The Principal Consort
In the vast study, the Emperor leaned against a pillow carved with a golden dragon. The servants had withdrawn, and the sovereign alone remained in the room with the Crown Prince.
The Emperor held a teacup of warm tea and gently pressed down the lid floating atop the drifting leaves. Then he spoke slowly.
"Judge every matter with care. Don't play the clever fool the way the King of Xin did. Above all, never forget that Bai Jingyan is but a woman. Whatever strategy she proposes, it must pass through discussion with your generals. Only when they deem it sound may you give the order!"
The Crown Prince's heart pounded wildly. He knew his father was paving the way for him, and he could not contain his joy.
"Father, do not worry. I know full well that I have no experience of war myself. I will be sure to heed the counsel of Grand Marshal Bai and the generals. I will never make reckless decisions while coveting credit for myself!"
The Emperor raised his head, his gloomy gaze resting on his eldest son, who maintained his respectful bearing without the slightest trace of elation. The motion of pressing the tea leaves stopped.
"When the war in the Southern Border ends, win or lose, Bai Jingyan must not be allowed to return."
The Emperor had originally intended to spare Bai Jingyan's life, so much did she resemble Bai Xiaoxiu. But the night before, he had dreamed a dream — a white tiger with not one, not two, but three pairs of eyes, a beast that spoke like a man, devouring him and then laying claim to his dragon throne!
He had jolted awake in terror, and it had struck him that the gaze with which that three-eyed tiger had stared him down looked uncannily like Bai Jingyan's. What was more, Bai Jingyan of the Bai clan had been born in the year of the tiger. The Emperor broke out in a cold sweat all over again.
The Crown Prince flinched and looked up at the Emperor.
"Father?"
"What I have said means exactly what you think it means."
The Emperor set the lid back on the teacup.
The Crown Prince hurried forward, lifted the cup from his father's hand, and placed it on the table. Then, with a show of tender concern, he lowered his voice.
"Father, if Grand Marshal Bai is capable of winning, that speaks to extraordinary ability. And she has said she covets no military glory — would it not be worth sparing her life?"
"How kindhearted of you. A good heart is a fine thing."
The Emperor turned his head to look at the eldest son standing modestly at his side, and his voice grew heavier.
"And yet Bai Jingyan cannot be allowed to live. That woman carries not a shred of reverence for the imperial house — not in her eyes, not in her heart. If she loses and pays for her crimes with her death, that is one thing. But if she wins, the day such a person turns her thoughts to rebellion, calamity will follow. One must see far ahead. A disaster that looms is best prevented."
Clutching the bamboo records of the campaign, the Crown Prince recalled the dignified woman who had sworn her oath before the shrine of Duke Yan. He clenched his jaw and knelt before the Emperor.
"Father, the Bai family has shown loyalty for generation upon generation. Moreover, Grand Marshal Bai has vowed to go to war even in mourning — her loyalty and honor are beyond question. Your unworthy son wishes to plead on her behalf. I beg you, Father, spare her life."
The Emperor looked at the pleading Crown Prince. He was irritated, yet in his own way he was also satisfied. He felt proud that his son, unlike the King of Xin, possessed a kind heart. A man who could plead for Bai Jingyan out of genuine compassion would, in time, be able to embrace the King of Xin and the King of Liang as well.
"Rise."
The Emperor's voice was heavy.
"There is nothing more to discuss."
"Father! If Grand Marshal Bai truly wins, it means she is a general of great use to us. She is exactly what our Great Jin needs! I know well what troubles you, Father, and I may have a solution that would put your mind at ease."
The Crown Prince raised his head and spoke with great deference.
"What if Grand Marshal Bai were married into the imperial house? To wed is to follow one's husband — and once she belongs to the imperial family, she will never harbor thoughts of rebellion against it."
The Emperor's brow twitched. After a moment's thought, he narrowed his eyes at his eldest son.
"Don't tell me your heart has been stolen by the girl's face."
The Crown Prince went white and, flustered, hastily bowed.
"That is absolutely not what I mean! I already have a principal consort and secondary consorts — how could I take Grand Marshal Bai as a concubine? She is the legitimate granddaughter of the King of Zhenguo, whom you yourself ennobled. Only the position of principal consort is worthy of her!"
"The principal consort..."
The Emperor leaned back.
"In that case, the King of Liang—"
"That is precisely my meaning."
The Crown Prince answered, lifting his head.
The Emperor, who had long held his silence, looked again at the Crown Prince still kneeling before him.
"Then — this time, shall we send the King of Liang to the Southern Border?"
The Emperor's black eyes trembled faintly. A cold chill seemed to coil around them, as though a dim moonlight had deepened into frost.
Without hesitation, the Crown Prince straightened his back and answered.
"If I have been appointed commander but cannot fulfill a commander's duty, then it matters not who holds that post. If it benefits our Great Jin, I believe it is what I must do! And it happens that this presents an opportunity for the King of Liang and Grand Marshal Bai to form a bond as well. Grand Marshal Bai will become a fine blade for our Great Jin."
The Emperor smoothed the crease between his brows, studied the Crown Prince for a long moment, and then spoke.
"Consider it. You may go."
"Yes, Your son takes his leave."
Once the Crown Prince had withdrawn from the hall, Gao Demu, who attended the Emperor at his side, tiptoed in carefully, replaced the tea, and said in a low voice, "Your Majesty, this is the jade cardamom cake that Noble Consort Chen made for you with her own hands. Your Majesty, will you not taste it?"
"Gao Demu — that red-robed tiger of a granddaughter of the Grand Princess. What say you to making her the principal consort of the King of Liang?"
The Emperor's gaze was distant. It might have been a question for Gao Demu — or a question for himself.
Gao Demu answered with a foolish, ingratiating smile.
"If Your Majesty makes such a decision, it would be a towering grace upon the Bai family! The Prince of Liang is Your Majesty's own son. Whichever maiden weds Your Majesty's son, her family will count it as blessings heaped up through the generations!"
The Emperor narrowed his eyes, and Gao Demu abruptly changed the subject.
"Though, Your Majesty, I hear Grand Marshal Bai suffers from an illness of the body. Word has it that her fortune in children is thin... Taking Grand Marshal Bai as a secondary consort to the Prince of Liang would itself be an honor Your Majesty bestows on the Bai house. With your benevolence reaching to the very heavens and your kind heart, Your Majesty surely intends her as principal consort out of pity — out of sorrow that the men of the Bai family died upon the battlefield. But this old servant is a petty, narrow-minded creature, and it seems to him that in this matter Your Majesty's son stands to lose a little."
The Emperor turned his gaze to Gao Demu, and at last, unable to hold it in, burst into low laughter.
"Your talent for flattery only improves with the years."
"This old servant merely spoke words brimming with sincerity!"
Gao Demu beamed at the Emperor like a flower in full bloom.
The Court of Judicial Review's prison was damp and dark, the smell of mold thick in every corner. Even in broad daylight, it was so dim that nothing could be seen without a lamp.
Inside a cell, Marquis Zhongyong, Jin Deso, sat cross-legged, his face still composed.
Predicting who would ascend the throne and earning merit on that man's behalf was never an easy undertaking. From the moment he had resolved to board the King of Xin's ship through the King of Liang, he had known the road ahead would be treacherous. If the King of Xin won, glory would be his; but if the King of Xin fell, he too could not escape the same defeat.
Jin Deso was a man who always secured himself an escape route, whatever he did. He had dared to make his reckless move this time precisely because the Dan Tie Quan — the iron certificate of imperial grace, that hereditary charter of privilege bestowed by the Emperor upon meritorious officials — rested in the Marquis of Zhongyong's estate.
Until the army's grain had passed through his hands and left for the capital of Dadu, everything on the surface had been flawless. Everyone who needed silencing was already dead, and the loose ends had been tied off cleanly.
Even if the spoiled grain was investigated, it would end as nothing more than a dereliction of duty — no fallout would reach his family.
"Grand Marshal Bai, Marquis Zhongyong is here. But I fear he cannot linger long, so I beg your understanding."
The jailer bowed and scraped as he spoke.
Xiao Ruogang, one of Bai Jingyan's covert operatives, stepped forward and pressed a silver ingot into the jailer's hand with a smile.
"Go share a cup of tea with your fellows."
"That would be improper of me."
The jailer refused in earnest.
"We here in this bustling capital have been protected by the men of the Zhenguo Duke Estate. We lament that we cannot repay them — how could we possibly take the Grand Marshal's money? Absolutely not."
Jin Deso opened his bloodshot eyes and, beneath the wavering candlelight, looked at Bai Jingyan, who had removed the black hat trailing her red feather, her features stark and clear in the gloom.
Jin Deso pressed his lips together tightly.
He had spent a night and a day in the prison. His deep indigo robe was still immaculate, but exhaustion was plainly etched on his face.
Watching the jailer leave, Jin Deso gave a low laugh.
"So even that jailer is part of the goodwill you have gathered, Grand Marshal!"
"This goodwill was purchased with the Bai family's blood. If Your Lordship were willing to give your life in the same way, it would become yours as well. Unfortunately, however..."
Before the cell door, Bai Jingyan raised a hand, removed her hat with its crimson plume, and handed it to Nanny Dong. In her hand she held a silver hand warmer engraved with flowers.
"The family tradition of the Marquis of Zhongyong's house cherishes life far too dearly for that, I fear."
Jin Deso's face darkened.
"Grand Marshal Bai — a person of your stature does not grace this squalid place merely to mock me."
Bai Jingyan looked at Jin Deso and reached back behind her.
Xiao Ruohai drew a ledger from inside his coat and placed it in her hand. Nanny Dong brought over a long chair, wiped it clean with a handkerchief, and helped Bai Jingyan to her seat.
Xiao Ruogang took brush, ink, and paper from the food box he had carried in, then knelt on the floor, brush raised.
They moved with flawless coordination. Jin Deso could not read their intent at all. Had they come to interrogate him?
"Shen Xiyao, registrar of the ninth grade in charge of grain, the fifteenth year of Shengjia, first day of the twelfth month — drowned to death after excessive drinking. Aged forty-six."
The moment Bai Jingyan spoke the name, Jin Deso's fingers tightened unconsciously on the hem of his robe. He stared hard at Bai Jingyan, straining to keep his composure.
Xiao Ruogang wrote at remarkable speed, and his brush stopped almost the instant Bai Jingyan finished speaking.
"Li Sanhai, granary keeper of the Provision Bureau in Jiaozhou, the fifteenth year of Shengjia, sixth day of the twelfth month — died of drink while staying at a pleasure house. Aged thirty-eight."
With every name Bai Jingyan read out, Jin Deso's mind grew more tangled.
Every name she called was one of the men who had taken part in sending army grain to the Southern Border before the festival — men whom he himself had killed.
How could Bai Jingyan possibly know of these people?
Bai Jingyan read out only the names of those already dead, selecting them one by one from the ledger. And just as she had expected, Jin Deso in his cell turned a deathly shade of blue.