The Temple of Compassionate Harmony Nunnery was located in Xiuxiang Ward, not far from Yongxing Ward where the residence of Chief Minister Wei Zheng stood—both situated in the northern part of Chang'an's inner city. The problem was that these two wards were separated by the vast imperial and palace compounds.
Wei Shufen rushed to the entrance of the Temple of Compassionate Harmony, mounted the horse she had ridden there, and galloped eastward along Kaiyuan Gate Cross Street. At the three bridges over the canal at the corner of Fuxing Ward east of Xiuxiang Ward, some grand residence was under construction, with carts hauling earth and timber blocking two of the bridges, leaving only one for pedestrians and vehicles. Wei Shufen had no choice but to slow her horse, wishing she could sprout wings and fly over. She even considered whether the gate pass she carried might allow her to charge through Anfu Gate, gallop across the Heavenly Street, and exit via Yanxi Gate to reach home directly...
But thoughts were just thoughts. Lacking such boldness, she had to detour south along Fanglin Gate Street, bypassing the east-west cross street outside Zhuque Gate of the imperial city before heading north again. Panting all the way, she dismounted as soon as she entered her home and ran straight to the inner chambers. The household staff wore anxious expressions, bustling along the corridors with towels, combs, and medicinal decoctions. Fortunately, no wails of mourning were heard, nor were there signs of grief.
Madam Pei lay on the bed, her face waxen and breathing faint. Chai Yingluo was applying and rotating acupuncture needles at various points on her body. Seeing Wei Shufen enter, she visibly relaxed and said after mother and daughter had exchanged words: "A Fen, now that you're here, I can rest easy. I was originally summoned to the Hall of Established Governance in the palace today, but came here first given your mother's critical condition—don't panic. The hemorrhage has slowed and nearly stopped. Your mother is out of immediate danger and will recover with careful nursing."
Having studied medicine with Chai Yingluo at Purple Void Monastery for several months, Wei Shufen had only gained some proficiency in identifying herbs, preparing decoctions, and verifying prescriptions. Acupuncture required advanced knowledge of point locations and meridian pathways she hadn't yet mastered. Seeing Chai Yingluo preparing to leave, she desperately begged her to stay. The female Daoist reassured both mother and daughter at length, swearing that Madam Pei was past the critical stage and would improve with proper care, while emphasizing she couldn't delay her summons to the Hall of Established Governance any longer. In the end, she still took her leave.
Before departing, Chai Yingluo instructed Wei Shufen to modify the prescriptions for "Crab Claw Decoction" and "Fermented Soybean Decoction" as needed and supervise their preparation. At this time, her father wasn't home—Chief Minister Wei had mentioned official business at the administrative hall early that morning, saying he would return after completing his duties. Her younger siblings were too immature to handle the situation, leaving Wei Shufen to steel herself and assume the role of eldest sister, both directing the household staff and personally attending to her ailing mother.
Her mother had given birth to another son—the baby boy was healthy and robust, crying vigorously. Wei Shufen only glanced at him before instructing the wet nurse to take him away for feeding, while she urgently sought out medicines to prepare decoctions.
Among the ingredients for "Crab Claw Decoction" and "Fermented Soybean Decoction," while other herbs were readily available, "crab claws" and "deer antler" proved difficult to obtain, requiring servants to search at major medicinal shops in the East Market. As for donkey-hide gelatin, though commonly sold in markets, most varieties were of inferior quality. Official households with childbearing women typically kept their own supply—unfortunately, her family's stock had just been depleted, making it urgent yet uncertain whether good quality could be found.
A day later, someone from Purple Void Monastery arrived precisely to deliver these three medicinal ingredients to their household, for which the Wei mother and daughter were naturally grateful for Chai Yingluo's thoughtfulness. Upon hearing about Chief Minister Wei's wife being bedridden after childbirth, female family members from households closely associated with them—such as Fang Xuanling, Wang Gui, Du Zhenglun, and Hou Junji—came to visit. There were also subordinates and admirers of Chief Minister Wei who came to offer condolences and congratulations, too numerous to count.Wei Shufen was kept busy day and night attending to her mother indoors and entertaining guests in the hall, with the only silver lining being that her father couldn't find long stretches of quiet time to lecture her. Chancellor Wei had also been swamped with official duties lately, needing to swiftly handle the backlog of government affairs accumulated during the mourning period for the Supreme Emperor's passing. He often left for court at dawn and returned home under the stars.
Many days passed in this manner until one day, when Wei the Palace Attendant returned home earlier than usual to visit his wife and children. He casually mentioned, "The diplomatic mission to Gaochang departed yesterday." Unable to contain herself, Wei Shufen let out a soft "Ah!" Both parents turned to look at her, prompting her father to launch into a stern lecture, primarily criticizing the special envoy Prince Wu Yuan-gui as "young, reckless, ambitious, and ignorant of the people's hardships."
His criticism was directed at Li Yuangui's voluntary request to travel beyond the frontier to Gaochang to marry the princess. In Wei the Palace Attendant's view, Prince Wu was merely going to serve as an inside agent for his elder brother, the current Son of Heaven, to provoke a war between the two nations. He believed the prince was solely focused on expanding territory and gaining fame, disregarding the welfare of the common people. Wei Shufen listened silently without responding, but her mother, having recovered somewhat after days of rest, interrupted her husband with a smile:
"Listening to you criticize Prince Wu, it sounds just like how you criticize His Majesty—truly brothers cut from the same cloth... It's good for young people to have ambition. What I'm concerned about is him and A Fen—what should be done about their future?"
"What future?" Wei Zheng snapped. "He's about to become the son-in-law of Gaochang's royal family—what does that have to do with our household? As for you, once you're better, start looking around again to see which family's son would be willing to marry our daughter!"
"No!" Wei Shufen blurted out. "I will either marry the Fourteenth Young Master or follow the High Truth Master to cultivate the Dao. There is no third path in this lifetime!"
Her father slammed the bed in fury, shifting his tirade to his daughter. Fortunately, he had only just begun when word came from outside that Su Shi, the Crown Princess from the Eastern Palace, had arrived to visit the chancellor's wife.
Su Lingyu's visit was sudden. Though her carriage was grand and her escort numerous, with several loads of congratulatory gifts, it was clear the preparations had been rushed and incomplete. Wei Zheng excused himself, while Wei Shufen went out to greet the Crown Princess and escort her to the inner chambers to meet her mother. Su Lingyu repeatedly apologized for "arriving late and being abrupt and impolite."
It turned out she had been attending to her mother-in-law, Empress Zhangsun, in the Hall of Established Governance every day. The Empress had suffered heatstroke in the forbidden garden and had been seriously ill for several days. Under the careful treatment of imperial physicians and female officials like Chai Yingluo, she had only recently begun to recover. That morning, she had just learned of Wei the Palace Attendant's newborn son and ordered her daughter-in-law to visit on her behalf to offer congratulations, along with gifts for the baby's third-day bath. Not daring to delay, Su Lingyu had prepared hastily and come directly without sending advance notice.
Gifts from the Empress were no small matter. Madam Pei, unwilling to be impolite, insisted on rising with her daughter's support to receive them formally. The serving women and nurses then brought Wei Shufen's newborn younger brother for Su Lingyu to see. After much laughter and fussing over the baby, Su Lingyu noticed Madam Pei's complexion growing increasingly unwell and firmly urged her to lie down and rest, saying, "I'll just exchange a few words with your daughter before leaving. There's no need for formalities, Madam—we'll have plenty of time for visits in the future."Wei Shufen had also been wondering how to have a private chat with Su Lingyu, but the Crown Princess took the initiative first by suggesting, "Let's take a walk outside," saving her the trouble. She led her friend under the apricot tree in the courtyard, and after ensuring no one was around, Su Lingyu grasped her hand and asked:
"A Fen, in the Hall of Established Governance, I vaguely overheard someone mention that the Empress's recent illness is related to the Princess of Hailing? Is it about what you told me before—that the Princess of Hailing was carrying the Crown Prince's illegitimate child? What happened afterward? Do you know?"
Uh... this... Wei Shufen thought guiltily—she had indeed spread rumors without thinking of the consequences...
Now that she knew the truth, which involved the Son of Heaven's private affairs, she absolutely shouldn’t have gossiped about it. But the one asking wasn’t just anyone—A Yu was the Crown Princess, the future Empress, deeply entangled in this messy affair and already misled by her. If she didn’t clarify the truth soon, how could she let A Yu continue stumbling blindly?
Lowering her voice, she briefly explained the true origins of the child in Yangshi’s womb to her friend. Su Lingyu listened quietly, her eyes as clear as autumn water, revealing no emotion, as if she were merely hearing about someone else’s family matters.
"So that’s how it is," the Crown Princess exhaled softly after Wei Shufen finished. Then she asked, "How did you come to know so much about this?"
Wei Shufen flushed and simply said, "I went to ask Consort Yang directly," refusing to elaborate further. Su Lingyu didn’t press her, sighing instead. "No wonder, when I privately asked the High Truth Master a few days ago, she told me to come to you, saying you might know more details than she did. She also advised me to persuade you to stop getting involved in this matter—you’ve already dragged yourself and your family too deep into it."
"My family?" Wei Shufen was startled. Su Lingyu nodded. "Have you forgotten that your father was once a former court official? Back then, he entered the Crown Prince's Palace daily to advise the previous Crown Prince on how to suppress the current Son of Heaven... Consort Yang was the Princess of Qi at the time—they were all part of the same faction. Just because the Son of Heaven and the Empress don’t hold grudges doesn’t mean they’ve forgotten the past entirely. Don’t bring disaster upon your whole family."
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