Taichang Ming Dynasty

Chapter 591 A mistake
"Greetings to Councilor Yuan, Councilor Gao, and Guerrilla Mao!" Bai Zaiying had long been prepared to pay her respects. If Bai Zaixiang hadn't suddenly interrupted, she would have already performed the proper rites.

Bai Zaiyun was very nervous. She stood there, stunned, until Bai Zaixiang gently nudged her twice, and then she stammered, mimicking Bai Zaiying's address, to the three high-ranking officials present. "Greetings, greetings to Councilor Yuan, greetings to Councilor Gao, greetings to Guerrilla Mao!"

Logically, Lu Wenzhao, as the Imperial Envoy in the Embroidered Uniform Guard, should have been entitled to a bow, but since he was dressed in hemp clothing like the other Embroidered Uniform Guards, he was mistaken for Yuan Keli's attendant and ignored. Bai Zaixiang's expression changed slightly, and she immediately tried to push her two younger sisters to offer Lu Wenzhao a proper bow. However, before they could, Lu Wenzhao smiled and shook his head at her. The corner of Lu Wenzhao's mouth twitched slightly, as if to say: Don't mind it.

"Please sit down and talk." Yuan Keli, who was sitting alone behind the desk, studied the two women for a long time but could not tell whether they were married or not. To avoid trouble, he simply omitted the prefix and addressed them as "you two".

As soon as Yuan Keli spoke, Lu Wenzhao, who was his "attendant," immediately went to a corner of the council hall and brought wooden stools for the two girls, one in each hand.

Bai Zaixiang didn't dare let Imperial Envoy Lu set out the stools, so she took the initiative to go forward. "I wouldn't dare trouble you, I'll do it myself."

"Madam Bai, you're too kind." Lu Wenzhao offered a stool, returned to his original seat, but did not sit down.

"What are you standing there for, silly girl? Go thank Yuan!" Bai Zaixiang put down the stool and urged, glaring at him. "Thank you, Councilor Yuan, for the seat."

"Thank you, Councilor Yuan." The two sisters bowed again.

“Hehe,” Yuan Keli smiled kindly. “No need for formalities.”

At this moment, Mangku was also escorted to the entrance of the council hall by Lu Jianxing and two other Imperial Guards. Yang Sange and Uncle Thirteen, on the other hand, were still left on a street corner that was not even visible from the yamen entrance.

“Councilor Yuan, this is the messenger.” Lu Jianxing placed one hand on the sword hanging behind his back, and the other on the rope binding Mangku’s hands. Lu Jianxing’s “simple” face made him look like a farmer leading his livestock.

Mangku didn't mind Lu Jianxing treating him like livestock; he was completely stunned. He had seen Ming officials before, but this was the first time he had seen so many high-ranking Ming officials in bright red robes at the same time: one in the middle, three below him, one of whom appeared to be a woman.

"Please bring him in," Yuan Keli ordered.

“Yes.” Lu Jianxing gently tugged at Mangku’s rope and said in Jurchen, “Let’s go in.”

Mangku snapped out of his daze, stepped over the threshold, and knelt down as soon as he entered.

"Your humble servant Mangku pays his respects to all the esteemed masters!" To allow Mangku some room to maneuver, Yang Sange and Uncle Thirteen had left some slack in the ropes when binding him, but this slack couldn't withstand the sudden tugs of large movements. Mangku knelt down, and the ropes tautened. Lu Jianxing didn't loosen his grip, so Mangku could only awkwardly kowtow to Yuan Keli and the other "red-robed officials" with his hands raised high.

Yuan Keli, of course, didn't understand what he was talking about, but he still understood Mangku's obedient expression. "Let him get up."

"The men want you to get up." Lu Jianxing tugged at the rope.

"This servant kowtows to Master!" Mangku kowtowed again before standing up.

Yuan Keli shifted his gaze back to the Bai sisters. He held up the letter and shook it gently. "Tell me, how did this person get this letter to you?" Although the written record described the size of the two groups and the details of their encounter, this information was far too rudimentary to dispel Yuan Keli's doubts about its authenticity.

“Councilor Yuan asked you, how did this Tartar manage to get that letter into your hands?” Lu Wenzhao repeated in Southwestern Mandarin.

"Quickly, quickly, tell me what exactly happened!" Bai Zaixiang couldn't help but urge.

Bai Zaixiang felt her brain twitching. She finally understood who had written the familiar handwriting she had seen on the written record.

The three of them, speaking in one sentence, completely stunned Bai Zaiyun, who had never witnessed such a serious scene before. She lowered her head, constantly rubbing the mud off her hands. Her dry lips opened and closed, but she couldn't utter a single word.

It wasn't until her second sister, Bai Zaiying, grasped her hand and gently squeezed it that Bai Zaiyun mechanically uttered her first complete syllable: "Big sister, about half a month ago, we crossed the river from Wulong Mountain. According to the plan, we were going to take the mountain path to explore the Maodianzi area," Bai Zaiyun involuntarily glanced in the direction of her eldest sister, but her gaze only reached the hem of Bai Zaixiang's clothes before she dared not look any further. "But we only went as far as Yangmuchuan and Changbo Ridge before turning back towards Sidao Ridge."

"Changdian!" Bai Zaixiang interrupted as expected, "Changbo Ridge and Sidao Ridge are in the west and east respectively, separated by at least sixty miles of mountain road and a river. Why are you going that way?"

Bai Zaiying couldn't help but smile helplessly; she had already asked that question earlier.

"..." Bai Zaiyun had already explained, but she was speaking mechanically in a state of extreme tension, barely thinking. Bai Zaixiang's interruption completely stunned her. She stood there, speechless, and Lu Wenzhao seized the opportunity to quietly translate Bai Zaiyun's description and Bai Zaixiang's questions.

Yuan Keli nodded, looking at the three sisters with great interest.

"What did they just say?" Gao Bangzu leaned out and gently tugged at Lu Wenzhao's sleeve.

Lu Wenzhao turned around and translated it to him again in a low voice. After explaining, Lu Wenzhao looked at Mao Wenlong. He knew that this guerrilla from Zhenjiang, Hangzhou Prefecture, Zhejiang Province, also couldn't understand Sichuan dialect.

Mao Wenlong, on the other hand, looked completely calm and collected, showing none of the intense thirst for knowledge that Gao Bangzuo possessed. Lu Wenzhao even felt that Mao's eyes were vacant, and that his mind had wandered elsewhere, so he stopped trying to be talkative and continued to wait.

The second sister, Bai Zaiying, squeezed her third sister's hand, but Bai Zaiyun still didn't react. Bai Zaiying then took her place, explaining to the eldest sister, Bai Zaixiang, on behalf of her third sister: "Eldest sister, I just asked about this matter. What my third sister means is that the Jurchen Tartars have set up another outpost in the Changbo Ridge area. After their reconnaissance, they found at least a hundred people patrolling the surrounding area, making it very difficult to pass through. So they decided to take a detour."

"Yes, yes, yes!" Bai Zaiying's "reminder" made Bai Zaiyun suddenly remember. She looked up abruptly and hurriedly continued, "The Changbo Ridge area is impassable, so we took a detour! We walked back for half a day, then walked northeast for two days, and then..." Unable to withstand her elder sister's gaze, Bai Zaiyun's voice grew softer and softer until it was almost a whisper.

"Why are you mute? Keep going!" Bai Zaixiang frowned and urged. "Then we got lost," Bai Zaiyun mumbled softly, her head down.

"Huh?" Bai Zaixiang still heard it. She tilted her head, looking incredulous. "You guys are lost?"

"Heh," Lu Wenzhao couldn't help but chuckle. Yuan Keli and Gao Bangzu looked at him at the same time, and he immediately suppressed his laughter, saying expressionlessly, "Third Sister said that the slave bandits have set up an outpost on the Longbo Ridge side, which they can't pass through, so they have to turn back and take a detour. But as they went around, they got lost."

Yuan Keli didn't react much, but Gao Bangzuo seemed to realize something.

Changbo Ridge is nearly 80 li (approximately 40 kilometers) away from Zhenjiang City, but less than 40 li (approximately 20 kilometers) from the Wulong Mountain Great Wall. During the time between Bai Zaiyun leading his team out of the border and Yuan Keli arriving in Zhenjiang, the night scouts, based at the Wulong Mountain Great Wall, had already reported this situation to their superiors, and Gao Bangzuo and Mao Wenlong had also discussed a strategy to drive them away. Currently, the entire division of 500 guerrillas has completed its assembly and preparations at Wulong Mountain, and the night scouts have also completed their reconnaissance of the surrounding area. According to the plan, that division of guerrillas will launch its first probing attack tomorrow morning.

"Mm." Bai Zaiyun nodded, shrinking her head.

"How could you get lost? Didn't I give you a detailed map?" Bai Zaixiang's heart started racing without warning. To ensure Bai Zaiyun's safety as much as possible, Bai Zaixiang not only selected a team of the most elite mountain soldiers for Bai Zaiyun, but also arranged a marching route that had already been explored for her. However, she did not expect that Bai Zaiyun would not follow the established plan at all.

"There's nothing we can do about it," Bai Zaiyun explained, sounding rather aggrieved. "Although we brought a map, many of the places marked on the map are nowhere to be found. Places like Huashu Village, Tangzi Village, and Baidonggou Village are all ruins. We can't even be sure if the villages we pass through are the same places marked on the map."

"Then why didn't you just come back and report the situation? Instead, you led your men to continue taking a detour northeast!" Bai Zaixiang was both angry and frightened, her face quickly turning red. "Have you forgotten what I told you? Do you know what you're doing?!"

"Sister, let it go." Bai Zaixiang's tone wasn't very loud, but Bai Zaiying could immediately tell that her older sister was upset. She stretched out her hand, gently tugged at Bai Zaixiang's arm, and whispered, "There are so many gentlemen watching."

Bai Zaixiang suppressed her anger, but still glared fiercely at Bai Zaiyun. "Just wait until I get back, I'll deal with you."

"Hmm," Bai Zaiyun pouted, looking as if she was about to cry.

Bai Zaixiang realized she had probably been somewhat rude. She turned around, stood up, adjusted her expression, and bowed to everyone present. "Excuse me."

“Madam Bai, please don’t take it to heart. Concern can cloud judgment, it’s nothing serious.” Even without the translator, Yuan Keli could guess what was going on. He even felt that Bai Zaixiang’s gaze towards her third sister wasn’t that of an older sister looking at her younger sister, but more like that of a mother looking at her daughter. “Please continue, young lady.”

After bowing again, Bai Zaixiang sat back down stiffly. "Continue!"

pat.

In the blink of an eye, a crystal tear fell from Bai Zaiyun's eye, silently seeping into the gaps in the fabric fibers.

Bai Zaiying sighed inwardly, suddenly regretting bringing Bai Zaiyun to the yamen. Now, the family scandal had been aired in public.

But how could Bai Zaiying have imagined that the letter was brought back by Bai Zaiyun, who had deviated from the planned route? But since it was too late, she could only lick her lips and continue on Bai Zaiyun's behalf: "After that, there were no more twists and turns. They followed the stars northwards and found the Pushi River in a place called Chaoyanggou. Then, they followed the river southwards until they reached Sidaoling. There, they spotted a wisp of smoke rising from a wild chimney and followed it."

"Finally, this morning, they caught the Tartar messenger on the banks of the Yalu River, who was about to deliver the message." Bai Zaiying pointed to Mangku, who was being led to stand in a corner by Lu Jianxing, and then asked Bai Zaiyun with a smile, "Isn't that right? Second Sister is right, isn't she?"

"Mmm," Bai Zaiyun responded in a muffled voice.

"You caught them this morning, how come you're back so soon?" Bai Zaixiang asked in surprise, glancing at the sky. Although she had never been to Sidaoling herself, she knew that the place was near Sudian, at least fifty miles away from Zhenjiang.

"Didn't you read the written communication, eldest sister?" Bai Zaiying asked in confusion.

"No." Bai Zaixiang shook her head, glancing subconsciously in Yuan Keli's direction.

Yuan Keli avoided eye contact and looked at Lu Wenzhao, who ignored the rhetorical question and translated the next sentence: "They borrowed three horses from a garrison commander named Qiu Julu at a beacon camp near the confluence of the Pushi River and the Yalu River. That's why they were able to bring the Tartar messenger back on the same day they captured him, which is today. These things should be recorded in those few written records."

Yuan Keli nodded and asked Lu Wenzhao, "Please help me find out who knows about this letter?"

Lu Wenzhao asked the question truthfully. But Bai Zaiying couldn't answer it.

Bai Zaiying gently nudged Bai Zaiyun and said in a coaxing tone, as if speaking to a child, "Third sister, tell me quickly, who knows about this letter?"

"Speak!" Bai Zaixiang urged.

"Big sister, don't be so harsh." Bai Zaiying smiled awkwardly at Bai Zaixiang.

Bai Zaiyun was still aggrieved, but she didn't throw a childish tantrum. "All eleven of us knew, and those three Tartars and the interpreter certainly knew too. Captain Qiu read the letter, and the people in his camp probably knew as well; they were watching. Finally, there were the guards Tong and Zhang, who also read the letter, and they had their own attendants around them. However, when they were communicating by writing, those attendants were quite far away, so they probably couldn't see what was being discussed."

With each sentence Lu Wenzhao translated, Yuan Keli's brow furrowed more. When Bai Zaiyun finished speaking and Lu Wenzhao finished translating, Yuan Keli's entire face tightened. However, after a few moments, he composed himself and asked gently, "Anything else?"

(End of this chapter)