Ronghua’s palace attire was beautiful, but the person herself had become weathered and worn. Her plump figure was gone, having become much thinner. Judging from the calluses worn on her fingers, she had suffered greatly these past three years.
“Ronghua, if things aren’t going well in Goguryeo, just stay and live in the Great Tang. The small courtyard at the Yun family is still reserved for you. It’s not that I have any designs on you—I simply respect your persistence.”
“Goguryeo hasn’t perished yet. When the day comes that I have nowhere else to turn, I’ll remember that quiet little courtyard. I only hope Marquis Yun won’t obstruct us from going to the capital to pay tribute. No matter what, give us an opportunity to personally present our sufferings to His Majesty the Emperor of the Great Tang.”
“Marquis Yun, Goguryeo will not surrender. We will only all die in battle! This is the last courage of the Goguryeo people. Because aside from being able to offer our lives to Goguryeo, we already have nothing left.”
This woman still had that same stubborn nature of refusing to admit defeat. The broken house that was Goguryeo would collapse with just a gentle push, yet at this moment she could still so brazenly make threats—she was the only one who could do this.
“Ronghua, it’s best for women not to participate in political affairs, because your bodies have many character flaws. For instance, your current persistence is a kind of pathology that needs proper treatment.”
“Marquis Yun is as arrogant as ever. I heard you’ve already failed in the struggle for power and fled to Lingnan, living ignominiously under your son’s protection. I wonder if this is true?”
“Indeed so. A son protecting his father is perfectly natural and right. Can your child protect you? I’ve also heard you’re living quite miserably in Goguryeo, that Yeon Gaesomun doesn’t treat you so well.”
“You’re wrong. Only in my embrace can Somun sleep peacefully. You destroyed his pride, preventing his rage from being vented like a normal man’s. I’m his closest person, so inevitably I suffer a bit. It doesn’t matter—between husband and wife there are many channels for venting desires. Harm is also one kind.”
Hearing such twisted words, Yun Ye could only cup his hands in admiration. After servants brought her tea, he said: “I won’t obstruct you—absolutely not. If you’re willing, you can leave right now by land route or take the water route straight to Chang’an. His Majesty is also quite bored in Chang’an. You can go and argue your case forcefully. If your words are moving, perhaps you can make His Majesty open his eyes to look at you.”
Ronghua held her teacup, carefully savoring the taste of the fragrant tea. For a long time she placed her nose at the cup’s rim, letting the tea-scented steam moisten her mouth and nose, seeming to enjoy it immensely.
“No need to be so greedy, right? I remember when you returned to Goguryeo, you didn’t take little good tea from home—such a large package, if you’re frugal it’s enough for you to drink for three to five years.”
“Sold it. Sold the tea leaves, sold the silk and gauze, sold the jewelry, sold the extra clothes. Rice prices in Pyongyang are frighteningly high now. I’m supporting eight maidservants, eight servants, and eight warriors. The stipend from Changgyeong Palace can’t feed them, and moreover, whenever I see refugees I must give them some food. So when I came, aside from this new outfit, I have nothing else of value. Anyway, we’re certain to be captured by the Lingnan Navy. Under your command, I estimate food and drink won’t be a problem. If I make my words more ambiguous, your subordinates will treat me as an honored guest.”
Yun Ye rolled his eyes and sighed: “I bear the reputation of a lecher yet haven’t done what a lecher should do. Is my favor so easy to exploit?”
“It doesn’t matter. Selling one’s body is no longer a shameful thing in Goguryeo. Young ladies from good families have become prostitutes just to support their entire households. People only envy them, they don’t despise them. If Marquis Yun wants this humble woman to serve him in bed, naturally it’s a good thing. You’re a great patron others couldn’t even beg for. This humble woman very much welcomes it—five gold coins for one night, which is nothing to you.”
Yun Ye nearly spat out his mouthful of tea along with old blood. After coughing for a long while, he looked at Ronghua again and said: “How did it come to this? It’s only been three years.”
Ronghua’s tears gushed forth like a spring, instantly covering her entire face. Pointing at Yun Ye, she said loudly: “You schemed against Goguryeo for five years! A Goguryeo that had abundant food and clothing transformed into the current hell on earth filled with starving corpses everywhere. Have you heard of ‘vegetable people’? Have you heard of exchanging children to eat? Five gold coins in the Great Tang can buy a shipload of grain. In Goguryeo it can buy two hundred virgins. I, Ronghua, am merely a faded flower and fallen willow. Remove my title and place me in a Goguryeo brothel—not even for one silver coin would anyone want me. Tell me, aside from selling my body, what other options do I have? If the money from selling my body can fill the bellies of Goguryeo’s people, Yun Ye, I would gladly become a prostitute and consider it sweet.”
“In this world, only Somun and you consider me worth more than five gold coins. As for others, even if I wanted five gold coins, it wouldn’t work! It wouldn’t work!”
Although Goguryeo’s tragic situation seemed inseparable from himself, Ronghua’s speech still made Yun Ye’s heart feel terribly blocked. Ronghua, who had nothing left, when Goguryeo reached this moment of life and death, truly could do anything.
“Ronghua, stop struggling. Goguryeo is destined to perish—no one can save it. Perhaps Silla and Baekje will still exist, but they’re too far away. Conquering them wouldn’t be worth the cost. His Majesty’s last expedition already achieved his war objectives. Actually, more important than conquering Goguryeo was dealing with the Shandong aristocratic families. Now Ma Zhou has probably already handled the old matters in Shandong. As long as His Majesty is willing, without needing to personally campaign, the three steppe generals cruising at the Yalu River can trample Goguryeo in an instant.”
“Zhang Jian is still building a city at the edge of the Yalu River, accepting Goguryeo refugees. Before long, you’ll discover there aren’t many people left in Goguryeo. Those who have already been armed—each one who dies means one less. This way, by the war’s end, the Great Tang’s slave traders can destroy Goguryeo. Those killers already count as the most ferocious group in the Great Tang.”
“Look, I’m better than your Goguryeo spies. I’ve told you such confidential matters. If Zhang Jian knew, he’d be so angry he’d die. Forget it, Ronghua. Go to that small courtyard at my house and quietly muddle through the rest of this life.”
Ronghua raised her head and said word by word: “I firmly believe the Great Tang cannot destroy Goguryeo. No matter how powerful you are, you cannot destroy Goguryeo. If you occupy Pyongyang, we’ll go to the mountains. If you go to the mountains, we’ll go to the plains. As long as Goguryeo still has one person, Goguryeo will not perish. Even if you kill us all without leaving a single one, our ghosts will also wander this land. Yun Ye, Goguryeo will not perish!”
There’s no reasoning with a single-minded woman, because she’ll use her own set of seemingly reasonable logic to defeat you. When people are impoverished, their brains and thoughts become extremely rich. Just as Yun Ye was about to throw Ronghua out, he heard her say loudly:
“I haven’t received my monthly stipend for three years and four months! I already calculated on the ship—six silver coins per month, with one more added each year. Twenty-four coins for four months, eighty-four for the first year, ninety-six for the second year, one hundred and eight for the third year up to now—a total of three hundred and twelve silver coins. Give them to me quickly! I don’t have a single silver coin left!”
Yun Ye was stunned by her powerful aura and said with difficulty: “You seem to be Yeon Gaesomun’s woman. Why should I support you? No matter how you put it, this doesn’t make sense.”
“Did it make sense when you abducted me to the Great Tang? You don’t even fancy my body. Xinyue and Na Rimu are both stunning beauties. I heard you’ve also taken another concubine of national beauty and heavenly fragrance, enjoying all earthly sensual pleasures. Yet you’re unwilling to give me a few silver coins. I remember when I left, you said that as long as I was willing, I could return to that courtyard, with the same treatment as before.”
“I was just being polite!” Yun Ye roared. This was too much—you’re on a diplomatic mission to the Great Tang without travel expenses, what the hell does that have to do with me?
“That’s right. Going back on one’s word is a consistent characteristic of Great Tang meritorious nobles. You just granted King Gao Jianwu his title, then immediately launched a massive invasion, with your Emperor personally leading the troops. I’ll beg my way to Chang’an. The Tang state is prosperous—no one starves to death. I’ll beg all the way. When people ask, I’ll say it’s because a Great Tang meritorious noble broke his word. Even though I’m a Goguryeo person, people will still question your character. Parading through the streets this way, telling the sufferings of Goguryeo people to every Tang person I meet—this will definitely be more effective than begging in the Wanmin Palace. What do you say, Marquis Yun?”
Ronghua, who had nothing left, didn’t care about anything. With money, she would go to Chang’an. Without money, she would still go to Chang’an. She didn’t want to owe the Great Tang any favor. She’d rather shamelessly and unreasonably demand her own stipend than accept donations from Tang officials. As a woman, she could use an ambiguous relationship to ask Yun Ye for money. As a Goguryeo envoy, she had to guard the independence of her mission’s banner.
Naturally, Yun Ye, jumping with rage, wouldn’t let her parade through provinces and counties, turning the journey into a stage for winning the sympathy of the Great Tang’s people. Yun Ye ran out and returned in a flash, throwing a heavy cloth bag down on the table with a thud, saying nothing. Since he’d said it back then, it was better to honor it.
Ronghua’s face lit up with joy as she fished a gold coin from the pocket, bit it to test it, then very shrewdly pulled the gold coins from the bag one by one to count them. When she counted to forty, she shook the empty bag. She looked disappointed—forty gold coins weren’t enough for her group to live on in the Great Tang. Rice was expensive in Chang’an!
“How about I draw my stipend five years in advance?” Ronghua probably also felt this wasn’t good to say, and asked Yun Ye hesitantly.
“What do you think?” Yun Ye tried hard to turn up the corners of his mouth. A noble and aloof beauty—what had life tortured her into now?
“When the day comes that Goguryeo achieves great victory, I will certainly repay you a hundredfold.” Ronghua shouldered the bag and turned back to say to Yun Ye.
“Well then, forget it—I won’t live to see that day!” Yun Ye spread his hands. He couldn’t see any hope of collecting on this promise.
Holding the strongest, most resolute intentions while facing the cruelest, most merciless results—perhaps this was her fate. Yun Ye greatly admired this mentality of hers, facing desperate straits yet remaining unbending and striving tirelessly. The result wasn’t important.