Old Daoist Zhang was still in the middle of his instructions when Yu Jiuling kept muttering “this isn’t right, this isn’t right” — yet anyone watching could see him growing more and more excited with every word he heard. His face wore that shameless expression of a man thinking: you people came to the right person for dirty work like this.

Yu Jiuling had barely returned to his own quarters after listening to Old Daoist Zhang and the others when, door not even shut yet, Li Chi and Gao Xining walked straight in.

The sight of those two nearly made Yu Jiuling leap out of his skin. He hadn’t expected them this fast — he hadn’t even had time to cook up a good lie before they were already there.

Li Chi stepped inside, found a seat, and pointed to the empty floor in front of him.

Yu Jiuling put his hands behind his back and shuffled over like a child who’d done something wrong, standing there obediently.

Li Chi glanced at him. “Do we need to go through the formalities?”

Yu Jiuling: “I’ll talk.”

Gao Xining couldn’t hold it in — she burst out laughing. She asked Yu Jiuling, “Those three elders summoned you. Have you given any thought to why?”

Yu Jiuling: “I… am easy to bribe.”

Li Chi: “What a cooperative attitude.”

Yu Jiuling said, “My lord, you know me — a man like me has no virtues whatsoever, save for one: an unwavering sense of conviction.”

Li Chi asked with a smile, “Where exactly does this unwavering conviction of yours come from?”

Yu Jiuling: “My conviction is that I am extremely easy to bribe…”

Li Chi: “Do those three elders know that you’re also extremely easy to turn traitor?”

Yu Jiuling: “Probably not, otherwise why would they have come to me?”

Li Chi said, “Those three are the shrewdest of the shrewd. You think they don’t know your character? The reason they came to you is precisely because there are things they can’t say to my face directly. They knew I’d come looking for you, and they knew the moment I showed up, you’d spill everything…”

Gao Xining said, “Out with it then. What message did they ask you to pass along?”

Yu Jiuling thought it over. So he’d been used all along — those three really were a den of old foxes…

Feeling a little guilty, he relayed the whole story. It wasn’t anything particularly dramatic: the three elders had told Yu Jiuling that after Li Chi and Gao Xining’s wedding at the small courtyard in Jizhou, he was to do everything in his power to keep Li Chi there and prevent him from leaving.

When Li Chi finished listening, he asked, “Did they say why?”

Yu Jiuling: “They did…”

He went on to relay Old Daoist Zhang’s divination and everything the elder had said. Both Li Chi and Gao Xining were left a little dumbfounded.

Gao Xining asked Li Chi, “How much do you believe it?”

Li Chi said, “I’m not sure. But since it came from Old Daoist Zhang, it might be true.”

Gao Xining looked at Yu Jiuling again. “What did they give you?”

Yu Jiuling: “One hundred taels of silver…”

Li Chi produced a banknote and handed it to Yu Jiuling. “I’ll give you another hundred taels — consider it a thank-you for delivering the message.”

Yu Jiuling didn’t dare take it.

Li Chi set the banknote on the table. “That’s yours. But there’s something I need your help with.”

Yu Jiuling snatched the banknote and stuffed it away at once. “You should’ve led with that, my lord! If you’d said there was a task from the start, I would’ve taken it right away. Didn’t I just tell you? I’m extremely easy to bribe. If you give me silver without asking anything of me, that’s not a bribe — I wouldn’t feel right taking it. But the moment you give me silver and ask something of me, then I can pocket it with a clear conscience…”

Li Chi gave a thumbs-up. “A man of unwavering conviction.”

Yu Jiuling asked, “What do you need, my lord?”

Li Chi said, “On the day of the wedding, those three elders will certainly have you pour drinks and get me drunk. When the time comes, swap my wine for water.”

Yu Jiuling: “That’s all?”

Li Chi nodded. “That’s all.”

Yu Jiuling: “Why don’t you give me something else to do as well, my lord? Taking a hundred taels just for that — it doesn’t sit right with me.”

Li Chi gave him a kick in the backside and stood up. “Off we go. You just keep doing your job as a double agent.”

Yu Jiuling grinned from ear to ear — perfectly happy, since he’d taken money from both sides.

Li Chi and Gao Xining left together, chatting as they walked. Li Chi suddenly burst out laughing.

Gao Xining asked, “What’s so funny?”

Li Chi said, “The two of us getting married and sharing a wedding night apparently carries the weight of the entire Central Plains’ rise and fall on its shoulders. I suddenly feel the pressure — if I don’t perform well that night, I won’t just be letting you down, I’ll be letting down all the people of the realm…”

Gao Xining, with perfect seriousness, said, “If the common people end up living poorly in the future, they’ll curse you for it — and tell their children too…”

She coughed twice, adopting a tone dripping with grievance: “Ahem… Children, do you know why our family never prospered? It’s all the fault of our Great Ning’s founding Emperor. On his wedding night — he didn’t deliver.”

Li Chi: “Oh, come on—!”

Gao Xining: “So you’d best sort yourself out.”

Li Chi said, “I’ve read medical texts, and they’re perfectly clear on this matter: you cannot put too much pressure on a man in these situations. The more pressure there is, the more likely things will go…”

He glanced at Gao Xining. Gao Xining said, “Let me have a look at that medical text sometime.”

Li Chi: “Young lady, there’s no need for that.”

The two of them wandered off still bickering. They hadn’t gone far when the three elders arrived at Yu Jiuling’s quarters.

Yu Jiuling was soaking his feet, humming a little tune with his eyes closed, savoring the thought of two hundred taels that had practically fallen from the sky. How could he not feel smug?

He heard footsteps, opened his eyes — and there stood the three elders, side by side like three door gods.

The fright nearly knocked Yu Jiuling’s soul clean out of his body.

“Did the Prince of Ning just come by?”

Dean Gao leaned forward slightly, his expression warm and genial as he asked Yu Jiuling — though to Yu Jiuling, that warm geniality was terrifying in its own right.

Yu Jiuling instinctively nodded. “Yes… my lord came by. He just left.”

Dean Gao asked, “Did you betray us? He asked you a few casual questions and you told him everything we said to you?”

Yu Jiuling’s face arranged itself into an expression of profound, heartfelt guilt. “Yes… I truly tried to hold out against my lord’s brutal interrogation. Though I resisted with everything I had, in the end, the weak cannot overpower the strong.”

Dean Gao smiled pleasantly. “Good thing you talked.”

The Long-Browed Daoist chuckled and looked at Yu Jiuling. “You took the Prince of Ning’s silver, didn’t you.”

Yu Jiuling: “I did not!”

A flat denial.

The Long-Browed Daoist smiled. “Took it, didn’t take it — no big deal either way.”

Old Daoist Zhang said, “And what did the Prince of Ning ask you to do?”

Yu Jiuling: “Nothing! Absolutely nothing!”

Old Daoist Zhang said, “Did he ask you to swap his wine for water on the wedding day?”

Yu Jiuling: “I— oh no… I forgot, Zhenren, you have your arts — you can divine even this?”

Old Daoist Zhang said, “Just as I thought — you really are a born turncoat.”

Yu Jiuling: “…”

Dean Gao produced a banknote and set it on the table. “We’ll give you another hundred taels. When the time comes, you must not swap the Prince of Ning’s wine for water. Is that understood?”

Yu Jiuling: “I fear for my life…”

The Long-Browed Daoist said with a laugh, “With us covering for you, what is there to fear? Would the Prince of Ning dare lay a hand on you right in front of us?”

Yu Jiuling: “He would.”

The Long-Browed Daoist: “True enough…”

Dean Gao said, “So you’re not going to agree?”

Yu Jiuling said, “Dean, sir, it’s not that I’m unwilling — it’s that I cannot. A true man knows what he will and will not do. What’s more, as my lord’s most trusted confidant, I simply cannot do something like this.”

The Long-Browed Daoist chuckled again. “So. What would it take to make you do it?”

Yu Jiuling: “Another hundred taels.”

The Long-Browed Daoist placed a banknote on the table. “Just as I thought — men like you, a true weathervane, are a rare thing in this world. Another hundred taels and you transform from the Prince of Ning’s trusted aide into his most trusted liability.”

Yu Jiuling patted his chest solemnly. “Leave it to me. If I fail to deliver, the three elders may deal with me however they see fit.”

Dean Gao said, “You flip sides with such ease, yet hold your position with such steadiness — I am a learned man, and for once, I am at a loss for the right word to describe you.”

Old Daoist Zhang said, “All right, go back to soaking your feet. Since you’ve agreed to us, don’t go back on your word. If you do, I’ll go back and burn an Impotence Talisman with your name on it.”

Yu Jiuling: “What’s an Impotence Talisman?”

Old Daoist Zhang looked at him with a half-smile. The look made Yu Jiuling’s skin crawl — but in an instant, he understood perfectly well what an Impotence Talisman was.

He nodded vigorously. “Zhenren, rest easy! If you don’t trust my word, I’ll swear a blood oath!”

Old Daoist Zhang shook his head. “Don’t bother. Your blood oath carries less weight than a well-timed fart…”

The three old men gave their instructions and turned to leave. Yu Jiuling let out a long breath — and then began to laugh. Three hundred taels total, and the money had come so easily.

Out in the courtyard, Old Daoist Zhang spoke as they walked: “Coming to Yu Jiuling was the right call. He passed along everything we wanted to say to the Prince of Ning. The matter is more or less settled.”

Dean Gao sighed. “Are we not being a touch too wicked?”

The Long-Browed Daoist: “You even used the word ‘touch’ — just say very wicked and be done with it…”

Old Daoist Zhang said, “This sort of thing, coming from the three of us directly, would look terribly improper — elders behaving badly and ruining a good thing. It had to go through the Prince of Ning’s own realization. Now that he knows, he’ll agree on behalf of all the people under heaven.”

The Long-Browed Daoist: “I have a feeling the three of us might end up in hell when we go.”

Dean Gao said with great solemnity, “This was done out of necessity. We had no choice… For the sake of all people under heaven, I won’t be going to hell. You two can sort that out between yourselves.”

The Long-Browed Daoist asked, “Were you like this when you were teaching?”

Dean Gao didn’t answer. Hands behind his back, he quickened his pace and walked on ahead.

The Long-Browed Daoist looked at Old Daoist Zhang. “Were you like this before you came down from Dragon-Tiger Mountain?”

Old Daoist Zhang: “Oh, I was.”

The Long-Browed Daoist: “…”

He muttered “never mind I asked,” put his hands behind his back, and hurried off as well.

In the distance, hidden in the shadows.

Li Chi and Gao Xining had been watching the whole time. When the three elders were far enough away, Gao Xining nodded. “Called it.”

Li Chi said, “Let’s go.”

A short while later, Yu Jiuling had just made up his bed and was about to sleep when he heard a cough outside the door. He turned — and there were Li Chi and Gao Xining again. He nearly jumped out of his skin.

“My lord… not asleep yet?”

Li Chi dragged over a chair and sat across from Yu Jiuling. He said nothing. He just looked at him.

Yu Jiuling said, “Those three elders came by just now, but there was nothing new — they just came to repeat their instructions from before. My lord, rest assured, I’m on your side.”

Li Chi still said nothing. He kept looking.

Yu Jiuling: “Yes… they did give me another hundred taels. But I didn’t keep it! I’ve really made up my mind this time — I am firmly on your side, yours and Big Brother’s.”

Li Chi kept looking.

Yu Jiuling: “Yes… all right, I did keep the banknote. But I did it to deceive them! I already decided — even though I took their silver, I’m still going to help you, my lord.”

Li Chi finally smiled. “All told, front and back, you’ve collected three hundred taels?”

Yu Jiuling: “Yes…”

Li Chi said, “Here’s what we’ll do. When they find out I came by again, they’ll probably come to raise your price. I’ll outbid them right now — a thousand taels, all at once. Hand over the three hundred, and I’ll swap it for a single note worth a thousand. They can’t match that.”

Yu Jiuling’s eyes went bright. Brilliantly bright.

He handed over the three hundred taels. Li Chi took the notes and passed them to Gao Xining, who turned and walked out.

Li Chi rose as well. “Get some rest.”

Yu Jiuling: “My lord, I… have I been conned again?”

Li Chi nodded. “Be confident about it. You have.”

Then he put his hands behind his back and strolled out.