Xie Qing waited for a long time in front of Liangyi Hall.
Clouds drifted above the imperial palace, and incense was steaming from the mythical beast incense.
The sound of footsteps came from the vermillion palace door, and he immediately climbed the stone steps to meet them.
Yaoying staggered unsteadily, dragging her heavy feet out of the hall.
She had gotten the promise she wanted.
In exchange, Li De also got what he wanted.
Yaoying never expected that a complaint would awaken Li De's conscience. She had entered the palace immediately after leaving the Eastern Palace in order to make a deal with Li De before Li Xuanzhen could enter the palace.
Since her life would be lost when she marries far away, she might as well make a business transaction.
The deal with Li Xuanzhen was to have the flying cavalry rescue Li Zhongqian.
The deal with Li De was planning for Li Zhongqian after he returned to the capital.
Probably shocked by Yaoying's determination, before she left, Li De looked at her for a long time. He pointed to a floor tile showing wear and tear in front of the dragon table : "Qiniang, look."
He looked around.
"This hall was once burned down. The previous dynasty's concubines were locked in here and were cleanly killed off. Everywhere needs to be repaired; roof tiles need to be replaced with new ones, floor tiles need to be relaid, the Taiji Hall's foundation must be rebuilt...."
The court councilors have repeatedly petitioned to renovate the palace.
Li De commented: "Frugality to cultivate one's mind, calmness to cultivate one's character. The dynasty is newly established; large-scale construction is inadvisable."
He strictly practiced frugality, commanding that the construction of various halls being built be stopped. He only had the palace maids repaint the palace's interior before moving in. He ordered that all regions were prohibited from offering rare and exotic treasures as tribute, especially those so-called auspicious gifts.
The emperor was living simply and frugally, so it was naturally not good for the courtiers to be ostentatious. The wave of extravagance and competition that had just risen among the noble families and powerful clans was soon suppressed.
Li De said: "Qiniang, who dislikes fancy clothes and magnificent dresses? Who dislikes lofty and imposing palaces? Zhen is not an ascetic monk. Zhen also loves luxury and extravagance. Zhen also wants to live in a grand and spacious house."
He paused for a moment and his words changed: "But zhen is the emperor."
Moreover, he was an emperor who had ascended the throne for only a short while in an time of many outstanding figures vying for supremacy.
Far from enjoying himself, as the monarch, he must lead by example.
He was the emperor. He must be cautious in everything, must guard against all people, must use all means available to balance the court.
Yaoying's tone was calm: "Uncle once told my brother that some people are short-sighted and can only see a moment of wealth and prosperity, while others are long-sighted and can see a few years, decades, or even hundreds and thousands of years later. My uncle, who was weak since childhood and tried to pacify the chaotic world but could not, said that he and His Majesty, who met at first sight and shared the same aspirations, could see decades and centuries later."
Back then, when the barbarians invaded the south, the noble families fled to the south to avoid the disaster. The Zhu clan resolutely stayed back, risking the extinction of their whole family, to protect the people who had nowhere to flee.
When the Zhu clan established the country, the people's hearts and minds were in favor of it.
However, the dynasty, which was established amidst the devastation, only flourished for a generation before it quickly declined and eventually died out completely.
Xie Wuliang and Li De once argued about this.
According to Li De, the root cause of the fall of the previous dynasty was not the civil unrest nor the last emperor's mediocrity, but rather the struggle between the powerful clans and noble families and the governing of corrupt officials.
The Zhu clan had tried to save the nation. They vigorously promoted the poor, reformed the governing style, and introduced the imperial examination. All of which aroused the vigilance of the noble families. The power struggle in the imperial court was unceasing. The imperial family's sons turned against each other, leading to the rebellion of several princes. Each of the ascending princes was more vicious and more muddle-headed than the last. While the world was in chaos, the reform was an utter failure.
Li De said, if he ascended to the throne, he would never easily give in to the noble families. He would consolidate the imperial power, gather the military power, and let the poor families suppress the noble families. Essentially, not allow the several princes' chaos of the previous dynasty to repeat.
The noble families had been unable to stop the emerging of the poor clans. They should have followed the times and sought other ways to preserve the interests of their family.
Xie Wuliang worried over the country and the people. With the same long-term vision as Li De, he was aware of the noble families' tight control on power. However, he also understood that when the noble families were once again in charge of the court, there was bound to be a drawn-out secret struggle with the imperial power where the inevitable result would be instability and unrest.
To flourish, the people suffer. To lose, the people suffer.
The new Wei empire must lay a solid foundation at the beginning of its establishment-to pacify all the threats, to thoroughly reform the government, and avoid the problems of the previous dynasty.
Only in this way was long-term stability possible. The people could live and work in peace and happiness, far away from the war.
Xie Wuliang was too weak to rush to battle and slaughter the enemy like his ancestors, but that did not stop him from actively campaigning for the pacification of the chaotic world.
As long as the people could live a rich and happy life, he did not mind assisting others.
He has seen cutthroat heroes one after the other, before finally meeting Li De.
Xie Wuliang had high hopes for Li De, believing that Li De was strategic and far-sighted, and would be the brilliant lord who would end the chaos in the world.
So, even though he was fully aware of Li De's nature, and even though he foresaw the ending of the hound being boiled once it captured the rabbit1, Xie Wuliang still chose to give Li De the opportunity to cooperate.
He was not afraid of the bow being put away after the birds were gone but only asked Li De to treat his sister well.
Yaoying gazed at the brilliant streams of light entering the hall in front of the mountain screen, without a change in her expression.
"Your Majesty, Uncle regarded you as a friend. Even if you snubbed the Xie family to warn other noble families, he did not complain... Unfortunately, he actually did not see your true colors at all. He thought you would surely remember your promise to him and take good care of my aniang."
Yaoying's voice lowered, "Uncle certainly did not expect that you actually could not even fulfill a promise this simple. You also have selfishness. You are unable to face Empress Tang's death, unable to resolve my eldest brother's anger and you redirected this anger to my undeserving aniang and elder brother."
Did Li De not know that the Eastern Palace was targeting Li Zhongqian?
He knew.
He just did not intervene.
Li Xuanzhen was trapped by his mother's hatred. Noble Consort Xie and Li Zhongqian, mother and son, were precisely the whetstone Li De used to polish Li Xuanzhen.
He could not hide his ruthlessness and injustice to those around him.
Li De was silent.
Yaoying then said: "I have been collecting refugees in Jingnan, opened a library and printed books so that more children from poor families can afford to read... but I dare not let Your Majesty know this, because I know that even though what I do is beneficial to the country and the people, Your Majesty will not praise me for it. Your Majesty will only suspect me. Your Majesty will only suspect me of having ulterior motives and thus turn your suspect onto my elder brother.
"Your Majesty, although I am a woman, I also understand the importance of the country, but I do not agree with the various injustices that Your Majesty has done to my aniang and elder brother. I do not agree with Your Majesty using the Xie family, which was full of loyalty and martyrdom, as a warning to other noble families."
A generation of county lords was calculated, who were loyal and martyrs, and was even expected to be hated under the nine springs. How will the people of the world treat the martyrs?
The heroes and lords who sacrificed themselves for the people and bravely rose up in times of trouble should not be treated so lightly.
Li De was not worthy of being her and Li Zhongqian's father.
Nor was he worthy of being Xie Wuliang's friend.
After Yaoying finished speaking, she walked out toward the brilliant light without looking back.
Just out of the hall, the strength she had used all her willpower to accumulate subsided like a wave. Both her legs were weak, and she felt unbalanced.
Yaoying could not help but tremble gently.
Xie Qing's hand held her arm through the thin clothing: "Your Highness, I'll support you."
Yaoying composed herself, leaned against Xie Qing for support, and step by step descended the long steps.
The square was sprinkled with blazing sunlight, and the wind whistled past, sending a spell of the clear ringing from the bells hanging off the eaves.
"Ah Qing, I'm going to marry to the Yelu tribe."
Yaoying raised her head and looked up at the cloudless and sunny blue sky.
"I will write a letter of recommendation for you, and you can go and join the army. The army is in need of people, and you are strong in martial arts. You will definitely be able to stand out and make a name for yourself in the future."
Xie Qing supported Yaoying with a deferential attitude and said expressionlessly, "I am the princess's guard. Wherever the princess goes, I will go."
Yaoying raised her eyes to look at him, "Are you not afraid that you cannot return once you go? The Yelu tribe is nomadic and lives by wandering and looting. Once I go, I will likely never come back my whole life."
Compared to the Central Plains, the grasslands were more turbulent, more savage. The grasslands' tribes mutually slaughtered each other. The Yelu tribe was strong and wealthy at the moment but would be defeated under the iron hooves of other tribes in the blink of an eye, disappearing cleanly.
She had already prepared herself for the worst.
Xie Qing still had no expression on his face and calmly said, "Then I will go away without returning."
Yaoying smiled.
Out of the square, Yaoying trembled even more. Dense sweat surfaced on her skin, and her clenched teeth chattered.
Without saying a word, Xie Qing straightforwardly picked her up, and wrapped her from head to toe in a cloak. He protected her in his arms, and escorted her back to the wangfu.
When the chief historian saw Yaoying, who was trembling with pain, he burst into tears.
Yaoying clutched the chief historian's hand and instructed intermittently, "Uncle Hu... I'm fine... I'll be fine in three days. Send someone to bring my aniang back..."
The chief historian cried and nodded.
"It's good..." Yaoying curled up into a ball, "Soon... aniang and elder brother will be safe from now on..."
She drifted off to sleep, the corners of her mouth curving up slightly.