It had come to this — there was no longer any way to hide it.

Shen Zhuxi slowly parted her lips, still hesitating inwardly. Yu Sha’s parting words from nearly half a year ago echoed in her ears once more: “Don’t let anyone know who you are. Once you pass through these palace gates, trust no one but Master Fu.”

Shen Zhuxi did trust Li Wu — but she did not know whether, once palace maid Shen Zhuxi became Princess of Yue Shen Zhuxi, Li Wu would still treat her the same as before.

“I…” She wavered and wrestled with herself, then finally made up her mind. “I am a princess.”

“I already knew that —” Li Wu said. “You’re the Princess of Chu.”

Shen Zhuxi stared at him in astonishment.

Li Wu assumed he had guessed correctly and leaned leisurely back against the bed’s edge, self-assured. “The late Emperor of Great Yan had seven princesses who grew to adulthood, with titles of Qin, Wei, Xia, Zhou, Tang, Yue, and Chu. The Princess of Qin is past thirty and has had three prince consorts — she doesn’t match your age. The Princess of Wei was sent far away to the grasslands and died of illness three years ago. The Princesses of Xia and Zhou married abroad and reportedly became the wives of some golden great-ape king… so naturally neither of them is you. Of the remaining princesses, only the Princess of Tang, the Princess of Yue, and the youngest, the Princess of Chu, are left.”

“At the late Emperor’s birthday banquet three years ago, the Princess of Tang presented the Emperor with an embroidered map of the realm that she had worked on for an entire year. The Emperor was overjoyed and bestowed upon her countless treasures — the story spread throughout the land and became a celebrated tale. And you,” Li Wu said with disdain, “can’t even tie a decorative knot, let alone embroider. You’re clearly not the Princess of Tang.”

…The embroidered map of the realm wasn’t entirely Fifth Sister’s work to begin with — after it was presented, several of the embroiderers in Fifth Sister’s palace went blind. Shen Zhuxi thought indignantly to herself.

“The Princess of Yue —” Li Wu’s disdain deepened. “Her extravagance and indulgence does somewhat resemble you.”

Shen Zhuxi’s heart had just leapt up when he continued:

“However, you are far better than her. The Princess of Yue was the most imperious of all the princesses — betrothed to the Chief Minister’s son almost from birth. I’ve heard that when she traveled within the palace, she would have ten li of embroidered curtained walkways erected for her, with a hundred attendants following in her wake. Her daily meals — even the simplest morning repast — comprised twenty or thirty courses. Her daily expenditures alone amounted to tens of thousands of taels of silver —”

“Nonsense!” Shen Zhuxi burst out furiously.

Li Wu stopped and looked at her strangely. “I’m talking about the Princess of Yue — why are you getting angry?”

“The Princess of Yue is nothing like that!”

Shen Zhuxi was so indignant her ears had gone red. What sort of Princess of Yue was Li Wu describing? When had she ever eaten twenty or thirty dishes in a single morning? She’d be stuffed to bursting even if she just took one bite of each — no matter how extravagant she might be, she would never do something so meaningless!

And those curtained walkways?

She had never used curtained walkways in the palace! Everyone she might encounter in the inner palace were either eunuchs and palace maids, or her own blood relatives — what possible reason would she have for curtained walkways?

And a hundred people following in her wake? Her entire palace staff combined didn’t number that many!

“The Princess of Yue doesn’t matter…” Li Wu saw her expression and immediately changed course. “She does matter, she does. I forgot — you hold the Princess of Yue in deep regard; your sisterly bond must have been very close. It was wrong of me to say such things. The dead, after all, deserve their dignity.”

Shen Zhuxi pursed her lips in silent fury. Li Wu coaxed her gently: “It was all just hearsay on my part — why take it up with me? I’ve never even seen the palace gates, so everything I know is just stuff I’ve picked up here and there…”

“Hearsay! Pure fabrication!”

“Yes, pure fabrication.” Li Wu said. “I won’t go speaking carelessly from now on. Let’s move on to the next one. The next one — that’s you. The late Emperor’s youngest daughter, the Princess of Chu.”

“The Princess of Chu was born to Noble Lady Zhao. Noble Lady Zhao was out of favor, so the Princess of Chu she bore was also out of favor. By my reckoning, she would be about the same age as you. And most importantly —”

“Most importantly, what?” Shen Zhuxi asked, her tone flat.

“She is the only princess the late Emperor had not yet betrothed to anyone.” Li Wu fixed her with an unwavering gaze.

Shen Zhuxi, with a guilty conscience, said: “…What does being betrothed have to do with anything?”

“It has everything to do with it!” Li Wu raised his voice. “I am not about to raise another man’s wife — I don’t do deals that leave me at a loss!”

“Even if she wasn’t betrothed to anyone… she would never be betrothed to someone like you…” Shen Zhuxi’s voice grew smaller and smaller.

This wretched man — what kind of daydream was he having? Even without her Imperial Father, the Crown Prince would never in a million years betroth a proper princess to a rough nobody like him.

“Are you admitting that you’re the Princess of Chu?” Li Wu said.

Shen Zhuxi hesitated for a moment, then gave a small nod.

“That brother of yours, the one you called Shen Huan…”

“A false name,” Shen Zhuxi said. “I only wanted you to take me to find Crown Prince Elder Brother. That’s all.”

It wasn’t quite a lie, was it? She had already admitted to being a princess. Besides, it was Li Wu himself who had said things like not raising another man’s wife — if she told him she was actually the Princess of Yue, who had been betrothed to the Chief Minister’s son since childhood, this man would probably turn around and sell her to those rebel forces in the capital before she could blink.

“I knew it all along!” Li Wu said with smug satisfaction. “Since when has there ever been a palace maid as hopeless at serving others as you?!”

“I’m hopeless at serving people?” Shen Zhuxi said, stung. “Then who is it that’s been looking after you right now?!”

She gave Li Wu’s injured arm a light pat — deliberately avoiding the actual wound — but the cunning scoundrel still put on an elaborate show, crying out dramatically: “You hit my wound! You vicious woman!”

Shen Zhuxi snipped the bandage and tied it off, then stood up. “I’ll be the death of you!”

“You’re cursing me to death so you can be a widow!” Li Wu called after her.

Shen Zhuxi paid his blathering no mind and walked out of the main room without looking back. Li Wu casually threw his outer robe over his shoulders and strolled to the doorway after her, the corners of his mouth curving wildly upward. He called out loudly at the retreating figure of the fuming fool:

“Don’t even think about it!”

Li Que passed Shen Zhuxi in the corridor. He glanced at his irate sister-in-law, then back at his elder brother leaning against the doorframe with a face full of bloom, and said, puzzled: “Elder Brother, what’s going on between you two?”

Li Wu smiled and beckoned him over.

Li Que walked up to him, and Li Wu lowered his voice, speaking to him with an air of mystery. “Que, do you know — there is something in this world even better than achieving great ambitions and marrying a princess.”

“Something even better than that?” Li Que asked, bewildered.

“Great ambitions not yet achieved, but a princess already wed. Sharing hardship together, sharing prosperity together.” Li Wu smiled his enigmatic smile and turned back into the inner room.

Li Que stood there thoroughly confused, and then — after a long moment — it suddenly struck him like a flash of light.

“Elder Brother! Is Sister-in-law actually a princess?!”

He stepped over the threshold and put the question to the man whose smile had nearly lifted off his face entirely.

Li Wu gave a restrained yet gratified nod.

“Elder Brother! Congratulations!” Li Que exclaimed in delighted surprise. “This has been your wish all along — you’ve truly married a princess!”

“What kind of way is that to put it? What do you mean, my wish all along?” Li Wu made a show of scolding. “What’s so remarkable about marrying a princess? Making a name that shakes the world — that’s what I truly desire!”

“Yes, yes — Elder Brother has the ambitions of a great swan, and sooner or later you’ll soar to great heights!” Li Que said in ready agreement.

“It seems I need to pick up the pace.” Li Wu said. “Otherwise, I’ve won a princess, but I may not be able to keep her.”

“Where does Elder Brother get that from?”

“Your sister-in-law married me out of circumstance — there was no parental blessing, no matchmaker’s word. Do you think the future Emperor would willingly give his beloved royal sister to someone like me?”

“Elder Brother possesses rare and distinguished qualities — why should he not be worthy?”

“I’m being serious with you.” Li Wu’s eyes narrowed.

“And I am equally in earnest,” Li Que said. “The efforts Elder Brother has made all these years to rise above his station — I have seen every bit of it. Now that everything is in place and only the east wind is needed, the moment for Elder Brother’s name to shake the world is not far off. What is there to worry about?”

“Famine,” Li Wu said.

“Will it truly be that severe?” Li Que’s expression grew solemn.

“Other places may not be the same, but as for Xiangyang…” Li Wu left the sentence unfinished and gave a cold laugh.

The informants placed in the courtyard household were all around, so Li Que wisely did not press further and changed the subject. “Elder Brother still hasn’t told me — how did you get this wound?”

“After you all left, we ran into another tiger. A female.”

“That was my oversight. I only thought about how one mountain cannot hold two tigers, and didn’t pay enough attention to the claw marks on the first tiger.” Li Que said gravely.

“That tiger recognized Li Juan — ” Li Wu caught himself and corrected: “Recognized the tiger cub your sister-in-law brought home. In the end, the mother tiger left with the cub, and your sister-in-law and I came safely down the mountain.”

“As long as neither of you were badly hurt,” Li Que said. “I brought the tiger’s body to the magistrate’s office — the constables were overjoyed. Any more victims and Magistrate Fang would have had to send constables and hunters up the mountain himself to organize a tiger-hunting party.”

Li Que produced a heavy packet of reward silver and handed it to Li Wu.

Li Wu said: “…When the prefect hears about this, it’ll be yet another mark against him for acting without authorization.”

Li Que smiled. “It’s thankless work — Magistrate Fang rushes about all day long and gets no credit for it. Sometimes I genuinely feel sorry for him.”

“You feel sorry for him, and he feels sorry for you, a man in white robes who wanders about freely,” Li Wu said, tucking the coin pouch into his chest. “Go to the street and buy a few jars of good wine, and pick up some food to go with it —”

“Understood.” Li Que smiled. “Elder Brother has married a princess — we ought to celebrate.”

“Don’t draw attention to yourselves,” Li Wu said with a wave of his hand.

“When has little brother ever mishandled things? Elder Brother, rest easy.”

As Li Que went out the door, he came across Shen Zhuxi, who had just returned from checking on the green onion flowers in the garden.

One look at the situation and she knew he was heading out. Shen Zhuxi asked: “Li Que, are you going to the street?”

“I am. Does Sister-in-law need me to bring anything back?”

“Bring me a brazier — no, not just one, bring four.” Shen Zhuxi said. “And bring back some good charcoal that doesn’t smoke — when you’re choosing it, you must have the shopkeeper burn it for you first. Only take charcoal that sparks cleanly without giving off black smoke.”

“Sister-in-law, rest easy — I’ll choose very carefully,” Li Que said.

In order to transport the charcoal and braziers, Li Que called on Li Kun when he went out, and the two of them headed to the hardware shop. The braziers and charcoal were successfully purchased — this year, as grain prices had soared, even the price of charcoal had shot up several times over, but fortunately, as long as one had the money, braziers and charcoal were not hard to come by. Afterward, the two of them went to a restaurant and spent several dozen taels of silver before securing enough food and wine for two people.

According to the restaurant attendant, their kitchen had not received fresh ingredients for several days now — even the proprietor was considering closing temporarily, and none of the staff knew where they would find tomorrow’s meals.

Before returning to the courtyard house, the two of them also collected from the magistrate’s office the tiger hide and meat that had been promised to them. The stripped tiger meat totaled over two hundred jin. Li Wu’s share came to fifty jin; the rest was sent to residences like Prefect Fan’s, Magistrate Fang’s, and other official households, and the constables of any rank at the magistrate’s office all received a portion, however small.

One tiger weighing over three hundred jin, divided until not even the bones remained.

Hauling over a hundred jin down the streets was, under present circumstances, not unlike a lone person escorting a shipment of gold — fraught with peril. If not for the news of Li Kun’s tiger-wrestling spreading throughout every street and alley within a single day, their journey back would not have been nearly as uneventful.

Just as they were nearing the courtyard house, a squad of fully armed constables came jogging past them, their faces grave and urgent.

Li Que stopped one of the constables he had shared drinks with a few times and asked: “Old Zhang, what’s happened?”

Old Zhang let out a long sigh, his hand gripping the hilt of his sword.

“Refugees who couldn’t get into the city have gathered at the north gate and are causing trouble. I’ll be off — we can talk later.”

Old Zhang spoke quickly and jogged off to catch up with the squad ahead.

“I want to go watch the commotion too,” Li Kun said, and took a step forward to follow.

Li Que grabbed him by the arm, his expression firm.

“We tell Elder Brother first.”