In the west wing of the Hall of Established Governance, bookshelves and cabinets were packed tightly, with scrolls and volumes piled high. By the window stood a desk with brushes and ink. The outermost labels on the shelves read Book of Han , followed by Records of Wei , Records of Shu , Records of Wu , and others. For a moment, Wei Shufen felt as though she had returned to her own family’s study—her father, Wei Zheng, had been commissioned in recent years to compile historical records, and his shelves were similarly filled with hefty historical tomes.
When Crown Princess Su Lingyu introduced it as "the Empress’s private study," Wei Shufen was momentarily surprised. In her own home, her mother and sisters would fetch books from her father’s study to read, while writing was mostly done in their own bedrooms. It had never occurred to her that women could have their own dedicated study. But then Su Lingyu added, "The Son of Heaven’s Imperial Study is in the east wing opposite, filled with maps and military texts." Considering that husband and wife had different reading interests, having separate rooms to avoid disturbing each other seemed quite reasonable.
She and Su Lingyu had come from the main hall, addressing each other politely as "Crown Princess" and "Wei Niangzi." Several months had passed since they last met, and Su Lingyu had grown noticeably thinner, her face pallid and her expression distant. Though her hair was now styled in a married woman’s coiffure and draped with an ornate silk scarf, she appeared even more fragile than she had as a maiden, devoid of the radiant glow expected of a young bride.
In previous years, the two had been inseparable confidantes, and Wei Shufen had believed she knew the eldest daughter of Secretariat Assistant Su Dan better than anyone. Yet now, her heart grew colder by the moment, as if the person before her were not Su Lingyu at all.
Su Yi Niang, with her dignified and elegant beauty, had always been gentle in temperament, yet she had been a young woman of strong will and ambition, her mind brimming with literary knowledge that flowed effortlessly from her lips. Even among the gathering of talented ladies in the Female Academy, she had stood out prominently. Though the Su family of Wugong held respectable status among the Guanlong aristocracy—having produced figures like Su Wei, the famed chancellor of the former Sui dynasty—they still fell short of the elite "Five Surnames and Seven Clans." Moreover, Su Wei had a complicated history with the current Son of Heaven, a matter still occasionally dredged up in hushed conversations.
Su Lingyu was the eldest daughter of Su Wei’s own grandson, and her father, Su Dan, currently held the idle post of Secretariat Assistant, a mere fifth-rank position. Yet with such a background, she had been chosen as Crown Princess—the future Empress and mother of the nation—without a single voice of dissent in the capital, a testament to her exceptional grace and brilliance.
But who was this hollowed-out shell before her now, this woman with timid eyes and faltering speech?
The two sat facing each other, exchanging strained pleasantries until the conversation inevitably lapsed into silence. An invisible barrier of cold detachment seemed to radiate from Su Lingyu, shutting out Wei Shufen’s countless questions. Realizing how rare this opportunity for a private talk was, and pained by her friend’s state, Wei Shufen mustered her courage and called out, "Ah Yu—"
Su Lingyu immediately flinched to her feet. "I nearly forgot—the Empress once asked me to transcribe some notes... Since the writing tools are here, I should do it now..."
Forcing a smile, she gathered her scarf and lifted her skirts, moving slowly to the desk. Kneeling, she picked up a celadon water dropper and poured water into the inkstone.
The water gradually rose above the grinding platform at the center of the inkstone, then mercilessly overflowed, spilling onto the desk.
Another hand took hold of the dropper, stopping the flow, and set it back in its place.
Wei Shufen guided Su Lingyu’s hand back to the dropper but did not let go. Seeing tears welling in Su Lingyu’s eyes as she looked back at her, she instinctively reached out with her other hand, grasping her arms as she asked:
"Ah Yu, what on earth has happened?"Su Lingyu parted her cherry lips but could not utter a single word. Two streams of clear tears flowed down as she closed her eyes and collapsed into her friend's embrace, weeping uncontrollably.
On the first month of the ninth year of the WuDe Era, the Crown Prince Chengqian married Su Shi as his consort. The Son of Heaven held a grand banquet for his ministers, bestowing silk upon each according to rank.
The joyous ceremony, resplendent with flowers and celebrated throughout the realm, still seemed fresh in memory: the daughter of the Su family, clad in a nine-flowered pheasant robe, entered the Mingde Gate of the Crown Prince's Palace in an adorned carriage to the music of the Imperial Court. She received the golden seal and jade tablets, and the relevant authorities announced her establishment as Crown Princess in the ancestral temple, elevating her to the pinnacle of glory and wealth that any young woman in the realm could aspire to.
Yet it had only been a little over a month since then. Since her arrival, Su Lingyu, the new bride of the Crown Prince's Palace, had not yet appeared before outsiders. This was likely her first reunion with an old friend from home. At the sound of that familiar "Ah-Yu," the grievances she had suppressed could no longer be contained.
"Ah-Yu, what's wrong? Does the Crown Prince... treat you poorly?"
Su Lingyu wept on Wei Shufen's shoulder for a while before regaining some composure. Wiping her tears with the edge of her veil, she sobbed:
"He doesn't mistreat or abuse me... it's just..."
Another wave of tears welled up. Covering her face, she steadied her breathing before trembling:
"Sometimes I wonder if someone has cast a spell on me... an invisibility spell... I stand right before him, and he looks at me, but his gaze goes straight through me, as if he's seeing something else—certainly not me. Occasionally, he smiles, his eyes softening for a moment, but it's never for me. It's for someone... someone far beyond my reach..."
"You mean... the Crown Prince is thinking of another woman?" Wei Shufen asked softly.
Well, it was indeed sorrowful for a newlywed, but wasn't this also common? Crown Prince Li Chengqian was already eighteen this year—he must have had more than one concubine attending to him in his chambers. His younger full brother, Prince Yue Tai, had fathered a child with a maidservant years ago, making the Son of Heaven and the Empress grandparents, which only highlighted how late the Crown Prince's marriage had been. Su Lingyu's selection and wedding had both seemed rushed.
"If he had a favored concubine, I wouldn't be surprised or angry," Su Lingyu shook her head through tears. "What is there to say about such matters? I've even brought it up to him—if he likes someone, he should properly confer a title. There are so many ranks available—Liangdi, Liangyuan, Chenghui, Zhaoxun—would I really be jealous? But he..."
She inhaled shakily. "He simply ignores me... He has never acknowledged me from the start... We barely exchange three sentences before he stands and leaves... I don't even know what I've said or done wrong..."
Wei Shufen could only stroke Su Lingyu's arm as she buried her face in her veil, sobbing. Tears welled in her own eyes.
"You've only just married... It hasn't been long. Perhaps in time, things will improve..."
"I could have endured it," Su Lingyu choked out. "I knew what to expect within the imperial inner court. I had already resigned myself—if I never found favor, I would read, write, burn incense, and recite sutras, as if I had entered a nunnery. That would have been bearable. But... the Empress..."
The words "the Empress" came out between coughs and sobs. Wei Shufen startled.
"Did the Empress say something to you? Or make things difficult?"
For a new bride, the hardest to please was always the mother-in-law. Yet Su Lingyu shook her head repeatedly."Never... I come to the Hall of Established Governance every day to attend to the Empress's illness, and she treats me with such warmth and kindness, just like her own daughter. When she's feeling better, she discusses poetry and literature with me, and tells amusing stories about the Crown Prince's childhood. When talking about the future, after we... the Empress shared many ideas—how to rein in a wild horse of a man, how to restrain a willful Son of Heaven without overstepping bounds, how to protect loyal ministers. The more I listened, the more distressed I felt, realizing how utterly useless I am..."
Wei Shufen pondered and understood her meaning. Su Lingyu's selection as Crown Princess had been arranged by the Empress and approved by the Son of Heaven. Naturally, Empress Zhangsun placed great hopes on this daughter-in-law, molding her into the image of a "future mother of the nation." The higher the expectations and the kinder the treatment, the heavier the burden Su Lingyu felt on her shoulders. Yet, she couldn't even communicate with her husband, leaving her to blame herself for her incompetence and ingratitude.
After a good cry, Su Lingyu seemed slightly relieved, her sobs gradually quieting. Wei Shufen couldn't help but whisper:
"A-Yu, you shouldn't blame yourself. In the end, this is all Li Chengqian's fault."
Few dared to address the Crown Prince by his full name. Su Lingyu shuddered slightly and looked up at her. Wei Shufen continued unabated:
"Since he married you by his parents' decree, properly welcoming you into the Crown Prince's Palace as his principal wife, then regardless of whom he loves in his heart, he should at least show you some respect on the surface. And that respect isn't for you alone—it's for the Son of Heaven and the Empress, even for the ancestral lineage of the Great Tang. Besides, you've done nothing to violate wifely virtues, never made things difficult for him, always yielding to his wishes. Yet he won't even tell you what his intentions are—how can this absurdity be your fault? If you ask me, since the Empress treats you so kindly, you might as well confide in her—"
"Complain to my mother-in-law about her own son?" Su Lingyu gave a bitter smile, her eyes swollen and red. "Especially when he's her eldest son and heir, the one securing her position as Empress... A-Fen, you'll understand once you marry into your husband's family."
Wei Shufen fell silent, at a loss for words. After a long pause, she countered, "Then what do you plan to do now?"
"Actually, you're not wrong—the key lies with him," Su Lingyu said slowly. "I just don't understand why he treats me this way. In the month since I entered the Crown Prince's Palace, I've even had my maids and serving girls discreetly investigate whether he has a particularly favored woman. You know, such things can't be hidden from servants..."
"And?"
"The results leave me even more confused. The palace attendants all say the Crown Prince shows equal favor to his concubines, with no one standing out. Over the years, not one has even conceived. They say his appearance and temperament are identical to the Son of Heaven's in his youth, but in this regard, he's far more restrained than his father..."
Su Lingyu let out another bitter laugh and added:
"With no favored women in the palace, I began to suspect someone outside. You know how in recent years, the Son of Heaven and Empress often travel, leaving the Crown Prince to oversee the court. He's playful and restless—the servants say he frequently goes hunting with his Hu cavalry guards, disappearing for days. Perhaps there's some beauty outside who's captured his attention? But that doesn't quite make sense either. As the heir apparent, if he fancied someone, couldn't he just bring her back? Even if she were a married woman, both his grandfather and father have done such things—it's unlikely they'd scold him for it."Wei Shufen recalled the stories she had heard about Xin Chujian’s wife and the concubine of the Prince of Lujiang, and could only offer a bitter smile, at a loss for words. She listened as Su Lingyu continued:
“Just a few days ago, my maid Xiaopu happened to strike up a conversation with a couple of drunken Turkic guards. She asked if the Crown Prince had any romantic affairs outside. One of the drunk Turks said two things, and suddenly, a possibility occurred to me…”
Hearing her voice tremble slightly, Wei Shufen knew she was touching upon something of grave importance. Instinctively, she reached out and grasped Su Lingyu’s hand, only to find it icy cold and drenched in sweat.
“The Turk laughed and said, ‘The Crown Prince has fallen for a woman, but she is his own sister.’ Xiaopu was so shocked she dropped the wine jug in her hand. Then the Turk added, ‘No, no, not the same parents, it’s…’ He uttered a Turkic word before being dragged away by his companions. Xiaopu remembered the word and told me. I then ordered her to ask other Turkic slaves about it. It turns out the word refers to ‘female relatives not of the same mother,’ including sisters, aunts, nieces, and the like…”
“How can there be such a word?” Wei Shufen was astonished. Su Lingyu gave a wry smile:
“Are you unaware of the customs of the northern barbarians? They roam the deserts and grasslands, their livelihoods harsh. They practice levirate marriage—any female relative within the clan who is neither their mother nor their daughter can be taken as a wife or concubine. It’s no surprise they use the same word for all. But with such a broad term, who exactly does it refer to? Which female relative has the Crown Prince fallen for?”
“Hmm,” Wei Shufen suppressed her emotions and tried to analyze seriously. “Since he said ‘not the same parents,’ it certainly can’t be any of the princesses of this generation. At least the worst… scandal won’t happen. If it’s a cousin or aunt from another surname and unmarried, the Crown Prince could simply bring her into the Crown Prince’s Palace. Our Great Tang isn’t overly strict about generational differences in marriage, is it? If he’s meeting her secretly, then she must be someone he can’t openly take as a consort—”
Either she’s a married woman from another surname whose husband’s family is too prominent to ignore, or… she’s a paternal aunt or cousin from the imperial clan.
Wei Shufen suddenly remembered the jade thumb ring the Empress had personally handed to her son earlier—the one suspected to be a man’s token, found in Princess Linfen’s dowry at the Temple of Common Vocation. The Empress’s face had been a mix of fury and sorrow, and she had let slip half a sentence:
“Keep your…”
“A Fen… you’re thinking about that blood jade thumb ring too, aren’t you?” Su Lingyu asked softly.
Wei Shufen nodded, then paused. “What ‘ring’? You mean that men’s thumb ring?”
“Yes. I’ve seen illustrations in ancient texts. That ring is called a ‘she’ or ‘jue,’ used by warriors of old to hook the bowstring when drawing the bow. Nowadays, no one uses it for archery anymore, but…”
But it was still undeniably a man’s object, and its presence in the dowry of an unmarried maiden carried unmistakable implications of a love token. Wei Shufen looked at Su Lingyu’s pale face and asked, “Have you seen that blood jade thumb ring before? Does it belong to the Crown Prince?”
“I haven’t seen it. I’ve only been in the Crown Prince’s Palace for a short while. But you heard what the Empress said. She must recognize that object…” Su Lingyu shook her head and didn’t continue.
Indeed. The Empress recognized that jade thumb ring. That’s why, upon seeing it, she abandoned her earlier stance of thoroughly investigating the case to uncover the truth. Instead, she willingly endured slander and tarnished her own reputation, ordering the case to be closed with Yi Niang’s suicide.Crown Prince Li Chengqian gave his own ornaments to his cousin Yi Niang, the orphaned daughter of his late uncle, former Crown Prince Li Jian-cheng. Later, Yi Niang hanged herself at her own wedding. If this story were to spread, it would truly be... an unspeakably ugly scandal.
"But," Wei Shufen murmured, "Yi Niang, she... she was clearly murdered."
#####Chapter 24 Appendix contains images related to the "Piyong Inkstone" and "Tang Dynasty Water Vessels," as well as explanations regarding the incidents involving Xin Chujian's wife and the concubine of the Prince of Lujiang. Interested readers can view them on the author's Weibo. Search for the ID "Tang Dynasty Travel Guide Forest Deer" on Sina Weibo. Welcome to discuss.
OpenNovel