Chapter 474: The General Holding Jade

After sending Li Shi back to the inner palace, eunuchs, maids, and the empress dowager took over—calling in imperial physicians to assess his injuries was their responsibility, and it had nothing to do with An Baoyu anymore.

An Baoyu was 48 years old this year. He was also a general from Longyou, having fought against the Tubo for many years. General Li Sheng had once been under his command, but his relationship with Geshu Han was poor; he was sidelined by Geshu Han and transferred to the capital to serve as a general of the Yulin Army. Since then, An Baoyu had never returned to Longyou, and he longed deeply for that land where his blood had been shed.

He thought he would spend his entire life in the position of general of the Yulin Army, but unexpectedly, an incident at the imperial estate thrust him into the center of political turmoil. Changsun Quanxu, the general of the Yulin Army, was removed from office for his undeniable responsibility in the emperor’s death. With no leader, the Yulin Army was at a loss. As Li Heng was about to ascend the throne, An Baoyu rallied the troops under his command, openly supporting Crown Prince Li Shi. Together with Li Qingan, they formed a coordinated effort that forced Li Heng to abandon his ambitions to become emperor.

As a result, An Baoyu was recommended by Li Qingan and promoted beyond expectations to become the general of the Yulin Army, marking a new chapter in his life.

Today, a Tubo envoy came for an audience. As the general in charge of security, An Baoyu stood by and listened to the entire process. But for some reason, he felt that the envoy did not seem sincere in coming to the Tang Dynasty. It wasn’t so much the amount of information he prepared, but rather the fact that he had traveled thousands of miles from Tubo, said just a few words, and then retreated after being rebutted by Prime Minister Pei Min. Was he not professional enough?

With his years of experience dealing with the Tubo people, he knew their army was highly skilled at ambushes and notoriously unreliable, with a history of misconduct. Doubts arose in An Baoyu’s mind: Could the Tubo be using this envoy to deceive the court? Might they launch an ambush on Longyou?

Just as this thought formed in his mind, Li Qingan approached him at the end of the audience, asking for his help with something. An Baoyu planned to go see Li Qingan right after this to discuss his suspicions. Unexpectedly, at that moment, the tragedy of the emperor being overthrown by the regent occurred.

If it were truly a grandfather’s lesson to his grandson, it wouldn’t be a big deal—after all, Li Shi was still underage. But the words Li Shi spoke upon waking up sent An Baoyu into shock. He had heard some rumors before, but he hadn’t believed them. Yet today, Li Heng’s actions showed such cruelty toward his grandson. Putting everything together, once Emperor Jingzong died, Li Heng became eager to ascend the throne. If he succeeded, he would be the biggest beneficiary.

That slap today finally convinced An Baoyu of Li Shi’s accusations against his grandfather—Emperor Jingzong was most likely killed by Li Heng.

Deep in thought, An Baoyu left the inner palace. His mind was in chaos; he didn’t know where to go. He had originally planned to see Li Qing’an, but even that was forgotten now. He hurriedly headed outside the palace. When he reached the door of the upper pavilion on the left side of Zichen Hall, he suddenly heard someone calling him, “General An!”

An Baoyu turned around and saw a person emerging from behind a pillar not far away—it was Li Fuguo, Li Heng’s trusted eunuch. He stepped forward quickly and bowed to An Baoyu, saying, “General An, His Majesty the Regent is waiting for you!”

There was no room for negotiation. Li Fuguo turned and walked away, signaling that An Baoyu should follow him to see Li Heng. An Baoyu sighed. Of course, he knew why Li Heng wanted to see him—he had seen things he shouldn’t have and heard things he shouldn’t have heard. Despite having nearly ten thousand Yulin soldiers under his command, he still couldn’t stand up to Li Heng. Near fifty years old, years of official work had worn down his edge, making him more inclined to communicate rather than confront. Of course, opposing Li Heng’s ascension was a last resort for him. An Baoyu could only shake his head and reluctantly follow Li Fuguo to the inner hall of Zichen Hall.

Li Fuguo walked with his head held high, almost acting like the master of Zichen Hall. For some reason, An Baoyu suddenly felt a sense of absurdity—what if Li Heng really became emperor? Could Li Fuguo become another Gao Lishi?

In the court chamber, Li Heng stood by the window with his hands behind his back, watching An Baoyu approach. His hands still ached slightly. The latest news he had about Li Shi was that the mother and son were crying together. In Li Heng’s eyes, Li Shi was nothing but a weakling. Without external support, he would have been crushed long ago. Li Heng didn’t care about Li Shi’s vows and oaths; he cared more about An Baoyu. An Baoyu was Li Shi’s strongest shield, and to achieve his goals, that shield had to be broken.

An Baoyu entered the Zichen Hall, while Li Heng returned to his desk. He had just retrieved An Baoyu’s file from his library—results of an investigation sent to Fengxiang a month earlier. It clearly stated that An Baoyu’s ancestral home was in Hexi, and his entire family had moved to Guo County in Fengxiang four years ago. He had an elderly mother and two grandchildren at home. He was extremely filial to his mother and doted on his grandchildren. Seeing this, a knowing smile appeared on Li Heng’s lips—he knew how to deal with this general who was nearly fifty years old.

“Your Highness!” Li Fuguo’s voice came from outside. “General An has arrived.”

“Let him in!”

An Baoyu hurried in, knelt on his left knee, and saluted Li Heng militarily: “I, An Baoyu, General of the Yulin Army, pay my respects to Your Highness, the Regent.”

“General An, please don’t be formal. Sit down!”

A eunuch brought over a low stool. After hesitating for a moment, An Baoyu sat down. Li Heng watched his every move closely. His hesitation in sitting down showed that he wasn’t filled with anger over Li Shi’s matter. No, he was conflicted—wanting to be loyal to Li Shi yet unwilling to offend Li Heng. He wasn’t a straightforward or passionate general; he understood human nature well and was a general who could be persuaded.

Li Heng leaned forward slightly and asked with concern, “General An, how is the Emperor?”

An Baoyu shook his head. “I don’t know. I left as soon as I brought the Emperor back to the inner palace. I think it’s not serious. The Emperor seems quite conscious.”

Li Heng sighed. “I’m also somewhat regretful. If I hadn’t been so angry, how could I have beaten him like that? I remember his father was also disobedient as a child. They said his great-grandfather forced Emperor Ruizong to abdicate, and his elder brother was forced not to ascend the throne. Back then, I also beat him severely, scolding him for not knowing how to respect his elders. But I never expected his grandson to be just like his father—always thinking negatively, interpreting every rumor as truth, ignoring even basic principles of human decency. How can I not be angry? I acted in anger, then regretted it. As a grandfather, I’m truly heartbroken. Sigh! When will he grow up?”

Li Heng sighed deeply and spoke with great emotion. Even An Baoyu, an old general approaching fifty, was moved by his filial feelings. He too had an elderly mother and grandchildren. Li Heng’s anger at his grandson for not striving hard resonated with him, and he immediately comforted him, saying, “Your Highness need not blame yourself. Most youths are most rebellious at the age of twelve or thirteen; they don’t believe kind words but take bad ones seriously. After all, the emperor is still a child. Let his tutor teach him more. Once he grows a few more years older, he will understand reason. My eldest grandson is the same—he’s eight years old and argues with his mother all the time. Sometimes I even get angry when I think about it.”

Unconsciously, An Baoyu’s doubts about Li Heng gradually faded. He simply could not understand how someone could commit the act of killing their own son. Inspired by Li Heng’s self-reproach over his grandson, An Baoyu also began to doubt the truth of those rumors.

“I heard that General An’s mother is still alive. I wonder how old she is?” Li Heng asked further.

“My mother gave birth to me quite late. She will be seventy at the end of this year. I plan to go back to celebrate her birthday then.”

“Seventy years old! General An is truly fortunate to still have a mother to show filial piety to. I, on the other hand, can’t even show filial piety to my own father.”

At that moment, Li Heng took out a two-foot-tall statue of a golden boy and a jade girl offering peaches from a cabinet and handed it to An Baoyu, saying, “This was carved from a fine piece of jade presented by Bohai Kingdom. It was originally meant as a gift for my father. But even in the imperial family, it’s so difficult to show filial piety to one’s elders. Let this statue of the golden boy and jade girl offering peaches be my gift for your mother, to celebrate her seventieth birthday.”

“No! No! No!”

An Baoyu shook his hands in horror. This was a gift for the old emperor—how could he dare to accept it? At that moment, Li Fuguo beside him laughed and said, “General An, just take it! Your Highness never gives gifts lightly. If he gives it, it must be out of sincerity. If General An refuses, how will Your Highness feel?”

Li Heng also said, “This isn’t given to you personally, but as a birthday gift for your mother. I’m too busy with state affairs to go and celebrate her birthday in person. Please accept it! It’s a token of my goodwill.”

An Baoyu was deeply moved. He took the statue and said, “I am infinitely grateful for Your Highness’s kindness.”

Li Heng’s true nature was cruel, a result of his long time as crown prince, which had made him dark-minded. But he was very good at disguising himself. He had pretended for nearly twenty years in history before finally killing Li Longji during his escape and seizing the throne.

Today was no exception. He had already figured out An Baoyu’s weaknesses and seized them, successfully turning the unfavorable situation from the Zichen Hall incident around. By now, An Baoyu fully believed that Li Heng had struck him out of anger at his unwillingness to fight, as if an elder scolding a younger one—a family matter.

An Baoyu bid farewell to Li Heng. After he left, Li Heng exchanged a look with Li Fuguo and wore a smug smile. Then Li Fuguo suggested, “Your Highness, we should also silence those eunuchs and guards present.”

“Mm!” Li Heng nodded. “Leave this task to you. I give you full authority to use any means necessary.”

“Your servant obeys!”

…

After leaving Zichen Hall, An Baoyu rushed to the imperial city. Li Qing’an had a temporary office in the Ministry of Personnel there. But when he arrived, he learned that Li Qing’an had urgent matters and had returned to the military camp, leaving him a letter.

An Baoyu opened the letter and was stunned. Li Qing’an was asking him to obtain the map that the Tubo envoy had shown in the side hall of Zichen Hall that day. The guest house where the Tubo people stayed was under the security of the Yulin Army. Wasn’t asking him to steal the map the same as committing theft on duty? An Baoyu fell into deep thought—how could he get the map?