Chapter Two: The Tip of the Iceberg—The More You Know, the Colder It Gets

After drinking a bowl of medicinal soup and sweating profusely, his spirits were greatly refreshed. Seeing Li Wei frowning in silence, Bi'er said, "Your Highness, there's no need to worry. Perhaps the Emperor and Empress will be pleased with Your Highness's compassion."

Pleased? Li Wei had no idea what Li Zhi was thinking, but he knew for certain that Wu Zetian would not be pleased. This matter, in short, would be extremely serious.

So, what path lay before him? If he wanted to ensure his own safety, the only option was to eliminate his convenient mother. Eliminate Wu Zetian? Li Wei was startled by his own thoughts.

He knew little about what had transpired in history, but he understood how formidable Wu Zetian's methods were. She had managed to become China's sole female emperor, causing countless heroes and geniuses to bow before her. Even with knowledge from later eras, even if he brought Baidu here to contend with Wu Zetian, he would be crushed until not even a trace remained.

It would be like an ant trying to shake a tree—not even remotely comparable to the outcome.

Perhaps his mother was already beginning to reveal her brilliance, but likely everyone underestimated her ultimate abilities.

He needed to remedy the situation. Even a tiger doesn't eat its cubs; he must immediately flatter Wu Zetian. With this thought, he quickly asked, "Bi'er, where are Father and Mother?"

Fear flickered in Bi'er's eyes. Could he truly be suffering from soul loss?

Not just soul loss, but utterly soulless.

With a worried expression, she replied, "Your Highness, last September a drought struck Guanzhong. Fortunately, the autumn harvest came in, but the summer harvest was delayed. So, right after New Year's this year, His Majesty and Her Majesty led the entire court to Luoyang for provisions, to alleviate the pressure on Guanzhong. His Majesty and Her Majesty left the Crown Prince to oversee the realm; this is Your Highness's fifth time governing."

Li Wei's brows quivered. No wonder Li Hong dared to challenge Wu Zetian's authority.

"Your Highness, you mustn't let your thoughts wander," Bi'er hurriedly cautioned. "His Majesty left you to oversee the realm as a learning experience, not to actually handle state affairs. The real matters are managed by the Prime Ministers, and important decisions require permission from their Majesties in Dongjing. Even for minor matters, Your Highness, you must not interfere. Chancellor Dai Zhizhi and Zhang Wenjuan are your attendants and have always guided you well."

At this, Bi'er hesitated, then continued, "The Crown Prince has never interfered in state affairs; instead, he often leaves the palace to aid the poor. He saw soldiers eating elm bark and wild seeds and distributed the palace's grain to them. The Prime Ministers have all submitted memorials praising Your Highness's wisdom."

"What is the Palace Steward's Office?"

The more he asked, the more worried he became, but Bi'er still answered, "The Eastern Palace has three offices: the Servants' Office, which manages the Crown Prince's carriages; the Palace Gate Office, which oversees the palace gates; and the Palace Steward's Office, which manages the granaries."

So, he had given away his own grain to help soldiers and common folk.

Li Wei finally understood something: if he were a Prime Minister, he wouldn't want an outsider with real power constantly interfering in his administrative matters. Li Hong's actions made the Prime Ministers happy, and distributing grain won over the people's hearts.

But as his reputation grew, what would his mother think? What about his father?

At this, Li Wei broke out in cold sweat.

There were advantages to leaving the palace—Li Hong enjoyed going out, which was good. If he stayed in the Eastern Palace all day, what would he become? A golden bird in an iron cage?

But regardless of whether he was the Crown Prince or not, he had to survive first. To survive, eliminating his mother was not an option—he weighed the consequences and dismissed the thought. His second option was to curry favor with her: if she was pleased, no one would dare harm him; if not, forget being Crown Prince—even if he waited for his father to die and finally became Emperor, he wouldn’t last long.

Unfortunately, his parents had gone to Luoyang; even if he wanted to flatter them, he couldn’t find them.

Bi'er spoke in bits and pieces, giving a general overview of the situation.

Li Wei got up and performed a set of Five Animal Exercises—over fifty movements in all—but his body was too weak; some moves he simply couldn't manage. He was naturally optimistic, believing that the road would appear as the cart approached the mountain, and there was still time to salvage things. But his body needed immediate attention; it was his capital.

After finishing, he sat down, panting. Bi'er, distressed, ordered someone to bring a bath barrel. Li Wei had seen such things on television but never in real life. It was tall, about half a person's height, and wide enough for two or three people to circle it. Just heating enough water took several buckets. But as Crown Prince, it wasn’t excessive to enjoy such treatment. The only thing missing was the flower petals seen on TV.

After the eunuchs poured in the hot water and brought a stool, Bi'er approached and said, "Your Highness, allow your servant to help you undress."

"I’d rather do it myself," Li Wei's face flushed; he wasn’t a gentleman, but the girl was simply too young.

"Does Your Highness not wish for your servant to attend you?" Bi'er suddenly began to cry.

"No, it’s not that, it’s just…"

"I’ve always attended you before."

Well then, Li Wei stood there awkwardly as Bi'er removed his clothes piece by piece, feeling uneasy. Once undressed, he slipped into the bath barrel.

Seeing his strange behavior, Bi'er let out a soft laugh. Although the Crown Prince seemed odd after waking, and appeared to have truly forgotten everything, his character remained intact, still as kind as before. So, perhaps it wasn’t entirely disastrous.

Bi'er brought soap and began to wash him.

This was even more awkward; Li Wei tried several times to refuse, but couldn’t bear to hurt her feelings. So he closed his eyes and enjoyed it, feeling the little girl's hands move over his body, and…

Bi'er blushed as well, thinking to herself that the Crown Prince was finally growing up, and so was she. Was it…? Her hands trembled a little at the thought.

Having enjoyed a bath attended by a young maiden, Li Wei quickly refocused on serious matters. If one worries about the distant future, there must be immediate concerns. Especially for himself—being Crown Prince was wonderful, a privileged position, but only if one lived to enjoy it. If things went badly, he’d suffer, and so would this little girl.

He took out the dossiers in the room and began to read them, paying special attention to Li Hong’s annotations.

Luckily, though he wasn’t well-versed in history, he could manage classical Chinese. But even a historian, relying on memory alone, could only recall so many stories. Who could have known he would end up in the Tang dynasty, during Wu Zetian’s rule, and cram last minute? He still couldn’t remember enough to be useful.

He had to read for himself. After a while, he came across a memorial written by Li Hong: "The population in Guanzhong increases daily. Your son tours regularly and sees many starving people. In conversation, some blame the drought demon, others the lack of land. Your son earnestly requests Father to allocate Shayuan to those without land. Heaven’s virtue is boundless; Father’s benevolence…"

The fresh ink showed it hadn’t been written long, and hadn’t yet been sent to Luoyang. Li Wei turned and asked, "Bi'er, what is Shayuan?"

By now, Bi'er realized there were three gardens in Chang'an: Western Inner Garden north of Taiji Palace, Eastern Inner Garden southeast of Daming Palace, both serving as imperial gardens. The largest was Daxing Garden, as vast as the grand city of Chang'an. But she hadn’t heard of Shayuan.

Bi'er replied, "It’s in Tongzhou, a huge expanse of sandy grassland between the Luo and Wei rivers, covering over thirty thousand acres. The court has set up a horse-ranch there."

Most Tang dynasty pastoral lands were in Hetao, Lingwu, and parts of the northwest and western regions. Thirty thousand acres for horses wasn’t particularly large. The court had few such lands, and losing one wouldn’t matter much. But as farmland, though sandy, it was close to the Luo and Wei rivers, and could be irrigated; once cultivated, it would be considerable. Besides, Guanzhong’s population was now dense.

Another good policy.

Li Wei was about to set it aside, then suddenly said, "Bring me a fire tong."

Bi'er brought the fire tong and asked, "Your Highness, what are you going to do?"

Li Wei used the fire tong to ignite the memorial, burning it to ashes.

"Your Highness…"

This memorial would not have embarrassed his mother; it might even win Li Zhi’s favor. But… Li Wei glanced at the distant eunuchs and whispered, "Have you ever heard of the saying, ‘A subordinate whose achievements overshadow the ruler’s?’"

The little maid nodded vigorously.

"Not only achievements, but fame too can overshadow the ruler. My father’s health isn’t great, but he’s still in his prime, and my mother diligently compensates for his shortcomings. Under their governance, the Tang dynasty flourishes. Yet my age is approaching the rite of adulthood, and I already possess such renown—is it a good or bad thing? One sun in the sky is just right; what if there are two? How many masters should a nation have? I know that if this memorial is submitted, it will help many poor people and further elevate my reputation. Is that good or bad? My father and mother might be pleased, but is there not a villain in court who would exploit it?"

"But… but…" stammered Bi'er.

"The future is long. If it truly needs to be done, use other methods, and make sure the credit goes to my father and mother. Never let my own reputation grow heavier. Take me out for a walk."

After a stroll, Li Wei was dumbfounded. Not only the entire Taiji Palace, but just the Eastern Palace alone stretched over 1,400 meters north to south and more than 800 meters east to west. It boasted five grand main halls—Xiande, Chongjiao, Lizheng, Guangtian, and Cheng'en—as well as the Left Treasury, Chongwen Hall, Left and Right Spring Chambers, Inner Hall, Ladies' Hall, Changsheng Institute, Yichun Palace, Yiqiu Palace, and countless other offices and palaces.

If not led by Bi'er, Li Wei would have been lost inside.

"What are they for?"

Bi'er explained each one. The palaces and courtyards were not for leisure; each housed various institutions. For example, the Inner Palace typically had two Crown Princesses, six ladies-in-waiting, ten attendants, sixteen instructors, twenty-four ceremonial officials. Two chief attendants and palace women, a treasurer overseeing finances, three record keepers, three archivists executing orders, three jewel and seal keepers, and others managing banquets, regulations, discipline, sewing, storage, cuisine, food, medicine, and gardens.

Aside from these palace women, there were also maids and eunuchs, like Bi'er, who served as his personal attendant. However, since he hadn’t married, the Inner Palace staff was not complete; even after marriage, it might not be fully staffed.

There were also the Crown Prince's Left and Right Guard Offices, Left and Right Kin, Merit, and Support Offices, Left and Right Imperial Driver Offices, Left and Right Clean Road Offices, Left and Right Gate Guard Offices, Left and Right Inner Guard Offices, each with assorted soldiers ready to be dispatched.

"Bi'er, are you saying all these officials and soldiers take orders from me?" Li Wei asked in delight. According to the little maid’s calculations, the Eastern Palace alone had a staff of over a thousand, not counting the soldiers. Used wisely, this force could be of great help.

"In name, yes, but they are still the court’s officials and soldiers. For minor matters, the Crown Prince can command them. For major matters, since the time of Crown Prince Chengqian, regulations have been strict; you must report to His Majesty and the Prime Ministers. Just as you distributed grain the other day—only after Chancellor Dai agreed was it permitted."

"So, do I have any trusted allies?"

Bi'er shook her head in confusion. Though this Crown Prince was still gentle and treated her well, she always felt something was amiss.

Li Wei nearly cursed out loud. He understood now: to win a good reputation, he could only be a solitary figure. But what was the reputation for? It was for the Emperor and ministers to recognize him, so he could succeed smoothly. But was reputation alone enough to succeed? Throughout history, countless Crown Princes had died before inheriting the throne.

Even if he wanted to cling to Wu Zetian, he couldn’t neglect his own preparations; at least a few confidants, to act as his ears and eyes, notifying him of any trouble. As long as he didn’t go too far, even if Wu Zetian heard of it, she’d just smile and let it pass.

What a mess he had inherited!