Outside the western pavilion of Da’an Hall, there were numerous palace maids and eunuchs, but they had no fighting capability. When chaos erupted in the dead of night, everyone was at a loss, running aimlessly through the corridors like headless flies as they heard the sounds of killing, not knowing where to hide.
The assassins led by Sang Sai weren’t many – only twelve including Li Yuangui – but each was agile and skilled. They charged straight for the western pavilion’s entrance, cutting down anyone who blocked their path. Without much delay, they burst through the hall doors in one swift charge.
The outer chamber of the western pavilion was dimly lit by candles. Two palace maids trembled in the corner, and Qi Biluo dispatched them without hesitation, one slash each. Sang Sai kicked open the inner chamber’s latticed door, shouting “Li Yuan—” as he rushed in, not caring how many people might be in the darkroom as he swung his blade at the curtained bed surrounded by screens.
Before the latticed door opened, Li Yuangui had already noticed a distinct foul odor in the western pavilion. Following his instinct, he rushed in right behind Sang Sai. The Tuyuhun prince knocked down the bed screen with one slash and went to tear away the bed curtains, but Li Yuangui had already realized there was no one there.
He called out to Sang Sai “Wait a moment” and went to the outer chamber to grab a candlestick. Holding it, he ran back into the warm chamber, swept the light around, and illuminated a woman huddled in the corner behind the door.
This woman was bound hand and foot, gagged with a handkerchief, her hair disheveled, and wearing Daoist robes – it was Chai Yinglu.
Li Yuangui stepped forward and cut her bonds with a swing of his blade. Chai Yinglu removed her gag herself, spat twice, and had just called out “Fourteenth Uncle” when Sang Sai, having searched the bedroom and found no one else, came over and pointed his blade at Chai Yinglu’s chest, demanding: “Li Yuan—”
“The Retired Emperor was taken away by Consort Yin De!” Chai Yinglu didn’t wait for him to finish, readily confessing to the black-clad men who had entered, “After dark, they carried him away wrapped in blankets. Consort Yin De said they were moving to a place farther away! After emptying the chamber, she had me bound and thrown in here!”
Sang Sai couldn’t understand her words, but Qi Biluo had also entered the inner chamber by then and translated everything for him. The two conversed briefly in their native tongue. Li Yuangui, standing nearby, heard them both say “A Ta” and guessed they suspected Yin Tuo was colluding with his sister to deceive them.
“Are you telling the truth?” Qi Biluo turned back to Chai Yinglu, his blade point shifting toward her, “Lie, and you die!”
“Don’t be rash!” Li Yuangui knocked away their blades with his own, “This is the Retired Emperor’s granddaughter, who came to tend to her grandfather’s medicine. Of course, her words are reliable! Both Kang Sabao and An Sanlang greatly respect her!”
The two Tuyuhun men exchanged a few more words, and Sang Sai nodded, seemingly confirming something. Qi Biluo barked at Chai Yinglu: “You, lead us to Li Yuan!”
Chai Yinglu obediently stood up, rubbing her wrists as she frowned, “Who knows which hall that witch Yin took the Retired Emperor to… She only said they needed to be far from this western pavilion, the farther the better… Ah, but I did see which direction they went. Alright, follow me.”
The Daoist priestess led the way out of the western pavilion gate, with Li Yuangui following close behind holding the candlestick, and over ten foreigners surrounding them front and back. By now, the alarm had spread beyond the palace walls, with drums and horns sounding from all directions, and the shouts and running footsteps of imperial guards drawing ever closer. Da’an Hall had strengthened its defenses, and the element of surprise the assassins had gained was running out.
Chai Yinglu turned past the western pavilion’s corner wall, running north along the gallery, with two or three assassins clearing the way ahead of her, cutting down any unfortunate servants they encountered. The Tuyuhun men bringing up the rear began setting fires everywhere, hoping to further increase the chaos and confuse the guards. Li Yuangui took advantage of the chaos to bend down and pull his defensive dagger from his boot shaft, moved forward to grab Chai Yinglu while loudly asking “Are you sure this is the right direction?”, and slipped the dagger into her palm.
The Daoist priestess discreetly accepted the weapon and shouted back: “I saw them heading toward the inner palace! Oh… look, isn’t that Consort Yin De?”
She pointed toward a small hall where several women had just emerged from a connecting corridor, including Consort Yin De among them.
Seeing the group of black-clad men, the women screamed and tried to run back, but they were no match for the agile assassins. Li Yuangui took long strides and rushed forward, being the first to grab Consort Yin De, while the other women fell into the hands of the black-clad Tuyuhun men.
“Where is Li Yuan!” Qi Biluo demanded harshly of Consort Yin De. As she stammered and just opened her mouth, Li Yuangui pointed to a small hall deep in the connecting corridor: “He must be in there!”
He then pushed Consort Yin De toward Chai Yinglu and ran toward the small hall first, with Sang Sai and the others following closely. After just a few steps, Li Yuangui kicked open the hall door, looked around by the candlelight he held, and turned back to shake his head at Sang Sai: “Not here! Nobody!”
“He isn’t here!” Chai Yinglu shouted from the connecting corridor, “She said she was taking the Retired Emperor somewhere far away, this is too close to the western pavilion!”
Sang Sai and Qi Biluo both rushed into the hall to quickly scan the beds, which were indeed empty. The Tuyuhun prince was furious, his teeth grinding audibly. He strode back to Consort Yin De, barked something in his native tongue, and with a flash of his blade, severed the head of a nearby serving maid.
All the women screamed in unison. A young girl’s trembling voice said: “Don’t kill me… I know where the Retired Emperor is… I’ll take you there…”
Li Yuangui turned to look and met Wei Shubin’s gaze.
“Lead the way!” Qi Biluo roared. Wei Shubin turned pale as she turned around, with Chai Yinglu following behind her while twisting Consort Yin De’s arms behind her back. The remaining palace maids were slaughtered indiscriminately by the Tuyuhun assassins, fleeing and crying out in terror.
The group hadn’t gone far along the corridor when imperial guards blocked their path from both front and back. Wei Shubin pointed toward the inner palace, her voice choking with tears: “The Retired Emperor is still that way…”
Qi Biluo exchanged words with Sang Sai and called out: “Retreat to the garden first!” He jumped down from the gallery first, waving his sword to direct several people to hide among the rocks and flowering shrubs. Li Yuangui, worried that Chai Yinglu couldn’t manage Consort Yin De alone, grabbed her arm and pushed, causing Consort Yin De to cry out “Ah!”
At this time, the palace was filled with raging flames and the din of voices, so her cry wasn’t particularly jarring – only those nearby heard it. Sang Sai and Qi Biluo both turned to glare at Consort Yin De, and Chai Yinglu quickly said: “I’ll bind this woman!” She tore Consort Yin De’s shawl in two, using half to gag her mouth and the other half to bind her hands.
Three or four black-clad Tuyuhun men stayed behind in the gallery to engage and draw away the imperial guards. Sang Sai and the others tried to circle toward the inner palace through gaps in the vegetation, but more and more guards kept pouring in, surrounding them from all directions. After several failed attempts, they had no choice but to retreat to the lookout tower on Cuiyun Peak.
By now only five Tuyuhun men remained with them, making seven including Sang Sai and Qi Biluo, plus the three women they were holding. Moving through the garden was manageable, but when they reached the powdered wall and needed to climb over, Wei Shubin struggled greatly, while the bound Consort Yin De couldn’t climb at all.
Sang Sai impatiently raised his blade, appearing ready to kill Consort Yin De to solve this problem, but Li Yuangui grabbed his wrist:
“No! This woman is the mistress of Da’an Palace, the Retired Emperor only listens to her! Even if we can’t find the Retired Emperor tonight, taking her with us will be very useful!”
After Qi Biluo translated, Sang Sai lowered his blade, muttered something, and climbed up to straddle the wall first, bending down to indicate that Qi Biluo should lift Consort Yin De to him.
Li Yuangui turned to look at Consort Yin De and saw the evil woman staring back at him, her eyes flashing with both terror and venom – she had recognized Li Yuangui.
Qi Biluo tossed Consort Yin De’s body up to the wall, while Li Yuangui and Chai Yinglu helped Wei Shubin climb over as well. Fortunately, there was no one outside the wall – the guards had probably all been urgently summoned into the palace to catch the assassins. The group ran into the woods, stumbling uphill, and returned to the lookout tower on Cuiyun Peak.
The guards Sang Sai had left were still on the third-floor observation platform. All eight Tuyuhun men took bows, crossbows, and arrows from among the weapons on the first floor and began stringing them. They had been fighting in close quarters until now and hadn’t needed archery, but it seemed they were preparing to defend the tower.
Li Yuangui and the three women climbed the ladder to the second floor and collapsed on the guards’ sleeping platforms. Wei Shubin caught sight of four guard corpses and closed her eyes, unable to bear the sight. Consort Yin De gave a cold laugh – though gagged and unable to speak, she could still snort derisively.
Suddenly curious to hear what she might say, Li Yuangui reached over and pulled down the gag. Consort Yin De immediately burst into venomous curses:
“You little wretch, you and that Chai girl played your parts well! Now that I’ve fallen to this state tonight, I don’t expect to return to the palace alive, but when I die and become a vengeful ghost, I’ll first ensure your entire family is executed, the men as thieves and the women as prostitutes, leaving no descendants!”
“Pah!” Before Wei Shubin could speak, Chai Yinglu retorted, “You vicious whore, you think your three hun and seven po souls can still escape the Fengdu netherworld to harm people? You’ll suffer eternal divine punishment in the Dog Pen, Mother Meng’s Manor, Skin-Peeling Pavilion, and Blood Pool!”
Wei Shubin shook her head and sighed, tugging at Chai Yinglu: “Sister Ying, stop arguing with her, it’s exhausting. I want to go up for some fresh air, come with me.”
The two women climbed the wooden ladder to the third-floor observation platform. Consort Yin De turned her gaze to Li Yuangui, giving a chilling laugh:
“Such a loyal minister and filial son you are! When assassins come to harm your birth sovereign, you show quite some skill! Oh, I almost forgot—you little beast, this behavior truly makes you your father’s son, born with a violent, rebellious nature…”
“What?” Li Yuangui was stunned. He had been planning how to make Consort Yin De “stay quiet and obedient, I’ll save your life and you’ll follow my orders thereafter,” but when she mentioned “father,” it felt like two heavy stones had struck him in the face.
His participation in Sang Sai’s assassination plot was not only because his sister had fallen into enemy hands and they had promised to release her afterward, but also because he planned to take advantage of the chaos to capture Consort Yin De. He needed to keep her alive and under his control to threaten Crown Prince Li Chengqian.
He firmly believed that the “Three Princesses’ Marriage Alliance” plan decided by Li Chengqian was mainly due to Consort Yin De’s instigation, and the two must have discussed it multiple times. However, Consort Yin De had developed a deep enmity with the current Emperor and Empress during the Wude years. If the Emperor and Empress discovered their eldest son was in league with the Yin family, they would surely be furious. By controlling Consort Yin De’s testimony and sending a message to Li Chengqian, the Crown Prince would fear her exposing their connection before the Emperor, and at least wouldn’t dare to bring up the marriage alliance plan again anytime soon.
The action plan Li Yuangui had arranged with Chai Yinglu and the others had proceeded smoothly thus far. Seeing Consort Yin De’s disheveled hair and tattered clothing, Li Yuangui felt a surge of vengeful satisfaction. Since his earliest memories, this evil woman had always looked down on and bullied him and his mother from her high position—who would have thought she’d see such a day?
But what did she mean by “father”… Seeing Li Yuangui speechless, Consort Yin De burst into loud laughter, saying between laughs:
“You don’t know… I knew that servant Zhang wouldn’t dare tell… Hahahaha… She’d rather hang herself than tell her son the truth… Hahahaha…”
Rage surged through Li Yuangui, and he stepped forward to strike Consort Yin De across the face, sending her flying sideways until she hit the tower’s wooden ladder.
The slap was not light. With her hands still bound, Consort Yin De struggled to turn her face by the wooden ladder, blood flowing from her nose and mouth, but her gaze toward Li Yuangui remained venomous and triumphant:
“Kill me… what good will it do… I won’t live much longer anyway, I’ll certainly follow the Retired Emperor… Do you think I fear death? Bastard, born of low birth… always ungrateful… Do you know why I sent you to Ganyesi Temple to escort the wedding of Prince Jiancheng’s daughter… Wanted to do right by blood relations, but you showed no gratitude… Do you know why Yiniang died…”
Thunder seemed to explode in his ears as chaos continued to reign inside and outside the tower. Li Yuangui ignored it all, stepping forward to grab Consort Yin De’s hair bun and demanding:
“Wretched woman! How did Yiniang die? Who killed her?”
Consort Yin De laughed hoarsely several times before answering: “Who killed her? Who killed her… Of course, I know… Why should I tell you? Bastard… You’ll just have to rack your brains and figure it out yourself…”
Li Yuangui was about to slap her again and had just raised his hand when footsteps sounded from below the wooden ladder, and Sang Sai and Qi Biluo climbed up.
Besides their waist swords, each now carried a bow on their back and quivers full of arrows at their waists. Qi Biluo shouted at Consort Yin De: “Where is Li Yuan? Is there another way in? Speak quickly! Otherwise, I’ll cut you to pieces, one slash at a time!”
Consort Yin De glanced at the long sword in the foreigner’s hand, fear showing on her face, but she forced herself to remain calm and smiled:
“Da’an Palace’s layout is irregular, with winding paths. The Retired Emperor is hidden deep within the palace. Even if I told you which hall, you wouldn’t be able to find it… You’ll have to take me back with you, I’ll guide you…”
Having just recovered from her shock, she was already thinking of ways to return to Da’an Hall—showing considerable courage. But Qi Biluo frowned and slashed her shoulder, demanding over her cries of pain: “Tell us the location, we have our guide!”
The foreigner glanced at Li Yuangui as he spoke, and Li Yuangui suddenly understood that he was the guide they meant—well, true enough.
While Consort Yin De still hesitated, she received another slash to her leg, and amid spurting blood, she cried: “I’ll tell… I’ll tell… The Retired Emperor is in…”
Suddenly there was a shout from above, and everyone on the second floor looked up. The Tuyuhun assassin who had remained on the top platform was calling out urgently in their native tongue. Though Li Yuangui couldn’t understand, he sensed the urgency in the tone, and the commotion outside the tower was becoming clearer through the walls—presumably saying that Da’an Palace guards had tracked them here.
Qi Biluo slashed Consort Yin De again, and the pampered imperial consort screamed, no longer daring to delay, shrieking: “I’ll tell! The Retired Emperor is… is in Ninghui Hall!”
The two foreign leaders looked at Li Yuangui, who nodded, indicating he knew how to get there. Sang Sai gave a fierce smile and thrust his blade toward Consort Yin De’s chest.
Li Yuangui also drew his sword, blocking Sang Sai’s blade with a clang, shouting: “She’s still useful!”—though what use she might be, he would need time to think of an explanation to satisfy these two savage chieftains.
But the noise outside was growing louder, leaving no time for the three of them to discuss and analyze. Qi Biluo glanced at the sword in Li Yuangui’s hand, seemingly unwilling to argue with him, and pointed to the wooden ladder leading to the third-floor watchtower, barking at Consort Yin De: “Up!”
The Cuiyun Peak watchtower was a tall structure, with a considerable height difference between the second and third floors. The wooden ladder extended almost vertically. With her hands bound and her leg injured, Consort Yin De tremblingly raised her wrists to Qi Biluo, indicating he should cut her bonds.
Qi Biluo gave a savage laugh and kicked her, making her fall sprawling onto the ladder, then raised his blade and shouted: “Up!” The meaning was clear—if she didn’t want to be cut, she’d have to figure out how to climb with bound hands.
Consort Yin De had no choice but to raise her bound hands to grip the ladder rungs above her head and struggle to climb. She would need to climb twenty or thirty rungs to reach the third-floor platform. The platform was suspended in the air on all four sides with no exit—if she jumped down to the tower base or ground, she would be severely injured if not killed; if she jumped farther to the cliff below, she would be smashed to pieces—so there was no fear of her escaping that way.
Sang Sai and Qi Biluo began arguing in their native tongue. Li Yuangui ignored them, keeping his eyes on Consort Yin De as she climbed step by step. When she was nearly halfway up, Li Yuangui suddenly heard a whistling sound in his ear. Before he could react, with a clang, the sword was knocked from his hand.
Qi Biluo had struck away his sword, and Sang Sai followed with a kick that sent him sprawling. Li Yuangui rolled, trying to jump up, but Sang Sai pounced on his back. With a cold blade against his neck, Li Yuangui dared not move.
“What are you doing!”
“Apologies, Prince Wu!” This was Qi Biluo’s stiff apology. The fierce foreign warrior efficiently bound Li Yuangui’s hands and feet with the long cloth they had gathered from around them, and only then did Sang Sai let him up. The two looked their royal Tang captive up and down, then tore away his black face covering and outer robe to reveal the brocade banbi beneath. In moments, a black-clad assassin had been transformed into a disheveled, unfortunate noble hostage.
The two pushed Li Yuangui and forced him downstairs. When they reached the first floor, the sounds of shouting and fighting assaulted their ears. Several black-clad Tuyuhun men were guarding the tower entrance with bows and crossbows, exchanging fire with the imperial guards outside. In the flickering firelight outside, the shouts suggested numerous soldiers, but they were unsure of the tower’s defenses and hadn’t yet charged.
Qi Biluo shouted something in their native tongue, and the Tuyuhun men inside responded in unison, though Sang Sai remained silent. Qi Biluo held his sword against Li Yuangui’s back, and with two Tuyuhun men flanking them, walked toward the door, shouting out:
“Hold your fire! Look who we have!”
So this was Sang Sai’s “method for complete withdrawal.” Li Yuangui gave a slightly bitter smile but remained composed. As they emerged from the tower entrance, more than ten torches illuminated them, and multiple voices cried out: “Prince Wu!” “Fourteenth Lord!”
There were at least fifty or sixty imperial guards surrounding the tower, with reinforcements still emerging from the woods. Seeing the Retired Emperor’s son and the Emperor’s brother in enemy hands, the imperial guards stirred uneasily. Those with crossbows stopped firing, and the commanding officers were clearly at a loss.
But this situation wouldn’t last long. The Great Tang’s Law on Bandits clearly stated “Those who avoid combat due to hostages shall serve two years of hard labor”—meaning those who gave up fighting due to concern for hostages would be punished, while if hostages were harmed or killed in combat, they would bear no responsibility. Yet the law was law, and when the hostage was of such noble birth and deep background, rescuers would inevitably hesitate.
At a command, the imperial guards outside the door retreated somewhat. Just as their commander was about to speak, sudden screams and thuds came from behind.
Crossbow bolts rained down from above—the Tuyuhun man Sang Sai had left on the tower platform was firing down at them. The commander ordered return fire. Li Yuangui thought of Chai Yinglu and Wei Shubin still on the platform, and his heart tightened.
Suddenly, a woman’s piercing shriek rang out in the night sky above, continuing without end. From the direction of the sound, the woman was falling down the cliff behind the watchtower on Cuiyun Peak.
Note: Li Yuangui wore two layers of “banbi” under his outer robe to alter his build. Here “banbi” effectively served as shoulder padding. Regarding Tang Dynasty men’s custom of wearing “banbi,” see Yang Mei Jian Wu’s research “How Many Clothes Do You Need to Return to the Tang Dynasty? (Part 1) – Layering and Matching of Men’s Daily Wear in the Tang Dynasty”
Excerpt from the text: Tang men generally wore a “banbi” under their robes. As the name suggests, banbi was a short-sleeved or sleeveless garment with a cross collar and panels below the waist… Worn under the robe, the banbi made men’s shoulders and back appear more upright and imposing, as depicted in numerous Tang Dynasty figurines and murals showing the subtle contours of the banbi beneath the robes.
End of Volume 2