She silently held onto the bundle and stood upstairs, waiting until the noise from the ball game across the street gradually faded. The Empress, seemingly weary, was assisted by palace maids into the pavilion to rest. The bamboo curtain on the south side of the pavilion was lowered, casting a dim and tranquil light. Apart from the attendants, the Empress only allowed Wei Shufen and Su Lingyu to accompany her inside. She reclined on the sitting couch and smiled faintly:
"Young Lady Wei, forgive my informality—I am unwell and truly exhausted. You mentioned you've uncovered the true culprit behind the case of Princess Linfen at the Temple of Common Vocation? The item you requested has also been brought. Please proceed."
Wei Shufen bowed respectfully and offered a few humble words before placing the bundle she carried on the writing desk in front of the Empress's couch. Another bundle, wrapped in the green floral cape Wei Shufen had worn the previous day, was already on the desk. She unwrapped both bundles, revealing two golden wine pots.
The two pots appeared to have been cast from the same mold—identical in size, with long spouts, slender necks, and large bellies. Their surfaces were gilded with the same dragon-headed horse-bodied monster cloud patterns. However, one gleamed brightly as if brand new, while the other bore traces of black mud, appearing older and duller, and lacked its lid.
Wei Shufen picked up the wine pots and explained to the Empress their double inner chambers and the function of the air holes. Empress Zhangsun and her daughter-in-law expressed astonishment and admiration. Finally, Su Lingyu asked, "Where did these two wine pots come from?"
"This new one," Wei Shufen pointed to the gleaming pot, "was retrieved from Prince Wu's residence by order of the Crown Princess. It was the weapon used by Zun Wang, the former Crown Prince of Tuyuhun, to pour poisoned wine for His Majesty. The older pot I brought was found in the archives of the Dali Temple—it was the weapon used by Princess Linfen, Wanxi, to serve poisoned wine to His Majesty ten years ago in the Eastern Palace Poison Wine Case."
Two identical wine pots, separated by a decade, had eerily served the same purpose—poisoning a man named Li Shimin.
The evidence box from the Eastern Palace Poison Wine Case had been retrieved by Chai Yingluo, Li Yuangui, and others that day and stored at the Purple Void Monastery, untouched since. During the Funeral Ceremony, Wei Shufen saw the poisoned wine pot used by Zun Wang fall to the ground and roll to her feet. For a moment, she thought Li Yuangui had retrieved the old evidence pot and reused it, but she soon doubted this and quickly picked it up, wrapped it, and refused to hand it over to other officials.
That evening, upon returning to the Purple Void Monastery from the Honglu Temple guesthouse, she asked the servants to retrieve the evidence box. Opening it, she confirmed the old Dragon-horse double heart pot was still inside. She lay awake all night pondering the mystery, finally piecing it together by dawn. She wrapped the old pot and brought it with her to report to Empress Zhangsun.
The bizarre case of Princess Linfen Li Wanxi, who hanged herself on her wedding night, was long overdue for resolution—especially since it also concerned Li Yuangui's debt of fifty thousand bolts of silk.
According to Li Yuangui's agreement with the Emperor, finding—or successfully fabricating—the Tuyuhun royal descendant would earn a reward of thirty thousand bolts. Solving the case of Princess Linfen would add another twenty thousand. The Tuyuhun royal descendant task was barely "completed" by Li Yuangui, and it was unclear whether the Emperor would acknowledge it. But if the Princess Linfen case could be conclusively resolved to the satisfaction of the Son of Heaven and the Empress, perhaps the entire matter could be settled in one stroke."Conspiracy to rebel and assassination, separated by a decade, yet using the same instrument—this cannot be mere coincidence," Empress Zhangsun spoke softly. "Based on what you've uncovered, with these two golden pots as evidence, who exactly is the murderer of Yi Niang?"
"Your Majesty is most discerning. This new pot was witnessed by thousands at yesterday's Funeral Ceremony, used by the former Crown Prince of Tuyuhun. As for the old pot, when we retrieved the evidence box for re-examination, someone immediately pointed out that this dragon-horse pattern is commonly used by the Tuyuhun royal family. The one who identified it was Yang Xinzhi—Murong Nuohebo—because he had seen similar gold artifacts brought back from Tuyuhun by his grandfather, Yang Xiong." Wei Shufen emphasized, "Perhaps among those gold treasures, there was once this gilded dragon-horse patterned double-heart pot?"
She pointed to the old pot, and both the Empress and the Crown Princess, being astute, understood her implication. The Empress sighed, "Are you suggesting that over a decade ago, someone took this double-heart pot from the Yang family, later brought it to the Crown Prince's Palace, and arranged for Prince Qin to be poisoned?"
"Exactly," Wei Shufen took another deep breath. "There is one more thing I wish to clarify. Princess Linfen was clearly murdered, yet she left behind a suicide note. I have brought the original with me."
She retrieved the letter found beneath Li Wanxi's pillow from her bundle and handed it to the Empress and Crown Princess for their perusal, explaining, "The handwriting was verified by Ouyang Shuleng himself as indeed the Princess's own. However, the tone of the writing does not suggest a resolve to die but rather resembles the emotions of someone in love. Last night, I revisited this note repeatedly and boldly concluded that it is not a suicide note but... a farewell letter before elopement."
The words on the paper were etched in her memory: "Li Wanxi, eldest granddaughter of the Supreme Emperor of the Great Tang, humbly submits: Born with frail fate and misfortune befalling my late father, nine years of grief culminated in a night of enlightenment. Life is not of one's own choosing; cast into the imperial household, though bearing the title of a princess and nurtured by royal teachings, my form is inferior to willow, my essence as fleeting as morning dew. Following the rules of the inner court, I grieve abandoning my mother's care; heeding the palace's instructions, I shamefully hear of pines and cypresses withering in cold. The waters of Yanping run dry, the Dragon Sword leaves its abyss; the Qin Jade Tower collapses, the Phoenix Flute departs forever. May my imperial grandfather live ten thousand years, and my mothers a thousand autumns, in a peaceful and prosperous era where all may thrive. Li Wanxi bows again."
Within this, only phrases like "my essence as fleeting as morning dew," "grieving abandoning my mother's care," and "shamefully hearing of pines and cypresses withering in cold" could vaguely imply "I intend to die." Yet these could just as easily be interpreted as "this unworthy girl is leaving her family and her former life." Meanwhile, "The waters of Yanping run dry, the Dragon Sword leaves its abyss; the Qin Jade Tower collapses, the Phoenix Flute departs forever" employs two allusions related to romantic love. When Li Wanxi wrote these lines, her thoughts were likely filled with visions of eloping with her beloved and living in seclusion.
"This reasoning is sound," the Empress said, "but after the age of nine, Yi Niang was secluded in the forbidden temple, never stepping outside or meeting any men. How could she have fallen in love and planned to elope?"
"This is precisely what the true murderer sought to exploit, but their cleverness backfired, revealing their sinister intentions." Wei Shufen produced another sheet from her bundle, showing it to the Empress. The paper bore Li Wanxi's childish script:
"Lofty halls stand solemn and grand, vast chambers cold and desolate. A gentle breeze stirs the inner doors, the setting sun bathes the courtyard steps. Hesitating beneath the cloudy eaves, I sing leaning against the ornate pillars...""This is a poem copied by Yi Niang, yet it vividly depicts the scene of her youthful infatuation at the time. She wandered the high palace steps and courtyards, leaning against the railings to gaze at the setting sun, when she spotted a young garrison guard standing watch on the watchtower at the corner of the wall, his figure heroic and striking..." Wei Shufen bit her lip. "Before the fire at the Temple of Common Vocation, I had frequented the place. Standing in a corner of the courtyard, one could indeed clearly see the appearance of the guards on the watchtower. Some in the temple also mentioned seeing the Crown Prince ascend the corner tower, and he was recognized by the secluded women there. I once thought... forgive me, Empress... but later learned this was not the case. The man Princess Linfen secretly admired must have been someone else."
"Who?"
"My personal conjecture... is that it was the true descendant of Tuyuhun, the garrison guard Yang Xinzhi at the time."
The Empress leaned back on her seat, lost in thought without speaking. Wei Shufen explained:
"Yang Xinzhi had mentioned himself that when he first entered the garrison, he was stationed on duty at the Temple of Common Vocation. His striking appearance easily captivated young girls, and as a member of the Yang family's Guanwang branch, he had close female relatives in the temple. If Yi Niang secretly admired him and confided in a woman she was close to, that woman could easily have inquired about Yang Xinzhi's identity. Later, when the Great Peace Palace ordered Prince Wu to escort Yi Niang for her wedding, Yang Xinzhi accompanied Fourteenth Young Master and also entered the Temple of Common Vocation, possibly encountering Yi Niang. That woman could then twist words and convince Yi Niang that Yang Dalang also admired her and was willing to elope. Thus, with the woman dictating and Yi Niang transcribing, this letter was written as her farewell."
"And the woman's true intention was to murder Yi Niang and use the suicide note to fake her suicide," the Empress said with a frown. After a pause, she asked, "Why?"
This was about the motive for the crime. Wei Shufen lowered her gaze to the two golden pots on the table:
"That woman had an illicit affair, and Yi Niang, being close to her, likely knew about it. If that alone wasn't enough to drive her to act, something else must have happened—something that made the woman realize Yi Niang also knew about her crime a decade ago: using the double-heart pot obtained from her family to conspire with her late husband in poisoning the current Son of Heaven. This posed too great a threat to her future... After Yi Niang married into the Pingyang Princess's household, she would be constantly around Prince Consort Chai, High Truth Master, and others related to the matter, risking accidental slips. The woman couldn't bear the consequences, so..."
The Empress remained silent. Crown Princess Su Lingyu asked, "A Fen, is this woman you speak of Consort Yang, Princess of Hailing, whose childhood name was Buyao?"
"Exactly," Wei Shufen replied. Su Lingyu exhaled deeply, a faint hint of relief crossing her face as she turned to smile at her mother-in-law.
Empress Zhangsun, however, did not smile. She silently stared at the two golden pots and the two written notes on the table for a long while before finally shaking her head and murmuring softly, "No."
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