Qin Jianzhi was a great mother
At the end of the fifteenth year of the reign of Emperor Renzhao, the Southern Continent invaded. The Right General of the Rong army was defeated, and Jue City fell. Early the following year, the Northern Dai launched a strong attack, losing three more cities. The Emperor ordered Ye Xusheng to personally lead Li Guang to resist. After seven months of fierce fighting, the enemy refused to retreat. Ye was determined to fight to the death, but the Emperor sued for peace to ensure the people's livelihood. In November, Shuo and Nan negotiated, ceding Jue City, and the Southern army retreated. In the sixteenth year of the reign of Emperor Renzhao, the Southern border was again in turmoil. Tang Jing was transferred south to assist Ye Xusheng in repelling the enemy. In the same year, the North and South clashed, and the Shuo army launched a fierce attack, recapturing Jue City in December. In the seventeenth year of the reign of Emperor Renzhao, Li Guang was stationed in the city, and Tang Jing returned north. The Southern Continent sent a letter expressing their desire for a marriage alliance. Fearing for the nation's safety, the Emperor recalled his eldest son, Sheng Xiaoxin, to the capital. In the same month, the eldest daughter of the Marquis of Jianbei was promoted to Princess Yunluo. — *Shuo Li*
"Your Majesty, the Lady of Jianbei Marquis requests an audience."
Emperor Ming, seated on his dragon throne, ignored him and replied indifferently, "The Dowager Lady Li is unwell, and the Marquis of Jianbei died young. She should properly fulfill her filial duties in the hall in place of her husband. I bestow some lingzhi and ginseng upon her so she can take them back and show concern for the Dowager Lady Li on my behalf."
Clearly, Emperor Ming did not have a pleasant attitude towards Qin Jianzhi's repeated visits to the palace.
“Your Majesty… General Li, she… she has also entered the palace.” Eunuch You hesitated before speaking.
Emperor Ming was indeed taken aback, but quickly regained his composure and looked at him, asking, "What brings you here?"
“This is the third year,” Eunuch You continued meaningfully. “Judging by the days, it’s probably time for the princess to leave the palace.”
"Princess? Which princess?"
"Princess Yunluo".
Upon hearing this, Emperor Ming's expression immediately darkened: "Hmph, I almost forgot, she wants to take Yunluo out of the palace? Hmph, her precious daughter is living a very good life in this palace."
Although Emperor Ming's words were full of sarcasm, upon closer examination, they were not entirely wrong. In the three years since entering the palace, Tang Yan had transformed from an unknown little princess into a fearsome and ruthless woman.
She was fearless of injury, pain, and even death. This allowed her to act with impunity in the palace; every knife thrust at her became an arrow in her hand, which she would retaliate without hesitation.
She experienced everything: one punishment of copying texts, two punishments of kneeling, three punishments of confinement, and four punishments of being flogged.
Anyway, His Majesty won't kill her.
As long as she doesn't die, she has nothing to fear.
Eunuch You didn't have much of a problem with Tang Yan, but he felt that this princess was too unruly. In the three years she had been in the palace, she had stirred up trouble everywhere. It would be strange if he didn't hear news of the princess being punished every month. But it was one thing for her to be like this, but this princess had also caused trouble for a prince.
The Ninth Prince had no ambitions and loved pleasure. He was originally indifferent to everything, but he was obedient to the princess and was terrified of her.
The most famous incident in the palace occurred when the Ninth Prince was drinking heavily at a banquet, surrounded by beautiful women. Upon learning this, the princess barged into the banquet without saying a word, lifted her skirt, stepped onto the table, lifted the Ninth Prince's chin, and forced him to drink in front of the beauties.
That was an absurd farce. It's still talked about to this day.
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"Ayan! Ayan!" Sheng Xingxing waved to her from the low wall.
Tang Yan ignored him and didn't even look up, continuing to lie on the wicker chair and bask in the sun. A loud "thump" was heard, and a figure leaped down from the wall with practiced ease, approaching her excitedly: "Ayan, guess who came in from outside the palace?"
"I won't guess."
Tang Yan kicked the object to the side with precision, still keeping his eyes closed, and said calmly, "You're blocking my sun."
"Aren't you curious at all?"
She remained listless, not even bothering to lift her eyelids: "You never come here with anything good. The blame I've taken for you is making my back ache."
“This time it’s really important, I saw Lady Hou!” Ignoring the dust on her legs, Sheng Xingxing reached out and removed the palm-leaf fan covering Lady Hou’s eyes, continuing with a grin, “She’s here to take you out of the palace.”
Tang Yan opened his eyes as expected, and just as he straightened up halfway, he suddenly fell back down as if he had thought of something: "His Majesty will not agree."
“This time is different, Ayan,” Sheng Xingxing continued to pull her up, her tone serious, “This is the third year already. The Lady of the Marquis has come to take you back to prepare for your coming-of-age ceremony.”
Tang Yan was stunned.
Yes, this has already been the third year in her years of living in fear and anxiety.
"You're going home, Ayan. You can finally go home." Sheng Xingxing continued to smile at her, looking even happier than the girl herself.
“It’s not that simple,” Tang Yan shook his head, his expression turning dejected again: “It never is.”
She has never been such a lucky person.
As it turns out, Tang Yan's guess was absolutely correct.
Outside the palace gates, Qin Jianzhi, who was waiting there, only received one sentence: "The princess's coming-of-age ceremony is a major event, and the palace would like to share in the joy. His Majesty said that Princess Yun'an will be returning to the capital soon, and the princess's coming-of-age ceremony, which was postponed due to her travels, will also be held this year. Why not make this a double celebration and have the palace congratulate both of you?" A young eunuch said respectfully.
These words sounded nice, but Qin Jianzhi didn't smile at all. In the previous few times she had entered the palace, Her Majesty had turned her away with the same reason, but today, she could not back down again.
"Please inform His Majesty, Your Excellency," Qin Jianzhi knelt down straight and said without blinking, "Your Majesty, I, Qin, have come to the palace to bring my youngest daughter home."
When the news reached Emperor Ming's ears, he smashed his jade cup in a fit of rage and exclaimed, "This is truly outrageous! Does the entire Tang household intend to oppose me?!"
The emperor was furious, and everyone in the hall knelt down instantly, no one daring to speak. After a few moments, a figure finally knelt down in the hall, looked up and said respectfully, "Your Majesty, please calm down. I believe this is not an act of defiance against you. On the contrary, it is a great opportunity for Your Majesty to win the hearts of the people."
Emperor Ming lowered his eyes to look at the person in the center, but he still straightened his back and continued to say: "Three years ago, the daughter of the Marquis of Jianbei entered the palace. The people along the street all praised Your Majesty. However, after she has been in the palace for a long time, the people only know one thing about the princess's situation and not the other. Rumors spread everywhere and brought disaster to the palace. This time is a great opportunity to dispel the rumors and clear your name."
After a moment, Emperor Ming finally managed to speak: "Junshi."
The person in the very middle paused for a moment.
"Are you thinking of me, or are you pleading for someone else?" Emperor Ming's gaze pierced through him, his voice filled with scrutiny.
Cheng Junshi remained with his hands clasped in front of him, his gaze unwavering: "Your Majesty is wise."
"Back then, you were willing to return to the capital and surrender, severing all ties with those people. I consider that you abandoned darkness and embraced the light, choosing the right path. Your father was senile and made a foolish mistake back then. Now, you should think this through carefully." The Emperor's voice came slowly, but the person opposite him remained unmoved, his gaze fixed straight ahead as he said, "Your subject will wholeheartedly serve the country and its people, and share Your Majesty's burdens."
"Very well," Emperor Ming chuckled, then turned his gaze to the person beside him and said lightly, "If she wants to kneel, then let her kneel."
“Your Majesty, this…I’m afraid it’s inappropriate.” Eunuch You hesitated before speaking. Emperor Ming’s gaze quickly pierced him again, and Eunuch You immediately continued, “The lady is the widow of the Marquis of Jianbei. If she kneels at the palace gate for a long time, the rumors may be detrimental to Your Majesty.”
Emperor Ming remained silent, his gaze still fixed on the emperor. Eunuch You, sweating profusely, continued, "This old servant has something to say, but I don't know if I should."
"speak."
Eunuch You swallowed hard and said meaningfully, "Your Majesty, the palace gate is quite far from here. The Lady of the Marquis is frail and weak, so Your Majesty cannot hear her voice from inside the palace."
Suddenly, Emperor Ming burst into loud laughter: "You Wenhu, you really are a cunning old fox."
Eunuch You smiled obsequiously and said to Emperor Ming, "Your Majesty flatters me."
Cheng Junshi, sitting below, was stunned. The palace gate was far from the main hall, which meant that sounds from outside the palace gate could not reach them—so they could pretend they hadn't heard anything.
Human voices are too soft; they can only be heard through the high city walls and disappear without a trace.
Those who stand at a high place seem insignificant to everyone else; pain is not pain, grief is not grief, everything is so trivial. They can ignore whatever voices they want, since the joys and sorrows of ordinary people are always insignificant.
No one was curious, no one cared, and no one paid attention. Anyway, everything was trivial. They weren't afraid at all.
only,
There is a mother here.
The distance was too far, so she slowly knelt down from the palace gate to the main hall.
If her voice was too soft, she would shout it louder and louder, until everyone turned to look at her, until even important figures would stop and listen to this insignificant plea.
"Your Majesty, Qin, has come to the palace to bring your youngest daughter home."
The bluestone slabs stretched as far as the eye could see.
The mother remained composed, repeatedly kowtowing until her head thudded.
"Your Majesty, Qin, has come to the palace to bring your youngest daughter home."
The sound, like the ancient petition drum, reverberated from this not-so-imposing body, each sentence stirring and each word filled with tears.
But the imperial city is so tall and so big.
In this square city, a nobody is as insignificant as can be. From the palace gate to the main hall, such a long journey, all she can leave behind is a long trail of blood.
The four high walls served as both a prison and an execution ground.
The bruises on her forehead belonged to her, the bloodstains on her feet belonged to her, the festering flesh on her knees belonged to her, and the exposed white bones on her legs also belonged to her.
The imperial city does not devour people.
It simply watched as people burned away like candles, their blood and tears drying up, until they turned into a pile of ashes.
Ash is the best nutrient.
The monster that grew up in the palace had gray eyes and a gray heart.
"Your Majesty... Qin Shi... has come to the palace," Qin Jianzhi knelt down with a thud, the hard surface pressing against her—whether it was bone or blue bricks—as she slowly raised her head on the long steps before the palace, finally letting out a long, hoarse cry: "Take, my youngest daughter home!"
The sound was still not loud, but it was close enough.
This was clearly heard inside the hall.
It was perfectly clear whose wife and mother were kneeling outside the hall, and for whom she had come.
No one could ignore her words anymore.
"Mother!" Tang Yan knelt down almost in a trembling voice, her tears unable to wash away the blood on her mother's body.
Blood and tears mingled together, just like when she was born, yet Qin Jianzhi was still smiling.
"Don't cry...don't cry."
Tang Yan cried helplessly, just like she had back then.
“We’re going home…don’t be afraid, Mom’s here, our Ayan, don’t be scared.”
There was nowhere left to lock her daughter up.
Inside the main hall, Emperor Ming's face was ashen, and Eunuch You knelt beside him as if facing a formidable enemy.
The road was long, and the sound could not be heard. Qin Jianzhi could kneel if he wanted to; after all, the palace gate was so far away, and if he couldn't kneel, it could only be considered a lack of sincerity. He could blame heaven, earth, or himself, but he couldn't blame Emperor Ming.
Yu Wenhu never expected that Qin Jianzhi would actually kneel all the way from the palace gate to the main hall. The foolproof plan had failed.
Outside the palace gates, there was a loud wailing and crying.
"Announce," Emperor Ming said, looking through the door, "Princess Yunluo has been in the palace for three years and has been properly raised. From this day forward, she shall be sent back to the Jianbei Marquis's residence."
The noise outside grew even louder, and along with the imperial decree arrived—
"Your Majesty, the First Prince has returned to the capital."
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