Lingxi Palace.

Empress Dowager Jiang lit a stick of incense. After closing her eyes and bowing three times before the Buddha, she inserted it into the incense burner. Eunuch Li, who had been respectfully waiting at her side all along, hurriedly handed over a cloth for wiping hands.

After Empress Dowager Jiang received it, she lowered her eyes wiping her well-maintained hands and asked: “She truly agreed?”

Eunuch Li said with a fawning smile: “She agreed. This old slave mentioned the external reason why His Majesty has not held an imperial selection for several years. That Liang woman was flattered until she was floating on air and made no further refusals.”

From her nose, Empress Dowager Jiang let out a cold snort: “The special honor this mourning one has given her is quite substantial.”

Eunuch Li kept his head lowered, echoing “naturally.”

Yet Empress Dowager Jiang still had a breath of anger that had not smoothed over in her heart. She gazed at the Buddha statue and said: “If it were not because of His Majesty…”

The words that followed were ultimately not continued. Blue smoke floated through the Buddha hall. Empress Dowager Jiang’s brows and eyes took on a cold edge as she changed the topic: “That one surnamed Fang from the Imperial Medical Bureau—although he does not know much about His Majesty’s affairs, to avoid complications as nights grow long and dreams multiply, there is no need to preserve this traitor’s life.”

With that imperial physician surnamed Fang present, Wen Yu essentially had a pair of eyes in the Imperial Medical Bureau.

Eunuch Li naturally understood the stakes involved. He nodded respectfully: “This old slave understands. This old slave will handle this matter properly.”

The Empress Dowager knelt on the prayer cushion, closed her eyes and began rotating the bodhi beads in her hand, saying nothing more. Eunuch Li sensibly bowed and withdrew.

When leaving Lingxi Palace, an elderly palace maid beside the Empress Dowager made a gesture to see him off a few steps. Eunuch Li hurriedly declined: “How could this servant trouble elder sister to see me off? Her Majesty the Empress Dowager’s side cannot be without people.”

After the two exchanged some flattering words back and forth, Eunuch Li finally left through the main gates of Lingxi Palace with two accompanying junior eunuchs.

One junior eunuch, thinking of their earlier encounter at Zhaohua Palace, couldn’t help but feel indignant on his behalf: “That palace maid beside the Liang woman was truly crude, barbaric and discourteous to the extreme. Old Ancestor should not have shown consideration for that Liang woman or shown goodwill toward Zhaohua Palace…”

On the lengthy palace pathway, with no one around to the left or right at this moment, Eunuch Li shed the last bit of false courtesy and smile from his face. Under the wrinkled eyelids, only half a slit was exposed, yet his gaze was sharp and captivating, no longer showing half the foolish, arrogant or fawning appearance from before others. He rebuked coldly: “What do you understand? In this royal palace drama, the lead actors are those two from Lingxi Palace and Zhaohua Palace. We servants cannot compare to those great ministers of the previous dynasty—we can only scrape out a living in the cracks between them.”

“When the one from Zhaohua Palace discovers the Mid-Autumn palace banquet is not so easy to organize, this servant will also be marked down in her book. In this palace, it has always been able to tolerate market fools, but cannot tolerate those clever people who take sides. Before the play reaches its final act, who knows which actor will be victorious?” As he spoke, he glanced sideways at the two junior eunuchs, warning: “If you want to live long, put away that deadly clever appearance of yours.”

The two junior eunuchs felt their spines suddenly turn cold and hurriedly expressed thanks, calling him “Old Ancestor” repeatedly.

—

Pingzhou.

On this return journey to Liang lands, Tan Yi carried few supplies, and those accompanying him were all elite troops from the army. They arrived at Pingzhou two days earlier than originally planned.

After he met with Chen Wei and Li Yao and conveyed Wen Yu’s recent situation in Chen Kingdom as Wen Yu had instructed, the expressions on both men’s faces did not relax. They clearly understood what kind of situation the Chen royal court was, and it would not be as smooth as he described.

But they also understood that he would say this—it must have been Wen Yu’s instruction.

Chen Wei sighed: “The Princess went to Southern Chen from afar for our sake, for the sake of Great Liang. From now on in Chen lands, the Princess will have to rely entirely on herself alone. We… can only recapture Great Liang’s lost territories as quickly as possible so that Chen Kingdom will have some apprehension and will not dare treat the Princess lightly.”

Li Yao, whose hair and beard had turned completely white in just a few short months, had been leaning on his cane with his back turned, looking out the window. Listening to the conversation between Tan Yi and Chen Wei, he did not say a word.

Only that withered hand covered with age spots gripped the cane tightly then loosely, loosely then tightly, while his gaze gazed deeply at a pool of lotus flowers blooming splendidly under the scorching sun.

Before withdrawing, Tan Yi glanced at Li Yao’s back. Thinking of what Wen Yu had instructed him when seeing him off, he understood that Wen Yu’s attitude toward Li Yao had also softened somewhat. His heart stirred as he said: “The Princess guessed the lords would surely worry and specifically asked this humble general to tell all the lords not to be concerned.”

For ordinary ministers, Wen Yu certainly would not leave such words. This was clearly meant for Li Yao.

Only because there had been the barrier of differing political views and transgressing authority between teacher and student, they ultimately could not be as close as they were initially.

Li Yao still faced away looking at the lotus pond. Even until Tan Yi withdrew, he did not say a single word.

However, Chen Wei understood the implied meaning in Tan Yi’s words. He looked toward the old man standing by the window and said: “When General Tan returns, the letters we sent by eight-hundred-li urgent courier are still on the road. The Princess did not yet know the news that General Xiao was alive then. It seems the Princess toward Your Excellency…”

“This old man needs to leave Pingzhou for a time.” Li Yao slowly turned around leaning on his cane. This abrupt statement brooked no discussion whatsoever and was more like merely a notification.

Chen Wei immediately frowned: “With war erupting in Jinzhou and chaos in the southern border, if you leave Pingzhou at this time…”

Halfway through his words, Chen Wei suddenly paused, seeming to understand something: “You’re going to search for General Xiao?”

Li Yao walked out slowly step by step leaning on his cane, saying: “This old man did wrong and brought shame upon the Princess. Since this matter arose because of this old man, it should naturally be this old man who goes to resolve it properly.”

Chen Wei hurriedly called out to stop him: “This matter still needs careful deliberation. Previously Old Li sent word saying General Xiao and Nephew Zhou parted ways. Nephew Zhou also does not know where General Xiao is now. Old Li’s side has been dispatching additional people to search. After they send back definite news, it won’t be too late for you to set out.”

Li Yao said: “The battle of Jinzhou has been at a stalemate for several months. It would be good for this old man to go see for himself as well.”

—

Tongzhou.

After Xiao Li finished training troops at the drill ground, he led his horse to the stream to drink water and incidentally scooped up a handful to splash on his somewhat sun-reddened face, dispelling the heat from his entire body.

Not far away, Tao Kui and Zheng Hu had another disagreement and were wrestling in the shallow stream, one pressing down the other’s hand, the other twisting his foot, directly entangled in a struggle, clamoring that this time they must determine superiority.

Xiao Li raised his head to look once, smiled and lay down on the grass behind him, only using both elbows to half-prop up his body. Listening to the sound of the flowing stream and the noisy cicada calls, he said: “This autumn tiger truly lives up to its name.”

No one responded from behind. He turned his head to glance back and saw Song Qin sitting under a tree, obviously lost in thought while rubbing something in his hand.

After watching for a while, Xiao Li asked: “Thinking of Elder Sister Mudan?”

Hearing the two words “Mudan,” Song Qin finally came back to his senses. He tucked the sachet in his hand that had been rubbed until its edges frayed back into his chest, saying: “No.”

He had a square, resolute face. Though he had not read extensively in poetry and books, through the years his brows and eyes always carried a scholar’s refined air. Precisely because of that refined quality, even though he kept a short, shallow beard, it did not make people feel he was fierce. Rather, he quite resembled those chivalrous heroes in story books who eliminated evil and punished villains.

Xiao Li did not look at him but picked up small stones beside him and threw them into the shallow stream, saying: “The times are unsettled now. Zuihong House is not a place to stay long-term. When I arranged for Godmother and the others to leave Yongzhou, I asked Elder Sister Mudan if she wanted to leave together. She refused.”

Song Qin listened in silence. After pausing for several breaths, Xiao Li continued: “She’s waiting for you to give her an answer.”

Song Qin seemed to find what Xiao Li said laughable. He laughed lightly, the wrinkles on his face deepening one after another. The wound at his abdomen wrapped in gauze also faintly ached as he said: “If Mudan hears these words of yours later on…”

“You two have held mutual affection for so many years. Is it just because of your deceased wife who passed away years ago that you still refuse to give Elder Sister Mudan an explanation?”

The smile on Song Qin’s face stiffened for an instant, then he continued smiling: “What mutual affection or not—don’t tell me you’ve been listening to Xiao An recite too many of those talented scholar and beautiful lady story books…”

His voice came to an abrupt halt. Hou Xiao’an had not yet been gone for a year, yet when they brothers joked around, they would still inadvertently mention him.

In that instant, both fell silent.

Sunlight reflected on the stream surface, glittering in waves. Xiao Li lowered his eyes gazing at the water surface. Only after several breaths did he say: “When I urged Elder Sister Mudan to leave Yongzhou, she did tell me that she stayed at Zuihong House for those children sold into the establishment. She said that as long as she was there for a day, those children would not be beaten or forced into prostitution. Once they learned to play instruments and sing, brew tea and make incense in the establishment and had a skill to rely on—earning enough redemption money as courtesans who only performed—they could decide for themselves whether to leave or stay. This could be considered fulfilling a long-held wish of her own.”

“But with so much business cooperation between the establishment and the escort agency, I don’t believe Elder Sister Mudan only stayed because she knew you, Big Brother, from their acquaintance.”

Song Qin remained silent all along. He continued: “You’ve kept faith with your deceased wife for so many years, and Elder Sister Mudan has also waited for you for so many years. You see Elder Sister’s pride is high, but deep in her heart she ultimately minds her own background, so there are some words she cannot take the initiative to speak. If you truly have no feelings for Elder Sister, then make it clear to her as soon as possible. It would be good for both you and Elder Sister.”

Song Qin removed the wine gourd hanging at his waist. Disregarding his injury, he used his thumb to push open the stopper and took a drink. Only after the burning pain from the wine’s harsh sting scorched his throat did he speak to Xiao Li for the first time about that past matter with his deceased wife: “Qingyuan was a girl from my hometown. That year, disaster struck the village. Her maternal aunt’s family wanted to sell her to a brothel. I took her and secretly fled the village, but on the road we encountered bandits. In order to prevent those mountain bandits from killing me, Qingyuan was violated to death. When I found her, there wasn’t a single patch of good flesh on her body.”

Perhaps that memory was too shocking and horrifying. He gulped down another mouthful of wine before saying: “I couldn’t afford wedding clothes. With the few remaining copper coins on me, I bought three feet of red silk, wrapped her in it and bowed to heaven and earth. I promised Qingyuan that I would never remarry in this life.”

“Mudan is a good girl, but I’m not the right man for her. She also has better choices.”

He exhaled a breath of wine fumes and smiled looking toward Xiao Li, though his eyes were somewhat red: “However, you’re right. No matter what, I should make things clear to Mudan. These years, I’ve actually only looked after her like a younger sister from my own family.”

Xiao Li said nothing. This was also the first time he heard Song Qin speak of his own past. The brothers all only knew he had a deceased wife but did not know it was so tragic.

As for his matter with Mudan, initially Xiao Li had heard people from the gambling house mention it. They said that back then Mudan had just been sold into the establishment and was extremely fierce in temperament, constantly seeking death. Song Qin went to the establishment to handle matters for Han Tangzong and happened upon the madam having people beat Mudan, so he helped out.

The madam thought he had designs on her newly purchased cash cow and viciously humiliated him. She also spread malicious gossip to Han Tangzong. Han Tangzong talked with Song Qin about it, and this matter became known throughout the entire gambling house.

After that, Song Qin was very rarely assigned by Han Tangzong to go to Zuihong House, and Mudan became an immensely popular courtesan for a time.

Yet whenever the two met, they were always as naturally compatible as old friends of many years. Others found it difficult to even interject a word.

Previously Xiao Li thought the two had a tacit understanding, but Mudan had many familiar clients among high officials and nobles. He thought Song Qin felt he had nothing to offer and thus dared not take the initiative to express his feelings to Mudan. Now learning there was also a deceased wife in between for whom Song Qin would feel guilty his entire life—this was not something he as an outsider could persuade.

The sun had gradually begun slanting westward. Xiao Li sat with one leg bent at the knee, his elbow propped on that raised knee, looking at the continuous southern border mountain ranges in the distance. He said: “Then have the brothers from the escort agency stop associating with Zuihong House from now on. After Zhou Sui and I escaped from Yongzhou, Pei Song’s hunting dogs will certainly not let it go. After the Xu family helped us leave the city, they only left an empty shell of the main family in Yongzhou and the entire clan fled south to avoid disaster. With that target, Pei Song did not investigate to Zuihong House. But if there are any more unusual movements, it might implicate Elder Sister Mudan and the others.”

Before Song Qin could say anything, Zhang Huai suddenly came striding quickly from the direction of the drill ground: “My Lord! After the Liu family met with people from the Pei clan of Tongcheng, they’ve made another move!”