Chapter Twenty-Two: Children’s Quarrel, Rumors in the Ghost Market (Part One)

In ancient China, propriety was held in the highest regard. During the Ming dynasty, the chief grand secretary was often selected from among the vice ministers and ministers of the Ministry of Rites. In the Tang dynasty, the Ministry of Rites was ranked above the Ministries of War, Justice, and Works, occupying the third place among the six ministries. Rituals, especially those held in years of severe drought, were matters of utmost importance.

The machinery of the state in Chang’an was immediately set into motion.

But Li Wei remained in the Eastern Palace, quietly biding his time. His most pressing concern now was to begin studying in earnest.

He had always assumed he had a fair grasp of classical literature, but upon entering the Academy of Literature, he realized…

The subtle meanings and profound truths were far beyond his previous understanding.

Take, for example, the opening lines of the Book of Songs: “Guan Guan cries the ospreys, on the river islet.” The word “guan guan” is clearly an onomatopoeia, yet the esteemed scholar teaching the Book of Songs posed a question: Why use “guan guan” and not “gua gua” or “gu gu,” which would more closely mimic the osprey’s call?

This single question left Li Wei utterly dumbfounded.

The scholar then elaborated: “Guan guan” refers to the region within the passes. The Zhou dynasty originally had its capital at Haojing. After King You of Zhou was killed by the barbarians, King Ping was forced to move the capital east to Luoyi. From then on, the royal house declined and the rites collapsed, with the feudal lords rising in power. “Guan Guan” comes from the region of southern Zhou, and it is the people, through this phrase, expressing nostalgia for the Western Zhou dynasty and subtly criticizing the powerful lords who overshadow the king.

Since the beginning of the world, Pangu split heaven and earth, dividing yin and yang. With yin and yang separated, all things came into being. Thus, husband and wife are the foundation of human relationships, the cornerstone of morality. This is why “Guan Guan” is placed as the very first poem in the Book of Songs. Guan also means “crown,” crowning all poems at the head.

…

From a single onomatopoeic phrase, the scholar expounded for several thousand words, leaving Li Wei awestruck, and finally resolved—no matter what happened, he must never debate scripture with these learned men. The headache was intense; if learning proceeded in this manner, he would never finish studying even one Book of Songs in his lifetime.

Several officials from the Ministry of Rites entered, accompanied by imperial physicians.

Seeing the book on the table, they knew the Crown Prince was studying.

These officials admired Li Wei greatly. They had heard rumors that the Crown Prince had been afflicted with a soul-loss disorder. Afterwards, his odd behavior—strange running, reorganizing the inner palace—had left them worried that he might have changed temperament.

But this time, the Crown Prince was more sensible than ever. Even when inspecting outside the palace, he dressed simply to avoid burdening the people and to be economical. Though this was somewhat unorthodox, it was a minor issue. Moreover, the princes, even the youngest princess, returned and lamented the plight of the people, as if they had matured overnight.

The Crown Prince himself only read and studied, showing no signs of misconduct. He was frugal, compassionate, intelligent, ambitious, and talented—a perfect embodiment of the ideal heir.

After bowing respectfully, they said, “Your Highness, the day after tomorrow you will personally plow the fields. Let the imperial physicians examine your health.”

Li Wei nodded; it was a necessary procedure. If he were to faint halfway through the ritual, not only would it lose its meaning, but it would also be a bad omen.

These imperial physicians were not from the Eastern Palace, but had been summoned from the Imperial Medical Bureau. They gathered around, treating Li Wei as if he were a rare giant panda.

After a lengthy examination, the eldest physician declared, “Congratulations, Your Highness. Your illness is nearly cured, though not fully. Please take care to avoid extremes of cold and heat.”

With this reassurance, the officials from the Ministry of Rites were greatly relieved. One elderly official bowed deeply and wept, saying, “Heaven bless our Great Tang!”

Li Wei hurriedly helped him up, saying, “I am young and inexperienced. Such words from you, Senior, would surely be the death of me.”

The old man rose, tears still glistening in his eyes. Yet Li Wei’s own heart was filled with emotion—was the old man praising him, or was he setting him up for disaster?

…

The incident in the inner palace had brought about dramatic changes. The real beneficiaries were those two swallows. Li Wei had used birds as a metaphor, much like Li Zhi and Wu Zetian had once remarked—perhaps just a trivial gesture, a scratch of the brow, a fleeting itch, but the impact below was like a storm.

The same was true within the palace. Li Wei had called them the loyal swallows, but to whom would they be loyal? Thus, the timid ones now walked with eyes turned to the sky, fearful lest anything befall the swallows. Some sycophants brought insects and grains and placed them beneath the nest.

After a few days, the swallows grew accustomed to people. It was convenient; they no longer needed to fly away, just a flap of their wings and they would descend to be fed. Eventually, they followed the servants, chirping and fluttering about.

Bi’er remarked, “Your Highness, they truly understand people.”

“These lazy swallows,” Li Wei laughed. He hadn’t paid much attention for several days, and now they were plump and round; he wondered if they would still have the strength to fly south in autumn.

“They’re not lazy at all,” Bi’er protested, as she busied herself arranging the ceremonial robes sent by the Left Spring Workshop—robes, crowns, caps, tassels, hairpins, swords, belts, and other attire to be worn for the ritual plowing. There was another set for the actual plowing, currently being rushed by the workshop. If Li Wei were to marry, the Right Spring Workshop would have to rush to make the Crown Princess’s ceremonial robes.

The heavens remained silent, and as March approached, the weather grew warm. Bi’er, busy with preparations, was soon sweating finely at her brow.

Li Wei approached and gently wiped her sweat with a handkerchief, saying, “Bi’er, you are now the Mistress of the Inner Chambers. Let them do the work.”

“Your Highness, I dare not,” she said, pushing his hand away and bowing gracefully. “I have always done these things myself. I cannot trust others with it.”

Li Wei pulled her into his arms and gently kissed her lips.

The young girl immediately went limp in his embrace, murmuring, “Your Highness, don’t mess up the robes.”

“Mm, you are my good companion,” he said, kissing her deeply again. Bi’er, inexperienced and unversed in such matters, did not know how to respond, only pressing her petite body closer to him, saying, “Your Highness, it’s daytime. Don’t forget the fast.”

Li Wei was startled and quickly released her.

Due to the urgency, everything was simplified, but many ritual procedures could not be neglected. If it were the emperor, the fasting would last five days—three days in separate halls, two days in the main palace, one day at the Taiji Hall, and one at the eastern suburban palace. Five days was too rushed, but from yesterday, Li Wei had already begun fasting, though only in his own chamber. From tomorrow, he would travel to the eastern suburbs and fast another day in the palace there.

The altar for the ritual plowing had been completed twenty days prior, five feet high and five feet square. Since the time of Li Shimin and Li Zhi, agriculture had been greatly valued, and the altar needed only minor repairs. The arrangements began yesterday afternoon, and today the musicians would hang the instruments. Tomorrow, the officials would prepare the royal seat.

Bi’er asked, “Your Highness, what does ‘companion’ mean?”

“It’s the name for a gentle, considerate concubine.”

“Then I shall be Your Highness’s companion. These days feel like a dream to me. Perhaps in my past life I spent eight hundred years before the Buddha, and was blessed to serve Your Highness in this life.”

“Silly girl, it’s not you who spent eight hundred years; it’s I who did,” Li Wei said, holding her waist with a sigh.

“Your Highness, I… I…” Bi’er was too moved to speak, tears streaming down her face.

Just then, Liu Qun entered, interrupting their tender moment. “Your Highness, I have something to report.”

“What is it?”

“Your Highness, I hear that many commoners wish to witness your presence at the eastern suburban fields. However, there are disturbing rumors circulating.”

“Tell me.”

“In the neighborhoods, people are saying that after your illness, you suffered soul-loss, and are no longer the compassionate Crown Prince. That you favor a palace maid and have… have an illicit relationship with her,” she glanced nervously at Li Wei before continuing, “That this maid does not obey palace rules and is disrespectful, and that when the palace matrons tried to enforce discipline, Your Highness beat them severely and banished many hardworking palace maids and attendants to the cold palace. They also say that General Liu Rengui and Minister Dai are trying to promote Your Highness by hiring scholars to compose poems in your honor. Some doubt this, pointing to the varying styles of these poems. They claim the Crown Princess is beautiful and virtuous, but Your Highness is bewitched by the maid, mistreats the Crown Princess, and seeks to break the engagement, causing her to fall ill from anger and shame.”

“Outrageous!” Li Wei, furious, threw his teacup to the floor.

The rumors were truly vicious, implicating not only himself and Bi’er, but also dragging Liu Rengui and Dai Zhide, esteemed ministers, into the mud. If the tales reached Luoyang, what would his parents think? Even if they doubted, he might receive a warning edict, and Bi’er could be executed.

Steadying himself, he asked, “Liu Qun, what do you think?”

“I heard this on the east market, Your Highness, and hurried back to report. On the way, I considered the matter. The relationship between the Crown Princess and Your Highness is known only to the Yang residence and Duke Zhou. Though the Yang family is suspect, they lack the courage, and Your Highness has not refused to marry the Crown Princess. Therefore, it must be Duke Zhou.”

Li Wei remembered the unpleasantness with Helan Minzhi that day, with Bi’er and Liu Qun present as witnesses.

“Besides, Duke Zhou would hardly pay attention to Mistress Jiang. So, I dare to say, it is likely that after Your Highness dealt with Zhou’s stewards, they became disgruntled towards you and Mistress Jiang, playing a role in spreading these rumors and dragging her down in revenge. After all, Duke Zhou is currently favored by the Emperor, and even if his stewards were banished, they could still spread news from the palace. They hope for a comeback, relying on Duke Zhou.”

“Very good,” Li Wei was genuinely angry now.

Since coming to this world, he wore the crown prince’s title but acted with utmost caution. Even the recent handling of the inner palace was done with leniency, never pursuing matters to the end. He never expected these people to be so brazen.

Liu Qun suggested, “Perhaps Your Highness should send them to the Court of Judicial Review. I still have the records from last time. Once there, an investigation might reveal their connection to Duke Zhou, and then the Emperor could judge the case.”

“If Wu Minzhi intervenes, would the Court of Judicial Review pursue the matter?”

Liu Qun was at a loss to answer.

“At most, those servants will be punished. But I already dealt with them recently; to do so again, evidence is needed. Without it, how would people view my tolerance?”

“But…”

“There are no buts. Only one principle: if I contradict myself, the rumor will spread, and it will harm me. Moreover, this is an inner palace scandal; if it’s pursued, it reflects my own failure to manage things properly.”

“Then should we let them slander Your Highness?”

“No,” Li Wei paced irritably, but as his temper cooled, his mind cleared. “In front of Father and Mother, I am still a child.”

“Yes.” It had to be admitted—the Crown Prince was indeed their child, and Wu Minzhi was their nephew. What else could they be but children?

“If a child misbehaves, what do parents do? They laugh it off! If a child fights with another of similar age, or is bullied by an older child, parents intervene for justice. But if a child is bullied by someone much younger, what do parents think? That the child is useless. I am the Crown Prince; he is only Duke Zhou. Who is greater, who is lesser?”