Chapter Eighteen: The Prince’s Eunuch

After Yang Jun was sent out, Shi Tai was left off to the side. He wanted to leave, but it was difficult—standing there, he couldn’t help but feel awkward. The people from the Prince’s residence who had come with him certainly didn’t take kindly to this.

The four guards from the Prince’s household could be set aside for now, but the three young eunuchs apprenticed to Shi Tai were all seething with rage. Ever since they’d been ordered to leave the capital, they’d been traveling under the name of the Prince Regent, and no one in all of Xuanfu had dared show them the slightest disrespect. Wherever they went, they were greeted with fine food and wine, and everyone gained some benefit from their presence. When had they ever been neglected like this?

Eunuchs, much like the civil officials, lived by the creed that honor and disgrace were shared among them. These eunuchs assigned to the Prince’s household had all been selected from those who had failed to advance in the palace, so they instinctively harbored a sense of exclusion and hostility toward their counterparts still serving at court. Though the Prince was the Emperor’s own younger brother, he was, after all, not the Emperor himself. For all the honor of being a royal prince, once one was sent to a fief, one became almost a nonentity—local officials guarded against the prince as if he were a thief, and a lifetime was spent cooped up in the princely residence, never allowed to leave the city. What pleasure could there be in such a life?

If that was the fate of their master, what better could his servants expect? The palace eunuchs who served the Emperor, as long as they avoided making mistakes, could rely on seniority and a bit of luck to eventually rise to great power and influence. By then, wherever they went, people would come to curry favor, wealth and prestige were at their fingertips. In contrast, the eunuchs serving the princes could look forward only to growing old and dying alongside their master in some remote fief. How could they possibly be content with this lot?

They were all eunuchs, but why should one group lord it over others in splendor while another toiled away in obscurity, awaiting death?

But no matter how unwilling they were, what could they do? A prince was still just a prince. Since the founding of the Ming, aside from the Yongle Emperor, who alone rose from princely status to seize the throne, what other prince had ever had such fortune? All the rest had spent their lives quietly tending to their descendants on their fiefs, always anxious lest the Emperor grow suspicious of them.

Now that they had finally found themselves with an opportunity for an external assignment before their prince was sent to his fief, Shi Tai and the other eunuchs of the Prince’s household were determined to make the most of it, to savor a taste of authority and prestige while they could—lest, once their master was relegated to his domain, they’d never get such a chance again and be left with a lifetime of regret.

Yet, after only a few days of this brief glory, before the thrill had even cooled, they encountered someone who didn’t even bother to acknowledge them. That Eunuch Guo, by all appearances, regarded them as if they didn’t exist. Even Yang Jun, who had previously been courteous to them, now ignored them, leaving their own master awkwardly standing there, not daring to show the slightest displeasure.

The young eunuchs could bear it no longer. One, named Ping’an, rolled his eyes and whispered behind Shi Tai, “Master, this Yang Commander is just a snob, and that Guo fellow holds us in even less regard. We might as well leave—no point in standing around and stewing in our anger.”

Shi Tai had already been wanting to leave. Hearing his young disciple’s words, he was about to nod in agreement when another, named Gubao, suddenly asked, “Master, who exactly is that Guo fellow?”

Shi Tai glanced at Guo Jing, who was speaking with Yang Jun, and snorted impatiently, “He’s one of Wang Gonggong’s men. He used to serve in the Directorate of Palace Attendants, then used Wang Gonggong’s influence to get himself posted as the Superintendent at Datong.”

“Superintendent of Datong?”

Gubao was astonished to learn that this ragged old man was, in fact, the powerful eunuch in charge of Datong. He felt anew that looks could be deceiving. Then, frowning in puzzlement, he asked, “So, does this mean the Emperor summoned him to the capital?”

At this, Ping’an gave a sly laugh. “Impossible! When we left the capital, the Emperor was busy preparing for his personal campaign. The city was in chaos, our prince was running around in circles—how could the Emperor possibly have summoned him at such a time?”

“So, in other words, this Guo fellow left Datong without imperial orders?” Gubao shot a meaningful look at his master.

A thought stirred in Gubao’s heart, and he grew excited. Seeing his master’s expression change, he knew his hint had hit home. He quickly pressed his advantage: “Look at him, dressed in rags like a beggar—don’t be fooled, Master. The Superintendent of Datong is a lucrative and prestigious post for someone of our rank. How could someone in his position travel without attendants, guards, and a proper retinue to show off? Even if he wanted to keep a low profile, there’s no reason to be dressed in such tatters—that’s just disgraceful to the Emperor! Hmph, odds are he’s run afoul of something and—”

Before Gubao could finish, Shi Tai waved him off, and the corners of his mouth curled into an inscrutable smile. He then raised his head and strode toward Eunuch Guo, calling out in a loud voice, “Eunuch Guo!”

Guo Jing, in the midst of conversation with Yang Jun, felt his patience snap at the interruption. He turned his head with evident displeasure and asked coldly, “What is it?”

Shi Tai, undaunted by Guo’s irritation, instead asked, “Might I ask, Eunuch Guo, do you carry an imperial mandate?” As he spoke, his face donned a forced smile, but it was so stiff as to be almost grotesque.

“Whether I do or not, what business is it of yours?”

Shi Tai, whom Guo would ordinarily not have deigned to look at, now dared to question him about his imperial credentials in front of all these people. Guo Jing was furious. “Shi Tai, don’t think I’ll just take your word for it. When I see the Emperor, I’ll make sure the palace investigates your departure from the capital. You’d better have been sent by the Prince himself—otherwise, don’t blame me for forgetting our old acquaintance!”

“Eunuch Guo, you needn’t trouble yourself about my side. My mission is aboveboard—I fear no investigation. But as for you, your comings and goings do seem rather suspect, don’t they?”

Shi Tai deliberately dragged out the last words, making his meaning unmistakable. Not only did Lu Qing grasp the implication, but Zhou Yunyi and the other Night Sentinels also caught on—Shi Tai was openly casting suspicion on Guo Jing.

Lu Qing glanced instinctively at Guo’s face, and sure enough, after Shi Tai’s words, Guo’s expression darkened. His eyes were like daggers, fixed coldly on Shi Tai, as he growled, “What are you getting at?”

Shi Tai, emboldened as if he’d swallowed a leopard’s gall, ignored Guo’s question and pressed on, “May I ask, Eunuch Guo, what is your official duty?”

Shi Tai’s aggressive questioning drove Guo Jing to the brink. With a snort, he replied, “I am the imperial appointee, Chief Military Superintendent and Eunuch-in-Charge of Datong!”

“In that case, do you have an imperial order authorizing you to leave your post? If not, Eunuch Guo, you have abandoned your station without leave—what exactly is your intent?”

After this loud interrogation, Shi Tai watched Guo Jing closely for any change of expression, his own heart pounding with anxiety. If his disciple’s guess proved wrong, he’d have run headlong into a brick wall—this Superintendent of Datong was not someone to offend lightly. If Guo Jing decided to hold a grudge, there’d be nowhere left in the world for Shi Tai to stand.

“You!”

Guo Jing’s face turned black as thunder. No matter how devoted he was to the Emperor’s safety, the fact remained that he had left his post without an imperial edict. Until he met the Emperor, this unauthorized absence hung over him like a sword. If he ran into a stickler for rules, he could be punished on the spot.

The title of Superintendent carried great power, but that depended on the setting. In Datong, Guo Jing could lord it over everyone, but beyond its borders, his authority was limited. The civil officials, who already despised the eunuchs, would love nothing more than to seize on a eunuch’s unauthorized absence as an excuse to destroy him. Should the matter be brought before the Emperor, Guo Jing would be finished—Wang Zhen’s power would be of no help if Guo had committed a capital offense. The civil officials would unite against him, their tongues sharp as blades—whether or not he survived would be out of his hands.

Shi Tai had struck, in public, at his greatest weakness. Guo Jing was both shocked and enraged, and when he saw Yang Jun watching him with suspicion, he grew even more uneasy. Yet Guo was no ordinary man—he’d survived service under four emperors. After his initial shock, he quickly regained his composure and, rather than grow angry, smiled coldly at Yang Jun. “What, Lord Yang, do you too suspect that I sneaked out of my post without authorization?”

“Not at all, not at all, Eunuch Guo, you mustn’t joke,”

Yang Jun, for all that he was a military man and the scion of a general’s family, now looked like nothing so much as a peacemaker, smiling obsequiously and showing none of his usual directness. Lu Qing, watching from the side, couldn’t help but look down on this—If Yang Jun really suspected Guo Jing, why not handle it in an official manner? Why play the hypocrite, denying what was plain to see?

Guo Jing, knowing full well that Yang Jun harbored doubts, was reassured by his show of civility. No matter how much trouble Shi Tai stirred up, as long as Yang Jun was not on his side, there was nothing to fear—after all, Shi Tai was just a servant of the Prince, not even qualified to wield authority in the Emperor’s name. What could he possibly do to Guo Jing?

With this confidence restored, Guo Jing ceased to fear Shi Tai, though he hesitated over how to explain his escape from the battlefield to Yang Jun. But after a few seconds, Yang Jun’s ingratiating smile vanished, replaced by a businesslike sternness. “Eunuch Guo, your presence here in Xuanfu brings honor to us all... however, I must confess I do not know the reason for your visit. If matters are as Eunuch Shi suggests, I’m afraid I’ll have to detain you for now.”

“You!…”

Guo Jing was taken aback by Yang Jun’s sudden change of face. Shocked and angry, he found himself momentarily at a loss for words.

Yang Jun’s unexpected move left Shi Tai both surprised and delighted. The people from the Prince’s household were all beaming, none more so than Gubao, who had first sensed something amiss. If they could really bring down Eunuch Guo, his own standing in his master’s eyes would soar.

But seeing disaster loom—if Yang Jun really detained Guo Jing, not even a celestial being could save the Orthodox Emperor and the hundreds of thousands of troops buried at Tumu Fortress—Lu Qing panicked. He rushed in front of Guo Jing and blurted out to Yang Jun, “Lord Yang, do you know where the imperial expedition is right now?”

...

Author’s Note: “Eunuch” refers to a high-ranking court official. Generally, palace attendants do not hold this title, but for convenience, the text uses the later, more familiar term.