Chapter 51: Letter

Only as sunset approached did Xie Qianbing part with Wei Xiren in the outskirts of the city; Wei Xiren had, previously, been continuously stationed in the great barracks in the city's suburbs, and this time, returning to the capital, she naturally wouldn't enter the city. Xie Qianbing, on the other hand, only returned to the city as the doors were being locked; by the time she'd brushed off the dust and windsweptness of travel, the Palace's doors had long since been locked, and there was no chance at all to enter and have an audience with the Emperor. The tail end of summer's night breeze blew through the windows, making the candle flames on the tabletop sway and waver.

Placed by the candle's flame was the bundle with the letters she'd collected from Lian Zhigao's residence; she'd secretly hidden them on herself on the journey, and even Wei Xiren hadn't seen them. It was just that the contents of these letters truly were shocking; were she to merely think of it, the worry on Xie Qianbing's expression would increase.

Peng-peng, the sound of a knock on the door rose suddenly. Xie Qianbing, hearing the sound, hastily hid the bundle away on the bed, and then looked back a few more times to ascertain it wasn't obvious; only then did she dare to open the door. The person who'd knocked on the door wasn't anyone else; it was her teacher, He Leyong.

"Laoshi," Xie Qianbing called out. They hadn't seen each other for almost a month, and Xie Qianbing thought that He Leyong had grown a bit older; even though now the rays of light were dusky, she could see the increased lines of wrinkles on her face.

"I'm old enough that, not being able to sleep, I went out for a bit of a walk; seeing that your room still had a light lit, I came to take a look. How come you're not sleeping? Don't you still need to attend court tomorrow?" He Leyong asked, smiling at her, entering the room as she spoke.

Since He Leyong had returned to the capital, she'd lived with Xie Qianbing the entire time. It wasn't that Jiang Changbai hadn't purchased a residence for a high-ranking official in the centre of the capital for He Leyong, but He Leyong had refused it, saying that she wanted to live with Xie Qianbing. Xie Qianbing, of course, had agreed; after all, she felt her teacher was aged, and, atop that, she'd done manual labour in the mountains for so many years—even if there were servants looking after her, it wouldn't make her as at ease as if she lived together with her.

"I, I was just about to sleep," Xie Qianbing said, hurriedly covering up; even if she were in a high position now, when facing He Leyong, she still had the frame of mind of a child as back then.

The artificiality that appeared on her expression naturally couldn't escape He Leyong's eyes, and her face grew a degree more grave; she asked, "What matter is it that you're concealing it even from me?"

Xie Qianbing's gaze unconsciously flickered to the beams of the room, yet when she spoke, she said, "It's late in the night; you'd better go back and rest."

He Leyong, naturally, didn't pay any attention to these words of hers, and, without asking, made her way around her, walking towards the faintly dishevelled bed. Xie Qianbing chased after, wanting to stop her, but, seeing He Leyong's papery, wizened figure, no matter what, didn't dare to extend a hand. It was, in the end, the many years of interaction that allowed He Leyong to understand Xie Qianbing too well; she'd only rummaged around for a bit before managing to find the bundle that had been hidden. The letter that had long since been opened unfolded in He Leyong's wizened hand, the end revealing a single, large, boldly-written character—Song.

He Leyong merely swept a few glances, and asked with a stern voice, "Where did this come from?!"

Having already been discovered, Xie Qianbing naturally didn't conceal it any further. "I found it in Lian Zhigao's residence."

These letters had each been sent from within the capital city; the contents of the letters were earnest in their words, urging Lian Zhigao to plot a rebellion. And, further, they promised that, if he were only to capture seven cities, they would raise soldiers from the capital city to support him, the two sides coordinating offensives together, intending to annex the Great Li's territory and establish themselves as sovereign. As for those within the capital with the might to say such things, who also had the surname Song, there was only one person.

Master and disciple exchanged a glance, each able to see the shock in the other's eyes. They were both smart people; naturally they knew what sort of great waves would be created if this letter were to be disseminated. But in the end, He Leyong was of an older age, and after a short moment, she calmed herself. "These letters—who has seen then?"

"Only you and I."

Only on hearing this did He Leyong's heart, which had leapt into her throat, fall back into her chest. Eyes fixed on these letters, she looked them over, her brows furrowing tighter and tighter. Although in the past, she'd never been too fond of Song Juguang, this lack of fondness had only originated from her lack of understanding in studying, while on the topic of integrity, even He Leyong had to praise her a bit. More than that, in the past, Song Juguang had been able to raise troops from the border and break into the capital city, and now, she could raise troops from the capital city and dispatch them through the entirety of the territory. If she truly wanted to be the Emperor, then why bother contacting Lian Zhigao? Moreover, all the plans and strategies within this letter were truly a bit too clandestine. If one raised troops from Luyuan, if one could conquer seven cities, they could directly threaten the capital; even if no one provided support, Jiang Changbai would probably not be able to prevent the decline either. This sort of stratagem was in utter opposition to Song Juguang's usually forthright behaviour.

However, the calligraphic style of this inscription truly was no different from Song Juguang's habitual writing; with the current billows of fog and lack of clarity, naturally the fewer people knew, the better.

The night grew deeper, the moon hanging, lonely, in the heavens. Occasionally, some birds that looked like crows would flit across the roof, not letting out the slightest sound. He Leyong gazed at Xie Qianbing deeply, and tucked these letters away into her own sleeve, her tone growing a bit sterner as well. "Act as if you haven't seen these letters, and tomorrow, when you enter the Palace to report for your duties, don't reveal the slightest bit of a trace, do you understand?"

Xie Qianbing was somewhat shocked. "Not even with her highness?"

He Leyong nodded. "You don't need to tell her."

Having finished speaking, she headed out; in her daze, Xie Qianbing could see a degree of decisiveness in her retreating figure. Seeming to have guessed something, she called out, "Laoshi—"

He Leyong tilted her head to look at her, and only as she was about to step over the threshold did she say, "You'd better get to sleep; there's not long until you have to attend court."

---

Song Juguang had suddenly said that someone had come, and Jiang Changbai immediately shifted her gaze to the outside of the hall's door as well. But in the next moment, she became aware of the absurdity—now, the Palace's doors had long since been locked, and even if those outside had matters as urgent as the heavens, they'd have to wait for the next day to say them. All the people in the Rear Court were equally unfamiliar with her, and even moreso wouldn't come to the Yangxin Hall in this hour to look for her. So, she turned her head, and teased Song Juguang, "Could it be that A Guang took the sound of some bird flying past as the sound of footsteps? What sort of person would come now?"

Yet Song Juguang shook her head, and vowed solemnly, "This minister didn't mishear."

Jiang Changbai didn't argue with her, and took the handkerchief that Xun Zhu offered up to wipe away the sweat on her forehead. "It's late now—how about we leave off here for today?"

"As Bixia wishes."

Before she'd finished speaking, they heard the sound of a burst of footsteps hurriedly approaching from a distance, the faint sound of weeping audible within. Jiang Changbai's eyes flashed, startled, and she turned her head, looking at the contentment especially obvious under the moonlight on Song Juguang's face. There wasn't the time or her to say "I really did guess correctly" when the person outside the door ran in.

Liang Jiwen's hair was in a disarray, and her cheeks were painted pink from running. Her outer robe had been draped carelessly over herself, and between the buttons that had been thoughtlessly fastened was sleepwear, put on just for going to bed. Perhaps because she'd run so quickly, even one of her shoes had gotten lost. Liang Jiwen rushed in this hurriedly, and with a crash, fell to her knees before Jiang Changbai.

Song Juguang's brows furrowed faintly, and she gripped her fan, calmly and collectedly advancing a small step. Jiang Changbai had also been startled by this appearance of Liang Jiwen's, and she took a few quick steps to help her up. "Don't worry; say whatever you need to slowly."

Seeing Jiang Changbai, it was as if Liang Jiwen had seen a close relative; the pearls of tears rolled down from her eyes as if a string had been severed, and she couldn't even string together a coherent sentence. Jiang Changbai raised her head, exchanging a glance with Song Juguang, helplessness filling her eyes.

"Don't cry," Jiang Changbai coaxed, lowering her voice. "Speak slowly; We are here, and can always find justice for you."

But this comfort seemed to be useless; Liang Jiwen kept crying. By the time Xun Zhu had helped her fasten the buttons on her clothes properly and brushed her hair behind her ears, she still hadn't given an explanation. Song Juguang, head aching from the sound of weeping, called out bluntly, "Stop!"

Probably because she'd been startled, Liang Jiwen raised her eyes, looking at her disbelievingly; fortunately, the sound of tears had halted. But when she spoke, it was a succession of Shejinese. The three people around her looked at each other, not knowing what to do, still baffled. "What about the nanny that follows after you?" Jiang Changbai asked, struck by an idea.

"She's g, gone," Liang Jiwen said, finally realising that she was, at this moment, in a foreign land, and that none of the three people before her could understand Shejinese, only speaking after having racked her mind and, with difficulty, put together a sentence they could understand. "Nanny, disappeared, can't find her, help me."

"You came running here in the middle of the night for this?" Jiang Changbai asked.

Liang Jiwen nodded repeatedly, and added, stammering, "I only have her, can't find her, help me."

It was reasonable to say that this sort of matter would, no matter what, never fall to Jiang Changbai to preside over, but in the end, the person before her was the Princess who'd come from Shejin, and at this moment, there truly wasn't anyone else who could manage the matter. So, even if the matter were less in line with rules, it had to be done according to the rules; she slowed her voice, and asked, "Is it that Nanny's fallen asleep? Have you looked around the bedchambers?"

Yet hearing this, Liang Jiwen gazed at her blankly, her eyes empty and expressionless; having been stared at for so long, her moth fell, just about to begin weeping again. Song Juguang, seeing this, coughed slightly off to the side, and the intent to weep that been brewing in Liang Jiwen halted as well.

Jiang Changbai rubbed the space between her brows; from morning court in the early morning until now, she'd already not slept for almost nine shichen, and she really was a bit exhausted. But she still used all her willpower to instruct, "Go call all the women on patrol, and have them go look; someone that old, she couldn't get out of the Palace."

"Understood," Xun Zhu agreed, about to leave, but she'd only just made a few steps when she turned her head and said, "Bixia, how about you go rest first; this servant will call Qing Huai to wait at the imperial study; leave the matter of finding her to this servant."

Jiang Changbai blinked, as if greatly surprised by this. She composed herself, looking at Xun Zhu, and for the first time, realised that her figure was so tall and straight, utterly at odds with the person in her memory who followed after her and cowered as she handled matters. Countless feelings welled up in her heart, but she only said, "Go on; We believe in you."

Only now did Xun Zhu leave; Song Juguang shot a glance at the still sobbing Liang Jiwen, and turned her head to look at Jiang Changbai. "It's late in the night; Bixia, you should take care of your well-being and get to rest early; there's still morning court tomorrow. This minister will accompany the Princess back, and help with searching along the way."

Jiang Changbai gazed at her. "Don't tell me you're not attending morning court?"

Song Juguang smiled, shrugging her shoulders. "Then this minister had best take her leave."

While here, things were still joyous, elsewhere, in an empty alley, a white-haired old woman was just feeling about along the dilapidated palace wall, trembling and swaying as she walked. The paint on the walls here had peeled off a great deal, exposing the mottled, grey bricks. The lichens and mosses that had been left behind by the passage of time gave off a faint, green luminescence under the glow of the moonlight, and when a burst of the night breeze blew by it grew even more eerie. But this old woman seemed to be utterly unable to sense the strangeness of this place, only gazing about with narrowed eyes, as if looking for something.

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