The next two or three days were peaceful too but then the Emperor heard bricks and tiles banging and crashing once again at the Hou Zai Gate. He summoned his officials at dawn and said, “There has, thank goodness, been no trouble at the front gates for several days now, but there were noises at the back gates last night that practically scared me to death.” Xu Maogong went forward and submitted this suggestion: “When there was trouble at the front gates Yuchi Jingde and Qin Shubao protected Your Majesty. Now there is trouble at the back gates Wei Zheng should be ordered to stand guard.”
Taizong approved his suggestion, and ordered Wei Zheng to stand guard at the back gates that night. Wei Zheng received the edict, and that night he put on his best clothes, belted himself tightly, and took up his vigil outside the Hou Zai Gate. He was a true hero. He wore
A black band of silk around his forehead,
A brocade gown loosely belted with jade.
His hood and billowing sleeves caught the frost and dew,
And he looked more ferocious than the ghost-quellers Shenshu and Yul ti.
On his feet he wore black boots for motionless movement;
In his hand he wielded a keen-edged blade with great ferocity.
He looked around with glaring eyes:
What evil spirit would have dared approach?
No devils were seen all night, but although nothing happened at the front or back gates the Emperor's condition still deteriorated. One day the Empress Dowager issued an edict summoning the officials to discuss funeral arrangements. Taizong sent for Xu Maogong and gave him orders about affairs of state, instructing him to look after the heir to the throne in the way that Liu Bei, the ruler of Shu, had instructed Zhuge Liang. When he had finished speaking he was bathed and put into clean clothes. All he had to do now was to wait for the end. Then in rushed Wei Zheng, who grabbed hold of his dragon robes and said, “Do not worry, Your Majesty. I can ensure Your Majesty long life.”
“The disease has reached my heart,” replied the Emperor, “and my life will end at any moment now, so how can you save it?”
“Your subject has a letter here,” said Wei Zheng, “that I am offering to Your Majesty to take with you to the underworld and give to Cui Jue, the judge of Fengdu.”
“Who is this Cui Jue?” asked the Emperor.
“He was one of the officers of Your Majesty's exalted predecessor. From being magistrate of Cizhou he was promoted to be vice-president of the Ministry of Rites. When he was alive he and I were close friends. Now that he is dead he is in charge of the Registers of Birth and Death in the underworld as judge of Fengdu, and he often comes to see me in my dreams. If you take this letter with you on your journey and give it to him, he is bound to allow Your Majesty to come back out of consideration for your humble subject. I can guarantee that Your Majesty's soul will return to the sunlight, and the dragon countenance will certainly return to the imperial capital.” Taizong took the letter and put it in his sleeve, then he shut his eyes in death. The empresses, consorts and imperial concubines of the three palaces and the six compounds, the palace servants, the heir to the throne, and the civil and military officials all grieved and dressed in mourning. The imperial coffin lay in state in the White Tiger Hall.
If you don't know how Taizong came back to life, listen to the explanation in the next chapter.
Chapter 11
After Touring the Underworld, Taizong Returns to Life.
By Presenting a Pumpkin Liu Quan Continues His Marriage
A hundred years flow by like water;
A lifetime's career is no more than a bubble,
The face that yesterday was the color of peach-blossom
Today is edged with snow.
When the white ants' line of battle collapses, all is illusion;
“Repent, repent,” is the cuckoo's urgent call.
He who does good in secret can always prolong his life;
Heaven looks after the one who asks no pity.
Taizong was in a daze as his soul went straight to the Tower of Five Phoenixes, in front of which he saw the horsemen of the Imperial Guard who invited him out hunting with them. Taizong was glad to go and they went off into the distance; but after they had been going for some time he found himself walking alone in a wasteland: the horsemen had all disappeared. Just as he was discovering to his alarm that he could not find his way a man appeared not far away, shouting.
“Great Tang Emperor, come here, come here.” On hearing this Taizong looked up and saw him:
A black silk turban,
A rhinoceros-horn belt.
The black silk turban has tabs blowing in the breeze;
The rhinoceros-horn belt has golden mountings.
In his hands an ivory tablet, glowing auspiciously;
His thin silk gown conceals his divine light.
He wears a pair of boots with whitened soles
As he climbs the clouds and grasps the mist,
Holding to his chest the Registers of Life and Death,
Noting down the quick and the dead.
His tangled hair blows about his ears;
His whiskers dance and fly beside his cheeks.
Once he used to be a Tang minister
But now he judges cases for the King of Hell.
When Taizong went up to him, he fell on his knees beside the path and said, “Your Majesty, please forgive your subject for his crime of failing to come far enough to meet you.”
“Who are you?” asked the Emperor, “and why have you come to meet me?”
“A fortnight ago your humble servant heard the Dragon King of the River Jing bringing a case against Your Majesty in the Senluo Palace because he was executed despite your promise to save him,” replied the other.
“The King of Qinguang of the First Palace sent devil messengers with an urgent summons to Your Majesty to be present when the case is heard between the Three Orders: the Human Order, the Underworld Order and the Water Order. When I heard this I came here to meet Your Majesty. I arrived late, so I beg for forgiveness.”
“What is your name and position?” asked Taizong.
“When your humble servant was alive I used to serve His Late Majesty. I was magistrate of Cizhou, and later made vice-president of the Ministry of Rites. My name is Cui Jue. I have now been given office in the underworld as the judge in charge of cases at Fengdu.” Taizong, greatly delighted to learn this, went up to him and supported him with his imperial hands as he said, “Sir, you have made a long and exhausting journey. Wei Zheng, our minister, gave us a letter for you; how lucky that we have met.” The judge thanked him and asked where the letter was. Taizong produced it from his sleeve and handed it over to Cui Jue, who received it with a bow. When he opened it he saw that it read as follows:
Your Excellency, Metropolitan Judge, and Venerable Elder Brother Cui,
Remembering our former friendship; I still see and hear you as if you were alive; but many years have now flown by since I last received your pure instruction. On feast days I set out some vegetarian dishes as a sacrifice to you, but I have been unable to divine whether they are enjoyed by you. As I have the good fortune not to have been abandoned by you and you have appeared to me in dreams, I now know that my great elder brother has risen high. But, alas, there is a great gap between the worlds of darkness and of light, and we are unable to meet each other as we are each at different ends of the universe.
As the Cultured Emperor Taizong has recently passed away of a sudden illness it seems likely that his case will be discussed by the Three Orders, so that he is bound to meet you, elder brother. I beseech you to remember the friendship of the days when you were alive and give His Majesty such assistance as will enable him to return to the sunlight. This would be a great favour, and I shall write again to thank you. I cannot go into all the details of the case here.