Prince Ch'un promised to stop the project, but he lied. It was hard for him to quit-he had already dispersed most of the funds, and he needed an ongoing excuse to push Li for additional money.
Li Hung-chang parried with Prince Ch'un. Instead of going to foreign banks for loans, Li launched a 'Navy Defense Fund Drive.' He made no effort to hide the fact that the money he raised would actually benefit 'the Dowager Empress's sixtieth birthday party.' Li meant to shoot down Prince Ch'un, but I was being used as collateral. Li Hung-chang must have believed that I deserved this treatment because I was responsible for teaming him up with Prince Ch'un in the first place.
Guang-hsu declared war on Japan, but he had little confidence in overseeing it. He relied on Tutor Weng, who knew wars only through books. I had yet to learn how conflicted Guang-hsu was as a man. Lan let me know that her husband was a romantic at heart, but was afraid of women.
'We have been married for five years.' Lan's lips trembled and she broke down. 'We slept together only once, and now he wants a separation.'
I promised to help. The result was that the couple agreed to continue to live together in the same compound. What saddened me was that Guang-hsu had built a wall around his apartment in order to block Lan's entrance.
When I talked with Guang-hsu, he explained that his neglect of Lan was out of self-defense. 'She told me that I owe her a child.'
He described Lan's midnight intrusions. 'She scared my eunuchs, who thought that her shadow was that of an assassin.'
When I tried to make Guang-hsu understand that Lan had her wifely rights, he said that he didn't think he was able to perform his duty as a husband.
'I haven't been cured yet,' he said, meaning his involuntary ejaculations. 'I don't think I ever will be.'
Guang-hsu had bravely mentioned his condition to me before, but I had hoped things would improve with greater experience in love.
I was unable to overcome the feeling that I had created a tragedy. It made me feel even worse to know that Lan believed I could force Guang-hsu to love her.
During the day, Guang-hsu and I conducted audiences dealing with the war against Japan; in the evening, we buried ourselves in documents and drafts of edicts. The only time we could relax a bit was during late- night breaks. I tried to talk casually about Lan, but Guang-hsu knew my intention.
'I am sure Lan doesn't deserve me,' Guang-hsu said. The regret in his eyes was sincere. He held himself responsible for not being able to produce an heir, and said that for some time he had been feeling weak and tired. 'I am not asking you to forgive me.' He made an effort to push back his tears. 'I let you down…' He began to weep. 'I am beyond shame as an Imperial man. Soon the world will know.'
'Your condition will remain a secret until we find a cure.' I tried to comfort him, but now I saw that beyond being despondent he might be truly ill.
'What about Lan?' Guang-hsu raised his tearful eyes. 'I am afraid there will come a day when she will publicly attack me.'
'Leave her to me.'
Lan refused to accept my explanation of Guang-hsu's medical condition. Stubbornly she believed that her husband meant to reject her. 'He is listless with me, but he is full of spirit when with his other concubines, especially Pearl.'
I made sure that Lan would not let her feelings of frustration run away with her. 'We are the ladies of masks,' I told her. 'Cloaking ourselves in divine glory and sacrifice is our destiny.'
I was grateful that Guang-hsu allowed me to bring in doctors to examine him, and he answered their most intimate questions. He had borne so much pain and humiliation. I admired him for being above himself in conquering his personal sufferings.
The diagnosis was delivered, and it broke my heart: Guang-hsu had a lung condition. He had contracted bronchitis, and was vulnerable to tuberculosis. The image of Tung Chih lying on his bed came back to me. I held Guang-hsu in my arms and wept.
25
The city of Peking ran out of firewood during the New Year of 1894. The wood we did receive was green and damp and produced thick smoke. We coughed and hacked while conducting audiences. The minister of the Board of the Interior was summoned and questioned. He kept apologizing and promising that the next load would be smoke free. According to Yung Lu, the northern section of the railroad responsible for transporting the wood had been destroyed by desperate peasant rebels. The tracks were dislodged and the wooden ties were sold for burning. The troops Yung Lu sent could not fix the problem fast enough.
Early on the morning of New Year's Day, an urgent message woke me: Prince Ch'un had died. 'The Emperor's father had a stroke while inspecting naval installations,' the message read.
Doctor Sun Pao-tien said that exhaustion had claimed Prince Ch'un's life. The prince had been determined to show his readiness to launch a counterattack against Japan. He had denounced his brother Prince Kung and Viceroy Li Hung-chang. He bragged about his ability to get the job done, 'the way a Mongolian plays jump-rope without breaking a sweat.'
Prince Ch'un wouldn't consult with Kung or Li. He was not about to 'pick up a rock and smash his own toes with it'-he refused to 'insult' himself. I had seen the same self-defeating behavior in the rest of the Imperial family. Prince Ch'un might have covered his home with calligraphed maxims about pursuing the simple life, but power meant everything to him.
I remembered being concerned about the discoloration of Prince Ch'un's lips. He believed that his dizziness was just a part of his morning-after hangover. He continued to throw banquets, believing that small talk and private deals were the way to get things done.
Guang-hsu was grief-stricken. He was much closer to his father than his mother, of course. Kneeling between his uncles, he couldn't bring himself to finish the death announcement at the morning audience.
Later, at the reception before the burial, my sister made a show of demanding that her younger son, Prince Ch'un Junior, be given his father's position.
When I denied her request, Rong turned to Guang-hsu and said, 'Let's hear what the Emperor has to say.'
Guang-hsu stared blankly at his mother as if not understanding her.
'It's my birthright!' Prince Ch'un Junior claimed. He towered over Guang-hsu by half a head. As the leader of the new Manchu generation, the young Ch'un was a man of neither modesty nor patience. His eyes were bloodshot and his breath thick with alcohol. He reminded me of a bull in the mood for a fight.
'Discipline your younger son,' I said to my sister.
'Guang-hsu is nothing but an embroidered pillowcase stuffed with straw,' Rong said. 'Ch'un Junior should have been the one for the throne!'
I could hardly believe my sister. I turned to look at Guang-hsu, who was visibly distraught. Then I nodded at Li Lien-ying, who then yelled, 'Her Majesty's and His Majesty's palanquins!'
While riding back to the palace, I realized I had witnessed in our family the decay of the whole royal class. It didn't occur to young Prince Ch'un that he could fail just as his father did.
Rong and I had grown so far apart that even seeing each other became unbearable. It worried me that Prince Ch'un Junior could be next in line if something should happen to Guang-hsu. Ch'un Junior had the physical stature but little in the way of a mind. Although I had been encouraging the young Manchus to pursue the path of their ancestors and had been rewarding them with promotions, I was disappointed in my nephew. I insisted that he take an apprenticeship under either Prince Kung or Li Hung-chang. Since the boy refused to follow my instructions, his position in court remained insignificant.
For the next few weeks, while Guang-hsu conducted audiences, I sat in one royal temple or another receiving
