Chapter 101: The second Envoy
The autumn arrived earlier at the Western border than it did in the capital; in the capital, there still remained some of the warmth of the summer, but the atmosphere of the Western border already carried the nip of chill. The grit was swept about by the whistling North wind, roiling over the endless steppes. Even the grasses with more tenacious life bowed their heads, the heavens pressed extremely low, as if about to pelt down at the very next moment.
Though it was midday, the skies were still dim. There was only a few muddy, copper lights, which were cast upon the tents.
The was the border between the Great Li and Shejin. With the years of disturbances by Shejin, the commoners who'd originally lived here had all already moved to places closer to the interior, and for dozens of years, it had been desolate and unpopulated. But since Jiang Changbai had ascended the throne, she'd sent troops to set up camp here, and gradually, some commoners who'd found it impossible to make a living had moved back.
Though the environment wasn't as neat as other places, in the end, there was some more vitality to it. And now, the one who had orders to guard this place was Wei Xiren.
She'd long since left the position of Vice-Minister of War, and personally requested to lead troops to guard the Western border. All her family had beneath the hooves of Shejin forces, and if she were to follow her thoughts, she'd have long since taken troops to attack and advance on the Shejin Royal Palace. But she couldn't do so; battle was a waste of forces and resources; more people now believed that the two nations being able to interact peacefully was the best solution.
The tent was covered with a thick felt, which barely obstructed the cold outside. Wei Xiren wore civilian attire, knees bent as she sat on the tiger-pelt mattress, staring fixedly at a finely-made map.
"Report—!" a sudden, high voice sounded from outside the tent, and the next moment, the curtain was pulled aside, letting in some grit-laden wind. The already guttering candles were extinguished by the wind, but Wei Xiren hadn't been paying attention to them anyway, and merely raised her gaze to look at the messenger.
That messenger staggered in, the hair on her forehead wet with sweat. Beneath her helmet, a few, dishevelled strands of hair were by her earlobes, and her cheeks were dirtied with coarse grit.
Wei Xiren recognised her; this was the soldier currently on duty for patrol, and at this moment, ought to have been on guard outside Battalion Five, so how…
Wei Xiren narrowed her eyes, involuntarily stroking the coiled patterns around the hilt of her short dao. "If you have something to say, speak quickly; don't be so flustered—will the heavens collapse?"
"Understood!" the messenger replied forcefully, and knelt on one knee on the rug, the pendant hung at her waist striking against her armour and letting out a clang.
"Jiangjun,[1] the Shejin cavalry is near Battalion Five, making a challenge for a fight," the messenger said, swallowing back saliva, as if somewhat hesitant. "They say…they say they want you to go meet them personally."
Wei Xiren's fingertips paused, and the inside of the tent suddenly fell silent, only the sound of the sand striking against the felt audible. Within the coal bucket, the sudden sound of the patter of sparks bursting arose, startling the messenger such that her shoulders shook.
"They want me to meet them personally?" We Xiren muttered, her voice seeming to have crept out of the frozen earth outside the tent, a if it could freeze one to ice. "How bold. Say I'm busy, and have their leader come here."
"Jiang…Jiangjun," the messenger seemed to still be hesitant, "there's a lot of them, probably about a thousand."
A lot of them? Wei Xiren's expression, hearing this, grew a bit suspicious. As early as Jiang Changbai's ascension, the troops she'd led had beaten the Shejin cavalry into a sorry state. Though her fame was far from Song Juguang's, in the end, she did have some. From that day forth, Shejin had bowed to the Great Li, such that the Shejin Envoy had only just passed by here two months before.
How was it that they were calling out loudly with their backs straight here now? There had to be some sort of plot.
"A thousand counts as much?" Wei Xiren raised her gaze to look at the somewhat anxious messenger. "Have five hundred of our sisters go meet our enemies; I'll lead the forces myself. Spread my order—not a single one is to be killed; capture them alive."
As she spoke, Wei Xiren stood up, and took the armour hung up on the frame down. In the next moment, her broad-faced wide dao laid in her hands, the blade, polished to a shine, giving off a silver light.
"Jiangjun, isn't five hundred a bit—" the messenger only said after having been startled for a while.
"Are you the General, or am I?" Wei Xiren cast her a glance, "if not for having to capture them alive, even five hundred would be too many. Hurry up!"
"Understood!"
The plain muslin hung up in the imperial study was blown aflutter by the draft; Jiang Changbai reclined before the desk, her fingertips unconsciously stroking the adolescent dragon carving on the paperweight. The censer gave off the dark smoke of calming incense, but before it made it to her, most of it dispersed.
Drip.
A droplet of dense ink fell from the tip of the brush, smudging on the fine xuan paper, as if someone whose heart had been broken had cried onto it. Vexation rose from her chest, and Jiang Changbai suddenly threw the brush aside, the ornamental bloodstone thumb ring scraping against the desktop, letting out a sound that made one's ears ache.
She sighed, and raised her head, about to rub her temples, when she heard the sound of footsteps approach from a distance. Without needing to raise her head to look, she knew who it was. After all, the only person who could step into the imperial study without needing to send a missive was Song Juguang.
"Bixia." Song Juguang, as usual, only nodded to indicate obeisance, the ornaments at her waist striking against her folding fan, letting out the crisp clang of metal colliding. "Another has come from outside the capital, proclaiming to be the Shejin Envoy."
Jiang Changbai's fingers on the desk suddenly stiffened, and the next moment, she raised her head up backwards, the hairpin on her head striking against the wood of the chair, letting out a muffled sound. "Another? The diplomatic convoy that entered the capital recently, oughtn't it to still be remaining properly in the relay station?"
Song Juguang approached, obstructing the sunlight that still spilled in through the window, carrying some heat, with her body for Jiang Changbai. "Responding to Bixia, this minister found it strange as well. But when the city guards ran into that person outside the Western Gate, she did have a letter of passage from Shejin.
"And most interestingly," Song Juguang, having come to this point, paused, and approached a bit closer, forcing Xun Zhu to retreat a few steps, "the newly-arrived self-proclaimed envoy is a woman, and has a face that resembles that of the one who can only lay in the relay station."
"A similar face?" Jiang Changbai, hearing this, startled, raising her head to look at Song Juguang. At this moment, Song Juguang had long since come to stand by her side, and the sunlight that ought to originally have spilled next to Jiang Changbai's hand fell entirely on Song Juguang's back. From Jiang Changbai's point of view, it seemed as if her entire figure were letting off some divinity, as if she were someone who lived in the heavens.
"Precisely; before, this minister," Song Juguang nodded, "but unlike the previous Envoy, this person is proficient in the languages of the Great Li and of Shejin, and doesn't need a translator."[2]
The suspicions on Jiang Changbai's face grew heavier, and she waved a hand, summoning Xun Zhu. "Send someone to fetch Liang Jiwen; tell her We have something to ask her."
"Understood." Hearing this, Xun Zhu immediately nodded, and the next moment, turned and left.
"The implications of this matter are profound; if someone else were to do it, I wouldn't be at ease," Song Juguang's voice suddenly rose, loud enough that Xun Zhu, who was nearly at the doors, could hear it. "It would be best for Xun Zhu-guniang to go ask for her, hm? This regent is here to accompany her majesty; nothing will happen."
Xun Zhu, hearing this, paused her steps, turning to look doubtfully at Jiang Changbai. Only once Jiang Changbai nodded as well did she once more say, "Understood."
"If you have something to say, go ahead and say it; there's only the two of us here, now." Jiang Changbai's expression was the same as usual, without the slightest fury that there ought to be at her authority being challenged.
Song Juguang's gaze fell on Jiang Changbai's face, yet complex feelings filled her heart. But she only said, "This minister didn't wish to send Xun Zhu away."
"I believe you," Jiang Changbai nodded, "go on and say it."
Only now did Song Juguang speak. "Two envoys arriving, one after another; this matter must have something strange to it. This minister already ordered someone to capture the newly-arrived Envoy; at the moment, she's in the prison, waiting to be dealt with."
Having finished speaking, and seeing that Jiang Changbai hadn't said anything, Song Juguang paused for a long while again, and only then said, "But this minister believes, this newly-arrived Envoy might be the genuine one."
"Oh?" Jiang Changbai cast her a glance. "There's no harm in speaking what you believe."
Yet hearing this, Song Juguang shook her head. "This minister has no proof; it's only instinct. After all, the previous Envoy has been sickly and ailing all along, and now Shejin is in turmoil, and couldn't send a convalescent as an envoy, could they?"
"Liang Jiwen went there recently," Jiang Changbai, seeming to not much agree with Song Juguang's views, said, "she said that it was only because Su Ya had bled herself."
As it turned out, immediately on returning to the Palace that day, Liang Jiwen had explained in clear detail everything from the relay station to Jiang Changbai, including Su Ya's desire to stay in the Great Li. But when Jiang Changbai had asked for the reason, Liang Jiwen had only shook her head.
"This subject doesn't know either." At that time, Liang Jiwen had answered earnestly, her gaze, the occasional clarity of her eyes causing one to be unable to grow even the slightest bit suspicious towards her. "This subject wasn't close with Su Ya before, and not having seen each other for so long, we'd even forgotten most of what happened during our childhoods, and are even more unfamiliar. Though this subject asked, she didn't respond, only insisting that she wanted to stay in the Great Li."
"What else did she say?" Jiang Changbai, finding it strange, pressed promptly.
"She also said, she'd endured enough of the infighting in the royal family, and merely wanted to stay in the Great Li. She doesn't ask for rank and wealth in the latter half of her life, only to be able to live peacefully and well. To have a small residence, and the savings she'd brought from Shejin, that would be enough. She asks your majesty to give her a new identity, and let her stay properly in the Great Li."
At the time, the second Envoy hadn't appeared, and though Jiang Changbai found it strange, she couldn't explain why. But now that the second "new Envoy" carrying a Shejin letter of passage had appeared, everything was different.
What was true and what was false, Jiang Changbai's mind had a tentative judgement as well.
But to Song Juguang, she only said the two characters of "behaving wilfully".
Song Juguang's expression, suddenly having been reprimanded by Jiang Changbai, grew a bit at a loss. Jiang Changbai continued the next moment, "Since she carries a letter of passage, no matter which one she is, she's an envoy. By what reason could an envoy be imprisoned? Go and bring her out now, and take her to another relay station, and once an investigation has been carried out, let the two of them confront each other."
"Understood," Song Juguang lowered her head and replied, but she didn't have the slightest intention of leaving.
Jiang Changbai, realising that her orders couldn't move her, didn't insist, and only continued to ask, "The one in the relay station, what's she like now?"
Hearing this, Song Juguang shook her head. "Bixia, please understand. These past few days, you haven't allowed this minister to go to the relay station, and so this minister hasn't even dared to extend an ear there; how could I know the news of the Envoy currently? This minister only saw her from a distance when the diplomatic convoy first arrived. Even her features, I'm not certain of.
"It was just that, on seeing the new Envoy, this minister felt her face looked a bit familiar, but couldn't recall where I'd seen it before. It was only that, by chance, those guarding the gates today were the ones who'd been on guard when the previous Envoy arrived. They all said that those two looked similar, and it was only at that that this minister dared to tell you."
Song Juguang spoke frankly, her eyes fixed on Jiang Changbai, not the slightest bit of evasion in their depths.
But hearing this, Jiang Changbai laughed disdainfully to herself. Because, just this morning, she'd received a report from a spy, saying that the depths of the night before, she'd seen traces of Song Juguang appear strangely near the relay station.
She'd even knocked the spy over.
Translator's notes:
[1]: 将军, the title for a general.
[2]: The author appears to have accidentally cut part of a sentence in the first part of Song Juguang's dialogue; unfortunately, it's impossible to predict what exactly that might have been, so it reads a little awkwardly.
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