“In the eighth year of Wude, the cup of poisoned wine that the current Emperor drank in the Eastern Palace was offered by Yiniang.”
Countless thoughts flooded Li Yuanji’s mind as he turned to look at Yang Xinzhi. The tall guard also stood dumbfounded.
“In March of the eighth year of Wude, the Emperor arranged the betrothal between the eldest son of Princess Pingyang and her consort Chai, and the First Princess of the Eastern Palace. The Crown Prince held a feast to celebrate. All the close royal relatives and princesses’ consorts in the capital gathered at Xiande Hall. The grandeur of that day remains fresh in my memory.”
The consort of Princess Guiyang straightened his back and, gazing past the heads of the two young men into the distance, spoke softly:
“Lanterns and decorations adorned both the interior and exterior. Servants streamed endlessly with wine and food. Musicians performed in the courtyard, and dancing girls entertained in the hall. Male guests sat in the front hall, and female guests in the rear hall. The gathering was filled with nobles and officials, their conversations and laughter echoing as they ascended the steps… Wedding gifts from various households piled up in the corridors—gold vessels, silver incense burners, pearls, agates, and coral branches, all gleaming under the hanging lanterns. Prince Qi even sent Western Liang dancers to perform in the hall. The Eastern Palace hadn’t seen such splendor in years, even more spectacular than when His Majesty visited the previous year. That was also Prince Qin’s last visit to the Eastern Palace during the Wude years. He arrived resplendent in gold-threaded robes, but left lying in Prince Huai’an’s sedan chair, being carried back to Hongyi Palace…”
“In the eighth year of Wude, the former Crown Prince attempted to poison his younger brother, who had rendered great service to the empire, at a banquet in the Eastern Palace. This aroused universal outrage. I’ve heard of this,” Li Yuanji interjected. “But with all the wine cups being passed around at the banquet, how can brother-in-law be certain it was Yiniang who offered the poisoned wine to Prince Qin?”
Yang Shidao smiled gently at him: “You were all young then, so naturally wouldn’t know. By the eighth year of Wude, after a series of major incidents—Yang Wengan’s rebellion in Qingzhou, the Turks’ uprising in Mayi, discussions about relocating the capital, and the cases of Luo Yi, Li Fuwei, and Prince Zhaojun—the opposition between the Crown Prince and Prince Qin had become clear, with deep suspicion on both sides. This betrothal feast at the Eastern Palace was imperially commanded, so Prince Qin couldn’t refuse to attend. But he came prepared, bringing his cups and medicines, claiming that after his illness the previous winter, doctors had advised him to abstain from alcohol and regulate his diet. He would only drink what his attendants poured, not touching a drop of the Eastern Palace’s wine or food…”
Li Yuanji smiled bitterly: “The atmosphere must have been extremely awkward.” For a guest to refuse the host’s food and wine was practically an open challenge saying “I don’t trust the host”—such an arrogant and discourteous act was exactly something his second brother would do.
“Not really,” Yang Shidao smiled. “You never saw His Majesty’s bearing before he ascended the throne. As Prince Qin, he moved with grace and eloquence, unmatched in wit and repartee. Wherever he sat, the atmosphere would be filled with laughter and joy, as if bathed in spring breeze. Any awkwardness could be easily smoothed over—throughout the banquet, Prince Qin kept up his witty conversation, and we other guests followed suit. The atmosphere was quite harmonious and joyful. Perhaps having drunk a bit too much, Prince Qi—Prince Hailing—first called for the little bride, the Great Princess, to come out and offer ceremonial engagement wine to her uncles…”
At this point, Yang Shidao paused for a moment, his brows furrowed, lost in thought. Li Yuanji asked:
“Did brother-in-law notice anything unusual about the cup of wine Yiniang offered to Prince Qin at the time?”
“No,” Yang Shidao shook his head. “When they brought Yiniang out from the rear hall, she was naturally surrounded by her nurse and attendants. Palace servants and eunuchs carried the wine tray, filling each golden curved cup from the ewer. Following the etiquette her nurse had just taught her, Yiniang raised the cup to offer wine and wish longevity to her elders in the hall…”
“Did she offer the first cup to Prince Qin?” Given the official ranks of the guests present, this would have been appropriate.
“No. Since this banquet was for a family matter, Prince Qin insisted on seating according to generational seniority, with Prince Huai’an, Prince Changle, and other uncles sitting in the highest positions. However, when Yiniang came out to offer wine, Prince Qin led the teasing, calling for his great-niece to first toast her grandfather—that is, my brother-in-law Consort Chai.”
Li Yuanji smiled at the thought of that lively scene, then realized that Prince Qin’s insistence on others drinking first wasn’t purely for amusement—having several cups poured from the same vessel and drunk by others first effectively served as “poison testing.” If the Eastern Palace truly intended to poison the wine, they would have been deterred by the fact that so many royal family members would be drinking from it.
The Emperor had commanded the Eastern Palace to hold this banquet to celebrate Yiniang’s betrothal to Chai Zhewei. Since Prince Qin had come to attend, maintaining appearances without breaking relations completely, he might refuse other food and drink, but he absolutely couldn’t refuse this ceremonial cup from the bride-to-be—that would have been worse than not attending at all.
“So brother-in-law Chai drank Yiniang’s ceremonial wine first? And Prince Qin drank later?” Li Yuanji asked.
Yang Shidao nodded: “Consort Chai was first, followed by two or three uncles of the older generation. When that tray of wine was almost finished, it finally came to Prince Qin. Ah, Yiniang was such a lovely, delicate child then. I can still hear her clear, sweet voice saying ‘Second Uncle, may you live for thousands of autumns.’ His Majesty also smiled as he took the golden cup from her hands and drank it in one gulp…”
His reference suddenly shifted from “Prince Qin” of ten years ago to the current “His Majesty,” likely thinking of the consequences of that cup of wine and how it nearly turned the empire upside down… Li Yuanji paused, then asked:
“Can brother-in-law be certain that at that banquet, Prince Qin only drank this one cup of wine and didn’t touch any other food or drink?”
“Yes. Not long after drinking that cup, Prince Qin said he felt unwell and left his seat to use the facilities. Uncle Prince Huai’an saw his complexion was wrong and followed him out. The rest… you all know what happened. I was sitting directly across from Prince Qin that day and saw clearly that he hadn’t touched any of the dishes on his table, not even picking up his chopsticks.”
Li Yuanji fell silent. A few years ago, when he heard the imperial consorts discussing this matter in Da’an Palace, they said “Prince Qin claimed he was poisoned at the Eastern Palace and was pathetically carried back by Prince Huai’an, nearly dying even after taking miraculous medicines and vomiting three sheng of blood. But this was all just one side of the story from the Hongyi Palace. The former Crown Prince was so kind-hearted, and the Emperor Emeritus had always favored Prince Qin—how could the Crown Prince dare to openly attempt to poison his brother in his own home, and fail to kill him with the poison? Later when the Emperor Emeritus ordered an investigation, they couldn’t find any evidence of the Eastern Palace administering poison and concluded it was just Prince Qin having a sudden stomach illness. After June of the ninth year, the court conducted another grand investigation but still couldn’t identify who had administered the poison, finally blaming Eastern Palace’s Provisions Officer Ren Can for negligence in his duties and exiling his entire family.”
The case had now been officially concluded as “the Eastern Palace attempting to poison Prince Qin with poisoned wine,” but the court had always been vague about who exactly had administered the poison as if it didn’t matter. Hearing Yang Shidao’s account, Li Yuanji now knew that the poisoned cup had been offered by Li Wanxi, the former Crown Prince’s eldest daughter, to her second uncle, but…
“Yiniang was only six or seven years old then, just a child—what could she have known?” Li Yuanji frowned. “Even if the wine she offered truly was poisoned, it must have been someone else’s doing, using her as a tool. How can she be blamed for this?”
“Indeed, she shouldn’t be blamed. Since the case broke, His Majesty and those in power have never punished Yiniang personally for this,” Yang Shidao said slowly. “However, the spirits are clear-sighted—even though Yiniang’s mistake was unintentional, that cup of poisoned wine ultimately harmed the destined ruler of Tang. Earlier, I heard court astronomers discuss how a guest star had transgressed into the Purple Forbidden Enclosure, showing how this error had offended Heaven. I fear Yiniang’s lifetime fortune and longevity were completely spent. Alas… her confusion before marriage leading to suicide—how could there not be a cause?”
So this was how Yang Shidao viewed Yiniang’s death.
While many believed in this theory of “Heaven’s retribution,” Li Yuanji wasn’t quite convinced. Consider those around him: his mother had lived a gentle and kind life, never quarreling with others, yet in the end was forced to commit suicide, while the vicious and cruel Consort Yin De still wielded power in Da’an Palace. If Yiniang had to pay such a terrible price for being used as a tool in her childhood, why hadn’t Consort Yin De’s retribution come?
Yang Xinzhi, kneeling beside him, shifted slightly. Li Yuanji turned to look at him and saw the tall attendant’s wide mouth pressed tight, his face also dark with disbelief. His mother too had endured a life of hardship, becoming a nun to allow her son to be recognized by his birth family, yet even though Yang Xinzhi had been accepted by his father, he suffered such bullying and mistreatment in the family. Where was the justice and inevitable retribution in all this?
“Thank you, brother-in-law, for sharing what happened,” Li Yuanji raised his head and said firmly. “Yiniang’s mysterious death may have a significant connection to this poisoning case from ten years ago. I must investigate thoroughly. Now that Ghanye Temple has burned down and the scene of Yiniang’s murder has disappeared, we can only start with the people involved—please tell me where brother-in-law sent Lady Yang, the Princess Consort of Hailing.”
Trying to frighten me with “divine retribution” won’t work. Li Yuanji watched determinedly as Yang Shidao’s expression changed, and finally, this most handsome man in the Great Tang sighed and rose from his seat.
“Prince Wu is working hard on the investigation. It’s getting late—my humble home has some wine and water prepared, would Prince Wu and Master Shangren care to partake? I have urgent matters to attend to and must excuse myself from accompanying you.”
Yang Shidao gave a slight bow and strode toward the door, effectively leaving Li Yuanji, who was conducting an imperial investigation, standing there ignored.
It seemed he would rather risk the crime of defying an imperial edict than reveal the secret of how he had spirited away Lady Yang, the Princess Consort of Hailing, and her current whereabouts.
Li Yuanji felt both angry and frustrated. His hand gripped the sword at his waist as he contemplated jumping up to rough up his fifth brother-in-law, forcing the “most handsome man in Great Tang” to the ground to make him reveal the truth… but “assaulting a minister” seemed quite a serious crime… Plus, there was the strong Yang Xinzhi beside him—would he help his Prince’s residence master, or side with his birth father to beat up Li Yuanji?
Well, the outlook wasn’t promising.
During this moment of hesitation, Yang Shidao had already walked out of the study. When Li Yuanji rushed out after him, he only caught a glimpse of his figure disappearing behind the courtyard trees. Not long after, when the Princess’s residence held dinner, only Princess Guiyang appeared with several of her older children to host, explaining that her consort was drafting an urgent imperial edict for the Emperor and couldn’t spare time for dinner, offering deep apologies.
This Consort Yang was hiding in his own home. Li Yuanji had no choice but to endure the social niceties with various relatives at dinner, only managing to exchange a few private words with Chai Yinglu, which proved equally fruitless.
“Fifth Aunt says,” the female Taoist spoke quickly in his ear, “she doesn’t know about Fifth Uncle taking away Lady Yang, nor has she seen Uncle bring anyone home. I don’t think she’s lying—have Xinzhi ask the servants.”
Though Yang Xinzhi hadn’t fared well in this household, he had spent over ten years there and had some familiar contacts among the servants. Li Yuanji had him make private inquiries, and after the dinner concluded, Yang Xinzhi reported back that “no one had seen the Consort bring any women or strangers home recently.”
Well, at least they could confirm Yang Shidao hadn’t brought the Princess Consort of Hailing and her daughters to his own home… but where had he sent that group of four or five masters and servants?
The city’s night curfew had begun, and Li Yuanji, exhausted from a full day, didn’t want to ride across the city back to Da’an Palace, so he stayed overnight at Princess Guiyang’s residence. Early the next morning, when servants brought breakfast to his chamber, he asked about the master’s schedule. The servant replied: the Consort had left fully dressed for court even before the drum rolls began.
Was his fifth brother-in-law planning to avoid him forever… Li Yuanji wondered, feeling somewhat dejected. After a hasty breakfast, he went to the rear hall to see Princess Guiyang and bid farewell along with Chai Yinglu, who had also stayed in the inner courtyard overnight.
They both had important matters to attend to, and the Fifth Princess didn’t insist they stay. As Li Yuanji walked out, he told Chai Yinglu about Yang Shidao’s evasion tactics, hoping this clever female Zhuge Liang could help him devise a way to extract information.
But the cross-dressing female Taoist just smiled helplessly and shook her head: “I also tried asking Fifth Aunt indirectly last night about Fourth Aunt’s whereabouts, but Fifth Aunt truly knows nothing. It seems this matter rests solely with Fifth Uncle. Since he won’t comply even when you showed His Majesty’s handwritten edict, you should report to His Majesty and let him question Fifth Uncle himself—and perhaps add a charge of disrespect for defying an imperial edict.”
Her tone was somewhat joking, but there seemed to be no other way. Li Yuanji still felt unwilling, experiencing the helpless feeling of a child who could only report to adults when something was beyond their ability.
Seeing Yang Xinzhi holding horses and waiting with servants in the front courtyard, Chai Yinglu smiled again and said:
“I have another method that might force Fifth Uncle to see you.”
“What method?” Li Yuanji asked eagerly.
The female Taoist pointed at Yang Xinzhi’s towering figure: “Hold a knife to Yang Da’s throat and shout that unless his father appears within half an hour to honestly tell where he took Fourth Aunt, you’ll start cutting his son into pieces…”
“Hey!” Yang Xinzhi shouted while the servants who overheard couldn’t help but snicker. Li Yuanji just rolled his eyes heavenward: “What kind of rotten idea is this? Though if it would work…”
The problem was it definitely wouldn’t work! If he took Yang Xinzhi hostage at knifepoint, his Fifth Sister the Princess would probably be the first to rush out with people to watch, possibly bringing a waist drum to beat while cheering, “Quick, make a cut and I’ll reward you with a bolt of silk…”
They mounted their horses amid laughter, with Chai Yinglu heading back to her natal home at the Residence of the Duke of Juo to continue handling funeral matters, while Li Yuanji decided to return to the Seventeenth Prince’s Compound in Da’an Palace. He had a plan.
They could travel together for several wards within the city, and Li Yuanji asked his niece while on horseback:
“Yingniang, when you were directing the preparations for Yiniang’s wedding at Ganye Temple, did you hear her, or anyone at the temple, mention the poisoned wine incident with His Majesty at the Eastern Palace ten years ago?”
The female Taoist turned her face, looking surprised:
“The Eastern Palace poisoning case from ten years ago? No—why did Fourteenth Uncle suddenly think of that?”
It seemed she was also unaware of Yiniang’s connection to that famous case. Li Yuanji carefully relayed Yang Shidao’s account from the previous night, with Yang Xinzhi adding details from behind. Chai Yinglu listened attentively, a shadow passing over her beautiful face:
“So you suspect Yiniang’s death is related to that cup of poisoned wine she offered to His Majesty? But surely His Majesty and the Empress aren’t so narrow-minded? Besides, it’s been ten years—if they wanted revenge on Yiniang, why wait until now…”
“Of course, I don’t suspect His Majesty and the Empress,” Li Yuanji sighed. “With their status and magnanimity, how could they trouble an orphaned girl over this? But since Yiniang had this experience, it gives malicious people material for spreading rumors, especially considering Yiniang’s private conversation with the Empress before her death… The murderer must harbor a deep hatred for both His Majesty and the Empress.”
Chai Yinglu nodded silently. Yang Xinzhi interjected:
“If the real culprit wants to use Yiniang’s death to defame His Majesty, they must be secretly spreading rumors these days. I can ask around Da’an Palace and the garrison camps to see if anyone’s spreading such talk—might help us uncover something.”
“Good point,” Li Yuanji approved. “Yang Da, go make those inquiries.”
The group separated at Fanglin Gate Avenue, with Li Yuanji and Yang Xinzhi turning north, galloping through Fanglin Gate, entering the imperial gardens, and into Da’an Palace. After entering the Seventeenth Prince’s Compound, Li Yuanji didn’t return to his own Prince Wu’s residence but went directly to his sixth brother Li Yuanjing’s Prince Zhao residence to request an audience with this eldest prince among the Emperor Emeritus’s late-born sons—though he was only three years older than Li Yuanji himself.
“What unfortunate timing—after breakfast, the Sixth Lord was invited by the Seventh and Tenth Lords to play polo,” the Chief Administrator of Prince Zhao’s residence explained with an apologetic smile. “The young lords should still be at the polo field behind Purple Void Temple, Fourteenth Lord…”
Without waiting for him to finish, Li Yuanji turned and left, mounting his horse again to ride out of Da’an Palace. I should have asked Yingniang or another divine master to cast divination for me, he lamented internally. Why had nothing gone smoothly lately—everyone he sought was absent, and everyone he questioned wouldn’t answer. How could he rid himself of this clinging bad luck?
Note:
1. The Eastern Palace poisoning incident at the end of the Wude era was a climactic moment in the power struggle between the Li brothers before the “Xuanwu Gate Incident.” There has been much historical discussion about this event, but we won’t debate its authenticity here. We’re simply providing the relevant original text from “Old Tang History Biography Fourteen” for reference. Many details in the novel are, of course, literary devices.
2. Though Li Yuanji showed the Emperor’s handwritten edict appointing him to investigate the case, Yang Shidao still refused to reveal Lady Yang’s whereabouts. Chai Yinglu suggested they could “charge Fifth Uncle with the great crime of disrespecting an imperial edict.” This was largely said in jest, as it would have been difficult to prosecute under Tang legal codes like the “Tang Code with Commentary.”