Year 465 CE

Tuoba Hong straightened the robes on his body. He still preferred the narrow-sleeved robes with front opening of their Xianbei tribe – simple and efficient – but the empress liked Han clothing. Today when she sent someone to summon him for an audience, the maid had specifically asked him to wear this wide-sleeved flowing robe.

Oh right, she was no longer the empress, but the empress dowager now.

Tuoba Hong looked at the Buddhist hall entrance before him and stopped in his tracks, stunned.

Tuoba Hong, who had been enfeoffed as crown prince at the age of three, was only twelve years old this year. His father Emperor Tuoba Jun had died of illness recently, and tomorrow would be his enthronement ceremony.

Though still young, Tuoba Hong, who was called precociously divine, martial, intelligent, and perceptive, knew what enormous responsibilities he would bear as emperor of the Wei dynasty.

Why had his father abandoned him so heartlessly at only twenty-six years old? Tuoba Hong lowered his head, thinking somewhat bewildered.

The Wei dynasty had the custom of “establishing the son and killing the mother.” To prevent interference from maternal relatives, when three-year-old Tuoba Hong was made crown prince, his birth mother was granted a white silk cord. Tuoba Hong still remembered his mother’s gaze – both proud and reluctant to part, yet mixed with traces of resentment.

He had only one birth mother, so although Tuoba Hong addressed Empress Feng as “mother empress” with his lips, in his heart he didn’t acknowledge this title.

How wonderful – now he could call her empress dowager.

Tuoba Hong smiled self-mockingly.

“Hong’er, you’ve come?” From inside the Buddhist hall came a voice gentle as water.

Tuoba Hong started, then instinctively straightened his robes again before gently pushing open the great doors of the Buddhist hall. Heavy sandalwood fragrance rushed toward him.

The infinitely beautiful silhouette of a woman slowly came into view as the Buddhist hall doors opened. Feng Qi knelt upright before the Buddha statue, wearing plain white mourning clothes – wide sleeves with short bodice, below wearing a swaying long skirt, with an additional short skirt tightly bound at the waist that perfectly outlined her slender waist. Her cloud-like beautiful hair was simply tied back with a white cord, adorned with a white silk flower, with some hanging strands still bearing traces of being singed black and curled.

Tuoba Hong withdrew his gaze. Yesterday when his father had undergone the Xianbei custom of burning his lifetime clothing, Feng Qi had rushed directly over, planning to accompany his father in death. Fortunately, the chief eunuch Shang Xie, who had served the imperial family since Emperor Taiwu’s generation, noticed and saved her, otherwise it wouldn’t have been just a few singed locks of hair.

Tuoba Hong actually hadn’t been surprised at the time. The deep affection between his father and Empress Feng, like paired mandarin ducks, was something he, being closest to them, could see most clearly. But he could never regard Feng Qi as his mother empress.

Unable to forget his own birth mother was one reason. Another was that Feng Qi truly wasn’t much older than him. Her grandfather had been the last emperor of the former dynasty’s Northern Yan. After being overthrown by the Wei dynasty, she had entered the palace to serve as a child, being one of the guilty descendants. She had been noticed by his father, who had just lost his birth mother, and kept by his side as a senior palace maid. But this woman who became his father’s noble consort at eleven and ascended to the central palace empress throne at fourteen – Tuoba Hong truly didn’t know whether to be glad she hadn’t borne his father children, or feel that such a skillful woman should have borne a crown prince and been granted death according to Wei custom.

Vaguely in distant memory, among the hibiscus flowers, that gorgeous face that flashed by… Tuoba Hong was dazed for a moment, almost still thinking she was that innocent palace maid who served him, and he was still that child innocent of worldly affairs.

“Hong’er pays respects to the empress dowager.” Tuoba Hong put away the complex emotions in his eyes and obediently prostrated himself.

The Buddhist hall doors slowly closed behind him, taking away all the sunlight, making the entire hall seem somewhat cold.

“Hong’er, rise. From now on you will be the emperor of this Wei dynasty – you need not kneel to anyone anymore.” Young Feng Qi was full of sentiment, her nightingale-like voice floating uncertainly in the spacious Buddhist hall.

Tuoba Hong stood up and walked forward a few steps, looking at Feng Qi kneeling on the prayer mat and the empty prayer mat obviously prepared for him beside her. He asked provocatively: “Then Buddha can accept my kowtow?”

Feng Qi sighed softly, lowered her head slightly, silently recited an apology, then raised her head and looked at Tuoba Hong with smiling eyes, saying indulgently: “Buddha is not human, so naturally can accept your kowtow.”

When he saw Feng Qi’s countenance, Tuoba Hong’s breathing immediately stopped. Feng Qi’s appearance was of peerless beauty – otherwise she couldn’t have made his father break precedent and take her into the harem at only eleven years old. Now she was in the most beautiful period of a woman’s life, plus with some fragile vulnerability from widowhood, a few scattered strands falling by her ears, her phoenix eyes still carrying slight redness from weeping, that pale and exquisite face – even Tuoba Hong, who was used to seeing her, couldn’t look directly at it. An unfamiliar emotion in his chest sprouted like a tender shoot breaking through soil, unstoppably emerging. Tuoba Hong quickly knelt on the prayer mat before him and lowered his head to reverently kowtow to the Buddhist shrine ahead. His father believed in Buddhism and had even built the Yungang Grottoes, so Tuoba Hong wasn’t unfamiliar with Buddhist worship. He had just never entered this particular Buddhist hall before, but in his haste he had no time to look around carefully.

“Hong’er, tomorrow you will ascend the throne as emperor. This Buddhist hall will also belong to you.” Feng Qi said lightly.

Tuoba Hong heard the implication in her words. Puzzled, he raised his head but inadvertently glanced at the Buddha statue enshrined in the shrine and couldn’t help but freeze.

The reason was simple – he clearly saw that in the curling Buddhist incense, the jade Buddha only an inch tall was actually broken. An irreparable crack split from the Buddha statue’s neck, separating the jade Buddha’s head from body. Even forcibly placed together, it emanated an indescribable strangeness. The Buddha’s face was still gentle and compassionate, but that crack appeared hideously fierce.

He had never seen anyone worship a cracked Buddha statue.

Tuoba Hong looked around in alarm and suspicion, discovering that in this enormous Buddhist hall, only this one damaged jade Buddha was enshrined.

“This jade Buddha is made of jade from Mount Du, so it’s called the Solitary Jade Buddha. Du jade is one of the four great jades, produced in Nanyang, with mining records from the late Shang dynasty. This Solitary Jade Buddha was given to Emperor Taiwu by someone many years ago.” Feng Qi turned the purple sandalwood prayer beads in her hands, closed her eyes slightly, and explained gently. Her beautiful and delicate features, with an expression of compassion, made her look even more like the merciful Guanyin Bodhisattva.

“Emperor Taiwu?” Tuoba Hong was startled at these words. Emperor Taiwu was his father’s grandfather, who had finally unified the north, ending the sixteen kingdoms’ division that had lasted over a hundred years, establishing a standoff with the Liu Song regime in the south, forming a north-south confrontation. The Wei dynasty was thereafter called Northern Wei by southerners. Emperor Taiwu’s mighty reputation spread far, but the event that especially shocked southerners was his “Taiwu’s Destruction of Buddhism” decree.

During Emperor Taiwu’s reign, all monks and nuns under fifty had to return to secular life, Buddhist images and sutras were all destroyed and burned, many stubborn elderly monks and nuns were even buried alive, and throughout the Wei dynasty, mention of the word “Buddha” was forbidden. Though Tuoba Hong didn’t approve of such measures, he understood Emperor Taiwu’s intentions. Northern Wei had just unified the north, with years of warfare everywhere and everything needing reconstruction – naturally there was no excess money and grain to support non-productive monks and nuns. Though Buddhist teachings were useful for controlling ignorant masses, some monks made grandiose claims that transcended royal law. Emperor Taiwu was decisive in killing, naturally unable to tolerate this.

Such an Emperor Taiwu – someone actually dared give him a Solitary Jade Buddha? It must have been given before the anti-Buddhist decree was issued, right? Tuoba Hong looked at this damaged statue with some understanding, thinking it must have been broken by Emperor Taiwu.

Feng Qi naturally knew what Tuoba Hong was thinking and chuckled: “This Buddha statue was given to Emperor Taiwu by a young man after he issued the anti-Buddhist decree.” Feng Qi fell into distant memories. She hadn’t been very old then either, but she remembered that scene quite clearly. “That person told Emperor Taiwu that the anti-Buddhist decree went too far and would incur Heaven’s retribution. If he could worship this Solitary Jade Buddha, perhaps it could redeem the injustices Emperor Taiwu had committed.”

“This…” Tuoba Hong was speechless. He naturally knew what would happen after such words were spoken. “Then was this Solitary Jade Buddha smashed and cracked?”

Feng Qi nodded gently and sighed deeply: “That young man looked at the head-separated Solitary Jade Buddha on the ground with regret and said that because Emperor Taiwu harbored supreme murderous evil energy, this injustice could only be visited upon his descendants. From then on, all crown prince heirs of the Wei dynasty would be unable to live very long.”

Tuoba Hong’s eyes widened. This was too absurd. But he suddenly thought of his father dying young at only twenty-six. His lips moved as if to say something, but nothing came out.

Feng Qi squeezed the prayer beads in her hands, her words mixed with some bewilderment: “That young man was immediately thrown into death row by Emperor Taiwu, but later disappeared mysteriously before execution. Emperor Taiwu was furious about it. Because the matter was too strange, this Solitary Jade Buddha was collected by your grandfather, later Emperor Jingmu.”

Tuoba Hong took a difficult deep breath. The originally sweet sandalwood fragrance now seemed somewhat suffocating. He knew about this Emperor Jingmu, who had died mysteriously while still crown prince at only twenty-three years old, which was why he was posthumously honored as Emperor Jingmu after his father ascended the throne.

“Hong’er, I summoned you today not for other matters.” Feng Qi sighed deeply. “This curse has already been fulfilled for two generations like a hex. Even if you don’t believe it, you need to be careful.”

Tuoba Hong thought about how after his father ascended the throne, he immediately abolished Emperor Taiwu’s anti-Buddhist decree and, despite the empty treasury, ordered the construction of Yungang Grottoes – surely also to atone for those injustices. Tuoba Hong acknowledged in a low voice, but felt somewhat dismissive in his heart.

It was just coincidence.

When Tuoba Hong was taking leave, he heard Feng Qi suddenly instruct: “Hong’er, you’re not young anymore. After tomorrow’s enthronement, I’ll select some daughters from good families for you.”

“…Thank you for the empress dowager’s consideration.” Tuoba Hong suppressed the inexplicable melancholy suddenly rising in his heart and agreed with lowered head.

“Life in this world is like being in a thorn forest. When the heart doesn’t move, people don’t move rashly – not moving means no injury. If the heart moves, then people move rashly, injuring the body and paining the bones, thus experiencing all manner of worldly suffering…” Feng Qi’s floating voice, accompanied by rhythmic wooden fish sounds, slowly dissipated behind the gradually closing Buddhist hall doors.

Tuoba Hong stood silently outside the doors, repeatedly pondering this Buddhist verse, already becoming entranced.