Chapter 64
Mother's knows best
Inside Jian Kang City stands the magnificent Daoming Palace, a grand achievement by Empress Yuan that brought joy and fulfillment to the Liang Emperor. Empress Yuan, a woman who rose to power, captivated not just one, but two heirs to the Liang Empire. Her beauty was unmatched, and her ambitions led to the rise of a new city in the Southern State, home to many foreign traders who prospered, second only to the Great Summer Dynasty.
It was rumored that past Liang Emperors chose foreign princesses as consorts, leading many commoners to believe that the imperial family bore distinct foreign features. However, both Xiao Ce and Prince Lou were exceptions, as their mothers, the former and present Empresses, came from pure, noble Chinese bloodlines of the Liang Empire.
Empress Yuan had already planned a future for her son, Prince Lou. She secretly arranged a bond with her close family clan and selected a companion for him. This child, whom she secretly adopted, grew up in Daoming Palace alongside Prince Lou and Xiao Ce. Her name was A'Fu, and the three became childhood friends.
A'Fu was brave, strong, and far from the typical daughter of the Liang Palace. She enjoyed traditionally masculine activities, such as hunting, camping, and playing ball games. Later, A'Fu requested to enlist in the military and became one of the female lieutenants of Liang. Her boldness and strength inspired noblewomen and commoners alike, and she became a role model, earning honor and admiration across the state.
As children, Xiao Ce developed an innocent affection for A'Fu. He often told his parents that one day he would marry her, to which A'Fu always responded with a sad smile. Despite Xiao Ce's puppy love, it was one-sided, A'Fu did not return his affections.
Empress Yuan, aware of the situation, did not interfere, confident that young hearts would change with time. Meanwhile, Prince Lou, who was five years older than A'Fu, showed little romantic interest in her. A'Fu, however, admired Prince Lou, enchanted by his handsome appearance, his heroism, and his kind heart. Many women in the Liang court viewed him as the perfect match, but Empress Yuan kept these women at bay, ensuring A'Fu remained his constant companion.
Xiao Ce, envious of his brother's close relationship with A'Fu, often complained to his father, seeking ways to keep A'Fu at the palace and away from Prince Lou.
As time passed, this innocent love triangle grew into a more complex situation. While Xiao Ce's harem resembled a garden of exotic beauties, none of his concubines had ever captured his heart because he remained set on marrying A'Fu. Eventually, however, Xiao Ce learned the painful truth, A'Fu did not feel the same about him. Instead, she harbored feelings for his brother.
Heartbroken and jealous, Xiao Ce confronted Prince Lou. But Prince Lou, who considered the matter trivial, suggested they settle it with a sword fight.
Xiao Ce agreed, stating, "Whoever loses will give up A'Fu. Whoever wins will marry her."
A'Fu, upon witnessing the sword fight, saw how unskilled Xiao Ce was compared to Prince Lou's superior swordsmanship. The outcome was inevitable, Xiao Ce lost. In his anger and humiliation, Xiao Ce ordered his guards to arrest Prince Lou.
Prince Lou was detained in the royal prison and had to defend himself before the Liang court ministers, nobles, and scholars. He claimed the duel was just swordplay, not a serious attempt to harm his brother. However, he concealed the fact that Xiao Ce had initiated the fight and brought it to the brink of life and death.
Prepared to face punishment, Prince Lou awaited his sentence...death.
In a dramatic turn, A'Fu came forward to defend him, falsely claiming that she was the one who had wounded Xiao Ce. Her testimony spared Prince Lou's life, but A'Fu was now facing punishment herself. Just as she was about to receive her sentence, Xiao Ce intervened, confessing the truth to the Emperor.
Empress Yuan, deeply concerned for her sons and A'Fu, stood before the Emperor and begged for mercy.
Moved by Xiao Ce's love for A'Fu, the Emperor declared that A'Fu's punishment would be to marry Xiao Ce, making her his first wife and the future Queen of Liang. As for Prince Lou, he was ordered to stay away from A'Fu. She was reassigned to palace duties, no longer under Prince Lou's command.
Empress Yuan had not anticipated such a decree, but she accepted the Emperor's decision. Prince Lou retained his position as deputy commander of Liang's military, but the emotional toll was far greater than he had expected. It was only after A'Fu was removed from his life that Prince Lou realized how deeply he cared for her.
When the weight of A'Fu's absence became unbearable, Prince Lou secretly sent a letter to her at Daoming Palace. A'Fu received the letter, but she did not reply. Instead, she tossed it into the palace fountain, knowing that words alone could not save her from the life she was sinking into.
As her wedding day to Xiao Ce approached, A'Fu's spirit waned. She had lost her dreams of being with Prince Lou, was barred from returning to the military, and now faced a future as Xiao Ce's wife, a role she had never desired. The value she once saw in her life faded, and she felt as though she had become a prisoner of her own fate.
Empress Yuan, desperate to save A'Fu, decided to take a dangerous gamble. She knew that intervening could put her son, Prince Lou, in the crosshairs of the imperial power struggle, potentially costing him his position in the military. But it was the only way she saw to save A'Fu from the misery she was about to face.
On the eve of Xiao Ce and A'Fu's wedding, Empress Yuan visited A'Fu in secret, presenting her with a final option for escape.
"Do you love Prince Lou?" Empress Yuan asked quietly.
A'Fu, her face haggard, eyes swollen from crying, sat in her torn night robes. She reeked of hard liquor, her voice shaky as she replied, "I've loved him all my life, but all he ever did was send me a letter. That's not enough."
"What would be enough?" Empress Yuan asked, pitying the woman she had adopted and raised as her own daughter.
"Prince Lou can do anything, fight, kill, even destroy nations," A'Fu mumbled drunkenly, not fully aware of who she was speaking to. "But why can't he defend his heart?"
Empress Yuan, burdened with guilt, handed A'Fu a way out. She produced a small bottle containing a mysterious potion. "Take this potion," she instructed, placing the bottle on the carpet. "Within 24 hours, you'll wake up with the man you love, not the one who haunts your nightmares."
The Empress walked halfway across the room, leaving the bottle on the floor. "If you trust me, take a drop at midnight. I'll handle the rest."
With that, Empress Yuan left A'Fu's chambers, her graceful exit hiding the uncertainly in her heart. A'Fu, out of options and deep in despair, stared at the potion. She hesitated, then out of desperation, took a drop and soon collapsed on the expensive carpet.
Hearing the faint sound of a body falling, Empress Yuan returned to the room. She found A'Fu lying unconscious, as expected. Swiftly, she hid the potion to erase any trace of her involvement. Then, she called for her guards, quietly instructing them to prepare Prince Lou.
"Tomorrow," she murmured to herself, "the state will not attend a wedding, but a funeral. One woman will become a sleeping beauty, two princes will face their destinies. One will mourn, the other will rejoice. But whether I intervened or not, both will live to regret the fate written in the stars."
Like a tragic love story akin toRomeo and Juliet, what Empress Yuan didn't realize was that this tale, too, would end in sorrow. When A'Fu awoke, she wasn't beside Prince Lou as she had hoped. Instead, she found herself in a beautiful temple atop the Tan Jing Mountains, isolated and alone.
She waited for Prince Lou, but he, caught in the duties of his station, did not come immediately. His role as Deputy General stationed at Duodu, one of Liang's largest military borders, prevented him from leaving unnoticed, especially now that the empire was mourning the supposed death of the crown princess.
After waiting days in despair, A'Fu, unable to bear the isolation, took her own life by jumping from a cliff. As fate would have it, Prince Lou and his entourage arrived two days later. Upon their arrival, they found locals pulling A'Fu's broken body from the cliffside.
Prince Lou, heartbroken, embraced her lifeless form, devastated that he had arrived too late. He cried for days, unable to forgive himself. He then arranged a proper military burial for A'Fu, who had once been a promising young female lieutenant under his command.
The weight of her death pushed Prince Lou to the brink. Fueled by anger and grief, he began to plot a rebellion against the empire. With control over six of Liang's eight border prefectures, he planned a coup, hoping to avenge A'Fu and challenge the Emperor's rule.
However, his military power was still weaker compared to the massive forces of the Great Summer Dynasty, led by Seventh Prince Yuan Che. Sun Di, a childhood friend of Xiao Ce and now a military governor, controlled the other two prefectures, and Prince Lou knew that rebellion would be a dangerous gamble.
Meanwhile, Xiao Ce had no idea of the events unfolding in the shadows. But as time passed, he discovered a shocking truth. Curious and suspicious, Xiao Ce ordered a secret investigation into A'Fu's death. Upon exhuming her body, he realized that the corpse buried in the royal tomb was not A'Fu.
Xiao Ce, heart heavy with regret, kept this discovery to himself. He came to understand the depth of his brother's love for A'Fu, a love he had been too blind to see before. Realizing that both A'Fu and Prince Lou had been victims of a cruel fate, Xiao Ce chose to forgive his brother and buried the secret in his heart.
Though Xiao Ce distanced himself from Prince Lou after the revelation, he could never forget what had happened. He harbored quiet resentment toward his stepmother, Empress Yuan, who had orchestrated the events that led to A'Fu's death.
In the end, Xiao Ce, Prince Lou, and A'Fu were all victims of the same tragic fate, bound by love, torn apart by power, and haunted by the choices they could not undo.
The tragic story of Xiao Ce's first love left a deep scar. After losing A'Fu, he vowed never to propose marriage again. Instead, he immersed himself in short-term affairs, earning the reputation of being China's hottest playboy prince.
For a few years, he indulged in fleeting romances until a state visit to Wei changed everything. It was then that his heart began to rekindle the hope of love when he met Chu Qiao. Thoughts of marriage crept back into his mind, and he couldn't help but remember A'Fu, Chu Qiao reminded him of the kind of woman who could make him fall to his knees.
Chu Qiao became the light that broke the chains around Xiao Ce's heart. Like a beacon in the darkness, she made him believe that perhaps, love could heal his past wounds. She brought hope where there had only been sorrow.
But the hope was short-lived. Every rainbow has its end, and for Xiao Ce, that moment came when he learned that Yuwen Yue was still alive. He realized that his chance with Chu Qiao was gone. Understanding that she would never be his lifetime partner, he quietly let go of the idea of pursuing her.
Retreating to his palace, Xiao Ce sank into his private grief. King Tang, determined to end his son's long-standing mourning for A'Fu and his unreciprocated love for Chu Qiao, filled Xiao Ce's harem with foreign concubines after Xiao Yu's marriage to Yan Xun. However, none of them could heal the wounds in Xiao Ce's heart.
In a further attempt to distract him, King Tang invited beautiful women from Liang's noble households, hoping to catch the crown prince's eye. But none of them could mend his broken heart.
The pressures of succession soon forced Xiao Ce to take a concubine. Liang's palace ministers insisted he produce an heir since his first crown princess, A'Fu, was long gone. Complying with palace protocols, Xiao Ce entered a relationship with his first concubine, Zhan Ziming, from the noble Zhan household. She bore him his first son, Li Xuiyi, to the empire's great joy. Li Xuiyi was expected to inherit the empire from King Tang.
Later, Zhan Ziming gave birth to another son, Li Qingrong. As Xiao Ce's family grew, Empress Yuan realized her ambitions to become the ultimate ruler of the Liang Empire were fading. With Xiao Ce's two sons securing the royal line, Empress Yuan saw her chances of holding power in the future slipping away.
Faced with this reality, Empress Yuan began plotting. In a bold and dangerous move, she secretly conspired to kill Emperor Tang and all members of the Li royal clan. Her goal was to establish herself as regent, and eventually, crown herself the first female Emperor of Liang. It was an outrageous scheme, but in Liang, a state known for passing unconventional laws, it wasn't entirely impossible. Liang's ministers were notorious for turning impossibilities into reality.
Unlike Wei, with its conservative governance and strict protocols that limited women's roles, Liang's more flexible laws made such ambitions more plausible. However, exceptions existed in Wei as well, such as when Chu Qiao was appointed the first female archery coach in the Xiaoqi Elite Forces Camp and earned the prestigious title of "Mulan." Still, this was presented as a rare honor, a unique exception bestowed by the Emperor.
Meanwhile, Prince Lou, Xiao Ce's brother, remained in his military role as General Sui's deputy commander. General Sui, the Grand Duke of Liang, had become a father figure to Prince Lou, especially in the absence of his older brother and father, Emperor Tang. The complexity of these relationships, though difficult to imagine, was perfectly legal within Liang's royal clans.
Xiao Yu, having married Yan Xun, became more passive after a year of inactivity. It was unclear whether this was her own choice or Yan Xun's doing. If Emperor Tang ever discovered that his daughter had been attacked by Blackguard assassins, it could spell disaster for Yan Xun and possibly lead to war with the Batuja royal family, a protectorate state of Wei.
Back in Jinwu Palace, Chu Qiao slowly awoke, her senses sharp as she recognized the unfamiliar surroundings. As she opened her eyes, the high ceiling above her came into view. She rose from the luxurious bed, observing the room, when suddenly a young boy entered carrying a tray.
Without hesitation, Chu Qiao tapped the carpet, sending a gust of air that knocked the boy down before catching the tray from his hands. Grabbing a chopstick, she held it to the boy's neck and asked sternly, "I will only ask once. Where am I?"
The boy looked up at her, unfazed, as though waiting for her to recognize him. Chu Qiao blinked, then realized who he was. She dropped her guard, and with a sigh of relief, said, "Ping'An! What are you doing here?"
"Master Chu, I work here now, in Jinwu Palace," he replied.
Memories of the past week flooded back to Chu Qiao. "Where is Viper?" she asked. "Did you see her?"
"Yes, Master," Ping'An said, trying to reassure her. "She's safe, too."
Just then, Viper entered the room, accompanied by Tie You. As she approached, Chu Qiao whispered to her, "Call me Chu Qiao. Do not expose me as Mimi Gongzhu."
Tie You greeted her, "General Chu, how are you feeling?"
"I'm fine," Chu Qiao replied, then immediately asked, "Where is Prince Xiao Ce?"
Her memories had returned, and she was back to her old self.
As the group conversed, Sun Di approached. His eyes briefly lingered on Chu Qiao, admiring her beauty, though she was still dressed in her night robes. He addressed her respectfully, "General Chu Qiao, it's rather unexpected that fate has brought you here to the palace."
Behind him, Xiao Ce appeared, a bright smile on his face as he beamed at Chu Qiao. "Qiao Qiao," he said, his eyes sparkling with mischief, "who said I was going to let you leave?"
"And why not?" Chu Qiao retorted with her usual sharpness.
Xiao Ce sighed theatrically. "You haven't changed, and you're still as beautiful as ever. What about that ring on your hand? Are you engaged to someone?"
Before Chu Qiao could respond, Viper interjected, "No, she isn't engaged to anybody."
Xiao Ce sensed the sadness in Chu Qiao's eyes. "I'm glad to hear that," he said gently. "Like I told you before, the future belongs to those who wait."
Sun Di stepped in, offering to break the tension. "How about we all enjoy a hearty meal? My treat at my mansion. Shall we?"
Xiao Ce nodded enthusiastically. "Sounds like a great idea. Chu Qiao, let me introduce you to Sun Di, my childhood friend and now one of Liang's military governors."
"How should I address you?" Chu Qiao asked with a smile. "Governor Sun Di?"
Sun Di laughed. "Please, just call me Sun Di. Xiao Ce and I would be honored if you joined us for a meal."
Chu Qiao hesitated briefly, then replied, "Yes, after I talk with Viper."
Xiao Ce, beaming again, said, "Happy to hear that."
Tie You, eager to share more information, said, "This palace was newly constructed. It's called Yehua Palace. You won't believe it, but my master decided to build it after he saw a falling star. He said that if the falling star ever came down, this would be its home."
Xiao Ce rolled his eyes and smacked Tie You's head playfully. "Enough with your bedtime stories."
But Chu Qiao understood the significance of Tie You's words. "Whoever that falling star was, she's not just lucky to have this palace but must be favored by the crown prince himself," she mused.
Everyone fell silent, realizing that Tie You had been alluding to Chu Qiao all along. Xiao Ce quickly cut off the conversation, but Chu Qiao had already caught on, letting the moment pass without comment.
Xiao Ce smiled at her, a smile that spoke of new beginnings. It was the smile of a man who had matured, of someone ready to take care of the matters of the heart. As for Chu Qiao, she noticed the wrinkles that had started to form around Xiao Ce's eyes, but she could also see that his playful spirit had not changed.
Though their paths had crossed again, both felt that this time, perhaps, they were in the right place at the right time.
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