Wei Shubin wasn’t the only one harboring similar thoughts. After Zheng Guanyin left the hall, Wei Shubin heard Li Yuangui’s voice from behind the large screen:
“Ying’niang, among the five daughters of the Retired Prince living in this temple, I remember one was born to Consort Zheng?”
“Yes,” Chai Yingluo replied, “Consort Zheng—First Aunt bore two sons and one daughter during the Wude years. The daughter ranks fifth, is ten years old this year, and currently lives with her in the main quarters of the west wing. Alas, if it weren’t for this flesh and blood, I’m afraid she would have already…”
Only ten years old… she seemed too young. And being the youngest in rank. Even if the First Lady died tragically, if the Chai family were to arrange another marriage, surely it wouldn’t be the Fifth Young Lady’s turn?
But perhaps not. The First Lady was not yet ten when she was betrothed to Chai Zhewei. Moreover, being the legitimate daughter of a Prince’s Consort meant a different status. If the Chai family valued this, they might indeed skip over the three elder sisters and directly designate the Fifth Lady as Chai Zhewei’s next wife.
Li Yuangui’s voice carried a thoughtful tone:
“Consort Zheng said she was praying in this hall all night. This place isn’t far from the east wing. When the nursemaid went to the west wing to fetch her ceremonial clothes, was there no one else in the hall?”
This suggested that Zheng Guanyin had the opportunity to secretly slip out of the main hall, go to the east wing to kill the First Lady, then sneak back unnoticed and pretend to continue praying as if nothing had happened.
“It seems so,” Chai Yingluo pondered, “but I was also near the entrance of this Buddha hall all night. Though I wasn’t specifically watching First Aunt, the few times I entered to fetch things, I saw her kneeling devoutly before Buddha, reciting sutras. To say she could have slipped out and back unnoticed… while not impossible, I find it hard to believe.”
Besides, Zheng Guanyin’s frail appearance hardly suggested someone capable of strangling a young woman and then effortlessly hanging her by a rope.
The speculation about the former Crown Prince’s wife Consort Zheng paused here. From beyond the side screen came the rustle of silk garments, and a servant announced the arrival of Princess Hailing, Lady Yang.
In her fifteen years of life, Wei Shubin had never seen such a beautiful woman.
No, that wasn’t quite right. She had seen her last night outside the First Lady’s bedroom, but in the darkness and confusion, with the ceremonial phoenix robe obscuring her figure, though Wei Shubin knew she had crossed paths with Princess Yang, she had no impression of her.
But as she gracefully entered behind the screen today, it was as if the entire Buddha hall suddenly brightened.
Princess Yang was also a former royal criminal’s wife, and with a close relative just deceased in their residence, she naturally couldn’t wear heavy makeup. Her attire was almost identical to Zheng Guanyin’s—a simple wooden hairpin securing a low, relaxed bun, no ornamental pins in her hair, no powder on her face, wearing a hemp-cloth jacket and plain white chest-length dress. Her shawl was merely an old piece of satin, wrapped around her arms as she walked gracefully, her eyebrows like spring mountains, her eyes reflecting rosy clouds, her fair skin radiating throughout the room.
Though she had also spent nine years confined in this imperial garden temple, and displayed the same polite humility and gentle manner, where Consort Zheng inspired sympathy while remaining somewhat difficult to read, Princess Yang was… well, at least Wei Shubin had maintained a slack-jawed, transfixed expression since her appearance, momentarily forgetting she was supposed to be hiding.
What an incomparably beautiful woman who could topple kingdoms.
Wei Shubin didn’t consider herself an unsophisticated country girl. Born and raised in the capital Chang’an, she had accompanied her mother to noble households in recent years, especially after joining the women’s society at Purple Void Temple. With royal and noble ladies coming and going, and even palace consorts visiting with Empress Changsun, she had seen many beautiful women. Purple Void Temple’s mistress Chai Yingluo herself could be considered an uncommon beauty. But with Princess Hailing’s appearance, standing beside her, Chai Yingluo seemed reduced to a dirt-faced kitchen maid by comparison… how tragic.
Princess Yang exchanged greetings with Chai Yingluo, then paid her respects through the screen to Minister Wei and Prince of Wu outside. Her voice was smooth and graceful, indescribably sweet and pleasant. Watching her lift her skirts to kneel properly on the bed, drawing her shawl close around her, though her posture was impeccable, every movement carried an inherent honey-like languor and feminine charm that made even Wei Shubin’s heart flutter.
Suddenly she understood why strict old scholars like her father constantly preached about the “separation of men and women,” and realized why that main screen dividing the inner and outer spaces was necessary. She herself was an innocent young girl, yet was so dazzled by this great beauty; if those “stinking men” outside could see Princess Yang’s grace, they’d surely lose their souls and make fools of themselves… ahem.
Remembering that one of those “stinking men” outside was her father, Wei Shubin felt she’d gone too far and straightened up, coming to her senses somewhat. Chai Yingluo called out “Fourth Aunt” and began asking questions politely.
Yes, what the Venerable Master said was true. Though the First Lady was the former Crown Prince’s daughter, she wasn’t born to Consort Zheng. There were no particular obstacles in the east wing, and comparatively, the First Lady spoke more freely with her Fourth Aunt, the two being closer.
A suicide note? No, she knew nothing about this. First Lady left a suicide note? Oh, why would that child think of such a thing… No, no, there were no signs at all. The First Lady wasn’t lively or mischievous, but she was always very calm. No one bullied her; being the eldest of eleven sisters, she was quite accommodating. Ah, poor young lady, why would she think of ending her life…
Yesterday’s events? Venerable Master, weren’t you there the whole time? Oh, you want Minister Wei and the Prince of Wu to know… Yesterday morning, when this courtyard learned of the Empress’s impending visit…
Princess Yang appeared more cooperative than Consort Zheng, at least with her animated expressions, furrowing her brows and smiling with graceful charm. Unfortunately, after listening to her speak for some time, she knew no more than Consort Zheng. She continued until mentioning how the Empress had asked both princesses to change into phoenix robes before her departure to make the wedding more ceremonious. She had returned to her quarters in the east wing to dress, and after finishing her preparations, night had fallen. She led her maid out of the wing towards the main hall, and passing by the east wing room’s entrance, noticed the room was completely dark and silent, with no one inside or outside the door. Finding this strange, she called out “First Lady” from outside the window…
“She still didn’t answer me, there wasn’t a sound from the room,” Princess Yang raised her shawl to cover her mouth, growing nervous, “I called out twice more, feeling something was wrong, and asked my maid to push open the door and look inside. At this time, the First Lady’s nursemaid also hurried over, saying the First Sister-in-law had sent her to check on the First Lady’s preparations, as the groom was outside urging them to hurry. The two of them pushed open the door together, knocked on the warming room door, and when there was still no response, they pushed open the warming room door to look inside…”
That’s when they saw the young woman in her wedding dress, swaying gently, hanging from the ceiling beam.
“Both of them were terrified, calling out non-stop. I went in to look too, and was so shocked I could barely move, leaning against the wall. Their cries brought many people, and after that… well, you all know what happened.”
Having finished speaking with evident exhaustion, Princess Yang’s fair cheeks flushed pink, and she covered her mouth with her shawl again, as if still not recovered from the shock. Though she had become Princess Qi Li Yuanji’s primary wife in the early Wude years and must be over thirty—old enough to be Wei Shubin’s mother—her unconsciously displayed girlish manner made Wei Shubin want to pat her head and neck in comfort.
“So, Fourth Aunt, you were among the first to discover First Lady’s passing,” Chai Yingluo pondered, “When you came out from the east wing gate and passed by the east wing room, did you notice anything unusual? Or anyone behaving strangely?”
Before answering this question, Princess Yang noticeably hesitated, but still shook her head: “No.”
“Really nothing?”
“No.” Her voice was gentle but firm.
This wasn’t right. Hidden behind the screen, Wei Shubin recalled what she had witnessed last night. When Princess Yang came out of the east wing gate with her maid, the two were discussing something unusual they had seen. She remembered the maid saying she saw something big, while Princess Yang firmly denied it and even threatened to kill the maid… Then, as if to change the subject, the two women turned toward the east wing room to check on the First Lady.
At the time, Wei Shubin was in the darkness, and Princess Yang and her maid were carrying lanterns. They might not have seen her from that distance and assumed no one knew about this, unaware that Wei Shubin was a witness… But it was useless now. With her father sitting in the hall, even with eight times the courage, she wouldn’t dare go out to prove Princess Yang was lying.
The men behind the screen asked several more times, but Princess Yang just shook her beautiful head. Given her status as a commandery princess, her position was special, and they couldn’t press too hard. Finally, they let her leave with a graceful bow.
“Ying’niang,” after the beautiful woman’s figure disappeared, Li Yuangui spoke, “Fourth Sister-in-law seemed hesitant. I suspect she saw something but won’t say.”
“There’s nothing we can do. She has the status of a commandery princess; we can’t torture her for information,” Chai Yingluo replied helplessly.
Wei Shubin thought for a moment, then poked her head out between the screen’s curtains, facing Chai Yingluo, and pressed a finger to her lips, signaling for silence.
Her hiding place wasn’t far from the screen. The Taoist priestess saw her head immediately, startled, frowning and opening her mouth without making a sound, silently saying “Why are you still here?” Wei Shubin also opened her mouth without sound, exaggerating her lip movements:
“Question her maid.”
After several repetitions, Chai Yingluo finally understood. Behind the screen, Wei Zheng was saying: “About Princess Yang, we can wait. I heard the nursemaid of County Lady Linfen has been detained. That woman must know many hidden details…”
“Minister Wei, please wait,” Chai Yingluo interrupted timely, “Though Princess Yang won’t speak of what she saw, she might not be the only one who witnessed something unusual. She had a maid with her—why don’t we call that maid first, ask about this matter, then question the nursemaid.”
Princess Yang’s maid was named Aluo. Though pretty, she had a somewhat dazed appearance.
Kneeling in the middle of the screen, taking a deep breath, her voice already carrying tears:
“This servant didn’t see anything… please spare Aluo, Venerable Master.”
Hey, no one had even told you why you were called here.
Wei Shubin looked at Chai Yingluo, seeing the Taoist priestess, who had somehow become the chief interrogator, wearing an expression caught between crying and laughing. Well, this saved a lot of unnecessary talk. Chai Yingluo went straight to the point:
“Last night, after helping Princess Yang dress in the phoenix robe, on your way from the wing to the east room, who exactly did you see? If you don’t tell us, you needn’t go back—you’ll come with us right now.”
“Go… where?” the maid asked, terrified.
The Taoist priestess smiled without answering, her smile as beautiful as a flower, making even Wei Shubin shudder.
“My lady have mercy… Master have mercy…” The maid naturally understood better, pressing both hands to the ground, truly crying now, “The mistress gave strict orders, said last night, anyone who dares speak nonsense will be beaten to death… This servant saw nothing…”
“Oh, afraid of death,” Chai Yingluo continued smiling, raising her hand to point at the large screen, “Do you know who’s outside? Minister Wei, the Imperial Censor who’s come by imperial decree to personally investigate this case—the incarnation of the Celestial Authority Star. Minister Wei carries the Emperor’s mandate, authorized to execute first and report later. Taking your lowly life wouldn’t make him blink an eye—he’d kill and bury you on the spot. Come—”
The servants inside and outside the screen responded in unison. Aluo screamed, prostrating herself and trembling:
“Master have mercy! I’ll tell you! I’ll tell you… This servant… didn’t see clearly, that… that wasn’t a living person…”
Not… a living person?
“A dead person? There was another dead person outside the east wing?” Chai Yingluo asked with furrowed brows, “Or did you… see a ghost?”
Among Aluo’s reluctant sobs, Wei Shubin heard someone behind the screen exhale deeply—not her father’s voice.
“Don’t know what it was… must have been my eyes playing tricks… just a shadow, disappeared in an instant…”
“A shadow? What kind of shadow?—Don’t try to fool me, something that scared you this badly, you must have recognized whose shadow it was!”
The maid raised her head, her face full of tears and mucus showing despair:
“This servant must have seen wrong… that figure… was tall… and strong…”
“Tall and strong?” Chai Yingluo pondered briefly, her expression becoming somewhat strange, “Did you think you saw the ghost of your former master Prince Qi—Prince Hailing?”
Aluo cried, prostrating herself and kowtowing, refusing to speak further.
This maid wasn’t young, probably having served Princess Yang since the Wude years. Wei Shubin suddenly remembered this Ganye Temple was originally Prince Qi’s residence. Perhaps Aluo was used to seeing her former master moving about the courtyard, and she vaguely recalled hearing someone say that the original Prince Qi Li Yuanji was skilled with the horse lance, tall and strong with the strength of ten men…
Tall and strong…
Chai Yingluo sighed, dismissing Aluo. The maid was crying so hard her whole body had gone limp, clearly truly frightened. They had to call someone to help her away.
“Xinzhi… the one prowling around the east side of the Buddha hall last night was you, wasn’t it?”
Chai Yingluo asked with a sigh. The strong voice behind the screen responded:
“Huh? Was it… I climbed over the wall to receive the bride. Young Master Chai ordered me to hide outside the east wing—if he absolutely couldn’t get through the courtyard gate, I was to break into the east wing room and snatch the bride, drawing people away from the gate. I… didn’t snatch anyone.”
That’s not the point… it’s that your tall, strong figure scared all the women.
“Xinzhi,” Li Yuangui suddenly asked from behind the screen, “If I remember correctly, Princess Hailing Yang is your cousin, right?”
“Yes. Lady Yang and I share the same grandfather; her late father was my Fifth Uncle. Her circumstances were pitiful, orphaned young, raised and married off by my father.”
At Purple Void Temple, Wei Shubin had once caught wind that the former Prince Qi was violent and lustful. After the founding of the Great Tang, when taking a consort, he specifically demanded to marry the then-famous “First Beauty of Chang’an’s Noble Houses”—today’s Princess Yang—truly living up to her reputation.
Right, at that time there was also discussion about how the Yang family—specifically the family of Yang Xiong, Prince of Guan from the former Sui dynasty—must have made offerings to some deity or Buddha, as the men and women born to these two generations were all beautiful and handsome. Former Princess Qi Yang was stunningly beautiful, and her young uncle Yang Shidao was a tall, graceful gentleman of this turbid world, so much so that the Supreme Emperor forgot propriety at first sight, first making him a personal guard, then marrying his daughter to him as imperial son-in-law. Yang Shidao’s son Yang Xinzhi also grew up strong and likable, always hovering around his lord Prince Wu, making that skinny monkey Li Yuangui look quite inferior in comparison…
While Wei Shubin was lost in these thoughts, footsteps sounded again from beyond the side screen. This time, the woman who came had her arms bound behind her back, her hair and clothes disheveled and miserable, supported and pushed in by two maids. She knelt directly on the ground—it was First Lady’s lifelong nursemaid, He Ba Shi, who had swallowed the important evidence of the jade ring.
The atmosphere in the hall immediately became tense and serious.
Vol 1 – Chapter 14 Notes:
Li Yuanji was skilled in martial arts and proficient with the horse lance, as recorded in both Tang histories in Yu-Chi Jingde’s biography. In literary notes and stories, he was also tagged as having “the strength of ten men,” hence the characterization of him as a tall and strong man.
As for his primary wife Lady Yang, there are no records about her appearance in official historical materials. However, her background is documented – in the Old Tang History, Yang Gongren’s biography, states: “Gongren’s younger brother Shidao married Princess Guiyang, and his nephew’s daughter became the consort of Prince Chaola (Li Yuanji). His brother’s son Sijing married Princess Anping. Through these multiple marriage ties to the imperial family, they gained increasing prominence and respect.” This branch of the authentic Hongnong Yang family might truly have possessed genes for beauty – besides Yang Shidao and Lady Yang mentioned in this book, Yang Shidao also had a female cousin who married into the Wu family and gave birth to Wu Zetian…