Chapter Ten: The Virtuous Empress Zhangsun

After dinner, the hour was drawing close to You, roughly equivalent to eight o’clock in the modern sense.

Within the Imperial Garden.

A biting wind howled through the air, the cold seeping straight into the bones, while the trees and grasses around were whipped into a rustling frenzy. Li Kong pulled his fur robe tighter around himself, muttering inwardly, Damn it, I just crossed into this world and it’s already winter—are they trying to kill me?

It wasn’t that Li Kong was overthinking; it was simply that in this era, there was no cotton—no white tufts, no kapok, or whatever it ought to be called now—anyway, that’s how things were. Moreover, coal was considered a military resource, produced in pitifully small quantities, and even these noble families could only manage to keep out the cold with a bit more fur and such each winter.

But Li Kong knew more than that. The first winter of the Zhenguan era would be the coldest in the history of the Great Tang, with a significant snow disaster breaking out in the north—a calamity that would become the main catalyst for the Treaty of Weishui.

“How do I get through this?” Li Kong’s mind spun relentlessly, pondering the most pressing problem ahead.

Just then, the man walking in front—Li Shimin—suddenly stopped, turned, and said, “Brat, I’m starting to think that maybe I was wrong back at your house. How about this—why don’t you forget the Academy of Letters and come work for me as an official?”

Li Kong shuddered, hurriedly took a step back, and waved his hands. “Heaven forbid.”

“Oh? Why? I recall you were rather adamant about your discontent yesterday.” Li Shimin’s interest was piqued. He beckoned with his hand, and several attendants hurried over, each carrying hot tea.

Accompanying Li Shimin to a nearby pavilion, Li Kong sat on the ice-cold stone bench. A chill like a dagger shot up his spine to the very top of his head, making him shiver uncontrollably.

Only then did he notice that an attendant had placed a thick, furry mat under Li Shimin’s seat. The unfairness stung him for a moment, but what could he do? The emperor’s privilege was absolute.

Suppressing his petty grievances, Li Kong replied, “On a personal note, Your Majesty is my uncle and ought to set an example for your nephew. Are you planning to teach me the bad habit of not keeping your word?”

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“And, officially, Your Majesty is the emperor, father of all under heaven. Changing decrees on a whim is a grave taboo. I believe Your Majesty knows this well. Therefore, since the golden words have been spoken, your nephew had better obediently continue his studies.”

Li Shimin regarded him with a faint, teasing smile, fixing Li Kong with a gaze that made his heart flutter with guilt. For all his high-sounding words, the real reason was simply that he wanted to linger longer at the Academy of Letters, hoping to foster a relationship with Li Lizhi.

The idea of raising a young girl to adulthood—just thinking about it was enough to make his heart race. But that was something he could never say aloud, lest he give Li Shimin every reason to believe he’d be kicked to death on the spot.

When Li Kong remained silent for a long while, Li Shimin lost interest, sipped his hot tea, and said, “Very well, be off with you then.”

Li Kong was taken aback. He’d thought Li Shimin had dismissed Kong Yingda just to have a chat and strengthen their bond, but to think it was all over such a trivial matter? Was he being toyed with?

But then he remembered the armored guard from earlier. He was just about to bring it up when he reconsidered, swallowing his words. As Li Fu had said, those were the emperor’s personal guards, and the Xuanjia Cavalry had been established by Li Shimin himself. They had followed him through countless campaigns and, in his eyes, were more brothers than soldiers.

If he brought it up here, even if Li Shimin agreed to restrain the Xuanjia Cavalry, Li Kong’s image in the emperor’s heart would be forever altered.

“Forget it. There’s plenty of time ahead—sooner or later, there’ll be a chance to settle this.” Resolving thus, he rose promptly and said, “Then, Your Majesty, I’ll take my leave.”

Li Shimin cast him a curious look but waved him away.

…

“Erlang, did something happen?”

Upon returning to the Hall of Sweet Dew, a dignified noblewoman approached with a bowl of ginseng tea, smiling gently.

Li Shimin paused, then looked up at her and sighed. “You’re not in the best of health—why aren’t you resting in bed?”

Empress Zhangsun’s smile did not waver as she set down the tea in front of him. “Just now, Lizhi came to see me and mentioned that Yunfeng was here. She said he helped you defeat Kong Yingda. Now that I think about it, it’s been years since I last saw that child.”

Li Shimin nodded. In the past, Li Kong often ran to the Prince of Qin’s mansion, treating the entire place as his playground. As for the back chambers—what would a seven- or eight-year-old boy know of that?

In fact, the bond between Empress Zhangsun and Li Kong was the strongest. Back when the Tang dynasty was still insecure and Li Ji had no time to care for his son, most of the responsibility had fallen to Empress Zhangsun—and, of course, Li Kong’s mother, who held no status.

There was even a time when Empress Zhangsun considered adopting Li Kong as her own, but the matter was dropped, given Li Shimin’s position. Otherwise, Li Kong could have become a prince in title, though that would have left Li Ji with little standing at court.

Suddenly, Empress Zhangsun’s thoughts shifted. “You’re unhappy—is it because of Yunfeng?”

“That rascal!” Li Shimin replied helplessly. “You know, when I summoned him today, I was furious—Kong Yingda is an incorrigible pedant, and that Xuanjia Iron Guard recklessly charging through the streets was entirely his doing.

I expected Yunfeng to bring it up, but the rascal backed down in the end. Isn’t that infuriating? Does he really see his uncle as some kind of heartless brute?”

Empress Zhangsun couldn’t help but laugh, though she quickly composed herself. Gently patting Li Shimin’s back, she consoled him, “You take things too seriously. How do you know he wasn’t advancing by seeming to retreat?”

“Oh? How do you mean?” Li Shimin turned to her.

“Yunfeng was always clever as a child. Perhaps he saw you already knew and so kept silent. Or maybe he wants to see whether, as emperor, you value your personal guard more than the welfare of the people.”

Li Shimin was both amused and exasperated. Pointing outside, he said, “So, the rascal’s testing me now? Where does he get such nerve?”

“Achoo!” Out in the street, Li Kong wrapped his coat tightly around himself, rubbing his nose and muttering, “Damn it, which old devil is cursing me?”