A crescent moon hung obliquely in the night sky, as the north wind howled and the biting cold pierced to the bone. Amidst the endless expanse of desolate graves and wild forests, faint echoes of wailing and moaning from the spirits of past palace maids could be heard. Occasionally, flickering green will-o'-the-wisps outlined the somber shadows of the burial mounds, as if the gates of the underworld might open for them at any moment.
The Seventeenth Princess buried her face against her half-brother's chest and finally burst into tears.
Li Yuangui sighed. For a twelve-year-old girl to hold out this long before crying was already quite brave. There was little else he could do but tighten his arms around his little sister, gently patting her back, silently hoping the soft sobs would be drowned out by the night wind and not attract any pursuers.
He had ridden with his sister through the graveyard for about the time it took to eat a meal, leaving the Temple of Rebirth far behind until it was out of sight. Then he dismounted, shooing the horse away to wander as it pleased, while he and his sister walked in the opposite direction, careful to leave as few footprints as possible. The sky had darkened completely, and the vast, shelter-filled terrain of the Palace Servants' Slope made him confident that Yin A'da and his dozen or so men wouldn’t find them.
When his little sister could walk no further, he chose a relatively large grave with a headstone and led her to sit in a sheltered spot. The siblings huddled together for warmth. Though he carried flint in the leather pouch at his waist and the area was littered with dry grass and leaves, he dared not light a fire. Not long after abandoning the horse, he had faintly heard a shout or two from the direction of the Temple of Rebirth—likely Yin A'da refusing to abandon his mission, having shaken off Yang Xinzhi and the others to continue the chase into the Palace Servants' Slope.
"Brother, where are we going?" the Seventeenth Princess asked after crying for a while, her voice still hiccuping as she leaned against his chest. Li Yuangui opened his mouth to answer but only let out another sigh.
Where could they go? Returning to the Great Peace Palace would be walking into a trap—the entire forbidden garden was under the control of the Yin family siblings, who held the Son of Heaven hostage to command the nobles. Sneaking back to the Hall of Established Governance? Even if they could somehow slip into the inner palace chambers, how could they explain today’s events to Empress Zhangsun? "Empress, your own eldest son, the Crown Prince, has conspired with the wicked consort to murder his aunt. Will the mother of the realm uphold justice and avenge us?"
"How was life for you... in the Hall of Established Governance?" Li Yuangui asked softly. His little sister sniffled and nodded.
"It was alright... The Empress, Sixth Sister, Ninth Brother, and Sixteenth Sister were all kind... No one made me kneel or starve to 'cool my temper'... Waaah..."
At the mention of her past mistreatment under Consort Yin in the Great Peace Hall, the girl burst into tears again. Li Yuangui’s heart ached as he patted her back, thinking that even if they both perished here among the graves and weeds to join their mother, he would never again hand his little sister over to that venomous woman to be tormented—or exiled to a distant land for political marriage.
"I miss A Niang... and I miss you..." the Seventeenth Princess sobbed quietly. "I want to go home... A Niang is gone, but will you take me home, Brother?"
We lost our home long ago, silly child. Li Yuangui thought silently. Perhaps we never truly had one—because we never truly had a father.Whether it was the quiet side hall in the inner palace during his childhood, the cramped side room after moving to the mountain residence of Great Peace Palace, or the independent residence established in the Seventeenth Prince's Residence after he came of age at twelve, Li Yuangui had always relied solely on his mother and his sister for companionship. In his memory, his father—that aloof elderly figure—had appeared in their living quarters only a handful of times. Rationally, he knew that the white-bearded old man on the imperial throne, the "Supreme Emperor" who always listened to Consort Yin's whispers and nodded in agreement, was his and his sister's biological father—the source of all their wealth and privilege. That was all.
"We won't return to the Hall of Established Governance," Li Yuangui heard himself softly promise his sister. "We'll leave the palace and find a home. I'll stay and take care of you."
Empress Zhangsun and the children she raised might have treated the seventeenth princess with kindness, but as long as his only remaining family in this world remained confined within the palace, she would merely be a bargaining chip for calculating marriage alliances. His mother had entrusted him with only one thing on her deathbed: "Take good care of your sister." He didn’t truly understand what "taking good care" entailed, but at the very least, his sister shouldn’t be crying like this.
To the south lay Great Peace Palace. A long westward journey would take them to the Western Inner Garden and the Black Tortoise Gate. To the east and north, breaking through the weak Garrison Guards' defenses, the two of them could escape the imperial grounds and gain temporary freedom. Along the Bai Canal on the northern bank of the Wei River stretched fertile lands—properties of the thirty thousand elite Taiyuan troops, including many estates belonging to imperial princes and nobles. Perhaps they could go there first, find shelter, and live in seclusion in the countryside...
"You're dreaming!"
A sharp, mocking female voice suddenly cut through his thoughts, each word crystal clear: "Can you farm? Can the seventeenth princess weave cloth? Even if you two were willing to learn, where would you get land, livestock, hoes, or seeds? Do you have a farming household registration? Can you build a house or raise beams? Or have you already made thorough preparations—amassed a fortune to buy an estate and servants, and bribed the local officials?"
Li Yuangui closed his eyes. Chai Yingluo was, of course, right. He hadn’t prepared at all. Planning things at the last minute was futile.
A strange sound drifted faintly on the night breeze. Still lost in thought, Li Yuangui didn’t react immediately, but the little girl in his arms suddenly began trembling violently.
"Dogs... Brother... dogs..."
It was barking—Li Yuangui heard it too. Damn it all...
"Once... I ran out of Great Peace Hall alone... to the back mountain... that Yin woman chased me with a pack of dogs... wu..."
The little girl whispered, on the verge of tears again. Li Yuangui pressed a finger to her lips, signaling her to stay quiet, but he was at a loss. Yin A-Ta must have spotted the two-horse carriage parked at the entrance to the burial grounds and guessed that Li Yuangui and his sister had hidden there. So, she had sent someone to Great Peace Palace to fetch hunting greyhounds to track their scent. This was trouble.
The barking and voices grew clearer. Li Yuangui straightened slightly and glanced around. In the distance, about a dozen torches flickered among the graves, drawing closer. Greyhounds had keen noses—it was only a matter of time before they were found.Crossing the river could mask their scent, but they were still far from the Wei River. They didn’t have enough time or strength to reach it, and his frail little sister couldn’t bear the risk of soaking in the cold night water.
Nor could they simply sit here and wait for death.
Li Yuangui gritted his teeth, touched the hilt of the knife at his waist, and gathered a few appropriately sized stones from the ground. If only he had a bow and arrows now. Perhaps he could sneak over and stab one of the archers to seize a set.
"Elder Brother..."
His seventeenth sister’s voice trembled, laced with tears. Li Yuangui glanced back at her. Under the dim moonlight, the little girl’s hair was disheveled, her face ghostly pale—more like a specter risen from a grave.
"Stay quiet, hide well, and wrap yourself tight. Don’t come out no matter who calls," he whispered, kneeling on one knee to reassure her, forcing his voice to sound steady and dependable. "I’ll come back for you."
The twelve-year-old girl only stared at him with wide, pleading eyes, as if trying to swallow him whole with her gaze. She didn’t cry or cling to stop him from leaving. She seemed already accustomed to the departure of loved ones, knowing nothing she did could prevent it.
Steeling his heart, Li Yuangui stood and turned away, not daring to look at her again. He crouched low, moving stealthily between the weed-covered burial mounds. He headed toward the torches and barking, but not directly—instead, he circled around, trying to lure the searchers in the opposite direction.
The wind had grown fiercer since midnight, howling past his ears like sharp blades. The fifteen-year-old prince crept through the tall grass and shrubs, careful to muffle his footsteps and minimize the rustling of trampled stalks. A few times, he thought he heard footsteps and rustling not his own, but saw no one, finally dismissing them as illusions or perhaps foxes and hares darting through the undergrowth.
His focus was solely on Yin A-Ta and his gang of living fiends. If vengeful spirits truly lurked in the darkness, then so be it. He and his sister had done nothing to deserve damnation—let the underworld judges decide their fate if it came to that.
The cluster of torches had lingered in the central burial grounds for some time, the clamor of voices suggesting they were delayed by something. Thankfully, they hadn’t advanced toward his sister’s hiding place. Li Yuangui looped around from another direction, quietly closing in on the search party. He noticed they’d added three or four more hunting hounds and now numbered about thirty men combing through the graves.
Without the dogs’ noses leading the way, thirty men searching such a vast, overgrown burial ground at night would have been woefully insufficient. Li Yuangui crouched behind a tree, watching the Greyhounds sniffing the ground under the torchlight, weighing whether the stones in his hand could kill one if thrown accurately—unlikely.
If only he had a bow.
The largest Greyhound suddenly lifted its head, sniffing against the wind, its eyes locking onto the tree where Li Yuangui hid. It let out a sharp, loud bark. Cursing inwardly, he tightened his grip on the stone, drawing his arm back to hurl it at the beast.
Just then, another burst of barking erupted ahead—far more aggressive, as if the hounds had clashed with someone.The search party had already turned their attention toward the tree where Li Yuangui was hiding, but the commotion from the other side quickly drew their focus back. Yin A'da's raspy voice shouted, "What's going on?" Before the words faded, a man's scream echoed through the air.
Could it be that Yang Xinzhi and the Crown Prince's Palace guards hadn't been completely defeated and had also pursued them into Gongren Slope? Li Yuangui felt both startled and hopeful. He lowered the hand gripping the stone and watched as the search party turned around, torches raised, rushing toward the source of the screams. Once most of them had moved away, he quietly got up and followed.
Shouts and the sounds of struggle continued—clearly, at least three to five people were entangled in a fight. This was somewhat expected, but when a distinctly feminine shriek pierced the air, Li Yuangui's entire body stiffened in shock.
The woman screamed again. This time, it was closer, and Li Yuangui felt a slight relief—it wasn't the high-pitched, delicate cry of his seventeenth sister. The voice belonged to an older, more mature woman. But… why would another woman be out in this desolate graveyard on a freezing night?
A sharp pain throbbed at his temples as Li Yuangui halted, gasping. The shouts ahead confirmed his suspicion:
"...It's the Crown Princess..."
Crown Princess Su Shi had ridden the other carriage horse, yet for some reason, she hadn't managed to escape Gongren Slope and was still lingering among these graves. Her scent had clung to the carriage, and since she had used it more frequently, the traces were stronger. The greyhounds Yin A'da had brought had likely followed her scent here… Why was Su Shi still in Gongren Slope? Had she gotten lost?
A cold, serpentine dread slithered up Li Yuangui's spine. The search party of nearly thirty men slowly converged ahead, torches flickering. The fighting and screaming had ceased—he should stand and try to get a clearer view, but instinct drove him to press himself flat against the ground.
A night owl hooted, and then he heard the sudden, violent rush of wind.
No, not wind. He recognized this sound well. He had accompanied his father, the Supreme Emperor, and his elder brother, the Emperor, on hunts in the forbidden garden many times. When the guards drove herds of game into the encirclement, and the Emperor deemed the density sufficient, he would give the order. The nobles and imperial guards would draw their bows, unleashing volleys of arrows into the sky. The air would fill with the anguished cries of deer and wild goats caught in the deadly rain…
Just like the sounds now coming from the thirty-man search party before him.
Flaming torches fell like shooting stars. Ambushed by arrows from the darkness, the Great Peace Palace Guards—illuminated by their own torches, perfect targets—stood no chance. Li Yuangui estimated that the first volley had already felled over half of them. Those who survived the initial barrage threw down their torches, the quick-witted ones dropping to the ground to play dead, while the slower ones brandished their swords, shouting, "Who goes there?" Then, the second wave of arrows struck.
Li Yuangui lay still, listening and calculating. The ambushers numbered around a dozen—not many, but their positions formed a semicircle, covering a wide area. Most crucially, they had the advantage of surprise, striking from the shadows with near-perfect accuracy. After two volleys, few of Yin A'da's Great Peace Palace Guards would remain unharmed.Who were these people lying in ambush and shooting arrows in the palace grounds?
The remaining guards of the Great Peace Palace, having discarded their torches, began scattering in all directions. Someone shouted commands in a foreign tongue, and the ambushers rose to give chase, shooting arrows as they ran under the dim light of the stars and moon. Taking advantage of the chaos, Li Yuangui got up and blended into the crowd, heading toward the area with the most piled corpses. Amidst the groans and cries in the blood-soaked ground, he searched for the woman.
He had to first confirm that the woman wasn’t his seventeenth sister… He found her—indeed, it wasn’t her. It was the Crown Princess, Su Shi.
Princess Su had her hands tied behind her back and had already fainted. Her shoulder was soaked in blood, and an arrow had struck her leg, but her body was warm, her breathing rapid—she should survive. Just as Li Yuangui sighed in relief, footsteps approached, followed by the whistle of a blade cutting through the air. Someone rushed toward him, aiming a slash at his head.
From the sound of the blade, he could tell this man’s swordsmanship was mediocre—just brute force, and his arm strength wasn’t impressive either. Accustomed to sparring with Yang Xinzhi, Li Yuangui didn’t even bother looking up. His right hand flicked to his waist, drawing his blade. He first deflected the incoming strike with the back of his sword, then twisted his wrist, letting the tip of his blade scrape along the opponent’s weapon toward his fingers.
Before the metallic clang of their blades had even faded, the opponent let out a cry, releasing his weapon and stumbling back. He had reacted quickly—otherwise, it wouldn’t have been his sword but four severed fingers that fell. Li Yuangui stepped forward, his left hand reaching out to lightly catch the falling blade by its back, while the tip of his right-hand sword pressed against the man’s throat.
Seeing the situation, the opponent retreated again, but stepping backward could never outpace Li Yuangui’s forward advance. The surroundings were chaotic, and Li Yuangui had no intention of wasting time or inviting trouble. He flicked his wrist, ready to slit the man’s throat with a single stroke.
As one retreated and the other advanced, both moved into a small clearing bathed in starlight. Li Yuangui suddenly caught sight of his opponent’s face and froze in surprise, halting the force in his wrist.
#####This chapter includes an illustration of the "Greyhounds" used by Tang Dynasty nobility for hunting. For the image, visit the author’s Weibo. Search for the ID "Tang Dynasty Tour Guide Forest Deer" on Sina Weibo—exchanges are welcome.
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