“I wasn’t First Lady—County Lady Linfen’s wet nurse, but her caretaker. Still, I’ve been by her side since she lost her mother at age three, never leaving her all these years…”
Nursemaid He Ba’s eyes were red as peaches, her face exhausted and swollen, her voice hoarse and desperate, but at least she was willing to talk. When Chai Yingluo first asked “Why did you swallow that jade ring,” she insisted firmly: “It was a cursed object used by others to frame and tarnish the County Lady’s reputation. Let it take this lowly servant’s life instead.”
Li Yuangui’s angry snort came from behind the screen. He Ba had swallowed the evidence right in front of him, and this proud young prince hadn’t been able to prevent it—surely a frustrating defeat. But it was clear that the nursemaid truly didn’t care about her own life, which was why she dared to do this. There wasn’t much he could do. Surely they couldn’t kill her and cut open her body to retrieve the evidence?
“First Lady’s reputation doesn’t depend on some ring, but on whether you answer my questions honestly,” Chai Yingluo said coldly. “This case has spread throughout the court and reached imperial ears. Do you think swallowing evidence will make it disappear?”
He Ba straightened her kneeling body somewhat: “Venerable Master, please ask. First Lady and I have nothing to hide, everything can be spoken of openly!”
Wei Shubin had always found this nursemaid’s demeanor slightly striking. Even now, despite her disheveled appearance, she still didn’t show the cowering ignorance of a servant like the maid Aluo earlier. When Chai Yingluo asked what she had been doing last night, when she last saw the First Lady, and if the First Lady had shown any recent unusual behavior, she answered each question in detail, speaking quite eloquently.
Last night after the Empress left, she ordered both princesses to wear phoenix robes to send off the bride. Consort Zheng’s ceremonial headdress and robes hadn’t been used for years, and few servants knew how to properly arrange them, so she had to leave the First Lady to help with the princess’s ceremonial attire first. After finishing with Consort Zheng’s dressing, seeing the east wing still dark and quiet, the lady ordered her to check if the First Lady’s makeup was ready. At the east wing door, she met Princess Yang and her maid…
At this point, He Ba broke down again, prostrating herself and crying too hard to continue. Watching from the side, Wei Shubin also grew melancholy, remembering her mother’s sad yet loving gaze from last night.
The accounts of yesterday afternoon and evening were largely similar for everyone. The Empress came to visit the First Lady, the two spoke privately behind closed doors in the east wing, and the First Lady saw the Empress out—that was the last time anyone saw her alive. In the evening, when the wedding procession was at the gate urging them to hurry with the bride’s preparations and trying to “abduct” the bride, He Ba and Princess Yang with her maid discovered the First Lady hanging in her bedroom.
When asked about the First Lady’s recent unusual behavior, He Ba provided important information:
“She suddenly asked me one day what the Hu Xian Temple was.”
“Hu Xian Temple?” Everyone was startled. Wei Shubin found the term familiar, thinking hard before remembering—wasn’t that the legendary temple where Western merchants gathered to worship fire deities and celebrate?
Chang’an had always had many Western merchants, and she knew most of them followed Zoroastrianism. While riding in carriages through the city, she had seen related buildings and people through windows but had never personally interacted with them. How had the First Lady, a royal princess raised in isolation, first in the Eastern Palace and then from age nine in this restricted temple, heard about the Hu Xian Temple? Why would she be interested in such a thing?
“Had she ever met any Hu people or Hu women in these years?” Chai Yingluo asked curiously. He Ba shook her head: “Never. As you know, Venerable Master, this Ganye Temple… outsiders couldn’t enter. The last batch of outsiders were the craftsmen who came to repair buildings and clean the courtyards after the First Lady’s wedding date was set, but by then both ladies strictly confined the young ladies to their quarters in the wing, not allowing them to go out.”
As for how He Ba answered the First Lady’s questions about the “Hu Xian Temple,” Wei Shubin noticed this servant’s knowledge wasn’t much different from her own, limited to terms like “Western merchants” and “fire worship.” The men behind the screen also pursued this topic for a few questions, getting nowhere before setting it aside temporarily.
The First Lady’s other recent unusual behavior was harder to discuss. She had secretly asked her nursemaid about her cousin-in-law’s appearance and temperament, but that was normal… She had also asked about various wedding procedures—how the groom would be welcomed, how to tease the groom, how to urge the makeup process and present wild geese, how to block the carriage and tease the bride, how married couples lived their daily lives outside, how husbands farmed and wives wove in harmony, and so on. After asking, she would alternately dream and grieve, often sitting alone silently for half a day, but for an eighteen-year-old girl raised in a restricted temple, none of this seemed particularly unusual…
“Did she ever show signs of wanting to end her life?” Chai Yingluo asked directly.
He Ba was silent for a long while before answering weakly:
“She never said it directly, but I always felt… she did speak of being tired of this life, and said things like ‘How much better could it be after marriage, I’ll always be a traitor’s daughter’… And her birth mother, she… if the daughter’s temperament took after her mother’s…”
“Her birth mother?” Chai Yingluo pressed, “Did she commit suicide back then?”
The sound of an overturned cup came from behind the screen.
“This servant isn’t entirely certain of the truth from back then,” He Ba said slowly. “It’s just what I’ve heard over the years by First Lady’s side—they say that year, when the former Crown Prince had just taken residence in the Eastern Palace, Prince Qin’s wife first gave birth to the imperial grandson, and the Supreme Emperor was overjoyed, bestowing the name ‘Chengyuan.’ The Eastern Palace became anxious. At that time, both Consort Zheng and the First Lady’s birth mother were pregnant, enjoying similar favors. The former Crown Prince promised whoever bore a son first would be made primary consort. First Lady was born first, but was a girl, while Consort Zheng bore a son, thus securing the primary position. First Lady’s birth mother became too consumed by jealousy and resentment, growing somewhat mad, naturally falling from favor, and died quietly two or three years later without even receiving a posthumous title.”
“I see,” Chai Yingluo pondered, “You think the First Lady inherited her mother’s temperament, prone to despair?”
“She was still young, quiet, naive and timid, not very talkative, keeping everything to herself. Yesterday afternoon, who knows what the Empress said to her, but when seeing the Empress out, I noticed her eyes were red, her makeup streaked with tears…”
“This has nothing to do with what the Empress said,” Chai Yingluo cut her off decisively. “If the First Lady had thoughts of death, she must have decided long ago. Did you know the First Lady wrote a suicide note?”
“Suicide note?” From her surprised tone, He Ba didn’t know. “This servant didn’t know… What did she write?”
The note wasn’t long, and Chai Yingluo recited it fluently. Wei Shubin was a bit worried—she had read that farewell letter many times and found it not difficult to understand, but… He Ba was a servant, presumably illiterate, how could she understand?
One look showed she had underestimated the County Lady’s nursemaid. She needed no explanation; hearing “painfully abandoning kind parents’ nurturing,” her tears began to fall again, and by “peaceful prosperous world with people living in joy” she was sobbing uncontrollably. Wei Shubin silently thought, perhaps when the First Lady wrote “kind parents’ nurturing,” she was thinking not of her stepmother Consort Zheng, but of this nursemaid He Ba.
Of course, this was assuming… the suicide note was truly written by the First Lady herself.
“Lady He Ba,” from behind the screen, Father Wei Zheng suddenly spoke, “Are you from the He Ba family of Shenwu Jianshan?”
The nursemaid started, lowering her eyes to reply: “This servant has entered base status, shaming the ancestors. Better not to mention family names.”
“That’s unnecessary. In chaotic times there are many changes, family fortunes rise and fall, beyond the control of women. In recent dynasties, it’s been common for wives of high officials who committed treason to be sent to the palace. When choosing nursemaids to educate princes and princesses in the palace, they often prefer such fallen noble women, to teach literature and etiquette—may I ask Lady He Ba, what was your husband’s surname?”
This time the nursemaid kept her head down for a long while before answering: “Gu.”
Both Chai Yingluo and Wei Zheng made sounds of recognition, but Wei Shubin didn’t understand, unconsciously poking her head out from behind the screen again, looking questioningly at Chai Yingluo. The Taoist priestess thought for a moment before slowly explaining:
“The Indian Gu Yi served the Sui dynasty as an upright official, appointed as Deputy Governor of Jingzhao Prefecture during the Daye years. When the Supreme Emperor raised his righteous army to besiege Chang’an, Gu Yi joined Wei Xuan and Yin Shishi in resisting the heavenly army. To show their determination, they dug up our imperial family’s ancestral tombs in Guanzhong and killed many of the Supreme Emperor’s children and grandchildren. After the capital fell, the adult males of all three families were executed by former Crown Prince Jiancheng on Vermilion Bird Street, while the women and children were sent to the palace.”
Wei Shubin understood. This was what Father had meant earlier—He Ba had once been a noble lady, educated and refined, and after being sent to the palace, was selected to be nursemaid to the Crown Prince’s daughter. However—however she had a deep blood feud with the First Lady’s father, and her whole family had been killed…
This woman in coarse hemp clothing, with deep wrinkles around her eyes and bound hands behind her back showing cracked skin and large joints, had suffered years of hard labor. But eighteen years ago, she had been like Chai Yingluo and Wei Shubin’s mother, a noble lady waited upon by servants.
In one night everything had turned upside down—her husband’s family, father-in-law, and husband all lost their heads, while she was degraded to a servant for others to trample. Was such hatred enough to make her wait patiently, until the night before the wedding, when her enemy’s daughter was full of hope, to strangle her life away with a shawl’s cord, while also adding another bloody stain to the Great Tang dynasty?
“This servant was indeed once Gu Yi’s daughter-in-law,” He Ba admitted. “When the Great Tang was founded and the former Crown Prince executed the Gu family men, my son was among them. But this was fate—I never thought of revenge, much less of taking revenge on poor young First Lady—”
“Really?” Chai Yingluo asked coldly.
“In Daye thirteen of the former Sui, it was my father-in-law who struck first, beheading so many Li family children and women on the city walls, throwing their bodies below,” the servant looked fearlessly at the Taoist priestess. “When Chang’an fell and the Sui officials’ families were destroyed, the former Crown Prince killed all the Gu men in revenge. Such is the way of the world—what use is there in a mere woman thinking too much about it? Venerable Master just mentioned my father-in-law’s colleague Yin Shishi—his whole family was also executed, yet didn’t his daughter receive the Emperor’s favor, bear a prince, and now enjoy glory and favor among the four consorts? If we speak of revenge, why not fear Consort Yin’s revenge?”
No one could refute this question—even Wei Shubin had heard of the current Emperor’s fondness for “taking in noble ladies who had fallen on hard times to save their pitiful fates.” They only heard He Ba muttering:
“When First Lady was two or three, I came to her side, teaching her hand by hand how to dress, perform courtesies, read and write, sew and embroider. After Wude was nine, this prison-like place barely had any servants left, I took care of all her food and clothing, and the two of us depended on each other to survive. This servant only wanted to love and raise the young lady like my own daughter, watch her marry gloriously and live a happy life bearing children, thus ending this cycle of revenge from chaotic times…”
But fate wouldn’t even grant her this small hope.
Chai Yingluo’s expression remained calm, her gaze clear and sharp:
“He Ba, you needn’t continue expressing your thoughts, it’s useless. I only ask you—last night when you left the Buddha hall to fetch Consort Zheng’s phoenix robe and ceremonial crown from the west wing and brought them back, did anyone accompany you on this round trip?”
Wei Shubin understood the meaning of this question—she wanted He Ba to prove she didn’t have time to secretly slip away to the east wing to kill the First Lady. But He Ba shook her head:
“The compound was already short-handed—why would fetching clothes need two people? It was just me, alone there and back. I met someone on the way, but it was too dark to see who…”
Which meant, she had the opportunity to kill.
Wei Shubin silently calculated: First Lady died after dark but before the groom entered the compound gates. If it was murder, the killer must have been someone the First Lady knew well and wouldn’t be wary of—like one of the women who lived in or frequented Ganye Temple.
Looking at motives, both Zheng Guanyin and He Ba had reasons to eliminate the First Lady, but Zheng Guanyin had been in the Buddha hall the whole time, seemingly without opportunity; He Ba had both motive and opportunity, making her highly suspicious.
Another person with the opportunity was Princess Hailing Yang, who went to the east wing to dress in ceremonial robes, but she seemed to have no reason to kill the First Lady. Moreover, she was with her maid Aluo the whole time—if she did it, they must have acted together and both lied—which wouldn’t be strange for a mistress and maid who depended on each other.
If the motive wasn’t considered, many people had the opportunity. After all, there were so many people at the wedding, all moving about freely, and in the darkness, no one could see others from a distance. Everyone attending the wedding could be considered a suspect, including herself and Chai Yingluo… and those Li Yuangui and Yang Xinzhi—who knew if they might have known First Lady and found an opportunity to kill her… even Father Wei Zheng was at the wedding…
For the rest of the day, Chai Yingluo, Wei Zheng, and Li Yuangui with his servant questioned the maids and servants who had entered and exited County Lady Linfen’s bedroom last night, as well as several of her older sisters, but made no discoveries. Wei Shubin, hiding behind the screen eavesdropping and watching, gradually grew sore in her waist and back, her legs numb and weak, barely able to support herself even leaning against the wall. Just as she was considering whether to sit on the ground regardless of propriety, suddenly a servant entered the hall to report:
“Venerable Master, the secret device prepared by the Princess Consort’s family has arrived outside the gate. First Lady needs to be moved, and Consort Zheng ordered me to inform the Venerable Master.”
The coffin prepared for the First Lady had arrived—they needed to move her body into the coffin for burial preparations. This was both important and troublesome work that needed someone to oversee. Hearing this, Chai Yingluo rose, apologizing to Wei Zheng behind the screen that she needed to leave first, then turned to wave at the screen.
Wei Shubin was stunned for a moment before realizing she was being called to slip out together. This was indeed an opportunity—she lifted the screen’s curtain and crept out quietly, taking advantage of her father’s view being blocked by the large screen. Unable to see her, she lifted her skirts and tiptoed out with Chai Yingluo, scurrying like mice from the hall.
Vol 1 – Chapter 15 Notes
1. “People from the He Ba family of Shenwu Jianshan” — This refers to the He Ba Yue brothers, who were the first-generation leaders of the Guanlong Group. The rough succession of Guanlong Group’s leaders went: He Ba Yue → Yu Wen Tai → Yu Wen Hu → Yu Wen Yong → Yang Jian → Yang Guang → Li Yuan/Li Shimin.
The He Ba family didn’t produce any more notable figures during the Northern Zhou, Sui, and Tang dynasties, likely indicating their decline. We mentioned in previous notes how Gu Yi and Yin Shishi defended the Sui to death and opposed Li Yuan. Gu Yi was Indian (his biography in the Book of Sui explicitly records him as “from Tianzhu”) and was Yang Guang’s favored official. With such a background, it would have been difficult for him to arrange marriages with high-ranking families for his sons, but with his power and influence, marrying a daughter from a declined old Guanlong family would have been feasible. Hence, the characterization of Lady He Ba as Gu Yi’s daughter-in-law.
2. Regarding Hu merchants and their Zoroastrian faith, these will be mentioned again in later chapters. Here are two archaeological images first: stone gates and coffin bed screens excavated from the Northern Zhou An Jia tomb in Xi’an, which depict scenes of “Western Market Hu merchants gathering to worship fire and celebrate with music and dance.”