Chapter 46
The heat was most stifling in the Taiji Palace. Ice basins were placed in all four corners of the room, the ice slowly melting, the trickling drip drip drip sound echoing in the empty hall.
Li De focused all his attention on Yaoying, his phoenix eyes slightly upturned, the corners of his eyes lined with tiny wrinkles.
Yaoying sensed his suspicion and caution but looked as normal.
She knew Li De was paranoid and that she shouldn’t have said such things to him, but things had already developed to this point. She was about to marry far away and had nothing left to worry about.
Before she left, she had to properly plan for Li Zhongqian and Noble Consort Xie.
“Ah ye,” Yaoying looked straight at the gloomy-faced emperor sitting across the dragon table, “Back then, the Xie family and you reached an agreement. Promising that if you could achieve great things, you would share the riches and honor with the Xie family. The Xie family used their entire clan’s strength to raise an army for you. To help you recover Wei County, they united with the noble families such as the Zheng family, the Cui family, the Xue family, and the Zhao family, and they appointed you a great general. This is the second account.”
Li De did not make a sound.
Yaoying paused for a moment and said, “My uncle Xie Wuliang has died, the Xie’s family children and women, both young and old, took poison to kill themselves. The Xie family’s bloodline is no longer, and the Xie clan’s elders who allied with you back then are gone…… but my aniang is still on this earth. She is a woman of the Xie family, my elder brother is a grandson of the Xie family, and I am a granddaughter of the Xie family. “
She spoke each word clearly, “I, Li Yaoying, as a granddaughter of the Xie family, ask Wei County’s Li De to fulfill the promise of that year.”
Li De narrowed his eyes, his expression becoming colder and colder.
Yaoying continued, “Before he died, Uncle had instructed my brother not to rely on our old friendship to ask Your Majesty for anything because he understood that Your Majesty had long had the mind to break the promise. He knew that forcing Your Majesty to honor the promise would only infuriate Your Majesty and make things even more difficult for my aniang and elder brother.
“Uncle had a noble character. He cherished all lives under the sky and had all the intention to support Your Majesty in governing the country. He always thought about the big picture, not caring in the least about his own gains and losses.”
Yaoying paused and her cool gaze fell on Li De’s face, “My uncle’s broad-mindedness is not justification for you to break your promise.”
……
Xie Wuliang was good at reading people. Back then, he had only seen Li De once, but immediately identified this man in dire straits as a formidable person who could change the current division in the Central Plains, so he was willing to ally with the Li family.
But he firmly opposed his younger sister Xie Manyuan’s marriage to Li De.
The Xie family’s di lineage was declining, so the two siblings had been dependent on each other since childhood. Xie Manyuan, who had not set a single foot outside Jingnan, was naïve and innocent, and asked her brother, “Elder brother, since you say Li De is an unrivaled hero, why don’t you allow the clan’s matriarch to marry him? Elder brother, haven’t you always been lamenting that our family lacks a son who can lead troops into battle?”
Xie Wuliang replied, “Sister, Li De is capable of conquering and fighting, strict in ruling the army, good at enlisting the people, and dares to go against society and depend on people of poor and humble families. I would like to follow him and assist him. He will surely achieve great things in the future, and become a good and prudent ruler. But, that does not mean he will be a good husband. Moreover, our Xie family has been century-long history and tradition of guarding this region and sheltering the people. We are already very noble; we have no need to seek wealth and glory through marriage.”
Xie Manyuan said anxiously, “Elder brother, how do you know Li De is not a good husband? His first wife, who was from a humble background, died in the war, and he risked his life to avenge her death. Everyone says that he is a loving and righteous man.”
Xie Wuliang shook his head and sighed: “Sister, you don’t understand Li De. His love and righteousness are only for his men, his soldiers.”
Xie Manyuan did not understand Xie Wuliang’s concerns and, believing it was all an excuse for her elder brother to refuse the marriage, sulked.
Seeing that his sister was not persuaded, Xie Wuliang turned to persuade the other clansmen: “Li De is from a powerful family. Since he started leading his army, he has been relying on the generals that are the Li family’s in-laws or those from humble families and has been wary of us noble families. If the Xie family can assist him, our future will certainly be glorious, but if the Xie family wants to take it one step further, becoming in-laws, it will only attract trouble.
“Erniang can marry Li De’s brother, or Li De’s nephew, but not Li De!
“Getting engaged to Li De is nothing more than pulling chestnuts from the fire1!”
The Xie clan’s relatives believed that Xie Wuliang’s fears were completely groundless. Li De took the initiative to propose marriage, what trouble would come? They insisted on becoming in-laws with the Li family.
Xie Manyuan was in love, wholeheartedly infatuated with Li De. Because of him, she did not eat or drink, and before long, became noticeably thinner.
The Li family repeatedly appeared before Xie Wuliang, swearing that if they could welcome Xie Manyuan into their household, they would respect her and not let her suffer a single grievance.
Xie Wuliang only had this one sister, Xie Manyuan. He really could not bear to see her bathing her face with tears every day, and, seeing the Li family’s sincere attitude, he could only agree to let his sister marry.
“Fine. As long as elder brother lives another day, I can protect you for one more day.”
On the day of the wedding banquet, Tang shi and Li Xuanzhen, mother and son, suddenly appeared at the ceremony. Xie Manyuan was dumbfounded and did not know how to react.
Xie Wuliang took Xie Manyuan aside and let out a long sigh, urging her, “Sister, remember, don’t make things difficult for Tang furen and her son. If you make things difficult for them, Li De will not alienate you, but he will tally it up in his mind, one by one, until the day he cannot stand it any longer.”
Xie Manyuan’s thoughts were in a whirl, but remembering her brother’s advice, though she and Tang shi inevitably verbally sparred in the inner residence thereafter, she never physically harmed the two.
No one expected that Tang shi would commit suicide by fire while pregnant.
Once she died, Li De seemed to age overnight and became completely cold to Xie Manyuan.
Xie Manyuan was disheartened.
Xie Wuliang once again found his younger sister and tirelessly and repeatedly instructed her: “Sister, do not mention the oath from before with the general. Remember, not a word!”
Three years later, the sickly Xie Wuliang remained in Jingnan with his weak body.
When the city walls fell, he asked his men to cut off his head and offer it to the enemy.
“Tell erniang, don’t grieve for me. As Xie family’s son, this is how it should be!
“Erniang, elder brother will no longer be able to protect you. Take good care of yourself, and take care of Hu Nu and qiniang. Don’t let Hu Nu take up martial arts, and don’t mention the matter of the oath with Li De.
“Elder brother will be going now.”
……
It had been almost eleven years since the destruction of the Xie family.
Yaoying understood why Xie Wuliang left behind those last words.
Because he knew Li De.
Tang shi was dead, and the Li and Xie families’ oath would be what sealed Noble Consort Xie’s death. The only way to save the three lives of their mother and children was to try and not mention the matter.
Noble Consort Xie did not mention it, Li Zhongqian did not mention it, and Li De would not have revealed his own scars.
They all seemed to have forgotten the promise made back then.
The Xie family’s former friends and relatives in the imperial court knew this topic was taboo to Li De, and all tacitly agreed not to mention the Xie family.
Everyone had forgotten the Xie family.
Forgotten the generations and generations of Xie family sons who died on the battlefield.
Forgotten the souls buried in foreign lands.
Forgotten Jingnan’s Xie family’s ancestral tomb that was overrun with weeds.
Forgotten Xie Wuliang who, though sick and weak since childhood, still did all he could, pouring his blood, sweat, and tears to bring peace to the chaotic times.
Yaoying did not forget.
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1 An analogy where someone is using you, but you gain nothing from taking the risk of helping them.