Today was a good day. Outside, the sun shone brilliantly. For Dou Yanshan, any day without enemies pursuing him was a good day. Crawling up from the crude bamboo bed, he felt his lumbar vertebrae creaking and groaning. Even he himself was impressed that he’d run five thousand li in half a month.

Dou San brought him washing water. The water’s surface reflected a weathered, exhausted face. Stubble covered his face—he looked a full ten years older. His hair hung disheveled over his shoulders, messy and yellowed. In contrast, his physique had become much more robust. Pinching his arm, it was rock hard. The fair-skinned youth of former days was nowhere to be seen. His legs had also developed the characteristics of cavalry—when pressed together, a palm’s width gap appeared between his calves, making him walk like a duck.

Since being marked by the Bai Qi Si in Langzhou, he could no longer remember how many roads he’d traveled or how many people had died. Those loyal and brave sons of the Dou family, one after another, charged toward the Bai Qi Si agents, then never returned. He only ran frantically onward, needing to run faster than those messengers. There were no schemes, no good plans—only a race for speed, because no matter what methods they used, they could never be more proficient than the Bai Qi Si agents.

Only after entering the great mountains did those annoying tails gradually disappear. This was Nanzhao territory—Tang people wouldn’t enter. The domain of the Tango Queen had always been forbidden ground for Tang people. The Dou family had used over a dozen lives to establish this escape route. The large quantities of brocade and grain supplied each year hadn’t been wasted—the Tango Queen’s domain had become the Dou family’s final sanctuary.

Today he would meet that corpulent queen. The bearing of a noble family’s son must be maintained. Old steward Dou San shaved his face, trimmed his nose hair, arranged his hair properly, and placed a golden crown on his head. He changed out of his tattered leather boots—deerskin short boots were comfortable. An incense stick’s time later, an elegant young gentleman reappeared in the world.

The pig squealing beneath the bamboo building once again reminded Dou Yanshan where he was. This wasn’t splendid Chang’an, nor was it the warm, comfortable estate, but rather the extremely harsh Nanzhao. Thinking that last night he’d slept in the same bamboo building as a group of pigs, he wanted to vomit. The weather was hot, and waves of foul stench drifted up through the bamboo slats, lingering all around. Forcibly suppressing the discomfort in his stomach, Dou Yanshan prepared to attend the banquet the queen had prepared for him.

Upon entering the queen’s large bamboo building, Dou Yanshan’s suffering reached unprecedented levels. He’d rather live with those pigs than stay in the same bamboo building as the queen. Not for any other reason than that beneath the queen’s bamboo building were raised even more pigs, fatter ones, so the pig stench was even more intense.

If it were only the stench, having experienced many hardships over these days, Dou Yanshan could still endure it. But the lewd scene inside the bamboo building gave him suicidal impulses. It wasn’t that he’d never experienced sensual scenes—at the Swallow Tower, at the Spring Breeze Pavilion, those women’s bodies swaying in gentle songs and dances, the wonderful scenery beneath gauze always intoxicating, the trickling sound of wooden ladles pouring wine, the melodious music of strings and bamboo combined with the sweet fragrance of rouge and powder—sensory stimulation reached its extreme.

He closed his eyes. After a long time, he opened them, only hoping that what he’d just seen was all fantasy, a nightmare. Unfortunately, everything was real. Four or five dark-skinned naked men were competing to fawn over a mountain of flesh lying on a bamboo bed. A somewhat lighter-complexioned man was swinging a large dangling appendage while peeling bananas for the queen, biting off the bad fruit flesh at the tip himself, then stuffing the remaining portion into a huge mouth.

Dou Yanshan swore he saw no chewing motion—that banana just slid right in. With a grunt, two plump palms pushed away two disheveled heads rubbing against enormous breasts. She sat up, her fat rippling like water waves.

This was a fucking female giant. Sitting on the bed, she was taller than the standing Dou Yanshan. Two small eyes buried in fat brightened upon seeing Dou Yanshan. Dou Yanshan often saw this kind of gaze—he’d had it himself, but only when seeing absolutely beautiful Hu dancing girls would he reveal this appreciative look, that greedy gaze of wanting to devour something whole. How long had it been?

Some men were eyeing him with hostility. Dou Yanshan was a sensitive person. He could sense that trace of faint hatred Yun Ye had for him, so naturally he could also feel the undisguised jealousy from those few men flaunting their little brothers.

As a guest visiting someone’s home, one naturally should bring gifts. Taking the sandalwood box from the dumbstruck old steward behind him, holding it in his hands, trying not to look at those huge breasts swaying before his eyes, he bowed and said, “This humble one has come from distant Chang’an to seek shelter with Your Majesty the Queen. Having received Your Majesty’s boundless kindness with no way to repay it, I only have this small gift to present, hoping to bring Your Majesty the Queen a smile.”

Not knowing whether she understood, the dark and robust queen grabbed Dou Yanshan’s hand and laughed heartily, rubbing it for a long time before accepting the wooden box and opening it on the spot. Seeing they weren’t those glittering stones, she was somewhat unhappy.

Having been rubbed for so long by those sweaty hands that had grabbed who-knows-what, all of Dou Yanshan’s hair stood on end. He decided that upon returning, he would scrub his hands thoroughly with dry sand. If she grabbed him again, Dou Yanshan would no longer want these hands.

Forcibly suppressing the discomfort in his stomach, he quickly explained, “Your Majesty must not underestimate this black paste. If you heat it over fire and inhale the blue smoke it produces daily, you will achieve immortality and eternal youth. Every day will bring you boundless ecstasy. This paste has a beautiful name—we all call it the Worry-Forgetting Grass…”

The saying “Heaven rewards diligence” was a true truth. No matter how far the road, Xi Tong would slowly walk back. No matter how difficult the circumstances, Dou Yanshan would never extinguish the flame of vengeance in his heart. Just as Zhangsun never stopped contemplating Yun Ye, these were all inevitabilities in the development of things.

Li Tai was a good child. Having obtained the newly compiled mathematics textbook from Yun Ye, he agreed to the task of teaching in his place. His progress was very fast—more than adequate for this task. Of course, Li Tai wouldn’t miss out on any of the teacher’s privileges either. He had plenty of enemies—those punches received in martial arts class he would never forget. From birth until before entering the academy, he’d never been beaten. Who would have thought that in these two years, he’d made up double for all the beatings he’d missed? Sometimes when returning to the palace, his wet nurse would see his bruises, hug him, and cry, even preparing to lodge a complaint with the Empress. Complaining was useless—Li Tai had tried long ago. He could only constantly comfort his wet nurse not to be sad. One day he would return it all—guaranteed, not missing a single punch.

Being jealous of good students was a universal school problem. Yun Ye couldn’t control it. Li Tai was a person with good judgment who knew priorities. At most it was a matter of a beating—what of it?

Li Gang had written a very long letter to Monk Daoxin. Yun Ye felt it bulging in his chest as he carried it. Yun Ye knew of the White Horse Temple in Luoyang, and only knew of a sophistry about “a white horse is not a horse.” Daoxin resided there with his staff. Whether the One-Finger Chan was created by the Heavenly Dragon monk or by Daoxin, he couldn’t remember. Yun Ye worried that upon meeting Daoxin, no matter what he said, Daoxin would only answer by raising one finger. That would be terrible—having to guess everything. This method of mystifying people was truly a wonderful trick. If Daoxin didn’t know One-Finger Chan, he himself could appropriate it for use.

Going to the Ministry of Personnel to request leave, the Heavenly Official wasn’t there. Having left the record on file, he prepared to hurry home. The less time spent in Chang’an, the better. Walking on the main street, he felt something was missing. After much thought, Yun Ye finally understood—those wastrels with their hawks and dogs causing trouble were gone. Now those wastrels were all at Yushan Academy receiving reeducation from Liu Xian. For Chang’an, this was a blessing. On the streets, wealthy young ladies out strolling with maids and family servants had increased considerably, a riot of colors very eye-catching. Unfortunately, there were fewer wastrels to harass respectable women.

Not everyone was pleased. For instance, brothels and gambling houses had lost their absolute main consumers, and business had slackened considerably. Look how anxious it made the madams—at high noon they ran to the streets to solicit customers.

If soliciting others was a comedy, soliciting him became a tragedy. The beauties on the street all shot him disdainful looks, making Yun Ye lose face. Even Old Zhuang felt somewhat ashamed. Could it be that their marquis was the only lecher on this entire Vermillion Bird Avenue?

A heavily perfumed handkerchief was tossed into Yun Ye’s chest, followed by a flirtatious glance as she twisted her plump buttocks and left, prompting all the street ruffians to collectively shout their approval. Yun Ye wanted to throw the handkerchief away but discovered it was covered in writing.

He’d never expected Li Anlan to be acting alone as a lone warrior. Helping Li Anlan was one thing; establishing relations with the forces behind her was another. A group of wretches who couldn’t see the light—did they have the grounds to negotiate with the Yun family?

Yun Ye stuffed the handkerchief in his chest, glanced at the small building beside him, and walked away without looking back.

A group of people—or rather, a group of women—stood in a dark room on the second floor, watching Yun Ye leave. An older woman said in a low voice, “Marquis Yun is ultimately too proud and arrogant, looking down on us lowly slaves. Wanting to join hands with him is already impossible.”

“I said long ago that he’s a person proud to his bones. You couldn’t possibly succeed. He has not the slightest interest in spying on the inner palace’s secrets. You wouldn’t listen. Now he’ll take his anger out on me again. Originally, he was already very averse to my actions. This time he’ll detest me even more. It doesn’t matter how he treats me—I only hope he doesn’t take his anger out on the child in my belly. Without his favor, my child’s future prospects are worrying.”

Li Anlan sat in a chair, seemingly having long anticipated the development of events. Her face beneath the veiled hat was calm as still water.

“We’ve been thinking about this for many years, yet for him it was accomplished as easily as lifting a hand. If possible, we lowly people wanted to shelter under his wings and seek a peaceful living. Now it seems we’ve been too clever for our own good. Shouyang was right—the child in your belly is the key. He’s Marquis Yun’s flesh and blood. Marquis Yun cannot ignore him. If we want to find a master, he’s the best choice.”

A hunched eunuch in the shadows spoke in a hoarse voice slowly. After pausing, he continued, “Marquis Yun probably became aware long ago, only for Anlan’s sake he hasn’t exposed this matter. If he wanted to move against us, that would be a great disaster. From now on, stop all pointless probing of him. Let time and affection slowly erode that seven-chambered exquisite heart of his, thus producing some pity for us—that is the safest strategy. His avoiding Shaolin Temple this time probably contains the intention of extracting himself from the whirlpool. Lingnan, in the end, still requires our own efforts.”

Li Anlan proudly raised her head, looking at these people who in the past had filled her with extreme fear. Under the oppressive pressure of her man, they were like wild dogs encountering a lion—besides submission, there was no second path to walk.

Stroking her slightly protruding abdomen, her heart filled with satisfaction. That wooden plaque around her neck was the greatest protective talisman for herself and her child. With it, even ghosts and spirits would avoid them. For the first time in her life, she had that warm feeling of being protected by someone.