Chapter 123: Another younger sister?
"Let her in," Jiang Changbai ordered seriously, restraining her emotions. Song Juguang stared fixedly at Sheng Yunxing, who entered slowly, and felt herself release a breath.
"Come, stand," Jiang Changbai's gaze swept over Sheng Yunxing, and she asked warmly, "what's so urgent?"
Having received permission, Sheng Yunxing hurriedly rose from the ground, and when she spoke, she was quite anxious. "Bixia, that Envoy from Shejin, Qin Zhixun-daren, was attacked by an assassin."
"What?!"
Both spoke at once, and both Jiang Changbai and Song Juguang were startled. Song Juguang strode to Sheng Yunxing, and the urgency in her gaze shocked Sheng Yunxing stiff.
"Say that again?"
Luckily, Sheng Yunxing wasn't a coward, and though Song Juguang's expression was shocking, she still quickly adjusted her state of mind, and said, "Wangjun, just now Qin-daren, Qin Zhixun, was attacked by an assassin at the relay station. Luckily the guards responded rapidly, and Qin-daren only received superficial wounds, and the assassin has already been taken to prison."
Hearing that, Song Juguang let out a breath of relief. In hindsight, realising she'd lost composure, she stood stiffly on the spot, not daring to turn and look at Jiang Changbai. In actuality, when she'd been at the sect, she hadn't been that close with Qin Zhixun personally, and thinking it over, it hadn't even been more than the time she'd spent with Jiang Changbai.
But in the end, Qin Zhixun was her shimei, and the only person in this world who shared the same origins as she did. Adding onto the fact that Shizun had specially ordered Qin Zhixun to come find Song Juguang, as Song Juguang saw it, that was intended for her to look after Qin Zhixun.
And now that Qin Zhixun had been attacked under her watch, the fact that, at this moment, Song Juguang's emotions were externalised was even more understandable.
But at this time, when Jiang Changbai, who couldn't understand the entire story, saw it, it was quite an eyesore. Jiang Changbai felt some unexplainable emotions roil in her chest, and her fingers unconsciously curled, her nails practically digging into her palms. In the end, she said coldly, "Come back."
"Of course," Song Juguang replied rapidly, and obediently returned to Jiang Changbai's side.
"Since the attacker has been caught, have her taken to the Yingtian manor to be questioned; there's no need to rush to explain things to Us," Jiang Changbai said, narrowing her eyes as she glared at Sheng Yunxing, "if We do everything, then what's the use of having you?"
Sheng Yunxing hurriedly lowered her head and made a sound of agreement, a few strands of snow-white hair faintly visible at her temples. The years hadn't left their mark on her face, but they seemed to have drained the black of her hair. Jiang Changbai had had the imperial physicians examine Sheng Yunxing, but the result was merely that she was overly worried.
But these days, the Great Li didn't often carry out sacrificial ceremonies, and the Ministry of Rites was only busy when foreign envoys came to visit; in comparison to the other five ministries, it was the least busy. Jiang Changbai didn't understand it either—didn't understand what Sheng Yunxing was so worried about. As she thought, the expression in her gaze softened a deal.
"Ah, go ahead and leave; such trivial matters you can handle by yourself, in the future."
But Sheng Yunxing didn't leave as Jiang Changbai had imagined she would, but rather clasped her hands in a salute, and said, "Bixia, that Envoy…that Envoy wants to see you, and said…said she has something to report."
Jiang Changbai waved her hand impatiently, but Song Juguang spoke before she managed to. "Have her stay at the relay station as usual; if there's any matters, she can write a memorial. How could anyone who wants to simply manage to see her majesty?"
But Sheng Yunxing didn't pay her any mind, and raised her head to look at Jiang Changbai, as if waiting for her to give the final order. Actually, Jiang Changbai had been thinking the same thing as what Song Juguang had said; after all, when Qin Zhixun had first arrived in the Great Li, she'd been received by her, and if there was anything urgent, she ought to have said it then. More than that, taking in Song Juguang's conduct from just now, Jiang Changbai inexplicably felt a bit repulsed by Qin Zhixun.
But Song Juguang's interrupting her changed Jiang Changbai's mind. After all, Song Juguang's words had been too quick and too decisive, as if she were trying to hide something. So, she said, "Bring her in, then."
Sheng Yunxing was somewhat hesitant. "Bixia, Qin Zhixun is injured, and likely can't enter the Palace for a bit."
"Oh?" Jiang Changbai smiled, disdain at the corners of her eyes. "So she wants Us to go see her?"
Before Sheng Yunxing could respond, Song Juguang fell to her knees. "Bixia, you absolutely cannot. Qin Zhixun encountered the assassin at the relay station, and though the assassin has already been captured, I fear that it's still not safe outside the Palace."
The words were earnest and sincere, and anyone who heard them would say she was a loyal, true minister. But Jiang Changbai didn't think that; she rose from her chair, and looked at Song Juguang, then at Sheng Yunxing, and raised her voice to say, "Then take Us to see the assassin first."
Yingtian manor's Imperial Prison never saw the sun, and it was much colder than outside. The cracks between the tiles were filled with condensation that had turned to icy fragments, which covered the stone walls with a layer of frost, and at a touch, one could break off the skin. The torchlight lit up the copper key in the jailer's hand, the halo scattering across the moss, adding a layer of dark green before one's gaze.
Naturally one couldn't eat their fill or dress warmly in such a place; the criminals, wearing thin clothes, curled in hunch-backed masses on the straw, as if they were shrimp that had been brought up out of an icy hole. With a few steps, a rustling sound rose, which turned out to be that of a rat, which had appeared from who knew where, crawling up an icicle.
A draft suddenly rolled through the passage, the breeze seeming to dirty them with the filthy scent of rot. The group wearing warm, beautiful attire as they walked here seemed quite strange.
When Jiang Changbai had come to the Imperial Prison last time, Yang Zhuofei had still been alive. At the time, she'd considered her acclimation to living as nobility, and though she'd committed a capital crime, she hadn't made her live in such a place. This was the first time in her life Jiang Changbai had come to a place like this.
The jailer didn't know who, exactly, was following behind him, but from their attire, could guess they weren't ordinary people. So, she carried the torch, and trembled with trepidation as she walked. When they finally came to a particular cell, she stopped, and let out a breath. "This is it."
She took out a key, and with a creak, opened the lock. Perhaps because the cold had frozen the metal door, the jailer had to exert herself a good deal before the door finally opened fully.
The group entered and looked around, and found that there was a girl dressed in flimsy clothing suspended on a frame. The girl didn't look to be more than a teenager, and the whip marks on her body were still oozing blood. They were probably there because the Warden had heard that important people were coming.
Song Juguang's brows furrowed, and she took a step first to bring herself before Jiang Changbai. The others were equally as on guard, and for a moment, a number of eyes fixed on that girl. But the girl spat out a mouthful of bloody spittle first, and though her breath was weak, her voice seemed to come through grit teeth. "If you can, then kill me, or I will take that Shejin dog's life."
"Impudence!" Song Juguang, though, who had taken a step to shield Jiang Changbai, let out a laugh on hearing that.
Jiang Changbai pushed her shoulder aside, her cloak sweeping over the shards of ice on the ground. "Loosen her bonds."
After a short while, the girl was bound to a chair, but her head remained lowered.
"Raise your head and answer properly, and your life will be spared," Jiang Changbai said, but the girl only replied with silence. The jailer, though, was terrified, and took a few steps forward, reaching out to grab the girl by the head, forcing her to look at Jiang Changbai.
The jailer's words were harsh. "Someone important's speaking to you; if you want to die, don't drag me down with you."
Watching this, though, Jiang Changbai frowned, and indicated to Xun Zhu to pull the jailer back. "Don't be so…harsh."
"I—that was my mistake."
The jailer had intended to show off in front of those of higher rank, but hadn't imagined that she'd lose the advantage she'd tried to gain, and could only resentfully admit her error.
"What's your name?" Jiang Changbai asked, sitting down in the chair the jailer had just brought in.
Perhaps because Jiang Changbai's actions had moved her, the girl finally said, "I don't have a name. Before she died, my mother only called me Yao'er,[1] and didn't have the time to give me a name."
"Then where are you from? Where's your family?"
"I don't have a home, and my family are all dead."
Though the girl had just been beaten, her expression was firm and unwavering. Only now that she'd been let down off the cross and had her family mentioned did some rare pain show on her face. Though her head remained bowed, the others could see that a teardrop had fallen onto her flimsy clothes.
"Then who raised you, and who showed you the location of the relay station, and why did you intend to kill the Shejin Envoy?"
It seemed as if Jiang Changbai were leading her patiently, but her words brooked not the slightest argument. But the girl scoffed, and didn't respond further.
"Whatever I ask, you answer; if you answer well, not only will I let you leave, I'll help you find your family's whereabouts. For the living, persons will be found, and for the dead, corpses; or, at the very least, I can help you find signs of your family."
The jailer remained silent, and only the rat, in some cell or other, continued trying to crawl up the icicle. After a long while, the girl finally spoke.
"My home was originally at the Western border, and further west would be Shejin. A lot of things, I don't know; my mother explained them to me when I was young, and now, I can't remember them. Mother said the harvest that year wasn't good, and Shejinese rode in and took the last of our rations, and because we couldn't survive, we fled east.
"But we'd only just settled in for a few years, when a great drought came. Eighteen years ago, I was only five, and when our family faced met disaster, we could only flee as refugees with the locals. But we weren't locals to start with, and even as refugees, we were pushed aside.
"I originally had a number of older sisters, but when we reached the capital, only my mother and I remained. After that, my mother died, and only I remained. I was born from nothing and raised by no one, and I only survived until now because the heavens didn't take my life.
"I don't know what you mean about the relay station; I just heard the people who came and went from there say something about Shejin. Though when I was born my family had all already left the Western border, if it weren't for the Shejinese, then my family would probably still be living well at the Western border.
"I live alone and desolate now, so why should they live like royalty? Even if it were just a life for a life, it would be worth it."
As it turned out, the girl was already twenty-three years old, but she looked like a child because of years of malnutrition. Hearing this, Jiang Changbai felt it familiar, and the next moment, she turned to look at Song Juguang, as if having thought of something. "If I recall correctly, A Guang entered the capital that same year, didn't you?"
Hearing this, Song Juguang nodded, and said, "I did." She didn't even have a chance to say anything further before the girl finally raised her head, looking cautiously and carefully at Song Juguang.
"You—I," her face was flushed red, and she stammered, "you really look like my eldest sister. I—can I ask if there's a round, red birthmark on your spine?"
This time, the most shocked was Jiang Changbai.
Translator's notes:
[1]: 幺儿, literally "youngest".
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