In the study of Empress Zhangsun at the Hall of Established Governance in the Supreme Palace, Wei Shufen knelt beside the desk, holding the cold, delicate hand of her close friend, Crown Princess Su Lingyu, her heart roiling with turbulent thoughts.
Li Chengqian and Li Wanxi were born in the same year, with the former being a few months older than his cousin. They might have played together under their grandfather's care during the WuDe Era. After the Black Tortoise Gate Incident, Li Chengqian was named Crown Prince, while Li Wanxi was confined to a Buddhist temple in the forbidden garden. In recent years, as the Son of Heaven and his consort were often away, Li Chengqian frequently hunted and roamed the forbidden garden. Somehow, he encountered his cousin Yi Niang, and the two fell into a forbidden love.
Perhaps this was why Li Chengqian repeatedly postponed his marriage, but such a relationship could never see the light of day. He gifted Yi Niang a jade thumb ring as a token, yet Li Wanxi grew despondent and wrote a suicide note—Wei Shufen suddenly recalled that the note contained the lines: "When the waters of Yanping run dry, the Dragon Sword leaves the abyss; when the Qin Jade Tower collapses, the Phoenix Flute departs forever." These alluded to two legends: "The twin swords Longquan and Tai'e leaped into the Yanping River and transformed into dragons to roam together," and "Nongyu, daughter of Duke Mu of Qin, played the flute with an immortal and ascended to heaven on a dragon and phoenix." Clearly, these references were tied to romantic love, likely symbolizing a wish to be reborn in the next life and reunite with her beloved...
This past January, the Crown Prince took his consort, and Yi Niang was soon married as well. The Empress, perhaps having caught wind of the rumors, visited Yi Niang on her wedding day for a private conversation behind closed doors. Her words might have carried veiled warnings, leaving Yi Niang panicked and desperate—so much so that she resolved to take her own life—
"No," Wei Shufen suddenly said.
"What do you mean?" Su Lingyu looked at her in confusion.
The reasoning above seemed plausible, but there was one point that didn't add up—
"Li Wanxi did not hang herself. There were four pieces of evidence at the scene indicating she was strangled from behind."
Regardless of whether Yi Niang had contemplated suicide or written multiple suicide notes, her death was a murder with a perpetrator present. So who was the killer?
Assuming Li Yiniang did die because of her forbidden relationship with the Crown Prince, who would have had a motive to kill her on her wedding day?
Crown Prince Li Chengqian himself? Wei Shufen shook her head. Li Chengqian might be cold-hearted and faithless, but if he wanted to eliminate a lonely girl in the palace to protect his reputation, he had far better opportunities. For instance, he could have arranged for her to be killed while the Son of Heaven was away and he was regent, then reported her death as sudden illness. That would have quietly erased a life without causing such an uproar.
Empress Zhangsun, the Crown Prince's mother? Also unlikely. If the Empress wanted to silence Yi Niang, she wouldn’t have acted on the wedding day, implicating herself so deeply. Moreover, when the case first emerged, the Empress had insisted on a thorough investigation, even involving high-ranking officials and imperial relatives, stirring up significant commotion.
This suggested that at the time of the crime, the Empress not only didn’t know the killer’s identity but was also unaware of the Crown Prince’s involvement... It was only after seeing the ancient-style blood jade thumb ring that she concluded the case was tied to her eldest son and abruptly halted the investigation.
Therefore, the private conversation between the Empress and Yi Niang that afternoon, behind closed doors, must have been unrelated to the Crown Prince. What else could she have said to Yi Niang? Words that made her weep so bitterly her makeup was ruined, only to be strangled while reapplying it before the mirror...
What exactly did the Empress say to her niece? That likely held the key to the truth.When the Emperor and Empress appointed the chancellor Wei Zheng to lead the investigation of this case, her father Wei Zheng had asked the same question. She remembered that the Empress had instructed her personal maid to whisper the answer, bypassing even the Emperor who was present at the time. However, Wei Shufen happened to be near the Empress then and faintly caught the words "Hailing" and "close relationship." Hailing... that referred to the former Prince Qi, Li Yuan-ji, whose principal wife was the famously beautiful Yangshi who disappeared after the fire at the Temple of Common Vocation...
"Ah Yu," she asked Su Lingyu, "while you were at the Crown Prince's Palace and the Hall of Established Governance, have you heard any gossip about Consort Yang, Princess of Hailing?"
Su Lingyu paused: "Consort Yang, Princess of Hailing? The Crown Prince's fourth uncle's wife?"
"Yes. Have you ever seen her?"
"No... but I've heard people mention in passing that she was a great beauty." Su Lingyu frowned slightly. "Surely you don't suspect the Crown Prince was also involved with her?"
"Not exactly..." Wei Shufen replied absentmindedly before suddenly stopping herself.
What if the person involved in an illicit affair with the Crown Prince wasn't his cousin Li Wanxi, but his aunt Consort Yang, Princess of Hailing?
This would also fit the description given by the Turkic guard of "a female relative who is neither mother nor daughter," and would be equally scandalous. But if this were the case, why would the jade thumb ring token of love appear in Yi Niang's dressing case? And why would Yi Niang be killed?
Come to think of it, Consort Yang had admitted during questioning that she was very close to Yi Niang, even closer than the bond between Consort Zheng and her stepdaughter. So perhaps Yi Niang knew about her and the Crown Prince's secret.
Fearing that Yi Niang might reveal her secret after marriage, Consort Yang might have seized the last opportunity to kill her, disguising it as suicide. She then placed the token given by Li Chengqian into Yi Niang's dressing case, hoping the Empress would see it and halt the investigation, thereby protecting the real murderer...
Wei Shufen frowned, carefully recalling the scene she witnessed on the night of the incident: Consort Yang and her maid emerged from the eastern courtyard gate, arguing as they headed toward Yi Niang's chamber, calling out along with the Heba wet nurse, only to find Yi Niang already dead... No, Consort Yang wouldn't have had the opportunity to commit murder then.
But earlier, when she and her maid were in her own room in the eastern courtyard dressing in the pheasant robe, not only would she have had ample time to act, but she was also the suspect closest to Yi Niang's chamber in the eastern wing.
Her mind raced with these thoughts, while Su Lingyu seemed to be quietly recalling something as well. After a long pause, she finally spoke:
"I haven't heard anyone mention Consort Yang at the Crown Prince's Palace. But here at the Hall of Established Governance, I vaguely recall the maids talking about Consort Yang, Princess of Hailing... something about pregnancy and childbirth... but I thought they were referring to that old rumor, the one like the tale of the Orphan of Zhao..."
This must be the same rumor Wei Shufen had heard from Chai Yingluo and Li Yuangui the previous night. She looked at Su Lingyu, wanting to discuss further, when the door creaked open and a palace maid entered with a summons:
"The Empress commands Consort Su and Wei Niangzi to attend her in the main hall."
Su Lingyu stood up first, then pulled Wei Shufen to her feet, smiling at her. She seemed more at ease than when she first entered the study, as if confiding in a close friend had lightened her heart.
The two women entered the Empress's chamber one after the other. Passing the large screen, they saw that Crown Prince Li Chengqian had already left at some point, with only Chai Yingluo remaining by the bedside, removing the Empress's acupuncture needles. After paying their respects, the Empress instructed:"The Temple of Common Vocation has been burned down and is uninhabitable now. Consort Zheng and the young ladies have been temporarily moved to the palace servants' quarters. Ah Su, you go supervise the Palace Service Department to select a clean courtyard for them, allocate more attendants, and ensure the rooms are properly arranged. I can't trust these matters to others... Alas, they were already pitiable souls to begin with..."
Su Lingyu bowed to accept the order, casting one last reluctant glance at Wei Shufen before leaving the hall to carry out her duties. The Empress then turned to Wei Shufen and asked kindly, "Young Lady Wei, after staying at the Purple Void Monastery for two days, must you be homesick?"
"Your Majesty, no... not at all," Wei Shufen replied, puzzled as she glanced at Chai Yingluo. "The High Truth Master and everyone at the monastery have treated Shufen with great kindness. I was just preparing to study medicine to assist the High Truth Master in compiling her medical texts."
The female Taoist sat sideways on the bed, focused solely on removing needles and massaging the Empress's meridians without even glancing her way. After this treatment, the Empress's complexion had improved somewhat from earlier. Leaning against the headboard, she smiled and said, "You've just passed your coming-of-age ceremony—still just a child. It's perfectly normal to miss home. My Lizhi is the same age as you, yet even after being married for so long, she still comes back to cling to me... Ah... Your mother must miss you dearly too. When young girls throw tantrums and stay away for a couple of days, once both sides have cooled down, it's best you return home soon."
So this was it—this was what the Empress wanted to tell her.
Wei Shufen's entire body stiffened with cold realization.
Empress Zhangsun had tacitly allowed Chai Yingluo to defy Wei Zheng and take her in—not out of sympathy for her plight of being sold off to Cheng Yaojin, but to use her as leverage. By concealing her flight from the arranged marriage, the Empress had bargained for Wei Zheng's cooperation in leading the investigation into Princess Linfen's death, thereby clearing the Empress's name.
Now that the Empress had decided to drop the investigation, yet feared Wei Zheng might not easily reverse his stance, she was sending the runaway bride home first—a sweetener for the Chancellor, hoping he would take the hint and let the matter rest. If that failed, it didn't matter—the leverage of "Wei Zheng's daughter fleeing her marriage" still remained. A man who prided himself on his family's impeccable reputation like Wei Zheng would surely dread this scandal becoming public.
"I've already instructed Yingniang. After lunch, she will personally escort you back to the Wei residence in Pingkang Ward and convey my wishes to your parents, ensuring they don't give you further trouble," Empress Zhangsun said gently. "When you have time in the future, come visit the palace with your mother to chat with me. I find you a very sensible girl."
Wei Shufen looked at Chai Yingluo by the bedside, but the female Taoist remained expressionless, absorbed in her task.
If the Empress had made up her mind, even her beloved niece would never dare oppose her. Hoping for Chai Yingluo to step forward and protect her again was utterly futile.
A pang of sorrow struck Wei Shufen's chest, tears welling up as she prostrated herself in a deep bow:
"This unworthy woman has caused Your Majesty undue concern and deserves ten thousand deaths. I dare not trouble the High Truth Master further either. After leaving the palace, I shall... settle matters myself."
No matter what, she would not obediently return home to await being sold off. Even if the Empress sent escorts to drag her back to her parents, she still had one final choice."Ah, saying that is a waste of all my efforts," the Empress sighed. "Setting aside filial duties for now, you're still so young—a clever and lovely girl. Must you really spend your life alone in the Inner Sanctuary? That goes against the natural order. Besides, the forbidden garden is no place for a noble young lady to reside long-term. If you stay much longer, rumors will spread, and I may have no choice but to arrange for you to enter the palace and serve the Son of Heaven..."
...Was this another threat? If she refused to return home, would she be forced to become an imperial consort?
Wei Shufen's mind was in turmoil. Sobbing, she was at a loss for what to do. Just then, footsteps echoed from beyond the large screen—first the hurried patter of palace maids announcing, "His Majesty has returned to the palace," followed by the angry stride of a man's boots approaching swiftly. He entered directly, speaking to someone as he walked:
"...Two of the three marching routes failed to arrive on time. Half our forces couldn't reach the battlefield, making it impossible to form an encirclement. The enemy picked us apart one by one—how can we fight like this? Damn it all!"
An unfamiliar male voice mumbled something in response, and the Emperor then called out toward the screen:
"Empress, Fourteenth Brother said you ordered Yi Niang's case to be dropped? That won't do! This investigation must be pursued to the end! Whoever is behind this must answer for it!"
Wei Shufen turned to see Chai Yingluo, who had been sitting by the bed, now standing respectfully. Empress Zhangsun's expression had also shifted; she propped herself up, her demeanor solemn as if receiving an honored guest.
End of Volume One.
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