The Heavenly Empress

By Olga Kryuchkova and Elena Kryuchkova

The governor Li Yuan has secret plans to overthrow the ruling dynasty. One day he goes on a pilgrimage to a distant temple to pray to the ancient gods. There, the governor meets a mysterious old man in brilliant white robes and receives from him a piece of jade in the form of a drop, supposedly endowed with divine power.

A few years later, Li Yuan comes to power and establishes a new Tang dynasty, which is destined to rule the Middle Kingdom. At the court of Tang, there is a clan of fortune tellers by the name of Bei that serves to the whole royal line. The fortune tellers experience ups and downs, and sometimes oblivion as not always emperors and members of the ruling family appreciate the service of the foretellers and pay tribute to them for their devotion. Nevertheless, the foretellers do not leave their post and carefully guard the intimate secrets of the imperial court. After the death of the emperor, the old fortuneteller passes away, and young Bei comes into the light. The young Bei is as like as to peas to his predecessor.

The history of the Tang dynasty and the Bei clan are connected by an invisible mystical thread. However, there are circumstances that can break the seemingly constant, strong bond...

• Language: English
• Publisher: BadPress
• Release date: Jan 18, 2020
• ISBN: 9781071526248

Olga Kryuchkova

Olga Kryuchkova began her creative career in 2006. During this time, the author had more than 100 publications and reprints (historical novels, historical adventures, esotericism, art therapy, fantasy). A number of novels were co-written with Elena Kryuchkova.

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Olga Kryuchkova

Elena Kryuchkova

The Heavenly Empress

Brief Summary

The VII century AD Ancient China.

The governor Li Yuan has secret plans to overthrow the ruling dynasty. One day he goes on a pilgrimage to a distant temple to pray to the ancient gods. There, the governor meets a mysterious old man in brilliant white robes and receives from him a piece of jade in the form of a drop, supposedly endowed with divine power.

A few years later, Li Yuan comes to power and establishes a new Tang dynasty, which is destined to rule the Middle Kingdom. At the court of Tang, there is a clan of fortune tellers by the name of Bei that serves to the whole royal line. The fortune tellers experience ups and downs, and sometimes oblivion as not always emperors and members of the ruling family appreciate the service of the foretellers and pay tribute to them for their devotion. Nevertheless, the foretellers do not leave their post and carefully guard the intimate secrets of the imperial court. After the death of the emperor, the old fortuneteller passes away, and young Bei comes into the light. The young Bei is as like as to peas to his predecessor.

The history of the Tang dynasty and the Bei clan are connected by an invisible mystical thread. However, there are circumstances that can break the seemingly constant, strong bond...

Index

Part 1 The Jade Drop

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Part 2 The Heavenly Empress

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Part 3. Concubines

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chinese Time Periods of the Day

Part 1. The Jade Drop

Chapter 1

The Celestial Empire (China), Taiyuan City on the Fenhe River, the 12th year of the reign of Emperor Yang-di, the Sui Dynasty (616 CE)

It was the beginning of spring. This year it turned out to be extremely favorable in all respects: the air quickly warmed up, the snow almost melted. Although there were still white piles somewhere in the shadows covering the ground. But they gradually turned into water...

The Sui[1] dynasty ruled the last thirty-five years in the Celestial Empire. The emperor Yang-di sat on the throne, ascended the throne twelve years ago after the mysterious death of his father, the first emperor of the Sui dynasty, Wen-di. The first emperor of the Sui dynasty managed to unite the fragmented Han lands into a single powerful state and implemented a series of progressive reforms.

However, the second ruler of the new dynasty did not pay attention to the well-being of his subjects and passionately implemented major engineering projects, such as the construction of the Great Canal and the reconstruction of the Great Wall. The emperor Yang-di could not have guessed how expensive and long (the construction will last almost two thousand years) would be the construction of the Great Canal, which subsequently connected the two great rivers — the Yellow River and the Yangtze. As for the Great Wall, since its construction which was almost nine hundred years ago, it has repelled many nomads’ attacks and coped with its mission as a powerful defensive structure. Nevertheless, nature took its course, and the wall began to deteriorate and required repair.

During the reign of Yang-di, eight million of Han[2] people were engaged in the construction of imperial palaces, roads, ships and siege equipment. The emperor’s excessive building appetites caused great discontent among the common people.

The expansion of the empire’s borders was not as successful for Yang-di as he would like. The ruler’s army suffered a series of serious failures. This led to the death of a huge number of soldiers and finally drained the country’s treasury. Many aristocrats and politicians understood that if Yang-di did not change domestic politics, then the Sui dynasty would not last long.

The ancient city of Taiyuan, in the north-eastern part of the country, was built over a thousand years ago. And relatively recently, Taiyuan began to develop rapidly and had become a major center of Buddhism. Now Taiyuan was a well-planned settlement: erected according to the plan of a quadratic form, surrounded by a wall in case of the enemies’ attack. There were markets in the eastern and western parts of the city.

All administrative city buildings were in the center. The houses of the local aristocracy and wealthy citizens, decorated with lush gardens, were around them. The houses were surrounded by open galleries with many columns, which emphasized the status of the owner. Red tiled roofs stood out sharply against the background of the local landscape.

Recently, Lord Li Yuan[3] was the Governor of Taiyuan. The nobleman recently celebrated his fiftieth birthday, and the emperor personally appointed him to his current position. Li Yuan was born in the capital city of Daxing[4], in a military family. His father was General Li Bin. Li Yuan lost his father as a child: then the boy was only six years old.

When the first emperor of the new Sui dynasty, Wen-di, came to power, he did not allow Yuan to inherit his father’s title, but he took him to the imperial retinue. Li Yuan was deliberately not allowed to military posts. This continued until Emperor Wen-di died.

The new emperor Yang-di, unlike his father, decided to use the capable ambitious Li Yuan in the military field. The new commander took part in one of the campaigns against the state of Goguryeo (an ancient state on the territory of modern Korea), after which he received command over the troops guarding the Tong pass in the west. A year earlier, Li Yuan crushed the rebellion in the Hedong area, which is in the center of the empire, after which, the nobleman, finally, received the post of military governor of Taiyuan. In the province entrusted to him, he fought with varying success against the eastern steppe tribes of the Turkuts, who occasionally tormented the neighbourhood of Taiyuan with their raids.

In the past, the powerful Turkic Haganat, created by the tribes of Turks led by rulers from the Ashin[5] clan, was a strong and terrifying force. But even thirteen years ago, due to internal strife, the haganat broke up into Western and Eastern ones.

The Ashin clan ruled the West Turkic Haganat. The eastern Haganat, on the other hand, had extensive borders with the Celestial Empire and waged war with its neighbor.

...Li Yuan became governor of the border of Taiyuan and was on the receiving end of his new position. He constantly had to defend the nearby villages and the city itself from the encroachment of nomads. It was an extremely tiring and responsible occupation, requiring tremendous mental and physical strength.

Warriors of the Celestial Empire were better trained and possessed more advanced equipment than the Turks. However, the opponents had sufficient human resources and always fiercely, fearlessly went into battle. The Celestial warriors sometimes even thought that evil spirits were infused into their enemies. That is why the Turks fought so fiercely with distinctive cruelty.

However, the new governor of Taiyuan was an enlightened man, deeply rational and skeptical, and, therefore, did not believe in evil spirits. He treated the Turks like savages who caused enormous problems.

After another raid of nomads of the Eastern Haganat in the border areas, Li Yuan was in despair.

‘We managed to survive this attack! But I lost a lot of people!’ The governor lamented in the chambers of the lovely concubine. ‘However, how long will this situation last? In the long run, this will end with the Turks seizing the border territories of the Middle Kingdom! And the emperor will unseat me! Or even cut my head off!’

The concubine of the governor, Weng, listened attentively to the emotional outpourings of her lord meanwhile she was diligently engaged in embroidery. A shape of a bright yellow flower appeared out of graceful skillful hands on a light silk fabric. Governor could not sit still and worriedly paced the richly decorated room in one of the pavilions in his residence in Nanlao. The concubine Weng understood the anxiety of her lord, but did not know how to support him. Truly, Yuan could only be encouraged by his late wife, Ms. Dou[6]. But alas, the woman left this world three years ago. Lord Li, mourning for the untimely departed beloved Dou, did not think about taking the new lawful wife. He was quite satisfied with the concubines to whom Weng belonged. However, she was especially distinguished by governor in the harem. The governor, meanwhile, continued:

‘And to be honest, I am extremely concerned about the policy of the emperor! His unsuccessful campaigns against Koguryeo, in which I participated, and exorbitant appetites in building, cause great discontent not only among ordinary people but also among the aristocrats! And this is really dangerous!’

‘Sir, do you really think that a rebellion may happen in the future?’ Weng worriedly asked.

However, she was a smart woman, and understood that this was just a matter of time. She did not only expect that Li Yuan so openly and loudly would dare to discuss such a delicate political topic. After all, as you know, even the walls have ears, and it’s better not to say anything against the emperor if you intend to keep your position and life.

‘Yes, the country can be drowned in uprisings ...’ the governor sighed, sharing the concubine’s fears. And unexpectedly for himself, he expressed the following thought, ‘However, if any aristocrat or commander, which is more likely, will surround himself with like-minded people, then this may bring certain results in the near future...’

Frightened by his own words, Li Yuan immediately fell silent. However, he trusted the concubine and was sure that she would not denounce him to the emperor. The concubine Weng, focusing on embroidery, as if a yellow flower had become the center of the Universe pretended not to understand what her adorable lord was pushing toward.

The concubine, however, immediately guessed what it was about: the lord wants to rule the Middle Kingdom! If Li Yuan comes to power, then I have the prospect of becoming an empress or at least one of the four younger wives (high concubines): a precious guifei, virtuous shufei, moral defei or talented shufei ... she reasoned mentally.

***

The governor of Taiyuan more often thought that the empire needed a change of power. Otherwise, it would be taken by nomads. Li Yuan never considered himself greedy for power, but sincerely longing for peace and prosperity in the Middle Kingdom. However, he increasingly imagined himself on the jade imperial throne. The governor was well aware of the complexity, audacity and risks of his secret aspirations. He also understood that it was necessary to use the right moment and the main thing was not to miss it. Otherwise, he will either be executed by the emperor as a rebel, or perish under the onslaught of wild steppe tribes.

Li Yuan knew how to listen to his inner self. He learned this when he was at the imperial court, when any careless step could become his last one. And any rash word could sign him a death sentence. Therefore, he learned to be silent, hypocritical, and to reflect, gradually achieve his goals, remain in agreement with him, clearly capture the mood of his inner I. So far, such behaviour has been the key to success of the governor. But would it justify itself? Would the desired precious fruits produce? The fruit in this case has an allegorical meaning — imperial power.

‘I need to be distracted from everyday worries and oppressive thoughts, to change the situation!’ He decided one day.

The governor was active, inquisitive and religious figure so he decided to go to one of the ancient temples located not far from the city in order to pray to the old gods. Although he honored the Buddha and Taoist saints (Taoism is the teachings of the Tao or the way of things, includes elements of religion and philosophy), he did not forget about the old deities. And he regularly prayed to the ancestors of his nation, the Yellow Emperor Huangdi, the first ancestor of Pangu and the goddess Nüwa.

According to the legend, Pangu appeared to the world from the universal egg, when formless chaos reigned in the universe. The First Ancestor divided heaven and earth. When he became convinced that heaven and earth are no longer connected, Pangu died. His breath became the wind, his voice thunder, his left eye the sun, his right eye the moon, his arms and legs became parts of the world. The body transformed into the earth, the blood into rivers, the hair into stars, plants, trees, his teeth and bones into metal. Particularly valuable in the Middle Kingdom jade, according to ancient legends, was formed from the brain of the progenitor.

Nüwa also had a special place in the host of deities of the Middle Kingdom. She personified the goddess of marriage, the savior of the world from the flood, the creator of mankind. It was said that she created people from clay. The people that she created with her own hands from yellow clay, which was the color of the heaven and earth emperor, became the ruling class, like their descendants. The people who emerged from pieces of clay scattered by the goddess with a rope became the ancestors of peasants and slaves.

Ancient legends said: Nüwa saved the earth from death when the heavenly fire and flood threatened to destroy everything. The goddess gathered colored stones, melted them and stuck holes in the sky through which fire and water penetrated the earth. Then she chopped off the legs of a giant tortoise Ao, swimming in the ocean, on the back of which there were three sacred mountains: Inzhou, Penglai and Fanzhan, where the immortals live.

Nüwa strengthened the sky with four legs of Ao. But, nevertheless, it turned out that the sky was slightly crooked, and the earth slightly deviated to the right, and the sky, on the contrary, to the left. Therefore, the rivers of the Middle Kingdom had since flowed to the southeast.

From ancient times Nüwa was depicted in temples like a half woman, a half snake. The brother of Fusi, the legendary emperor of the Celestial Empire, the divine lord of the East, with the body of a snake or dragon and the head of a man, was considered the husband of the goddess. Nüwa and Fusi often were portrayed with intertwined snake tails. The inhabitants of the Celestial Empire arranged holidays in the temples of the goddess, in the second spring month, because she patronized love and marriage. The image of a celestial woman and her husband were sometimes even carved on tombstones to protect graves from evil spirits and robbers.

Li Yuan intended to go to the local Nüwa mountain temple in order to ask the goddess for protection for him and his family. The governor ordered the all necessary preparations to be made, and soon left the city with a small detachment of loyal and well-armed soldiers.

The riders confidently moved forward to the temple. The soldiers were talking with each other: they were discussing the last raid of the Turks on the border lands. The lord Yuan was silent, deep in his thoughts.

He was so thoughtful, and his companions were so carried away by their conversation that they did not notice the suddenly thickened fog. The milky white and sticky veil swiftly enveloped everything around. The warriors could barely distinguish the walking groups in front of the horses.

‘My lord, is it not better for us to stop and wait out the fog?’ The commander suggested.

But the governor did not want to halt. Moreover, his inner I told him that they should move forward.

‘We will move forward! I do not want to waste time and wait until the fog dissipates! We will move slowly and carefully.’

The detachment, according to the command of the lord, proceeded further, in the direction of the mountain temple. The fog thinned a little and Li Yuan noticed that lush bushes framed the mountain road on both sides.

‘It is strange, the way to the Nüwa temple seemed different to me ...’ the governor thought. ‘It seems to me we got lost ...  And the reason for this is my obstinacy! The main thing is to remain calm and not to show excitement. Did we turn the wrong way in the fog? Should we return? But how can we do it? The fog has not completely vanished...’

The governor loudly said, ‘Oh, Nüwa, I beg you, help me! Guide me and my people on the right path!’

Before Yuan could say these words, the fog parted, as if the goddess had answered his prayers. Looking around, Yuan and his warriors finally became convinced that they had gone astray and continued to move along the forest road. The place seemed unfamiliar to them.

‘My lord, we are lost ...’ the commander summed up. ‘Although the fog vanished, it is not clear where we are. What do we do? Will we go forward along the road or go back?’

‘We will move forward’, Li Yuan replied after some thought. ‘Surely, the road will lead to some village or temple. We need rest and hot food. We will ask around the locals the name of the locality...’

The riders moved on. They saw a small sanctuary in the distance. Despite the remote location from the city, it looked well-groomed. It was decorated with a new bright red tiled roof and carved wooden columns. Nearby was a modest residential pavilion, in which, as the governor of Taiyuan decided, the minister of the sanctuary lived.

‘Find out where we are and can we rest a bit?’  He said to a warrior. The warrior disappeared outside the walls of the pavilion and did not return for a long time.

The governor was tired and lost patience. He dismounted; the warriors followed his example, tied the horses to a hitch, and entered the temple.

The Governor saw a spacious room, the arches of which were supported by massive wooden columns. The altar, above which stood stone sculptures of the goddess Nüwa and her husband Fusi, was in the center. More modest images of other deities were behind them.

The temple of the goddess Nüwa  ... But I have never been here ... Fate brought me here to pray ... But why? Yuan was perplexed. But his inner I replied, ‘your path is predetermined by the gods ... For all their will ... You are only the repository of this will on earth.’

The governor was already intending to pray, to thank the goddess, who led him out of the fog to her temple, albeit until now unknown to him. Suddenly he heard the rustling of clothes a quiet old man’s voice distinctly sounded, in the open spaces of the temple, ‘Have you come to pray, sir? Noble travelers rarely come here...’

Turning around, Yuan saw a venerable gray-haired old man, dressed in white robes. The governor involuntarily bowed before him in a respectful bow.

‘I am the governor of Taiyuan, my name is Li Yuan. I intended to pray in the mountain temple of the goddess Nüwa, which is not far from the city, but because of the thickening fog I got lost and ended up here in an unfamiliar place. This was probably the will of the gods...’

The elder smiled slightly and answered ‘I have been looking after this sanctuary for many years. Believe me; you are not particularly distant from the city. To get out of this forest, you need to follow back along the road, and after passing two forks, turn left. Then you will find yourself on the path leading directly to Taiyuan. But you are right about the will of the gods...’

The elder made a short pause and continued, ‘You will want to pray and get closer to the altar. You will see jade on it. The day before, I dreamed of Nüwa and ordered him to be transferred to the first traveler who enters the temple. He turned out to be you. It is your jade, according to the will of Nüwa. Accept it...’

The governor involuntarily gazed on the altar: a polished piece of jade, in shape of a large drop, laid on it. He wanted to ask the elder about something else, but he disappeared without a trace. Li Yuan already wanted to take a jade drop, as the old man ordered. But a confronted commander immediately appeared before him:

‘My lord! Are you okay? You talked to yourself!’

The governor cast a blurred eye over the temple. His warriors stood at the entrance.

‘To myself?’ He was surprised. ‘An old man in white robes stood here!’

The commander shrugged.

‘Forgive me, my lord, but we have not seen anyone.’

The warriors nodded immediately in agreement with their commander.

‘My lord, we have not seen anyone.’ The commander repeated. ‘These places are unfamiliar for us, who knows what spirits live here.’

‘Spirits...’ the governor repeated. ‘It was not the priest, but a spirit, looking after the local sanctuary? Do I really communicate with the spirit?’

He was not afraid; he saw nothing terrifying in the guise of an old man.

‘The elder said that he dreamed of Nüwa and she ordered him to give me a jade drop...’

The governor approached the altar, picked up a well-crafted piece of jade.

‘Perhaps this is a symbol that the goddess favors me?’ Lord Li Yuan thought aloud.

Bold thoughts flashed through the governor’s head again, ‘Perhaps this is a sign from above ... And in the future I’m destined to rule the Middle Kingdom ...’

The warriors decided that their lord is now under the auspices of the goddess Nüwa. They offered prayers to the goddess and left the sanctuary. Yuan was able to bring his people to the path leading to Taiyuan. They reached the city without an incident.

On his return the governor placed the mysterious jade drop in one of his precious caskets, intending to guard it with his life.

After visiting the mysterious sanctuary, several days passed. Still impressed by the encounter with a mystical creature, the governor of Taiyuan made generous donations to the city and surrounding temples, intending to appease the old gods.

Chapter 2

Taiyuan. Nanlao Residence.

Lord Yuan worked on documents in his office as usual. Having dipped a brush in an ink pot, he signed a number of important scrolls, and then sealed them with a personal hexagonal seal.

There was a knock on the door of his office — a young servant appeared on the threshold. Bowing respectfully, he said, ‘My lord, a man has come to you. He introduced himself as the predictor of Bei Yusheng. He would like to serve you.’

‘The predictor?’ The governor asked thoughtfully, looking up from the documents. The inner I told the governor: accept this stranger, perhaps, you will need him.

However, like many of his contemporaries, he was very attentive to various kinds of divination. Moreover, not so long ago, the fortune teller who served him, lord Yaozu, died of old age. It was very hard to find a new suitable candidate. Undoubtedly, various applicants came to the residence, eager to enter the service of the governor. But Mr. Yuan did not like anyone.

‘Good’ finally Li Yuan said, addressing to the servant, ‘tell this Mr. Bei that I will meet with him a little later.’

The servant bowed and shut the door behind him. Then he hastened to fulfill the order of the lord. Later, when Yuan completed the paperwork, he deigned to meet with the fortuneteller. Soon, a stranger appeared on the threshold of his office, standing in a respectful bow.

When he straightened up, a very young man of pleasant aristocratic appearance appeared in front of the governor. Yuan gazed steadily at the predictor. His inner I whispered: This is the person you need ...

‘My greetings, lord Li Yuan,’ the visitor said. ‘I am the forecaster of Bei Yusheng from the outskirts of Taiyuan; it