“In my opinion, we can’t move the Emperor Emeritus again tonight, as it might harm his dragon body,” Wei Shubin shook her head.
Consort Yin De wasn’t foolish and quickly understood, nodding: “You’re right. Then what should we do? Let’s hope the guards catch the assassins quickly!”
“Naturally. But if…” Wei Shubin bit her lip, her eyes scanning the small hall for possible hiding places. This hastily arranged chamber didn’t even have bed curtains or screens. A large bed, a bronze brazier, and a small couch filled the space, with a low wooden clothes rack barely squeezed in beside the couch. The floor was completely covered with carpets, probably from when the Seventeenth Princess had been frequently punished to kneel here…
Thinking of that little girl’s frail body and tearful voice, Wei Shubin gritted her teeth and turned to Consort Yin De:
“Forgive my rudeness, but given the urgency—in my opinion, to prepare for the worst, you could first place the Emperor Emeritus under the bed… If assassins burst in and can’t see him at first glance, we can desperately insist he’s not here, perhaps buying more time!”
Consort Yin De looked at the dark space under the bed’s frame. It was large enough to fit a person, though it would certainly be dirty and suffocating inside. But there was no other choice at the moment. After a brief hesitation, she nodded and called people in to help.
Several serving maids quickly cleaned under the bed, then lifted the Emperor Emeritus from above, bedding and all, and pushed him through the bed frame opening. The old man, even in his unconscious state, felt the discomfort and groaned, struggling and twisting a few times, clearly unwilling. Standing to the side, Wei Shubin couldn’t help but pray silently—if assassins burst in, hopefully, the Emperor Emeritus wouldn’t struggle under the bed then…
The maids and palace women lay on the carpet, carefully settling the Emperor Emeritus under the bed and pushing him as far back as possible so he couldn’t be seen from outside. By now the shouts and commotion outside had reached a fever pitch, and all the women in the room were pale and trembling.
Consort Yin De maintained better composure, blowing out the room’s lights with a “puff” and sitting on her small couch, sighing: “Let’s leave it to fate! Being afraid won’t help!”
Wei Shubin listened intently to the sounds outside, silently counting in her heart until her heartbeat calmed and she gathered her courage. In the pitch darkness, she volunteered to Consort Yin De:
“My lady, let me go check the situation. If imperial guards have arrived, they won’t know where the Emperor Emeritus is, and I can quickly guide them here to protect us!”
“This… alright.” Consort Yin De’s voice carried doubt. “But be careful to hide yourself well, don’t let the assassins see you.”
“Yes.” Wei Shubin acknowledged and pushed open the door to leave the secluded small hall.
Outside, the killing shouts and crying continued to boil over. Countless figures ran like headless flies along the corridor, with several flickering fires, and wails following the clash of metal. Wei Shubin hid behind a corridor pillar, staring wide-eyed at the chaos in the Great Peace Hall. Before long, she saw a familiar figure.
Near an inconspicuous firelight, Chai Yinglu’s graceful figure appeared and disappeared. Wei Shubin looked more carefully and confirmed she was walking with several men in black, glancing around as they came in this direction.
Perfect timing.
Wei Shubin turned and ran back to the small hall where the Emperor Emeritus was, pushed open the door, and tried to make her voice sound excited and joyful:
“Consort Yin De! Great news! Great news! Come quickly to see!”
“What?” Consort Yin De’s voice was surprised. “There’s good news?”
“Yes! Palace Supervisor Yin has achieved great merit! Can you guess who the captured assassin and traitor is?”
“Who?” In the darkness of the room, Wei Shubin couldn’t see Consort Yin De’s figure, but heard the rustle of silk robes—at least she had stood up.
“Palace Supervisor Yin won’t let me say, he wants to give you a big surprise,” Wei Shubin laughed. “Don’t worry, my lady, the enemy situation outside has been cleared. Please come out and see for yourself!”
In all the chaos, it was indeed impossible to tell whether it was assassins or imperial guards moving about outside. Hearing this, Consort Yin De picked up her robes and walked to the door, but still first peeked outside. Wei Shubin quickly said: “It’s quite cold outside, my lady. Please put on a thick cloak before going out.”
Her thoughtful consideration seemed to dispel the middle-aged beauty’s last doubts. Consort Yin De nodded, pulled tight the brocade the serving maid had draped over her shoulders, and walked out first. Several maids and palace women followed her out.
The noise outside had diminished somewhat, but the scene was still chaotic. Consort Yin De walked a few steps along the connecting corridor, then turned back to ask Wei Shubin puzzled: “Where is Yin Tuo? Where is Ta?”
“They were just here… strange… perhaps they took the criminal back to the West Chamber?” Wei Shubin guided her toward the main corridor. “Palace Supervisor Yin has caught evidence proving that tonight’s assassins were colluding with Chai Yinglu!”
Hearing this, Consort Yin De’s spirits lifted and her steps quickened. She hurried a few steps ahead of Wei Shubin, turned onto the main corridor—and found herself face-to-face with Chai Yinglu.
Seeing the female Daoist unbound and accompanied by several men in black, Consort Yin De froze for a moment, quickly realized the situation, and turned to run back. Behind her, Chai Yinglu’s voice drifted over, only the latter half audible through the chaos: “…look, isn’t that Consort Yin De?”
The strong and fierce men in black rushed forward with powerful momentum. A tall, thin assassin grabbed Consort Yin De, and Wei Shubin, who hadn’t run far, was also captured along with several maids by the men in black.
“Where is Li Yuan?” a strong man demanded harshly, his accent revealing him as a foreigner. Before Consort Yin De could answer, the tall, thin man in black who had grabbed her pointed toward the small hall deep in the connecting corridor: “Must be in there!”
As soon as he spoke, Wei Shubin recognized Li Yuangui’s voice. But there was no time for greetings or acknowledgments now. Li Yuangui pushed Consort Yin De to Chai Yinglu and ran toward the small hall first, with the other men in black following closely, bringing the women with them.
Li Yuangui moved very quickly, kicking open the hall door and rushing in. His shout soon came from inside: “Not here! No one!”
“He isn’t here!” Chai Yinglu, twisting Consort Yin De’s arms, shouted near Wei Shubin, “She said she wanted to move the Emperor Emeritus farther away, this place is too close to the West Chamber!”
Two men in black also went in to look, then came back out. The shorter one was furious; even through his black face covering, one could hear his teeth grinding in anger. He stepped back to Consort Yin De, barked a question in a foreign language, and with a flash of his blade, severed the head of a nearby serving maid.
All the women screamed in unison. Wei Shubin stepped back, gathered her courage, and said in a trembling voice:
“Don’t kill me… I know where the Emperor Emeritus is… I’ll take you there…”
Note: Let me explain some details about furniture in the early Tang Dynasty. The Tang Dynasty saw the greatest changes in furniture styles in Chinese history. The high tables and chairs familiar to modern people became popular and widespread in the middle Tang period. Therefore, the household furnishings and arrangements in the early Tang were closer to the “sitting on the floor” style of the Han Dynasty, the Three Kingdoms period, or early Japan. Specifically for Vol 3 – Chapter 3, three main pieces of furniture appear, and their approximate appearances can be explained with reference images.
Regarding the large bed where Li Yuan slept, one can refer to the image in “Admonitions Scroll” Figure 1. The image clearly shows the curtains, bed screen, and bed frame opening (“hu men”). “Hu men” is also written as “hu men” – according to recent research, it was written as “hu men” in the earliest “Yingzao Fashi,” so this character was used.
The “small couch” where Consort Yin De slept can be referenced from the Five Dynasties “Double Screen Chess Playing” painting.
The clothes rack used indoors in medieval times was written as “heng.” Early versions, as seen in “Gao Yi Tu,” were simpler and lower. In the Five Dynasties “Han Xizai’s Night Revels,” a corner of the clothes rack appears behind the large bed, looking more like later Ming and Qing furniture, and similar to modern Japanese kimono racks.