Chapter 53: A confrontation?

"It's good you've both come," Jiang Changbai said, gaze sweeping across the three of them; as she did so, she put that stack of letters to the side, and added, "tell me what the situation in the South is."

"Putting down the rebellion in the South this time can be counted as a decisive victory. When we first arrived in Luyuan, we were lucky to receive timely intelligence, and so met up with reinforcements in the mountains. We happened to run into the rebel forces who were using the mountainous terrain to their advantage; the Cangwei army are, to a one, heroic and skilled in battle, and engaged with them in battle, winning decisively. Due to the location of the battlefield in the depths of the mountains, the fighting and outcome were rapid, and it didn't affect the common people."

"…Afterwards, we pursued the retreating army to press home the attack, and realised with a start the frailty of Lian Zhigao's forces, who were unable to bear another attack. Lian Zhigao craved power, and he had the reckless impertinence to declare himself King without authority. We captured him, and sent him back to the capital under escort, where he's been imprisoned, and awaits punishment."

Jiang Changbai gazed at Xie Qianbing, her gaze full of praise. But this praise lasted only a flash before it was gone, and she[…]the stack of letters that had just been[…]^[1]

Her tone was grave, almost foreboding. The three of them, silent, looked back and forth at each other, and in the end, it was Song Juguang who took the letters and distributed them carelessly to the other two. Xie Qianbing's heart hammered when she took the letter; she was intimately familiar with this envelope, having hidden and concealed it for a full journey. He Leyong had taken it away a couple days before, and now it was once more passed into her hands. She subconsciously monitored Song Juguang out of the corner of her eye, but she wasn't thinking about a Regent with a high position of import about to open the evidence of her own plans of rebellion, but rather, "Laoshi is deserving to be called Laoshi; I submitted a memorial this morning, and was only called for an audience now, yet Laoshi sent this letter into the Palace early on." She thought to herself, but her hands didn't stop their motions. Xie Qianbing deftly pulled the letter from its envelope, spreading it out, but the more she read, the more bewildered she became. Not only did she take it out, but she carefully inspected the envelope.

Wei Xiren could only recognise the handful of characters used by the Cangwei army as summons; the letter in her hands now was no different than illegible nonsense, and no matter how much she looked at it, she couldn't make sense of it. Bored, her gaze flickered all about, just in time to see the motions of Xie Qianbing's hands, and she said, "Xie-daren, her majesty ordered us to read the letters—how come you can't stand to look at the letter? Could it be that, like me, you're illiterate?"

The two of them truly were as that one phrase went—"those who walk different paths can't make plans together". Though they'd taken this journey for the same person, the style of behaviour of the two were as different as could be, and, day after day, no matter how they looked at the other, they couldn't find anything pleasing. Wei Xiren was a general, and in everyday bickering, there wasn't a single time she could out-speak Xie Qianbing; now, having gotten the opportunity, she naturally wasn't willing to let it go.

But Xie Qianbing only let out a scoff, not paying her any attention, and continued reading the letter in her hands. Only when she read to the end did she realise that though the letters had all been mailed to Lian Zhigao in Luyuan, and contents within it were the same as the ones she'd found, the ones she held now had a different origin from the ones that she'd tracked down and seized in Lian Zhigao's home. Comparing two of them, the inscriptions on each of them were both "Xiong".^[2]

Seeing the two of them had more or less finished looking them over, Jiang Changbai explained, "These letters were intercepted from scouting in the home of the Minister of War, Wu Dongmu."

Wei Xiren, hearing this, stilled; she couldn't read what was written in the letter, and didn't dare to inquire with Jiang Changbai or Song Juguang, either. As for Xie Qianbing? Even if she could understand even less, she wouldn't ask her. It was just that, in the imperial study, nothing was in her control; Jiang Changbai, seeing that Wei Xiren was embarrassed, cast a glance at Xie Qianbing. "Qianbing, pick out the important parts and recite them for Wei-daren."

Wei Xiren had originally still been somewhat indignant, but once Xie Qianbing finished speaking, this indignance became fury. Hands curling into fists, her bones made cracking sounds. "This subject will go capture and imprison him now!"

"Oh?" Jiang Changbai shot her a glance, and then looked at Song Juguang. "Then, what does A Guang think?"

Song Juguang was silent first, and only said, after considering deeply for a moment, "You two daren came and went at lightning speed; the matter of Lian Zhigao's rebel forces being defeated only reached the capital during today's morning court. This minister looked at these letters, which were all sent out recently, and I believe that we ought to take advantage of the time when he doesn't yet know their plot has already been exposed to immediately arrest and imprison him, to avoid other issues arising."

Jiang Changbai didn't comment, her fingers tapping lightly against the table's surface. She finally shifted her gaze towards Xie Qianbing, and said, "And what do you think?"

Now, everyone in the room could see Jiang Changbai's intent; but even so, Xie Qianbing still said, "This minister feels the same."

Jiang Changbai scoffed. "But We say, this matter cannot be made public." She seemed to quite like seeing expressions of bewilderment on the others' faces, and the speed of her speech gradually quickened. "Wu Dongmu has been immersed in the bureaucracy for over a dozen years, and his disciples and students are countless; though a new regent brings new officials, currently in the court there isn't a single senior minister who can affect his position. Living in such a carefree life, and with a not insignificant amount of people who curry favour with him, why would he collude to rebel?

"More pertinently, even if Lian Zhigao, taking the lead to raise forces, had succeeded, Wu Dongmu would merely become a prince. Though it's more impressive than his current position, the risk in it is one that everyone can see clearly. And since We ascended the throne, as for the assistants to the original evil, the ministers following Wu Dongmu all ran away or absconded. Even if he were to have the intent to rebel, how could he have the power to promise Lian Zhigao the things in these letters?"

Song Juguang was the first to understand the meaning in Jiang Changbai's words. "You mean, there's someone else participating now?"

Only now did Jiang Changbai smile. "It's just as A Guang says. Though the risk of this matter is high and the rewards are meagre, Wu Dongmu is, by nature, a military man who'd all brawn and no brains—if someone were to incite him, then that he could manage to think of these things wouldn't be surprising at all."

Now, Song Juguang was following Jiang Changbai's line of thought entirely. "Bixia's meaning is that you wish to use a long line to catch a big fish?"

"Precisely."

"But—" Wei Xiren was still puzzled, not understanding, and couldn't help but make a sound. Only once she came back to herself did she realise that everyone's gazes had fallen onto her.

Seeing Wei Xiren fall silent, Jiang Chanbgai's expression softened slightly. "Go ahead and speak; We won't punish you."

"But if he's left to his own devices, then isn't that, isn't that letting some mountain or other?" Wei Xiren spoke partway, wanting to quote the classics, yet found that her mind was empty, and before she finished speaking, her face flushed red with embarrassment.

"That's 'allowing the tiger to return to the mountain'," Xie Qianbing completed with a smile. "Wei-daren, don't focus solely on military training each day; when you have time, it's best to go to school and study some. Next time, there may not be someone who can complete it for you."

"Who cares?" Wei Xiren rolled her eyes at her, and then looked at Jiang Changbai once more. "If the tiger is allowed to return to the mountain, what if he makes further movements?"

"As long as he's in the capital, he can't make any movements," Jiang Changbai said confidently. "Even if we were to arrest him, we'd have to collect more evidence. If we convict him solely on the basis of a few letters, and everyone were to see these letters, then what would the verdict be?" As she spoke, she took a few letters out from the shelf behind her, identical to the ones from just before. Suddenly, Xie Qianbing's palms grew clammy, and her heart hammered.

This was it.

This time, Xie Qianbing hadn't guessed wrong. Song Juguang grew furious at a single glance at one of the letters, and only by forcefully suppressing the flames of rage in her chest was she able to not crumple the letter into a ball. Hands trembling, she placed the letter onto the table, even her voice shaking as she said, "Bixia, this is slander. This minister has never exchanged letters with Lian Zhigao, and never incited him to raise an army; Bixia, please understand."

Wei Xiren couldn't read the contents of the letter, but she could understand Song Juguang's reaction, and fell to her knees at once. "Bixia, Wangjun could never have colluded to rebel!"

Yet Jiang Changbai smiled. "Look at you all so anxious—when did We say we would punish A Guang? Get up, quickly. Look at Qianbing—with how calm she is, could it be such a severe matter?"

But Xie Qianbing wasn't calm in the slightest; she merely didn't know what to to do, and could only constantly observe the minute expressions of the other three. Having suddenly been mentioned, she remembered He Leyong's exhortations of her in the middle of the night, and so played at naivete. "Bixia, is there some sort of mistake in them?"

But Jiang Changbai suddenly laughed brightly. "Of course there's a mistake, and the mistake is quite large." Once she finished speaking, she called Xun Zhu to say something to her, and a moment later, Meng Daosheng entered the hall as well.

"Bixia." Meng Daosheng, according to proper tradition, made obeisance, but when she rose, Xie Qianbing saw the dagger at her waist, reflecting light. Luckily, this dagger wasn't playing a leading role; Meng Daosheng put the documents she'd been holding on the table, and explained, "This was what this minister retrieved from the Regent's residence."

A single sentence suspended time in the hall; even the sound of breathing grew sluggish. But in that moment of stillness, countless thoughts flashed in each of their minds. But Jiang Changbai seemed not to have noticed it; she stood before them all, picking up and spreading that pile of documents between them all. "How is it that none of you are speaking? Take a look at these."

This time, Wei Xiren could read them; these documents used the writing commonly used by the army. Taking a look at the inscription, it had been written by Song Juguang's same brush. She felt as if a hammer had suddenly struck in her mind, buzzing and droning. Suddenly, she saw red, and with a great cry, in the next moment, Wei Xiren threw herself at Meng Daosheng.

Meng Daosheng was from an equally military background; naturally, she wouldn't allow Wei Xiren to pounce on her. She retreated a step to dodge her, and immediately struck at Wei Xiren's forehead with a punch. The two of them scuffled like this up until Jiang Changbai rebuked Song Juguang, "These are the soldiers you lead?"

Only now did Song Juguang move, extending a hand to stop them, pulling them apart without even using any strength. Wei Xiren was still unhappy, and, pressed against the ground by Song Juguang, her eyes were red. Yet when she spoke, her tone carried a faint hint of a sob. "Wangjun, they want to harm you, they want to harm you! I want to go back to the Western border, I want to go back to the Western border."

They'd seized total victory in Luyuan, and detained the head of the rebel army and brought him back to the capital without mishap. Wei Xiren had initially believed that countless commendations would be waiting for her in the capital; she hadn't imagined that the Emperor would summon her to the Palace, but she was trapped in this swamp. She didn't believe that Song Juguang would collude with Lian Zhigao, and took it as Jiang Changbai fearing Song Juguang's power, wanting to find a pretext to remove her. It would be better to return to the Western border, Wei Xiren thought. Though life on the Western border was miserable, and the sandstorms were massive, the customs were simple and honest, not the fighting and scheming that was in the capital. As long as one's fists were strong, one could resolve every issue.

Yet Song Juguang didn't appreciate the action in the slightest, incredibly dispassionate as she said, "Bixia will find out the truth."

Jiang Changbai's tone held anger. "Wei Xiren and Meng Daosheng, for discourtesy before the Emperor, are each sentenced to ten beatings. It is not your place to guess at Our thoughts."

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Translator's notes:

[1]: The raws cut off briefly here; I'm not sure what happened, as I recall there being no issues when I initially read the text.

[2]: 兄 (xiong), which looks somewhat similar to 宋 (song).