Character Index
Wu Zhihuan: The scapegoat for the murders of the First and Second Princes.
Liang Hongfei/Hu Qing: Lord of the Liang clan, vice-censor, recently assigned to the oversight committee to be sent north.
Xiang Daozong/Qu Boyong: Lord of the Xiang clan, maternal nephew of the Emperor via his older half-sister.
Jing Shuyou/Chujiao: Cousin of Xiang Daozong, recently engaged to Hu Qing in a political marriage.
General Yan: Commander of the reinforcements sent to the Eastern Turkic Khaganate.
Xie Rengui: Hu Qing's servant, a talented farmboy who happens to share a personal name with IRL general Xue Rengui.
Lord Qu: A retired veteran who was commissioned as the Oversight Censor for General Yan.
Zhou Xianchun: The Seventh Prince.
Consort Chen: Mother of the Seventh Prince, was of low birth but became a consort after receiving the Emperor's favor.
Liang Shen: Former Minister of Justice and Lord of the Liang clan, Hu Qing's older half-brother.
Sir Zhang: An eunuch who is sided with Xianchun.
Jun Shao: Minister of Personnel, Xianchun's supporter.
Zhou Kuang: The Third Prince, husband of Cao Shuyi from the illustrious Cao clan. Son of the Royal Consort.
Zhou Yunqi: The Fifth Prince.
Lin Yaoguang: The Grand Duke's money launderer, allied with the conspirators.
Wei Guang: The Imperial Edict Bearer and Minister of the Office of Censor. Kayla's godfather and the teacher of the Emperor, Imperial Princess, and the Archdukes (aka prev gen of princes).
Archduke Qi: Half-brother of the Emperor, he managed to avoid ruin after the death of the previous Emperor but eventually fell from favor after his student (the Sixth Prince) died in an unexpected riding accident.
Archduke Wei: Full brother of Archduke Qi, half-brother of the Emperor. His daughter Chengxia was sent to the Khaganate to marry one of Chuluo Khagan's sons as part of the marriage alliance.
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Like the sudden calm that descends after a storm has thundered past, the capital sank into a brief lull of quiet after the arrest of Wu Zhihuan and his clan members. The lack of immediate executions cast a false sense of peace over the city. Even the events that did take place were greeted with the placidity of a day with pale clouds and soft winds.
The engagement between Lord Liang and the cousin of Lord Xiang, and the subsequent departure of a delegation to General Yan’s troops went by quietly, with scarce a splash in the waters of the capital. The delegation was to move quickly and discreetly, and were not to raise their flags or use the Imperial seal until after they’d crossed the border.
Amongst them were several younger officials who were deemed to have potential as future candidates for key positions, selected without regard to their backgrounds. Even Xie Rengui, a household attendant of Lord Liang, had been cleared for the journey.
They were sent off in the early hours of the morning, with Duke Zhao and the Minister of Rites personally sending them out of the city, riding along with the delegation thirty miles down the road. Though quietly given, they were granted the full honors due to a group that set off with no return date in sight.
The delegation stopped as they reached the end of the ten miles to bid goodbye. It was a popular route for leaving the capital, and was lined with willows for as long as groundwater was sufficient. Duke Zhao got off of his horse and went to a tree by the roadside, breaking off willow branches for the members of the delegation. He presented one to Lord Qu with both hands, with the proper deference of a junior to his elder.
“My lord, you have taken upon yourself a duty that cannot be fulfilled by a lesser man. This is not an easy journey, nor an easy task. Please take this willow branch as a token of the well wishes of those in your homeland,” Duke Zhao said.
Lord Qu took it with a nostalgic look on his face.
“I do not whip the horse forward but double back to take a willow branch,” he quoted softly. He swept his gaze over the trees at the roadside. “Some of these trees were planted by men in my father’s generation as they parted from their friends and family, and some of them were planted by men in my grandfather’s time. Thus we say that the forebears plant the trees, the ones who come after enjoy its shade.”
Lord Qu turned to the younger men in his delegation, several of them looking at their willow branches with befuddled wonder.
“You youngsters will be leaving your country for an undetermined period of time. For some of you, this will be the first time you leave the capital region, much less the country itself. This is a duty and an honor that has been consigned to you by the benevolence of the Emperor and the court, and one to which you shall dedicate your lives until seeing it through. By the time you return to this city, objects will remain, but people will have come and gone. But never forget the sentiments tying you to this land, the well wishes of those bidding you goodbye,” he said.
Lord Qu lifted the branch in his hands. “Since ancient times, the willow branches gifted at times of parting have signified those very sentiments. Like those before you, you will plant these branches along our route, and they will welcome you upon your return.”
The younger men nodded, a little awed by the veteran’s words without fully comprehending their weight.
“I wish you a safe and successful journey,” Duke Zhao said, his words heavy with sincerity.
The final goodbyes were exchanged, and the delegation got back onto their horses. Liang Hongfei hung behind for a moment. He bowed deeply towards the Duke and the Minister, exchanging a wordless nod with Duke Zhao before he turned and joined his colleagues.
The Duke and the Minister watched on until the delegation was out of sight.
“Shall we head back then, Your Grace?” Duke Zhao asked.
The Minister nodded. “Of course, Your Excellency.”
“I took the liberty of having my men prepare a carriage,” Duke Zhao said, gesturing as a carriage pulled in from a side road.
“How considerate of you, my lord,” the Minister said with a pleased smile.
“I hope it’s not too presumptuous,” Duke Zhao said modestly.
“Not at all, my back and leg have been a great source of distress to me for a long time now,” the Minister said. “Since Your Excellency has gone to the trouble, then I’ll be obedient rather than refusing out of politeness.”
The Duke laughed in agreement, waving aside his attendants to personally help the Minister into the carriage. The group set off towards the capital, traveling along the road lined with willows.
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Whatever noise might have sprung up about the delegation after their quiet departure had been stifled. Not by means of coercion or even discretion, but rather by the sordid rumors that swept through the capital like wildfire.
The Seventh Prince’s core supporters gathered in his sitting room, worriedly arguing amongst themselves. Only the two who had been with Xianchun since the start sat aside, brows tightly furrowed.
“The rumors are just that–rumors. They’ll die down by themselves,” one official said.
“Well, with this level of detail, it’s incredibly believable,” another official pointed out. “However, that also means that it’ll fall without needing us to attack them–the more details involved, the more can be questioned and disproved.”
“But the problem is that salacious stories always spread fastest and are met with the most enthusiasm,” his colleague pointed out. “I’m worried that the more we try to outline the truth the darker the prince’s image will become.”
“We can’t just leave them be either, the rumors are enormously damaging to the Prince’s position,” one of the officials muttered.
“What rumors?” Xianchun asked as he entered the room.
He was met with aghast silence.
“Your Highness hasn’t heard?” One of the officials finally asked.
The prince paused for a moment as though remembering something before his eyes narrowed dangerously.
“No, I haven’t had the chance to be briefed yet. So I ask again now, what rumors?”
There was the briefest of awkward pauses in which officials tried to shove the unlucky task off to their peers via the darting of eyes and pointed looks, but Liang Shen was the one who stepped forward into the fray to put an end to the ridiculous scene.
“Forgive us, my prince, but I’m sorry to tell you that some shameless wretches in the capital have been speaking ill of your honorable mother, Her Ladyship the late Consort Chen,” Liang Shen said.
Xianchun’s face stiffened.
“And what are they saying?” He demanded in a low voice.
Liang Shen shook his head in an aggrieved manner.
“Falsehoods and slander, my prince, falsehoods and slander. They accuse Consort Chen of using base charms to seduce the Emperor in order to rise from a lowly serving maid to the status of consort, and claim that–”
“Bastards! Who dares to say such a thing?!” Xianchun snarled.
Liang Shen paused slightly before continuing. “Faithless men who lack both decency and loyalty. For in saying so, they not only reflect the crassness of their own hearts in questioning the virtue of your mother, but additionally cast lowly aspersions upon the judgment of His Majesty the Emperor. Those who commit wrongs will bring upon their own end in a short time, my prince. I urge you not to act rashly.”
“So the officials are saying it too?! They’re subjects of the court—How dare they slander the Imperial Family?!” Xianchun’s voice rose.
Liang Shen lowered his gaze.
“It seems that the rumors contained a great deal of detail about the structure of the Inner Palace, so many people believed it as insider information rather than as mere gossip,” one of the officials said tentatively.
“Detail?” Xianchun’s voice was dangerously low. The official drew back, but Xianchun had sank his claws in.
“Tell me,” the prince ordered.
“Well, um, of course I don’t believe them myself and denounce the spread of such words, but um–”
“Get on with it!”
“They-they say that Consort Chen seduced an eunuch by the name of Sir Zhang into directing the Emperor’s route to pass by the laundry division despite rarely ever doing so. She then, supposedly, of course, splashed water upon herself and stripped to her inner robes when she knew the Emperor would pass by. They claim that she purposefully soaked her undergarments so that they were almost see-through, and allured the Emperor into taking rash action right in the laundry room, which was how she became pregnant with–agh!”
The official jumped back with a startled cry as Xianchun upturned the table with an angry roar.
“Who dares to slander my mother in such a way?!” Xianchun shouted. He swept his gaze across the room.
“Take down their names,” Xianchun seethed. “I won’t forgive this!”
“Your Highness, please calm yourself,” Liang Shen pleaded. “Don’t let the words of unworthy men cause you distress!”
“Indeed, I’d be happy to take down the names for you, but rumors like these spread like wildfire,” Jun Shao interjected. Liang Shen stepped back to let the Minister of Personnel speak his turn.
“The source of the rumors is the problem here,” Jun Shao went on. “Someone is attempting to degrade Your Highness by attacking your birth mother, someone who has enough inside knowledge of the palace to spin these lies based on the actual events in such a convincing matter. That is who we should be focusing on, my prince.”
A dark look crossed over Xianchun’s face like the onset of a thunderstorm.
Liang Shen keenly sensed the flash of lightning before it hit, hastily stepping towards him.
“My prince–”
“So this is how Third Brother wants to play it?!”
Liang Shen froze before drawing back.
“My prince, we don’t know that yet,” Liang Shen objected, his voice wavering at the look on Xianchun’s face.
“You would claim that he did not?”
Xianchun’s voice was dangerously cold.
“He’s taking revenge,” Xianchun said. “Generous as tries to act, he’s the most vindictive out of all of us! He’s taking revenge on me for what happened with the Shu clan and with the Gongsun woman who married First Brother!”
“But would he go this far?” Jun Shao muttered to himself, loud enough for Xianchun to hear.
“Who benefits most from this?!” Xianchun snarled. “Now, all my hard work and accomplishments will pale in the face of my birth mother’s lowly origins! Everyone will remember that he is the son of the Royal Consort, and I the son of a laundry washer!”
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“My prince!” Jun Shao protested.
“In terms of di status, in terms of age, he has an advantage over me in both,” Xianchun said. “Back when First and Second Brother were alive, he couldn’t capitalize on either, but now he’s slandering my mother in order to rally the Confucian scholars of the nation to his own cause! And not to mention that his in-laws are the Cao clan, the clan of scholars whose students are as plentiful as plum and peach trees across the country!”
Liang Shen and Jun Shao glanced at each other anxiously. Neither could argue with the Prince’s line of logic, for who else benefited more than the Third Prince did?
But that didn’t mean it was the Third Prince’s doing.
Before they could protest, Xianchun had swept out of the room.
“Where are you going, my prince?” Liang Shen asked in alarm.
There was no response save for the sound of the prince storming down the corridor.
“My prince! Please don’t act rashly!” Jun Shao shouted, running after him with Liang Shen in tow.
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Kuang let out a scoff as his secretary finished the report.
“So now Xianchun’s supporters are going around saying that I’m behind this?” Kuang said incredulously. “Goodness, my youngest brother certainly has a good imagination.”
“It seems that Minister Jun and Sir Liang tried to quash the rumors, but the Seventh Prince is currently at odds with them over this matter, so their influence over the others was insufficient to stop them,” the secretary reported.
“The rumors are exceedingly ugly. It’s unfortunate, but it’s understandable if our brother loses his reason over it,” Yunqi interjected from where he sat adjacent to the desk.
Kuang shook his head in exasperation.
“So he thinks I did this? Well, of course he would. He's always had more sentiment than reason. Forget it. On purpose or not, he’s succeeded in dragging me into the murky water as well. Whether it’s a prince whose mother is rumored to lack virtue or a prince who spreads such rumors, neither looks good,” Kuang said in dissatisfaction.
“You could have Lord Cao help counter the rumors,” Yunqi suggested. “It would certainly exemplify your image, especially after Xianchun went as far as to accuse you before officials of the court.”
“Indeed,” Kuang murmured. “But I won’t accept having my good intentions twisted to seem like the act of a guilty man who fears being caught.”
He turned to the secretary.
“Let Xianchun–and the rest of the court–know this. I denounce the spread of the rumors that insult the virtue of the late Consort Chen and that which insults the dignity of my father, His Majesty the Emperor. However, Xianchun’s accusations against me are baseless and unwarranted. I can understand his feelings and I laud the depth of his filial piety and love for his mother, but blaming me with neither a proper lead nor evidence truly is not a wise decision. I have never acted in a manner that debases my dignity or honor, and certainly would not stoop to such a thing. Rather, between the two of us, he is the one with a record of slandering his family members,” Kuang said.
“Brother, isn’t that a bit too harsh?” Yunqi interjected. “Especially that last line–”
“It’s true, isn’t it?” Kuang asked. “Think of how he persecuted you. It’s time to remind not just him, but the rest of the court. This is the last stretch, Yunqi. I am already going to the extent of kindness and loyalty by helping him, but I refuse to be punished for it. If he wants to bring upon his own humiliation, I won’t try to stop him.”
Yunqi made to protest, but couldn’t find a good argument against it.
He uneasily lowered his gaze, a strange sense of foreboding pooling in his stomach.
The rumors contained too much knowledge about the workings of the Inner Palace, even naming an eunuch that indeed existed and who was known to side with Xianchun.
Grandmother…no, she sided with Xianchun before, she wouldn’t do this to him now.
Then who? Yunqi frowned, thinking over the list of people who had both the motive and the knowledge. A servant or an eunuch who bore a grudge? A slighted subordinate? A consort seeking to advance her own position as her husband’s health continues to decline?
Or is it not personal, but political?
If that was the case, the implications were far more frightening. An Imperial in-law seeking to maximize his gains, one of the Emperor’s many persecuted siblings, or perhaps even one of Yunqi’s own sisters…if they were the ones involved, then whatever this was, it would go far beyond merely spreading a few rumors.
The problem isn’t whether Third Brother did this, Yunqi thought to himself. For he would never.
The problem is if Third Brother didn’t do this, then who did?
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Kayla scowled down at the communication device. After waiting until past midnight, all she received was a few useless words.
That sly little bastard…
Lin Yaoguang claimed to know nothing, hear nothing, and see nothing that suggested there was anything more to the case beyond Wu Zhihuan’s greed.
Is he just fucking with me here or does he really know nothing?
The former was impossible. The slimy old snake was under magical oath to Kayla, unless he managed to nullify his contract.
Ah, shit, that’s not impossible either. The country held strict control over nullification mages and the talismans they produced, but Kayla herself was a prime example that there were always fish who slipped through the net.
Either way, Lin Yaoguang had outlived his usefulness. She had no reason to continue subjecting herself to the measly controls he thought would work on her.
Think again, fucker.
With a surge of savage vindictiveness, Kayla closed her eyes, focusing on the magical energy embedded into her heart. She didn’t hesitate. The spell, almost as if taking on a life of its own, frantically burrowed deeper as Kayla reached out to nullify it. After a sharp pang in her chest, the spell disappeared as if it had never existed in the first place.
That’s right. Thanks to the Imperial Princess, no matter how intricate the spell, it all crumbles away into dust.
With grim joy, Kayla patted off her robes and leaned back in her seat, sighing in relief. Niggling doubts began to crawl up on her as she relaxed.
Was I too hasty?
She quashed the doubts offhandedly. It took a certain level of proximity to sense the nullification of a spell, a proximity that neither Lin Yaoguang nor his mage had. As far as she knew, the same applied to magical oaths as well.
Exhaustion weighing down her eyelids, Kayla made her way over to the couch and sprawled onto it, quickly falling asleep.
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Wei Guang pensively stared out the window of his study. Deep into a spring night that carried warm notes of summer on its gentle winds, only himself and a few yawning doormen were awake throughout the entire household.
It was not that he didn’t wish to sleep, but that he simply couldn’t. Insomnia aside, there was too much that needed to be planned for.
The succession battle had entered its final stages, and the outcome was more or less clear. Xianchun may have support amongst the dissatisfied and the more radical ranks of young men and scholars, but Kuang had an indomitable presence amidst the most well-recognized scholars of the country thanks to his father-in-law.
And many of those scholars have achieved local-level positions by now, Wei Guang thought with satisfaction. In terms of legitimacy, ability, support from the literati, and support from the military, Kuang was the obvious victor.
He was only holding back in order to accommodate the Emperor’s mood before, but now there is no one else who can be pulled forth to contest him. And once he lets loose, that much will become clear to everyone.
As much as the tragedy had affected the Third Prince, it was undeniable that the deaths of his older brothers had benefited him the most. And yet Kuang had skillfully navigated the fallout, emerging as a pious and loyal brother rather than projecting the distasteful image of a greedy opportunist.
The question was now of what came after Kuang became Crown Prince. For the major political powers at court, the Emperor’s best options were to balance them out through favoring the weaker factions in order to check the powers of the stronger ones. So when it came to suppressing the influence of the clans and the court, rulers historically relied on their own kinsmen while building up additional support from poor scholars and minority ethnic groups. After all, no matter how ambitious one’s kinsmen were, they at least shared in the glory and ruin of the ruling house.
But the current ruling clan had been persecuted far too much to make for reliable allies. The Archdukes who hadn’t had their spirits broken were too full of resentment. If Kuang turned to them for political support, it was hard to say whether they would simply end up turning on him instead in a frenzy to unleash their pent-up grievances. Of the current generation, the Empress Dowager had made it so that there were no male offspring of the Zhou surname other than the Imperial Princes, and of those, only three remained. Xianchun had become too much of a threat and aggravation to leave in the political arena, if he was even allowed to live.
Which only left three men–Yunqi, Wenyuan, and Xiang Daozong.
And Wenyuan has bound Xiang Daozong to himself, Wei Guang thought with a touch of exasperation.
So in truth, there were only two kinsmen Kuang could actually rely on without turning to the old temptation of becoming overly dependent on one’s in-laws or maternal clan, a choice that rarely led to a good outcome. Of those two, Wenyuan’s reliability depended on the relationship between the Wu and the Khaganate. The marriage which was normally a great boon to the young Duke would become a threat the second there was war. And Yunqi, while having both lineage and ability, was held back by the Shu clan. Having once been persecuted, they would surely expect to be heavily compensated for their troubles. A reasonable expectation on the level of a clan, but a dangerous expectation for a newly instated Crown Prince or freshly enthroned Emperor.
Suppressing them would inevitably damage the Fifth Prince’s position, but going along with their wishes would place too much military power in people who bore resentment against the dynasty for past grievances.
Wei Guang thumbed through the pages cluttering his desk.
The Cao clan of Kuang’s in-laws, the Jin clan of Kuang's maternal relatives, the Shu clan, the Zhao clan, the Xiang clan, the Tiele tribes, all of them would rise in status as they assisted in the new Emperor’s rise to power, and then become forces that needed to be kept in check. An endless cycle that pushed forward the heavy wheel of history.
With a rush of sentiment, Wei Guang thought back to the days when he had been the teacher of the Emperor and the Imperial Princess, along with the other Archdukes. He had genuinely been hopeful then, that the generation of princes could work together to support the Emperor and establish a new golden age. But between the previous Emperor’s questionable decisions in the last years of his reign, the rising power of Imperial in-laws, and the Grand Duke’s growing hegemony at court, all of that had scattered to the wind.
So many talents had been buried, including the kind and capable Archduke Qi and his sharp-tempered younger brother. Wei Guang could easily list the names of Archdukes who had been beaten into submission or pushed to their deaths, but he struggled to list a single student who had found a happy fate. And now, he who was older than all of them, would likely outlive those who still survived.
Even the Emperor, Wei Guang thought with a tug of pain.
But there was a new generation to think of, and a country that had to find its path to survival regardless of the cost.
Wei Guang set down the papers in his hand and stared out the window to the deep-blue expanse of night sky beyond.
One day we will all be dust, he thought to himself. But until then, we still have our duties to fulfill.
With a sigh, he turned his attention back to the endless scrolls that filled his nights.
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Cultural Notes
云淡风轻/Pale clouds and soft winds: An Ancient Chinese proverb referring to a state of placidity, calm, etc.
物是人非/Objects remain but people do not [have come and gone]: An Ancient Chinese proverb lamenting impermanence of human relationships. Note that you do not have to die for this to refer to you, it can also mean that you moved away, you're no longer close with someone you used to be close with, etc.
上马不捉鞭, 反折杨柳枝/I do not whip the horse forward but double back to take a willow branch: A famous line from a poem of the Han Dynasty describing the poignant feelings that a man experiences as he parts from his loved ones. In Ancient China, there was a custom of gifting willow branches to people when you say goodbye to them, often when sending them off to another place, and the branch would often be planted along the roadside as they go. The willow signified the tender feelings and well-wishes of those bidding goodbye, and symbolizes the attachments one has to a person and a place. The earliest usage could be found in the Book of Poems, a pre-Qin collection of folk songs and court poems, in the line "昔我往矣，杨柳依依。今我來思，雨雪霏霏/Then when I left, the willows were fresh and green. Now upon my return, the rain and snow fall before me in sheets." Back then, both transportation and communication technologies were lacking, and circumstances were often uncertain, so every parting on the eve of a long journey may very well be one's last glimpse of someone for a very very long time.
前人栽树后人乘凉/The forebears plant the trees, the ones who come after enjoy its shade: An Ancient Chinese proverb.
目送/Seeing off until no longer visible: Literally, to see someone off, it was custom to wait until the person you're saying goodbye to you has gone out of sight to then take your leave. Again, due to the lacking transportation and communication measures of the time, there was often genuine sentiment behind the act.
恭敬不如从命/I'll be obedient rather than respectful: A Chinese saying that means to accept someone's goodwill rather than going through the motions of ritual refusal etiquette (aka: "oh no I couldn't possibly, no no no, thank you but I couldn't trouble you, oh you insist? Ok thanks" or any variation thereupon). I've heard some people call ritual refusal a stupid custom, but it should be noted that this originated from the sentiment of not wanting to take advantage of someone's goodwill. Often, someone who genuinely offers you help might actually do so at some cost to themselves, and giving them an option to express their goodwill and willingness to help while also leaving a way for them to reconsider and back out is a way of showing consideration from both sides.
多行不义必自毙/Those who commit wrongs will bring upon their own end: An Ancient Chinese proverb from pre-Qin times, it originates from the story of a ruler whose mother hated him while greatly favoring his younger brother. Even after he ascended the throne, his mother continued to shamelessly seek privileges for her younger son. Fed up with her and his younger brother, the ruler allowed his younger brother to increasingly transgress upon the existing hierarchy until the younger brother rose in rebellion, upon which he finally had an excuse to destroy the younger brother.
嫡庶/Dishu system of inheritance: Refers to the differentiation between the di sons, or sons of the legitimate wife, and the shu sons, or sons of the concubine. Di sons had precedence in terms of inheritance.
论嫡论长/In terms of di status, in terms of age: Under a Confucian ruling structure, the primary guiding principle for the line of succession was stability, and as such, there was the practice of 有嫡立嫡无嫡立长/If there is a di son, appoint the di son. If there is not a di son, appoint the eldest son. Now that the First and Second Prince are dead, Kuang has the advantage as the oldest surviving son and the one whose mother has the highest rank (Royal Consort is among the highest ranks one can achieve in the harem, short of Empress).
不攻自破/Fall without needing to be attacked: An Ancient Chinese proverb.
越描越黑/The more we outline it the darker it becomes: A Chinese saying meaning that you make yourself look worse by trying to explain, like repeatedly outlining a shape in ink and staining it all the darker with the shaky lines and overlapping ink.
桃李满天下/Plums and peaches across the country: A Chinese saying referring to a teacher who has taught a great deal of students, especially if the students are now in different occupations all across the map. It essentially compares the teacher to a gardener of knowledge and talent.
无凭无据/Without basis without evidence: An Ancient Chinese saying.
拖入浑水/Drag into murky waters: An Ancient Chinese proverb.
仁至义尽/Going to the extent of kindness and loyalty: An Ancient Chinese proverb meaning that "I've already gone as far as can be reasonably expected in terms of leniency and generosity."
自取其辱/Bringing upon one's own humiliation: An Ancient Chinese proverb.
漏网之鱼/A fish that slipped through the net: An Ancient Chinese proverb.