From the window of the Hongbin Tower, Chen Xugong watched the opera house across the street. The sudden change of ownership had caught his attention — but he could never have imagined that a transaction involving one opera house would entangle someone of Cao Lie’s standing.

Besides, land deals in the Capital Circuit at this moment — especially in the counties near Chang’an — were happening constantly. In the past few months, probably tens of thousands of people had poured into the Capital Circuit from the south: merchants of every size, members of the great houses, opportunists of every description.

Many had made the same choice as Chen Xugong’s group — stay out of Chang’an for now, find a foothold in the surrounding area. There were transactions like this one in Anshi County every single day: some bought existing shops, others bought land and built from scratch. Far too many to count.

Chen Xugong thought nothing of it — though since he was planning the Merchant Guild and had an interest in any newcomers, he decided to pay attention to this one.

“Little Lei,” he called to his capable aide, Chen Lei. “Go introduce yourself to the new neighbors. Find out who they are and where they’re from.”

“Politely?” Chen Lei asked. “Or put a scare into them?”

Chen Xugong shot him a look. “Politely, of course. They just arrived. Why would you frighten them?”

Chen Lei grinned. “Understood.”

He went downstairs, waved a few men along, and swaggered across to the opera house.

He was gone for nearly two full hours. Chen Xugong was busy with other things and had almost forgotten about it, when Chen Lei came back reeking of wine.

Chen Xugong’s face darkened. “I sent you on business. How much did you drink?”

“The new owner over there was incredibly hospitable,” Chen Lei said. “Dragged all of us in for drinks. Gave everyone a red packet. Said he’d come pay his respects to you tomorrow.”

Chen Xugong thought: not bad, the newcomer knows how things work.

“Did you get his background?”

“Got it. He’s from Qingzhou — not very old. He’s the eldest son of the Tao family of Qingzhou. He came ahead to look things over; if business seems good here, the Taos plan to relocate their Qingzhou operations.”

Chen Xugong turned it over. The Tao family of Qingzhou did sound vaguely familiar — but the Central Plains were vast, and he was from Yuezhou; he couldn’t know everything. The Taos had a modest reputation in Qingzhou and had produced notable figures during the Zhou kingdom.

Chen Xugong didn’t think much more of it. He nodded. “No obvious problems then. When he comes tomorrow, it’s a good chance to bring up the Guild.”

Chen Lei was clearly quite drunk, swaying where he stood.

Chen Xugong gave him another withering look. “Go sleep it off. Making a spectacle of yourself.”

Chen Lei thought: this wasn’t me making a spectacle — you’d have done the same. The Qingzhou people are *formidable* drinkers. And so hospitable. When they pressed the cup on you, you couldn’t refuse. If I hadn’t had a decent capacity, they’d have carried me back.

And then there were those generous red packets — he felt rather pleased about those.

—

Meanwhile. The opera house.

Cao Lie looked at Tao Xiaomi, and his expression was one of genuine appreciation. He was rather impressed with the young man.

One person had drunk four or five of the opposition’s crew under the table — and apparently with no ill effects. He had performed all the signs of intoxication while they were present, then snapped right back to sharp clarity the moment they left. Not only was his alcohol tolerance formidable, but his acting was impeccable.

Cao Lie had put the opera house in Tao Xiaomi’s name for deliberate reasons.

First, the Tao family of Qingzhou genuinely had the means to sustain this identity, and people here were not particularly familiar with Qingzhou families.

Second, Cao Lie did not intend to deal with these small fish directly. Dealing with them would be far too easy — and wouldn’t accomplish very much. His Majesty had given him a task, and he needed to use the small fish, let them serve a pivotal role at the critical moment.

He had originally planned to make a direct show of force in the Capital Circuit — after all, His Majesty had mentioned making certain people feel *proper reverence*. But after arriving, Cao Lie found that these opponents were… insufficiently interesting to warrant an immediate display of force. These minor characters didn’t amount to enough. Eliminating them now wouldn’t establish much of an impression. And their current activities posed no threat to His Majesty’s larger plans.

So Cao Lie decided to raise fish.

“I’ve already dispatched someone to report this to His Majesty,” Cao Lie said, turning to Tao Xiaomi. “If His Majesty approves, you’ll pose as a young master of the Tao family here for a while.”

Tao Xiaomi’s identity was already murky — he had never been a conspicuous figure within the Censor Bureau. With Cao Lie and the Bureau constructing a new identity for him, it would hold up under any scrutiny. Keeping him in place would be all the more valuable.

Tao Xiaomi nodded. “I’ll follow the Marquis’s arrangements.”

“To avoid drawing attention, my people and I will be leaving for a time,” Cao Lie said.

He pointed to a box on the table. “That’s what I’m leaving for your expenses. If you run short, tell the Scholar. I’m leaving him and Yagu with you — anything you need, just instruct them.”

He stood to leave. “Let His Majesty see what you’re made of. See how big a fish you can grow.”

Tao Xiaomi bowed. “I understand.”

Cao Lie gave his instructions, and then he was gone — not a word more than necessary, departing clean and free.

Tao Xiaomi opened the box Cao Lie had left him and froze. Even after multiple shocks courtesy of Cao Lie, this one still caught him off guard.

He had known Cao Lie was wealthy. He had not expected Cao Lie to treat money quite so carelessly.

Inside the box, besides a thick stack of banknotes, were numerous precious eastern pearls and crystals that Tao Xiaomi had never seen before. A rough estimate put the value high enough to purchase both main streets of Anshi County.

He picked up the banknotes and looked through them. Then let out an involuntary sigh.

“When I burn paper offerings for my ancestors, I’d never dare say they’re worth this much.”

The banknotes alone totaled no less than a hundred thousand taels. Cao Lie had simply tossed them to him without a second thought.

Tao Xiaomi had to admit: money really did give a person backbone. Holding these banknotes, he felt as if nothing in the world could shake him.

—

Cao Lie had not left Anshi County. He stepped outside its boundaries and, in the shortest possible time, purchased an estate outside the county seat.

What had once been merely a small town had this modest manor, built by the wealthiest resident in those earlier days. Later, wartime turmoil had left it abandoned; when Chang’an began to rise, the original owner had come back — but having already moved his family to Chang’an, he had left only a few caretakers behind.

While his men cleaned the courtyard, Cao Lie sprawled in a reclining chair in the sun, looking as languid and boneless as a cat.

“Marquis.” Dongwu Guiming returned from outside and bowed. “Confirmed. The man running things here for Xu Ji is called Chen Xugong, from Yuezhou. The Chen family has some standing there. He came with Xu Ji representing the family, but has now been dispatched to manage business — clearly out of Xu Ji’s favor. Chen Xugong has already taken control of quite a few businesses in Anshi County, and these past two days has been discussing the formation of some kind of Merchant Guild — he intends to make every merchant in the county join, so he can skim from the top.”

One day, and Dongwu Guiming had gathered nearly everything about Chen Xugong — partly testament to Dongwu Guiming’s extraordinary abilities, partly because Chen Xugong himself was utterly oblivious about keeping a low profile and missed no opportunity to let people know he was acting on Xu Ji’s behalf.

“The Chen family…”

Cao Lie opened his eyes and regarded Dongwu Guiming. “Go and dig deeper. How large are Chen Xugong’s operations in Anshi County? I want precise figures.”

“Yes!”

Dongwu Guiming acknowledged and departed.

Cao Lie turned to the young man, thought for a moment, and said: “Xiye, go find out how many capable fighters Chen Xugong has around him.”

The young man said nothing — bowed, turned, and was gone.

“Your Majesty… these small fish genuinely don’t merit being swept up right now. Keeping them is more useful than removing them…”

Cao Lie muttered this to himself, then closed his eyes and went back to sunning himself.

—

Chang’an.

Li Chi pushed aside the memorial in front of him and instinctively raised a hand to rub his eyes.

Every day was the same — an overwhelming volume of matters requiring his attention. Even time for cultivation had grown scarce.

Master Yan walked in from outside, cradling another stack of memorials, and felt a small pang when he saw Li Chi rubbing his eyes.

“Your Majesty, rest for a moment.”

Li Chi smiled. “I’m not really tired. And actually, learning to read the entire realm through the characters in these memorials — it’s beginning to feel rather interesting.”

He stood and stretched, then looked at what Master Yan had brought. “All related to Xu Ji?”

“Yes. Large and small — all from various regions, and all regarding Xu Ji.”

“Have you read through them, Yan?”

“I have. Judging by what the memorials describe, Xu Ji has not technically broken any rules — one could only say his methods were somewhat harsh.”

“Xu Ji of course hasn’t broken any rules,” Li Chi said. “He’s simply exercising the authority I gave him.”

He pointed to a memorial on the table. “This is something new from Lu Chonglou. Take a look.”

Master Yan took it and read carefully, and the admiration in his eyes grew with each line.

“Your Majesty, Lu Chonglou is truly formidable.”

He set the memorial down. “When the cabinet system is eventually established, this man could serve as Chief Grand Secretary.”

Li Chi gave a quiet nod. “My thoughts exactly. But it won’t happen quickly — I calculate Xu Ji will need more than five years to attempt anything significant.”

“Five years isn’t too long,” Master Yan said.

“But Xu Ji knows me too well, just as I know him,” Li Chi said. “What worries me now is not that Xu Ji’s ambitions will grow too large — it’s that at the critical moment, he might lose his nerve and pull back.”

Master Yan was briefly taken aback.

This was genuinely worth careful thought.

Xu Ji was extremely shrewd. After helping His Majesty accomplish his purposes, he might suddenly retreat. If so, the whole affair would be thunder with little rain — and His Majesty needed an outcome that would shake the entire realm. If Xu Ji retreated, that effect would be lost.

“Perhaps,” Master Yan said slowly, “we could lay a few more roads for Xu Ji?”

Li Chi smiled. “I dissolved all the regional Military Governors.”

At those words, Master Yan understood at once, and smiled in return. “Then with that road laid before him, he won’t retreat.”

—