Chapter 34: Let Meiniang Suffer a Little—I’ll Bear the Blame

Chapter 34: Making Meiniang Suffer, I Shall Bear the Infamy

After all, being a member of the Li family, and given that there were no treasonous offenses at hand, Li Xian returned to his status as the Prince of Ying after receiving his beating. Yes, he was the very Prince of Ying for whom Wang Bo wrote the "Proclamation to the Prince of Ying," which was originally composed for Li Xian, then the Prince of Pei. Returning from the Prince of Luling to the Prince of Ying, Li Xian was quite pleased—as for the throne? Ha, it was never mine to begin with; losing it is no great matter. Li Xian had a heart big enough to accommodate such setbacks; it was his flaw, yet also his strength. Perhaps his wife, Lady Wei, was unwilling to accept this, but since it was a foregone conclusion, she had no choice but to grit her teeth and accept it.

As for the clansmen and followers of the Wu family, Li Xian chose to root them out entirely. From the "big vegetable leaf" Wu Sansi to Wu Youji, he exterminated their three branches of kinship, leaving no one behind. When it came to being ruthless toward his mother’s kin, Li Xian was more than capable.

Once the affairs of the Chong Sheng era were settled, Li Qing brought Li Shimin and the others back to the sixth year of Yonghui. In the sixth year of Yonghui, Empress Wu was waiting anxiously in the Lizheng Palace. Seeing them appear, she immediately hurried forward with concern, saying, "Zhinu..."

"Wang De!" Li Zhi did not reply. He found the sight of Wu Meiniang unbearable. That he didn't draw his sword to stab her again was a testament to his restraint.

"Present," the eunuch replied.

"Take her away..." Li Zhi took a deep breath. In the end, he could not bring himself to order her execution. First, she had not yet committed such heinous acts, and second, she had, after all, borne him two fine sons, Li Hong and Li Xian. After weighing the matter, he commanded coldly, "The Empress is devoid of virtue, possessing the heart of a viper and the nature of a wolf. I hereby strip her of her title, change her surname from Wu to Mang, and banish her to the cold palace!"

(Luo Binwang: Your Majesty, please settle the copyright fee.)

In the original history, this was exactly how Empress Wu had treated Empress Wang. After breaking her limbs and throwing her into a wine vat, perhaps to torment her spirit, she changed Empress Wang’s surname to "Mang" (Python) and Consort Xiao’s to "Xiao" (Owl).

"Zhinu..." Empress Wu’s face turned pale. She could not fathom how Li Zhi’s heart had changed in such a short time.

"Furthermore," Li Zhi said expressionlessly, "restore Empress Wang to her status and reinstate Consort Xiao to her rank. I shall also issue an edict of self-reproach!"

"Yes, Your Majesty!" Wang De bowed.

"Your Majesty! Your Majesty! What have I done wrong?" Wu Meiniang was naturally unwilling to accept this. She had schemed for the position of Empress and even sacrificed the life of her own daughter; how could it just vanish? She did not want to return to those days of humiliation, those dark times at Ganye Temple where there was no hope of advancement. But Li Zhi was as stubborn as a mule, and he waved his hand impatiently, letting the guards drag her away. It was understandable; the indignity of being "cuckolded" was hard to swallow even in modern times, let alone for an Emperor. With such a glaring green hat placed upon his head, it was truly past the point of endurance.

Empress Wang and Consort Xiao, having escaped disaster, became much more docile. Perhaps because they had shared such misfortune, the friction between them lessened significantly. This was a good thing; in history, both women had died truly tragic deaths. When it came to persecuting women, Wu Zetian was quite the professional.

Before leaving, Li Shimin specifically met with Zhangsun Wuji and Chu Suiliang. Toward these two veteran officials, Li Shimin’s attitude was one of affirmation, even though Zhangsun Wuji had unjustly executed Li Ke; it was, in fact, to consolidate Li Zhi’s rule. As for claims of Zhangsun Wuji usurping power, Li Shimin personally felt it wasn't quite that severe—after all, he had never heard of an influential minister who could be so easily manipulated and exiled. In terms of loyalty, Zhangsun Wuji was beyond reproach. In fact, Li Zhi himself knew this. His purge of these old ministers was actually a move to centralize all power in the court. But now, that dream was shattered. With Li Shimin, this "living ancestor," able to visit the sixth year of Yonghui at any time, Li Zhi didn't dare act recklessly for the sake of his own skin.

Returning to the eleventh year of Zhenguan, it was already night. Old Li didn't keep Li Qing long. Looking at Shangguan Wan'er and Zheng Qinyun, he gave Li Qing a look that every man understood. "My virtuous brother certainly knows how to enjoy life..." thought Old Li.

Before the curfew, Li Qing brought the two women back to the Prince of Qin’s mansion. Zheng Qinyun had been suppressing her anger for over a decade, and it was burning fiercely. The moment she saw Wu Meiniang, she recognized exactly who she was; it was a case of enemies meeting with eyes full of fire. Since she had chosen to follow Li Qing, Zheng Qinyun felt no attachment to the Shangguan family, but her hatred for Wu Meiniang went far beyond that. The humiliation of being whipped and tortured in the Yeting Palace for all these years could not be described in words. Thus, this decade of rage needed an outlet, and training Wu Meiniang was an excellent way to vent.

As for why Li Qing spared Wu Meiniang and took in Shangguan Wan'er and Zheng Qinyun, others thought it was just a bout of his "widower's ailment," but Li Qing maintained that while they thought he was on the first floor, he was actually on the fifth.

Those who could provide Li Qing with emotional points were all members of the royal family, with values assigned based on their highest historical status. Wu Meiniang was a unique exception; she was Empress, Empress Dowager, and Emperor of the Wu Zhou Dynasty. Taking the highest values—0.8 for the Great Tang Empress Dowager plus 1.0 for the Wu Zhou Emperor—what was this? This was a super-sized cash cow. Since Li Qing had no personal grudge against her, he chose to have Shangguan Wan'er and her mother handle the "discipline." It was a perfect match.

The two women, harboring deep hatred for Wu Meiniang, were destined not to show mercy. Watching the emotional points rise throughout the night, Li Qing fell asleep in satisfaction.

The next morning, Wang De informed Li Qing that the Emperor requested his presence. Li Qing wanted to sleep in, but he was woken up by the cold. In this era, Chang'an had no heating, no heated kang, no quilts, and the houses lacked insulation. One didn't dare use a fire brazier for fear of carbon monoxide poisoning; it was hard to imagine how people survived the winter. November in Chang'an was truly cold, and snow had already begun to fall. If calculated by the modern Gregorian calendar, this November was actually mid-December.

Ancient houses had poor insulation, and Li Qing, accustomed to modern homes, was having trouble adjusting. If not for his good health, he would have caught a cold. As Shangguan Wan'er helped him dress, Li Qing browsed the system space to see if there were any modern, ready-made houses. The Great Tang was truly not a place for humans to live. He sniffled and found a three-story duplex villa that caught his eye. It was large enough, but Li Qing clicked his tongue as he checked his balance—he was still short by tens of thousands of points.

"Sigh," he murmured, "for the sake of my modern mansion, I shall have to make Meiniang suffer a bit, and I will bear the infamy."

"Wan'er."

"I am here."

"Remember to have Wu Mei scrub the chamber pot later," Li Qing paused. "Young people need to carry some burdens to properly toughen themselves up."

"Yes," Shangguan Wan'er replied, covering her mouth to hide a giggle.