In the thatched cottage of the vegetable garden outside Xianyang City, Wei Shufen sat on a reed mat by the dining table, listening alongside two men as Chai Yingluo recounted her meeting with Empress Zhangsun in the Hall of Established Governance. At some point, unnoticed, tears had streaked down her cheeks, dripping onto her chest.
She wiped them away with her sleeve, only then realizing that darkness had fallen outside, and the interior was even darker, the figures of the other three barely visible in the gloom. Li Yuangui let out a long sigh and asked:
"So, the Empress has resolved to continue investigating Yi Niang's case? And put you in charge?"
"'To atone for my crimes with merit,'" Chai Yingluo chuckled softly. "The Empress didn't say she'd pardon my complicity in the Great Peace Palace rebellion, only that she'd withhold judgment for now to observe my performance. Whether to take on the task of investigating Princess Linfen's case was left to my discretion—but how could I refuse?"
"What about Fourteenth Young Master and Yang Dalang?" Wei Shufen couldn't help but ask. "Did the Empress mention them? The imperial guards are still hunting them inside and outside the city gates."
Chai Yingluo sighed. "Naturally, she did—I would have brought it up if she hadn't. It's the same as before: my status makes it inconvenient for me to move freely among male officials, so I need Fourteenth Uncle to assist me in the investigation. If the Empress finds it awkward, I can personally request a pardon from His Majesty, temporarily exempting Fourteenth Uncle and the others from punishment—"
"What did the Empress say?" Yang Xinzhi pressed urgently.
The female Taoist's silhouette shook her head. "The Empress said that A Fen and I, as women, fall under the jurisdiction of the inner palace. Our affairs are within her authority to manage. But Fourteenth Young Master is already an imperial official, registered with the Imperial Clan Court and appointed by the Emperor. Whether to execute or demote him is beyond her purview as Empress. Above, there are the Son of Heaven's decrees; below, there are the laws of the state. She can no longer overstep her authority to interfere..."
"Again?" Li Yuangui grunted.
"Yes, again." Chai Yingluo's voice remained calm. "The Empress also mentioned her earlier insistence on appointing Duke Wei to lead the investigation and then forcibly concluding the case and revoking the order. She deeply regretted it, blaming herself. That was her overstepping bounds by relying on personal influence, and the result was disastrous. Learning from her mistake, the Empress is determined not to interfere in external governance again. Fourteenth Young Master's fate will be left entirely to the Emperor and his ministers to handle according to the law."
In other words, the Empress refused to intercede on behalf of Li Yuangui and Yang Xinzhi. If they returned to Chang'an, they would likely be arrested and sentenced...
"However, when I left the palace, I heard some interesting news." Chai Yingluo gave a light laugh. "The palace eunuchs no longer needed to search for A Fen and me—naturally, since I'd turned myself in. The gate guards said that after General Cheng took command of the Northern Bureau, he ordered the clearance of a batch of outdated arrest warrants, including those for the 'skinny monkey-like Li Fourteenth Young Master' and the 'iron tower-like Yang Dalang.' They've been canceled... You two can come and go through the city gates freely now."
The three in the room were elated by this news. Wei Shufen exclaimed excitedly, "Why is that? Did the Empress secretly intercede for Fourteenth Young Master despite saying she wouldn't interfere? After all, what happened at the Great Peace Hall was truly justified by circumstances..."
"Yingniang," Li Yuangui interrupted her, addressing Chai Yingluo directly. "What exactly do you want to say to me? Just say it plainly."
"Very well, no more circling. Fourteenth Uncle, I still want to ask you to help me investigate Yi Niang's case—not by the Empress's order, nor with any promise of pardon, but simply as a favor to me, to liaise with officials in the outer court. Of course, you understand the risks involved. Whether to agree is entirely up to you."Li Yuangui remained silent for a moment before sighing with a bitter smile. "You're asking unnecessarily. Don't forget, I received the imperial decree in person and was also handed an Imperial Edict, both instructing me to continue investigating Yi Niang's case—though my progress has been... limited. Even if I were convicted of a serious crime, the investigation mandate hasn't been revoked. By duty and reason, I must still serve."
Chai Yingluo nodded and pushed the cloth bag on the dining table forward. "Then open it and see."
Inside the bag was indeed a scroll of paper, its rustling clearly audible, but the room was pitch dark, making it impossible to see what was written. As Chai Yingluo called out to the door, "Bring a light in," Li Yuangui had already lifted the paper toward the moonlight streaming through the doorway, pressing it close to his face to examine it. He stopped her:
"No need. I know what this is."
"What is it?" Wei Shufen asked aloud.
"Yi Niang's final words."
Wei Shufen froze, her mind flashing back to the letter Chai Zhewei had found under Yi Niang's pillow at the Temple of Common Vocation: "...heartbroken to abandon my loving mother's care... the Qin Jade Tower collapses, the Phoenix Flute departs forever..."
"Did the Empress give this to you?" Li Yuangui asked Chai Yingluo, who nodded. "Yes. I mentioned that before the fire at the Temple of Common Vocation, we discovered some of her handwritten poetry scrolls in her old quarters. I wanted to compare the handwriting to confirm if this farewell note was truly hers. The Empress then ordered someone to retrieve it for me. Among the three greatest calligraphers of our time, Ouyang Shuleng and Elder Yu are revered scholars, while Vice Minister Chu is a close aide to the Son of Heaven, often occupied with court affairs. None of them are easily approachable..."
Just as she spoke, the light of a torch brightened the doorway—the eunuch attendant Chai Yingluo had brought was holding a wooden torch, having only caught his mistress's earlier call. Since he was here, they might as well make use of him. After talking for so long, everyone was thirsty. Yang Xinzhi stood to fetch water from the jar by the door, while Chai Yingluo instructed the eunuch to light the stove.
Wei Shufen stole a glance at Li Yuangui, only to find the young prince looking back at her. Their eyes met briefly before both looked away, and Li Yuangui seemed to stifle a quiet chuckle.
"Fourteenth Uncle," Chai Yingluo asked, "would you like to know who brought Seventeenth Aunt back to the palace?"
"Of course!" Not just Li Yuangui—this mystery had weighed on Wei Shufen's mind for a long time as well.
The female Taoist in men's clothing smiled and pointed at the eunuch tending the fire by the stove. "Do you remember him?"
The eunuch was young, perhaps seventeen or eighteen, with deep russet skin and sharp features, suggesting mixed Hu ancestry. Wei Shufen found him vaguely familiar, but before she could recall where she'd seen him, Li Yuangui exclaimed:
"Aren't you... the missing Bao Nu? From the Purple Void Monastery?"
Bao Nu—Wei Shufen remembered now. She had crossed paths with him on the day she first met Atun. Not long after, he had disappeared outside the Purple Void Monastery. Thinking back, he must have been abducted by the Tuyuhun assassins led by Qibi Luo, who infiltrated the forbidden garden to burn and kill. Yet here he was, alive and back with Chai Yingluo?
Hearing Li Yuangui's recognition, Bao Nu, who had been feeding the stove, came over to bow. Chai Yingluo spread her hands with a smile. "Let him tell you himself."It turned out that on that day, Bao Nu had taken Atun out for a walk when they followed the scent of blood and found the hiding place of Qibi Luo and the other assassins, just in time to witness them killing their severely wounded companion. After a scuffle, he was taken by the assassins. He should have had no chance of survival, but being from Diezhou—a place bordering Han territories and the Tuyuhun tribes—he had learned the Fan language since childhood and could communicate with those assassins. The Fan people were also struggling with the language barrier and unfamiliar terrain, so he flattered them desperately, spinning tales about how he had long wished to serve the great khan of his homeland’s tribe. He then guided the Fan people in avoiding military patrols, hunting for food and water, and hiding in the forbidden garden, gradually earning their trust.
When Sang Sai led Qibi Luo and the others in the night raid on the Great Peace Palace, he left the mobility-impaired An Yan-na and Bao Nu to guard the Seventeenth Princess together. With the situation unclear, Bao Nu dared not act rashly and could only secretly protect the princess, following An Yan-na across the Wei River to Xianyang, where they hid in the warehouse of that foreign merchant’s mule and horse business. Until that night, when An Yan-na, in a fit of anger, harbored ill intentions toward the princess. Bao Nu ambushed him from behind, killing the bald foreigner with a single knife stroke, then fled over the wall with the princess and sought refuge at the Xianyang Bridge guard post…
What happened afterward was already known to everyone. Li Yuangui fixed his gaze on the mixed-blood young servant and asked:
“Are you truly loyal to the Great Tang? Why?”
Wei Shufen also had this question in her heart. Having stayed at the Purple Void Monastery for a while, she knew Chai Yingluo could hardly be called “benevolent and kind” to her servants and subordinates—those in the monastery feared her far more than they loved her. In the end, had Bao Nu chosen to protect and return the Seventeenth Princess to the palace out of loyalty to his former mistress, or was it merely due to the circumstances?
The mixed-blood eunuch lowered his head and spoke in a flat tone:
“When this slave was twelve, his hometown was raided by the Bailan Qiang. The entire village was sold into slavery. First, we were driven to Fuqi to build the city, then this slave was singled out and sent in a convoy to the Great Khan of the Turks. Along the way, this slave’s body was mutilated in a daze. Upon reaching Dingxiang, this slave was given as a reward to Kang Sabao, brought back to Chang’an, gifted to the Chai household, and then entered the forbidden garden to serve the High Truth Master… This was nothing—just this slave’s own fate. Two years ago, this slave encountered a group of guards near the garrison camp. One of them looked familiar, but this slave hesitated to recognize him. Yet he recognized me first—he was the elder brother from the neighboring family in our village…”
Bao Nu took a long breath:
“Elder Brother told me that after Jieli Khan was captured, the slaves under his command were scattered among various tribal camps. The imperial court issued an edict, offering money to redeem those captured from the border regions. My father was already gone, but my A Niang and a younger brother were redeemed, and along with dozens of other lucky villagers, they returned home. The villagers were grateful for the Heavenly Khan’s kindness. Many able-bodied men like Elder Brother joined the militia, and those with good skills were selected to serve rotations in the capital. Never did they expect to run into me… He urged me to beg my master for manumission and return home to reunite with my family. But with my body mutilated, going back would only invite ridicule… So day and night, I prayed to heaven, hoping the Heavenly Khan would soon pacify the foreign barbarians on all sides, bringing peace to the borders, so my A Niang and younger brother could live in peace.”
After these words, silence lingered in the room for a long time. It was Li Yuangui who finally broke it:
“Yingniang… At dawn tomorrow, we set off back to Chang’an.”
#####Author’s note: This chapter’s annotations provide a detailed explanation of the Tang court’s efforts during the Zhenguan era to redeem captured border civilians. For the full annotations, visit the author’s Weibo. Search for the ID “Tang Dynasty Tour Guide Forest Deer” on Sina Weibo. Discussions are welcome.
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