The Empire was split into five regions and each region was split into four counties. Those counties were home to many small landlords who controlled the lands of the farmers and three county magistrates, who watched over them. The county magistrates answered to the regional court, who in turn answered to the government and ultimately, the Emperor. This had been the system for many centuries and there seemed no reason to change it. This did not mean that there was no corruption within the system for in each county, an honest man could easily be suppressed by two dishonourable men and one dishonest man could eventually corrupt two honourable men.
The drought in the east was replaced by a season of heavy rains, spoiling the following harvest, but taxes were still demanded by the government of the Eastern Court, who pressed the demand onto the magistrates, who in turn pressured the small landlords, who bitterly used their own wealth as they could no longer squeeze blood from their farmers. The West fared little better as the western most counties were frequently subjected to raids. Desperate farmers abandoned their farms and landlords struggled to find others to rent the fallow lands to. The Western Court had to rely on better fairing lands to pay the remaining taxes, which caused much dark mutterings from those who found they had to pay more.
The South had fewer problems so could only offer hollow sympathies; they offered pretty words but nothing in the way of assistance. The North had always relied mostly on mining and trade with those in the Heartlands, which was surrounded by the North's vast cold lands and currently both were fairly profitable, but no so much that they would spare funds for relief, knowing that they might need the money if their own situation turned sour.
The year of the young Prince's twelfth birthdays and the year the third Prince, at the age of four, was named heir, the situation in the South worsened with flood waters bursting the banks of the Summer River, which happened to flow from the East and could no longer cope with the many rainy seasons that region had suffered. As the East had not yet recovered, though the next harvest looked promising, they could only return the pretty words the South had offered them in better times. Help from the West was also not forthcoming.
The Central Region, which housed the Imperial Palace and many smaller palaces belonging to Government Ministers, were very passive during this time. It was not that there were no Ministers that sought to ease to pressures of the suffering regions, more that they were too few and the Emperor did not demand anything of the Government so long as taxes followed inwards.
Huang Jia was a major household within the Southern region, many sons of the main household had served in both the Southern Court and Imperial Government, whilst branch members had enjoyed the privileges of Court and as county magistrates. They did not speak of the black sheep branch that never rose above landlord status. However, with the turns of fate, even the Huang Jia began to feel the unpleasant times that they had caused to worsen with indifference. They could only turn to the Empress for assistance, but who knew that her Emperor gave her little face? The Empress begged her husband that she might be able to return to Huang Jia for a period of time. As the Emperor cared nothing for Huáng Hòu nor Huang Jia, he did not hold her back. Though these decisions were looked upon with disapproving eyes, both Empress and Emperor ignored the ministers protests, but as the Empress agreed to leave the Crown Prince in the Yin Palace, the loud complaints fell to whispers behind closed doors.
The Huáng Hòu required many servants and guards as she travelled south, the latter was supplied by the fourth army, which was controlled by her Uncle, but as her son required the servants of the Yin Palace to protect him, she instead stripped the White Orchid Palace of it's people. Huang Kong and the two princesses followed their mother to Huang Jia.
The two Princes of the White Orchid Palace were abandoned, but for this, they had no complaints. The first thing the two boys did was raid the kitchens that served them; it had been many days since they had last fed well. Drunk on his own power over them, Huang Kong had taken to beating them with that bamboo cane if ever they acted in a way he deemed unfit. Unfortunately, there were many times his views were tainted, there was naturally no pattern. After the first occasion, he had the boys watched very carefully in case they complained, but as they muttered nothing and as they had fooled the Palace into thinking the drugs were working, their prison guards became lax once more. No sooner had the marks healed from that first beating, Huang Kong took to cane them again. This time he was more clever about it, beating their tender feet and making them stand on the painful wounds, until he was satisfied with their tortured expressions. After each beating, they could not leave their rooms to hunt for food to supplement their weak diets and the past week had been particularly hard upon them.
After their bellies were so full to be slightly swollen, the two boys filled a tub in the courtyard with lukewarm water and soaked their aching feet. Such small satisfactions lead to the boys relaxing enough that their suppressed emotions took over and they wept for four years of sorrow, holding each other in the others arms. That night they shared the same bed as they slept.
*****
The Emperor was also enjoying the peace brought from the lack of his Empress upon the Palace Grounds, he could walk freely about the Imperial gardens knowing that the woman would not suddenly appear to demand things of him. Crown Prince required new clothes made of rare silks from the Heartland and by the hand of the Imperial tailor. Crown Prince required the best teachers, namely Wen Sun, a renowned man from the Imperial college. Crown Prince required fish caught from the southern seas for his birth ceremony.
So it was with much satisfaction that his ears heard only the wind sweeping through the leaves of trees and lengths of bamboo, heard the caged song birds as they sang prettily, heard the guqin in the distance played by a concubine, heard the sound of childish laughter... he frowned. What child? The Crown Prince did little but ball for his mother and the princesses were on their way to Huang Jia. He followed the sound to the distant White Orchid Palace and paused, mouth open wide.
Two boys, in a state of half dress, buckets half filled of water about them sat in the warm sun allowing its heat to dry them. One boy, slightly more golden in colour and masculine of feature hummed a small tune, his eyes half shut and a bright smile upon his soft lips. The other boy was combing the long black hair of the first, his pale skin near white in contrast. He was beautiful with liquid black eyes and a gentle expression upon his small face. A hint of shaped iron seemed be formed beneath skin of silk with both boys, though the former was broader of frame and the latter more willowy of feature. How had there been such loveliness within his walls that he was unaware of? The flowers within his garden did not compare! Just one flaw, each rib was too clear to view, but a remedy was easy at hand. He had no concern of why they were so skinny!
The Emperor indicated that he wished his eunuch approach, which You Zhi did, back bent and nervous. "Who are these two boys, Zhen wishes to know them," the man spoke in soft tones so not to disturb this picture of beauty before him.
You Zhi cleared his throat with a shallow cough. "They are the First and Second Princes, your majesty. Wáng Jie Long and Wáng Yu Long."
The Emperor nodded in understanding, he still had vague memories of their mothers. Both had once been exceptionally lovely. His chest was filled with pride, had he known he could produce such fine specimens with his seed, he might have paid them more attention. It made him wonder, for the first time, the appearance of his other children. The last time he had seen the eldest Princess was on the birth of her younger sister, he recalled something small and round, but otherwise had no impression. He would view them on their return. "Lan Li Ling named them aptly," he voiced his approval. "What of my other sons?" He had thrown out three more women who had born him daughters with those children since the first purge of his harem, but he vaguely recalled one other son born shortly after the Crown Prince and of another, whose mother now resides with her son in the cold palace.
"Fourth Prince sadly passed away of illness three years past," the eunuch mentioned. Actually, the babe had had a bad reaction to the drugs usually fed to the older Princes and had died. "The Fifth Prince is now two years old, residing with his mother in the cold Palace. I believe he is named Bo Laquan." The boy had his mother's protection even within that abandoned place, so they had not yet fed him the drugs.
"I will visit the cold palace," the Emperor decided after viewing his pleasing sons once more. He paused, in half step retreat, before turning back to the eunuch. "Oh and send Feng Chun to me, I wish to test my sons worths." You Zhi gulped, but bowed in acquiescence. The Empress would not be pleased with this turn of events. He could only hope that due to the drugs within their food and the teachings of Huang Kong, that these boys had been rendered useless.
Author's note; I haven't forgotten... no that's a lie, I had forgotten about my poll of one book or two. Just going to stick with one, it's what most people seem to prefer and I'm thinking I am probably too lazy to create a second cover.. though it wouldn't have been much different to the first... just with chess pieces instead of rings lol.