Killers can thrive in this world, while good people can only huddle trembling in places where others cannot find them. Even the dust kicked up by others riding horses is more than what good people raise.
Yun Ye explained this principle to Zhangsun. When Xinyue saw that Zhangsun hadn’t come to persuade her husband to leave the mountains and return to work, she became very filial toward Zhangsun. Among this group of people, Yun Ye wielded the cooking ladle with great joy—after all, good people also need to have a bit of their own pleasure.
Zhangsun drank a jar of crucian carp soup, ate a small bowl of dark sesame paste, and consumed four or five dumplings with wild onion filling. Her attendant Mei Gu, standing behind her, was extremely pleased—this was the most the Empress had eaten in over half a year.
“Comfortable! I’m stuffed.” Zhangsun patted her belly and said to Yun Ye.
“This concubine will accompany you for a walk. It’s very safe here. The household guards are stationed right here—there are no wild beasts.” Xinyue stood up and said to Zhangsun.
Zhangsun looked carefully at Feng Yuan and said “good girl,” then removed a phoenix hairpin from her head and inserted it in Feng Yuan’s hair. She turned back to look at Li Yanrong, touched her cheek and said: “You are one who will enjoy blessings.”
Then, accompanied by Xinyue, Feng Yuan, and Li Yanrong, she went to walk along the small path.
Seeing the Empress had left, Yun Shou lowered his voice to ask his father: “Father, why do you think the Empress came to the mountains?”
Li Rong frowned and said: “She must want Father to save Li Zhi, but she really can’t bring herself to ask, so she can only wear Father down. This time our family won’t be the fool. If she has no solution, what methods could our family possibly have?”
“Xiao Wu came yesterday and said the court is currently in chaos. The Zhangsun family is about to monopolize power. Previously when Zhangsun Wuji wanted to assume the real authority of Left Chancellor, he was refused by the Empress. Now he’s truly become Left Chancellor. Fang Xuanling has already submitted a memorial requesting retirement—it looks like he couldn’t withstand the pressure from the Zhangsun family and is making room for them.”
“Zhangsun Chong came from behind this time. Before Li Zhi could fully launch his rebellion, he controlled the situation. Zhang Jian, Lai Ji, and Shangguan Yi had no time to flee and were captured alive by him. Only Jiang Ke accompanied Li Zhi to Sanyuan County and died in battle in the end.”
“The great merit of quelling the rebellion! He’s already been appointed Left Vice Minister of War, replacing that foolish Duan Hu. Now he’s comprehensively controlling the great authority of the Ministry of War, issuing commands from Father’s position.”
Yun Ye chuckled and said to Yun Shou: “Didn’t your Sister Xiao Wu investigate what actually happened in the imperial palace?”
Yun Shou shook his head worriedly: “Sister Xiao Wu even activated the Humble Ones who hadn’t been used for ten years, but still couldn’t figure out what happened at Wanmin Palace.”
“That night, many people died in the imperial palace—all eunuchs and palace maids on duty at Wanmin Palace. The next day, Taiji Palace was filled with fragrant flowers, supposedly to eliminate the bloody smell and cover up the damage traces that couldn’t be repaired in time. At the same time, sixteen female Buddhist nuns were added to Ganye Temple, among whom one was remarkably Consort Xu Hui.”
“Master Wuse now doesn’t concern herself with worldly affairs, devoting herself wholeheartedly to Buddha. Her son has supposedly married, but no one knows where he is. The most suspicious thing is that Consort Xu Hui’s father, Right Cavalier Attendant-in-Ordinary Xu Xiaode, was executed in the marketplace. He was merely a good old man, ultimately just an example of a father gaining honor through his daughter’s nobility. Killing him was meaningless. Since he was killed, it can only mean he truly had reason to die.”
Yun Ye sighed deeply and said to his two sons: “Let’s just sit at the city gate and watch the scenery!”
“Father, always keeping our doors closed and never going out isn’t a solution either. Now some people are already comparing you to Sima Yi who feigned madness and stupidity. We two brothers have become Sima Zhao and Sima Shi. Everyone says we’re accumulating strength to plot for future advantage.” Li Rong slapped the table and roared in a low voice.
Yun Ye shook his head and smiled: “The Zhangsun family is too impatient. Spreading such rumors will only make them a laughingstock. After the incident, Father already displayed the Yun family’s strength before others—merely three thousand elite soldiers. In Chang’an surrounded by great armies, they can’t stir up any waves. That day’s affair was actually for the Emperor to see—this is all the Yun family has. As for Father hiding in the mountains, I’m actually pleading guilty. Our family privately helping Li Huairen’s wife and children escape is also a great crime!”
Li Rong and Yun Shou exchanged glances and together asked Yun Ye: “Father, our family’s foundation can’t be only three thousand elite soldiers, right?”
Yun Ye said distantly: “Who knows? When Father returned from the Western Regions, all along the way I dispersed troops. Now heaven knows how many people are still willing to listen to our family.”
After hearing their father’s words, the two brothers went to look at the map. Li Rong drew a long line from Hexi to Chang’an. Yun Shou then marked the Yun family merchant caravan’s trade routes on that map and discovered the two lines overlapped into one. Li Rong sniffed, and Yun Shou also looked up at the sky. After making a simple calculation, the two brothers stuffed that map into the stove fire and nonchalantly helped their father tend the fire—in a while, when the Empress and Mother returned, they would need hot water for washing.
Yun Shou and Li Rong could only make simple calculations, but Xiao Wu was so busy she was covered in sweat. The sealed room was strung full of red cords, densely packed like a great net. The map on the wall was filled with pins, each pin tied with a red thread. Xiao Wu finished tying the red thread to the last pin and slowly drew it to Yuezhou. Only then did she let out a long breath. She kicked the soundly sleeping Di Renjie and roared: “Quickly get me a basin of cold water! Are you trying to heat me to death?”
Di Renjie rubbed his tired eyes and looked helplessly at Xiao Wu. This woman had become even more arrogant and domineering since giving birth to their second child. It was just bearing a son—was there any need to be so arrogant?
Although grumbling inwardly, seeing Xiao Wu covered in sweat, he still felt some distress. He ran out and brought in cold water. Xiao Wu had already stripped completely naked. Di Renjie looked at Xiao Wu’s exquisite and shapely jade body and swallowed. This woman had given him two children yet still maintained such a good figure.
Maids couldn’t enter the underground passage, so everything had to be done by hand. He wrung out the towel and very carefully helped Xiao Wu wipe the beads of sweat from her body.
“Get lost! Why do you always wipe my chest? Can’t you see my head is covered in sweat?”
“Oh! I understand.” Di Renjie awakened from his entranced state and began enthusiastically helping Xiao Wu, who had spread her arms waiting to be served, with wiping…
Games between young couples easily spark flames. Just now it was only Xiao Wu covered in sweat, but after a while both were sweating profusely. Xiao Wu seemed to have gone limp. Di Renjie chuckled and carried the naked Xiao Wu to the cool mat, changed to a fresh basin of water, and continued his previous work.
After cleaning up, the two lay face-up naked on the cool mat. Di Renjie looked at this great net and said to Xiao Wu: “This is what Master has been busy with all this time?”
Xiao Wu turned over to lie on the cool mat and said softly: “Originally it could have been even more dense and complex. There are some methods Master is unwilling to use.” Xiao Wu pointed at two red threads hanging loosely from the wall and continued: “Xiao An and Xiao You were originally two excellent chess pieces, but Master forcibly cut them off. These years, aside from familial interactions, he refuses to overstep boundaries by even one step. There’s also Dan Ying in Luoyang, Han Zhe in the northern desert, Qu Zhuo, Niu Jianhu in Mingzhou, Yuchi Baolin in Zhuozhou, even Cheng Yaojin, Cheng Chumo, Niu Jinda, and Yuchi Jingde of the Left Military Guard. Even Li Jing—Master could tie red threads to all of them.”
“But he just won’t. No matter how I persuade him, it’s all in vain. Master seems willing to die rather than use these terrifying forces. Otherwise, the strength of this net would increase by fifty percent!”
Di Renjie thought for a long time before saying: “This is already very good. Valuing sentiment and righteousness—that’s my good master. We husband and wife will wholeheartedly help Master without worrying about our retreat. This is very good. A good man does what should be done and doesn’t do what shouldn’t be done—just do what one ought to do. However, Xiao Wu, can you tell me what that small net beside the great net is about?”
Xiao Wu propped up her beautiful upper body with her arms and giggled: “That’s Bai Yujing! Master doesn’t like Bai Yujing, but I’m simply obsessed with Bai Yujing. ‘The White Jade Capital in Heaven, with five towers and twelve cities, where immortals stroke my head, binding my hair to receive eternal life!’ How beautiful! Binmei Ren, Humei Zi—just thinking of this name makes my whole body hot…”
After Xiao Wu finished speaking, she laughed coquettishly, turned over and straddled Di Renjie’s waist. Her black hair danced in the air like serpents…
“Raising wine to sing, how much is human life? Like morning dew, the past days are so bitter. Generously impassioned, worries hard to forget. What can dissolve worries? Only fine wine. Green collar, leisurely my heart. But for your sake, I’ve pondered until now. Deer cry out, eating wild apples. I have honored guests, playing zither and sheng. Bright as the moon, when can it be grasped? Worries come from within, cannot be severed. Crossing paths and fields, wrongly used for existence. Frank discussion and feast, heart remembers old kindness. Moon bright, stars sparse, crows fly south. Circling the tree three times, which branch to rest on? Mountains never tire of height, seas never tire of depth. Duke of Zhou spits out food, all under heaven turns to his heart.”
Li Tai, extremely bored, sang this “Short Song” facing Yun Ye in front of the Empress, and sang it tirelessly three times in succession. After finishing, he said to Yun Ye: “I’ve completed my assignment. Now I want to eat. I haven’t eaten properly for half a year.” He pointed at the craftsmen building thatched cottages and continued: “Just treat the song I just sang as singing. I’m going through the motions with my assignment—just consider it me going crazy. Let’s be neighbors. I want to calm down and properly research airplanes, but can’t even do that.”
Zhangsun smiled bitterly, stroking Li Tai’s head and said: “That’s fine too. You accompanying Mother to live in the mountains isn’t bad. Best if we could live here until heaven and earth grow old. Your younger brother’s ambition has just been extinguished, and your elder brother has developed thoughts of Duke of Zhou spitting out food with all under heaven turning to his heart. Going out would still be chaotic everywhere—better to seek tranquility here.”
Li Tai laughed: “Right, right! So your son has moved the research laboratory here. Yezi and I will properly research airplanes together. Xiao Miao is here too—she’s the best passenger. This time we must make the airplane fly.”