This story incorporates the names, character relationships, and background plots of many real historical figures. Literary works are products of imagination and creativity based on historical studies, and fictional characters should never be confused with historical figures. However, here, we will provide some follow-up records of the relevant historical figures to fill in the gaps of this imaginative narrative as much as possible.
Li Yuangui, the fourteenth son of Li Yuan, has individual biographies in both the Old and New Books of Tang, with largely similar content. He was initially enfeoffed as the "Prince of Shu" in the sixth year of the WuDe Era and was later re-enfeoffed as the "Prince of Wu" in the eighth year. This title persisted until the ninth year of the Zhenguan Era, when the story takes place, and he was re-enfeoffed as the "Prince of Huo" in the tenth year of Zhenguan. According to historical records, Wei Zheng held Li Yuangui in high regard early on, praising him to Emperor Li Shimin as "learned and refined in classical studies." Consequently, Li Shimin arranged for his younger brother to marry Wei Zheng's daughter.
In his youth, Li Yuangui accompanied Emperor Taizong (Li Shimin) on hunts within the palace grounds. Once, encountering a group of wild beasts, he was ordered to shoot them and did so without missing a single arrow. His elder brother patted him on the shoulder and said, "Your martial skills are extraordinary, but unfortunately, they are of little use now. Back when the empire was not yet settled, I fought battles everywhere. How wonderful it would have been if you had charged into battle alongside me." (Take this with a grain of salt—don’t take it too seriously.) After the death of Emperor Gaozu (Li Yuan), Li Yuangui was said to have displayed extreme grief and filial piety, "mourning excessively according to ritual, thereafter always wearing plain clothes to signify lifelong sorrow. On each anniversary of his father's death, he would fast for several days."
In the tenth year of Zhenguan, Li Yuan's younger sons were re-enfeoffed and sent to serve as regional governors. Li Yuangui first became the "Prefect of Jiangzhou" (roughly in present-day Jiang County, Houma, and Wenxi in Shanxi Province, adjacent to Chai Shao's hometown of Linfen Commandery) and later the "Prefect of Xuzhou" (in present-day Xuzhou, Jiangsu Province). During his tenure, he rarely stirred up trouble, mostly keeping to himself and reading, delegating administrative tasks to his subordinate officials (Chief Clerks and Military Commanders). He was "cautious and self-restrained, never offending others, and never acting recklessly." In Xuzhou, he befriended a commoner named Liu Xuanping. When someone asked Liu, "What are Prince Huo's strengths?" Liu replied, "He has none." Why? Liu explained, "Only when a person has flaws can their strengths be revealed. Prince Huo is flawless and perfect in every way—how can I possibly name his strengths?"
In the twenty-third year of Zhenguan, Li Shimin passed away, and the new emperor, Li Zhi, ascended the throne. He bestowed favors on his elder relatives and brothers, and Li Yuangui benefited from this, receiving an additional fief of a thousand households (effectively a raise). He was then appointed as the "Prefect of Dingzhou." This region lies in central Hebei Province today, a few hundred miles north of present-day Beijing. During the Tang Dynasty, it was a quasi-frontline area for defending against northern nomadic tribes like the Turks. During Emperor Gaozong's reign, Li Yuangui successfully defended Dingzhou in battle and also achieved notable accomplishments in civil governance. Emperor Gaozong (at least while he was still in good health) held his fourteenth uncle in high regard. Historical accounts state that Li Yuangui "often submitted memorials to the court discussing the successes and failures of current policies, offering many constructive suggestions, and Emperor Gaozong greatly respected him. Even when stationed in the outer provinces, whenever the court faced major issues, secret edicts would often be sent to consult him." Overall, Li Yuangui maintained a low profile during the Zhenguan Era but became much more active during Gaozong's reign. After Li Zhi's death, Li Yuangui was deeply involved in the construction of the Qianling Mausoleum.However, after Emperor Gaozong's death, when Wu Zetian seized power, the Li-Tang imperial clan soon faced great calamity. In the fourth year of the Chuigong era, Li Yuangui, who already held the prestigious title of "Minister over the Masses" (one of the Three Excellencies), was accused of conspiring with Prince Yue Li Zhen to raise troops. The plot was exposed, and he was exiled to Qianzhou (present-day Guizhou Province), suffering severe humiliation along the way—he was transported in a caged cart exposed to public view, likely drawing crowds of onlookers wherever he passed. He never reached Guizhou, dying en route in Chencang (modern-day Baoji, Shaanxi Province) under unclear circumstances.
Li Yuangui had seven sons, the eldest of whom, Li Xu, was the most talented. Enfeoffed as the "Prince of Jiangdu," he served as the governor of Jinzhou but was also executed during Empress Wu's reign. After Emperor Zhongzong's restoration, he was posthumously restored to his title alongside his father, Yuangui. Li Xu's grandson, Li Hui (Li Yuangui's great-grandson), was also reinstated as the "Successor Prince of Huo," a rank below a full prince but above a commandery prince, specifically designated for the heirs of princes. During Emperor Xuanzong's Kaiyuan era, Li Hui also held the military position of "Left Thousand Oxes Vice General."
Another of Li Yuangui's sons, Li Chun, was enfeoffed as the "Prince of Anding," while the remaining five sons were granted titles of dukes or commandery dukes. Overall, before Wu Zetian's rise to power, his family enjoyed considerable favor.
The above details are recorded in the transmitted historical texts Old Book of Tang, Biographies 14 and New Book of Tang, Biographies 4 . In recent years, archaeological discoveries have unearthed several epitaphs related to Li Yuangui's family—information I only learned after completing the initial draft of my story (thanks to the contributions of friends like Jiang Feiyu and Zhai Songmiao). Some of these findings present intriguing coincidences worth mentioning.
First, there is the Epitaph of Lady Pei, Princess Consort of Jiangdu Commandery of the Tang Dynasty , included in the 2011 publication Newly Excavated Epitaphs from Qin, Jin, and Yu , compiled by Zhao Junping and Zhao Wencheng. This Lady Pei, Princess Consort of Jiangdu, was the principal wife of Li Xu, Li Yuangui's eldest son. Her grandfather was Pei Ji, her father Pei Lvshi, and her mother was Gaozu's daughter, Princess Linhai—the historical prototype for the "Seventeenth Princess" in my main story. Note that the familial relationship between Li Yuangui and the Seventeenth Princess as siblings sharing the same mother is purely a fictional construct with no historical basis. However, this epitaph confirms that Li Yuangui's eldest son did indeed marry Lady Pei, the daughter of Princess Linhai.
Of course, Li Yuangui and Princess Linhai were at least half-siblings (sharing the same father), making their children cousins—a common practice for marriage in ancient times, so this coincidence isn't particularly unusual. Lady Pei was born around the 22nd year of the Zhenguan era and was likely significantly younger than Li Xu, marrying during Emperor Gaozong's reign. During Wu Zetian's rule, as both a Tang imperial princess consort and the daughter of a princess, she could not escape misfortune. Her epitaph states, "The consort was confined within the palace walls," referring to her imprisonment in the Lateral Courts, where the families of criminals and palace maids were held. Lady Pei was fortunate in both health and luck, enduring hardship until Emperor Zhongzong's restoration, when she was released and reinstated. She eventually passed away at the advanced age of 76 in the 12th year of Emperor Xuanzong's Kaiyuan era.
Another epitaph, Inscription and Preface for the Tomb of Li Gang, Grand Administrator of Ankang Commandery of the Great Tang , reveals further historical details about Li Yuangui's family. The tomb's occupant, Li Gang, was Li Yuangui's fifth son, initially enfeoffed as the Duke of Nanyang Commandery. His epitaph begins: "Taizong's beloved younger brother was the Minister over the Masses, Prince Huo, Yuangui..."Li Gang was born during the Zhenguan era. As a child, he once met Emperor Taizong and received the position of "Zanshan" at the Crown Prince's Palace. His mother, Lady Wei (at least his legal mother, and very likely his birth mother), passed away earlier than Emperor Gaozong of Tang, making her perhaps the most fortunate among the family members. During Emperor Gaozong's reign, Li Gang served as the Deputy Administrator of three prefectures. His principal wife was the granddaughter of Wei Zheng—specifically, the second daughter of Wei Zheng's second son, Wei Shuyu—making her also his cousin.
When Empress Wu purged the Li-Tang imperial clan, Li Gang was exiled to Wuzhou (in present-day Guangxi), then a remote and miasmic region. His epitaph euphemistically states that he "departed to cultivate the Dao" in that place, "leaving his bones in a foreign land," with the exact year of his death unknown. After the Li-Tang restoration, Li Gang was posthumously honored as the Governor of Jinzhou. One of his sons, Li Zhiyi, who was still alive, traveled south and miraculously found his father's... whether it was remains or ashes is unclear. These were first temporarily interred in Linru Commandery and later, during Emperor Xuanzong's Tianbao era, reburied in the Shaoling Plains near the capital.
Li Gang's wife, Lady Wei, may have suffered even more. After her husband's family fell into disgrace, she was "consigned to the palace," where she became a nun, "hoping to illuminate herself with a hundred lamps and burn her head with a single incense." Unlike her sister-in-law, she did not survive the ordeal, and the exact time of her death remains unknown. She was buried in the "graveyard for palace women," but her grave could not be located later. During the Tianbao era, when Li Zhiyi wished to rebury his parents together, he could only perform a soul-summoning ritual with one of her garments as a substitute.
Now, regarding the Wei family.
Wei Zheng himself needs no introduction—he is the eternal model of a remonstrating minister. After his death, although Emperor Li Shimin once vented his anger at him, the later fabricated tales of "destroying his tomb and smashing his stele" are absolutely false (the stele was only temporarily toppled and soon re-erected). Wei Zheng's sons all continued to serve as officials. His eldest son, Wei Shuyu, inherited the title of Duke of Zheng and became the Junior Minister of the Court of Imperial Entertainments. Wei Shulin rose to the position of Vice Minister of Rites but was "killed by cruel officials during Empress Wu's reign." Wei Shuyu served as the Governor of Yuzhou and was a renowned calligrapher of his time, on par with his nephew Xue Ji, one of the Four Great Calligraphers of the Early Tang. Wei Zheng's fifth-generation descendant, Wei Mo, even became Chancellor under Emperor Xuanzong of Tang.
Wei Zheng's eldest son, Wei Shuyu, was once nearly betrothed to Empress Zhangsun's youngest biological daughter, Princess Hengshan, but the engagement was broken during Li Shimin's fit of anger. In fictional accounts, it is said his parents paid 30,000 bolts of silk to secure the engagement to the youngest daughter of the Cui family. If one insists on aligning the plot with historical records, it could be further imagined that the Cui girl died of illness not long after—child mortality was indeed high at the time. Thus, the Wei family lost both the bride and the dowry, and Wei Zheng continued his desperate search for a noble bride from the Five Great Clans for his eldest son. This dragged on until his own death, with no success.
Empress Zhangsun died in the fifth month of the tenth year of Zhenguan. Her husband, Li Shimin, was overwhelmed with grief and never appointed another principal empress for the rest of his life. In fact, for thirteen years after her death, his harem bore almost no more children—the only uncertain case being his youngest son, Li Ming, whose birth mother was Li Yuanji's principal wife, Yangshi. Li Ming's elder brother, Prince Zhao Li Fu, whose epitaph has been unearthed, was born in the eighth year of Zhenguan, while Empress Zhangsun was still alive. As for Li Shimin's daughters, according to the "New Book of Tang: Biographies of Princesses," the twenty-first and youngest princess was Empress Zhangsun's biological child. The above records remain unchallenged by newly discovered epitaphs or other evidence, leaving room for future research.After the death of his mother, Li Chengqian's relationship with his father and younger brother Li Tai continued to deteriorate. Finally, in the seventeenth year of the Zhenguan era, he planned a "patricide and coup" like a child's game. Although it posed no real threat to the Emperor, the plan had already been set in motion and could not be ignored. He also dragged his younger brother Li Tai into the affair, resulting in both brothers being demoted, leaving their youngest full brother Li Zhi as the ultimate winner. Their father, Li Shimin, was deeply shocked by this incident, and his health declined rapidly.
Li Chengqian's principal wife, Crown Princess Su Shi, left few traces in historical records. The Cefu Yuangui records: "In the ninth year of Zhenguan, on the first month, day Jiashen, Crown Prince Chengqian married Su Shi as his consort. A banquet was held for the ministers, and silk was bestowed upon them in varying amounts." The Complete Tang Texts includes the Edict Appointing the Daughter of Su Dan as Crown Princess , from which we learn that the Crown Princess was "the eldest daughter of Secretariat Assistant Su Dan." The Wei Zheng's Admonitions , Volume 5, contains a section titled "Celebration Banquet for the Birth of the Imperial Grandson," which records that after the Crown Prince's Palace welcomed a son, "Emperor Taizong visited the Crown Prince's Palace, held a banquet, and rejoiced greatly." Among the ministers' congratulations was the phrase "the Crown Prince's Palace has welcomed its first legitimate heir." The Cefu Yuangui dates this event to the third month of the twelfth year of Zhenguan. Based on narrative conventions, this strongly suggests that Consort Su gave birth to Li Chengqian's legitimate heir.
However, it is difficult to say how strong their marital bond was. Historical records state that Li Chengqian was infatuated with a young musician named Chengxin from the Court of Imperial Sacrifices, "sleeping and rising together" with him—they were lovers. Later, Chengxin was executed in a fit of rage by Li Shimin, which deeply embittered Li Chengqian. "He built a chamber in the palace, erected Chengxin's likeness, and made offerings morning and evening, pacing and weeping. He also constructed a tomb in the gardens, privately bestowing official titles and erecting a stele." This further strained the already distant relationship between father and son.
Li Chengqian had at least three sons: Li Xiang, Li Yi, and Li Jue. Among them, Li Xiang's son Li Kuo rose to the position of chancellor during Emperor Xuanzong's reign and arranged for the reburial of his grandfather Li Chengqian's remains—who had died in exile—beside Emperor Taizong's Zhaoling Mausoleum. By then, even the tomb and coffin of Li Chengqian's wife, Su Shi, could no longer be found, so a "summoning of the soul" ceremony was performed to bury her symbolically with her husband. The Epitaph for the Lamented Prince of Hengshan , which records this event, has been excavated at Zhaoling.
Princess Pingyang, her husband Chai Shao, and their two sons, Chai Zhewei and Chai Ling-wu, were all historical figures. Chai Shao died in the twelfth year of Zhenguan and was posthumously honored as Governor of Jingzhou with the posthumous title Xiang. Following Tang customs, he is often referred to as "Duke Xiang of Qiao."
His eldest son, Chai Zhewei, inherited the title Duke of Qiao. The Old Book of Tang only mentions that he served as General of the Right Tunying Barracks. He was implicated in his younger brother Chai Ling-wu and sister-in-law's rebellion case and was briefly exiled to Lingnan before being reinstated as "Governor of Jiaozhou (administrative seat in present-day Vietnam)," where he died in office. However, recent discoveries have uncovered more about Chai Zhewei. A tomb inscription unearthed in the southern suburbs of Turpan, Xinjiang— Epitaph for Lady Linghu of Nanping Township, Tianshan County, Fifth Year of Yonghui —records that in the ninth month of the twenty-third year of Zhenguan, Chai Zhewei held the following titles: "Commissioner with Extraordinary Powers Over the Three Prefectures of Xi, Yi, and Ting; Concurrent Protector-General of Anxi; Prefect of Xi Prefecture; Supreme Pillar of the State; Duke of Qiao." Current evidence suggests he was the third Protector-General of Anxi in Tang history, governing regions spanning present-day Xinjiang to Central Asia.In Korea, the "Stele of General Chai's Secluded Residence and Thatched Hall" was discovered, with inscriptions recording that Chai Zhewei, serving as the "Commander of the Hanzi Circuit," participated in the Tang army's conquest of the Korean Peninsula during the Longshuo era of Emperor Gaozong. This indicates that during Emperor Gaozong's reign, Chai Zhewei was a capable regional commander, campaigning extensively east and west. Though not particularly famous, he did not disgrace the illustrious achievements of his parents.
In contrast, his younger brother Chai Ling-wu was less distinguished. Chai Ling-wu married Princess Baling, the seventh daughter of Li Shimin (posthumously honored as Princess Bijing during the Xianqing era), and served as Vice Minister of the Imperial Stud and Prefect of Wei Province, with the title of Duke of Xiangyang. In the fourth year of the Yonghui era, he and his wife were implicated in the rebellion plot involving Princess Gaoyang and Fang Yi'ai, resulting in both being sentenced to death.
The Tuyuhun War concluded in the ninth year of the Zhenguan era, marking the final campaign of Dai Guogong (later renamed Wei Guogong) Li Jing. The Tang court supported Murong Shun, the mixed-blood son of the old Khan Fu Yun and a Sui dynasty princess sent for marriage alliance, installing him as the new Khan of Tuyuhun. However, Murong Shun was too sinicized, and his people rebelled against him, killing him after the Tang army withdrew. The Tang court then supported Murong Shun's son, Murong Nuohebo, as the next Khan and arranged for a princess of the imperial clan, Princess Honghua, to marry into Tuyuhun as part of a marriage alliance. However, the rising power of Tibet, led by the famous Songtsen Gampo, seized Tuyuhun's fertile pastures through various means, forcing Nuohebo and Princess Honghua to flee back to Chang'an, where they spent the rest of their lives.
Li Shimin's fifth elder sister, Princess Guiyang (later renamed Princess Changguang), did not have a happy later life. First, her son from her first marriage, Zhao Jie, was implicated in the Crown Prince's deposition case in the seventeenth year of Zhenguan, which also affected her second husband, Yang Shidao. Then, in the twenty-first year of Zhenguan, Yang Shidao passed away, and the princess died around the same time. Her children from her first marriage, surnamed Zhao, and her son with Yang Shidao, Yang Yuzhi, fought over the family inheritance, taking their dispute all the way to Emperor Li Shimin. Even their uncle Li Shimin found it embarrassing and sent Zhangsun Wu-ji to mediate the division of assets.
But that wasn't the end. The scoundrel Yang Yuzhi, while observing mourning for his mother, committed adultery with his aunt, Princess Yongjia (a daughter of Gaozu). He was caught in the act by her husband, Dou Fengjie, who cut off his ears and nose before beating him to death. The scandal was so severe that Li Shimin had no choice but to order his sister Princess Yongjia to divorce Dou Fengjie and treated her coldly thereafter. During Emperor Gaozong's reign, Princess Yongjia was renamed Princess Fangling and remarried He Lan Sengjia. After her death, she was buried near Gaozu's Xianling Mausoleum, as recorded in her epitaph.
Finally, let's discuss the great nemesis of the Li-Tang imperial family's princes and princesses—the female Emperor Wu Zetian.
Her mother, surnamed Yang, was the niece of Sui dynasty Prince Guan Yang Xiong and the cousin of Tang dynasty Duke Guan Yang Gongren and the fifth son-in-law, Chief Minister Yang Shidao, as described in the latter part of the story. According to historical records approved by her daughter Wu Zetian, this Yangshi was already over forty when she married Wu Zetian's father, Wu Shiyue, as his second wife. Details of her life before forty are unrecorded.After Yangshi married Wu Shiyue, a merchant of humble origins from Bingzhou (present-day Taiyuan, Shanxi) who had risen to prominence in the Tang dynasty, she bore only three daughters. It is generally believed that Wu Zetian was the second daughter. Wu Shiyue's two sons from his previous marriage did not get along with their stepmother Yangshi. Wu Shiyue died in the ninth year of the Zhenguan era while serving as the military governor of Jingzhou in Hubei. After his death, family disputes arose, and Yangshi took her daughters to live in Chang'an. At that time, Wu Zetian was twelve years old.
Two years later, around the eleventh year of the Zhenguan era, the second daughter of the Wu family, then fourteen years old, was selected to enter the imperial palace due to her "talent and beauty" and "graceful appearance." She was granted the title of Cairen (a fifth-rank imperial concubine) but received no further promotions during Emperor Taizong's reign, remaining without favor or children. After Emperor Taizong's death, she was sent to the Temple of Common Vocation to become a Buddhist nun.
But by then, she had already caught the attention and affection of the new Emperor Li Zhi, who was four years her junior...
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