But first, you and I must come to an agreement. If you tell me your plan to kill him, I will spare you, and take care of your wife if necessary. If not, I will never let her go."
Xinlang sat and thought. It made sense. Xinlang had lost too many in the war, his mother and his daughter had been burned alive, and he felt helpless to help anyone else. He remembered the man with a knife, and he knew the man had been from the country. Xinlang had thought that perhaps he might be able to help him. And he wasn't going to be sitting on the sidelines, unable to do anything.
"All right, I will tell you."
Yinqin gave Xinlang his knife back. He couldn't help but wonder whether Yinqin would turn on him. But after he cut his face, that was probably too risky.
"But if I tell you the plan, you have to do it," Yinqin said.
Xinlang agreed.
"It's to be tomorrow evening at six o'clock, at Chuan Yin's teahouse. You and your family will all be here."
Xinlang nodded, his mind racing to try to think of some way out of the plan. But he couldn't.
"You are not going to try to stop me?" Yinqin asked.
"No, I can't. You saved me from that man. You saved my life."
"I will try to save your wife, if she tries to get away. However, if you don't follow my instructions to the letter, your entire family will die. I will kill your family."
"My wife will try to get away if she hears me give the instructions."
"I'm sure she will. Now, it is time for you to leave. Tomorrow will be a very dangerous day."
* * *
The next day, Yinqin found himself in a quandary. What should he do? He hadn't given the order to kill the man in the market. But he couldn't very well back down now. If he came clean and told Yue Heng everything, he would probably be blamed. And if he killed her father himself, then his own life might be in danger.
He would find a way to solve both problems, he thought.
He went to Bai Qiang, who was out on a hunt.
"I have some urgent matters to discuss," Yinqin said. "Can you come to my house?"
Bai Qiang followed Yinqin home. Yinqin sent for a pot of tea and poured some for him.
"I have some important news. A matter of national security. Please, sit down."
Yinqin told Bai Qiang about the assassination plan and that it was a national matter. Bai Qiang said, "Yes, you said that already."
"Very well, Bai Qiang, can I trust you?"
"I do what I am asked to do, sir."
"I can't risk involving the army."
Bai Qiang said nothing, not having the slightest idea what Yinqin was going to say next.
"And I cannot do it without your help. I need your help to stop the assassination."
"What do you need from me?"
"I will go after them. To save that man's life and also to save his wife. I was thinking of going alone, but I need your help."
Bai Qiang knew that anything Yinqin asked was only out of necessity. If he was going to get out of it, he would have to ask for help. But he also knew that Yinqin was someone whom it was not safe to cross.
"We cannot ask the army for help. They may not be able to help you, and they will be suspicious. I am better able to get around that than the army."
"I am afraid not, Bai Qiang, and I think you know it. The army will have heard of my work with the emperor. If I ask for their help, they will ask, 'Are you betraying the emperor? Will you start another rebellion?' "
"You must be worried that I will turn on you. That's why you're asking for my help. If you fail, then I will be out of a job. And you will be in prison. You are not like Yinqin, are you?"
"No, of course not. But I can handle this problem by myself. And I know you have been very loyal to me. If we fail, then I don't care what happens to me."
Bai Qiang pondered the implications of what Yinqin was saying. If he failed, he would be dead and Yinqin would be executed for treason.
Bai Qiang had been looking for this chance for a long time. If he really made a serious effort, he might finally be able to get rid of Yinqin.
Bai Qiang got up and fetched his saber. He took it out of its scabbard and swung it in the air, making loud noises as he swung it.
"What the hell are you doing?" Yinqin asked.
"Is it all right for me to hit you?"
"Not unless you want to be shot."
Bai Qiang swung his saber again. Yinqin looked puzzled.
"Afraid I might get you?" Bai Qiang said.
"Not at all, that's what I'm counting on."
"Good. When do you want to leave?"
"Now. The sooner the better."
* * *
Yinqin had not been home since the attack on his house two weeks earlier. He had expected that he might be tracked there. But none of his soldiers had ever come to his house, so he assumed that they were not tracking him. But if they had seen the soldiers with the woman, it would make him suspicious.
So he had been careful to walk a long distance away from his house and stay on the outskirts of the market. He planned to cut through the woods, away from the market, where he hoped no one would see him.
When he reached the woods, he saw the woodsman sitting on a rock by the side of the road.
"Is that you?" the woodsman said.
"Yes. And where is the woman?"
"I have been looking for her. She didn't come to me."
Yinqin said he was going to keep looking for her.
"I will wait," the woodsman said. "I will be over there." He pointed. "I saw you looking in this direction, so I guess you will want to keep an eye on the road."
Yinqin asked him if he would do that. The man seemed too happy to be sitting around and too happy to have Yinqin as a captive, in any case.
"Yes," Yinqin said. "Let me know if you see her."
Yinqin went through the woods to the forest road. He was beginning to worry about what might be happening back at home. He walked toward the market, looking carefully, and as he passed a tree, he saw a large branch on the ground. He picked it up and saw a large footprint in the mud. He knelt down and looked at it, then went on his way.
* * *
Xinlang kept his knife pressed against Yinqin's throat. "If you try to run, I will kill you and then your family."
Bai Qiang and two other men had been assigned to guard the man's family and the storefronts he owned, each responsible for different places. They had tied up a man who came through the market selling goods, to make sure that Yinqin's family was safe.
Yinqin led Xinlang to a house nearby that was rented out to a woman who cooked in a teahouse to raise money to buy food. They waited inside for a while.
"I think she has gone," Yinqin said. "She will probably send someone else."
Xinlang didn't have time to worry about someone else. "I am going to kill her," he said. "If you try to run, I will kill her anyway, and I will kill all of her family. She must have already gone to see her lover, but I will not let her go. So now I will tell you what we must do."
Xinlang walked to the storeroom next to the front door of the teahouse. He took off his coat and put it on the floor. He took off his left boot, put it on the floor, and pulled out a long knife he had hidden.
"Now listen carefully. You tie up both of your arms and you lie down on the floor."
Xinlang tied his left arm, and Yinqin tied his right arm.
"Now, I am going to get rid of the woman. I will need your help."
Xinlang held Yinqin's feet down and Yinq
