The Bearing of a Hero
Samapyung and his comrades, their throats parched with thirst, gripped their companions' hands tightly. The magnificent figure their Bai sister had shown in the Southern Border rose before their eyes, and their admiration deepened all the more.
They held their breath, watching to see how Bai Jingyan would overcome Li Tianfu. At that moment, Yue Shi, having handed the Xiliang maid over to the guards, wheeled around and threw himself with all his might at Li Tianfu, who was lunging in a desperate final attack. Without appearing to exert any effort at all, he lightly brought her crashing down.
The guards swarmed in. But Yue Shi's fury had not yet subsided. He strode forward and sliced through the muscle of Li Tianfu's right hand, then flicked the Heavenly Silk Sword away, sending it flying into the distance. The blade grazed her neck, and red blood welled forth. Only then did Yue Shi withdraw his weapon.
Li Tianfu, her face drained white, clutched her wrist. Unbearable agony streamed down her cheeks in tears. Gritting her teeth as the tears flowed without end, she glared at Yue Shi, whose whole body brimmed with killing intent. She had seen eyes like those before. And so she knew, instinctively, that if she so much as moved carelessly, this guard would kill her on the spot.
But she had failed to kill Bai Jingyan today. She had failed to kill the Crown Prince either. To die like this would mean nothing at all.
She had not even avenged Atak — with what face could she ever go to meet him?
Li Tianfu fixed Bai Jingyan with poison-laden eyes. Her vision grew steadily hazy, and Bai Jingyan's figure blurred. But she carved Bai Jingyan into her heart, into her very bones.
As long as she did not die, one day she would exterminate every last member of Bai Jingyan's family.
At that moment, Li Zhijie knelt before the Crown Prince.
"Your Highness, this incident occurred because I failed to properly keep watch over my niece. Your Highness, mercifully neither you nor the Zhenguo Commandery Princess were harmed, so I beg you — spare Princess Pyeongyang's life. If you allow me to take her back to Xiliang, I promise you will be duly compensated, Your Highness and Great Jin both."
The Crown Prince curled his lip in a sneer.
"So that eunuch who tried to kill the Zhenguo Commandery Princess shared a deep bond of love with Princess Pyeongyang, did he? For Xiliang to have sent such a princess into my Crown Prince's residence — if this is not contempt for me, then what is it?"
Li Zhijie squeezed his eyes shut. Blood trickled from his neck, but he had no leisure to concern himself with it.
"The Princess was merely beguiled by that eunuch's words and lost her power of judgment. Crown Prince, our two nations have only just concluded a solemn alliance — if for no other reason than that, I beg you to forgive her! I swear it to you: I will provide compensation that will leave you thoroughly satisfied."
Compensation, no doubt, would amount to reparations and ceded territory.
The Crown Prince spoke, his face hard as stone.
"Prince of Yan, have that self-important Xiliang princess taken to the post station! I shall station my own soldiers there to guard it well, so I trust you will understand. Make sure she causes no further trouble of any kind until we depart this place tomorrow."
Li Zhijie closed his eyes, pressing down the humiliating emotion rising in his chest, and agreed.
A wedding that should have ended in joyous celebration had instead concluded in a scene of utter ruin.
Li Zhijie and his party left the Crown Prince's residence under the Crown Prince guards' 'protection.'
Li Zhijie had ordered that Li Tianfu be taken outside with both her arms bound.
As she passed by Bai Jingyan's side, Li Tianfu suddenly halted, turned her head, and looked at Bai Jingyan with a sneer. Gritting her teeth, she spat out her words.
"Bai Jingyan. So long as I draw breath, the Bai family will one day meet a tragic end of total annihilation. My vengeance for Atak will never end!"
"I'll be waiting."
Bai Jingyan gave a light nod. That untroubled composure only made Li Tianfu's fury burn hotter.
The Crown Prince sneered.
"If you weren't the legitimate princess of Xiliang, you'd already be a corpse."
Xiao Rongyan picked up Bai Jingyan's sandbag weights that had fallen to the ground, handed them to his own guard, and then walked calmly over to the Crown Prince's side. With both hands, he respectfully returned the long sword to him.
Only at the sight of Xiao Rongyan did a smile at last spread across the Crown Prince's face. Receiving the sword, he said with a laugh.
"Yongyan, I had no idea you possessed such remarkable skill."
Xiao Rongyan loosely clenched his fist, then turned a smiling gaze upon Bai Jingyan. Then, wearing an expression of profound regret, he let out a sigh.
"How could I compare to the Zhenguo Commandery Princess? They say a hero who saves a beauty may win her favor — but alas, I never even had the chance to become a hero. I very nearly took an injury myself."
Brushing off his official's robe, which the dagger had torn, Xiao Rongyan replied with a faintly frightened look.
"The blade was coated in poison as well. Had it struck true, I would surely have passed on to the underworld. In truth... my heart is still pounding terribly."
The Crown Prince burst into laughter and drew close to Xiao Rongyan, speaking in a low voice.
"I won't tell the Zhenguo Commandery Princess that your heart is still pounding."
With those words, the Crown Prince clapped Xiao Rongyan on the shoulder.
Bai Jingyan, too, returned her long sword to Murong Li.
"Thank you, Your Highness."
Murong Li's ears turned red. He took the precious blade, sheathed it carefully, and pushed it firmly home. Xiao Baixiu of the Bai Family Army — the sword once wielded by the woman who would one day become his aunt by marriage.
"It was nothing at all, Zhenguo Commandery Princess."
Murong Li smiled as he looked at Bai Jingyan.
"It was an honor to witness the bearing of Xiao Baixiu of the Bai Family Army."
The rumor that the Xiliang princess Li Tianfu had tried to kill the Zhenguo Commandery Princess at the wedding ceremony spread as though it had sprouted wings. In less than half a shichen, there was no one in Dadu who had not heard of it.
Bai Jinxiu, who had not attended the ceremony at the Crown Prince's residence, grew frantic upon receiving the news and immediately set out for the Commandery Princess's residence with Yin Shuang in tow.
By the time Bai Jinxiu arrived, Bai Jingyan was taking a bath.
When a servant from the Bai Manor had told her that Bai Jingyan had returned covered head to toe in blood, her heart had leapt clean into her throat.
When Bai Jingyan emerged from her bath, Bai Jinxiu seized her hands and examined her up and down for a long while. Only after confirming there were no wounds did she finally let out a breath of relief.
By the time Bai Jinxiu had come, the Emperor had already made his decision: the Xiliang Prince of Yan was to take the princess and return to Xiliang first thing the following morning — provided he offered Great Jin proper compensation.
"Ever since I got home, Grandmother, Mother, and my aunts have been holding onto me like this, looking me over again and again. And you're still worried?"
Bai Jingyan bade Bai Jinxiu sit.
"Second Sister, please have some jujube tea and calm yourself."
Chun Tao served tea to Bai Jinxiu.
Bai Jinxiu's reddened eyes had not yet returned to normal. She took a sip of the tea Chun Tao offered, then spoke again.
"Sister, why did you go to the Crown Prince's residence?"
"Someone told me Li Tianfu meant to assassinate the Crown Prince. So I went to warn him."
Bai Jingyan gestured casually to Chun Tao, as though it were nothing.
"Go fetch that thing."
Chun Tao nodded, took a black box from Bai Jingyan's drawer, and set it on the table. Then she dismissed the attending maids, ordering them all to withdraw, and took up a post alone at the entrance.
"What is this?"
Bai Jinxiu set down her teacup and opened the black box. She cast a cursory glance over the contents filling it to the brim.
"This is... Li Mu's weakness."
Bai Jingyan lifted her teacup and blew on it lightly.
"At the start of next month, we return to Suyang. These things will serve you far better in your hands than in mine. You're the one who will need them."
Bai Jinxiu read the letters swiftly, her pupils suddenly dilating. Then she quickly scanned through several more of the letters.
"These are in Li Mu's own hand?"
"Grandmother says so, so there can be no mistake."
Bai Jingyan turned her head to look at Bai Jinxiu.
"The letters in the hands of Mun Jingang's wife's family are probably the one letter missing from here. And that letter may already have fallen into Li Mu's grasp. His wife's family used it to threaten him — demanding he spare Mun Jingang's life.
There's no need for us to intervene. Just send someone to keep a close watch on the Left Chancellor's residence. If Li Mu steps forward to help Mun Jingang, a flaw is bound to show itself — and that too will become a weakness we can hold over him."
"So what you're saying, Sister, is that we should simply leave Li Mu sitting in the Left Chancellor's seat?"
Bai Jinxiu asked.
Sister had called it a weakness. She had not called it a means of dragging him down.
"We're short of people at court right now. It's better to leave Li Mu in that seat — a man whose weakness we hold in our hands — than to hand the position over to someone we know nothing about."
Bai Jingyan watched the tea leaves drifting in her cup, the corner of her mouth lifting.
"When we find someone worth standing behind, that's when we pull Li Mu down and seat our own person in his place. As for who that should be — I leave the selection to you."
Bai Jingyan raised her hand and pressed it atop the black box, smiling as she spoke to Bai Jinxiu.
"What you're holding is the Left Chancellor's seat itself."
Bai Jinxiu nodded.
"Understood."
Outside, Chun Tao was talking with Yin Shuang. Yin Shuang undid the candy pouch at her waist and handed it over to Chun Tao. The pouch was stuffed full of sweets.
Chun Tao picked out a single candy and popped it into her mouth. Then she tied the pouch back around Yin Shuang's waist.
"Big sister only gets one, so take good care of the rest. And don't go stuffing them willy-nilly into your clothes — you'll dirty them!"
Yin Shuang nodded with a bright, guileless smile.
"Second Young Lady is so kind! She gives Yin Shuang candy!"
Chun Tao ruffled Yin Shuang's hair.
"Why do you love candy so much? What will you do when all your teeth rot out of your head?"
"It's fine!"
Yin Shuang smiled so wide her eyes nearly disappeared.
"Mother told me to eat candy whenever I miss her and Father! She said if I followed Qingzhu-unni, Mother would give me candy."
Hearing those words, Chun Tao felt her nose sting.
All this time she had assumed Yin Shuang loved candy simply because she was a glutton — when in truth, it had been longing for her family all along.
Yin Shuang had been brought to Shen Qingzhu by her own kin. They had said she was strong and capable, but that she ate so much she was hard to feed, and so her family had sold her to Shen Qingzhu.
How fortunate it was that Yin Shuang had found her way to Shen Qingzhu. Had it been otherwise, Chun Tao could not even imagine what sort of existence she might be living now.
"Oh, Yin Shuang is here!"
Nanny Dong and Nanny Jin smiled warmly at the sight of her.
"Nanny Jin! Nanny Dong!"
Chun Tao greeted them with a smile.
"Foster mother!"
Yin Shuang popped up to her feet and untied the candy pouch Chun Tao had just fastened for her.
"Have some candy!"
Nanny Dong raised her hand and gently stroked Yin Shuang's head.
"Later, your foster mother will make you a delicious treat. Wait here with Chun Tao-unni!"
Nanny Dong gave her report at the doorway, and having received Bai Jingyan's permission, entered the inner room together with Nanny Jin.
Nanny Jin addressed Bai Jingyan and Bai Jinxiu with a smiling face.
"Eldest Young Lady, Second Young Lady. A kinsman of the Suyang clan has come to call."
"They've come again?"
Bai Jinxiu frowned.
"This time the clan head came in person, and he brought the deed to our old ancestral residence with him. He says it must be returned. And he says the young master has already moved out of the residence."
Nanny Jin replied with a bright expression, evidently in high spirits.
Bai Jingyan was not especially surprised — she had expected as much.
"Has he come to see me?"
"Yes, he insists the deed must be placed directly into the Commandery Princess's hands."
Nanny Jin laughed behind her handkerchief.
"Ever since our Eldest Young Lady paid that visit to Suyang, it seems the clan head has been thoroughly frightened."
Bai Jingyan set down her teacup with a smile and brushed the hem of her garments.
"Nanny Dong, comb my hair and bring me something to change into. I must go meet the clan head properly."
Nanny Dong loosely gathered Bai Jingyan's hair and dressed her in clothes both clean and refined. Then the two of them made their way together to the main hall.