Chapter 97: The Crisis Descends

In the third year of Zhenguan, in the Great Tang, a commandery prince’s promise was no small matter. After the Xuanwu Gate Incident, the Crown Prince and the Prince of Qi had been killed, and Li Shimin’s remaining brothers had all been enfeoffed in the provinces. Add to that the fact that none of the imperial princes or princesses had yet come of age, and one could say that within the vast city of Chang’an, a commandery prince was already the highest rank of nobility.

Moreover, Li Xiaogong was both of the imperial clan and a founding hero of the dynasty, and the emperor treated him with great respect. One could see this in the fact that, though he held the title of Minister of Rites, he rarely entered the palace to attend court; such was the latitude Li Shimin granted him.

Yet this was precisely where Li Xiaogong’s shrewdness lay.

Once a royal general with military authority in his grasp, he had, before reaching even the age of thirty, taken the initiative to step away from the center of power and spent his days in his residence amusing himself with song, dance, and beautiful women. Such conduct was exactly what an emperor most liked to see. To Li Shimin, the more listless Li Xiaogong appeared, the more he seemed to prefer drink, pleasure, and the chase of sensual delights, the more reassured he became. And the more reassured he was, the more he naturally favored him, whether out of old affection or simple considerations of face.

Speaking of it, from the founding of the Great Tang to the pacification of the realm, the only man whose military accomplishments could compare with Li Shimin’s was this Prince of Hejian. Whether in the governance of Ba and Shu, the campaigns against Xiao Xian and Fu Gongshi, or the pacification of Lingnan and other regions, Li Xiaogong, as commander, had contributed immeasurably. In the eyes of many common folk and court officials alike, the Li Xiaogong of those years had been a presence capable of standing shoulder to shoulder with Li Shimin.

Before entering the residence, Li Chunfeng had actually spoken of some of Li Xiaogong’s deeds. Lu Xin had not paid much attention at the time, but now, with a sudden stirring of understanding, he finally grasped why Li Chunfeng had wanted to meet this Prince of Hejian.

If master and disciple wished to draw near to the emperor, whose recommendation would be most effective, and yet not risk being treated as mere pieces on a chessboard? In other words, through whose mouth could they present themselves to the emperor and win the greatest trust?

A prince who kept his distance from politics, a brother who knew how to behave with propriety. If Li Shimin could not trust such a man’s word, then whom could he trust?

Thus, after Li Xiaogong made his promise, it was not Lu Xin who answered him, but Li Chunfeng.

“I have long heard that the Prince of Hejian is gracious, magnanimous, and generous to all. I have admired you for many years, and today, having seen you, I find the reputation well deserved. As for my disciple’s rescue of the princess, it was no more than a trifling act and was never done in hope of reward. To encounter wrong on the road and set it right, to punish evil and uphold the good, is the duty of those who cultivate the Way. Besides, when my disciple later fell into peril and was trapped in dire straits, it was the princess who came forward to save him; thus the karmic debt has already been repaid. If Your Highness insists on offering a reward, then you would be insulting the two of us.”

Li Chunfeng spoke slowly. His voice was not loud, yet it echoed again and again through the hall, clear and keen to the ear. And throughout his speech, the bells, drums, zithers, harps, and pipa laid out around the hall all began to release faint, wavering notes, as though someone truly sat before them, plucking them from time to time.

Li Xiaogong’s expression changed slightly, and he rose abruptly to his feet.

“So the two of you are immortals. I have been discourteous. What I said just now was indeed presumptuous, and I withdraw it.”

“That is best.”

Li Chunfeng nodded, still wearing that inscrutable, deep-as-the-sea expression that made it impossible to fathom him. Though Li Xiaogong was a prince of the realm and had spent years campaigning east and west, seeing countless people, the look he now gave Li Chunfeng plainly carried a trace of uncertainty.

“With your bearing, Immortal Sir, you are far beyond the likes of us mortals. May I ask where you cultivated before?”

After Li Xiaogong sat down again, he ordered the maids to bring wine, instructed the kitchen to prepare supper, and even directly invited Lu Xin and the others to stay the night in his residence. Such a turn of events was somewhat unexpected. Perhaps this Prince of Hejian, too, had seen in Li Chunfeng something unlike the ordinary.

“I have no fixed home and drift wherever I may. In my youth I was used to roaming the world and wanted to see all under heaven for myself. Now that I am older, I have grown tired.”

“Tiredness is a good thing. Only when one grows tired does one stop, and only then does one know what one truly seeks in one’s heart. I will not hide it from you, Immortal Sir: in my younger days, I once wished to travel through these ten thousand miles of mountains and rivers and take in every beauty under heaven, just as you did. But after passing that age, I suddenly understood. Man is not a boat; why spend a lifetime adrift? Rather than waiting until old age to long for one’s roots, it is better to see children gathering happily around one early on in life. That is the greatest fortune a man can hope for.”

“Since Your Highness sees so clearly, I fear I am the one who should be ashamed.”

Li Chunfeng and Li Xiaogong chatted back and forth like old friends who had not met in years. They spoke only of rivers and winds, flowers and moonlight, never of court politics or state affairs. Lu Xin and the younger ones had no place in the conversation, and so they became even more at ease. With the chance to eat and drink to their heart’s content, the scholar stuffed himself furiously. Yue Buhui had long since been plied into drunkenness and now lay unconscious across the table. The Yang sisters, meanwhile, had drawn close to Li Lingyu, the three girls laughing and talking together, and no one knew what they were discussing.

Before long, night fell, and lamps were lit throughout the hall. The kitchen produced over a hundred dishes, which the maids brought out to the tables one after another. Li Xiaogong and Li Chunfeng toasted each other from a distance, creating an atmosphere of perfect harmony. Lu Xin sat beside Wei Qing, chatting aimlessly from one topic to the next.

“Brother Wei, when did you arrive in Chang’an, and when did you enter the Dali Temple?”

“This… if Brother Lu had not asked, I would almost have forgotten. I have only served in the Dali Temple for three years. After the emperor ascended the throne, it was my uncle who recommended me as an assistant magistrate there. Before that, though, I had lived in Chang’an for a long time, and Xiaoyue and I could almost be called childhood sweethearts.”

Wei Qing had drunk quite a bit, and his face was flushed with a reddish glow. When he mentioned Qian Xiaoyue, a peculiar light flashed in the eyes of the assistant magistrate. Lu Xin had long known that Wei Zheng and Qian Hai were close friends; now it seemed that the ties between the two families might have been even deeper.

“So that’s how it is. No wonder Xiaoyue listens to you so obediently, Brother Wei. Still, the Dali Temple today has clearly become one of the court offices most trusted by the emperor. Especially while the realm remains unsettled, the cases handled by the Dali Temple extend across all provinces and prefectures. It must surely hold the lives of countless people in its hands.”

“What do you mean by that, Brother Lu?”

At this, Wei Qing frowned, as though he had sobered considerably. Lu Xin did not look at him, but instead refilled his own cup with wine. In his view, given the relationship between Wei Zheng and Li Shimin, Wei Qing ought to have been able to secure a higher post, or at least been sent into the military to gain experience, which would have been far more advantageous to his future career. Yet from the first year of Zhenguan until now, Wei Qing was still only a minor assistant magistrate of the Dali Temple. The reason for this deserved careful thought.

Li Chunfeng would sooner or later have to enter the court, and the court, from ancient times to the present, had always been a place of open struggle and hidden danger. From a personal standpoint, Lu Xin naturally hoped that Wei Qing would be a friend rather than an enemy. But for the time being, the two of them still could not make out Wei Zheng’s true temperament, nor did they know what designs he might be harboring within the court. If they could probe Wei Qing for some measure of truth, that would of course be ideal, and it would also spare them from any future conflict that might damage their bond.

“It’s nothing. I just said it casually. After all, my master and I have only just arrived, and we do not yet know the court’s rules. I was afraid we might cause some trouble.”

“Haha. Brother Lu is upright and has a chivalrous heart. How could the court truly let you down? My uncle taught me from childhood that if one wishes to bring peace to the world, the first thing required is a wise emperor. Only then will the hundred officials be in awe, and only then can official morality exist. His Majesty today is in the prime of his life, and he has so many worthy ministers to assist him. Though corrupt officials and unscrupulous men will still exist, I believe the Tang court will only grow better, and this realm will only become more stable.”

“Your words, Brother Wei, I shall keep in mind. Lord Wei Zheng truly worries for both the state and the people; indeed, he is a fine official. It is a pity that the emperor does not seem eager to make much use of him.”

Lu Xin said this while holding his wine cup and meeting Wei Qing’s gaze directly. He saw the other man blink, then tip his head back and drink three cups in succession.

“My uncle is not concerned with office or rank. In fact, even before the emperor ascended the throne, he was already acquainted with him. After the battle at the Xuanwu Gate, the world assumed my uncle had merely been a surrendered minister pardoned by His Majesty, and he suffered no small amount of criticism for it, but the truth is not so simple. Alas… these matters would take a long time to explain. Brother Lu only needs to know that with my uncle’s assistance, the emperor will surely become a wise sovereign of his age.”

“That is very good!”

After that, the conversation came to an end. Wei Qing seemed lost in thought and fell silent. Although Lu Xin had not learned anything especially important, he had still gained something, however slight, and naturally did not press further. From Wei Qing’s words, he could already be certain that Wei Zheng and Li Shimin had known one another even before Wei Zheng served under Li Jiancheng. That alone was worth pondering.

“What exactly happened during the Xuanwu Gate Incident? There must have been sorcerers involved in that battle. Yuchi Jingde, Tan Zongxiao, Wei Tunyun, Wei Zheng—these people were all sorcerers, and their cultivation was very high. Even after becoming emperor, Li Shimin was still only a mortal. How did he dare keep so many powerful beings at his side?”

Lu Xin thought it over in silence, always feeling that the true history and the history described in the records were worlds apart. At the very least, in this magnificent and turbulent age, nothing was as simple as it sounded.

“Immortal Sir, it is late. Would you not stay the night in the residence? Tomorrow is the Imperial Academy examination, and the officials will gather in full force. With Immortal Sir accompanying me, I will also have some honor upon my face.”

“Then I shall trouble Your Highness.”

Li Chunfeng turned his head, just about to speak to Lu Xin, when suddenly every lamp in the hall went out at once. In the next instant, a gale rushed in through the main doors, rattling the wine cups and dishes on the tables with a clattering crash. Li Chunfeng sprang to his feet; his figure blurred in the darkness and in a blink appeared before Li Xiaogong. Then, with a cold snort, he swept his hand through the air, and the lamps in the hall were lit again.

Lu Xin was startled and hurriedly looked toward his master. By then, a silver dart had appeared in Li Chunfeng’s hand, and it seemed to have been wrapped in a square talisman.

“It seems some people can no longer wait. Your Highness, I fear I must disappoint your gracious hospitality. Disciple, let us go.”

After intercepting the silver dart meant to assassinate Li Xiaogong, Li Chunfeng offered no explanation. He merely tossed out a single sentence and led Lu Xin and the others in haste out of the prince’s residence. As for the Prince of Hejian, he remained seated throughout, his face expressionless and his lips shut. Only after everyone else in the hall had dispersed did he finally rise and stand by the window, drawing a long breath as he looked outside.