The wind howled past his ears. Li Yuangui crouched low on his horse, gritting his teeth as he whipped the reins, his legs clamped tightly around the steed’s flanks. His body jolted and swayed with the galloping hooves as he raced forward without pause.
Wei Shufen’s words at the Chai residence had sent a visible shock through everyone present. Chai Yingluo immediately ordered servants to fetch horses. Li Yuangui had already begun sprinting toward the gate, with Wei Shufen keeping pace beside him, gasping out the reason for her urgent warning between breaths:
That morning, Crown Princess Su Shi had sent her personal maid to the Purple Void Monastery in a panic to inform Wei Shufen—Crown Prince Li Chengqian had told Empress Zhangsun that "Prince Wu Yuan-gui dreamed of his late mother, Consort Zhang, longing for her daughter and wishing to take his younger sister, the Seventeenth Princess, to the Temple of Rebirth to pay respects." The Empress had consented, ordering the Seventeenth Princess to bathe and fast, while instructing Su Shi to personally escort her to the temple where Consort Zhang’s coffin was temporarily enshrined...
Before Wei Shufen could finish, Li Yuangui understood. This was Li Chengqian’s retaliation for his defiance and last night’s intrusion into the Crown Prince’s Palace.
The "Temple of Rebirth," where his mother’s coffin lay, was located by the Wei River on the edge of the forbidden garden—technically part of the Great Peace Palace’s outer grounds. It was often grouped together with the "Slope of the Palace Servants," the burial site for palace maids, and was as desolate and remote as could be. Moreover, the route from the forbidden garden to the temple inevitably passed by the Great Peace Palace. With just a "slight detour," Li Chengqian and his wife could quietly deliver his younger sister back into the hands of Consort Yin at the Great Peace Hall.
That damned, thunderstruck beast.
Li Yuangui had bolted straight out of the Chai residence and onto his horse, with only Yang Xinzhi keeping up. The two rode side by side out of the ward and onto the main road, charging toward the forbidden garden. He assumed the Chai father and daughter would follow with some retainers, but even if they had no reinforcements, the two of them alone would fight to the death to stop Li Chengqian from sending his little sister back to that hellhole.
Horse speed was restricted within the city, so they first exited through the Golden Light Gate, then spurred their mounts into a full gallop along the outer road, cutting north-south through the forbidden garden toward the Slope of the Palace Servants on the southern bank of the Wei River. Both Chang’an and the forbidden garden were vast, making the journey a considerable distance. Though they rode fine steeds, by the time the temple’s pagoda came into distant view, Yang Xinzhi’s horse gave out first, letting out a long whinny before collapsing to its knees.
Li Yuangui had no time to tend to him. He urged his own horse up the slope ahead. Under the slanting rays of the setting sun, the broad, gentle northern slope stretched toward the Wei River before his eyes.
It was early February, and the dense woods near the water already bore a faint green hue from afar. At the end of the winding path below the slope stood the towering pagoda and multi-courtyard complex of the Temple of Rebirth. Beyond the temple’s rear wall, the desolate woodland stretching to the riverbank was the Slope of the Palace Servants—a mass burial ground. In the fading light, the thick treetops grew eerier, the centuries-old graves of palace women, disfavored consorts, craftsmen, and servants from the Han to the Tang dynasty piled chaotically among elms and locust trees. In the far distance, the silver-white ribbon of the surging Wei River—Chang’an’s natural northern moat—gleamed under the dying sun.
The wind atop the riverside hill was fierce, whipping up fallen leaves, long grass, and burnt paper money into swirling eddies that momentarily blurred Li Yuangui’s vision. But he soon steadied his gaze on the group of carriages and horses on the path below.
The party numbered about forty or fifty, halted not far from the temple gates, clearly split into two opposing factions.The group appeared to have just emerged from the temple—twenty or thirty guards and servants clustered around a two-horse carriage, sleeves rolled up as they argued fiercely. Blocking their path was a smaller contingent, all robust young men armed with swords and halberds, their uniforms marking them as the Great Peace Palace Guard.
Li Yuangui's pupils contracted. He recognized the leader of this guard unit—once again, it was Yin Tuo, the deputy supervisor of the Great Peace Palace.
Urging his horse down the slope, he wove through the trees until he neared the road. The voices of the two quarreling groups gradually reached his ears:
"...You dare block the Crown Princess's carriage? Have you no fear of the law or divine justice? Supervisor Yin, have you not flaunted your authority enough in the Great Peace Palace? To bully us from the Crown Prince's Palace—this is outrageous!"
"Such harsh words! I, Yin, am merely carrying out orders to escort the Seventeenth Princess home. Where is this talk of flaunting authority or bullying? The Crown Prince is also at the Great Peace Palace, discussing with Lady Yin how to serve the Supreme Emperor. We are all one family—why resort to such threats?"
"If the Crown Prince ordered us to escort the Seventeenth Princess to the Great Peace Palace, then show us the written command! Empty words mean nothing—just your say-so? This morning in the Hall of Established Governance, the Empress explicitly decreed that the Crown Princess would accompany the Seventeenth Princess to pay respects to her late mother and then return..."
"Enough of this nonsense! Take it up with the Crown Prince and Consort De at the Great Peace Palace if you must!" Yin Tuo snapped impatiently. "I act on the Great Peace Palace's decree to escort the Seventeenth Princess up the mountain. Anyone who obstructs this is defying an imperial order—that’s treason! Men, seize these rebels and bind them! Escort the Crown Princess's carriage!"
His dozen guards roared in unison, brandishing halberds and drawing swords as they advanced. Though the Crown Prince's guards outnumbered them, half were palace maids and eunuchs, their combat prowess clearly inferior. Already, some maids shrieked in terror at the Great Peace Palace Guard's intimidation.
"You dare, you villains!"
Hooves thundered as Li Yuangui spurred his horse from the roadside trees, charging straight between the two factions. His mount, already exhausted, staggered under the collisions and collapsed with a long whinny.
Li Yuangui leaped off, taking advantage of the chaos to sprint toward the two-horse carriage. "Seventeenth Sister?" he called out first.
"Elder Brother!" The tearful voice of his youngest maternal sister answered. The carriage curtain was yanked open, revealing the tear-streaked face of the twin-braided girl inside. "Elder Brother, save me!"
Li Yuangui steadied himself. As his eyes adjusted to the dim interior, he saw Crown Princess Su Shi seated beside the Seventeenth Princess, her face pale as she protectively embraced the girl. Both were clearly frightened but unharmed. Without another thought, Li Yuangui drew his sword and strode toward Yin A'da.
His sudden appearance had thrown both sides into disarray, but the Great Peace Palace Guard quickly realized he was alone. Yin Tuo barked orders to regroup, and now, seeing Li Yuangui's furious advance, two guards crossed halberds to block his path.
Li Yuangui doubted these guards would actually dare injure him, but the odds were overwhelming. Against a dozen men, even armed, he couldn't hold out long. After a moment's calculation, he halted and bellowed at Yin Tuo:
"You vile coward! What honor is there in bullying women and children? Get lost! Don’t force this prince to take matters into his own hands!""Fourteenth Young Master!" Yin Tuo sneered. "This lowly one is acting under orders. Prince Wu openly defies the Crown Prince's command—what are his intentions? Forgive my rudeness, but I must apprehend Prince Wu..."
Before he could finish, Li Yuangui had already made his decision. He ducked through the crossed spears before him, raised his blade, and charged straight at the rogue Yin A'da, aiming to capture the ringleader first.
Unfortunately, Yin A'da was all too familiar with Li Yuangui's temperament and had prepared accordingly. Though Li Yuangui had trained under imperial masters since childhood, possessing superb swordsmanship and agility—against whom Yin A'da might not last ten moves in a fair duel—this street thug had ample experience in brawls. Seeing Li Yuangui's fierce assault, he didn't attempt to block but instead dropped into an ungainly roll, evading the strike completely. Li Yuangui's blade didn't even graze a hair on his head.
With the first strike missed, the surrounding Great Peace Palace Guards shouted in unison and immediately swarmed Li Yuangui. Yin A'da hadn't come on any honorable mission and had handpicked his sister's most trusted followers from the palace guard. Though these guards dared not openly attack a prince with blades, they couldn't stand by and let Li Yuangui pursue Yin Tuo either. Over a dozen of them surrounded him, throwing punches and kicks, trying to subdue and capture him.
Li Yuangui swung his blade defensively, his movements swift as wind, weaving a protective net of cold steel around himself that kept the guards at bay. Amid the scuffle, he heard a woman's command from the carriage behind him. Several guards from the Crown Prince's Palace rushed over to aid him, and the clang of weapons filled the air.
"Fourteenth Young Master—"
A thunderous roar came from the hillside. Li Yuangui glanced up briefly to see a burly man charging down like a storm—Yang Xinzhi, whom he'd left behind, had finally caught up. The towering man didn't even draw his blade. Instead, he wrested a long spear from one of the guards and began whirling it like a blizzard.
Yang Xinzhi's immense strength and size made him ill-suited for agility or one-on-one duels (where he might not best Li Yuangui), but he excelled in chaotic melees. His arrival, now armed with a long weapon, single-handedly forced the Great Peace Palace Guards into retreat, infuriating Yin Tuo, who screamed at his men to hold their ground.
But this stalemate couldn't last. Even with Yang Xinzhi's help, the Crown Prince's side was still outmatched. Calculating quickly, Li Yuangui shouted, "Yang Da, hold them off!" and broke through the encirclement with his blade, sprinting toward the carriage.
Three or four guards from the Crown Prince's Palace remained stationed by the carriage. Li Yuangui yelled at them to "block any pursuers," then leaped onto the driver's seat, shoving the coachman aside. Seizing the reins, he shouted and pulled sharply, steering the two-horse carriage around and galloping toward the Temple of Rebirth.The Temple of Rebirth was an Inner Sanctuary that accommodated deposed, elderly, and ailing imperial concubines and palace maids who had taken monastic vows. It also housed many coffins of deceased palace women awaiting burial. Though modest in scale, at least its main gate and surrounding walls were intact. Taking refuge inside and shutting the gates wouldn’t withstand a proper military assault, but Li Yuangui doubted the twenty-some guards Yin A'da led had any siege capability. This bizarre standoff—with Crown Prince's Palace and Great Peace Palace guards confronting each other while the Crown Princess, grand princess, and imperial prince were caught in between—couldn’t last long. Someone would surely intervene soon. They just needed to hold out until then.
The skirmish had erupted not far from the temple gates. The Crown Princess’s carriage had just departed the Temple of Rebirth when it encountered Yin A'da’s group on the road. Driving the two-horse carriage, Li Yuangui turned back and galloped several dozen paces toward the temple—only to find something amiss.
The massive wooden gates were already tightly shut.
Why would the temple close so early before nightfall?
Li Yuangui reined in the horses, leaped down, and rushed to pound on the gates, shouting "Open up!" When his fists proved inadequate, he flipped his saber and hammered the gate’s metal fittings with its pommel.
The clangor of metal on wood, combined with his hoarse shouts, should have roused even the dead enshrined in the temple’s rear courtyard—like his mother, Consort Zhang. Yet only silence answered. No movement, no sign of anyone coming to open up.
"Fourteenth Uncle..."
A faint murmur came from the carriage behind him—Crown Princess Su Shi’s voice:
"It’s no use. The Temple of Rebirth falls under Great Peace Palace’s jurisdiction. The abbess and nuns wouldn’t dare offend Palace Supervisor Yin..."
Li Yuangui froze, lowering his hand.
How stupid of him.
Though geographically separate from Great Peace Palace, both the Temple of Rebirth and the Palace Servants’ Cemetery occupied the forbidden garden’s northwestern corner, administratively subordinate to it. Every supply for the nunnery—food, fuel, clothing—passed through Yin Tuo’s hands. The nuns would never risk angering the powerful deputy supervisor. Shutting the gates to remain neutral during external conflict was likely their most benevolent response—perhaps even a concession to his and his sister’s birth mother resting within.
Li Yuangui squeezed his eyes shut. What now?
The clamor behind the carriage grew nearer—apparently the Crown Prince’s guards couldn’t hold back Great Peace Palace’s men. As dusk fully descended in the biting wind, the sealed nunnery gates offered their only shelter in the desolate surroundings.
Or perhaps not.
The young prince steeled himself, vaulted back onto the carriage, and called inside, "Seventeenth Sister, bundle up!" He whipped the horses northwest along the temple wall.
Beyond the compound sprawled untamed woods and burial mounds stretching to the Wei River’s banks. The carriage road ended here, yielding only narrow footpaths between graves.
Li Yuangui urged the horses through brambles until the terrain became impassable. Drawing his saber, he severed the harness to free the team from the carriage and called over his shoulder:
"Seventeenth Sister? Are you dressed warmly enough?""Yes." The timid voice of the little sister came through, then the carriage curtain lifted. Li Yuangui saw her slender shoulders draped in an obviously oversized outer robe and wrapped with two shawls—likely gifts from the Crown Princess—and couldn't help casting a grateful glance at her.
The Crown Princess, wearing only a skirt and jacket, looked extremely pale with disheveled hair at her temples. She asked, "What is Fourteenth Uncle's plan?"
"I'll take Seventeenth Sister to hide in Gongren Slope," Li Yuangui pointed to the two strong horses already freed from their harnesses. "We'll ride some distance first, then dismount and proceed on foot to find a concealed spot to hide overnight. It's already dark, and the area is vast—Yin A'da and his men won't find us."
"I'm coming with you," the Crown Princess said without hesitation. "I was entrusted by the Empress to escort Seventeenth Aunt—I must return her safely to the Hall of Established Governance!"
Li Yuangui understood her good intentions but shook his head. "Thank you, Crown Princess, but it's no use. The Yin family only wants to capture us siblings—they won't trouble you. Please find a way to quickly... send word... have someone come to rescue us."
He thought for a moment but couldn't determine where she should go for help. The Great Peace Palace? That would only backfire. The Hall of Established Governance in the palace? The night curfew had begun and palace gates were locked—no one could enter. Similarly, she couldn't enter Chang'an city either... If only Chai Shao and his daughter could come to assist...
The Crown Princess also fell silent briefly before resolutely saying, "Alright! I'll go find help—you two must be extremely careful!"
Time was pressing. Li Yuangui only had time for a hurried bow before turning to lift his younger sister onto the horse. He then struggled onto the horse's back himself. The carriage horse had neither saddle nor stirrups, forcing him to hold his sister with one arm while gripping the horse's mane with the other. From the corner of his eye, he saw the Crown Princess also mounting the other saddleless horse. They exchanged a knowing look before kicking their horses to gallop off in separate directions.
#####For images of Tang Dynasty "Gongren Slope" and related coffins/funeral customs, please visit the author's Weibo. Search ID "Tang Dynasty Tour Guide Forest Deer" on Sina Weibo—discussions welcome.
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