When Li Chi and Gao Xining had slipped away from the Ning army camp, it was never without preparation. Li Chi had left a letter for Tang Pidi in his tent, laying out in full detail the matter of going to Daxing City, along with various other arrangements. He told Tang Pidi that if something happened to him inside the city, he would send a signal by night. If no signal ever appeared, then everything was fine, and there was nothing to worry about.

When Tang Pidi finished reading the letter, he had two thoughts.

First: *damn him.*

Second: this must be kept absolutely secret. Word could not leak out that King Ning had left the camp. So even when he sent people after him, he never let on that it was the King he was chasing.

Tang Pidi deployed a massive number of scouts, circling around Han Feibao’s encampment before taking up positions outside Daxing City. The city was enormous — to ensure nothing went wrong, the number of scouts dispatched was almost unimaginable.

He also immediately summoned Gui Yuanshu and told him to find a way — by any means — to get into Daxing City and protect King Ning from the shadows.

When Gui Yuanshu learned that King Ning had gone to Daxing City of his own accord, he had two thoughts as well.

First: *damn him.*

Second: *how the hell am I supposed to get in?*

They were all sick with worry. Little did they know that Li Chi’s days in the city had been about as carefree as could be imagined — an endless stream of diversions in the Yibin Garden, one scheme for entertainment after another.

By the twenty-first day of his stay, Emperor Yang Jing was truly anxious. Part of the reason was a new idea that had taken hold of him. He had expected King Ning’s people to grow desperate, to find increasingly urgent ways to curry favor — perhaps even to offer gifts.

But every daily report was roughly the same: *the Young Lord is fishing… the Young Lord is playing hide-and-seek… on one occasion, the Young Lord was competing with his men to see who could urinate the farthest.*

Twenty-one days. The Young Lord had done everything imaginable. Everything except the actual business he came for.

The Emperor had no choice but to dispatch Yu Wenli again to feel out Xiahou Zhuo’s intentions.

Yu Wenli arrived at the Yibin Garden gate but didn’t rush in. He sat in his carriage and thought for a good while, weighing the right approach. Eventually, the only angle he could find was Xiahou Zhuo’s imperial lineage — whatever else was true, the man carried Chu blood.

He entered the garden to find the group flying kites in the courtyard. The kites looked extraordinarily peculiar.

Ordinary kites depicted eagles or butterflies, or at their most elaborate, a celestial maiden mid-flight. The kites Li Chi and his companions were flying were ones they had made themselves over the past few days. Gao Xining didn’t seem particularly interested in making things by hand and sat to one side watching.

Yu Wenli forced a smile onto his face and walked briskly over to Li Chi. “Young Lord, what fine spirits you’re in.”

Li Chi looked back at him. “Minister Yu, what brings you here?”

Yu Wenli said, “Nothing particularly urgent. I simply came to ask whether the Young Lord is comfortable in the Yibin Garden — whether there’s anything that might be lacking.”

As he spoke, he glanced upward — and his heart sank.

The kite being flown by the sharp-faced brute beside the Young Lord depicted a tortoise.

He looked to the next one — the Young Lord’s own kite had no image at all. It was simply a round shape, green in color. How it stayed airborne was a mystery in itself.

*Is this an insult?* Yu Wenli thought. *A tortoise and… an egg.*

Noticing Yu Wenli’s peculiar expression, Li Chi smiled pleasantly. “Minister Yu, what do you think of the turtle kite my guard captain made?”

*So it is exactly what I thought.* Yu Wenli kept his smile carefully in place. “Remarkably lifelike. Remarkably lifelike indeed.”

Li Chi smiled. “And what does the Minister think of mine?”

Yu Wenli had no choice but to play dumb. “Forgive my poor eyes — I confess I can’t quite make out what the Young Lord has made here.”

Li Chi: “It’s a mung bean.”

Those three words very nearly laid the venerable and extensively educated Yu Wenli flat on the spot.

*I thought tortoise and egg. I never imagined it was a tortoise eyeing a mung bean.*

Li Chi passed the kite to his attendant and said with a smile, “What was it the Minister just said? That you came to ask whether we’re comfortable here?”

Yu Wenli said, “Indeed — I was worried there might be some oversight.”

“There isn’t.”

Li Chi gestured toward the interior of the building, inviting Yu Wenli to come inside and talk. Yu Wenli followed.

Li Chi said, “The Yibin Garden is a lovely place to stay. In King Ning’s service, I spend most of my time on campaign — I’ve never had anything this peaceful. To be honest, I’ve grown quite fond of this kind of life. Nothing to think about, free and easy — it’s like my days at the Siyu Academy back in Jizhou. Nothing but play.”

Yu Wenli said, “Well, that’s good, that’s good… Though — the Young Lord has been away for quite some time now. Won’t King Ning be growing anxious?”

Li Chi said, with a convincing air of suddenly remembering something, “Now that you mention it, I had quite forgotten. It has been a rather long time.”

*Perfect.* Yu Wenli saw his opening — the next step would naturally lead to the matter of entering the palace. He felt a small flicker of satisfaction.

Li Chi said, “We’d better pack up our things. We’ll set off at first light tomorrow. Thank you for the reminder, Minister — otherwise I’d be going back late on top of not getting the job done, and King Ning would have my head.”

He leaned toward Yu Wenli and dropped his voice conspiratorially. “You don’t know what my lord is like — lazy, petty, greedy, full of tricks, silver-tongued on his worst days. My yearly salary actually reaches my hands maybe one month out of twelve. Half the time I’m subsidizing him out of my own pocket…”

Gao Xining, walking behind them, nodded solemnly in vigorous agreement.

Yu Jiuling looked moved to tears.

Yu Wenli, for his part, had no interest in any of this — his mind had seized on the words *set off at first light tomorrow.* He couldn’t tell if Xiahou Zhuo was toying with him, making a deliberate show, or if he had genuinely decided not to see the Emperor at all.

Everyone said King Ning’s people were proud. Perhaps what looked like twenty days of idle play was in fact a firm message: *since you don’t take this seriously, neither do I.*

“Young Lord, it sounds as though King Ning is… quite strict.”

Li Chi said, “No, no, he’s not strict — he’s just shameless. Something happens: you’re fined. Nothing happens: he invents something and fines you anyway… Please don’t repeat any of this to anyone.”

He headed inside. “So it really is best I start packing, or goodness knows how much of my salary he’ll dock.”

Yu Wenli said, “But Young Lord, didn’t you come to Daxing City on King Ning’s behalf? If you leave without completing that errand, you’ll surely be punished as well.”

Li Chi said, “Which is exactly why I need to rush back — errand unfinished and late on top of it. Double punishment. Terrible. Absolutely terrible.”

Yu Wenli said, “Actually, the Young Lord needn’t be in such a rush. If the Young Lord were to enter the palace and see His Majesty tomorrow morning before departing — surely that would be better than leaving empty-handed.”

Li Chi shook his head rapidly. “No, no, let’s skip that. Please tell His Majesty on my behalf that I’ll come back next time — I don’t want to take up any more of his time today.”

Yu Wenli was genuinely at a loss now. Was Xiahou Zhuo deliberately toying with him, or was he genuinely still upset and disinclined to negotiate?

“Young Lord.”

Yu Wenli said, “His Majesty has mentioned before that this visit really ought to include a trip to the Imperial Ancestral Temple — after all, given who you are—”

He glanced at Xiahou Zhuo and left the rest unspoken, uncertain whether the Young Lord had any feelings about his own lineage.

“No, no, let’s skip that too.”

Li Chi said, “Minister Yu, if you wouldn’t mind — when you return, please let His Majesty know that once we’ve left the city tomorrow, I’d ask that our weapons be returned.”

Yu Wenli said, “Young Lord, as I mentioned before — His Majesty’s displeasure has not yet fully passed. If the Young Lord tries to leave, His Majesty will most likely not permit it. Might I suggest the Young Lord enter the palace and speak with His Majesty in person? You are of the same clan — by generation, His Majesty is your cousin. Surely there is nothing between cousins that cannot be talked through…”

Li Chi figured that was about enough of this dance, so he said, “Let me think it over. I’ll decide before we leave tomorrow morning.”

There was nothing more Yu Wenli could say. They chatted idly for a while longer; he even stayed to share a midday meal, then hurried back to the Shiyuan Palace to report.

That afternoon, Li Chi sat in the courtyard watching Yu Jiuling climb a tree. He let out a yawn. “Tired. I’m going to take a nap.”

Gao Xining: “Go ahead.”

Li Chi: “Come with me?”

Gao Xining stood up. “Let’s go.”

Li Chi: “I was joking — you actually—”

He didn’t get to finish. Yu Wenli came jogging back in, his face creased into a performance of eager excitement.

“Good news! Good news!”

He called out as he ran. “Young Lord — good news!”

Li Chi asked with a smile, “Good news for me, or good news for the Minister?”

Yu Wenli: “For the Young Lord!”

Li Chi said: “King Ning has broken through the gates?”

Yu Wenli nearly tripped over this.

He covered with a slightly strained smile. “I have just learned that His Majesty intends to go to the Hongyuan Temple in the eastern part of the city to pray for the people. If the Young Lord leaves now, you’ll be able to encounter His Majesty there — quite by chance.”

Li Chi gave a quiet sigh. “Don’t feel like it.”

Yu Wenli: “Why not?”

Li Chi: “Going to pray — doesn’t that cost money?”

Yu Wenli managed a bitter smile. “Young Lord, please stop having fun at my expense. I’m acting in good faith. I hope the Young Lord will appreciate that.”

Li Chi: “Minister Yu, what makes you say that?… Still, if the Minister thinks I’m in the wrong, then I’ll correct myself. You want me to go — so I’ll go.”

Yu Wenli’s mood immediately brightened. “Wonderful, wonderful! I’ll go ahead and arrange things so the Young Lord can meet His Majesty at the Hongyuan Temple.”

Li Chi: “Any expenses — you’re covering them.”

Yu Wenli: “…”

Before long, Yu Wenli was racing back to the Shiyuan Palace to inform the Emperor.

Emperor Yang Jing listened, then let out a long sigh. The frustration was real.

This was power speaking plainly. King Ning’s man knew they had the upper hand, knew the court was in a weakened position, and so they deliberately made sport of everything. He had, in effect, been made a fool of by Xiahou Zhuo.

What stung worse was that Xiahou Zhuo carried the blood of the Yang clan in his veins. How could someone like that adopt this manner?

He looked at Yu Wenli. “Go make the preparations. We’ll depart shortly.”

After Yu Wenli left, the Emperor turned toward the folding screen behind him. “You heard all of that. We’ll be going to meet Xiahou Zhuo soon.”

From behind the screen, Yu Peien stepped forward and bowed. “Your Majesty need only go. Whatever terms Xiahou Zhuo puts forward, Your Majesty agrees to them.”

The Emperor looked at him. “We still cannot accept what you’ve told Us without some doubt.”

Yu Peien said, “Your Majesty may rest easy. I will not leave Daxing City. If this plan succeeds and we defeat King Ning Li Chi — I will still be here at Your Majesty’s side. Should the King of Geling fail to honor the agreement, Your Majesty may have my head.”

The Emperor gave Yu Peien one last look, then turned and walked toward the door. “Go back and wait for news. We will send for you again.”

Yu Peien bowed deeply. “By your command.”

—