Chapter 9: The Colorful Robe

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Gao Yang suddenly clutched his stomach and let out a faint exclamation, "Damn it!"
The onlookers were puzzled and quickly gathered around, but Gao Yang waved them away, calling for Yang Yin to accompany him as they left the palace.
After they departed, Gao Yan, Gao Zhan, and the others couldn’t help but burst into laughter. Even the attendants and palace maids covered their mouths, stifling their giggles.
Unaware of the situation, Gao Shaode asked Gao Yin, "Brother, what are they laughing at? You too—what’s so funny?"
A smile played on Gao Yin’s face as he replied, "Lord Yang is guarding the emperor’s toilet door."
Gao Yang was an eccentric man; in political affairs, he trusted Yang Yin implicitly, practically entrusting the state’s governance to him. Yet he often looked down on Yang Yin, treating him with disdain. Whenever Gao Yang needed to use the grand latrine, he would summon Yang Yin along, having the noble Minister Yang assist by handing him the bamboo strips for cleaning.
Compared to Gao Yang defecating atop the city wall, with other ministers below catching it in their mouths, Yang Yin was quite favored.
"Yin’er, come sit by your sister!"
Gao Shaode ran to his mother, acting coquettishly. Lou Zhaojun leaned toward a noblewoman beside Li Zuo’e and whispered a few words. The woman passed the message to Li Zuo’e, who then beckoned Gao Yin over.
Under Lou Zhaojun’s kindly gaze, Gao Yin approached slowly, greeting the elders in turn and receiving a series of exaggerated compliments.
Those closely connected to Jinyang stood silently by Lou Zhaojun’s side, watching the crown prince without speaking.
Hulü Jin was far away in Jinyang, and Hulü Guang, said to be ill, did not attend the family banquet. Hulü Guang’s eldest son, the fifteen-year-old Hulü Wu, held his wife, Princess Yining, closely and smiled at Gao Yin.
"Dao’er, it’s been a long time."
Between Lou Zhaojun and Li Zuo’e stood a strikingly beautiful noblewoman named Duan Huaxiu. She was the daughter of the former dynasty’s minister Duan Rong, sister to founding general Duan Shao, and also Lou Empress Dowager’s niece. She had once been a top candidate for empress.
Many ministers had petitioned to make Duan Huaxiu empress, but Gao Yang firmly refused, and the matter was dropped. Still, Duan Huaxiu retained favor. She was appointed Zhaoyi, enjoying honors equal to Empress Li Zuo’e, making her the third most distinguished woman in Qi, after the empress dowager and the empress.
Duan Huaxiu had been pregnant twice but suffered miscarriages both times, never bearing Gao Yang a child.

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Many believed the emperor and empress had schemed secretly, casting suspicion on Crown Prince Gao Yin. They thought that if Duan Huaxiu had borne a royal son, Gao Yin might not have remained crown prince.
Gao Yin was unaware of the truth but was certain that Lou Zhaojun delighted in such rumors.
Li Zuo’e was already holding Gao Shaode and two other younger brothers, with no space left beside her. Duan Huaxiu took Gao Yin’s hand, signaling him to sit beside her.
Gao Yin sat calmly, faintly scented by the lingering fragrance of Duan Huaxiu’s hair perfume.
Duan Huaxiu wrapped one arm around Gao Yin, caressing his cheek as she smiled at Lou Empress Dowager. "Though I have no children of my own, I still enjoy family blessings. In many ways, I have escaped much suffering."
She had witnessed Li Zuo’e giving birth and had once been heartbroken. Now, in retrospect, she feared those experiences, having endured two lifelong agonies herself.
Duan Huaxiu felt that fate was unfair: she exchanged her noble rank and luxurious life for the loss of two children. As a woman, she was fortunate, enjoying boundless honor and imperial favor; yet as a mother, she was no better than a lowly village girl.
In reality, as a key piece in Gao Yang’s harem, her failure to produce a royal heir greatly diminished her value to Lou Empress Dowager, shattering much of her life’s purpose. Her standing at court had consequently declined.
She always believed she had children somewhere. If only she had her own child, her life would be entirely different.
At some unknown point, she began to invest this hope in Gao Yin.
Outsiders could never detect it because Duan Huaxiu’s feelings were restrained. Sometimes their exchanges were casual chats or customary greetings; she would only ask a few extra questions. No one paid it much mind, and even Gao Yin found it normal—after all, he was merely a twelve-year-old boy, raised with propriety that forbade any other thoughts.
It was only when Gao Yin’s body was taken over by Gao Yin’s mature consciousness that this subtle affection became apparent from an adult perspective—and so easily so.
A woman’s emotions cannot be hidden; even when her lips are pressed tightly, they shine through her eyes and ears.
"Aunt’s care, Yin’er knows well. Whenever Aunt isn’t happy, Yin’er will wear colorful clothes, sing, and dance to cheer her up, never failing to repay Aunt’s kindness."
Hearing this, Duan Huaxiu was delighted, playfully scratching Gao Yin’s nose with her fingernail. "Dao’er, you really know how to speak!"
Li Zuo’e snorted, "Just listen to him—he never says such things to me. Alas, sister’s getting old, no match for the young and beautiful aunt!"

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Li Zuo’e’s words sounded like a joke but hinted at something deeper. Gao Yin turned to his younger brothers and said, "Sister’s angry. Let’s put on colorful clothes and sing a song for her, shall we?"
Gao Yin had four younger brothers and one sister: Shaode, Shaoyi, Shaoren, Shaolian, and Baode. Shaode and Baode were ten years old, and the youngest, Shaolian, only six. Hearing their eldest brother, they readily agreed.
Gao Yin sang from the Classic of Poetry’s “Zhou Nan: Fu Yi,” miming the gathering of water plants. The five children lined up, imitating his movements, babbling happily.
Their impromptu dance was naturally chaotic. Shaoren and Shaolian stumbled and fell, sitting on the ground. Gao Yin quickly helped them up, pulling them to dance together. Without Gao Yin’s lead, Shaode and Baode misstepped and collided, gasping and rubbing their heads. Shaoyi stood alone, unsure whom to follow or how to dance, dazed in place. The scene was a comedy, prompting hearty laughter from the onlookers.
A three-year-old toddler tried to toddle over to them but was promptly scooped up by Gao Yan. His son Gao Bainian was just three years old; left unattended, he might have easily been crushed by a stray foot.
Gao Zhan extended a finger, teasing the noblewoman holding his eldest son Gao Wei, "Want to come play too? Want to?"
Gao Wei couldn’t speak yet but pointed toward Gao Yin and the others, babbling “A ni” repeatedly. Gao Zhan laughed and asked the noblewoman, "Dry nurse, what’s Wei’er saying?"
The noblewoman, Lu Lingxuan, was Gao Wei’s wet nurse. "Dry nurse" was the term for a wet nurse. She smiled, "The heir apparent wants to dance too."
Gao Zhan laughed heartily, "In a few years, you won’t want to play just dance anymore!"
The surrounding women frowned slightly, and Duan Huaxiu showed displeasure, but her brow relaxed when she looked at Gao Yin.
She teasingly said, "Dao’er’s brothers singing and dancing is truly amusing, but what about the colorful clothes? You said you wanted to wear those!"
She wore a red, round-collared, narrow-sleeved short robe; Li Zuo’e wore a blue Hanfu; Lou Empress Dowager wore a purple round-collared, long robe with side slits. Gao Yin wiped the fine sweat from his brow and replied seriously, "Grandmother is the purple fairy, sister is the blue fairy, aunt is the crimson fairy; we are all children of fairies, born to wear three-colored robes!"
Even Lou Empress Dowager chuckled at this. Gao Zhan clapped his hands and laughed, "If the Daoist says so, then we all wear colorful clothes! Mother, let’s have Buluoji dance for you!"
He grabbed Gao Yan and danced enthusiastically before Lou Empress Dowager, who finally couldn’t contain her laughter.