Hurried footsteps sounded outside the door.
“Eighteenth Young Lady…” Accompanied by the calls of the maids, Chen Shi’ba-niang had already pulled open the door.
Seated inside the room, Old Master Chen and Chen Shao, who had been deep in conversation, looked over.
“Eighteenth Young Lady…” the maids followed, looking somewhat embarrassed as they tried to pull her back outside.
Old Master Chen waved the maids away.
“What brings you here?” he asked, offering Chen Shi’ba-niang a smile and motioning for her to approach. “Come, take a seat.”
The maids withdrew, closing the door behind them.
“Father,” Chen Shi’ba-niang sat down, not even bothering with formalities before fixing her gaze on Chen Shao and speaking urgently, “Why have you withdrawn your support for Prince Qing as the Crown Prince?”
Chen Shao’s brow furrowed slightly.
“I never said that,” he replied.
“Father, everyone outside is saying it,” Chen Shi’ba-niang insisted. “You met with Zhang Jiangzhou and didn’t refute him.”
“I had no reason to refute him,” Chen Shao said.
Zhang Jiangzhou was known for his eloquence and vast knowledge. When it came to pure debate and discourse, few could match him.
Chen Shi’ba-niang suddenly straightened up.
“So, does that mean you agree with his view? You also intend to support a member of the imperial clan?” she pressed anxiously. “Father, how could you do this!”
Old Master Chen frowned, interrupting her.
“Shi’ba-niang, how can you speak to your father like this? Is this the way of filial piety?” he said.
“Then is what Father is doing the way of loyalty and filial piety to the sovereign?” Chen Shi’ba-niang pursed her lips and replied.
At these words, the room fell silent.
“The Emperor has a son of his own, yet these people would abandon His Majesty’s own blood and adopt from the imperial clan instead,” Chen Shi’ba-niang said, her expression impassioned. “If His Majesty were still conscious, they wouldn’t dare say or do such things. The only reason they dare is because they are taking advantage of His Majesty’s severe illness and inability to speak. Father, you have always held His Majesty’s trust and kindness close to your heart, dedicating yourself to living up to the heavy responsibilities he entrusted to you. But now, is this how you repay His Majesty? Is this your way of loyalty and filial piety?”
Old Master Chen sighed.
“Shi’ba-niang,” he said, “if the fate of the nation cannot be secured and court affairs fall into chaos, that too would be an act of disloyalty and unfiliality toward His Majesty.”
“Grandfather!” Chen Shi’ba-niang cried out. “Is Father only going along with the tide now because he fears the reputation of a treacherous minister who would bring chaos to the government?”
“If I feared infamy, I would never have proposed Prince Qing as Crown Prince in the first place!” Chen Shao retorted, his eyebrows drawn together sternly. “Supporting Prince Qing as the Crown Prince, pressuring the Empress Dowager to refrain from interfering in state affairs, and personally selecting the regent ministers – how do you think the world would see me for such actions? Do you not understand that?”
Chen Shi’ba-niang looked at her father’s expression, torn between anger and sorrow, and could no longer hold back her tears.
“But then why did you change your mind?” she wept. “Didn’t the sages say, ‘Upon self-reflection, if I find I am in the right, I will go forward even against thousands and tens of thousands’? Have you stopped being able to live by that?”
Seeing his daughter sobbing in distress, Chen Shao’s expression softened once more.
“Shi’ba-niang, this matter isn’t as simple as it seems,” he said. “There are things you don’t know.”
The words “you don’t know” made Chen Shi’ba-niang straighten up again.
“Father, I don’t know? It’s true – I don’t know. All I know is that Prince Qing is His Majesty’s own son, his only bloodline successor. And now these people want to enthrone another emperor. What will become of Prince Qing then?” she said through her tears.
“Shi’ba-niang, Prince Qing… isn’t suitable,” Chen Shao sighed.
Chen Shi’ba-niang looked at her father and laughed, a bitter sound.
“Not suitable?” she said. “So you believe her too, and want to choose the true ‘Son of Heaven’ instead?”
Chen Shao frowned.
“Who is ‘she’?” he asked.
“She is the one who said the Crown Prince was in danger – and the Crown Prince truly fell into danger. She said the true Son of Heaven was someone else – and the Empress proposed adoption because of it,” Chen Shi’ba-niang replied.
“Shi’ba-niang!” Old Master Chen rebuked sternly, his eyebrows raised. “Are you actually putting faith in the words of ignorant commoners? Have you ever heard her say those things yourself? What you haven’t seen with your own eyes or heard with your own ears – how dare you claim she said them!”
But have so few truly believed?
Have so few believed in her?
Did she never say it?
“If I practice more, will I be able to write as well as you?”
“No. Sometimes it comes down to innate talent.”
No! No! No!
Sometimes it’s destiny! It’s destiny!
Prince Qing is clearly the rightful one, indisputably so – this should be beyond any doubt!
Taibai shines brightly, the Crown Prince falls into peril.
Diligence and effort are futile – because it is not destined, one may be struck dead by lightning.
Royal lineage is meaningless – because it is not destined, one cannot become the Crown Prince.
“I don’t believe it,” Chen Shi’ba-niang suddenly stood up. “I don’t believe Father truly intends to act this way. So what if Emperor Sima brought chaos to the court and troubled the age? Does that mean everyone should shy away from supporting Prince Qing as Crown Prince? Are the court officials afraid of destiny, or are they merely afraid they cannot govern with clarity and integrity? ‘Upon self-reflection, if I find I am in the right, I will go forward even against thousands and tens of thousands’ – such words of the sages, it turns out, are only spoken by everyone, but no one truly dares to follow them!”
With that, she turned around, pulled open the door, and strode swiftly away.
“Shi’ba-niang!” Chen Shao called after her.
Old Master Chen raised his hand to stop him.
“No need to call her back,” he said. “As it is said, ‘You cannot discuss ice with a summer insect’ – let her be.”
Chen Shi’ba-niang’s carriage pulled out of the Chen residence. The maids outside the carriage kept their heads bowed and remained silent, not daring to speak as they walked alongside it. Inside, the sound of sobbing gradually softened.
The Chen residence was not far from the home of Chen Shi’ba-niang’s husband. To make it easier to look after the young couple, Madam Chen had deliberately chosen a nearby estate for them.
Just as the carriage was about to turn into the lane, Chen Shi’ba-niang’s voice came from inside.
“Don’t go back yet – head to Prince Ping’s mansion.”
Prince Ping’s mansion?
The maids exchanged glances, a flicker of surprise crossing their faces.
…
“Father, it was her!”
Young Master Gao cried out, halting his pacing.
“The Empress is trapped in the Emperor’s bedchamber by the Empress Dowager and hasn’t met anyone else – except for her!”
He strode swiftly up to Gao Lingjun.
“Father, they’ve been colluding all along! The Empress, Lady Cheng, and Duke Jin’an -they were in it together from the start! All of this, starting with Taibai crossing the sky – it’s all a plot!”
“Father, they are plotting treason! Father, the Empress is committing treason!”
“Enough foolish talk,” Gao Lingjun interrupted him sharply.
“How is this foolish talk?” Young Master Gao protested urgently. “They’re trying to enthrone Duke Jin’an!”
Gao Lingjun burst into laughter.
“That’s exactly why it’s foolish talk,” he said, still chuckling. “Do you think just because they say they’ll enthrone someone, they can actually do it?”
The fact that his father could still laugh at a time like this only made Young Master Gao more anxious.
“Father, the public opinion outside is unfavorable toward Prince Qing right now,” he said.
“Public opinion?” Gao Lingjun replied. “When Emperor Yingzong was posthumously honored with the titles of ‘Qin’ and ‘Yi,’ his tomb was designated as a royal garden, and a temple was built within it, all the supervising officials voluntarily requested demotion. It wasn’t just the officials – even Yingzong’s old advisors, Wang Lie and Cai Kang, opposed the honorific titles. The whole realm buzzed with discontent, yet what came of it in the end?”
He chuckled with a hint of sarcasm.
“‘Under the vast sky, all lands belong to the king; within the bounds of the land, all are subjects of the king.’ If the Son of Heaven grants something, they may receive it. If he does not grant it, can his subjects dare seize it?”
“At most, it’s just another eighteen months of delay. Do you think we’re afraid of waiting?”
With that, Gao Lingjun stood up.
“I’m going out for a stroll.”
Still slightly dazed, Young Master Gao quickly stepped forward.
“Let me accompany you.”
Gao Lingjun shook his head, raising a hand to stop him.
“I’d like to walk alone for a while.”
Young Master Gao halted, watching as his father walked out.
A stroll might do him good. Even though his father seemed confident, the recent series of events had been utterly exhausting.
Come to think of it, he himself should go out for a change of scenery too.
“Attendants, come with me – we’re heading out,” he said.
Two close aides immediately stepped forward.
After Gao Lingjun’s carriage quietly departed from the mansion, Young Master Gao’s carriage followed even more discreetly.
The carriage moved slowly along the street. Gao Lingjun was indeed in a poor mood; for a moment, he let his mind go blank, thinking of nothing at all, until he spotted Prince Ping’s mansion in the distance.
Suddenly, Gao Lingjun felt a tightness in his chest.
To avoid any suspicion, he had never once visited since Prince Ping had established his own residence and moved out of the palace.
“Take me to Prince Ping’s mansion,” he said.
The Prince Ping’s mansion was no longer what it had once been. Most of the former eunuchs had been recalled, either awaiting reassignment, punishment, or to guard Prince Ping’s tomb. Only a handful of attendants remained in the mansion to watch over it.
Gao Lingjun entered without difficulty, wandering leisurely around the prince’s mansion. Finally stepping into Prince Ping’s study, he seemed weary from walking and slowly sat down inside the room.
The bookshelves were filled to the brim, brushes lay thick on the desk like a forest, and the walls were adorned with various calligraphy scrolls and paintings, all focused on learning, scholarship, and the pursuit of knowledge.
“His Highness studied diligently every day, late into the night.”
“His Highness never indulged in leisurely pursuits, only in reading.”
Gao Lingjun glanced around, as if he could see the dignified young man sitting before him, devoted to his studies with earnest diligence.
Gone… all gone…
Heaven’s way shows no mercy.
A sharp pang gripped Gao Lingjun’s throat, his eyes stung, and tears streamed down.
Heaven’s way shows no mercy, heaven’s way is unjust – how could it treat Prince Ping this way, treat our Gao family this way?
Wave after wave, hurdle after hurdle, and now, even the very foundation has been pulled out from under them…
The world is unbearably harsh, unbearably harsh.
Gao Lingjun covered his face with his sleeve and wept freely, unrestrained. Suddenly, he heard faint footsteps outside the door. He abruptly stopped, rose to his feet, and pulled the door open.
“Who’s there?” he demanded sharply.
A lady stood outside the door, her hands hanging by her sides, clearly startled as well.
“Master Gao,” Chen Shi’ba-niang murmured.
Gao Lingjun was taken aback for a moment. His eyes were still blurred with tears, so he wiped them hastily to get a clearer look at the woman.
“Oh, it’s the young lady of the Chen family,” he said, turning slightly aside as if somewhat embarrassed by his state.
“Please forgive me. I… I had no idea you were here,” Chen Shi’ba-niang replied, hurriedly offering a respectful bow.
At that moment, the eunuchs rushed over as well, offering repeated apologies.
“It’s quite all right, quite all right,” Gao Lingjun said, wiping away his tears and composing himself before turning back with a faint smile. He then looked at her with a touch of curiosity. “What brings you here?”
Chen Shi’ba-niang lowered her head.
“Some calligraphy practice sheets were left here by His Highness, and I came to retrieve them,” she said.
Gao Lingjun gave an acknowledging nod and gestured courteously.
“Please go ahead,” he replied.
Chen Shi’ba-niang bowed again before stepping into the study, followed closely by the eunuchs.
“Most of the former attendants are gone now, so we’re not sure where His Highness kept things,” they explained.
“They were on the desk – His Highness would often copy them while studying or writing,” Chen Shi’ba-niang said, walking forward on her own.
Sure enough, the eunuchs found them on the desk and happily handed them to her.
As they moved the papers, a thin layer of dust stirred into the air.
“Why hasn’t this place been cleaned?” Chen Shi’ba-niang asked with a hint of barely concealed anger. “His Highness could not stand untidiness!”
Her words left the eunuchs flustered and anxious.
Realizing she had overstepped, Chen Shi’ba-niang lowered her head, took the calligraphy sheets, turned, and walked away.
“Lady Chen,” Gao Lingjun, who had stepped aside near the doorway, suddenly spoke as she approached, “thank you for still remembering His Highness.”
In this world, hardly anyone still thought of Prince Ping. Recalling the old man’s weeping she had overheard from inside the room, Chen Shi’ba-niang paused mid-step.
“Master Gao,” she turned back and said softly, “please, for now, set aside other disputes and let Prince Ping be laid to rest properly, with his posthumous title confirmed without further delay.”
Due to a series of unexpected incidents concerning the establishment of an heir and the handling of governance, Prince Ping’s posthumous honors still remained undecided, and there had been no suspension of court sessions in mourning for him.
He had been completely forgotten – a death rendered ridiculous, with none of the dignity befitting a prince preserved even after his passing.
Gao Lingjun’s expression turned solemn. He straightened and offered Chen Shi’ba-niang a formal bow.
“Thank you for remembering him,” he said. “If His Highness knows of this in the afterlife, perhaps the chill in his heart may ease, even if only a little.”
A chill in the heart.
Indeed, to have died so unjustly and to be left in such desolation after death – how could the heart not turn cold?
Chen Shi’ba-niang did not reply. With a slight bow in return, she turned and walked away.
Watching her leave, Gao Lingjun glanced back at the study. Several eunuchs knelt in anxious haste.
“We will sweep and tidy immediately, and will never neglect our duties again,” they pleaded, bowing their heads to the floor.
Gao Lingjun gave a faint smile.
“There’s no need,” he said. “He is gone, and such things are no longer necessary.”
With that, he too stepped out of the room.
“Master, shall we return home?” an attendant asked, awaiting instructions.
“No. To the palace,” Gao Lingjun replied.
The attendant acknowledged the order and was about to urge the carriage forward when Gao Lingjun spoke again.
“Also, take my visiting card and deliver it to Chancellor Chen. I wish to speak with him.”
