No Other Choice
The steward of the Prince of Xihui's residence said with a smile to Yue Shi, "Master Xiao has taken the Five Stone Powder. See that he is well looked after."
Yue Shi clenched his fists, then bowed with hands folded, his face cold. "Thank you for telling me."
Once inside the carriage, Xiao Rongyan closed his eyes. The dazed, wine-heavy haze on his face vanished in an instant, replaced by an expression of icy composure. The carriage swayed as it rolled out of the temporary residence, and Yue Shi climbed in, speaking in a low voice. "My lord, we're away!"
Xiao Rongyan's eyes snapped open. He dragged over the wooden bucket in the corner of the carriage, pressed it against his stomach, and vomited.
As Yue Shi handed him a cup of tea, fury smoldered in his eyes.
Every visit to Wei had meant suffering like this, nearly to the point of death. At some point, led by the Prince of Xihui himself, it had become fashionable among Wei's noble scions to stir Five Stone Powder into their wine. Those who took it spoke of a dreamlike euphoria, of feeling freed from the mortal world—as if they had become immortals soaring through the heavens. It had grown wildly popular among the young lords of Wei. But Yue Shi had heard that the stuff was nothing but poison dressed as glory; countless people had eaten their way to the afterlife with it.
Among those who ran with the Prince of Xihui's circle in Wei, there was not a single one who hadn't touched the powder. Xiao Rongyan had always held out until the bitter end before reluctantly swallowing a dose, and invariably vomited it up the moment he stepped out. When he couldn't even manage to vomit, he endured the agony by dousing himself with cold water.
This was why Yue Shi dreaded coming to Wei. He had watched his master suffer because of Five Stone Powder so many times that the very sight of it turned his stomach.
After vomiting for a long while, Xiao Rongyan rinsed his mouth with tea. Then, while a thread of his wits still remained, he gave Yue Shi his instructions. "The Chancellor of Wei has sent men into the mountain garrisons of Great Yan to spy out whether we're hiding troops there. Send word at once. Have the merchants of every nation trading inside Yan's borders buy up iron ore at premium prices. And see to it that this news reaches the ears of the men the Wei Chancellor sent. Move quickly! But on no account may the people on Great Yan's frontier come to harm!"
The Prince of Xihui had mentioned that Yan was lighting signal fires in its mountain garrisons in the dead of night. In truth, it was a trap Xiao Rongyan had laid himself.
For now, war had to be stalled by any means necessary. He intended to deliberately leak word that Wei was preparing to attack Yan. Only if the people along Yan's border held their ground would Wei be unable to launch its assault.
All he needed was to hold out until Sima Ping returned from the desert.
In that moment, news from the day before surfaced in Xiao Rongyan's mind. Bai Jingyan had begun recruiting laborers in Suyang and was drilling soldiers in preparation to stamp out bandits.
Xiao Rongyan closed his eyes slowly. He guessed that Bai Jingyan intended to train her people into soldiers, preparing for what the future would bring. Hers was the kind of wisdom that looked far down the road.
Her example was a fine one to follow. If Yan too could turn its people into soldiers—if the people could become soldiers and the soldiers become people—then no nation, whoever dared to invade, would ever have cause to fear for Yan.
I should send word to my brother and have him start preparations right away.
On the ninth day of the fifth month.
The report from Mount Chunmu arrived in the early morning. Xun Tianzhang's tactics were exactly as Bai Jingyan had predicted. Sacrificing his own foot soldiers, he had laid a deliberate trap to lure General Zhang Danyue out—and the five thousand men Zhang Danyue had dispatched, along with five thousand Liang troops, were swallowed together in the mountain defiles.
Having lost so much of his force, Zhang Danyue resolved to hold the walls and refused to come out, declining all offers of battle. Xun Tianzhang was seething.
Bai Jingyan fed the war report to the flames.
Zhang Danyue had fought his campaign with careful deliberation, so maintaining a standoff like this was by no means a bad choice. But if they struck the Liang camp under cover of night and turned Xun Tianzhang's own tactics against him, the Liang army would be driven back beyond Mount Chunmu.
Yet the General Zhang Danyue that Bai Jingyan knew would never strike first without a certain chance of victory. He was a man who could not stand by and watch the soldiers of Jin be sacrificed.
Bai Jingyan had finished her bath and her morning meal when Nanny Dong entered the chamber and paid her respects. "Eldest Miss, a messenger has come from the palace. They say the Fourth Miss is to receive an imperial edict."
An edict for Jinchi, at a time like this?
Bai Jingyan looked up from her book, her eyes darkening. Setting it aside, she headed for the front courtyard.
Bai Jinchi was in high spirits at the thought of training the soldiers the next day. She was in her room at that very moment, choosing the weapons that sat best in her hands and the proper clothes to wear, all the while planning to show her mettle on the drill grounds and mold the people into formidable soldiers of the Bai Family Army.
Before she had even finished picking out her clothes, word came from the courtyard: an imperial edict had arrived, commanding Bai Jinchi to receive His Majesty's decree at once.
Bai Jinchi, the wrist guard she wore for martial training still clutched in her hand, wondered if she had misheard and asked again. "An edict for me? Not for Eldest Sister?"
An edict arriving in times like these—anyone could guess it concerned Mount Chunmu. But the situation at Mount Chunmu was urgent. If so, shouldn't they be dispatching her sister instead?
"It's the Fourth Miss, all right."
Yingzhi, who attended Bai Jinchi, answered with utter certainty. "The word came from the courtyard, and even the servants thought they'd misheard—I made them repeat it a dozen times. Miss, hurry! The eunuch who brought the edict is still waiting outside!"
Bai Jinchi nodded and hurried off at a half-run.
Receiving an imperial edict was a matter of great ceremony, so Lady Dong brought the other wives and daughters of the Bai household to the main gate of the manor, where they listened with utmost respect to the contents of the decree.
Third Madame Li's heart pounded in her chest. What on earth was the Emperor playing at now? Why, out of nowhere, an edict for Bai Jinchi alone?
When the decree said that Bai Jinchi was to go alone to Mount Chunmu and aid General Zhang Danyue, Lady Li very nearly collapsed on the spot.
Bai Jingyan lifted her head to look at the eunuch delivering the Emperor's command, her fist clenching tight.
Send Jinchi to Mount Chunmu to help Zhang Danyue repel Liang? Was the court truly this destitute of capable men?
The Emperor's intent in sending Jinchi there was laid bare before her eyes. He wanted Bai Jingyan to crush the Liang forces at Mount Chunmu—but he did not want her to win the glory for it. That was why he was sending Jinchi instead.
Jinchi was her sister, and the Emperor no doubt reasoned that to keep her sister safe, Bai Jingyan would quietly scheme out the strategies and hand them to Jinchi from behind the scenes.
As Bai Jinchi received the edict with an expression of sheer disbelief, Third Madame Li could restrain herself no longer. "Eunuch, is there not some mistake in the edict? You say the Gaoyi County Princess is to go alone? She's still only a child!"
Lady Dong took Lady Li by the hand and hushed her, then, all smiles, instructed Nanny Jin to bring a reward of silver for the eunuch who had carried the decree.
The eunuch felt the weight of the pouch and beamed. "How would this humble servant dare deliver a false edict? The Gaoyi County Princess is the granddaughter of the King of Zhenguo, and Her Majesty holds her in high regard—that is surely why this decree was issued. Let the County Princess not fail His Majesty's expectations!"
When the eunuch had gone, Bai Jinchi turned with the edict still in her arms. Looking at Bai Jingyan's hardened face, she spoke carefully. "Eldest Sister—"
"Let's talk inside."
Back in the main hall, Third Madame Li could hold back no longer and burst out loud enough for all to hear. "Has the Emperor lost his mind? Jinchi is how old, and he orders her to Mount Chunmu? Alone! At once!"
"The Emperor has ordered it twice over—that I go with her is precisely what he means to forbid."
Bai Jingyan spoke slowly.
Third Madame Li's eyes were rimmed red with bloodshot worry. Whether dread had at last overwhelmed fear or simply fused with it, her chest began to tighten unbearably.
"What am I to do? The Emperor told Jinchi to leave at once. Alone, of all things. What if something happens to her?"
Bai Jinchi looked at her weeping mother and gave her shoulder a gentle squeeze, forcing down the excitement that had been bubbling in her all morning. "Mother, don't worry. Alone is fine. I followed Sister into the war in the Southern Border, didn't I? I learned plenty trailing after her. And General Zhang Danyue is there—nothing will happen, I'm sure of it."
"How can I not worry? With your sister there, at least someone would look after you! She's so level-headed she'd never let you act recklessly. But if they send you alone, you'll be a horse with a snapped rein, won't you? That place is a battlefield—a battlefield. What if, what if…"
Third Madame Li's throat closed up, and the words would not come.
If anything should happen to Bai Jinchi, she did not think she could go on living herself.
"Jinchi."
After sorting through her thoughts for a long moment, Bai Jingyan lifted her head and looked at her with grave seriousness. "When you reach Mount Chunmu, listen to General Zhang Danyue. And give him this message from me: hold the walls, and on no account accept battle. So long as he refuses to fight, even Xun Tianzhang can do nothing."
Third Madame Li whipped her head around to stare at her daughter. "Did you hear what your eldest sister said? None of your showing off! Stay put inside the walls with General Zhang Danyue. Don't you dare accept a fight!"
Bai Jinchi thought it a sorry, cowardly way to fight. But looking at her mother's reddened eyes, she nodded. "All right, Sister."
"Don't begrudge it, and don't go thinking it's shameful."
Bai Jingyan saw straight through her. "Xun Tianzhang is a man who loves war, and for the sake of victory he will stop at nothing. But General Zhang Danyue is careful to a fault, and he treasures every soldier's life. To outside eyes it may look as if he's cowering behind the walls in terror—but right now, there is no better strategy than that."
Bai Jingyan knew nothing of the actual conditions at Mount Chunmu. Moreover, most of the news Shen Qingzhu had sent was already days old. The tide of battle shifted in the space of a breath, and she could not, on blind guesswork alone, hand Zhang Danyue and Jinchi a plan for defeating the enemy. Holding the walls and refusing battle was the best course available.
"Understood, Sister. Don't worry. I'll follow General Zhang Danyue's orders to the letter. I won't move a muscle without leave."
Bai Jinchi answered quickly.
Bai Jingyan nodded, then turned to Lady Li, who was clutching her chest. "Third Aunt, please don't worry. I've already sent Shen Qingzhu to Mount Chunmu. When Jinchi arrives, I'll have Shen Qingzhu attached to her."
At the news that Shen Qingzhu had already been dispatched, Third Madame Li could finally draw a full breath. She knew better than anyone how formidable the girl's martial arts were. She nodded again and again. "Jingyan, you really do see far ahead of us all. However did you think to send Miss Shen in advance? Knowing she's already at Mount Chunmu sets my heart considerably at ease."
The Emperor had ordered Jinchi to depart at once, so Third Madame Li could delay no longer either. She returned to the courtyard with Bai Jinchi to help her prepare.
Watching her mother pack everything under the sun, Bai Jinchi hurriedly threw her arms around Lady Li. "Mother! I'll be riding the whole way—how am I supposed to carry all this!"
Not wanting her daughter to see her cry, Lady Li turned her face away and pulled her arm free of Bai Jinchi's embrace. Head lowered, she bound the bundles tight, knot after knot. "Take it all!"
"All right, all right! I'll take every bit of it, everything you've packed."
Bai Jinchi nodded along, hoping to ease her mother's heart.
But Lady Li clutched her daughter's bundles to her chest, and at last she could contain herself no longer—she broke down and sobbed outright. She had sent her husband and her sons off to the battlefield, every last one of them, and now the Emperor dared demand her daughter too!
The more she thought on it, the more unbearable it became. Lady Li pressed a hand over her mouth and wailed.
"Mother…"
Bai Jinchi had never seen her like this. Even the day the news came that her father, her brothers, and her younger brothers had all left this world, Lady Li had never once wept so in front of her.