3
After Mu Mingtang shouted those words about “molesting his sister-in-law,” Xie Xuanji’s chest heaved with anger, but in the end, he didn’t dare do anything further to her.
The positions of the emperor and the Prince of Qiyang were awkward, and Xie Xuanji, as the emperor’s legitimate son, found himself in an equally awkward position with his cousin—the former heir to the throne.
Especially now that the Prince of Qiyang lay unconscious. Doing nothing at all could easily invite trouble, let alone actively provoking someone connected to the prince. After all, the ones who had benefited most from the Prince of Qiyang’s incapacitation were the emperor and his family. With the rise of Neo-Confucianism, the boundaries between men and women had grown increasingly strict. A younger brother-in-law and his elder brother’s wife were already expected to keep their distance. And with his cousin unconscious, bedridden and paralyzed, even though the Prince of Qiyang was still alive, Mu Mingtang was effectively a widow. A young, vibrant, attractive widow—if she started shouting that Xie Xuanji had laid hands on her, he would truly be in a difficult position.
With a dark expression, Xie Xuanji let go. Mu Mingtang felt a surge of satisfaction and vindication. Little people like her didn’t understand things like dignity, grace, or maintaining composure in the face of adversity. All she knew was that when you had the upper hand, you pressed your advantage; when an enemy had fallen into the water, you immediately started beating them.
Mu Mingtang straightened her sleeves, tucked a strand of hair behind her ears, and said with dripping sarcasm, “The Prince of Jin is renowned for his virtue and grace, as gentle and refined as polished jade. You really should be more careful with your behavior. After all, I am your soon-to-be sister-in-law. You know your brother’s condition better than I do. If anything happens to me if I so much as bump or bruise myself—the gossip alone could drown you.”
With that, Mu Mingtang shot Xie Xuanji a sidelong glance and strode out with a confident swagger. As she went out the door, she ran into the maidservant who had been waiting outside. The maid seemed to try to stop her. Mu Mingtang let out a cold laugh and said with arrogant assurance, “Out of my way. I am the Princess of Qiyang, personally approved by His Majesty. Can you afford the consequences?”
A petty upstart reveling in sudden fortune, drunk on her own insolence! Xie Xuanji had always been gentle and courteous. Everyone he met addressed him respectfully as “Your Highness the Prince of Jin.” The women in his circle were all like Jiang Mingwei—well-read, noble, elegant daughters of distinguished families. When had he ever encountered a shrew like Mu Mingtang?
Xie Xuanji’s face had darkened to the color of a blackened cauldron. Jiang Honghao’s expression was equally unpleasant. He had truly not anticipated that Mu Mingtang was such a vile creature. Had he known, he would never have brought her before the Prince of Jin. Now, Mu Mingtang had humiliated the Jiang family right in front of the prince. Not only had Jiang Honghao lost face, but the prince had also been dragged into the mire.
Embarrassed and apprehensive, Jiang Honghao waited until the sound of Mu Mingtang’s departure had faded. Then he quickly stepped forward, clasped his hands, and made a deep bow to Xie Xuanji. “Your Highness, forgive me. My foster daughter is utterly lacking in manners and has offended you. She was a merchant’s daughter by birth—humble origins, little learning, an empty head. Your Highness is magnanimous. Please do not hold the foolish actions of such a shallow person against her.”
Xie Xuanji nodded, forcing himself to endure it. In truth, he had no choice. As Mu Mingtang had just pointed out, the emperor had praised the Jiang family at court that very morning for their righteousness and willingness to share the sovereign’s burden by volunteering their Second Miss to marry the Prince of Qiyang. The emperor had specifically named “the Jiang family’s Second Miss” aloud. Even if a meteorite struck the Jiang residence now, they could not allow any harm to come to Mu Mingtang.
Jiang Honghao talked at length, pouring out basketfuls of flattering words, before he finally managed to persuade Xie Xuanji to return to his seat. The maidservants brought fresh tea. The two of them—father-in-law and son-in-law—exchanged polite gestures and took their seats in turn.
Stroking his beard, Jiang Honghao said, “Regarding today’s matter, we owe it entirely to the Prince of Jin for making the connection on the Jiang family’s behalf with His Majesty. Were it not for you, the matter of my foster daughter and the Prince of Qiyang would not have been settled so quickly. Your Highness, rest assured. Mu Mingtang has received the Jiang family’s kindness. That kindness weighs upon her like a mountain. It is only natural that she should repay the Jiang family. It would be best if she knows her place. But if she dares to resist, then even if she dies, she will die within the Prince of Qiyang’s residence.”
Jiang Honghao was, in his roundabout way, trying to reassure Xie Xuanji. With Jiang Mingwei’s precedent already set, if Mu Mingtang were to pull another escape on the eve of marriage, the Jiang family would never be able to show their faces again.
Xie Xuanji nodded. “You are too serious, Father-in-law. Mingwei is my betrothed. The Jiang family’s affairs are my affairs.”
Hearing such words put Jiang Honghao greatly at ease. As a father, to see his future son-in-law so deeply devoted to his daughter, unwavering in his feelings, running errands for her family without complaint—there was probably no father-in-law in the world who wouldn’t be pleased. Jiang Honghao even felt a swell of pride. Thanks to the Prince of Jin’s magnanimity, Jiang Mingwei’s rash escape, which had put the family in a precarious position, could now be considered water under the bridge.
Yet, even so, a knot of unease remained in Jiang Honghao’s heart. As a father, it was awkward to pry too deeply into the affairs of his grown, of-age daughter. But she had been gone for an entire year, completely out of contact. And on the day she disappeared, it was said that she had left together with a man from the Northern Rong… Jiang Honghao simply couldn’t help having thoughts. Madam Jiang, of course, insisted that her daughter was still pure. And Jiang Mingwei was, after all, the daughter Jiang Honghao had raised with his own hands. He did not suspect her of impropriety. But gossiping women, when they chattered over their affairs, would not care about her character.
The fact that Jiang Mingwei’s whereabouts had been unknown for a full year was, undeniably, a serious blemish.
And besides, Jiang Honghao, as her father, could forgive a child for making mistakes in her youth. But what about Xie Xuanji? What man could be entirely indifferent to the fact that his fiancée had eloped with a foreign man and lived with him for an entire year?
Jiang Honghao did not dare raise the matter directly. But Xie Xuanji was, after all, a member of the imperial family. If Jiang Honghao did not allow Xie Xuanji to lay his doubts to rest, trouble would inevitably arise sooner or later. After a pause, Jiang Honghao spoke with studied casualness: “Your Highness, you and Mingwei have been close since childhood. Of all the children on our entire Jian’an Lane, you two got along best. Later, after moving to the capital, the old neighbors no longer lived near one another, and our visits grew infrequent. Yet you and Mingwei never grew distant. To see the two of you come this far, I truly feel deep emotion. But Mingwei has always been a stubborn girl. When she was fourteen or fifteen, she was at that sensitive age. And I had just moved to the capital, busy with affairs at court, while her mother was also occupied. We neglected to pay attention to the changes in her mindset. She somehow got it into her head to leave home and seek her freedom elsewhere. This was my failure as a father to properly guide her. Your Highness…”
“Father-in-law.” Xie Xuanji raised a hand to stop Jiang Honghao mid-sentence. “Our two families have been neighbors since I was a child. For as long as I can remember, I often ate at the Jiang family’s table. Madam Jiang looked after me greatly. My feelings for the Jiang family are genuine and close. As for Mingwei—we grew up together, and our hearts understand each other. How could I ever doubt Mingwei’s character? Please, do not speak such words again. They would be an insult not only to Mingwei, but also to my feelings for her. Let the past be the past. Mingwei was merely momentarily confused. Now that she has returned, that is enough.”
Hearing this, Jiang Honghao was greatly relieved. He clasped his hands to Xie Xuanji and raised his teacup. “Your Highness, your conduct is noble and your character upright. I, your humble subordinate, hold you in the highest admiration! I shall use tea as a substitute for wine and toast this cup to you.”
“How could I presume to accept such an honor?” Xie Xuanji demurred slightly, lifting his own cup. “It ought to be my toast to my father-in-law.”
Inside the study, Jiang Honghao and Xie Xuanji exchanged polite courtesies in a warm and harmonious atmosphere. But inside the main quarters of the Jiang residence, the mood could not have been more different.
“Why?” Jiang Mingwei slammed a beaded flower ornament onto the floor and turned her back. “She’s nothing but a lowly refugee. Why should she get to marry Xie Xuanchen? Why should she become the Princess of Qiyang?”
“Oh, you foolish child!” Madam Jiang gave Jiang Mingwei a chiding look, bent down to pick up the exquisite ornament, and placed it back on the low table. “This is the latest style from Linlang Pavilion. People are lining up for it outside—and still can’t get one. The price of this single flower ornament is equal to an entire year’s expenses for a common family in the city.”
Jiang Mingwei had regretted throwing the ornament the moment she did it. Before her rebirth, her greatest dream had been to return to the Eastern Capital, to return to her unmarried days, to be doted upon by her parents once more.
She couldn’t help but think back to those dark, despairing days: a crude bed, a palace overtly decorated with foreign flair—a place that had imprisoned her for an entire lifetime.
Not long ago, Jiang Mingwei had not been the daughter of the high-ranking official Jiang family in the Eastern Capital. She had been a Han Chinese concubine of Yelu Yan, the emperor of the Northern Rong.
In truth, the Jiang family had not always been prominent in the capital. Jiang Honghao’s official position had never reached the level of Deputy-Chancellor. In the beginning, the Jiang family had been nothing more than an ordinary, minor official household in Lin’an. Jiang Honghao served as a seventh-rank civil official in the prefectural office—steadier than commoner families, but by no means wealthy or powerful. An entire street had been filled with families of similar means.
The Xie family, specifically, Xie Rui’s familyhad lived right next door to the Jiangs. The lane they lived on was called Jian’an Lane. The adults forbade their children from playing with the children of commoners or merchants, so the children had to find playmates within the lane. Jiang Mingwei and Xie Xuanji were close in age, lived nearby, and the adults had long intended to match them. They had grown up together from a young age.
As a child, Jiang Mingwei had a beautiful face, stood out among her peers, and was greatly admired by the young men in the neighborhood. Xie Xuanji excelled in his studies, was tall, and even as a boy knew how to gather followers around him. He was the leader of the children in that area. They were regarded as the resident talented scholar and beautiful lady—a golden boy and jade maiden. In the pride of youth, Jiang Mingwei would get angry when anyone teased her about anyone else. But when someone teased that she would marry Xie Xuanji, she would blush and run away.
The adults also intended to unite them as husband and wife. Back then, the Jiang and Xie families were merely modestly well-off. Marrying between neighbors was the best option available. They had never dreamed of anything more ambitious. And besides, there was another reason Jiang Mingwei silently allowed her girlfriends to tease her about Xie Xuanji.
There was a rumor in the lane that Xie Xuanji had an uncle in the capital—a very high-ranking official and an exceptionally talented older cousin.
No one had ever met this elder branch of the Xie family. The matter was only discussed in idle chatter among the adults; no one knew whether it was true or false. But for the children, simply having an uncle in the capital was already an immense source of pride. Xie Xuanji held the highest status and the greatest face in their little circle. Jiang Mingwei had high aspirations. Having such a man as her husband would be fitting for her status as the number one beauty.
The turning point came when Jiang Mingwei was twelve years old. In the third year of the Hongjia era, Jian’an Lane was suddenly filled with carriages. A row of imposing guards stood at the Xie family’s gate, saying that General Xie had ordered them to fetch his younger brother Xie Rui’s family to the capital.
So, the rumors about the Xie family were true. Xie Xuanji really did have a high-ranking official as an uncle! In the envious gazes of the other children, Xie Xuanji boarded a carriage and, surrounded by an entourage, set off for the capital. Not long after, many people from Jian’an Lane received promotions. Jiang Mingwei’s father was among them and was transferred to the capital.
Only then did Jiang Mingwei understand what it truly meant to have a high-ranking official in the capital.
On the day Jiang Mingwei arrived in the capital, Xie Rui’s family and Xie Xuanji were all waiting personally at the city gate to welcome them. As the adults exchanged pleasantries outside the gate, a commotion suddenly arose. A young man on a white horse nimbly wove through the crowd, his speed undiminished.
The guards on duty shouted that anyone entering the city must dismount, but when the rider drew closer and they saw his face, everyone fell silent. Jiang Mingwei had been so awed by the imperial majesty of the capital that she could barely speak. Seeing for the first time the arrogance of a powerful noble’s son—something she had only ever read about in plays—she was struck speechless with fear. Just then, Xie Xuanji ran forward a few steps and called out, “Second Brother.”
The young man glanced back, threw them a casual look, and then spurred his horse onward, disappearing into the street.
That single glance—Jiang Mingwei remembered it to this day. She would never forget the shock the Vermilion Bird Gate had given her, nor could she forget that breathtaking sight before the gate.
That young man was Xie Xuanchen. Only later did Jiang Mingwei learn that Xie Xuanji’s uncle was indeed a high-ranking official in the capital. But the Xie family’s current influence, the power to reach heaven itself was not solely thanks to Xie Xuanji’s uncle Xie Yi.
Half of the Xie family’s power came from that arrogant, beautiful young man: Xie Xuanchen. Only afterward did Jiang Mingwei learn from others that when she had encountered him at the city gate, he had already been enfeoffed as the Marquis of Wu’an. At only fifteen years old, he had been granted land and title and walked in the emperor’s presence. The number of soldiers under his command had already rivaled that of his father, Xie Yi.
The shock of that encounter had been immense. Jiang Mingwei had thought herself a rare and exceptional beauty and scholar, but in the capital, she was merely an unremarkable official’s daughter, not even worth ranking. Her heart was as proud as the sky, yet her fate was as thin as paper. She was, at best, a princess of the alleyways.
The blow was severe. Once, the Jiang family had stood on equal footing with the Xie family. But after arriving in the capital, with an uncle of such high rank and a cousin of such renown, Xie Xuanji’s status and Jiang Mingwei’s were no longer comparable. These subtle disparities made Jiang Mingwei deeply insecure. Later, when the Xie family rebelled, raised their own army, and Xie Xuanji became a member of the imperial clan, Jiang Mingwei’s discomfort only grew.
So, in the first year of the Suihe era, when Jiang Mingwei learned from her parents that the court intended to wed her to Xie Xuanji, her resistance reached its peak. It so happened that spies from the Northern Rong had infiltrated the capital around that time. Yelu Yan broke into her bedchamber. Jiang Mingwei, in her capacity as Xie Xuanji’s betrothed, shielded him. Then, attracted by Yelu Yan’s passionate, unrestrained, and free-spirited nature, she made an agreement with him to elope on the night of the Lantern Festival.
Looking back, Jiang Mingwei deeply regretted that decision. Her life, her fortune—in that moment, they had been transferred to someone else.
In her previous life, after Jiang Mingwei followed Yelu Yan to the Northern Rong, she lodged in his princely manor. Only then did she learn that Yelu Yan was also a prince. No wonder the capital had been in such uproar that day.
From the moment Jiang Mingwei followed Yelu Yan to the Northern Rong, everyone assumed she was his woman. Yet along the journey, Yelu Yan never crossed the line with her. Only after she had lived there for a year did they consummate the relationship. After that, Jiang Mingwei naturally became Yelu Yan’s woman but just one of many.
She was Han Chinese, so naturally she could never become his primary consort. Later, when Yelu Yan fought for the throne, he married a daughter of the Northern Rong nobility. That princess had grown up wielding swords and spears. She was extremely overbearing and jealous. She regarded Jiang Mingwei—a woman from the Han lands who monopolized their husband’s favor as a thorn in her eye. Jiang Mingwei had seen many conflicts between wives and concubines, but never anything as savage as Yelu Yan’s princess. Every act of malice was direct and undisguised. Jiang Mingwei had been doused with ice water in the dead of winter, had needles hidden in the soles of her shoes, and had been ordered by that vile woman to sing Yuet court songs in public.
Unable to bear the humiliation any longer, Jiang Mingwei begged Yelu Yan for help. But the princess’s family held too much power, and Yelu Yan refused to punish her. He told Jiang Mingwei to endure for now. So, she endured. She endured all the way until Yelu Yan ascended the throne.
But by then, Jiang Mingwei had grown older. Her beauty had faded under the erosion of time and the harsh northern winds and sands. She had fallen out of favor.
And as a Han Chinese concubine who had lost her lord’s favor, what she would suffer next went without saying.
The final years of Jiang Mingwei’s life were extremely difficult. And just when she was at her lowest, she heard that the Yuet court had a new emperor, and the empress was a daughter of the Chief Councilor Jiang family.
A daughter of the Jiang family? Impossible. Her parents only had one child—her. She was already in the Northern Rong. Where could the Jiang family have found another daughter?
From the taunts of the Northern Rong palace maids, she learned that her parents had adopted a new daughter, named Jiang Mingtang. And now, she was already the empress of Yuet.
Just before she died, she heard that Yuet was sharpening its swords. The new emperor, Xie Xuanji, wanted to march north and recover the Sixteen Prefectures of Yanyun, but lacking a suitable general, he had held back.
She heard that Xie Xuanji had never forgotten his childhood sweetheart all these years, and that his empress greatly resembled that sweetheart’s elder sister.
Relations between the Northern Rong and Yuet were tense. As a Han Chinese concubine, Jiang Mingwei was quietly disposed of on a dark, moonless night.
As her mouth and nose were covered, Jiang Mingwei didn’t know whether it was a hallucination brought on by suffocation, but she seemed to see, as if in a rapid slideshow, events from the Yuet court.
It turned out that their story was actually a book, and Xie Xuanji was the heaven-appointed male protagonist. As the protagonist of a male-dominated story, he had shown exceptional promise from childhood. He rose step by step, from the son of a minor official to a prince, and finally ascended the throne.
The first half of the book told of his rise to power; the second half told of how he strengthened the state and planned to unify the realm. Throughout, his harem ran as a consistent thread, serving as an important counterpoint to the main plot. The harem contained every archetype: a pure moonlight, a cinnabar mole, a childhood playmate, a foreign princess, a femme fatale, an icy beauty.
Jiang Mingwei was the “pure moonlight” in that story. She died early and was mourned by Xie Xuanji for the rest of his life. Reading this, Jiang Mingwei understood: she hadn’t actually died. She had gone to the Northern Rong. The Yuet court, having no news of her, naturally assumed she was dead.
Xie Xuanji missed her deeply. He even married a substitute—a woman who mimicked her every move and made her empress. This woman was named Jiang Mingtang, the Jiang family’s foster daughter. Though her origins were humble, for Jiang Mingwei’s sake, Xie Xuanji never once considered replacing her.
In her final moments, Jiang Mingwei erupted with endless resentment. She resented Yelu Yan for his fickleness and lack of feeling. She resented the vicious, jealous empress. She resented her own youthful foolishness for letting the right man slip away. And she resented the impostor who had taken her place.
If not for Jiang Mingtang, surely she—she herself would have been the empress. The one Xie Xuanji loved had always been her!
Overwhelmed with regret, Jiang Mingwei was reborn. Upon waking, she learned that the year was the third of the Suihe era, and that she had just entered Northern Rong territory.
Without a second thought, Jiang Mingwei turned back and headed home.
She thought: in this life, she would never be so blind again. She wouldn’t chase true love with a foreigner instead of choosing a devoted lover like Xie Xuanji. Xie Xuanji was the true heaven-appointed lord. With his devotion to her, all she had to do was crook her finger and treat him just a little kindly, and wouldn’t he come running back?
That fake Second Miss Jiang, that contemptible woman who became the legitimate empress just by imitating her—should go right back to whatever gutter she crawled out of.
Jiang Mingwei rushed back to the Jiang household as fast as she could, managing to return just before Xie Xuanji’s wedding. And indeed, the moment she appeared, Madam Jiang’s eyes reddened, and Xie Xuanji immediately abandoned that impostor and asked where she had been all these years.
Madam Jiang, having lost and regained her daughter, held Jiang Mingwei and wept for a long time. Madam Jiang had watched Jiang Mingwei and Xie Xuanji grow up. In her heart, of course, her own daughter and Xie Xuanji were a match made in heaven. Everyone else was just a third party intruding. If there had been no alternative, that would have been one thing. But now that Jiang Mingwei had returned, why should Mu Mingtang get anything?
Everyone felt that the marriage contract should be returned to Jiang Mingwei. Jiang Mingwei was satisfied with this outcome but it wasn’t enough.
In fact, Madam Jiang’s idea was that if Mu Mingtang obediently gave up the marriage contract, that would already be very sensible. Afterwards, they would prepare a dowry for her and arrange for her to marry an ordinary official’s son, and that would be the end of their mother-daughter relationship. But Jiang Mingwei refused. She wept over the suffering she had endured that year. She wept that she had been devastated to learn that her parents had taken in another daughter. She wept that she was superfluous and unwanted… In the end, Madam Jiang cried too. Xie Xuanji stood by for a while, then said he had a way to deal with Mu Mingtang.
Jiang Mingwei was content and waited at home with peace of mind. But after waiting several days, she learned that Mu Mingtang was to be married to Xie Xuanchen?
“No,” Jiang Mingwei ground her teeth and spoke with conviction. “She’s nothing but a merchant’s daughter who spent a year among refugees. Who knows if she’s even still pure anymore? What right does she have to marry Xie Xuanchen, let alone as his primary consort?”
**