Departing
Zhen Xiangzhi pressed his lips together and studied Bai Jingyan for a long moment.
"I have one more question. Why would someone who will never simply sit back and take a beating show such a yielding attitude toward the Crown Prince? Does he have some hold over you? I mean Li Mu."
Any clever man would have noticed every strange reaction Li Mu had shown.
"Not quite a hold."
Bai Jingyan spoke with her head still bowed.
"What the Left Prime Minister's son did has been laid bare before the world. The Left Prime Minister abandoned his son purely to salvage what remained of his reputation. And only by doing so could he expect His Majesty to look more kindly on the boy."
It wasn't that Zhen Xiangzhi doubted her words — they simply weren't an answer he could accept.
"It seems to me the Crown Prince has overreached this time. The Left Prime Minister is no man to be trampled without consequence. You would do well to remain cautious from here on."
Zhen Xiangzhi offered the warning out of genuine goodwill.
"My fourth younger sister could have been harmed. The Left Prime Minister hurriedly sent his wife into the palace to beg the Empress for an imperial marriage decree — he meant to marry my sister off to that worthless son of his. If not for that, I would never have moved so drastically. King Xin, the Empress's legitimate son, has already been stripped down to commoner status as the affair in the Southern Border snowballed, and now he can never ascend the throne! If I make a public spectacle of my enmity with the Left Prime Minister, then the Emperor and Empress, fearing the mouths of the people, will not dare force that marriage."
Bai Jingyan lifted her head and met Zhen Xiangzhi's eyes, continuing in an even, unhurried tone.
"Did you not once tell me that the mouths of the multitude can melt iron? That is the very principle you taught me."
Zhen Xiangzhi started. When Nuo Ping had rescued him and hidden him within the Bai estate, he had met the eldest daughter of the Bai family for the first time. Back then, Bai Jingyan had bowed to him without the slightest regard for his lowly station, humbly asking for his guidance.
Looking back on it now, all he had done was point out a direction or two — yet the Bai eldest daughter had pressed forward without mercy, and seen the matter through to perfection.
"You serve in the Crown Prince's residence, but I know you have met nothing but frustration there. Have you never considered leaving?"
Bai Jingyan turned to him and asked.
Zhen Xiangzhi clenched his fists. Once before, Bai Jingyan had told him that she would have everything prepared and would await the day he chose to come to her. But he closed his eyes and shook his head.
"The Crown Prince may lack great talent, but he is unquestionably the ablest of the Emperor's sons. The one who will one day hold supreme power. I wish to assist the man who will sit upon the throne. I seek no great merit for myself, but Advisor Fang and his like stand at the Crown Prince's side — if I were to leave, I shudder to imagine what sort of ruler he might become. A crooked sovereign born of Fang's twisted counsel is not what I want for Jin! I want to do everything in my power to guide the Crown Prince onto the right path. I merely hope to lend some small strength to this country."
Having heard him out to that point, Bai Jingyan made no further attempt to persuade him.
Zhen Xiangzhi, too, seemed unwilling to prolong the subject; he smiled and turned the conversation.
"After Zhan Yu returned, he gave the Crown Prince an extraordinarily vivid account of everything that happened in Suyang. He described in detail all the indignities the Commandery Princess suffered there. When you depart for Suyang on the first day of the fifth month, I suspect Zhan Yu will want to do something more for you."
That was something Bai Jingyan had not anticipated — she had never had any real dealings with Zhan Yu.
"Do you think, Master Zhen, that I bought Zhan Yu's loyalty?"
Zhen Xiangzhi flinched. Taken aback by her wariness, he answered with careful respect.
"Commandery Princess, you mistake the matter entirely. Zhan Yu enjoys the Crown Prince's favor. He is a clever man — he would never sever his own prospects at so critical a moment."
When the Crown Prince ascended the throne, Zhan Yu would without doubt become the Grand Eunuch at the Emperor's side. If a rumor reached the Crown Prince's ears at this juncture that the man had accepted favors from an outsider, Zhan Yu's path would be as good as severed.
Wreaths of mist curled up from a censer carved in the shape of a crane, so lifelike it might take flight at any moment.
"Master Zhen, if you have resolved to remain at the Crown Prince's side, then you must regard me with suspicion at all times. Only then can the Crown Prince employ you with an easy heart."
Bai Jingyan regarded him with a grave, courteous expression.
"Have you ever wondered why the Crown Prince leans on Advisor Fang alone, and trusts him alone? The Crown Prince does not wish for his subordinates to grow close to one another. He does not want them confiding in each other, aiding one another. Such intimacy unnerves him. Are you aware of that, Master Zhen?"
Zhen Xiangzhi looked disconcerted. Was Bai Jingyan trying to open his eyes to something even now?
Bai Jingyan replaced the lid on her teacup and set it carelessly on the table.
"If you truly wish to assist the Crown Prince, you must first understand the man himself. The Crown Prince wins hearts by exactly the same methods as the present Emperor."
Zhen Xiangzhi's hands tightened into fists atop his knees as a storm of conflicting feelings surged through him at once.
He knew full well that a ruler who controlled his men by fomenting rivalry among them could never become a wise sovereign. And yet Zhen Xiangzhi had no real alternative.
He could hardly abandon his homeland, go to another country, and offer himself up as that country's strategist.
And having already chosen his master, how could he so lightly cast that choice aside?
"Commandery Princess — thank you for opening my eyes."
Zhen Xiangzhi offered her his sincere gratitude.
In the Southern Border, Zhen Xiangzhi had humbled himself before Advisor Fang for the sake of protecting Bai Jingyan's life. But nature does not change so easily. Righteous to the marrow, he had found Advisor Fang's conduct utterly intolerable, and swallowing his humiliation once, then again, bowing and scraping each time had worn at him.
Zhen Xiangzhi had come today because of the famine in Yanwo. Bai Jingyan had tried to persuade the Crown Prince — and failed. Nor did she appear to have any intention of sending anyone to Yanwo to stop him. He needed to think of another way, and so he had taken his leave at once.
Before the sun set, Nanny Dong brought Bai Jingyan two lists — one naming the people of Qinghui Courtyard who would make the journey to Suyang, and one naming the servants who would be left behind.
As Bai Jingyan read through the lists beneath her glazed lamp, she came upon Nanny Dong's name among those bound for Suyang and looked up with a start.
"Nanny?"
Nanny Dong smiled and began.
"Madam, in her kindness, told this old servant to remain in the capital. But when I think of you, my heart simply will not settle. Chun Tao will manage the work well enough, I suppose, but she is still young."
"You may find what I say strange, but I have cared for you alone since the day you were born. I could not possibly send you off on your own with an easy mind."
"So I pleaded my case with Madam today. My son is in good health now. I asked her to bring him here, so that he might work in your service. Madam has already made the arrangements."
Nanny Dong continued.
"Eldest Young Lady, if you have a spare moment tomorrow, I will bring the boy to pay his respects."
Nanny Dong's family had been born into servitude within the Bai household. Her son Zeng Xianyu, though still young, had become the head of his village at an early age thanks to his mother's support and his own remarkable ability. Last year the matchmakers had worn a path to his door, eager to arrange a marriage, but Zeng Xianyu had refused every offer, concerning himself with nothing but how to raise the yields of the village fields.
In truth, bringing Zeng Xianyu to Bai Jingyan's side would be a loss to him.
Yet Nanny Dong harbored no such regret. As a household servant, she believed, one did as the master wished and handled every task with competence — and that path, too, led to a bright future.
She had given her son strict instruction: if he was to work at the Eldest Young Lady's side, there was only one thing he must remember. Keep his hands moving quickly, and keep his mouth firmly shut. Never let slip a word that ought not be spoken. If he faithfully fulfilled his duty as a loyal servant, the Eldest Young Lady was not one who would ever treat him poorly.
Nanny Dong did not know precisely what Bai Jingyan intended to do. She was simply someone who had watched, day after day, as the young lady toiled and suffered. All she wanted was for her son to follow the Eldest Young Lady's orders faithfully and shoulder even a small portion of her burden.
Gratitude welled up in Bai Jingyan until the corners of her eyes grew damp.
"Yes. Then let me see his face tomorrow. I'll be counting on you in Suyang as well."
On the morning of the twenty-eighth of the fourth month, Nanny Zhang arrived at Qinghui Courtyard early. Bai Jingyan had finished her martial training, bathed, and was now seated at the low table by the window, arranging her hair. Nanny Zhang beamed as she spoke.
"This old servant has come at precisely the right moment. The Grand Princess has had the kitchen prepare the dishes you favor, Eldest Young Lady, and she wishes to share the morning meal with you. She says there is a matter you two must discuss as well."
Bai Jingyan set down her bamboo-slip volume and asked Chun Tao to help her change her clothes.
Nanny Zhang gathered and bound her hair. When Chun Tao strapped the heavy sandbags around Bai Jingyan's body, Nanny Zhang's mouth fell open — she started to speak, then swallowed the words back down.
Bai Jingyan paid her morning respects to the Grand Princess. The nanny entrusted with the Grand Princess's meals ordered the maids waiting beneath the eaves to bring the food in.
A dozen-odd maids filed in one after another, arranging the side dishes for the congee and artful, appetizing little delicacies, then withdrew on quick, light feet.
Nanny Zhang lifted the curtain, entered, and made her bow after circling past the screen.
"Grand Princess, Eldest Young Lady — this old servant and old Nanny Nuo. The morning meal is fully prepared. You may dine whenever you wish."
Just as Nanny Nuo moved to support the Grand Princess toward the table, a voice sounded from the courtyard.
The old gatekeeper, Nuo Zhong, was speaking to a maid outside.
"Young lady, pass word to Nanny Zhang — someone has come from the palace. It seems they intend to take Lady Nuo back with them."
At those words, Nanny Zhang hurried outside to assess the situation.
The Grand Princess turned her head toward the window, her brow furrowing.
"Has the Emperor taken a turn for the worse again?"
Lady Nuo stood to one side with her head bowed.
"I instructed His Majesty to refrain from... marital excesses, and so he has not taken that medicine of late. Even if he took it last night, the effect would not show in his body so soon, this very day."
Bai Jingyan thought she understood why the palace had sent someone. She lifted her head, looked at Lady Nuo, and spoke with quiet certainty.
"The reason His Majesty has summoned you must be Lady Ji's medicine. The one they say can bring the dead back to life."
Only yesterday, Ji Nanghua had set the whole of Dadu abuzz. The common folk themselves were divided over a drug said to reverse death — naturally, word had reached the Emperor's ears as well.
"Aunt, how did your talk with Lady Ji go?"
When Bai Jingyan asked, Lu Ninghua shook her head.
"What were the two of you speaking of?"
The Grand Princess knew of the scene Ji Nanghua had caused at the gate the day before, but knew nothing of the relationship between Ji Nanghua and Lu Ninghua.
"I have not yet had the chance to tell you, Grand Princess. Ji Nanghua is... my cousin — the legitimate granddaughter of my maternal grandmother."
Lu Ninghua answered with deference.
The Grand Princess seemed mildly surprised.
"Then Ji Nanghua made that public uproar in order to strike at the Emperor?"
There was no rebuke in her tone; it was a simple question.
"To avenge her grandfather... she means to kill the Emperor?"
"Nanghua says she was deeply moved by the young generals of the Bai family, who gave their lives defending the nation and its people. A mere commoner, she survived by luck and by the aid of a young Bai general — and so she vows to devote her life to securing justice for him."
Lu Ninghua glanced once at Bai Jingyan, then lowered her head again. The full of it had been Ji Nanghua's own words: I will spend my life winning justice for the young general — and slay the mad ruler for the sake of all the people under heaven. But Lu Ninghua did not speak the latter half aloud.
The Grand Princess closed her eyes tightly, then opened them again. The rims were red. Even a young lady of no standing had been moved by the Bai family's loyalty and righteousness. Of course such a girl would deem the Emperor a mad ruler!
Nanny Zhang came back around the screen and made her report.
"Someone has arrived from the palace. They wish to escort Lady Nuo into the palace at once."
"Go, then."
The Grand Princess continued.
"If His Majesty asks about the medicine that revives the dead, tell him only that such talk is utter nonsense."
"Yes. I understand."
After Lu Ninghua had gone, the Grand Princess found her appetite gone as well. Even a frail woman with no connection whatsoever to the Bais, a woman with neither power nor influence, had bent her mind to avenging them. And yet she herself — who had lived as a Bai wife, a Bai mother, a Bai grandmother — had been able, in the end, to do nothing but uphold the imperial authority of the Im clan. How bitter that must have been. Though of course, this was only Bai Jingyan's conjecture.
"Grandmother, the food is going cold. Please, eat."
Bai Jingyan said softly.
The Grand Princess nodded. All that remained to her now was to wait for the Crown Prince to take the throne — and to hope that he would do better than his father.