Chapter Seventy: The Princess’s Grand Wedding — Shangguan Wan’er (Part Two)

Those who are close to cinnabar become red, those who are near ink become black.

When they saw the small palace maid holding a book, carefully handwritten in neat characters on paper, its origins clearly dubious, no one reproached her. Instead, her playful words brought laughter to everyone.

As the laughter filled the room, the little maid grew bolder, her pair of dark eyes quietly observing the crowd.

Li Wei asked, "What is your name? How old are you?"

"My name is Shangguan Wan’er, I am eight years old," she replied brightly.

Shangguan Wan’er? Li Wei paused for a moment. In his previous life, many might have known Pei Xingjian, but few knew Shangguan Wan’er. Zhuo Wenjun, Cai Wenji, Li Qingzhao, and this very Shangguan Wan’er before him—these were the four great female talents of ancient China.

Seeing Li Wei’s momentary distraction, Bi’er leaned in and whispered, "Your Highness, she is the granddaughter of the former Prime Minister Shangguan Yi. Because Shangguan Yi opposed the Empress, he and his son were executed, their family property confiscated. Her mother, Lady Zheng, is the sister of Zheng Xiuyuan, Deputy Minister of Rituals, so mother and daughter were spared and assigned to the inner palace."

Li Wei knew of this; indeed, the case was far more sensational than that of Helan Minzhi. Not only was Shangguan Yi's entire family implicated, but the former Crown Prince Li Zhong was ordered to die, and many prominent ministers and scholars, including Liu Xiangdao and Zheng Qintai, were dismissed or exiled. The number of those affected was countless.

Calculating the timeline, it meant Shangguan Wan’er entered the palace shortly after birth, her family suffering catastrophe. Though they discussed her grandfather’s fate, the girl herself, still so young, barely months old then, remembered nothing save her mother. At her age, hatred and resentment simply did not exist. With her wide, curious eyes, she continued to survey the group, while her hands tried to hide the book—but where could she hide it?

Yet the crowd found her all the more amusing.

Li Wei sat down. In his previous life, he had greatly admired her, but seeing her age, that reverence felt misplaced. She was petite, perhaps a year older than Li Lingyue, but looked about the same.

He said, "Would you like to find many books every day?"

"Yes," she answered without hesitation.

Everyone laughed again.

"Then come with me to the Eastern Palace. There are many books there, as many as you wish to find. Would you like that?"

Bi’er tugged at Li Wei’s elbow.

Li Wei shook his head; he understood Bi’er’s concern. The matter with the two princesses had already upset his mother. But this was different. His mother was the Empress, mother of the country. That the two princesses were not yet married at their ages was a failing, an act of severity. For her son to expose this, it was a slap to her face.

But the Shangguan family was already a thing of the past—just a palace maid. If his mother could not tolerate even this, she could hardly have ruled the empire later in history.

"Are you the Crown Prince?"

"Yes."

Though young, Shangguan Wan’er had heard the Crown Prince was benevolent and good. Her eyes sparkled with surprise and she was not afraid. Yet kindness can be taken advantage of. If Li Wei were not here, and the original Crown Prince remained, even his princess consort would be bullied without protest. Such a prince might be beloved, but it was not entirely a good thing.

"Is there really a pair of magical swallows in the Eastern Palace?"

Being a child, she did not grasp the significance of serving the Crown Prince, but was concerned about the swallows.

"Well... hmm..." Li Wei neither confirmed nor denied it. Magical? Any family’s swallows, with dozens feeding them bugs and grain daily, would seem magical. Yet the rumor had spread quickly, even reaching Yeting Palace.

"Are you willing to come, then?"

"I am."

"Go say goodbye to your mother."

This was a generous gesture. Normally, transferring a palace maid from the lowest rank could be done directly. Zheng and Shangguan Wan’er’s current status was barely above that of brothel girls. There was no need to inform Zheng.

Shangguan Wan’er happily departed.

Bi’er whispered again, "Your Highness..."

"A mere palace maid, no need to be so fearful." If it were truly so dangerous, as he said, better to leave early. But she was talented, diligent, and ambitious even at this age, it was no wonder she became famous in the Tang Dynasty. If she were guided and educated, would she not achieve more?

Of course, this guidance was of the scholarly kind.

He gradually accepted that early marriages were common in Tang. But for this eight-year-old girl, he had no sinful thoughts.

Soon, a court lady approached and bowed from afar.

"No need for ceremony. Since you’ve agreed, Shangguan Wan’er will be my maid from now on."

"Thank you, Your Highness," Lady Zheng understood the significance and was overjoyed, watching them leave, lost in thought.

"Wan’er, where did you find your book?"

"In the Hongwen Academy," she replied, then quickly covered her mouth.

The group laughed again, but Li Wei understood. They lived in Yeting Palace, but during the day served in Taiji Palace and even Hongwen Academy, doing menial chores. The dirtiest work fell to the daughters of disgraced officials.

Shangguan Wan’er would not go so far, but Lady Zheng could. Seeing her daughter’s love of reading, she, herself from a bureaucratic family, would steal books from Hongwen Academy or elsewhere for her daughter, guiding her as she read. Perhaps the scholars noticed but, out of respect for Zheng Xiuyuan, did not report it. Without his intervention, Wan’er’s later brilliance would have been shaped by such an environment.

Li Wei instructed a eunuch to return the "Great Elegance" to Hongwen Academy, gently stroking Wan’er’s hair, saying, "There are many books in the Eastern Palace. Read as you wish, but never 'borrow' again."

"Alright."

He met Princess Yiyang and Princess Xuancheng. With marriage approaching, they were joyful and growing ever more beautiful.

Especially since both were in their twenties—considered old for this era, but to Li Wei, this was the finest time in a woman's life, like flowers in full bloom, yet not wilted. Not only they, but Xiangxue and Hualiu as well. As for Yang Min, though beautiful, she was still too young.

And as for the daughter of Consort Xiao, she could hardly be lacking. Consort Xiao herself was once a palace maid, similar to Bi’er but from a bureaucratic family, who became the Crown Prince’s consort and later Consort Xiao, her talent and beauty overshadowing Empress Wang. So Empress Wang brought in her own mother, hoping to drive out the wolf with a tiger—and the result...

They were polite to Li Wei, instructing servants to serve tea.

Yet a small trouble arose. Princess Yiyang refused to move back to Taiji Palace, saying, "Why pretend? Yeting Palace is just fine."

Certainly not. Yeting Palace housed palace maids and eunuchs. Empress Wu herself had first lived there on entering the palace. Compared to the Eastern Palace and Taiji Palace, it was like a slum in later times. They were moved there out of Empress Wu’s resentment.

Otherwise, with such grown daughters lingering in Taiji Palace, their father Li Zhi, though poor of eyesight, was not blind—how could he ignore them?

Since they were to be married, the emperor's daughters could not depart from Yeting Palace. They had to return to Taiji Palace for a brief stay, merely for ceremony.

This elder sister was fierce, but unlike him, she had no thought of escape—married or not, she would remain in the Tang Empire. Such a passionate temperament... Li Wei shook his head and gently said, "To accept grace is also a virtue."

"Your Highness, we accept grace, and it is yours."

"Sister Yiyang, that is a grave mistake. Without the emperor and empress's mercy, what decisions could I make?" Li Wei nearly said, "What nonsense are you speaking!"

"Sister, do not trouble the Crown Prince," Princess Xuancheng quickly intervened, signaling desperately.

"Your Highness, I was wrong just now," Yiyang immediately admitted. Perhaps the prospect of marriage and moving back to Taiji Palace had stirred her emotions.

But their attitude might determine their future fate—but he could do nothing for them. Li Wei recalled the saying: "Pity those born to imperial families."

…

The grand wedding drew nearer, prepared with extraordinary pomp. This was Empress Wu’s personal decree; even if the treasury was strained, the princesses must not be wronged.

Yet for this very reason, Li Wei felt more uneasy. He wondered if, after the wedding, his mother would recall old resentments. The wedding day approached, and his own journey to Luoyang was near. And then there was the matter of the Three Kingdoms… he wondered if Di Renjie in Taiyuan had found a good solution.

Just then, a report came from outside that Yao Yuanchong and another sought audience.

"Let them in," Li Wei said gladly.