Representatives of the military and the populace, along with the civil and military officials, were prostrate outside the Meridian Gate when the boom of a drum suddenly rang out. It was the timekeeping drum arranged by the Directorate of Astronomy.
With the roll of the drum, the morning sun broke in the east, casting its radiance upon the Meridian Gate.
All raised their heads toward the gate tower.
Heralds, masters of ceremonies, nightwatch officers, and imperial bodyguards filed out in succession, clearing the way and receiving the assembly atop the gate tower.
Cloud canopies and cloud trays followed in close procession.
Encircled by attendants, a figure clad in imperial dragon robes and the Twelve-Tasseled crown slowly came into view.
"An imperial edict!" someone chanted loudly.
The military men, populace, and civil and military officials instantly bowed their heads to the ground. "We reverently await the imperial decree!"
Looking down from the gate tower at the dense, dark mass kneeling as far as the eye could see, Zhu Yijun could not keep his chest from heaving.
Closing his eyes, he took a deep breath, at last easing the tension.
Only then did he address the sea below, his voice booming out word by deliberate word: "Our state has gloriously inaugurated a grand destiny to endure for ten thousand generations. For more than two hundred years, the ancestral sovereigns have founded and preserved this heritage with single-minded devotion."
At the same time, the duty eunuchs flanking him repeated each phrase aloud, carrying it downward, where eunuchs stationed at regular intervals relayed it further back in ringing calls.
Layer upon layer, the voices cascaded like waves of sound.
"My deceased imperial father, the late emperor, set a shining exemplar of sagacity and ruled with diligence and vigor... Yet he departed too soon to join the immortals, leaving his testamentary charge unto Our person, entrusting Us with the sacred realm.
"Looking up, We reverently comply with his testamentary decree; looking down, We yield to the people's will. On this tenth day of the sixth month, We respectfully proclaim this unto Heaven and Earth, the Ancestral Temple, and the Altars of Soil and Grain."
Zhu Yijun paused. Closing his eyes, he drew upon his full vigor to proclaim: "We ascend the imperial throne."
At that exact moment, the Zhonghe Shao Music arranged by the Music Office struck up, bells and earthen jars ringing together as drums and pipes resonated in unison.
The guards flanking the gate shook their armor, sending a crisp rustle fluttering in the wind.
Down below, whatever thoughts churned in their minds, the military men, populace, and officials all raised joined hands to their foreheads, bowing once, twice, thrice, and a fourth time.
Voices united in thunderous acclaim:
"Long live the Emperor!"
"Long live the Emperor!"
"Long live the Emperor!"
The shouts of ten thousand people crying "Long live" surged straight into the heavens.
The roars, the chants, the ceremonial music, the clattering armor, the tolling bells, and beating drums swelled like a tempestuous tide, as though heaven and earth resonated together, echoing throughout the entire Forbidden City!
...
The sound gradually subsided.
"Let the coming year be designated the first year of Wanli, to make a fresh beginning with the people..."
The voice reading the proclamation continued to ring out. The representatives of the military and the commoners remained prostrate, listening to the imperial decree.
The civil and military officials, however, had already risen and were entering through the Meridian Gate in succession.
Zhu Yijun also turned and descended from the gate tower.
Shortly thereafter, he would preside in Zhongji Hall to receive the congratulatory memorials of the officials, but at this very moment, his grand ceremony of accession was already complete.
The essence of the ceremony lay in proclamation; the moment the assembly shook the skies shouting "Long live the Emperor," the true climax had already passed.
From this moment forth, he was the emperor revered by millions across the Great Ming.
Yet... this was far from over. Rather, it was merely the first step of a journey of ten thousand li.
He was not the only one waiting for this exact moment.
Gao Gong was waiting as well—waiting for a ten-year-old child to take the imperial seat, so he could use the young Son of Heaven as a puppet to abolish the Directorate of Ceremonial and reduce the emperor to a nodding rubber stamp.
Feng Bao and Zhang Juzheng were waiting, too; they needed Consort Li to ascend as Empress Dowager and regent to oust Gao Gong and seize sole power.
The clash among Zhu Yijun, Feng Bao, Gao Gong, and Zhang Juzheng would formally begin right now.
...
Unlike a regular court audience, the accession court was a grand ceremonial audience for all officials.
The attendees outnumbered those at an imperial court deliberation many times over; Wenhua Hall simply could not accommodate them.
Furthermore, to display the celestial majesty of the imperial house, Emperor Taizu had decreed that the accession audience must always be held in Fengtian Hall along the central axis of the Forbidden City.
Now, however, the Ministry of Rites had requested and received permission from the Two Palaces to move it to Zhongji Hall.
Court attendants from the Seals Office had long since set up the imperial throne in the hall, and Zhu Yijun took his seat with composure.
He paid no further heed to the rituals of ascending the hall, simply waiting quietly for the officials to present their congratulatory memorials.
After the crack of whips and the roll of drums and music, the officials filed in.
The four nobles dispatched by imperial order to perform the proclamations were the first to step forward: "Your subjects, fortunate not to have failed our commission, have completed the sacrifices and proclaimed your accession unto Heaven, Earth, and the Ancestral Temple.
"Upon hearing of Your Majesty's ascension, auspicious splendors descended over Heaven, Earth, and the Ancestral Temple—a certain sign of boundless joy.
"Your subjects presume to present our congratulatory memorials to Your Majesty."
With that, Zhu Xizhong cast a discreet glance at the emperor upon the throne, countless thoughts racing through his mind.
His vision obscured by the tassels of his imperial crown, Zhu Yijun merely nodded. "Your devotion is sincere; We acknowledge it."
He then looked toward Feng Bao: "Minister Feng, Seal-Holding Eunuch of the Directorate of Ceremonial, bring forth their memorials for Us."
Feng Bao bowed low. "Your humble servant obeys the decree."
He then walked down the imperial steps and gathered the memorials from the four nobles.
The four nobles returned to their ranks.
Next, the Grand Secretaries stepped forward: "Your subjects offer congratulations upon Your Majesty's accession and respectfully submit our memorials."
Zhu Yijun nodded.
Thereafter, the officials presented their memorials in orderly sequence—from the Grand Secretaries of the cabinet, the Six Ministries, and the Nine Chief Ministers, down to the lowliest seventh-rank officials.
Everything proceeded in perfect order.
Until...
"His Majesty commanded the Seal-Holding Eunuch of the Directorate of Ceremonial to receive the memorials. Who do you think you are?!" Zhang Xiao, Censor of the Guangxi Circuit, glared at Feng Bao with furrowed brows.
The hall fell instantly silent.
Zhu Xizhong seemed indisposed, closing his eyes tightly.
Gao Gong stared straight ahead, as if he hadn't heard a thing.
Zhang Juzheng parted his lips slightly, feigning just the right amount of surprise.
Gao Yi held his court tablet with both hands, looking as though he had expected this all along.
Only the unwitting officials looked left and right, exchanging glances with their peers in sheer bewilderment and alarm.
Confronted with such blatant provocation, Feng Bao proved his mastery of self-control; not even an eyelid twitched.
He merely cupped his hands toward the imperial desk and said slowly, "This servant is the Seal-Holding Eunuch of the Directorate of Ceremonial."
Zhang Xiao snapped his sleeves, pointed a finger at Feng Bao, and swept his gaze across the assembly, demanding of the officials, "This is the Seal-Holding Eunuch of the Directorate of Ceremonial?!"
The officials were all shrewd men. How could they fail to sense that trouble was brewing?
Never mind whether he knew him or not—even if he harbored doubts, was this the time to bellow in Zhongji Hall?
Meeting Zhang Xiao's gaze, officials high and low averted their eyes, unwilling to be drawn into this vortex.
Below the imperial dais, the protocol officer immediately shouted in reprimand: "Zhang Xiao! The Son of Heaven is ascending the throne—mind court decorum!"
Seizing the opening, Zhang Xiao dropped to his knees and pleaded guilty before the emperor: "Your Majesty, your subject has only just returned from circuit inspection in Guangxi and had not yet learned that the late emperor left a testamentary edict replacing the Seal-Holding Eunuch of the Directorate of Ceremonial. Your subject is guilty!"
If Feng Bao was indeed the Seal-Holding Eunuch, surely it was by the late emperor's testamentary decree, was it not?
Advancing by retreating!
Though framed as an admission of fault, Zhang Xiao's words in truth laid bare the procedural illegitimacy of Feng Bao's appointment right on the open floor.
How could Feng Bao not recognize what drama was being staged? Even having anticipated trouble, he could not resist glaring venomously at Gao Gong.
Zhu Yijun saw right through it as well: this man was merely an advance pawn.
Seeing this, Zhu Yijun simply played dumb. "Minister Zhang, please rise. Those who act in ignorance commit no offense.
"You may not be aware, but Eunuch Feng was appointed by Our imperial mother, not by the late emperor's testamentary decree."
Zhang Xiao had asked feigning ignorance, of course; not only did he know full well, but this was precisely the cue he had been waiting for.
Catching a subtle nod from Ge Shouli, he felt emboldened and pressed on: "Oh... So it was an edict issued by Empress Dowager Chen at the time. In that case, your subject was indeed out of line."
Theoretically, only an emperor could appoint the Seal-Holding Eunuch of the Directorate of Ceremonial.
However, upon an emperor's death, the empress naturally assumed regency as an expedient measure, so that would have been defensible.
Even though... Zhang Xiao knew perfectly well that it had not been Empress Dowager Chen who issued the edict.
With the scene set to this pitch, others naturally stepped up to carry the melody higher.
Han Ji, Right Transmission Commissioner of the Office of Transmission, barked: "Zhang Xiao, impudent! Empress Dowager Chen possesses unmatched discernment of character—how dare you cast slurs upon her! Eunuch Feng's appointment as Seal-Holding Eunuch of the Directorate of Ceremonial was made by the current Empress Dowager Li!"
The moment the words fell, Song Zhihan, Left Supervising Secretary of the Office of Scrutiny for Personnel, immediately stepped forward to argue: "Commissioner Han, mind your words as well! We in the Six Offices never saw any clear written edict issued by Empress Dowager Li at that time."
All the officials knew these two were Gao Gong's protégés.
By now, even the most clueless officials finally caught on: the Senior Grand Secretary and the Seal-Holding Eunuch of the Directorate of Ceremonial were locking horns in earnest, with bare blades drawn!
The censorial surveillance officials, the Supervising Secretaries of the Six Offices, the Office of Transmission—all were Gao Gong's men.
With these men playing off each other in lockstep, it would be a miracle if Gao Gong wasn't the puppet master behind it!
The court was Gao Gong's home ground; the pitiful Seal-Holding Eunuch could only endure being ganged up on by the crowd, completely helpless.
As for Feng Bao himself, seeing himself placed on the spit over the flames in the blink of an eye, he showed nothing on his face, but the venom in his heart burned fiercely.
Even though he had known in advance that Gao Gong would strike soon and had prepared himself mentally, fury still surged through him.
He had long been well aware of this vulnerability.
When the late emperor died, Noble Consort Li had detested Meng Chong, banishing him and promoting Feng Bao.
As for a formal written edict... the post of Seal-Holding Eunuch of the Directorate of Ceremonial was hardly something a mere imperial consort could decide on a whim.
Besides, Meng Chong had been the Seal-Holding Eunuch and Gao Gong the Senior Grand Secretary, close allies; there was no chance they would have obeyed a mere Noble Consort's directive.
Thus, Feng Bao had advised the Noble Consort at the time to bypass the outer court and appoint him directly, presenting them with a fait accompli.
The heir's birth mother possessed imperial status, and he himself commanded the Eastern Depot and had the manpower—why bother with procedural propriety?
Inner court struggles were fought by different rules than those of the outer court.
Cutting the Gordian knot had been a sheer expedient; back then, sending a formal edict down to the Grand Secretariat was out of the question.
Otherwise, at best, the Six Offices would seal and reject it; at worst, the fallout would engulf Consort Li herself—Gao Gong was more than capable of leveling the slur of 'the hen crowing at dawn.'
Afterward, backed by Consort Li's authority, no one pressed the issue for a time; even if someone did, the memorial could simply be shelved in the palace.
And with Meng Chong eliminated days ago, along with Consort Li becoming Empress Dowager today, Feng Bao's position had become unshakable.
Yet he had never imagined that Gao Gong would dare order a censor to puncture the issue right to his face during the grand accession ceremony!
Even knowing it would achieve nothing lasting, Gao Gong did it just to humiliate and disgust him.
It showed complete disregard for the dignity of the Two Palaces and the young emperor!
Feng Bao cast a subtle glance toward the outside of the hall, but the disturbance he anticipated had not arrived.
Still, he could not simply take the blow without fighting back. He promptly played the card of Empress Dowager Li: "Perhaps you gentlemen should think more carefully: Empress Dowager Li gave an oral decree at the time!"
Feng Bao bit hard into the words "Empress Dowager."
This was to remind them that they were not merely offending him alone—behind him stood the Son of Heaven's birth mother, a regent Empress Dowager!
Gao Gong might get away with it, but did these supervising secretaries and censors truly intend to march down this dead end to the very end?
Yet Zhang Xiao, evidently promised some great reward, showed no sign of backing down; on the contrary, he became even more aggressive.
Hearing Feng Bao's retort, Zhang Xiao glared furiously. Kowtowing toward the imperial desk, he demanded in a booming voice: "Since when could an oral decree from a Noble Consort determine the post of Grand Eunuch?!"
Turning to the officials on either side, he shouted, "Does our dynasty possess any such precedent?!"
These words aimed the spearhead directly at Empress Dowager Li. The officials shuddered in horror, wishing they could flee the hall on the spot.
What kind of monstrous battle was this today, that someone dared openly rebuke a regent Empress Dowager!
Seeing him barking like a dog, Feng Bao's tone grew sharp: "Is Censor Zhang interrogating Empress Dowager Li for crimes?"
If the post of Seal-Holding Eunuch of the Directorate of Ceremonial could be stripped away in a few words, Gao Gong would have done it long ago; why wait until now?
It was precisely because his appointment was inextricably bound to Empress Dowager Li!
He slapped on this massive accusation, waiting to see how a mere censor dared field it.
Unfortunately, though Zhang Xiao charged on the front line, an army stood behind him.
At this moment, someone naturally stepped in to control the situation.
Gao Gong spoke in a lukewarm tone: "Watch your words, both of you. Do not rashly drag the sovereign into your own personal disputes."
Zhang Xiao knew when to stop and how to calibrate his actions.
Ignoring Feng Bao entirely, he continued addressing Zhu Yijun: "At the threshold of Your Majesty's reign, how boundless are those who covet power! How can titles and the instruments of state authority be loaned to others?
"Since the congratulatory memorials are to be received by the Seal-Holding Eunuch of the Directorate of Ceremonial, your subject dare not present them to anyone else!"
Between his words, he painted Feng Bao as someone coveting titles and sacred instruments, committing the grave crime of usurping imperial authority.
As Left Censor-in-Chief, Ge Shouli could not truly permit surveillance officials to ruin the accession ceremony.
Stepping forward, he barked, "Zhang Xiao! Are you determined to disrupt His Majesty's accession? Present your memorial and withdraw at once!"
Turning, he advised, "Your Majesty, even if Zhang Xiao has a point, it is merely a matter of a palace servant usurping the sacred realm, which cannot outweigh Your Majesty's imperial audience today. Your subject requests that this matter be dealt with afterward."
In a few short sentences, these surveillance officials branded Feng Bao as someone who had unlawfully seized the Directorate of Ceremonial and usurped the sacred instruments of state.
They gave Feng Bao no chance to get a word in edgewise.
Zhu Yijun found it utterly laughable. These men truly held no reverence for the emperor, turning even his accession ceremony into a battlefield.
No wonder Emperor Xiaozong was praised to high heaven by these civil officials, hailed as a truly benevolent ruler unmatched since the Three Dynasties—during Xiaozong's court audiences, the civil officials had acted precisely like this.
According to the Joseon records of the Ming dynasty, during court audiences in Emperor Xiaozong's reign, the officials held their own side gatherings, bickering without end, while Xiaozong could only sit on the dragon throne like a wooden doll.
Was that the kind of emperor these men wanted?
Fortunate it was that Zhu Yijun had other plans at present. Otherwise, seeing them show such brazen disrespect toward their sovereign, he might well have exploded in fury right then and there.
Thinking this way, adopting the mentality of a spectator watching a play, he seized the convenient off-ramp: "Minister Ge speaks reasonably. Minister Zhang, this matter shall be discussed later; do not prolong this dispute here."
Creating a commotion at the court audience was at most the opening move to bring the issue into the open; it could not topple Feng Bao just yet.
Gao Gong would certainly have subsequent moves, and fierce storms would surely follow.
Today's prelude had reached the point where it should pause.
As the advance pawn, Zhang Xiao had already fulfilled his mission. Hearing this, he immediately prostrated himself in deference, voicing obedience: "Your subject was fraught with anxiety that an inner servant might usurp the sacred realm and hoodwink Your Majesty's eyes and ears, and in my desperation acted with excessive haste.
"In my impropriety, your subject inadvertently disturbed Your Majesty's accession audience. Upon withdrawing, your subject will submit a memorial confessing my offenses and submit to Your Majesty's judgment.
"As for the matter regarding Feng Bao, your subject will submit a separate memorial."
Only then did he hand his congratulatory memorial to Feng Bao.
Yet as their shoulders brushed past each other, Zhang Xiao let out a quiet sneer.
Feng Bao drew a deep breath, suppressing the tempest in his chest, swallowing the insult in stoic silence.
Expressionless, he seemed to be waiting for something.
Seeing Feng Bao swallow his wrath, Zhang Xiao felt a surge of smug satisfaction. But just as he was about to step back into the ranks, before his foot even moved, a eunuch suddenly entered from the side hall.
"An imperial decree from the Empress Dowager!"
Chapter 29