The princess was named Jiuli, the second daughter of Prince Xingwen.
In the third year of the Taikang reign, she became gravely ill in winter. Despite hasty treatments, she passed away at the residence of Thousand-Man Commander Lu of the Northern Administrative Court in the capital, at the age of nineteen.
These words are inscribed on her tombstone, proclaiming to the world the cause of Princess Jiuli's death, this is indeed the cause of her death.
At this moment, for Princess Jiuli to ask such a question, would be considered a heinous crime if it were anywhere else.
Princess Jiuli never committed heinous crimes, nor did she ever inquire further.
When she first received news of Princess Jiuli's death and rushed over, Princess Jiuli had already been encoffined. She only stood beside Prince Huai and glanced at the deceased's visage before conforming to the rituals and mourning in the memorial hall.
"Princess Jiuli's constitution was too frail, likely because she was raised outside the palace." A Royal Family member once lamented this to Princess Jiuli.
Princess Jiuli merely wiped her tears and said not a word.
Ever since then, she never spoke a single word about the cause of Princess Jiuli's death, nor did she even ask what illness it had been.
Why would she ask such a question now and moreover, to Lu Yunqi, this man who was like the emperor's eyes and ears?
"I won't comment on other matters, but now at least I know one thing, Lord Lu, your care for my sister was sincere."
Princess Jiuli's voice came from behind.
"You also tended to me and Prince Huai as kindly and protectively as you possibly could."
'As kindly and protectively as you possibly could' may not sound like much of a compliment, but for someone like Lu Yunqi, it was already a deeply grateful acknowledgment, and gratitude that couldn't be shared with others.
After Princess Jiuli finished speaking, the room fell silent.
Lu Yunqi still had his back to her, but he did not continue to walk away.
"She's already dead, is it necessary to know exactly how she died?" he abruptly said.
Princess Jiuli stood up from the bed, her typically calm face showing a trace of urgency.
"To live in confusion, but to die with some understanding, is perhaps not a wasted life," she said.
Lu Yunqi turned around to face her.
"That day, she said she wanted to eat the pork dripping dumplings from the Cao Family's shop outside the city, so I went out to buy them for her immediately," he said.
Beneath the bright lamplight, his complexion grew even more pallid.
Without saying much, tears welled up in Princess Jiuli's eyes as she heard his words.
That day.
She grasped her hands tightly and stared intently at Lu Yunqi, afraid of missing a single word.
"The Cao Family's shop opens late. I didn't want to alarm or pressure them, lest they make a batch of lousy dumplings under such circumstances, so I just waited," Lu Yunqi's voice continued.
"When the first batch of dumplings was ready, they came over to tell me that Jiuli had entered the imperial palace."
"I knew then that something was wrong."
Lu Yunqi stood in the hall, the bright light spilling over him, yet it seemed as though a shadow was cast upon him all the same.
Princess Jiuli looked at him, her hand covering her mouth.
He didn't speak much, his way of talking was somewhat clumsy, the narrative dull and bland, the description dry, but Princess Jiuli felt as though she could see the scene as it unfolded.
She envisioned that girl walking along the palace pathways, with a resolute and unflinching determination.
"When I arrived, she was already dead."
Princess Jiuli closed her eyes as tears slid down her wan cheeks.
It turned out, she died while attempting to assassinate the emperor.
As for why Jiuli would want to assassinate the emperor, that wasn't a question that could be asked.
No answer would be given even if she did ask.
"How did she die?" she asked hoarsely.
Lu Yunqi remained expressionless.
"She was hacked to death by frenzied blades," he said.
Looking ahead, he seemed to see that pool of blood again, the sight of it making his eyes burn as if splitting, but he did not look away, determined to see everything clearly for what it was.
Witnessing her severed limb, her twisted body, her favorite outfit dyed red with her own blood, her disfigured face.
Watching as she looked at him and managed a smile.
The room fell into dead silence.
After an indiscernible amount of time, a soft sigh from Princess Jiuli was heard.
"So it is," she said. "How painful."
There was no anger, no wailing, just these three softly spoken words.
How painful.
How painful.
Lu Yunqi turned and hurried out. His pace was fast, the swaying bead curtains making a rustling sound, the violent shaking causing a flickering of light and color.
Lu Yunqi burst into the night, startling the young maidservants.
"My Lord..." They quickly paid respects, calling out to him.
Before their voices fell, Lu Yunqi had already passed by them, striding out.
"Is the Lord going out?"
"My Lord?"
The Jinyiwei guards in the outer yard crowded around, inquiring.
Without a word, Lu Yunqi continued outwards as everyone bustled about; horses were brought over, torches gathered, and the grand doors opened.
In the midst of the chaos, with a wooden expression and not a word, Lu Yunqi might as well have been a statue, were it not for his own movement.
He mounted the horse and spurred it into a fast gallop.
The Jinyiwei guards surrounded him from all sides, the sounds of horse hooves and the bright light of torches disturbing the quiet night of the capital.
Upon seeing this troop of horsemen, the crowd at the night market was startled, hastily moving aside. Those who saw Lu Yunqi amid them were even more taken aback.
Are they off to raid a house in the middle of the night?
Who could be so unlucky tonight?
As people scattered, curious and ducking for cover, Lu Yunqi and his entourage disappeared down the street.
"Looks like they're heading out of the city," someone noted.
"So late at night, leaving the city?"
"Aren't they afraid of running into ghosts traveling at night?"
As this was said, the street fell silent for a moment before the crowd dispersed rapidly; a man hugging the wall corner was caught off guard, tumbling to the ground as his conical hat rolled off, getting stepped on several times in the commotion.
"Hey, my hat!" he called out anxiously.
The hat was kicked back to him by someone.
"What's with wearing a hat this late at night," the person cursed.
The man, irate, picked up his hat, but in the night's commotion, could not discern who had kicked it.
Picking up his hat and seeing it had been trampled askew, he angrily threw it to the side.
The night market revived its buzz, as the man stood up straight, brushed his temples, straightened his clothes, and proceeded down the street.
The night market had many stalls set up with people sitting or standing, eating, drinking, and laughing. Many large taverns were still open as well, but compared to the daytime, they were somewhat quieter; after all, the brothels were a better place to drink at night.
The man stopped in front of a guild hall, whispered a few words to the doorman, who then hurriedly led him inside, closing the guild hall door behind them. The lantern over the door was also taken down and extinguished, signaling that they were closed for the night.
Inside, as the doorman led the way, the lanterns where the man passed were taken down, one after another, dimming the bright interior. The man stopped at a room door, adjusted his clothes again, and entered.
The room was softly lit, illuminating an old man seated by the window, who was currently absorbed in writing.
The man approached with a smile and respectfully bowed.
"Greetings to Lord Huang," he said.
The old man writing raised his head, the lamplight shining on his wrinkled face; it was indeed Huang Cheng, Lord Huang.
"If I now go to the emperor and say that I have captured the Jin Dynasty prince and the Tai Si Administrator," he said, his expression warm, "His Majesty will surely be very pleased."