Tang Dynasty Hidden Guards

The following morning, Princess Taiping, Li Lingyue, went up to the second floor of the warehouse, followed by the warehouse manager and a dozen maids. They did not know what the princess was going to do, so they could only stand at a distance and dare not disturb her.

Li Lingyue slowly walked to the window. Through the crack in the window, she silently watched the scene in the stable across the street. Her eldest son, Xue Wei, was sitting in the corner, skillfully chopping wheat straw.

Previously, Manager Liu had told her that her eldest son smelled of corpses and that he should not be allowed to go to the stables for the time being. Although the excuse was clumsy, she acquiesced to it. She felt that it was a bit excessive to let her son become a stable boy.

Yesterday, the head steward reported to her that her eldest son, Xue Wei, had started working in the stables. Today, she made a special trip back to the old mansion to see this eldest son who had caused her so much guilt and disappointment.

Li Lingyue watched as her eldest son, dressed in coarse old clothes, sat silently on the ground chopping grass.

Her thoughts raced, and she suddenly remembered the little dumpling that had been suckling at her breast since birth.

I remembered that mischievous child who loved to show off his polo skills in front of her when he was three years old.

I remembered that proud child who, at the age of five, raised his bow and arrow and cheered for victory.

She recalled her nine-year-old eldest son, who was gentle and refined, a student of Zhong Shaojing, whose calligraphy was elegant and graceful, even praised by his mother. However, after his father's death, he began to practice martial arts, honing his skills in riding and archery. His personality became silent and rebellious, and after the age of seventeen, he became even more unrestrained, associating with bad friends and seeking pleasure everywhere.

But Li Lingyue knew that her eldest son buried the pain of losing his father deep in his heart and used debauchery to numb himself.

She herself was no different.

Li Lingyue's eyes slowly reddened, her shoulders trembled slightly, and after gazing for a long time, she turned and left sadly.

Back in her courtyard, Li Lingyue drank tea with her head down, remaining silent.

At this moment, the deputy steward Liu Hong hurried over, bowed, and said, "Your Highness, the Second Young Master has returned!"

This news immediately eased Li Lingyue's sadness, and she quickly smiled and said, "Quickly, let him in to see me!"

Before long, a young man of about eighteen or nineteen years old, dressed in brocade, strode in. He was extremely handsome, and his eyebrows and eyes vaguely resembled Xue Wei's, but he did not have Xue Wei's bitter and resentful expression. Instead, he was sunny and cheerful, and was likable at first glance.

The young man was Xue Wei's own brother, Xue Chongjian, who served as the commander of the Left Qianniu Guard.

Li Lingyue had eight children in total. Her favorite son was her second son, Xue Chongjian, while her least favorite son was her eldest son, Xue Wei.

Since his father's death, his eldest son has become very rebellious. Every time they meet, he argues and talks back to her. He makes friends with bad people outside, is addicted to gambling, and is especially infatuated with the famous courtesan Zhou Yinfeng. This makes Li Lingyue extremely disappointed and hateful, so she simply stops caring about him.

Last year, her eldest son was implicated in the Li Chongrun case and imprisoned. Li Lingyue pleaded for leniency to no avail, so she became somewhat resigned to her fate, not wanting to care about her eldest son's life or death, and even less wanting to offend her mother for his sake.

The second son before her was so well-behaved and considerate, never causing her any trouble. She was so heartbroken that she couldn't help but feel sorry for him. At this moment, the slight guilt and pity she had felt for her eldest son were temporarily suppressed.

Your son, Chongjian, greets Your Majesty, wishing you eternal youth and beauty!

Her second son's flattery made Li Lingyue burst into laughter. She grabbed her son's ear and lightly tapped him on the head, saying, "You little monkey, where did you go to steal some candy? Your mouth has become so sweet!"

"Your son stole a box of candy for his mother!"

Xue Chongjian magically produced a box of candy. "This is Qibao Candy from Qibaozhai in Chang'an. Mother has always longed for it, so I specially bought it to show my respect to her."

"Good! Good! Good!" Li Lingyue took the candy box, feeling even more fond of her son.

Seizing the opportunity, Xue Chongjian asked in a low voice, "Mother, I heard... my eldest brother is out?"

Li Lingyue felt a sudden, sharp pain in her heart, though slight. The guilt she had just suppressed resurfaced, and the smile on her face slowly faded. After a long while, her voice became low and somber.

"He's in the stables, go check on him!"

"What!" Xue Chongjian's voice changed. "In the stables?"

A complex emotion flashed in Li Lingyue's eyes. Not wanting to explain, she turned and instructed Steward Liu, "Steward Liu, take the Second Young Master to the stables!"

Steward Liu quickly agreed, "Second Young Master, please come with me!"

Xue Chongjian walked out of the courtyard, and Li Lingyue also got up and ordered, "Prepare the carriage, we're going back to the Prince Ding's residence!"

Xue Chongjian's face turned grim. He walked out of his mother's courtyard and grabbed Steward Liu by the collar. "What happened? Why is my elder brother in the stable?"

"This was arranged by the madam. Originally, it was just a nominal job to work in the stables, but we didn't expect the eldest son to actually go."

Xue Chongjian almost choked on his breath. His elder brother, such a proud man, was actually working in the stables. How could he possibly tolerate such humiliation? He might as well kill him.

"Why would my older brother agree?"

Steward Liu whispered, "The eldest young master has amnesia. He can't remember anything from the past, not even the people or things. It's true. I'm afraid he doesn't even recognize you, second young master!"

Xue Chongjian turned around and strode towards the stables.

Xue Wei was silently chopping up the wheat straw. Today, Song Yang was much more obedient. Not only did he not dare to speak ill of him, but he also took the initiative to reduce his fodder by twenty catties.

He only needs to chop twenty catties of coarse material each day and then he can leave; it doesn't matter if he doesn't come.

Xue Wei ignored him, but he accepted the reduction of twenty jin. He was there to feign humility, not because he was truly willing to cut fodder.

In less than an hour, twenty catties of fodder had been chopped. Just as he was about to get up, a young man dressed in fine clothes suddenly rushed in from outside.

Xue Wei was stunned. The young man was only eighteen or nineteen years old, very handsome, and his eyebrows and eyes vaguely resembled his own.

The men in the stables were startled and immediately stood up to bow, saying, "Greetings, Second Young Master!"

Xue Wei suddenly realized who he was: his brother Xue Chongjian, who had returned from Chang'an.

When Xue Chongjian saw his elder brother sitting in the haystack, dressed in shabby clothes, his eyes reddened and tears almost welled up. "Brother...you...you're out?"

Xue Wei finally smiled. Although Xue Chongjian was Xue Wei's brother from the Tang Dynasty and had nothing to do with him, they were connected by blood. He could see that the emotions in the other's eyes were genuine, which made Xue Wei feel a long-lost warmth in his heart.

Xue Wei slowly stood up, walked forward, and calmly said, "This isn't a place for you. Let's go outside and talk!"

The two brothers walked out of the stable. "Slap!" Song Yang slapped himself hard across the face. He had been blinded by the ten taels of silver and had completely forgotten about the second young master.

.............

Xue Wei led Xue Chongjian to Sun's Old Noodle Shop and ordered two bowls of noodles. Xue Chongjian stared blankly at the knife-cut noodles in front of him for a moment, "Brother, you...you eat this every day?"

"Otherwise what?" Xue Wei chuckled self-deprecatingly. "I only have three strings of cash a month. What else can I eat if I don't eat this? But these noodles are good, very chewy. I like them."

Xue Chongjian's eyes reddened again. Only three strings of cash a month? Is this still the same big brother who spends money like water?

He wiped his eyes, took out a piece of silver and handed it to the shopkeeper. "Shopkeeper, please buy me a pot of sake. The rest is your reward."

"Second Young Master, please wait a moment, we'll be right there!"

Old Sun took off running towards a more upscale restaurant diagonally across the street.

"Brother, where do you live now?"

"I stayed in a separate courtyard, the innermost one, a quiet, secluded courtyard."

Xue Chongjian felt a pang of sadness; the villa was a place for servants to live!

"Big brother, how about... you move in with me?"

"You don't live in the Princess's residence?"

Xue Chongjian shook his head. "I moved out last year after I got married. It's a five-acre house in Jiashanfang."

"You're married?"

Xue Chongjian smiled and said, "Wu Sansi's daughter, the Princess of Fangcheng, is named Wu Hui'er. She's a very nice person."

Xue Wei's expression changed drastically. Xue Chongjian had actually married Wu Sansi's daughter. What was going on? Didn't he know that Wu Sansi was the enemy who framed his father and brothers?

At that moment, Xue Wei felt as if he had fallen into an ice cave, and a chill ran through his heart.

"Big brother, what's wrong? You look terrible."

Xue Wei shook his head. "It's nothing. I spent a year in jail, and my health isn't very good."

"Then come to my place! I'll help you recover properly."

Xue Wei smiled faintly, "My mother arranged for me to raise horses and live in a small courtyard. In fact, she was protecting me. I had made too many enemies in the past. Being a little down on my luck might alleviate some of the hatred."

Despite saying this, Xue Wei was already convinced that sending him to the stables was Princess Taiping's way of currying favor with the Wu family. She was so eager to please the Wu family that even her second son married Wu Sansi's daughter.

Xue Chongjian was silent for a moment, then sighed, "At least let me help you. I'll return the two shops to you tomorrow; they're your property."

At this moment, Old Sun brought over a pot of sake and two wine cups.

Xue Wei picked up the wine pot, poured two cups of wine, and laughed, "Let's talk about something lighthearted! By the way, how old am I this year? What's my birthday?"

Xue Chongjian couldn't help but laugh. "Brother, you're twenty-two this year. Your birthday is the Ghost Festival."

"Am I married? Do I have children?"

Xue Chongjian nodded and then shook his head. "My elder brother got married, but he has no children. He got married four years ago, but... they broke off their marriage last year."

What does "severing ties" mean?

"It's...it's about the government forcibly annulling the marriage. Brother, do you want to go find her? She is...?"

"I don't want to!" Xue Wei interrupted his brother without hesitation.

Xue Chongjian sighed, "Since you don't want to know, I won't say anything. Try to think positively!"

Xue Wei laughed. What was he worried about? He was just afraid of having a wife from the Tang Dynasty and an even bigger son from the Tang Dynasty. Wouldn't it be better to get a divorce?

Xue Wei picked up his wine glass and downed it in one gulp. "It's alright, I have no worries now, I feel completely relaxed!"

He suddenly smacked his lips, then sniffed the wine cup. "Pah! What kind of wine is this? It tastes like horse piss."