LFHYB -Chapter 9 Pasting Flower Ornaments on Mother’s Forehead

When Lady Dou went to tell Li Shimin and Li Xuanba to prepare themselves for a visit to the Zheng household, Li Shimin was sprawled on a low couch, while Li Xuanba sat cross-legged behind him, using his brother as a backrest. The two of them were flipping through the Book of Jin together.

The Book of Jin they were reading had been compiled by Shen Yue of the Southern Liang dynasty. Besides the Book of Jin, Li Shimin had also stacked the histories of the Song, Qi, and Liang dynasties—also compiled by Shen Yue—under his chest and chin, so that he could lie more comfortably.

For an ordinary six-year-old child, reading historical texts at this age would have been far too early.

Although Li Shimin already recognized many characters, he normally lacked the patience to chew through unpunctuated historical records.

When Li Xuanba had previously explained the “Five Clans and Seven Great Families” to him, he actually hadn’t understood much of it.

Things like “Jia Nanfeng,” “the War of the Eight Princes,” “the Yongjia Disaster,” or “the Guoshi Rebellion” were all completely unfamiliar to Li Shimin.

It was only after Li Xuanba talked about the Five Clans and Seven Great Families that Li Shimin suddenly became interested, and went rummaging through historical books to look up the stories of how aristocratic families were wiped out during the Wei–Jin period.

Li Xuanba had originally thought that his second brother understood everything he said—after all, Second Brother acted as if he did.

It was only later, when Li Shimin carried the histories of the Jin, Song, Qi, and Liang dynasties out of Li Yuan’s study and began frowning as he tried to study them on his own, that Li Xuanba realized something shocking:

His second brother actually had a stubborn habit of bluffing and refusing to admit ignorance.

If you don’t know something, just say so—I can explain it to you, Li Xuanba grumbled inwardly.

But Li Shimin wouldn’t. He insisted on learning by flipping through the books himself.

Li Xuanba didn’t expose him, and simply read together with him.

Shen Yue’s Book of Jin has been lost in later generations. The version that has been passed down was compiled by Xu Jingzong and Fang Xuanling, commonly known as the “Magical Book of Jin”—a highly entertaining collection of fantastical tales, practically the historical equivalent of In Search of the Supernatural.

Shen Yue’s Book of Song also entered the Twenty-Four Histories, and its level of fantasy was somewhat milder than that of the “Magical Book of Jin.”

However, Shen Yue himself had a major flaw. He came from the Shen clan of Wuxing, and the Southern Dynasties inherited the Eastern Jin’s extreme obsession with aristocratic pedigree. As a result, fully half of his Book of Song consists of biographies praising high-ranking aristocratic families, exaggerated to an absurd degree.

For example, the biography of Wang Wei of Langya is made up entirely of letters Wang Wei wrote to his friends—anyone unaware of this would think it was a collection of Wang Wei’s personal writings.

Shen Yue’s Book of Jin suffered from the same problem.

The Book of Jin compiled during the Zhenguan era was the “Magical Book of Jin,” while Shen Yue’s version might as well be called “Biographies of High Aristocratic Families.” The two complemented each other nicely. If one wanted to understand the great clans after the Wei–Jin period, Shen Yue’s works were quite suitable.

Thanks to Li Xuanba’s advance warning, Li Shimin read Shen Yue’s overblown praise of the aristocracy with a critical, almost amused mindset, frequently turning around to complain to his younger brother.

When Lady Dou entered, she happened to hear Li Shimin telling Li Xuanba one of his “hell jokes”:

“Every time there’s chaos in the Wei–Jin and Northern–Southern Dynasties, a major aristocratic family gets wiped out. Who knows—maybe their descendants today are actually the descendants of their enemies.”

Lady Dou didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. She walked up and gave Li Shimin—who was lying face-down reading—two sharp smacks on the backside.

“Don’t talk nonsense,” she scolded, pretending to be angry. “We’re visiting the Zheng family in three days. Don’t say the wrong thing then. The descendants of those great families all have genealogies to prove it—how could they be fake?”

Li Shimin and Li Xuanba simultaneously put on obedient, well-behaved expressions.

Lady Dou sighed helplessly. At moments like this, the two brothers—despite their very different personalities—actually looked like twins.

“This time when we visit, the elders of the Zheng family may test the learning of you two,” Lady Dou said. “Read the Analects a few more times. And the Thousand Character Classic—you learned it long ago, but they might make you recite it at random, so review it again.”

Li Shimin hadn’t yet reacted, but Li Xuanba’s face immediately fell.

Annoyed, he said, “Since when does a guest have to be tested and made to recite texts at someone else’s house? What—does the Zheng family want to judge my elder brother’s abilities by using me and my brother as a measuring stick?”

Lady Dou smiled gently and explained, “Marriage is a matter for a lifetime. It’s not wrong for them to take it seriously.”

Although Lady Dou herself felt uncomfortable about it, she would not say such things to her sons.

For the sake of their own daughter, things like selecting a son-in-law with care were perfectly normal. The Zheng family had simply gone a bit too far. Since the Xingyang Zheng clan would soon be in-laws of the Duke of Tang’s household, Lady Dou did not wish for her two sons to fall out with them.

Moreover, once the Zheng family’s young lady married into the Duke of Tang’s household and took charge of domestic affairs, if Lady Dou were to pass away before her husband, her two sons and their newly formed households would still have to rely on their elder sister-in-law…

After marrying, Lady Dou only then realized just how many ways people in the inner quarters could quietly disgust one another. So even if she felt dissatisfied in her heart, she still had to speak well of the Zheng family in front of her two sons.

If only Li Shimin had been here, he might have believed her.

But Li Xuanba did not.

It was perfectly normal to investigate a prospective in-law’s background and character, and to test a son-in-law’s abilities and conduct, all for the sake of one’s daughter.

However, his elder brother and he had decided to come here on a whim—yet this “test” had clearly been arranged well in advance.

Which meant that the people being tested were actually their own mother?!

What family, when choosing a son-in-law, doesn’t have the son-in-law “selected by shooting the peacock screen,” but instead makes the prospective in-laws—the mother and father—go shoot at the screen themselves?! Wasn’t that pure humiliation?!

But seeing how his mother was doing her utmost to praise the Zheng family, Li Xuanba understood that his family must be placing enormous importance on this marriage. No matter how angry he felt, he could only swallow it.

He said gruffly, “Then if my brother and I are too flamboyant and completely outshine the Zheng sons, will we offend them?”

Lady Dou smiled. “You two are still so young. If they were to bicker with children your age, the Xingyang Zheng clan wouldn’t be able to hold their heads up among the Five Surnames and Seven Great Clans. If they don’t test you, then so be it. But if they dare to test you, then be as showy as you like. If you manage to suppress all of their youths, they’ll still have to pinch their noses and sing your praises.”

Li Xuanba frowned. “They’re that magnanimous?”

Li Shimin said in an old-fashioned tone, “A-Xuan, you’re really dumb. How is that magnanimity? There are no walls in this world that don’t let the wind through. News that we crushed the Zheng youths won’t stay hidden. Naturally, they’ll have to heap praise on us, so it looks like they lost with good reason. If you ask me, they might even want to kill us with praise—instigating the sons of other powerful clans to come and ‘besiege’ us brothers.”

After saying that, Li Shimin shook his head and continued muttering, “A-Xuan is really dumb,” and “No matter how many books you read, you’re still dumb.”

Li Xuanba felt a lump of frustration clog his chest.

He had never experienced these kinds of aristocratic power struggles. Wasn’t it perfectly normal that he didn’t understand? The truly abnormal one was his second brother—only six years old and already playing mind games with people, all right?!

“Erlang is right,” Lady Dou nodded in agreement. “Sanlang, you don’t need to worry.”

Li Shimin scooted over and burrowed into Lady Dou’s arms. “Mother, don’t worry. A-Xuan and I won’t embarrass you.”

Lady Dou pulled Li Shimin and Li Xuanba into her embrace and rubbed their heads. “Mother is naturally at ease. Also, if they see how capable you two are and secretly send their young ladies to get close to you, you mustn’t fall for it.”

Li Xuanba: “…” It seemed Mother wasn’t entirely without resentment after all.

Li Shimin snorted. “They look down on us, and I look down on them too. I wouldn’t like a Zheng family young lady anyway.”

Li Xuanba shot his second brother a glance.

In the future, Emperor Taizong of Tang’s harem would include a Virtuous Consort from the Xingyang Zheng clan. To win over the Five Surnames and Seven Great Clans, it wouldn’t be up to you whether you wanted her or not.

Still, the Xingyang Zheng clan’s shift from arrogance to obsequiousness was quite amusing. Earlier, they had even been picky about granting the Tang Duke’s household the position of clan matron; later, they eagerly sent their daughter into the palace to serve as a concubine. It was rather interesting to watch.

This time, Lady Dou had come to Xingyang dressed very plainly.

To uphold the Tang Duke’s household’s dignity in the Zheng family, Lady Dou had deliberately ordered people to send new clothes and jewelry at top speed from the Tang Duke’s residence; they would arrive in a day or two.

Besides that, she also needed to purchase some accessories, garments, and cosmetics with local characteristics. There were some in Li Yuan’s official residence already, but Lady Dou needed to bring people to modify them.

Thus, after instructing her two sons to study hard and revise well, Lady Dou hurried off.

Li Shimin flopped back over his books. “Are daughters of high-ranking clans really that precious? Even our Tang Duke’s household has to lower itself?”

Li Xuanba said coldly, “They’re just waiting for the highest bidder.”

Li Shimin asked curiously, “How exactly does that work?”

Li Xuanba switched to inner thoughts: **[Brother, do you know about ‘joint legitimate heirs’? In the previous dynasty, there were two great clans that both married their daughters to the same man, and the sons they bore fought over the position of eldest legitimate heir.]**

Li Shimin’s expression stiffened. “That’s too bizarre.”

Li Xuanba: **[There’s also a rule among great clans when marrying off daughters called ‘making up for rank with bride price.’ For families like ours, when the match is equal in status, it’s always about generous betrothal and generous dowries. When they marry off a daughter, not only do they turn the bride price into her dowry, they also add another dowry of roughly equal value.]**

Li Shimin nodded. “That I know.”

Li Xuanba: **[But great clans also open up quotas for marrying off daughters from collateral branches to men of lower status, even merchants, letting them pay exorbitant bride prices. The great clan keeps most of the bride price; the difference between that and the dowry is the money used to ‘make up for rank.’]**

This practice was also very common in the early Tang. Emperor Taizong had specifically condemned it, so Li Xuanba remembered it clearly.

Li Shimin sat cross-legged and scratched his head. “One wants money, the other wants reputation. That’s a perfect match, I suppose.”

Li Xuanba: **[Still, the ‘upbringing’ of daughters from great clans is indeed strict. In the chaos of the previous dynasty, only they still educated their daughters in the Three Obediences and Four Virtues, in chastity and fidelity to their husbands. Even if divorced, many noblewomen took pride in living out their lives alone. Some even committed suicide to preserve their virtue. That’s why many families hope to marry a great clan’s daughter as their household matron.]**

A mocking smile appeared on Li Xuanba’s face. In times of chaos, even nobles lived precariously, yet they still insisted on teaching their daughters to observe such “rules.”

Li Shimin tilted his head and thought for a moment. “By what you’re saying, their daughters really are well brought up. But if my daughter were ever told to keep her chastity for her husband like that, I’d spank her! Hard!”

Li Xuanba: “……I think you’re not supposed to spank a daughter’s butt.” Setting aside the limitations of feudal thinking—Brother, you’re actually a double-standard dog!

Li Shimin planted his hands on his hips. “Then I’ll smack her palms!”

Li Xuanba: “Do as you please…”

“Heh heh.” Li Shimin let out two smug chuckles, though no one knew what he was smug about.

After being smug, Li Shimin grabbed Li Xuanba and prepared to “cheat.”

If you can cheat, why fight them fairly? What general leading troops into battle insists on fighting the enemy fairly?

Li Shimin was already applying military strategy at such a young age.

Li Xuanba, too, felt no guilt whatsoever about bullying children.

Those who strike first are the most despicable—an eternal truth, past and present!

…

Three days later, Lady Dou, dressed in full ceremonial splendor, took Li Shimin and Li Xuanba—both of them likewise weighed down with gold, silver, and jeweled finery—to pay a visit to the ancestral residence of the Zheng clan of Xingyang.

During the preparations, Lady Dou and Li Yuan found themselves at odds.

Li Yuan originally wanted Lady Dou to dress as closely as possible to the style favored by aristocratic Han clans.

Lady Dou objected. “My lord, if we speak of the elegance and refinement of Han gentry, who could possibly surpass the great Han noble families themselves? If I imitate their attire, I would only end up failing to capture their spirit—like drawing a tiger and turning it into a dog instead. Our Tang Duke’s household is kin to the imperial family; we ought to display the bearing of royalty. Matters of a woman’s attire—please leave them to me.”

Since Lady Dou had invoked “a woman’s attire,” Li Yuan could only defer to her.

Li Shimin hopped about excitedly around his magnificently dressed mother. “Is this really my mother? It’s a fairy—no, a bodhisattva descended from the heavens!”

Lady Dou pressed her lips together in a smile. “Yes, yes—your divine fairy bodhisattva, for Erlang and Sanlang.”

Li Xuanba was so astonished he could hardly speak.

In all his years, even when his mother had been summoned to the palace by the Empress, she had never dressed so lavishly.

Take, for instance, the phoenix hairpin inlaid with multicolored gems, from which hung a translucent red gemstone bead—the light it reflected in the sun was enough to dazzle his eyes.

Seeing Li Xuanba staring at the tasselled phoenix hairpin on her head, Lady Dou smiled and lightly adjusted it, a trace of nostalgia appearing on her face. “This was part of the dowry my uncle and aunt gave me. It’s more than enough to deal with the Zheng clan.”

Li Yuan had been staring, transfixed, at his wife’s graceful and radiant bearing after she had dressed up. But upon hearing her words, he immediately frowned. “Madam—didn’t we agree not to mention them again?”

Lady Dou lowered her gaze at once. “I merely mentioned the origin of the hairpin to Erlang and Sanlang in passing. I misspoke without thinking. I’ll be careful in the future.”

Li Yuan emphasized sternly, “You must be careful.”

Lady Dou replied, “Yes, my lord. Please rest assured.”

Li Shimin didn’t understand why his father was scolding his mother and was about to ask, but Li Xuanba grabbed his hand.

Li Xuanba: **[Maternal Grandmother was the Princess of Xiangyang of Northern Zhou. Mother’s uncle and aunt were Emperor Wu of Northern Zhou and Empress Wude.]**

Li Shimin blinked, his expression unchanged, as if he hadn’t heard a word. He only squeezed Li Xuanba’s hand in return, signaling that he understood.

Li Xuanba sighed inwardly.

Their mother had been taken into the palace by Emperor Wu of Northern Zhou, Yuwen Yong, and raised there from a young age. Of all his nieces and nephews, she was the most favored. When Yuwen Yong died suddenly on the road during his northern campaign, their mother was devastated—as if she had lost her own father.

Later, when Emperor Wen of Sui usurped Northern Zhou and slaughtered all the direct male members of the Yuwen clan, their mother wept, saying, “I hate that I was not born a man, so that I might save my uncles’ family from disaster.”

Those words should not yet have spread; they were likely only spoken after the Tang was established, passed down by the Dou clan or Li Yuan.

In truth, Li Xuanba suspected that his maternal grandparents’ and uncles’ deaths were also connected to Emperor Wen of Sui.

Though Lady Dou still had a natal family, that family referred to the Dou clan as a whole.

The Dou clan remained a prestigious noble house, holding high offices throughout the central and regional governments during the Sui dynasty. Yet Lady Dou’s own parents and siblings had all passed away.

Her eldest brother, Dou Wenshu, died in battle during Northern Zhou’s campaign against Qi; her third brother, Dou Zhao, died earlier in the transition to Sui—these need not even be discussed.

Her father, Dou Yi, had been appointed Governor-General of Dingzhou under Sui. Emperor Wen of Sui often proclaimed his great trust in Dou Yi, yet Dou Yi died in the second year after Sui usurped Northern Zhou.

The Princess of Xiangyang also died that same year.

And the year before their deaths, just after the dynasty had changed, her maternal grandparents hurriedly arranged the marriage of their daughter—only eleven or twelve years old at the time—to Li Yuan.

Even more coincidentally, Lady Dou’s last remaining brother, Dou Zhaoxian, had only just inherited the title of Duke of Shenwu when he suddenly fell ill and died.

Empress Wude, the widow of Emperor Wu of Northern Zhou, also died in the same year—Kaihuang Year Two—together with Li Xuanba’s grandparents.

Empress Wude of Northern Zhou was the daughter of the Turkic Khagan. She had once been neglected by Emperor Wu. Lady Dou had persuaded her uncle to treat his wife with kindness, in order to pacify the Turks. Emperor Wu accepted his niece’s advice and thereafter treated Empress Wude well. Deeply grateful, Empress Wude came to cherish Lady Dou greatly. Having no children of her own, she treated Lady Dou as a daughter, and Lady Dou was very close to her aunt.

Though there was no proof that Emperor Wen of Sui had acted directly, perhaps they all died of fear and illness after witnessing his massacre of the Yuwen imperial clan. But from Li Xuanba’s perspective as someone from a later age, dying of terror could still be considered a form of being driven to death.

As the daughter of the Turkic Khagan—at a time when the Turks had not yet fractured—Empress Wude’s dowry was extraordinarily lavish, filled with jewels, fragrances, and animal pelts brought from the far end of what would later become the Silk Road.

Empress Wude left all of her dowry to Lady Dou.

Emperor Wen of Sui and Empress Dugu did not lay a hand on Empress Wude’s dowry; instead, they even added generously to it.

Thus, although Lady Dou no longer had close elders of her own generation, the richness of her dowry surpassed even that of princesses.

People had once mocked Li Yuan for being “chosen by the peacock screen,” yet marrying an orphaned girl.

But once they saw Lady Dou’s dowry—and the Dou clan stepping forward to support her, declaring that the entire clan stood as her natal family—the mockery turned into envy.

Li Xuanba thought that if his grandparents and uncles were still alive, perhaps upon seeing how their daughter lived in the Tang Duke’s household, they would praise her virtue and filial devotion to outsiders, while privately comforting her.

Li Xuanba also knew that when his mother suddenly fell from being Heaven’s favored daughter to an orphan in the second year of Kaihuang, she must have harbored resentment toward Emperor Wen of Sui.

His father surely knew this as well—that was why he had scolded his mother for mentioning Emperor Wu of Northern Zhou again.

The matters involved were complex and grave, far beyond what two young children like Li Shimin and Li Xuanba could comment on.

All they could do was watch as their father scolded their mother a few more times, only stopping when her eyes reddened slightly.

What had been a cheerful atmosphere as the family set out turned heavy and subdued.

Li Yuan had official duties to attend to, so Lady Dou went alone with the two children to visit the Zheng family.

It wasn’t that Li Yuan was unwilling to take leave and accompany them—rather, the Zheng clan specifically wanted Lady Dou to come by herself.

This was likely part of the “test.”

Li Shimin leaned out of the carriage window, waved goodbye to his father, then turned to his mother and said, “Mother, I’ll definitely make you proud!”

Lady Dou took out a small silver mirror and touched up the makeup at the corner of her eyes. Having already regained her dignified, benevolent smile, she said, “All right.”

Li Xuanba’s fingers moved slightly inside his sleeve.

After he and Second Brother had finished making the flower together, they’d seen Li Yuan drawing their mother’s brows. Too embarrassed to interrupt their parents, he hadn’t taken it out then.

Taking a deep breath, he pulled a small box from his sleeve. “Mother, if this is pasted between your brows, it’s even prettier than cinnabar.”

Li Shimin immediately chimed in, “A-Xuan and I made it! He was too shy to take it out earlier—hmph, but he still brought it out in the end.”

Lady Dou smiled. “Let Mother have a look.”

She opened the small box.

Inside lay a half-transparent lotus flower.

Lady Dou exclaimed in surprise, “It’s so beautiful! What is it made of?!”

Li Shimin covered his mouth as he laughed. “A-Xuan and I caught dragonfly wings in the courtyard, dyed them, and made it. While he was catching the dragonflies, A-Xuan kept saying we were being cruel—pfft!”

Li Xuanba said solemnly, “It is cruel.”

Then he lowered his voice. “But it really is beautiful.”

Lady Dou laughed. “You paste it right between the brows, like tie huang?”

Tie huang had existed since ancient times—using yellow pigment to paint the forehead golden, or pasting on golden flower petals. But this was usually an adornment for unmarried girls.

Li Xuanba said, “It’s said that Princess Shouyang of the Southern Dynasties once adorned her brows with plum blossoms, calling it huadian. In fact, women wore huadian as early as the pre-Qin era; it’s just fallen out of fashion now.”

Li Shimin hugged Lady Dou’s arm, his voice sticky with affection. “Mother is the prettiest. If Mother wears huadian and brings it back into fashion, A-Xuan and I can sell huadian in our shop. That’s what A-Xuan said!”

Li Xuanba froze, then flushed with embarrassment and anger. “I was just joking!”

Li Shimin mocked him. “You said it yourself—afraid to admit it now. A-Xuan isn’t a real man.”

Lady Dou laughed. “All right, all right. Mother will help you sell huadian. Do you paste it on with water?”

Li Xuanba first shot Li Shimin a glare, then took out a box of transparent bone glue. “We’ll use this today. It’s firmer, so it won’t fall off.”

Lady Dou lowered her head. Li Xuanba carefully helped his mother paste the huadian onto her forehead.

Together, he and Li Shimin had gone through quite a few dragonflies, layering the wings to create a three-dimensional effect.

Li Shimin pulled open the carriage curtain so sunlight shone onto his mother’s brow. “Mother! The huadian is glowing! It’s so beautiful!”

Lady Dou looked at the lovely flower between her brows in the silver mirror and smiled. “Yes. It truly is beautiful.”

Li Shimin and Li Xuanba exchanged a glance.

Li Xuanba: **[Mother is finally happy again.]**

Li Shimin gave Li Xuanba a thumbs-up—the gesture of praise his younger brother had taught him.

Watching the two children communicate with just their brows and eyes, the smile on Lady Dou’s face grew even brighter.

With sons like these, a mother’s life was complete.

…

The Zheng family opened the side gate to receive Lady Dou.

If Li Yuan had come, they would have opened the main gate. Lady Dou was merely a woman of the inner household, so they were more reserved.

Lady Dou didn’t feel anything about it, but Li Shimin and Li Xuanba both let their little faces darken.

Opening the side gate wasn’t rude—but if they had shown just a bit more respect to their mother, the future in-law, opening the main gate wouldn’t have broken any rules.

It simply depended on whether the Zheng family wished to.

Fortunately, they weren’t overly restrained. When Lady Dou’s carriage arrived, a clan matron of the Zheng family, of the same generation as Lady Dou, was already waiting at the stopping point to welcome her.

She looked at Lady Dou’s carriage, her expression a little stiff.

Wasn’t there… a bit too large a procession?

Lady Dou didn’t get down immediately.

The door of the carriage behind hers opened first, and out came a group of young attendants and maids dressed in silk.

The attendants spread silk cloth over the ground; the maids raised parasols and placed embroidered footstools beneath the carriage. Only then did the door of Lady Dou’s carriage open.

The two children stepped down first, using the footstools, then simultaneously extended their hands—one on each side.

Lady Dou lightly rested her hands on theirs and stepped down onto the footstool.

Her long, trailing skirt fell onto the silk-covered ground. Beneath the hem, her embroidered shoes inlaid with eastern pearls revealed only half a toe.

Lady Dou lifted her head and offered the Zheng family’s female relatives a dignified yet gentle smile.

As she raised her head, the gold phoenix hairpin inlaid with colorful gems among her cloudlike coiffure trembled slightly. The red tassels it spat forth brushed against her jet-black hair, flashing sharply before the Zheng women’s eyes.

The Zheng family was wealthy as well; they shouldn’t have been envious of Lady Dou.

But all of the Zheng women were born into great aristocratic houses, with discerning eyes. At a glance, they recognized that everything Lady Dou wore was of imperial court make.

Especially that hairpin—it was of empress-level specification. Even princesses could not wear such an item without special permission.

Lady Dou’s gold and silver ornaments might have seemed a bit gaudy, but since every piece of jewelry and every length of silk was court-issued, it could hardly be called vulgar.

The Zheng clan matron smiled. “I’ve long heard of the noble bearing of the Duchess of Tang. This ensemble… truly, seeing is believing.”

Lady Dou replied gently, “My mother was the elder sister of Empress Wenxian. All the household items were bestowed by the palace. The Duke of Tang’s residence is frugal and rarely commissions new jewelry, so I can only make do with these rewarded items to dress myself. I must be a laughingstock before Madam.”

The Zheng matron immediately sobered. “No wonder.”

Lady Dou lifted her right hand—the one resting on Li Shimin’s—and lightly touched the flower between her brows. “Only this huadian was personally made for me by Erlang and Sanlang, modeled after huadian described in ancient texts.”

At once, all the Zheng women turned their gazes toward the two children at Lady Dou’s side.

Li Shimin and Li Xuanba unconsciously straightened their chests.