When it came to the marriage of a prime minister's daughter, no outsider could appropriately intervene. Chai Yingluo sighed, releasing Madam Pei whom she had been supporting, and stepped forward to help Wei Shufen up from the ground.
"It's freezing—you shouldn't sit on the floor for too long..."
Wei Shufen's legs were still weak, her body trembling uncontrollably. She couldn't stand on her own and had to lean against Chai Yingluo, her ears ringing as she listened to the other woman's clear, firm voice:
"In this world, the marriages of sons and daughters are entirely decided by their parents and elders—such is the law of propriety, an age-old tradition that cannot be defied. Naturally, parents only have their children's best interests at heart, wishing for nothing but their happiness and harmony in marriage, free from any ulterior motives. Marriages arranged this way are invariably perfect and proper, leaving no room for outsiders to comment."
The sarcasm in the phrase "ulterior motives" was unmistakable. Wei Shufen saw her father's face redden—a rare sight—while her mother glanced at her with guilt. For a moment, the room seemed to reverberate with the deafening repetition of two phrases:
A daughter of the Cui clan! Fifty thousand bolts of silk! A daughter of the Cui clan! Fifty thousand bolts of silk! A daughter of the Cui clan! Fifty thousand bolts of silk!
Suddenly, Wei Shufen understood why Chai Yingluo was willing to risk offending the prime minister by interfering in another family's affairs to help her. Being forced into a marriage by her parents' unilateral decision must have been a deeply personal pain for her as well... But now was certainly not the time to dwell on such thoughts.
No matter how much others helped, openly or covertly, the only one who could decide her own fate was herself.
"Shufen is unfilial and ungrateful, failing to repay her parents' kindness in raising her. Fleeing in secret has brought shame upon the family, and for this, there is no forgiveness," Wei Shufen said, raising her tear-streaked face to her parents. "If Father and Mother insist on marrying me into the Cheng family, I cannot resist. My body, hair, and skin were bestowed by my parents—I can return them. But this heart is still my own, and my hands and feet still obey me. A knife, scissors, rope, or a well... any one will suffice."
If she couldn't decide her own marriage, could she at least decide her own life and death?
As expected, her parents erupted into another round of scolding. Wei Shufen lowered her head and stayed silent, too exhausted to listen carefully. Today had been unbearably long, and she felt utterly drained, as if her body had already fallen apart.
The others in the room likely felt the same. It must have been well past midnight by now, and Madam Pei, heavy with child, looked completely worn out. When Wei Zheng finally paused in his tirade, Li Yuangui, Prince Wu, who had been leaning against the wall, remarked coolly:
"The young lady's resolve is admirable, and her timing is impeccable. With the passing of Princess Linfen, the relevant authorities must prepare the funeral rites and conduct the ceremonies according to propriety. If the young lady is determined to end her life, she should act swiftly—she might even earn the reputation of 'sacrificing herself to accompany her late mistress in death.' That would sound far nobler than dying under parental coercion, and it would reflect quite well on Prime Minister Wei..."
...Was this something a human being should say?
"Fourteenth Uncle, that's utterly inappropriate!" The female Taoist, several years older than her young uncle, frowned in reproach.
At least Sister Chai is on my side, Wei Shufen consoled herself.
"—If something were to happen to Fen-niang, how could it be interpreted as a sacrificial death? It would clearly look more like a guilty suicide..."
Gui————
"You're right. I misspoke." Li Yuangui, uncharacteristically admitting fault, still spoke coldly. "When Eldest Brother—the former Crown Prince Jiancheng—passed away, Lord Wei, as a former official of the Crown Prince's Palace who prided himself on integrity and loyalty, never once considered sacrificing himself. How could it ever fall to a young lady to give her life for righteousness?"The sarcasm had grown so venomous that Wei Zheng could no longer contain himself. With a "hmph," he flung his sleeve aside in anger and strode out the door, his furious footsteps receding into the distance.
Madam Pei sighed as well, offering no further words. She bowed slightly to Chai Yingluo and the others before following her husband out.
So... did this mean Wei Shufen had temporarily escaped her parents' grasp?
With a sob, she burst into tears again—whether from overwhelming relief or bitter sorrow, she couldn't tell.
Chai Yingluo embraced her, offering words of comfort. The night had grown late, and everyone had already arranged lodgings at the Temple of Common Vocation. With matters temporarily settled, they bid each other goodnight and returned to their rooms. Naturally, Wei Shufen followed only Chai Yingluo.
The quarters for the presiding female official were not far from the eastern wing. "A Fen, you can share my bed and rest for a bit—dawn is only an hour or two away," Chai Yingluo called out as the two women entered the room. Servants hurried to assist them with washing up, removing their makeup, and changing clothes.
The room was warmed by a blazing stove. Chai Yingluo first helped Wei Shufen undress and settle into bed before removing her own robes. In the dim candlelight, the crimson birthmark on her snow-white chest stood out vividly.
Wei Shufen lay on her side against the inner edge of the bed, pulling the quilt over herself as she watched Chai Yingluo change. Once the wide-sleeved female official ceremonial dress was removed, the curvaceous figure of the female Taoist was unmistakable. Children from wealthy families, well-nourished from childhood, often grew tall and fair-skinned. This young woman, in her mid-twenties, was exceptionally tall—no less than a common man—with slender arms and legs, and movements both graceful and agile. She was truly a striking beauty.
Yet she could never marry in this lifetime.
Dressed only in her undergarments, her black hair loosely tied, Chai Yingluo approached and lay down beside her. Smiling, she asked Wei Shufen, "What are you thinking about, staring at me like that?"
Wei Shufen felt a little embarrassed. Once Chai Yingluo had settled under the quilt, she pointed to the red mark below her collarbone. "Sister Ying, is your nickname derived from this birthmark?"
"Exactly so. My mother had a similar mark on her neck, as did my maternal grandmother, Empress Dowager Mu. Though the size, shape, and position differ, they clearly mark our lineage. So when my mother returned to her family to give birth in the eighth year of the Daye era, and my grandmother held me for the first time, she laughed and said, 'This mark passed down through the women has returned—this time, it looks like the beaded necklace of Guanyin!'"
Exhausted, Chai Yingluo's voice grew increasingly drowsy as she chatted with Wei Shufen. Not wanting to disturb her further, Wei Shufen stopped responding, and sure enough, Chai Yingluo soon fell into a deep sleep.
But Wei Shufen couldn't sleep. She was tired, yes, but also heartbroken and anxious. Amidst her self-pity, she felt gratitude toward Chai Yingluo and despair for the future. She had angered her father deeply this time—would she never be able to return home again?
At only fifteen, could she truly commit to a life of Taoist practice, alchemy, and detachment from worldly affairs, learning medicine and writing books under this female Taoist's guidance?
Perhaps... it wasn't an entirely unacceptable prospect?
Lying quietly in bed, listening to the steady breathing of the Taoist beside her and feeling the warmth radiating from her youthful body, Wei Shufen's emotions gradually settled.
This scene felt somewhat familiar—like the nights she had spent staying over at the Purple Void Monastery with her dear friend Su Lingyu.Chai Yingluo's Purple Void Monastery, like the Temple of Common Vocation, was also located within the forbidden garden. Every time the Female Academy was held, all participants had to leave the city and enter the garden. The journey was long, and if the lectures ran late, they would encounter the night curfew, making it difficult to return home the same day. Therefore, the Purple Void Monastery also had guest courtyards and rooms available year-round for overnight stays.
Wei Zheng, the Palace Attendant, and Su Dan, the Secretariat Director, were close family friends. Whenever the wives and daughters of both families stayed overnight at the Female Academy, Wei Shufen would always share a bed with Su Lingyu, and the two young girls would whisper intimate secrets to each other at night. Speaking of which... it was during one of these nightly chats that Su Lingyu told Wei Shufen about the marital history of Chai Yingluo, the Master of the Purple Void Monastery.
She couldn’t remember who first brought up the topic: "I heard the Empress is coming to the Female Academy to attend the lectures and select a Crown Princess." At the time, Su Lingyu, still oblivious to her own fate, laughed and said, "I wonder how the High Truth Master feels about helping the Empress choose a Crown Princess." Seeing Wei Shufen’s confusion, she added, "The High Truth Master was originally the designated Crown Princess of the Great Tang. Didn’t you know?"
Wei Shufen truly hadn’t known—later, she realized why. The matter involved the former Crown Prince Li Jiancheng of the Eastern Palace, and her own family was rather cautious about such topics, so no one had mentioned it to her.
Su Lingyu wasn’t one to gossip, but unable to resist Wei Shufen’s persistent curiosity, she lowered her voice and recounted the story to her friend in hushed tones:
"The Supreme Emperor’s first wife, Lady Dou, now posthumously honored as 'Empress Mu,' passed away early and didn’t live to see the founding of the Tang dynasty. About a year or two before her death, her third biological daughter—later known as Princess Pingyang—returned to her maternal home to give birth to her first child, a daughter named Chai Yingluo. As the only granddaughter, Lady Dou adored her immensely. At the time, the eldest son of the former Crown Prince Jiancheng was already four or five years old, so Lady Dou arranged for the two children to be betrothed, intending her granddaughter to become the future matriarch of the Tang dynasty’s main lineage."
Such marriages between close relatives were quite common at the time. Just as Wei Shufen began to understand, she noticed something amiss:
"How could the eldest son of the former Crown Prince Jiancheng have been four or five years old before the dynasty’s founding? I’d heard that the ten young princes executed after the palace coup in the ninth year of WuDe were no older than nine. The ages don’t add up."
"The former Crown Prince was already twenty-nine when the dynasty was founded. At that age, and as the heir of the Tang dukedom, how could he not have already married and had children?" Su Lingyu’s soft voice carried a note of sorrow. "It’s truly a tragic tale. When the Supreme Emperor and the current Son of Heaven raised their army in Taiyuan, the former Crown Prince only brought his fourth brother, the former Prince Qi, fleeing secretly from their hometown in Hedong to Taiyuan. The rest of their families were captured by Sui officials and sent to the capital. As the Supreme Emperor’s forces overcame hardships to attack the imperial capital of Chang’an, the city’s defenders—Generals Wei Xuan, Gu Yi, and Yin Shishi—to demonstrate their loyalty to the Sui and bolster the troops’ resolve, executed the Supreme Emperor’s young sons and grandsons on the city walls. They didn’t even spare the Li family’s women..."
Wei Shufen shuddered. "They killed even the children and women?"“Indeed, in times of chaos, human life is as cheap as grass. Who cares about laws anymore?” Su Lingyu sighed. “The previous Crown Prince’s children—both those born to his principal wife and his concubines—were all lost in that incident. The Supreme Emperor initially wanted to posthumously enfeoff those pitiable young grandsons with princely titles, following the same honors granted to the Third and Fifth Princes. But the former Crown Prince firmly declined, citing reasons such as their young age and the grief it would bring their grandfather, deeming it unfilial. From then on, it was as though those sons had never been born. The marriage agreement with the Chai family’s young lady was naturally annulled. Later, the former Crown Prince took the current Zheng Niangzi as his consort, and in the second year of the WuDe Era, she bore him a son. The Supreme Emperor was overjoyed, bestowing the eldest grandson with the name ‘Chengzong’ and enfeoffing him as the ‘Prince of Taiyuan,’ the very land where the dynasty’s rise began. Anyone with eyes could see this was a clear indication of treating him as the future Crown Prince’s heir, intending to pass the throne to him.”
“Was the Chai family’s young lady then betrothed to the heir, Chengzong?” Wei Shufen asked.
“Exactly. When the Tang dynasty was founded, Princess Pingyang raised troops in Guanzhong in response, achieving great merit. But as a woman, after the dynasty’s establishment, she could only be granted the title of princess and lavish rewards of gold and silk, unable to further display her talents. She often felt deeply frustrated. Being the only biological daughter of the Supreme Emperor’s principal wife, he doted on her especially. Though the Chai family’s young lady was a few years older than the new heir, she grew increasingly clever and beautiful, spending every day by her grandfather’s side. To anyone who saw her, it seemed inevitable that she would become the future Empress of Tang. Yet, not long after this renewed betrothal, the heir Chengzong lived only two or three more years before… succumbing to illness.”
“Ah,” Wei Shufen was stunned. “Twice in a row… surely this would be seen as an ill omen?”
“Indeed,” Su Lingyu sighed. “The Chai family’s young lady was truly pitiable—what fault was hers? But after Chengzong’s death, rumors spread both inside and outside the palace that her fate was too harsh, that she was a ‘White Tiger Demon’ who brought misfortune to her husbands. By then, the former Crown Prince had already fathered several sons. With Chengzong gone, the eldest remaining was Prince Anlu, Chengdao. But Chengdao was not born of the principal wife—Prince Hedong, Chengde, born to Consort Zheng, was younger in line. If Jiancheng ascended the throne, the Crown Prince should rightfully be Chengde, the principal wife’s son. The question of whether to renew the marriage agreement with the Chai family, and to which son, remained unresolved for years… until the later years of the WuDe Era.”
At the mention of “the later years of the WuDe Era,” Su Lingyu paused, coughing lightly twice. Wei Shufen understood her hesitation: during those years, Crown Prince Jiancheng, Prince Qin Shimin, and Prince Qi Yuanji—the three eldest imperial sons—were locked in fierce rivalry, each establishing their own factions. Court officials were forced to take sides, and the political landscape became tangled beyond measure, where even the slightest action could stir up storms.
“The Chai family’s young lady’s father, Prince Consort Chai, had a distinguished reputation from years of military campaigns. In the sixth year of WuDe, Princess Pingyang unfortunately passed away young, to the profound grief of the Supreme Emperor and her full brothers. For the former Crown Prince to break the marriage agreement with the Chai family’s daughter would have been unwise in terms of sentiment, principle, or political expediency,” Su Lingyu sighed. “Around that time, rumors also spread that Prince Qin’s consort had privately sought a marriage between her eldest son—the current Crown Prince Chengqian—and the Chai family. In their haste, the Crown Prince’s Palace decided to renew the betrothal with Prince Anlu, Chengdao—still Jiancheng’s eldest son—to marry Princess Pingyang’s only daughter. It’s said this agreement had the Supreme Emperor’s tacit approval, but given the ill omens, no formal betrothal gifts were ever exchanged… until the ninth year of WuDe.”In the sixth month of the ninth year of the WuDe Era, whether they were the eldest illegitimate sons or the legitimate heirs of Crown Prince Li Jian-cheng, they were all eliminated by their second uncle, Li Shimin. Chai Yingluo had now outlived her third betrothed—each one being the eldest surviving son of her maternal uncle Jian-cheng.
"And as for the betrothal of the young lady of the Chai family, it wasn't over yet," Su Lingyu shook her head. "During the transition from WuDe to the early years of Zhenguan, the country was in turmoil. The Turks advanced unchecked to the outskirts of Chang'an, remnants of the former Crown Prince's faction stirred unrest across the land, and rumors spread among the people that powerful noble families sought to restore the Supreme Emperor. Natural disasters struck year after year, leaving famine and displaced refugees—truly, the empire was beset by troubles within and without. During those years, Prince Consort Chai commanded the imperial guards as the Left or Right Guard General. The newly enthroned Son of Heaven, eager to consolidate his power, soon let it be known from the palace that he intended to betroth his eldest son Chengqian to the niece of the Chai family, making her the Crown Princess."
Wei Shufen was stunned, never imagining that the young female Taoist priest had endured so many betrothal upheavals. Su Lingyu sighed softly:
"Princess Pingyang and Prince Qin were both born of Empress Dowager Dou and raised together under her care, so the siblings had always been close. When Prince Qin married Lady Zhangsun in the capital during the late Sui, Princess Pingyang had played a significant role in arranging the match and remained on excellent terms with the Princess of Qin. After the dynasty's founding, the Zheng consort and others in the Crown Prince's Palace were newly married and not well acquainted with Princess Pingyang. Since the two families had already arranged a betrothal, the princess couldn't very well take her daughter to visit the Crown Prince's Palace frequently, so they visited Prince of Qin's Manor more often instead. Naturally, Prince Qin and Princess Zhangsun adored their little niece. Thus, when rumors spread in the final years of WuDe that Prince Qin intended to take the young lady of Chai as his daughter-in-law, the Crown Prince's Palace immediately believed it. The rumor didn't seem entirely baseless either—otherwise, why would the Son of Heaven, after ascending the throne in the Zhenguan era, still insist on marrying his eldest legitimate son to her, knowing full well that Yi Niang of the Chai family had already outlived three fiancés?"
"Perhaps the current Son of Heaven... doesn't put much stock in the notion of a fate that brings misfortune to husbands?" Wei Shufen could only guess.
Su Lingyu shook her head. "In times of calamity and chaos, no matter how much one dismisses superstitions, such matters are still taboo. The Crown Prince is the foundation of the state—how could they take such a risk? The betrothal news circulated for a while, but later it was said that the young lady of the Chai family—by the first year of Zhenguan, she was already fourteen or fifteen—personally and firmly declined the marriage before the Son of Heaven and the Empress. She even insisted on renouncing the world to become a Taoist priest, causing quite a stir. In the end, both the Supreme Emperor and the Son of Heaven granted her request, issuing her a Female Taoist Priest certificate and entrusting her with the Purple Void Monastery, the Inner Sanctuary within the forbidden garden."
"So that's how it was," Wei Shufen nodded with a sigh. "Naturally, the proposal to make the young lady of the Chai family the Crown Princess was abandoned. The Crown Prince's marriage was delayed until now, and the Empress had to enlist the High Truth Master to help select a bride for her son. It must have been quite a predicament for her..."
At the time, she and A-Yu had whispered these stories to each other in the quiet of night, treating them as distant tales of others' lives. Neither could have imagined that not long after, an imperial decree would arrive, selecting Su Lingyu as the Crown Princess.
From then on, Wei Shufen never saw Su Lingyu again, catching only a distant glimpse of her during the grand wedding celebrations at the Crown Prince's Palace, where she accompanied her mother to offer congratulations. The slender figure weighed down by the elaborate pheasant robe and floral crown bore no resemblance to the friend she remembered.Less than a month after the Crown Prince's grand wedding, the eldest daughter left behind by the former Crown Prince Li Jian-cheng also got married, only for this tragic disaster to occur during the ceremony. Chai Yingluo had not only "cursed to death" her three fiancés and the three eldest sons of her uncle, but now she had also "cursed to death" her uncle's eldest daughter and her younger brother's new bride as well.
Now, Wei Shufen lay beside this White Tiger Demon, listening to her deep and steady breathing, feeling only safe and warmly protected. Finally, she too drifted into a hazy sleep.
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