Dusk had arrived once more. When the Chief Administrator of Prince Wu's residence, Chen Hong, led Prince Zhao Li Yuanjing up to the main hall of the fourteenth courtyard in the mountain hollow outside Great Peace Palace, their elongated shadows stretched far across the ground.
Li Yuangui and Chai Yingluo were chatting idly in the hall. They rose to greet their guests, with Chai Yingluo teasingly addressing Li Yuanjing as "Sixth Uncle" repeatedly, filling the room with cheerful banter. After the three exchanged pleasantries and took their seats, Li Yuanjing asked, "What brings you to summon me here?" Li Yuangui scratched his head and replied with a smile:
"It's still about that trouble I caused last time—the polo wager with the Crown Prince and his brothers. Yingniang spoke out of turn and brought it to the Empress's attention..."
"What?" Li Yuanjing exclaimed in shock. "This will likely get the Crown Prince scolded... This has escalated far too much."
Li Yuangui glanced at Chai Yingluo, and the female Taoist priest laughed:
"Sixth Uncle guessed it right. When the Empress heard, her first reaction was to reprimand the Crown Prince for being reckless and indulging in frivolous games. Fortunately, the Son of Heaven was present at the time—as you know, His Majesty enjoys lively activities. Upon hearing this, he burst into laughter instead. He even remarked that if you were to compete against the imperial princes on horseback, the princes of Great Peace Palace would likely be at a disadvantage, which would make it rather dull."
Her implication was clear. Polo was an intense and dangerous sport, with frequent reports of players falling from horses and suffering injuries or death. No matter how spoiled and arrogant Li Yuanjing and his brothers usually were, they would inevitably hesitate to act boldly against the imperial princes, especially the Crown Prince, the heir apparent. Conversely, the princes would have far fewer reservations when facing their younger uncles. Li Yuanjing shook his head and chuckled:
"It's just about accompanying the Crown Prince and his brothers for a casual ride to amuse the princes of the Crown Prince's Palace. Who would seriously compete for victory?"
"His Majesty anticipated that you wouldn't fight earnestly, which is why he said it would be dull," Chai Yingluo said to Li Yuanjing with a smile. "But Second Uncle actually hopes you'll give it your all! The Son of Heaven said the imperial princes have been pampered and are too arrogant—they could use some hardship to teach them a lesson. That's why he sent me to tell you, Sixth Uncle and Fourteenth Uncle, to play boldly and fiercely, without fear of those reckless nephews of yours! He also asked if you need anything for the match."
Li Yuanjing's honest face couldn't suppress a grin, and Li Yuangui smiled along, though with a hint of guilt and reluctance. His sixth brother was truly a straightforward man, never one for deceit.
"His Majesty's kindness has truly put my mind at ease," Li Yuanjing replied to Chai Yingluo. "As for what we might need... Hmm... I can't think of anything offhand. It's just a polo match, after all..."
After the three conversed a while longer, Yang Xinzhi hurried into the hall with heavy footsteps. After paying his respects, he leaned in close to the brothers and whispered:
"Sixth Young Master, Fourteenth Young Master, I just encountered a group of Tuyuhun cavalry outside the palace gates. They claimed to be delivering a batch of fine horses to you under the Son of Heaven's secret decree."
"What?"
Everyone in the hall stood up at once. Li Yuanjing was both shocked and delighted. "Where are the horses? Who sent them? Where are the people... and the horses?" he asked urgently.
"The leader of the group had a strange accent, and after much effort, I only managed to understand that he said he was a clansman of General Qibi He-li, sent under the Heavenly Khan's secret order to deliver horses to the 'young masters who play polo' at Great Peace Palace. He only had a Fish Token on him, no entry permit for the palace gates, so he couldn't enter. The men and horses have been waiting outside, but he couldn't clarify whom to report to, causing quite a commotion," Yang Xinzhi explained with a helpless smile. "These foreigners handle things so haphazardly—on one hand, they say the Son of Heaven ordered them to keep it quiet, yet they make such a loud fuss that everyone's left dizzy and confused."As he spoke, he descended the hall steps and headed for the door. Li Yuanjing and his brother instinctively followed. Li Yuanjing chuckled, "A clansman of General Qibi? Then they must be the Garrison Guard's Hundred Cavalry from His Majesty's side, sent with imperial edict to deliver fine horses to help us win the polo match against the imperial princes. But this matter... surely there's nothing to keep secret, is there?"
"There is," Li Yuangui interjected. "Those ministers and chancellors from the previous court, like Grand Councilor Wei Zheng, have always disapproved of us young princes 'frivolously indulging in games.' This uncle-nephew rivalry on the polo field especially violates the principle of familial harmony. If His Majesty knew—not only would he not reprimand us, but he'd even send horses to aid us—if this reached the ears of the remonstrance officials, wouldn't the flood of memorials drown His Majesty in the palace?"
"That's true... Ah? Where's the High Truth Master? Yingniang?" Li Yuanjing turned to look. Chai Yingluo had followed them down the hall but stopped inside the courtyard gate, smiling at Li Yuanjing:
"Sixth Uncle, you two go and see what's happening. I still need to deliver medicine to the Supreme Emperor in the Great Peace Hall. It's getting late—if I delay further, I'll have to stay overnight in the Great Peace Palace."
This was Chai Yingluo's first return to the Great Peace Hall since retrieving the Seventeenth Princess, and now she had to face Consort Yin again. Li Yuangui exchanged a glance with her, both understanding the unspoken tension. The female Taoist, accompanied by her maid—Wei Shufen—prepared to take the main path to the Great Peace Hall.
After lingering on their figures for a moment, Li Yuangui turned away and accompanied his sixth brother out of the Seventeenth Prince's Residence. He had no wish to drag these two women into such perilous affairs. After his dawn meeting with Sang Sai the previous day, he had told Chai Yingluo and the others, "This time, I'll handle it alone. More people would only complicate matters."
He meant it—he hadn't even wanted to involve Yang Xinzhi. He had already resolved to collude with foreign chieftains in high treason, endangering the state and harming the sovereign—a crime encompassing nearly all Ten Unforgivable Crimes. The fewer people implicated, the better. If punishment came, he alone would bear it.
Yet... the usually meek and timid Wei Shufen was the first to object, declaring, "Where I can be of use, I'll brave ten thousand deaths—let Heaven's punishment count me in." Yang Xinzhi shrugged and said, "Abandoning the Fourteenth Young Master would be dereliction of duty and defiance of imperial decree." Chai Yingluo simply grabbed his collar and demanded, "Tell the truth—what mischief are you plotting?" The four of them tangled into a knot... just like the bonds between them, long since impossible to unravel.
A surreal dizziness suddenly washed over him. He remembered the first time he heard the details of the coup at the Black Tortoise Gate—how his second elder brother, Li Shimin, led his loyal death squad to personally shoot his own full-blooded elder brother inside the gate, how Yuchi Jingde beheaded Jiancheng and Yuanji, then donned his helmet and armor, gripping a bloodied blade as he marched straight to the Son of Heaven's presence. The young Fourteenth Prince had gasped in horror, thinking only: "How could Second Brother... that's Father..."
Now, facing the same father, he himself had resolved to do the same.
He and his sixth brother mounted their horses and rode along the mountain path to the Great Peace Palace's outer gate. Sure enough, a group of men and horses waited by the roadside. Seven or eight magnificent steeds, sleek and robust, were a sight to behold. The dozen or so men delivering them wore red headbands, tiger-skin leggings, and the uniform of the Garrison Guard—mostly foreigners among them.The leader of the Hu tribesmen was a tall, robust man in his thirties who introduced himself as "Cavalry Commandant Qibi Luo of the Right Garrison Guards," wearing a forehead band and a crimson robe. The brothers Li Yuanjing naturally knew that a few years prior, the Emperor had selected a hundred skilled archers to accompany him on hunts, known as the "Hundred Cavalry." These men were the Son of Heaven's private troops, many of them Hu cavalry, and not formally part of the court's official ranks. Some casually held honorary titles for ease of movement and command. Qibi Luo held the honorary rank of "Cavalry Commandant" at the fifth grade, which was quite respectable.
The bronze Fish Token he carried was inscribed with his official title, name, and the character "same." This token was only the right half; the left half was likely stored at the Black Tortoise Gate or other palace gates frequently used by the Hundred Cavalry. As it was already late, the Li Yuanjing brothers had no intention of scrutinizing it further. After a cursory glance, they tossed the token back to Qibi Luo, focusing instead on questioning him about the details of the Emperor's order to deliver the horses.
The Hu man spoke with a heavy accent, barely making himself understood. His account matched what Yang Xinzhi had relayed earlier and what the Li Yuanjing brothers had guessed: "The Heavenly Khan ordered us to secretly deliver these horses to the Great Peace Palace for the polo-playing princes, and to keep it absolutely quiet—no one outside the palace must know." He repeated the same few sentences, offering nothing more no matter how they pressed.
But those few sentences were enough. Li Yuanjing was overjoyed and immediately planned to send someone into the palace to his Prince Zhao's residence to summon servants to take the horses inside. He also wanted to invite his polo-playing brothers to his home to pick their mounts. Before he could issue the orders, Qibi Luo interjected bluntly:
"Hold on, young master. The Heavenly Khan personally ordered me to deliver these horses to the stables of the Great Peace Palace, note which princes received them, and return with a stamped... paper... as proof. I can't just hand the horses over to you here."
His words were somewhat rude, but the two imperial prince-brothers didn't bother arguing with a thick-tongued Hu man. Li Yuangui also advised:
"Sixth Brother, don't rush. His Majesty doesn't want this to be public. If you issue orders now, a crowd will come out to receive and pick horses, making too much noise in the palace. The news might spread outside immediately."
Li Yuanjing nodded. "You're right. What should we do then?"
"In my opinion, have these men take the horses through a side gate, using the servants' path to bring them into the Seventeenth Prince's Residence, keeping things as quiet as possible. As for Seventh Brother and the others, send someone discreetly to invite them to come and choose their horses themselves."
This was a well-thought-out plan, and Li Yuangui presented it flawlessly. Li Yuanjing, suspecting nothing, simply clapped in approval and then negotiated with the duty officer at the Great Peace Palace gate.
Seeing two princes personally coming to receive the horses—especially the distinguished Prince Zhao, the sixth son—the guard was happy to oblige. He had the Li Yuanjing brothers sign a receipt before allowing the Hu cavalry and Garrison Guards to lead the horses inside. The two princes personally guided the group, taking a side path after entering the palace gate and using the servants' rear entrance for delivering supplies to enter the valley where the Seventeenth Prince's Residence was located.
The younger sons of the Supreme Emperor, who had moved out to establish their own households upon reaching adulthood, had residences built along the main road of the Seventeenth Prince's Residence, arranged by birth order. The higher the rank, the closer to the main entrance. If the Li Yuanjing brothers had entered through the main gate, the first residence on the right would have been Prince Zhao's mansion. But they had come through the back gate, leading the horses along the wall and mountain path. Before long, they caught sight of Li Yuangui's Prince Wu residence in the distance.A dozen or so foreigners leading seven or eight sturdy horses, with two princes at the forefront, made for quite a conspicuous procession. Li Yuanjing waved his hand and led the group swiftly into Prince Wu's residence. The small courtyard was instantly filled with the clamor of people and horses.
Chen Hong, the Chief Administrator of Prince Wu's residence who had stayed inside, came out in surprise to see what was happening. Li Yuangui grabbed him and ordered him to send people to the residences of Prince Lu, Prince Zheng, Prince Bin, and others to invite the lords to come and choose horses. If any were not at home, the chief administrators or deputies left behind were to be invited instead, but they were not to bring many attendants.
This task proved more difficult in execution than in description. The temperaments of the lords in the Seventeenth Prince's Residence varied greatly, and simply running around to notify and gain audience took considerable effort. The fifteenth brother, Prince Bin Li Feng, had already drunk himself into a stupor before nightfall and was unconscious... By the time the night curfew drums from the high cliff bell tower were about to finish, the young princes who were home had arrived one after another to view and select the horses, their laughter and chatter filling the air. Li Yuangui, as host, had no choice but to arrange a banquet, joining his brothers in revelry.
Earlier, he and his sixth brother Yuanjing had agreed that since the Son of Heaven did not wish to disclose the gift of horses, they would simply claim that these fine steeds had been purchased with funds provided by him and his sixth brother—whether their brothers believed it or not, it at least provided a plausible explanation. Having grown up in the deep palace, the princes naturally knew some things were better left unasked. Each was happy to receive a fine horse, and the banquet proceeded with drinking games, dice throwing, and a night of merrymaking before concluding.
Including Li Yuanjing, no one paid any attention to the dozen or so Garrison Guards who had delivered the horses. In the eyes of the princes, servants always knew when to disappear.
Even if someone had asked, Li Yuangui had prepared a response: the night curfew had begun, the palace gates were closed, and these men could not leave tonight. They had been taken to empty rooms in a corner of the Seventeenth Prince's Residence to rest and would be escorted out in the morning.
This was what he told his old Chief Administrator Chen Hong as well. Chen Changshi seemed to find it somewhat improper but had no grounds to oppose his lord. In the end, he personally led Qibi Luo and the others to a remote courtyard at the back of the mountain to settle in. As an old family retainer who had served since Li Yuangui established his residence, he knew his young master's temperament all too well.
Amid the laughter and merriment filling the courtyard, the team of foreign guards quietly withdrew into the deepening night, passing by Li Yuangui, who stood beneath the hall.
A fifteen- or sixteen-year-old foreign youth in the group raised his hand and made a gesture to His Highness Prince Wu. Li Yuangui nodded slightly, signaling to Prince Sang Sai to "rest assured."
#####This chapter includes images of Tang Dynasty Imperial Guard murals and Fish Token artifacts. To view the images, visit the author's Weibo. Search for the ID "Tang Dynasty Tour Guide Forest Deer" on Sina Weibo. Welcome to engage in discussion.
OpenNovel