Jing Zhi glanced at Yan Qing, and only when she saw no reaction did she say: “Second Young Master is being kept in prison. He has a room to himself, and he’s not being denied anything in the way of food or comforts.”

Murong also said: “He is the Commander’s own son, after all. A tiger, vicious as it may be, will not devour its own cubs. The Commander won’t truly move to eliminate Second Young Master completely.”

Whether the Commander would kill Shi Guang was not something Yan Qing dared to say with certainty — but one thing she was sure of: Shi Guang was not yet a spent force.

If Shi Guang were defeated so easily as this, then he would not be the Shi Guang she knew.

She simply couldn’t yet see what final cards Shi Guang still held.

At that moment, the cheerful barking of the pet bird outside suddenly rang out. From that sound alone, one could tell: Shi Ting had returned.

Sure enough, a moment later the door was pushed open, and a gust of cold air surged in from outside.

Murong and Jing Zhi quickly rose from their chairs, greeted Shi Ting, and then swiftly tidied everything on the table.

After Shi Ting returned, they were seldom needed to come in and attend to things. Shi Ting had long been accustomed to managing on his own, and now that he had Yan Qing, he was even less inclined to have others do things for him. All they needed to do was have the bath water ready, and they could go about their other business.

Murong and Jing Zhi closed the door, shutting out the chill from outside. The underfloor heating was burning warmly, and the cold that had crept in was quickly driven away.

Yan Qing stepped forward to help Shi Ting take off his outer coat. Shi Ting quickly stopped her. “I’m cold — don’t let it get on you.”

He removed the padded jacket Yan Qing had made for him. Unless it was dirty, he wore it nearly every day.

For one thing, it was warm and lightweight. For another — she had made it with her own hands. Close to his body, close to his heart.

“Are you coming back from the Blue Brick Tower, or from the Military Police Division?” Yan Qing brought a warm towel for him to wipe his face. “Jing Zhi has gone to get dinner. It’ll be ready soon.”

“I won’t eat.” Shi Ting wiped his face quickly. “I have to go out again — back to the Blue Brick Tower.”

“You’re leaving without eating?” Yan Qing took the towel from him. “Even a little bit would be fine.”

Shi Ting rubbed his hands together until they had some warmth, then cupped her face in his palms and smiled. “Since my wife says so, then I’ll eat a little.”

Shi Ting sat down at the table, and Yan Qing had Jing Zhi bring in the evening meal.

It was winter now, and dishes cooled quickly once they were ready. By the time they reached the mouth, they were just the right temperature.

Because of the situation with Qian Lan, Er Yitai had instructed the kitchen to keep things modest for the time being. The meals sent to each courtyard were mostly light and simple. The kitchen that had once been busy butchering cattle and sheep had found itself unusually idle.

Yan Qing ladled soup for Shi Ting and placed the chopsticks in his hand. “Don’t eat too fast — whatever urgent matter it is, it won’t be ruined by taking a moment.”

“Don’t just watch me — eat as well.” Shi Ting picked up his chopsticks and reached over to place a piece of cabbage in her mouth.

Shi Ting scooped rice into his mouth as he spoke. “I spent half the day at the Military Police Division today, filling Zheng Yun in on a few things. The Military Police Division isn’t far from the Blue Brick Tower anyway — if anything urgent comes up, I can run over in no time.”

Yan Qing smiled. “The Military Police Division will only grow better and better from here on.”

After all, Shi Ting had built it with his own hands. Now that he was Young Commander and would one day be Commander, more resources and manpower would be channeled into the Military Police Division.

“I heard Shi Guang has been locked up. The Commander hasn’t treated him harshly. But what about Zuoliang?”

“After Shi Guang was locked up, Zuoliang disappeared. The Commander is also having people look for him.”

“Didn’t your people have eyes on him the whole time?”

Shi Ting nodded. “Zuoliang is very cautious. He’s been hiding inside a gambling house and hasn’t set foot out.”

“Do you think Shi Guang still has a final move?”

Shi Ting’s hand paused mid-motion with his chopsticks. He set them down and said: “If he’s beaten this easily, then that’s not the Shi Guang I know. When he was working with Qian Lan, he must have prepared a way out for himself. The time just hasn’t come for him to play it yet.”

“What kind of way out?” Given that Shi Guang was now completely surrounded on all sides, Yan Qing couldn’t imagine how he might save himself.

He had thoroughly enraged the Commander. The reason the Commander hadn’t killed him wasn’t out of father-son sentiment — it was because the Matriarch had pleaded desperately on his behalf, and at the same time, the Commander didn’t want to bear the name of a man who killed his own son.

“Don’t forget — Shi Guang has been moving frequently in Dí circles lately. The Commander has made it clear he has no intention of making enemies of the Dí people. The development of Bei Di right now requires the Dí’s support. Even if there’s no cooperation, there can be no hostility. At present, all factions are vying for the Dí’s favor, and the Commander won’t be the one who goes against the grain.”

“What the Dí people have in mind is something everyone knows.” Yan Qing thought of the era she had lived in — the years of being trampled and humiliated by foreign powers. But even knowing what she knew, there was nothing she could do to change it. History’s great river rolled ever forward, and no single person or event could stop it.

No matter how hard she tried, she was nothing more than a stone thrown into that river — capable only of raising a small, unremarkable splash that would vanish in an instant.

Shi Ting’s expression grew grave. “Everyone knows their intentions, but no one can change the situation. Xin Guo is now controlled by warlords. Everyone is focused on expanding their own power and unifying the land under their banner. As for who this country ultimately ends up in the hands of, and what fate awaits the people of this country — no one gives it a thought.”

Yes — this country had no true master, only isolated self-interests. And what would come in the years ahead, who could say?

“By the way, that Nagase…”

When Jingshang had spoken of the Nagase clan, the first thing Yan Qing had thought of was Ling Ai’s childhood sweetheart.

Though the surname Nagase was not uncommon in Dí, Yan Qing always felt there was something off about that particular Nagase.

She had once written to Ling Ai asking her to keep an eye on Nagase. Ling Ai had written back to say that Nagase had already left Shun Cheng a month ago, and that even Huicun didn’t know where he had gone.

~~

Huicun sat in his study. Standing before him was Nagase, whom he hadn’t seen for many days. Nagase still carried that respectful air of his, busying himself with pouring tea and attending to Huicun.

“Where have you been all this time? Why didn’t you say a word? You had me sending people to look everywhere for you.” Huicun said with mild displeasure. “By the look of you — all dusty from the road — you must have traveled far.”

Nagase smiled. “I brought Huicun-san some green tea from Dí.”

“You went back to Dí?”

“No — I only went to the Frontier Pass.”

Nagase placed several packets of tea before Huicun. “These two packets are not from me. They are from someone else.”

Huicun picked up the two exquisitely wrapped packets of tea, first held them before his nose to inhale their scent, then opened the seal. He pinched a little between his fingers, held it up to the light, and his expression immediately changed.

“This is imperial tribute tea.”

Nagase smiled. “These are a gift from His Highness Prince Wenjin to Huicun-san.”

Huicun, upon hearing this, immediately rose from his seat. “Has His Highness the Prince come to Xin Guo?”

“His Highness is presently in the area around the Frontier Pass. Lately the bandits around Da Gu Mountain have been growing increasingly active, seriously disrupting the transport of ore. If the ore from Xin Guo cannot be shipped to Dí smoothly, it will also affect Dí’s industrial development. So His Highness came to Xin Guo in person to resolve this matter.”

The Prince Wenjin Nagase spoke of was a member of Dí’s imperial household — a genuine descendant of the royal bloodline.

Wenjin held a position of great weight within the imperial family, and was very likely the heir to the next Emperor. As such, his words carried the same authority as if the Emperor himself had come in person.

But Huicun could not recall how Nagase had come to know Prince Wenjin. After all, given Nagase’s standing, there was no way he could have contact with the imperial household.

“His Highness and I had a chance meeting once before. He found us kindred spirits, and in Dí he often invited me to share tea with him. This time when he came to Xin Guo, upon hearing that I was in Shun Cheng, he had someone come to fetch me for a visit. I left in such a hurry that day that I had no time to inform Huicun-san, and you were caused to worry.”

Huicun said: “It’s fine — you went to attend to His Highness’s affairs. So long as you returned safely, that is all that matters.”

Nagase smiled and gave a nod. “Huicun-san, I also bring a message from His Highness.”

“What does His Highness wish to say?”

“The bandit problem in Da Gu Mountain has been a source of great concern for His Highness. But those bandits make use of the natural terrain — holding the high ground with a force that stops thousands — and His Highness has led troops to attack them several times, suffering heavy defeat each time.”

Huicun was aware of this. The Da Gu Mountain bandits were no ordinary outlaws: they were well-equipped and entrenched in terrain that gave a single defender the advantage of a thousand. Even the Commander’s government forces had found themselves unable to do anything against them.

Prince Wenjin had come to the Frontier Pass for the first time with insufficient manpower, and with no real understanding of the enemy. His defeat in Da Gu Mountain was entirely expected.

“Would I be right in asking what His Highness wishes me to do?” Huicun said with great deference. In Dí, what was prized above all else was absolute submission — to the Emperor, to the imperial family, to their every command.

Huicun, though he wielded great authority, was a civil official. Suppressing bandits was not something that fell within his domain. So when Nagase brought up bandit suppression and said that Prince Wenjin had issued him a command, he was entirely at a loss — he could not see the connection.

“His Highness feels that our people cannot go head-to-head with those bandits — it isn’t worth the cost. And since it is Xin Guo’s problem, it should naturally be left to the people of Xin Guo to solve. The bandits are their own — they have the responsibility to eliminate them.”

Huicun said: “As far as I know, the Commander, Zheng Fu, once sent a crack unit to suppress the bandits, but they all returned with their wings clipped. Those bandits are indeed very difficult to deal with. After that experience, Commander Zheng Fu never sent another force there — most likely the losses had taken the fight out of him, and he was content to let the bandits develop however they liked.”

“They won’t go because their resolve is not firm enough. And what’s more — the bandits are almost exclusively raiding the ore shipments bound for our Dí. Naturally they have no heart for the task.” Nagase said gravely. “The Commander and the newly appointed Young Commander seem to be maintaining a stance of watchful observation toward our Dí — neither formally cooperating nor openly hostile. This situation is very unfavorable for us.”

“And what does His Highness propose?”

“His Highness wishes to support a reliable person — one with close ties to us — to become Young Commander.” The light in Nagase’s eyes sharpened with precision. “Those who have no wish to cooperate with us are not fit to sit securely in that seat.”