Chapter 65: Caught Between Advance and Retreat, Calamity or Blessing Unknown

The onlookers were fewer than last time, but as soon as the leading officials heard the news, they immediately set aside their affairs and hurried to Helan Minzhi’s residence.

All along the way, as they listened to the reports coming from ahead, they realized this matter had escalated terribly.

A dozen lives lost, and all in the capital—already no small issue. But the Duke of Zhou had attempted to defile the young princess, and the Crown Prince had castrated the Duke in retaliation.

This was now a major affair, growing ever more serious.

Their discontent toward those two imperturbable elders in Luoyang and the silent Emperor reached its peak. All of this need never have happened. If the intention was to assert the royal family’s dignity, a harsh decree could have been issued at once. Was the power of the Empress’s clan more important, or that of the imperial house?

Or, if the aim was to cover up a royal scandal for the Empress’s sake, then a compromise could have been made: punish lightly, find scapegoats, reassign Helan Minzhi to another province, and quietly let the matter fade. But instead, silence and delay had allowed tensions to flare, until finally today’s catastrophe unfolded.

Arriving at Helan Minzhi’s residence, they saw Li Wei carrying Li Lingyue in his arms, running as sweat poured down—by now, the midday sun had melted the yellow substance faked as illness, leaving it to drip away. Yet none of the officials gave this detail much thought; they assumed the Crown Prince had rescued the princess and run into some realgar powder or the like.

Dai Zhide said, “Your Highness, could you not have waited a few more days?”

The confrontation at the Xu residence had already been swiftly reported to the Eastern Capital; there was no need to have castrated Helan Minzhi at this juncture.

But Li Wei’s response was cold and displeased: “You are all central officials, working tirelessly for the court—I know this. Yet most of you also hold positions within the Eastern Palace, and the people say that all the officials in Chang’an are part of the Eastern Palace faction.”

This was not untrue; at first, Li Wei had been unaware, but conversations with Yao Yuanchong and others had revealed that, strictly speaking, Dai Zhide and even the retired Xu Jingzong were all officials of the Eastern Palace. Of course, loyalty was another matter—one could belong to the Eastern Palace in name, but without loyalty, it was a farce. Take Xu Jingzong, for instance—he was likely hostile towards Li Wei.

But saying this openly before everyone made for an uncomfortable scene.

Li Wei continued, “I understand that as long as my father, the Emperor, is well, all must revolve around him. You have always kept your distance from me to avoid suspicion, and I have restrained myself as well, so as not to cause misunderstandings. But since the attempt on my life, so much has happened, and I wonder—where were you, the so-called Eastern Palace officials?”

Could you not have supported me, even a little? Must you be so determined to avoid suspicion?

The truth was a bit more nuanced; all the memorials sent to Luoyang still spoke from the Crown Prince’s perspective. Yet Helan Minzhi was the Empress’s only surviving relative and was in mourning; they also knew that after Lady Wei’s death, the Emperor had always been indulgent toward Helan Minzhi. There were concerns—whether for the imperial house or the Empress’s kin. And with a strong-willed Empress above, caution was all the more necessary.

Still, Li Wei’s words were not without reason.

Keeping a proper distance was one thing, but this time the great lords of Chang’an had been excessively detached.

From the kidnapping of the Crown Princess to the assassination attempt on the Crown Prince, aside from Liu Rengui’s passionate loyalty, the other officials had maintained a cold façade, which only emboldened Helan Minzhi to further misjudgment—thus the tragedy began to replay itself.

Hearing the Crown Prince’s words, Dai Zhide, Zhang Wenguan, and the others all showed signs of shame.

“Big brother, I’m scared…” Li Lingyue poked her head out from Li Wei’s embrace.

She had been truly frightened! In the past, she feared nothing, for everyone doted on her, and she had even begun to look down on Li Wei. When had she ever been treated so harshly, as by Helan Minzhi today?

“Don’t be afraid, don’t be afraid. We’ll go home soon,” Li Wei patted her head in comfort. His anger flared again, and he added, “I really don’t know why the court spends countless funds every year to maintain the Eastern Palace system. If the point is to avoid suspicion so thoroughly that the Crown Prince is left cold and ignored, why not abolish it altogether? Then we might save money to feed our soldiers, clothe our people against the cold, and rescue more victims from disaster!”

This made it all the more awkward for Dai Zhide and the others.

It’s not that they were bad men—many were benevolent in office. The key was that they wished to act, but the Crown Prince himself had previously shown no initiative. How could they openly suggest, “Your Highness, build your own faction!”—that would be courting disaster.

Even if a faction were formed, the process had to be subtle, understood without words. Besides, they were already old, unlike Di Renjie and Wei Yuanzhong, who were forty or so, still at the lower ranks, and full of ambition. For the older officials, steadiness sufficed—they did their duty, but dared not risk more.

Yet this affair, and these words, left them in an impossible position.

Just as they were at a loss for how to respond, Li Xian, Li Xian (the younger), and their third brother arrived with a large group of guards.

Brothers fight side by side; fathers and sons go to war together.

Now that their little sister was in trouble, the eldest had already acted, and the other three brothers could not sit still. With a troop of guards and even some noble students from the Imperial College, they charged over.

It was a rare scene indeed…

The ministers didn’t know whether to laugh or cry, especially at the sight of Li Xian with his sleeves rolled up like a butcher, howling as he came, carrying a pair of massive iron hammers he could barely lift. No one knew what to say.

Xu Qidan whispered in Li Wei’s ear, “The castration is done. Even if you drag Helan Minzhi before the Emperor, do you have the courage to execute him? The matter has calmed for now. In the end, it’s a royal family feud—the more it’s publicized, the more displeased Their Majesties will be.”

By now, Li Wei’s rage had spent itself. With Helan Minzhi punished, his anger gradually faded. He held Li Lingyue and stopped his brothers.

“What on earth happened, brother?” Li Xian asked.

Li Wei recounted the events.

Sweat beaded on Li Xian’s brow. He hadn’t seen his eldest brother often, but he’d always thought him a gentle scholar. How had it come to this?

The fourth brother took Li Lingyue’s hand and soothed her. Li Xian, hearing the story, felt thoroughly satisfied and shouted, “Good! Did you cut it off cleanly?”

Li Wei was momentarily at a loss, quickly handed Li Lingyue to Li Xian, and clapped a hand over his mouth. “Let’s go home. I believe this time Father and Mother can no longer feign ignorance.”

Li Xian mumbled some dissatisfied words under his breath, but they were too muffled to be understood.

Once the four noble brothers departed, the officials of the capital finally breathed a sigh of relief. They collected witness statements, examined the scene, and sent a memorial to the Eastern Capital. The order was given to seal Helan Minzhi’s residence. What happened on Mount Zhongnan could be blamed on others, but this time, there was no way to deny it. Even if the servants hadn’t participated directly, their silence was a crime.

Had the matter not become so public, the Emperor might have dealt with it quietly for the sake of face. But after the Crown Prince’s dramatic actions, by evening, nearly every citizen of the capital had heard of the scandal. The servants, too, would not escape punishment.

Yet Li Wei’s heart remained unsettled.

Everyone must suffer grievances—whether from superiors, the powerful, unfilial children, biased parents, domineering peers, or even a shrewish wife.

But he was the Crown Prince, and to be bullied so, hindered at every turn, was intolerable.

Stifled with anger, worried, and having run all this way, his health—which had only just begun to improve after a month of training—gave way, and he truly fell ill. This time, the imperial physicians finally diagnosed him correctly.

He drank his medicine and fell into a deep sleep.

The next day, feeling a little better, Jiang Luo came to announce that Yao Yuanchong and Ximen Chong wished to see him.

“Let them in,” Li Wei said.

The two men entered, glanced about, and Li Wei waved the eunuchs and maids away.

Yao Yuanchong said, “We heard of yesterday’s events, Your Highness. Last night, we discussed it with Scholar Wei as well.”

Li Wei, not suspecting anything, asked, “And what did you discuss?”

Were they all plotting about his sister? He’d only castrated Helan Minzhi—was this man truly more important to his parents than even his little sister?

“Minister Dai was right, Your Highness. You should not have castrated the Duke of Zhou,” Yao Yuanchong began directly.

“And why is that?”

“Alas, after what happened at the Xu residence, do you think His Majesty could continue to indulge the Duke of Zhou? How much longer could he live? But by castrating him, Your Highness, you showed your love for the little princess, yes, but it also signaled something else—a deep dissatisfaction with His Majesty and the Empress for their long delay in handling the Duke.”

Li Wei wanted to retort, but in his heart he knew it was true. He could not defend himself.

“The root cause was the Duke of Zhou. Even Their Majesties did not expect what happened. But the people all say that His Majesty and the Empress’s failure to act in time led to this disaster. If I had been present yesterday, I would have advised Your Highness to keep calm, rescue the princess first, and then find a way to cover up the affair. That would have been best for Their Majesties.”

“Master Yao speaks wisely,” Li Wei admitted.

It was indeed the best strategy, but Li Wei thought to himself: caution was necessary—just because he was the Crown Prince didn’t mean he could act with impunity. But if he had to endure everything silently, he might as well give up the title and flee!

He found it hard to agree.

Yao Yuanchong, watching Li Wei’s changing expression, understood that the Crown Prince could not accept this reasoning—anyone in his place would have been humiliated and furious. Still, it was too late now; he only wanted to remind him to act with greater composure should such matters arise again.

He continued, “Not only have Their Majesties been put in an impossible position, but all the officials in the capital have been forced into an impasse by Your Highness’s actions. Still, there is some good in this—Their Majesties, who love the little princess dearly, have now seen Your Highness’s genuine care for her.”

At this, Yao looked troubled; the three of them had tried to predict the consequences last night but couldn’t reach a conclusion.

He added, “We speculate that very soon, Their Majesties will summon Your Highness to the Eastern Capital—perhaps right after the two princesses are married.”

“Oh? Why?” Li Wei asked.

“Now that this has happened, at least His Majesty will feel that Your Highness is dissatisfied with him, and the Duke of Zhou is the cause. The summons will be the result of both the Xu residence affair and yesterday’s incident—but most of all, because of the soldiers, Your Highness.”

“What about the soldiers?”

“Has Your Highness never heard the story of Modu?”

Modu—he knew that name, the famous Xiongnu chieftain. Carelessly, he asked, “What about Modu?”

No sooner had he spoken than a chill struck his heart, and he sat up abruptly.