Chapter 253: Returning to Normal Life

Lady Luo’s residence was also damaged to some extent after the Turgesh occupied Suiye. A few months ago, the Han-Tang Association returned to Suiye and repaired many houses, including Lady Luo’s residence. Although the house was restored, most of the servants and maids did not return. Out of fear of the Turkic people, they preferred not to go back to Suiye. Lady Luo simply released them all and only took a few personal maids and old servants with her back to Suiye. The large mansion became empty, with only eight people living there—two maids and three old servants.

When Lady Luo returned to her residence, her adopted daughter Ning Qingyi came out to greet her. “Mother, I thought you were out! I was looking everywhere for you!”

Ning Qingyi was about twenty-four or twenty-five years old, beautiful and dignified in appearance. From her demeanor, she seemed like a lady from a wealthy family. She had fled to Suiye last year when the Abbasid forces advanced eastward. According to her, her family were wealthy merchants from Ningyuan Country who met tragic ends due to the invasion by the Abbasids; only she managed to escape. There were obvious flaws in her story—how could there be Han Chinese merchants in Ningyuan Country? Others might not know, but how could the Han-Tang Association be unaware? Yet, in times of war, everyone suffered misfortunes. Lady Luo didn’t ask further and decided to take her in temporarily. Unexpectedly, her son Li Deng fell in love with Ning Qingyi at first sight and obeyed her in everything. Whenever she suggested he study more, he would devote himself to reading night after night with great diligence, much to Lady Luo’s surprise. Her son, who was usually impossible to control, was now under Ning Qingyi’s influence. Although her background was unclear, Lady Luo, eager for her son to succeed, decided to keep her and adopted her as her daughter.

Lady Luo took off her coat and handed it to her, smiling. “Today, my father went to visit the Anxi Military Governor and took me along. I hope to find some work for Deng there.”

“Has Lord Li returned?”

“Don’t you know?” Lady Luo was surprised by her ignorance and laughed. “There are Sogdian merchants everywhere—apparently, he brought them here. He’s coming to our residence to visit us in a few days!”

“What!” Ning Qingyi was shocked. Her coat slipped to the ground, and she quickly picked it up, trying to hide her embarrassment with a smile. “I didn’t sleep well last night. I’m so dizzy that I can’t even hold my clothes properly.”

Madam Luo glanced at her, a hint of suspicion arising in her heart. How could she have heard that Li Qing’an was acting so improperly in the mansion? Could it be that Li Qing’an knew her? Though suspicious, Madam Luo said nothing and instead changed the subject with a smile, “Where is Dong’er? Isn’t he at home?”
“Mother, I’m here.”
Li Dong quickly walked in from the courtyard. Compared to his listless state last year, he had changed greatly—his steps were light, his spirit high, and his complexion much healthier. Seeing her son’s progress, Madam Luo felt greatly relieved. She glanced at Ning Qingyi again, and the suspicion from earlier vanished instantly, replaced by gratitude. It was because of her entering the mansion that her son was no longer as reckless and indulged in women, allowing his health to improve day by day.
But Madam Luo knew there was another important reason for her son’s change: the people of the Han-Tang Association no longer doted on him. To be precise, they no longer sought him out. With Li Qing’an around, they no longer needed Dong’er, which indirectly removed his opportunity to live a carefree life outside.
“Dong’er, did you study today?”
“I did. Today, Qingyun asked me to read The Doctrine of the Mean. I just finished reading and came out for a walk.”
Li Dong walked over to Ning Qingyi, looking at her with a smile, as if to say, “Why did you leave me behind and run away alone?”
Ning Qingyi blushed and bowed to Madam Luo, saying, “Mother, then I’ll go back to my room first.”
Without even looking at Li Dong, she turned and hurried toward the inner courtyard. Madam Luo watched her go with a smile, then glanced at her son, who was eager to follow her, and said, “Dong’er, Mother wants to talk to you.”
“Mother, let’s talk about it tonight!”
Li Dong was anxious, wanting to find Ning Qingyi at all costs. Seeing her son’s impatience, Madam Luo felt displeased and pointed to the seating area, saying, “Sit down!”
Although many customs of the Suiye Han people had become more barbaric, the Li family in Suiye still retained the traditions of the mainland. Instead of using tables and chairs, they still sat in a kneeling position. With no choice, Li Dong sat down.
“Dong’er, have your grandparents come to see you these past few days?”
“They haven’t come to see me in a long time. I went to see Chang Jin yesterday. He said everyone is busy rebuilding their homes, so they don’t have time to visit me. I thought they had given up on the Hidden Dragon Association!”
Madam Luo was surprised and quickly asked, “You went to see Chang Jin yesterday? How come I didn’t know?”

Li Dang waved his hand nonchalantly and said, “What’s there to be so surprised about? Am I not the young master of the Hidden Dragon Society? It’s my duty to contact them. It’s strange that they haven’t come to see me in so long. Tomorrow I’ll go ask Li Huichun what on earth they’re thinking.”

Madam Luo remained silent for a long time, pondering whether to tell him about Li Qing’an’s situation. Logically, she should inform her son since he was already an adult. But reason told her that this matter must not be disclosed—her son was inherently extreme, and if he acted impulsively, he might do something foolish that would harm everyone.

With this in mind, Madam Luo kept the truth buried deep in her heart. She smiled and changed the subject. “Dang, it seems you really like Qingyi, right?”

Li Dang perked up immediately. He hurriedly said, “I was just about to discuss this with Mother. I want to marry Qingyi. Please help me, Mother.”

“But Qingyi is already twenty-four years old. Isn’t it unusual for a woman her age to still be unmarried? It’s obvious she’s been married before. Don’t you care?”

Originally, Madam Luo would never approve of her son marrying a widow, especially one with an unclear background. Yet the change this woman brought to her son was evident—he had not only given up his dissolute habits but also started to study diligently. This gave Madam Luo, who had always feared her son would repeat his father’s tragic fate, some hope. On one hand, she hoped Qingyi would stay to take care of her son; on the other hand, she didn’t want him to marry her. She was filled with conflict.

Seeing his mother’s hesitation, Li Dang urged, “I don’t care if she’s been married before. I truly want to marry her. Please help us, Mother.”

“Well…”

Madam Luo pondered for a moment before saying, “If you really want to marry Qingyi, it’s okay. But will she agree to marry you?”

His mother’s last words struck at Li Dang’s core concern. Indeed! The key issue was that Qingyi had refused him repeatedly, leaving him deeply frustrated. Li Dang sighed and lowered his head helplessly.

Seeing her son’s disheartened expression, Madam Luo smiled slightly and said, “How about this? I’ll go talk to Qingyi first. You go study. I’ll tell you what happens tonight.”

“Mother, I want to go with you.”

“What would you do there?” Madam Luo laughed. “Some things can only be discussed between women. If you go, it might make things worse. Go study hard. I’ll bring you good news.”

Madam Luo stood up and headed toward the inner chambers.

In the room, Ning Qingyi sat dumbly by the window, gazing at the blue sky outside, her eyes filled with melancholy. How could she not understand Li Dang’s feelings for her? Yet she didn’t really want to accept those feelings. Having experienced so much hardship, how could she possibly like Li Dang, who was as childlike as a child?

“What’s wrong? Are you preoccupied?” Lady Luo stepped behind her and gently stroked her hair.

“Mother!” Ning Qingyi quickly stood up. “I’m not preoccupied at all.”

“Come, sit down and talk.”

Lady Luo pulled her to sit and smiled softly. “Just now, Dang told me he hopes our relationship can go further. That’s why I wanted to talk to you. What’s your attitude?”

Ning Qingyi lowered her head. Although she didn’t like Li Dang, Lady Luo had been incredibly kind to her—taking her in when she was at her lowest, bringing her to Beiting, and caring for her with utmost devotion, giving her a motherly warmth she had never experienced before. As an illegitimate child, her birth mother had died when she was very young, and her father ignored his children, leaving her to grow up in loneliness. For this reason, she was even more grateful to Lady Luo.

Now that Lady Luo wanted her to be her daughter-in-law, she was filled with inner conflict. But she also knew she couldn’t keep delaying any longer.

“Mother, I want to leave Suiye.”

Lady Luo was stunned. She suddenly remembered Ning Qingyi’s strange behavior when she first entered the house. Unable to suppress her doubts any longer, she took Ning Qingyi’s hand and asked, “Since you call me mother, you must tell me the truth. What’s going on? You seem to be very wary of that Li Qing’an. Why? As long as you explain clearly, I’ll let you go.”

Ning Qingyi could no longer hide her secret. She whispered, “Because he will recognize me.”

Lady Luo was even more astonished. She tightly grasped Ning Qingyi’s hand and urged, “You must tell me what’s really going on!”

“Mother, actually, my surname isn’t Ning. I only changed it to Ning when I was in Ningyuan Country. Qingyi is just my childhood name. My surname is Li—Li Suyun. I’m also part of the Tang royal family.”

“Li Suyun?” Lady Luo repeated it softly twice. Suddenly, she realized, “Could it be that you are…”

Ning Qingyi nodded and sighed. “That’s right. I’m the Princess He Yi who was sent to Ningyuan Country as a political marriage.”

Lady Luo stood up in shock. She was about to kneel when Ning Qingyi held her back. “Mother, please don’t do that. Princess He Yi is dead. I am now Ning Qingyi, your adopted daughter.”

“Qingyi, what are you doing?”

A hint of sadness flashed in Ning Qingyi’s eyes. After a long while, she spoke in a low voice, “Everyone only sees the dignity of the Tang Dynasty’s princesses sent as brides, but who knows the tragic fate they endure? I married into the Kingdom of Ningyuan, far away from my homeland and family. I couldn’t speak their language or adapt to their customs. King Ashilanda Gan was somewhat kind to me, but his rudeness was something outsiders couldn’t understand—only I knew it. Although the attack by the Arabs destroyed my family and country and killed my husband, for me, it also marked a new beginning. I was free. I could return to my homeland, which I had longed for day and night, drink the water from my hometown, and eat the food there. Mother, can you understand?”
Madam Luo nodded gently. “I can understand the pain of being far from one’s homeland. But why won’t you reveal your identity? Your husband is dead, so you could return to the Tang Dynasty and your own home openly. Why hide it?”
“Mother, you don’t understand!”
Ning Qingyi hurriedly explained, “The Kingdom of Ningyuan practices Zoroastrianism, and their teachings encourage marriage within the family. That is, once the king dies, I must remarry his son who inherits the throne. If I reveal my identity, the Kingdom of Ningyuan will surely demand me back, and the imperial court, for the sake of overall interests, will inevitably send me back. Only if I die can I escape this fate. Mother, I miss my homeland. Please let me go back!”
With that, Ning Qingyi knelt down. Madam Luo remained silent for a long time. Suddenly, an idea crossed her mind—why hadn’t she taken Tang Er and left Suiye?
Yes! Li Qing’an had taken over as the heir to the Hidden Dragon Prince. His identity as a descendant of the Hidden Crown Prince was crucial to his life. If Tang Er acted recklessly and caused trouble, would he spare him? Throughout history, how many brothers have fought each other over power? Moreover, they weren’t even brothers, and she also knew his secret. Would he spare her just because she called him mother?
It was then that Madam Luo suddenly realized something and was stunned.
“Mother, what’s wrong?”
Filled with fear, Madam Luo grabbed Ning Qingyi’s hand and said, “Qingyi, let’s go. We’ll leave together. We can’t stay in Suiye any longer.”
Now it was Ning Qingyi who was confused. She asked in surprise, “Mother, why do we have to leave?”
Madam Luo tried to calm her anxiety. She didn’t dare tell the truth, so she made up an excuse, “I want to return to the Central Plains to find a renowned teacher to teach Tang Er. There’s no future here for him. Tang Er has been intelligent since childhood. If he studies hard, he might even achieve success in the exams. For his future, we should go back to the Central Plains.”

“But will he be willing to go?”
“As long as you ask him to return, he will surely obey you.”
Madam Luo made up her mind. She still had plenty of gold, silver, and valuables. As long as they managed their household frugally, they should be able to live well in the Central Plains. She wanted her son to have a peaceful life.
That night, two carriages silently left Suiye City in the snowy night, heading toward Beiting. Madam Luo left a letter for her father, Luo Pingfang, before leaving Suiye City with her son and Ning Qing.
…
Inside the Tang army’s main tent, Li Qingan placed two dragon-and-phoenix jade pendants side by side on the table, silently gazing at these beautiful, green, and smooth jade pieces. These pendants were actually left to him by Li Jiancheng’s descendants. Thinking of Li Jiancheng, Li Qingan couldn’t help but recall the Xuanwu Gate Incident. As the saying goes, the victor becomes a lord, while the loser becomes a bandit. Li Jiancheng lost his kingdom and thus his reputation as a man who valued talent and was capable and astute. From then on, his image became one of debauchery, lust, and incompetence.
Who would have thought that a hundred years later, he, Li Qingan, would become a descendant of Li Jiancheng? Could he truly achieve what the Princely Heir had failed to accomplish a century ago?
With his hands behind his back, Li Qingan slowly walked to the tent entrance, looking up at the stars in the night sky. Perhaps among those stars lay the path back home. He had thought many times: if heaven gave him a chance to return, if a portal to another time opened before him, would he really take that step? He didn’t know either. It was now the end of the tenth year of Tianbao era. He had been in the Tang Dynasty for almost six years and had long integrated into this era. If he really returned, would he be Li Qingan from the Tang Dynasty who traveled to a later era?
Li Qingan couldn’t help but smile bitterly. This troublesome question didn’t need to be considered at all. He could never return to the past. He belonged to the Tang Dynasty for the rest of his life. He would marry, have children, and have his own descendants. This responsibility meant he had no choice.
Yes! Responsibility—not only toward his family but also toward the Tang Dynasty and its people. Could he prevent the An Lushan Rebellion? Could he make the Tang flag fly over Central Asia? Could he completely resolve the threat from the steppes and prevent the Han people from facing extinction?
Tomorrow, he would begin a new life and face the most severe challenges of his existence. Could Li Qingan be the one to laugh in the end? Looking at the brilliant stars and the vast universe, his emotions surged. At that moment, he felt incredibly small.

The ancestral hall of the Hidden Dragon Society is located in the backyard of the Han-Tang Society’s headquarters. It is also the most mysterious and heavily guarded area of the Han-Tang Society. To the outside world, it houses statues of the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors, representing the spiritual foundation of the Han-Tang Society. Yet among these statues lies a headless sculpture, hidden like a shadow between them, symbolizing its hidden identity. Only the twenty-odd members of the Hidden Dragon Society know the true identity of this headless figure.

Before the Great Devourers captured Suiye last year, the Han-Tang Society took away all the statues and spirit tablets from the ancestral hall. A few months ago, they were reinstalled there. According to rules established a hundred years ago, the Hidden Dragon Society holds rituals at the ancestral hall on February 15th and early June 4th. February 15th is the day when Empress Chang gave birth to the later generations, while early June 4th marks the Xuanwu Gate Incident.

But today is November 8th. The Hidden Dragon Society held a special ritual in honor of Li Qing’an. Early in the morning, the descendants of the eighteen generals filled every corner of the Han-Tang Society’s headquarters. Yet only twenty people were inside the ancestral hall—except for four who were too far away in Chang’an and Yangzhou to make it back, all the other members of the Hidden Dragon Society were present. Dressed in brocade robes and tall hats, they stood solemnly on either side of the hall.

Li Qing’an was also neatly dressed, wearing a purple shirt under a white robe, a sash of nine jade pieces around his waist, and a three-beam crown on his head. Not far in front of him stood the headless statue of Crown Prince Jiancheng, with a spirit tablet placed in front of it. The tablet simply read “The Seat of Crown Prince Jiancheng.” Nearby were several other spirit tablets representing Li Jiancheng’s descendants over the past hundred years.

At the host Li Huichun’s command, “Kneel!” Li Qing’an lit three incense sticks, placed them in the incense burner, and slowly knelt down.

“Kneel once in reverence to our ancestors!”

Li Qing’an bowed once.

……

“Kneel twice in reverence to our ancestors!”

Li Qing’an bowed again.

……

“Kneel three times in reverence to our ancestors!”

Li Qing’an took a deep breath and, guided by Li Huichun, bowed respectfully three times before the spirit tablets.

“Stand up!”

Li Qing’an stood up, silently gazing at the spirit tablets. From today onward, his fate would be tied to this lineage.