Young Lord Cao Lie had been in Jizhou for more than two months. But Li Chi had continued to avoid seeing him — which left Cao Lie more than a little irritated.

More than a little — considerably so.

Yet he hadn’t gone out of his way to request an audience either, because he felt that would be beneath him.

When it came to matters of manly dignity, everyone had their pride.

Besides, Li Chi hadn’t imposed any real restrictions on him. He came and went as he pleased — and in fact, as a test, he had even left Jizhou altogether.

Nobody stopped him.

What galled him most was that he deliberately stayed away for six or seven days of sightseeing before returning — and apparently not even anyone watching him seemed to care.

When he got back to his lodgings, not a single person came to ask where he had been.

This was nothing like being kept under surveillance. He felt no sense of being valued at all.

It felt more like being left to roam freely on a long lead.

Hence the irritation. The sense of being slighted.

What irked him even more — after his return, he couldn’t resist his curiosity and asked the guard stationed outside his courtyard: had Prince Ning sent anyone to ask about him?

The guard seemed somewhat baffled by the question and replied that if Cao Lie really wanted to know, he could go and ask on his behalf.

Cao Lie walked back inside in silence and thought: Li Chi, you truly are a bastard. You drag me here and then pay me no attention whatsoever.

Then that afternoon, the guard came to see him, and had apparently actually gone to ask.

The guard reported that he had told Prince Ning: the young lord would like to know if you have any questions for him, since he’s been away sightseeing for six or seven days.

Cao Lie thought to himself: something is wrong with you too.

But curiosity got the better of him, and he asked the guard what Prince Ning had said.

The guard said that after some thought, Prince Ning had replied: in that case, do ask — ask why Cao Lie didn’t bring back any souvenirs.

Cao Lie, at that moment, almost said something he had never said before in his life.

Early spring was barely underway, the weather still unpleasantly cold, and Cao Lie had never adjusted well to Jizhou’s climate. He spent most of his time huddled beside the brazier in his room.

He wasn’t by nature a person who craved company, and whatever company he did enjoy wasn’t to be found in Jizhou.

A book and a pot of tea could carry him through half a day.

Every afternoon, he was out of the residence and in a pleasure house.

Not that he was particularly fond of the pleasure houses here — it was simply that there was nothing else to do. Reclining in comfortable company, listening to music, drinking a few cups of wine, he would drift off to sleep.

And so in Jizhou City, the young lord had become rather well known across the pleasure house scene within just two months.

He visited pleasure houses every day, always asked for five or six women to accompany him, but had never become intimate with any of them.

He simply liked sleeping in the company of women, with the sounds of music in the background.

This, however, created a very inconvenient cycle: sleeping so deeply in the afternoons meant he couldn’t fall asleep until the small hours of the night.

If he had adjusted to life in Jizhou — that would be a lie.

Every night, he fell asleep after midnight. Every morning, he was awake at dawn.

And then he had no appetite for breakfast, barely ate anything at midday, drank too much wine in the afternoons, and skipped dinner entirely.

In two months, he had lost at least twenty-odd pounds — and he hadn’t been heavy to begin with, so now he looked visibly gaunt to anyone who saw him.

Curled up in his reclining chair, the brazier beside him still blazing vigorously, his gaze had drifted away from the book in his hands.

He had brought a large retinue with him to Jizhou — several hundred people in all.

Among them, two mattered to him most.

One was a man of about fifty, named Deng Zhiyue. The other was a young woman of around twenty, named Nie Yuwu.

“Deng-shu.”

Cao Lie asked, “How many days has it been since we arrived in Jizhou?”

Deng Zhiyue bowed. “Young lord, it has been seventy-two days.”

Cao Lie asked lazily, “What are people saying about me out there?”

Deng Zhiyue replied, “What they are saying is… not very flattering.”

Cao Lie smiled. “Tell me.”

Deng Zhiyue said, “The talk outside is that you appear to be drowning in drink and pleasure, but that underneath it all, you’re homesick and suppressing your resentment toward Prince Ning. They also say you grow thinner by the day, and may not have long.”

Hearing this, Cao Lie seemed to smile more easily.

He pulled the blanket up a little higher. “Do I truly look that dispirited?”

Deng Zhiyue bowed. “You do.”

Cao Lie looked toward Nie Yuwu, standing a little farther back. “What do you think?”

Nie Yuwu also bowed her head. “Young lord, you genuinely look run-down. You haven’t shaved in four days.”

Cao Lie gave a quiet sigh. “Has it really been four days…”

He raised a hand and felt along his jaw, somewhat rueful. “Why isn’t it longer, then?”

Just at that moment, an attendant came running to the door, bowed at the threshold, and reported, “Young lord, Prince Ning has sent word. He says he’ll be coming over for lunch shortly.”

Cao Lie paused — then smiled.

Two months. That man had finally, apparently, remembered he had a friend here who hadn’t been seen.

Yes — regardless of anything else, Cao Lie felt the word friend still applied between them.

“Young lord, should we go out and receive him?”

Deng Zhiyue asked.

Cao Lie nodded. “We should. Let’s go now. He’s in his own territory here after all — he’s the one who counts.”

He stood, took a few steps, then turned back to ask Nie Yuwu, “Do I really look terrible?”

Nie Yuwu replied, “Not terrible. Unkempt.”

Cao Lie laughed out loud and strode out the door.

Before long, Li Chi’s carriage drew up outside the main gate, and as he stepped down, he saw the assembled household bow in greeting.

Li Chi looked at Cao Lie — utterly unconcerned with his own appearance — and tried to reconcile this with his memory of the young man he had met in Anyang City. The image wouldn’t quite come together.

This young man — looking now like this, disheveled and altogether unbothered — bore no resemblance whatsoever to the undisputed top wastrel of Yuzhou, whose name alone was enough to make anyone in the region think twice.

In a certain sense, Cao Lie inspired more wariness than Xiahou Zuo.

Because Prince Yu was no match for Prince Wu — the latter being the most powerful lord under Heaven.

Li Chi reached out and steadied Cao Lie from his bow, then looked him over and said, “So — the fashionable look among Jizhou’s pleasure house clientele these days is studied neglect?”

Cao Lie rose and said nothing — only gave a short huff.

Li Chi smiled and asked, “What’s for lunch?”

Cao Lie sighed. “Whatever Prince Ning would like to eat, I’ll have my people prepare it.”

Li Chi said, “Then have them prepare something. I’m hungry.”

He stepped through the gate. Cao Lie turned and followed.

Li Chi looked around as he walked — this was an impressive residence, once the property of the Cui family, wide and sprawling, with pavilions and garden architecture throughout.

He strolled and looked, and Cao Lie asked from behind, “Is Prince Ning looking for the assassins I’ve hidden?”

Li Chi glanced back at him. “I’m looking for how many women you’ve got stashed away.”

Cao Lie said, “Do I need to stash women in my home?”

Li Chi said, “You haven’t got any women at home, and you go to the pleasure houses every day without actually doing anything — why is that?”

Cao Lie replied, “Common and unremarkable. I can’t be bothered.”

Li Chi turned and said to someone behind him, “Yu Jiuling, make a note — the young lord says Jizhou’s pleasure houses don’t meet his standards. Go back and keep an eye on this. See about making some improvements.”

Cao Lie thought to himself: what is wrong with you?

Then he reconsidered and concluded: Li Chi simply is like this.

Li Chi said, “The young lord has come all this way from Yuzhou, and his one pleasure in life there was visiting the pleasure houses. I can’t have him disappointed everywhere he goes.”

Yu Jiuling said, “As you command. On my way back, I’ll dispatch people to Yuzhou to study what the young lord’s preferred establishments there were like — what atmosphere, what services they offered.”

He turned and gave a small bow toward Cao Lie. “My thanks to the young lord for providing me an assignment worth having. A rather fine assignment, at that.”

After a moment, Cao Lie shook his head. “Don’t mention it.”

Yu Jiuling asked Li Chi, “My lord — will funds be allocated?”

Li Chi pointed at Cao Lie. “Bill him. This is being done for his benefit.”

Cao Lie: “????”

They entered the room.

Li Chi found himself a seat — specifically, the very reclining chair Cao Lie had just been lying in. He settled in comfortably, and even put his feet up.

Cao Lie frowned. “Mine.”

Li Chi said, “What?”

Cao Lie pointed at the reclining chair. “The chair. Mine.”

Li Chi said, “Mm.”

Cao Lie: “Mm?”

He stood there and stared at Li Chi, waiting to see if the staring would eventually produce some shame in him. But he soon discovered his mistake.

Not only did Li Chi feel no shame, he reached out and pulled the blanket Cao Lie had been using over his own legs.

Cao Lie had a mild aversion to dirt and mess.

Even at the pleasure houses, he never used anything belonging to the establishment — every cup, every tea set, everything was brought along by his own attendants.

His personal belongings were touched by no one except Nie Yuwu. His food, drink, and daily routines were attended to by Nie Yuwu alone.

Li Chi’s complete shamelessness now was pressing hard on the limits of Cao Lie’s tolerance.

After a moment, Cao Lie suddenly smiled. “If you’re trying to make me lose my temper, you’re going to be disappointed.”

Li Chi: “Mm…”

He looked at the young woman standing behind Cao Lie — whose face had already taken on a few shades of anger — then raised a hand and pointed at her. “Come here. Help me with my legs.”

Cao Lie went rigid. Then furious.

He was about to say something when Nie Yuwu gently tugged the back of his robe — and stepped forward.

Li Chi watched Cao Lie’s jaw tighten, color flooding his face, holding himself back through visible effort. And honestly, Li Chi felt a flicker of guilt — he really was going too far with this.

But it was also rather entertaining. If Cao Lie didn’t get angry, what was the point?

Nie Yuwu knelt beside Li Chi and began tapping lightly on his legs. Li Chi watched Cao Lie. Cao Lie watched Li Chi.

After a moment, Li Chi raised a hand. “That’ll do. You can go.”

Nie Yuwu hadn’t expected it to end so quickly. She rose and stepped back.

Li Chi sat up straight, looked at Cao Lie — still glaring at him — and asked, “Still managing to hold it in?”

Cao Lie nodded. “Yes.”

Li Chi said, “Then we’re even.”

Cao Lie: “Even?”

Li Chi looked at Yu Jiuling. “Tell him.”

Yu Jiuling stepped forward. “Young lord — since Prince Ning returned to Jizhou, in the two months that have passed, there have been thirty-two attempts on his life. Roughly one every two days. Nine in ten were apprehended before they made their move. And of the twenty-one actual attempts, most trace back to the Cao family’s people.”

Cao Lie’s eyes went wide in an instant. “Impossible!”

Yu Jiuling said, “We have confessions. We have physical evidence. The people who tried to kill Prince Ning weren’t sent by you directly — but nearly all of them have ties to the Cao family. They acted of their own volition, wanting to avenge what was done to you. Young lord, you have no shortage of people willing to die for you.”

Cao Lie stared at Li Chi, eyes full of shock.

“Is this true?”

He asked.

Li Chi said, “It’s true. You should feel good about yourself — the number of people eating Cao family meals is considerable, and so are the ones who want to act on your behalf.”

He stood up. “Is the food ready? I’m genuinely hungry.”

Cao Lie turned and called out, “Is the food ready?!”

Li Chi walked to stand beside Cao Lie — one facing into the room, one facing out, shoulders level.

He raised his hand and gave Cao Lie a pat on the shoulder. “I swallowed twenty-one grievances without saying a word. You just held yours in as well. Does that count as being even?”

Cao Lie was quiet for a moment, then shook his head. “No. I’m going to look into this myself.”

Li Chi scoffed. “You go looking into it — and at the end of all that… what if I end up having to kill people?”

Cao Lie went still again.