Li Yuangui and Yang Xinzhi led their horses out of the western gate of the palace city, rode south along Fanglin Gate Street, and galloped straight into Buzheng Ward. They dismounted before the residence of Attendant Gentleman of the Palace Yang Min.
The gatekeeper, upon hearing it was a prince visiting, dared not be negligent and hurried inside to inform the master. Yang Min quickly changed clothes to receive them. After exchanging numerous bows and polite refusals, they entered the main hall and took their seats. Yang Min then inquired about their purpose.
"To be frank, I've come uninvited to request an audience with your esteemed grandmother, the former Empress Xiao Shi."
Yang Min, styled Zhengdao, was the posthumous son of the former Sui Prince Qi Yang Jian and the only surviving grandson of Emperor Yang Guang. Born in the first year of the WuDe Era, he was still a frail youth barely past twenty. At Li Yuangui's words, a guarded expression surfaced on his face:
"Your Highness gracing our humble home should warrant the entire family's welcome. However, my grandmother is elderly and ill, having been bedridden for over a month. She is unfit to receive guests. I beg Your Highness's forgiveness."
"Ah? Former Empress—Madam Xiao is ill?" Li Yuangui was taken aback. "She must be over seventy now? Is her condition serious? Have renowned physicians been consulted? Might this junior pay respects at her bedside?"
"The inner chambers are unfit for Your Highness's noble presence," Yang Min replied. "Physicians have been summoned and diagnosed her with a chill. They say she only needs complete rest without visitors to recover."
Though phrased politely, the refusal was unmistakable. Li Yuangui fell silent, having not expected to be rebuffed by Yang Min.
During the chaos at the end of Sui, all descendants Emperor Yang Guang had kept by his side were slaughtered. The remaining heirs left to guard the eastern and western capitals also perished under the Wang, Zheng, and Li-Tang families. Only this Yang Min, still in swaddling clothes, followed his grandmother Empress Xiao through the hands of Yuwen Huaji and Dou Jiande, then was welcomed by the Turkic khagan beyond the frontier, where he was enfeoffed as "Prince of Sui" with over ten thousand followers. In the fourth year of Zhenguan, after Tang forces crushed Dingxiang, the Turkic khagan's trusted chieftain Kang Misu brought Empress Xiao and her grandson to surrender to Tang forces, returning to Chang'an. At that time, Yang Min was merely thirteen or fourteen. The Son of Heaven granted him the sinecure title of Attendant Gentleman of the Palace and bestowed a residence in Buzheng Ward, where the grandmother and grandson had lived since.
Given Yang Min's sensitive status, he usually conducted himself with extreme deference and compliance, never daring to oppose others lightly. Li Yuangui had come politely seeking an audience with Empress Xiao, expecting to exchange a few words through screens or curtains to inquire about which imperial clan daughter had been enfeoffed as a princess during the Sui era to marry the Tuyuhun prince. As the former empress, Xiao Shi would certainly know such matters concerning the imperial harem's genealogical records.
Faced with Yang Min's refusal, Li Yuangui grew anxious. He drew a thick sheet of yellow paper from his robe, unfolded it, and presented it with both hands:
"I bear an Imperial Edict from the Son of Heaven to inquire about the details of Sui palace marriage alliances. The decree grants me discretionary authority. If Madam Xiao's condition permits, an audience would be most appreciated."
At the sight of the crimson vermilion characters covering the page, Yang Min immediately rose solemnly, urgently ordering his household to prepare an incense table and offerings. Despite Li Yuangui's repeated explanations that "this edict bypassed the Chancellery and isn't an open decree," Yang Min insisted on performing the full ceremonial rites to receive the imperial command.
And after receiving it... it still proved useless.Yang Min repeatedly kowtowed in apology, insisting that his grandmother truly could not receive outside guests. If Prince Wu was in urgent need of answers, he suggested sending a message to the inner quarters to see if Lady Xiao was well enough to respond. Li Yuangui considered this. With Yang Xinzhi's towering, ox-like physique, they could probably force their way into the rear courtyard if they wanted—few would dare stop them...
But perhaps it was better not to. Though Yang Min's official rank wasn't high, he was, after all, the true "Empress of Two Dynasties." Lady Xiao, a Southern Dynasty princess and former Sui Empress, was someone even the Son of Heaven and the Empress would show deference to during court ceremonies. If Li Yuangui, a minor Tang prince, caused trouble in their home, he would undoubtedly be branded as a "tyrannical young lord bullying the downtrodden remnants of a fallen dynasty."
Reluctantly, Li Yuangui explained the matter—the Sui dynasty's marriage alliance with Tuyuhun's Murong Shun and his search for Princess Dehua's origins—and asked Yang Min to relay the inquiry to Empress Xiao in the inner quarters. Fortunately, the matter wasn't overly complicated, and after a brief explanation, they were left to wait in the main hall, making idle conversation.
As the shadows on the hall floor lengthened, Li Yuangui grew increasingly impatient. Suddenly, the faint sound of drums reached his ears, startling him:
"Is that the night curfew street drum? Why is it being struck so early?"
"Your Highness need not worry," Yang Min replied, his face breaking into a rare smile that revealed a hint of youthful innocence. "That's from the Zoroastrian temple in the opposite lane. These past few days, they've been celebrating some festival—drums, flutes, drinking, and rituals at dusk, often continuing late into the night."
A Zoroastrian temple... Why did that sound so familiar?
Just as Li Yuangui recalled Yi Niang's Heba wet nurse mentioning it in her testimony, a servant emerged from the rear quarters, presenting a note: "Her Ladyship's handwritten reply to Prince Wu's inquiry."
After all this waiting, they finally had a concrete response. Overjoyed, Li Yuangui eagerly unfolded the letter and read:
"From the former condemned woman, Xiao Shi, to the Great Tang's Prince Wu:
Your Highness's visit brings honor to our humble abode. This old woman, unwell for months, regrets being unable to receive you properly. Regarding your inquiry about the late Sui's Princess Dehua—she, too, was a pitiable soul. Born of the Yang lineage, transplanted into the imperial family by fate, she perished in the Jiangdu palace coup. Since her mortal shell is gone, why seek her further? The Great Tang's virtue encompasses heaven and earth, its might subdues all lands. This old woman's remaining bones have returned to her homeland, where she prays daily for the Buddha's protection over the people's peace, that calamity may never revisit this world. Humbly, Xiao Shi bows again."
The former Sui Empress's handwriting, in the elegant Right Army calligraphy style, was far superior to Princess Linfen's calligraphy. But the content—merely stating that Princess Dehua was originally of the Yang lineage and had died in the Jiangdu coup—utterly dashed any hope of finding her.
The blow left Li Yuangui dizzy, his vision swimming. It took him a long moment to steady himself. After a silent pause, he decisively rose to take his leave.
Yang Min didn't press him to stay—in fact, his expression suggested he was eager to see Li Yuangui and his attendant leave as soon as possible, as if ushering out a plague. He escorted them to the gate with utmost courtesy.
They hadn't taken two steps outside when Yang Xinzhi urged,
"Fourteenth Young Master, mount up quickly! The street drums will sound soon. Luckily, this ward isn't far from the north gate. If we hurry, we can still make it out of the city and home for dinner—otherwise, that stewed meat with fresh leeks we prepared this morning will all go to the servants..."
"We're not returning to the Seventeenth Prince's Residence tonight," Li Yuangui grunted.
"What? Not going back? Then... where will we stay?"
"Follow me."Li Yuangui led the way as the two riders galloped toward the northeast corner of the ward. The office of the Right Wuwei Guard, responsible for maintaining public order in the western half of Chang'an, was located in the northeastern part of Buzheng Ward. Li Yuangui had been there before. Dismounting in front of the office, he presented his Golden Fish Tally to gain entry and found the colonel on duty—a middle-aged man named Su Dingfang.
With the Imperial Edict lending him borrowed authority, Li Yuangui smoothly made his arrangements and even managed to secure dinner for two. Afterward, he rested briefly in the duty room.
By the time the street drums had sounded eight hundred times, the sky had gradually darkened. Patrols of the Martial Guard set out in squads, and the earliest dispatched had already returned. Only then did Li Yuangui rise, beckoning Yang Xinzhi to mount their horses. The two blended into a squad of night patrolmen and meandered southwest toward the residence of Yang Min.
Arriving at the estate and seeing no one around, Li Yuangui nodded to the squad leader before dismounting with Yang Xinzhi. They circled halfway around the Yang residence stealthily, spotting a relatively low section of the rear wall. Li Yuangui ordered Yang Xinzhi to crouch down, then stepped onto his shoulders and vaulted upward.
This trick of scaling walls was not their first rodeo—they coordinated seamlessly. Once atop the wall, Li Yuangui turned back and, with a grimace, hauled the hefty Yang Rou-ta up. Both then dropped into the courtyard.
The residence granted by the court to Empress Xiao and her grandson was modest, but the rear quarters still featured artificial hills, ponds, and trees. The night was silent, devoid of human sounds. Li Yuangui estimated the layout and crept toward the main sleeping hall in the rear.
In a small side courtyard east of the hall, faint lamplight flickered from one room. Li Yuangui guessed it was Yang Min’s bedroom and avoided disturbing it. The main hall, however, was pitch-black and eerily quiet, with no signs of activity. Perhaps Empress Xiao and her attendants had all retired for the night?
Li Yuangui waited a while longer, confirming no movement in the courtyard, then signaled to his companion. Hugging the wall, he stealthily approached the main hall’s door. He had assumed it would be barred from the inside, but under the starlight, he clearly saw a long bronze padlock securing the door rings.
A lock on the outside meant the room was empty. Had he misjudged? Did Empress Xiao not reside in the rear hall of this estate?
How peculiar. Shaking his head, Li Yuangui noted the hall’s windows were latticed and sealed with thick paper, impossible to open. He circled nearby halls and side rooms, but none seemed to house the elderly matriarch. Returning to the main hall’s door, he examined the lock closely and whispered to Yang Xinzhi, who had been shadowing him:
“Do you know how to pick locks?”
Yang Xinzhi grinned. “Where would I have learned that? I thought you, Fourteenth Young Master, might know.”
I’ve certainly had no opportunity to learn such skills either... Li Yuangui sighed, realizing that investigation was a meticulous craft far beyond what he could mimic from a few nights of listening to the old coroner’s tales.
“This lock isn’t too sturdy. Maybe I can twist it off...” Yang Xinzhi, with his considerable strength, had never been gentle with his hands.
“Don’t be reckless. If you break it, the whole household will know by tomorrow.” Li Yuangui’s plan was to conduct a covert nighttime investigation. If Empress Xiao was lucid and able to speak, he would inquire discreetly by her bedside, counting on both their reluctance to publicize a man’s intrusion into the inner quarters. If unsuccessful, they would withdraw quietly, avoiding any commotion.Trapped by a small copper lock, there was no choice but to resort to a crude method—ordering Yang Xinzhi to continue serving as a stepping post, he climbed onto the roof, gently lifted a set of tiles, and slipped through the opening, descending along the beams into the rear chamber.
As expected, the room was empty.
It took Li Yuangui a while for his eyes to adjust to the darkness, barely making out faint shapes. The chamber was furnished, but items like bed curtains, cushions, and dressing tables had been packed away, as if no one lived there regularly. The charcoal brazier was empty. Several large clothing chests were unlocked. Li Yuangui lifted the lid of one and felt inside—his fingers brushed against smooth, cool fabric, finely embroidered and clearly expensive, likely Empress Xiao’s ceremonial robes.
He opened another, smaller chest and was startled to touch a large, fluffy mass of hair.
Quickly lifting the lid fully, he strained his eyes in the dim light, examining it repeatedly before confirming there were no human heads—just a pile of wigs. Wigs were common among noblewomen of the time, so this wasn’t unusual. The chest also contained a Floral Crown, stored alongside the ceremonial robes, which made sense.
After checking the remaining chests without further discoveries, he noted the dust in the chamber wasn’t too thick, suggesting regular cleaning. Unsure what else to do in the empty room, Li Yuangui retraced his steps, climbed back onto the roof to replace the tiles, and jumped down, with Yang Xinzhi steadying him.
The two whispered briefly but couldn’t guess Empress Xiao’s whereabouts. Still unwilling to give up, Li Yuangui prowled around the Yang residence, even peering into Yang Min’s bedroom, where the lights were out and silence reigned.
He then crept toward the kitchen courtyard but didn’t enter, only standing by the door and sniffing intently. Aside from the usual scent of firewood and charcoal, nothing seemed amiss.
“Do you smell any medicine in the house?” he asked Yang Xinzhi in a hushed voice. The latter shook his head. “No.”
This was strange. The Yang grandson had claimed earlier that his grandmother had been bedridden for a long time, yet there wasn’t even a trace of medicinal herbs being brewed. Was the former Sui imperial descendant so stingy he wouldn’t buy medicine for his ailing grandmother?
Empress Xiao’s handwritten note that evening had glossed over the fate of the Dehua Princess with a vague mention of “perishing in the palace coup.” Li Yuangui found this suspiciously evasive. He had originally asked about the princess’s lineage, which Empress Xiao completely avoided answering. Moreover, even if someone had died, there should be details—when, where, how, who witnessed it, what happened to the body, the whereabouts of her attendants, and most importantly, whether the Dehua Princess and Murong Shun’s infant son had died together. These questions required thorough answers, preferably in person.
But where was this former Empress Xiao hiding?
Convinced there was nothing more to see in the Yang residence, Li Yuangui returned to the wall they had scaled earlier. Stepping on Yang Xinzhi’s shoulders again, he climbed up and pulled the other man after him. The moment they landed outside, a sudden crash of crumbling earth echoed behind them. Li Yuangui’s heart sank—sure enough, shouts erupted."Wall-climbing thief! Stop right there! I'm talking to you! Archers, fire!"
#####Chapter 7 Footnote: A brief introduction to the police system in Chang'an City during the Tang Dynasty, along with a bonus—a Tang-era door lock. For images, please visit the author's Weibo. Search for the ID "Tang Dynasty Tour Guide Forest Deer" on Sina Weibo. Feel free to engage and discuss.
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