59. A letter from Liu Xuan
As one of the maids helped Su lean forward a little bit the other arranged the pillow at her back so she could sit a bit more comfortably. Yan observed the three ladies from the door to his study, he was glad Su had decided to remain in their mansion since they'd returned from Pei Mansion a short two weeks ago. The plan he had come up with to put pressure on those behind the Ghost Army had worked perfectly. With Su, Luo Xin and his brother he'd planned all the steps. They'd decided to send instructions to all magistrates in all parts of the empire. Then Luo Xin reported to court on the mark of Xuan, the following day. Yan had followed the report of Luo Xin with the report on the battle of the border in which he also reported on finding the mark of Xuan as unifying mark of the rebels. Having the court decide that those supporting the mark of Xuan were guilty of supporting the rebels who tried to cause trouble in the empire, was not difficult after these two reports. With the ruling of the court the magistrates fulfilled their orders on the pre-ordered day and arrested all those that were known or they suspected of supporting in the mark of Xuan. Many were captured and imprisoned and heavily guarded. It was the pressure they could now place on those controlling the Ghost Army.
During this time the soldiers whom had escorted the remaining rebels to Beirong returned and reported that the emperor of Beirong had ordered those rebels to be put to death and the Liang soldiers had witnessed some of the executions. They had also brought a letter from Shuomo in which he stated that most of the court had been displeased with the rebels, but many and more then Shuomo had thought, had spoken against the most severe punishment. Also the pro-war factions had gained momentum and was very active and growing. Shuomo had cautioned against rash actions, but also suggested strengthening the border troops. He had also arranged with his father an order that shifted the shared responsibility of closing the border gates at all border towns, to the Liang soldiers, stating fear of wrongdoings by the Beironian border guards as reason for the shift. Yan had swiftly send out orders to the border town and the Marquis to strengthen their defense.
In response to Shuomo's letter Yan wrote on the actions they had taken and asked Shuomo to be on his guard for an increase in actions from the Ghost Army. The names of the families they had captured were also included with a plea to inform them as soon as Shuomo could on the suspected identity of the masters behind the Ghost Army. And now it was a waiting game. Yan could feel the tension as they waited for the next move of the enemy. Bu for him and Su there was another waiting game: the wait for the arrival of their child. Rushuang had declared Su could give birth within the next weeks, it wouldn't take long anymore. Which would be a relieve Yan thought as he saw his wife struggle to do the most basic things.
Since Su had managed to get out he the carriage that had brought them home, Yan had seen the amount of help Su needed, which frustrated her to no end. Four maids now followed Su and were within calling distance at all times. Su had decreed she didn't want to entertain any more guests, with the exceptions of the emperor, the dowager empress, Rushuang and Brother Xie and Xin. When they had returned Su had inspected and approved the nursery. Then she had asked the household staff to do an extra cleaning of the house hand she had embroidered the protective symbols in the clothing of their child. All those had been done and now with no chores from Mingjing Office, on which Yan had put a stop, Su had resorted to further explore the contents of the chests Liu Xuan, the former Head Officer of Mingjing Office, had sent to her, to dispel her boredom. When the chests had been sent, now almost two years ago Su had started with the letter that had been sent separately:
Su Ci,
If you've received this letter, then I have died. You should know you aren't the only survivor of the Bai Liang Massacre. My parents adopted me when I was young, but I am from the Bai Liang Clan, something my parents reminded me of when I was younger. After the Bai Liang Massacre I've hid my ancestral ties to our clan. As I was already working for the Mingjing Office this was done with some risk, but I was determined to remain and redress the bai Liang case. I vowed not only to redress the case, but also to salvage what I could from our tribe. I have left instructions with my wife to make sure you'll get all that I have collected, so you may continue the traditions of our tribe.
As I gathered these objects and documents I heard rumors of a sole survivor. I investigated and finally found that amongst those dead, one was missing: the daughter of the tribe chief. It was not easy to find this information, which tells me someone wished to keep It a secret, when and for what purpose I do not know. When I knew you had escaped I secretly looked for you. I asked village people in the closest villages to our lands for previously unknown girls. Finally someone told me to ask in a nearby monastery. There the nuns would occasionally take orphaned children in. It took some convincing but finally an old nun told me of a young girl who suffered from many nightmares. Nightmares in which she would shout names she shouldn't be mentioning. With more coaxing she showed me the clothes you had worn and I knew I had found the daughter of the chief: Bai Jian. The nun told me you were a bright girl, and we hatched a plan to get you into the Mingjing Offices, where I could protect you and you could hopefully once help me to discover the truth behind the massacre I had doubts about the authenticity of the letter Bai Shen had written, but I couldn't verify it. According to my father the Bai Liang tribe no longer traded with Fan Yan Na, why would they then cooperate with then in this? I hoped you could verify the authenticity of the letter.
The nun taught you to behave like a man and how to investigate under my written guidance. I dared not come again, because to the outside world it needed to appear as if there was no connection between us. At the time I already knew something about the death of the emperor and the massacre of our tribe wasn't right. I could not let those behind it all know of your existence or my ancestry, that would have been too dangerous. So I did what needed to be done to protect you, but I couldn't show favoritism you had to rise through the ranks of Mingjing Office yourself in order for me to give you access to the locked files.
Ii had my suspicions on who was behind the massacre and the emperors death, it was difficult to accept that those in court and with high ranks did nothing to get to the truth of the murder and massacre. I blamed many of the court officials, they should have insisted on a thorough investigation, but I've found that they will only investigate those cases that matter to them. Don't trust them, they only want to make sure they stay in court. It took time but eventually I found the first pieces of evidence, still not solid, on who the culprit was. But then Prince Yun, whom I suspected was behind everything, came to me and told me he knew I was from the Bai Liang Tribe. He would keep it a secret if I mixed the poison wit the fireworks for the dowager empresses birthday banquet. Prince Yun is a cunning man with a silver tongue, beware of him. I refused him, I didn't care about my own life, I needed to keep you safe. But then he told me he knew you were the daughter of Bai Shen, he would not tell if I did as he asked. I had no other choice. If I did it myself I could at least control the circumstances and make sure you would be far away from the capital during the banquet. I did not care that I would die or any of the other useless officials or the emperor, who was clearly controlled by the treacherous Prince Yun. If I am successful take the confession I left in the chest with the green print on it and take the proof I have gathered of Prince Yun's crimes and defeat him. I know it will be hard, but I believe you can do it.
The only thing I regret is that I'm going to hurt you, by killing Prince Qi. For he will also meet his death when the fireworks are lit. If this plan doesn't work Prince Yun has ordered me to frame Prince Qi, and I shall, to protect you.
I apologize to you for the hurt I've given you, should all this have already come to pass. I do regret having to kill him, he has shown his care for you and he seems to be less idle then I thought. Amongst those in court and the royal family, he is the most honourable.
Make sure to get justice for the Bai Liang Tribe and forgive me for what I've done.
Liu Xuan
With the extra evidence Liu had gathered and sent to them Yan, Su and Luo Xin had, almost two years ago, managed to finish the Bai Liang Clan massacre and the death of the emperor. It had helped with finding the other related persons and putting them in prison. The only remaining question was: why was the Bai Liang Clan sacrificed? It had been clear that Fan Yan Na was set as the partner so Liang would immediately go to war against Fan Yan Na. Another question that Su still had was why Liu Xuan had thought the letter of Bai Shen wasn't authentic. So she had told Yan she hoped to find some answers in one of the others chests. And so she was now going through the other chests. Yan saw her reach for something on the table, but she couldn't reach far enough. Deciding now would be a good time to join his lovely wife Yan stepped down from his study and onto the pavilion, where SU was seated. "Let me, my dear." Yan took the book from the table and gave it to Su ,who smiled lovingly and held out her hand. Yan sat down on the bench on which Su was reclining and observed her closely. She looked tired, he knew she had trouble sleeping, s he would struggle to find a comfortable way to lay and often he heard her grumble. "Why don't you let me read it to you, you can closer your eyes and rest." Su nodded and shifted a little bit more until she was comfortable, Yan reached for her hand and softly stroking the back of it with his thumb, he started to read. It didn't take SU long to fall asleep, when he saw her sleeping Yan rose and pulled a blanket of Su before sitting down again and continue to read. The book contained stories about the Bai Liang tribe. He'd finished the work to get all the soldiers to their allotted places, it was all he could do for now, a peaceful afternoon with his wife was a fitting award. Yan knew that soon the peace in Liang could be shattered, but they'd prepared for it and he hoped this situation cold be concluded without actual combat. Recognizing that now would not be a good moment to disturb their master, the staff remained ag bay the rest of the day. It was early evening when Su finally woke up. "Did you have a good rest my dear?"
"Yes, thank you for reading to me. Is it almost time for dinner?"
"Are you hungry? Do you want to go to the dining hall or should I ask Fei Yuan to serve it here?"
"I'd like to walk a bit, so let's go to the dining hall." It took some time for Su to get up, but when she did she felt already a bit better. It was a good thing to walk a while, it gave Su some energy. She and Yan took an extra turn around the parc before going to the dinning hall. Again it took some time for Su to sit down and get comfortable, but when she did she immediately asked Yan: "Have you heard from Shuomo yet?"
"No, I heard that Yunchuan has returned to our capital. I believe she is staying at the inn and captain Fu is posted there as well to provide the required protection."
"Why did she return so soon?" Su thanked her husband for handing her bowl to her. While he turned to take his own bowl he said: "She wished to be here when our child is born. According to a letter she wrote Zihou, someone in Beirong had suggested to Yunchuan that Liang would view Beirong favorably if she was on of the first to extend the well wishes of Beirong. As Yunchuan, according to Zihou, doesn't' require much encouragement to go travelling she immediately planned her trip back to Liang. I'd hoped she had news from Shuomo but he needs a little bit more time to corroborate certain things still…" Yan paused to take a bite and then asked Su if Xin had paid her a visit, as had been planned.
"She did, we've had a good conversation. She has met the dowager empress as well. Remember, your brother wanted them to meet. Well they have and what the dowager has said has made Xin better aware of what the role of empress entails. She told me she has forgiven your brother, but that she hasn't yet made a decision on whether she will accept his offer. She wishes to return to her home…" Su hesitated and then uncertainly said: "I think it would be good for her to go back before she makes a decision. She should clearly see what she is leaving behind."
"I think you're right." Yan remained silent, Su could see he was considering the implications. Then he looked up at her and saw her empty bowl. "Here, you should it some more." He said as he took her bowl and filled it again with some meat and vegetables. Su smiled and took the bowl back. After they had both finished Yan led Su to the nursery, as they had visited the nursery earlier, Su wondered why Yan swished to see it again. All Yan said, when she asked him, was that he had prepared a surprise for her. Su willingly followed him, curious to see what he had done. When he opened the door and led her to the crib, Su immediately saw what he had done: the headboard of the crib had been a blank wooden board and Su had complained about it before, because the rest of the crib was quite intricately carved with beautiful patterns and animals. The plain wooden board had stood out from it as if it was lacking something. Now it was no longer plain: mounted on the board was a beautifully carved jade ornament taking up almost the entire wooden board. And in the middle of the carving was the mark of Prince Qi, which to Su and Yan meant so much. Astonished Su let her fingers slide over the carving, feeling the smoothness and warmth of the jade. Then she turned to Yan with tears in her eyes and said: "You made this?" Coming to stand behind her and placing his hands on her belly Yan replied that he had: "Our child should sleep under our mark and know it will always protect him or her."
"Thank you. It's beautiful." Su leaned into Yan and savored this moment of love, peace and tranquility.