Chapter 722: It Began with the Tian Clan, It Ends with the Li Clan

There were naturally proper ceremonial robes made for an Heir.

But when the Heir of Prince Zhenbei Residence actually needed a formal set of his own... the household found itself unexpectedly at a loss.

It was not merely because the position of Young Marquis, or later Heir, had stood vacant for so long.

It was because ritual and ceremonial rules... had not counted as rules here for a very long time.

When rules could no longer restrain you, simply refusing to obey them became a pleasure in itself.

What "grave disrespect"?

What "violation of ritual"?

What possibility of giving others an excuse to impeach you?

Prince Zhenbei Residence had never needed to care.

Ever since the previous Marquis Zhenbei helped Ji Chengjue's grandfather seize the throne, the status of Marquis Zhenbei Residence had already become completely transcendent.

Li Liangting had once joked with the Emperor of Yan inside the Imperial Study that his own father used to secretly wear dragon robes at home just for the thrill of it.

And judging by how practiced Li Liangting himself had been at taking off dragon robes... he clearly had not been innocent of trying them on at home either.

So although the Heir had not been back at the residence for very long... there was absolutely no possibility the household had neglected him when it came to clothing.

The issue was this: ordinary garments were ordinary garments.

If he wore something within the residence, entered the ancestral hall, or appeared at some internal family ceremony... then one or two details exceeding regulation did not matter.

No one would care.

But if he wore the clothing outside... as the official envoy of Prince Zhenbei Residence to the Barbarian Royal Court... then, fundamentally, he represented Great Yan.

And in that case... his formal robes had to be correct.

What garments should a Prince wear?

What garments should an Heir wear?

How much gold thread?

How much edging?

What accessories?

What patterns?

Every detail had its rules.

From another angle... the moment Prince Zhenbei Residence began picking up rules it had once despised and preparing to obey them again... that itself signified a change in the weather.

The old pattern, where Prince Zhenbei Residence stood apart from Great Yan's ordinary order... was steadily becoming blurred.

Soon it would return to playing by the same rules as everyone else.

Naturally... it needed to respect the mainstream rules of that circle.

Fortunately, Prince Zhenbei Residence lacked neither craftsmen nor skilled artisans.

The Princess Consort herself was a master of embroidery.

Even the Commandery Princess, who had once possessed a fiery temperament and looked down on needlework, had learned to do it from time to time during her years in the capital simply to pass the days.

She was clever by nature.

So naturally, once she began, she learned quickly.

Thus... with mother and daughter taking the lead, hurrying, adjusting, inspecting from every angle... they finally altered a set of ceremonial python robes until it fully conformed to the rites expected of an Heir.

Li Fei put the robe on.

Then stood before his mother and elder sister.

"Little Brother actually isn't bad-looking," the Commandery Princess said.

"About average," the Princess Consort judged. "Much better than his father back then, at least. When his father stood beside His Majesty in those days, he was completely eclipsed. Later, Mother would sometimes think about it. Perhaps the reason His Majesty liked taking your father around in his youth wasn't merely because your father was the Young Marquis of Marquis Zhenbei Residence. Red flowers always like having green leaves beside them to make themselves look better, don't they?"

"Mother, was His Majesty very handsome when he was young?"

"Look at those imperial princes. How many of them are ugly? Even Little Sixth used to fool around when he was younger and somewhat hollowed himself out with wine and women, but the face itself was still quite good."

"Then Mother, why did you choose Father?"

"Your father looked dependable. Back then he told me that in this life, I would be his only woman."

"Just because of that line?"

"Any man can say the line. But you still have to look at his status, don't you?"

"True."

Li Fei stood there in the python robe while his mother and sister chatted.

Finally... the Princess Consort's attention returned to her son.

"Son, Mother isn't going to say much else to you. Saying too much won't help anyway. People are tempered through experience. Since my son has accepted this responsibility, then loosen your hands and do what needs to be done. After all... your surname is Li."

"This son understands."

"Mm. Mother won't cry anymore either. Crying back and forth is pointless. I suppose in this lifetime Mother committed her sins by marrying into this Li family. Sigh. A peaceful life is comfortable enough, isn't it? Yet somehow we still have to rush out again and again to suffer."

Li Fei smiled.

"Mother, the situation is what it is. The times are what they are. Someone always has to step forward and do things."

"I don't need you teaching me those principles. Once you leave, when you reach the old Barbarian King, first pick the pleasant things to say. And this letter... keep it. Mother wrote it personally. Give it to the old Barbarian King when the time comes."

Li Fei accepted the letter.

"Mother, this is?"

"A marriage proposal. Mother is asking the old Barbarian King for a marriage on your behalf. The First Prince married a Barbarian Princess, didn't he? I figure that old Barbarian King probably doesn't have another daughter of suitable age left for you. The youngest Barbarian Princess was already promised into the Ji family. We can't reach upward in generation. That would violate the rites, and my son would suffer for it. So let the old Barbarian King choose one of his granddaughters for you. Mother already prepared the betrothal gifts and marriage document. They're in the gift convoy. When the time comes, send this letter and the gift list to that old thing together."

"Mother, aren't we about to fight them? Why are we still..."

"You understand nothing!"

The Princess Consort glared at her son.

Li Qian laughed and explained:

"Little Brother, if Father and the Prince of Jingnan suffer some accident when they march, then you are absolutely dead. But if Father and the Prince of Jingnan sweep in like the autumn wind scattering fallen leaves... then perhaps, when the time comes, it will be the old Barbarian King considering how to preserve one branch of his bloodline."

The Princess Consort nodded.

"Exactly. In Mother's letter, I hinted that I want them to choose from among the Young Prince's descendants. The child may be a little young. I heard she's still barely more than a little girl. But she is at least the Young Prince's direct blood. If that little girl can preserve your life, then after she enters our family later, Mother won't mistreat her."

Li Fei finally understood.

He could only say... the two women of the Li family truly were frighteningly clever.

They had no way to overturn Prince Zhenbei Li Liangting's decision.

But beneath that decision... they could still devise methods to increase their son's chances of survival.

If the war went badly, the Barbarians would certainly kill him to vent their fury.

They might even sacrifice him before their banners to launch the first eastern expedition after the Grand Assembly.

But if his father and the Southern Prince succeeded, and the war became a one-sided collapse... given how ruthless Yan people were toward Barbarians, the Golden Tent Royal Court would almost certainly be exterminated from top to bottom.

In truth... this battle had been planned with exactly that goal.

Yet this proposed marriage... could preserve one branch of the Golden Tent Royal Court's bloodline.

"Also, Little Brother. Take this."

Li Qian pulled a delicate dagger from her sleeve and tossed it over.

Li Fei caught it.

"Your sister has one more instruction. An envoy is still an envoy. You may preserve your backbone. But deliberately show that outward strength hides inward weakness. And reveal your simple, honest side. You were raised in a mountain village from childhood. Surely your sister doesn't need to teach you how to act like a plain black-haired commoner? Then take this dagger and give it to whichever young royal grandson in the Royal Court catches your eye. Make it seem as though you genuinely like the child. Act stubbornly sincere. Act plain. At the critical moment, if one little princess isn't enough to save your life, then drag one little royal grandson in too. Let the old Barbarian King, or the Young Prince who is about to inherit the Royal Court, say something like: we can spare your life, but you must protect one of our royal grandsons and keep him alive. Whatever reason they give... agree immediately."

"Yes, Sister. Your younger brother understands."

"In truth, even if we did none of this, if the war goes smoothly, the old Barbarian King probably still wouldn't kill you," the Princess Consort sighed. "If the Heir of Prince Zhenbei Residence dies, and your father, that old thing, truly decides to be free and easy and leaves his old bones in the desert without returning... then Prince Zhenbei Residence really would become an extinct household. When ordinary people swallow an extinct household's property, they're ruthless. When the imperial court swallows one... it won't show much mercy either. A military house that has stood for a century could easily be abolished and reclaimed by the central government. The Zhenbei Army. Beifeng Commandery. All of it would be taken back. So long as the old Barbarian King's mind hasn't turned to paste, he cannot possibly want to see the entire foundation of Prince Zhenbei Residence reclaimed completely by Great Yan's imperial court. If that happened, then there would be one unified Great Yan, one Great Yan where the central government controlled every region. Heh-heh... For the sake of his Barbarian descendants, he too would consider preserving your life so you could return and inherit the princely seat."

"Mother, hearing you say it like that really makes your son feel as though dying in the desert might actually be the most beneficial thing for the state."

"Your father probably thinks exactly that way. But at the end of the day, those three madmen can be mad if they want. Mother still believes a real man should first take proper care of his own household. Mother has a fierce temper. I cannot tolerate the cold treatment that comes after regional military powers are cut down. Your sister's temper is even worse. If Marquis Zhenbei Residence no longer stands behind her, are we truly supposed to send her to Marquis Pingxi Residence as a concubine? Heh-heh. In this world, the only man who doesn't dislike the fact your sister nearly married someone else and instead seems delighted by it... appears to be Marquis Pingxi."

"Mother."

Li Qian reached out and pushed her mother lightly.

"Son, once you leave, only the two of us will remain at home. You have to come back. The women of this family are still counting on you for the rest of our lives."

"Mother. Sister. Rest assured. Fei will definitely come back. Besides, Fei believes it too. Last time Father and the Southern Prince joined hands, they broke the Helian and Wenren Clans in one stroke. This time, the two of them are joining hands again. Nothing can possibly go wrong with the Barbarian Royal Court."

"Enough, enough. Finish getting ready and set out. Don't delay the date. Your father snuck back like a thief and didn't even enter his own home. I imagine he's inside the army camp counting the days right now."

"Counting the days?" Li Fei did not understand.

The Princess Consort nodded.

"The Grand Assembly in the west will perform rites to the Barbarian God. They have to examine the celestial signs and choose an auspicious day. That's one reason. On the other side... they are still waiting for news from the east."

"News from the east?"

"You'll understand when the time comes. Go first. Set out early, reach the Royal Court early, choose a wife early, and do a few more things to preserve your little life."

"Yes, Mother."

Li Fei knelt and kowtowed to his mother.

The Princess Consort remained seated and accepted it.

Then...

Li Fei knelt before Li Qian and prepared to kowtow as well.

"Little Brother, why would I accept this from you?"

"Sister, if by some chance your younger brother truly cannot return, then I'll have to trouble Sister to take good care of Mother."

"Enough, enough. Don't kowtow. She's my own mother too."

"Heh-heh."

Li Fei scratched his head and rose.

He dusted off his knees.

Then said:

"Mother. Sister. Fei is leaving now."

"Mm."

"Mm."

Li Fei left the room.

The Princess Consort stood.

She picked up a handkerchief and wiped her tears.

Now that her son was gone... at last she could cry.

"Mother, Little Brother doesn't look like someone fated to die young."

"Mother knows. If your brother were short-lived, that bowl of medicine you gave him years ago would've poisoned him to death."

"..." Li Qian.

...

The envoy procession from Prince Zhenbei Residence departed.

There were quite a few people in the party.

Between guards and laborers pushing the gifts and supplies... there were several hundred in total.

But just as the procession was about to leave... a commotion suddenly rose nearby.

And with it... faint sounds of crying.

Li Fei sat inside the carriage, puzzled.

He looked toward the Chief Secretary to the Heir his mother had assigned him.

"Go see what's happening."

"Yes."

The Chief Secretary climbed down.

Not long afterward, he returned and reported:

"Your Highness, a messenger has arrived from the capital. His Majesty... has passed away. The new sovereign is the Sixth Prince."

News of the Emperor of Yan's death... had finally reached the westernmost frontier of the empire.

"The people... are crying?"

The crying could be heard very clearly.

It lacked the heaven-collapsing force that had swept through Yanjing.

But the scale was still considerable.

"Yes, Your Highness."

The Chief Secretary looked somewhat awkward.

He assumed the Heir would be displeased.

After all, the people living throughout Beifeng Commandery, especially around Prince Zhenbei Residence, should logically have held their hearts first toward Prince Zhenbei Residence.

Yet now... they were weeping for the death of an Emperor in the distant capital.

Surely the Heir of Prince Zhenbei Residence would find that unpleasant.

In truth...

Li Fei felt no such emotion.

He had not yet fully adapted to being an Heir.

He was far more accustomed to imagining himself as a tiny villager beneath Great Yan's rule.

An ordinary black-haired commoner.

So... he understood the people's grief.

Even here, so close to Marquis Zhenbei Residence.

After all... they were still Yan people.

Perhaps... this was what people meant when they spoke of where the people's hearts lay.

For an Emperor to have reached this point... there truly was very little left one could criticize.

In earlier years, Great Yan had been constrained internally by aristocratic clans and watched externally by wolves and tigers.

But after these few years... those wolves and tigers had been beaten one after another.

What became visible in the process... was imperial authority expanding to its absolute extreme.

For example... the meticulously regulated Heir's python robe he now wore.

The Son of Heaven ruled beneath Heaven.

The Ninth-Five Supreme.

The majesty of imperial authority... did not truly rest upon clever techniques of balancing and dividing power.

It came through vast momentum... through something so overwhelming it seeped silently into everything like spring rain.

Seeing the Heir remain silent, the Chief Secretary ventured:

"Your Highness. Now that His Majesty has passed, our Prince's residence should at least be able to breathe more easily."

The Chief Secretary did not know it... but his flattery had landed on the wrong spot.

Li Fei, however, was not quick-tempered.

Quite the opposite.

He was gentle.

Otherwise, a fiery man like Chen Xianba could never have become such good friends with him.

"Chief Secretary."

"Your Highness."

"In the village, I had an old Confucian teacher. He originally taught one of my friends to read and write. That friend hated literary studies, so he always dragged me along with him. The old scholar was rather pedantic, and he had always harbored intentions toward my matron. But some of the things he said... I did think made sense. I remember it was about five years ago. Maybe. I can't remember clearly. One night, someone heard news at a teahouse in town and brought it back. They said Marquis Jingnan had practically been possessed by a demon and had done something as utterly contrary to human feeling as destroying his own entire clan. That night... the old scholar drank a great deal. He collapsed drunk beside the river. My friend and I found him and carried him back. He muttered some drunken words. Thinking about them now... they are rather interesting."

"May this subordinate ask what the old gentleman said?"

Li Fei lifted the carriage curtain.

He looked outside.

A long time passed.

Then... he said:

"He said... the fall of Great Yan's aristocratic clans began with the Tian Clan... and will end with my Li Clan."

[End of Chapter 722]