Chapter 272: King Li Yan of the Ding Clan

The banquet continued, while Li Linfu, Li Qing’an, and Wang Gong remained in the small room having in-depth discussions. Wu Yi, annoyed by the noise in the hall, went outside to the courtyard.
It was early spring—the night sky was clear, the stars shining brightly, and a gentle breeze brought a cool touch. Wu Yi took a breath of the fresh night air. Everything around her seemed so familiar—the rockery in the corner, where she had hidden, trembling, when seventeen-year-old Niang chased after her as a child.
There was also the well beside the rockery; her zither still lay at the bottom of it. Five years ago, eight-year-old Niang, jealous of her musical skills, had stolen her zither and thrown it into the well.
Wu Yi stared blankly at the well, as if transported back to those old days. Suddenly, laughter came from the entrance in the distance—familiar voices. Wu Yi quickly hid behind the rockery again.
Li Linfu’s three daughters—twenty-year-old Niang, twenty-two-year-old Niang, and twenty-three-year-old Niang—entered through the side door. It had been years since they last saw each other, and they were now married, yet they still retained their beautiful appearances and proud attitudes.
“Did you see that woman? She’s so arrogant, acting like she’s someone special!” That was twenty-three-year-old Niang’s voice, laced with bitterness.
Twenty-two-year-old Niang sneered in a mocking tone, “Exactly! She’s just a concubine. She has no right to be Li Qing’an’s wife. She lacks self-respect, daring to sit at the main table. If my husband’s concubine dared do such a thing, I’d have beaten her to death long ago. That woman relies on her looks to bewitch Li Qing’an. To be honest, I really feel sorry for Du Gu Mingyue!”
“How can she compare to us? She’s a widow living outside the mansion—of course she’s meant to be a concubine. Who are we? We’re the daughters of a prime minister. She’s so lowly; calling her that is an insult to us. Enough about her. Let’s go take a look!”
The three women hurried into the courtyard and stood at the entrance, longingly watching the banquet in the small hall. Neither they nor their husbands were allowed to attend. After watching for a while, they left disappointed through another side door.

Wuyi stepped out from behind the rockery, silently turning toward another small gate. Though she had been accustomed to such mockery and insults since childhood, the words of those three women today deeply hurt her. The term “concubine” cut her heart like a knife, causing it to bleed. Mingyue’s tolerance over the past few days had moved her, and she had begun to accept her fate—to become Li Qing’an’s second wife. For that reason, she had dressed up carefully today, putting on the appearance of a married woman. But reality told her that no matter how hard she tried, in others’ eyes she would still remain just a lowly concubine.

Wuyi walked aimlessly. Everything here was so familiar; she didn’t need to navigate. She naturally turned, passed through the gate, walked along the path, and by chance arrived at a door—her former residence, the courtyard where she had lived for over a decade.

The door to the courtyard was locked, secured by a large copper lock that glowed coldly in the dim night light. Rust could be faintly seen on it. Wuyi sighed and was about to turn back when an old woman’s voice came from behind her, “Is that Miss Wuyi?”

“Aunt Wang!” Wuyi recognized the voice.

“It’s me!”

Someone hurried along the side path, carrying a lantern—it was Aunt Wang, who used to handle household affairs. Seeing Wuyi, her eyes lit up with surprise. “It really is you! I thought it was you in the courtyard just now and followed you here.”

“I came to my uncle’s house today as a guest and thought I’d take a look at the old house. Aunt Wang, can I enter the courtyard?”

“Of course!”

Aunt Wang took down a long string of keys from her waist, found one, and opened the door while smiling. “Miss Wuyi, where have you been all these years? You said you were going to Lingnan last time you left, but I heard you went to Anxi. Some say you got married—there are all kinds of rumors.”

“I did get married. I became the second wife of a wealthy family.”

Wuyi smiled, but her smile was tinged with bitterness. “I came here today with my husband as a guest at my uncle’s house.”

Aunt Wang sensed the sadness in Wuyi’s tone. She glanced at her again and saw that she didn’t show the usual joy when talking about her husband. With a quiet sigh, she said, “Miss Wuyi, I’ve watched you grow up since you were little. There’s something I’m not sure if I should say or not.”

“Aunt Wang, go ahead!”

“Miss Wuyi, do you know about the abuse Lady 22 suffered in her husband’s household?”

“Lady 22 was abused in her husband’s household?” Wuyi was stunned.

“You can’t believe it! She’s the daughter of the prime minister—what a grand wedding she had! I heard she was beaten in the face by her husband with a punch just for scolding his concubine. Two of her teeth were knocked out. She refused to admit it, saying she fell while walking, but her maid revealed the truth. Alas! The prime minister’s health is worsening; he no longer takes care of household affairs and isn’t as respected as before. Even his married daughter is now being bullied.”
Wuyi was speechless. She thought of how vicious the 22nd Lady had been when mocking her earlier—turns out it was to vent her anger. She couldn’t help but sigh softly.
Wang Laoni opened the lock, pushed the door open, and handed her the lantern. “Miss, go in! Nothing has been touched since you left.”
“Thank you, Laoni!”
Wuyi entered the courtyard. Then Wang Laoni said from behind, “Miss, let me give you one piece of advice: Marriage is like wearing shoes; only you know if they fit. Since your husband brought you to the prime minister’s residence, it shows he values you. Some people are jealous of you—don’t let them influence you.”
Wuyi nodded silently, pushed open the door. With a creak, the door opened, and a musty smell hit her. She stood at the door for a while before lifting the lantern and entering the room.
In the dim light, the room was still as she had left it: a copper basin by the wall, half a piece of unfinished fabric on the table—fabric she had planned to use to make dresses for herself and Yunu. Scissors were placed nearby. All those memories came vividly to mind, as clear as if they had happened just yesterday. Yet two years had passed, and everything had changed.
Wuyi stared in silence for a long time before sighing softly.
“Why are you sighing?”
A very familiar voice suddenly came from behind her. Wuyi turned abruptly and saw Li Qing’an leaning at the door, smiling at her.
“How did you get here?” Wuyi asked in surprise.
Li Qing’an stepped forward with a smile. “I couldn’t find you, so I guessed you’d be here. Are you feeling emotional?”
Wuyi remained silent. She slowly walked to the window and looked at the crabapple tree she had planted herself—now it had grown lush and strong.
“Li Lang, I heard my uncle’s three daughters talking about me behind my back just now. My heart turned to ice.”
As if understanding her thoughts, Li Qing’an slowly walked over and whispered in her ear, “Wuyi, you shouldn’t feel inferior. You and Mingyue are both my wives—you’re equal. At least in my heart, there’s no difference between you.”
“I know. I know you care for me.”

Wuyi raised her head, tears blurring her vision, and said, “But I don’t want to be looked down upon. Didn’t you hear how viciously they insulted me? It felt like knives piercing my heart.”
“Nobody dares to look down on you!”
Li Qing comforted her, stroking her hair and murmuring to himself, “Don’t underestimate yourself. One day, you’ll be more noble than anyone else. Believe me!”
Wuyi stared blankly at Li Qingan, not understanding the meaning of his words.
……
At the first moment of the hour of Hai, the loud drumbeats began. After eight hundred beats, the city gates and neighborhood gates slowly closed. As the drums sounded, people in the streets rushed to their respective neighborhoods, causing chaos everywhere. In Yongfu Subdistrict, a carriage sped into the gate and stopped in front of a vast mansion. There was a square in front of the mansion, surrounded by high walls, with nearly a hundred guards patrolling at the entrance—clearly the residence of someone of high status. This was Li Yan’s Diwang Mansion. After Li Yan was assassinated, it became the center of turmoil in Chang’an, with extremely strict defenses.
As soon as the carriage stopped, more than a dozen guards rushed over, raising their swords and shouting sternly, “Who goes there?”
“You bunch of idiots! Can’t you even recognize my carriage?” A plump middle-aged man emerged from the carriage, beardless, with a high-pitched voice—clearly an eunuch.
“Oh! It’s Eunuch Zhang.”
The guards quickly sheathed their swords and bowed with forced smiles, saying, “It was dark, so we didn’t realize it was Eunuch Zhang’s carriage. Please forgive us!”
“Hmph! You fools are overreacting. Would a real assassin stop his carriage right at the gate?”
“Yes! Yes! Yes! We were just following procedure; we didn’t dare slack off.”
“I understand. I’m not blaming you. Is the prince out today?”
“Eunuch Zhang, you’re joking. With his arrow wound, how could he possibly go out?”
“I’m asking if he left his room.”
The eunuch glared fiercely at the guards and walked toward the main gate. This eunuch was named Zhang Fengen, Li Yan’s chief attendant. These eunuchs were sent by the Imperial Eunuch Bureau to serve each prince and princess, usually taking care of them since childhood, resulting in deep bonds. But Zhang Fengen was different. The original eunuch who had served Li Yan since childhood was surnamed Luo and had passed away four years ago; Zhang Fengen had taken his place.

Since Li Yan constantly missed the old eunuchs from the past, his relationship with the newcomer Zhang Fengen was never good. The two were often in a state of cold war, with Zhang Fengen frequently speaking ill of Li Yan in his reports to higher authorities, exaggerating minor faults. Over time, this gradually made Li Longji dislike his fourth son, and it was because of this that Li Yan lost points in the struggle for succession.

Zhang Fengen usually didn’t bother to get involved in Li Yan’s affairs, but these past few days, due to the assassination attempt, his direct superior Yu Chaoen specifically instructed him to pay closer attention to Li Yan’s activities. Today, he was called back to the palace again, where Li Longji personally inquired about Li Yan’s health.

Zhang Fengen didn’t sense any concern from the emperor as a father toward his son; instead, he felt the emperor seemed to doubt the true extent of Prince Di’s injuries. He reported the truth—that Prince Di’s injuries weren’t as serious as imagined, and he had even allowed his concubine to stay with him the previous night.

As Zhang Fengen stepped up the steps, he encountered several people coming out—Concubine Sun, surrounded by maids, leaving the mansion.

“The city gates are about to close. Where is Concubine Sun going?” Zhang Fengen asked unhappily. He disliked this Concubine Sun; she acted as if she were favored and had always been rude to him. Her behavior also reflected Prince Di’s disdain for him.

Concubine Sun didn’t even lift her eyelids or bow. With a huff, she passed by him and asked the guards, “Is my carriage ready?”

“Reporting to Lady Sun, it’s ready. I’ll have the carriage brought right away!”

“Lady?” Zhang Fengen was furious. A mere concubine dared to have others address her as “lady”? He grunted loudly and strode into the prince’s mansion.

“I need to see the prince. Take me there quickly!”

Concubine Sun glanced sideways at the damned old eunuch. Just a worthless servant who dared to speak to her in such a tone?

At that moment, a light carriage arrived. Concubine Sun boarded it with her trusted maids and ordered, “Go to Suo Luo Alley!”

The carriage set off in the direction opposite the city gates. After about a hundred steps, a man on horseback emerged from a side alley and followed the carriage at a leisurely pace. After turning south, Suo Luo Alley was located within Yongfu Fang, not far from Prince Di—only about two li away.

The carriage stopped at the entrance to the alley. Concubine Sun got off, and her maids quickly went to a small door and knocked. After a moment, the door opened slightly, and Concubine Sun and her maids slipped inside before the door closed with a creak.

The man on horseback also entered a side alley across the street and hid in the darkness.

…

Although Zhang Fengen and Li Yan had a poor relationship, this time he didn’t wrong Li Yan either. Though Li Yan was injured by an arrow, it wasn’t as serious as expected. Last night, he even summoned Lady Sun and spent a pleasant night with her. At present, Li Yan was sitting in his study, writing a reply to Yang Guozhong. This afternoon, Yang Guozhong sent someone to inform him of what had happened that morning, explaining that Li Qingan’s sudden appearance had disrupted their plan to capture Xing Si, putting them at a disadvantage and forcing them to abandon their original plans.

Li Yan wasn’t interested in Yang Guozhong’s plans to overthrow the emperor; he was only concerned about whether Yang Guozhong would keep his promise to support him in becoming the crown prince. The messenger sent by Yang Guozhong didn’t mention this during the afternoon briefing, leaving Li Yan anxious. His worry hadn’t started that afternoon—it had begun after he was stabbed, when his father the emperor hadn’t come to see him personally, sending only Yu Chaoren to comfort him. If the emperor truly intended to make him the crown prince, he would have been furious at the assassination, ordered a city-wide lockdown to capture the murderer, and come to see him in person—this would have shown true concern. Instead, sending a eunuch to deal with him so casually filled Li Yan with deep disappointment and frustration.

Now, Li Yan was worried that Yang Guozhong might be using him for nothing before tossing him aside. Yang Guozhong was gradually becoming the most powerful figure in the court. If he could form a formal alliance with him, with Yang Guozhong’s support and the influence of the imperial concubine, his chances of becoming crown prince would still be high. His top priority now was to cling tightly to Yang Guozhong and ensure he wouldn’t abandon him.

At that moment, footsteps were heard outside the door. A servant reported, “My lord, Eunuch Zhang requests an audience!”

Li Yan was shocked and almost knocked over his inkstone. Feeling guilty, he hurriedly hid the letter he had written to Yang Guozhong and sat up straight, saying, “Let him in!”

Li Yan detested Zhang Fengen deeply, even hating him. He resented him for taking over the eunuch Luo’s room and throwing away all of Luo’s belongings, which made it impossible for Li Yan to forgive Zhang Fengen. Since the age of two, Eunuch Luo had served him, staying by his side every day and raising him. Li Yan had always regarded Eunuch Luo as his closest person. Eunuch Luo’s death four years ago had dealt a heavy blow to Li Yan.

Though he hated Zhang Fengen, he still had to pretend to get along well with him on the surface.

The door opened, and Zhang Fengen entered. He didn’t kneel but simply bowed slightly and said, “I pay my respects to my lord!”

Li Yan was taken aback. Why wasn’t Zhang Fengen kneeling before him today? Displeased, he said, “Eunuch Zhang, do you need to see me at such a late hour?”
“Your Highness, I encountered Lady Sun at the entrance of the mansion just now. It’s so late yet she’s still out—Your Highness should discipline her strictly!”
Li Yan’s expression darkened. It was he who had allowed Lady Sun to go out; she had gone secretly to take medicine to conceive—a private matter of hers. What did it have to do with Zhang Fengen? Unable to hide his disgust any longer, he asked coldly, “Is there anything else, Eunuch Zhang? If not, I’d like to rest.”
Of course, Zhang Fengen could read Li Yan’s expression. He sneered inwardly—this prince was still daydreaming!
He said slowly, “Your Highness, I went to see the Emperor today.”
Li Yan immediately became alert. He asked hurriedly, “What did Father say?”
Zhang Fengen glanced at him and replied in a slow, mocking tone, “The Emperor asked me to convey a message to you: to take good care of yourself and prepare to go to Anxi for your assignment!”
“Anxi?” Li Yan was stunned. His pen fell to the ground with a thud.
…
Half an hour later, Lady Sun came out of the courtyard and said to a middle-aged woman dressed in an exotic manner, “Aunt Wu, wait! I’ll come back another day.”
“Don’t worry, madam. In a few days, I’ll invite the Bodhisattva, and she will intercede for you.”
“Then I owe you a favor, Aunt Wu.”
Lady Sun looked very pleased. She got into the carriage and ordered, “Back to the mansion!”
The carriage set off, returning to the mansion. The door of the courtyard creaked shut, leaving Shaluo Alley completely empty. At that moment, a man on horseback emerged from the alley across. He quickly wrote a note, tied it to a pigeon’s leg, and set the pigeon free.
The pigeon flapped its wings and flew westward.
…
Li Qingan was staying in the Furong Pavilion of Gao Lishi’s mansion. He had fallen asleep when suddenly a bodyguard called out outside his door, “General! General!”
Wuyi woke up first. She nudged Li Qingan and said, “Li Lang, wake up! Your bodyguard is calling you.”
Li Qingan woke from his sleep and asked, “What’s the matter?”
“There’s a pigeon message from Reihai Residence—it’s a red message.”
Li Qingan had instructed that if a red message arrived from Reihai Residence, he should be awakened immediately. Perhaps there was news from Anxi.
He sat up and headed outside.
“Li Lang, wait a moment.”
Wuyi quickly got up, fetched a coat for him, and warned, “It’s still cold in spring—don’t be careless.”
Li Qingan hurriedly put on the coat and went outside.

He opened the door and took the pigeon letter from his bodyguard. It was indeed a red letter. He poured the rolled paper out of the bamboo tube, slowly unrolled it, and examined it closely under the light. There was only one line of fine handwriting: Mansur, the special envoy of the Persian prince, has arrived in Fengxiang.