Early the next morning, Li Yuanji and his servant left the palace, riding horseback to return to Princess Pingyang’s residence in Guangde District. Upon entering, they didn’t see Chai Shao. Chai Yaoluo led them to the western wing’s reception room. As soon as they sat down, Li Yuanji asked about the master of the house. The female Daoist priest shook her head with a slight smile:
“Last night was quite unsettled here, as a thief broke in. Father, being hot-tempered, rushed out without proper attire to investigate. It was so cold at night, and he’s nearly fifty now. Already exhausted from the funeral arrangements these past days, how could he withstand such exposure to wind and cold? When he woke this morning, he complained of headache and weakness. I prescribed some medicine and had him drink it while staying in bed to sweat it out. He shouldn’t leave his bed for the next couple of days.”
“A thief broke into the residence?” Li Yuanji asked in alarm. “What happened? Was there any damage to the property?”
“Nothing serious, no need to discuss that now,” Chai Yaoluo replied. “Fourteenth Uncle, how did your conversation with the Crown Prince go last night at the Eastern Palace?”
This was precisely why Li Yuanji had come to see her. After dismissing the servants, he recounted his entire conversation with Crown Princess Su from the previous night, especially emphasizing that “the Crown Prince wants to send you, Sister Yao, as an accompanying bride to Gaochang as well.” The female Daoist maintained her composure, her expression remaining calm throughout. Only after Li Yuanji finished did she ask:
“So, Fourteenth Uncle, what do you plan to do?”
“Lady Su wants you to petition the Empress, but that’s not a good idea. I’ve also considered making a personal appeal to His Majesty, but… Sister Yao, you understand. It’s best if His Majesty and the Empress don’t learn of the Crown Prince’s marriage alliance plans.”
Li Yuanji spoke slowly while watching Chai Yaoluo, who nodded silently.
“Why not?” Yang Xinzhi interjected. “Since this is the Crown Prince’s misguided scheme, why not report it to the Emperor and Empress to stop it?”
Though this tall and strong guard carried the title of “Princess’s Common-born Son,” he wasn’t truly of imperial lineage and didn’t fully comprehend the complexities of imperial family matters. Li Yuanji gave a bitter smile:
“First, this may not be entirely the Crown Prince’s plan. The marriage alliance has been debated in court for a long time, and His Majesty has certainly considered it. Second, the Crown Prince’s… or rather, the candidates chosen through his consultation with Consort Yin are all…”
“Very suitable,” Chai Yaoluo finished for him, with a faint smile. “If I were planning this, I couldn’t come up with a better arrangement. He’s considered every aspect thoroughly. Having me accompany Seventeenth Aunt to marry into Gaochang is particularly brilliant. If I were Second Uncle, hearing this marriage alliance proposal, I would surely be delighted and approve it immediately, issuing an edict for the officials to prepare dowries for us three women…”
“Uh…” Yang Xinzhi’s expression darkened. Li Yuanji remained silent with a bitter smile. Though Chai Yaoluo spoke in jest, her words might well be close to the truth. This marriage alliance plan was indeed perfect, except for one thing—it would throw the three women he cared most about in the world into a fire pit.
“So, Fourteenth Uncle, what’s your response?” the female Daoist asked him again. Li Yuanji gathered his spirits and spoke solemnly:
“I’ll go with you to petition the Empress at Lizheng Palace, saying I wish to bring Seventeenth Sister to your residence to pay respects to First Sister. The Empress will surely approve. Lady Wei can wait outside the palace with carriages, and once we bring Seventeenth Sister out to meet up, the three of you can take the carriage out of the city. You can go to your Chai family estate, or find a suitable hiding place among my fief households. Hide there for ten days or half a month. I’ll go to His Majesty to confess and accept whatever punishment…”
Before he could finish, the other two let out sighs of disapproval. Chai Yaoluo delivered her verdict:
“Pure fantasy!”
“Under heaven, all land belongs to the emperor. If the state truly wants to take Lady Wei and the other two for the marriage alliance, where could they hide without being found? Could they hide forever?” Yang Xinzhi shook his head.
“His Majesty and the Empress are not unreasonable people, I can try to slowly persuade them…”
“You, always thinking about begging and pleading.” Chai Yaoluo chuckled. “You’re not even as bold as that little thief from last night, who at least dared to break into a noble’s residence for his beloved…”
“What? What beloved?” Li Yuanji was completely confused. “The thief who broke in last night?”
“Yes. He was a foreign thief who climbed over the wall at night, grabbed one of our servants, and kept asking about ‘Fendui, Fendui,’ knowing no other words. When the servant raised an alarm, the night patrol rushed over, but the thief stabbed the servant and escaped over the wall. The Wuhou Guard couldn’t catch him… such a useless lot!”
“Fendui…” Li Yuanji froze for a moment. “Could it be… that Hu girl that Kang Sumi gave me?” After Yang Xinzhi had brought that black-haired Hu maiden back to Prince Wu’s residence in Da’an Palace, she had been well-behaved, with no reports of any trouble.
“Very likely. The name Fendui isn’t common in Chang’an, and the wall-climber was someone from her people.” Chai Yaoluo smiled ambiguously. “Perhaps it was her lover from the Kang Sabo residence, who somehow thought she was in our house and came for a midnight rendezvous.”
“It might be because yesterday, when the Nine Princes from Da’an Palace came to pay respects for First Sister’s seventh-day memorial, it caused quite a stir across half the city, and the news reached the Kang residence,” Yang Xinzhi pondered, stroking his chin. “When Fendui’s lover heard that the Supreme Emperor’s princely sons were all at the Chai residence, he might have thought Fendui would come with her master. Since the Kang residence isn’t far from here, he snuck over…”
“Oh? Yang, your explanation makes a lot of sense…” Chai Yaoluo and Yang Xinzhi exchanged meaningful glances, taking turns teasing Li Yuanji about his “love rival.” The young prince rolled his eyes:
“You two, at a time like this, how can you still joke around!”
“If you don’t want us joking, then come up with a proper solution—which you haven’t,” the female Daoist shook her head and stood up. “I need to go to the front courtyard. Fourteenth Uncle, you all…”
Before she could finish, a servant’s call came from outside the room, followed by Chai Shao’s heavy coughing. Chai Yaoluo started, quickly turning to instruct Li Yuanji and Yang Xinzhi, “Don’t mention that I’m also to be sent for the marriage alliance,” before going out to receive her father.
Li Yuanji and Yang Xinzhi followed her out to see the master of the house, Third Imperial Son-in-law Chai Shao, being supported by servants as he approached wearing a fur robe. Chai Yaoluo took hold of her father, scolding him thoroughly. Chai Shao had heard that Prince Wu Yuan Ji was visiting and, concerned about yesterday’s discussion of “marriage alliance candidates,” had come personally to ask Li Yuanji how his conversation with the Crown Prince had gone.
Chai Yaoluo supported her father while desperately signaling to her Fourteenth Uncle with her eyes. Li Yuanji understood her meaning—she didn’t want to add to her ill father’s worries. So he didn’t mention the Eastern Palace’s plan for three women in the marriage alliance, instead vaguely saying, “The Crown Prince had drunk too much last night and didn’t receive me.”
Just as the group had settled into their host-guest seating arrangements and barely exchanged a few words, a servant came to announce: visitors from the Zoroastrian temple’s Sabo Kang Sumi’s household in Buzheng District were requesting an audience.
“Ah, they’re here to see me,” Chai Yaoluo rose. “Since last night’s intruder was a foreigner who seemed connected to the maiden Kang Sabo gave to Fourteenth Uncle, I sent someone to inquire at the Kang residence early this morning. This must be their response. Fourteenth Uncle and Yang, please keep Father company while I go see…”
“People from Kang Sumi’s household?” Chai Shao asked the messenger. “Not old Kang himself? Who came?”
“Not the Sabo, but his household manager An,” the messenger replied, “The one who often visits here—around thirty years old, with a bald head and big beard…”
At the mention of “bald head,” both father and daughter laughed. Chai Shao said with a smile, “Ah, Baldy An San, he’s a familiar face. No need for formalities, just invite him to sit here with us—Yaoluo, don’t glare at your father like that. I just had a good sleep and sweated it out, but I’m feeling stifled. Chatting with people will help pass the time and lift my spirits.”
The merchant Hu who was led into the hall was much younger than Kang Sumi, also with a high nose, deep-set eyes, and thick beard, wearing a turned-collar Hu robe and a felt hat, looking no different from ordinary Hu people at first glance. But when he removed his curled-wool-rimmed felt hat and held it to his chest, bowing to Chai Shao and the others, a gleaming bald head appeared so suddenly it seemed to brighten the entire hall.
Li Yuanji had to use all his strength to hold back his laughter, while Yang Xinzhi behind him disguised several chuckles as coughs. The Human named An seemed unperturbed. After paying his respects to the Chai father and daughter, he turned to Li Yuanji with a face full of smiles:
“Prince Wu, I trust you’ve been well? It’s been many days, and Your Highness looks even more magnificent.”
His Chinese was very fluent, and unlike Kang Sumi’s heavy Shu accent, his accent was closer to that of the northwestern Chang’an area, making communication smooth. Li Yuanji had a vague impression that when he and Yang Xinzhi had stayed at Kang Sumi’s residence a few days ago, Baldy An San was one of the household’s close managers, but he hadn’t removed his hat then, and Li Yuanji’s stay had been brief, so he didn’t remember the faces of so many Hu people. But this man had clearly remembered Li Yuanji and his servant, even addressing “Master Yang” with familiarity.
Chai Shao explained to Li Yuanji that An Sanlang was the chief manager of the Kang household, and when Kang Sabo was away from the capital, he even handled all affairs of the Zoroastrian temple in Buzheng District. The fact that An Sanlang came personally about the thief who broke into the Chai residence last night showed how seriously he took the matter.
“If the Great Sabo were in the capital, he would certainly come in person. Who would dare take matters concerning Lord Chai’s residence lightly?” Baldy An said with an amiable smile. “Upon receiving your message this morning, I immediately conducted a thorough investigation at home, checking if any servants had sneaked out last night. After turning the place upside down—Heaven as my witness—there was truly no one! I also inquired whether the maid Fendui had formed any romantic attachments while she was with us, but no one came forward. However, I’ve ordered people to continue investigating, and if we hear anything relevant, we’ll report to your residence immediately.”
“Well, if there’s nothing, then there’s nothing. It’s not that important,” Chai Shao waved his hand dismissively. “There are tens of thousands of foreigners in the western market districts—how could it just happen to be someone from your Kang household who came to my place?”
Li Yuanji listened while pondering, feeling that this “midnight wall-climbing” incident sounded familiar… Seeing Baldy An bow again in apology, he interjected: “Manager An, is Kang Sabo’s nephew Sang Sai still at your residence?”
“Young Master Sang Sai?” Baldy An turned to look at him with shrewd eyes. “Since Your Highness asks, Sang Sai has also led some men to Songzhou in Shu. Sabo led the advance party, ordering the young master to lead the rear guard two days later to provide support. By now, they… should have reached Ziwu Valley.”
“Is that so.” Li Yuanji mumbled, falling into thought. Baldy An turned back to Chai Shao, asking with a smile: “About your injured steward, could he provide more details about the assailant? I could have our temple congregation help search, or if your steward can move about, he could come to our place to identify someone…”
“I’m afraid that’s impossible,” Chai Yaoluo shook her head. “The night watchman took a stab wound, and though he hasn’t died yet, he’s lost too much blood and likely won’t survive. It was dark, and the attacker moved quickly—it’s already fortunate that he could vaguely identify the person as having foreign features, how could we expect him to identify the actual culprit?”
Baldy An spread his hands in a “then I can’t help” gesture, continuing to express his concerns to Chai Shao. Chai Shao waved his hand with a smile: “You needn’t be so formal, Manager An. Old Kang and I have had a friendship of over ten years—even if the assailant came from your household, it’s just one injured servant, who would make a big deal of it?”
“Brother-in-law has known Kang Sabo for over ten years?” Li Yuanji asked. This was the first he’d heard of it.
“Let me count,” Chai Shao counted on his fingers twice. “The sixth year of Wude… yes, it’s been twelve or thirteen years! That year, when the Tuyuhun rebelled and invaded Songzhou, I was ordered to lead troops to repel them. On the return journey, we detoured through Yizhou to rest and reorganize. At that time, everywhere was in chaos, except for the southwestern Shu region, which hadn’t experienced major battles and remained prosperous in commerce, producing Shu brocade and silk. Many merchants Hu gathered there to trade in silk. Old Kang was the Sabo of Yizhou then. Our Great Tang’s stabilization of the border trade routes greatly benefited the merchant Hu, and Old Kang, being far-sighted, willingly contributed tens of thousands in military supplies, hosted numerous banquets, and later even secretly sent large quantities of gold, treasures, and exotic beasts to my home in Chang’an…”
“Father is going to scold me again for arbitrarily accepting others’ gifts,” Chai Yaoluo interjected with a laugh. Sure enough, her father glared at her: “You mischievous girl, you just couldn’t resist those leopards and wouldn’t let them go! Then after keeping them secretly at home for just a few days, both the male and female died…”
“But they had a cub that’s still alive and well today, aren’t they?” the female Daoist stuck out her tongue in retort.
So that’s how the fat hunting leopard Atun at Zixu Temple came to be. When Li Yuanji had asked Chai Yaoluo before, she had only said “It was given to my father by a Hu merchant”—and that merchant turned out to be Kang Sumi.
And… no wonder Kang Sumi spoke Chinese with a heavy Shu accent. It seems he first learned Chinese in Yizhou and never managed to correct his pronunciation afterward.
“So Third Brother-in-law and Kang Sabo have known each other for that long.” Li Yuanji suddenly remembered something. “Then five years ago, when General Li Yaoshi led troops north to defeat Khagan Jieli, and Kang Sabo led his people to assist from within, bringing back the former Sui Dynasty’s Empress Xiao and her grandson, earning great merit for the court—that must have been through your earlier efforts, Brother-in-law…”
The Nine Surnames of Zhaowu merchant Hu traveled the Western Regions’ trade routes, dealing in silk, gold and silver wares, spices, and servant girls. The merchant leaders, the Sabos, were extremely wealthy and loved to associate with royalty and nobles from various great nations like the Turks, Gaochang, and Tuyuhun. Li Yuanji knew that before the fourth year of Zhenguan, Kang Sumi had once held high status in the Turkish court, almost able to influence Khagan Jieli’s governance. After the Tang army’s northern expedition dealt the first major defeat to the Turkish forces, old Kang had taken the Sui Dynasty’s Empress Xiao and her grandson to surrender to Li Jing, directly contributing to Khagan Jieli’s downfall.
Chai Shao suddenly began coughing, seemingly unwilling to answer directly, but a clear smile showed through his coughing—the expression of “though it was my proudest achievement, I won’t say so.” Li Yuanji thought for a moment and guessed that he was probably the executor who had been “ordered to secretly collaborate with the merchant Hu and motivate Kang Sumi to betray Khagan Jieli”—though the achievement was significant, it wasn’t appropriate to publicize it.
However, the other party involved, the merchant Hu, had no such reservations. Baldy An answered animatedly:
“Fourteenth Prince guessed correctly! Since the Wude years, our Kang Sabo has shown absolute loyalty to the Tang Emperor through Imperial Son-in-law Chai’s introduction, and we’ve maintained contact ever since! The court has shown great favor to the Sabo, and our merchant group has remained unfailingly loyal to the Holy Emperor! Those Turks who blocked the roads and extorted passing merchants had long angered the heavens. We were following the sacred fire’s divine command to help the Tang heavenly army destroy the tyrant Jieli…”
“…And your merchant group made quite a profit from it all,” the female Daoist couldn’t help but add.
Baldy An laughed good-naturedly: “Lady First speaks the truth—we’re merchants, after all, we must make money to live. We hate war the most—during wartime, armies everywhere love to plunder merchant caravans for supplies and transport. Forget making money, we can barely protect our lives. So it’s best if the Heavenly Khagan pacifies all four regions soon…”
As they were chatting, hurried footsteps came from the doorway, and a Chai household servant urgently reported: “Someone from Zixu Temple has come, saying there’s an urgent matter.”