Chapter 19 Part 2

The two of them left the inn. Zhou He brought her east out of the city, walked out of Chunming Gate, and came to a wilderness outside the city. Seeing there was no one around, he stopped and asked, “What do you want to know?”

“All you know.”

Zhou He looked at her in confusion, “It’s a long story…”

“It doesn’t matter how long it is!”

He groaned for a moment, “I will start from when the current emperor was still Prince Ding.

“At present, the two most powerful officials in the imperial court are Liu Ceye and Wang Zhang. Wang Zhang is from the family of the Grand Empress Dowager, and Liu Ceye is also from an aristocratic family, and he’s also the uncle of the Crown Prince. However, the current Empress Liu is not the Crown Prince’s biological mother, but his aunt.”

When the emperor was still Prince Ding, he first took the eldest daughter of the Liu family, a family in Guandong, as his consort. Consort Liu gave birth to the current Crown Prince Li Mao, but later died of illness. When it came time to discuss the successor, the Liu family originally hoped that one of Consort Liu’s sisters would continue to be the Princess Consort of Ding, but Prince Ding had other intentions, and the one who became Princess Consort was surnamed Yin.

Father Yin used to be the chief academic officer of the Imperial College. Miss Yin was also extremely beautiful. By some unknown chance, she caught the eye of Prince Ding, who fell in love with her and came to the old emperor for the blessing.

At that time, the old emperor was getting old and was very cautious about his sons. Prince Ding’s request was just what he wanted, so he granted the marriage.

“It is said that when Princess Consort Yin married Prince Ding, she was only seventeen or eighteen years old, and Prince Ding was also in his prime age. After marrying Princess Consort Yin, he very much doted on her. They often traveled together and were inseparable, truly a celestial couple. Later, they had a beloved daughter, named County Princess Zanxing. There is a Taoist nunnery in Wuben Lane nearby, named Zanxing Nunnery. That place was originally Prince Ding Mansion, and the name Zanxing also came from the county princess. Not only that, I heard that the reason why the little county princess used Zanxing as her name seemed to have a history…”

“There’s no need to talk about that,” Xuyu interrupted Zhou He, “What’s going on with the empty tomb?”

“This story starts with Ye Zhongli. Ye Zhongli claimed to have disciples all over the world, but the only person he actually accepted as his disciple and taught carefully was Ding Baiya.”

It was the first time Xuyu heard that Grandpa had such a direct disciple, and she was stunned.

“Ding Baiya was a man of extraordinary talent, and his writing, poetry, and painting were all outstanding. However, due to his humble background and lack of family support, he repeatedly failed the imperial examinations after coming to Chang’an. Finally, he became discouraged and gave up studying to focus on painting. He was naturally intelligent, and with Ye Zhongli’s careful teaching, he became famous in Chang’an a few years later.

“When Ye Zhongli finished painting the capital long scroll, he left Chang’an, but Ding Baiya stayed. He became the most popular court painter, participated in various palace banquets, and painted portraits for the imperial ladies, from the empress dowager to princess consort and princesses.

“Ding Baiya was handsome man with extraordinary temperament, confident and uninhibited, with the demeanor of the Wei and Jin dynasties. After he became famous, he was known as the most handsome man in Chang’an. Because he usually liked to wear white clothes, people called him Master Ding in White. Countless women admired him. Rumor has it that many noble ladies even racked their brains to ask him to paint their portraits, and even spent a lot of money to bribe the powerful eunuchs in the Palace Office so that the eunuchs would arrange opportunities for them. However, Ding Baiya was uniquely enamored with Princess Consort Yin, deliberately approached her by using his identity as a court painter. The two gradually developed a private relationship, but due to their status, they each endured it. Later, a turmoil happened, which provided a heaven-sent opportunity.

“It is said that on the eve of the fall of the capital, the Empress Dowager summoned Princess Consort Yin to the palace with the little princess to prepare for the trip to the west, but instead she took this opportunity to escape with Ding Baiya and disappeared without a trace. There has been no news of the two since then. After Prince Ding ascended the throne, if the two were still alive, they would naturally not show up. Perhaps they are now living as a pair of carefree mandarin ducks somewhere in the world.”

When Xuyu heard this, the blood in her body began to flow backwards and her heart began to beat wildly.

She remembered it too.

When she followed her mother into the palace, she did meet a young painter who was as handsome as jade. The painter also painted a portrait of her and her mother. Mother liked the painting of mother and daughter very much and hung it in her bedroom. Later, for some reason, her father seemed to dislike it and the portrait was taken down.

“Impossible! I asked you to tell me about the old affairs of the court, but you’re telling me these rumors from who knows where!” She couldn’t help but speak up in protest.

Zhou He sneered.

“From a common-sense point of view, it is indeed unlikely. But the world was overturned that day, Chang’an was in chaos, and even the emperor abandoned his people and fled. Everyone’s life was in danger. What else was there to fear? In such a situation, what does identity matter?

“I don’t know if you’ve ever seen the place called She’an Temple in Chongren Lane. Before the riot, it was the place where the imperial family held weddings for princesses and county princesses. Commoners were not allowed to enter without permission. How noble it was. After the fall of the capital, dozens of princesses and their husbands who were late to escape hid in it for refuge. When the rebel soldiers arrived, they raped and killed the princesses and slaughtered their husbands. Their blood flowed out of the threshold and dyed the ground red.

“The sky has fallen. No matter how noble their bloodline is, they are still like pigs and dogs at the mercy of others. It’s better to take this opportunity to leave with the one you love, and live a carefree life for the rest of your life.”

Xuyu tried to keep her expression still, but her hands were clenched tightly into fists under her sleeves and she began to tremble uncontrollably.

Zhou He continued, “Of course, whether Princess Consort Yin fled secretly or not, whether she lived or died, is not up to me. But in the first few years after the rebellion was quelled, everyone in the court knew about the rumor. Why are the murals painted by Ye Zhongli in his early years so rare in Chang’an right now? His original paintings on paper and silk are now even more difficult to find at a high price. Although the rebels did destroy some of them, including the long scroll he painted in Yong’an Hall, they did not destroy all of them. The rest were all because of the current emperor.

“After he ascended the throne, monastery and Taoist temples in Chang’an took action one after another, either covering old paintings with new ones or simply eradicating them. If it weren’t for orders from above, who would be willing to destroy those original works? Now, only the south wall of the Tianwang Hall in Qinglong Temple still has a mural of his. It is said that because the monks were reluctant to destroy it, they risked their lives to build a whole new wall in front of the south wall to cover it, so it can be preserved until now. Not to mention, at that time, who knows how many court painters who had contact with Ding Baiya were driven out or killed!”

He didn’t say it, but his meaning was clear. When Prince Ding first ascended the throne, he hated Ding Baiya and took his anger out on Ye Zhongli. He ordered the destruction of Ye Zhongli’s paintings and persecuted those painters who had had contact with Ye Zhongli.

“What you said may not be true.”

Xuyu calmed herself down and couldn’t help but explain herself again.

“If it’s really as you said, why didn’t they ban it later? I heard that the new hall built for the emperor’s longevity celebration will even reproduce the long scroll that Ye Zhongli painted!”

Zhou He nodded, “You are right. But if you were the emperor, you would do the same. At first, it was an act of venting anger. Ordinary people probably can’t stand such humiliation, let alone an emperor. But afterward, one would come to understand: the more you react, the more you solidify that rumor. How could an emperor bear such a loss of face and dignity? Besides, Ye Zhongli’s reputation is so great that people call him a deity. It’s not that I try to offend the imperial majesty, but even as the Son of Heaven, it would be difficult to suppress him for long. It’s better to cover up the scandal as if nothing happened, and tell the world that Empress Zhaode met her unfortunate end at the hands of rebel soldiers. This is the way of an emperor.”

Xuyu fell silent for a moment.

“So you should understand why it’s an empty tomb, right? Now that so many years have passed, when people talk about Empress Zhaode, they all say that the emperor built a mausoleum for her to express his grief, and that even though they are separated by life and death, their bond remains unbroken. The deep love between the imperial couple is enough to be a model for the people of the world. Isn’t that good?”

After Zhou He finished talking about this old story, he saw that the other person had not spoken for a long time, so he smiled and said, “Why are you silent? Is there anything else you want to know?”

“Is there a eunuch named Zhao Zhongfang in the palace?”

Xuyu slowly raised her eyes and asked.

“Zhao Zhongfang…”

Zhou He repeated the name, frowned, thought for a moment, and nodded.

“I seem to still to have an impression. After the emperor ascended the throne, this man became the chamberlain. It is said that he was an old person in Prince Ding Mansion in the past and was highly regarded by the emperor. At that time, Yuan Zhi was still unknown! But then, for some reason, he suddenly disappeared a few years later, and no one know where he went or whether he was dead or alive. Today, the Palace Office was all under Yuan Zhi. After so many years, there were probably not many people in the palace who still know this name.

“Oh, that’s right, I remember this person had a problem in one leg, so he walked differently. If I’m not mistaken, he should be the person you’re asking for.”

The countryside was covered with lush vegetation, with wild flowers bloomed everywhere. The sun was shining brightly, and warm breezes brushes by. However, as Zhou He, a man who had experienced the past, told the story, Xuyu felt as if she were being submerged in an icy well in the dead of winter. Slowly, she grew colder, until, in the end, it felt as if even her teeth were exuding a chilling air.

“Brother Ye, what’s wrong with you? You don’t look well, are you feeling unwell?”

A concerned voice called out to her. Xuyu was distracted and saw Zhou He looking at her with concern. She shook her head and said, “Thank you, Brother Zhou, for today. I have learned a lot. I am fine now. We should go back.”

She nodded slightly to Zhou He, walked towards the city, and after a few steps, she suddenly stopped, turned around, and said word by word: “Everything you said is just rumors and speculation.”

Zhou He was startled, then laughed: “So what? Even the wind from an empty cave comes from a hollow. Besides, those rumors were rampant back then; it’s not something I, Zhou He, made up out of thin air.”

Xuyu stopped talking, turned around and continued walking.

“Brother Ye, what we just agreed on…”

Zhou He looked at the figure gradually moving away in front of him for a moment, and suddenly shouted.

“I remember.”

Xuyu left without looking back.

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