“Gaochang?” Wei Shubin was startled.
“Indeed. Gaochang is the gateway fortress from the Central Plains into the Western Regions. With imperial forces now campaigning against the Tuyuhun, His Majesty has been in constant communication with King Qu Wentai of Gaochang, hoping to secure their military cooperation for a pincer attack from north and south. He even considered the idea of a marriage alliance with a princess. Hmpf, how naive! Those barbarian kingdoms thousands of miles away know nothing of propriety and righteousness, caring only for profit with beast-like hearts beneath human faces—how can they be trusted? While envoys were still discussing marriage arrangements, they sent a new delegation announcing that their crown prince Qu Zhisheng had already married a daughter of the Western Turkic Khan. The Court of State Ceremonial’s efforts were completely wasted!”
Hearing this news, Wei Shubin felt relieved. Recently, Crown Prince Li Chengqian had considered sending both the Seventeenth Princess and Chai Yuluo to Gaochang for marriage alliances—at least that proposal could now be dismissed.
“So what does His Majesty intend for Prince Wu to do in Gaochang?” she asked nervously.
Her father glanced at her, expressionless:
“The new Gaochang envoys said that if the Great Tang truly desires a marriage alliance, King Qu Wentai has a daughter born to his queen, who has reached marriageable age and is very beautiful. Qu Wentai cherishes this only daughter like a pearl in his palm and is reluctant to send her away, so he proposes to take a son-in-law who would serve as an official in Gaochang. Having heard that the Heavenly Khan has many younger brothers and sons, they suggest selecting one of talent and appearance to seek marriage in Gaochang, if the couple meets with Qu Wentai and his wife’s approval…”
“His Majesty wants Prince Wu to seek marriage with the Gaochang Princess?” Wei Shubin exclaimed.
“It hasn’t been explicitly stated, but the intention has been hinted at,” Wei Zheng said grimly. “For Prince Wu himself, this isn’t necessarily bad news. He has committed six of the ten heinous crimes, his guilt beyond redemption. By law and reason, even if not formally executed, he should be sentenced to death at home. This proposal amounts to exile of three thousand li away, yet he needn’t be stripped of his titles or family status to become a commoner. He can retain his princely title and clan registration, plus marry a vassal state’s princess as an imperial son-in-law—quite a fortunate outcome indeed.”
Indeed fortunate… Li Yuanji himself… would probably agree.
Wei Shubin lowered her head, eyes half-closed, silently admonishing herself: This is good, this is comprehensive—his life, dignity, and reputation can all be preserved. You should be content and happy for him, stop… harboring foolish fantasies about anything else.
What else could she fantasize about anyway? Today she had completed the betrothal ceremony, and everyone in Chang’an, both in and out of court, knew that Miss Wei was now the second wife of General Cheng, the Duke of Suguo. They were just waiting to set the wedding date for the formal ceremony. Once she crossed his threshold and shared his bed, she would become nothing but a walking corpse barely clinging to life, waiting for the day when she had no more attachments… Thousands of li away, he would no longer see her or hear news of her, focusing solely on his own life—wouldn’t that be for the best?
Moreover, the Western Region’s great desert was exactly where the Li family men dreamed of establishing their careers. Li Yuanji had studied literature and martial arts since childhood, training rigorously in horsemanship and archery, mastering military strategy, always yearning to lead troops in battle and achieve glory on the battlefield—wasn’t this the perfect opportunity? True, he would go there to marry a princess and become Gaochang’s imperial son-in-law, perhaps not immediately trusted by his father-in-law in military and political affairs, but as royal kin, his talents wouldn’t be buried for long. Which country’s court doesn’t rely heavily on its relatives?
As for the Gaochang Princess, being described as beautiful, he wouldn’t feel too reluctant to take her as his primary wife… Unlike the Turks, Tiele, Tuyuhun, and Tibetans, Gaochang was established by Han-Wei descendants. It was said their nobles were mostly Han Chinese, with customs, language, and writing similar to China’s. The queen herself was a Chinese princess sent in marriage, so her daughter’s appearance and upbringing would naturally be Chinese-like, probably capable of being compatible with her husband, following his lead…
Being from the Li Tang royal family, he carried the prestige of the Heavenly Khan. Everyone said the Western Regions would be the Tang army’s next military focus—as this advance guard and envoy, Li Yuanji could achieve boundless merit, with limitless prospects… What a perfect arrangement.
“His Majesty’s grace is profound, benefiting all beings,” Wei Shubin said with slight choking. “If arranged thus, nothing could be more appropriate. Please, Father, help facilitate this proposal—your unfilial daughter asks nothing more.”
“Appropriate? What’s appropriate about it!” Wei Zheng irritably struck the corridor pillar. “This proposal absolutely cannot proceed! Even if we send a prince for a marriage alliance, it cannot be Prince Wu!”
“Father?” Wei Shubin looked at her father in shock.
“Don’t I know His Majesty’s thoughts?” The Tang Prime Minister sneered. “Those Longxi old family habits—all they think about is war, war, war! They don’t care how devastated the people’s livelihood has become after the great chaos! Barely one in ten households remains, and thousands li of fertile fields have turned to wasteland, yet instead of focusing wholly on recovery and helping people return to farming, the court keeps mobilizing troops and launching military campaigns to expand territory, disregarding the people’s survival!”
Wei Shubin had heard her father make this argument many times since she could remember and had always found it reasonable. But this time, hearing it, she had some thoughts and couldn’t help defending the Li family’s imperial brothers:
“Though that may be true, if we don’t take the initiative to strike, but instead wait for the frontier cavalry to raid southward after autumn, killing, burning, and taking slaves, won’t the border people still have no peace?”
“Hmph! When we fought the Turks five years ago, I accepted that reasoning; I didn’t strongly oppose fighting the Tuyuhun either, as both countries indeed frequently raided our borders! But Gaochang is at the edge of heaven, separated from the Central Plains by a thousand li of desert where even birds can’t fly across. They’ve never sent a single soldier to harm our people—what’s the point of attacking them? A marriage alliance would be fine, whether sending a princess or prince from the Li family to form kinship ties, with both countries maintaining friendly relations, trading, and letting people live in peace—wouldn’t that be better than anything else? Yet they insist on sending Prince Wu! Is that Fourteenth Prince one to stay peaceful and avoid trouble?”
Wei Shubin finally understood her father’s meaning—he worried that Li Yuanji wasn’t docile enough and might provoke a war between the two countries after reaching Gaochang. This concern… well, was reasonable and didn’t wrong the Fourteenth Prince.
“Father may be overthinking,” she tried to find words to persuade him. “The court is still at war with Tuyuhun, and wasn’t it said recently that the situation is unfavorable, with various frontier tribes betraying the court to join Tuyuhun in resisting imperial forces? With the Qinghai campaign in such dire straits and unable to advance, how could they consider attacking Gaochang? His Majesty sending Prince Wu to Gaochang for marriage is just to temporarily stabilize the northern front, allying—Prince Wu would go as… a filial son-in-law. The court has no troops to spare; how could Prince Wu dare provoke a war on his own? By the time the Tuyuhun campaign ends, who knows what the situation will be? Perhaps the entire court will have lost interest in warfare, and Prince Wu is a clever person, he would just… honestly spend his life as a son-in-law in Gaochang…”
“You’re just a young woman, what do you know of military and political affairs?” Wei Zheng frowned as he scolded his daughter. “You speak like a child, with a woman’s limited view! These aren’t matters you should be inquiring about or considering. Just focus on preparing your trousseau, and wait for the Cheng family to choose a date for the wedding ceremony, then go be a proper wife and mother! Don’t ever mention Prince Wu or marriage alliances again!”
The Prime Minister knew about her previous adventures with Li Yuanji and Chai Yuluo, or at least had a general idea, and seemed to have guessed his daughter’s private feelings for Li Yuanji. By not confronting her directly, he was saving his eldest daughter’s face, perhaps also following his wife’s advice, but his underlying message was clear—warning his daughter to cut off emotional attachments, maintain propriety and virtue, and not cause any more scandals.
After a few more words of instruction, Wei Zheng stood and left, never having agreed to spare Li Yuanji’s life. Wei Shubin sat in the corridor, chest tight with suppressed emotion, thinking back and forth before supporting herself to stand, then turning to walk quickly toward the stable in the west courtyard.
“Young Miss!” Her chambermaid ran after her calling, “Young Miss, where are you going?”
“Nowhere, just getting some air!” Wei Shubin answered while quickening her pace out the door. She wanted to escape on horseback to find Chai Yuluo before her parents thought to confine her.
Based on what she knew, sending Li Yuanji to Gaochang for a “marriage alliance” was the only way to save his life. Since her father wouldn’t help advocate for it, she could only follow the old path and implore Chai Yuluo to help make it happen.
Note:
1. The conflicts Wei Zheng mentioned between ministers and princes are historically documented, though the timing may not strictly follow historical records (several sources often disagree on exact dates).
2. Regarding the Queen of Gaochang, she was quite a remarkable woman who married both father and son in her lifetime, changed her surname three times, and was named princess by three different courts. According to the Old Tang History, Volume 210, Biography 148 of Western Barbarians: “Gaochang was the court of the Former King of Jushi during Han times, and the former site of the Wuji Colonel’s office during Later Han… Its king Qu Boya was the sixth-generation descendant of King Jia of Gaochang from the Later Wei period. During Emperor Yang of Sui’s time, he came to court and was appointed Left Minister of Ceremonies, Governor of Jushi, and created Duke of Bian, while being married to a Yu-wen clan woman who was made Princess Huarong. In the second year of Wude, Boya died and his son Wentai succeeded… When Taizong ascended the throne, Gaochang again offered tribute of black fox fur, and in return, his wife née Yu-wen was gifted with a set of flower hairpins. Lady Yu-wen then offered jade plates in tribute. Any developments in the Western Regions would be reported by them. In the winter of the fourth year of Zhenguan, Wentai came to court, and when returning to his domain, was richly rewarded. His wife née Yu-wen requested to join the imperial clan, and by imperial decree was granted the Li surname and titled Princess Changle, with an edict to comfort her.”