CH 22

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The Sixth Year of Nan Jing, Emperor Wen returned to heaven. 

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Music is reverberating throughout the royal city. The princes, dukes and officials have gathered at the bottom of the steps of Tai Qing Palace to welcome me with the kowtow ceremony. After three whip cracks, the Minister of Rites steps forth and reads the empress dowager’s decree on his knees. The Archduke, Han Jun, and the Protector of the Seas, Heng Ziyu, lead the three kneeling and nine knockings ceremony. 

The ascension ceremony is being held at Tai Qing Palace. The flag of the Lin clan billows in the air. Ceremonial incense burns from a massive censer. 

Wearing the Twelve Ornament Regalia and Twelve Pearl Crown, I stand amidst swirls of aromatic smoke at the bottom of the steps. I tilt my head back a little. 

With the azure Welkin as background, the main building of the royal city, Tai Qing Palace, is well-defined and seems all the more gigantic and majestic. The towering steps are carpeted with bright red silk all the way to the very top, seeming almost endless. The square behind me is lined with officials flattened to the ground on their hands and knees, not making a sound. 

I’m standing here yet I feel lonely for some reason. 

Han Xin—or should I say Lin Xin—are you really ready for this? 

Finally, I step onto the red silk and ascend the steps. 

The people at my two sides bow and kneel down as I pass, lowering their heads and holding their breaths. 

The pearls of the crown swing before my eyes, clinking furiously. The October sunlight is dazzling and blinds me as it dances off of the beads. My eyes water and everything I see through the glaring halo seems so transient and surreal. 

With the blaring drums and acoustics and the melodious voices of court singers, why is it that I feel this overwhelming loneliness? 

The steps seem to be boundless. The people beside me are still kneeling down in turn like a wave. 

I look up only to see a figure in dark green. It’s the empress dowager. She’s dressed in a pheasant plume regalia and a Nine Dragon Nine Phoenix Pearl and Emerald Crown. The intricate and splendid layers, the wide sleeves, the broad belt, the exquisite embroidery on the dark green gown and the brilliant cosmetics make her look extraordinary. She maintains a calm face, showing not one bit of fatigue or sorrow but only the strength that no ordinary woman could come close to matching. 

I inhale deeply before lifting up my regalia and continue my slow climb. 

Now that it has come to this, I cannot be vulnerable or hesitant. An emperor is always august and self-possessed. 

I hold myself straight and my head high and remain this way as I approach the top, unflustered and dignified. It’s as if I were born a king: I display all the etiquette and comportment that a king should have precisely and absolutely. 

When I finally reach the top of the elevated steps of Tai Qing Palace, I quietly look down at everything below me. The entire royal city lies before my eyes, the beauty of the capital, too, and the blurred ebony mountains in the distance as well. I can actually see beyond the land straight to the frontiers out in the desert. 

The howling wind whips by my ears. White birds flutter trippingly across the horizon like white shooting stars. They cry out crisp notes before disappearing into the clouds. 

I wonder if Emperor Wen has reincarnated into the commoner’s world and will lead the free life of a peasant as he had wished. 

By now, freedom is something I can only reach for in my dreams. 

“Your Majesty.” 

The empress dowager gently calls from behind. I glance back to see her nodding at me, signalling with her eyes. I pull a smile and move my gaze back to the square. Raising my arms, I regard them all—all of the cowering officials at the bottom of the steps and all of my subjects in this land—with a smile. 

“Long live the emperor!” 

“May he live ten thousand years!” 

“And ten thousand more!” 

The subjects exclaim at the top of their lungs. The lasting echoes resonate in every corner of the royal city, reaching up to the heavens and startling flocks of birds. Their ceremonial gowns and fancy belts flitter in the wind, appearing like one massive ocean wave. 

The wind is slightly chilly and lifts the edges of my garments into the air. The exquisite beads hanging from the crown have also been disturbed and are tinkling nonstop. 

A bronze bell is rung. High-spirited notes blast forth from horns, low and dissonant. 

The red sun has risen high above the horizon, radiating continual rays that dab golden brilliance upon the realm. 

This unreachable place has been one of curiosity for me for twenty years. I’ve seen countless times on the roofs of Tai Qing Palace life’s complexity, zest, sadness, joy, farewells, reunions, happiness, anger and everything in between, but who would have known that one day I would be standing here with the entire nation beneath my feet, beholding the land as the almighty emperor.