Chapter 64
AN AWKWARD QUIET settled over the hall. Bian Lingbai glanced over at Duan Ling several times, as if he had something on his mind. Finally, Duan Ling broke the silence. “So, when is the wedding?”
“The seventh month,” Yao Jing answered. “My uncle told me to wait here in Tong Pass for Western Liang to send an escort.”
“You’ve had a difficult journey,” Bian Lingbai said. “Since you don’t have any servants remaining, I’ll provide you some, or you may send your steward along to the market to see if any catch your eye.”
At the stark reminder that her maid and servants had all been killed by the bandits, Yao Jing’s expression dimmed. “Thank you.”
“You may go back to your rooms and rest if you like,” Bian Lingbai said.
Yao Jing took her leave with a nod to her dinner companions. Duan Ling couldn’t entirely repress his surprise as he watched her exit the room. The Marquis of Huaiyin’s niece, from the far-removed Jiangzuo region, was going to marry into a family in Western Liang? Even setting aside the long distance, she’d been traveling with only a few servants, and their meager group had been waylaid by bandits. The traditional bridal escort wasn’t picking her up directly from her home either; she’d been sent on her own to Tong Pass for Bian Lingbai to complete her wedding preparations. What kind of arrangement was this?
The most obvious answer was that Yao Jing wasn’t favored in her family.
Bian Lingbai, noticing the direction of Duan Ling’s attention, took a sip of his wine and asked, “Do you like her?”
Duan Ling smiled. “I wouldn’t have a chance even if I did.”
Bian Lingbai laughed openly; he found this young man quite direct and therefore interesting. “In the past, your uncle considered arranging a marriage with the Yao family, but his children were all still too young to be wed. He asked me once if he should arrange for Yao Zheng to marry his nephew, and I imagine he meant you—but if he were still alive, I don’t think he would care for this girl as a match.”
Duan Ling nodded, looking slightly regretful.
“The bridal escort from Western Liang will come soon enough. Once I’ve seen this matter through, I’ll help you settle in,” Bian Lingbai finished.
“Uncle Bian…” Duan Ling said, affecting hesitance. “There’s something else I brought for you.”
“Hm?” Bian Lingbai murmured, his expression nonchalant.
A frown twitched across Wu Du’s lips, and he cleared his throat. Duan Ling turned an imploring look on him, but Wu Du furrowed his brow in response, obviously displeased. The disapproval didn’t dissipate even after Duan Ling nodded at him, as if to say, trust me.
Impatient, Bian Lingbai asked, “Well, what is it? So secretive.”
Duan Ling drew a small object from his robes and handed it over. At first, Bian Lingbai was unimpressed—but when Duan Ling untied the silk ribbon and the treasure map slowly unfurled before his eyes, Bian Lingbai lifted a puzzled gaze to Duan Ling’s face. “What is this?”
The treasure map you’ve been looking for, Duan Ling thought, though he didn’t dare say as much aloud. He dipped his head toward Bian Lingbai and sat back down.
“Something too good for the likes of you,” Wu Du sneered.
Bian Lingbai’s confusion visibly increased. He picked up the map to take a closer look, and just like that, his expression changed—a shudder ran through his body, and his eyes jumped back up to Duan Ling in disbelief.
“My uncle sent me a military book, and this map was folded into its pages,” Duan Ling said, delivering his invented story to Bian Lingbai just as planned. He delineated how Zhao Kui had always seemed to carry high hopes for him and had wished him to familiarize himself with military texts. He’d hidden this map within the latter sections of Sun Tzu’s treatises, so Duan Ling had only discovered it after he’d read enough pages. There were far too many holes in this story—for one, why had Zhao Kui given such a precious map to his nephew instead of his own son—but when Duan Ling saw Bian Lingbai’s eyes light up, he knew it had done the trick.
“Very good… Excellent,” Bian Lingbai murmured, a glint in his eyes as he stared, transfixed, at the map.
Suddenly, Duan Ling felt as if he’d seen this look before: It was the same expression Cai Yan had whenever he’d looked at Duan Ling’s jade arc. Diverted by this stray thought, he was swiftly brought back to reality by Bian Lingbai’s half-crazed laughter.
“Very good! Very good!” Bian Lingbai repeated. “Wait here.”
Bian Lingbai tucked the treasure map away in his robes and strode out of the hall without another word. Puzzled, Duan Ling turned to look at Wu Du, who continued eating in silence. Yet even after the night watch announced the late hour, Bian Lingbai still hadn’t returned.
Duan Ling assumed he’d gone to verify the map’s authenticity, and hoped desperately that everything would go smoothly. Asking Wu Du was impossible—the walls most certainly had ears—so he waited quietly after finishing his meal. Finally, much further into the night, a guard came to collect Duan Ling and guide him to Bian Lingbai’s study. Wu Du, the guard explained, was forbidden from following along.
The two exchanged a glance. Wu Du nodded; this would be the true test for Duan Ling.
Bian Lingbai was waiting in his study, sitting with another man at his side. The man seemed old, though he had no beard, and was examining the map carefully with gloved hands. When Duan Ling entered, he gave him a nod.
“This is Mister Fei Hongde,” Bian Lingbai told him. “He’s your senior by two generations. He worked under both your uncle and the late emperor in the past; he’s incredibly knowledgeable.”
Duan Ling greeted him politely.
“Where did you get this map?” the man asked him.
Duan Ling repeated a briefer account of the story he’d told Bian Lingbai, and the man nodded slowly. He turned to Bian Lingbai with a slight smile. “Congratulations, General. Once the treasure is unearthed, it will no doubt fulfill the needs of our army.”
“The heavens have truly smiled upon me,” Bian Lingbai agreed. “Mister Fei, when should we start digging?”
“We’ll need to wait a bit longer.” Fei Hongde rolled the map closed again and handed it back to Bian Lingbai. “Don’t tell anyone else about this. I’ll examine the site myself and report directly to you.”