Yun Ye was being beaten. Li Tai was being beaten. No matter how good your reasons, neither could escape their beatings. Li Chengqian listened to the sound of the wooden paddle striking buttocks, his teeth grinding with a crunching sound. With reddened eyes like an agitated lion, he paced back and forth under the eaves. Although the Supervisor of the Court of the Imperial Clan held an extraordinarily high position, even he couldn’t withstand the fury Li Chengqian radiated.
For a ridiculous star, his brother and sworn brother had to suffer such humiliation? Two people who had rendered great service to the nation were now being dishonored at the hands of servile people—how could Li Chengqian accept this?
In the Hall of Two Forms, Li Er looked up at the sky, not speaking for a long time. How could Yun Ye and Li Tai’s behavior escape his discerning eye? If at the beginning he still didn’t know what Yun Ye and Li Tai intended to do, when Yun Ye stated that the evil star would definitely appear in three days, what didn’t he understand? His heart was both bitter and moved.
Zhangsun held Li Er’s teapot and said with a smile: “Er Lang, what do you think of my children and student?”
Only then did Li Er notice that although Zhangsun’s face was bright with smiles, it was covered with tears. Though weeping, she held her head high, stubbornly staring at Li Er.
“You are more successful than I am, Guanyin Maid. No matter when, you always have people protecting you from harm. But what about me? My father hates me, my brothers wanted to kill me, friends betrayed me, children fear me. When all is counted, I only have you.”
“Second Brother, our lives are destined to depend on each other. If my fate were better, I would willingly lend my life to you, to let you complete your dream of being an emperor through the ages.”
“No need! We are destined to be an emperor through the ages. Three days from now with the evil star, ten days from now with the solar eclipse—We will sit before the gates of the Hall of Ten Thousand People to observe. Let’s see what they can do to Us. We received the Mandate of Heaven and should be protected by all the gods. Wherever We go, there must be no taboos.”
“Your children are also my children. I want them to know that Li Shimin’s wife doesn’t need their worry. They’re just a bunch of pedantic scholars. If they bully me, I will definitely make them regret it.”
Zhangsun gently nestled into Li Er’s embrace, burying her head in the crook of his neck, feeling infinite comfort. In the end, she hadn’t lost her husband after all.
“Empress, did you notice? These three children—how decisive their actions were today. Daring to launch such a plan on the day of ceremonial plowing. We could see they probably hadn’t even discussed it beforehand. Launched hastily, catching even Us off guard, yet they still succeeded—successfully transforming the evil star matter into an academic debate. No matter who wins or loses, in the end you are safe. Three clever people acting together are indeed extraordinary.”
“Look at the malevolent aura Chengqian radiated today—even We felt alarmed. However, this is indeed Our son. Only such a person can control those proud soldiers and fierce generals.”
“Actually, when Yun Ye told me the evil star would appear in three days, my heart was extremely calm. I knew my husband would protect me, just like twenty-three years ago on that spring day at Uncle Gao Shilian’s residence. When I fell from the swing, you caught me. I didn’t know who you were then—I forgot to be afraid and only wanted to escape from your embrace.”
“Ha ha ha! How could a woman I’ve set my sights on escape my grasp? We’ve loved each other for twenty-three years and will continue to love each other for much longer.”
Saying this, Li Er smiled bitterly and said: “We’ve discovered that now not loving you dearly has become impossible. Do you know what We discovered today?”
Zhangsun shook her head in confusion. Li Er patted the railing and said: “I saw anger in their eyes. Do you know, when I told Father that the Sui Dynasty’s momentum was spent and we should immediately raise an army, I had such anger in my eyes. If I made a move to depose you, I dare wager these three fellows would immediately take you and flee to distant lands. Perhaps after ten years of recuperation, a great army would come to attack Us.”
“Er Lang, this cannot be!” Zhangsun cried out in alarm. She seemed extremely frightened: “If such a day came, I would rather die than see you—father and sons, ruler and subjects—slaughter each other. If such circumstances arose, your concubine would truly be the evil star.”
“Guanyin Maid, We’ll tell you secretly—actually We very much hope to see such a scene. Chengqian as supreme commander, Qingque as director of works, Yun Ye as rear guard, Cheng Chumo as vanguard, Niu Jianhu as left army, Zhangsun Chong as right army, leading hundreds of thousands of troops armed to the teeth by Yun Ye, battling Us on the plains. One side in black armor, immovable as a mountain; one side in white armor like crashing tides against the shore. Such an opponent is the adversary We’ve dreamed of. The rest are not worth discussing.”
Zhangsun stared stupidly at Li Er, watching him gesticulate wildly describing his fantasy. At the intense parts, he couldn’t help laughing heartily, his manner quite crazed. Zhangsun believed Li Er truly wanted to battle his sons and Yun Ye and the others.
Having indulged his madness enough, Li Er sat dejectedly on the carpet, patting it to signal Zhangsun to come over. He roughly embraced Zhangsun and said: “These years We’ve grown more dispirited day by day. Apart from watching Xie Li and them dance, which can make Us happy for a moment, there’s really nothing much that brings joy.”
“The ministers are very capable. Although they constantly contradict me, it doesn’t matter—they’re still diligent in their work. Goguryeo is merely a jumped-up clown. We believe once the army arrives, we’ll certainly crush Goguryeo with overwhelming force. Tuyuhun? Can’t deal with them now—when the Tubo people rush down from the plateau, there must be a buffer zone. Xueyantuo? No need to send troops now—Hou Junji is weakening their strength day and night.”
“Originally had some expectations for Tubo, but who knew Ludongzan would specifically come to request marriage and honor the Great Tang as suzerain. The world is just this boring. We possess the skill to slay dragons but have no place to use it.”
Zhangsun leaned against Li Er, stroking his chest and said: “Your hero’s heart should also settle down. Your opponents have all died—they all fell beneath your sword. As long as you don’t deliberately force your own children to rebel, the Great Tang will certainly transition peacefully and safely, and the common people can also live a few more years in peace.”
“We don’t hope Wang Shichong, Dou Jiande, Xue Ju, Meng Gonghai, Gao Tansheng—these heroes—died peacefully. We truly wish they could come back to life and once again fight Us to the death!”
These words made Zhangsun’s hair stand on end. She shrieked: “Your Majesty, this won’t do! You once said the great wars at the end of Sui caused there to be no roosters crowing for a thousand li—the greatest tragedy in the human world. How can you suddenly want warfare to rise again?”
“You don’t know, Guanyin Maid—sometimes the blood in Our body burns. In the dead of night when I wake from dreams, the crisp sounds of weapons clashing on ancient battlefields always ring in my ears, the mournful neighing of warhorses, the dull thuds of iron hooves crushing human skulls, the wretched screams of wounded soldiers before death. These things constantly linger. So We believe Our best resting place is the battlefield. Only the stench of blood permeating there can bring peace to Our heart.”
Seeing the blue veins bulging on Li Er’s forehead, Zhangsun hastily embraced him, gently stroking his back. Li Er laughed heartily, picked up Zhangsun horizontally, and strode behind the curtains. In an instant, Li Er’s heavy breathing came from behind the curtains, along with Zhangsun’s low, soft moans…
Thirty strokes of the paddle—Yun Ye bore them all. This time he didn’t weep profusely like before. Pulling up his pants, he walked out quite easily. Seeing Li Chengqian, he said: “Pretty impressive this time, right? Your father didn’t make a single sound. Can be considered a true hero, right?”
The eunuch who had just carried out Yun Ye’s punishment came out with a contemptuous expression, carrying a thick cushion. He bowed to Li Chengqian and turned to leave without even glancing at the boastful Yun Ye.
While fastening his belt, Li Tai said loudly: “Let’s go to Jade Mountain right now and see what that damned evil star actually looks like. Oh right, Xiao Ye, will that star called Halley really come to the Great Tang once every seventy-six years?”
“Work hard to stay alive. As long as you live another seventy-six years, you’ll definitely see Halley’s Star again. It comes very punctually, more punctual than a water clock. Tonight after we see Halley’s Star, you’ll need to search through historical records. Find more Academy students to help you search for traces of Halley’s Star in the annals. Just search by year—you’ll definitely find them. Compile them all together—this is our weapon to strike back at those pedantic scholars.”
Li Tai asked strangely: “We two brothers will do the work—what will you do? Don’t be like before, working the fool to exhaustion while you go sleep. It’s not that I’m petty, but you have serious prior offenses.”
“You beat me black and blue and still have the face to talk? We agreed it was fake fighting—look at me now, can I see people? No matter what, I need to properly disperse the bruising and reduce the swelling. Three days from now when Halley’s Star appears, I still need to lead Shishi, Xiao Wu, Xiao Jie, Yun Shou, and Yun Mu together to worship the former master. This is White Jade Capital’s greatest ceremony and needs to be conducted solemnly.”
“Don’t tell me there really is such a thing as White Jade Capital. That you have a mentor is true, that you have an inheritance is true, that you even have a former master named Halley is probably also true, but I’ve never believed in any such nonsense as White Jade Capital—even if you found three jade plaques, I don’t believe it.” Li Tai rubbed the lump on his head and said disdainfully.
“I don’t believe it either, because I haven’t seen it with my own eyes either. But my teacher said there is, and there are jade plaques, and people all over the world believe there is—so maybe there really is. Regardless of whether there is or not, I need to use its reputation to strengthen the credibility of what I say. In the end, as long as those pedantic scholars believe it, that’s fine. What does it matter whether you believe it or not?”
Li Chengqian pushed the two men outward. It was getting late—by the time they reached Jade Mountain it would be dark. From Jade Mountain to the observatory, there was still some distance to travel. Time was not abundant.
The black and blue Yun Ye startled Liu Jinbao, who was waiting at the palace gate. Drawing his blade, he was about to find the culprit and fight desperately. Li Tai kicked his thigh and said: “The culprit is me. At the same time, the wounds on my face are also your marquis’s handiwork. Don’t jump around pretending loyalty—it’s disgusting to watch.”
Liu Jinbao looked left and right. He could only help the black and blue marquis and prince into the carriage. Before they even started, they saw the Crown Prince’s carriage already galloping wildly ahead.