Character Index

  Consort Huang: One of Yunqi's consorts, had become his favorite after he accidentally hit her and felt extremely guilty over it.

  Empress An: Yunqi's Empress, one of Kuang's cousins.

  Zhou Yunqi: The Emperor of the Wu who finds himself reluctantly entangled in harem intrigue.

  Li Que: A Vice-Director of the Imperial Investigation Bureau and head of the newly established palace branch.

  Halime: The Royal Consort, Ashina's half-sister.

  Cao Shuyi: The widowed Grand Princess Consort, mother of Kuang's only child Chenqian.

  Zhou Kuang: The deceased Grand Prince, third son of the previous Emperor.

  Zhou Ying: The previous Emperor, posthumously titled Emperor Xuanzong.

  Zhou Xianchun: Archduke, the only surviving bother of Zhou Yunqi.

  Empress Dowager An: Kuang's birth mother, currently honored as the Empress Dowager. She is also from the An clan.

  Consort Li: A young Consort whose face was disfigured in an assassination attempt.

  Sun Ruhui: Right Secretariat of Justice. Formerly Kayla's supporter.

  Han Daizhi: Brain of the Shandong faction.

  Jun Shou: Minister of Personnel, formerly Xianchun's supporter.

  It was still early in the morning, far earlier than most Consorts were usually out of bed. But Empress An had been awake since long before then, from the moment she had heard that the Imperial Investigators were making their move.

  Now, it had been a full hour since Zhao Wenyuan had entered the palace, and there were already whispers of a disturbance at Consort Huang's quarters. Empress An very prudently pretended not to know anything.

  Don't ask about anything you don't need to know. Don't talk about anything you don't need to say.

  She'd held onto that mantra for three years since her coronation, and yet as she got dressed in the dim light of dawn, Empress An had to clasp her hands to keep them from shaking. She had no appetite. Turning away the food and tea brought to her, she sat in the center of her study, waiting for the final outcome to be revealed.

  It wasn't cold, but something icy churned away inside her veins.

  Empress An folded and refolded her hands in her lap, trying to ignore everything she seemed to feel far too vividly. The minuscule details all seem amplified to the point where she wanted to scream or perhaps throw up, far more so than with her usual morning sickness–the contrast in texture against her skin where her brocade outer robe was just an inch longer than her inner robe, the feeling of a single hair that was snagged painfully in a pin that had slipped just a tiny bit out of of place, the distant sound of measured footsteps as Imperial Guards moved through the palace.

  The voice of the eunuch before her was grating. Which wasn't fair, perhaps, given that she had summoned him and she had asked him to speak of what he knew, being unable to send someone to go figure it out the details. He was, like most people who appeared before her, trying to give a suitable air of deference and of wanting to be in her presence, and also simultaneously of not knowing about the disastrous events that had led to the present moment but also of knowing of it if she wanted him to take any action related to it. It was all so convoluted that she wondered that these people had the mind for it this early in the morning.

  Empress An forced herself to make a reply, knowing she had already been silent for too long.

  "So Duke Zhao is still with the Emperor then?"

  A stupid question, he'd already told her that in clear enough words.

  "Indeed, Your Majesty, though we still do not know what they're doing. However, it seems that the Imperial Investigators have completely shut down the Eastern part of the Inner Palace."

  The Eastern part. That was where Consort Huang lived, wasn't it? Also where Consort Li used to live, but it couldn't possibly be the victim, who was still recuperating in the Emperor's quarters. So it had to be the former.

  Is it Consort Huang then? The fact that she found herself unsurprised was perhaps the greatest surprise.

  If it was indeed that young woman, then they would know soon enough by the fact that no one ever dared to mention her again.

  Any trace of Consort Huang would probably be completely removed from her former quarters by noon, Empress An supposed. It was easy enough to erase someone's existence in the palace, wasn't it? Soon there would be a new woman, young and beautiful and eager, and it would be as if Consort Huang had never been there in the first place. There wasn't a single person in the palace who wasn't replaceable, not even the Emperor himself.

  She dragged shaky hands through her hair in the guise of smoothing it down, digging her fingernails into her head as she did so. It would break the skin in some places and sting when she washed her hair, but it didn't matter. To the Empress, it was the only way she could soothe the horrific buzzing in her head, something that wasn't quite an itch, located just a few inches too deep into her scalp for any comb to reach.

  "If Duke Zhao is here–wasn't he taken off the case?"

  "He was, Your Majesty."

  "So did Li Que report to him?" Empress An demanded.

  "It seems Vice-Director Li brought him to the Inner Palace," the eunuch replied.

  He was standing too close. She suddenly realized this, and wanted to scream or maybe to swing her arm out and hit him, even though he wasn't doing anything wrong and she knew it, but the air was growing stale and there were bugs eating their way out from inside her skin.

  "That means it's almost over then,” Empress An said with a serenity she did not feel. "I assume my name will be cleared shortly."

  The eunuch had taken her words to be meaningful, and presently stepped even closer. Her ears crackled as if she were in a noisy crowd, and she clenched her fingernails deep into her palm.

  "Should I find out what they were talking about?"

  His voice was silky and soft, almost conspiratorial in tone.

  Empress An leveled him with a cold look. "After the Emperor had already warned me? No, we'd better not."

  He bowed and took a step back, chagrined. He had thought he knew what she'd wanted and now found himself humiliatingly wrong.

  Good, that was good. That was the amount of distance she needed, for everyone to stay just far away enough that they couldn't see the cracks.

  "We would not want to upset the Emperor over such trivial matters," she said distantly.

  The thought of her husband sent a fresh rush of despair through her.

  Her husband. Her very handsome, nice, and polite husband, who despite being ten years her senior, was really rather young for his position. His father hadn't made it to sixty, but even if he was also lacking in longevity, that still left him with a good twenty years on the throne. It was the perfect match for her household.

  It really should have been a perfect match for her. The Emperor was good to her, and was not really lacking in his duties as a husband. He did all the right things and said all the right words, but there was an inexplicable sense of distance that never lessened once in the three years they were married–not even when she'd made such a mess of things.

  The very day she had sent her head eunuch to Halime's residence, Yunqi had sent her a letter ordering her to desist, with further orders to destroy the letter once it was read. She should have been pleased that he was protecting her dignity even when she herself was smashing at it with a hammer, but the lack of a strong reaction was probably worse than the strongest reaction he could have given. What was he thinking? What did he plan to do? There were several days of agonizing waiting in which she was desperate for any hint of his mood and yet too afraid to inquire further, and finally, the meeting two days ago.

  It was like any meeting between them that had ever taken place. They were each polite and attentive and yet deeply impersonal on a fundamental level, as if two personas of an Emperor and an Empress were playing their parts in some stage play written by a provincial who could only imagine the grandeur and stateliness of Their Majesties far up in the capital.

  Yunqi had congratulated her on her pregnancy, ordered her staff to take better care of her, and then blandly told her without any hint of disdain or anger not to stir up any more trouble. He had spoken with painstaking attention not to injure her pride. He had not criticized her harshly, had not even raised his voice, had not given her any reason to feel humiliated before her staff. He spoke with the same patience as always, but the words had cut her straight to the bone.

  "You have always been wise beyond your years and impeccable in your conduct. The pregnancy must be taking a great toll on you, but such behavior is unworthy of your virtue," he had said, firmly but not unkindly.

  A criticism that was more praise than anything else, but it took the young Empress everything she had not to break down sobbing on the spot.

  He didn't know what he was asking of her. She wasn't wise to begin with, and her conduct had never been exemplary. Why would it be? She had never even thought it was possible for her to become Empress, thinking it was a foregone conclusion that her cousin-in-law Cao Shuyi would take the seat. She'd expected to marry a Marquis at most, and to marry close to home.

  One day she had been a normal nineteen year old living in the bosom of her family's love, and the next day Kuang was dead. The cousin her whole clan had been betting on, the one everyone thought would become Emperor, snuffed out in a blink of an eye. What would happen to them? There was a frenzy of lamentations and desperate planning, and her father had even started making arrangements for her to cut her hair and enter a nunnery rather than be subjected to the revenge of the Seventh Prince–they'd only heard rumors, but knew that the rivalry was heated.

  Still, no matter how heated things got, they were brothers, weren't they?

  Even Emperor Xuanzong hadn't razed the maternal clans of his half-brothers, just a series of well-placed executions over an extended run of time.

  But still, just in case that azure came from blue but exceeded it in hue–even then, surely a nun would be protected from any brutality?

  Similar plans were made throughout the family, and the wailing of women and children filled the air from the other courtyards of the house, while servants who had watched her grow up began making their plans to run, stuffing their pockets on their way out. Amidst the terror and confusion, she'd watched on in a near-stupor as her life crumbled apart in a matter of days.

  And then, as abruptly as everything had been destroyed, the news came that Yunqi had been named the Crown Prince.

  Things started moving very quickly after that as people started dropping dead left and right in the palace, clearing out essentially all the players of the old generation, and Yunqi took the throne. For whatever reason, political or sentimental or otherwise, he chose to honor Kuang's mother as the Empress Dowager. They had lost the throne, yes, but it seemed he still intended to offer a throne.

  Almost as a consolation prize for the An clan, she had become his Empress through a haphazard selection process. She had very little competition–there were few girls in her age range within the family, and most were already married–a few speeches at court by Zhao Wenyuan, and she was being packed off to the capital as the new Empress-to-be. The wedding took place two days after her twentieth birthday, and then she was staring down a lifetime in the palace as the second-most-powerful woman in the country.

  She hadn't known Yunqi before this. She'd heard about him, yes, everyone had. Kuang's favorite brother, who survived Emperor Xuanzong's suspicions through dragging down the Third Prince. Most of what she'd heard about him from the An clan hadn't been very flattering. But in person, he was handsome and kind, and for a time, she had been glad to be his wife. She liked him, and she wanted to please him.

  More so than that, she wanted to please the rest of the court. She knew that everyone saw her as a pity pick by the sentimental Emperor. No one thought she deserved to be here, and even she herself didn't think so. It stung her girlish pride, and that had set her on this path of no return.

  It took everything she had in her to construct the persona of the perfect Empress during her first days in the palace. Rumors began to spread about how poised the new Empress was, her even temper, her stately aura. And people believed them! Why, she had no idea. Didn't anyone look into her past? Didn't anyone think to ask her neighbors? But the thrill of the dupe was exhilarating, and for a time, she enjoyed the respect in people's eyes. She enjoyed feeling worthy.

  But then came the problem–she couldn't take it back anymore. Not when she had cheated everyone into believing in this false, perfect version of her, not when it was already quickly becoming integrated into a cornerstone of political stability. The reforms were already moving forward with the premise of a stable marriage and stable line of succession in mind.

  Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

  What is wrong with you?

  How many times had she wanted to ask that question to Yunqi and Zhao Wenyuan? How could they not realize they were building on unstable ground? They were clever and wise, they were supposed to be. They should be able to see through falsehoods and to perceive the truth of human nature, shouldn't they?

  But she was the one who had started it, and now could only eat the fruits of her own evils.

  And so she grit her teeth and maintained her image every single day for the last three years. It felt as if everything would fall apart if anyone so much as took a closer look, but luckily for her, no one did. The Empress wasn't really a person to anyone. She was just a figure and a function. The other Consorts could sweet talk the Emperor and giggle with their ladies-in-waiting, but the Empress had to be dignified at all times, on all occasions. Everyone respected her, but no one could muster more than two sentences on her personality beyond "dignified" and "benevolent".

  She was glad for it. She hated it with every inch of her being.

  It wasn't as though Empress An was a fool. She knew it was a mistake the moment she had sought out Halime right after what happened with Consort Li, but it was too late by then. Some force from deep inside her bubbled out like a pot that boiled over, and she was screaming at the top of her lungs before she could stop herself. The image of worthiness she had carefully crafted and maintained for years had shattered in moments, but the only feeling she could summon was relief.

  And immediately after was fear.

  She needed to be worthy. A worthless Empress couldn't be permitted to exist–the precipice of death or disgrace was staring her in the face, dooming her and the child growing within her.

  If Duke Zhao doesn't hurry up and find the culprit, I'll be discarded. If they know I'm not the Empress they thought I was, they have no reason to keep me around anymore.

  Even worse, she was disposable. The Turkish Princess was not. It wasn't fair–her grandfather and several of her uncles died fighting the Turks, but their princess could get away with anything while she was constantly on the edge of the abyss.

  Then, as if to deal the final blow, Yunqi had visited her with a grave expression, and yes, she had been afraid of his anger, but in some deep recess of her heart she had already known what he would say.

  Still, some part of Empress An held out hope.

  Look at me! She wanted to scream at him. Look at me as a person and not as the Empress!

  It was fine if he raised his voice or flung insults. She'd rather that he hated what he saw, even if that meant being deposed, than to live like this forever. But no, that wasn't what she wanted either. She didn't want to die or live a humiliating existence in a corner of the palace for the rest of her life, her family's love for her slowly turning to shame.

  So Empress An kept her feigned poise throughout the conversation, wanting to scream and cry and jump out a window.

  For better or for worse, Yunqi didn't see through her. Maybe he couldn't, maybe he chose not to. Instead, he elected to stuff her back into the vessel of the perfect Empress and to hint that her child would be Crown Prince if it were a boy. A lifetime of this then, of never showing a single emotion that she actually felt. That was her only option.

  She wanted to die. Or maybe not to die but at least not to keep on living like this. She wanted to grab Duke Zhao by the collar from where he sat with her perfect husband and scream at him for choosing her as Empress, and to demand that he clear her name immediately to keep her as Empress.

  Instead, she swallowed the scream that wanted to claw its way out of her throat and folded her hands neatly in her lap.

  "You may leave now," she said to the eunuch, and was glad to be finally left alone.

  After nearly two full weeks, the Inner Palace had finally been unsealed. The court only slowly began to understand what had happened when the official reports began trickling out, and braced themselves for the shifting tides.

  The first convening of the court that month would be in three days' time–before that, the full story and the Emperor's new, surprisingly harsh measures for the Inner Palace had already made its way to the officials and the broader public.

  "Well now, it seems the Shandong faction's miscalculated," an official muttered to his colleague. Sun Ruhui watched them keenly without giving any sign that he was listening in.

  "All that fuss about the Royal Consort and it turns out to be someone else entirely–I guess that would explain why Duke Zhao was so furious with Han Daizhi."

  "Even so, threatening an official right in the palace is going too far, isn't it?"

  "Well, it's not like it has anything to do with us. Those Shandong folks are particularly keen on trying to catch wind and shadows. There's no telling if the whole story with Han Daizhi turns out to be wrong as well."

  "What a mess, and the Emperor's new measures…I suppose it's his own family affairs, and there's some merit to it. But it's certainly harsh, is it not? Especially towards a bunch of women. It's not exactly what I'd expect from someone so benevolent."

  "What can you do? As Confucius says, women and children are the hardest to take care of…"

  They moved out of earshot, and Sun Ruhui's gaze flicked back to the scrolls on the shelf before him.

  So the Emperor's making his move. The Emperor was targeting the seed of chaos within the palace...in preparation for what, exactly? With everything that had happened, the intrigues of the harem had overshadowed the political implications–but people would catch on soon enough.

  The Emperor's essentially splitting the Bureau.

  Was it a sign of wanting to take further action? It would hardly be strange–Zhao Wenyuan had a hand in both the Imperial Guards and the Imperial Investigators, even if only unofficially. Yet would the current Emperor feel at ease with that? Even if Zhao Wenyuan was his cousin and in-law, Sun Ruhui doubted that any ruler could be so easygoing.

  And coupling that with the matter of Han Daizhi…

  Sun Ruhui doubted that the Shandong faction's strategist had truly been threatened in any serious way, but he doubted that Zhao Wenyuan's actions were entirely clear of fault. If the Emperor really wanted to nitpick, he would surely be able to find an opportunity.

  Yet at the same time, Wenyuan's connections in the Imperial Guard had been promoted, and the head of the new palace branch had worked directly under the Duke since the previous Emperor's time. In some ways, as the Director of the entire Bureau, Zhao Wenyuan now had even more control over the palace.

  Just what is the Emperor trying to do? He's preparing for something, but what?

  Perhaps it was the case that even the Emperor himself did not know. No one had expected the most even-tempered son of Emperor Xuanzong to take the throne, and even less that he would enact such sweeping reforms. Even fewer had expected him to be successful, and yet here they were, three years in.

  So if Yunqi wanted something done, he would get it done, and everyone else would have to live with the consequences.

  Sun Ruhui glanced at the words on the paper before him, not really comprehending them.

  We'll know for sure in a few days' time based on how the Emperor deals with the Shandong faction.

  The anticipated day arrived amidst the frantic scrambling of the various cliques and factions at court, and the officials convened in the Grand Hall with equal parts anxiety and curiosity. Yunqi's arrival was met with perhaps the most enthusiastic greeting that the court had collectively offered in years.

  The Emperor was unchanged–in good health, and seemingly in good humor as well. The latter was hardly unusual, Yunqi was known for having the mildest temperament among all the Emperors that had ruled thus far. Yet there had been a deep-seated fear that the son would walk the father's old path, that the trials of the Inner Palace would once more stir up a bloodbath that set the stage for years of instability. Finally seeing they had no reason to worry from Yunqi's relaxed expression, the tension eased up somewhat.

  Yet Sun Ruhui was not just watching the Emperor. He was watching the unreadable Zhao Wenyuan and the uneasy leaders of the Shandong faction. Whatever face the Emperor showed, it was what happened there that really told of his true thoughts.

  "Your Majesty, it is a great relief to see you are safe and hale," Minister Jun Shou said. "Your subjects are overjoyed to see your return."

  Yunqi smiled at that. He hadn't been absent for nearly long enough to warrant such words, but graciously accepted the sentiments nonetheless.

  "I have caused a great deal of concern in my absence," Yunqi said. "For this, I must apologize."

  "Your Majesty is too kind," the Secretariat Director hastily said. "This old man is merely happy to see the Emperor in good health." He spoke as though he hadn't met with Yunqi multiple times even when the palace was under investigation. It was more that he was saying in advance everything that could be said by a younger, less tactful official who might misspeak.

  "Thank you, Secretariat Director. Your kind wishes are duly noted."

  Yunqi's calm smile seemed to betray nothing of the assassination attempt or the outright divorce of a Consort, an unprecedented act in the dynasty. No one seemed disposed to say anything of it–for one, Consort Huang was only a Consort. And she had nearly killed the Emperor. That her clan was not being routed to the ninth degree was already a mercy, even if Yunqi had not been her intended target.

  The Emperor's serenity seemed to alleviate some of the tension in the room. The Six Ministries made their reports, as the heads of the Three Departments had already met with Yunqi prior. There was nothing particular that needed to be debated, save for perhaps the Shandong faction's lingering hope of accusing Zhao Wenyuan of abusing his power and impropriety in the palace. They seemed to be seeking for an opportune moment while wavering as to whether or not to act, with Han Daizhi's anxious shuffling intensifying by the second as he tried to signal for Zhu Simo to keep his peace for the time being. Sun Ruhui observed them coldly from the side, wondering to himself whether they would hold their tongues or wag them.

  In the end, they never got a chance.

  "It is a great comfort to see the aptitude of my officials," Yunqi said. "The Three Departments and Six Ministries have performed admirably."

  Officials nodded along with small smiles of self-conscious satisfaction that faded as Yunqi's words took a pointed turn.

  "And yet, it seems that there has been a great deal of unease within the capital over the last two weeks," Yunqi said pleasantly, as if he were still offering praise. His voice easily carried through the hall, and smiles froze on officials' faces.

  "While I can expect the common people to talk of things they do not understand, I have been disappointed to find the same faults within my own officials. Many things have been said of my Royal Consort, and also of my cousin here." He gestured towards Zhao Wenyuan, who seemed just as surprised to hear this as anyone else.

  Cousin. Sun Ruhui caught onto that choice of wording with interest.

  "I find none of these rumors to be truthful," Yunqi stated.

  There it is then. Sun Ruhui lifted his eyes to the throne serenely, seeing the future of the country shift into shape.

  "As of now, I will venture to clarify a few things," Yunqi said. "Within my Inner Palace, I have set forth new regulations to preserve the virtue and character of the Imperial Family and to set proper precedents for generations henceforth. Yet while I cannot so easily decree such standards for my officials without consulting the Three Departments, at the very least I would hope that my court would not stoop to base behavior in my brief absence."

  His tone had remained unchanged, but the atmosphere had visibly thickened with unease.

  "I will not disgrace my own court nor smear my own officials–as they say, the sordid matters of the family cannot be announced outside. Yet what is a family affair for me? The Emperor stands as though a father and protector of all subjects within the four seas, not to mention the hundred officials of the court. So I ask you, whom should I cover for? Who loses face when my court acts beneath their station?"

  He swept his gaze across the room, forcing the nervous officials to meet his eyes.

  "This time, I will not seek out the individual responsibility of those who have behaved inappropriately in spreading careless rumors. There will be no leniency next time. Think thrice before you act, and think of who you represent."

  "We thank the Emperor for his guidance," the Chancellor said immediately, bowing deeply. The rest of the officials followed, Sun Ruhui a beat slower. He scanned the hall, taking in the people around him.

  He defends Zhao Wenyuan but he does not punish the offenders…so he will keep pushing the reforms but still wishes to keep the Reformists in check.

  Yet at the same time, Yunqi had made it clear that Zhao Wenyuan was still well within his favor, even with the Bureau being split apart.

  Again, is the Bureau split apart or does the Duke now have a hand right in the palace?

  Sun Ruhui lowered his eyes, silently forming his answer. They were clear signals, however subtle, but the Emperor's intent was slowly becoming clearer with each word he spoke. Yunqi was paving a path to the future, in preparation for the worst possible outcome.

  Two things had become clear to him: That the Emperor had finally produced a child, and that the Emperor feared for what came after that. It meant that he did not find his well-reputed Empress reliable enough, and that he had reason to fear for turmoil in the near future.

  His gaze flicked up to Zhao Wenyuan at the front of the hall in his purple robes, where his grandfather had once stood.

  And yet the Emperor's solution is difficult to judge. But if that is what he wants to do…truly, one does not know whether it is fortunate or not.

  Cultural Notes

  落发为尼/Cut one's hair and enter a nunnery: An Ancient Chinese proverb referring to a woman shaving her head and leaving worldly matters behind her to enter a Buddhist nunnery.

  青出于蓝而胜于蓝/Azure came from blue but exceeds it in hue: An Ancient Chinese proverb from pre-Qin times, means that the student exceeds the teacher, the son exceeds the father, etc. etc.

  洞察人性 /Perceive the truth of human nature: A Chinese saying that means to "see through one's nature".

  自食恶果/Eat the fruit of one's evils: A Chinese proverb meaning to reap what one sows.

  如临深渊/As if at the edge of a [deep] abyss: An Ancient Chinese proverb from the pre-Qin era, part of the longer quote "如临深渊如履薄冰, as if at the edge of a deep abyss, as if walking upon thin ice" to refer to the caution one must take. Notably, this originally referred both to navigating the world, but also facing one's own nature and preventing the faults of one's character from leading you into mistakes.

  捕风捉影/Catching wind and shadows: An Ancient Chinese proverb meaning to be paranoid and suspicious, or to make a big deal out of nothing.

  女子与小人难养也/Women and children are the hardest to take care of/deal with: A quote by Confucius, the original saying goes "唯女子与小人为难养也，近之则不逊，远之则怨/Only women and children/servants* are hardest to take care of, if you're too close to them they'll lose respect for you, if you're too distant they'll resent you." Here, the 小人/small person could refer to either a child or a servant (lower than you in status) and interpretations have varied. However, most people interpret this statement as a complaint of mixed fondness and exasperation.

  诛九族/Exterminating a clan to the ninth degree: One of the harshest punishments that could be enacted against someone, usually includes you, your in-laws, all your children and extended kin, and sometimes the in-laws of your extended kin, and often the staff as well. So this could easily number into the hundreds, and was usually carried out for crimes of a political nature.

  冷眼旁观/Watching coldly from the side: A Chinese saying that means to watch as a bystander with no personal attachment.

  家丑不可外扬/The sordid matters of the family cannot be announced outside: An Ancient Chinese proverb and tradition, essentially not to air your dirty laundry.

  四海之内/Within the four seas: Which four seas were they referring to? This saying has been around for thousands of years now, and is generally just understood to mean "everywhere" instead of literally bound by four seas, as China is partially landlocked.

  子民/Subjects [as] children: The three bonds and five constants in Confucian thought draws direct parallels between the authority-subordinate/paternalistic care-respect relationship between: Ruler-subject, husband-wife, father-son. So we often see parallels being drawn in speeches and literature between the ruler and subjects as father and son (paternalistic) or as husband-wife (often homoerotic in tone and by officials, such as "why don't you notice that I drew my brows for you" as a way of complaining that one's talent is being overlooked by the ruler). However, rulers are more likely to draw the parallel of their subjects as their children.

  百官/Hundred officials: Used to refer to all the officials, not just a hundred specific officials.

  三思而后行/Think thrice before you act: Another quote from Confucius's Analects, stemming from a conversation with his student: 季文子三思而后行，子闻之曰："再斯可矣。"/Ji Wenzi always thinks thrice before he acts. Confucius heard of this and said, "Thinking twice is enough." Nonetheless, this is often taken out of context to advise thinking thrice before you act instead of twice.