Vanished
The Crown Prince came sprinting from a long way off, and Gao Demu hurried forward to receive him.
"Your Highness, you've finally arrived!"
"General Zhang Danyue has fallen? And the Gaoyi County Princess? Did she fail to hold back the Liang army?"
Drawing ragged breaths, the Crown Prince pressed the questions as he strode toward the great hall.
Not a single day this year had passed in peace. He had set out for Yanwo at the start of the fifth month to quell the peasant uprising, only to be thrown from his horse within a day and return to Dadu in secret with a wounded head.
He had thought the head injury would at least buy him a few days of quiet rest — and now Liang had launched a sudden assault.
"The dispatch made no mention of the Gaoyi County Princess, Your Highness," Gao Demu replied.
Just before entering the great hall, the Crown Prince stopped abruptly and turned to look at him.
"His Majesty the Emperor... how greatly has his anger stirred?"
Inwardly, Gao Demu castigated the prince. Of all the moments to choose, he was still trying to read the Emperor's moods and curry favor. Casting a sidelong glance at Yu Xiang, who was climbing the steps with a eunuch supporting his arm, Gao Demu answered.
"Your Highness, Liang has attacked our walls. How could His Majesty possibly be in a good mood?"
"Crown Prince!"
Yu Xiang, panting hard, offered his greetings as well.
After returning the salutes, Gao Demu turned to support the old chancellor. The Crown Prince steadied his breathing, straightened his disheveled robes, and nodded to Yu Xiang, who bowed toward him. Then he took the chancellor's arm himself and led him into the great hall.
Within the hall, dragons coiled around pillars of paulownia wood gleaming with gold leaf, and in the bright lamplight the pillars seemed to radiate a translucent glow.
The Emperor sat with his eyes closed upon the dragon throne, trying to collect himself. But the anxiety gnawing at him would not abate.
Only when Li Mu came stumbling in, gasping for breath, did the Emperor finally open his eyes.
"I need not ask what has happened. Do we have a good plan?"
"Your Majesty — an upheaval has broken out in Rongdi, so the troops garrisoned there must be sent to Mount Chunmu at once. General Shi Panshan, who departed for Yanwo, will be returning shortly. I believe this matter should be entrusted to him. And to make certain of it, I would suggest sending General Liu Hong alongside him."
So spoke Li Mu, the Left Prime Minister.
At that, Shen Qingzhu — Vice-Minister of War — stepped forward.
"Jiang Yuhae, Shi Panshan, and Zhen Zeping are all commanders who earned their honors on the battlefield. Liang's army is led by Xun Tianzhang himself. Now that war has broken out, I believe this is no longer a matter we can afford to treat lightly."
"Jiang Yuhae is too young — he lacks the prudence of Siu Zhang. Siu Zhang has served for years as chief of the Imperial Guard; he would do well sent to Mount Chunmu."
Li Mu put Siu Zhang's name forward. Yu Xiang stroked his beard. A suitable candidate had come to mind — but he doubted that recommending the man to an Emperor who suspected the Bai family would accomplish anything.
"Father, your son... recommends the Zhenguo Commandery Princess. In the Southern Border war, the Commandery Princess executed astonishing campaigns—"
"The Zhenguo Commandery Princess! The Zhenguo Commandery Princess!"
The Emperor clenched his fists and roared until his voice seemed ready to tear.
"Can nothing be done without the Zhenguo Commandery Princess? Without her, I suppose you cannot even hold your own position as Crown Prince?"
"Your son meant no such thing."
"Your Majesty!"
Yu Xiang interposed at precisely the right moment.
"I know well that Your Majesty worries exposing a mere woman to war would draw the ridicule of the other realms. But the Crown Prince spoke out of concern for the people on the frontier — I beg you to recognize this rare heart that cherishes its subjects, and to set aside your anger."
Having lifted the Emperor high with flattery, Yu Xiang returned to the matter at hand.
"Hearing the Crown Prince, it occurs to me that the Zhenguo Commandery Princess may be precisely the right person after all. She is the legitimate granddaughter of the Zhenguo King, raised from childhood under the tutelage of Her Highness the Grand Princess and the Zhenguo King himself. After her early education she pored over military treatises — it would be no exaggeration to say she grew up amid stacks of them. And with the Gaoyi County Princess now missing and utterly without word, the Commandery Princess must be beside herself with worry. If Your Majesty sends her, the sovereign of that region will surely be grateful."
At Yu Xiang's words, the Emperor seemed to grow a little calmer. He closed his eyes and spoke.
"Let me ponder it further."
Every time the Zhenguo Commandery Princess was mentioned, Li Mu suffered keenly within. He echoed the Crown Prince's words, but hesitated over whether he truly ought to recommend her.
"And what is the Left Prime Minister's view?"
The Emperor suddenly turned the question on him.
Li Mu flinched, then stepped forward. His gaze drifted naturally toward the Crown Prince. He feared the prince might sense something — but he held firm and answered.
"Your Majesty, I believe it would be best to send the Zhenguo Commandery Princess. If Your Majesty cannot set your mind at ease, send several generals along with her."
The Emperor clenched his jaw.
"Issue the edict. Send the thirty thousand troops stationed along the Rongdi frontier to Mount Chunmu, and dispatch Siu Zhang, Zhen Zeping, and Liu Hong with twenty thousand men from the capital. And send word to Shanyang at once — command the Zhenguo Commandery Princess to go to Mount Chunmu."
The Emperor paused in thought for a moment, then continued.
"For this campaign, Liu Hong shall be Grand Marshal. Drive the Liang army out beyond Yushan Pass — no matter what!"
On the twenty-ninth, as dawn broke, news of Zhang Danyue's death reached Shanyang City.
Bai Jingyan had only just finished her bath, her hair not yet arranged, when Chun Tao came rushing in with a letter.
The news Nuo Ping sent was brief. General Zhang Danyue had ridden out from the walls to give battle and stumbled into a trap the enemy had laid; Bai Jinchi had taken Shen Qingzhu and gone out to rescue him. Xun Tianzhang had sent back Zhang Danyue's body — but of Bai Jinchi, there had been no word since.
A chill like ice spread from the soles of her feet through her entire body, freezing her to the marrow. In an instant, terror surged to its utmost extreme; her heart pounded so violently that pain lanced through her ribs.
Zhang Danyue, Nuo Ping, and Shen Qingzhu had all been there — she had counted on them to keep Bai Jinchi in check. Then why had Zhang Danyue gone beyond the walls to meet the enemy?
Had he fallen into a trap Xun Tianzhang laid? Had the old marshal dangled before him the bait of a hoped-for victory?
The hand holding the candle to burn the letter trembled. But thoughts kept coming, one after another, refusing to stop.
"Chun Tao. Tell the Huo steward to prepare twenty guards. I'm going to Mount Chunmu. And bring the Liu steward and Zeng Xianyu here — I have orders to give! Quickly!"
Bai Jingyan hesitated for a breath, then rose to her feet and spoke on, swift but deliberate.
"And send someone to the barracks with a message for Bai Jingping and Shen Anzhong. From today, the recruiting and training of the militia will be left entirely to the two of them. If they cannot reach a decision, they are to seek the Liu steward's counsel.
"Nanny Dong — pack two sets of comfortable clothes for me. Bring my Sun-Shooting Bow and the silver spear as well. Tell only my mother that something has happened to Jinchi and I'm going to Mount Chunmu. And make absolutely certain she says nothing to Third Aunt. I will bring Jinchi back safe. I swear it."
"Yes, my lady!"
Chun Tao answered and hurried out, moving at a brisk clip.
She looked calm on the outside, but Bai Jingyan's palms were slick with sweat.
Never once had she been this afraid. Even when news had come from the Southern Border, she had not been this worried or terrified — perhaps because back then, she had known the fates of the Bai men. She had told herself that if she could find even one of them alive and save him, it would be a victory over the King of Hell himself; that she already had more than enough to be thankful for.
But Jinchi was different.
In her past life, Jinchi had lived — and that land had become a battlefield of a rival kingdom.
The difference was this: back then, two of the Xiao brothers had shielded Jinchi. Now, at her sister's side, there was... only Shen Qingzhu.
The candlelight flickered and swallowed the letter. The wavering blue-tinged flame slowly, gently reduced it to grey ash. And fear, like a great serpent, crept closer and closer, devouring her composure bite by bite.
It would take a good several days for word to travel from Mount Chunmu to Shanyang, and all that while, no one would know what had become of Jinchi.
Passing through the capital, she would have to give the Crown Prince some hint of it. If the Emperor and the Crown Prince grew suspicious, even the Bai family hiding in Shanyang would not escape misfortune.
She had to leave for Mount Chunmu at once. Even if it was nothing more than a single thread of hope, she had to go there and bring her young sister home safe.
In this life, she could not lose anyone else. She must not lose a single member of her family!
Bai Jingyan had finished packing her light load and changed her clothes, and was just about to depart, when Lady Dong came rushing to find her.
The moment she heard the news, she had run to Bayun Courtyard as if her feet were oiled, hair uncombed, a cloak thrown carelessly over her shoulders, Nanny Jin supporting her arm.
"My lady! Your mother has come."
Scarcely had Chun Tao made her report when Lady Dong lifted the incense-bead curtain and swept inside.
"A'Yan!"
Bai Jingyan, who had changed her clothes and swept her still-damp hair up high, saw her mother's deathly pale face and hurriedly took her hands, guiding her to sit on the couch.
"Mother — General Zhang Danyue has fallen, and Jinchi is missing. I have to go to Mount Chunmu and bring her home."
Lady Dong's tears burst free. She bit her lip hard and gripped her daughter's hand. A thousand, ten thousand times she wanted to cry out don't go — but no one knew her daughter's nature better than she did. This girl would never leave Jinchi to her fate. From childhood she had always played the eldest sister, standing between her siblings and every danger.
At the sight of her mother, Bai Jingyan's own eyes reddened.
"Mother, don't worry. I'll bring Jinchi back safe and sound. I promise."
Lady Dong never managed to ask whether she truly had to go. Her lips moved, but the tears came before the words. Struggling to master the heart that felt ready to split apart, she spoke instead.
"Nanny Jin — bring a cloak for A'Yan. Summer is nearly upon us, but the mornings and evenings will be cold."
Nanny Jin wiped her tears and hurried to drape a white cloak over Bai Jingyan's shoulders. Lady Dong, seated on the couch, fumbled with the cloak's ties for her daughter, choking back sobs.
"You must... come back safe! You and Jinchi both — come home safe, and together."
"I'll leave the household in your hands, Mother! I have to reach Jinchi quickly."
Bai Jingyan wiped her mother's tears and rose to leave. At that moment Lady Dong pulled her back, and no longer able to contain herself, wept aloud.
"You must take care of yourself! Do you hear me?"
Bai Jingyan's eyes grew redder still. She nodded.
"Mother, don't worry!"
With the Sun-Shooting Bow slung across her back and the silver spear in hand, Bai Jingyan gazed long and deep at her mother, then walked out.
Lady Dong rose to see her daughter off at the gate — but one look at the girl's retreating figure drained the strength from her legs, and she could not stand. The tears simply fell, and fell.
When Bai Jingyan emerged, the Huo steward, the Liu steward, and Zeng Xianyu were already waiting for her. Told that she was bound for Mount Chunmu, their faces had hardened with gravity, their worry impossible to hide.
The Huo steward hurried down the steps to her.
"My lady, the twenty guards are ready and waiting at the gate. The horses have been prepared as well."
Bai Jingyan nodded, then climbed the steps.
"I leave the household affairs to you."
The Liu steward followed her out and spoke quickly.
"Zeng Xianyu and I will manage things well — do not worry. We will see the work properly finished, and any problem we cannot resolve, the two of us will discuss together before deciding."
It was not that the Liu steward distrusted the Huo steward; he spoke so vaguely because the mining and the forging of weapons were matters best known to as few people as possible. Only then would the Bai family be safer. Time had been short, and Bai Jingyan had summoned them both here together, but these were words that must never be spoken aloud — the Liu steward would keep his mouth sealed until the day he died. That, too, was a rule the Bai family was bound to keep.
"Yushu — hand the duties you've been overseeing to Zeng Xianyu. From today, you will supervise the recruitment. Zeng Xianyu, if a difficult matter arises, take it to Yushu or Wang Qiuzhou. Wang Qiuzhou will never let the Bai family come out the loser. Of course, he hasn't the spine for anything more than that."
Bai Jingyan crossed the threshold and looked at the Huo steward, the Liu steward, and Zeng Xianyu.
"Shanyang — I leave it in your hands."
With that, Bai Jingyan swung herself into the saddle. With twenty guards at her heels, she set off at a hard pace, her cloak streaming in the wind.
"My lady! May heaven guard you on the road!"
The Huo steward raised his clasped hands in salute after her.
The Liu steward and Zeng Xianyu lifted their hands in the same salute, bowing her farewell.