Li Zhaoji could hardly believe what he had just heard. He stared coldly at the woman. Tang Jiayu gave him an ambiguous smile, utterly without shyness, wearing an expression that said, "Being chosen by me is your good fortune—there is no way you could refuse me."
Li Zhaoji was so angry he laughed. He had underestimated this woman. She was not only lustful, but utterly brazen!
The main hall fell deathly silent for a moment. When everyone came to their senses, it was as if a pot had exploded. Pang Cheng's cheek twitched. The tears of a loving father in his eyes could no longer be maintained.
For years, he had strictly obeyed the Military Governor's orders, coaxing and doting on Tang Jiayu. Even if she wanted the stars in the sky, Pang Cheng would build a ladder to fetch them for her. Choosing a son-in-law was a crucial step. The Military Governor had said that as long as it was not Wang Rong, he should indulge her as much as possible—even if it was not Wei Chengjun, it did not matter. After all, only when Tang Jiayu chose someone she was satisfied with would she confide her secrets to her husband.
But the Military Governor had never said what to do if Tang Jiayu chose his own son.
Pang Cheng's scalp tingled. He forced himself to hold on and said to Tang Jiayu, "Jiayu, you have never met this young man before, and you know nothing of his family wealth or character. Is it not too rash to take him as your husband?"
How absurd—he had just pressured her into making a decision on the spot, and now he was saying that choosing a stranger was too rash. Tang Jiayu put on the full airs of a spoiled heiress and said carelessly, "Father, did you not say I could choose freely? I want him! He is the most handsome man I have ever seen—how bad could his character be? Besides, our Tang family is wealthy. Why should we care about the man's family wealth?"
"But…"
"Father, look at his worn clothes—it shows he is frugal and good at managing a household. The stitching on his shoulder has come undone, yet no one has mended his clothes for him—it shows he is unmarried. He is worlds apart from the Tang family, yet he still came to observe the ceremony—it shows he is someone who understands propriety and knows gratitude. Most importantly, I like him." Tang Jiayu clung to Pang Cheng's arm and shook it, refusing to let go. "You clearly promised me I could choose freely. I want to marry him. If it is not him, I would rather never marry in my life!"
Li Zhaoji's feelings were complicated. Tang Jiayu seemed to be praising him, but also seemed not to be. Pang Cheng saw the Young Lord's expression growing more unfathomable and, afraid that Tang Jiayu would say something even more shocking, quickly pretended to have a headache and dismissed the guests: "This is a Tang family matter, not something for outsiders to hear. Please take your leave, everyone. Forgive me for not seeing you out."
This coming-of-age ceremony had begun with host and guests thoroughly enjoying themselves, and ended inexplicably. When the "guests" left the Tang residence, each wore a subtle expression. They glanced at the cold-faced Li Zhaoji, wanting to laugh but not daring to.
Wei Chengjun had pursued her for so long without success, yet the Young Lord only had to show his face once for the young lady to bring her vast fortune and propose to him on her own initiative. Sure enough, the Young Lord was extraordinary.
Li Zhaoji grew annoyed at being stared at and glared back coldly. The soldiers who had been secretly exchanging glances quickly pretended to know nothing. Li Zhaoji felt stifled. In his fifteen years of life, whether in martial training or battle, everything had gone smoothly. Even the Chidan could not make him suffer indignity. Yet today he had been toyed with by a woman, and he could not even vent his anger.
With a cold expression, Li Zhaoji mounted his horse and squeezed his heels hard into the horse's belly. Zhaoye shot forward like an arrow loosed from a bowstring.
Li Zhaoji ran three laps outside the city, and the stifled frustration in his chest finally dissipated somewhat. By the time dusk had fallen into full darkness, Li Zhaoji returned to the manor covered in dust. He walked toward Iron Kite Hall and noticed that the expressions of his personal guards as they looked at him were somewhat strange. Li Zhaoji frowned inwardly, pushed open the door, and heard his father inside asking in disbelief: "What? She fell in love with Zhaoji at first sight and will have no one but him?"
The other voice was Pang Cheng's, and he too sounded deeply troubled: "This subordinate tried to persuade her, repeatedly warning her that the Young Lord is a penniless nobody, but she is dead set on marrying the Young Lord."
Iron Kite Hall fell into dead silence. The guards at the door, forced to overhear the gossip, wanted to keep listening but dared not, and could only clear their throats and announce: "The Young Lord has returned."
Pang Cheng turned and bowed to Li Zhaoji: "This subordinate greets the Young Lord. Young Lord, those words of mine were only meant to discourage Tang Jiayu's—"
"I'm not deaf. I heard. You don't need to repeat it for me." Li Zhaoji coldly cut Pang Cheng off. He walked into the inner hall of Iron Kite Hall and declared with absolute finality: "Making me marry her is absolutely impossible."
Having said that, Li Zhaoji thought of something and let out a short laugh: "No, it's not even marrying her—it's marrying into her family."
Hearing those two words, Li Jichen frowned deeply: "What nonsense are you spouting? You are my only son. In the future you will inherit the position of Military Governor, expand our territory, and glorify our military might. How could you possibly marry into some woman's family?"
Seeing that his father had not yet lost his mind to the point of making him sacrifice his dignity, Li Zhaoji's expression finally improved somewhat. Still, even if his father truly tried to force him, Li Zhaoji would not be expected to bow his head. No one could compel him to do what he did not wish to do.
Li Zhaoji said: "I said long ago that this scheme is ill-conceived. Chang'an is weak. We need only train troops and stockpile grain, and sooner or later we can replace them. Why go to such lengths searching for some Lingyun Chart?"
Li Jichen pressed his forehead, feeling for the first time what it meant to have a stone dropped on one's own foot. Tang Jiayu had set her sights on Li Zhaoji of all people. If he refused, would all the effort made up to now be wasted?
Pang Cheng looked back and forth, then said: "The Young Lord's status is noble, so of course he cannot truly marry into her family. But this subordinate thinks that the Young Lord, being a man of standing, would not be harmed by having one more woman. The Young Lord might fabricate a false identity and play along with her for a while. She is Emperor Xizong's only descendant. If she bears a male infant with Hedong bloodline, the Military Governor will gain yet another bargaining chip. If the Young Lord truly dislikes her, he need only get her with child, and in the future send her off to a side courtyard as a concubine. The position of principal wife should naturally be reserved for a virtuous woman of talent and character."
The more Li Zhaoji listened, the tighter his brow furrowed. Pang Cheng in his early years had led from the front on the battlefield, charging at the head of his troops—he could be counted as a fierce general. How had he become like this now? Li Zhaoji said coldly: "Since I do not like her, why should I provoke her? Whether or not she is a princess, no woman deserves to be deliberately impregnated and then demoted to concubine. Such conduct—how is it different from that of a beast?"
Pang Cheng had been openly berated by Li Zhaoji. His face flushed red, and he lowered his head to beg forgiveness: "Forgive me, Young Lord. This subordinate was mistaken in his thinking."
Li Jichen thought back to when he had discovered Tang Jiayu in the carriage—she had been only four days old. Her wet nurse had been struck by an arrow and died protecting her. Li Jichen had pulled her out from a mountain of corpses and a sea of blood, so tiny a thing, so weak she could stop breathing at any moment—and yet, when she saw him, she still split her little mouth into a smile.
Because of that smile, over the years Li Jichen had wavered several times between killing her and letting her live, but in the end he always let her stay in the Tang residence, continuing to be that ignorant yet carefree daughter of a wealthy merchant. Sometimes it was better to be a simpleton—knowing nothing, so one could live a lifetime in peace and happiness, free of worry and misfortune until the end of one's days.
So many people had hunted her, yet she had managed to wait for him to come even from the hands of the King of Hell. Perhaps this was fate.
Li Jichen sighed and said, "Last year she fell in love with Wang Rong at first sight, and this year it's Zhaoji. How serious can she be? The young lady likes a pretty face, her heart is fickle—it won't be long before she forgets. Keep her settled in the Tang residence for now. As for the matter of recruiting a son-in-law, we'll discuss it at length later."
Pang Cheng acknowledged the order. After Pang Cheng left, Li Zhaoji said to Li Jichen, "Father, are you still not giving up on The Lingyun Chart? It's nothing but an ethereal treasure—it's not even certain whether it truly exists. Why are you so obsessed, Father?"
Li Jichen looked at his son, wanting to speak but hesitating, and in the end only a sigh remained: "You're still young, you don't understand. Go back and change your clothes, rest for now. The affairs of the Tang residence are none of your concern. From now on, go to that place less often."
Li Zhaoji wore a look of disdain—as if he wanted to go? Seeing that his father refused to speak, Li Zhaoji knew there was no point in asking. He gave a cold snort and left.
Li Jichen ordered his personal guards to watch the gate, then opened a secret compartment and took out the thing he had looked at countless times over the years. Li Jichen ran his fingers over the lifelike dragon pattern on the silk cloth, and slowly opened it.
Li Jichen's connection to the imperial family had actually begun long ago. Li Jichen originally did not bear the surname Li. His father's original name was Chu Di, originally a garrison commander of Yunzhou. In the ninth year of Xiantong, Wu Ye rose in rebellion at Xuzhou, cutting off the grain transport route to Chang'an. The court was greatly alarmed and threw all its strength into suppressing the rebellion. Chu Di received orders to march south to quell the rebellion. The cavalry under his command mostly wore black, appearing and disappearing unpredictably. In battle they were like a line on the horizon—in an instant they were already before your eyes, and before the blade fell the rebel soldiers' heads had already been severed from their bodies, like ghost ravens reaping lives. Wu Ye's generals, in terror, called them The Raven Army.
Chu Di led The Raven Army in sweeping across the rebel forces, unstoppable as a bamboo splitter. The name of The Raven Army resounded across the realm from that point on. In the ninth month of the following year, Chu Di captured Xuzhou, cut off Wu Ye's head, and sent it to Chang'an to present before the Emperor. Emperor Yizong was overjoyed, granted Chu Di the imperial surname, and personally gave him the name Wu'an, enfeoffing him as Defense Commissioner of Yunzhou.
Chu Di transformed overnight into Li Wu'an. The Li family went from rough military men to a clan of glorious merit and frontier governors, their household illustrious beyond all comparison to before. Li Jichen had followed his father on campaigns north and south since childhood. When Chu Di marched south to quell the rebellion that year, Li Jichen was only thirteen, yet he already served as a vanguard officer charging into battle and slaying enemies—brave and skilled in war. The rebel forces scattered at the sight of him, none daring to block his path.
Li Jichen still remembered to this day: when Emperor Yizong saw the father and son in Chang'an, he was overjoyed beyond measure, and said to those around him that this father and son were the Wei Qing and Huo Qubing of the age, and that possessing them could guarantee fifty years of dynastic fortune for the Great Qi. When Emperor Yizong said these words, he surely never imagined that within a few years, the meritorious officials who slew the dragon would become a new giant dragon coiled to the north of Chang'an.
That was the first time Li Jichen had an audience with the Emperor, and also the first time he saw Chang'an. That one sight left him haunted and unable to forget it ever after. Over the years he had campaigned north and south and seen many cities—wealthy ones, majestic ones, vast ones—but none could compare to Chang'an, all-encompassing and magnificent in spirit, a radiant pearl that could only be forged by a hundred years of prosperity and ten thousand nations paying tribute.
A capital should be like this.
After Li Wu'an passed away from illness, Li Jichen naturally succeeded as the Defense Commissioner of Yunzhou and became the new commander of the Raven Army. Having seen Chang'an, Li Jichen was no longer content with Yunzhou. Yunzhou was wonderful, of course—it was where he was born and raised, where he and Liu Yingrong met, married, and had a child. His ancestors had all toiled here. This was Li Jichen's root, but it should not be his son's.
His son, his and Yingrong's only child, should venture into a vaster world.
Li Jichen drilled his troops and actively prepared for battle, waiting for fate to favor him. In the first year of Guangming, the opportunity he had long awaited arrived.
Zhang Chao rebelled, reinforcements for Hulao Pass failed, Luoyang fell, and Chang'an was suddenly in dire straits. The young Emperor Xizong fled hastily to Shu with his consorts and imperial clan. Li Jichen sensed the opportunity and immediately led thirty-five thousand cavalry south to defend the emperor, reaching Guanzhong within fifteen days.
He was not the first regional force to arrive at Chang'an, but he was certainly the most ferocious in combat. In Guanzhong, he repeatedly defeated Zhang Chao's forces. At the Battle of Liangtian Slope, the rebel army left corpses stretching thirty li. Li Jichen pursued his victory, becoming the first to charge into Chang'an and earning the highest merit in recovering the capital. In those years, the court was relegated to Yizhou. Emperor Xizong, who had let the Great Qi lose the empire's dignity, drowned while drunk on a lake excursion, and his younger brother Prince Shou took the throne. When the emperor heard news of Chang'an's recovery, he wept with joy. The following month, he lavishly rewarded his meritorious officials. Li Jichen, for defeating Zhang Chao and recovering Chang'an, was enfeoffed as Military Governor of Hedong for his foremost merit.
That year, Li Jichen was only twenty-eight—the youngest among the generals, yet with the strongest army. His achievements overshadowed his sovereign, and for a time his glory was unmatched. Young and successful, the center of the world's attention—a moment countless men dreamed of—yet Li Jichen told everyone he was already old, that his son was extraordinary, and that Hedong's future rested entirely with the Young Lord.
Li Zhaoji was only three years old at the time. It was far too early to say such things, but Li Jichen was not being modest—he truly believed it. From Defense Commissioner of Yunzhou to Military Governor of Hedong, every step he took was earned through risking his life. Over the years, he campaigned everywhere, and Hedong's territory grew ever larger, gradually becoming the strongest vassal in the north. But this was also Li Jichen's limit.
Li Zhaoji was different. Because of Li Jichen's prophecy, Li Zhaoji grew up amid voices of both high expectations and skepticism. He withstood the pressure, neither becoming arrogant from his privileged birth nor feeling ashamed of his father's achievements. Li Jichen made his name with the Hundred-Pace Willow-Piercing archery, and Liu Yingrong could single-handedly challenge over a dozen elite soldiers with her spear. As their child, Li Zhaoji excelled in both archery and spearmanship. The army praised him for inheriting his parents' strengths, but Li Jichen knew it was the result of Li Zhaoji spending multiples of time practicing in private.
With unwavering character, diligence and self-discipline, able to share hardships with soldiers and to reward and punish with authority—Li Zhaoji possessed every quality Li Jichen had hoped for. Li Jichen had already laid Hedong's foundation. Whether the Li family would be remembered as traitors or as heroes of chaos would depend on Li Zhaoji.
Li Jichen rolled up the documents and placed them back in the secret compartment. He saw the half-piece of Dragon-patterned Jade Pendant, sighed, and slowly closed the mechanism.
Alas, the hearts of parents everywhere.
But in the end, his son's future mattered more.