A Brilliant Move
Xiao Ruohai lowered his head and looked up at Bai Jinchi, who stood a head shorter than Bai Jingyan. When he saw that her eyes were rimmed with red, he murmured a quiet word of comfort.
"The Eldest Young Miss won't push herself too hard. So don't worry."
Bai Jinchi was no stranger to the iron sandbags. Any descendant of the Bai family carried them slung over their body while training in the martial arts. But she had never once carried sandbags as heavy as these.
Eldest Sister's body is still weak. Will she really be all right?
* * *
It was the tail end of the hour of the Tiger — between three and five in the morning.
A bitter wind was howling, and snowflakes had begun to drift down over Baiyu City.
High in the training hall, a brazier blazed with roaring fire.
In the stillness, the occasional hiss of an arrow splitting the air rang out, followed in quick succession by the sound of the shaft falling and the thud of it striking the target.
A bead of sweat slid down Bai Jingyan's jaw. Her chest and back were soaked through, as if she'd just been pulled out of a river. In that darkness, where a cold chill seeped into the bones, she radiated steaming heat.
Steadying her breath, Bai Jingyan fixed her deep, calm eyes on the red mark embedded in the target beneath the firelight. Then, gritting her teeth, she drew the bow back with all her strength. From the arrow stretched to its very limit came the faintest whisper of wood straining against wood.
Her father had taught her horsemanship and archery himself. He had been an unparalleled archer in his day — and so was she.
A single snowflake settled on her long lashes. Bai Jingyan released her grip.
Thwack!
Xiao Ruohai couldn't help himself — his fists clenched tight, and he spoke with his excitement barely leashed.
"Young Master! A hit!"
Dead center on the red mark.
Her marksmanship was astonishingly precise. Bai Jingyan had confidence to spare — what she lacked was strength, and a great deal of it. Even the target she'd just struck had been placed closer than usual, at Xiao Ruohai's discretion.
Regulating her breathing, Bai Jingyan took a brief rest, then drew another arrow from her quiver and nocked it. Her eyes turned sharp and cold; with a fluid turn of her body, she took aim at a figure who had appeared without warning, not granting him even a sliver of opening, and drew the bow back to its fullest extent.
Ten paces away, Xiao Rongyan stood in the wind and snow, attended by a single guard. His deep, dark eyes were fixed on the slender figure holding the bow with such clean, elegant poise.
Her keen eyes flickered dark and bright in the wavering firelight, and a murderous aura burst from her in an instant — frost-blue killing intent glimmering at the arrow's tip.
"Young Master Bai."
From a distance, Xiao Rongyan offered his greeting.
At the sight of him, Bai Jingyan lowered her bow.
"Teacher Xiao. You're up early."
Xiao Rongyan walked toward her, unhurried and composed. When he saw the sweat on her face tracing a curve down the long, graceful line of her neck and slipping back beneath her collar, he turned his gaze aside with a soft smile.
"Might you allow me a look at the Sun-Shooting Bow you carry, Young Master Bai?"
Bai Jingyan handed the Sun-Shooting Bow over.
Borrowing the light of the fire, Xiao Rongyan examined it closely, then spoke in a tone of genuine admiration.
"This bow once belonged to the late Grand General Tang Yi, Marshal of Great Yan's armies. The general gave it to the eldest prince born of his consort Lady Xi as a fifteenth-birthday gift — and the prince, without so much as stringing it, cast it aside. Who could have guessed it would one day win fame in the hands of Young Master Bai? If General Tang Yi looks down from the heavens and learns of this, I imagine he'll be delighted."
Bai Jingyan had earned the name Xiao Baishui — Little White Marshal — when she followed her grandfather to war. Of all her possessions, three were famous: her wind-swift white steed Jifeng, her Red-Tasseled Spear, and the Sun-Shooting Bow that never missed its mark.
But Jifeng had died protecting its master, and the spear and the bow alike had been left to gather dust after Bai Jingyan's injury.
Xiao Rongyan returned the bow with both hands, and Bai Jingyan passed it along to Xiao Ruohai.
"Teacher Xiao, have you come because of what Jinchi said?"
"The cleverness of the young miss exceeded all my expectations."
A gentle warmth of amusement lit Xiao Rongyan's eyes. At the mention of Jinchi, he seemed almost like a fond elder, thoroughly pleased.
"You are a benefactor of the Bai family, Teacher Xiao. Jinchi knows at least that much."
Xiao Rongyan glanced back at his escort, who bowed with clasped fists and withdrew.
Watching him go, Bai Jingyan turned and nodded to Xiao Ruohai, who returned the nod and stepped outside.
"Teacher Xiao, if there's something you wish to say, please speak freely."
The look in Xiao Rongyan's eyes as he regarded her was warm and unfathomably deep. He unfastened the cloak from his shoulders and draped it over her, then bowed his head to fasten the ties one by one. His fingers, calloused from years of use, brushed along her jaw as they passed — and Bai Jingyan instinctively turned her face away. He kept steadily at his work, his movements delicate and careful as he cinched each clasp.
"Teacher Xiao…."
She raised a hand to stop him, but he caught it without thinking.
Wind surged from every direction, snowflakes whirling in its wake. The firelight trembled, and the shadows of the two people merged into one. In Bai Jingyan's ears there was nothing but the snapping of the banners planted around the training ground as the wind tore at them.
Her senses drifted for a moment, and she found herself caught in the aura of an unfamiliar man. A faint, clean, composed masculine scent filled her nostrils — something like sandalwood submerged in water, yet subtly different.
She tried to pull her hand free, but his large hand held hers fast; she couldn't move so much as a finger.
Their eyes met. The gaze of that man, with features as if carved by a blade, grew deeper and heavier still. The prominence of his brow threw his silhouette into sharp relief, and in the flickering firelight of the deep night, he possessed a stolid charm that could bring the whole world to its knees.
Bai Jingyan's ears burned hot, and her breath seemed to catch. Only belatedly did she notice the goosebumps rising along her arms.
It was a small mercy that her face was already flushed from the long practice; had it not been, her fright would have shown plain as day.
Xiao Rongyan studied her in silence. The firelight was reflected in his black eyes — there was no levity in them, no hint of mockery, nothing but boundless gentleness.
"Am I frightening to you?"
His low, deep voice carried an emotion on the verge of breaking loose. But the moment the state of Yan's affairs crossed his mind, it was as if a bucket of cold water had been dashed over him — the heat in his gaze vanished into fathomless depths.
It was less fear than dread.
In her past life, the Prince Regent of Yan had left too deep an impression on her. It would be no exaggeration to call his methods and cunning brutal. If she had ever been forced to face him as an enemy, he was the opponent she would have feared most — a greater threat than ten men like Du Zhimi.
Bai Jingyan summoned her composure by force and answered flatly.
"They say a man and a woman should keep their distance."
Only then did Xiao Rongyan slowly release her hand, answering in that warm, low voice.
"The goods I am transporting are not spices. They are medicinal herbs, salt, and armaments."
"The supplies Great Yan borrowed from Liang at ruinous interest before the new year, then?"
Bai Jingyan's reaction was startlingly quick.
Before the festival, Yan — poor enough already — had been struck by floods on top of drought, a country in complete disarray. Yan had appealed to every nation for aid, but only Liang, which shared no border with it, had agreed to lend supplies — at punishing interest.
Xiao Rongyan nodded without pretense.
"The shipment was originally divided into six convoys bound for Yan. One of them, carrying grain and weapons, has already been seized by the Rong and Di tribes. Yan is too weakened to fight them.
"Every nation is circling Yan like wolves, waiting for the moment to bring about its fall and carve it up among themselves. And so, as a last resort, I've gathered the remaining supplies in one place and resolved to move them at all costs — through the borders of Great Jin. Alone."
Ordinarily it might have passed, but with the Southern Border war raging hot, the authorities would never permit ordinary citizens or merchants to trade privately in armaments, salt, or iron — grain perhaps, but nothing more. And the further one traveled toward the Southern Border, the stricter the inspections would become; passing the checkpoints would be no simple matter at all.
Xiao Rongyan intended to use the Crown Prince's authority to travel with the great army, bringing his cargo of weapons to Pingyang City, which bordered Yan.
What a brilliant move.
Who would dare inspect his goods while he traveled in the Crown Prince's own expeditionary company? Moreover, this campaign was a forced march — moving at maximum speed meant the gates of every city along the route stood open. Best of all, with the Crown Prince's party, he could pass through Guandao openly, and every hour saved meant more of Yan's countless lives kept breathing.
At this moment in time, Yan was indeed enduring every hardship imaginable. But who could have known that this tottering, broken country would, ten years hence, destroy four rival states and rise as the mightiest military power in all the land?
"Teacher Xiao, I am, after all, a daughter of Jin. Yet you've laid out your affairs in such detail before me — are you not worried I might interfere with your plans?"
If any nation wished least of all to see Yan grow strong, it would almost certainly be Jin.
"If even the Bai family's fourth young miss could see it, how could a wise Eldest Young Miss fail to…?"
Xiao Rongyan looked at Bai Jingyan and smiled.
"There is a reason I speak frankly to you. I wished to show you that I have no intention of standing as Jin's enemy. I want only to save the people of Yan — nothing more."
After sharing tea with her at Jueyu Pavilion that day, Xiao Rongyan had understood that Bai Jingyan was no fool blindly devoted to Great Jin. She possessed a benevolent heart and a man's sense of honor both, which was why he spoke to her without concealment. He hoped she would be at ease — a precaution against her over-vigilance leading her to some mistaken judgment.
It was not her cunning or her brilliant stratagems he feared. This matter concerned the very survival of Yan's people. He could not wager their lives on anything. Yan had nothing left to lose.
"The Crown Prince has a strategist named Zhen Xiangzhi at his side. Do you think he won't notice anything amiss?"
Xiao Rongyan's voice grew softer still.
"I know Master Zhen's abilities are formidable. But Master Zhen knows nothing of my connection to Yan. I am a merchant, plain and simple. A merchant wanting to do business — wanting to turn a profit in Pingyang City under the Crown Prince's aegis — what could be more natural?"
He had calculated everything to the finest detail, as she'd expected. Bai Jingyan lowered her head to unfasten the cloak's ties and handed the dense, thick-weave garment back to him.
"I've sweated through — I'm afraid I'll soil your cloak. You say this is work that saves lives; I can't very well become the variable that ruins it."
"If you stand in the wind after sweating like this, you'll catch a chill. Keep it on."
Xiao Rongyan pushed the cloak lightly back toward her.
Meanwhile, in the room she shared with Bai Jingyan, Bai Jinchi had woken suddenly a little while before. Seeing her eldest sister's bed empty, she had rushed outside.
And there they were — Eldest Sister and Teacher Xiao, together. Bai Jinchi narrowed her eyes as she watched her eldest sister unfasten the cloak and hand it back to him.
When she had spoken earlier of something being wrong with the goods Xiao Rongyan was transporting, Eldest Sister had even defended him in his stead.
Light glittered in her eyes.
Good heavens! What was she looking at right now? Had Eldest Sister's star of marriage — the Red Phoenix Star of legend — finally begun to stir?
Oh my! Eldest Sister, has your heart truly moved for that Teacher Xiao? Well, I can hardly blame you. The man is refined as immortal wind and jade bone, with manners to match. Even a prince standing beside him would be overshadowed by that gentle, unhurried grace of his! And not half as handsome as Teacher Xiao besides! Mm, by looks and bearing alone, the two of you suit perfectly.
And Eldest Sister has to bring a husband into the family one way or another. It's a pity he's a merchant, but he's a benefactor of the Bai family and the greatest merchant on top of that — just barely worthy of Eldest Sister, I'd say. I always thought her heart would never flutter for anyone her whole life long. So it was that Teacher Xiao who moved her after all?
When Bai Jinchi imagined Xiao Rongyan becoming the Bai family's son-in-law, with people addressing him as Master Bai-Xiao, she hunched her shoulders, clapped a hand over her mouth, and swallowed down the laughter that threatened to burst out of her.