Chapter 69: Backer

At the very same time, the atmosphere in Prince Yu's manor was quite oppressive. The head maid, Han Yu, who'd always followed at Yang Zhuofei's side, summoned up her courage to console her. "Wangfei-dianxia, why don't you first eat a little something?"

Yang Zhuofei opened her eyes with great difficulty to glance at her, and waved a hand. "This princess don't have an appetite—have those that were sent out come back yet? What's the current situation at Honghailou?"

Han Yu shook her head. "Only a few came back—they said that Honghailou's already closed now, and they couldn't see what was happening inside. But they heard some patrons coming out who said that first, the idol crumbled, and then it was burnt by fire, and the bit left over was shattered by Honghailou's staff, and it's already been taken away."

"Alright, alright," Yang Zhuofei said, laughing coldly. "How truly courageous—this princess had assumed all businesspersons were reverential towards these sorts of things, and even if they'd discovered it, they'd be forced to suffer in silence. Who would have imagined that she'd just go and burn it like that! Alright! Alright!"

Yang Zhuofei repeated "alright" a few more times, and didn't say anything else. As it turned out, the person who'd made a ruckus insisting on seeing Chen Xun that day had been her, and the one who'd sent the "Qian Weishen" idol to Honghailou had been her, and even driving force from "Qianyou Association"'s emergence to its growth had been her.

Qianyou, qianyou—heavenly protection, heavenly blessing.^[1] The reappearance of the sun and the moon, and the rebirth of Mingyou. In the nursery rhyme passed from mouth to mouth by the children in the street stalls and alleyways, one could just make out the two characters of "Mingyou".

"Wangfei-dianxia," Han Yu said, cautiously and carefully, "this servant really feels that that proprietor isn't any sort of good person—perhaps we don't necessarily have to involve her."

"Oh?" Yang Zhuofei said, looking at her once more. "You have an opinion on this?"

"This, this servant wouldn't dare," Han Yu said, assuming she'd spoken wrongly, and in a flash, hurried to kneel. But she hadn't expected that Yang Zhuofei would pull her up by the shoulder.

"Go on and speak; this princess promises not to blame you…"

Han Yu was still scared witless, and when she spoke, it was quite carefully. "Of course this servant can't compare to the intellect of Liu-daren and Wu-daren, and was merely jesting—Dianxia, why don't you just take it as a joke. This servant merely thinks that, since you went to see her personally before, but she didn't even reveal herself, merely sending the maid by her side to reply, she really didn't give you any face. Now that we planned to implicate her, even if she really had no choice but to come, she probably would harbour hard feelings towards us, and wouldn't help you wholeheartedly." When she finished speaking, Han Yu nervously cast a few looks out of the corner of her eye at Yang Zhuofei, wanting to detect her emotional state before she grew infuriated, and prepare herself with a few extra moments.

But Yang Zhuofei didn't fly into a rage as she'd expected; rather, she laughed, as if at herself. "There are some people who, though they have a high status, are useless, only good for wine and food. More than that, there's no knowing what's in a man's heart—even if they're intelligent, they'll leave an escape route for themselves. To speak honestly, the only people whom this princess fully trusts is the few of you."

Those "only good for wine and food" ones that Yang Zhuofei was speaking of, of course, were Wu Dongmu, Liu Zihe, and their compatriots. They hadn't had many dealings in the past, and she'd only known that they were highly influential in the court, and Yang Zhuofei had assumed that they were some sort of brilliant figures. But she'd only discovered in recent times that, actually, the fact that they'd been able to be in such high positions for so long had been entirely due to the lack of concern and involvement that the previous emperor had had towards the court and governance. If not for the fact they still had some prestige in the court, Yang Zhuofei would probably have long since stopped playing with them.

Those she'd already roped in were a pile of rubbish, merely hoping that with a weak Emperor's ascendance, they could once more control the court and government, but the ones she'd wanted to involve had, under threats and promises were drawing a clear line between them and her. Yang Zhuofei felt quite vexed; she suddenly became aware that now, the only ones she could completely trust were the maids who had followed by her side for decades now.

With the bond between master and servant, if she could become the Empress Dowager, then these maids could receive esteem as well, and if her plotting was exposed and fell through and she was captured, these maids would have quite a hard time finding a good end as well. As a result, Yang Zhuofei naturally wouldn't speak maliciously to them to their faces and push them further and further away.

But more than the vexation, an unwillingness and annoyance also rose within her; how come she was surnamed Yang, and not Jiang? If her surname were Jiang, if she had also, from birth, had a jade pendant indicating her identity, could it be that, now, the one who sat in a position no others could surpass, could be her? Then she wouldn't have to be so careful and cautious as she was now, busy pursuing fame and fortune.

Actually, even Yang Zhuofei herself didn't know when she'd started thinking like this. Prince Yu had died young, and she hadn't really had any friends; before, she'd believed that she'd remain like this for a lifetime, passing the rest of her life alone in a single courtyard. Drinking tea day after day, growing flowers, and, at the furthest, going out to wander about in the outskirts of the city and hiking some.

But Jiang Changbai had ascended the throne. They were both women, and both of them were members of the imperial family, yet were both excluded from authority. Even Prince Yu's manor and Prince Ling's were more or less matched in circumstance, one passing young and the other often ill, and the extra allowance that Prince Ling's residence had received due to his still being alive had all been spent by Prince Ling's illness; their statuses weren't high, and neither had had much money. But in a flash, the world had changed, and Jiang Changbai received a new lease on life, becoming Emperor, high above it all, her position the most respected, and countless had come to pay their respects. But she, Yang Zhuofei, was still Princess Yu, and others addressed her as "Dianxia", all of it for the late Prince Yu.

To speak honestly, Yang Zhuofei had never really liked Jiang Mingyou. Though she'd given birth to him, she hadn't raised him, and his character, like Prince Yu's, had been weak, and, day after day, he'd repeat archaic expressions; she really couldn't have liked him. So, when the capital had been in chaos, and Jiang Mingyou had wanted to flee along with the previous emperor, Yang Zhuofei hadn't stopped him. Jiang Mingyou was short-sighted, and merely believed that, following by the late emperor's side, he'd definitely be safe. But Yang Zhuofei had known that the previous emperor was selfish and cared only about his own safety; if there truly was any danger, he'd most certainly shove all those by his side out as replacements for him.

Prince Yu had died in precisely that way; it was just a pity that Jiang Mingyou didn't have any further opportunities to know it.

Only once Jiang Changbai had ascended the throne did she remember that deceased son of hers. The same things done by different people would have different effects. If Yang Zhuofei had wanted to control the court and government, that would a revolt. But if it was Jiang Mingyou who wanted to ascend, then it was assisting the emperor.

There were countless male ministers in the court who couldn't bear to see a woman sitting on the Dragon Throne; though they didn't dare say it publicly, who knew if they hoped she would rapidly come down from that position, and pass the title of Emperor onto any man. As long as the person who was acting as Emperor was the same as before, then the policies of the court could all be the same as before.

By chance, she'd had another imperial jade pendant at hand. It ought to have been Jiang Mingyou's younger brother's, but unfortunately, he'd been unlucky, and less than a shichen after he'd been born, he'd breathed his last breath. His birth mother had been too busy at the time to pay it any mind, but Yang Zhuofei had been clever, and secretly played a game of "replacing the prince with a cat"^[2] with the jade pendant.

At the time, she'd only wanted to know what was special about the imperial family's pendants, which were different from every type of jade found in the Great Li. She hadn't imagined that, a dozen or so years later, it really would be useful. But the new Jiang Mingyou truly was too much of a fool, and couldn't even memorise the Four Books and Five Classics, nor was he able to remain around people for too long.

Thinking of this, Yang Zhuofei turned her head to look at Han Yu. "Where's Mingyou?"

Han Yu thought a moment. "At this hour, the Shizi ought to be studying; the last time, after you finished examining his assignments, you closed him up in the rear wing, saying that he couldn't come out before he finished memorising the texts.."

"Then he really hasn't come out?"

Han Yu nodded.

A sliver of exasperation flashed in Yang Zhuofei's gaze, and she said, "He's a fool; tell him to stop memorising, and bring him over. This princess has something to say to him."

"Understood," Han Yu replied, and was just about to leave, when by chance, she saw another maid hurriedly rush in, her expression flustered and agitated.

"Wangfei-dianxia, a woman's at the door, and it seems like she doesn't have good intentions. She said, she said she's Honghailou's proprietor, and wants to meet you."

Surprise flashed in Yang Zhuofei's eyes, and she hurriedly called out to Han Yu. "Have the Shizi properly continue studying in the rear wing; there's no need for him to hurry on out."

Chen Xun had departed, but Qin Anhe was still in the Imperial Palace. She'd even assumed that she'd used magic among the public without approval, and, having been found out by the Emperor, was to be rebuked. She hadn't imagined that Jiang Changbai wouldn't raise the subject in the slightest, but rather ask her, as if discussing mundane matters, "Has your shifu been well of late?"

Qin Anhe didn't understand why Jiang Changbai always asked her about information about Feng Puzhi, but she responded honestly, "This subject doesn't know. But she's always been in good health, never getting ill, so she ought to be quite healthy now."

Jiang Changbai frowned, and asked, "Have you not seen her in a long while?"

"Ah, yeah," Qin Anhe nodded, "it's been almost a year since this subject hasn't seen Shifu. She brought this subject to A Jie's and then left, saying she was going to wander the world, and told this subject not to look for her. But really, even if this subject wanted to look for her, I couldn't find her; at most, I could calculate her direction. But with the Great Li so large, with only a direction to look for someone in, wouldn't that be the same as trying to fish a needle out of the sea?"

"You really haven't seen her?"

"I really haven't," Qin Anhe vowed solemnly. "With venerables like her, they maintain an air of mystery—a year or two without seeing her is pretty normal, and this subject's long since grown used to it."

Jiang Changbai nodded, looking thoughtful, and didn't speak further.

Now, Qin Anhe had also discovered a bit of something, and she asked probingly, "If Bixia wants to find this subject's Shifu, is there something the matter?"

Qin Anhe was young, and now, looking with a pair of round, glistening eyes, anyone would find her cute. So, Jiang Changbai smiled. "If We were to tell you, would you be able to to find your shifu?"

Qin Anhe shook her head. "This subject really couldn't find her; only she could come find this subject when taking initiative after thinking of this disciple." Then, suddenly understanding, she added, "But her highness the Regent is really capable; this subject thinks she's more or less as capable as this subject's shifu. Shifu can't be found, but her highness the Regent is in the capital—"

But before she could finish speaking, Jiang Changbai interrupted her. "Improper; no one else can be allowed to know anything that happened today. No one at all."

Qin Anhe blinked, embarrassed, and nodded. "Then…this subject is quite capable as well. Though there's some magic I can't do, Shifu long since taught everything she knew to this subject. Perhaps, this subject can help Bixia with your difficulties?"

Jiang Changbai gazed at her, and a depth showed in her eyes, as if she were pondering deeply. The wind blew through the window, rushing about in a circle in the room, and only then did she speak. "Alright; We trust in you." As she spoke, she took out a piece of cloth from beneath the desk; the cloth was made of a rough material, its edge ragged, as if it had been torn off from someone's clothes. Atop it were drawn densely-packed patterns, not in the style common to the Great Li, and the more one looked, the more mysterious they seemed. Xun Zhu placed the piece of cloth before Qin Anhe, and Jiang Changbai said as she did so, "Do you recognise these symbols? When We look at it, they look similar to the talismans that you draw."

At first, Qin Anhe didn't take it seriously, and only once she'd looked them over carefully was she quite astonished. Her eyes grew round, and she looked at Jiang Changbai, disbelieving. "Bixia, where did you get this?"

Colour flashed in Jiang Changbai's eyes. "You recognise them?"

"Of course I do!" Qin Anhe said, nodding her head repeatedly. "They're Hun Locking Sigils, which can trap someone's soul in another's body, and then capture control of the body. But drawing a single Hun Locking Sigil consumes a great deal of energy; even if this subject were to neither eat nor sleep nor rest, in a day, I could only draw a single one. What sort of person could have so much might that they could draw so many Hun Locking Sigils on this piece of fabric!"

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Translator's notes:

[1]: The characters 乾佑 (qianyou) also mean "heaven" and "blessing" respectively when independent; the phrase 天乾护佑 (tianqian huyou) therefore mean "heavenly protection and blessings".

[2]: From the story 狸猫换太子 (Limao Huan Taizi).