The high platform was in disarray. The Junior Supervisor of the Secretariat had deliberately frightened the noble ladies and palace women with talk of marriage alliances, causing no small panic among the assembled court ladies.

Only when raucous laughter erupted from below, announcing that Li De had bestowed the title of Princess Wenzhao upon the Seventh Princess for her marriage to the Yelu tribe, did they finally breathe sighs of relief?

Just as they were recovering, a group of Imperial Guards suddenly rushed up to the second floor and seized Noble Consort Rong, who had been whispering with her palace maids.

Several eunuchs came forward, requesting the officials’ wives to withdraw.

The officials’ wives were eager to leave this place of controversy, quickly rising and soon moving to another pavilion through the flying galleries.

Only the imperial consorts, princes’ wives, and Li family women remained on the cooling platform.

Noble Consort Rong flew into a rage, berating them harshly.

The consorts exchanged glances, while Crown Princess Zheng Biyu frowned and stood up.

The Imperial Guards bowed to everyone, saying: “By imperial decree, Noble Consort Rong harbored evil thoughts and plotted to poison Noble Consort Xie. The evidence is irrefutable, and we are ordered to arrest and punish her.”

Everyone burst into exclamation.

At this moment, footsteps sounded on the stairs as Princess Wenzhao Li Yao Ying, surrounded by her escort, ascended the high platform and walked step by step to Noble Consort Rong’s face.

Everyone watched her anxiously.

Yao Ying looked down at Noble Consort Rong without speaking.

Noble Consort Rong struggled, shouting: “You’re framing me! I didn’t poison the Xie woman! I demand to see His Majesty!”

A eunuch called out sharply: “His Majesty has elevated Noble Consort Xie to Empress. You must address her as Her Majesty the Empress.”

Noble Consort Rong’s face turned ashen.

Yao Ying said coldly: “I know you won’t confess.”

She glanced at the Imperial Guards.

Two guards bowed and went down the platform, soon returning dragging two middle-aged women up to the cooling platform.

The women fell to their knees before Noble Consort Rong, trembling like sieves.

One cried out: “I am a hereditary servant of the Li family. Over ten years ago, I knew Noble Consort Rong when she was of low status, and she often privately resented the Xie family. Fifteen years ago, after the previous Empress passed away, Noble Consort Xie… no, Her Majesty the Empress fell ill with melancholy and often took medicine. Noble Consort Rong pretended to care for Her Majesty, secretly giving her Brahmin medicine behind the Crown Prince’s back. When I discovered this, Noble Consort Rong deceived me, saying the Brahmin medicine had calming effects and wasn’t harmful. I feared being silenced permanently, so I dared not speak up. Seeing no signs of poisoning in Her Majesty, I believed it was true and didn’t report Noble Consort Rong.”

After she finished crying her testimony, the other woman continued shakily: “I was Noble Consort Rong’s maid. The Brahmin medicine she used to poison Her Majesty was bought by me from foreigners. The medicine indeed had calming effects, but it was extremely damaging and couldn’t be used often… Her Majesty took this medicine daily, and within months became confused and deranged, later not even recognizing the Prince of Qin… I felt uneasy and urged Noble Consort Rong to stop, but she always said it would be better when all the Xie family was dead, then no one would mock her slave origins…”

The consorts recognized the two women as Noble Consort Rong’s palace maids and frowned, looking at Noble Consort Rong with disgust and contempt.

Noble Consort Rong’s face turned purple: “Nonsense! Vicious slander!”

Yao Ying ignored her, turning to the assembled consorts with clear eyes: “Noble Consort Rong poisoned my mother. We have both witnesses and evidence. As a daughter, how could I sit by while such a person poisoned my mother?”

Before the assembled consorts could distance themselves, she called over the female official in charge of palace affairs.

“What is the prescribed punishment by law?”

The female official’s voice rang out: “Noble Consort Rong, being a servant-turned-consort who poisoned her former mistress and mother, acted with vicious malice and lost all conscience. By law, her hand should first be cut off, then she should be thrown into the prison for punishment.”

As soon as she finished speaking, the Imperial Guards drew their swords. A flash of cold steel and blood spurted forth.

Screams immediately erupted.

Noble Consort Rong’s eyes bulged, her face showing disbelief and confusion. After a moment’s shock, she realized the pain and let out heart-rending screams before being dragged away by the Imperial Guards.

A long trail of blood stretched across the floor.

The noble consorts stared at the bloody hand that had fallen onto the carpet at the end of the blood trail, their faces pale as they collapsed weakly onto their seats.

The Seventh Princess had ordered Noble Consort Rong’s hand cut off!

Yao Ying stood before everyone, looking around. Noble Consort Rong’s blood had splattered all over her, droplets trickling down her twelve-panel pomegranate red dress scattered with gold.

She had once feared blood most, but now she couldn’t show the slightest hesitation or weakness.

“The Empress is often ill and cannot manage palace affairs. The palace is damp, so the Empress will move to a temple in the detached palace to recuperate,” Yao Ying’s gaze swept across the faces of the assembled consorts, finally resting on Noble Consort Xue. “I have already informed His Majesty that the Phoenix Seal will temporarily be managed by Noble Consort Xue. Henceforth, the affairs of the six palaces will trouble Noble Consort Xue to oversee.”

Noble Consort Xue looked surprised.

The other consorts were equally shocked, then reacted with jealous anger: if Empress Xie couldn’t manage affairs and moved out of Taiji Palace, with the Phoenix Seal given to Noble Consort Xue, wouldn’t Noble Consort Xue essentially become a deputy empress with real power?

Noble Consort Xue also realized this, her trembling face unable to hide her joy.

Yao Ying turned to leave.

She had already sent Xie Manyu to the temple in the detached palace. The environment there was peaceful, far from controversy, and the guards and servants were all loyal retainers of the Xie family from Jingnan. Xie Manyu would be safe there.

She had also carefully chosen the deputy empress.

Noble Consort Xue was the daughter of Li De’s subordinate. Before marrying Li De, she had been married twice and had a son and daughter. Among the imperial consorts, only she could never become empress.

She was kind-hearted, fair in handling matters, and clever. Knowing she could never be elevated to empress, she would need to use Xie Manyu’s position as empress to intimidate other consorts, so she naturally wouldn’t dare mistreat Xie Manyu. She was the most suitable choice for deputy empress.

This was also what Li De wanted to see. He had always been wary of consorts from noble families, and he would be more at ease with Noble Consort Xue, who had no family backing, managing the rear palace.

The banquet below continued in harmony, filled with laughter and clinking wine cups.

Yao Ying gathered her skirts and withdrew from the great hall through the corridor behind the pillars when she suddenly felt a knife-sharp gaze sweep over her. Her heart jumped as she glanced back with her peripheral vision.

Their eyes met directly.

It was a foreign man with braided hair falling over his shoulders, wearing a round-necked brocade robe with clustered flowers. He had a high nose, deep-set eyes, broad shoulders, and a strong build. He casually drank wine while studying her intently.

Like examining prey.

In the candlelight, his deep-set eyes seemed to gleam with a faint golden color.

Yao Ying immediately withdrew her gaze and quickened her steps out of the great hall, an uneasy feeling churning in her heart.

Xie Qing followed behind her, saying: “That man is Chief Yelu’s son.”

Yao Ying closed her eyes briefly, her palms cold.

Chief Yelu was elderly, but his sons were in their prime.

She hurried down the long steps when suddenly a figure darted out from the side, and a rough large hand reached out to grasp hers tightly.

Yao Ying raised her head.

Li Xuanzhen gripped her hand, grinding his teeth: “Where is Yun’er?”

Moonlight poured down, enveloping Yao Ying’s upturned beautiful face.

Li Xuanzhen glared at her, suddenly startled.

Yao Ying’s expression was calm, her eyes black as deep pools in the moonlight, her jade-like face scattered with several drops of bright red blood.

The blood stains were vivid, making her skin appear even more snow-white.

Like a flower blooming fiercely in swirling mist, its graceful form unfurling in the haze.

Pure.

Radiant.

With a touch of bewitching beauty.

Li Xuanzhen’s fingers trembled.

Yao Ying said coldly: “The Crown Prince should ask His Majesty. I’m not the one who took Zhu Lvyun.”

Li Xuanzhen looked down at her, his phoenix eyes slanting upward, his gaze gloomy: “Little Seven calculates well, making deals with me first, then with His Majesty afterward.”

Yao Ying smiled slightly: “Elder Brother, barbarian tribes like the Yelu will never be truly loyal to Wei. Even with a marriage alliance, they could rebel at any time. Since I am replacing Zhu Lvyun in marriage, facing more peril than fortune, of course, I should take the chance to ask His Majesty for some compensation.”

She pulled her hand from Li Xuanzhen’s grasp.

“Our deal was that I would volunteer to marry in her place. Now the imperial decree for marriage has been issued, you’ve gotten what you wanted, and I haven’t broken any promises, have I?”

Yao Ying knew the Eastern Palace wouldn’t dare reveal their deal.

So, she might as well use this transaction to its fullest.

Li Xuanzhen loosened his fingers.

Yao Ying walked past him.

Li Xuanzhen’s voice came from behind: “Little Seven, before you marry Chief Yelu, I won’t let you see Li Zhongqian.”

Yao Ying’s steps faltered as she stood with her back to her elder brother.

“Li Xuanzhen, I knew it would be like this all along.”

When making the deal initially, Wei Ming had hinted that she would only be allowed to send someone to confirm Li Zhongqian was alive, not meet with him in person.

Her last meeting with Brother was when she saw him off to battle. Brother had taken the new saddle she bought him, and waved his golden hammer at her, looking vigorous and heroic.

“Perhaps this is better – meeting would only add to our sorrow.”

Yao Ying smiled slightly and walked away step by step without turning back to plead with Li Xuanzhen.

Footsteps sounded behind her as Li Xuanzhen’s tall figure caught up, again grasping her hand and pulling her around to face him.

He looked at Yao Ying, his eyes darker than the night: “Little Seven, do you regret it?”

Yao Ying gestured to Xie Qing, who was ready to draw his sword, telling him not to come forward. She raised her head to look at Li Xuanzhen: “Your Highness Crown Prince, I have no regrets.”

She paused for a moment, then said softly: “I only regret that when I first met you at Red Cliff, I thought you were a good person who helped the weak and opposed the strong, Brother Changsheng.”

Li Xuanzhen seemed struck by something painful, his expression suddenly turning fierce.

“I told you, don’t call me that!”

Yao Ying laughed softly, slowly prying open Li Xuanzhen’s cold fingers: “Your Highness need not worry, I won’t mention that name again. Six years ago, the Yang Changsheng I knew died.”

She lightly brushed her sleeve and turned to leave.

Li Xuanzhen remained where he stood, his fingers digging deep into his palm.

The Secretariat drafted the edict of investiture overnight. Court officials and the Yelu tribe haggled for days over how many cavalry would be provided and when the marriage would take place. The Yelu tribe quickly compromised, saying they would make concessions as long as the Seventh Princess married into their tribe.

Within days, the imperial marriage decree was officially issued.

The dowry previously prepared for Princess Fukang became Yao Ying’s trousseau. Since Yao Ying was now a legitimate princess and the court wanted to win over the Yelu tribe, Li De decreed the dowry be made even more generous, with Crown Princess Zheng Biyu and Noble Consort Xue in charge of arrangements.

Yao Ying didn’t inquire about the dowry matters, only asking Crown Princess Zheng Biyu to find her some foreign maids who could speak barbarian languages.

“On the grasslands, languages differ, and below the Turkic language there are various tribal languages. Find several foreign maids who speak these languages. Tell them if they’re willing to follow me to the Yelu tribe, they’ll be freed from slave status and become commoners.”

The foreign maids kept in the palace and noble houses were all female slaves, of low status, never able to escape their base status in their lifetime.

Crown Princess Zheng Biyu said: “Since they are slaves, they must simply follow orders. Why bother freeing them from slave status?”

Yao Ying offered no further explanation.

When her maids like Chunru heard she planned to take foreign maids for the marriage alliance, they begged to be taken too: “Why won’t the Princess take us, but instead take those lowly foreign maids?”

Yao Ying sighed.

Because she didn’t know what would happen after she married into the Yelu tribe.

Even as a Great Wei Princess, when the Yelu tribe was absorbed by other tribes, she would be nothing more than war spoils.

If she couldn’t protect her maids, why bring them along on this journey of no return?

The foreign maids had been captured and sold as slaves by foreign merchants. Many of them missed their homeland and wanted to return, but their low status prevented them from being freed. If she had to bring some maids to the Yelu tribe, better to choose foreign maids.

Each would get what they needed.

Chunru and the others wept bitterly.

Yao Ying didn’t soften her heart.

Two days later, Crown Princess Zheng Biyu sent the selected foreign maids to the prince’s mansion. Each was pretty and capable. The two youngest were called Tali and Ayi.

Yao Ying questioned each one, confirming they had volunteered to marry far away to escape slave status and return home. She ordered the secretary to prepare rooms for them.

Before the wedding, Chief Yelu personally led troops into battle, declaring he would present the head of the Ashina clan as a tribute to Great Wei.

The Wei dynasty successfully allied with various barbarian tribes.

With the iron cavalry of the barbarian tribes helping, the Wei army swept forward unstoppably. Within two months they recovered Hui Prefecture and Shan Prefecture, killing twenty thousand traitors and rescuing many captured Han people who had been enslaved. The various barbarian tribes occupying Liang Prefecture fled at the news.

Half a month later, Chief Yelu executed the He clan leader and sent his head to Chang’an, demanding Wei fulfill its promise.

The Ministry of Rites set the wedding date.

Crown Princess Zheng Biyu told Yao Ying that although Chief Yelu was still campaigning, the wedding would proceed as scheduled. Chief Yelu’s son would take her to the Yelu tribe’s camp, and when Chief Yelu returned to his tent, they would complete the wedding according to Yelu tribal customs.

Yao Ying calmly nodded.

She organized all account books and documents to give to the steward.

The silver she had accumulated over the years was partly used to influence court ministers, which was why that night the ministers sympathetic to the Xie family had pressured Li De to agree to adopt Li Zhongqian into the Xie family.

The remainder of Yao Ying was stored in different places for future needs.

As for the fields, houses, and bookshops, loyal servants managed them all.

When Li Zhongqian returned, everything in the Xie family would be in order, not causing him too much worry.

As the wedding date drew near, Yao Ying visited the detached palace.

Fearing it would sadden Xie Manyu, she hadn’t visited recently. Xie Manyu no longer recognized her.

Many ginkgo trees had been planted at the detached palace. It was early autumn, and golden leaves were falling, covering the entire courtyard.

Palace maids and eunuchs accompanied Xie Manyu as she picked up ginkgo leaves under the trees.

Xie Manyu smiled happily, saying: “Second Son, Seven, gather more, Mother will teach you to make ginkgo soup.”

The maids and eunuchs smiled and agreed.

Yao Ying stood in the depths of the winding corridor, watching for a long time before turning to leave the temple.

Returning to the prince’s mansion, the secretary had just returned from the Eastern Capital. Wiping his eyes, he said: “Second Young Master’s wounds are much better, but he still can’t get up.”

The Southern Chu people were skilled with poisons. Li Zhongqian had been too deeply poisoned. After regaining consciousness, his mind was clouded and he couldn’t even sit up.

Wei Ming had placed him in the Eastern Capital. Yao Ying sent Xie’s family guards to watch over him there. After her marriage, when Wei Ming released him, the guards would escort Li Zhongqian back to Jingnan.

Yao Ying asked the secretary: “Does Brother recognize people?”

The secretary’s eyes were red: “Second Young Master drifts between sleep and waking, sometimes sleeping for two or three days at a time. I watched over him for several days, but he didn’t recognize me.”

Yao Ying sat lost in thought for a moment, then said: “When Brother is better, don’t tell him about my marriage far away. He’s wounded now and can’t even leave his bed. If you tell him, how can he recover when he becomes agitated?”

The secretary nodded, “Princess… what about when Second Young Master is well?”

When Li Zhongqian became clear-headed and found Yao Ying never visited him, he would surely grow suspicious.

Yao Ying sat by the window, closing the account book: “Keep it secret as long as possible. Tell Brother he is my only hope, he must get well.”

The secretary nodded, crying.

Before they knew it, the wedding day arrived.

Yao Ying wore precious hairpins and formal clothes, made up beautifully by palace maids. Under the gaze of Li De and the civil and military officials, supported by Xie Qing, she boarded a luxurious carriage decorated with gold leaf and jade discs.

Xie Qing insisted on following Yao Ying to the Yelu tribe.

“My ambition is not to achieve merit and fame, but only to follow the Princess, protect the Princess, follow the Princess to the ends of the earth.”

Yao Ying urged him to stay.

Xie Qing showed an indignant expression for the first time: “Does the Princess look down on my aspirations? A true man dies for one who understands him – am I not worthy to be called loyal and righteous?”

Yao Ying had no choice, knowing that even if she sent him away, he would secretly follow beyond the Jade Gate. She could only nod and let him stay.

The wedding date set by the Imperial Astronomers was a bright, clear autumn day. The sky was pure and the air clear, with cranes soaring to the clouds.

The carriage departed from the palace gates, slowly moving down the long street.

Xie Qing, riding beside the carriage, suddenly knocked on the window: “Princess, look.”

Yao Ying, her head weighed down by pearl and jade ornaments and swaying decorations, had been sitting lost in thought. Hearing the sound, she lifted a corner of the gauze curtain to look out.

She froze.

The long street was lined with people – men and women, old and young, from yellow-haired children to white-haired elders, from richly dressed young nobles to raggedly clothed commoners.

They stood along the street, stretching from the imperial palace to beyond the city gates, a vast sea of people as far as the eye could see.

There were officials and minor clerks of humble birth who had received Yao Ying’s kindness.

There were the young nobles who had once raced horses with Yao Ying.

There were common people she had casually helped time and again.

Some refugees had received food from the Xie family’s soup kitchen during famines.

Some women had escaped slavery thanks to Yao Ying’s help.

They didn’t cheer or dance to the joyous drumbeats. They stood silently, watching the carriage pass, their expressions solemn, tears in their eyes.

Yao Ying’s eyes filled with tears as she waved to the crowd.

More than one person had asked her: Why help strangers?

In this world there were heroes.

There were many ungrateful and vicious people.

But more numerous were ordinary people, who had their selfish thoughts, who could be cowardly and timid, who could be self-serving, but who could also be grateful and help each other – ordinary people.

Yao Ying was also an ordinary person, someone trying to survive in chaotic times. She had fled with refugees, had been saved by strangers in times of danger, had been treated with sincerity, and wanted to treat others with sincerity in return.

So when it was within her power, why not help those in need?

These living, breathing common people standing before her were her answer.

Imperial Guards lined the route, and though the common people couldn’t see clearly inside the carriage, some sharp-eyed ones caught sight of Yao Ying’s gently waving hand.

An old woman cried out: “Seventh Princess, take care!”

A delicate young woman, marrying far away – she must take care!

This cry was like cold water splashing into hot oil, exploding into a huge wave of sound.

“Seventh Princess, take care!”

One by one, people cried out.

One by one, people knelt before the carriage.

Everyone looked at the carriage, repeatedly saying: “Seventh Princess, take care!”

They couldn’t think of other blessings, only praying for the Seventh Princess’s safety.

Qin Fei, General Pei, and others wore armor as they escorted the carriage through the city gates.

The noise, crying, shouting, and calling merged into a flood, surging forward. Just as it began to subside, another tremendous wave rose.

General Pei looked back at the carriage.

Yao Ying never showed her face, only extending one delicate hand to wave gently.

General Pei’s heartstrings trembled as he suddenly recalled the poem Prime Minister Zheng had recited when leading the officials to bid farewell to the Seventh Princess at the palace gates:

“The Great Wei Princess departs in marriage alliance,

Her single body is worth a hundred thousand troops.”