A daughter of a Prince from the former Sui imperial clan.
Wei Shubin vaguely recalled that both Emperor Wen of Sui (Yang Jian) and Emperor Yang (Yang Guang), father and son, had brothers who were naturally granted princely titles, though most met unfortunate ends. Chai Yingluor pressed further: “Which Prince? Many descendants of the Sui imperial clan still reside in Chang’an. Madam need only tell us which branch, which household, and Yingluor will investigate the rest.”
Jiman remained silent in contemplation. Watching from the side, Wei Shubin sensed trouble, thinking how the male princes of the Yang Sui family over three or four generations had either died young or been executed for crimes, most leaving their lines extinct and titles stripped. If Empress Xiao were to casually name an already extinct branch, where would they investigate… Chai Yingluor seemed to realize this too, and turned to address Yang Min:
“Everyone knows that Attendant Yang is the only surviving grandson of the last Sui emperor. The current court revives extinct states and continues broken lineages, showing favor to two empress dowagers by granting the Jie Duchy to the Yuwen clan and the Wu Duchy to the Yang clan for their ancestral temples. The Duke of Wu, Yang You, was also the eldest son of Crown Prince Yuande and Madam Xiao’s grandson, but unfortunately, his life was short, dying young of illness without an heir. During the Wude era, the court granted his clan nephew Yang Xingji succession to the ducal title, which continues to this day. Now that Attendant Yang has returned from the northern frontier, perhaps this Duke of Wu title should be reconsidered…”
Yang Guang of Sui had only three surviving sons, of whom Crown Prince Yuande (Yang Zhao) and Prince of Qi (Yang Yun) were born to Empress Xiao, while the youngest, Prince of Zhao (Yang Gao), was born to Consort Xiao. The eldest, Yang Zhao, died early, leaving three grandsons: Prince of Yue (Yang Tong) who remained to guard Luoyang, was puppet-installed by Wang Shichong’s forces and later killed; Prince of Dai (Yang You) who guarded the western capital, fell into Li Yuan’s control, was installed as Emperor Gong of Sui before “abdicating and dying of illness” – naturally recognized by the Tang court as the legitimate line; and Prince of Yan (Yang Hao), who was killed in the Jiangdu Palace incident along with his two uncles and the two surviving sons of his second uncle, Prince of Qi Yang Yun. All of Yang Guang’s children and grandchildren whom he had known in life were gone.
Yang Min was Yang Yun’s posthumous son who, from birth, had wandered as a refugee with his grandmother Empress Xiao. At a young age, they sought refuge with Princess Yicheng, who had married into the Turks as part of Sui’s marriage alliance. He was installed as “King of Sui,” leading Central Plains people who had fled north, residing in Dingxiang in opposition to Tang until the Turks’ destruction. Because of this history, though the Tang court could not well punish this orphan and widow, they also refused to recognize Yang Min’s status as “direct heir of the Sui imperial house.” The Duke of Wu’s title and fief remained inherited by the collateral branch’s Yang Xingji, while Yang Min was given only the idle position of “Outer Office Scattered Rider Attendant” for his maintenance.
When Chai Yingluor brought this up now, her words seemed to suggest “Cooperate with me and I can influence the court to transfer the ducal title to Yang Min,” but as a mere female Daoist of the inner temple, she had little real power in such matters. Both Empress Xiao and her grandson were worldly-wise and not easily swayed, maintaining impassive expressions. Seeing this, Chai Yingluor continued:
“The Zhou rites honoring two kings and three nobles also respect Heaven’s mandate, intending to continue the ancestral sacrifices of noble families. Attendant Yang must be approaching his twentieth year now. Has he chosen a marriage match yet? Yingluor knows of several current noble families, all old gates of Longyou, who have discussed seeking sons-in-law. Including the palace’s Third Prince of Shu and Sixth Prince of Liang – they’re not outsiders after all – all have reached the age for taking consorts and wives. Though Madam Xiao has vowed to leave the world behind, surely you cannot completely ignore matters of flesh and blood?”
The Third Prince of Shu (Li Ke) and the Sixth Prince of Liang (Li Yin) were both born to Consort Yang, who was Yang Guang’s daughter and Yang Min’s aunt, making Empress Xiao the grandmother of both princes. Though Chai Yingluor spoke casually of linking Yang Min’s marriage with that of the two princes, the grandmother and grandson reacted to this, their expressions visibly tense.
As a favored and trusted inner palace attendant of Empress Zhangsun, Chai Yingluor might lack influence over official court appointments but had considerable sway in marriage arrangements between imperial relatives and noble families. Empress Xiao had only one grandson left, and after enduring years of humiliation, naturally placed all her hopes on Yang Min marrying and producing heirs to continue the line. If Chai Yingluor were to interfere, arranging a match with some family-destroying shrewish wife, half of Empress Xiao’s lifetime of suffering would have been in vain.
The elderly nun suddenly clutched her chest and began coughing, appearing somewhat distressed. Chai Yingluor moved closer to pat her back and soothe her, speaking more gently:
“I’ve said too much. Madam is elderly and should focus on maintaining her health, not bearing such heavy concerns. Attendant Yang is a grown man now, with an official court position, capable of making his own decisions without troubling his grandmother. It hasn’t been easy for Madam… The lone surviving sons of families like ours, too preciously raised, often don’t survive to adulthood. Attendant Yang lost his father before birth, spending his whole life with only his grandmother, growing to manhood – how much worry and effort that must have taken…”
“Princess Dehua,” Jiman interrupted the Daoist woman’s chilling “sympathy,” answering between coughs, “was the sixth daughter of Prince Guan of the former Sui, childhood name ‘Guanniang.’ Due to her beauty and gentle nature, she was selected by my inner palace. At the end of the eleventh year of Daye, she was granted her title and married to the Thousand Horses Guard, Crown Prince Murong Shun of Tuyuhun, who was appointed Imperial Son-in-law Commander on the same day.”
The sixth daughter of Prince Guan… which of Yang Guang’s uncles or brothers had been titled “Prince Guan”?
While Wei Shubin was pondering this, she saw Chai Yingluor’s expression change as she asked in a deep voice: “Is this true? She was the daughter of Prince Guan Yang Xiong? The sister of today’s Fifth Imperial Son-in-law… Yang Shidao?”
Jiman nodded, saying calmly: “Indeed. If the True Master doubts this, you may go ask your uncle-in-law yourself. After the dynastic change, he might be unwilling to mention it voluntarily, but he may not have the heart to deny it outright.”
Right – that “Prince Guan” wasn’t one of Yang Jian or Yang Guang’s nephews, but Yang Xiong of the main Hongnong Yang lineage, granted a princely title when the Sui imperial house actively sought to establish kinship ties. Yang Xiong was also Yang Shidao’s father and Yang Xin’s grandfather… After all of Li Yuanji’s days searching for Princess Dehua, it turned out she was from his own personal guard’s family.
Thinking about it, one couldn’t blame Yang Xin – he had been born late and was on poor terms with his father and stepmother, so he might truly never have heard about his aunt’s marriage alliance. When such convenient imperial relatives were selected for diplomatic marriages, the court would order the family to keep the bride’s true identity secret. After the tumult of dynastic change, former imperial relatives had to be even more careful. They were eager enough to distance themselves from the old imperial house – how could they go around announcing “our daughter was a marriage alliance princess of the former dynasty”?
“Did Princess Dehua and the son she bore to Murong Shun both perish in the Jiangdu Palace incident?” Chai Yingluor stared intently at Jiman as she asked. “Monastics do not speak falsehoods – did Madam witness this personally? Or confirm their bodies afterward?”
The elderly nun raised her eyes to look at the Daoist woman, her slight smile containing a trace of pity and compassion:
“You are still young, child, having never witnessed such hellish scenes, to ask such… naive questions. Princess Dehua… ah, if she could have died so quickly, that would have been a blessing… She was a one-in-ten-thousand beauty, gentle and clever at pleasing people. Among those wolf-like warriors during the Jiangdu Palace incident, who wouldn’t have lusted after her… Her husband fled to save himself, abandoning his wife and child. In the chaos of war, with no one to protect them, what could a weak woman carrying an infant do? She was passed between the violent military commanders’ tents, struggling to survive, her spirit long broken, her body like a clay doll… ah…”
“When did Madam last see Princess Dehua?”
Jiman answered slowly:
“In autumn of the fourteenth year of Daye, the traitor Yuwen Huaji forcibly took the six palaces, leading over a hundred thousand elite Xiaoguo guards, intending to return to Guanzhong from Jiangdu. When they reached Jijun east of Luoyang, they fought bitterly with the Wagang bandit Li Mi for over a month. After the battle of Tong Mountain, Yuwen’s subordinates began deserting, and he fled in panic, only managing to take my grandmother and grandson and a few closely related princesses… That night, all of us palace women were huddled trembling in the tent. I glimpsed Guanniang collapsed motionless by a tent pole, already violated nearly to death… The tent flap lifted, and that villain Huaji’s brother Zhiji led men in, dragging out me and my grandson and daughters, taking us north to Hebei… After that, this old nun never saw Princess Dehua and her child again.”