At this time, the voices of the soldiers became louder and louder. Gao Lishi knew that the anger of the soldiers would only grow until Yang Yuhuan was put to death. Therefore, he said to Li Longji, “She is blameless, but she is the sister of Yang Guozhong. They have killed Yang Guozhong -if she still stands at your side, they will never be able to rest easy. Your majesty, please think carefully, only if the soldiers calm down will you be safe.”
Li Longji realized that if he wouldn’t put Yang Yuhuan to death, he himself would be killed. He and Yang Yuhuan wept on each other’s shoulders.
Yang Yuhuan knew that she had very little chance of survival. She went down on her knees and said to the emperor, “Your majesty, you have loved me so much. I can never pay back the deep love and affection you have bestowed on me - even with my life. Now that you’re in danger, please allow me to commit suicide so we can avert this hopeless situation. As long as you’re safe, my death will be worthwhile.”Then she wept uncontrolably in the emperor’s arms.
The emperor said, “Don’t speak like that! If you die, what good is it for me to be an emperor? I’d rather lose my state than lose you, my love.”
“You have shown me tremendous kindness. But now, I’m afraid that there is no way out. If you insist on not yielding, we will all die, which will increase my sense of guilt. Please let me go and save the state.”
Gao Lishi added his voice, “Since the princess has decided to sacrifice her life nobly, we hope that you, Your majesty, will attach most importance to the state and sacrifice what you love for the greater good.”
Li Longji cried out in great pain and pulled at his own hair but finally he calmed, “There is nothing we can do except comply with her wishes. Go Lishi, let her be.”
Gao Lishi brought Yang Yuhuan to a Buddhist shrine behind the post house. Yang Yuhuan told Gao Lishi to serve the emperor carefully. Then, she took out the gold pin and the pin box which had been given by the emperor, and asked Gao Lishi to bury them with her. Gao Lishi agreed to all her requests. Then, Yang Yuhuan unfurled a white silk scarf from her waist which she used to hang herself.
An Lushan occupied Chang’an and became the new emperor. He called himself “mighty emperor” and titled his reign Da Yan. After that, he became more and more bad-tempered. The eunuchs around him had a lot of complaints. An Lushan had a son, named An Qing’en, whose mother was An Lushan’s concubine. He was much loved by An Lushan who wanted to make him crown prince. An Lushan’s eldest son, An Qingxu was dissatisfied and plotted against his father with the disgruntled eunuchs and finally killed him.
The rebel army split into factions and was defeated by the imperial forces. Two years later, Chang’an was recaptured and Li Longji came back to the capital.
By that time, the crown prince Li Heng had been placed on the throne. Li Longji was emperor no more and he felt lonely without Yang Yuhuan. When he thought of her death, he got sadder.
One day, in the lingering autumn rains, Li Longji came to the palace of eternal youth again. There were withered flowers and fading leaves everywhere. The rain could be heard falling on the phoenix trees, and the atmosphere was most dismal. Standing where Yang Yuhuan had prayed for cleverness, Li Longji thought of the scene where they had pledged eternal love and tears streamed down his cheeks. He spoke to himself, “My love, I had thought that we could grow old together, but now we are separated forever, and I can only live in eternal regret.”
Just then, he heard two maids of honor calling him. They said that they were maid servants of the princess Yang Yuhuan who had personally sent them here to pick the emperor up.
Li Longji said, “Don’t cheat me, girls. She hung herself in Maweipo.”
They continued, “There is something you don’t know. Lady Yang was originally a fairy from heaven. Because she made a small mistake, she was banished from heaven and forced to live in the world. After her death in Maweipo, Zhi Nu in heaven judged that she had repented her error, and allowed her to come back. Her love for you greatly moved Zhi Nu. So, she has allowed you two to live in heaven and never separate. Today, Lady Yang ordered us to pick you up and meet her in heaven. Please let us make haste.”
Hearing this, Li Longji was overjoyed. He left the Palace of Eternal Youth at once and flew towards the heaven towards his eternal love.
