"I, Wei Shufen, assisted the High Truth Master in delivering medicine to the Great Peace Hall yesterday!" Wei Shufen suddenly blurted out, striving to break the oppressive stalemate. "Unexpectedly, Consort Yin harbored deep resentment toward the High Truth Master. The moment they met, she began loudly berating her..."
She avoided looking at Li Chengqian's expression, sticking instead to the prearranged account—narrating their verbal clash with Consort Yin, how she had collapsed in fear, and how Consort Yin had threatened and urged her to accuse Chai Yingluo of poisoning the Supreme Emperor. Naturally, she omitted their fabricated lies about illicit relations between uncle and niece, as well as the foul medicinal powder brought by the female Taoist. She only mentioned, "After Consort Yin met with her brother, the palace eunuch Yin Tuo, in the evening, she ordered us to move the Supreme Emperor from the western chamber to a smaller hall and had the High Truth Master bound and pushed into the western chamber. So when the assassins stormed the Supreme Emperor's bedchamber, they only found the High Truth Master."
I'm not lying, she reminded herself. I'm just... omitting some facts.
After she finished recounting how Consort Yin had been killed by the black-clad assassins on the watchtower and how she and Chai Yingluo had narrowly escaped with their lives, Li Chengqian let out a soft sigh, his face briefly showing relief before quickly returning to its impassive state.
It must be because the dead can't testify, Wei Shufen thought. Earlier, Li Chengqian had colluded with Consort Yin, orchestrating vicious schemes and actions. Now that both siblings of the Yin family had perished in this incident, there was no one left to confront him with evidence. Their night of peril, leaving them covered in blood, had ultimately cleared a major obstacle for the Crown Prince's Palace.
Yet the risk of being sent far away to marry in a foreign land remained entirely unresolved.
Li Chengqian could still propose his "three women for marriage alliance" plan to the court, claiming all the credit without fear of being exposed for his ties to Consort Yin.
Now, the only remaining obstacle was the uncertain fate of the Seventeenth Princess—her whereabouts unknown. If Li Chengqian intended to propose sending his young aunt for the marriage alliance, he would first have to produce her.
Wei Shufen gazed at the Tang heir apparent seated solemnly before the screen, suspecting he was thinking the same thing. Li Chengqian still wore a slight frown, but the malevolence that had clouded his features had dissipated somewhat, making him resemble a normal, handsome youth of seventeen or eighteen... In terms of appearance alone, the husband Ah Yu married wasn't bad...
"Prince Wu..." The daughter of the Wei family murmured, pausing briefly to collect her thoughts. "May I ask, Your Highness, before we entered the chamber, we saw the Supreme Emperor's Fourteenth Young Master, Prince Wu, leaving. Might he have gone to search for the Seventeenth Princess?"
Li Chengqian gave her a noncommittal glance, still acting as though she weren't there, and instead turned to address Chai Yingluo:
"Early this morning, guards discovered the body of Yin Tuo, the deputy supervisor of the Great Peace Palace, outside the western chamber. His neck was broken, and he was dressed entirely in black with his face covered, resembling the attire of the assassins. I immediately suspected Yin Tuo's collusion with these foreign assassins, and his elder sister Consort Yin was undoubtedly involved as well. Wei Niangzi's account aligns with this. Given the gravity of the matter, the Emperor and Empress will personally conduct the interrogation. Before His Majesty, will the High Truth Master also testify thus?"
"Of course," Chai Yingluo replied softly. "This humble Taoist... would never dare deceive His Majesty."
"Do you think His Majesty will believe this entire fabrication?"When Li Chengqian posed this question, Wei Shufen felt her face grow hot. It was tantamount to directly accusing her of lying to his face, and the Crown Prince hadn't even addressed her directly, treating her as if she were invisible. Upon reflection, it made sense—as an outsider, her words carried little weight. The Son of Heaven and the Empress would primarily listen to their son and niece's accounts.
Chai Yingluo also looked up at Li Chengqian, biting her lower lip slightly in thought, momentarily silent. They hadn't had time for elaborate grooming that morning, and the female Daoist, devoid of makeup and dressed in court robes, appeared haggard and worn, a stark contrast to her usual radiant and imposing demeanor.
"Wei Niangzi, you may withdraw," Li Chengqian suddenly said to Wei Shufen. "This prince has matters to discuss with the High Truth Master."
It seemed he intended to coordinate their testimonies with Chai Yingluo before his parents arrived... Wei Shufen acknowledged with a murmur and was about to rise, lifting the hem of her skirt, when Chai Yingluo interjected:
"Your Highness, please reconsider. Wei was present during last night's incident at the Great Peace Hall. The Emperor and Empress might... also summon her personally for questioning... If our accounts don't align, it could cause trouble..."
Her words came between labored breaths, but their meaning was clear. Wei Shufen also found her reasoning sound and unconsciously settled back onto her knees.
This, however, angered the Crown Prince. The young heir apparent, second only to the Emperor and above all others, scowled and barked at the chancellor's daughter as if reprimanding a lowly servant:
"Out!"
Wei Shufen's head buzzed, her cheeks instantly burning.
Even the current Emperor and Empress Zhangsun had never treated her with such rudeness and contempt.
The eldest daughter of Wei the Chief Minister rose from the floor, blood surging to her head. Before she could decide whether to openly rebuke the Crown Prince for his discourtesy or flee to weep outside, a voice suddenly announced from beyond the door:
"Reporting to Your Highness, His Majesty's imperial carriage has arrived at the gates of Great Peace Palace—"
The Emperor had arrived, seemingly earlier than Li Chengqian anticipated. The Crown Prince, who had been sitting rigidly before the screen, abruptly pushed himself up from the table, his expression tense, and strode toward the exit. Chai Yingluo and Wei Shufen instinctively rose as well, hearing Li Chengqian ask the attendant at the door:
"Only His Majesty's carriage? The Empress didn't accompany him?"
"Reporting to Your Highness, word is that His Majesty is accompanied by Prince Yue and... um... Chief Minister Wei."
Her father had come with the Emperor? Wei Shufen's legs weakened, nearly causing her to stumble. No matter how chaotic last night's events at Great Peace Palace had been, they were internal palace affairs. Why would her father, an outsider to the court, be involved at this moment?
Unless... he had heard his daughter was entangled in it again and, unable to tolerate it any longer, had come specifically to drag her home?
Chai Yingluo also glanced back at Wei Shufen, and the two women shared a silent understanding. The Daoist nun tugged lightly at her sleeve, and with lowered eyes, they quietly followed Li Chengqian out of the eastern chamber. The Crown Prince and his entourage were busy preparing to receive the imperial carriage at the palace gates, paying them no heed.
Outside, the courtyard of Great Peace Hall remained in chaotic motion. The two women slipped away from the crowd and hid in a corner, where Chai Yingluo whispered, "A-Fen, what do you plan to do?"
"I... can't return to Purple Void Monastery for now... nor can I go to the Chai residence." If her father was determined to bring her home this time, both places would be too easy to find, and there would be no way to resist the demands of the current Chief Minister for his daughter.
Chai Yingluo nodded in understanding. "That's why I asked—what are your plans? Do you have another place to hide?"How could she possibly have any other hiding place? She was the pampered daughter of a prime minister, raised in luxury since childhood... Wei Shufen gave a bitter smile, her fingers twisting the silk scarf around her arm. After a moment of thought, she looked up and said:
"I plan to... I think I'll go help Fourteenth Young Master first, to rescue the Seventeenth Princess."
#####This chapter's notes discuss the "half-sleeve" garment Chai Yingluo wears and the Tang Dynasty's aesthetic views on body curves. For images, please visit the author's Weibo. Search for the ID "Tang Dynasty Tour Guide Forest Deer" on Sina Weibo. Welcome to discuss.
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