Fang Xuanling watched Li Xiang joyfully thank the Emperor for his grace and hurry off to meet his mother. His heart was indescribably sour. Originally thinking the Great Tang would have at least a hundred years of peace, now it all seemed to have become bubbles.
What he thought about now was only that Li Xiang’s actions wouldn’t affect the Crown Prince’s position. Otherwise, disaster and chaos were right before their eyes. He moved his feet with difficulty, spoke hoarsely to request an audience with the Emperor, and was about to say something else when he saw Li Er beckon to him. He then followed Li Er into Wanmin Palace.
Entering the palace hall, the sovereign and subject stood in the great hall with neither having the heart to speak. After a long while, Li Er smiled miserably and said to Fang Xuanling: “In the past, I heard people say that a person cannot be too strong-willed, otherwise they’ll monopolize all their descendants’ spiritual energy. I thought this kind of thing wouldn’t happen to me. I can be counted as having heroic talent and great strategy. Chengqian can also be said to have received heaven and earth’s favor. Qing Que needn’t even be mentioned. Li Ke and Li Zhi’s talents and wisdom are all choices of their time. Even Li An and Li You, who were previously very disgraceful children, have now become proper in handling affairs. Although not worthy of great use, as princes protecting and blessing a region, there’s still no problem.”
“Now, look at my grandson—how has he become like this? He didn’t listen to a single correct opinion from intelligent people, instead thinking they were placating him. He treated an aged pedantic scholar’s words as good ideas and listened to them, then resolutely and decisively implemented them. If such a person, with such wisdom, truly becomes an emperor—what will become of things?”
After Li Er finished speaking, he sat cross-legged on the carpet, his expression extremely dejected.
Fang Xuanling also sat cross-legged and said: “Your Majesty need not grieve. Prince Hengshan’s wisdom is truly not suitable for inheriting the great succession. If it were another prime minister, they absolutely wouldn’t say these words. But today’s scene—this iron-hard true fact—tells this subject that Prince Hengshan is truly unsuitable. Your Majesty and this subject both thought too optimistically. Originally thinking our Great Tang would at least not have internal strife within three generations—now looking at it, the crisis of trouble within the walls still exists!”
The two men spoke to each other of their own dejection and disappointment. Empress Zhangsun, her face pale, brought in a pot of tea and placed it between the sovereign and subject, also kneeling to sit down. She could see that the empire’s sovereign and prime minister had truly become disheartened and discouraged toward Li Xiang. To avoid the two men feeling sorrowful, she tried with all her might to guide the topic in other directions.
“This is my fault. I should have sent Li Xiang to Yushan to study early on, rather than finding some learned Confucian scholars to instruct him. Confining him in the imperial palace built a castle in the air in his brain. Not only was it not grounded, even his intelligence was completely obscured. Empress, tomorrow send all the children in the palace to Yushan. The palace will no longer hire instructors. Henceforth, imperial princes must enter Yushan to study—let this be a permanent precedent. Tomorrow I will admit defeat and apologize to Teacher Li Gang, and acknowledge my own failure.”
That an emperor who had always been strong-willed and self-confident could speak such disheartened words—Fang Xuanling closed his eyes without speaking. Empress Zhangsun secretly shed tears.
Li Er laughed dryly twice and said: “Of the things in this world, eight or nine out of ten are unsatisfactory. We planned, we prepared, we strove in this direction. Since we failed, what more is there to say? Rest assured, I won’t become dejected. We’ve established such an enormous empire—small ripples will always appear.”
“Right now my generals are fighting bloody battles outside. My subjects are working hard to make themselves strong. This is a prosperous age unprecedented in thousands upon thousands of years. I stand alone through ancient and modern times—I don’t believe that in my twilight years I still can’t resolve this dead knot of the great succession’s continuation.”
“Empress, Xuanling, don’t be sad. We’ve dealt with something like the world-wide attack on Tang and are moreover achieving victory. This small trouble doesn’t count as anything. The reason I’m sad is mainly that the imperial family has never before encountered such ripples—for a moment I’m just a bit unaccustomed. Raise your spirits—this doesn’t count as anything…”
For half a month straight, Li Xiang was extremely happy. His own mother had returned home. The Eastern Palace immediately became orderly. Although his mother still had a worried frown and sometimes would secretly shed tears, this was also caused by joy.
Cheng Dayong received Li Xiang’s generous rewards. Yun Shou also received a letter from Li Xiang full of sarcasm, the entire text mocking so-called intelligent people.
Toward Yun Shou, Li Xiang was still fairly polite. As for Li Yifu, Li Xiang through his own power nearly had Li Yifu sent to tend horses. Although hearing the steward report that Li Yifu wasn’t worried at all and had even prepared to go tend horses, Li Xiang still didn’t plan to let Li Yifu off. Tending horses was simply too easy on him. After his memorial impeaching Li Yifu entered the Department of State Affairs, he didn’t wait for news of Li Yifu being dismissed from office. That fellow instead got promoted—from an official of the lower seventh rank, he became proper seventh rank, formally presiding over the Inner Palace’s external affairs.
Although a bit disappointed, Li Xiang still wanted to go see Yun Shou’s ashamed appearance. Arriving at the Yun household, he discovered Yun Shou had prepared many gifts for him. There were many things, covering clothing, food, housing, and transportation without exception.
“A Shou, why do this? We’re brothers. Even if you miscalculated one matter, you needn’t be so ashamed. If you truly feel guilty, give me some valuable things. What do these things count as?”
Yun Shou still didn’t speak. He pulled out a bank draft from his bosom and said seriously to Li Xiang: “This is the New Year’s money I’ve saved up since childhood—altogether one hundred twenty gold coins. Originally prepared to give to Yan Rong, but right now you need it more urgently. I’m giving it all to you.”
Li Xiang said awkwardly: “Although I’m a bit poor, I haven’t reached this point, have I?”
Yun Shou forcibly stuffed the draft into Li Xiang’s bosom, not allowing him the slightest refusal.
Returning to the Eastern Palace with generous gifts, Li Xiang vaguely felt something was wrong. Yun Shou was a miser. He had asked to borrow money from him before, and he always gave himself two gold coins, two gold coins. Why would he do this now?
Yan Rong hadn’t spoken a single word to him for half a month already. That little face was stretched tight. Not only her—the entire Eastern Palace’s atmosphere had become very tense.
Finally, Li Xiang in his confusion welcomed his father. He not only reported his achievements to his father but also told his father about his doubts.
Li Chengqian painfully closed his eyes. Looking at his uneasy son, his heart ached like being cut by knives. Yun Ye had said before: “I’m not your father—why should I teach you to be smart?” Now the time had come when he himself must teach his son to be smart.
He gently embraced his son and softly said to him: “It’s all father’s fault that you’ve fallen to such a state. You couldn’t bear your own mother suffering and took risks to plead for her—this is an act of great filial piety. Father is very happy. Having a son like you is a blessing for your parents.”
“But Xiang’er, the price you paid is too great—truly too great. It shouldn’t have been like this, absolutely shouldn’t have been like this. What your Uncle Yun and Li Yifu said was not wrong at all. Do you know, child? Your mother being pregnant was actually father’s method for saving your mother out. As long as your younger brother or sister is born, your mother would safely come out.”
“Ever since your mother became pregnant, in the imperial palace she hasn’t been living as you imagined in that original simple room, having to do everything herself with clothing, food, housing, and transportation. Rather, she’s been living in Mingxiu Pavilion. The palace maids she commands number as many as six. The palace’s imperial physicians take your mother’s pulse every three days. So her staying in the palace to await childbirth absolutely won’t have any problems.”
“All the subjects of our Great Tang actually have a very good wish—they hope the imperial family’s succession of the great lineage can go three generations without any problems. This way the Great Tang will at least obtain a hundred stable years. This is extremely rare. As long as inheriting the great succession doesn’t create chaos, with our Great Tang’s might, no one will be our match. The common people will naturally peacefully enjoy a hundred years of tranquility.”
“Now it’s gone—precisely because of your reckless actions, there’s no hundred years. In this matter, you fully exposed your own ignorance and weakness, even stupidity.”
“You didn’t listen to Yun Shou and Li Yifu’s correct opinions. Instead, you took risks, staking everything on doing this thing. If you had only submitted a memorial, it wouldn’t be too serious. Prime Minister Fang would help you cover up this matter. Your memorial certainly wouldn’t be sent to your Imperial Grandfather’s hands—it would only be rejected and finally sent to the furnace to be burned.”
“But you didn’t leave yourself half a bit of retreat. You directly wore white cap and mourned at the palace. Fortunately, your grandfather discovered you simply wanted to save your mother with no other intentions, and the person who gave you this idea happened to be Cheng Dayong, so he let this matter lightly pass. Seeing that you lost even your position as heir apparent, pitying your foolishness, only then did he release your mother ahead of time and moreover enfeoff you as Prince Hengshan as compensation. Child, your status as heir apparent is gone. For your mother, the price you paid was too great!”
Li Xiang was biting into a pear. In his brain, it was like ten thousand gongs and drums were sounding. The enormous sound just kept echoing in his mind. Father’s one sentence “heir apparent is gone” instantly threw Li Xiang into a bottomless abyss.
He turned his head with difficulty, looked at his sorrowful father, and asked in a daze: “Father, did I truly do this matter wrong?”
“Wrong, wrong, my child. Even if mother had died in the Cold Palace, you shouldn’t have done this.” Lady Su could no longer endure the grief in her heart. She rushed out from behind the curtain, embraced Li Xiang, and wept uncontrollably.
Li Xiang woodenly bit the pear. Tears gushed out like spring water. He ate the entire pear, even the core. He still woodenly bit at the air, opening and closing his mouth.
Becoming an emperor was a dream Li Xiang had been having since childhood. He painstakingly studied poetry and books, diligently practiced martial arts, was well-versed in military texts, perused records of successive dynasties through the ages, forcibly endured pain to accept the torture of abnormal imperial family etiquette. Now, everything had become empty.
His heart hurt like it was tearing apart, yet there was also an unprecedented feeling of relaxation. Under his ribs, he almost grew wind, wanting to soar into the air.
Reviewing the causes and consequences, Li Xiang asked his father through tears: “Does this mean your child did this matter extremely stupidly this time? I got correct opinions and wrong opinions exactly reversed?”
Li Chengqian nodded. At this time, he couldn’t have any more concealment toward Li Xiang. A man’s growth sometimes requires pain as nourishment. Once you endure through it, a smooth path will appear before you.