There could not have been a more despicable or important trial. The reputation of the Imperial family was at stake. The Prince Consort was being sued by a peasant woman who claimed to be his wife. He was accused of committing bigamy, deceiving the imperial family, and trying to kill his wife and two children; Trần Thế Mỹ, brother in law of the Emperor and the current Premiere Scholar.
Hương Liên,
my unfortunate wife.
How did it come to this?
We were childhood sweethearts
but my father had messed everything up
he separated us with his greed,
killing Thế Mỹ’s father to be headmaster.
I still remember the day
she promised to be my wife.
We were children playing
house in the courtyard.
He had “proposed” with a jade ring.
I told him he had not brought
his trusted steed to wed me.
I promised
to take her kite flying
on my steed the next day.
Tần Hương Liên and her two children dressed in white mourning robes dragged her parents’ coffins around Kaifeng demanding justice for them and the other five who died by her husband’s hands. Bao took on the case knowing it would be a difficult one, there was little evidence to prove her identity, and all the witnesses were all killed except two. The Emperor and the Princess.
I married him
I was disowned
for tarnishing the family name.
How naïve of us to believe my father
was our only obstacle.
Foolishly, I married
the daughter
of the man who
murdered my father.
My Hương Liên
the girl I loved since I was boy.
I took on my father’s sins
and was willing to repay Thế Mỹ
everything that my father owed him
including my life.
Filial piety says
I must divorce her
I must avenge my father
I must hate her.
When first accused Trần Thế Mỹ denied knowing Tần Hương Liên, claiming his wife died in a flood and he was now a widow. Secretly he begged her to leave Kaifeng with their children. He offered her money and a comfortable home. Although she was heartbroken she protected him, she denied she was his wife. She denied knowing the Premiere Scholar, how could she a poor peasant woman know someone of royal blood?
Seven years had pass
since the incident
when the secrets of the past
nearly tore our family apart.
She nearly died
I missed her by a second
She had just jumped into the lake
for a moment she sank into the water
as if accepting her fate.
I began flailing and gasping for air
My maternal instincts kicked in and
I only wanted to protect my unborn child.
Even if he didn’t want me
I must protect our unborn child
His legacy, I owe him that much.
I jumped into to save her
but grabbed the jade ring instead
it was supposed to be
my promise to her
but that’s not what I remembered.
I could only remember
the promise the Princess made me
if I handed over the jade ring to the Emperor.
He was safe, he knew his loving wife would protect him. He was thrilled to know she and the children were not yet dead. He hadn’t seen her since he left home for the Imperial Exam. Once he passed the exams and became the Premiere Scholar, he bought his wife a mansion, decorated it according to her fit her liking but he had received word his hometown had been flooded and disease ridden. Time and time again he sent scouts to find his family but no avail. He had thought she and the children passed away.
It was finally
the year of the Imperial Exams again.
It was his year
to become the Premiere scholar
and gain everything he deserves.
Everything my father took away from him
he will earn again.
Each night she would
come to bed later and later.
In the morning her basket is
overflowing with handkerchiefs
she’s embroidered more than usual.
I notice she keeps counting the coins
in her jewelry box. I know she’s worried.
It wasn’t enough
I returned home to plead with
my mother for some money
for Thế Mỹ –
He can participate this year
He will be the Premiere scholar
and bring honor to both families.
He claims he did it to avenge his father, to gain enough control to get ahead in the royal court and bring his father’s murderers to justice. He didn’t want to. The Empress pressured him, his teacher threatened him, and the Princess was relentless. He claimed he was coerced into marrying the Princess, but he loved the wealth and power that came with it nevertheless. Somewhere in the back of his mind, he knew he couldn’t go back to the days of being a poor scholar. He just knew. His fear of losing what he worked so hard to accomplish and his hunger for power blinded him made him irrational and heartless. He order his guard to kill Tần Hương Liên and her two children. The Empress said it herself, either they die or the four them die together.
What has happened
to you my husband?
Even a lion
would not eat his own cubs
but you would kill
your own flesh and blood
to keep your head.
Why must she force me?
I’m already on the tiger’s back
and cannot dismount.
I must carry on this lie until the end.
Only the dead can keep secrets.
The case has caused a disturbance within Kaifeng, the people wanted to see how their beloved impartial Justice Bao would defend this peasant woman suing the Prince Consort. Would she win? With the Empress and Princess backing him will he evade justice? Even though Bao had no evidence and everything was circumstantial he was determined to convict Trần Thế Mỹ at the expense of his own position as magistrate. Everyone thought the Emperor was oblivious to the action of his mother, and brother in law but that was not the case. He knew, but stood by and did nothing until he was threatened by the Prince Consort himself.
It’s over.
The Emperor testified.
I was both relieved yet horrified
when it happened.
My father killed his father
Thế Mỹ killed mine
and now his blood is on my hands
It will end with me.
The irony,
my father was beheaded
and so was I, except
I have a Dragon to send me on my way.
I realized too late
that it wasn’t worth it.
The power
the wealth
it was all just smoke.
