Wei Shufen sat in the hall for a long while, lost in thought, before finally gritting her teeth and rising to enter the abbess's bedroom. There, she recounted the entire matter from beginning to end to Chai Yingluo.
Chai Yingluo seemed to be in better spirits today and listened patiently until Wei Shufen finished. After pondering for a moment, she said:
"Don't rush, A Fen. After all, Fourteenth Uncle's status is there. No matter how much Old Hu Kang manipulates him, he’ll still be wary of that connection—how easy is it to bully and harm a Tang imperial prince, the Son of Heaven’s younger brother? Isn’t he afraid His Majesty might retaliate in anger? I think this fifty thousand bolts of silk—if you don’t borrow it, it’s a waste. Freeing yourself from the marriage contract is the priority."
Hearing her say the same, Wei Shufen felt a deep sense of guilt well up inside her:
"You’re all too good to me, I don’t deserve it... That old fox Kang Su-mi, who’s practically a demon, wouldn’t leave any evidence for retaliation when dealing with Fourteenth Young Master. Ying-jie, you know his temperament better than anyone—with just a little provocation, he’d act impulsively and commit any crime... Not to mention, thousands of miles away in a foreign land, no one would defer to or protect him out of respect for his father and brother. Wouldn’t he be like a lamb entering a tiger’s den, left to suffer at their mercy? For my sake, this sin is too great. I can’t bear it..."
She still couldn’t cry, only twisting the beddings on Chai Yingluo’s bed with her fingers, gasping and sobbing. The female Taoist patted her hand sympathetically and sighed, "Then what do you suggest we do?"
"I’ll go find Fourteenth Young Master and ask him to return the money. Breaking the contract is no longer an option!" Wei Shufen blurted out. But Chai Yingluo shook her head:
"I don’t think that’ll work. First, he’s already signed the contract, and Old Hu Kang has made many preparations for the journey to Gaochang. If we break the agreement now, that old fox won’t let it go. Second, Kang Su-mi and the other foreign merchants accompanying them have already received the Crown Prince’s approval. If they suddenly back out, how would we explain it to the Crown Prince’s Palace? Third, you can’t even see Fourteenth Uncle, silly girl... Didn’t Yang Da say he’s under tight surveillance now, with guards accompanying him everywhere? You can’t just run off to the Supreme Polarity Hall or the Office of the Protectorate General yourself..."
"I... I could ask the Crown Princess to mediate and arrange a meeting with him..." Wei Shufen said, her voice growing weaker even to her own ears. But what good would seeing Li Yuangui do? The first two obstacles Chai Yingluo mentioned still remained unresolved. Since the idea of borrowing fifty thousand bolts of silk was Li Yuangui’s own, how could a few words of persuasion from her make him change his mind?
If anything, meeting might only deepen their sorrow and strengthen Li Yuangui’s resolve to buy her freedom...
"Then here’s what I’ll do," Wei Shufen said through gritted teeth. "I’ll find fifty thousand bolts of silk myself to repay his debt. That way, I can still annul the marriage and free myself, and he’ll have no grounds to argue."
Chai Yingluo burst out laughing:
"Oh my, how disrespectful of me! I had no idea Wei Niangzi was such a wealthy goddess of fortune—where exactly would you get fifty thousand bolts of silk, A Fen?"
In all of Chang’an—no, in the entire Tang Empire—the number of households that could produce such a sum at once could be counted on one’s fingers... And like Li Yuangui, she faced the same question: why would anyone give it to her?
At least Li Yuangui’s title as an imperial prince held some bargaining power. But she... she was truly penniless, a disowned and rebellious woman with nothing to her name."My mother mentioned that before the Supreme Emperor passed away, someone proposed giving my father thirty thousand bolts of silk," Wei Shufen said slowly. "Given that person's wealth and influence, fifty thousand bolts wouldn't be much. Or even if he refused to increase the amount, if I accomplished what he asked and received thirty thousand, plus the untouched betrothal gifts from the Cheng family sent to our home, perhaps we could gather fifty thousand..."
"Who are you talking about?" Chai Yingluo frowned.
Wei Shufen lowered her head, gathering her courage before whispering:
"His Majesty once secretly summoned my father, ordering him to continue investigating Princess Linfen's death. He promised thirty thousand bolts of silk to help my elder brother marry a Cui family daughter if results were found. My father sternly refused. I thought... if I took on this task and uncovered the truth about Yi Niang's case, His Majesty might..."
"Preposterous!" The female Taoist interrupted before she could finish. "Had your father accepted the task back then, that would be different. But now that circumstances have changed, you want to personally seek an audience with the Emperor to bargain? The Son of Heaven of Great Tang would never negotiate or assign tasks to an unmarried young woman like you! Besides, you can't even easily meet Fourteenth Uncle—how would you get the Emperor to grant you an audience?"
"I've thought about that too. First, Ah Su would introduce me to the Crown Prince's Palace, then I'd speak with the Crown Prince," Wei Shufen replied. "Naturally, the Crown Prince wouldn't pay me any attention, but I'm confident I could persuade him to arrange my audience with His Majesty. Sister Ying, you know—if I mention 'Temple of Compassionate Harmony'..."
The pregnant Princess Hailing at the Temple of Compassionate Harmony was leverage she could use against the Crown Prince—in fact, she'd even considered extorting fifty thousand bolts from Li Chengqian this way. But fifty thousand was no small sum even for the Crown Prince's Palace, and Li Chengqian wasn't known for patience. If things escalated, she might lose control of the situation and implicate her dear friend Su Lingyu—how could she repay Ah Yu's deep kindness with such betrayal?
Merely asking Li Chengqian to arrange an audience seemed more feasible. Moreover, after accidentally overhearing that private conversation between the Emperor and his son recently, she'd privately concluded:
The current Emperor might actually listen to reason.
Her father Wei Zheng made admonishing rulers his life's work, constantly confronting the Emperor with Confucian principles at court. Having grown up hearing her parents' discussions, she wasn't overly intimidated by "imperial wrath." That day, hearing the Emperor speak candidly to his son about family—without avoiding bloody truths or making excuses, but with the nostalgic tone of any ordinary relative—had unexpectedly warmed her toward Yingluo's second uncle. Plus, having previously petitioned him about marriage alliances without encountering hostility...
"Temple of Compassionate Harmony?" Chai Yingluo's frown deepened. "You mean the Princess Hailing matter? You—brought that into the Crown Prince's Palace?"
"Ah..." Wei Shufen suddenly remembered Yingluo's warning against mentioning this in the palace, as it would upset the Empress. But she'd only told Su Lingyu... surely that was fine?
As she stammered through her explanation, the female Taoist's crescent brows drew tighter until she finally sat up straight, hugging her knees with a long sigh:
"What am I to do with you? Don't you know Consort Su attends the Empress daily—how easily words might slip? And she's so meekly obedient, never daring to deceive her mother-in-law. If the Empress hears anything and questions her, how could she not confess? Ah... what a mess this is."Wei Shufen blushed and lowered her head, saying no more. After pondering for a long while, Chai Yingluo sighed and said:
"Alright then, don't go causing trouble at the Crown Prince's Palace. In a couple more days, when I've recovered better, I'll go see His Majesty and request an audience for you... Whether His Majesty grants the audience or not is beyond my control. Even if you do get to see him, what you say is entirely up to you—I can't offer any assistance. For better or worse, you'll have to bear the consequences yourself. At most, I can have someone summon General Cheng to wait outside the hall..."
"Why summon General Cheng?" Wei Shufen asked in alarm.
Chai Yingluo looked at her and suddenly burst out laughing:
"In case you anger the Emperor and he orders you beaten to death on the spot, General Cheng can rush in to kowtow and plead for mercy, then drag his little bride—whom he bought for fifty thousand bolts of silk—home to discipline."
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