A Body Born Anew
Bai Jingyan and Bai Jinchi entered a winehouse with only a handful of patrons. Dian Soyi ushered them upstairs to one of the finer rooms. Bai Jinchi tossed a silver ingot carelessly into the woman's hands, ordering her to bring up the best food the house had to offer, and urged her to hurry since they would be setting out on the road again before long.
Once the door closed, Bai Jinchi's heart began to pound. She strode quickly to the window and glanced back and forth between the teahouse of straw matting thrown up for temporary shelter and its entrance.
"Unnie, they really did put people on our trail! It looks like they reached Fengxian before we did! They were sitting right below us just moments ago, and the moment we came into this winehouse, they followed us in. There's someone behind them too…"
Bai Jingyan poured her sister a cup of tea.
"Jinchi, come and have some tea."
Only then did Bai Jinchi, her palms clammy with tension, come over and sit down beside Bai Jingyan.
"Unnie, with the Crown Prince's men watching like that, will we really be able to meet Ninth Uncle? His legs, of all things… and what if he's discovered?"
If Bai Qingyun, unable to move freely, were caught by the Crown Prince's men, he might very well die.
"Don't worry."
Bai Jingyan gazed at the taut-faced girl and smiled gently. Then she reached out and tucked a strand of Bai Jinchi's hair behind her ear.
"There's no danger. Trust me. I will never let any of you come to harm."
She had met briefly with Xiao Ruohai in Fengcheng, when she had held the memorial rites for her father. And Bai Jingyan had made a bold decision. She was certain there would be no trouble.
Zhen Xiangzhi must have grown curious about the matter concerning the Sassai, yet he had not come to see her for several days — no doubt because he could not work out why she had led the Sassai and the Haoying Battalion to Chuishanguan. Clever men took enormous pride in themselves; he would surely have wanted to understand everything first before seeking her out.
And so days had passed, and at last Zhen Xiangzhi had come to find her. But whether he had patiently wrestled out the cause himself, or had never come at all, Bai Jingyan had intended to visit him before departing for Fengxian regardless.
She had been reborn and had made it this far. She had protected the Bai family and won a great victory over Yun Paxing of Xiliang, yet not once had Bai Jingyan let her guard slip. She had kept her tension taut at all times, straining to preserve a clear and disciplined mind.
If her hatred was an undying flame blazing in her chest, then her grandfather's will was like oil poured upon that heat, stirring her awake at every moment. She had come back — so she must treasure this chance. She must not squander the opportunity heaven had granted her out of pity. She had to move with caution and composure. Never recklessly. Never blindly.
She could not allow the family she had staked her life to protect to fall into danger again.
Bai Jingyan looked at Bai Jinchi's face, darkened by the sun and looking especially thin.
"Eat well in a little while."
Perhaps it was the gentle, unhurried voice of her eldest sister, but the tension in Bai Jinchi's clenched hands gradually began to loosen.
"But how will you meet Uncle?"
Anxious, Bai Jinchi kept flinging out questions.
The window of time they could meet outside Fengcheng was extremely short. Bai Jinchi had been keeping watch, so she had no idea how Xiao Ruohai and her eldest sister had arranged things.
"There's no need to fret."
The instant the words left Bai Jingyan's mouth, Dian Soyi's voice could be heard leading people up the stairs. Judging by her tone, she seemed quite familiar with them.
"Young Master, please don't worry. The room you reserved was readied this morning, and I made sure no one could enter it. But why have you come alone today? Where is Young Master Wang? You said you were going to have Physician Qi treat your legs — did you get to see him?"
"No."
The voice that answered was a familiar one. The man let out a long sigh.
"We begged so earnestly that Lady Qi finally told us Physician Qi had gone to Youhuadu to find his daughter. So in the end, it was all for nothing."
The hand that had been pouring water for Bai Jingyan froze mid-motion. Her heart plummeted to the very bottom.
Before long, Dian Soyi served the food to Bai Jingyan and Bai Jinchi and left the room again.
Then a sudden noise came from behind the hongmu panel near the wall, and Bai Jinchi instinctively gripped the dagger at her waist, eyes going round as she stared at Bai Jingyan.
"Don't worry."
Bai Jingyan soothed her.
"Eat."
With that, Bai Jingyan rose and approached the panel, holding her breath, and pushed it aside.
Bai Jinchi's eyes went wide over her bowl. Behind the panel was a large opening, just big enough for a person to pass through, connecting the room to the one beside it.
Dressed in silk robes, Xiao Ruohai had been crouched inside the gap, and he crawled out as soon as Bai Jingyan slid the panel away.
"Eldest Miss. Fourth Miss."
Xiao Ruohai spoke in a hushed voice.
Bai Jinchi set down her spoon and looked anxiously at the far side of the opening, but there was no one there. She was just turning to ask where Ninth Uncle was when her eldest sister's voice reached her.
"Didn't you say Jingyun had already arrived in Fengxian?"
"Eldest Miss, I called at the Ninth Young Master's lodgings early this morning, but he had already left with Physician Shen…"
Xiao Ruohai clenched his jaw before speaking again.
"Xiao Ruogang took him away."
Bai Jingyan's fist tightened.
"Did he leave no letter?"
"Only a verbal message."
Xiao Ruohai pressed his lips together.
"He said he did not wish for you to see him in such a state. He said he was going to Mount Panluo to seek out Gu Yijian, the master of the Seventh Young Master."
Bai Jingyan slowly unclenched her fist. The smile at the corner of her mouth was faint.
"I see."
A man whose road lay clear before him could forget both gain and glory, and a man whose ambition was great enough could govern his own state of mind.
Bai Qingyun had not wanted to see her dragging his ruined legs behind him. Still less had he wanted her protection. That was why he had gone off in search of a new path.
So her ninth brother was still the same proud, unyielding Bai Qingyun, the boy who knew nothing of surrender. The sudden calamity had not broken him.
The reason she had risked so much to meet him had been her fear that that proud young boy might crumble. Bai Jingyan had prepared a whole heap of things she wanted to say to Bai Qingyun — and now, it turned out, not one of them was needed.
The people of the Bai family might let their bodies die, but their spirits must never bend — their unbending spine must never be bowed, nor their fighting spirit ever be dampened!
Her grandfather's teachings echoed at her ear. Bai Jingyan's eyes grew damp. She felt lighter than she had in a long, long while.
I looked on my brother too weakly. Among the sons of the Bai family, there is not a single one who would crumble before hardship and adversity.
Bai Jingyan pictured Bai Qingyun returning to her one day. He would surely come back transformed — a body reborn, a man remade.
"Eldest sister…"
Bai Jinchi, seeing the red rimming Bai Jingyan's eyes, tugged at her sleeve.
"Unnie, please don't grieve so. I'll go and bring Uncle back myself!"
"No — these are happy tears. A'yun hasn't sunk into despair at all. A'yun is truly a son of the Bai family, after all!"
Bai Jingyan turned to Xiao Ruohai, a smile on her face.
"Ruohai, once the performance is over, you and Ruogang are to go after Jingyun. Look after that boy well in my stead. Let him do whatever he wishes to do. Tell him he needn't worry about a single thing — the sisters of the Bai family are here. And tell him the whole family is waiting for him to come home."
"Yes, ma'am!"
Xiao Ruohai bowed with clasped fists, his eyes rimmed red.
"Now go! And tell them to send the man up…"
"Yes!"
Xiao Ruohai answered calmly.
Then Bai Jinchi abruptly stiffened, her tension plain for anyone to see.
"Don't worry. It's just a performance. There is no danger at all."
Bai Jingyan stroked Bai Jinchi's head to comfort her.
"Come, let's go eat."
Bai Jinchi nodded. Once Xiao Ruohai slipped out through the opening, she helped her sister push the panel back into place, then returned to the table and obediently began spooning up her rice.
Meanwhile, the Crown Prince — who had changed into plain clothes and was waiting outside Fengxian's walls alongside Zhang Danyue — felt his expression harden by the minute.
Outside the carriage, the man the Crown Prince had sent to surveil Bai Jingyan was delivering his report.
"General Bai and the Fourth Miss entered a private room, took their meal, and then asked for tea. It seems they have no intention of departing yet. However… our men spotted several people inside the city walls, and one of them is a covert operative whom General Bai left in Youhuadu to recuperate."
Inside the carriage, Zhan Yu, who had been attending the Crown Prince, went white at those words.
A murderous glint in his eyes, the Crown Prince hurled the teacup from his hand.
Tea splashed amid the shards, and a startled Zhan Yu dropped to his knees at once. He wiped away cold sweat on General Bai's behalf.
Zhan Yu prayed inwardly. Please, let General Bai never betray His Highness. If she ever did, His Highness would cut off her head without hesitation.
Bai Jingyan thinks I'm a brainless fool!
And to think he had been so firmly convinced that she had submitted to him completely!
He remembered Bai Jingyan saying that Xiao Ruogang had gone to Nanyan to meet Xiao Rongyan. Ha…
It was true she had gone to see Xiao Rongyan, no doubt — but after meeting him, she must have hatched other schemes besides. Just like this one.
Bai Jingyan had claimed she was going to hold memorial rites for her brother, but in truth she had been up to something else entirely.
She had said she was sending her operatives to Youhuadu to recuperate, and now they were suddenly appearing inside the walls of Fengxian? Clearly they had come to meet her!
"To that winehouse!"
The Crown Prince spoke slowly.
"I will see with my own eyes just what she is playing at!"
Mounted on his horse, Zhang Danyue licked his lips. An uneasy weight was settling in his chest.
Zhang Danyue served under the Crown Prince now, and ought to think from the Crown Prince's standpoint — but after the campaign in the Southern Border, Zhang Danyue regarded Bai Jingyan with nothing short of reverence. Her will, her strategy — all of it was extraordinary.
His Highness was determined to force Bai Jingyan into submission. If she had indeed done something behind the Crown Prince's back and been caught at it, she might well lose her life. Yet he could hardly open the Crown Prince's eyes to that. It was stifling.
He could only hope that Bai Jingyan would not raise a rebellion. That she would never betray the Crown Prince.
And if she had sent people out merely because she suspected one of the Bai sons might still be alive, then even that much, it seemed, the Crown Prince might understand. After all, not all of the Bai family's many bodies had yet been carried back to the capital of Dadu.