CH 2

Anguo Gong’s name was Lou Jianyu, and his courtesy name was Bosang. His body was tall and slender, and he had elegant facial features. The Anguo Gong post was a military one, but he looked far more like a civil minister than a military general. After seeing off Huai Zhong with a smile, Lou Jianyu made straight for Zhuque Hall.

Upon the Taizong Emperor’s death, the Empress Dowager took control of the government with her young son. Chaos plagued the Imperial Court as a result, and the vassal kings grew in power and influence, destabilizing the balance of power in the empire. The Shizong Emperor nearly died in the conflict, and to prevent this from happening again, proclaimed that henceforth, the Empress had to be a man. He also decreed that once the Crown Prince had been named, he was to cut ties with his biological mother, and be brought up by this male Empress. The Shizong Emperor had already been buried for more than a hundred years, but his policy was still in effect today. Since the implementation of the male Empress policy, the Imperial Court had stabilized, but Lou Jing could not be happy about this when he was now the subject of the policy.

“… Lou Jing, son of the Anguo Gong, is well versed in literature, skilled in martial arts, and is of pleasing countenance. A marriage is hereby bestowed upon him to the Crown Prince Xiao Chengjun…” Lou Jing grasped the bright yellow brocade bearing the Imperial dragon motif, and was speechless for some time.

Lou Jianyu smirked internally on seeing his son’s expression. “The Imperial edict has already been passed. Don’t do anything foolish!” he said.

“Father,” Lou Jing said, raising his head slowly. His voice was calm and unruffled, like the still surface of an ancient lake. He asked only one question. “Why?”

Lou Jing considered himself a respectful and filial son. He had never disobeyed his father, and had always greeted him as was required in the morning and evening, save for the years he was out fighting the war with his grandfather. And yet, his father had asked his guards to flog him for no good reason. He kept asking himself why his father treated him, his own flesh and blood, so badly.

“Hmpf!” Lou Jianyu didn’t respond, and left with a dramatic flourish of his long sleeves.

The moon was high in the sky when Gao Yi finally returned. When he heard that the Imperial decree had already arrived earlier that afternoon, he couldn’t help but be surprised – it actually happened that quickly?

Lou Jing accepted the letters in reply that Gao Yi handed him. “When you go to the village, bring two people with the right skills back.” The situation was worse than he had anticipated, and he had to prepare for the worst. The Imperial decree had already been passed, and there was no room for negotiation. His father would not give him an ounce of pity either. in these circumstances, having more people by his side could only be beneficial.

“Yes, sir,” Gao Yi said. Lines of worry appeared on his usually calm and resolute face. “Shizi, what are you going to do about this?”

“What can I possibly do?” Lou Jing put down the letters and closed his eyes. When he reopened them, there was some amusement in his eyes. “The marriage will be confirmed on the twentieth day of the eighth month, and the ceremony will take place on the second day of the ninth month. The Emperor is anxious to get this done, and as his loyal subject, I naturally have to support him.”

“Shizi…” Xunxia said, worried. She wondered if Lou Jing was so furious that he’d lost his mind.

Gao Yi knew better. When Shizi behaved this way, it meant that he had a plan in mind, so he took his leave with peace of mind. Xunxia was afraid that Lou Jing would get a fever in the night, and so stationed herself in the room next door, dismissing the servant who was rostered to attend to Lou Jing that night.

Zhuque Hall sank into silence. The sound of the night breeze whistling softly through the bamboo grove in the front yard filled the air. It sounded like withered grass rustling in the desert wind, and made one feel inexplicably desolate.

Lou Jing looked at the bright moon outside his window, doing his best to recollect what the Crown Prince was like. Lou Jing had gone with his grandfather to fight the war when he was eleven years old, and had only returned to the capital two years ago. He came back to observe the three-year mourning period for his grandfather. He didn’t remember much about the Crown Prince, who rarely interacted with the children of the nobility. He could have met the Crown Prince at the Autumn Hunt last year – the nobility were invited to this event – but the Crown Prince had said he was ill and didn’t participate. The Crown Prince in his mind’s eye was still the serious-faced little boy he met as a child, who was dressed in apricot yellow robes and gave him wosi candy*.

*T/N: Wosi candy (窝丝糖) is a type of ancient Chinese sweet. Google it to see what it looks like.

[Eastern Palace, Chongren Hall]

In the dark of night, the cool moonlight flowed like water on the vermilion glazed palace tiles, which made the Imperial Palace seem particularly lonely.

“Lou Jing was beaten?” In the moonlight, a slender hand grasped a small paper note. Apricot yellow sleeves enclosed the wrist attached to that hand. The voice that spoke was calm and pleasant, albeit emotionless. This was Crown Prince Xiao Chengjun, the master of the Eastern Palace.

“Yes,” the man next to him replied. He was dressed like a scholar, and he stood with his hands respectfully folded in front of him. “Anguo Gong has kept this matter very quiet. I’m afraid even his Majesty the Emperor is unaware of this.”

Xiao Chengjun nodded slightly. The hand that grasped the note moved toward the candle, and the snow-white paper burned to ashes.

“Dianxia, if Shizi is dissatisfied with this marriage, letting him marry into the Eastern Palace may not be the best idea…” There was worry in the man’s voice. The Empress and the Crown Prince’s Consort had never been chosen from a family with only one legitimate son. Further, the Anguo Gong family was not regular nobles – they were part of the high nobility, of the Zanying aristocracy, the group of families descended from the founding fathers of the country. Making Luo Jing marry into the Imperial family would effectively extinguish a founding family – how could the Emperor have made such a foolish decision?

Xiao Chengjun languidly folded his hands behind his back. He obviously had no intention of replying, but it wasn’t clear whether he wanted the man to continue or not.

The man went on speaking even though he wasn’t sure what the Crown Prince’s intentions were. “The Lou family is a prominent one, but it has very few descendants. They’re not very useful to Dianxia. Moreover, the Shizi was raised by the old Anguo Gong himself. Last year, during the Autumn Hunt, Lou Jing placed first in hunting, riding and archery, and received the title of Yulin Zhonglang General of the fourth rank. None of the other nobility of his generation can hold a candle to him. He truly is a rare gem…”

The unspoken warning was clear. Caging a matchless talent like Lou Jing in the hougong* was not just a pity, it was downright dangerous; brilliant men were often not without high ambitions.

*T/N: The hougong is what the imperial consorts are called collectively. It means the “back palace”, because in ancient China, women were kept at the “back”, out of sight. A woman’s body can only be seen by her husbands, yunno. :3 It can also mean the place where they live. In this case, it refers to the group of people.

“I’m not worried.” Xiao Chengjun raised his hand, cutting through the man’s anxious counsel. If his Imperial Father wanted him to marry Lou Jing, he must have had his reasons, and anyway, the Imperial edict was already passed. It was water under the bridge at this point.

The next day, Gao Yi went to a village just outside the capital, and bringing back two black-clad, austere-looking young men with him.

“This is Yunqi, and this is Yunba*,” Gao Yi said, by way of introduction. “Yunqi’s speciality is healing wounds, and Yunba’s is gathering information.” Yunqi and Yunba were kneeling on the ground, and Gao Yi pointed at each of them as he spoke. These two were part of the Youyun Sixteen, elite sishi* bequeathed to him by his grandfather, the old Anguo Gong.

*T/N: The names of these fellows all have this format: Cloud [insert number from 1 to 16]. Yun means cloud. For these two, they’re called Cloud Seven and Cloud Eight. It sounds dumb in English so I’ve just kept their names in Chinese. The numbered naming format is common for the Chinese equivalent of ninjas. They’re called by many different names, but in this book, they’re called sishi (death guards). They are expected to give their lives for their master without a thought. How can humans be bequeathed, you ask? In ancient China, everyone was someone’s property, except the Emperor. :p If you were the Emperor, everyone and everything under the sky was your property.

Lou Jing nodded. These sishi were the best of his grandfather’s guards. Their existence was top secret; even his own father didn’t know about them. He was reluctant to use them on mundane things – that was how much he valued them. “I asked you two to come here as an absolute last resort. Don’t do anything until the situation is really dire,” he instructed.

When Lou Jing received the Imperial edict, it was already the seventeenth day of the eight month. Lou Jing had no idea what possessed the Imperial oracles to set the wedding date less than half a month away, on the second day of the ninth month. The schedule was incredibly tight, and the servants of the Anguo Gong main estate were intensely busy, scurrying around preparing for the upcoming wedding.  In contrast, Shizi’s Zhuque Hall was calm, quiet, and under heavy guard.

With Yunqi around to tend to his wounds, Lou Jing’s external wounds were healing well. Even so, it was unlikely that he would be more than 30% healed by the wedding day. The Anguo Gong Furen, whose maiden name was Wei, learned a hard lesson the day she refused to give Lou Jing the ginseng, and didn’t cross him again. To the contrary, she even sent him herbs to aid with his healing, like ginseng and lurong. Lou Jing didn’t bother with her; he was too busy gathering information.

“Shizi,” Gao Yi said, walking in. He had a strange expression on his face. “I saw Young Master Ji Ming climb over the wall.”

“Zhao Xi?” Lou Jing raised his eyebrows and looked up from the book he was reading. He had been lying chest-down in bed as usual. “Bring him in.”

Before long, a young voice rang out, clear as a bell. “Your family’s guards are becoming more and more boorish,” Zhao Xi complained. “You should send them to study with me for two years, I’ll teach them some manners.”

“My guards can’t read. If they went to study with you, they’d sully the good name of Zhao Jieyuan*.” Lou Jing glanced sideways at the fellow who was busily straightening his clothes, and fondness crept into his eyes. Zhao Xi looked to be only fifteen or sixteen years old, had delicate features, and the unique, scholarly air of the Jiangnan literati. “When did you get to the capital, and why didn’t you send word?”

*T/N: Jieyuan is a scholarly title given to the scholar who places first in the provincial Imperial examinations.

The men of the Zhao family were all scholars and government officials. Zhao Xi’s second uncle was Zhao Duan, the current Minister of the Left*. Ordinarily, civil government officials didn’t have much opportunity to interact with the nobility, but Zhao Xi was an exception. He had lived with his uncle and studied in the capital in his childhood, and met Lou Jing entirely by chance. That meeting proved to be serendipitous; the two got along like a house on fire from the very start. Zhao Xi was very well-read even as a child, with a refined face that belied his mischievous nature. Whenever he and Lou Jing were in the capital at the same time, the two were inseparable.

*T/N: The two highest ranked Ministers in the Imperial Court are the Minister of the Right and the Minister of the Left. They are usually from opposing factions, and they function to balance each other out. Much like the adversarial politics of today.

Two years ago, Zhao Xi returned to Jiangnan to bury himself in preparing for and taking the provincial Imperial examinations. At the tender age of fourteen, he’d placed first, and obtained the title of Jieyuan. Zhaoxi was only the ninth child in the Zhao household, and but his achievements were the most outstanding; the rest of his siblings and cousins were no match for him. His family was absolutely thrilled with his achievements, and his grandfather gave him the courtesy name “Ji Ming” even though he had not come of age yet.*

*T/N: In ancient China, you usually only get your courtesy name when you come of age (around twenty years old).

“Hmpf, Grandpa said I was way too noisy at home and gave him a headache, so he made me come and take next year’s Imperial examination in the capital. I thought I’d give you a nice surprise, but when I got here, the first thing I heard was that you’re the Crown Prince’s fiancée!” Zhao Xi grinned and sat down on the bed with a flourish. He accepted the drink Yingqiu offered him, and gulped the tea down in a few mouthfuls. “Thanks Jiejie, could I trouble you for another?” he asked sweetly.

*Jiejie is a mode of address for an older female who is still a young lady.

Yingqiu hid a smile in her hanky, and poured him another cup of tea.

Zhao Xi raised his chin meaningfully, and on seeing this, Gao Yi and Yingqiu left the room.

“I sought an audience, but Anguo Gong refused my request,” Zhao Xi said. After the servants left, the mirth vanished from his face instantly, and his brows knitted together. “He’s confined you?”

In response to his request for an audience, Anguo Gong said that his Shizi was not at home. Zhao Xi then went to the Northern Barracks, but the Left Commander General of the Yulin Troops stationed there told him that Lou Jing hadn’t been seen there for days. It was then he realized that something was off, so decided to just climb into Zhuque Hall and find out what was going on.

Lou Jing put down the book in his hand, and slowly shifted his position on the bed. “I suppose you could say that,” he replied.

Zhao Xi looked at Lou Jing’s indifferent expression, and was suddenly confused. “So you’re just going obediently marry the Crown Prince?” All these years, he had never understood why the Anguo Gong disliked Lou Jing, but at the same time, Lou Jing had never been one to take things lying down. Why was Lou Jing giving up so easily this time?

“Look, I can’t even walk right now. What would you have me do?” Lou Jing asked lazily, yawning. “Marrying into the Eastern Palace isn’t all that bad, at least I won’t have to go fight wars any more, and my father will have to kowtow to me when we meet.”

“You…” Zhao Xi was beyond irritated. “You know that the Emperor highly favours his Guifei, and the Crown Prince’s power is declining. Do you think you’ll have a good life, marrying into the Eastern Palace? What if the Crown Prince is like the Emperor, and isn’t attracted to men?”

*T/N: Guifei are the one of the highest ranked imperial consorts.

Lou Jing looked slowly at the agitated Zhao Xi, and gave a genuine laugh of appreciation. “Zhao Xi, I count my blessings that you’re my friend. Even if my father beat me to death for having you as a friend, it would be worth it.”

It was Zhao Xi’s nature to be irreverent, even toward the Imperial family, but Zhao Xi was still probably the only person he knew who would place his interests for all else, even if that meant committing the sin of insulting the Imperial family.

“Bah! Stop spouting this emotional bullshit,” Zhao Xi returned.

Lou Jing’s expression became serious. “The Imperial edict has already been passed on this matter, and there’s absolutely no way to get the Emperor to retract it. Furthermore… have you heard about Jingnan Hou’s* matter?”

*T/N: The Chinese have a million aristocratic titles that simply do not translate to English *sobs*. A Hou is also a position that can be passed down to legitimate sons born of the main wife (hou furen), and is one rank below a Gong (Lou Jing’s dad is a Gong, and not the gong we talk about in BL, lol). It’s also part of the high nobility. Probably the equivalent in the British peerage is the Marquis?

Jingnan is the name of this particular Hou peerage, like how Anguo is the name of Lou Jing’s father’s Gong peerage. The Jingnan Hou is a military peerage.

“The Emperor seems to want to recall Jingnan Hou back to the capital.” Zhao Xi could not help but lower his voice when he said this. This was classified information. He only knew this because his second uncle, the Minister of the Left, had shared this with him, and the Minister of the Left had only shared something this important with him because he held Zhao Xi in high regard as the genius of the family.

Lou Jing nodded, and sighed deeply. “I heard that it was the Empress’ idea for me to select me as the Crown Prince’s Consort.”

“Huh?!” Zhao Xi couldn’t hide his surprise. The Empress was a member of the Jingnan Hou family, and the latter had guarded the Southeastern border for many years. His accomplishments in battle were unparalleled. However, if the Emperor was recalling the Jingnan Hou to the capital, that could only mean one thing – that he intended to take back Jingnan Hou’s military power. Agreeing to the Empress’ choice for the Crown Prince’s concubine might have been the Emperor’s way of appeasing the Empress. It was odd that the Empress didn’t take this golden opportunity to obtain some benefits for the Jingnan Hou family, though. Why did he use this chance to select Lou Jing, as the Crown Prince’s Consort instead? Lou Jing had nothing to do with any of this.

Lou Jing didn’t take any notice of Zhao Xi’s shocked reaction. He turned his attention to something else instead. “What’s the Minister of the Left’s impression of the Crown Prince?” he asked.

Zhao Xi blinked, trying to remember the information. He didn’t recall his uncle having a particularly good impression of the Crown Prince. The Crown Prince had always been middling in everything, and didn’t really network with anyone. “You think there’s something wrong with the Crown Prince?” he asked.

Lou Jing didn’t know whether to laugh or cry at this question. “Sooner or later, that mouth of yours is going to get you killed,” he said, smacking Zhao Xi’s head lightly. One could not lightly ask if there was a problem with the Crown Prince!

Beansprout: This book has SO MUCH OLD CHINESE. I didn’t realise how much there was when reading, but now that I’m translating it, it’s painfully obvious… Translating the Imperial edicts, in particular – *brainsplodes*

Luvs the friendship between Lou Jing and Zhao Xi though! <3