Teacher Xiao
Bai Jinchi climbed up onto the dock in high spirits, and was about to offer her greetings when the sight of the man standing at Xiao Rongyan's side stopped her dead in her tracks.
In all her life, Bai Jinchi had never seen a man so beautiful. She had always thought Xiao Rongyan the most striking man she'd ever laid eyes on — but to think the world held another male beauty so exquisite, so flawlessly sculpted! For a moment, she couldn't quite convince herself that he was a man at all. He was a man, surely? He wore men's clothing, at least, and his frame was that of a man.
Dong Jangsaeng, too, faltered for an instant at the sight of the man's face. Then, somehow, he found he could guess the identity of the one standing beside Xiao Rongyan. With looks that dazzling, a beardless old retainer at his side, and a child of perhaps ten in attendance — the pieces fit together well enough.
But how on earth had Xiao Rongyan come to be in the company of the Emperor of Yan?
Dong Jangsaeng was a perceptive man. The Emperor of Yan had emerged in everyday clothing, which meant he had no wish to be recognized. So Jangsaeng climbed up smiling, dipped his head respectfully to Murong Yu, then drew Bai Jinchi aside. With an easy, courteous smile, he spoke.
"Brother Xiao, out to enjoy the lake with a friend, I see?"
The moment the words left his mouth, Bai Jinchi came back to her senses. She pointed behind her and said to Xiao Rongyan, "Teacher Xiao, my sister is over there!"
From the instant he had first glimpsed Bai Jingyan, Xiao Rongyan's hands — clasped behind his back — had clenched with all their strength. He had never imagined he would cross paths with her like this, today of all days.
Willow branches only just budding swayed gently in the breeze. Bai Jingyan stood among the willows in white, her hem rippling in the wind, so that she looked like an immortal maiden about to spread her wings and ascend to the heavens at any moment.
Murong Yu glanced at the cheerful Bai Jinchi, then turned his gaze back to his younger brother. Seeing that his brother made not the slightest effort to hide where he was looking, Murong Yu followed his line of sight into the distance. Beneath the willows stood a young miss in white, radiating an extraordinary presence.
The two concubine-born daughters of the Dong household took in the situation, and rather than come closer, turned their heads to look at where Bai Jingyan stood.
Xiao Rongyan's party had the light at their backs, so Bai Jingyan had not been able to make out their faces well. Chun Tao took her hand and walked her toward the dock, and it was only when they had come right up to the group that Bai Jingyan noticed the remarkably handsome man standing at Xiao Rongyan's side.
Perhaps because Xiao Rongyan's own aura was so heavy and so brilliant in itself, none of them had realized until they drew near that a man of peerless beauty stood beside him.
"Eldest Grand Miss Bai!"
The moment he saw her, Yue Shi hurried into a bow, admiration plain in his eyes.
"Eldest Grand Miss Bai," Xiao Rongyan greeted her respectfully.
"What a coincidence. Are you also out to drink in the spring air, Eldest Grand Miss?"
Dong Jangsaeng, standing right beside them, arched an eyebrow. He looked at Xiao Rongyan, then back at Bai Jingyan. There seemed to be something subtle, something far from ordinary, threaded through the way Xiao Rongyan addressed her.
"Teacher Xiao."
Bai Jingyan gave a light curtsy, then dipped her head to the Emperor of Yan. Turning to the eleven-year-old boy who carried himself with such uncommon presence, she favored him with a faint smile and nodded.
Xiao Rongyan's gall truly knows no bounds! To take the Emperor of Yan and a prince of Yan out on the lake, in the open, like this.
And yet, when she thought it over, there was nothing strange about a merchant consorting with the emperor and prince of Yan in pursuit of profit. If anything, it was the surest way to avoid arousing suspicion of a real connection to the Great Yan throne.
Most people would assume the Regent of Yan would have to keep his distance from the emperor precisely so his identity wouldn't be exposed. But by appearing together this casually, this naturally, he ensured that no one would suspect a thing — no one would even imagine it.
At the words "Eldest Grand Miss Bai," and again at Yue Shi's deferential manner, Murong Li guessed that the woman before him must be the Little White Marshal of the Bai army. He offered Bai Jingyan a warm, gracious smile.
"Sister, we ran into Teacher Xiao — let's all play together!"
Bai Jinchi beamed, doing her best to bring her sister and Xiao Rongyan together.
"Jinchi, come here!"
Bai Jingyan's expression hardened.
Seeing Xiao Rongyan out on the lake with the Emperor of Yan, she could tell the two meant to have an important conversation aboard the pleasure boat. If Jinchi barged in, she would only be a nuisance.
Bai Jinchi, chafing at her sister's darkened look, hurried over in quick little steps.
"Sister……"
"Teacher Xiao, I've interrupted your time with your friend."
Bai Jingyan's face remained perfectly composed. She gave Murong Yu a light nod and continued, "We'll take our leave."
"Eldest Grand Miss Bai, wait a moment."
Murong Yu spoke with a smile. "Since you've come out to enjoy the day, if it's no trouble to you, why not join us? The Fourth Young Miss seems a lively sort — and we're all rather dull company, I'm afraid. With her here, things would be far more entertaining."
Murong Yu's gaze was gentle and clear, his voice mild and warm, such that fondness arose of its own accord. He seemed a kindly elder.
Having finally met the Fourth Young Miss Bai whom his brother held in his heart, Murong Yu — who had long worried over his brother's marriage — was hardly about to let so rare an opportunity slip away.
"My sister is a Commandery Princess now! His Majesty conferred the title just today."
Bai Jinchi chirped on, thrilled. "The Zhenguo Commandery Princess!"
"Ah — my apologies for the oversight."
Murong Yu smiled and went on. "Commandery Princess, will you join us?"
"Sister……"
Bai Jinchi tugged at Bai Jingyan's sleeve.
"I've heard it said that the Commandery Princess plays go with astonishing skill. Might I have the honor of matching stones with her?"
Murong Yu bowed to Bai Jingyan with a smile, every inch the refined noble gentleman — with no trace whatsoever of an emperor on some unapproachable height.
Bai Jingyan inclined herself slightly to receive the courtesy with due modesty, then glanced once at Xiao Rongyan. When she saw the amusement glinting in his deep, dark eyes, she at last agreed.
Murong Yu found himself puzzled. Why had she looked at his brother just now?
"Nanny Jin, Chun Tao and Jinchi will attend me — you need only follow along."
Bai Jingyan turned her head and gave her instructions to Nanny Jin.
One could hardly board another's boat trailed by a full retinue of guards and servants.
"Yes, my lady!"
Nanny Jin nodded and bowed in a proper curtsy.
With Xiao Rongyan, there was nothing to fear. Merchant though he was, he was hardly the sort to show Bai Jingyan any discourtesy on his pleasure boat — and besides, Xiao Rongyan was the Bai family's benefactor. That was reason enough.
Xiao Rongyan's personal attendant hurried forward.
"Commandery Princess, County Princess, young misses, young master — if you would, this way."
Dong Zhengzhen glanced once at the pleasure boat they had left moored far off, and let out a silent sigh. Eldest Uncle would be waiting endlessly for her aunt — now whatever was she to do?
Dong Jangsaeng bowed with a smile to Xiao Rongyan.
"Then thanks to my sister, I'll shamelessly beg a cup of wine aboard Brother Xiao's boat."
At the sight of Murong Yu and Xiao Rongyan, the two Dong daughters had gone weak in the knees. Only when Bai Jinchi dragged them along did they follow, their faces flushed scarlet. They kept sneaking glances at the two men, then flinching, terrified that someone might catch them at it.
Their mother, Aunt Song, had never mistreated the two concubine-born daughters — but she had never taken particular care to teach them, either. Song had sent the girls to live with their respective birth-mothers, the secondary wives of the household. And so the two had grown up painfully shy, unable to mix with outsiders with the ease and poise of legitimate daughters.
Of course, a handsome face is pleasing to everyone — but the two Dong girls wore their hearts far too openly on their sleeves.
The pleasure boat of Xiao Rongyan, the wealthiest merchant under heaven, was built on two decks and was magnificent to behold. No vessel in the entire capital could match it for splendor.
The lower deck was broad, luxurious, and wonderfully airy. The rosewood furniture was exquisite in every detail, and even the paintings hanging within the cabin were all masterworks. Stepping inside, one was greeted by a faint, lingering fragrance; all around, thin gauze embroidered in classical patterns hung to soften the light. The whole atmosphere was one of refined, understated elegance.
Earlier, when Murong Yu had proposed a game of go, Xiao Rongyan's attendants had immediately brought out a board, and the maids had opened the stone containers. After serving tea and refreshments to their guests, they withdrew.
Dong Jangsaeng and Xiao Rongyan spoke of Lu Yuanfeng. When Xiao Rongyan heard that the boy was once again on his knees in the study reflecting on his faults, he lifted his teacup and shook his head.
"Lu Yuanfeng is a blockhead, but this time he did well!"
Bai Jinchi, with no time to spare for her tea, popped a sweetmeat into her mouth as she spoke at leisure. She was clearly quite hungry.
"Bring a cup of milk tea for the County Princess. With honey in it."
Xiao Rongyan gave the order to the maid at his side.
Murong Yu's lips curved upward as he set a stone on the board.
"Thank you, Teacher Xiao. I was starving. The food they serve at palace banquets isn't fit for human beings! It comes up already cold before it ever reaches the table……"
There was nothing Bai Jinchi wouldn't say in front of Xiao Rongyan.
Dong Zhengzhen laughed behind her handkerchief. "Jinchi, do you truly think a palace banquet is a place to go eat?"
"Why call it a banquet if you're not allowed to eat?"
Bai Jinchi couldn't have cared less.
Though Murong Yu played the game, his attention was fixed entirely on Xiao Rongyan and Bai Jinchi — and he was deeply puzzled. Could his brother truly cherish a woman as boisterous as this Fourth Young Miss Bai?
Xiao Rongyan turned his gaze toward Bai Jingyan with a smile. Watching her bent over the board, absorbed in the game, he called for a serving of milk steamed cake to be brought for her as well.
As she played, Bai Jingyan could not shake the feeling that the Emperor of Yan across the board was paying rather excessive attention to her younger sister.
Placing another stone, Bai Jingyan quietly began to weigh the emperor's intentions.
By the rumors drifting through the capital, the Emperor of Yan had come to Jin not only to send his son as a hostage and to offer congratulations on the Great Jin Emperor's birthday, but for a special purpose besides — to personally arrange the marriage of his own younger brother, the Ninth Prince, Murong Yan.
Bai Jingyan's hand closed tight around a white stone. Was the Emperor of Yan intending to take Jinchi as Murong Yan's bride?
"Chun Tao, change out my tea. It's gone cold."
Bai Jingyan spoke up.
Chun Tao answered at once, lifted the cup set before Bai Jingyan, and went out.
Bai Jingyan laid down another stone.
The Bai family held no power at court, and commanded no authority in the army. Despite their great victory in the Southern Border, she and Jinchi had been conferred nothing beyond the titles of Commandery Princess and County Princess — leaving them with no real power at all.
And the Emperor of Yan had already sent a hostage to Jin. Even if the Ninth Prince of Great Yan wanted Jinchi — even if he wanted a princess of the imperial line — the Emperor of Jin would grant it gladly.
Bai Jingyan lifted a white stone to place it, then changed direction at the last moment. The position on the board, stagnant and deadlocked only moments before, shifted all at once — and the Emperor of Yan, Murong Yu, had lost half the board.
Murong Yu gave a start and looked up. He glanced once at Bai Jingyan, still bent over the board in silence, hesitated briefly — and set down his stone.
Bai Jingyan answered immediately with a white stone, and Murong Yu lost a whole cluster of black ones. His defeat was now all but sealed.
He had been too distracted earlier, his eyes straying toward Xiao Rongyan, to concentrate on the game. Looking at the board properly now, he saw it was on the verge of collapse.
"They say the go board is a battlefield in miniature. The Commandery Princess is a born general, after all."
Murong Yu emptied the black stones from his hand back into the container. It was an acknowledgment of defeat.
After all, he had proposed the game in the first place merely as a pretext to invite the Fourth Young Miss Bai aboard his brother's boat. Whether he won or lost was of no consequence to him whatsoever.