Footsteps echoed through the long corridor as a palace servant delivered a gold-flecked invitation: “Your Highness, the Chief Secretary says General Zhao and the others have reserved Miaoyin Pavilion and are waiting for you!”

Li Zhongqian snapped back to awareness and accepted the invitation.

Yaoying pursed her lips.

Li Zhongqian had a carpe diem personality—racing horses at Zhangtai, spending thousands in gold for entertainment. Moreover, since he hadn’t yet taken a primary consort when not away campaigning, he often spent entire nights feasting and drinking with his subordinates.

The Li family men were all vigorous and energetic.

With the army’s triumphant return, Li Zhongqian would inevitably face many social obligations.

Yaoying advised her brother: “Brother, don’t drink on an empty stomach. Have some soup and bread before drinking, and don’t drink too much—excessive drinking harms the body.”

When he drank, he would drink a thousand cups, getting completely drunk every time.

Li Zhongqian listened to her instructions and curved his finger to playfully tap her nose.

“Got it, little housekeeper.”

Yaoying saw him out.

Li Zhongqian pushed her back toward the inner hall: “Don’t worry about me. You’ve had a long day—get some rest early. Tomorrow Brother will bring you the lamb hutezi you love so much from Chongren Ward.”

Yaoying’s eyes sparkled as she took the opportunity to make requests while leaning on his shoulder, coquettishly saying: “And I want the thousand-layer pastries that Old Lady Zhang makes herself at the confectionery shop across the street.”

Li Zhongqian agreed without hesitation: “Alright.”

Yaoying’s voice grew even sweeter and more coy: “Brother, could you also get me a jar of Green Ant wine? I just love cloudy wine.”

Li Zhongqian raised an eyebrow.

Yaoying shook his arm, drawing out her words: “Brother, please!”

Li Zhongqian bent down to pinch her nose: “Not a chance!”

Yaoying pouted.

Li Zhongqian indulged her in everything else—whatever she wanted, he would give her. Only on this point was he strict, even warning the guards to watch her and not let her touch alcohol.

The last time she had wine was last year.

Drink while you can—who knows how long they will live? What was wrong with drinking heartily?

He drank wine like water yet wouldn’t let her touch it.

Yaoying irritably released Li Zhongqian’s sleeve and turned to walk inside.

After just two steps, she heard a soft laugh as Li Zhongqian’s strong arm reached out to gently circle her waist.

He was used to wielding twin hammers and had ox-like strength. Yaoying’s whole body was pulled around, her head bumping against the light armor on his chest.

Li Zhongqian steadied Yaoying and patted the little head against his chest.

“You have grown taller.”

Before she had only reached the tiger head carved on his chest armor, but now she almost reached his shoulder.

Yaoying’s irritation immediately turned to joy.

The Li family of Wei Commandery was military—their sons were tall and strong, their daughters tall and robust.

Her brother Li Zhongqian was eight chi tall, and Li Xuanzhen was also athletic and graceful. Ever since she started growing, she had hoped to grow taller, measuring herself against Li Zhongqian every time he returned from the campaign.

Yaoying reached up to compare where her head came to on Li Zhongqian’s chest armor, smiled with satisfaction, then rose on tiptoe to measure higher: “I can still grow more.”

Li Zhongqian’s face showed amusement as he held up two fingers in front of her eyes, and then pressed down on her shoulders to make her stand properly.

“If you want to grow taller, be good and listen to the imperial physician. Take your medicine on time and don’t touch alcohol.”

Yaoying waved her hand magnanimously: “Fine, I won’t touch it.”

She knew Li Zhongqian had her best interests at heart.

Li Zhongqian watched her go inside with a smile, then turned to leave the palace.

It was already curfew time. Lights shone from countless homes as the misty night spread silver moonlight over the quiet streets. Above the magnificent palace roofs and walls stretching high and low lay an endless night sky.

Stars twinkled like countless silver scales embedded in the heavens.

The Chief Secretary had been waiting outside the palace gates. Hearing sudden rapid hoofbeats and horse whinnies amid the melancholy watch-drums, he rode forward to meet them.

Li Zhongqian galloped out wearing a white cloak.

The Chief Secretary caught up and reported several important matters, then said: “Your Highness, Xu Biao sought an audience earlier. This old servant sent him away.”

In the darkness, Li Zhongqian’s sharp-featured face looked as if carved by knife and axe: “What did he want to see me for?”

Yaoying had already told him about the day’s events.

The Chief Secretary said: “He came to apologize with thorns on his back.”

Li Zhongqian gave a cold laugh: “Apologize for what?”

The Chief Secretary answered: “Xu Biao said he knowingly broke the law by abducting good women—that’s one thing. Secondly, he frightened the Princess.”

The Seventh Princess couldn’t stand the sight of blood.

Li Zhongqian’s lips twisted slightly: “Did he speak any words of resentment about losing two fingers?”

The Chief Secretary smiled and replied: “No. After Xu Biao sobered up, not only did he not complain, he laughed heartily several times, saying the Seventh Princess was truly worthy of being your sister by blood, and that he sincerely submitted. Xu Biao had once sworn a military oath—if not for the Princess showing mercy, it wouldn’t have been his fingers but his head that was cut off. Though he’s a rough man, he still understands some propriety.”

Li Zhongqian gave a mild “mm” and said: “At least he knows his place.”

The Chief Secretary understood that Xu Biao’s life would be spared.

If Xu Biao had complained about losing his fingers to the Princess, Li Zhongqian would never have let such a troublemaker live.

Several personal guards carrying lanterns followed at a distance, while faint sounds of singing, dancing, and laughter came from deep within the dark ward walls.

The Chief Secretary continued: “Your Highness, those abducted women have been sent back to their homes. The Princess also ordered an investigation into whether any officers in the prince’s mansion or army have violated the ban on harassing civilians…”

He stopped, seeming to have more to say.

Li Zhongqian impatiently said: “If you have something to say, say it.”

The Chief Secretary sighed and said earnestly: “Your Highness, men under your command like Xu Biao, Lü Heng, and Sun Ziyi are all illiterate brutes. They’re unruly, crude, and violent, often openly violating prohibitions, which damages your reputation. Why not take this opportunity to enforce military discipline? Use Xu Biao’s case to intimidate them and make them show some restraint?”

The Chief Secretary had long wanted to say these words.

…

For generations, the Xie family had governed Jingnan. They produced three grand councilors in four generations—a truly great house. The family produced many talents, their sons were all refined and cultured. At court they served as ministers, and in the field as generals, excelling in both civil and military affairs.

By the previous dynasty, military governors had carved out their territories, heroes rose everywhere, and the realm split apart. Chang’an changed hands several times, while the people of the Central Plains and Guanzhong suffered terribly.

To drive the fierce foreigners from the Central Plains, the major powers there formed a temporary alliance.

Although Jingnan was peaceful then, the Xie family patriarch, considering the bigger picture, resolutely led the family’s sons north to resist the enemy.

At that time, three generations of the clan—the elderly, the strong, and the young—all went to battle without hesitation, not even sparing boys with hanging locks.

This was how the sons of the Xie family had always been, generation after generation.

They valued both civil and military arts. From childhood, they studied both literature and martial skills. By age eleven or twelve they would follow their fathers and elder brothers to war, defending home and country, one generation after another.

The Xie family’s reputation wasn’t built on political maneuvering, but earned by generations of sons who fought on battlefields and were buried wrapped in horsehide!

In peaceful times, the Xie family retired to Jingnan to protect the common people.

In times of chaos, the sons of the Xie family rushed to the battlefield without question.

Not an inch of this beautiful land would they yield!

When the old patriarch left, he took all the Xie family’s outstanding sons and elite troops, leaving only household guards to defend Jingnan.

One hundred thousand men.

From the old patriarch, the general, and the eldest son, to the eleven-year-old Eighteenth Young Master Xie—from weathered veterans to newly enlisted soldiers.

None returned.

One hundred thousand heroic souls are buried in foreign lands.

That brutal decisive battle preserved Chang’an, allowing the Zhu clan to occupy several strategically crucial prefectures in Guanzhong.

Afterward, the Zhu clan declared imperial rule and Guanzhong knew peace, but other regional powers had already declared themselves kings, and the situation remained unstable.

By the time the Zhu clan’s last emperor took the throne, the realm fell into chaos.

Amid the turmoil, the declining Xie family lost their military support. A house full of widows had no one to rely on, their influence shrinking to a single county.

In Xie Wuliang’s generation, the main line had only him and his sister Xie Manyuan left, depending on each other to survive.

Xie Wuliang wanted to emulate his ancestors’ military exploits and recover lost territory, but he had been sickly from childhood, unable to draw a bow or ride a horse.

And Manyuan was a woman.

Xie Wuliang found another path, vigorously developing the family’s businesses. Using Jingnan’s developed water transport system to trade with various powers, he quickly helped the Xie family accumulate nation-rivaling wealth and stockpile large amounts of grain during the chaos.

At this time, that general from Wei Commandery who had won twenty-one cities in thirty battles entered Xie Wuliang’s view.

The Xie family had money, prestige, and grain, but lacked generals and soldiers.

The Li family had generals and soldiers but lacked grain, money, and prestige.

The Li and Xie families joined in marriage, and Li Zhongqian was born.

Xie Wuliang knew his sister Manyuan was pure and naive, so he took his nephew Li Zhongqian to raise and educate him personally.

As a child, Li Zhongqian was clever and intelligent, with impeccable manners. Even at a young age, he showed extraordinary bearing—in letters, he could compose verses spontaneously, in martial arts he could wield hundred-jin golden hammers.

Which member of the Li clan didn’t praise Li Zhongqian?

It was precisely because Li Zhongqian showed such exceptional talent and won the love of Li’s family elders that the struggle for heir apparent began.

At the time, even Li De couldn’t choose between Li Xuanzhen and Li Zhongqian, and could only delay naming an heir apparent.

Later when Lady Tang died, Li De named Li Xuanzhen as heir apparent.

Xie Wuliang, thinking far ahead, immediately took away Li Zhongqian’s pair of golden hammers and forbade him from practicing martial arts, wanting him to focus entirely on studying literature to become an official loyal to the sovereign and caring toward the people.

“Hunou, you must remember your uncle’s words. Your destiny carries ill fortune, your violent energy is too strong. If you focus on studying literature, perhaps you can live to old age in peace. But if you pursue the martial path, I fear you won’t live past thirty.”

“Hunou, remember this—you must not pursue martial arts!”

Li Zhongqian made a solemn vow.

Three years later, the Xie family was exterminated.

Li Zhongqian continued studying texts diligently, following Xie Wuliang’s dying wish.

Until the year Li Yaoying turned five when he had no choice but to break the vow made to his uncle and abandon civil pursuits for martial arts.

Even though he knew the price would be not living past thirty.

…

The Chief Secretary had watched Li Zhongqian grow up.

He watched as Li De named Li Xuanzhen heir apparent, and the six-year-old second prince merely smiled and buried himself in studying literature.

Watched as after the entire Xie family met their tragic end, the nine-year-old second prince wiped away his tears, returned to the Li family, and personally cared for his young sister Li Yaoying who could not walk.

Then watched as the eleven-year-old second prince, eyes bloodshot, gritted his teeth to break open the heavy locks, his bleeding hands grasping those golden hammers that were destined to bring him misfortune.

People all said Li Zhongqian was killed without mercy and lived dissolutely.

He was looked down upon by noble families, detested by common people, scorned by his peers, and mocked by the Crown Prince’s subordinates.

The soldiers who served him were all the dregs that the Crown Prince wouldn’t accept.

Even scholars of humble birth like Du Sinan dared to openly declare: “The Li family’s second son is a fool—I wouldn’t deign to associate with him.”

The Chief Secretary’s heart ached with hatred.

How could they understand? The second prince had studied so many books in his youth and was personally educated by the incomparably learned Xie Wuliang—how could he be an ignorant brute?

Why did the second prince refuse to regulate military affairs?

Why did he indulge in wine and pleasure?

Why did he completely disregard his reputation?

The night wind was cool under the starry sky.

The tall steed walked slowly in the faint moonlight as Li Zhongqian lowered his eyes, absently patting his mount without speaking.

The Chief Secretary said painfully: “Your Highness, though the Xie family’s bloodline is cut off, their spirit endures. You inherited the Xie family’s teachings—you cannot let down the Xie family name!”

Li Zhongqian suddenly turned his head.

His gaze was sharp as a knife.

“Don’t mention the Xie family in front of me!”

The Chief Secretary trembled in fear.

“What does Uncle Hu think I should do?”

Though Li Zhongqian’s narrow phoenix eyes were full of violence, his voice was very calm.

“Should I be like the Crown Prince—regulate military affairs, recruit talented people, seek out famous scholars and worthies, treat subordinates with courtesy, win people’s hearts, and be a virtuous prince praised by all?”

The Chief Secretary agreed in his heart but dared not speak.

Li Zhongqian smiled: “Uncle Hu, don’t forget—I almost became the heir apparent.”

The Chief Secretary froze.

A moment later, the Chief Secretary realized what he meant and felt chilled to the bone.

Li Zhongqian said quietly: “If I did that, I would only die earlier, die faster.”

He had almost become heir apparent, and was also the Xie family’s grandson—for this alone, Li Xuanzhen would not spare him as a threat.

Moreover, between them lay Lady Tang’s death.

And there was their father, that decisive and ruthless emperor whose thoughts were hard to fathom, rational to the point of seeming heartless.

If their positions were reversed, he would do the same.

From the moment the Xie family fell, Li Zhongqian understood that he wouldn’t live long.

What was there to fear in death?

He wasn’t afraid of dying.

He only feared not dying gloriously enough.

The crescent moon had hidden behind clouds at some point, the dim starlight falling gently.

Li Zhongqian lifted his face as the twinkling starlight fell into his eyes.

He thought of the jade box he had given to Yaoying, and his lips slowly curved up, unable to resist smiling.

Life held nothing for him, death held no fear.

But if he died, what would happen to Little Seven?

Li Zhongqian was afraid.

So before that day came, he needed to find someone who could protect Little Seven.

Li Zhongqian collected himself and urged his horse to move faster.

He hadn’t left the palace for pleasure—Minister Zheng was waiting for him at Miaoyin Pavilion.

Only after quickly arranging Little Seven’s marriage could he set out for battle with peace of mind.

The Chief Secretary followed closely behind Li Zhongqian, tears streaming down his old face.

He had finally understood the key to it all.

The second prince knew he was destined to die, which was why he acted so carelessly and self-destructively.

The Chief Secretary couldn’t accept it!

The Xie family had been loyal and heroic for generations, their sons bathing battlefields in blood. Generation after generation had sacrificed themselves for the country. The last of the main line, Xie Wuliang, died defending the city, ordering his subordinates to cut off his head and give it to the enemy just to protect the common people.

A hundred years of noble character, never failing their sovereign or the people under their care.

And never failing the Li family!

Yet in the end, this was their fate.

If the Xie family still existed, how would His Majesty dare treat the Noble Consort and second prince this way?