Xie Yuzhang had long known that she and Li Zhenzhen would eventually have to discuss this matter.
After all, for Li Zhenzhen, what could be more convenient than manipulating and controlling a woman like her — one who possessed beauty but lacked a paternal clan for support? Li Zhenzhen might even hope that she could bear Li Gu a son, since she herself was destined to have no chance of giving Li Gu a son, unless Li Gu someday had a change of heart and stopped treating her as a sister, willing to be a true husband and wife with her.
But Hexi had long been firmly gripped in Li Gu’s hands. The day Li Gu stopped treating her as a sister would also be the day she lost his protection.
Since Li Zhenzhen coveted the position of Empress, she urgently needed a good and serviceable blade. And Xie Yuzhang, who had returned to Yunjing only a few months after the birth of the Emperor’s second son, was precisely the kind of excellent blade that had fallen from the heavens.
Whatever one desires, it comes. Li Zhenzhen thus deeply believed herself to be a person blessed by the favor of Heaven itself.
Yet Xie Yuzhang straightened her back and said, “Yongning is grateful for Your Highness’s kind intentions. However, Your Highness may not know — anyone can enter the palace, but Yongning alone absolutely cannot!”
“Yongning will not be ashamed to say it plainly: I do believe I am more favored in appearance than most. But His Majesty led the Imperial Army northward, achieving glorious feats, and even brought back this former Princess of Zhao. Could that possibly be for the sake of a woman’s beauty?”
“Of course not! His Majesty possesses the bearing of a dragon and the grace of a phoenix — he is destined to reign over all under Heaven.”
“If His Majesty wished to take me into the palace, it would be a matter of a single word. Yet His Majesty had me made a princess of Da Mu — why? Precisely because in His Majesty’s eyes, I am not merely a woman of some beauty. I am the symbol of the Central Plains’ weakness and capitulation to the foreign tribes of the borderlands during the era of the Former Zhao. I am the humiliation of Central Plains men.”
“His Majesty brought me back, stripped away my identity as a Princess of Zhao, and made me a Princess of Da Mu — erasing that humiliation. He let all under Heaven know that the new dynasty is nothing like the former one. With strong soldiers and mighty arms, with valiant hearts and unyielding spirit, it shall end war through war, end slaughter through slaughter, and open an age of peace and prosperity for the people.”
“Your Highness, although I am no more than an ordinary woman, upon my person rests His Majesty’s resolve. These past two days, when I went to the markets — in the eastern market and the western market alike — the people saw me and broke into smiles. They said: seeing that even I had returned made them know Da Mu is strong, that the Son of Heaven is courageous and decisive, a true worthy ruler.”
“Yet Your Highness — if I were to covet the shelter of His Majesty and Your Highness, to covet the wealth and splendor of the palace and serve him through my appearance, what would others think of His Majesty?”
“The people of Yunjing might not dare say anything, but those across the southern riverbank would surely mock His Majesty for being entranced by a woman’s beauty, defame me as a ruinous temptress, dismiss His Majesty’s great ambitions and vast magnanimity, and say that the northward campaign — a heavy burden on the people — was undertaken for nothing but a woman.”
“Your Highness, if not for His Majesty, this body of Yongning’s would have turned to a handful of yellow earth, left forever beyond the border, a wandering ghost with no home. There is no way Yongning could allow His Majesty to be so misunderstood by the world.”
“Your Highness, I am now the Princess Yongning of Da Mu. From the day I received that title, I made up my mind: in this lifetime, I will live well and with dignity under this identity. I intend to live brilliantly, so that all may see how well I live. Only in this way will people know that His Majesty is not only resolute and courageous in wielding armies across the northern frontier, but also benevolent at heart and generous in spirit.”
“As for the matter of serving him through my appearance and harming His Majesty’s reputation — Your Highness, please never bring this up again. Yongning is deeply indebted to His Majesty’s grace and is the first who cannot agree to such a thing!”
……
……
“Oh, Yongning.” Li Weifeng called out in greeting.
Xie Yuzhang encountered Li Gu and Li Weifeng halfway back from the palace. It seemed they truly had been busy today — it was already noon before the two of them appeared.
Xie Yuzhang curtseyed: “Your Majesty. Seventh Elder Brother.”
The skill Xie Yuzhang had honed at Ashina Silifou’s side was that of seizing every advantage that presented itself. Once she began calling him “Seventh Elder Brother,” she never changed it.
Marquis Bei Rong, Li Weifeng, was born of the direct line of Hexi, an adopted elder brother of the Emperor, and one of the five marquises who founded the dynasty. His own military achievements were formidable, and the Emperor’s favor toward him was unmatched. Those who wished to align themselves with him were not limited to Li Zhenzhen alone.
Yet Xie Yuzhang still had to consider Xie Baozhu, carefully calibrating the exact measure of her approach. Fortunately, calibration was precisely her greatest skill.
Li Gu glanced at her and said, “Why are you in such a good mood today?”
Both men could feel Xie Yuzhang’s high spirits, for when a person’s mood truly soars, their very face seems to shine with it. Xie Yuzhang’s lotus-flower face radiated brilliance in the spring light, her eyes carrying a bright, warm smile at their corners.
In truth, Li Zhenzhen had not fully understood why she liked Xie Yuzhang — it was not only because Xie Yuzhang spoke so pleasingly. It was also because, though Xie Yuzhang was the princess of a fallen dynasty, she bore not the slightest trace of self-pity or sorrow. Her vitality was exuberant and tenacious, like a young tree growing vigorously toward the morning sun.
Such vitality would naturally bring comfort to others and kindle in them a sense of longing. All the more so for someone like Li Zhenzhen — draped in jewels and silk, yet with a life force that had long withered away.
Xie Yuzhang raised her face slightly, smiling brilliantly in the spring light. “Because the day after tomorrow is the Shangsi Festival! The new clothes have already been cut, the menu has been drawn up — I can hardly wait for tomorrow to pass so it will arrive.”
Her mood was so infectious that both men could not help but smile.
Yet Xie Yuzhang still noticed that their expressions were not as relaxed as usual. Even Li Weifeng, who was the most carefree among them, seemed to have little spirit for teasing her.
Calculating the days, today should be when a war report arrived. Xie Yuzhang asked, “Your Majesty, is the northern frontier proceeding smoothly?”
Li Weifeng said, “Ashide Hunli is dead.”
He was Zadayal’s elder brother. Since her father was old and ill and could no longer fight, Ashide Hunli had been the reigning Khan of the Yamier tribe.
Xie Yuzhang’s gaze grew intent. “Who succeeds him as Khan of the Yamier tribe?”
Li Weifeng said, “It’s Ashina Wuwei’s son — Ashina Dielitele.”
Xie Yuzhang froze. After a pause, she asked, “How did Hunli die?”
Li Gu said, “He died in battle, but Ashina Dielitele killed the enemy general who did it, avenging his maternal uncle. His maternal grandfather supports him in inheriting the tribal khanship.”
The steppe peoples’ understanding of bloodlines differed from that of the Central Plains. Some smaller tribes did not even marry their women off, but rather let them take seed from passing men to bear children. These were realities shaped by the harsh natural conditions and population ecology of the steppe.
Though women were regarded as men’s property — with no right of inheritance and responsible only for bearing children — the bloodline of the children they bore was recognized.
Moreover, the Ashina and Ashide clans had intermarried with each other for generations, and their bloodlines had long become extremely close.
Xie Yuzhang said, “Ashide Jiujiu has been old and ill for a long while — his words no longer carry much weight. What of the Great Shaman? Has Ashina Abahakuna Shed expressed a position?”
“You really do know your details,” Li Weifeng praised. “That’s right, the old man supports Wuwei’s son.”
So Aabaha had acknowledged Dielitele?
Xie Yuzhang thought of that wolf-like young man — of the killing intent in his eyes and the hand gripping his blade. She felt herself transported back to that moment: death reaching out its hand, seizing her by the throat just as she was about to return to Yunjing, playing a monstrous jest upon her.
In the spring sunlight, Xie Yuzhang felt a chill rise within her.
Both Li Gu and Li Weifeng watched as Xie Yuzhang’s face turned pale before their eyes. There was fear in her eyes.
The spring light was bright. Standing before her, they clearly saw the fine beads of moisture forming at the tip of her nose — cold sweat.
Both men were stunned.
Li Gu frowned: “Yongning?”
Li Weifeng also asked, “Are you all right?”
Xie Yuzhang recognized the two men standing before her, recognized where she was, and exhaled a long breath. “I’m fine. It’s just that…”
In her previous life, Wuwei had not died. Later, Jiang Jingye had crippled the tribes one by one. After Silifou’s death, on the steppe, only the Khan of Chuluo had been a true rival to the Central Plains. But now everything was different — Xie Yuzhang and Zadayal had taken the lead, persuading Aabaha to lend his support, causing the five tribes to submit earlier than they would have. This had inadvertently given Dielitele the opportunity to preserve his strength.
Yet at that time, Xie Yuzhang had been consumed with one single desire: to return to the Central Plains. She had given no thought to the floods that might come once she was gone.
She raised her head. “Dielitele has every bit of his grandfather’s manner, a hundred times stronger than his father. If he merges the two tribes into one, his power will grow greatly. Your Majesty must not underestimate him. It would be wise to increase support for Tujitang, to prevent Dielitele from growing too powerful. If he does rise, the Chuluo Khan can also be left in place as a counterweight. The steppe tribes must never again be united into one nation — the more fragmented and chaotic, the better.”
During her time in Mobei, she and Lin Fei had spent their days studying these very matters together, freely expressing their views and debating each point. Out of sheer habit, she had spoken aloud everything that was in her heart.
When she finished, both men said nothing — only looked at her.
Xie Yuzhang then suddenly came to her senses and realized that today was entirely different from before. She hurriedly curtseyed. “Yongning has overstepped. Your Majesty, please pay it no mind — treat it as idle talk.”
But Li Gu said, “What you said is correct.”
Li Weifeng also said, “It matches what we ourselves were thinking.”
It was simply that they were not accustomed to a young woman troubling herself over the same matters as they did. It felt somewhat odd.
Xie Yuzhang decided she had been overthinking. The men before her were the supreme ruler of all under Heaven and a battle-hardened general. She had already returned to Yunjing — why was she still worrying about such things? These were Li Gu’s affairs to fret over.
Xie Yuzhang moved to take her leave.
But Li Gu asked, “Yongning, what is it you fear?”
Xie Yuzhang was mildly startled.
Li Weifeng crossed his arms. “Your face went completely white just now.”
Had she truly lost her composure so visibly? Xie Yuzhang felt a flush of embarrassment. But confronting her own fear was, in the end, not a comfortable thing.
Xie Yuzhang lowered her head. After a moment, she raised it again. “I fear Dielitele.”
Li Gu’s gaze sharpened.
Xie Yuzhang said, “On the last day before my departure back to the Central Plains, Dielitele came to see me. He had already discovered what I had done — all of it.”
She put particular weight on “all of it.” Li Weifeng did not catch the significance, but Li Gu understood in his heart: within that “all” was also the matter of Xie Yuzhang killing Wuwei.
Even though he knew clearly that Xie Yuzhang was unharmed, standing safely before him at this very moment, Li Gu’s heart still clenched.
“What? You were all right, though?” Li Weifeng asked in surprise.
The feeling of that time came flooding back to her body. Little by little, Xie Yuzhang lost all expression from her face.
“I had been careless — I should never have dismissed the attendants. In truth, there were many people just outside the tent; the guards were stationed right at the entrance. But inside the tent, there were only the two of us.” She said, “He spoke to me with his hand on his blade. My mind was far too clear then — frozen, as though encased in ice — knowing that if I said a single wrong word, everything I had worked for might crumble, and I might never see Yunjing’s city walls again.”
“Fortunately, not a single word was wrong. Ah, I do want to credit myself — that time, I truly, truly came within a hairsbreadth of death.”
“When he finally let go of his blade, my knees had gone weak, but I dared not let him see, and forced myself to hold steady. The moment he walked out of the tent, I ran.”
“On the journey back, I had nightmares for several nights — dreaming I had said the wrong thing, that Dielitele had drawn his blade and severed my head. Only when I crossed into Hexi territory and saw the clothing and manner of the Central Plains did the nightmares stop.”
Neither Li Gu nor Li Weifeng could find words.
Xie Yuzhang had always been a woman with expressive, lively eyes and a vivid, animated face.
These two men had dealt with her more than anyone. They had seen her laugh, seen her weep, seen her gentle and seen her pout. They both knew well that she had a silver tongue, that what she said was half truth and half artifice, and that even her tears were more often than not a display of vulnerability to earn sympathy.
But at this moment, Xie Yuzhang’s face held no expression at all — like a mask carved from jade, false and still.
How deep must the fear have been, to have frightened her into such a state?
What kind of life had she lived on the steppe?