Vindication
Prince Yang sat wrapped in a thick fur robe before a roaring brazier. In the red glow of the fire, his face — pale as blank paper — was stained a feverish crimson. His phoenix-shaped eyes seeped with a sinister, unreadable energy, giving no hint of what thoughts lay behind them.
Prince Yang's strategist, Du Zimei, had planned everything for him before he died.
The first part of the plan had been to goad King Xin into going to the battlefield, ostensibly to aid him but truly to strip the Duke of Zhenguo of his military glory. The Emperor, already resentful of the Zhenguo Estate's towering achievements, had granted the request the moment his favorite son begged to go supervise the Bai army in the field — and had even handed over the golden tablet of command, the token that embodied the Emperor's own authority.
Later, Prince Yang had secretly ordered Liu Huanzhang to open a line of communication with the Emperor of Nanyan. The scheme was to crush the Bai family while all of its men were away at war with the Duke of Zhenguo.
Every capable general of the Bai clan — the finest warriors of Great Jin — would vanish from the board at once. And if they smearing of the charge that the Zhenguo Estate had colluded with the enemy, uprooting the Bai family root and branch would be no trouble at all!
When war broke out again in the Southern Border, the Emperor would have no generals left to deploy and would be forced to elevate Liu Huanzhang — Prince Yang's own man — to supreme command of the army.
This was precisely why Prince Yang had grown so desperate to draw Bai Jingyan to his side. He himself had no talent for leading troops or waging war. So he needed Bai Jingyan — whom the Duke of Zhenguo had praised until his lips wore out, calling her a marshal among generals, a star of war — to stand at his side and win him military glory. Only then, Du Zimei had reasoned, could the path to the throne be paved.
While the Crown Prince and King Xin tore at each other's throats over the position of heir, a prince with magnificent military achievements — Prince Yang himself — would return home to reap the throne by the fisherman's profit.
Everything had been unfolding exactly as Du Zimei had planned. But from the day the Bai family's second daughter, Bai Jinxiu, was wed — from the day Du Zimei died — nothing had gone smoothly anymore.
When Bai Jingyan's maternal grandmother's grandnephew, who lived in Dengzhou, declared he would take Bai Jingyan as his wife, Prince Yang had gone so far as to send a jade token, promising to seat her as his legitimate consort. Bai Jingyan had refused. He had gone to see her in person, and still she would not receive him. He had no idea what to do next.
Idly, he thought he would summon Du Zimei and ask how the matter should be handled. But the moment he opened his mouth to give the order, he remembered — Du Zimei had died trying to save him when he was nearly assassinated at the banquet.
Prince Yang coughed violently, as if his throat would tear apart. Dong Ji, who had been brewing his medicine, hurried over at the sound and poured him a cup of water.
"Your Highness, drink some water!"
"Cough, cough... Go out."
Prince Yang drew his fur robe tighter about himself.
His birth mother had been lowborn, and she had died young. He had grown up at the side of Consort Dong, and she and his late second elder brother had treated him like family. Yet they had both been murdered, brutally, at the hands of the very men hailed as the pillars of the state — the Duke of Zhenguo foremost among them.
And so that seat had to be seized, no matter what. Only by sitting upon it could he redress the injustice done to Consort Dong and his second brother, and clear their names. Therefore, by whatever vile means necessary, he had to climb to that seat.
For a long while Prince Yang stared blankly into the brazier before speaking in a low, smothered voice.
"Gaosheng!"
Gaosheng entered and bowed with clasped fists.
"Your Highness!"
"Bring Hongqiao here. Tell her there is something she must do."
Hongqiao entered wiping her eyes. At Prince Yang's command she seemed to startle — then she dropped to her knees and bowed, her whole bearing one of desperate resolve as she spoke.
"This slave is one who owes her life to the Second Prince. When His Highness passed, I should have followed my master in death — it was only because Your Highness showed me a hope of vengeance that I remained among the living! I understand your will perfectly. Even if I must offer this body's honor — this very life — I swear I will see the matter through!"
Prince Yang gave a light cough and shook his head.
"You must live on. Only by watching you avenge my brother in his stead can I go to him afterward and tell him everything. Do nothing reckless. Move exactly as planned."
Hongqiao's eyes reddened as she bowed deeply to him.
"Go."
Prince Yang gathered his robe close again. His gaze, fixed on the flickering light of the brazier, was dark as a well.
On the twenty-sixth day of the twelfth month, every household was busy slaughtering pigs and preparing the festival fare.
The purchasing stewards of the Zhenguo Duke Estate bustled about on their rounds. Though none of the men had returned from the Southern Border, the estate was livelier than in any year past. Butchers and farmers alike sent only their finest goods to the Duke's residence — for the young mistress of the estate had given standing instructions, and whenever goods arrived, the house dispatched someone to repay them in silver.
The common folk, unable to express their gratitude to the Bai family in any other way, began sneaking out in the dead of night to pile offerings by the estate's rear gate, then slipping away again before anyone could see.
Steward You, who managed the estate's purchases, racked his brains over the matter until at last he reported it to Steward Xue.
Steward Xue ordered that everything be accepted, and on the twenty-ninth day of the twelfth month sent people out with generous gifts and pairs of Spring Festival couplets for every shop, butcher, and farm family that had ever traded with the estate. He also instructed Steward You to set aside silver coins, wrap them neatly in red paper, and deliver them as New Year's money to any household with children.
Steward Xue had served the Bai family for generations, and he knew better than anyone that they were a kindhearted people who always gave far more than they received. His handling of the matter was hardly excessive.
Old Taijun Dong, residing at the Dong estate, planned to return to Dengzhou after the festival. She had originally intended to bring Bai Jingyan along to spend the holidays with her — but with not a single man of the Bai family home, she feared the Duke's estate would be left too desolate, and so resolved to fetch Bai Jingyan over the following day instead.
Lady Dong, thinking it unseemly for her mother to carry off Bai Jingyan alone, told her to bring all the younger sisters as well.
That day, apart from Bai Jinxiu, the second daughter still recuperating at home, and Bai Jinse, the seventh daughter, laid low with a cold, every one of the Bai sisters gathered at the Dong residence.
Bai Jingyan's maternal cousins there — the elder and younger girl cousins of the Dong household — lacked some of the spirit and brilliance of the Bai sisters, but they were by no means difficult people. On the contrary, they got along splendidly with the Bai young ladies.
On the ride home, the arms of the two youngest — the fifth and sixth daughters — were filled to overflowing with gifts from the grown-ups, the male cousins, and their elder sisters. The two girls treasured those presents so dearly that even their maids were forbidden to touch them without leave, and the moment they climbed into the carriage they set to fiddling with everything at once.
"The Dong cousins have such wonderful hands. This bird looks ready to fly any moment."
Bai Jinchi marveled as she turned a paper sparrow over in her fingers.
"It's good to be young! I wanted to ask for one of these paper sparrows too, but I'm too grown-up now to say so."
At those words, Bai Jinshao snatched the paper sparrow right out of Bai Jinchi's hand and hugged it to her chest.
"Fourth Sister, you're a grown-up — you can't be stealing your younger sibling's things! Second Sister is recuperating and Seventh Sister's got a cold, so neither of them got to play with the cousins today. This one is for Second Sister and Jinse!"
Bai Jindong and Bai Jingyan both burst out laughing.
Just then, from the front of the carriage, came the sudden, sharp sound of reins being hauled tight, and the Duke's carriage rolled slowly to a halt.
"Eldest Miss!"
At the call, Bai Jingyan lifted the carriage curtain and looked out. The household servant went on at once.
"Eldest Miss — a maid from the Prince Yang Estate is kneeling at our gates, begging to see you. Steward Xue sent me to tell you."
At the word Prince Yang, Bai Jingyan's eyes narrowed. A cold aura thick with killing intent spread through the carriage in an instant.
Before she could even ask, Bai Jinchi had wrenched up the curtain, her fiery temper on full display.
"What business does a maid of Prince Yang's estate have at our duke's residence?"
Her blood was boiling. They had already sold off the households of five slaves — thirty-nine souls in all. The estate had made such a spectacle of settling that affair precisely because Prince Yang had bribed the gatekeeper and was forever scheming to seduce Chunyan at her eldest sister's side. And now a maid from his estate had the gall to come calling, brazen and shameless, in broad daylight.
"She says she can only stay alive if she meets you, Eldest Miss, and she's begging for your help! Steward Xue sent a gatekeeper and a steward to ask what the matter was, but she says she won't say a word until she's seen you. They told her to come inside out of the cold and she refused — she's kneeling at our front gate weeping this very moment! The whole street is out watching in front of the residence!"
Bai Jingyan asked, her face gone cold.
"Since when? Mother doesn't know yet, does she?"
"Only a quarter hour ago. Steward Xue hasn't told Madam yet."
The servant answered in a rush.
"Go back and tell Steward Xue there's no need to trouble Mother over this. The girl came for my sake, so we'll simply go in through the front gate as we always do. I confess I'm curious myself — just how I'm supposed to save the life of one of Prince Yang's maids."
With that, Bai Jingyan let the curtain fall. Her face had darkened.
Bai Jindong, sharp-eyed as ever, grasped the gravity of the situation at once.
"From Prince Yang's estate? Sister, his people bribed Chunyan to dig into your private affairs, didn't they? And now he's sending a maid again — I'd wager he means to threaten you with your reputation. Sister, you should brace yourself."
Bai Jingyan said nothing, only smiled as she looked at her. The duke's household had made a grand, noisy show of clearing house that day. It was a somewhat petty maneuver — but it was their answer to Prince Yang's despicable methods. And here he was, not even three days past, sending yet another person.
I overestimated Prince Yang's dignity.
"What's one maid going to do? If she lunges, we hold her back — that's all there is to it! If she tries anything, I'll whip her to death! Sister, go straight inside when we arrive. I'll shut that woman's mouth for her. She'll stop breathing before she gets a single word out!"
Bai Jinchi gritted her teeth and gripped the whip at her waist.
"Forcibly silencing someone never works half as well as an open conversation. Let's hear what the maid has to say first, and plan our move after."
Bai Jingyan lifted her head and looked at Bai Jinchi with a smile.
"Jinchi, stand among the onlookers and keep your wits about you. Don't let that girl take her own life in front of me — whatever happens."
"Don't you worry, Eldest Sister."
Bai Jinchi thumped her own chest as she spoke.
At Bai Jingyan's words, Bai Jindong grasped her meaning at once.
"Right. We can't let one of Prince Yang's lackeys stage a scene — threatening you with her life, begging you to meet him. Anyone who didn't know better would think our Eldest Sister and Prince Yang truly had something between them."
Bai Jinchi nodded, her expression growing graver still.
"Eldest Sister, then what about me?"
"What about me? I want a job too!"
The fifth and sixth daughters opened their eyes wide, waiting for Bai Jingyan to assign them some task. At the sight of them, Bai Jingyan broke into a low laugh. She tapped each of the two girls on the forehead with a finger and said gently,
"You two ride the carriage straight back to the residence. Go play with Jinse. And absolutely do not come out to watch — if you disobey, the blood-sweat foals I've set aside as your birthday presents will vanish."
Bai Jingyan had no intention of letting her little sisters witness anything filthy and ugly. Their world had to remain bright and clean. And she meant to defend and protect that bright world with every last ounce of her strength.