Chapter Seventy-Two: The Night Banquet (Part One)

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On the third day of the tenth month, in the second year of Linde, Emperor Gaozong and Empress Wu led their retinue from Luoyang, setting out for Mount Tai. Along the way, the local prefectures and counties spread yellow earth along the roads and sprinkled water to welcome the imperial procession. On the fourth day of the tenth month, the great noble families of Guanzhong departed the capital, hurrying to Tai’an to await the arrival of the Emperor. Only the Crown Prince was ordered to remain in the capital to oversee its defense. On the ninth day of the eleventh month, the Emperor’s temporary palace reached Tai’an, where they stayed. The accompanying officials camped about a mile outside the palace grounds. Thus, with carriages and horses threading the streets and the powerful crowding every corner, the price of firewood and grain in Tai’an soared, causing not a little disturbance to the common people.

On the third day of the first month, Emperor Gaozong led his ministers to perform the Fengshan sacrifices at Mount Tai, with the Empress as the secondary offerer and Grand Minister of Works Li Ji as the final offerer. He issued an edict granting amnesty to all under heaven, and changed the era name to the first year of Qianfeng. During the grand ceremony, the Empress personally bestowed various ranks, honors, and titles upon the civil and military officials, and further issued an imperial decree: those over eighty years of age among the people were appointed as lesser officials in lower prefectures, as Sima, or as county magistrates; elderly women were granted the titles of Lady of the Prefecture or County. Those aged seventy to eighty were awarded a rank of ancient nobility and exempted from the year’s taxes in the counties and prefectures they passed through. It could be said that she had outshone all others. As soon as the Fengshan ceremony concluded, the Biographies of Exemplary Women and the Guide for Ministers, both nominally compiled by the Empress, were swiftly distributed to all prefectures and counties. Additionally, the North Gate scholars all composed laudatory essays, and thus the Empress’s reputation for virtue was solidified.

What was meant to be a grand imperial sacrifice became, in the end, a stage for the Empress alone—a performance of unmatched brilliance, a veritable “grand slam.” There was the calculated largesse to win over the officials, the timely promotions of those so-called North Gate scholars, and the exemption of local taxes to curry favor with the people. Coupled with the relentless flattery of shameless literati, she seized the high ground of public opinion. It was a masterstroke, executed with seamless grace. Even someone as experienced as Li Xian could only marvel in admiration.

It was unassailable—truly unassailable. Even though Li Xian scrutinized every move as if through a microscope, he still could not find a single flaw in the Empress’s actions. Of course, even if he could, this was not the moment to openly challenge her. Thus, during the entire course of the Fengshan ceremony, all Li Xian could do was remain a detached observer—waiting, waiting for the grand drama to begin.

The Fengshan ceremony was lively enough, but once it passed, it was over. Emperor Gaozong himself had not intended to return to the capital so soon, but the ministers all had duties to attend to and could not afford to neglect state affairs. Thus, barely had the Lantern Festival ended when the local officials who had accompanied the procession began taking their leave, and soon after, the central ministers, following imperial edict, also returned to the capital one after another. The city of Tai’an, bustling for more than a month, gradually returned to tranquility. Of course, whether Tai’an was lively or not mattered little to Li Xian. As a prince, he had no need to camp out with the officials. Within the temporary palace, there were quarters for himself and his brother Li Xian, and the two had behaved with notable restraint during this period. They neither met with ministers nor engaged in private dealings; instead, they passed their days chatting and playing chess, quite at their leisure. And so, early one morning, the brothers had set up the chessboard once again.

Li Xian played a fine game of chess, having studied it through three lifetimes, and especially as a student in later years, when he had attended several years at an amateur chess academy, his skill was evident. As for Li Xian, his level was average at best—perhaps a hair better than a hopeless novice. The only reason their games appeared evenly matched was because Li Xian always gave his brother a handicap. But Li Xian’s skill was so poor, he never even noticed.

“Your Highnesses, Wu Youning, the adjutant from Shizhou, seeks an audience. Will Your Highnesses receive him?”

As the two brothers were absorbed in their game, the young eunuch Zhang Che hurried in from outside, bowed, and quickly made his report.

“Not seeing anyone!”

Li Xian, caught in a difficult position on the board, was thoroughly vexed. On hearing the unfamiliar name, he snorted without even looking up.

“Wait.”

Li Xian did not know who Wu Youning was, but Li Xian knew all too well and even had a good idea of his purpose. In truth, he had been waiting for this man to appear these past days and had no intention of letting him leave unreceived. So he raised his hand and called out, stopping Zhang Che in his tracks.

“Hm?”

In these days, quite a few local officials had come to pay their respects, including high-ranking prefects, but each time, Li Xian had followed Li Xian’s advice and refused to see them all. Now, hearing Li Xian express a desire to receive a guest, Li Xian forgot about the chessboard and looked up in surprise, gazing suspiciously at Li Xian as he grunted from his nose.

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“Sixth Brother, this man is the eldest son of Wu Weiliang, Prefect of Shizhou. By blood, he’s our cousin,” Li Xian replied with a faint smile, offering a casual explanation.

“So what?” Li Xian, holding a deep dislike for the Empress, extended it to the entire Wu clan and cared little for this so-called cousin. He turned his head aside, snorting dismissively.

“Sixth Brother, he’s come a long way. He must have something important to discuss. There’s no harm in meeting him.”

Li Xian had no desire to reveal Wu Youning’s true purpose just yet, so he chuckled and offered a word of persuasion.

“Very well, let him in then.”

Li Xian frowned and considered for a moment. Though he still felt it would be better not to meet, he did not wish to embarrass Li Xian, so he nodded his assent without enthusiasm.

“Yes, Your Highnesses.”

As soon as Li Xian gave his consent, Zhang Che dared not delay. He answered promptly and turned to go, but before he could take a step, Li Xian had already risen, tossing his chess piece into the box and beaming, “Sixth Brother, sit tight! I’ll go and meet him with you. Let no one say we brothers are cold or unfeeling.”

“Mm.” Li Xian made a noncommittal sound, not bothering to say more as he lowered his head to study the board once again. Clearly, in his mind, the chess game far outweighed the importance of this unknown cousin.

In front of the main hall, a young man in the attire of a sixth-rank official paced nervously, his eyes straying from time to time toward the dim depths of the hall, as if hoping for something. This was Wu Youning, eldest son of Wu Weiliang, the Empress’s cousin. He had been sent by his father to invite the two princes to a banquet at their temporary residence. In his mind, it was a trivial matter, easily accomplished. Yet, after waiting before the hall for quite some time with no response, unease began to creep into his heart.

“Eunuch Zhang…”

As Wu Youning fretted, he caught sight of Zhang Che emerging from the hall and hurried to adjust his robes and greet him. But as he called out, he suddenly noticed Li Xian following behind and was momentarily struck dumb, forgetting to speak further.

So, it was this rascal! Wu Youning did not know Li Xian, but Li Xian recognized Wu Youning at once, for in his previous life, Wu Youning had been a loyal hound at the Empress’s side, using her favor to commit all manner of vile acts. Li Xian had suffered much at his hands and loathed his character deeply. Still, these were different times, and Li Xian had no intention of showing his feelings on their first meeting. Seeing Wu Youning frozen in place, Li Xian said nothing, only stood by with a genial smile, hands clasped behind his back, studying Wu Youning with keen interest.

“His Highness Prince Zhou is here! How dare you not pay your respects, Adjutant Wu!”

Li Xian was good-natured, but Zhang Che, standing by, could not abide such rudeness. He shot Wu Youning a glare and rebuked him sharply.

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“Ah—this humble servant Wu Youning greets His Highness Prince Zhou. I beg Your Highness’s pardon for my lapse in manners.”

Though Wu Youning was related to the imperial family and held an official post, he was, in truth, little more than a country bumpkin who had never seen the world. Startled by Zhang Che’s rebuke, he flustered his greeting, his words jumbled and his manner awkward—altogether the picture of a rustic.

“That’s enough. After all, Adjutant Wu is my cousin; among family there’s no need for such formality.” Li Xian, long practiced at masking his feelings, did not let his dislike for Wu Youning show. He paid no heed to Wu Youning’s awkwardness and only raised his hand amiably. “Please, there’s no need for ceremony.”

“Ah, yes—oh, thank you, Your Highness, for your kindness. I—” The friendlier Li Xian was, the more anxious Wu Youning became, answering at random and flushing so deeply his pale face turned nearly purple.

“Has cousin come to see me on urgent business? This is hardly the place for conversation. If you have matters to discuss, let us go inside. Please.”

Li Xian seemed not to notice Wu Youning’s distress. With a smile, he stepped aside and made a graceful gesture of invitation.

“That’s not necessary, truly! It’s nothing urgent. My father and uncle have prepared a modest banquet and wish to invite His Majesty and Her Majesty to grace us with their presence. I’ve come under my father’s orders to invite Your Highness and Prince Lu as well. Here are the invitations—I hope you will do us the honor.”

Wu Youning, feeling he had embarrassed himself before Li Xian and keen to leave, quickly produced two gilded invitations from his sleeve, bowed, and presented them to Li Xian.

“Oh? So that’s it.” Li Xian smiled, accepted the invitations without opening them, and tucked them into his sleeve. “Your fathers’ kindness is much appreciated. If we are able, we will certainly attend. Since you’ve come such a long way, please come inside and chat for a while. It’s a rare chance for us cousins to spend time together.”

“Thank you, Your Highness, but I have other duties to attend to and won’t trouble you further. I shall call again another day to pay my respects. Now, I must take my leave.”

Wu Youning, inexplicably ill at ease in Li Xian’s presence, felt a great relief upon hearing the acceptance and was eager to depart without delay.

“Very well, in that case, I won’t keep you. Safe travels, cousin.”

Li Xian made no move to detain him, only nodded with a smile, accepting Wu Youning’s parting salute. He watched as Wu Youning passed behind the screen wall outside the hall before curling his lips into a cold smile, tossing his sleeve and striding back into the hall…