In the Empress’s study within Lizheng Hall of Taiji Palace, Wei Shubin knelt beside the writing desk, holding her friend Crown Princess Su Lingyu’s cold, delicate hands, her mind churning with turbulent thoughts.
Li Chengqian and Li Wanxi were born in the same year, with him being a few months older than his cousin. They might have played together at their grandfather’s knee during the Wude years. After the Xuanwu Gate Incident, Li Chengqian was installed as Crown Prince, while Li Wanxi was confined to a Buddhist temple in the forbidden garden.
In recent years, with the Emperor and Empress frequently away, Li Chengqian would hunt and play in the forbidden garden, where he somehow met his cousin Yiniang, and the two fell into an illicit romance.
Perhaps Li Chengqian had repeatedly delayed marriage because of this, but such a relationship could never see the light of day. Li Chengqian gave Yiniang the jade archer’s ring as a token, but Li Wanxi harbored thoughts of death, writing a farewell letter—Wei Shubin suddenly remembered that the letter had contained the phrases “When the Yanping waters dry up, the dragon sword leaves the abyss; when the Qin jade tower falls, the phoenix flute departs forever,” using two allusions about “the twin swords Dragon Spring and Tai’e leaping into Yanping Ford to become dragons swimming together” and “Qin Duke Mu’s daughter Nüying joining with the immortal flute player to ascend to heaven riding dragon and phoenix.” These were related to romantic love, probably meaning they would be reborn and united as lovers in the next life…
This January, the Crown Prince took a consort, and Yiniang was also to be married. The Empress must have heard something, for she had a private conversation with Yiniang on her wedding day. Perhaps there were warnings and hints in their talk that left Yiniang panicked and desperate, leading her to take her own life—
“No, that’s not right,” Wei Shubin suddenly said.
“What’s not right?” Su Lingyu looked at her questioningly.
The above reasoning seemed logical, but there was one point that didn’t make sense—
“Li Wanxi didn’t die by hanging herself. There were four pieces of evidence at the scene showing she was strangled from behind.”
Regardless of whether Yiniang had harbored thoughts of suicide or written however many farewell letters, her death was a murder committed by someone present. So who was the killer?
Assuming Li Yiniang did indeed die because of this illicit romance with the Crown Prince, who had the motive to kill her at the wedding?
Crown Prince Li Chengqian himself? Wei Shubin shook her head. Li Chengqian might be cold-blooded and unfaithful, but if he wanted to eliminate a lonely palace girl to protect his reputation, he had much better opportunities. For instance, he could have had someone do it while he was acting as regent during the Emperor’s tours, then report it as a sudden illness—silently erasing a life without causing such an uproar.
The Crown Prince’s mother, Empress Changsen? That seemed unlikely too. If the Empress wanted to silence Yiniang, she likewise wouldn’t have acted on her wedding day, deeply implicating herself. Moreover, when the case first emerged, the Empress had firmly insisted on a thorough investigation, even bringing in the Prime Minister and Prince to handle the case, causing quite a commotion.
Evidently, at the time of the incident, the Empress not only didn’t know who the killer was but wasn’t even aware of the Crown Prince’s involvement… It wasn’t until she saw that peculiarly ancient blood jade archer’s ring that she determined the case involved her eldest son and immediately halted the investigation.
Then before that, during that private conversation with Yiniang on the afternoon of her wedding day, the Empress must have discussed something unrelated to the Crown Prince. What could she have said that left Yiniang in tears, her makeup ruined, only to be strangled while fixing her appearance in the mirror…
What exactly had the Empress said to her niece? This seemed truly significant.
When the Emperor and Empress appointed Prime Minister Wei Zheng to investigate the case, her father Wei Zheng asked the same question. She remembered the Empress had her personal maid whisper the answer, keeping it even from the Emperor who was present. But Wei Shubin had been near the Empress then and faintly heard the words “Hailing” and “intimate”—Hailing… that referred to former Prince Qi Li Yuanji, whose primary wife was the beautiful Yang lady who disappeared after the fire at Ganye Temple…
“Ayu,” she asked Su Lingyu, “have you heard anything about Princess Hailing Yang while in the Eastern Palace and Lizheng Hall?”
Su Lingyu started: “Princess Hailing Yang? The Crown Prince’s fourth aunt?”
“Yes. Have you met her?”
“No… I’ve heard people talk about her, saying she was a great beauty.” Su Lingyu’s brows furrowed slightly. “Do you suspect she was also involved with the Crown Prince?”
“That’s not it…” Wei Shubin responded automatically, then stopped abruptly.
What if the one having an illicit relationship with the Crown Prince wasn’t his cousin Li Wanxi, but his aunt Princess Hailing Yang?
This would also fit the Turkic guard’s description of “female relatives not born of one’s mother,” and would likewise need to be kept secret. But if so, why was the token jade ring found in Yiniang’s dowry? Why was Yiniang killed?
Right, Lady Yang had said during questioning that she was very close to Yiniang, even closer than Zheng’s consort was to her stepdaughter. So perhaps Yiniang knew about her secret with the Crown Prince.
Lady Yang feared Yiniang might reveal her secret after marriage, so she took the last opportunity to kill her, disguising it as suicide. She then placed Li Chengqian’s token in Yiniang’s dowry, hoping the Empress would stop the investigation upon seeing it, thus protecting her as the real killer…
Wei Shubin frowned, carefully recalling the scene she witnessed on the night of the incident: Lady Yang and her maid coming out of the east courtyard gate, arguing while walking toward Yiniang’s chamber, calling out with Nurse Heba, discovering Yiniang already dead… No, Lady Yang hadn’t had the opportunity to kill anyone then.
However, before that, when she and her maid were dressing in ceremonial robes in her east courtyard chamber, she not only had ample time to commit the crime but was also the suspect closest to Yiniang’s eastern chamber.
As she continued pondering, Su Lingyu also seemed lost in thought. After a while, she finally spoke:
“I haven’t heard much mention of Lady Yang in the Eastern Palace. But here in Lizheng Hall, I vaguely recall servants talking about Princess Hailing… something about pregnancy and childbirth… but I thought they were referring to that old rumor, like the one about the Orphan of Zhao…”
That would be the rumor Wei Shubin had heard Chai Yinglo and Li Yuangui discuss last night. She looked at Su Lingyu, wanting to discuss further, when the door opened and a palace maid entered with a message:
“The Empress summons Consort Su and Lady Wei to the hall.”
Su Lingyu rose first, then helped Wei Shubin up, giving her a smile. Her spirits seemed lighter than when they’d first entered the study—apparently, chatting with an old friend had helped ease her troubled mind.
The two entered the Empress’s bedchamber one after another, passing the large screen to find Crown Prince Li Chengqian had already left at some point. Only Chai Yinglo remained, sitting by the bed performing acupuncture on the Empress. After the two women paid their respects, the Empress instructed:
“Ganye Temple has burned down and is uninhabitable. Consort Zheng and those young ladies will temporarily move to the Palace of Accumulated Purity. Ah Su, go supervise the Department of Palace Affairs in selecting a clean courtyard for them, assign more servants to attend them, and ensure their quarters are properly arranged. I wouldn’t trust anyone else with these matters—ah, they are already such pitiful souls…”
Su Lingyu bowed to accept the command, cast a lingering glance at Wei Shubin, and left to attend to her duties. The Empress then turned to Wei Shubin, asking kindly: “After staying at Purple Void Temple for two days, Little Lady Wei must be homesick?”
“In reply to Your Majesty, no… not at all.” Wei Shubin looked uncertainly at Chai Yinglo. “The Supreme Truth Master and everyone at the temple have treated me well. I was just preparing to study medicine and help the Supreme Truth Master compile books.”
The female Taoist sat sideways on the bed, focusing on removing needles and massaging the Empress’s meridians, not sparing Wei Shubin a glance. After her treatment, the Empress’s complexion had improved somewhat from earlier. Leaning against the headboard, she smiled and said: “You’ve just come of age, still a child—it’s perfectly natural to miss home. My Lizhi is your age, and even though she’s been married for so long, she still constantly comes back to nestle by my side, ah… Your mother must miss you dearly. A young lady having a tantrum and staying out for a few days—now that both sides have cooled down, you should return home soon.”
So this was what the Empress wanted to tell her.
Wei Shubin felt her whole body go cold, suddenly understanding everything.
Empress Changsen’s tacit approval of Chai Yinglo sheltering her against Wei Zheng wasn’t out of sympathy for her tragic fate of being sold to Cheng Yaojin, but rather to use her as a hostage, or to exchange concealment of her escape from marriage for Wei Zheng’s agreement to lead the investigation of Princess Linfen’s case and clear the Empress’s name.
Now that the Empress had decided to stop the investigation, she worried about Wei Zheng changing his mind, so she first sent this runaway bride home as a gesture of goodwill to the Prime Minister, hoping Wei Zheng would let the matter drop gracefully. If not, she wasn’t worried—she still held the card of “Wei Zheng’s daughter fleeing marriage.” Wei Zheng, who had always prided himself on his family’s upright reputation, would surely dread this becoming public knowledge.
“I’ve already instructed Yingniang—after lunch, she’ll personally escort you back to the Wei residence in Pingkang Ward and explain my wishes to your parents, telling them not to be hard on you anymore,” Empress Changsen said gently. “In the future, when you’re free, come with your mother to keep me company. I can see you’re a very sensible child.”
Wei Shubin looked at Chai Yinglo by the bed, but the female Taoist remained expressionless, focused on her task.
If the Empress had made up her mind, even her beloved niece couldn’t possibly defy her. There was no hope of Chai Yinglo stepping forward to protect her again.
Wei Shubin’s chest tightened as tears welled up. She prostrated herself, saying:
“This worthless one has caused Your Majesty such trouble, deserving death ten thousand times over. I dare not trouble the Supreme Truth Master further—after leaving the palace, I shall end things myself.”
No matter what, she would not meekly return home to be sold. Even if the Empress had people forcibly take her back to her parents, she still had one final choice.
“Ai, speaking like this truly wastes my good intentions,” the Empress sighed. “Let’s not even mention the three obediences and following one’s parents—you’re still so young, such a proper and clever young lady, do you want to spend your life alone in the Inner Taoist Temple? That would be against Heaven’s will. Moreover, the forbidden garden, like the inner palace, is not a place where daughters of noble families can reside long-term. If you stay much longer and word gets out, I’m afraid I can only offer a betrothal gift to have you enter the palace to serve His Majesty…”
…Was this another threat? If she didn’t obediently return home, she would be forced to enter the palace as a consort?
Wei Shubin’s mind was in chaos, sobbing and unsure what to do. At this moment, footsteps were heard beyond the large screen—first the hurried patter of palace maids announcing “His Majesty returns to the palace,” followed by angry male boot steps striding directly into the hall, speaking to someone while walking:
“…Three army routes and two missed their timing, half the forces couldn’t reach the battlefield, the encirclement couldn’t even be formed, allowing them to defeat us piece by piece—how can we fight a war like this? Outrageous!”
The unfamiliar male voice mumbled something in response, and the Emperor then called out beyond the screen:
“Empress, Fourteenth Brother came to say you’ve ordered a stop to Yiniang’s case? How can that be? This case must be investigated thoroughly! Whoever’s behind it must come forward and take responsibility!”
Wei Shubin looked back to see Chai Yinglo had already risen to attend, and Empress Changsen’s expression had changed as well. Supporting herself with one hand, she sat up straight as if receiving an important guest.
End of Volume One