A False Report of Disaster
"But before anything else, you should have told Grandmother the truth. Not me."
After seating Bai Jinse in the pavilion, Bai Jingyan walked her through it step by step.
"When you're about to strike someone with an arrow, you shoot the horse they're riding first. When you're catching a thief, you seize the ringleader before anyone else. The most direct path is the fastest one—and the easiest way to get what you want. There's no need to overthink it. Whether or not you can stay in Dadu depends above all on Grandmother's permission. So tell her honestly what you're thinking and what you want. There are only two possible outcomes. One—Grandmother consents. Two—she refuses.
"If she consents, you get what you want. If she refuses, then you come back and try to persuade me. But think—if I refused your request simply because you were young, wouldn't I have gone to Grandmother before you could speak to her, and talked her out of allowing it? And in that case, even if Grandmother wanted to say yes in her heart, she would refuse for the sake of harmony in the family. Then you'd have no choice but to abide by that decision.
"But if you go to Grandmother first, then even if she says no, I merely become your second option. And if she says yes, she'll want to keep you at her side and have you wait on her. Filial devotion comes before everything—no one in this house can refuse Grandmother's decision."
Bai Jinse's eyes gleamed as she looked up at Bai Jingyan, and she nodded her head with all her might.
"From now on, whenever there's something you want, think again about the outcome you truly desire. Then find out what matters most, and only after that lay your strategy. Consider both results—success and failure alike. If it fails, keep a way to turn things back in mind no matter what, or fall back on that second option. And remember this: what matters is to move steadily. Never stir up some unrelated mess or let things drift in a direction that ruins the work. If you stray too far from what you wanted in the first place, it only becomes harder to find your way back."
Bai Jingyan's words were weighty, but Bai Jinse grasped their meaning precisely. She rose to her feet and offered her elder sister a deep, respectful bow.
"I will keep your teachings close to my heart, Elder Sister."
Watching her young sister, Bai Jingyan found herself lost in thought. She could not decide whether it was a good thing or a bad one, for a child so young to gain wisdom this quickly.
She smiled at Bai Jinse.
"Remember this. So long as no one touches the Li family's throne, Grandmother will protect the Bai family by any means necessary. That means she will let the Old Maiden be of full use to our house. And if you speak honestly to Grandmother and ease the worries she carries, she will surely give her consent."
Hearing her eldest sister's words, Bai Jinse's confidence bloomed. She paid her respects and then headed for Longevity Garden to see her grandmother.
The reason Grandmother wished to keep the Old Maiden at her side was that Consort Chu belonged to the Liang King. That was why she endured such a perilous, treacherous stratagem. And Grandmother understood better than Bai Jingyan just how thorny the road ahead of the Bai family would be.
If a clever child of the Bai clan, wise beyond her years, could watch the Old Maiden on Grandmother's behalf while remaining at her side, then surely Grandmother could finally set her heart at ease.
By the time Bai Jingyan returned to Qinghui Garden, Bai Jinxiu caught hold of her and asked about the affair with the clan kin.
"When you head home later, go out through the back gate," Bai Jingyan said with a smile. "The front one is far too noisy."
Bai Jinxiu shot to her feet in alarm.
"Sit down," Bai Jingyan said, settling her sister back into her seat. "You're carrying a child—there's no need to keep startling yourself like this."
"Elder Sister, you're just going to let them carry on like that?"
"The Xue officials are fanning the flames on purpose. The bigger the uproar, the better it serves us."
Bai Jingyan told Bai Jinxiu the plain truth.
"Only then will the people come to understand—that the countless misdeeds the Suyang Bai clan kin have committed over the years were never known to our Bai family here in Dadu. This is preparation, so that later we can draw a clean, unbreakable line between ourselves and the clan."
Bai Jinxiu fell silent for a moment.
"Clan kin are supposed to be the closest of kin—people who share the same blood. Of course one steps forward to help whenever they fall on hard times. But our Bai clan kin have clung to our family like leeches, and when the Bai family found itself in peril, far from helping, they set fire to our door and robbed us blind! If we can cut ourselves off from the Suyang clan cleanly and permanently, that's a good thing, not a bad one."
Bai Jingyan nodded.
"Then don't trouble yourself over it. Focus on the child."
Bai Jinse lingered in Longevity Garden for about one shichen. The Grand Princess consented to let her remain in the capital of Dadu and study medicine under the Old Maiden.
As she crossed the threshold of Longevity Garden, the stiffness in Bai Jinse's shoulders finally eased, if only a little. She clenched her fists. Her eyes grew damp. At last—at last—she could do something for this family.
When Bai Jinchi heard the rumor that the clan elders were raising a ruckus at the gates of the Zhenguo Commandery Princess Estate, she very nearly seized her whip and stormed out, barely restraining herself. Only after great effort did her attendant maid, Lingcui, persuade her otherwise, and led her back to Qinghui Garden.
When Bai Jinchi pushed open the door and entered, Bai Jingyan happened to be discussing with Nanny Dong how to prepare the gifts they would bring when paying a call at their revered teacher Master Guan's residence the next day.
The twelfth of April was old Master Guan Yongchong's birthday.
Since Bai Jingyan was in mourning, it was proper for her to avoid the celebratory banquet, so she had resolved to visit a day early.
Bai Jinchi came clanking in, all bluster. Bai Jingyan tucked into its case the bamboo scrolls she intended to give her teacher—a sole surviving copy of a work found nowhere else in the world—and gave Chun Tao her instructions.
"Bring the Fourth Young Miss some chrysanthemum tea to cool her temper."
Bai Jinchi paid her respects, then flopped onto the drum-shaped chair.
"The clan kin have no shame at all—none! To think they dared carry on like that right in front of the Commandery Princess Estate!"
Bai Jingyan laughed.
"The more spectacular the uproar they make now, the fewer regrets will remain when we later report their crimes to the ancestors and sever the clan from our house entirely. So don't worry. Sit and drink your tea."
Bai Jinchi blinked. Then a bright grin spread across her face.
Chun Tao entered carrying the chrysanthemum tea, bowed, and spoke up.
"Elder Miss, Fourth Young Miss—Yin Shuang is here."
Bai Jinxiu had taken Yin Shuang with her not long ago. Why had she come back so soon?
"Let her in," Bai Jingyan replied.
"Yes, my lady!"
After setting down Bai Jinchi's tea, Chun Tao hurried out on quick steps and beckoned to Yin Shuang.
Yin Shuang came in, gave a meek and proper bow, then drew the letter from her robes and handed it to Bai Jingyan.
"You've worked hard, Yin Shuang!"
Bai Jingyan took the neatly folded paper with a smile, and as she unfolded it, gave Chun Tao another instruction.
"Take Yin Shuang and get her something to eat."
"Second Miss is still at the tea house," Yin Shuang said, flashing a na�ve, gap-toothed grin at Bai Jingyan. "She said when I go back, she'll give me the Osmanthus Pavilion."
"Is that so? Then off you go. Be careful," Bai Jingyan admonished her.
"Yes!"
Just as Yin Shuang turned to leave, Bai Jingyan suddenly called her back. Yin Shuang looked at her with those clear, unmistakable black-and-white eyes.
"Second Miss is with child—she can't be without you at her side. From now on, have someone else carry the letters. You must never leave Second Miss's side. Sister Qingzhu taught you martial arts, didn't she? I'm entrusting Second Miss to you now. Look after her and the child well."
"Sister Qingzhu said to always listen to Elder Miss. I'll listen well."
Yin Shuang answered stoutly, and Bai Jingyan laughed.
"From now on, listen well to Second Miss."
"Yes! Second Miss is good to Yin Shuang, so Yin Shuang listens well to Second Miss."
"Good. Now really—go on."
Yin Shuang nodded and hurried out of Qinghui Garden. She had to get back quickly to protect Second Miss. Elder Miss had told her not to stray a single step from Second Miss's side.
Bai Jinchi set down her teacup, craned her neck, and peered at the letter in Bai Jingyan's hand.
"What's the urgent news from Second Sister? She only just left, didn't she?"
Before Bai Jingyan had finished reading, a voice came from outside the door—Nanny Zhang and Wei Zhong had arrived together.
Whatever message the Grand Princess had sent them to deliver would be the same news Bai Jinxiu had just sent: the famine in Yanwo.
"Let them in."
Bai Jingyan passed the letter to Bai Jinchi, who snatched it up and read through it carefully, line by line.
Nanny Zhang and Wei Zhong entered and bowed. Nanny Zhang glanced at Bai Jinchi, still reading at Bai Jingyan's side, and hesitated over whether to give her report.
"The famine in Yanwo?" Bai Jingyan said evenly. "In another shichen there won't be a soul in Dadu who hasn't heard of it. Speak freely."
She meant that Bai Jinchi was no one who needed to be excluded.
Bai Jinchi lifted her head and looked at Wei Zhong.
Wei Zhong stepped forward and spoke with impeccable courtesy.
"Last July, Yanwo suffered a severe drought, but the county magistrate, Min Zhongsheng, concealed the disaster, it is said—he was due for promotion to prefect at the year's end and wished to avoid any trouble until then. The grain requisitions for the Southern Border campaign had already stripped bare households that had little to spare.
"After the new magistrate took office, Min Zhongsheng shifted the whole affair onto his successor and is said to have coerced him into keeping the disaster from being reported above.
"Min Zhongsheng apparently believed conditions in Yanwo would recover on their own. But that winter, Yanwo was struck by a snow disaster, and through the third month, torrential rains fell without pause for a full month—floods that submerged every field. As the harvests continued to fail, even the local authorities could no longer provide relief. Refugees scattered in every direction, fleeing mainly to Pingyang, Guangling, Luohong, and Hushui. In the places the refugees fled to, not a strip of tree bark was left—beggar's bark, for food. And it is said that more than ten incidents of killing over food have occurred there.
"Only then did the magistrates of the surrounding regions learn that Yanwo was in famine. The memorials reached the palace just a short while ago. The Crown Prince has also entered the palace, I'm told."
Yanwo lay very close to the State of Yan.
Bai Jingyan nodded.
"I see."
Wei Zhong bowed to her once more and withdrew behind Nanny Zhang.
Watching him—so composed, so modest—Bai Jingyan understood at last what her grandmother was doing. The Grand Princess was showing her Wei Zhong's capabilities. So that Bai Jingyan might make use of him.
"Master Wei is truly a capable man," Bai Jingyan said. "If he continues to serve at Grandmother's side, then even when we return to Suyang, my heart will be considerably lighter."
Nanny Zhang's lips moved. The Grand Princess had not yet said a word to Bai Jingyan about sending Wei Zhong over to her—and with a single remark, Bai Jingyan had sealed the Grand Princess's mouth for her. Left with no choice, Nanny Zhang led Wei Zhong in a bow and took their leave.
"Elder Sister." Bai Jinchi turned to her, baffled. "The news Second Sister sent wasn't even as detailed as what Wei Zhong uncovered. He's this useful—why not keep him at your side?"
"They say a loyal subject serves no two masters. Wei Zhong is a man of loyalty. Of course things would be easier with him beside me—but in a critical hour, his heart would surely incline toward his original mistress. I cannot keep a wild card at my side."
Bai Jingyan lifted her teacup and blew gently at the young leaves floating on the surface of the water.
And Bai Jinse would be remaining at Grandmother's side. With someone like Wei Zhong there, Jinse too would have a capable person to call upon in the future.
Bai Jingyan would never entrust Bai Jinse with anything that threatened the Li family's throne—she intended to let her live safely at their grandmother's side.
But more than anything, what weighed on her most now was the great famine in Yanwo.
In her past life, she had never heard such news.
Pingyang, Guangling, Luohong, Hushui. For the magistrates of four jurisdictions to report the disaster at the same time meant the famine had already spiraled far beyond control—and that the number of people who had starved to death was beyond counting.
The most urgent matter now was saving the refugees.
Yet choosing the relief personnel would be no simple task. Great disasters bred desperate mobs, and one careless misstep could leave the very people sent to help in mortal danger. This would be anything but easy.