Chapter 17
Filial and Incorrupt
Forbidden Precinct, Tianjing
While life in court was dictated by all manner of ceremonies with all their complex and unwieldy rules, there were times when matters of state needed to be dealt with more efficiently, without all the pageantry. For such occasions, the major decision makers would assemble in the innocuously named East Wing Study, otherwise known as the Small Council Chamber. It was a small room, only able to hold some twenty people at most, but it was from here that many of the most important decisions guiding the fate of the Empire were made.
When Lord Grima entered the room, he saw that he was the last to arrive. It was ten minutes prior to the appointed time, so the move was clearly deliberate. He was told a later time precisely so that he would be last. Similarly, the other chairs at the table had been removed, meaning that rather than sitting among the other eight of the Nine Ministers, he would have to take his seat at the foot of the table. He would not forget these slights.
The Lord High Chancellor motioned to the open seat and said, "Please be seated, Lord Grima."
Tempting as it was to drag the heavy chair around to the side of the table and force his way to his usual place, Lord Grima decided to bear the insult for the time being and plot his revenge later.
Once he sat down, the Lord High Chancellor continued, "We thought we would spare you the embarrassment of a full session of the court, Lord Grima."
"What is this about?" Lord Grima asked, but he already knew the answer.
"His Majesty the Emperor is dead," the Lord High Chancellor replied. "His Highness the Crown Prince is dead. Murdered, the both of them. Besides that, there have been eleven other high-profile assassinations since the Emperor's death. As Minister of the Household, the safety of the Imperial Family and the security of the inner precincts are your responsibility, are they not?"
"I know my responsibilities."
"Do you? Our Empire is in a state of crisis the likes of which have never been seen in all its history and your failure to perform your duties is to blame."
"There have always been assassinations here in the Capital, my lord," Lord Grima replied, "even here in the inner precincts. How many were there when you served as Minister of the Household? I could not keep count."
"Never the Emperor," the Lord High Chancellor said angrily, "never his heir. The others we could overlook, but with the death of His Highness, we can no longer turn a blind eye to your failure."
"What are you saying?"
"You would do well not to feign ignorance, Lord Grima. We have held a vote and the result was six-to-five in favor of removing you from your post as Minister of the Household."
"You need seven votes to oust one of the Nine Ministers without the Emperor's order," Lord Grima said.
"Then I shall cast the deciding vote in favor of your removal, Grima Markusson," the Grand Tutor said.
The Grand Tutor was the unofficial 'fourth' Excellency and he was overstepping his bounds.
Lord Grima told him in a level voice, "Surely you are aware, my lord, that your vote is only counted in the event of a tie for simple majority decisions."
"Desperate times call for unprecedented actions," the Lord High Chancellor replied.
A new voice entered the conversation, saying, "Times must be desperate indeed if the Lord High Chancellor is willing to dispense with protocol to achieve his goals."
Lord Grima turned to see his son standing there in the doorway. The timing was too perfect. He had to have been listening in somehow, the crafty snake.
"Your Highness, this is a closed session," the Lord High Chancellor said. "Your presence here is most irregular."
"These are highly irregular times, my lord," Sturla replied. "As I am now second in line to the throne, I believe I have an interest in these proceedings. To say nothing of my filial obligations to my father, who you would make a scapegoat in this matter."
Sturla did not have a filial bone in his body. Even if he was coming to Lord Grima's rescue and even if he was successful somehow, it was nothing to be grateful for. He was only helping his father to advance his own interests. There would come a day when Lord Grima would become an obstacle to his son's ambitions and whatever the Small Council had in mind for him would be a mercy by comparison.
"I am also Lord High Commissioner of the Capital Police," Prince Sturla continued, "and I have been tirelessly investigating the recent string of tragedies that has beset our beloved Capital. I have come to present evidence of the mastermind behind this orgy of blood that will exonerate my father of any failures in his duties."
"Even if you had such extraordinary evidence, Your Highness," the Lord High Chancellor said, "the fact remains that Lord Grima failed to prevent these killings from happening."
"A servant cannot stand above his master, my lord," Sturla replied. "Even one of the Nine Ministers cannot hold back someone who stands above him."
"There are precious few people who stand above the Nine Ministers, Your Highness," the Minister of Justice said. "And they are not people to accuse lightly."
"I do not make the accusation lightly, my lord," Sturla said "In fact, it pains me greatly to inform you that the one responsible is none other than my grandmother, Her Majesty the Empress."
"These are dangerous charges you make, Your Highness," the Lord High Chancellor said. "Not even the grandson of His Majesty the Emperor is exempt from the charge of treason."
"Nor is His Majesty the Emperor's wife, my lord. I am not making baseless charges. As I said, I have evidence to present that will convince all of you of Her Majesty's guilt, unless of course you are party to her treason."
Lord Zongwan the Minister of the Guards, a man notorious for his hot temper and ostensibly Sturla's superior, sprang from his seat, slammed his hands down on the table and shouted, "You halfbreed whelp! I'll not stand for this!"
"Then sit back down," Sturla replied with a grin.
"Restrain yourself, Lord Zongwan," the Lord High Chancellor said. "As reckless as His Highness' words are, you will comport yourself as is befitting your rank and station."
Still glaring at Sturla, Lord Zongwan sat back down. The Lord High Chancellor pinched the bridge of his nose and drew in a long breath before resuming the conversation.
"Very well, Your Highness, before you present the evidence to substantiate the charges, let us hear the premise."
"Of course, my lord," Sturla replied. "It is a simple story, one we have heard many times before, about an ambitious woman lusting after power. Already a daughter of one of the thirteen ducal families, Grandmother achieved the very pinnacle of female accomplishment when she married the late Emperor—following the tragic loss of the previous Empress your honored sister, my lord—and bore him an heir to carry on the proud name and traditions of the Imperial Family. However, there was no love in the marriage, but that comes as a surprise to none of you, my lords. After all, love is nothing but a trifle for poets, drunkards and drunken poets.
"It is well known that the late Lady Limei had grown greatly in the Emperor's favor. There was talk that she would soon replace Lady Kuai as the Brilliant Companion and even rumors that His Majesty would go so far as to name her Empress. Of course, my lords, you would have done everything to discourage him from such a rash and destructive course, but if he chose to insist on it, who can speak against the Son of Heaven?
"The Empress could not allow such a risk to her position. Had she simply been content to have Lady Limei killed, nothing would have come of it, but clearly she feared another girl would soon come along, possible one with sharper wits who could not be so easily eliminated. The solution, in her clearly troubled mind, was to have the Emperor killed, followed by her assorted rivals and enemies, and then finally enjoy a long and prosperous reign as the true power in the Empire while the pliable Prince Wupeng sat on the throne as her puppet."
"A neat story, Your Highness," the Minister of the Imperial Clan said, "but His Highness the Crown Prince was assassinated as well. How does that fit into your narrative?"
"You will find that my poor cousin was killed on the orders of Count Hai, in retaliation for sending his daughter back to him in dishonor. A future Empress was reduced to a cast-off whore and a young Prince into a common bastard. All of you as fathers can understand his anger, but what he did was treason most foul and being unused to intrigue, he left a rather clear trail leading back to him."
"And you have clear evidence for all these charges, Your Highness?" the Lord High Chancellor asked.
"I would not be here if I did not."
The Lord High Chancellor sighed.
"Very well, Your Highness, let us see this evidence. If it is as compelling as you say, we will hold a vote and act accordingly. The disposition of Lord Grima's case shall be postponed until then."
It seemed impossible, but that tricky devil actually did it. He could charm the chicks from a mother bird if he wanted. Was this really his son? It was either a blessing from Heaven or a curse from Hell, but for now his son's artful manipulation spared Lord Grima's life and standing. Now the question was what he was going to have to give up in return. Deals with the Devil always had a cost.