The appointment of an Heir-apparent and the Emperor's death
It remains to speak of the succession to the throne and of Emperor
Ch'eng's death. When Emperor Ch'eng remained without heirs, his
first cousin, Liu Hsin5, the son of the Liu K'ang whom Emperor Yüan
had once planned to make his heir, came to pay court to Emperor Ch'eng
a few years before the latter's death. Liu Hsin5's grandmother, the
Brilliant Companion née Fu, secretly bribed Chao Fei-yen and the latter's
sister, the Brilliant Companion nee Chao, together with others, so that
in 8 B.C., Liu Hsin5 was finally made the Heir-apparent. Four months
later Emperor Ch'eng died quite suddenly. He had not been ill. On the
night of April 16, 7 B.C., he slept in the White Tiger Hall. It had been
arranged that the next morning two vassal kings were to take their leave
and on that day K'ung Kuang was to be installed as Lieutenant
Chancellor. His seal and charter had already been prepared. In the
evening, Emperor Ch'eng was well; towards the next dawn, he tried to
arise with his trousers and stockings on, but dropped his clothes and could
not speak. In the morning, when the clepsydra marked the tenth division,
he died. The people blamed the Brilliant Companion. The
Empress Dowager had the officials investigate what had happened in the
harem that the Emperor should have become ill, and the Brilliant
Companion committed suicide. It was, of course, suspected that the
Emperor had been poisoned; it is however quite possible that he died of
apoplexy. He was in his forty-fifth year of age. So ended the reign of
a loving and kindly playboy, who was forced to choose between his heir
and his childless beloved, and chose the latter.
