Chapter 114: Family, anyone get it—Li Qingzhao actually came back

…

After seeing Li Qingzhao out of the palace gate, that palace maid returned to the imperial palace.

In this era, the nightlife in Dongjing Bianliang was very rich. Wine shops and teahouses stood in dense rows, and many businesses operated through the night. In every street and alley there were little taverns, especially the famous Zhouqiao Night Market (that is, the area from Zhu Que Gate southward to Longjin Bridge, particularly from Zhouqiao further south), where tables, chairs and benches lined the road—this was the so-called night food stalls, and many people came here to eat, with the place packed almost every night.

At this time, the residential and commercial districts in Dongjing Bianliang had broken through the boundary, and commercial activity had no time limits, with both night markets and morning markets. The development of the commercial economy promoted the development of citizens' entertainment life.

Dongjing Bianliang also had many pleasure houses and瓦舍, where some told stories or performed opera, some sang and danced or did acrobatics, some played football, and some performed martial arts—the crowds of spectators surged like a tide, extraordinarily lively.

Under such circumstances, that bustling district was bound to breed some trouble-loving ruffians.

Among these ruffians, there was no shortage of those who liked to molest and humiliate decent women.

And Li Qingzhao, on her way home from the imperial palace, happened to pass through that motley district. For a young woman of her age to cross that area alone was extremely dangerous.

Just as Li Qingzhao stood before the palace gate, seeing that her family's carriage was nowhere in sight and not knowing what to do, a eunuch and four imperial bodyguards came chasing out of the palace.

The eunuch said respectfully to Li Qingzhao: "This servant is Vice Commissioner Shen Zheng. Your Majesty has ordered us to escort the young lady home."

Seeing that Zhao Yu, the Emperor, could still consider the safety of a commoner girl like her, Li Qingzhao felt a warm glow in her heart, and she could not help but think of Zhao Yu's appearance.

Although she had already seen him twice, to be honest, because she had been too nervous and the darkness had obscured things both times, Li Qingzhao had never really gotten a clear look at Zhao Yu's appearance.

She only vaguely remembered that Zhao Yu seemed very handsome and bright…

With Shen Zheng and four imperial bodyguards escorting her, Li Qingzhao returned home without any incident.

Shen Zheng and the imperial bodyguards did not go in to disturb the Li household, but watched from the gate as Li Qingzhao saw her family, and then returned to the imperial palace.

Seeing Li Qingzhao return, the people of the Li household were each more astonished than the last!

The servants hurried off to find Li Qingzhao's father Li Kefei and her stepmother Wang Shi.

Before long, Li Kefei, Wang Shi, and Li Qingzhao's younger brother Li Huan came out to greet her.

The moment they met, Li Qingzhao blurted out: "I'm starving, hurry and prepare food!" Then she complained: "The palace is far too stingy—everyone else stayed for a meal, but only I was left out?"

Hearing this, Wang Shi hurried off personally to arrange food for Li Qingzhao.

Hearing Li Qingzhao's complaint, Li Kefei's heart sank!

Su Zhe had already spoken with Li Kefei, making it clear that Li Qingzhao entering the palace was very important for them Yuanyou Party members; this matter even concerned the ideals of all Yuanyou Party members and the future of the Zhao Song dynasty, and of course also the honor, disgrace, rise and fall of all Yuanyou Party members and their families. He hoped Li Kefei could take the overall situation into account.

It is worth mentioning that Su Zhe said it very clearly at the time: if Li Kefei was unwilling to make sacrifices for the Zhao Song dynasty or for the old party, it did not matter—he could find someone else, and if there was no suitable candidate, he could also pick one from the Su clan.

Li Kefei must have agreed, otherwise Li Qingzhao's participation in the palace examination could never have happened.

However, before Li Qingzhao set off, Li Kefei hesitated again and again, and still could not bring himself to lay his old face aside and explain the matter plainly to Li Qingzhao. He naively assumed that Li Qingzhao should be able to understand the well-meaning intentions of their elders in letting her take the palace examination together with more than a dozen other young women who shared the same purpose.

In Li Kefei's view, wasn't a tacit understanding far better than he, as a father, forcing his daughter to make a huge sacrifice for some so-called great righteousness that was actually just for the official positions of people like them?

Precisely for this reason, Li Kefei did not tell Li Qingzhao outright to find a way to stay in Zhao Yu's harem, to find a way to win Zhao Yu's favor, and in the future to find a way to put in good words for the old party. Instead, he thought himself clever and made many hints, assuming Li Qingzhao would grasp his Cao Yongyi.

In fact, apart from Li Qingzhao herself, everyone in the Li household already knew that Li Qingzhao was to become a consort of Zhao Yu.

Li Kefei and Wang Shi had even arranged for people to pack up Li Qingzhao's belongings, waiting only for Li Qingzhao's title to be settled on that end before sending Li Qingzhao's things along with her maid Cuiyu into the palace.

These past few days the Li household had been busy making arrangements for this matter.

Even the cat Li Qingzhao kept had been bathed repeatedly by the Li family, and they had even gone to great trouble to clip this cat's claws, lest the cat disgrace the Li family or bring disaster upon them once it entered the imperial palace.

Moreover, these past few days people had kept coming to the Li household to congratulate Li Kefei on becoming "Imperial Father-in-Law," saying that Li Kefei's meteoric rise was just around the corner, making the Li household busier than ever before.

It can be said that now the Li household was only short of announcing that Li Qingzhao had entered the palace and that their family had become imperial relatives.

Who would have thought that, with the atmosphere already built up to such a pitch, Li Qingzhao suddenly came back.

Family members, who can understand the complicated feelings of the Li family at this very moment?!

Among them, Li Kefei's feelings were the most complicated!

On the one hand, his precious daughter had returned to his side, which gave Li Kefei—who had been somewhat sad and missing her these past few days—a pleasant surprise.

But on the other hand, Li Kefei vaguely sensed that the Li family might be in trouble.

"Why have you come back?" Li Kefei hurriedly asked.

"This is my home. If I don't return here, where else should I go?" Li Qingzhao answered with full confidence.

Li Kefei was momentarily at a loss for words, but soon he asked, clinging to a sliver of luck: "The dozen or so other young ladies who took the palace examination with you have also gone home?"

Li Qingzhao said triumphantly: "They all stayed in the palace to become Your Majesty's consorts—utterly foolish…"

The moment Li Qingzhao opened her mouth, Li Kefei immediately felt his vision go black.

Li Qingzhao did not notice the change in Li Kefei's expression at all. She was still Gao Taotao endlessly analyzing for everyone: once you stay in the harem, wanting to come home in the future will be nothing but a pipe dream; Zhao Yu has so many consorts that you might not see him once in months, or even years; the women in the palace fighting for favor might resort to any number of schemes and plots, and one careless slip might even implicate your family, and so on…

From Li Qingzhao's meaning, her choice to come home was simply too brilliant.

Li Kefei beside her could stand it no longer. He raised his palm high and shouted: "I'll beat you to death, you unfilial daughter! You've killed my Li family!"

Li Qingzhao was somewhat dumbfounded. 'What's going on? I was talking perfectly fine, and Father, who has never hit me once from childhood till now, why is he so furious, wanting to beat me to death?'

Li Qingzhao would not just sit and wait to be beaten, even if the one hitting her was her father.

And so, Li Qingzhao dodged far away at the first instant.

If Li Qingzhao had not dodged, Li Kefei might have felt a little better in his heart. That at least would have shown that Li Qingzhao recognized her mistake.

He never expected that Li Qingzhao had not only done wrong, but also wanted to escape punishment.

This time, Li Kefei was truly angry, so he began to chase Li Qingzhao, determined to give this ungracious, selfish, self-styled-clever unfilial daughter a thorough beating.

Seeing that Li Kefei was about to get serious, Li Qingzhao panicked too. She thought, 'Did that little Emperor really guess right? Is my father going to spank me?'

Thinking of Zhao Yu, Li Qingzhao then remembered that Zhao Yu had given her a token that could spare her from a beating.

Li Qingzhao hurriedly took out the gold-lettered tablet and held it up in front of her, saying loudly: "You can't hit me, I have this!"

Li Kefei thought, 'No matter what you have, today I must give you a couple of hits. Otherwise, you'll be impossible to deal with in the future! Besides, if I don't hit you a few times to put on a self-injury show, I won't be able to explain things to my teacher either!'

However, once Li Kefei saw clearly what it was that Li Qingzhao was holding in her hand, he was immediately dumbfounded.

A gold-lettered tablet!!!

The gold-lettered tablet, whose full name was "Gold-Lettered Urgent Foot Relay," was a kind of communication credential used by the Zhao Song dynasty to ensure the smooth transmission of government documents.

This kind of token would not appear lightly,

It was primarily used to transmit urgent military intelligence; during military operations such as the Song-Xia War, if emergency situations arose—like border alerts—golden character plaques were used to deliver messages, enabling the Emperor to learn of the battlefield situation at once and make decisions accordingly.

It was also used to convey the Emperor's edicts; important decrees such as imperial pardons and military secrets were transmitted via golden character plaques—historically, Zhao Gou issued twelve golden character plaques in succession to recall Yue Fei, leveraging the plaque's authority and speed to ensure the Emperor's orders reached frontline commanders swiftly.

Additionally, this token ensured information secrecy: the "imperial documents" carried by golden character plaques were opened and sealed within the palace by the Inner Eunuch Bureau, bypassing bureaucratic channels such as the Tongjin Si and Jinzou Yuan, reducing the risk of leakage or tampering during transmission and guaranteeing confidentiality.

Of course, the golden character plaque was occasionally used by the Emperor as a token of authority, but such cases were rare, and no ordinary person could ever obtain such a token.

As an official of the Ministry of Rites, Li Kefei recognized the golden character plaque at a glance.

Yet for a moment, Li Kefei could not fathom what this golden character plaque was doing here.

After recovering his composure, Li Kefei immediately performed the full ceremonial bow required upon seeing a golden character plaque, crying out: "Your servant Li Kefei receives the imperial decree!"

Seeing Li Kefei not only stop striking her but also bow to her in such reverence, Li Qingzhao was stunned.

But soon, Li Qingzhao realized: Li Kefei was not bowing to her—he was bowing to the plaque in her hand. She thought to herself, 'What kind of plaque is this, so powerful?'

As a daughter, Li Qingzhao could not let her father continue kneeling like this; she hurried to help him rise.

But Li Kefei did not move—he whispered to Li Qingzhao: "Where did you get this golden character plaque?"

Hearing the words "golden character plaque," Li Qingzhao finally realized what she held—and understood why Li Kefei had performed such a profound bow.

Li Qingzhao quickly explained: "This was bestowed by Your Majesty."

Upon hearing "bestowed by Your Majesty," Li Kefei finally relaxed. He had feared this plaque was stolen by Li Qingzhao from the palace without due care—if so, the Li family was finished.

Fortunately, it was only a false alarm.

Now reassured, Li Kefei straightened his posture and asked sternly: "Why did Your Majesty bestow this golden character plaque upon you? Tell me everything, plainly and truthfully."

At this, Li Qingzhao realized something was amiss; she recounted fully to Li Kefei how Zhao Yu had given her the golden character plaque—saying it allowed her to enter the palace anytime to visit Zhang Chun and others, and that it exempted her from punishment by Li Kefei.

—Of course, Li Qingzhao would never mention that Zhao Yu had said he would "spank her." How could she tell outsiders such a thing? If they asked for the reason, the events of that night would be exposed.

Then, Li Qingzhao told Li Kefei about her experience entering the palace to take the Palace Examination, and how she had befriended Zhang Chun and the others.

After Li Qingzhao finished speaking, Li Kefei began to understand: his foolish daughter did not wish to remain in the harem—but precisely because of her unconventional behavior, she had stood out and caught Zhao Yu's attention. Otherwise, why would Zhao Yu bestow upon her a golden character plaque and send eunuchs and imperial guards to escort her home?

Li Kefei thought to himself, 'If this is true, perhaps misfortune may turn to fortune?'

Li Kefei said to Li Qingzhao: "Lend me the golden character plaque."

Hearing this, Li Qingzhao immediately handed the golden character plaque to Li Kefei.

Li Kefei dared not take it casually; he received it with both hands, strictly following protocol, and tucked it into his robe.

Then, disregarding the late hour, Li Kefei hurried immediately to Su Shi's residence to explain this sudden event to Su Shi and Su Zhe.

After listening, Su Zhe was deeply disappointed in Li Kefei. He believed that if Li Kefei could not handle even this minor matter, how could he accomplish any great task? How unlike Chao Buzhi, who handled everything flawlessly. The contrast between them was vast.

Yet on the other hand, although Chao Buzhi had performed well, Chao Min would never enjoy the same favor as Li Qingzhao.

Looking at it this way, Li Kefei might still be more useful than Chao Buzhi.

Those with ability have fewer opportunities; those with great opportunity lack ability.

Su Zhe felt helpless.

Su Shi, however, thought it no great matter—he believed Zhao Yu and Li Qingzhao should be allowed to develop freely: if it happens, it is fortune; if not, it is fate.

After some discussion, the three agreed there was nothing else to be done.

Yet fearing Li Kefei might cause further trouble, Su Zhe specifically warned him: no more vague hints or unspoken understandings—he must speak plainly to Li Qingzhao and never again allow such a colossal blunder.

Li Kefei assured him repeatedly: he would never commit such a mistake again.

After returning home, Li Kefei told Li Qingzhao plainly: "When you enter the palace again, do not offend the Emperor…"

This time, Li Kefei dared not speak in riddles to Li Qingzhao; he clearly explained the dire situation of the Yuanyou Faction, the purpose of her entering the palace for the Palace Examination, the consequences of provoking Zhao Yu, and explicitly warned her: next time Zhao Yu shows interest, do not flee.

At this moment, Li Qingzhao realized: she should never have returned—she should have stayed in the harem with the other eleven women who took the Palace Examination, becoming Zhao Yu's concubines. She had nearly ruined the Li family; only the golden character plaque Zhao Yu had given her had saved them.

'This… what should I do now?'

Li Qingzhao never imagined her troubles had not ended by leaving the palace—they had followed her home like a shadow.

Li Qingzhao's heart was filled with complex emotions. Moonlight streamed through the window lattice, falling upon her furrowed brow, casting a faint trace of sorrow. She gently touched the heavy golden character plaque, her thoughts swirling, unsure what to do…

…

(End of Chapter)