Character Index
Zhou Ying: Emperor of the Wu Dynasty, father of the Imperial Princes and maternal uncle of Wenyuan/Kayla.
Zhao Kangyu: Adopted son of the Grand Duke, Wenyuan's father, and husband of the Imperial Princess.
Princess of Chu: Older half-sister of the Emperor, daughter of an unfavored consort who lost out in harem intrigue to the Empress Dowager. Xiang Daozong/Qu Boyong's mother.
General Xiang: Father of Xiang Daozong/Qu Boyong, he was framed and killed by the Grand Duke.
Xiang Daozong/Qu Boyong: Newly reinstated Lord of the Xiang clan who sought revenge against the Grand Duke and to clear his family's name.
Wei Guang: The Imperial Edict Bearer, he was the Teacher of the Crown Prince (a specific title in Ancient China) and helped Zhou Ying stage a palace coup when the dying Emperor decided to leave the country to his three-year-old youngest son, child of his favorite consort, instead of to the Crown Prince.
Empress Gongsun: Former Empress of Zhou Ying, she was deposed and later committed suicide. Mother of the First and Second Princes, whose relationships with the Emperor deteriorated after their mother's deaths, causing both of them to be stripped of their titles and demoted/exiled.
Zhou Shu: Sixth Prince, favorite son of the Emperor. His mother died in childbirth. The Sixth Prince died in a horse-riding accident with disastrous consequences.
Qiu Yun: A young serving girl delegated to Kayla by Housekeeper Li. She was nicknamed Yun'er by her fellow servant, Yan'er.
Yan'er: A young serving girl and former prostitute with a keen eye for making money and finding shortcuts. Previously saved Hu Qing's life.
Chuluo Khagan: Khagan of the Eastern Turkic Khaganate, on tense terms with Shegui Khagan, the ruler of the Western Turkic Khaganate.
Zhao Chao: Kayla's bodyguard and retainer.
Tabuyir: A Senior Investigator from the Khitan people, he is one of Kayla's supporters.
Captain Jiang Jing: An Imperial Captain sent to guard the delegation to welcome Princess Ashina.
Tao Qian: Kayla's bodyguard and retainer.
Hu Qing/Liang Hongfei: Lord of the Liang clan, formerly Kayla's retainer.
Ke Yongqian: Hu Qing's friend and retainer, formerly Hu Qing's coworker.
Alizhi: Grandson of the Uyghur chieftain, Mingda's cousin.
Tumidu: Chieftain of the Uyghur tribe, has the title of Commander (see Cultural Notes).
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Zhou Ying sat up with a start, an involuntary exclamation forcing its way out of his throat. One of the eunuchs on night duty scuttled into the entrance of the bedroom, eyes wide with concern.
“Apologies for disturbing you, Your Majesty, is everything alright?”
Zhou Ying lifted a hand and waved the eunuch away. The eunuch bowed and retreated back outside. Zhou Ying rubbed a hand down his face, heaving a great sigh that floated up into the lofty rafters of the palace. It had been a long time since he’d last dreamed of his younger sister–she hadn’t been very close with him until around the time of her marriage, and the two of them had ironically grown closer after her wedding to that good-natured but inept Zhao Kangyu.
His dreams of her were almost invariably the same. She would be standing at the end of a very long corridor, waving to him with a smile. Zhou Ying would walk and walk, but the corridor stretched out endlessly before him. But as he began to tire, the distance would shorten, and at the moment he reached her the dream would end in a gentle wash of light.
Those dreams always left him wistful and sentimental when he awoke, with a strong urge to see Wenyuan, the one remnant he had of his beautiful and brilliant sister. This time was different.
Wenyuan had been standing there as well, a short distance away from his mother with his back to Zhou Ying. Pleased to see them both, Zhou Ying had begun walking as he always did, but the distance decreased rapidly. He had almost reached them when Wenyuan turned around and stared into his eyes with a piercing look, but the dream ended abruptly just as Wenyuan had opened his mouth to speak.
“Wenyuan…” Zhou Ying muttered, an instinctive sense of unease worming its way up in his guts. It had been a few days since the young man had set out for the Northern border. It was hardly as though he hadn’t heard from Wenyuan–reports made their way back to the capital with punctual regularity. Even so, he couldn’t shake the awful feeling that spread through his body.
Would Mother–no, surely not. Even if she’s angry, he’s still her grandson.
Zhou Ying briefly considered checking on the delegation, but decided against doing so in the middle of the night. The attention would not go unnoticed, and would likely cause Wenyuan more trouble down the line with the speculations that would arise. No reports from the commanderies along the route or from the Imperial Investigation Bureau had suggested anything worthy of stirring up such a fuss. If nothing else, the Empress Dowager would be displeased by an unnecessary inquiry, seeing it as an act of needless doting and concern for a man who needed no such coddling.
He didn’t expect her to understand.
Zhou Ying had seen all too clearly how significant an impact the wiles and flattery of an Imperial consort had on the future of their children, or how greatly the affection towards a prince or princess could raise the stakes for a consort and her clan. His own mother had ensured his future as the Crown Prince early on, keeping him more or less isolated from his other half-siblings.
But Zhou Ying hadn’t missed how the Princess of Chu, the daughter of an unfavored consort, had been packed off at a young age into marriage with General Xiang, a man as indifferent in the household as he was valiant in the battlefield. It was no surprise to anyone that the poor Princess of Chu didn’t conceive for years after her wedding, and her son had received little attention from the palace even after that.
Zhou Ying also hadn’t missed how his father had grown pliant towards his younger wives in old age, awarding his half-brothers and their maternal relatives titles, positions, and land deeds that all ate away at Zhou Ying’s power before he had even been crowned.
Anything his mother said in protest was treated as the jealousy of a main wife rather than sound political advice. Zhou Ying’s own pleas had also been treated as pettiness–fool that he was, Zhou Ying’s father hadn’t worried about fattening up his in-laws, believing that the trustworthy Grand Duke could keep them all in line. It was almost laughable in hindsight.
Just when he thought it couldn’t get any worse, his father had stripped him of the title of Crown Prince and given it to a three-year-old.
Zhou Ying’s shock had stunned him into inaction. The humiliation and horror of it all–that his father didn’t care what fate would inevitably befall the “deposed” Crown Prince, had been a crushing boulder on his chest. Wei Guang had been the one to spring into action, isolating the former Emperor’s sickbed from the rest of the palace and the court, and killing every witness who had heard the man’s verbal edict. The young, favored consort, younger than even Zhou Ying himself, had been forced to hang herself at sword-point. She wept piteously and pleaded for her son to be spared–Zhou Ying was pulled away by his teacher without saying a word to her.
Just as well that he didn’t. It bothered him to kill the child, but it certainly didn’t bother his mother. The three-year-old toddler was found packed off to his distant fief and died soon after. Everything was attributed to the child’s inability to adjust to the local climate, and that was the end of that, but also the beginning of something far more sinister. Zhou Ying had already chosen once to turn a blind eye and leave the dirty work to his mother. Burdened by guilt and gratitude, he could only continue to act blind and deaf when his mother began to ruthlessly cull his half-brother’s male descendants in order to crush the political aspirations of their maternal clans. When Wei Guang had helped Zhou Ying prevent the Empress Dowager from directly participating in politics as regent, her resentment had been channeled into increased severity towards the Archdukes.
From the very start, Zhou Ying’s reign was stained by atrocities in which he was forced to be complicit.
At the very least, I won’t make the same mistake as my father when it comes to women.
That resolution hadn’t changed, but only Zhou Ying knew how difficult it was. He was passionate and sentimental by nature–the heavens knew how much he’d tried to be more cool-headed, more detached over the years. Still, he was swayed by the smiles and tears of his wives. But the moment the interests of their in-laws or children came into sight, he would retreat from their embraces and affections with stony anger so sharp that it could bring thunder down from the skies.
Zhou Ying’s mounting frustrations with his wives and their conniving relatives prevented him from viewing his children without the distorting lens of suspicion. His Empress had been the worst–her family had helped him during his coronation by squashing any rumors that arose. They’d spent paltry amounts of effort, but they expected to be repaid with the entire country. Zhou Ying did owe them, after all, and allowed his wife to talk him into granting the men of the Gongsun clan titles and positions. But he knew that they were parasites. Her sons could never inherit, or the country would no longer be ruled by the Zhous but rather the Gongsuns.
He hit his limit when his first son married a distant cousin from the Gongsun clan. There had been plenty of bridal candidates for the presumed heir-to-be, but every single one of them had been eliminated from consideration by scandals, disfiguring accidents, or even sudden illnesses that took their lives.
So they’re already picking out the future Empress to also be from their clan?
Just the thought of it filled him with blinding rage. Zhou Ying didn’t waste any time to join hands with his mother and depose the Empress on grounds of jealousy, conspiracy, and interference with court politics. He was racked with pity and guilt when the deposed Empress killed herself, but it didn’t stop him from demoting his first and second son to commoner status and uprooting the Gongsun clan entirely, sending its remnants fleeing back to their Northern hometown.
The price for that had been steep. Zhou Ying had relied on the Grand Duke’s help to get rid of them, exchanging an immediate problem for a more distant one.
After that, the Imperial Harem had grown much more careful as well. His consorts became more subtle, his children more distant and subdued.
The only exception had been Zhou Shu. Everyone had only seen that the Sixth Prince was doted upon after his mother died–few people connected the dots and realized it was because his mother died, and even fewer realized the extent to which Zhou Ying had kept his young son apart from his maternal relatives, a conniving bunch.
There were no political implications or pitfalls in the form of greedy in-laws or power-hungry mothers when it came to Zhou Shu, but that had all come to an end with the boy’s abrupt death.
Even now, it hurt to think about. The boy had been so young, with so much unfulfilled promise.
Zhou Ying let out a sigh, pulling himself from his reminiscence and regret.
Wenyuan had always been compartmentalized differently than everyone else. Like mother, like son, neither Zhou Ying’s sister nor nephew hungered for power. Despite the Grand Duke’s hold over the court, the two of them were like lotus blossoms unstained by the mud around them. For them, Zhou Ying had nothing but uncomplicated familial affection.
After his sister died abruptly, before he could even see her one last time, Zhou Ying had piled even more affection and favor upon Wenyuan. The timid boy had received it all with flustered gratitude and an utter lack of desire for more. Unbeknownst to the young Zhao heir, Wenyuan’s meek reactions only served to further endear him to Zhou Ying.
But it was a delightful surprise when Wenyuan suddenly took a stand against the Grand Duke. The young man needed power, and Zhou Ying ensured he never lacked it. Zhou Ying was proud to see how well Wenyuan was navigating the political turbulence, and a little remorseful that he hadn’t realized how difficult things were in the Zhao household. But unlike the Empress Dowager, Wenyuan’s new appetite for power didn’t raise any alarm in the Emperor’s heart.
It was different from his own sons, who coveted his throne and felt entitled to power that wasn’t theirs. They were pushed on by the ambitions of so many actors, their clans, their in-laws, countless faceless individuals that formed their political clout. But Wenyuan…Wenyuan was just Wenyuan. There was something stark and straightforward about the way Wenyuan approached things, a facet of necessity to the young man’s actions that justified all of his actions in Zhou Ying’s eyes.
Moreover, a part of Zhou Ying that had long since withered from resignation had come alive at Wenyuan’s transformation. The bloodstains splattered upon him by his mother, the inheritance of decline and disorder from his father, all of them seemed surmountable for the first time since he was first named Crown Prince.
“How quickly time passes…Wenyuan wasn’t even born then, and he’s already twenty-five now,” Zhou Ying murmured to himself. He suddenly felt very old. Soon he would be fifty, the age at which his own father had begun to pamper consorts with decreasing regard for the country’s future. But for Zhou Ying, the most important time in his career was only beginning.
If Wenyuan was capable of defeating the Grand Duke, Wenyuan was surely capable of more. And for that, Zhou Ying could forgive him anything.
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The thought of Wenyuan’s future successes lightened his heart.
I’ll check on him in the morning, Zhou Ying decided. He settled into his blankets and was soon fast asleep.
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Kayla found herself in a stupor of exhaustion the next morning. Her nose had bled again during the night, waking her up and causing a stir with the guards. Both magic users from the Bureau had hovered over her, running diagnostic spells uneasily until Kayla’s nosebleed stopped by itself. Needless to say, no one got much sleep that night.
In the morning, a message had come from the Emperor himself, inquiring on their progress. All the guards had gone stiff with anxiety, watching Kayla’s reaction with tense anticipation. Kayla had simply replied that they were making good progress and would be there on time, despite a small delay due to her underestimating the strength of local alcohol. No fingers were pointed and no one was blamed. There was a palpable air of relief amidst the delegation that Kayla was too tired to take note of.
Inside the carriage, she slumped in her seat, staring out the window with haggard eyes. After her disastrous first impression of her in-laws, her reluctance mounted as they proceeded towards the border.
It doesn’t make sense that the Khagan did that, Kayla pondered. Why did they go so far? Wouldn’t you usually try to win them over with favors first? And even if not, I’m the Emperor’s nephew. This could have come to war.
“My lord, please have some tea,” Yun’er said, holding up a canister to her. Kayla gratefully took the drink. Under Investigator Mi’s insistence to keep an eye on Kayla’s health for the next few days, Yun’er and Yan’er were now taking turns riding with Kayla inside the carriage.
Kayla handed the canister back to Yun’er and sank back into her thoughts.
There’s no way he meant to do things this way, right?
Then again, the Empress Dowager had also sent someone to maim Kayla over her disobedience.
What’s with these guys and their bloodthirsty messengers? Fuck.
Yun’er watched anxiously as a look of displeasure passed over Kayla’s face. The young Duke never scolded her–she’d never seen him scold anyone, and he treated her well, but it still made her uneasy when he was in a foul mood. She had joined the household rather late on, and didn’t know much about either the Grand Duke’s abuse or Wenyuan’s coup. But Yun’er knew that most of the servants and guards in the Zhao household regarded Wenyuan somewhat fearfully, just not the reason why. She kept quiet as he stared moodily out the window, making herself small in the corner.
Kayla’s brow unconsciously furrowed as she ran through the situation.
So there’s a few possibilities. First of all, this might just be how he operates. Straight-up just—just this kind of bullshit. The second option is that someone sabotaged the mission or misconstrued orders on purpose. Some rivalry within the Khaganate, maybe, or even the mechanisms of a pro-War faction that wants my marriage to fall apart. Not impossible, all things considered.
Her frown deepened as she moved to the third option.
Or, he’s desperate. But what for? Is there going to be an invasion from the Western Turkic Khaganate? Or maybe one of his shamans predicted there would be a Little Ice Age soon?
She dismissed the shamanic possibility for the moment, but not entirely.
Does he want to launch an invasion of his own into the Western Turkic Khaganate? Surely not, he’s outmatched.
All things considered, she was leaning towards the third option. Most likely, the Khagan was facing pressure from the Western Turkic Khaganate. It could explain why Chuluo Khagan had chosen such extreme measures.
If that’s the case, I’ll make full use of it. Kayla could only hope that this wasn’t simply the result of the Khagan’s violent nature. If it was, then she was really in for it. This was the kind of thing she would expect the Grand Duke to do–an act of unwarranted violence that cast the victim in a suspicious light should the matter become known. The first incident would never be the last, and the poor bastard subjected to it would break under the psychological pressure if not under physical pain.
Me, I’m the poor bastard here, Kayla thought to herself in alarm. How the fuck am I supposed to analyze this calmly when I’m the one at the center of it? Damn it!
She sensed Yun’er staring at her, and met the girl’s eyes. Yun’er started a little. Kayla gave the girl a small smile to reassure her.
“I’m a little tired, I’ll be taking a nap. Wake me up if anything happens,” Kayla said. Yun’er nodded dutifully, and Kayla shifted into a more comfortable position to sleep on the matter.
She slept fitfully, and was awake well before the delegation stopped for a break. Looking more than a little relieved to get away from Kayla, Yun’er slipped off to switch shifts with Yan’er. Seeing Zhao Chao approach, Kayla held up a hand towards Yan’er. The girl bowed her head slightly and stepped out of hearing distance.
“My lord, are you feeling alright?” Zhao Chao asked.
“I’m fine, thank you. Are you guys alright? You did a lot of fighting yesterday, and you still have to ride a horse today. Do you need a longer break? We can just speed up to make up for lost time tomorrow,” Kayla offered.
“We’re fine,” Zhao Chao hastily replied. “My lord, about the scroll…”
Kayla thought back to the scroll from the night before.
“Just hold on to it for now. Keep it safe for me, will you?” Kayla asked.
“Of course,” Zhao Chao replied. “But…”
“Make sure no one else finds out about it. I could get in a lot of trouble if it falls into the wrong hands.”
“Yes, my lord.”
Thank the heavens I didn’t sign that damn thing. Now, the ball was in her court. She had a blood-splattered scroll and several dead bodies at her disposal. It was up to her to decide how to use them.
Shaking herself out of her thoughts, Kayla finally noted the awkward silence that Zhao Chao was uncomfortably bearing.
God, I can’t stand this. She was choking on the guilt and nervousness of the guards. I’d better talk to Tabuyir and Captain Jiang later to clear the air a bit.
Kayla had enough to worry about without the heavy atmosphere looming over her.
“You did well to keep my secret,” Kayla said in a casual tone. “I was worried that I’d be exposed, but thanks to you guys, I managed to get by without trouble.”
“Not at all, my lord, it’s our duty to keep our employer’s secrets,” Zhao Chao replied.
“Still, I’m glad,” Kayla said with a smile. “I didn’t want to have to explain my abilities to everyone, so well done.”
Zhao Chao bowed his head, his shoulders relaxing a little. “Glad to be of service, my lord. Is there anything else that you need?”
“Not much. Ah-that’s right, did you preserve my inner robes from yesterday?” Kayla asked. She had changed out of it on her way back to the post station, but couldn’t recall what happened to it afterwards.
“Yes, do you wish for me to burn it?” Zhao Chao asked.
“No, keep it safe. Don’t wash the blood off or anything, just use a housekeeping spell to make sure it doesn’t smell or mold. This is important evidence, just like the scroll,” Kayla explained.
“Then I will be sure to preserve it well,” Zhao Chao replied.
“Excellent. This incident was a mess, there’s no doubt about that. But it’s also an opportunity, one that I intend to fully maximize the value of. The world is going to change, Zhao Chao, and if we play our cards right, we’ll have some say in how,” Kayla said, her voice growing distant as her thoughts drifted back to the inevitable conflict with the Khaganate.
Zhao Chao gave her a mildly perplexed look, but didn’t prod any further.
“It’ll be brutal, no matter what we do. A change that amounts to nothing more than a speck of dust in history can weigh heavier than an entire mountain on the shoulders of an individual. But…” Kayla shook herself from her thoughts and turned her attention back to Zhao Chao. “Anyways, keep an eye on the evidence, we’ll make good use of them yet.”
“As you wish, my lord,” Zhao Chao replied.
“Thank you,” Kayla waved him off. Zhao Chao bowed and left. Seeing him go, Yan’er approached Kayla and bowed.
“My lord,” she said in greeting.
“Yan’er,” Kayla nodded at her. “You can go stretch your legs if you wish, we still have a while before we leave.”
Yan’er eagerly took the offer and went off to bounce in circles around the carriage.
Zhao Chao approached Tao Qian, who was carefully watching the Duke from afar.
“How’d it go?” Tao Qian asked.
“The Duke seems to be in an alright mood,” Zhao Chao sighed. “He didn't rebuke me or anything, I’m not even sure he’s angry.”
Then again, they’d never been rebuked by Wenyuan. Only Hu Qing had ever been reprimanded, and even then, it was jokingly. Even so, they had a healthy amount of respect for the man. If Wenyuan had the guts to kill the Grand Duke, then he had the guts to chew out a few retainers. He wasn’t being timid, he was just being nice. They were smart enough to know the difference.
“I’m glad the Duke is forgiving, but the fact that he hasn’t even reprimanded us yet makes me nervous,” Tao Qian said uneasily. “Maybe the shock hasn’t worn off yet.”
“I don’t know, perhaps. I think he’s planning to do something with the incident, from the way he talked,” Zhao Chao said.
“Well, so long as he isn’t angry at us,” Tao Qian replied.“But Lord Liang…Lord Liang is going to be pissed.”
The two of them shuddered at the thought.
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Hu Qing sneezed loudly, eliciting a look of distaste from Ke Yongqian.
“My lord, surely you aren’t catching a cold,” Ke Yongqian said.
“Not at all,” Hu Qing replied breezily. “Someone must be praising me.”
It had only been two days since they set out from Taiyuan, but they were making incredible speed. It certainly helped that they had an official plaque that allowed them to exchange horses at post stations as well as a good amount of silver to move the process along more smoothly.
“Look ahead, there’s someone coming,” Ke Yongqian pointed out. Hu Qing squinted, shading his eyes from the sun to look closer.
“Hey, isn’t that guy a steppe tribesman? Look at his clothes,” Hu Qing said.
“You’re right,” Ke Yongqian said. “Is he from the Tiele? Or the Khitan? I can’t tell the difference.”
The tribesman raised a hand in greeting as he got closer, and Hu Qing slowed to a stop to speak with him.
“Greetings,” Hu Qing called.
“Greetings, good sir! Might you be Lord Liang of Luoyang?” The tribesman called back.
Hu Qing and Ke Yongqian exchanged a subtle glance.
“Who’s asking?” Ke Yongqian interjected.
“Alizhi of the Uyghur! I come here on the instructions of Commander Tumidu to escort you to the North Pacification Fort,” the man said, raising one fist to his heart in salute.
“Well met, I was just wondering where to find you!” Hu Qing said, warmly spreading his hands towards the young man as he leaped off the horse. Alizhi hastily got off as well, shaking Hu Qing’s hands enthusiastically. He took out a plaque and a scroll, handing them over with a bow.
“Please see this letter from my lord, and this plaque as proof of my identity.”
Hu Qing examined the plaque and handed it back to Alizhi, turning his attention to the letter.
“So you’re to be our mediator in the North,” Hu Qing said thoughtfully.
“Indeed, I am honored to do so,” Alizhi replied. Hu Qing tucked the scroll into his robes.
“The honor is mine. I am grateful to have the Commander’s nephew escort me in person,” Hu Qing said. Wenyuan must have sent out a message as soon as Hu Qing had left–the letter had stated as much. Hu Qing had no doubt that the Uyghur Commander had already stationed eyes and ears along the road in anticipation of their arrival, but he didn’t particularly mind.
“This way please, we’ve prepared a magic carriage, but we’ll have to take the smaller roads,” Alizhi explained.
“I’ll follow your arrangements,” Hu Qing said. He followed Alizhi off the main road and onto a smaller path.
“Here we are, Lord Liang,” Alizhi said, gesturing at the nondescript carriage. There was another carriage behind it, four men standing outside of it. They bowed in greeting as Alizhi approached.
“I will be riding with you in this carriage. Would you prefer for your guard to join us, or for him to ride with the other guards?” Alizhi asked.
“He’ll join them,” Hu Qing said. Ke Yongqian nodded and went over to the other carriage. Hu Qing turned towards Alizhi with a smile.
“Then I’ll be in your care.”
“Of course,” Alizhi replied. The two of them got into the carriage, and the driver pulled off. The carriages picked up speed as they went, and soon disappeared from sight with only plumes of dust in their wake to prove they’d been there.
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Cultural Notes
太傅/Teacher of the Crown Prince: A high-status title in Ancient China. While it usually did not have much political power, the future career of the teacher was ensured once their student became Emperor. Teachers often became highly-valued advisors or trusted high officials in court.
外戚干政/Imperial In-laws interfering with politics: This often happened in Ancient China, where one particular clan among the Emperor's in-laws, usually that of the Empress or a particularly adored Consort, gains a large amount of power, often to the detriment of the country. The more power the in-laws have in court, the more of a threat they pose to the internal regulation mechanisms of the court, and often prove a drain on the treasury as well. Note that this term can also be used to refer to the Emperor's maternal clan, which has also proved to be very troublesome to the court and the Emperor's throne when they grow too powerful. The most famous example is that of the 吕氏/Lü clan, the in-laws of the first Emperor of the Han Dynasty. After the Emperor's death, Empress Dowager Lü seized control over court for many years. After her death, her clan was exterminated by the court.
太后摄政/Empress Dowager as regent: This often happened when the Emperor was still a child at the time of coronation. There are many examples of Empress Dowagers who did very well, keeping the country running smoothly and all that, but this can also prove a major threat to the Emperor's power for when he does want to rule on his own. In some cases, particularly domineering Empress Dowagers may continue serving as regents/come to serve as regents even though the Emperor is an adult.
天下改姓/Surname of the country [will] change: An Ancient Chinese saying that means the dynasty will be supplanted or that the Emperor will no longer really be in charge.
国之蛀虫/Parasites of the nation: An Ancient Chinese proverb referring to corrupt nobles/officials.
莲出淤泥而不染/Lotus blossoms emerge from mud but are unstained by its filth: A quote from the Song Dynasty prose 爱莲说/On [my] Love for Lotuses. Though this is technically from after the Tang Dynasty, lotus flowers have long been known for being beautiful and having a clean radiance to them despite their roots being buried in the mud of the ponds they grow in. Many scholars use lotus blossoms' cleanliness as a metaphor for someone who emerges from a chaotic/murky environment with a pure heart/intentions/morality.
Little Ice Age: A period of regional cooling that results in lower crop yields and colder winters.
太原/Taiyuan: A commandery in Tang-dynasty China. An important city in modern-day Shanxi province.
Tiele people: A loose federation/alliance of about 9 to 12 tribes in Northern China, including the Uyghur tribe. Many of them submitted to Tang Dynasty China, headed by the Uyghur, and their chieftains received titles of 都督/Tutun/Commander/Military Governor or 刺史/Prefect.
Khitan people: A proto-Mongolian people that lived in Northern and North of China, were often caught between the Turks and Tang Dynasty China.
Luoyang: Capital of the Wu Dynasty. In the Tang Dynasty, the actual capital was Chang'an, though Luoyang was known as the Eastern Capital.
安北都护府/North Pacification Fort: A loosely-controlled administrative region in which the steppe tribes resided. Similar to autonomous regions in modern-day China, though the Fort would have played various roles depending on political necessity.
Commander/都督: A pretty high-up military title in Ancient China, a form of military governorship. It is similar to the Tutun system in the Turkic Khaganates, perhaps unsurprisingly so, since the etymology of Tutun is believed to derive from the term 都督/Dudu (yes that's how it's pronounced don't ask me). One of the most famous 都督s in Chinese history is Zhou Yu from the Wu Kingdom during the Three Kingdoms Era.