Mockery
Bai Jingyan lowered her head, the rims of her eyes flushed red. She had known for a long time just how formidable her aunts' loyalty could be. In ordinary days they might bicker and squabble over trifles, rubbing each other the wrong way, but the moment true crisis struck, they closed ranks as one.
And that, in the end, was why the Bai family had flourished for hundreds of years, its honor only growing with each generation. There was one thing in this world that could never be measured in terms of favor or obligation — and that was the bond of blood. Her grandfather had not been wrong.
"The Duke himself said as much many times at the main house. He told us that with a name as glorious as the Duke of Zhenguo Estate, it was only right to lend our strength to our clan, and that he regretted it not one whit! And our main house is hardly so base as to push the bereaved of the Duke's Estate into a corner!
"But when the Crown Princess keeps going on about this marriage settlement of hers, she has put our main house in a most difficult position! The whole world will call the head of the Bai clan a shameless wretch who would steal even the property of the Duke's Estate from his own bereaved kin! If that is to be the case… it would go against the Duke's dying wishes, but I fear our main house cannot accept his generosity after all. With that, we will take our leave!"
The old master of the Suyang Bai family, standing at Bai Qiyun's right hand, bowed and delivered his words with scrupulous courtesy, then moved to take Bai Qiyun away. It was a ploy to slip out with him in the confusion — for he knew well that the clan's honor was worth far more than silver. Things were already going badly for them; if they kept entangling themselves in conflict like this, everything might yet come to light.
Bai Jinchi hurriedly planted herself in the path of the three men, grinding her teeth as she raised her voice.
"So now you can't accept it? Weren't you the very ones who just threatened our Great Aunt and demanded four hundred and fifty thousand taels of silver by tomorrow? You claimed our grandfather was a man of honor — but what you really meant was that the bereaved of the Duke's Estate are shameless villains who commit injustice and defile the clan! Do I look like a fool who can't see through that?
"Then swear it before my grandfather's memorial tablet. Can you swear that you never threatened our Great Aunt? If you can, then I will atone to the clan with my life today! Well — can you swear it, or not?"
Not one of the three old masters from Suyang could bring himself to swear.
The instant Bai Jinchi's furious words fell silent, there came the sharp sound of hooves reined to an abrupt halt. Someone had stopped before the gates of the Duke of Zhenguo Estate.
Xiao Rongyan, draped in a plain white mourning robe, dismounted and handed his reins to an attendant guard. Outside the gate he tidied his dress with deliberate care, then ascended the steps of the Duke of Zhenguo Estate.
Once inside, he spoke not a word but performed a deep kowtow, then rose and offered a formal bow with folded hands to Lady Dong.
Lady Dong and Bai Jingyan returned his greeting. Before Xiao Rongyan could open his mouth, Bai Jingyan spoke first.
"You will already have met with the steward of the Duke's Estate, Teacher Xiao. Tell me — would you be willing to buy the Duke's Estate's shops, farms, and lands? Our main house claims it needs silver urgently, that it must have it by tomorrow. My mother and I have thought it over carefully, and no matter how we turn it, the only man in all of Dadu who could produce fifty or sixty thousand taels in a single day is the foremost merchant under heaven — you, Teacher Xiao. We intended to ask whether you'd be willing, then send our steward and manager to call on you with the contract in hand… and yet you've come all this way yourself."
Xiao Rongyan listened to her measured, orderly speech, watching her composed face, and reached back with one hand. A subordinate placed in his palm an exquisitely crafted box of red sandalwood.
Holding the box out in both hands, Xiao Rongyan spoke in a voice soft yet weighted.
"The loyalty and valor of the Bai family of the Duke of Zhenguo Estate, all the world has witnessed. Even I, humble Xiao, have been moved by the devotion of the Duke's family! I am a merchant, low in station, and the only thing I have to offer is this silver. These are banknotes of one hundred taels from the Huitong Silver House — a great banking house. They were issued only this morning. If it is not enough, I will send men tomorrow with two hundred more. Crown Princess, Eldest Lady Bai — if you need anything, only say the word. I can produce far more than this."
Beneath the mourning lanterns of the Bai family's memorial hall, Xiao Rongyan stood calmly, tall of frame, his dark eyes deep and untroubled.
The candlelight filling the hall of the dead flickered over his extraordinarily elegant features, lighting the contours of his face in shifting gold and shadow. Those eyes, still as deep water, brightened and dimmed in rhythm with the flames. An air of gentle nobility wrapped about him.
It was exactly as Bai Jingyan had expected. Give Xiao Rongyan an opening, and he would unfailingly outperform even what she had imagined.
To show such magnificent generosity before the bereaved of the Duke's Estate — it would display his staggering wealth and win him an impeccable reputation all at once.
All around the hall, murmurs of admiration for Xiao Rongyan's honor rippled through the onlookers. Bai Jingyan's gaze deepened by the moment.
From this day forward, Xiao Rongyan would be known as the foremost merchant under heaven. And on top of that, he would carry the name of a righteous man of trade.
Lady Dong returned a light, courteous bow.
"Thank you for your help, Teacher Xiao. The Duke's Estate is now in your debt. But a transaction must be done properly — everything must follow procedure. You are more than welcome to take my ledgers and managers to the side hall of our residence and assess what the shops, farms, and lands are worth. Setting a fair value is what matters most, after all. I would never allow you, Teacher Xiao, to suffer a loss on our account."
"Crown Princess—"
Lady Dong raised a hand, signaling that no further remonstrance was needed, then continued in a voice calm and gentle.
"Teacher Xiao, the fact that you extended your hand to the Duke's Estate in our hour of crisis is more than thanks enough. The Duke's Estate will never forget this kindness. The family rules of our house are strict — even if every last one of us were left destitute, we could never take so much as a single coin beyond what is owed to the people. Our family rules may not be broken, and our unbending spine may not be bowed. And besides, the women of the Duke's Estate still stand openly upon its grounds. We are not yet driven to the road of desperation."
Xiao Rongyan offered a respectful bow and apologized for his presumption.
"I spoke hastily. Though every son of the Duke's Estate gave his life upon the battlefield, the unbending spirit and vigor of this house will endure, long and long. I am humbled by my deep respect for it. Then I shall defer to the Crown Princess's judgment. However…"
Xiao Rongyan's gaze brushed past Bai Jinchi, who stood blocking the way, and fell upon the three old masters of the Suyang Bai family behind her.
"These three elders of the Suyang main house seem terribly pressed for time. It would be best to hand over the silver notes now. Laying the dead to rest must come before all else, that they may find their peace. Once the funeral rites are complete, the accounts can be reconciled then. What say you, Crown Princess?"
"I will not forget this honor, Teacher Xiao."
Bai Jingyan bowed with scrupulous courtesy before speaking on.
"Mother, reconciling the ledgers will take days. We promised the uncles of the clan the silver by tomorrow, and a promise must be kept. With calamity upon the Duke's Estate we have no time for anything else, and if Teacher Xiao is willing to trust us — then let us accept four hundred and fifty thousand taels from him now and give it to the three elders, and we will go over the accounts again once the Duke's Estate's funeral rites are finished."
Lady Dong nodded.
"Then we are in your hands, Teacher Xiao."
Only then did Xiao Rongyan pass the gilded case he carried to the guard behind him. The guard drew out four silver notes of one hundred thousand taels and five of ten thousand, and with one hand holding the wooden box, pressed the silver into the hands of Bai Qiyun and the two others with him — with an air of perfect indifference, as though it weighed nothing at all.
Bai Qiyun was no fool. To receive four hundred and fifty thousand taels of silver notes out of the public eye would have been no trouble at all. But he had kicked up such a noisy scandal only moments ago, and the mourning families and commoners who had come to offer condolences had all been watching.
So the story the whole crowd now saw was this: the Suyang main house had pressed the Bai family's bereaved, and the bereaved had sold off every asset of the Duke's Estate to scrape together silver for the main house — and now, on top of it, a merchant had come to the Duke's Estate's aid with a fortune in hand. The moment they accepted this silver, the Bai clan would become the laughingstock of the entire world.
Bai Jinchi twisted the knife.
"Uncle Bai, the silver notes are right here. Why won't you take them? Surely you aren't afraid my grandfather has become a vengeful spirit? Don't tell me everything he ever promised to do for the main house was nothing but a lie you invented to snatch away the Duke's Estate's assets?"
Bai Qiyun found himself remembering the candle flame that had swayed without wind moments ago, and then the incense that had snapped without cause — and sweat broke out in his palms.
Bai Jinxiu, who had been kneeling before the memorial hall all this while, lifted her head and spoke slowly.
"The way you're hesitating — surely Jinchi's guess isn't the truth, is it, Uncle Bai? What will you do if you do something so contrary to conscience, and the honored spirits of the Duke's Estate come calling on you at night?"
Bai Qiyun recoiled a step in panic, then barked out,
"What nonsense is that! Th-this was an agreement made long ago!"
The words came out strong enough, but he did not dare reach for the silver. The terror on his face was plain for all to see.
It was the old master standing behind him who, gritting his teeth, stepped forward and took the silver in both hands.
"Having received the silver, we ask only that you grant peace to us, the bereaved of the Duke of Zhenguo Estate."
Bai Jingyan let out a breath.
"It's getting late, so I must instruct the servants to see you three to your lodgings. Once the Duke's Estate's funeral rites are finished, my mother will assign men to escort the three elders back to Suyang."
The words set Bai Jinchi off again.
"Eldest Sister! After everything they've done to our Duke's Estate—"
"Even if the whole world turns its back on the Duke's Estate, the Duke's Estate must never turn its back on the world. That is what honor means."
Bai Qiyun stared back at them all with eyes full of venom — people who looked ready to tear him apart on the spot. Stay as a guest in the Duke's Estate? Where would he find the nerve?
"F-fine, it's all right! We have somewhere else to stay!"
Bai Qiyun clenched his fists and made to drag the old masters away.
"Uncle Bai, the distance between Dadu and Suyang is hardly short. Would it not trouble you to carry four hundred and fifty thousand taels of silver off like this? The Duke's Estate hasn't the hands to escort you to Suyang before the funeral rites are done — so for your own safety, why not set out once the rites are safely behind us, under escort of the Duke's Estate's own men?"
"Eldest Sister!"
Bai Jinchi's eyes had gone red with fury. She was brimming with indignation.
Before Bai Qiyun could open his mouth, the old master who had taken the silver spoke up.
"We came to the Duke's Estate for the Duke's funeral and the Duke's dying wishes, so naturally we ought to depart only after the rites are complete. But an escort is too much fuss — we decline. If anything, we are too humiliated as it stands."
With the man having gone that far, Bai Jingyan could hardly press the point. She nodded, then gave orders to the servants to usher Xiao Rongyan into the inner hall and serve him tea.
Bai Qiyun and his two companions fled back the way they had come, smarting under the searing stares of the common folk.
The onlookers who had gathered thought Bai Jingyan was altogether too soft toward her own clan.
"Even if the whole world turns its back, the Bai family will not turn its back on the world — a fine saying, to be sure. But look how cravenly the Bai clan itself treats the Duke's Estate! The Eldest Lady Bai who so much as tried to kill the Prince of Xin — why is she so weak only where the clan is concerned?"
The commoners, drifting off in twos and threes with their lanterns held high, argued among themselves.
"Weak? She's weak because she has no choice but to bow her head. Didn't you hear the Crown Princess? Once the funeral is over, the surviving members of the Duke's Estate go back to Suyang — every last one of them. What can she do? The women left behind can hardly fight the clan with force, can they?"
At that, the softer-hearted women among them began wiping their eyes.
"To think a house as full of loyalty as the Duke of Zhenguo Estate should come to such a pass! If the old Duke knew of it, he could never close his eyes even in death."
"And how! Did you see it just now? When the others offered incense, nothing happened at all — but the moment that old master from the Suyang Bai family lit his, the incense kept breaking off! Twice, no less! And the candles flickering like mad, and not a breath of wind in the air. It has to be the old Duke's spirit, walking still!"
"Good heavens! The night's this dark and you talk like that? You'll frighten everyone!"
"Frighten? The Duke's Estate gave its lives protecting us common folk. So what could their honored spirits possibly do to harm us now? If anything, they'll go on guarding us from beyond. Ghosts and demons be damned — there isn't a thing under this sky to be afraid of."