Chapter 61: The Origin of the Qin Immortal

A dozen family members escorted a carriage at full speed, but what met them was still the cold city gates. However, the carriage did not stop. An officer on horseback beside them hurriedly said, “Turn around quickly and leave Chunming Gate!”
The carriage turned westward again. After traveling about a dozen steps, it suddenly came to a halt. A family member rode swiftly over and bowed to Li Qing’an, saying, “My master has a question—are you General Li Qing’an from Anxi?”
Li Qing’an bowed with a smile and replied, “That’s indeed me!”
“My master invites you to come and talk with him.”
Li Qing’an glanced at the road ahead and asked, “Who is your master?”
“My master is Vice Minister Yang of the Ministry of Revenue.”
It turned out to be Yang Shenjin, the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Revenue. After a brief hesitation, Li Qing’an nodded and smiled, “Very well. Then please lead me to your master.”

These days, Yang Shenjin had been in high spirits. He had just heard the news that Lu Jingrong, the Minister of Works, had passed away the previous night, meaning the position was now vacant. He had also heard a rumor that the emperor intended to promote him to Minister of Works and include him among the prime ministers. Though it was just a rumor, it filled him with excitement.

Yang Shenjin was a great-grandson of Emperor Yang of the Sui Dynasty. Coming from a distinguished family and highly talented, he was also good-looking, which won him the favor of Emperor Li Longji. His career progressed smoothly. By aligning himself with Li Linfu and going all out in the cases of Wei Jian and Du Youlin, he became a key member of Li Linfu’s faction, eventually rising to the position of Vice Minister of the Ministry of Revenue.

But half a year ago, after meeting a monk named Shi Jingzhong, he gradually began to think about leaving Li Linfu’s faction. Shi Jingzhong advised him, “When the cunning rabbit dies, its hounds are killed too. Li Linfu is merely the emperor’s dog; sooner or later, he too will meet his end. How much longer can you enjoy wealth by staying with him?”

Yang Shenjin found this wisdom profound and gradually distanced himself from Li Linfu. Unexpectedly, this distance only made him more favored by the emperor, who rewarded him repeatedly. Recently, he seemed on the verge of even greater advancement. Only then did he understand Shi Jingzhong’s deeper meaning.

Today, he had taken his wife to a garden to listen to music. Unfortunately, they returned a bit late, and the city gates had already closed. With no choice, he had to stay overnight at his own estate outside the city. This was a common practice in Chang’an—the city gates closed a quarter of an hour later than the neighborhood gates, allowing those who couldn’t return home to spend the night outside. At the neighborhood gates, he recognized Li Qing’an and, seeing that he seemed unaware of this custom, decided to help him out.

At that moment, Li Qing’an stepped forward, bowed to Yang Shenjin, and said with a smile, “We’re both outcasts in this world, Vice Minister Yang. It seems we’re fated to meet!”

Although Yang Shenjin held control over the financial resources of the realm, in terms of rank, he and Li Qing’an, who held the position of Lieutenant General of the Qianniu Guard, were both at the fourth rank, lower tier. Moreover, Li Qing’an had been granted the title of Duke of the Founding Dynasty, placing him one rank above Yang Shenjin. However, military ranks were generally looked down upon by civil officials for a simple reason: most military officers lacked experience and rose to high positions based on just one or two military achievements, unlike civil officials who had to go through various positions and endure years of hard work to gain experience.

Yang Shenjin was a man of refinement. Though he also looked down on military men in his heart, he would never show it on his face. With a slight smile, he said, “I never expected General Li to have such literary talent. ‘We are both wanderers in this world’—what a wonderful phrase.”

Only then did Li Qing’an realize he had casually quoted a poem by Bai Juyi. He chuckled and said, “I spoke without thinking, yet the deputy minister praises me. I’m ashamed. Now that the city gates are closed, I wonder where the deputy minister will spend the night?”

Yang Shenjin pointed to the carriage and said, “I was planning to go back with my wife to listen to music. Unfortunately, the gates are closed, so I intend to go to a villa outside the city. It seems General Li isn’t aware of the rules. If we wait any longer, the city gates will close too, and then General Li will truly have nowhere to go.”

“Oh! Thank you, Deputy Minister Yang, for reminding me. I really didn’t know.”

Yang Shenjin waved his hand and smiled again, “Time is running out. How about we leave the city together?”

“Very well. Please lead the way, Deputy Minister Yang!”

The carriage set off, with a dozen people following it as they rushed toward Chunming Gate.

……

“It turns out the deputy minister is also listening to music at the Liyuan Villa tonight. What a coincidence! I’m there too.”

“Oh? I’m at Ziyun Pavilion. I wonder which hall General Li is in?”

“I’m at Songhe Hall, right next to Deputy Minister Yang’s hall.”

After leaving the city, the two chatted along the way and discovered they were both listening to music that night, separated only by a wall. They couldn’t help but laugh together.

With something in common to talk about, their relationship gradually became more harmonious. Li Qing’an suddenly remembered that Yang Shenjin and Li Linfu used to be good friends and might know something about the Music Immortal. So he asked with a smile, “I admire the Music Immortal’s appearance and musical skills greatly. Does Deputy Minister Yang know her real name?”

“Hehe! Countless people in Chang’an admire her. I never thought General Li was one of them!”

At that moment, the curtain of the carriage was pulled back, revealing Yang Shenjin’s wife’s beautiful face. She smiled and said, “General Li, the Music Immortal greatly admires heroes. Perhaps she really has a fate connection with you.”

“It seems your wife knows quite a lot about her.”

“Of course I do.”

Li Qing’an was overjoyed and quickly bowed, asking, “Could your wife tell me her real name?”

“It seems General Li really likes her!”

Madam Yang sighed softly and said, “Everyone only sees her stunning beauty and superb piano skills, but who knows that she is actually a very pitiful girl? General Li, do you know why the Fairy of the Piano plays there in the Lyre Garden?”
“I don’t know.”
“Because her mother was the most famous pianist in Chang’an twenty years ago. She spent eighteen years in the Lyre Garden, and her presence could be felt everywhere. The Fairy of the Piano plays there as a way to express her longing for her mother.”
Madam Yang sighed again and continued, “Twenty years ago, Jiang Heng, the son of the Duke of Chu, fell in love with Xue Er, the most famous pianist in Chang’an. Despite his family’s opposition, he married her anyway. A year later, Xue Er gave birth to a daughter named Wu Yi. The Chu family officially recognized her as their daughter-in-law. Wu Yi was highly talented, especially in playing the piano, inheriting her mother’s skills. At the age of ten, she performed brilliantly at the Duke of Chu’s birthday banquet and was hailed as a talented woman of the Chu family. But that very year, misfortune struck the Chu family—the Duke committed suicide, and the rest of the family was exiled to Lingnan. Wu Yi’s parents died of illness just half a year later in Lingnan, leaving her alone. At just ten years old, she went to live with her uncle, Prime Minister Li, and has been there for nine years now.”
“Madam Yang, hasn’t Wu Yi gotten married?” Li Qing’an asked softly.
“That’s Wu Yi’s second misfortune. She was betrothed since childhood to Cui Ming, the son of Cui Qiao, the Right Vice Minister. Two years ago, the Cui family planned to formally marry her. It seemed she was about to start a new life, but two days before the wedding, Cui Ming suddenly died of an illness. Thus, Wu Yi became a widow at a young age. Pity her—she’s only nineteen! How will she get through the rest of her life?”
“She can remarry! And she wasn’t really married to that man.”
“Remarry?” Madam Yang snorted lightly. “It’s not that easy to remarry. The Cui family refuses to cancel the marriage contract, so she can never remarry. The Cui family is a prestigious family, and to maintain their reputation, they absolutely forbid her from remarrying. And she’s just a lonely, weak woman with no parents left—who will speak up for her?”
“What about Prime Minister Li? Isn’t he her uncle? Won’t the Cui family at least give him some face?”

“Wuyi’s misfortune couldn’t be changed just because she had a chancellor uncle. General Li, do you know how many children Chancellor Li has? He has 25 sons, 25 daughters, and hundreds of concubines. With such a large family, do you think Chancellor Li would think of his distant niece? Moreover, he’s extremely busy with official duties and hardly ever interferes in family affairs. Alas! Wuyi started living under others’ roofs at the age of ten, enduring constant disdain and exclusion from the Li family. The Li family’s children even insulted her in front of her, calling her a curse on their family. If not for Chancellor Li’s sister’s pity, Wuyi would have been driven out long ago. She could only pour all her sorrow into her music. Only on the Lantern Festival, the Ghost Festival, and the New Year’s Eve was she allowed to leave home. She would go to the Liyuan villa where her mother was born and raised, using her music to express her grief for her mother. Unexpectedly, this led her to be honored as the ‘Fairy of the Zither’.”
Madam Yang felt deep sympathy for Wuyi. With a sigh, she said to Li Qing’an, “General Li, I’m telling you these things because Wuyi once told me that she admired most the soldiers guarding the border in Anxi. She said her greatest wish in life was to fly freely across the vast grasslands of Anxi like a bird. General Li, I hope you can have the chance to help her fulfill this dream.”
After hearing Madam Yang’s account, Li Qing’an was filled with emotion. Only now did he learn that the true name of the ‘Fairy of the Zither’ was Wuyi, and that her background was so tragic.
“Madam Yang, thank you for your trust. I will do my best.”