The Emperor's Seal

by Amanda Roberts

  Even though he was far more comfortable in a British style suit and bowler hat, he thought it best to dress more conservatively for the empress. She had taken steps over the years to modernize the country, but he had heard she was quite old-fashioned. One would expect nothing less from a nearly seventy-year-old woman. He imagined she was much like Queen Victoria before her death—the monarch of a country barreling into the modern age but bound by tradition. He didn’t shave the front of his head, though he did have a queue. Like all Chinese men, he had never cut his hair, but as a Han Chinese who had lived abroad, he could never bring himself to shave the front half of his head. He wore a conical silk hat with red fringe typical of scholars, but he added a hat pin that had been a gift and he always wore. He also wore round-framed spectacles. He spent far too much time squinting over ancient faded texts, which had already taken its toll on his vision.

  He could not help but pace as he waited in the formal audience hall for the arrival of the empress. No one else, save a couple of eunuch servants, were in attendance. He was surprised since he was under the impression that this was to be a meeting with the empress and her advisors. He felt very alone and unnerved.

  Finally, a gong was struck and a voice announced the arrival of the empress. Zhihao dropped to his knees and kowtowed before the thrones. The empress entered and climbed up on the raised dais. Her throne was only slightly to the side of the dragon throne—the emperor’s throne—but it was set higher. The empress, even though she was the true ruler of China, would never dare sit on the dragon throne. Above the emperor’s throne was a giant carved golden dragon holding a large pearl in its mouth. The carving and the dragon throne had been there since the creation of the Forbidden City during the Ming Dynasty. Legend said that if anyone but the emperor sat on the dragon throne, the dragon would release the pearl and the usurper would be crushed. The empress wanted it to be clear that she was the person in charge—thus her literally elevated position—but even she had enough healthy superstition to not sit on the dragon throne.

  Still, no men entered the room. The empress was only attended by her ladies and eunuchs.

  “Zhihao, son of Dulong,” the empress called out.

  Zhihao sat up, but he kept his gaze low. “Your Majesty,” he said. “You honor me with your presence.”

  The empress nodded. “I am pleased you have come. I am in need of your assistance.”

  “I would give my all in your service, Your Majesty,” he said.

  She nodded again. “You were not yet born when the foreigners destroyed my Summer Palace, were you?” she asked.

  “No, your majesty,” he said. “But my father was. He was there, in service to the Xianfeng Emperor. He saw the palace just before the catastrophe. He said it was the most splendid palace the world had ever known.”

  The empress sucked in a deep breath. “It was…it was. I have done my best to rebuild parts of it from my memory, but it is not the same. Hundreds of years of artisanship, thousands of buildings, millions of artifacts, trinkets, paintings…all snuffed out…”

  Zhihao could tell that to this day the empress mourned the loss of her magnificent Summer Palace. It was well-known how much she loved it. She had spent the last thirty years trying to replace it, much to the chagrin of her overtaxed people.

  “The British are politically our allies,” she said. “But they can never truly be trusted. They have stolen countless items from us to sell in England or display in their own palaces.”

  Zhihao knew this was true. While he was studying in London, he loved visiting the British Museum and exploring the “Treasures of the Orient” exhibits. The items had all been stolen or taken from homes, shrines, and burial sites around China and India and other Asian countries, not given willingly. While he hated knowing how the museum procured its wares, it was one of his few connections to his homeland for many years. He could spend hours looking at a single carving or piece of embroidery, studying every intricate detail.

  “I have had to make endless concessions to the foreign powers—the British, the Germans, the Americans, and now, even the Japanese—all in the name of peace.” She very nearly spat the word peace as if it were acid on her tongue. “They have land, customs rights, ports, Christians running amok, their own cities, their own laws…” She shook her head. “The foreigners are a people apart in our own country. They can do whatever they want and we have to accept it. You know this.”

  Zhihao sighed. It was true. Foreigners had even murdered Chinese citizens but could not be prosecuted for their crimes under Chinese law. They were supposed to be punished under the laws of their own countries, but that never happened.

  “This is true, Your Majesty,” he finally said. “I appreciate my education abroad, but I cannot condone the way the foreigners freely ignore our laws and run roughshod over our own people.”

  The empress nodded, seemingly happy with his answer. She clearly wanted to make sure that he was on her side. That he was genuinely Chinese and had not been corrupted by the “foreign devils” before she explained the reason she had summoned him.

  “I am old,” the empress said. “I will not live forever. While I hope to live for many more years, I know I need to plan for my country’s future. I need to make way for my nephew and his heirs to rule after I am gone. And I need to preserve my country’s heritage for all the generations of Chinese to come.

  “I have heard that several of the foreign governments have been sending historians and archeologists into China to learn about our history and search for lost artifacts. If they wanted to do this with our cooperation, I would be glad of it, but I believe they are simply stealing our heritage! I am hearing reports of family tombs that have been completely looted. Ancient shrines and temples are being taken apart brick by brick. Our own history is being leeched away from us every day. Have you heard of this?” she asked.

  “There have been rumors, Your Majesty,” Zhihao said. “I have heard that the British customs official has been looking the other way when ships laden with cultural items leave our ports. I have spoken with my colleagues at the university about it and have suggested that we need to start locating and cataloging historical items ourselves so we can have an accurate record. The foreigners will not be able to steal from us so easily if we have better records—”

  “Yes, yes,” the empress interrupted and nodded. “I have heard of your interest in preserving our heritage. That is why I sent for you. I need you to find something for me.”

  “Of course, Your Majesty,” he said. “Anything.”

  “I need you to find the emperor’s seal.”

  Zhihao’s jaw dropped. He could not hide the shock on his face and blushed when he heard some of the ladies giggle. He must have looked ridiculous.

  “The…the emperor’s s-s-seal?” he stammered. The emperor’s seal was the single most important item the emperor owned. It was the physical embodiment of the Mandate of Heaven—his godly ordained right to rule. More than that, it was a practical item. It was used to stamp imperial edits, to make laws and pronouncements valid. If the seal was missing, what had the emperor and empress been using to stamp the edicts?

  “Don’t…don’t you have it, Your Majesty?” he finally asked.

  “The seal went missing long ago. During the reign of the Daoguang Emperor.”

  “It has been missing for more than fifty years?” Zhihao asked in disbelief. He held his hand to his mouth. Zhihao liked to think of himself as a reasonable man, one led by reason and logic, not superstition. But if the emperor’s seal had been lost so long ago, that might explain China’s descent. Since the first Opium War in the 1830s, China had been plagued by wars, rebellions, droughts, poverty. Many people blamed the empress since it was unnatural for a woman to be on the throne. But if the seal was lost, so was the Mandate of Heaven. The Celestial Beings no longer shined on the Middle Kingdom and the people were merely floundering. The Manchu had no right to the throne! Zhihao could feel his anger rising. The whole monarchy was a s
ham!

  “I have been using a copy of the seal, one given to me as a gift by my late husband, the Xianfeng Emperor,” the empress said, interrupting his thoughts. “I need you to find the seal. The real seal. There are those who do not think that we Manchu should rule China anymore.”

  Zhihao had to not breathe to keep from snorting. That was certainly an understatement. There had been rumblings of overthrowing the Qing Dynasty for decades, but the rumblings had become a dull roar as of late. In the past, no one had given an alternative. Trade one emperor for another? That could be worse than the current system. But there were new rules of thought developing—constitutional monarchies, socialism, communism, democracy. The talk was no longer about if the imperial family would be overthrown, but when, and what system would take its place. Zhihao was in favor of ousting the Qing, but he had never said such out loud. He was a thinker and listener, not a revolutionary. But when the fight came, he knew what side he would be on.

  “The sudden reappearance of the real seal will give the emperor, my dear nephew, the blessing of the people. His rule will be assured. It will at least keep the foreigners from finding it. Can you imagine what would happen if the British or the Russians got their hands on the seal?”

  Zhihao had to admit, foreigners finding the seal would be infinitely worse than the empress getting it back. If nothing else, the seal had to remain in Chinese hands.

  “You must find the seal for me,” the empress said.

  Zhihao nearly chuckled. “This is the first time I am hearing of its disappearance. I have never read of this. I don’t have even the slightest idea of where to begin looking. It could be anywhere.”

  “If I were to give you a clue, a key to finding it. If I could guarantee your success, would you do this task I have given you?”

  He had to accept. No one could say no the empress. But he couldn’t promise, even to himself, that he would hand over the seal if he found it. Maybe he would hide it again. Or perhaps he would find a Chinese leader worthy of it who could lead China in this new century. He would have to see what happened. But for now, he had no choice but to accept the assignment.

  “I said that I would give my all in your service, Your Majesty,” he said. “I stand by that. I will do my best to locate the emperor’s seal.”

  The empress sat back in her throne and smiled. “Good,” she said.

  Why did he feel as though he had just made a pact with the devil?

  “The clue?” he asked. “Or key? How am I to begin?”

  The empress waved her hand and the door to the audience hall opened. In walked one of the most beautiful women he had ever seen.

  Zhihao held his breath as she approached, as if she might disappear if he breathed. She was small with pale skin, though it was a bit darker than most palace ladies. She kept her eyes downcast and nearly floated as she took small steps and balanced on her high pot-bottom shoes that Manchu ladies wore. Her hair was wrapped around the high batou plank on top of her head but was simply adorned. Her floor-length chaopao was dark blue and embroidered with light blue flowers.

  She stood next to Zhihao and got down on one knee in the half-kowtow position that was acceptable for ladies. Their ridiculous shoes made a full kowtow nearly impossible.

  “Zhihao, meet the Lady Jiayi,” the empress said.

  Zhihao turned to her and bent at the waist in greeting. “My lady,” he said.

  She still did not look at him, but she nodded her acceptance.

  “Jiayi,” the empress said. “Tell him what you know about the seal.”

  “The seal was lost on the road to Jehol,” she said in a soft voice. “The emperor and his family were traveling to the Mountain Palace when they were attacked by rebels. The emperor feared for his life and that the seal would be stolen. He entrusted it to Noble Lady Yi, the Lady Caigila. She was instructed to hide it, to keep it safe.”

  “If you can find out where that battle was,” the empress explained, “the seal should be hidden nearby.”

  “How do you know this?” Zhihao asked Jiayi. “Did you find one of Lady Cai’s letters or something?”

  Jiayi shook her head. “No…I saw it…in a dream,” she said.

  Zhihao couldn’t help but laugh. “Is this a joke?” he asked. One look at the empress told him that this was no joke. “I mean…” He quickly tried to save his skin. “I mean everyone has dreams from time to time of people we have met before or read about. How can you put any stock into some girl’s dream about the seal?”

  “You were instructed to bring an item with you, Zhihao. Something unique from your foreign travels. Did you?”

  “Yes, Your Majesty,” he said. He rummaged in his pockets until he found the item he had brought. It was a cameo brooch that had once been owned by Queen Elizabeth.

  “Place it into Jiayi’s hands,” the empress instructed.

  Jiayi delicately pulled the long sleeves of her robe up to her elbows and then held both of her hands in front of her. She closed her eyes and took a long, deep breath, as if she was steeling herself for something.

  Zhihao felt his eyebrows scrunch in disbelief as he reached over and dropped the brooch into her hands.

  Jiayi gasped and then slumped to the ground, as if she had fallen asleep.

  Zhihao looked around, wondering if anyone should do anything to help her, but no one moved. Everyone seemed to be waiting with bated breath. The room remained silent for several minutes.

  Finally, Jiayi’s eyes shot open and she took a deep breath, as if she had not breathed the whole time she was in her sleep. She staggered back to her kneeling position.

  “I was a queen,” Jiayi said. “They called me Elizabeth. This jewel was a gift from her lover. She called him Dudley. He presented it to her at dinner, on the night of her coronation. The other people in the room did not look happy about it.”

  “Impossible!” Zhihao could not help but gasp. She was exactly right. He had researched the brooch extensively before purchasing it. But that was hardly the sort of thing a girl living in the Forbidden City would know. Zhihao snatched the brooch back from her. “This is…What is this? What is going on? Who is she?”

  Several of the ladies in the room gasped, undoubtedly afraid he had angered the empress. But the empress only laughed. “Impressive, yes?”

  “Yes…No! It’s just not possible!” Zhihao stumbled.

  “Why is it impossible? You saw it with your own eyes,” the empress said. “She could not have known that. She never saw the thing before.”

  “But what is happening? What is going on? What does this have to do with the seal?”

  “The girl is a seer,” the empress said. “When she touches an item, she is transported to a time in the item’s past, to the body of someone who interacted with the item. She can see events surrounding it.”

  “So…by touching the brooch she was able to see when the brooch was given to Queen Elizabeth?”

  The empress nodded. “Now you are understanding,” she said.

  “But, what about the seal? How did she see it if the seal is lost?”

  “I have the original box the seal was hidden in. She was able to see up to the moment the seal was removed from the box.”

  “And the seal was removed from the box by Lady Cai? On the road to Jehol?”

  “Actually, the emperor removed the seal from the box and handed it to Lady Cai. That was where my vision ended,” Jiayi corrected.

  “Wait.” Zhihao closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose. “I can’t believe I’m actually engaging in this. It’s crazy!”

  Jiayi pursed her lips tightly and turned away. Zhihao felt a wave of guilt wash over him and he wondered just how many times the girl had been called crazy in her life. But she had to be crazy, or he was, or this was all some elaborate hoax.

  “I just mean that this can’t be real. There has to be an explanation for her visions. I can’t go digging around in the dirt based on some girl’s dream.”

  “Why not?” the e
mpress asked. “There are things in this world that we cannot explain. This is one of them. But it is also one that can help you. Can help China! The court will pay all your expenses…and…”

  Zhihao quirked an eyebrow. In all the excitement he had completely forgotten to ask about any remuneration for his work.

  “Before he died, I believe you and Prince Gong talked about building a grand museum, like they have in England. Magnificent palaces that house and protect the country’s treasures. Do this for me, and I will give you the authority and funds to build China’s first museum.”

  “I’ll do it!” Zhihao replied without a second thought.

  Three

  Jiayi didn’t know whether to be glad or horrified. She was excited about the chance to get out of the palace and learn from Zhihao, but he was terribly rude and arrogant. That he called her crazy stung. For years people thought she was either crazy or possessed by a demon. If the empress hadn’t taken her in when she did, who knows where Jiayi would have ended up. She shuddered to think of the possibilities.

  “Very good,” the empress said. “However, remember that your job and Jiayi’s abilities must be kept secret. If the wrong people find out that the seal is missing, they could use that information against us. And if anyone outside this room knew what Jiayi could do, she could be in grave danger. She is precious to me. I want her back…in the exact same condition she is now.”

  The emphasis on the empress’s final words made Jiayi blush.

  “You mean…I am to take her with me?” Zhihao asked. “Has she not already told me all of what she saw?”

  “She can still have more visions after she has rested. She might see something useful later. But you can at least start figuring out where exactly you should be looking and start your journey.”

  The empress then stood to leave, and Jiayi and Zhihao bowed. They did not rise until she and her entourage had completely left the room. Then they stood and faced each other, but Jiayi kept her gaze to the floor. Even though she and Zhihao were mostly alone, it would not be proper for her to look him in the face. This was the first time in her life, in her real life, that she had ever been alone with a man—a real man at least. Eunuchs did not count as men. She glanced to the side of the room and saw that Eunuch Lo, her minder, had not left the room and was watching her from a discreet distance. She wondered if Zhihao knew he was even there.