The Wei army’s commander for this expedition was the veteran general Zhao Tong. Second Prince Li Zhongqian was in charge of transporting supplies, while the Third and Fourth Princes each led supporting forces of two thousand men. Crown Prince Li Xuanzhen remained in the capital.
Li Yaoying, fearing the Eastern Palace might secretly harm Li Zhongqian, had people monitoring its activities. For several days, there were no suspicious movements from the Eastern Palace. Their insider-only sent one piece of intelligence: Princess Fukang’s interactions with the newly submitted Yelu tribe had become more frequent, possibly plotting to rescue Princess Yiqing.
Yaoying frowned. For some reason, Zhu Lvyun was even more troublesome in this life than in her previous one. Last year, she had secretly colluded with Southern Chu spies, causing the Wei army to lose several cities. Li De punished her with house arrest, and remarkably, the former dynasty’s old ministers, led by Prime Minister Zheng, didn’t plead for leniency on her behalf.
To atone for Zhu Lvyun’s crimes, Li Xuanzhen voluntarily requested to lead troops to recapture Jiang County. He returned gravely wounded, having barely escaped death. Zhu Lvyun was both moved and guilt-ridden, caring for Li Xuanzhen without rest. Crown Princess Zheng Biyu, thinking they had reconciled, consulted the Imperial Astronomers and prepared to set a wedding date.
The wedding pavilion had already been set up when they had another fierce argument, and the marriage plans fell through. Yaoying had no interest in Li Xuanzhen and Zhu Lvyun’s on-again-off-again relationship, but she worried that Zhu Lvyun might cause uncontrollable chaos that would affect others.
Her concerns were soon proven right. Two days later, as Yaoying sat by the window writing a letter to Li Zhongqian in the distance, sudden hurried footsteps echoed through the corridor.
Birds pecking at the fruit on the steps scattered in alarm, beating their wings as they flew toward the lush flower beds, creating a chorus of chirping.
“My Lady!” Xie Qing strode quickly through the door, stopping outside the screen, and bowed: “Something has happened.”
Yaoying’s heart skipped a beat. Her purple writing brush paused on the paper, causing an ink drop to fall and spread into a light brown stain.
She put down her brush, rose from the study, and asked: “What happened?”
Xie Qing lowered his gaze and said: “Today at the palace banquet, His Majesty received foreign envoys at Linde Hall to watch a polo match. Princess Fukang also attended. When the Yelu tribe’s warriors won, His Majesty praised them. The warriors said they admired the Central Plains dynasty and wished to submit to Great Wei, requesting His Majesty bestow a noble lady from the Central Plains as their chieftain’s wife.”
He paused briefly.
“Before His Majesty could respond, Princess Fukang stepped forward from the crowd, saying she was willing to go to the grasslands for the marriage alliance, and publicly accepted the Yelu chieftain’s proposal.”
Yaoying was stunned for a long while, unable to believe her ears: “How is this possible?”
How could a marriage alliance be decided so casually? Had Zhu Lvyun gone mad?
Xie Qing’s face was expressionless as he continued: “My Lady, the news is true. Princess Fukang agreed too quickly—the ministers of the Policy Court had no chance to stop her. The foreign envoys present all offered their congratulations. With so many eyes watching, His Majesty couldn’t say anything. Prime Minister Zheng was so angry he smashed his wine cup. Commander Pei drew his sword. The Ministry of Rites tried to smooth things over, but the Yelu tribe seemed prepared and completely ignored the Ministry’s hints. They pressured His Majesty to issue the marriage decree. Princess Fukang also knelt and begged His Majesty to issue the edict, even accepting the Yelu tribe’s betrothal gift in public.”
Yaoying paced back and forth, taking a long time to process this.
She knew Zhu Lvyun was willful and would stop at nothing for revenge, but she hadn’t imagined this former dynasty princess would be selfish enough to treat matters of state as child’s play!
Among all the princesses, only Zhu Lvyun held an honorary title, and she was also a descendant of the former dynasty. Her status was extraordinary. Her rash acceptance of the proposal not only put herself in danger but directly undermined Li De’s strategy.
Li De had painstakingly worked to win over and divide the nomadic peoples, aiming to gradually defeat the barbarian tribes occupying the northwest, recover Hetao and the Western Regions, and eliminate the northwestern border threat. This would allow the people of Guanzhong to live in peace and give Great Wei room to breathe, rather than being caught between enemies, forced to repeatedly humble themselves and buy off the barbarians with gold, silver, and beauties to prevent their iron hooves from heading south.
He did want to win over the Yelu tribe, but Great Wei didn’t need to send a genuine royal princess for a marriage alliance.
With the barbarians, both military deterrence and conciliatory measures were needed.
The reason Li De led troops to battle right after ascending the throne was to show the barbarians how valiant the Great Wei army was.
First make them fear Wei’s military might, then negotiate cooperation—at which point Great Wei would hold the initiative.
Zhu Lvyun’s interference made Li De lose all advantage and put him in a passive position. To appease the barbarians and dispel other tribes’ suspicions of Great Wei, he could only choose to let Zhu Lvyun marry into the tribe!
Yaoying could almost imagine how furious Li De must be right now.
The Li family had been officials under the Zhu dynasty, and half the current court ministers had also served the Zhus. When the last emperor was assassinated, Li De had indeed deliberately delayed sending troops, watching him die.
That’s why Li De adopted Zhu Lvyun, titled her Princess, and showed her endless tolerance.
First, this washed away accusations of the Li family’s disloyalty.
Second, it demonstrated the Li family’s magnanimity to the world, pacifying the former dynasty’s old ministers and currying favor with the great clans.
Third, it legitimized the Li family’s succession to the throne.
Fourth, it used Zhu Lvyun to monitor court factions sympathetic to the last emperor, balancing power in court.
Li De never made losing deals. Several times Zhu Lvyun had attempted assassination, and each time he found evidence but let her off lightly, never harming a hair on her head. This was both to continue using her and to exhaust the court ministers’ last remnants of sympathy and loyalty to the former Zhu dynasty, making them wholly devoted to the new dynasty.
He certainly never imagined that when Zhu Lvyun went mad, she could create such an enormous mess.
Diplomatic relations were never trivial matters.
With the new dynasty recently established, this was precisely the time to win hearts, build prestige, and awe foreign lands. Zhu Lvyun’s public acceptance of marriage and the Yelu tribe’s opportunistic pressure meant that if Great Wei couldn’t handle this properly, the previous battles would have been fought in vain.
This was a loss Li De had to swallow whether he liked it or not.
…
Meanwhile, Wei Ming, the Chief Secretary of the Eastern Palace, had the same reaction as Li Yaoying, wearing an expression of disbelieving shock.
“Has Princess Fukang gone mad?” His voice cracked with anxiety, “She wants to go through with the marriage alliance?”
The messenger was Commander Qin Fei, a subordinate of Crown Prince Li Xuanzhen. Wiping sweat from his brow, he asked: “Chief Secretary, what should we do?”
Wei Ming trembled with rage: “Ignorant woman! Ignorant woman! Our Great Wei soldiers fight valiantly abroad to make the barbarians submit, His Majesty painstakingly orchestrates everything, waiting for the barbarians to surrender and form alliances—and this fool ruins His Majesty’s grand plan with a few careless words!”
As a daughter of the Zhu family, she had publicly accepted the betrothal gift, leaving His Majesty no room to maneuver—truly the height of stupidity!
Qin Fei grimaced, steadying Wei Ming: “Chief Secretary, now is not the time for anger!”
He waggled his finger.
“The Crown Prince will never let Princess Fukang go through with this marriage alliance.”
Wei Ming had thought of this too. His teeth grinding audibly, he closed his eyes to compose himself, suppressing his anger to ask calmly: “Did the Crown Prince maintain decorum in public?”
Qin Fei stamped his foot and sighed: “You know how much the Crown Prince values Princess Fukang. When the Yelu tribe made their proposal, the Crown Prince had just left the polo field and gone to the rear hall to change. Someone delayed him somehow, and by the time he returned and learned Princess Fukang was to marry into the Yelu tribe, his expression immediately changed. Without waiting for His Majesty to speak, he pulled Princess Fukang away.”
As Li Xuanzhen led Zhu Lvyun away, Li De’s face darkened. The Yelu tribe pressed their advantage, the Ministry of Rites officials were furious, and the banquet ended in discord.
The Eastern Palace officials were at their wits’ end and could only send Qin Fei back to urgently consult Wei Ming. Wei Ming was simultaneously angry, resentful, and anxious, with a metallic taste rising in his jaw.