Chapter 12
The cold night breeze beat against the palace lantern in front of the corridor, the crescent moon was high above the tip of the willow branch, the moonlight looking like water.
Thinking of Zhu Luyun’s thoroughly flawed assassination plans, Li Xuanzhen’s heart surged with a deep exhuaustion.
He massaged his forehead and asked, “Has she recruited death soldiers1 again?”
The palace eunuch shook his head and said, “Recently, Princess Fukang and the surrendered Hu people in the capital have been in close contact and have secret dealings.”
Everyone knew that Princess Fukang hated the Hu people.
Therefore, it was suspicious that the princess was associating with the Hu people.
The eunuch got a message from the princess’s close maid that when the princess talked to the Hu people, she mentioned a name: Grand Princess Yiqing.
The former dynasty’s Grand Princess Yiqing—that is, Zhu Luyun’s aunt, who, at the age of 18, married an old tribal chief of the Turkic tribe to the northwest.
A few years ago, the Grand Princess’s attendant braved death, fleeing back to the Central Plains with her bloody letter2, crying and begging the previous emperor to welcome back the Grand Princess.
At that time, the last emperor had already died under the sword of the rebels. With every province in Guanzhong occupied by various clans, no one paid any attention to the attendant.
The servant later met Zhu Luyun, telling her about the tragic experience of Grand Princess Yiqing.
Only then did Zhu Luyun learn that there was a very barbaric and horrible custom among the Hu tribes: when the father died, succeed the stepmother, when the brother died, succeed the elder sister-in-law.
When the old tribal chief died, Grand Princess Yiqing became the wife of the new chief.
When the new chief also died, Grand Princess Yiqing married the new chief’s younger brother.
Soon after the new chief’s brother died because of internal strife, Grand Princess Yiqing was taken as a concubine by the old tribal chief’s grandson.
In a short span of ten years, Grand Princess Yiqing was married to three generations from grandfather to grandson.
What a humiliation for the Grand Princess of noble birth!
Zhu Luyun sympathized with her maternal aunt, whom she had never met, and asked Li De to send troops to retrieve the Grand Princess.
Li De did not agree at that time.
The palace eunuch hazarded a guess: “Your Highness, could the princess be trying to ally with the Hu people, then borrow troops from the Emperor to save the Grand Princess Yiqing?”
The corner of Li Xuanzhen’s mouth tugged.
The previous dynasty’s Grand Princess, what was she worth?
Li De always considered the cost and reward first in everything he did. Him enthroning Zhu Luyun, that was because it was useful to keep Zhu Luyun.
He wouldn’t let soldiers die in vain for a worthless former dynasty’s noble princess.
At present, the Central Plains had just stabilized. The various tribes in the northwest had formidable power. The Beirong that declared they were descendants of the divine wolf, claimed to command a hundred thousand soldiers, were able to sweep Beiting.
If not for the senior monk monarch of the Western Regions’s Buddhist nation, Beirong would have already seized the entire land of the Western Regions.
The Beirong cavalry was invincible. Once Beirong went south, Chang’an was bound to fall into enemy hands.
So Li De sensibility coaxed with gold, silver, and treasures, bribing over the Hu tribes with promotions to high official positions, while simultaneously eliminating the scattered tribes and small forces in Guanzhong. From early on, internally dividing the Hu people so that they hated each other and could not be bothered to invade the south, reducing the pressure of having to defend against the northwest army, and at the same time, keeping track of the movements of all the various tribes.
At this time, these calculations of Zhu Luyun would not succeed at all.
Li Xuanzhen took one step, hesitated for a moment, then said: “Prepare the horse, I will go to the princess’s residence.”
Yun niang was stubborn. Determined to take revenge, she didn’t care about anything else when she was mad, so he must talk to her clearly about the situation.
The palace eunuch said with difficulty, “Your Highness, Her Highness has prepared a welcoming feast for you…..”
The first night of the Crown Prince’s return to the capital, he ran to Princess Fukang. If this matter spread out, where did they put the face of the Crown Princess?
Li Xuanzhen had already turned and walked away: “Tell her not to wait for me.”
The palace eunuch sighed silently and went into the courtyard to report.
The bright candles were glorious, and a sumptuous feast was prepared in the main hall, with luxurious food from the sea and mountains, fine wines and delicacies, fatty and tender livestock meat baked over charcoal fire, glistening with oil, and Qiuci female musicians were waiting within the corridor.
Crown Princess Zheng Biyu, dressed up in fancy attire, led the Eastern Palace women to wait for a shichen.
The palace eunuch reported that Li Xuanzhen had gone to the princess’s residence.
Zheng Biyu did not say a word.
A few of the liangdi and liangyuan3 immediately put away their smiles, their faces flashing with resentment, cynicism and contempt.
Princess Fukang and the Crown Prince were in love, they had nothing to say.
Even the Crown Princess didn’t care about it, so who were they, the imperial concubines, to be jealous and sour?
But Princess Fukang just wouldn’t marry the Crown Prince. Even if the Crown Princess persuaded her with kind words, she just wouldn’t marry.
If she didn’t marry, she didn’t marry, they snickered in secret.
But Princess Fukang insisted on parting then longing for Li Xuanzhen.
The servants from the princess’s residence ran to the Eastern Palace practically every day: the princess is sick, the princess is crying, the princess is angry and refuses to eat, the princess was humiliated after quarreling with people……
There was no label, no division; unclear and disordered.
It became the idle talk of the common people in their leisure time.
”Your Highness, it cannot go on like this!”
One liangdi couldn’t help but break into a tirade.
”This world has long changed its name! The emperor has taken pity on her and conferred her as princess, but she has no shame, tarnishing the Crown Prince’s reputation. How can this go on in the long run!”
The liangdi had long been displeased with Zhu Luyun.
She was unwilling to marry or cut off her relationship with the Crown Prince, but she was not willing to marry others and insisted on entangling with the prince, how detestable!
The other imperial concubines also chattered and complained: “Your Highness, the news has spread in the capital, and busybodies have made this affair into a song and sung about it. The streets are noisy and abuzz, harming the Crown Prince’s reputation.”
”His Majesty is kind, the Crown Prince is in love and is so generous, what else is she pretending for?”
”She still thinks she’s a real princess! If you really don’t want to get married, don’t come looking for the Crown Prince!”
Zheng Biyu’s face was serene and she waved her hand.
The discussion immediately stopped.
Zheng Biyu looked around and saw that all the numerous concubines had lowered their heads.
She looked as usual and gestured to the servants: “His Highness is not coming back, so don’t spoil the good things, let’s start the feast.”
The musicians immediately played a cheerful tune.
The people were secretly hateful at heart, discontentedly returning to their seats.
……
When Crown Prince Li Xuanzhen rode out of the palace, he happened to pass by Li Zhongqian and Li Yaoying, who were riding side by side.
The palace city was quiet and the night was cold.
Li Zhongyi was afraid that Yaoying would catch a cold, so he took off the cloak he was wearing and had her put it on.
Yaoying was playing with a small jade box in her hand and giggled, “Elder brother, I’m not cold.”
The two siblings had just hidden a chest of treasures in the wangfu, and Li Zhongqian had given her this jade box, which was a novelty in her mind.
Li Zhongqian said, “Put it on.”
His voice was gentle, and to Li Xuanzhen’s ears, it was almost like a different person from his usual self.
Li Yaoying obediently put away the jade box, took the cloak, and put it on.
Not long after, she raised her hand, shook the empty wide sleeve and showed it to Li Zhongqian, gesturing as she spoke, “Elder brother, you look! I’ve really grown taller! Before, wearing your leather cloak, the sleeves were so long….”
From the flickering flame came Li Zhongqian’s low, soft laugh.
Li Xuanzhen passed by the two with an expressionless face.
Both siblings did not look at him, chatting and laughing as they galloped into the long and narrow passageway.
Li Yaoying wore a curtain hat so Li Xuanzhen could not clearly see her face, but hearing the delicate, soft laughter behind him, he could imagine the expression on her face.
The corners of his mouth hooked up, a sarcastic look on his face.
If Li Yaoying saw Li Zhongqian’s ruthlessness on the battlefield, knew that Li Zhongqian had slaughtered city after city in order to win, even able to personally kill young children, would she still dare to be so intimate and coquettish with Li Zhongqian?
Li Zhongqian’s young overlord reputation, was not for nothing.
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I’m going off the assumption that this is not the first ancient novel you’ve read to say that from now on, I’ll stop adding as many footnotes for things I think are well-known. For example, Grand Princess (in case you didn’t know, title for the sister of an emperor), or like Noble Consort (highest position besides Empress in the harem). You can comment if you have any questions, I’m totally happy to see people interacting because it tells me that people are actually reading lol (and care enough to actually want clarification).
1 death soldiers: soldiers who were specially used as suicide soldier that would trade their life in order to complete their missions. If they failed, they would commit suicide.
2 bloody letter: a letter written in one’s blood expressing their determination, death, last wishes etc. Basically a very desperate letter.
3 various ranks for concubines. I thought it added culture to the translation so I left it in.