Chapter 28: Overnight Stay at the Fragrant Hall

Liu Ling is to come to Chang'an after the year‑end purification; now there are still more than ten days until the year‑end purification, and the various palaces of Weiyang have begun to bustle. As the year draws near, Weiyang Palace must prepare to hold the Grand Nuo ceremony, beating drums to drive away pestilence, to ensure peace and health in the coming year.

In ancient times, the year‑end purification was what we now call New Year's Eve.

The palace staff of the Pepper Chamber Hall are also preparing methodically, beginning early to clean the hall, and using pepper powder to repaint the faded spots, repainting it once more to preserve the proper color of the Pepper Chamber Hall.

Whenever the palace staff work, Liu Li holds a small heater and stands aside to watch, feeling that this counts as a kind of witness. The freshly repainted Pepper Chamber Hall is suffused with a faint fragrance, oddly pleasant.

"Princess Jianling, peace." The Grand Senior Eunuch of the Pepper Chamber Hall, accompanied by a group of attendants, walked over, meeting Liu Li who was "inspecting", and raised his hand in a bow to greet.

Liu Li offered the heater to the Grand Senior Eunuch in return; the eunuch and his attendants continued forward to report to the Empress.

Since the Son of Heaven now favors the Pepper Chamber, even the previously overlooked Princess Chen has been ennobled as a Princess of the First Rank and granted the county of Tangmu, a favor never before bestowed.

Moreover, it is unknown when the rumor began among the Weiyang palaces that Princess Jianling is protected by a celestial deity, so after falling into water she not only emerged unharmed but also regained full consciousness.

Whether others in Weiyang Palace believe it or not, all the staff of the Pepper Chamber Hall are convinced: their Princess truly is protected by a celestial deity.

During this period, the story of Princess Jianling's cleverness and talent for mental calculation also spread throughout Weiyang Palace.

The classic "chickens and rabbits in the same cage" problem also circulated among the palace scholars; apart from a Grand Central Official named Dongfang Shuo, who after two days of computation arrived at an answer, almost no one solved it. Some scholars even recorded the problem carefully, intending to include it in the "Nine Chapters on the Mathematical Art".

The poser of this "chickens and rabbits in the same cage" problem was the five‑year‑old Princess Jianling herself, and for a moment more people in Weiyang Palace came to believe that the Princess was indeed protected by a celestial deity.

Regarding such rumors in Weiyang Palace, Chen Ajiao was pleased to see them take root; she knew that the more vividly she could portray her daughter, the later when she and Liu Che exchanged positions, even if Liu Che wanted to act against Liu Li, the ministers and the people would likely not permit it.

The Grand Senior Eunuch arrived at the Empress's office and explained to the Empress the Grand Nuo ceremony for the year‑end purification, as well as the preparations for the palace reunion banquet after the ceremony.

Every time the Son of Heaven holds a sacrificial rite or a festival, funding must be approved by the Minister of the Treasury. In the Western Han, the royal court conducted sacrificial activities seven or eight times a year, each consuming a sum of money drawn from the state treasury.

Liu Che likely reviewed the memorial submitted by the Grand Senior Eunuch, then stamped it with his imperial seal, approving the request. At that point, the eunuch only needed to take the memorial to the Minister of the Treasury to obtain the funds from the Grand Agricultural Officer.

In the twelfth month, darkness fell quickly, and the guards who had been repainting the Pepper Chamber Hall were preparing to finish work. Liu Li, holding the now‑cooler heater, turned and returned to the inner hall.

The palace staff in the inner hall lifted the curtains to welcome Liu Li while helping her remove the fox fur wrapped around her. Liu Li handed the small heater to a maid, then proceeded into the hall.

The interior was very warm, partly because the Pepper Chamber Hall was originally a greenhouse, and also because a heater continued to burn inside.

At this moment, Liu Che lay on a soft couch, dozing. He wore only a single robe, one hand propping his head, the other resting on his slightly rounded abdomen. His unadorned face bore a just‑right flush; his eyebrows were like emerald feathers, his skin as white as snow, and his long black hair draped over his back, spilling onto the couch like smooth silk.

What a picture of a beautiful woman feigning sleep.

Liu Li quietly walked to the edge of the couch and admired the beautiful woman's face for a while.

Liu Che was merely resting with his eyes closed; when Liu Li entered, he already knew, yet he kept his eyes shut. When the little one entered without any other movement, his curiosity prompted him to open his eyes, meeting his daughter's gaze that seemed to be admiring him.

She is admiring herself? Liu Che found the thought odd, but did not probe further, reaching out to pat the edge of the couch:

"Come sit."

Liu Li obediently climbed onto the couch and sat beside Liu Che.

Liu Che gently stroked his daughter's head and said, "After the year's end, A Li will be six years old; then your mother will arrange a capable master teacher for you, to teach you the Four Books, Five Classics, and the Six Arts. A Li, do not disappoint your father."

Since Liu Li issued the benevolence decree, Liu Che has held very high expectations for his daughter.

When Liu Li heard that Liu Che would assign her a teacher to study the Four Books and Five Classics, her little face instantly fell. She had breezed through the modern college entrance exam and university, never expecting to be transmigrated to the Han dynasty and still have to keep studying.

Can't she just lie low for a while?

She tugged Liu Che's sleeve, swaying coquettishly, and said, "Father, I'll only be six next year; could we wait a few years before I study?"

Liu Che originally considered using Liu Yue's arrangement at five years old as a comparison, but thought the little one might be displeased, so he said, "Since I was appointed Crown Prince at seven, I studied the Four Books and Six Arts under the Grand Tutor. You are my daughter; of course you must not be idle."

Liu Li thought to herself, "I'm not a Crown Prince, how can I compare to you, Emperor Wu?" Yet hearing Liu Che's high expectations, she nodded, "Very well, I will follow your arrangement, Father."

During the Western Han, especially under Liu Che's rule, the empire prized Confucianism, so the Four Books were studied not only by the Son of Heaven but also by officials serving at court.

The Five Classics are also Confucian canonical works; in the fifth year of the Ji An Yuan era, Liu Che established scholars of the Five Classics to focus on teaching the Confucian canon. Thereafter, the Four Books and Five Classics became essential components of Chinese traditional culture, influencing thought for millennia.

The Six Arts constitute the aristocratic education system inherited from the Zhou dynasty; the *Rites of Zhou* records: "Raise the royal son in the Way. Then teach him the Six Arts: first, the Five Rites; second, the Six Music; third, the Five Archery; fourth, the Five Charioteering; fifth, the Six Writings; sixth, the Nine Numbers."

Liu Che, once Crown Prince, was well‑versed in the Six Arts. As a princess of the Great Han, she need not master them all, but at least should know rites, be familiar with the Six Music, understand the Six Writings, and be aware of the Nine Numbers.

Liu Li keenly realized that even being a princess is no easy task.

"Father, will I attend the Imperial Academy next year?" Liu Li asked casually, recalling that during Emperor Wu's reign the nation's highest public school had been established, and as a princess she would have to study there.

Who knew Liu Che was puzzled: "Hm?"

*Ding—triggered event 'Founding the Imperial Academy'*

Liu Li suddenly widened her eyes, stunned for a long moment.

Goodness, so the Imperial Academy didn't exist at that time; she had just pre‑emptively triggered a historical event.

However, that's also fine; once this is done, and after the earlier 'Economic Reform' event finishes, she will be able to unlock the third tier of items in the system shop.

Thinking this, Liu Li immediately said, "I thought Father was sending me to study the Four Books and Five Classics at a place like the Zhou dynasty's upper school, learning together with peers, but it turns out it's not like that."

Yet Liu Li's words sparked an idea in Liu Che.

Nowadays, the sons of noble families hire private tutors for individual lessons; what they study, and whether they study properly, the Son of Heaven does not know.

He was troubled that he could not properly let the great Han aristocratic youths study Confucian thought, and his daughter offered a good solution.

Why not gather those aristocratic youths together, establish scholars for each classic, and set up a school? In the future, whoever masters Confucian theory could enter the bureaucracy, while those who do not would have no hope of a good official career. Over the years, who would not revere Confucianism then?

If Liu Li knew what Liu Che was thinking at that moment, she would exclaim "Good fellow!"—the prototype of the civil service exam was indeed created by you, Emperor Wu!

Liu Che looked at Liu Li with great delight, raised his hand and patted his daughter's shoulder, saying, "Very well, as A Li suggests, I will establish an Imperial Academy in Chang'an to recruit disciples for study."

【Emperor Wu Favorability: 27】

】

Liu Li scrunched her little face and said, "Father, you patted me too hard!"

Liu Che's hand paused, then he burst into laughter, gently pinching Liu Li's chubby cheek with his fingertips. He then lazily smoothed his clothes, rose from the soft couch, summoned Fuqu and asked, "Your Majesty?"

Fuqu lifted her eyes cautiously, looking at her young lord; seeing his mood seemed fine, she spoke, "Your Majesty just sent someone to say that today's meal will be in the Fragrant Hall, and we will not return to the Pepper Chamber Hall."

Liu Che's expression hardened: "??"

Even Liu Li was stunned: dining in the Fragrant Hall? Isn't that where Lady Wei lives? Chen Ajiao is actually going to eat with Lady Wei!

So not returning to the Pepper Chamber Hall means staying overnight in the Fragrant Hall? Oh wow, how exciting!

Chen Ajiao's trip to the Fragrant Hall also counts as a visit on Liu Che's behalf to his child due in a little over two months. Palace staff had already been notified in advance, and the servants of the Fragrant Hall were awaiting the Son of Heaven's arrival.

The emperor's carriage stopped in front of the Pixiang Hall, and Wei Zifu, supporting her waist and standing tall with her big belly, stood before the hall to greet the Son of Heaven. Seeing the emperor step down from the carriage, she slightly bent her knees in a bow: "Greetings, Your Majesty."

Ajiao walked up to her, lightly raised her hand to help her up in a gesture, imitating Emperor Wu's tone, and said: "Zifu, you need not stand on ceremony."

Wei Zifu rose, facing Ajiao's gentle and lovely smile, and said: "Outside it's cold; Your Majesty, please hurry inside."

Ajiao nodded: "Mm."

The main hall of Pixiang Hall was still fairly warm; palace maiden Xiaoling came over to help Ajiao take off her outermost fur coat, and the attendants in charge of the brazier added some more charcoal, making the interior even warmer.

Ajiao sat in the main seat, and with the help of a palace maiden, Wei Zifu, with difficulty, knelt beside her.

A palace maiden brought over heated tea, first pouring a cup for Ajiao. Wei Zifu spoke: "Your Majesty, this is the honey tea just brewed; it will warm you up nicely."

Ajiao picked up the teacup and took a light sip; the taste was sweet and rather refreshing. Recently, the Jiao Fang Hall has been brewing chrysanthemum tea, because earlier in autumn, Liu Li had dug up all her chrysanthemums; after drying them, she used them daily to make tea, which also had its own flavor.

Thinking of Liu Li, a faint smile appeared at the corner of Ajiao's mouth.

Seeing the emperor smile, Wei Zifu assumed that Emperor Wu liked this honey tea, and she whispered: "Liu Yue also likes this honey tea; whenever she returns from the imperial tutor, she drinks two cups."

Ajiao restrained the smile at the corner of her mouth and gave a faint reply: "Mm." She didn't care what Emperor Wu and Wei Zifu's daughter liked.

As they were speaking, two small figures walked in hand in hand—Liu Yue and Liu Ling entering from outside the hall. Liu Yue is two years older than Liu Ling, so she is naturally a bit taller.

Both were dressed in thick clothing; they stood before Ajiao and paid their respects: "Greetings, Father Emperor."

Ajiao: "Please rise."

Liu Yue straightened her body, gazing expectantly at the emperor before her, waiting for him to test her studies. Previously, whenever the emperor came to Pixiang Hall, he would quiz her on the Six Arts; each time she answered, he would be pleased and praise her cleverness.

The last time the emperor tested her, she momentarily couldn't answer; although he did not blame her, thereafter she studied even more diligently, hoping that when he next came to Pixiang Hall she could answer fluently.

Who would have known that the emperor had not set foot in Pixiang Hall for three months, and she had not seen him for three months?

The emperor had gone to the Jiao Fang Hall and never came to see her and her mother again. It was said that the Chen Princess in Jiao Fang Hall was no longer foolish and had won the emperor's favor; he not only ennobled Liu Li as Grand Princess, but often took her to the Xuanshi Hall.

The emperor had never even taken her to the Xuanshi Hall!

Liu Yue felt both wronged and anguished; clearly the emperor's favorite daughter was supposed to be her, so how had he suddenly come to favor Liu Li?

She even wondered whether, if she had answered the emperor's question correctly last time, he would not have taken a liking to Liu Li.

Liu Yue was born in the Weiyang Palace and is Emperor Wu's first daughter. In the few days after her birth, Emperor Wu almost daily came to hold her, to ease the initial

of his excitement as a new father.

Later, the legitimate princess Liu Li was born and personally given a noble name by the Grand Empress Dowager. Emperor Wu, intent on opposing the old lady, paid even more attention to Liu Yue, and whenever he saw her he would say: "Liu Yue is my Grand Princess."

At that time, although Liu Yue was young, she always remembered those words of the emperor.

Afterwards, the Grand Empress Dowager passed away, Emperor Wu assumed power, and the empress and the legitimate princess lost their backing; the palace attendants, shifting with the wind, turned their attention to the beloved Princess Wei, Liu Yue, whom the emperor cherished.

Such attention and the palace attendants' flattery made Liu Yue quite pleased; she thought that even if Liu Li was the legitimate daughter, it was she, who had gained the emperor's favor, who was the true Grand Princess. When Liu Li saw her, she would also have to call her "elder sister."

But after Liu Li and her mother fell into the water together, everything seemed to change. Liu Li appeared no longer foolish, and she successfully won the emperor's attention and affection.

During those days, she was unhappy because the emperor had taken Liu Li to the Xuanshi Hall. Her younger sister noticed her displeasure and came to check on her, but Liu Yue grew annoyed by her sister's incessant questioning and said: "The emperor previously said he would make me Grand Princess, but because of Liu Li he no longer comes to Pixiang Hall."

Earlier, Liu Ling had eavesdropped on a conversation between Wei Zifu and Wei Qing, thus believing her sister's words; she then angrily dragged along her cousin Huo Qubing to "take revenge" for her elder sister.

Huo Qubing dared to cause trouble with his young cousin, relying on the emperor's favor toward him. After all, at his young age he could enter the emperor's personal guard, the Feathered Forest Corps, for training—a privilege those aristocratic youths never had.

His name was even given by the emperor himself.

At this moment, Liu Yue was full of anticipation that the emperor would test her, and then she would answer his question and regain his favor.

Ajiao no longer looked at Liu Yue and Liu Ling; she turned to Wei Zifu, pondered, and asked: "How is the child in your womb?"

Wei Zifu replied: "Your Majesty, I and the child are all well; thank you for your concern."

Ajiao nodded, her gaze falling on Wei Zifu's protruding belly, and said: "That's good; if Pixiang Hall lacks anything, just have someone inform the Grand Master of Ceremonies."

"Yes." Wei Zifu obediently agreed.

In fact, Ajiao's feelings toward Wei Zifu were rather complicated, after all, in her previous life she had often quarreled fiercely with the emperor over this woman.

She and Emperor Wu were childhood sweethearts; in her youth, she almost always saw his presence each year. After they married, they were constantly together, enjoying a sweet period. She always thought they were husband and wife, the closest people to each other in the world.

She admitted that her temper had been a bit spoiled; even after Emperor Wu ascended the throne as Son of Heaven, she did not treat him as an emperor. When they quarreled, she would smash things in front of the palace attendants, denying him face.

Sometimes he would angrily flick his sleeves and leave, but after a day he would return to seek her reconciliation, speaking softly to apologize. She thought that such indulgence from Emperor Wu meant he surely loved her.

All the way until the second year of Jianyuan, Emperor Wu brought Wei Zifu back from the mansion of the Marquis of Pingyang; this was the first time a woman other than her appeared beside Emperor Wu, and she was furious, running to the Xuanshi Hall to argue with him, demanding that he drive Wei Zifu away.

In the end, their quarrel reached the grandmother's presence, and he relented, sending Wei Zifu to serve as a palace maiden in Yongxiang.

Later, although she and Emperor Wu reconciled, Ajiao still harbored a knot in her heart. This knot was thoroughly magnified in the third year of Jianyuan when Emperor Wu again favored Wei Zifu.

In anger she moved from the Weiyang Palace to the faraway Ganquan Palace, thinking Emperor Wu would surely regret it, and then she would go to Ganquan Palace to seek his forgiveness. But she waited and waited in Ganquan Palace, never seeing the emperor, only receiving the news that Wei Zifu was pregnant.

At that moment she was utterly stunned.

She had been married to Emperor Wu for nearly five years and had never conceived, yet Wei Zifu became pregnant as soon as she gained favor. She returned from Ganquan Palace fuming, and unintentionally witnessed the scene of Emperor Wu attentively protecting Wei Zifu.

Those scenes, how glaring they were.

Jealousy filled her heart; she could not accept that her husband would treat other women with the tenderness he once showed her. Yet Emperor Wu said to her: "Ajiao, I am the Son of Heaven; it is normal to have beauties and consorts around me, and besides, Zifu carries my child."

Yes, who made me not

able to bear children?

Seeing her distress, her mother originally wanted to teach Wei Zifu a lesson, so she arranged for someone to kidnap Wei Zifu's brother Wei Qing to threaten her. Who would have known that Wei Zifu would turn around and tell the emperor about it; Emperor Wu rescued Wei Qing and even let him serve in the palace.

Because of this incident, her relationship with the emperor grew even more strained; even though she explained to him several times, she did not know what her mother had done.

Later, the number of beauties in the Weiyang Palace gradually increased, most of them sent by Emperor Wu's sister, Princess Pingyang; she also quarreled with Princess Pingyang over this. However, at that time her maternal grandmother was gravely ill, so she finally endured these things, not wanting to cause trouble before her grandmother and make her worry.

Finally, in the sixth year of Jianyuan, her maternal grandmother passed away.

She, as empress, also completely lost favor.

At first she was still unwilling, and she quarreled with the emperor several more times; his gaze toward her was no longer gentle, but showed impatience and even disgust, and in the end he reduced his visits to the Jiao Fang Hall.

Although she held the phoenix seal, everyone said the emperor seemed planning to depose her as empress.

At that time she did not believe the emperor would dare to depose her, after all she was Chen Ajiao; her mother had once helped him obtain the crown prince position and aided his ascent to the throne of Son of Heaven.

How could he possibly depose himself?

How could he not abolish himself?

An unfounded witchcraft disaster finally gave him a suitable pretext; he issued an edict to execute the over three hundred people related to the Jiaofang Palace, and had her deposed, retiring to the Changmen Palace.

A Li said, in the history she knew, in the second year after Emperor Wu deposed her, Wei Zifu gave birth to the eldest son and was made empress.

That woman who once trembled at the sight of her eventually ended up sitting in the position that had once been hers—how ridiculous.

These years after her rebirth, having unexpectedly borne a daughter, she no longer cared who else appeared beside Emperor Wu; she only wanted to be a proper empress in peace, yet she never expected to still hear rumors that Emperor Wu would depose her.

As it turned out, even if she did nothing, he still despised her. In the end, because of the ridiculous empress rivalry, she lost her own biological daughter.

Ajiao had once hated Zifu, hated her appearance for causing Emperor Wu to change his heart. After her rebirth she finally realized that everything had nothing to do with Zifu; even without Zifu, someone else would have appeared.

Someone like Emperor Wu—how could he be bogged down in love? Perhaps from beginning to end it was she who was being sentimental, thinking Emperor Wu was deep in feeling, when in fact she was merely a pawn on his path to imperial power.

Now she had become the Son of Heaven, using the Son of Heaven's authority to confer the title of Grand Princess upon A Li; watching Emperor Wu's helpless fury before her, she felt extremely gratified.

She suddenly wanted to make Emperor Wu lose what he cared about, to leave him as destitute as she had been in her previous life. In the end she could only rely on everything she had given him to keep him alive, letting him know that as long as she was displeased, she could at any time strip him of his empress.

She knew this road would not be easy; perhaps she would never in her lifetime manage to make Emperor Wu lose everything, but she had patience to proceed slowly, just as he had once been patient with her.

"Your Majesty, it's time for dinner; would you like to stay and dine?" Wei Zifu said: "I have ordered the kitchen to prepare mutton soup."

Ajiao came back to her thoughts from her reverie, hearing Wei Zifu's words, she raised her eyebrows and said: "Fine, have them prepare it."

Upon hearing the Son of Heaven say he would stay, Wei Zifu's expression brightened; she had the palace maid Xia Ling inform the kitchen to set up the banquet, and Xia Ling departed after receiving the order.

Ajiao's thought, however, was that to completely become Emperor Wu, she must first accept the women around him. Emperor Wu can enjoy beauties in his embrace—why can't Chen Ajiao do the same?