Chapter 45
Taiji Palace, Liangyi Hall.
It was blisteringly hot that water was sprinkled in front of the courtyard steps. The sun rising from the east shone through the wispy clouds like bird feathers, casting a large golden beam of light. The bumpy tile floor gleamed with wet sparkling light, looking like a body of clear water from afar.
The eunuchs entered the palace hall to report that the Seventh Princess requested an audience.
Li De looked up from the pile of documents with surprise his face.
If not for important events, the two siblings Li Zhongqian and Li Yaoying rarely came to see him on their own initiative.
The eunuch reminded Li De in a whisper: “Your Majesty, the Seventh Princess has been constantly running around to have Qin wang rescued these days.”
Li De put down the half-read memorial in his hand, his brows slightly creased.
“Military affairs, why is a young girl like her who does not leave home getting involved?”
The eunuch hesitated for a moment and bowed, “Your Majesty, Qin wang and the Seventh Princess have deep feelings for each other. Qin wang was ambushed, his life and death unknown, so naturally, the Seventh Princess is anxious. You should see the Seventh Princess.”
Li De raised his eyes, sweeping a faint glance at the eunuch.
Although the eunuch’s head was bowed down, he was still so frightened he trembled. He said with an increasingly respectful expression, “Your Majesty, forgive me. This old slave has spoken too much.”
Li De looked at him, his phoenix eyes shining: “You are the old man beside zhen, usually the most cautious and experienced. Even when Zheng Yu begs you, you still have to weigh and consider it first. Why make an exception for the Seventh Princess today?”
The eunuch was sweating, about to explain, when Li De waved his hand.
“Let her in.”
The eunuch saluted in answer and withdrew from the inner hall. Standing at the threshold, he closed his eyes and slowly exhaled a long breath.
Accompanying the ruler was like accompanying a tiger. His Majesty was warning him to have less dealings with the ministers of the Hall of Government Affairs in the future.
The eunuch took a moment to calm down. Putting a smile on his face, he walked to the end of the long corridor, and said to Li Yaoying who was standing at the bottom of the court steps with her back to him, “Seventh Princess, His Majesty invites you in.”
Yaoying turned around. Her face, bathed in the morning sunlight, was as pale as the first snowfall, which made her eyes darker and brighter. Her lightly knitted eyebrows seemed to be covered with the expression like a lonely willow in the springtime.
A pear blossom in springtime rain1, a precious and exquisite flower in snow2, lovely and pitiful, charming and delicate, but also possessing a sort of heavenly posture and confidence in herself.
Under the moonlight in Yaotai3, with clear and outstanding nobleness, the intention was so lofty and clean4.
Inwardly, the eunuch thought that whoever saw such a Seventh Princess, would not be able to bear stopping her outside the hall.
Yaoying raised her eyes. Standing in the bright sunlight, she sized up the entrance with neatly arranged roof tiles between the flying eaves of the palace hall5 before slowly making her way up the flight of steps.
The eunuch saw her face was haggard, her footsteps unstable, looking as if she could not stand on her own. His heart could not bear it and signaled a young palance attendant to go forward to help her.
Yaoying indicated that it was not necessary and walked step by step towards the inner hall.
Hearing the sound of footsteps, Li De did not look up, his eyes still on the memorials spread out. He said: “Zhen has sent someone to Huangzhou to search for erlang. You do not understand matters of the battlefield; do not continue bothering the court ministers.”
Yaoying walked in front of the dragon table.
“Your Majesty, you owe me one thing.”
Li De’s eyebrows wrinkled. Raising his head, his gaze was fierce.
Yaoying met his scrutinizing eyes, undaunted, “Nine years ago, to save the Kong and Lin families’ young sons, Your Majesty abandoned me on the battlefield. I nearly died in the chaos of the army.”
Li De’s pupils shrank and his face sank slightly.
Yaoying calmly said, “Your Majesty, you owe me a life.”
……
It was when Yaoying was five years old.
That year, when Li Zhongqian returned to Jingnan to sweep the tombs, Noble Consort Xie suddenly became ill. The Li family, worried that no one would take care of Yaoying, sent her to Li De’s side, who was in Xiangzhou.
Yaoying finally met her father.
Li De had been away at war for many years, and his return date was uncertain. And when he returned to Wei County, he did not enter Noble Consort Xie’s courtyard, so, until she was five, she never saw Li De.
When she arrived at Li De’s temporary residence in Xiangzhou, the servants frequently told her about Li De’s youth, saying that he was handsome and out of the ordinary, his bearing outstanding, and that the young misses in Wei County constantly competed with each for his affection.
That night, Yaoying was amusing herself in front of the window when the lanterns flickered and the sound of neighing horses came from outside the courtyard wall.
She mirrored the servant’s actions and stood on tiptoe to look out.
A tall man unhurriedly walked from the darkness of the night under the lantern’s shadow. He was clad from head to toe in awe-inspiring and bright armor, upright and handsome, with a posture like a pine.
Yaoying thought to herself, the servant girl did not deceive her; her Ah Ye was really the best looking man in this world.
No wonder aniang had fallen in love with him at first sight back then.
Remembering the chief historian’s instructions, Yaoying stepped out of the corridor with her short legs and stood by Li De’s feet, tilting her little face up and calling him softly, “Ah ye.”
An extremely clever child.
Li De was stunned. Lowering his head to look at Yaoying, his big, rough hand rubbed her little head, “Qiniang is already this big.”
Noble Consort Xie’s servant stood to the side, quietly wiping her tears.
That night, as the servant girl put Yaoying to sleep, she said happily, “Little seventh, the general still has you in his heart.”
One day, half a month later, Xiangzhou’s city walls were destroyed, and Yaoying was awakened from her sleep by a rush of footsteps. Guards rushed in and picked her up, carrying her and the families of Li De’s men out of Xiangzhou.
On the way, they met the defeated Li De and his party and immediately greeted them, sending their horses and mounts to them, when a group of pursuers suddenly rushed out from the hillside and surrounded them.
When the situation became critical and the pursuers were about to overtake them, Li De decisively threw Yaoying off, picked up his subordinate’s two sons, and rushed out of the encirclement on horseback.
Yaoying fell to the ground.
Surrounded by fierce pursuers, swords were raining and blood was flying.
She was thrown by her father in the middle of an onslaught of arrows. Shiny blades were slashing at her amidst the shouting and killing.
The loyal guards gritted their teeth and threw their bodies in front to shield her. Blood spurted out and splashed all over her face.
Yaoying, her body covered in blood, stared dumbly at Li De as he rode away.
Li De did not look back.
Remembering the servant girl’s words, Yaoying smiled mockingly and slowly closed her eyes.
One by one, the guards died.
Yaoying hid under the guards, soaking in the foul-smelling blood for an unknown period of time.
So long that she thought she also was dead.
Until she heard Li Zhongqian’s voice—heard the persistent, hoarse call of the teenager kneeling in front of the pile of corpses.
“Little seventh, brother is here to pick you up.”
From a thousand miles away, Li Zhongqian, carrying a pair of double hammers on his back, came to find her through the smoke-filled battlefield.
Yaoying burst into tears.
That year, when Li De abandoned his own daughter Yaoying to save their two sons, the heads of the Kong and Lin families were so moved that they weeped and have been unswervingly loyal to him ever since.
After being rescued, Yaoying followed Li Zhongqian and wandered around for six months, before the two siblings returned to their hometown on foot after thousands of miles.
The Lin and Kong families felt ashamed to see her and asked the two young gentlemen to kowtow to her.
Yaoying smiled with a carefree laugh and helped the two young gentlemen up.
Why should she hate the Lin and Kong families’ young sons?
They were not the ones who left her behind.
Yaoying’s generosity saved the Lin and Kong families from embarrassment, and everyone was happy.
……
The smoke curled up from the gilded mythical beast incense burner, and the faint, sweet scent of green silk tulip was in the air.
Yaoying looked at Li De, “Ah ye, the horse you used to help the Kong family’s son and the Lin family’s son escape from the siege was the mount of a Xie family’s guard.”
Li De was silent for a moment, “Qiniang, what do you want?”
Yaoying smiled: “Don’t rush, Ah Ye. This was just the first account.”
Li De owed her, owed the Xie family, and owed Li Zhongqian. She wanted to settle with him one by one.
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1 A line from Bai Juyi’s poem to describe a sad but beautiful girl.
2 To describe the flawless and blooming appearance of pear blossoms and flowers. Basically, another idiom to add onto the above.
3 From Li Bai’s poem, about Yang Guifei, that described an extraordinary and peerless beauty. Yaotai was a mountain where a fairy maiden lived.
4 The last two lines are from a song. This footnote was more so to kinda mention that the author used lines from poems that included both the Yao and Ying of Yaoying’s name. I thought it was very cool.
5 If you’ve never seen palaces, this kinda roof and this kinda flying eaves.