Chapter Twenty-Seven: Where Are There Secrets in the Palace?

Lin Miaomiao had no idea that just a moment ago, when she had talked Batu into leaving, even the two wolf children couldn't help but sigh. Lin Miaomiao glanced at Li Yanhe, then at An Qi, and then at the two wolf children. Suddenly, she found the whole situation utterly amusing.

"To think that I, Lin Miaomiao, would one day perform my own Empty City Ruse! Truly, I am one of a kind, unmatched in history," she declared loudly. Then, grinning, she turned to Li Yanhe and asked, "Do you think that by talking them into leaving, my name will be recorded in the annals of history?"

"Will my deeds be sung of for generations to come?" Lin Miaomiao said, a touch of excitement in her voice. Suddenly, she looked at Li Yanhe and felt a small pang of unease.

In truth, Lin Miaomiao knew nothing of Batu, the man known as the War God of the Barbarians. If the Hu were called a wolf pack, then Batu was the wolf king who led them all. When Batu was born, the shaman of the grasslands had prophesied that he would one day lead his people to greatness and free them from their plight.

And indeed, it seemed so. By the age of fourteen, Batu could lead the barbarian army to storm the frontier. If not for General Yuan Sihan, who fought valiantly despite illness and age, Batu might have seized the border in that campaign. With General Yuan’s passing, Li Yanhe became the new commander at Daankou.

Batu, eager to test Li Yanhe’s abilities, found himself wary of him as well. After all, they were old adversaries, and Batu was familiar with Li Yanhe’s strategies. Batu was reluctant to face a new opponent mid-campaign, so he rushed over, hoping to take Li Yanhe’s head.

In the past, the barbarians posed little threat, but Batu’s rise changed everything. That was why Li Yanhe remained cautious of him.

Jinge, observing Batu’s expression, instantly realized they’d been toyed with by a young girl. Batu squinted in the direction Li Yanhe had disappeared, letting out a sigh himself.

Li Yanhe was headed for Changyan County, the heart of his stronghold at Daankou. Once he arrived, Batu’s opportunity would be lost. Batu stroked his horsewhip, a cunning smile tugging at his lips—like a wolf watching its prey slip away. No one knew that smile concealed a scheme.

If Batu killed Li Yanhe, Emperor Yongchang would surely raise a great army, and his tribe would suffer grievously. But as long as Batu’s presence could incite strife among his enemies, he could sit back and watch them harm each other.

So Batu returned to his tent and penned a letter. That letter soon changed hands, eventually reaching the Third Prince, Li Taian, who narrowed his eyes as he read it.

Li Taian’s usual gentle smile had frozen on his face, replaced by a cold, hard look. He tilted his neck with a crack, while Xiao Gexu stood silently behind him.

“Your Highness, who is that young girl always at Prince Shengxuan’s side? Our priority must be to find her. Every time we attempt an assassination, we fail—it must be a change of hands behind the scenes.”

Li Taian idly ran his fingers through his hair, paying no heed to Xiao Gexu’s report, while the palace maid continued combing his hair with practiced strokes. Xiao Gexu, noting Li Taian’s expression, could tell he was seething with rage.

She shot a furtive glance at the woman tending to Li Taian, a woman who had not long ago found her way into his bed. The woman, unsettled by the tense atmosphere, lost focus and accidentally tugged Li Taian’s hair.

He frowned, and as Xiao Gexu watched, head bowed, Li Taian’s irritation boiled over. With a beautiful but wrathful frown, he slapped the woman hard across the face.

She fell to the ground, tears glistening in her eyes as she looked at Li Taian. He picked up an ordinary horsewhip, running it slowly across her pretty face, and said coolly, “Did you know? This whip is imperial—a reward once given to me by the Emperor. You should consider yourself lucky.”

Li Taian spoke each word softly, but his gentle tone only terrified the woman on the floor. His cold smile lingered, and soon, the room echoed with her screams—loud at first, then fading into weakness.

No one pitied her. The servants trembled, terrified of being implicated. The chief eunuch, Guanglu, caught his master’s eye and understood instantly. Soon, the woman’s body—and those of the maids who had failed to serve properly—were thrown into the mass grave. No one would ever know how they died that night, nor what the once-cultured Third Prince had done.

“Your Highness, have you finished venting?” Xiao Gexu asked quietly from behind. Li Taian said nothing. With a sigh, Xiao Gexu continued, “You’re too impatient, Your Highness.”

“I am not,” Li Taian replied, but Xiao Gexu shook his head and went on, “You passed information to Batu. You must know better than I do, the waters of the capital are muddy now.”

“Since Your Highness has distanced yourself from trouble, you must learn to hide your light and bide your time, or else…” Xiao Gexu left the sentence unfinished.

Li Taian sneered. The capital’s waters were indeed muddy; though he had withdrawn, the Crown Prince and the Fourth Prince were not so fortunate. Now the Seventh and Ninth Princes were about to start their posts in the Six Ministries. Despite their youth, anyone who judged them by age alone would be gravely mistaken.

Li Taian pulled Xiao Gexu into a cheerful embrace. “Thank goodness you’re here, cousin—or how could I face them all alone?”

Xiao Gexu muttered softly, hugging Li Taian back with graceful composure. Guanglu, ever at the prince’s side, wiped cold sweat from his brow—truly, the heir of a Grand Scholar.

If His Highness were to continue unchecked, the censors would surely impeach him, and then Consort De would have him flogged to death.

Li Yanhe drove his carriage through the night toward Daankou. He had meant to tour the fifteen frontier cities, but chaos forced him to head straight for Daankou.

News of Li Yanhe’s escape from Batu quickly reached the capital as well. The Imperial Noble Consort, upon hearing it in the palace, could not help but sigh—her son was indeed fortunate.

She sat quietly in the Imperial Garden, gazing toward the frontier. Emperor Yongchang, passing by, saw Consort Yuan Chuxia sitting there.

He suddenly felt his age. In his youth, when he had first met her, his heart brimmed with love and affection, but time had eroded those feelings. The woman before him had become a good mother, a fine Imperial Consort, a capable manager of the harem.

Consort Yuan sensed someone behind her, and with a deep curtsey, rose to greet the Emperor. “Your Majesty, it’s late—why are you…”

“Why are you here in the Imperial Garden as well?” the Emperor asked. Yuan Chuxia smiled. “I suppose I’m getting old. I often can’t sleep, so I come sit in the garden and reminisce.”

The Emperor raised an eyebrow; he too knew about the Second Prince’s encounter with Batu, but since his son had escaped, he gave it no further thought. Gazing at Yuan Chuxia’s unadorned face, a softness overcame him and he approached, his attendants sensibly stepping aside.

That night, Emperor Yongchang slept in Consort Yuan’s Yongkang Palace. Who knew how many women in the harem ground their teeth in envy.

The Crown Prince, holding a small note, set it alight by candle flame. The Fourth Prince, Li Deren, watched silently as his brother burned the message to ash, his tone cold: “It makes all the difference to have a mother in the palace. Tomorrow, the Second Prince’s encounter with Batu will surely arouse the secret guards.”

“And the Third Prince…” Li Deren began in the study. Li Hanwen, the Crown Prince, waved it off with a smile. “The Doctrine of the Mean, that’s all. Let the Third and Second Princes vie with each other—then we can reap the rewards.”

“In front of the Seventh and Ninth Princes, don’t show off your talents. The Emperor is in his prime; if you stand out too much, you’ll provoke his suspicion. The Second Prince is warning enough.”

Li Deren nodded in agreement. The next morning, Emperor Yongchang, upon hearing the secret guard’s report, narrowed his eyes and said to the eunuch behind him, “The Fourth Prince is old enough to serve in the Six Ministries, yet he still clings to the Crown Prince like a child. It’s disgraceful.”

When the Crown Prince learned of his father’s words, he glanced at Li Deren. “See? Father says you don’t know the rules—try not to spend the night in the Eastern Palace anymore.”

“Understood, brother,” Li Deren replied. Li Hanwen narrowed his eyes toward the imperial study. “There are no secrets in this palace!”

The Seventh Prince, Li Yankang, heard the eunuch relay the Emperor’s words and chuckled, turning to the Ninth Prince, Li Yonghe. “The Fourth Prince was scolded by Father—seems the Crown Prince isn’t having an easy time.”

Li Yonghe, lounging in his seat, glanced at his seventh brother and replied with a smile, “Why worry? It’s nothing. Besides, you’ll be starting in the Six Ministries soon, and then…”