In the first year of Yongchang, snow fell over the imperial city of Daliang, blanketing the whole city in white.
The late emperor died suddenly, and the six-year-old Crown Prince Xiao Jingyan was lifted onto the Dragon Throne by the powerful minister Huo Tianzhang. At the enthronement ceremony, the new emperor was so frightened that he wet his dragon robe, sending the assembled officials into an uproar. Huo Tianzhang scolded the master of ceremonies in open court for mishandling the proceedings, then turned around and gently wiped the wet spot on the throne with his sleeve. “Do not be afraid, Your Majesty. I am here.”
Those words, “I am here,” were repeated for twelve years.
Empress Dowager Zhang Xian volunteered to rule from behind the curtain. In the name of “assisting the government,” Huo Tianzhang took charge of the court. The emperor’s maternal uncle, Duke of Weiguo Zhang Huaiyu, commanded the three garrisons around the capital. The chief eunuch Zhao Dehai oversaw the twenty-four departments of the inner palace. The forces of every faction built an impenetrable cage around the young emperor.
Over those twelve years, Emperor Xiao Jingyan became the greatest joke in the Daliang court. He dozed off during court sessions, drooling over memorials; rolled the imperial seal like a toy to the feet of ministers; and squatted beneath the altar counting ants during the winter solstice ceremony to worship Heaven. A street rhyme went: “A clay doll sits upon the Golden Throne; beneath the dragon robe is a fool.”
Everyone laughed. No one noticed that, in the instant those seemingly vacant eyes lowered, a light flashed through them that did not belong to the weak.
