Mi Nu, who had remained kneeling, now shifted direction and kowtowed again, repeatedly addressing Yang Xinzhi as "My Prince and Lord" with boundless joy. The tall, sturdy guard, however, was both bewildered and fearful, shrinking back and turning sideways to avoid the gesture. He lowered his head and asked his mother:
"A Niang? What is happening? I... who am I?"
"Your foreign name is Nuozhebo, born in the second month of the WuDe Era's first year, within the forbidden barracks of the former Sui Dynasty's Jiangdu palace. Your father is Murong Shun, Crown Prince of Tuyuhun, and your mother is the daughter of the former Sui imperial clan's Prince Guan, Yang Xiong, enfeoffed as 'Dehua Princess.' In the twelfth year of the Daye era, she married into the foreign lands as a peace offering."
A clear, firm male voice carried over as the onlookers stepped back and bowed in respect. The Tang Emperor, dressed in plain hemp robes with hands clasped behind his back, strolled forward. Yang Xinzhi and his mother, along with Wei Shufen, knelt down to listen as he continued:
"Your father, Murong Shun, was also born to a Han princess sent for a peace marriage. He grew up in the Central Plains, admiring our culture. In the first year of WuDe, he returned to Chang'an and served the Supreme Emperor with reverence, pledging loyalty to the Tang. The Supreme Emperor praised him and later, at the request of his father Fu Yun, sent him back to Tuyuhun. Fu Yun, old and senile, listened to treacherous ministers, deposed the elder son, and installed the younger. In recent years, he repeatedly invaded our borders, ultimately meeting his deserved end in the desert. Your father remained virtuous and never opposed the Tang. He has now succeeded as Khan, ruling from Fuqi City, leaving the positions of queen and crown prince vacant, awaiting you and your mother."
As the Emperor spoke from above, Wei Shufen, kneeling on the ground, glanced sideways but couldn't see Yang Xinzhi's expression—only the ten thick, club-like fingers beside her clenching and unclenching in the yellow earth.
"Help your mother up, Nuozhebo," the Son of Heaven sighed. "This is sudden; no wonder you're at a loss."
Yang Xinzhi helped his mother, Dehua Princess, to her feet. His plump face still bore disbelief as he stammered, "A Niang, am I really... truly..."
"During the Jiangdu palace coup, your father fled alone back to Chang'an. I carried you, not yet a month old, through countless hardships on the journey home. By the time we arrived, he had already left again—returned to his Tuyuhun capital as crown prince." Dehua Princess lowered her eyelids and whispered to her son, "In such chaotic times, I didn’t want to go to a foreign land, much less let you go... So I entrusted you to our family and became a nun in seclusion, thinking at least we could survive in the capital..."
No, you didn’t just "entrust your son to the family," Wei Shufen thought. You resented your husband Murong Shun for his heartlessness and feared he would demand you both go to the foreign lands. You pleaded with your half-brother Yang Shidao to replace his original wife and son, changing uncle to father, disguising a Tuyuhun prince’s grandson as the son of a previous marriage, living incognito for eighteen years.
Over the past two days in the Hall of Established Governance, Dehua Princess Yang Guan-niang had intermittently shared many past events with Wei Shufen. She knew Yang Shidao’s birth mother was a favored concubine of Prince Guan Yang Xiong, exceptionally beautiful, who bore two sons and a daughter: the father of Hailing Princess Consort Yang Bu-yao, Yang Guan-niang, and Yang Shidao. Yang Xiong had many children, but these three siblings, born to a low-status mother, faced neglect and grew up relying on each other, deeply bonded. When the eldest brother died young, his orphaned daughter Bu-yao was taken in by Yang Shidao. Guan-niang was chosen as a peace marriage princess. After the Jiangdu coup, she and her son were taken north by Yuwen Huaji with the palace entourage, later falling into the hands of Wang Shi-chong’s faction in Luoyang.It was also in Luoyang that she unexpectedly encountered Yang Shidao's first wife, Lady Ma, and her son. After enduring two or three years of the horrific siege during the war, Lady Ma and her son perished, while Yang Guanniang and her child struggled to survive. In the fourth year of the WuDe Era, Prince Qin of the Tang Dynasty captured Luoyang and disbanded the Sui palace personnel. Guanniang also took her son back to Chang'an, kneeling before her half-brother and his wife, begging them to let her assume Lady Ma's identity and adopt Nuozhebo as Yang Shidao's son.
At the time, Yang Shidao had already married Princess Guiyang and become a royal son-in-law of the Tang Dynasty. Upon hearing of the deaths of his first wife and eldest son, he was already grief-stricken and ashamed. Moreover, he pitied his half-sister, who had suffered untold hardships and barely survived, so he agreed. Although he knew Nuozhebo was a descendant of the Tuyuhun royal family and had a special status, he thought that since Nuozhebo's father, Murong Shun, had returned to his homeland and was still young and noble, he would surely remarry and have more children in a few years. Murong Shun wouldn't care about the wife and child he had left behind in the Central Plains, so this matter should have no future repercussions.
At that time, Princess Guiyang and the handsome Yang Shidao were newly married and deeply in love. Although she was reluctant to suddenly have a stepson, she couldn't resist her husband's repeated pleas and ultimately joined him in committing this crime of deceiving the emperor. Thus, Yang Guanniang shaved her head and became a nun at the Temple of Compassionate Harmony, while Nuozhebo took on the name and identity of "Yang Xinzhi" and moved into Princess Guiyang's residence. He was only four years old at the time and naturally had no memory of the past. His "father" and birth mother had no intention of telling him the truth, hoping only that he could live a peaceful life as a member of the Yang family.
Over the next decade, the biggest challenge to this secret came in the fourth year of the Zhenguan Era, after the Tang Dynasty defeated Jieli Khan of the Turks. The former Sui Empress Xiao and her grandson returned to Chang'an. Empress Xiao had long intended to become a nun and often visited various nunneries to worship. The Temple of Compassionate Harmony, known as the ancestral temple of the Yang family, naturally drew her attention. On her first visit, she recognized Dehua Princess Yang Guanniang.
Fortunately, Empress Xiao herself had endured displacement and humiliation after the fall of her country, and she sympathized with Guanniang's plight. After a long conversation, the two women wept in each other's arms, and Empress Xiao vowed never to reveal the truth about Guanniang and her son to outsiders. She truly did her best to keep this vow—even when Chai Yingluo threatened her with her only grandson's marriage, she refused to disclose the truth, instead using vague phrases like "no longer in this world" to send Chai Yingluo and Wei Shufen away.
But she dared not—and could not—evade Empress Zhangsun's questioning in the same way.
The fake Tuyuhun prince, Zhou Shi-er, whom Li Yuangui had selected and trained, was summoned once by the Son of Heaven but failed to impress. Upon returning to the Hall of Established Governance, the emperor reported this to Empress Zhangsun, who found the matter suspicious. Despite her illness, she summoned Empress Xiao into the palace for a personal conversation. Under relentless questioning, Empress Xiao finally dared not conceal the truth any longer and revealed that "Dehua Princess is still alive, a nun at the Temple of Compassionate Harmony."
Empress Zhangsun then summoned Yang Guanniang into the palace, urging her to prioritize the nation's greater good and return with her son to Murong Shun's side to assist in governance and succession. In the future, her son would become the Khan of a powerful northwestern state, a ruler of great renown. Guanniang was heartbroken and wished for death. After returning to the Temple of Compassionate Harmony, she attempted to poison herself, believing that without her, no one could prove Yang Xinzhi's true identity, allowing him to remain in the Central Plains and avoid venturing beyond the frontier."Now that the situation in Tuyuhun has stabilized, Murong Shun has ascended the throne. With the support of our Great Tang's celestial troops externally and the taxation from trade routes internally, peace and prosperity prevail, with everything in place. When you and your mother return to your homeland, you'll enjoy endless riches and honors." The Emperor smiled as he spoke. "Nuozhebo, your mother's health is poor. Take her to stay at the Honglu Temple guesthouse for a few days. I shall order the imperial physicians to attend to her and have the relevant authorities prepare supplies. Once the Supreme Emperor's mausoleum is settled, you may depart for Fuqi City."
Wei Shufen turned her gaze toward the procession of imperial princes behind the Emperor, this time easily spotting Li Yuangui. The tall, slender youth wore an expression of stunned disbelief, his face pale and thin lips tightly pressed together.
He had been tasked with searching for the Tuyuhun royal descendant for over half a year. The person he sought had actually been right beside him all along.
The other imperial brothers were mostly whispering among themselves in hushed discussions. Not just them—Wei Shufen's sweeping glance noticed many foreign envoys among the spectators pointing and murmuring in astonishment. She suddenly understood why the Son of Heaven and Empress had arranged for Murong Shun's envoy Mi Nu to identify Dehua Princess and her son in this setting... This was more convincing to various nations than the court suddenly issuing an edict announcing the discovery of the original consort and legitimate son of Tuyuhun's new khan.
Yet... she noticed most foreign chieftains and envoys still wore expressions of shock and skepticism. While this public spectacle certainly captured international attention, it might not convince these foreign leaders that a Tang guard was actually the long-lost only son of Tuyuhun's new king, missing for eighteen years.
"Enough," the Emperor turned and walked toward the hearse bearing his deceased father's remains. "Let us first complete the ceremony. The libation!"
Only one ritual remained in the Funeral Ceremony: the relevant authorities would present wine, the Son of Heaven would drink, shatter the cup and kneel in offering, the Palace Attendant would announce the decree, and the hearse would depart for the Xianling Mausoleum.
After the events since dawn, all participants were thirsty, exhausted, sunburned, and hoarse from forced wailing. Hearing the ceremony was concluding, they immediately took their positions. Military music from the Drum and Wind Ensemble played as the Court of Imperial Sacrifices performed, while a procession of eunuchs emerged from Shuntian Gate bearing sacrificial food, wine, and ritual vessels.
Amidst the clearly hoarse proclamation of "The hearse shall depart—the Emperor bows again to offer libation" from the Master of Ceremonies, the Son of Heaven lifted his robes and knelt forward in reverence. Two eunuchs stepped forward—one holding a tray, the other pouring wine from a golden pot into a cup. They first presented a cup to the Ceremonial Ambassador for tasting, waited briefly, then filled another wine cup and presented it with both hands to the Emperor.
As the Emperor accepted the wine cup and raised it slightly to take the ritual sip, a shout erupted from the imperial princes' formation:
"Your Majesty, wait!"
A lean figure leaped forward, seizing the wine-pouring eunuch and knocking off his ceremonial hat. As the headgear—which had completely covered the cheeks and lower face—fell away, it revealed the brown-skinned youthful features that even Wei Shufen recognized.
Sang Sai, son of Tuyuhun's King Sky Pillar.
The Emperor dropped the wine cup to the ground, where the yellow earth immediately produced eerie bubbles—clear evidence it had been poisoned.
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