Chapter 209: A Visit in the Moonlight

In the secret chamber of the Prince Qing’s palace, Yang Guozhong was drinking celebration wine with Prince Qing, Li Cong. The events of the past few days had filled them with great pride.
Yang Guozhong said cheerfully, “Your Highness, rest assured. The deposal of the Crown Prince is now a certainty. This afternoon, the Emperor summoned me to the imperial study. Guess what happened? Haha! He appointed me Minister of the Ministry of Personnel and even uncovered all of Li Linfu’s secrets.”
“Then I congratulate Minister Yang. Here! Let me toast to you.”
The two clinked their cups and drank them in one gulp. Li Cong then said, “Minister Yang, I wonder if Li Qingan can get rid of him in prison. I truly hate that man.”
“Your Highness, we must not act against him now.”
“Why?”
Yang Guozhong sighed and said, “I don’t know if it was an oversight by the Emperor or intentional, but Li Qingan has lost almost all his positions. Yet he still holds the role of Censor-in-Chief. I guess the Emperor is still undecided about him.”
Li Cong could do nothing but say resentfully, “As long as he’s not dead, I won’t be able to let this go.”
“Your Highness, how could I not hate him? But we must avoid creating extra problems now. We should wait until the Crown Prince is completely deposed before taking action. Otherwise, if the Emperor discovers it, I’m afraid we might lose more than we gain!”
“Brilliant! Truly brilliant!” Li Cong gave a thumbs up in praise. “Minister Yang truly has the breadth of mind of a prime minister, able to endure what others cannot. I admire you greatly. Here! Let me toast to you again. When I take over the Eastern Palace in the future, I hope you’ll give me your full support.”
“Of course! Of course!” Yang Guozhong drank the wine in one gulp and smiled with narrowed eyes. “But although we can’t kill Li Qingan openly, it’s not impossible to let him die unnoticed.”
……
The next day, the political situation in the court remained tense. The Censorate issued three impeachment notices in a row. Ma Zhili, the deputy head of the Ministry of Rites, was dismissed after being accused of having a mistress in a separate residence. Wei Huan, the governor of Shanzhou, was dismissed and sent to the capital for investigation for allegedly embezzling funds while serving as governor of Yizhou. Xu Yunsheng, the governor of Qingzhou, was removed from office and imprisoned for seizing civilian land.
This meant that the purge of the Crown Prince’s supporters was advancing further, causing widespread anxiety among everyone in the court.

Early in the morning, Du Gu Mingyue, accompanied by two family members and carrying a basket, went to the Dali Temple prison. Located within the Dali Temple in the imperial city, it was generally used to detain criminal officials and their relatives, while ordinary people were imprisoned in the Jingzhao prison. During the Wu Zhou dynasty, the Dali Temple was expanded several times, gradually becoming a large-scale central prison. Although the official decree naming Du Gu Mingyue as Princess Mingyue had not yet been issued, she was still the eldest daughter of the Du Gu family, of noble status, and the niece of Pei Min, the deputy head of the Dali Temple. The prison warden did not dare to neglect her and quickly reported her arrival to Pei Min, who was inspecting the prison.

Pei Min was the son of the former prime minister Pei Yaoqing and the nephew of Pei Kuan. He had a good reputation. Upon hearing that Mingyue wanted to visit him, he felt somewhat conflicted. Although she was his niece, it was not appropriate for him to agree casually.

The Dali Temple did not prohibit visits, but they were usually limited to immediate family members, such as wives visiting husbands or sons visiting fathers. Although everyone in Chang’an knew the relationship between Du Gu Mingyue and Li Qingan, it seemed inappropriate for her to visit under her current status. In fact, with Pei Min’s authority, he could grant her special permission to visit, but given the tense situation and Li Qingan’s special status, he did not dare to make a decision on his own.

At that moment, the prison warden whispered, “Deputy Head Pei, Li Qingan hasn’t had a drop of water since he was captured the day before last. If anything happens to him, we won’t be able to explain ourselves.”

Pei Min was surprised. “Why haven’t you given him food or water?”

“We have given it to him, but he refuses to eat or drink it.”

Pei Min thought for a moment and suddenly understood. Li Qingan was afraid that someone might tamper with his food, so he refused to eat the prison food. He asked calmly, “Has anything unusual happened these past two nights?”

The prison warden glanced around, then whispered in his ear, “Last night, it was Warden Luo on duty. I heard that Lord Ji came by at the first watch last night, stayed for a while, and whispered something to Warden Luo. I don’t know the details.”

Pei Min lowered his head and thought for a while before saying, “Very well! Only allow her to enter alone, but not for too long.”

A moment later, guided by Warden Niu, Du Gu Mingyue entered the Dali Temple prison. The special cells where Li Qingan and Lu Huan were detained were underground, built of large bluestone blocks. There were eight such dungeons, each guarded by layered doors with extremely strict security. Due to Mingyue’s special status, no one dared to search her. With Pei Min’s special permission, the prison guards allowed her in.

“Clang!” The lock opened, and a thick iron chain was removed. A large, dark iron door swung open. Mingyue stepped down, and with a loud thud, the door closed behind her. It was dark around her, with a dark, bottomless stone path leading deep underground.

“Miss, please follow me!”
A jailer led Mingyue down a dim and damp passage. The stone walls on both sides were covered with smooth moss. Every dozen steps or so, there was an oil lamp on the wall, its light flickering like a bean sprout, casting intermittent shadows on the walls and creating an eerily gloomy atmosphere. Mingyue carried a basket and leaned on the wall as she slowly descended. Suddenly, she felt something crawling on the wall and recoiled in fright. She seemed to hear a faint scurrying sound nearby and felt as if something was crawling past her feet, filling her with terror. Soon, they reached the bottom of the stone cell, where another thick iron door blocked the way. The jailer knocked hard on the door. A small window opened, and under a sliver of light appeared a grotesque face—a one-eyed old jailer covered in scars. His voice was hoarse and deep. “What is it?”
The jailer handed over a copper plate and said, “A visit!”
He then turned to Mingyue and said, “Miss, Pei Shaoqing has given special instructions. We dare not search you. Please hurry so we won’t be in trouble.”
Mingyue nodded. Moments later, the iron door opened with a grating creak, and a foul, musty smell hit her. She shuddered. After hesitating for a moment, she stepped into this underground cell that resembled hell.
After walking a dozen steps, the one-eyed old jailer tapped on the iron bars, which were as thick as wrists, with a clanging sound.
“Number 35, you have a visitor.”
Mingyue could no longer contain her excitement. She rushed forward, grabbed the bars, and called out in a trembling voice, “Li Qing’an!”
The cell was dark and damp, with empty walls except for an old wooden bed. On the bed lay a pile of tattered bedding. A man lay listlessly on the bed. Hearing Mingyue’s call, he sat up abruptly. The dim light illuminated his face—it was Li Qing’an, who had been captured in Xianyang.
“It’s you!”
Overjoyed, he rushed to the bars and grabbed Mingyue’s hand. “How did you get here?”
Seeing his disheveled hair, dirty face, and only a white shirt on his body, Mingyue’s heart ached, and tears streamed from her eyes.
“It’s okay! It’s okay!” Li Qing’an comforted her by patting her hand. “They dare not touch me. I’m still the Grand Censor! Besides, I have three hundred bodyguards outside. Who would dare touch me? Unless they want to die.”
Noticing the basket Mingyue was carrying, he smiled and said, “But did you bring me food?”

“Mm!” Mingyue quickly lifted the cloth covering the basket. Inside was a meal box, along with a bottle of wine. The jailer opened the window for delivering food, and Mingyue handed in the meal box and wine.
“This is food I prepared myself. Try it.”
“Hehe! Thank you. I’m really starving.”
Li Qing’an took the meal box and asked, “Have they checked it?”
“I said I was bringing wine and food, so they didn’t check. They just lifted the cloth to take a look and didn’t touch anything.”
“That’s good!”
Li Qing’an downed the wine in one gulp, then picked up his chopsticks and started eating voraciously. He said with a muffled laugh, “Great! This is the most delicious food I’ve ever eaten.”
Seeing how hungry he was, Mingyue felt sorry for him and said, “I’ll bring you more food tonight.”
“Great! Bring me a roasted chicken and two bottles of wine. That way, unless they kill me, they won’t have another chance, haha!”
Mingyue was very worried. Seeing that the jailer had left, she asked, “Is there anything you need me to do?”
“Not for now!”
At that moment, Li Qing’an glanced at her and said with a smile, “That Göktürk prince who wanted to marry you was killed by my arrow. Are you happy?”
Mingyue nodded and said softly, “Mingzhu has already told me.”
Her face turned slightly red. Suddenly remembering something, she quickly said, “Mingzhu…”
As soon as she said those words, she saw Li Qing’an waving at her and immediately realized what he meant.
Li Qing’an nodded in approval. At that moment, someone outside the cell door called, “That’s enough! The visit is over.”
“Got it!”
Li Qing’an finished his last bite of food, then handed out the bowls, chopsticks, and meal box. He took out a piece of jade and said with a smile, “This is something left by my ancestors. Now I’m giving it to you. Here, let me put it on you.”
Mingyue’s eyes shone with excitement. She slowly approached the bars, looked up at him eagerly, hands clasped over her chest, as if waiting for the happiest moment of her life. Li Qing’an smiled, watching her uplifted face like a bright and dazzling flower. He placed the jade around her gracefully slender neck. They looked at each other without saying a word; their eyes had already conveyed all their feelings.
At that moment, the jailer outside called anxiously, “Miss, hurry up! If you don’t leave now, you’ll be late.”
“I’m leaving. I’ll come see you again tonight.”
Mingyue picked up the basket and glanced back at Li Qing’an reluctantly. Li Qing’an waved at her with a smile. Her face turned red as she followed the old jailer out.

Stepping out of the narrow, dark stone passage, Mingyue was suddenly illuminated by the bright moonlight, with a fresh breeze blowing in her face. She turned back to look at the dark corridor—the heavy iron doors were closing with a rumbling sound. She felt as though she had returned from the netherworld to the mortal world.

At that moment, a group of soldiers came running from afar. She quickly stepped aside. An official approached and shouted loudly, “By order of the Ministry of Punishments and the Censorate, I am here to interrogate Li Qing’an!”

“Miss, let’s go!” her family whispered to her.

Mingyue sighed and got into the carriage. She immediately examined carefully the love token Li Qing’an had given her—a piece of smooth, delicate jade. When the sunlight shone on it, the jade became crystal clear. Filled with joy, she said to the coachman, “Alright, let’s go!”

The coachman snapped his whip, and the carriage turned around, quickly leaving the Dali Temple.

……

In Xingqing Palace, an eunuch led Dugu Mingzhu at a brisk pace toward the inner parts of the palace. The Dugu family were imperial relatives, and coupled with Mingzhu’s excellent singing voice, which sounded like heavenly music, she was highly favored by Yang Guifei, who was an expert in music. She often went to the palace to rehearse dances with Yang Guifei.

Mingzhu was worried. She had already been there once yesterday, but Yang Guifei was too busy moving and had no time for her. She was asked to come again today. It had already been a day and a night since Li Qing’an was captured. She and her sister had also stayed up all night discussing ways to rescue him. They thought of asking their father, but he too had been suspended from his duties and was in a very bad mood. After much thought, they could only turn to Yang Guifei for help.

The sisters took separate actions—Mingyue went to visit Li Qing’an in prison, while Mingzhu went to the palace to see Yang Guifei.

“It seems like Miss Mingzhu hasn’t been here for a long time!”

“Mm! A few months now.”

She forced a smile and said, “I haven’t been to the palace for three months. I heard the Empress has composed a new piece and I’d like to try singing it.”

“Oh! The Empress is too busy moving and probably doesn’t have the heart to try new pieces. Please come with me, Miss Mingzhu!”

The two walked along a long corridor and arrived at the Chenxiang Pavilion. From afar, they heard the sound of a zither. It was Yang Guifei using the sound of the zither to bid farewell to her favorite Chenxiang Pavilion.

These past few days, Yang Guifei had been tired. The troubles of moving and various trivial matters kept bothering her. Plus, she had to leave the Xingqing Palace she had gotten used to and return to Daming Palace, which made her in a poor mood.

After playing the last section, she stopped playing the zither and let out a soft sigh, “Sigh!”

At that moment, her personal maid stepped forward and said, “Your Majesty, Miss Mingzhu is here, waiting outside.”

“Let her in.”

After a moment, the maid brought Mingzhu in. Yang Yuhuan also loved Mingzhu’s liveliness and cuteness. Seeing that Mingzhu had lost a lot of weight and looked worried, she smiled and said, “Are you worried about not finding a lover, so you came to ask me for help?”
Mingzhu bowed gracefully and said, “Your Majesty, I have an important matter to ask you for.”
Seeing Mingzhu’s sad expression, Yang Yuhuan stopped joking and asked, “What is it?”
Mingzhu glanced around, and Yang Yuhuan waved her hand, saying, “You all may leave!”
The eunuchs and maids all left, leaving only two of Yang Yuhuan’s personal maids. Mingzhu knelt down and said through tears, “Please save Li Qing’an, Your Majesty! He’s about to be killed by the emperor.”
Yang Yuhuan was stunned and quickly asked, “How come? Didn’t Li Qing’an earn great rewards from the emperor for his contributions in the Suiye Campaign? How could he be killed?”
“Your Majesty, Li Qing’an was indeed captured by the Yulin Army in Xianyang. I was there at the time, and I have a letter he wrote to you.”
With that, Mingzhu took out a rolled-up letter from her hair and handed it over. The maid took it and gave it to Yang Yuhuan, who slowly unrolled it. The letter read, “I have always been loyal to the emperor and to the Tang Dynasty. But because of my involvement with the crown prince, the emperor suspects me, and I’ve become a prisoner at risk of death. I earnestly beg you, out of our past friendship, to intercede for me with the emperor. I will repay your kindness with all my might.”
Yang Yuhuan was shocked. “The emperor wants to kill General Li?”
“Your Majesty, Brother Li is currently imprisoned in the Dali Temple. Even if the emperor doesn’t kill him, he will be killed by his enemies. Saving him is like putting out a fire!”
Mingzhu was so anxious she almost cried. Yang Yuhuan comforted her briefly before standing up and saying, “I’ll go see the emperor right away. General Li is my teacher; how could I stand by and do nothing?”
She turned around and ordered, “Prepare the carriage! I must go to Daming Palace immediately.”
Fifteen minutes later, hundreds of guards escorted Yang Yuhuan’s carriage toward Daming Palace. Mingzhu couldn’t accompany her, so she stayed in Xingqing Palace.
Yang Yuhuan didn’t enter through Danfeng Gate but went through Zuo Yintai Gate into the inner palace, then took a detour via Zichen Hall. Since entering the palace, Yang Yuhuan had never been to Li Longji’s study—this was a gesture showing that she never interfered in state affairs. But today, to save Li Qing’an, she broke her own rule of not going to the study.
Not far from the study, several on-duty eunuchs were chatting when they suddenly saw the empress approaching. They were so frightened that they all knelt down at once. “Your servants pay their respects, Your Majesty!”

Seeing all these eunuchs outside the imperial study, Yang Yuhuan felt puzzled. They should be serving by Sanlang’s side. Noticing that the door to the imperial study was tightly closed, she asked, “Is the Emperor receiving ministers?”
“No… not at all!”
The eunuchs looked nervous and answered hesitantly. Suspicious, Yang Yuhuan pressed further, “Then who is inside? Why are you all outside? Where is Eunuch Gao?”
“Your Majesty, Eunuch Gao was sent back to his residence by the Emperor yesterday.”
At that moment, Yang Yuhuan faintly heard women’s laughter coming from inside the room, which made her even more suspicious. She hurried to the door and was about to knock when she heard a very familiar voice, “Your Majesty, who is more beautiful, me or your wife?”
“Hehe! Of course it’s you. I’m in the imperial study, thinking only of you.”
“Then how about you sleep in the imperial study tonight? I won’t go back either. What do you say?”
Yang Yuhuan’s face turned red instantly. It was her third sister, with whom she had had the closest relationship since childhood, inside the imperial study. She had long suspected a romantic relationship between her third sister and Sanlang and had questioned Sanlang, who swore it was never the case. She never imagined they would be meeting secretly in the imperial study.
With a bang, the door was pushed open. Inside, Yang Huahua was sitting on Li Longji’s lap, her arms wrapped around his neck, flirting with him. The sudden opening of the door startled them both. There, standing at the door with a face full of anger, were Yang Yuhuan, her eyes blazing with fury.
Frightened, Yang Huahua stood up and forced a smile. “Why have you come, fourth sister?”
“I shouldn’t have come. I’m disturbing you. Third sister, you really have betrayed me!”
Li Longji forced a laugh. “My wife, things aren’t as you think. You’ve misunderstood!”
“Misunderstood?”
Tears welled up in Yang Yuhuan’s eyes. “Your Majesty, I heard things I shouldn’t have heard and saw things I shouldn’t have seen. That’s why I misunderstood, right?”
Pointing at Yang Huahua, she gritted her teeth and said, “If this woman weren’t my own sister, I would order her executed on the spot. But I’ve tolerated her everywhere, only to see her harm my own sister. Very well! Go on. I didn’t see anything.”
She turned and walked away. Li Longji punched the table in anger. “This jealous woman!”
Yang Huahua was both panicked and scared. Not wanting to stay any longer, she said, “Your Majesty, then I’ll leave first.”
Seeing no reaction from Li Longji, she slipped away quietly. It took Li Longji a while to recover. He sighed and got up listlessly, saying, “Announce my decree: return to Xingqing Palace!”
……

Li Longji returned to his palace in Xingqing Palace. When he reached the door, he hesitated for a moment before asking the palace maid, “How is the Empress?”
“Your Majesty, the Empress has locked herself in her room and will see no one!”
Li Longji shook his head and entered Yang Guifei’s chamber. There, he saw Yang Guifei sitting on a embroidered stool with her back to the door, staring blankly at the wall.
“I told you not to disturb me.”
“My love, it’s me!”
After a long while, Yang Yuhuan replied coldly, “What are you back for? Aren’t you very busy in the imperial study?”
Li Longji sighed and bent down to coax her, “My love, this time it was my fault. I promise it won’t happen again. Please calm down and stop being jealous.”
“Jealous?” Yang Yuhuan snorted. “How could I be jealous? Jealousy is one of the seven reasons for divorce. Since I can’t bear children, I’ve already violated those rules. You’ve kept me in the palace despite that. If I were jealous, how could I face myself?”
Seeing her being petty, Li Longji had no choice but to bow deeply to her. “My love, I truly admit my mistake. Please stop being angry.”
Yang Yuhuan wasn’t really angry because of jealousy. With forty thousand concubines in his harem, how could she be upset? The real issue was that he had flirted with his third sister in the imperial study. If such a scandal spread, the Yang family’s reputation would be utterly ruined.
She sighed and said, “Your Majesty, I’m not easily jealous. If you truly like my third sister, just take her into the harem. Then I won’t have anything to say, and no one will gossip. But what is her status now? If you engage in affairs of love in the place where you handle state affairs, and if word gets out, it will greatly harm your reputation. That’s what worries me.”
Her sharp words made Li Longji uncomfortable. Annoyed, he said, “I am the emperor, the ruler of the Tang Dynasty. Who dares to speak ill of me?”
“Your Majesty, mouths belong to others, and history will be written by future generations. Can you really stop that?”
Yang Yuhuan simply let go of the topic and poured out all her grievances over the years.

“Your Majesty has treated the Yang family generously out of favor for me, and I am deeply grateful. Yet, I believe it is sufficient to provide them with fine clothes and food, allowing them to enjoy worldly wealth. But Your Majesty has given them too much, causing them to become arrogant and domineering in Chang’an. Everyone in Chang’an grits their teeth when they hear the name of the Yang family. I think this is not kindness toward them but harm. My third sister spent a million strings of coins building a mansion, taking away food and clothing from people everywhere. My eldest sister’s trip to Zhongnan Mountain was met with red silk laid out for five miles by the prefects and county officials. I’ve heard of all these things. Luxury is one thing, but Your Majesty also granted them high positions and power. Yang Xian and Yang Qi have been ignorant since childhood, barely able to read. Yet Your Majesty let them oversee important government departments. As for my cousin Yang Zhao, whom I also know well—a gambler who belongs to the common people—Your Majesty still made him the prime minister of Tang. On the contrary, true brave generals and virtuous people are not tolerated by Your Majesty; they are imprisoned and punished. Your Majesty, this is not the behavior of a wise ruler!”
“Stop talking!”
Li Longji, angered and humiliated, pointed at Yang Yuhuan and scolded, “Just because you are the imperial concubine doesn’t mean you can speak to me arbitrarily. If you annoy me, I’ll banish you to the cold palace just the same.”
Yang Yuhuan knelt down and pleaded, “Your Majesty, I dare not discuss state affairs rashly. But I don’t want the prosperous Tang Dynasty and Your Majesty’s eternal reputation to be ruined because of the Yang family.”
“I’ll say it again—I don’t want your lessons! Do you hear me?” Li Longji roared.
Yang Yuhuan was overwhelmed with sorrow. With tears in her eyes, she said, “I never should have come to Daming Palace in the first place. Please let me return to my hometown, Your Majesty!”
“Very well! Very well!” Li Longji had been irritable these past few days. First, he was angered by Gao Lishi, and now he was pressured by Yang Yuhuan. In his fury, he lost some of his sanity.
“Don’t think that by threatening me with leaving the palace, I’ll fear you. Bring someone here!”
A few eunuchs entered. Li Longji pointed at Yang Yuhuan and ordered, “Send her back to Yang Guozhong’s residence. I don’t want to see her again.”
After saying that, he waved his sleeve and stormed away in anger.
“Issue an order—head to Daming Palace!”