Dowager Cixi was now the ruler of China.

  14

  Peking, 1862-1863

  Many months after Cixi’s coup, I was called into the main audience hall where the young emperor was holding court. Prince Gong was there and smiled at the confusion on my face as I entered the hall and kneeled before the young emperor. Usually, if the empress wanted something, she asked me directly. I couldn’t imagine any reason why I would be called before the Dragon Throne. The Dowager Empresses were sitting behind a screen behind the emperor.

  “Mistress Yang,” Empress Dowager Cixi began, “Prince Gong has requested your presence at this meeting. Proceed, Prince Gong.”

  “Majesties, I have a project in mind that I believe requires Mistress Yang’s expertise. As you know, a British warship recently fired on one of our ships in our own waters.”

  This caused a few shocked gasps from around the room and angry outbursts. Things had been tense with the foreign powers since the coup, but peaceful. Empress Dowager Cixi had been doing her best to meet the demands of the treaties, so there certainly was no cause for war.

  “Thankfully, our ship did not sink and there were few casualties,” Prince Gong continued. “I spoke with the British admiral. He told me that the captain fired on our ship because he thought they might have been Taiping rebels or marauders because the ship was not flying a flag showing its allegiance to China. I do not know if that is the real reason why they fired on our ships or not, but it did raise an interesting issue. I have also heard reports of our ships having trouble docking in certain ports or receiving aid at sea for similar reasons. We are one of the only countries in the world that does not have a national flag.”

  “This is an interesting issue, Prince Gong,” Empress Cixi replied. “What do you think, Emperor Tongzhi?”

  The Emperor had been reclining in his seat, playing with a toy when he heard his mother say his name. He may have been the emperor, but he was only a child and had no interest in sitting in an uncomfortable chair listening to adults talk.

  “I don’t know,” the little emperor mumbled.

  “I have an idea for a flag in mind, Your Majesties,” the prince continued. “But I believe someone with artistic skills could create something more majestic and regal. Do I have your permission to work on this project with Mistress Yang?”

  “I agree that this situation should be resolved quickly,” Empress Cixi responded. “I expect to see some progress on this flag within a week.”

  The prince and I both kowtowed. Then we both rose to our feet but stayed bent at the waist as we backed away. After we exited the audience hall, the prince and I looked at each other, unsure of what to say but both happy to have a chance to talk. Men and women were supposed to remain separate within the Forbidden City. There were some exceptions and no one followed the rules all the time, but more than just gender kept us apart. I was still little more than a gōngnǚ while he was Prince-Regent, second only to the Empress Dowagers. There was no reason why we should be seen together, until now.

  “Why did you do that?” I asked. “If the empress wanted a flag she could have just ordered one made in private.”

  “I know,” he said. “But I wanted to see you. I want to spend time with you.”

  “Why?” I asked.

  “Life is good, Yaqian,” he said. He motioned toward the imperial gardens and we took a leisurely walk. “We have peace with the Westerners,” he continued. “No one is happy about opening so many trade ports, but I have increased the customs taxes, so everything they take out or bring into China they have to pay for. Eventually, we will be able to pay back those foreign indemnities with their own money. Empress Dowager Cixi has also agreed to let me use British troops to fight the Taiping. We have peace abroad and soon we will have peace here. By the time Tongzhi is ready to rule alone, his country will be peaceful and prosperous and he will have an easy reign.”

  I nodded. “I have noticed that much of the tension that clouded my first few years here seems to have dissipated. I still don’t know what that has to do with me.”