The Summer Palace

She walks along the Long Corridor. Her imperial robes of red silk rustle and swish in time with her steps. The phoenixes embroidered on her robes with golden silk thread gleam yellow in the low evening sun. The gems and pearls hanging on her headdress jingle and jangle noisily as they knock against each other. Her young female attendants follow behind her in two solemn lines, silent in their conflict of loyalties.


How dare the emperor carry out such reforms! Does he not know how it will affect our sovereignty?


Placing the emperor under house arrest in the Hall of Jade Ripples was the most lenient thing she could do. She could have easily sentenced him to death. At least he is comfortable there despite having all the entrances sealed off with brick walls. It will feel claustrophobic compared to the vastness of the Forbidden City but the emperor will get used to it. He must get used to it. Still, a sense of foreboding haunts her heart and as doubt seeps into her mind, she quickens her pace.


Halfway along the Long Corridor, she turns right into the Hall that Dispels the Clouds. With a wave of her hand, she bids her handmaidens to wait here for her as she climbs the steps leading up to the Tower of the Fragrance of Buddha. Not bothering to change at the Hall of Virtuous Glories, she carries on upwards to the tower.


There, she pays her respects to the thousand-hand Guanyin. Only a mere formality, this is not where she wants to go. Onwards she continues, through the red double doors behind the tower. Upwards through the stairs to the topmost building: The Sea of Wisdom Temple. This is it. Slightly out of breath, she pauses to catch it back while surveying the many statuettes of Buddha adorning the wall in their lines of niches.


Entering the gloom of the temple, the bright colours of her robes disappear. Here, she humbles herself before the giant statue of Guanyin, the Goddess of Mercy. Kneeling down on the cushion, she sues for mercy and seeks for blessings for her actions. The motherly smile of the goddess, sublimely concealed in the semi-darkness, soothes and calms her. Reassured, she stands up and leaves.


In her haste, she had not paused at the view before the tower. Now, she casts her eyes on the stunning view before her: the great Kunming Lake spreads out before her to the south with South Lake Island linked to the east by the Seventeen-Arch Bridge. With a deep breath, she draws herself up.


I am the Dowager Empress of the glorious Qing Dynasty. The barbarians, strong yet still barbarians nonetheless, destroyed this palace 38 years ago but it has been rebuilt, more splendid than ever before. They may bully us for now but we will get our own back in time. Here, All Under Heaven belongs to me rightfully as decreed by the Mandate of Heaven. My people will rally at my call and then we shall see who will have the last laugh.