Situ Sheng made no outward sign. He waved for his subordinates to head back first, then entered the tea shelter and, behind a pillar, listened to the two of them talk.

He had arrived just in time to hear the part where Xia Qingyun proposed marriage to Chu Linlang. He had long since seen that the young man harbored impure intentions toward Chu Linlang — he had not imagined the fellow harbored thoughts of marrying his female employer.

Now that the dark young man had left, he finally showed himself.

His sudden appearance gave Chu Linlang a start. She could not help asking: “When did you arrive?”

Hearing that he had been there for a while, Chu Linlang asked uneasily: “Then… did you hear what we were saying?”

Situ Sheng heard the word “we” and found it rather grating. He raised an eyebrow and said: “Nothing much. I just heard Chu Niangzi drawing big round pies in the air.”

Chu Linlang knew he had heard the part about her wanting to be a brother to Xia Qingyun, and could not help glaring at him: “Drawing pies is still better than hurting people. If he were to marry someone like me, he would never have a day’s peace. Since there is no hope for it, it is best not to entangle — everyone keeps to their own place, and we can part on good terms in the future. Would you not agree, my lord?”

Situ Sheng saw that on the last line, Chu Linlang had deliberately emphasized her words and given him a pointed look — clearly hinting that he too should stop entangling himself with her, so they need not face an awkward parting later.

He gave a small smile, slightly lowered his head, and said quietly in Chu Linlang’s ear: “I do not care for pies. If you like drawing them, draw them for that foolish young man.”

His words left Chu Linlang momentarily speechless. But then he pointed toward a mountain not far away: “Don’t you love to pay respects at temples? I have half a day free today. Let me accompany you to the temple up on that mountain.”

Chu Linlang indicated she had no wish to go. She still had a great many matters of business to attend to and had no leisure to go wandering mountains and sightseeing with his lordship.

But before she could even turn around, she suddenly found herself lifted off the ground — Situ Sheng had scooped her up bodily and carried her onto the carriage.

Chu Linlang looked anxiously at Dongxue, who was in the distance buying glutinous rice cakes together with Guanqi, and beat his chest in fury: “In broad daylight, in full public view — what on earth are you doing?”

Situ Sheng got into the carriage too and sat in the compartment, letting her beat at him as she pleased.

He had far too many things to take issue with his female household manager about. This business of casually complimenting men’s bodies was only the first of them.

He remembered that Chu Linlang used to peek at him when he practiced boxing. Could it be she had also been secretly watching that dark young man haul boxes bare-chested at the docks, which was why she praised his strong arms?

Thinking this, the former Junior Minister of the Court of Judicial Review felt inclined to conduct another interrogation. He was certainly not about to let Chu Linlang slip away again so easily.

Once in the carriage, he draped one arm around Chu Linlang’s slender shoulder and said in an even tone: “In the coming days, when I get busy, I may not be able to return to the house at all. While I still have a moment free, I want to spend more time with you. Also — the suggestion I made the other day, have you thought it over? If you truly want to leave, I will have a boat prepared for you. There is no need to keep being mixed up with Xia Qingyun…”

On the day he had suggested going to Lingnan, Linlang had not given him an answer. And just now, hearing her draw those big pies, it was plain she still intended to remain in contact with Xia Qingyun.

Situ Sheng felt a sudden and inexplicable agitation, and pressed Linlang again.

If she wanted to leave, she could not go too far — at the very least she had to remain within reach. Otherwise he would feel a discomfiting sense of things slipping out of his control.

Chu Linlang looked at the faint dark circles barely visible beneath his eyes and knew he had been truly run off his feet these past few days and had not been sleeping well at all.

Situ Sheng was nothing like a guileless young man such as Xia Qingyun.

Both of them had feelings for her, but Xia Qingyun — simple-minded as he was — had simply come out and proposed marriage.

A clever man’s approach was far more artful. This Situ Sheng had stolen several rounds of advantage from her, yet from beginning to end had never once said a word about marrying her.

Chu Linlang was not sure whether to admire Situ Sheng for not spinning lies to deceive a woman, or to admire him for wandering through a garden of flowers without ever putting down a single stake.

He was like a strong and potent spirit — pleasurable but harmful to consume.

Knowing full well that too much wine does harm, she occasionally still had moments when she wanted to get a little drunk.

Chu Linlang had been thirsty for quite some time, and right now she rather wanted to drink a great big cup.

Turning it around in her mind: though Situ Sheng put nothing in as his stake, she need not stake anything either. If you were to hire a man of such quality at a pleasure house, it would cost a considerable sum. Compared to straightforward and upright men like Xia Qingyun, a man like Situ Sheng was actually easier to keep at arm’s length, easier to let go of, and they could part on perfectly good terms.

And besides, he truly needed someone to support him right now. A person must know how to repay kindness. What Situ Sheng had done for her was beyond counting — how could she possibly abandon him at the lowest and most difficult point of his life?

Hearing her say there was no need to prepare a boat — that she still wanted to stay at the house and help — Situ Sheng’s gaze gradually brightened. Yet he still asked: “You should know my situation. It may grow even worse than it is now. You… have no regrets?”

Chu Linlang smiled, unconcerned: “It is not as though I am marrying you. What is there to regret or not regret? Did you not say that if things went badly, you would send me away? I trust that my lord would not draw pies in the air. A gentleman’s word cannot be broken.”

Situ Sheng narrowed his eyes. He heard clearly that she had no intention of marrying him, and that if she ever wanted to leave, she would not linger for him for even a moment.

Well and good — this was what Situ Sheng had intended all along. He was fully aware of his situation and it would not do to bind Chu Linlang too tightly to himself.

Yet this woman’s breezy, rakish tone nonetheless jabbed faintly at Situ Sheng’s lungs.

He needed a moment to collect himself, so he said no more, and turned his head to look out the carriage window.

Chu Linlang was by now accustomed to Situ Sheng’s periodic spells of cold aloofness. Too lazy to coax him, she looked with lively interest at the scenery outside the other carriage window.

She had taken him as her thirst-quenching wine. If both parties were willing, she would drink a full cup — but there was no reason to coax the “wine” into being happy so it would flow into her mouth of its own accord.

What was this called, again? Ah yes — the teacher had said it in class: “Duke Tai Gong fished with a straight hook, awaiting those willing to be caught.”

Studying history was truly beneficial. There was wisdom for living one’s life at every turn.

After a while, the “fine wine” seemed to have adjusted its own mood and reached out to pull Chu Linlang’s shoulder into his embrace.

Chu Linlang leaned softly in his arms, half-lifting her head to look at the man’s somewhat cool and aloof face. Suddenly unable to help herself, she pressed a light kiss to his handsomely shaped chin.

The carriage curtains were drawn tight, forming a private space sealed off from the mundane world — one in which she could boldly tease this man who seemed, on the surface, as pure and lofty as ice.

This man was like a clam — prise open a crack in that seemingly cold and isolated shell, and one could savor an indescribable sweetness within.

Yet Linlang did not know: when she lifted her gaze and smiled with her teeth, looking as sweet and captivating as a spirit, the man had long since, despite knowing it was impossible, been pulled irresistibly into a depths he could not return from.

The man cooperated readily. He gathered her slender waist in his arms, their lips and tongues entwining in tender, lingering communion.

Thus a vintage wine, sealed for years before being uncorked, entered the mouth and went straight to the head.

However, Chu Linlang still retained a measure of reason. Before the carriage came to a stop, she managed to push away the man whose hands were growing increasingly unruly and whose embrace was growing increasingly forceful.

She steadied her disordered breath, straightened his lordship’s collar, which she had yanked into slight disarray, and said quietly: “In broad daylight, this is really not proper, is it?”

Situ Sheng had by now learned better than to argue with his female household manager about who had started things.

Though it was his garments that had been yanked open and his solid chest that had been freely taken advantage of, he still had to cooperate with Chu Niangzi and help maintain her image as a restrained and proper woman.

Guanqi and Dongxue had not noticed what had just occurred inside the carriage, full of uncontainable feeling. The two of them drove the carriage as usual, bickering away, their laughter echoing down the mountain.

When they reached the mountain gate, Situ Sheng had the two of them stay to watch over the carriage.

He then took Linlang, and the two of them walked up the mountain path together, while he pointed out the scenery and sights along the way.

His voice was deep and carried a uniquely resonant quality. No wonder stewards from other households had said that when he used to serve as a young tutor, the Imperial Princes all loved listening to him lecture.

Hmm, she had been wrong about him. How could a man of such quality be compared to the top entertainer of a pleasure house? He was truly priceless — a treasure that a thousand gold pieces could not buy.

Come to think of it, the advantage she was getting here was truly enormous.

Today was not an auspicious day for burning incense, so there were few people on the mountain. The main hall was particularly quiet and peaceful.

Those three boats had, after all, been purchased from a dead man’s hands. For peace of mind, Chu Niangzi had decided to come to the temple and pray for blessing, and to get a few protective amulets to affix to the boats.

Besides, her lord was currently the most avoided piece of stinking dog’s dung in the capital — she also needed to draw a fortune slip for him, to dispel some bad luck.

The main hall housed eighteen Buddhist statues. After Chu Linlang paid her respects to the Guanyin of the Southern Sea to pray for the safety of the boats, she also bowed to the Vajra Guardian Kings on the left and right.

These two could subdue demons and vanquish evil — they would protect her lord through this current policy implementation, keeping him safe and sound, making him trample petty villains underfoot, turning misfortune into fortune, and bringing prosperity to the household.

While Chu Linlang mumbled her prayers to the Buddha, Situ Sheng waited outside the hall.

He seemed to have no faith in the divine. Even back in Jizhou, when they had wandered up to mountain temples, one never saw Situ Sheng enter a Buddha hall and burn a stick of incense for the gods.

Chu Linlang had once heard an old hand of the rivers and lakes say that those who had truly witnessed life and death often no longer feared the divine — slaying demons when demons appear, slaying Buddhas when Buddhas appear. This was the reasoning behind it.

For only those who had experienced the most extreme despair would understand that in all of heaven and earth, the only thing one could rely upon was oneself — becoming one’s own deity.

As for why Situ Sheng had no faith in the divine — well, thinking back on his wretched childhood, it was quite possible this was the reason.

After Chu Linlang had finished her prayers and obtained the protective amulets, she was about to call for Situ Sheng to head back down the mountain.

But Situ Sheng was at this moment standing motionless before a stone stele outside the hall, gazing at it with great absorption — so absorbed that he had not even noticed Linlang walking over.

Linlang came and looked. She found it was a stele inscribed with scripture. The seal at the end read “The Hermit Benru.”

She was no great judge of calligraphy and painting. Could it be the characters were beautifully written, and that was why he was entranced?

When Linlang asked about it, Situ Sheng came back to himself and said evenly: “This was the nom de plume of the former Auxiliary General… Yang Xun.”

Yang Xun? General Yang Xun — who had fallen in battle at the Battle of Bei River?

Who in all of Great Jin, among those of any years, did not know of the former war god Yang Xun?

He had joined the army at twelve years old, and at that young age had launched a surprise raid on the enemy’s stronghold, making his name in a single battle. From then on, this general had fought for Great Jin for twenty years, buying two decades of peace along the frontier.

Had there been no further wars, Yang Xun would surely have become a meritorious duke and celebrated minister.

But the Battle of Bei River erased all the great achievements that general had accumulated before it. He was said to have been betrayed and ambushed, his head severed from his body, the head then hung by the Jing kingdom’s people on a flagpole outside the royal tent for a full year, to be torn at by eagles and vultures…

Most devastating of all, he had a firstborn son, Yang Yi, who had been captured and then defected to the enemy.

When the Emperor received news that General Yang’s eldest son had defected, he was furious, and ordered the extermination of the entire Yang clan. Any who dared plead on their behalf were to be executed without mercy.

And now, the Yang family — whose war god had once shaken all eight directions — had become a name known to all in the court of Great Jin yet utterly unmentionable.

What no one had expected was that General Yang’s own calligraphy had survived intact upon this temple stele.

Looking at the powerful, dragon-and-phoenix brushstrokes, one could truly see the vigorous, domineering force of a man who had lived by the sword.

Situ Sheng looked at the stone stele, slowly reaching out to trace each stroke, following the characters. His gaze grew deep and heavy, as though he were submerged in something from the past that could not be spoken of.

Just then, from a distance came the sound of approaching footsteps and voices.

Situ Sheng withdrew his hand. Clasping his hands behind his back, he turned to look. From the mountain path leading down from the rear of the temple, several people were approaching.

Those people also spotted Situ Sheng. A man’s voice called out: “Situ, my lord, truly at leisure! The Ministry of Finance is in the midst of reforming allotment fields — everyone is run ragged — how do you have time to wander about a mountain temple?”

Linlang turned toward the voice and saw a middle-aged man in splendid robes, walking slowly forward surrounded by a group of guards.

Situ Sheng lowered his eyes, composed himself completely, stepped forward, and made his bow: “I did not know His Highness the Crown Prince was here. I have failed in my welcome.”

So this man in splendid robes was none other than the heir to the throne of the current dynasty — Crown Prince Liu Ting.

He was the only son of Empress Tao, and his late mother, who had passed away from illness, was the eldest daughter of Tao Lunan, Duke of Yong Ning, an elder who had served three reigns.

Though his mother had died early, the Tao family’s power had not fallen. Liu Ting’s ability to hold securely to the position of Crown Prince was precisely because he had this powerful maternal family as his backing.

Although Lady Jing continued to enjoy immense imperial favor, the Emperor, constrained by the Tao family, had left the position of Empress vacant and had not installed a new one. This was Liu Ting’s capital for standing firm in court.

He had once tried to recruit talented individuals and curry favor with Situ Sheng, only to be ungraciously rebuffed. Then, one after another, Situ Sheng had continued to ruin his affairs. Liu Ting had simply given up any thought of bringing Situ Sheng into his fold.

There was also a reason for the Crown Prince to appear here today.

The imprisoned imperial uncle, Prince Tai, was being held in the ancient tower of the rear temple behind this mountain.

The rear mountain was utterly unlike the incense-filled, bustling front temple. That place, except for certain prisoners of special status and the guards keeping watch over them, was inaccessible to ordinary people.

Situ Sheng noticed that the Crown Prince’s carriage procession had not been present at the mountain foot — meaning the Crown Prince had traveled discreetly today, most likely entering from the rear mountain and then making his way around to the front.

His thoughts turned quickly, and he had already surmised the reason for the Crown Prince’s appearance here.

He did not expose it, and only told the Crown Prince that his mother’s death anniversary had just passed. He had come by this way to offer incense and pray for his mother’s spirit, and would be heading back down shortly.

Because of the recent allotment field reforms, many among the Crown Prince’s faction had appeared on the Ministry of Finance’s lists. So after finishing his business on the rear mountain, the Crown Prince had on a whim decided to come to the front mountain to pray to the Buddha and dispel some bad luck from petty enemies.

Yet he had not expected to run here directly into the very culprit of the petty enemies himself.

The Crown Prince had a very poor impression of Situ Sheng. He had originally thought this man was deeply scheming, the type to simply climb with the current.

Now he realized this man might simply be a fool who had read too many books of sages and worthies. He had actually stirred up the hornet’s nest of all the officials at court — without any apparent thought of how, having made such a huge scene, things would be resolved.

Did Situ Sheng truly think that because he had the Emperor’s favor, he could act with complete impunity?

The Crown Prince understood his father far too well. If Situ Sheng made too big a mess and could not clean it up, the Emperor would unhesitatingly cut off the offending limb to stop the bleeding — offer up this ignorant, presumptuous young man as a sacrifice to Heaven first.

He had been Crown Prince for twenty years and had assisted in governance for twenty years. What storms had he not seen? A rash hothead like Situ Sheng would not last long in court.

However, thinking of what he had just heard in the rear temple, the Crown Prince smiled and probed: “I hear that Situ, my lord, came several times to the ancient tower of the rear mountain to interrogate Prince Tai — asking him about the affairs from his time overseeing the military bureau. I wonder what case Situ, my lord, is investigating?”

Situ Sheng replied respectfully: “I am not entirely certain. I was merely acting on His Majesty’s orders. The testimony I gathered has also been presented to His Majesty. If Your Highness has questions, it would be best to ask His Majesty directly — I dare not overstep and speak on his behalf.”

Crown Prince Liu Ting’s eyelid twitched. He smiled a smile that did not reach his eyes at this inflexible block of stone.

The young man was quite slippery — knowing full well the Crown Prince could not go and ask the Emperor, he simply deflected everything onto the Emperor.

However… if what he said was true, could it be the Emperor was still investigating that old matter?

Thinking this, the Crown Prince’s eyelid twitched again. But then, reconsidering, he felt he was worrying unnecessarily.

His father had a nature that could never admit error. Even if he discovered there had been hidden circumstances behind the Battle of Bei River, what of it? That Yang Xun’s son Yang Yi had defected to the enemy was an iron-clad, undeniable fact that no one could change.

If the Emperor were to pursue the investigation single-mindedly, would it not be tantamount to slapping himself across the face — admitting that he had wronged the meritorious general Yang Xun?

Thinking this, the Crown Prince gave a cold laugh and could not be bothered to say anything further to this new piece of stinking dog’s dung in the capital.

However, as he turned to leave, he caught a glimpse of the woman standing behind Situ Sheng, wearing a hat with a gauze veil. Her features were indistinct beneath it, but her figure was graceful and lovely — she appeared to be a beauty.

After the Crown Prince had descended the steps and walked a few paces, his trusted aide, Chen Fang, Vice Commander of the Horse Battalion, said with a hint of mockery: “Does Your Highness know who the woman he brought with him is?”

Liu Ting glanced at this trusted subordinate of his: “Oh? You recognize her?”

Chen Fang said with animated delight: “I ran into the two of them alone together on the street before, and later heard from someone that the woman is the former wife of Zhou Sui’an, the Ministry of Finance official. Apparently the ink on the divorce papers was barely dry when she ran off to become the household manager at Situ Sheng’s residence. Tsk tsk — our Situ, my lord, really knows how to have his fun.”

Chen Fang had happened to see Situ Sheng escorting this woman along the street on the days they were hunting the Crown Prince’s would-be assassin. He had even stopped and exchanged a few words with Situ Sheng at the time, and had retained a vivid impression of the beautiful Chu Linlang.

As for Chu Linlang — though she was now wearing a hat with a gauze veil, her slender, perfectly proportioned figure was unmistakable.

This kind of topic, and any man would understand it with an appreciative smile.

The Crown Prince understood at once: “Keeping a beauty as his household manager? Quite a unique taste. I fear Situ, my lord’s, household doors may not be very well guarded… You see if you can find a way to strike up a conversation with that woman. Since she is Situ Sheng’s household manager, using her will be all the more convenient.”

Hearing the Crown Prince say this, Chen Fang immediately caught his meaning.

If they could get that woman to work for them, it would be like planting a spy inside Situ Sheng’s very household. Quite convenient indeed.

He said quietly: “Your Highness may rest assured. I will see to it at once.”

The Crown Prince nodded with satisfaction. He was in rather good spirits today. On the rear mountain just now, he had looked in on his archenemy, the imperial uncle.

That man, who had once been so stout and imposing, had grown sallow and gaunt after eating nothing but thin rations in the rear temple.

However, he had gone to look in on this defeated foe not merely to swagger and show off. He had gone to inquire about a hidden matter from years past.

He had no choice — Lady Jing’s return to imperial favor had put the Crown Prince under considerable pressure.

Among all the Imperial Princes, only the Fourth could compete with him. With Lady Jing’s added support, whether there might be future shifts in the position of Crown Prince was difficult to say.

As for Lady Jing — her origins were not particularly distinguished, merely the daughter of a minor county magistrate’s assistant. Yet she had uniquely captured the Emperor’s affection, and this immense favor had continued for years. Her father’s entire family had also risen with her.

The Crown Prince had only recently learned that Lady Jing’s continuous favor was nothing more than a consolation born of loving her as a proxy for someone else.

The story went that years ago, two of Lady Jing’s maternal cousins had first entered the Crown Prince’s palace and both deeply won the Emperor’s affections — but it was Lady Jing’s elder cousin who had truly captured his heart. Unfortunately, that beauty had died of illness far too early. Only then had Lady Jing, who bore some resemblance to her cousin, come to enjoy exclusive imperial favor.

Lady Jing had quite the scheming mind too. Planting medicine in a cold palace? Crafting medicinal sachets? These had all been the pastimes of that early-departed beauty. Lady Jing’s performance of these same habits was nothing more than a way to evoke the Emperor’s nostalgic memories and engineer her own comeback.

The Crown Prince felt there was always something going on when women competed for imperial favor. In particular, that woman’s sudden death — old palace hands had said it was done by his mother, the Empress. But he faintly remembered his mother once telling him that she had been set up by that conniving wretch Lady Jing.

These old affairs could only be understood in fuller detail by drawing them out from the mouths of those who had been there.

Prince Tai had always been in league with Lady Jing. He should know some of the hidden circumstances. That was why the Crown Prince had come specifically to try to coax information out of him.

The imperial uncle’s spirit these days was genuinely deflated.

Watching Lady Jing regain the Emperor’s favor while paying no attention to him — his resentment and bitterness had reached deep.

So the Crown Prince had needed only a food box filled with meat and vegetables to draw out a great many old secrets.

Now the Crown Prince had a firm hold on plenty of Lady Jing’s compromising secrets, and he also knew that Situ Sheng was not an impregnable fortress — it was only a matter of time before he had a grip on him too.

This mountain temple excursion had truly been worthwhile.

After respectfully seeing the Crown Prince off, Situ Sheng did not hurry to leave. He stood on the steps for a while, watching, and only then led Chu Linlang down the mountain.

Chu Linlang, seeing him silent and unspoken to the whole way, reached out with some concern and pulled at his hand. But seeing Dongxue and the others walking over just then, she quickly released it.

Chu Linlang had by now settled on a single word to define her relationship with Situ Sheng: “stolen.” Stolen things had naturally to be carried on secretly.

She and Situ would come to no conclusion anyway — there was no need to make a commotion like King Mu of Zhou and the Queen Mother of the West, their secret rendezvous known all under heaven. She could not let Dongxue and Guanqi see any signs of it.

Situ Sheng noticed her small maneuver, and for some reason shot her a glare.

Chu Linlang held her ground and reminded him: “I am telling you now — keep it proper in public. I have a reputation to maintain. If you will not give me that, I shall simply leave.”

Situ Sheng seemed to laugh at himself: “You… are keeping me as something that must be hidden from the light?”

Hmm — “kept man” was actually rather accurate. But Chu Linlang had been attending the women’s academy these past few days and was in a refined and elegant frame of mind.

She smiled, and made a deliberate show of humble deference: “This humble one admires my lord, and does not wish my lord’s name and honor to be tarnished. If I may keep my lord company for a few months, this life will have been lived without regret…”

These were actually the sorts of words that appeared in romantic story books, which scholars often used to seduce women. Usually, a scholar who had been put up as a lodger for a few nights could then pack up and leave without a backward glance.

Later, the woman, with a swelling belly, would journey to the capital to find him, only to discover that the once penniless youth was now a high official or Prince Consort — too far above her to even approach.

What followed would be a tangle of love and hate, and the woman would either die a double death — herself and her child — and return as a ghost to collect her debt of love, or else the official’s princess wife, generous in spirit, would agree to let him take the pitiful woman as a concubine, so they could all serve one husband in harmony ever after.

Looking at the slick and easy way she spoke, and thinking back on how she had once coaxed Zhou Sui’an — a timid sort of man — into eloping with her, and had set Xia Qingyun spinning dizzily about her, she was clearly an expert at charming foolish young men.