Chapter One Hundred: Preparing to Journey North (Part One)

Yang Yaozong first sent Ruyi back to Yinxin’s little courtyard, then took Yinxin and Jing Yijun to the rear of the Heaven-and-Earth Tavern. He pulled out the Great Roc mask he always carried, put it on his face, and only then led the two women inside.

Yinxin had long been curious why he never went anywhere without that mask—the same one from the Red Temple Festival night. Yet she was too wise to ask directly; she had guessed it hid something important about his life. She believed that sooner or later, even without her asking, Yang Yaozong would tell her what that mask meant to him.

Yang Yaozong and Jing Yijun guided Yinxin through a hidden way near the tavern’s back gate, down into a long underground passage, and into the grocer’s shop. Though she was deeply curious the whole way, Yinxin remained calm and composed. Yang looked at her poise with renewed admiration, and Jing did the same.

When they were inside the shop, Yang removed the mask and hung it at his waist inside his robe, then leaned by the bookshelves and watched Jing and Yinxin seated on a low stool.

He said to Yinxin, “This is the Shadow Bureau’s secret contact point. The Heaven-and-Earth Tavern above it exists only to cover this place. As a son-in-law, my identity is not convenient for my work, so whenever I come here I wear this mask and hide who I am. In the bureau, apart from Brother Qin, Jun’er, and you, no one knows that I, Yang Yaozong, am its chief inspector. Even the operatives only know their superior by surname as Master Yang, called Yangguo.”

Yinxin looked at him in confusion and whispered, “Yangguo?”

Yang nodded with a smile. “Yes. My alias.”

At the name, Jing Yijun was reminded of the Condor Heroine story Yang had once told her. That night he had described Li Mochou—the Red-Silk Fairy—who, obsessed with Lu Zhan-Yuan, swore after his death to wipe out the Lu clan, and only the younger brother’s daughter and her own niece somehow survived. He had stopped there and fallen asleep. In that retelling he had not yet mentioned Yangguo or Xiaolongnu, and instead had mentioned names Yinxin had heard in another tale: Huang Rong, Guo Jing, and Ke Zhen’e. So she had come to expect the moment when Yangguo and Xiaolongnu would appear, and she also wondered what would become of Li Mochou, a woman destroyed by love. In the end, she felt pity for her.

Even after Yang Yaozong slept, Jing kept turning the story over in her mind. Even if Li Mochou could have stayed with Lu Zhan-Yuan, she still seemed doomed to be cast away. Among the seven perils that ruin a woman, jealousy is one of them. With such consuming jealousy in Li Mochou, she and Lu Zhan-Yuan could never have a happy ending. Jing even thought of herself and Yang and admitted inwardly that she too might feel jealous if he loved another. But if he were happy, her own happiness should outweigh that jealousy. At least in what Yang and Yinxin had to him, she believed this to be true.

After he had explained why he used the name Yangguo, Jing glanced at him with obvious interest. She still did not yet know what relation Yang Guo and Xiaolongnu shared in the tale, but Yang Yaozong’s look made it easy to guess—almost certainly—what he meant. She turned away shyly and looked through the window.

Then, with a faint smile, she said to Yinxin, “Xin’er, sister, look outside for a moment.”

Yinxin glanced at her in confusion and then looked toward the window.

Yang guessed Jing’s intention at once and was amused: this had always-strict-with-strangers, yet gentle and poised toward her own family princess suddenly teasing him. He cast her a slightly annoyed look, which Jing answered with a roguish smile. Then, almost as if suddenly noticing she had overstepped, she lowered her head, cheeks reddening, and would not meet his eyes.

That mischievous smile and her shy evasion sent Yang’s heart into quick, uneven beats. He muttered “Amitabha, Amitabha” to steady himself. He had never expected the fairy to show such playful, bright charm. Truthfully, even Jing seemed surprised to see herself in this unfamiliar form before him. Though he found it improper for a moment, he also felt it belonged to a lively twenty-year-old girl. The surprise gave way to acceptance; perhaps a life of rank and seclusion had taught her to hide this side.

“Hmm.” Yinxin’s soft snort cut through the room.

Yang and Jing both turned to her.

She still looked out for a moment, then faced them; her cheeks were flushed like rose petals and her eyes were misty—shy and resentful at once, and full of feeling.

Yang, meeting that look, felt suddenly self-conscious and stammered, “It’s nothing—I only happened to see you there a few times.”

Yinxin thought of the Heaven-and-Earth Tavern and now of this place, and, blushing, snapped at him, “Hmph! Merchant! Voyeur!”

She had no intention of reproaching him at all. To her, Yang’s attentiveness and passion meant so much that if Jing had not been there, she would have thrown herself into his arms that instant.

Jing smiled and said to Yang, “Xin’er is not truly angry. I fear she does not even have enough love for him, and so cannot spare room for anger.”

Yang chuckled wickedly. “And what about you?”

Jing gave him a petulant glance and half-audible mock spitting.

After coughing twice to clear his throat, Yang changed the topic and spoke with gravity. “On this trip to the capital, I plan to go with the newly appointed bangyao Zhang Lie. He is from the capital already, and his older brother Zhang Qiang is serving in the Frontier Army as a left general. He has courage and strategy, and he is upright. I intend to recruit him into the Shadow Bureau, though I will not tell him I am the chief inspector yet—I still need to test him.”

Yinxin frowned with concern. “You mean you want to go to the capital with only Zhang Lie?”

Yang nodded.

Jing frowned without hesitation. “That cannot be. Then I will go with you! The capital is dangerous. Who will keep you safe?”

Yang gave them both a reassuring smile. “Over ten days ago I already sent our Raptor Squad north to gather intelligence in the capital. When I arrive I can contact them. The next batch of operatives will finish training shortly, and the city has enough personnel there. I’ll have the Tiger and Leopard squads shadow me into the capital in secrecy. But since the capital is now under strict inspection, for the time being I’ll keep those squads outside the walls so as not to alert anyone. I’ll enter as a friend with Zhang Lie’s endorsement, and that should not raise suspicion. Jun’er, you know the situation—the Crown Prince-Regent has only just taken charge. He still needs you to stay by his side. You must remain in Tianjing City and protect him. I’ll take care of myself; you can trust me.”

Yinxin replied, “If my elder sister returns and cannot find me, she’ll go straight to Drunken Dust. I’ll tell Madam Wu beforehand: if my sister comes back, I should hang a lantern outside the window of my room on the third floor. If I see that sign here, I’ll know she has arrived, and I’ll immediately send for her to come to the capital and look for you. Once you are settled in, tell Madam Jiang at Dust Drunk your location, or ask her for anyone you need. When my sister comes, she will go there first, and Madam Jiang will relay any news about you.”

When Jing heard Yinxin mention both houses—Drunken Dust and Dust Drunk—she guessed there was indeed a link between the two establishments. Listening to Yinxin’s careful arrangements and remembering how capable Yinxin’s sister was, her uneasy thoughts eased slightly.

Yang nodded and said, “The Crown Prince-Regent has only just assumed the regency. You must stay and care for him, don’t overwork yourself. I’ll entrust the bureau matters to Xin’er. If there is anything to discuss, you and Jun’er should coordinate with Brother Qin.”

Both Jing and Yinxin listened to his instructions, serious and attentive.

Yang went on. “A new batch of operatives will finish training very soon. Then you, Jun’er, and Brother Qin should, using the team structure I designed, form them into squads. In Tianjing, all squads except the Elephant Squad at Heaven-and-Earth and the Eagle Squad here, which must remain to handle message transmission and compilation, are to be reassigned. Xin’er, you will reissue their duties and make sure the handovers are complete. Send teams with tracking experience to Shandong, Henan, Hebei, Jiangsu, Zhejiang, and other provinces to gather intelligence on grain taxes and the people’s living conditions. How you arrange everything is up to your judgment. But do not forget these hard-working brothers.”

He added with a small sigh, “In this age intelligence moves slowly. By the time reports from the provinces—especially urgent ones—reach Tianjing, events may already have changed. But having some information is better than none.”

Yinxin nodded, confident. “I’ll arrange it all. You may be at ease, Yang.”

Then, thinking for a moment, she added with a frown, “For reports from distant posts, delay may cost us precious time. I will train a flock of messenger pigeons to carry dispatches. Of course, birds are not the most reliable way for urgent matters; important news still must travel by people. So please ask, Princess sister, to petition the Emperor and the Crown Prince-Regent to allow our agents to use the military relay stations for changing horses when sending urgent intelligence. That way we can keep reports moving without pause. It is for urgent dispatches only. We’ll just brief the agents and give each squad leader one token that authorizes relay transfer. When an urgent report arrives, the relay post issues fresh horses upon seeing the token.”

Yang’s eyes lit up with approval. “Good. We proceed as Xin’er proposes.”

Jing nodded too. “I’ll raise it with the Emperor and the Crown Prince-Regent shortly. They should approve it.”

Yang added, “If conditions in the capital permit, I intend to set up a branch of the Shadow Bureau there. It is only a tentative plan for now; I’ll decide after seeing things firsthand. Once this batch is trained, Xin’er, you are to urge Brother Qin to train another batch for possible use in the capital bureau. Even if we cannot establish it, the trained agents can still be sent to other regions for intelligence gathering. Even now, our manpower is still not enough.”

In the grocer’s shop, Yang carefully assigned task after task to the two women. Jing and Yinxin listened with solemn attention.