Chapter 55: Rainy night
"What?" Jiang Changbai assumed she'd misheard, eyes full of disbelief as she looked at Song Juguang.
Yet Song Juguang calmly met her gaze, and nodded earnestly and solemnly. "And it wasn't only these handful of letters—the letters they exchanged were more than these."
"How do you know?" Jiang Changbai stared at her, rising fully from the chair; that bit of enchantment between the two previously was thoroughly blown away by these words. "What else are you hiding from Us?"
Song Juguang calmly and unhurriedly pushed Jiang Changbai back into the chair. "Ah, Bixia, don't worry; what could this minister conceal from you? This minister merely caught some spiders' threads and horses' tracks, and I have yet to properly investigate the matter. So I thought I'd wait first; I hadn't imagined that in this period of waiting, you'd learn of it as well."
Jiang Changbai stared fixedly at Song Juguang; though now, she could only meet Song Juguang's gaze by raising her head, the imposing aura that seeped from her figure would cause anyone else to only be able to think of kneeling. But Song Juguang could never feel like that; she met Jiang Changbai's gaze with an expression no different than usual. In the end, it was Jiang Changbai who gave in first; she asked, "What was it that A Guang discovered?"
But Song Juguang shook her head. "This minister can't say it at the moment; if a decent person is wrongfully accused, it would be an offence."
If Jiang Changbai couldn't hear the meaning in Song Juguang's words now, she'd be a fool. She thought for a moment, and then extended a hand to place it over Song Juguang's, voice slowing a degree. "Does A Guang feel wronged?"
Song Juguang sighed. "This minister doesn't feel wronged for herself. This minister would spare no effort to handle matters for Bixia, until death puts an end to me; even if this minister were misunderstood even further, it would be a hardship I endure gladly. But just because this minister thinks so doesn't mean that others do as well. Since you ascended the throne, Xiren could be counted as assiduous and conscientious—going first to the Western border's garrison, then South to quell a revolt, working hard without credit. And in the end, on returning to the capital, she endured a beating—I fear that—"
Hearing this, the taut string in Jiang Changbai's mind went lax, and with a laugh, she said, "So you feel wronged on someone else's behalf. Alright, since you've said so, in a moment I'll draft a imperial decree and give her a bit of a reward. That way, it couldn't be counted as leaving a meritorious official to become disillusioned, would it?"
Though Jiang Changbai spoke the words with the intent to satisfy Song Juguang, when they fell upon Song Juguang's ears, no matter how she listened, they sounded strange. It was as if she'd become the treacherous official in a vernacular tale who'd seized singular power, and whoever she said ought to be rewarded would be. But Jiang Changbai wasn't paying any mind to what Song Juguang was thinking; at the moment, she had more important matters. It was almost the very next moment that she questioned, "Can you tell me what you discovered now?"
"This minister can't," Song Juguang said, still persistent; the next moment, she bent her knees and knelt down. "This minister requests earnestly that Bixia give her the full authority to take charge of investigating this matter. At most in three months, I'll definitely be able to give you a satisfactory result."
Now, it was Jiang Changbai's turn to look down on Song Juguang from a higher position; there was a degree of puzzlement in her gaze, and she said, "You mean, to have you go investigate who it is who framed you?"
Song Juguang's expression remained unchanged as she asked, "Does Bixia not trust in this minister?"
Only after a while did Jiang Changbai speak. "Well, go on; We trust in you."
The night rain grew heavier; in Jiang Changbai's memory, the rain in the capital had always been this wretched. Either it wouldn't rain, or it would rain without stop. The raindrops were blown against the window by the wind, and they formed a musical sound as they hammered down. The scent of verdant leaves mingled with mud and crept in through the gaps in the window, and adding atop it the dusky moonlight, it really did lead one's frame of mind to grow heavy, drowsy with sleep.
But Jiang Changbai laid on the bed, tossing and turning; even though exhaustion had long since weighed heavily on her, she struggled to fall into dream. Her wrist itched where Song Juguang had applied the medicine during the light of day. At the moment, the porcelain pot sat upright and silent on the not too distant desk; were Jiang Changbai to merely turn over, she could see it. Practising martial arts was a single hair that, when pulled, made the whole body move; right now, her waist and back ached as well, but right now, she didn't have the energy to pay attention to the exhaustion of her body, her mind going round and round on what had occurred during the day.
Actually, when He Leyong had passed those letters to her, Jiang Changbai truly had suspected Song Juguang. The reason wasn't her; she was an important minister who held the military might in her palm, who no matter who the emperor was, would have to restrain their fear.
But though she'd been suspicious, in her heart, she hadn't been willing to believe it. Although she'd never believed what Song Juguang had said about her being the emperor chosen by the heavens, when compared to this, she was even less willing to believe that Song Juguang would be willing to collude with outsiders to deal with her. After all, from Jiang Changbai's point of view, Song Juguang and she had a childhood friendship, and they were naturally a bit closer than others. From time immemorial, regents had had many people; as Jiang Changbai saw it, Song Juguang was one of the few people whom she could currently converse with.
There could be conflicts between the two of them, or falling outs, but they could absolutely not be now.
So, she'd looked at those letters over and over, and finally found a bit of a clue in the inscription. From this, she'd unravelled the silk and peeled the cocoon open, and finally, in her own mind, been able to explain it for her. But after Jiang Changbai had wracked her mind to convince herself, Song Juguang had told her nonchalantly that she'd known about all this.
Jiang Changbai really couldn't guess what Song Juguang was thinking in that mind of hers. It was as if Song Juguang had gained something from someone unknown, and no matter how Jiang Changbai asked, she wouldn't speak. Jiang Changbai, with no means to grasp Song Juguang firmly, could only allow her to go. Trust her once more, Jiang Changbai told herself.
After all, the matters Jiang Changbai had to consider were far too many; she didn't have the energy to set aside to ponder on this matter. For example, the matter of the keju had to be placed on the itinerary—this was the first keju that women could take part in, and it was the first keju since she'd ascended the throne. In the perviously postponed dianshi, only those ranked huiyuan[1] could participate, but now, there wasn't a single woman ranked huiyuan to be found in the Great Li. And they couldn't have all of the women wanting to participate in the keju to all rush into the capital—forget wasting labour and resources, there probably wasn't even anyone within the capital who had the ability to bear that.
As a result, they could only avail themselves of the weather having yet to turn cold, and rapidly select a batch of women who had the qualifications to participate in the dianshi. How many to select, how to select them, who would draw up the topic, all of it was for Jiang Changbai to decide.
Suddenly, she heard the rain outside the window grow heavier. The droplets raced each other to fall and dance upon the ground, making a raucous pitter-patter that made one's head hurt. Jiang Changbai's head, hearing this sound, ached, and she made a sound, wanting to call to Xun Zhu to close the door a bit more firmly.
But forget about the door being closed, it was pushed open. The sound of torrential rain suddenly grew louder, and even the wind whistled in. Though she called out a few times, no one replied; Jiang Changbai's brows furrowed and she got out of bed, make her way around the screen, and saw Song Juguang just in the process of rearranging her woven rush raincoat. "A Guang?" Jiang Changbai asked, astonished. "Didn't you return to your residence?"
Song Juguang didn't speak, merely conscientiously arranging the bamboo hat and the rush raincoat she wore. Droplets of rain were scattered all about by her motions, and for a moment, the space between the door and the screen was covered by the splashing water. But what was strange was that, Jiang Changbai's sleepwear, standing by Song Juguang's side, was still dry. But she hadn't noticed this, her eyes fixed solely on Song Juguang was. Inexplicably, she felt that, at this moment, Song Juguang had something odd about her.
The wind still whistled, and it was, after all, a bit cold; Jiang Changbai went to close the door. The wood used for this door was the finest quality hardwood, and on an average day, pushing it or pulling it this way or that would require some exertion of strength. But now, with a mere light push, it moved, as if the torrential rains had drained it of its weight.
At this moment, Jiang Changbai noticed it, and she frowned slightly, touching that door. Yet this time, the door had returned to its weight, as if everything from before had been her being overly sensitive.
"With such a torrent outside, how come you came over?" Looking at Song Juguang's bedraggled, drowned rat appearance, Jiang Changbai's heart was once more at a loss, and her expression showed an uninhibited concern as well.
Under the dusky moonlight, Song Juguang's face seemed to be blurred by a layer of muslin, causing one to be unable to see it clearly no matter how they looked. As she spoke, Song Juguang pushed a few porcelain pots in the direction of Jiang Changbai's chest, and only then said, "Bixia, these are for you."
Jiang Changbai fell into a daze, taking them in a stupor. The porcelain had been moistened somewhat by the rain, and in appearance, they were identical to the one on her desk. She was somewhat astonished. "A Guang braved the rain this late at night merely for this?"
Song Juguang nodded, and then the next moment, as if having realised Jiang Changbai's confusion, shook it once more. "There's something else."
"Then you'd better come in and say it," Jiang Changbai said with a sigh, walking over to the desk to light the candles. She thought, perhaps tonight there won't be a need to sleep anymore. The candle flames swayed and flickered, the projected shadows of the two trembling and wavering against the screen.
But when the two sat down, Song Juguang didn't speak. Jiang Changbai had assumed that Song Juguang had discovered who it was who had forged her handwriting to incite Lian Zhigao to rebel this quickly—perhaps that person's identity was extraordinary, and so she was hesitating, not knowing what to say.
Jiang Changbai thought a moment, then pushed her stool a bit closer to Song Juguang. There was barely any distance between them, so close that she could feel the warmth of the other's breaths. But Song Juguang was still silent, staring somewhat dully at Jiang Changbai.
A faint strangeness arose within the room. Jiang Changbai felt her hands and legs inexplicably chill, and even her heartbeat quickened. She forced herself to remain calm, and brought the candle flame closer Song Juguang's face. They were so close, yet Jiang Changbai still couldn't see Song Juguang's face clearly. The atmosphere suddenly grew heavy, and Jiang Changbai could hear own heart hammering in her chest. Her body subconsciously wished to retreat, but unexpectedly, when about to move, it pulled at her waist and back, which had been exerted excessively during martial arts practice, and she drew in a cold breath.
Yet now, Song Juguang suddenly spoke. "Bixia, this minister will help administer the medicine."
"Didn't you already apply it during the day?" Jiang Changbai asked, feigning calm.
"I only attended to your wrist during the day," Song Juguang said, rising, and pulled Jiang Changbai towards the bed.
Jiang Changbai was about to refuse, but no matter how she struggled, she couldn't throw off Song Juguang's grasp. Suddenly, the sky spun and the earth turned, and when Jiang Changbai came to her senses, she was already laying on her stomach on the bed, her sleepwear raised to expose her waist. And Song Juguang was half kneeling by the side of the bed, the sound of the medicine jar's opening clear and varying.
"A Guang—"
Translator's notes:
[1]: 会元, provincial imperial exam graduates who ranked first in the metropolitan examination.
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