Sacrificing the Body to Feed the Tiger
The voices of Nanny Dong and Nanny Zhang drew steadily closer.
"Our young madam's complexion has improved so much. Physician Hong says that resting quietly in convalescence was actually the wrong approach—she'll understand once you see her with your own eyes, Nanny."
Nanny Dong lifted the screen for Nanny Zhang, who stepped inside.
Nanny Zhang dabbed her eyes with a handkerchief and gathered her skirt as she entered. The moment she rounded the folding screen, she caught sight of Bai Jingyan seated on the couch, and her eyes reddened all over again.
Hurrying forward with quick, small steps, she offered Bai Jingyan a formal greeting.
"Young madam—you have returned home."
"Nanny, no need for such ceremony. Chun Tao, bring some sparrow-tongue tea for Nanny Zhang, and a plate of refreshments as well."
Bai Jingyan turned her head and gave the order. Chun Tao answered and withdrew carefully from the room.
"Is Grandmother well? Is she sleeping soundly? And eating properly?"
Bai Jingyan's voice was calm and measured—so measured, in fact, that the greeting felt stiff, almost rehearsed.
How could Nanny Zhang not know that the affair with Qi Zhengyu had frozen Bai Jingyan's heart toward the Grand Princess? But were there not feelings between grandmother and granddaughter that ought to be buried and left to fade rather than fester? Why had it ever had to come to this?
"Young madam—have you no thought of paying your respects to Her Highness the Grand Princess?"
Her voice was very nearly a plea.
Chun Tao served tea to Nanny Zhang and Bai Jingyan, offered a smiling bow, and withdrew.
Bai Jingyan lowered her head, lifted her teacup, and answered slowly.
"I must go. Today His Majesty is holding a banquet, and tomorrow is his birthday feast—there was no putting it off. The day after tomorrow, I will bring my brothers and sisters to call on Grandmother."
Nanny Zhang nodded.
"Her Highness sent word for you. She says that someone at court intends to make a great affair of the killing of the Xiliang surrender troops in the Southern Border, and that you should seek help from Chancellor Yu."
Nanny Zhang rose and drew something from her robe—a hairpin, wrapped with care in a thin layer of white silk. She held it out to Bai Jingyan as she spoke.
"She says that if you bring this to Chancellor Yu, it will serve you well."
Bai Jingyan did not take it. She raised her head and looked at Nanny Zhang instead.
"Nanny, what is the meaning of this?"
"Years ago, Chancellor Yu owed a great debt to Her Highness. This pin was the keepsake of his late mother, and he swore that if the Grand Princess ever gave him an order, he would grant her any favor, at any time."
Nanny Zhang told the truth plainly.
Bai Jingyan set down her teacup before answering.
"Then take it back to Grandmother, Nanny. I can resolve this matter on my own. Tell her to keep this treasure for a moment that truly demands it."
Nanny Zhang lifted her head and studied Bai Jingyan for a long moment. She had known the girl since she was small, and she knew her temperament well—if Bai Jingyan said she would not accept something, no power on earth would make her. So Nanny Zhang smiled and wrapped the hairpin up again with care.
"Very well. But when the need arises, young madam, do speak to Her Highness yourself."
"On the fifteenth of this month, the Liang King sent a man to His Majesty with a painting as a birthday gift—and the man who delivered it was elevated to Noble Consort Chu the very next day. If the rumors I've heard are true, this Noble Consort Chu bears a striking resemblance to Aunt Bai Xiaoqiu."
Nanny Zhang flinched. Bai Jingyan's voice went on.
"Just how venomous the Liang King is, how boundless his ambition—Grandmother surely knows it better than anyone. If this Noble Consort Chu is the Liang King's woman, things will turn against our Bai estate."
Nanny Zhang understood all too well what a calamity this could become; the hand holding the wrapped pin tightened. She rose and bowed deeply to Bai Jingyan.
"This servant will carry word to Her Highness at once."
Bai Jingyan nodded.
"Thank you for the trouble, Nanny."
The people of Dadu had heard the rumor: the Emperor of Great Yan—hailed as the most handsome man under heaven—was coming to celebrate the Jin Emperor's birthday, bringing his son with him. Everyone burned with curiosity to see what manner of bearing could earn a man such a title.
A few bolder young ladies from great households claimed choice spots on upper floors overlooking the street, summoned a handful of close friends, and settled in to wait for the Yan Emperor's procession—hoping all the while that he would arrive on horseback so they could get a proper look at his face.
Before long, soldiers came crowding in along both sides of the road, and the Yan cavalry—clad in the black armor of Great Yan—began to file slowly into the city. Even their fine steeds wore lamellar barding, so that nothing showed but the animals' gleaming black eyes.
The daughters of the noble houses, who had been giggling behind half-raised fans as they leaned back in their chairs, hushed their voices the moment the Yan riders entered the gates.
For the instant the cavalry crossed into the city, a murderous aura came rolling off them like heat from a forge.
The carriage that followed was not ostentatious, but exquisitely wrought.
A quiet disappointment passed through both the commoners and the noble ladies above. The Yan Emperor was riding inside the carriage—the peerless beauty of the age would go unseen.
When Great Yan reclaimed Nanyan, it had made the restoration of its rightful governance its stated justification, insisting it had no intention of harming Jin—and it had resolved to send a prince to Jin as a hostage. Lodgings for the hostage of Great Jin had already been prepared half a month prior.
Back when Nanyan and Xiliang had jointly assaulted Jin, the Emperor of Great Jin had in fact hoped for a war between Yan and Nanyan—it was the quickest way to douse the fire burning at his own doorstep. And to advertise the closeness of his ties with Great Yan, he had specially granted a luxurious residence to Yan's hostage.
But it had been for show, nothing more. When word came that Yan had reclaimed Nanyan without spilling its own strength, he had spent a long while unable to swallow his displeasure.
After conferring with his advisors, the Crown Prince resolved to escort the Yan Emperor to the Hostage Residence himself. It bore a suitably gracious pretext: to show the Yan Emperor where his son would live, and thus set his mind at ease.
Inside the carriage, Murong Li—soon to become Jin's hostage—knelt at Murong Yu's feet. Eleven years old this year, the boy lifted his head and looked up at his father, who wore a sorrowful, heartbroken expression, and spoke in a tone that was composed beyond his years.
"Father, it was my own wish to come as hostage in place of Second Brother. Since a hostage must be sent, a son of the direct line carries more weight than he does. Second Brother is a valiant talent—a man who will one day be great. To send him to Great Jin as a hostage would be to bury him, and that would profit Great Yan nothing.
"I am young, and my martial arts are not yet his equal—but I have a gift with words, and I will make friends easily enough with the young lords of Jin, even here in Dadu. Father, do not worry yourself over me. I will hold myself to the strictest discipline, and I will never abandon my studies or my training."
Right words, certainly—but he was a son of the direct line, and only eleven years old.
"You are eleven. In Jin you will have no family, no friends. Are you not afraid?"
Murong Yu asked quietly, gazing down at his boy's still-youthful face.
"I am afraid..."
Murong Li's eyes reddened.
"But they say the ten-year-old boy of the Bai family sang the Bai Family Army song even as he was led to the executioner's block! I hold his spirit and his courage in the deepest respect!
"Ninth Uncle said it, didn't he? To become someone truly great, one must first endure great hardship. I may still be young, but I know that Great Yan stands in peril. If I can be of even the smallest use to Yan, then I—then I will gladly offer up my own body to feed the tiger."
Murong Yu closed his reddened eyes and held them shut for a long moment. His throat had closed around the words. He raised a hand to smooth his son's hair and coughed.
"Good child. Every one of my sons is outstanding! With you brothers, Great Yan will surely grow strong. Perhaps I need not fear for the unification of all under heaven after all!"
Murong Li gripped Murong Yu's hand, his eyes going redder and redder.
"Father, don't worry about me. Take care of your health."
Murong Yu nodded, then cautioned him once more.
"When you see your Ninth Uncle, you must be careful... Your Ninth Uncle is brimming great danger for the sake of our Great Yan. One misstep, and even his life could be forfeit."
"Father, don't worry. I understand."
With that, Murong Li bowed deeply.
Murong Yu smiled and helped the boy to his feet.
"Come here... let me hold you, just once."
They say a grandfather may dandle his grandsons but never embraces his sons. Yet once father and son parted today, there was no telling when—or whether—they would meet again.
With a heart in disarray, Murong Yu drew his son briefly into his arms. His eyes grew damp.
The Crown Prince, attended by the officials of the Crown Prince's establishment, stood before the gates of the Hostage Residence, waiting in silence for the Yan Emperor and his son.
Recalling the nonsense he had spouted to Xiao Rongyan the night before—asking him to come welcome the Yan Emperor together this morning—the Crown Prince began singing the man's praises.
"It's a mercy Yongyan didn't come today. I don't care a fig about his merchant status myself, but if the Yan Emperor took offense at it, and word of that reached my father's ears, His Majesty would surely fault me for the blunder."
Zhan Yu answered with a smile.
"Where would the world find another lord who disregards rank and prizes only talent, as Your Highness does! Though this servant must say, Master Xiao seems a man who truly knows his place. Last night, unable to refuse Your Highness, he agreed—but come this morning he sent someone with gifts, begging forgiveness on the grounds that he could not rise after drinking too much. A most considerate man."
The Crown Prince nodded, agreeing wholeheartedly.
At the banquet in the Crown Prince's establishment the previous evening, Xiao Rongyan had presented him with a peerless jar of famous wine, and mentioned that while in Nanyan he had chanced upon the ninth wang-ya of Nanyan—and through that man had come to know Feng Yao, the most powerful grand eunuch at the Yan Emperor's side. He intended, he said, to go into business with Feng Yao.
The Crown Prince had marveled at Xiao Rongyan's luck and his gift for making money. As the wine flowed, he had proposed that, since Xiao Rongyan knew the Yan Emperor's grand eunuch, the two of them should welcome the Emperor together this morning.
How fortunate, the Crown Prince thought, that this man was nothing like those petty schemers who pounced at every opening and clung to power wherever they could find it. Though it was, of course, also proof of his own discerning eye for people.
When the Yan cavalry came riding slowly in, the Crown Prince descended the steps radiating the majesty of a great nation's heir, gazing into the distance with a smile.
The finely wrought carriage came to a halt before the gates of the Hostage Residence.
The moment the Yan Emperor's aged eunuch helped the Emperor down from the carriage, the Crown Prince hurried forward and bowed.
"Your Majesty, Emperor of Great Yan—this one pays his respects."
"Crown Prince, there is no need for ceremony."
The voice was soft and warm, like a spring breeze settling the heart at ease.
The Crown Prince lifted his head, smiling—and when the Yan Emperor's pale face, his illness plain upon it, came fully into view, he faltered for an instant.
The Emperor of Great Yan, called the most handsome man under heaven, had features more striking and radiant than any woman's. Flawless, as if carved from jade, he seemed in the morning light beautiful and sacred—a man as though bathed in purity. One careless glance was enough to steal the soul clean away.
Stunned for a heartbeat, the Crown Prince realized he had committed a rudeness, and hurriedly turned his gaze to Murong Li, who was climbing down from the carriage. The boy's face was the very image of Murong Yu's—and the realization struck him like a hammer: this child must be the Emperor's son of the direct line. His heart began to pound.
He had never once imagined that the Yan Emperor would send his direct heir to Jin as a hostage.