Chapter 103: A Double Bond of Kinship

"What? You want me to paint the portraits of the meritorious officials in Lingyan Pavilion?" Mo Dun stared in shock at Li Chengqian, who had arrived uninvited.

Mo Dun had not expected Li Shimin to act so swiftly. Only a few days had passed, and the proposal had already sparked heated discussion among the civil and military officials in the grand court meeting. However, these courtiers were all prominent figures; although they knew the benefits of being included, they were too embarrassed to openly admit their desire for fame and declined one after another.

Yet, once Mo Dun’s poem was released, the officials immediately grasped the immense power of Lingyan Pavilion to inspire future generations. Seeing a way to both secure great prestige for themselves and leave a lasting legacy, the high-ranking ministers gracefully accepted the proposal.

When it came time to select the artist for these portraits, the person unanimously recommended by everyone, Yan Liben, firmly declined, recommending Mo Dun as the painter instead.

"Naturally. The idea was yours, the poem was yours, and in the city of Chang'an, you are the one who paints the most lifelike portraits. If not you, then who?" Li Chengqian wore an expression that said he had high hopes for him. Mo Dun gritted his teeth, feeling that he had truly shot himself in the foot. With one loose tongue, he had brought this mountain of trouble upon himself.

He knew there were twenty-four meritorious officials in Lingyan Pavilion; at a rate of one a day, it would take nearly a month.

"Brother Mo, rest assured. The proposal for Lingyan Pavilion has only just been passed; it will take at least a year to complete. You have plenty of time," Li Chengqian said.

Mo Dun finally breathed a sigh of relief. At least the timeline was generous.

"Why don't men carry the Wu hook, to capture the fifty prefectures beyond the mountain passes?" A girlish, high-pitched voice tried to sound heroic, clumsily cupping its hands in a salute. "Brother Mo's poem is heroic and generous; you are truly a role model for men of our generation."

"And who is this?"

Mo Dun looked in surprise at the effeminate person who had been silently following behind Li Chengqian. No, "effeminate" didn't cover it—this person was dripping with the scent of rouge and powder, yet was deliberately putting on a display of bravado.

Li Chengqian’s eyes flickered, and he avoided Mo Dun’s searching gaze. "Haha, I forgot to introduce him. This is my younger brother, Li Zhi. It was a great pity that he didn't meet you at the Chongwen Pavilion the other day, so he has come to pay a visit today."

"This prince, Li Zhi, greets Brother Mo," Li Zhi said, deliberately deepening his voice.

"Well said, well said," Mo Dun replied, utterly confused, and simply went along with it.

"Mo Dun, my brother here is very fond of painting. Hearing that you have a unique style, he came specifically to seek your guidance," Li Chengqian explained.

"I ask for your instruction, Brother Mo!" Li Zhi produced two sheets of xuan paper and handed them to Mo Dun.

Mo Dun took them and looked. One was a portrait he had painted of Li Shimin holding Princess Jinyang. Due to his lack of skill in shading, the likeness was only three or four parts accurate, but for a beginner, it was quite remarkable.

The other sheet was a caricature Mo Dun had drawn of Li Chengqian, which was a spitting image of the prince.

Li Chengqian looked at his own caricature, feeling extremely awkward. He glared at Mo Dun and said, "My brother’s painting is just a bit of mischief, but his passion is genuine. Do me a favor and teach him a thing or two!"

Mo Dun saw that Li Chengqian was becoming agitated and wisely chose not to provoke him further. Instead, he looked with a headache at the effeminate Li Zhi—or rather, the cross-dressing Li Zhi. Given how close Li Zhi was to Li Chengqian and that the youth was a few years younger, there could only be one explanation: this was Li Chengqian’s sister, Princess Changle, Li Lizhi.

She was the eldest daughter of the Emperor, a woman of supreme status. Mo Dun realized that he always seemed to attract people he couldn't afford to offend.

"Ziyi!" Mo Dun called toward the inner room.

A long time later, Ziyi emerged with her hair in disarray. The girl had become completely obsessed with drawing comics.

"What is it, Young Master?" Ziyi asked, still dazed.

"Take Prince Li Zhi to your studio and explain the painting techniques I taught you," Mo Dun instructed. He had spared no effort in training Ziyi, teaching her all his techniques. Besides, he truly couldn't afford to offend Li Shimin; if the Emperor discovered that Mo Dun had been hand-in-hand teaching his daughter how to paint, he wouldn't live to see the next day.

Ziyi finally shook off her stupor. Seeing the cross-dressed Li Zhi, her eyes lit up. "This little sister is so beautiful!"

Li Lizhi’s face turned bright red. She deepened her voice again and said, "You are mistaken, miss. I am a man."

This girl was likely cross-dressing for the first time and had absolutely no experience; anyone could see through her disguise at a glance. Yet, she believed her disguise was flawless, speaking in a forced, deep voice.

Ziyi patted her forehead, speechless, then walked over to Li Lizhi and whispered a few words.

Li Lizhi immediately looked down at her own well-developed chest, then touched her throat, her face turning beet red.

"Hmph!" Li Lizhi glared at Li Chengqian and Mo Dun with resentment, then haughtily took Ziyi by the hand and left.

"What does this have to do with me?" Mo Dun wondered, feeling completely bewildered. He had suffered this misfortune for no reason at all.

"My sister is willful. I hope you will forgive her, Brother Mo," Li Chengqian said with a bitter, apologetic bow.

"Now, can you give me an explanation?" Mo Dun asked. Bringing a princess disguised as a man into the Mo residence—if this got out, Mo Dun would be the one to pay the price.

"The Emperor wants to arrange a marriage for my sister, but she is unwilling and in a foul mood. She has always loved painting, and after seeing the portraits you drew for our father and Princess Jinyang, she became inseparable from them. To help her vent her frustration, I brought her to your residence," Li Chengqian explained.

"An arranged marriage? To Zhangsun Chong?" Mo Dun asked.

"How did you know?" Li Chengqian asked in surprise. By rights, the matter was still under discussion, and since Princess Changle was still throwing a tantrum, it hadn't been made public.

Mo Dun thought to himself, *How could I not know? I also know that your sister will have a very unhappy marriage with Zhangsun Chong and will pass away at the age of twenty-three.*

It was a tragedy. Mo Dun understood that this was a political marriage between Li Shimin and Zhangsun Wuji, with no regard for Li Lizhi’s feelings. Should he save this elf-like girl? Mo Dun wrestled with his conscience. After a long while, his sense of justice won out.

"Have you ever felt that the bloodline between Princess Changle and Zhangsun Chong is too close?" Mo Dun asked cautiously.

"I know that," Li Chengqian said, looking unconcerned. "By rank, Zhangsun Chong is my cousin. Isn't that just 'strengthening the family bond'?"

Empress Zhangsun and Zhangsun Wuji were biological siblings, making Li Lizhi and Zhangsun Chong first cousins.

"'Strengthening the family bond'?" Mo Dun only then recalled that such a saying existed in ancient times.

Mo Dun thought for a moment, carefully choosing his words. "Does His Highness the Crown Prince know why there are so many bachelors in Mo Village? Poverty is only one reason. More importantly, Mo Village strictly forbids marriage between close relatives within three generations of both direct and collateral descent."

"Three generations of direct and collateral descent!" Li Chengqian knew exactly what that meant. Li Lizhi and Zhangsun Chong were exactly within that category of collateral relatives.

"What is the problem with that?" Li Chengqian asked, his voice trembling. He knew the state of Mo Village—there were many bachelors there, yet a village so desperate to propagate its lineage strictly forbade consanguineous marriage.

"Because children born from close-relative marriages have a very high probability of being intellectually disabled, suffering from cerebral palsy, or having various genetic diseases," Mo Dun said, enunciating every word.

In later generations, there was even a vast and prominent royal family that saw its male line extinguished and its dynasty collapse precisely because of marriage between close relatives.