The next morning, word spread from the Pei household that the Old Matriarch’s illness had taken a dire turn.
The Old Matriarch was, after all, the court’s fourth-rank female general and a first-rank titled lady. Upon hearing the news, high officials and titled ladies of the court hurried to the Pei household to pay their respects. But at the gate, the household’s gatekeeper announced that the Old Matriarch’s illness had come on with alarming speed and that she was now near her final moments — at present she wished to see no one at all, save for one last glimpse of the young lady of the Yun family from the Marquis of Zhongyong’s household.
This was hardly surprising. Yun Xi had grown up on the northern steppe under the Old Matriarch’s care as a child, and the Old Matriarch had always treated her as her own granddaughter — even the engagement between Yun Xi and Pei Lan had originally been arranged by the Old Matriarch herself. Though the Yun and Pei families had since grown distant after the broken engagement, in the face of life and death, all past grievances became trivial matters not worth dwelling on. Minister Pei of the Ministry of Works was, moreover, famously filial, and upon learning of his mother’s wish, he ordered Pei Lan to go invite Yun Xi to the household.
At present Yun Xi was still confined to her household under house arrest, but having already heard that the Old Matriarch was gravely ill, this time she did not turn Pei Lan away.
After hearing Pei Lan’s reason for coming, Yun Xi said: “I can go visit the Old Matriarch, but since I committed an offense recently and my confinement has not yet been lifted, to leave the Marquis of Zhongyong’s household I must report to His Majesty, and General Guide must dispatch guards from the Palace Front Command to escort me there.”
“Of course,” Pei Lan replied at once. “I will personally send someone to deliver your release document to the palace.”
“There’s more—”
As Yun Xi spoke, she glanced around, and the servants standing by in the main hall, understanding her meaning, withdrew from the room.
“Not only must my visit to the Pei household to see the Old Matriarch be reported to His Majesty — I must also have someone inform the Fifth Prince and the Third Young Master of it, and have it formally recorded at the Three Judicial Offices and the Privy Council. When I go to visit the Old Matriarch, not only must I be escorted by guards from the Palace Front Command, but once I have entered the Pei household, you must allow my personal guard captain, Cui Yu, to protect me along with twelve armed guards. Since the Old Matriarch is currently sensitive to cold, she should be staying in the warm chamber — and I recall that the warm chamber at the Pei household is quite close to the side gate, so I need not enter through the main gate. You need only leave the side gate open for me.”
Yun Xi trusted the Old Matriarch, but she did not trust Pei Ming.
By now, Cheng Chang and Prince Ling had already reached a state of open hostility, drawn swords all but bared, and she could see clearly enough whom Pei Ming had truly been serving all these years.
She could have waited until matters settled somewhat before visiting the Old Matriarch, but she couldn’t afford to wait.
It wasn’t only because the Old Matriarch’s illness had taken a turn for the worse — it was also because she herself had been confined to the household these past days, unable to see Cheng Chang, and he had not even sent anyone to tell her his plans, to discuss matters with her.
She sensed instinctively that a great storm was about to break, yet had no way of knowing how to shield him from it — and so she hoped that, by using this one day’s release from confinement, she might at least glean some small scrap of information from the Pei household.
Pei Lan understood Yun Xi’s concerns. The Old Matriarch had already instructed him beforehand — whatever demands A’Ting made, he was to agree to all of them — so he nodded and said: “Very well, I’ll arrange it.”
Yun Xi’s release order was approved with remarkable speed; word had it that the Fifth Prince himself had personally urged it along. A day later, guards from the Palace Front Command came in person to escort her from the household.
Once at the Pei estate, Yun Xi entered through the side gate, and with Cui Yu accompanying her, was led by a maidservant into the warm chamber.
Seeing her, Pei Lan bent down and whispered by the Old Matriarch’s ear: “Grandmother, A’Ting is here.”
After a long moment, the woman on the bed finally stirred. Trembling, the Old Matriarch reached a hand out from beneath the covers: “A’Ting, come here…”
Yun Xi hurried forward. She had meant to address her as “Old Matriarch,” but hearing how weak and faint her voice sounded, a pang rose in her heart, and after a moment’s thought, she called out as she had in childhood: “Grandmother.”
The Old Matriarch seemed moved, and said something further, but Yun Xi didn’t catch it clearly — Pei Lan, however, close by her ear, heard it perfectly.
He then said to the maidservants in the chamber: “Grandmother has something to say to Miss Yun alone. All of you may withdraw.”
The maidservants acknowledged this and filed out of the room.
Cui Yu, waiting nearby, asked Yun Xi for instruction: “General?”
Yun Xi nodded: “Wait for me outside.”
A moment later, Pei Lan closed the doors and windows of the warm chamber, returned to the bedside, and helped the Old Matriarch down onto the floor.
Leaning on her cane, the Old Matriarch slowly made her way to Yun Xi and even attempted to kneel before her: “A’Ting, your grandmother and Lan’er first owe you an apology…”
Seeing the gravely ill Old Matriarch actually able to walk, Yun Xi was startled at first, but on reflection quickly realized she had likely used her illness as a pretext just to arrange this meeting.
She hurried to steady her: “Grandmother, there’s no need for this. Those matters are long past — I truly don’t hold them against you anymore.”
“This isn’t about the engagement between you and Lan’er,” the Old Matriarch said, setting her cane on the ground and, with Pei Lan, insisting on kneeling down. “This kneel of your grandmother’s isn’t for you — it’s for Shuguang, and for the tens of thousands of soldiers who once fought on the northern frontier. But they are all gone now, and you, as Shuguang’s daughter, are the only one left to receive it on their behalf.”
“Your grandmother now knows that Shuguang died in battle on the frontier all those years ago because that wretched son of mine — your Uncle Pei — helped Prince Ling conspire with the enemy! Your grandmother also knows that this single kneel cannot repay even the smallest fraction of the blood spilled on the frontier back then. But even so, your grandmother still hopes you can point Lan’er toward the right path now. It’s not too late to mend the fold after the sheep is lost — please, do not let him follow in his father’s footsteps.”
Hearing this, Yun Xi fell into thought.
That Prince Ling, together with Pei Ming and Luo Fuyou, had conspired with the enemy was already an established fact beyond doubt. Now that the Fifth Prince had returned to the capital, if the three of them wished to survive, seizing the throne was their only remaining path.
If that were so, did the Old Matriarch’s plea not to let Pei Lan follow his father’s path mean that Prince Ling was about to rebel?
Yun Xi helped the Old Matriarch up and asked: “Is Prince Ling… going to raise an army?”
Pei Lan answered: “Yes.”
He paused briefly, then, without concealing it from her: “Tomorrow.”
Tomorrow was the day the Fifth Prince would be restored to the clan register at Mingyin Temple, when all the important members of the imperial clan would be in attendance.
“Mingyin Temple sits atop Mount Pingnan, its terrain steep and treacherous, ideal for concealing troops. If arrangements are made in advance and men are properly positioned there, then no matter how many troops His Majesty commands in Jinling, the advantage of controlling the ground first would be more than enough. That is why Prince Ling chose tomorrow to make his move.”
But perhaps the reason for Prince Ling’s timing was not only this.
Emperor Zhaoyuan had long harbored suspicion and wariness toward Cheng Chang, and would likely use this very occasion tomorrow to try to eliminate him first.
And what Prince Ling was counting on was precisely this — letting the two sides exhaust each other, so that he, the fisherman, could reap the reward.
No wonder Cheng Chang had told her nothing — he and Prince Ling and Emperor Zhaoyuan had already fought each other to this point, with nothing left but to draw their blades openly.
Once the fighting began, never mind Cheng Chang — not even Emperor Zhaoyuan or Prince Ling could guarantee they’d come through unscathed. Cheng Chang, by nature aloof and solitary, preferred to bear his suffering alone; without absolute certainty, he likely did not wish to let her share in the danger.
The Old Matriarch said: “Whatever countless faults Lan’er may have, he was raised by your grandmother from childhood, and he still has some sense of right and wrong when it truly matters. At this life-and-death juncture, A’Ting, your grandmother begs you — give him a hand.”
Yun Xi thought for a moment, then said: “Grandmother, you are held in the highest esteem, and ordinarily I should not refuse your words. But today’s matter is no small thing. I want to know—”
She paused, her gaze shifting to Pei Lan, “—what does General Pei himself think?”
“Prince Ling has committed the grave crime of treason and collusion with the enemy, and is now about to rebel under the pretext of ‘purging His Majesty’s side.’ As a military commander who has fought on the battlefield, how can General Pei possibly still be hesitating over such a matter?”
Otherwise, why would he wait for her arrival before deciding? Could he not simply stop Prince Ling on his own?
Meeting Yun Xi again for the first time today, Pei Lan, recalling the past between them and their broken engagement, still felt a lingering trace of something in his heart — but seeing her strictly businesslike expression, he set aside such thoughts and answered solemnly: “My hesitation is by no means because I wish to help Prince Ling rebel. It’s because I have other concerns of my own.”
“First, whatever else he may be, the man following Prince Ling is my father. I don’t wish to watch him fall into ruin and face execution. Second, I too once served under Prince Ling’s banner alongside my father, and even used my position to help him with certain matters. If he is defeated, I too will come to no good end.”
Pei Ming indeed understood his son well.
This son of his had never been overly proud, and even at a moment of such great consequence, he was still weighing his own petty interests. If not for the Old Matriarch risking her very life to pull this grandson back from the brink, Pei Lan would likely have simply drifted along with the current.
“I know this makes me sound selfish, and I have indeed done some contemptible things. But when it comes to matters of great right and wrong, I can still tell black from white. After the Marquis died in battle and Zhaoyuan turned traitor, I was the one who fought, foot by foot, to reclaim the lost territory on the frontier. I know full well the hardships of guarding the border and fighting on the battlefield, and so I have no wish to see anyone at court treat the blood and bones of our soldiers as some kind of joke. In this, Grandmother and I are of the same mind. Besides, among the many soldiers who died on the frontier back then, there were comrades-in-arms of mine as well.”
That year, the Pei and Yun families had both been stationed on the northern frontier together, and Pei Lan had grown up in the military camp alongside Yun Luo.
He had not only been taught by the Old Matriarch, but had also once received guidance from the Marquis of Zhongyong, Yun Shuguang, himself.
“Of course, there’s self-interest in my coming to discuss this with you as well. For one, you have troops at your command — if you’re willing to join forces with me, I’ll have one more path open to me. More importantly, your ties with the Third Young Master and the Fifth Prince run deep. If Prince Ling is defeated, then no matter which of them ends up as emperor afterward, your Yun family of the Marquis of Zhongyong’s household will be safe — and through you, I too might be able to atone for my past faults and preserve the Pei household.”
Perhaps because the situation was so urgent, Pei Lan’s words were remarkably sincere.
Sincere enough to lay bare every last one of his selfish motives.
But this was, in fact, the right way to go about it. There had long been friction between them, and no real trust to speak of — only by being honest with one another could there be any foundation for an alliance.
Pei Lan said: “In truth, I’ve long known Prince Ling harbored rebellious intentions. I had originally planned to take my time and think things through carefully, but the Fifth Prince’s return to the palace happened far too suddenly. So suddenly that neither Prince Ling, nor even His Majesty, had any chance to prepare in advance — let alone the rest of us who’ve been swept up in all this.”
This, too, was precisely Cheng Chang’s purpose in forcing Tian Ze’s hasty return to the palace.
Otherwise, as heir to a princely title, if he gave Emperor Zhaoyuan enough time to slowly scheme against him, wouldn’t he simply be picked apart piece by piece?
Only by driving all three sides to the brink of ruin at once could he win himself any chance of survival.
Yun Xi looked at Pei Lan and said: “You’re wrong. I wasn’t swept up into this. I always intended to raise troops.”
At these words, both the Old Matriarch and Pei Lan were taken aback.
At present, with Yun Luo back in the capital, all the troops of the Marquis of Zhongyong’s household were now under his command, while Yun Xi herself was confined under house arrest — how could she possibly raise an army?
Moreover, so long as Prince Ling was defeated, whether Cheng Chang or Cheng Xu ended up as emperor, the Marquis of Zhongyong’s household would not be implicated either way. If that were so, why should she rush headlong into the fray? Wouldn’t it be wiser to hold her troops and simply wait to see how things unfolded?
“You mean to raise troops directly, tomorrow?”
“Does General Pei find that strange?” Yun Xi asked.
Having endured hardship these past years, she had grown used to holding herself in check — but in matters of true right and wrong, such as treason and collusion with the enemy, to her mind black was black and white was white.
“Prince Ling conspired with the Second Prince of the Daman tribe, and because of it, my father and countless soldiers on the frontier died with grievances unresolved. Now that I know the truth, I was always going to seek blood vengeance for blood. And since he now means to rebel, I shall naturally prepare to raise troops to stop him.”
“But you’re still under confinement — to raise troops without authorization is truly reckless. You should discuss this with Yun Luo first.”
After all, in chaos such as this, all it would take was a fabricated charge, and those who came to the rescue could easily become branded as murderers instead.
But Yun Xi had no intention of discussing this with Yun Luo.
Because her purpose in raising troops was not simply for revenge.
If it were only revenge, would it not be far more sensible to wait until the moment Prince Ling raised the banner of “purging His Majesty’s side,” and only then lead troops to the emperor’s rescue?
But what about the Third Young Master?
He had told her he didn’t want her caught up in all this, didn’t want her ending up cornered and desperate the way he was — but she had also told him that she wanted to be the sharpest blade in his hand.
She could not bear to watch him stand isolated and helpless in such chaos, and she knew that no matter how much resolve, how much cunning and wisdom the Third Young Master possessed, against overwhelming military force, against bared steel and blade, sheer strength that could not be matched was simply strength that could not be matched.
The moment Pei Lan had laid out the truth to her, Yun Xi had already made her decision. Her own troops of some twenty thousand alone might not be enough — but if she could combine forces with Pei Lan’s twenty thousand, making fifty thousand together, she would have a real chance of protecting Cheng Chang.
Nor did she need Pei Lan to do much to help her — so long as he did not aid Prince Ling, he alone would become an unexpected force to be reckoned with.
So Yun Xi’s goal, beyond joining forces with Pei Lan to stop Prince Ling, included one more thing she would never say aloud — protecting Cheng Chang.
She had even thought through what she would do if she failed to protect him.
Yun Xi said: “If I discussed this with my brother, he would certainly refuse to let me lead troops to Mingyin Temple — but I don’t want him put in danger either. Everyone knows I’m under confinement. If I’m the one to lead the troops tomorrow, then if we succeed, the credit goes to the Marquis of Zhongyong’s household; if we fail, it was I who broke my confinement to act, and neither my brother nor the soldiers under him would have known anything about it — so the blame can fall on me alone.”
For the Third Young Master’s sake, she could live, she could die — but she would never let the household be implicated because of her.
From Pei Lan’s perspective, it would of course be best if Yun Xi were willing to lead troops alongside him, advancing and retreating together — that way, he wouldn’t be the one charging ahead at the front while she hid behind, reaping the rewards.
Now that the two of them had sincerely formed an alliance, Pei Lan couldn’t help but voice his own concerns as well, and asked: “Yun Luo isn’t easily fooled — how do you intend to steal his military tally?”
Yun Xi countered instead: “How have Grandmother and General Pei managed to deceive Lord Pei all these days?”
She said: “I’ll do the same.”
Fair enough — even someone as cunning and calculating as Pei Ming found it hard to guard against deception from his own kin. Though Yun Luo had trained Yun Xi from childhood, in his heart, he trusted this younger sister of his more than anyone.
Pei Lan nodded: “In that case, let us form our alliance today. I’ll have my personal guards relay messages between our two forces when the time comes.”
As he spoke, he paused briefly, then suddenly reached into his robes and drew out a blood-stained white silk cloth, handing it to Yun Xi.
“This is a confession written in my own blood — on it I’ve admitted to certain crimes I’ve committed in abusing my authority for personal gain over the years, along with the truth of Prince Ling’s treachery, as far as I know it. Keep it with you.”
As it happened, this blood confession had been forced out of Pei Lan by the Old Matriarch herself.
Though he and Yun Xi were now allies, he had, after all, turned against Prince Ling — and Cheng Chang and Tian Ze might well not tolerate him, a former retainer of Prince Ling’s. From now on, the Pei household’s survival would have to be granted by the Marquis of Zhongyong’s household.
This was why the Old Matriarch, even before Yun Xi’s arrival, had instructed Pei Lan: “Your very survival now depends on others. And what you face now is as grave a matter as a military coup — only by showing the utmost sincerity, without leaving yourself any way out, will others trust you and be willing to help you wholeheartedly.”
Yun Xi read through the blood confession once, and seeing it bore Pei Lan’s personal military seal and fingerprint, tucked it into her sleeve pouch and nodded: “Thank you.”
The two of them then discussed further the arrangements for deploying troops. Seeing the sun nearing dusk, Yun Xi rose to take her leave.
Pei Lan escorted her all the way out of the estate. After bidding him farewell, Yun Xi stopped by an apothecary on her way home.
Over the years, she had often fetched medicine for Uncle Bai and for Fang Fulan, and had picked up some knowledge of the properties of various herbs along the way. She knew that if polygonum vine and albizzia bark were mixed together and taken in wine, some people could sleep for a full day and night without waking.
By the time she returned to the Marquis of Zhongyong’s household, night had fully fallen. Tomorrow Tian Ze would be restored to the clan register, and Yun Luo, too, would return to the Privy Council today.
Yun Xi instructed Cui Yu: “Go to the Privy Council and tell my brother that I’ve already been to see the Old Matriarch today. Her time is likely drawing near — please ask my brother, A’Jiu, and Brother Ning to all come back to the household together as soon as possible.”
Back on the northern steppe, the Old Matriarch had watched the Yun siblings grow up — she was Yun Xi’s grandmother, and of course Yun Luo’s as well.
As Yun Xi mixed the polygonum vine and albizzia bark into the wine, she glanced up at the night sky.
Tonight the moon was bright and the stars sparse, and hanging alone in the vast, empty clouds was one star, unusually bright.
Yun Xi looked closely — it was the Star of the Seven Killings.
When the Seven Killings enters the soul, a vengeful ghost comes to claim a life.
Whose blood-doom was about to arrive, she did not know.