Character Index
Wei Guang: The Imperial Edict Bearer and Kayla's godfather.
Housekeeper Li: Formerly Matron Li, Kayla's servant.
Princess Ashina: Princess of the Eastern Turkic Khaganate, Kayla's bride-to-be.
Sun Zhong'e: Kayla's retainer.
Zhao Chao: Kayla's retainer and guard during her journey north.
Tao Qian: Kayla's retainer and guard during her journey north.
Qazar: A young hostage sent by Commander Tumidu of the Uyghur clan, the promised hostage from Princess Mingda.
Yilie: Tabuyir's nephew, a Khitan teenager who was sent to Kayla's household as an assurance of his uncle's goodwill. Basically also a hostage.
Steward Liu: Wei Guang's loyal steward, became Yan'er's godfather at Kayla's request.
Yan'er: A teenage girl with an excellent sense of money and direction. Previously saved Hu Qing from his pursuers.
Zhou Kuang: The Third Prince, a contender for the throne.
Zhou Yunqi: The Fifth Prince, currently unable to participate in politics.
Zhou Xianchun: The Seventh Prince, a contender for the throne. Has currently formed an alliance with the Empress Dowager.
Xiang Daozong/Qu Boyong: Son of General Xiang and the Princess of Chu. Previously sought revenge against the Grand Duke but his plans were inadvertently thrown into disarray by Kayla.
General Xiang: Father of Xiang Daozong, he was executed after being framed by the Grand Duke, in part due to the Emperor's long-standing mistrust towards him.
Princess of Chu: The Emperor's older half-sister, died via suicide by poison when her husband's family was exterminated. She was the child of an unfavored concubine who lost against the Empress Dowager's plots.
Consort Qi: Previously appeared, though unnamed. The young consort who gained the former Emperor's favor in his final years. Her three-year-old son was named the heir on her husband's deathbed, but her joy was short-lived due to Wei Guang's coup. She was forced to commit suicide despite pleading to Zhou Ying (current Emperor) for mercy, and her son died at the Empress Dowager's hands soon after.
Sun Ruhui: Left Secretariat of Justice, Kayla's supporter.
Chen Caichun: Chamberlain of the Court of Judicial Review, Kayla's supporter.
Chuluo: Khagan of the Eastern Turkic Khaganate.
Chujiao/Jing Shuyou: Cousin of Qu Boyong/Xiang Daozong and Wenyuan's childhood sweetheart.
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Kayla left the palace in the early hours of the morning. The Emperor had tasked her with discussing the policy with Wei Guang before putting it to the court.
It’s about time I visited him anyways. Kayla rubbed tiredly at her eyes. Maybe after I get some sleep first.
She sent Wei Guang a request for a meeting that night, and managed to stay awake long enough to get back to her own quarters. Housekeeper Li thoughtfully woke Kayla up before noon and kept her from inadvertently ruining her sleeping schedule even more than she already had.
To her surprise, Wei Guang still had not replied.
“Should I just go?” Kayla muttered. Had the slew of letters gone too far and irked him? Kayla vaguely remembered seeing him in the crowd when the officials had come to greet Ashina, but he had stealthily excused himself from the banquet before she could track him down to talk. She called for Sun Zhong’e, her unease slowly growing.
“Zhong’e, has my godfather shown any displeasure or unusual behavior while I was gone?” Kayla asked.
“Nothing out of the ordinary,” Sun Zhong’e replied. “Why, is there something wrong?”
Well, he’s good at hiding his reactions. Kayla thought back to Wei Guang’s sudden betrayal during her coup against the Grand Duke. She had never seen it coming, despite her long-standing mistrust of the man.
“No, that’s not it,” Kayla murmured. “Well, if he won’t reply, then I’ll just go and pay a visit. What do you say?”
“It may be better to go in the afternoon, if they claim he is not at home, you can come back again in the evening. It’s harder to turn you away twice in a row than just the first time,” Sun Zhong’e suggested.
“Excellent idea. Why don’t you accompany me this time? I gave Zhao Chao and Tao Qian a day off to rest, and I’d feel better if you came with me,” Kayla asked.
“Gladly, my lord. Then I’ll tell the horseman to have the carriage ready for after your lunch,” Sun Zhong’e replied. She bowed and quickly took her leave.
Kayla had her lunch with Qazar and Yilie, hoping to make the two teenagers feel more at home in their new environment. They were as stiff and nervous as they were during the trip to Luoyang. Qazar was painfully meek and froze up every time she tried to bring him into conversation, while Yilie was too high-strung, flushing red to his neck and talking too fast every time she turned towards him.
Can’t be helped, I suppose. It’ll take some time to ease them into the household, Kayla thought resignedly. They were hostages and knew it–until they started regarding her as a sponsor for their education and careers instead of their potential executioner, they wouldn’t be able to sleep easy at night.
Teenagers are adaptable, right? Kayla scrunched her face up at the thought of her own teenage years. Damn. Never mind. Guidance counseling it is, I’m not going to be the one to turn out two traumatized kids with every mental illness under the sun.
Sun Zhong’e was waiting for her at the doorway when she left the Outer Quarters, falling into step behind Kayla as they made their way to the carriage. The woman joined the other guards on horseback, riding before the carriage and keeping a careful eye on their surroundings.
The carriage pulled to a stop before the Wei household, Sun Zhong’e jumping down from her horse.
“My lord, I’ll go announce your arrival first,” Sun Zhong’e said. Kayla leaned out the carriage window slightly.
“Go ahead.”
Sun Zhong’e straightened her robes and headed over to knock on the gates. The carriage waited conspicuously behind her.
Kayla watched as the woman talked with the servant who came to the door, having positioned herself in the gate so that even someone watching from inside could see the carriage and escort party waiting before the door.
She’s good at this. I really need to make better use of her time, Kayla noted.
After a moment, the doorman scurried inside and came back out again, opening the gates fully. Sun Zhong’e returned to the carriage.
“The Imperial Edict Bearer is happy to welcome a visit from you, my lord,” Sun Zhong’e reported as she opened the carriage door and reached out to help Kayla down.
“Excellently done,” Kayla replied. The servants of the Wei household greeted her warmly as she walked into the inner quarters. What they had taken away from Kayla’s harassment campaign of letters was evidently very different from what Wei Guang had–if anything, Kayla sensed that she was being held in higher regard than before.
She stifled a smile of amusement at the thought of Wei Guang pushing aside the letters in exasperation.
“Duke Zhao, my master is waiting for you in his study,” Steward Liu greeted her as he approached.
“Thank you, Steward Liu,” Kayla replied. “Your goddaughter Yan’er has been most helpful to me on this journey–though it may be unreasonable of me to make this request, won’t you allow me to keep her in my household a while longer? The princess has grown attached to her presence, and I’m loath to part them.”
The steward smiled widely, sensing the offer for what it was–a chance to strengthen the ties between them and to create ties with the princess.
“But of course, Your Excellency! Why speak of this request as unreasonable? To serve someone of such royal status is her fortune, and indeed a great honor for myself,” Steward Liu said. “I’m deeply grateful to you for giving her this opportunity.”
“You’re much too kind, Steward Liu. Then I’ll speak more of this matter with you later on,” Kayla said as they reached the study. Steward Liu bowed and took his leave as Kayla knocked on the door.
“Come in,” Wei Guang called. Kayla entered the room, greeting him with a small bow.
“Godfather, it is a great pleasure to see you again,” Kayla said. “Have you been well?”
“As well as can be, thanks to your thoughtfulness and concern,” Wei Guang said, a wry note in his voice as he gestured to a stack of scrolls on a side table. “I was well impressed by your flair for the poetic.”
“Anytime,” Kayla said cheekily. Wei Gaung gave her a flat look before shaking his head in exasperation.
“Never mind that, let’s speak of what you surely wished to discuss–the state of affairs in the capital, correct? I have been so busy as to barely have a moment to spare since you left the capital,” Wei Guang said.
Kayla sat down across from him, giving him a knowing look. “Would it have been better if my return had been delayed by a few days?”
“Quite the opposite. I would have rather you returned earlier,” Wei Guang replied. “The Third Prince has not taken the attacks against the Fifth Prince well. And it worries me that the Seventh Prince seems to be launching them with the Empress Dowager’s approval, or at least her indifference.”
“I’d thought you wished for an escalation of tensions between them. The Third Prince has been making good use of this opportunity, has he not?” Kayla asked.
“Yes, that’s true enough. But this fight is quickly delving from the political into the personal, and with all the ugliness that comes with it,” Wei Guang said heavily. “And the Empress Dowager seems intent on encouraging it to her own benefit.”
“I don’t see how,” Kayla muttered. “This is no different than raising a tiger to become a threat. The potential instability would affect her just as much as the rest of us, wouldn’t it? Why risk losing her reputation in old age?”
“The Emperor has sidelined her out of the policy side with great decisiveness. She has no chance to regain her standing there, but she has the greatest advantage in the personal realm with her claim to the filial piety of every living member of the Imperial family,” Wei Guang explained. “Moreover, Xiang Daozong, who you have entrusted to me, wavers by the day.”
“So the Empress Dowager is intent on raising him as her new pawn?” Kayla demanded.
“To your detriment, certainly,” Wei Guang replied.
“Xiang Daozong surely cannot be so stupid as to throw his lot in with her when the Emperor’s wishes are so clear,” Kayla said in disbelief.
“Like father, like son, he lacks sufficient judgment to withstand political tribulation,” Wei Guang said tiredly. “The late General Xiang eagerly poured in resources to marry the Princess of Chu right before her mother was forced out of favor, and then treated her with disappointed disdain to the detriment of his own image in the eyes of the last Emperor. He was one of those who showered the late Consort Qi with gifts when she was favored by the last Emperor, only to end up on the wrong side after your uncle ended up ascending to the throne.”
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Kayla lowered her eyes subconsciously at the mention of the young concubine whose three-year-old son had very nearly supplanted the current Emperor’s position.
“So Xiang Daozong’s not much better in that regard,” Kayla muttered.
“Certainly not,” Wei Guang replied. “You’ve certainly done well to preemptively destroy a potential rival by forcing him into the political arena. Had he been reinstated at any other time, he could’ve lived out his life as a leisurely noble.”
Kayla frowned slightly.
What’s this, you’re blaming me now? I only reinstated him because you landed me in jail, Kayla thought irritably. She narrowed her eyes at the look on Wei Guang’s face. No, wait, this weirdo’s happy about it–never mind, I don’t even want to know.
“Well, him aside, I have something more important to discuss with you,” Kayla said. “Something happened on my way North, and I’ve developed a plan of action in response. I reported it to my uncle last night, but I would wash my ears out to respectfully await your feedback before moving forward any further.”
Wei Guang nodded for her to go ahead, his face growing somber as she gave him a rundown. The room fell into silence as she finished. The words had rattled out of her effortlessly after repeating it in part or whole so many times, and Kayla was left awkwardly waiting for Wei Guang’s response.
Finally, Wei Guang spoke. “This policy will definitely fail.”
Kayla gave him a look of surprise. “May I ask why you think that?” Even Sun Ruhui and Chen Caichun hadn’t particularly protested the plan, save for its manpower and implementation costs.
“It may serve its intended purpose in another time and place, but you underestimate the power of greed, and overestimate the virtues of man,” Wei Guang said gravely.
“I would gladly hear your feedback,” Kayla said, leaning forward in her seat.
I mean it worked in my world, but that was the 21st century after all.
“You went in the right direction–the existence of an extremist group is excellent material for stirring up vast amounts of discourse, but you forget that to use fear as a weapon, you must not only incite it, but also prevent an avenue to release it. If you wish for this to succeed, you must direct public opinion against the Turks. But that would endanger the tentative peace we have finally achieved. It would be easy for ambitious officials to hone the people’s fear into pro-war sentiments.”
“I thought the pro-war faction had been greatly reduced in my grandfather’s time,” Kayla said. The Grand Duke was more interested in gathering money domestically than letting coin and power seep away in a conflict. And with the death of his only son at the border, he had an instinctive distaste for war. Accordingly, men who suggested launching offensives into Khaganate territory in the vein of the campaigns of Emperor Wu in the Han Dynasty were demoted or deposed almost without exception.
“As long as war can bring money and fame, there will always be someone who supports it, no matter how few,” Wei Guang replied. “But you fail to see what’s in plain sight–even without anyone who zealously advocates for war, we will be forced to arms regardless.”
There was a sinking feeling in Kayla’s stomach at Wei Guang’s conviction.
He’s completely serious. What is it? What am I missing here?
She took a deep breath. “How so?”
Wei Guang searched Kayla’s face for a long moment, before letting out a weary sigh.
“You underestimate the banality of evil. You’ve seen the callousness of the elites for whom lives are only numbers, and in the Ministry of Justice, you’ve surely seen no small amount of criminality from the lower echelons of society as well. But those were from people who commit violence out of desperation, frustration, or moments of irrational anger. What you overlook in your worldview is the most insidious type of man, the one who has something to his name, but not enough to call himself well established,” he said.
Kayla frowned. What are we talking about? The smaller clans?
“I speak of the smaller clans instead of the dominant ones,” Wei Guang said.
Well there we have it.
“But not just them. There is a class of households who occupied a comfortable position of mild, but stable prosperity,” Wei Guang went on.
So like the middle class?
“I understand,” Kayla said.
“As the prominent clans grow stronger, the more impoverished households there are–that strata who landed in-between are squeezed until they’re dry. A few, by cunning or by luck, become wealthy or powerful enough to count among the elites. But the vast majority tumble into ruin,” Wei Guang said. “Once a dynasty begins to see this happen en masse, it is on a steady road of decline. But that brings me now to my current point. It is just as the ancient greats have said, one does not fear poverty but inequality, not sparseness of wealth but instability. The more dire their situation, the more desperate the smaller clans are to hold onto what they have.”
Wei Guang fixed her with a hard look.
“For them, the abject horror of poverty is close enough to witness but far enough that they care more to preserve their own fortunes than to worry about others. These are the men who can overlook the consequences of his actions if it can advance his interests or preserve his current holdings, the man who would bite like a beast at the slightest encroachment, at smaller and smaller trespasses until he feels justified at killing a starving man over a stolen chicken.”
Kayla’s mouth went dry.
Shit. I think I know where this is going.
“And if they have a chance where they have a great deal to gain, they’d be keen to get it,” Kayla murmured.
“Precisely. And what do you think will happen between the announcement of this incident and the establishment of the communication infrastructure?”
“You mean they’d target Turkish residents?” Kayla asked.
“They’d have the excuse to. Most of it will happen in the form of a moral panic, of course, they wouldn’t fancy themselves as bandits. But the smaller clans, the mildly prosperous households, they’re the ones most likely to force out their Turkish neighbors and loot their homes, to attack hapless merchants in mobs and steal their goods, all while believing themselves righteous. It would only take the smallest prompting from major clans and elite officials to set off such a reaction,” Wei Guang said. “Tensions would only escalate from there. The consequences, of course, would be disastrous. Now, you and your supporters were born into a society where the presence of different ethnic groups were taken for granted, where even the presence of foreign temples have become normalized, so it stands that you would not think of this. But old resentments haven't disappeared, they've just been buried out of sight. It won't take much to unearth them again, Wenyuan. You must understand that.”
Fuck. Kayla rubbed a hand down her face, trying and failing to control her expression.
“Is there no way to avoid that? There’s so many Turkic residents and merchants in the country, it’d be a calamity if violence broke out. And that doesn’t even begin touching on how it would affect other foreign merchants. I wouldn’t be surprised if trade tanked completely!” Kayla said.
“I doubt you can control how your rhetoric is leveraged by others,” Wei Guang said firmly. “As long as you choose to follow this route, then there is no guaranteed method to prevent an outbreak of violence.”
“Then what? Do I just pretend nothing happened? Even if I can accept that, I don’t think my uncle can. The Khagan acted way out of line with this,” Kayla protested.
“Of course that wouldn’t do. It would be a waste of an excellent opportunity,” Wei Guang replied. “You do need to implement this policy, but you can’t allow the spearhead to be pointed at the Khaganate.”
“Then what?” Kayla asked.
“Blame it on one of our clans. Tell me, which one do you wish to destroy the most?” Wei Guang asked.
Kayla stared at him for a moment. “You mean to frame a clan? That’d be grounds enough for exterminating the household!”
Wei Guang stared back impassively. “We would’ve come to this point eventually. If you are so inclined towards mercy, then you can certainly spare the clan at the cost of their assets. But I find it hard to believe you would balk at this when the policy you proposed would’ve resulted in such widespread bloodshed.”
“That’s not–I just didn’t realize there would be such unintended consequences. It was never my intention to stir up ethnic violence or anything of the sort, I’d hoped to balance out the news through other venues,” Kayla protested.
“This is the best option we have at the moment–know that I will never give my support for anything else,” Wei Guang warned her.
“Then what about the bodies? Once we exhume the evidence, it’ll be clear they’re not Han,” Kayla pointed out.
“Hired hands from across the border. We’d still have an excuse for increasing security and surveillance at the border while pointing the blade where we want it to go,” Wei Guang replied.
She considered it for a moment.
I don’t know. That's a little…but he’s right that I have every means of framing a clan. And this is politics, not child’s play. We need to use everything at our disposal if we want to get shit done within such a short time-frame.
She could make her peace with it.
“Which clan do you recommend? No, perhaps it’d be better to ask, which clan does the Third Prince recommend?” Kayla asked.
“The Wang clan of Taiyuan,” Wei Guang said without hesitation. “Please feel free to confirm it with him as well.”
“So you want me to falsify evidence? But what about the rest?” Kayla asked.
“The rest can just follow your original plan, save for the involvement of the Khaganate,” Wei Guang replied. “You can still employ the reporting measures too, but try and see if you can’t target the minor clans for this purpose–let them fatten themselves off the larger clans, and we’ll shoot down the tiger after it’s eaten the wolf. Though I suppose in this case, it’s more like setting hungry dogs after a tiger than the other way around.”
“Fatten them up before the slaughter, huh? But it might backfire–we might just end up in the same position, just with different actors,” Kayla pointed out. “And they might not fall for it in the first place.”
“So long as you do not allow a few clans to obtain all the benefits, then all that would happen would be increasing the prosperity of a great many minor clans to a small extent,” Wei Guang replied. “And the minor clans will certainly jump in with great enthusiasm. They have the self-interest and resources to see it through, and won’t be easily bought off like a desperate man who’s already on the brink. You’ll have no shortage of reports from them, Wenyuan.”
Kayla quietly considered it for a moment. “Then I’ll discuss this with the Third Prince and present it to my uncle again. I am deeply grateful for your advice, godfather.”
Wei Guang nodded.
“If you have a way to keep the Turkish delegation and the Inner Palace from catching wind of this in the meantime, I beg you to take action swiftly,” Wei Guang warned.
Xianchun won’t stay ignorant for long either.
The gears in Kayla’s mind span at top speed, stopping on Chujiaos’ request for a meeting. Kayla gave Wei Guang a grim smile. “As one would have it, I actually do have a plan to keep them occupied. But it won’t be very pretty. I’ll be relying on you to have my back.”
Wei Guang’s face pulled into a wan grin. “As you have made clear enough,” he said, waving at the stack of Kayla’s letters.
“Thank you. There was something else I wished to ask your advice on,” Kayla said. Wei Guang nodded for her to go ahead.
“I recall that you previously said I was capable of nullifying magic throughout the entire palace, if not the entire capital,” Kayla went on.
“You are indeed, though that should be reserved for emergencies,” Wei Guang quickly replied, a warning tone in his voice.
“I’m not so sure about that, godfather. When I was in Daizhou, I felt strain at nullifying even a mile’s radius. It was mild, but hardly something I can overlook. The palace grounds are huge, not to mention the capital. Are you certain there’s no mistake? If it really becomes necessary to take extreme action, we can’t afford for any discrepancies,” Kayla said.
Wei Guang was still for a moment before his face pulled into a frown. “I can assure you that there is no mistake. Here, nullify this.”
Kayla obediently nullified the talisman Wei Guang handed to her.
“Your abilities are the same as always,” Wei Guang muttered. “Why would–It is very strange, very strange indeed…Did you have any occasion to use your abilities otherwise?”
“No,” Kayla replied.
“Next time you are in the North, try using your abilities again,” Wei Guang ordered. He evaluated Kayla carefully. “How do you feel now?”
“The same as always,” Kayla replied. “But it is strange–I’ve never had this problem inside the capital before.”
The older man glanced over her with a befuddled look as though the answer might emerge by itself. Wei Guang suddenly breathed in sharply.
“What is it?” Kayla asked.
“No, nothing. I’ll need to look into this,” Wei Guang replied.
Yeah right, you’ve obviously thought of something. But Kayla sensed that she could get no more out of him at the moment.
“Then I’ll thank you in advance for taking the trouble,” Kayla said.
“Of course,” Wei Guang murmured, a dark shadow clouding his eyes. “Of course.”
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Cultural Notes
晚节不保/Lose virtue in old age: An Ancient Chinese proverb and insult meaning to ruin your good reputation with unwise behavior or lack of virtue in your old years. An example might be a man who has always been praised for his upright conduct in both his work life and family life decides, at the age of 89, to divorce his wife of many years and marry a 17 year old girl. Or, someone who has always been lauded as an expert and brilliant academic is caught plagiarizing his undergraduate student's paper right before he retires.
养虎为患/Raise a tiger to become a threat: An Ancient Chinese proverb meaning to raise/mentor/sponsor someone, often with the intent of using their talents against a rival or to a specific purpose, only to have them become a threat.
洗耳恭听/Wash my ears and listen respectfully: An Ancient Chinese proverb used to convey the extent of one's respect for another person's words.
愿闻其详/Wish to hear the details: An Ancient Chinese way of asking for someone to elaborate. It translates the same as more modern sayings, but is a more archaic and formal way of speaking.
不患寡而患不均, 不患贫而患不安/One does not fear poverty but inequality, one does not fear sparseness of wealth but instability: A pre-Qin Ancient Chinese quote from Meng Tzi, one of the sages of Confucianism. The poverty here can also be understood as referring to a poverty of population in a small pre-Qin kingdom, but nowadays both halves of the saying are primarily used to refer to financial status.
驱虎吞狼/Chasing the tiger to [have it] devour the wolf: An Ancient Chinese proverb meaning to use one power/faction/group to destroy another.
代州/Daizhou: An Ancient Chinese province, located in the Northeast area of modern-day Shanxi province.
太原王氏/Wang clan of Taiyuan: One of the most prominent clans in the Tang dynasty, they were based in the city of Taiyuan and its surrounding areas (one of the cities Kayla passed through on her way north).