The candlelight flickered, casting wavering shadows through the paper window.
Wei Shufen held a roll of faded old paper as she tiptoed along the corridor toward the living quarters of the Master of the Purple Void Monastery. The closer she got, the thicker the fragrance seeping from the room became, inexplicably making her face flush and her palms grow damp with sweat.
The night was already deep. The serving girls keeping watch under the corridor were dozing where they sat, and Chai Yingluo might have already retired. Wei Shufen hesitated, pausing as she thought about the indistinct handwriting on the scroll in her hand. It wouldn’t be too late to consult the High Truth Master tomorrow morning—she was just impatient, having set herself a strict deadline for transcribing the ancient texts, and couldn’t rest until it was done.
Just as she was about to turn back to her own bedroom, a soft moan came from behind the latticed window.
Wei Shufen froze. Had Chai Yingluo been injured? Or fallen ill? She hadn’t noticed any discomfort during the day... But this female Taoist priest was always stubborn, refusing to show weakness—perhaps she had been pushing herself?
That wouldn’t do. Frowning, Wei Shufen moved toward the master’s chamber. The door was slightly ajar, and as she quietly pushed it open and stepped inside, she heard more rapid, panting breaths.
The maids in the outer hall were drowsing against the sitting couch. The voices came from the bed beyond the large screen—not just Chai Yingluo’s feminine tones, but also deeper male murmurs intertwined... The eldest daughter of Chancellor Wei suddenly realized what she was intruding upon. Heat surged to her face, and she hastily retreated on tiptoe.
Then she heard the man’s trembling voice:
“Yingniang... ah...”
The voice was familiar—languid and thick in the dim candlelight and cloying incense—but it felt like a bucket of ice water poured over Wei Shufen’s head. Without thinking, she silently slipped around the large screen, hiding herself behind the drapes dividing the room, peeking out just enough to glimpse the bed of the Purple Void Monastery’s master in the hazy light.
The bed screen was half-open, but the curtains within hung low, revealing nothing beyond the rhythmic tremors. The sounds alone were enough to paint a vivid picture, but Wei Shufen stubbornly refused to believe her ears. Concealed behind a pillar, she stared fixedly at the bed until the man accidentally pulled aside the curtain, briefly revealing his gaunt, chiseled face...
In the western chamber of the Great Peace Palace’s main hall, Wei Shufen sat hugging her knees on the carpet, softly recounting the vivid scene in her mind to Consort Yin beside her. Her tears had dried at some point, and her tone was flat, as if describing something entirely unrelated to herself:
“Before this, I’d heard servants in the Purple Void Monastery whispering... that the High Truth Master was... unchaste... that she had many male concubines, even Yang Dalang of Prince Wu’s Mansion... that they’d been entangled for years... But I never imagined... that was her own maternal uncle...”
Consort Yin chuckled lightly:
“Oh, child, you’re too naive. What does it matter if he’s her uncle? At least they’re not of the same surname or clan—there are fewer taboos. Chai Yiniangzi is truly remarkable. The number of her male concubines—and who they are—would shock you beyond your wildest dreams... Tell me, when she took monastic vows, she claimed it was to pray for her late mother’s soul. But why didn’t she shave her head to become a nun? Why insist on being a female Taoist priest who keeps her hair?”
“I thought... it was because the imperial family descended from Laozi...”“Just a flimsy excuse to cover up the truth,” Consort Yin sneered. “The Purple Void Monastery is so close to the military camp—how convenient. The High Truth Master practices alchemy and plays with her so-called Yin-Yang Union and Water-Fire Convergence. She has no shortage of strong guards to use as Medicinal Dregs, yet she still won’t let go of a fifteen or sixteen-year-old boy. Her appetite is truly insatiable…”
At this point, she seemed to recall something and scrutinized Wei Shufen carefully.
“By the way, I heard that a few days ago in the Hall of Established Governance, the Fourteenth Young Master expressed his intention to marry you, Wei Niangzi?”
Two flames burned across Wei Shufen’s cheeks. She lowered her head and, after much effort, replied in a voice as faint as a mosquito’s hum:
“That was… just the Fourteenth Young Master misspeaking in the heat of the moment… it doesn’t count…”
“I heard you rejected him then,” Consort Yin chuckled, her tone teasing. “It seems you still haven’t gotten over him, have you? After all, he’s the one who had an entanglement with you, Wei Niangzi?”
Wei Shufen buried her face in her knees and refused to engage further. Consort Yin sat beside her, laughing to herself for a while, and was about to say more when a report came from beyond the screen—the palace eunuch Yin Tuo had arrived to see the Consort.
Consort Yin patted Wei Shufen’s arm, still wrapped around her knees, signaling her to stay as she was, then stood and walked out from behind the screen.
Wei Shufen remained seated, motionless, straining her ears to catch the faint murmurs from beyond the screen. The eunuch Yin seemed to be there only for routine updates—night had fallen, the palace gates were locked, guards were patrolling, and he was inquiring whether the Consort had any orders.
Consort Yin recounted her earlier confrontation with Chai Yingluo to her brother and ordered him to “go inspect that female Taoist again, make sure she’s tightly bound and securely detained until dawn when she can be dealt with. Don’t give that little wretch any chance to cause trouble. That wretch might still have accomplices, so the Great Peace Hall must be carefully guarded inside and out. Double the night watch at the palace gates,” and so on.
Yin Tuo murmured his assent but offered no additional remarks. Wei Shufen sensed that the eunuch was somewhat perfunctory and distracted, as if eager to leave.
Consort Yin seemed to notice as well, asking twice, “Is something the matter?” Her brother replied each time that there was nothing and that she needn’t worry. The siblings spoke for about the time it took to finish a meal before Yin Tuo took his leave.
By then, the light in the room had dimmed. Maidservants entered to light the lamps and candles, close the windows tightly, and tidy the furniture and cushions that had been disturbed during Chai Yingluo’s capture. Wei Shufen remained curled in the corner, unmoving, and the palace maids paid her no mind. When Consort Yin stepped back behind the screen, she suddenly sniffed and frowned. “What is that smell?”
Wei Shufen smelled it too—a faint stench in the room. Consort Yin glanced at her, sighed, and walked toward the large bed where the Supreme Emperor lay sleeping, lifting the bed curtains.
Two maidservants went to assist her, calling for others to bring in basins of water and towels. Wei Shufen, still seated on the floor, couldn’t see what was happening behind the curtains. She only saw Consort Yin bend over and lift something, then exclaim softly, “There’s nothing…”
“My lady?” a maidservant holding a stack of towels asked.
“How strange… Never mind, just change it,” Consort Yin decided.
Throughout the process of changing the Supreme Emperor’s bedding, the elderly man remained unresponsive, allowing the women to lift and adjust him as they pleased. Had Chai Yingluo not just taken her grandfather’s pulse earlier, Wei Shufen might have doubted whether the founding emperor of the Great Tang was even still alive.After completing the busy tasks, Consort Yin settled the Supreme Emperor into bed and covered him with a thick quilt. Exhausted, she sighed and waved her hand to dismiss the maids before walking over to Wei Shufen, who was sitting on the floor. She reached out and helped her up:
"It's dark, and the floor is cold. Come sit over here."
"Consort Yin, I..." Wei Shufen rose obediently, somewhat embarrassed. "You've worked so hard, I... I should..."
Take her leave? But where could she go? The palace gates were already closed, and she couldn't leave the Great Peace Hall tonight. Even if she could, would she have the face to return to the Purple Void Monastery?
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