Section Ninety-Two: Xiao Bao and the Empress

While waiting for the child to be born, Wu Zetian summoned Yuan Gongyu, the Minister of Revenue, to receive the complete set of secret midwifery methods and the operating procedures for the maternal and infant clinic that Princess Qianjin had presented.

Yuan Gongyu, a native of Fule in Chen Commandery, had pledged loyalty to the empress as soon as Emperor Gaozong raised Wu Zetian to the throne of empress in the year 655. From that point on, his official career had flourished. Now, as Minister of Revenue, he skimmed through the materials and immediately said excitedly, “This is a deed of boundless merit! If it can be successfully carried out, the number of our Great Tang’s subjects will surely increase greatly!”

“I congratulate Your Majesty on receiving such a marvelous prescription!” Yuan Gongyu said with great solemnity.

A smile appeared on Wu Zetian’s face. She, too, knew this was the truth and understood perfectly well the immense significance of the maternal and infant clinic. Still, she pressed Yuan Gongyu on how it should be implemented.

Yuan Gongyu was a man of some ability. After a brief thought, he promptly submitted his proposal: “Your Majesty may issue an edict requiring all midwives in every prefecture to observe the clinic’s sterilization methods when assisting births, with a period of three years.”

“Within three years, a maternal and infant clinic should be established in the capital of every prefecture.”

“Within ten years, a clinic should be established in all major prefectures and counties.”

“All of them should be government-run. If we proceed steadily, it would be ideal to strengthen the construction of academies everywhere at the same time. Education and the birth of the people are both top priorities.” Yuan Gongyu spoke with composure.

What he referred to was the imperial edict issued in the fifth month of that year, ordering that wherever Confucian temples and academies in the prefectures and counties had been damaged or had not yet been built, the responsible offices were to construct or repair them at once, so that the common people might have places to study and to worship the sages of old.

To place the academies and the maternal and infant clinics side by side was to raise the matter to a very lofty level. The clinics were being promoted by imperial decree from the empress herself, and this would naturally bring even more glory to her.

The more subjects who were born, the more beneficial it would be to the state; and as those subjects grew up safely and smoothly, they would naturally be grateful to the empress.

“Minister Yuan is truly an experienced and prudent statesman!” Wu Zetian said delightedly.

As for Princess Qianjin, who had so readily handed over the materials, Wu Zetian now found her increasingly pleasing to the eye. The soap had earned her money for cosmetics, the maternal and infant clinic was no secret either, and she had even dutifully paid enough imperial taxes!

If Princess Qianjin was not firmly supporting her, who was?

A ruler must be clear in rewarding and punishing others. Yuan Gongyu was indeed a clever man; seeing the empress’s attitude, and with Princess Qianjin unable to speak up for herself, he took it upon himself to say, “Your Majesty, in my view, the maternal and infant clinic materials handed over by Princess Qianjin will play a major role in raising the birth rate of our Great Tang’s subjects. This is a great work of lasting benefit, and she should be richly rewarded!”

“And what reward do you think appropriate, Minister Yuan?”

“Since the princess’s fief currently yields three hundred households, let it be doubled!” Yuan Gongyu said without hesitation.

“Excellent. Let it be done as Minister Yuan has proposed!” Wu Zetian agreed.

“Qianjin thanks Your Majesty for the reward!” Princess Qianjin immediately bowed in formal gratitude.

An income of six hundred households was not merely a matter of increased revenue; it also signaled the empress’s attitude toward her. When the Cui clan came to deal with Xiaobao, when the Pei clan came to seize the gold, all of them stopped at her doorstep, because they knew she stood close to the empress, her words carried weight, and she was not to be offended lightly.

After inspecting the maternal and infant clinic, Princess Qianjin observed Wu Zetian’s expression and behavior and could tell that the empress was in high spirits. It was still better outside the palace. Once back inside, there were endless memorials and no end of bad news.

“Your Majesty, please honor my humble residence with your presence and take some care of yourself. Just as it happens, I have a prescription here that may be worth trying.”

“Very well!” It was rare for the empress’s heart to be so light and joyful. She ordered her carriage to Princess Qianjin’s residence.

In earlier years, before Emperor Gaozong Li Zhi fell ill, it had often happened that the emperor and empress visited the residences of their ministers. The Tang court was open-minded; it was not unusual for the emperor to sit in a minister’s home or for a minister to drink tea in the palace, the ruler and subjects maintaining close relations.

But after Gaozong fell ill and recuperated in the palace, such interactions diminished. The empress rarely went to the homes of male ministers. Yet her relationship with Princess Qianjin was common knowledge, so no one found it strange that she would go to the princess’s residence.

Princess Qianjin’s home, of course, could not compare with the splendor of the imperial palace, but it was elegant in setting and warm in atmosphere, which gave Wu Zetian a rare sense of relaxation. At times she felt as though she could not breathe in the palace.

The princess’s residence had a small three-story pavilion with upturned eaves and graceful corners, light and exquisite in appearance, called Moon Terrace.

On the third floor of Moon Terrace, with no attendants needed and only Princess Qianjin by her side, Wu Zetian reclined comfortably in a rocking chair, gently swaying as she enjoyed fragrant tea and refined pastries. Her spirit relaxed immensely.

“It is still better to come here,” she said with feeling.

“You have helped me so much, and never ask for anything in return, nor do you constantly chatter in my ear!” Wu Zetian used informal speech with her, setting aside entirely the mask she wore before the world, no longer bothering with courtly politeness.

She propped her feet on the armrest of the rocking chair and stretched out her limbs with complete abandon, showing not the slightest trace of the dignity of a mother of the nation.

“As members of the imperial house, we have already received more than enough from the state. We should not keep asking for more,” Princess Qianjin said with a radiant smile, lifting her teacup toward Wu Zetian. She did not even say a formal toast. Wu Zetian naturally responded, and the two drank together.

As empress of the realm, ruling on behalf of the emperor, the pressure on her was impossible to describe. Had it not been for her, anyone else would surely have gone mad by now.

Whatever she did, no matter how well she did it, there were always people speaking behind her back. In the palace there were endless memorials, and there were always those vigilant eyes filled with intrigue. Every day, ministers with grave expressions came forward, one after another, with solemn airs to report matters to her. In truth, Wu Zetian knew perfectly well what sort of men they were: some seized common fields by force, some abused and robbed women, some took bribes and embezzled funds, some sold official posts, and some infiltrated and manipulated the imperial examinations. Yet she had to keep up appearances with them, speaking words she did not mean. At times she thought of it and nearly went mad, wishing she could order the imperial guards to drag them straight out of the palace gate and behead them.

The great benefit of associating with Princess Qianjin lay precisely here: she was obedient and never tiresome, and she often brought Wu Zetian pleasant surprises, so Wu Zetian did not mind helping her settle a few minor troubles from time to time.

“Didn’t you say you had some new beauty regimen?” Wu Zetian asked impatiently, thinking of the favors she had received from Princess Qianjin again. The beauty care and spa treatments had also been sent by the princess, and she had even overseen the training of beauty attendants who cared for Wu Zetian every day. The results were quite good.

“I do!” Princess Qianjin proudly presented her new prescription: a pearl powder facial mask.

The method was to peel apples, cucumbers, and pears, mash them into a fruit paste, then add flour, water, and pearl powder to make the mixture. Smiling, Princess Qianjin said, “It can cool and calm the skin.”

“You know me best!” Wu Zetian said with delight, then suddenly asked, “Did he present this prescription?”

“Indeed he did!” Princess Qianjin clapped lightly. From downstairs, a man came up. He was dazzling; anyone standing beside him would feel instantly inferior. The phrase “a dragon among men” was made for a person like him.

Feng Xiaobao.

“You?” Wu Zetian asked Princess Qianjin in surprise.

“Let him take care of your beauty treatment.”

“What?” Wu Zetian cried out.

“You are too tired, and you have suffered too much. Let him serve you properly.” Princess Qianjin smiled sweetly and walked down the stairs.

Leaving Wu Zetian and Feng Xiaobao alone.

In the evening, the empress’s carriage returned to the palace. The attendants, seeing that Her Majesty was radiant, her bearing having increased by more than thirty percent, as though replenished, could tell she now seemed to possess endless energy.

Meanwhile, Feng Xiaobao at Princess Qianjin’s residence was eating and drinking heartily, as though he had expended a great deal of strength.