"The position of Crown Princess is not one that just anyone can hold," the Empress said, her gaze unexpectedly shifting to Wei Shufen. "Someone like young Lady Wei, pure-hearted yet stubbornly straightforward, brave but lacking strategy, unable to keep thoughts to herself—that won't do. She wouldn't last more than a few years in the deep palace; not even her bones would remain. But someone like Yingniang, too clever and far too bold, is even worse... Since the Zhenguan era began and you've entered the palace more frequently, Yingniang, watching you has made me increasingly grateful I held firm and didn't agree with His Majesty back then. If you were to preside over the inner palace as mother of the realm, not only would you bring calamity upon the state and society, but the palace itself would be in constant turmoil. You, your father and brothers, the entire Linfen Chai clan—I fear none would come to a good end."
Wei Shufen felt a chill run through her. These were likely the coldest, most threatening words Empress Zhangsun had ever spoken aloud, yet her tone held no hint of warning or menace. Instead, it was hoarse with sorrow, aching to the core. After a moment of silence, she gave a bitter laugh:
"Having said so many harsh things about Yingniang, if I were to add that I've always genuinely cherished her, no one would believe me now, would they?"
"Your niece believes you," Chai Yingluo herself immediately interjected, lifting her face to smile at the Empress. "After all these years, serving you day and night, sharing every moment, how could I not perceive how you've treated me, Aunt? Uncle also dotes on me, but mostly out of regard for my mother—not like you, who've truly treated me as your own daughter, with such warmth and ease."
The Empress returned a relieved smile:
"Lately, my health has been failing. Sometimes, as I lie half-awake against the headboard, watching you bustle about, I often drift into thinking I'm still that young girl from over twenty years ago, newly married into the Li family of the Duke of Tang's household, following Eldest Sister and Third Sister on the journey northeast to Zhuojun. I was only thirteen then, understanding nothing. My grandparents were in Zhuojun, overseeing grain transport for the Sui campaign against Goguryeo, and had sent Second Brother to Chang'an to escort me to my new home. Everything was arranged by Eldest Brother Jiancheng and Third Sister, who even left her two- or three-year-old daughter—you—behind to personally accompany me on that long journey to Zhuojun to pay respects to my in-laws..."
Her thin face lit up with a smile of reminiscence and longing, momentarily radiant as if years had rolled back:
"Eldest Brother, Second Brother, Third Sister's husband, and my own brother—the four men guarded us outside, while Third Sister traveled with me by carriage and horseback. We journeyed together by day and shared quarters by night, our procession moving from the Western Capital to Luoyang, to Liyang, then north along the canal to Zhuojun. The hardships and dangers we faced, the human suffering we witnessed along the way—there's no need to recount it all. I barely knew the husband I'd just married, but I came to wholeheartedly admire Third Sister. I'd never before met a woman like your mother—born with delicate feminine beauty yet riding and archery with such vigor and courage, her insight and boldness rivaling any man's. With her around, no matter how dire the situation, she could always lighten the mood with laughter, making one feel bathed in spring breezes, certain she'd devise a solution. I only needed to sit quietly and follow her lead... Were it not for your parents, that first year of my marriage—let alone having the chance to see my mother-in-law Empress Dowager Dou one last time—whether I'd have survived those chaotic times at all would have been uncertain."
By the end, Empress Zhangsun was speaking solely to Chai Yingluo, tears welling in her eyes. The female Taoist met her gaze unflinchingly, listening with a smile before replying:"My late mother often spoke of her journey to Zhuojun with my aunt, praising her courage and wisdom," Wei Shufen said.
The Empress shook her head with a faint smile. "What courage and wisdom could a thirteen-year-old girl have? It was a miracle I didn’t cry all the way out of fear. Later, when I followed the Second Prince to Taiyuan, and after the uprising began, he and his father and brothers marched south. I heard scattered news that Third Sister was recruiting soldiers near Chang'an, forming her own Women's Army to seize territory and besiege cities. I was astonished and could only sigh, 'Only Third Sister could accomplish such a feat.' But her grand endeavor... didn’t last long. After Chang'an fell and the Supreme Emperor established the capital and founded the dynasty, she was rewarded with titles and honors—and that was the end of it. Any hope of her fighting like a man to achieve glory was utterly dashed.
"That was in the first year of the WuDe Era. Yingniang probably doesn’t remember, and you children certainly wouldn’t know. Third Sister came to the Inheriting Heaven Hall to see me, drunk and weeping bitterly. What could I say? I don’t even recall what I said to comfort her... Perhaps I told her she was born in the wrong time."
"Aunt’s meaning," Chai Yingluo interjected with a bitter smile, "is that my late mother and I—both of us—were born in the wrong time."
"Perhaps it’s true." Empress Zhangsun’s smile carried a rare trace of confusion. "From childhood, I studied the classics of poetry and rites in my uncle’s household, adhering to rules and reflecting on womanly virtues. I chose daughters-in-law by the same standards, knowing this was the only way to bring prosperity to the family and order to the realm. Yet when I watched Third Sister in my youth, and now when I look at you... seeing your bold, unrestrained manner, speaking and laughing without inhibition, expressing joy and anger freely—I can’t help but feel joy and envy in my heart... Lately, I’ve even thought that if you truly decide never to marry, to pursue the Dao and medicine, freely moving through the world... perhaps it wouldn’t be... a life of misery and loneliness..."
Before she could finish, she was seized by a fit of coughing. Consort Su hurried to pat her back and soothe her chest, but the Empress’s coughs were wrenching, painful to hear. Crown Prince Li Chengqian rose to attend to his mother. When the Empress finally caught her breath, she pushed him away weakly.
"Go and handle... I’ve already sought your father’s decree... It’s left to you to decide..."
Chengqian paled and called out, "A Niang," standing frozen by the bed. A silk scarf was tied around his neck, which had seemed odd earlier, but now, after moving, a streak of red peeked out from beneath the white fabric. The Empress reached up and loosened it, revealing a shallow, blood-crusted cut.
A knife wound on the Crown Prince’s neck...
Wei Shufen suddenly understood why Chai Yingluo had agreed to return with him to face the Son of Heaven and the Empress, despite the immense risk, even though she had no intention of staying with Li Chengqian forever. She remembered the scene outside the southern gate of Chang’an, where reeds danced like snowflakes in the wind. The Crown Prince, with only a few guards, had chased after the Chai family’s carriage, pulling his cousin aside for a private word. In his agitation, he had drawn a knife and wounded himself to force her hand... In the end, Chai Yingluo could not defy the heir to the throne. She still had family, still had people she cared about in this world.
The Empress gazed at her son’s wound, saying nothing, yet her eyes spoke volumes in that instant. Wei Shufen didn’t know where her own courage and quick wit came from, but she crawled forward on her knees."Your Highness, please swear before Her Majesty the Empress that you will never again meet with High Truth Master Chai, nor summon her into the palace to hear any of her words. Banish her far away... or even send her to a foreign country for marriage alliance... I only beg Your Highness to spare her life..."
As she spoke, tears streamed down her face once more. Li Yuangui also knelt beside her, joining in the plea. The Empress merely gazed at her son, breathing heavily, her dark eyes unfathomable:
"Will you swear... never to see her again?"
Li Chengqian slowly averted his gaze, glancing first at his wife, then at his cousin kneeling quietly at a distance, awaiting orders. He countered:
"Is A Niang asking her son? Or is the Empress questioning the Crown Prince?"
The Empress remained silent for a moment before responding in kind: "Can we mother and son be here today... alive... in this situation... because your father was a filial son and virtuous brother, or because he... was a peerless hero?"
Wei Shufen closed her eyes. When she opened them again, she saw Li Chengqian looking at Li Yuangui beside her, his eyes as deep and dark as his mother's, murmuring a few words that sounded like "endure emotions, sever love" or something similar, before giving a sorrowful smile:
"If that is so... This subject is weak-willed, not confident in my ability to cut off sentimental attachments, nor daring to deceive the Empress with false vows."
With these words, Chai Yingluo's death sentence was sealed. Wei Shufen collapsed to the ground in tears, her vision blurred by the flurry of robes and boots as Li Chengqian rose and left the chamber without a backward glance.
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