The Den of Strife
"Your Highness, if you have decided to accept the method the Zhenguo Commandery Princess proposed, might I suggest you enter the palace and inform His Majesty of your decision before issuing the order? It will not delay things long. And should anything go awry, His Majesty will surely reproach you for it."
Advisor Fang spoke up.
Having served the Crown Prince for so many years, Advisor Fang was confident he understood the Emperor far better than Bai Jingyan, a green girl still wet behind the ears. He needed to show the Crown Prince that he was the one who knew the Emperor best—and the one who could secure His Majesty's favor.
Bai Jingyan merely lifted her teacup and drank in silence.
"I shall enter the palace at once and ask my royal father for his will. Then I will make my decision without delay!"
The Crown Prince turned his head toward Zhan Yu.
"Prepare my carriage."
Was entering the palace to ask for the Emperor's opinion something one could call a decision?
The Crown Prince rose and was hurrying out when, as if a thought had struck him, he turned back and approached Bai Jingyan.
"I heard there was trouble with the convoy the Zhenguo Commandery Princess Estate sent to Suyang. Was the loss to bandits severe?"
Bai Jingyan bowed slightly before answering.
"Thank you for your concern, Your Highness. But they were merely objects of no consequence."
"Not long ago, the magistrate of Suyang submitted a memorial claiming bandits were running rampant in the region. Yet with such turmoil abroad at present, the court simply has no means to offer aid."
"I was actually on the verge of reporting that very matter to Your Highness. I intend to use the wealth the clan head amassed from the Bai clan's kinsmen to raise a militia, and afterward lead the people themselves to root out the bandits. In doing so, the Bai clan may begin to atone for the sins it has committed. It will compensate the people while also resolving a threat to the court."
Bai Jingyan replied.
Zhan Yu had once told the Crown Prince that the head of the Bai clan had been greedy for wealth. The Crown Prince nodded.
"I will speak to my royal father and have the Bai family escorted back to Suyang on the first day of the fifth month. I shall also order the local magistrate to assist you in raising your militia and suppressing the bandits."
"Thank you, Your Highness."
Bai Jingyan answered with deep respect.
After the Crown Prince departed for the palace, Zhen Xiangzhi saw Bai Jingyan off with a long sigh.
"As expected, Advisor Fang knows His Highness best. The Crown Prince is utterly terrified of His Majesty. The moment it was suggested the Emperor might reproach him, off he went to the palace. One can only pray His Majesty renders a wise judgment."
Shen Qingzhu took hold of the reins and stood to one side, waiting for Bai Jingyan.
Bai Jingyan gazed up at the stone steps before the Crown Prince's residence and spoke slowly to Zhen Xiangzhi.
"His Majesty will most likely order General Zhang Danyue to send back the heads of the soldiers. But he will never send the garrison troops defending the capital to Mount Chunmu."
"Then can war be avoided?"
At Zhen Xiangzhi's cautious question, Bai Jingyan shook her head.
"Even sending troops to pressure Xun Tianzhang will accomplish little—he is not a man who gives up easily, and if Jin shows no response at all, all the more so. Xun Tianzhang is the most war-hungry man in the Liang court. And yet Liang sent a man like him as their marshal. Their intent is plain enough."
"If it comes to war between His Majesty and Xun Tianzhang, are you confident of victory?"
Zhen Xiangzhi asked.
"War is a matter where fortunes shift in the blink of an eye. No one can presume certain victory before the first arrow flies."
Bai Jingyan descended the steps and mounted her horse.
Holding the reins, she spoke to Zhen Xiangzhi.
"On the first day of the fifth month, I will be leaving for Suyang. Master Zhen, please take care of yourself."
Bai Jingyan and Shen Qingzhu rode away from the Crown Prince's residence. Partway along the road, Bai Jingyan slowed her pace, and Shen Qingzhu followed at an easy trot.
Bai Jingyan spoke to her in a low voice.
"Qingzhu, I'm afraid I must ask you to take on another hard task. It looks as though war will soon break out between Liang and Jin—go ahead to Mount Chunmu and prepare."
Shen Qingzhu answered with a grave expression.
"I will pack only what is essential and depart at once."
"Take plenty of people with you."
Bai Jingyan turned to look at her.
"Yes!"
The moment Shen Qingzhu finished speaking, Lu Yuanfeng's voice called down from an upper story.
"Sister!"
She looked up to find Lu Yuanfeng leaning over the carved railing, waving at her.
"Sister, wait just a moment!"
"Go on ahead and get ready."
Bai Jingyan told Shen Qingzhu.
Bai Jingyan dismounted and watched Lu Yuanfeng come tumbling out of the tower in a mad scramble. When he caught his foot on the threshold and nearly went sprawling, she couldn't help but let out a small laugh.
"Sister Bai!"
Lu Yuanfeng dashed up to her and continued breathlessly.
"I heard the convoy the Bai family sent to Suyang was robbed by bandits. Those dogs have gotten bold! So on the first day of the fifth month, when you return to Suyang, I'm bringing the Lu family guards to escort you. Those bandits won't dare come anywhere near you."
"There's no need. Even after seeing us off, you'd face danger on the road back, and that would only add to my worries."
Bai Jingyan looked at him and went on.
"We'll be holding a conscription soon. If you're interested, give it a try. Though whether Chancellor Yu's household would permit it, I can't say."
With Chancellor Yu looking after him, Lu Yuanfeng would surely pass through military service without any great peril.
"Conscription? You mean there's going to be a war? With Liang?"
Lu Yuanfeng asked shrewdly.
"No one can say yet. But the conscription will happen regardless. We lost so many soldiers in the Southern Border campaign—it's about time."
Lu Yuanfeng barely managed to swallow the words that he was going to the Southern Border to join the Bai Family Army. This time, for the first time in his life, he intended to enlist without a soul's help. If he told Sister Bai, she might mistake him for asking to be looked after.
He meant to accomplish something great in the Bai Family Army. Only then did he want to stand before Sister Bai and, head held high, ask for that Red-Tasseled Spear.
Bai Jingyan mounted her horse and spoke to Lu Yuanfeng.
"Take care of yourself."
"I'll come to escort you on the first day of the fifth month. We'll say our farewells then."
Lu Yuanfeng stepped back and raised his hands in a formal salute.
Watching the laughter dancing in his clear, guileless eyes, Bai Jingyan gave a light nod and rode away.
Lu Yuanfeng watched until she vanished from sight, then returned to the tower with his heart soaring and spread the news to the young nobles who had been carousing with him—that Liang might soon go to war.
The Emperor sat hunched beneath the bronze lamps of the Zhangshu Pavilion, watching the eunuchs seated on either side of him examine bamboo scrolls one by one, his temper fraying with every moment.
He had summoned every eunuch in the palace who could read and ordered them to comb through the ancient texts of the Zhangshu Pavilion in search of records on immortality, rejuvenation, and the dead returning to life.
Gao Demu, who had attended the Emperor for many years, knew perfectly well what this was about—the Emperor had heard a rumor that the madwoman who caused a scene at the gates of the Zhenguo Commandery Princess Estate possessed a medicine that could bring the dead back to life, and his interest had been piqued.
In truth, Gao Demu's own heart was no less stirred. He dared not dream of immortality, but deep down he too hoped there might truly be a medicine that could restore a whole body—as though raising the dead.
Born into the fate of a eunuch, his incomplete body had always been his greatest torment.
If he could die and be buried as a whole man, he could ask for nothing more.
Just then, a eunuch hurried into the Zhangshu Pavilion with his head deeply bowed, approached Gao Demu, who stood behind the crimson pillar, and covered his mouth with one hand as he whispered.
"Eunuch Gao, His Highness the Crown Prince has arrived. He is waiting outside the great hall at this moment."
Hearing this, the Emperor opened his eyes.
"Tell the Crown Prince to enter."
"Yes, Your Majesty."
After paying his respects to the Emperor, the Crown Prince sought his opinion on the matter of Mount Chunmu.
The Emperor toyed with the corner of his cushion and remained silent for a long while. Then, studying his son with eyes that seemed to be searching for something, he tried to determine whether this was truly the Crown Prince's own will.
The Crown Prince held his breath and answered.
"Your son judged that Liang sent those soldiers into our territory to test us. If we do not punish them severely, Liang will conclude that we cower in fear of them."
After a long silence, the Emperor spoke.
"Liang sent Xun Tianzhang as their marshal. He was the man who forever clamored for war in the Liang court."
The Crown Prince knelt at the Emperor's side, listening intently. The Emperor took a bamboo scroll in hand and tapped it lightly against the table as he spoke.
"But if we do not kill those soldiers, it will cost Jin its dignity."
"Then your will, Royal Father, is...?"
"Do as you said. Order General Zhang Danyue to send back the heads of those soldiers!"
The Emperor said slowly.
Since there was no mention of sending troops, the Crown Prince dared ask nothing more and withdrew from the Zhangshu Pavilion.
"Your Majesty, you do not intend to send soldiers to Mount Chunmu? What will you do if Xun Tianzhang truly attacks Jin?"
Gao Demu asked in a low voice.
"Your Majesty—do you intend to send the Zhenguo Commandery Princess?"
The Emperor narrowed his eyes slyly and answered with leisurely calm.
"If they truly meant to wage war, Liang would have had no reason to wait until now. And if they do attack us after all—then we send the Gaoyi County Princess. As for Bai Jingyan... unless circumstances force my hand, she will never be used again."
Victory in the Southern Border had won Bai Jingyan the trust of every military officer in the court. Such an opportunity could not be given to her again.
The Bai family's fourth daughter, Bai Jinchi, had studied the art of war since childhood. She was no match for Bai Jingyan, but as a daughter of the Bai clan she was hardly without ability. More than anything, she was not a woman of deep scheming—far easier to control.
Having confirmed that the Emperor's words matched Bai Jingyan's prediction exactly, Zhen Xiangzhi fell into a long silence.
When Chun Tao brought Ji Nanghua to Chunhui Garden, Bai Jingyan had just finished her spear drills.
At Ji Nanghua's entrance, Bai Jingyan planted her spear in its stand and wiped the sweat from her brow with a handkerchief, then offered Ji Nanghua a seat.
Ji Nanghua bowed and spoke.
"My lady, no amount of persuasion will change my mind. I only wish you would take my sister and get her out of this den of strife. The Emperor needs only me."
Looking at her stubborn expression, Bai Jingyan set the sandbag she had strapped to her arm onto the stone table and sat down.
"Even if you killed the Emperor and the Crown Prince took his place, nothing would fundamentally change."
Chun Tao poured tea for Bai Jingyan and Ji Nanghua.
Bai Jingyan lifted her teacup and continued in a gentle voice.
"We've only just rid ourselves of the lurking threat of Xiliang, and now war with Liang looms. And if the Emperor were to die at a moment like this... Well, perhaps things would be different if the Crown Prince ascended smoothly to the throne. But if internal strife breaks out as frequently as it did in Xiliang, then Xiliang will seize this very chance to take its revenge.
Jin has no strength to fight two nations at once. And if war comes, it will not be the imperial family of Dadu who suffers—it will be the common folk of the borderlands. If you kill the Emperor now, you will not be aiding Jin. You will only be dragging calamity down upon us all."