Chapter Ninety-Two: Li Xiuning’s Fury

Aside from the jade bracelet, Chen Ying had also bought a box containing four pearls as large as lychees. Pearls were indeed dear: those four had cost a full six hundred strings of cash, an average of one hundred and fifty per pearl. But what puzzled Lan'er most was that Chen Ying had actually spent eighteen strings of cash on a Shih Tzu.

A cow cost only six or eight strings, and even a fine horse went for only twelve or thirteen. Yet a dog had cost eighteen. Lan'er could not stop complaining. “My lord, you are sending a token of gratitude to Princess Pingyang, so I should not speak out of turn. But you have gone and bought such a useless creature. It is simply too... too...”

“Too prodigal?” Chen Ying said, stroking the little dog. The Shih Tzu was an ancient Chinese breed, a toy dog, very handsome in appearance and extraordinarily intelligent. This one was snow-white, with long fur and large eyes, its head neither too small nor too large, giving it an irresistibly adorable look.

Chen Ying said, “You do not understand. Shih Tzus are small and very attached to their masters. They are ideal for keeping in the home. They are lively by nature and deeply loyal and trusting. When you have nothing to do, hold it in your arms and you will feel wonderfully content.”

Seeing that Chen Ying would not listen at all, Lan'er quickly fell silent.

Gift-giving was, in truth, a great art. By now Chen Ying understood that Li Xiuning’s relationship with Chai Shao was nothing like the way the histories described it; in fact, it was strained beyond all measure. At present, Li Xiuning was profoundly lonely, and by giving her a Shih Tzu, Chen Ying hoped the little dog might ease her solitude and keep her company in the dull hours.

He then selected ten bolts of fine Shu brocade from the stores, together with a number of smaller gifts, loaded them onto a cart, and set off for Princess Pingyang’s residence.

Before he had even gone to have the gate opened, Ma Sanbao came out and met him.

“Brother Chen, just in time! I was about to look for you to share a drink!”

“Then that is splendid,” Chen Ying replied. “I’ll go see Princess Pingyang first, and come find you later!”

The situation in the Tang court during the Wude era was like a ride on a roller coaster. It was thrilling enough to make one’s heart pound. First Xue Ju of Western Qin had dealt Li Shimin a crushing defeat, and Zong Luohou threatened Chang’an, throwing the capital into daily alarm and dread. Only after great difficulty was Zong Luohou dealt with, whereupon Xue Ju died and Western Qin weakened, but then Pang Qidi rose in rebellion and nearly ravaged all of Bashu.

After that came the suppression of Pang Qidi and Xue Ju, only for the Turks to begin causing trouble in Lingzhou, while Wang Shichong still watched from Tong Pass like a tiger eyeing its prey. Just as Wei Zheng had come to negotiate submission on behalf of Li Mi, and Du Fuwei was also inclined to surrender, the Tang realm had only just begun to show signs of real promise.

Yet Li Yuan had scarcely enjoyed a few nights of peaceful sleep before Liu Wuzhou began sending troops to attack Fenzhou and Jinzhou. Meanwhile, the Governor-General of Bingzhou, Prince of Qi Li Yuanji, was at odds with the Right Guard General Yuwen Xin, and the two sides were impeaching each other in endless chaos. With a great enemy at the gates and internal division within, it was a cardinal error in the art of war. Someone capable of suppressing Li Yuanji had to be sent at once.

There were, in fact, elder statesmen with both standing and authority who could hold Li Yuanji in check, such as Pei Ji and Liu Wenjing. But neither of them could be spared. Pei Ji, working with Crown Prince Li Jiancheng, was busy refining the laws and arranging the grain supply, while Liu Wenjing was occupied with negotiations with Wei Zheng.

After much thought, Li Yuan concluded that only Li Xiuning could be spared.

Li Xiuning was Li Yuanji’s third sister. Though Li Shimin and Li Yuanji had both been unruly in their youth, they all obeyed Li Xiuning. If she told Li Yuanji to go east, he would never dare go west.

Had this been in former days, if Li Xiuning were ordered to take charge of Taiyuan, she would have had no misgivings at all. She could have packed her bags and set out at any time. But now there was someone she had come to care for, and though she wished to leave, she did not wish to go.

When she returned from the palace that day, Li Xiuning had been somewhat absent from herself. Li Yuan had already hinted to her that Taiyuan was the land from which the Tang house had risen, and it must never be lost. Taiyuan had more than thirty thousand sturdy troops, and the grain reserves were sufficient to sustain three years of consumption. To reinforce Taiyuan, Li Xiuning would only need to lead her personal guard there.

Li Yuan intended to remove Li Yuanji from his post as Governor-General of Bingzhou and replace him with Li Xiuning. Sitting alone in her chambers, Li Xiuning felt uneasy, because she had also heard that Li Yuan meant to appoint Chen Ying as marching commander and send him with four corps, totaling four thousand eight hundred men, drawn from the Eastern Palace Right Guard, the two meritorious guards, and two corps of the Left Martial Guard, to reinforce Lingzhou.

Compared with that, the pressure in Taiyuan was not especially great. What worried Li Xiuning most was Lingzhou. There, they would face the Turks directly. Turkic cavalry came and went like the wind, and they would never sit by while Chen Ying made an easy approach to Lingzhou. Indeed, along the march west of Sanguan, stretching nearly sixteen hundred li, there were ambush points everywhere.

Could Chen Ying really manage it?

Reinforcing Lingzhou was a tremendous challenge, but also an excellent opportunity. Li Xiuning wrestled with it for a long while, yet she still brought no objection before Li Yuan. Even so, after returning, she grew increasingly uneasy.

Just as Li Xiuning was lost in thought, a burst of barking suddenly came from outside her chambers. Her heart tightened at once. She was about to ask Cui'er to go see what was happening when she heard Chen Ying’s voice: “Good boy, be obedient. Don’t make a fuss. This will be your new home from now on.”

The barking gradually ceased, replaced by soft whimpering.

Li Xiuning did not want Chen Ying to see her in such a sorrowful, self-pitying state. She drew a deep breath to steady herself, but after a moment she only heard the door creak open. Her heart leapt again, and she looked up in alarm, only to see Chen Ying’s smiling face.

He was holding a tiny snow-white dog in his arms, gently stroking its head.

“Your Highness, do you like it?”

Chen Ying lifted the Shih Tzu toward Li Xiuning.

The charming little dog was a fatal temptation to any woman. The instant Li Xiuning saw it, she fell in love with it.

Yet no sooner had delight risen to her brow than worry returned to her heart. She thought, sadly, “He still calls me Your Highness so coldly. That title seems to stand as a gulf between the two of us.” Reflecting on her own station, Li Xiuning felt an indescribable desolation. She pointed toward the couch beside the desk and said in a slightly cooler tone, “Sit down and speak.”

“What brings you here?”

“I came to present Your Highness with a little trinket.”

With that, Chen Ying took a gift list from his sleeve.

Li Xiuning’s expression turned cold, and for reasons she herself could not explain, irritation surged in her heart. “What are you doing?”

Chen Ying said, “To thank Your Highness for your help.”

The lamplight flickered. A flush came over Li Xiuning’s face; whether it was shyness or anger, even she could not say.

Chen Ying studied her lovely face in the lamplight. Her eyes were large and bright, the shape of her lids exquisite, her long lashes curved and trembling softly. Yet her chest rose and fell with visible agitation.

Chen Ying could not make sense of it. Why was Li Xiuning so angry?

And then, just at that moment, Li Xiuning thundered, “How dare you try to bribe me? What do you take me for? Take your things and get out!”

Chen Ying stood frozen on the spot, utterly embarrassed.