When Ye Huasheng came out of the room, his face bore a resemblance to Li Chi that was close enough to fool anyone who didn’t know Li Chi well. So long as no one looked too closely, the disguise would hold.

But disguise was, at its heart, capable of fooling only the half-familiar. True intimates needed no more than a few moments to see through it. A person’s voice, their manner of speaking, even a single expression or shift of color — none of these could be hidden from someone who knew them.

And there was no such thing in this world as a perfectly seamless human skin mask one could simply stick on — that was the stuff of legends.

Yu Peien looked him up and down with moderate satisfaction.

“The haste shows — there are bound to be imperfections. But to replicate this much from only a single viewing — that is no small feat.”

Yu Peien stood up, walked over, and circled Ye Huasheng once.

“For those who don’t know the man well, to be mistaken into thinking this is him — that should be more than adequate.”

He gave the instruction: “Go and try the other one now.”

Ye Huasheng acknowledged the order and went back into the room.

Disguise was not something achieved in a moment. He needed a mirror, careful preparation, constant small adjustments. Yu Peien was patient. He sat in the courtyard making idle conversation with Qi Lianshan. A full hour passed before Ye Huasheng emerged again.

When Qi Lianshan saw this new disguise, his mouth hung slightly open, and disbelief flickered in his eyes.

Yu Peien stepped forward again for a close inspection, then gave a satisfied nod. “This one is better. Stand still, and there are almost no flaws. Much better than impersonating Xiahou Zhuo. But—”

Yu Peien said, “Impersonating Xiahou Zhuo is still easier than impersonating the Emperor. The Emperor carries a singular quality about him — a quality that cannot be imitated. So to impersonate the Emperor, say as little as possible and move as little as possible. The less you do, the smaller the chance of being found out.”

Ye Huasheng said, “Master is right. The Emperor possesses a bearing that can’t be reproduced by imitation. So to impersonate him, speak little, act little — the fewer the movements, the smaller the openings for discovery.”

Yu Peien said, “According to our intelligence, King Ning Li Chi’s master, the Long-Browed Daoist, is himself a master of disguise — skilled enough to deceive almost anyone. Our intelligence also tells us that using this technique, Li Chi has done many things over the years. This time, we will use the very craft they are known for against Li Chi’s own people.”

Qi Lianshan said, “Master, I still feel that the Emperor may not be sincere.”

Yu Peien nodded. “You’re not wrong. The only reason the Emperor would agree to ally with us is because he believes it gives him a remaining chance of winning. So at the root of it, the Emperor intends to be the last enemy we face.”

Qi Lianshan said, “So — if we kill Xiahou Zhuo inside Daxing City, might the Emperor use that as a pretext to refuse the alliance with us?”

Yu Peien said, “What I have already told him is: you can choose to ally with us. If Xiahou Zhuo dies here — and dies at the hands of the court — then I will tell the Emperor: you no longer have a choice.”

He looked at Qi Lianshan. “Both parties already understand that any cooperation between them is temporary, so there is no need for pretense. Once the Emperor understands he has no alternatives, he will accept the situation.”

Qi Lianshan said, “It seems the Master already has a plan in motion.”

Yu Peien smiled. “The difficulty lies in making people believe that Xiahou Zhuo died at the court’s hand.”

Qi Lianshan said, “If Xiahou Zhuo is truly killed, the Emperor will surely try to explain himself to King Ning Li Chi — otherwise the situation that follows will be impossible to manage.”

Yu Peien said, “I have my plans. Let’s see when the Emperor arranges a second meeting with Xiahou Zhuo.”

—

At the same time, in the eastern study of the Shiyuan Palace.

The Emperor, just returned, was in a noticeably better mood. Xiahou Zhuo’s words had cut at him — but they had also solidified his resolve.

Yu Wenli stood at the Emperor’s side, his own feelings rather more complicated.

After the Emperor sat down, he said to Yu Wenli, “If nothing unexpected occurs, Han Feibao’s people are already thinking of how to eliminate Xiahou Zhuo.”

Yu Wenli said, “Your subject has never been able to fully untangle this. It seems contradictory.”

The Emperor made a soft sound. “On the surface, yes, it does look contradictory.”

If Xiahou Zhuo died in Daxing City, King Ning Li Chi would certainly refuse any further cooperation with the court. Even if the fighting cost him dearly, he would never deal with the Emperor again — and one day he would exact bloody vengeance.

Yet Han Feibao’s people had negotiated a plan with the Emperor that depended entirely on King Ning’s cooperation with the court: the Emperor would pretend to surrender to Li Chi, then commit Chu forces to attack Han Feibao — at which point, in the heat of battle, Han Feibao’s forces would turn on the Ning army from the flank.

So the contradiction was obvious. If Han Feibao’s people killed Xiahou Zhuo — how could that plan still work?

The Emperor said slowly, “If Xiahou Zhuo dies here — and the only thing left that might make Li Chi willing to continue cooperating — would be for Us to personally go to the Ning army as a hostage.”

He looked at Yu Wenli. “That is likely Han Feibao’s true design.”

Yu Wenli said, “But Your Majesty can simply refuse. Han Feibao has no means of coercing Your Majesty. As long as Your Majesty does not leave Daxing City, the three-way conflict becomes, in effect, a two-way conflict.”

The Emperor said, “But what We are thinking is… what if Xiahou Zhuo truly dies in Daxing City — and yet the ones who kill him are Han Feibao’s people?”

He looked at Yu Wenli. “We hand over all the killers to King Ning. Then We ask King Ning to send someone to Daxing City to take command of the armies…”

He paused, closed his eyes, and leaned back. “With that gesture of goodwill, Li Chi should — barely — be willing to accept.”

Yu Wenli could not see to the bottom of the Emperor’s mind at all. The Emperor’s thoughts ran too deep. From everything the Emperor had shown so far, it was impossible to judge whether he truly intended to ally with Han Feibao or whether he genuinely meant to ally with Li Chi.

Yu Wenli said, “Your Majesty — if Xiahou Zhuo does not die, and Your Majesty’s people save him at a critical moment — then hand over Han Feibao’s assassins to King Ning — would that not deceive Li Chi even more convincingly?”

The Emperor looked at Yu Wenli. “Then how does We deceive Han Feibao?”

That question left Yu Wenli more confused than ever.

—

Yibin Garden.

Li Chi came back and changed out of the formal robes he’d worn for the meeting. That slightly elaborate outfit had been genuinely uncomfortable.

Gao Xining asked him, “How was it?”

Li Chi said, “I saw killing intent in his eyes.”

Gao Xining said, “So it really is like that… But why? Even though you anticipated he might have thoughts of moving against you, you never found a fully convincing reason for it.”

Li Chi said, “Convincing…”

He sat down, picked up his tea and took a sip, his mind rapidly sorting through the information he’d gleaned from the Emperor’s words.

He looked at Gao Xining. “If you want to find out whether there’s a convincing reason — help me keep watch on one person.”

Gao Xining asked, “Who?”

Li Chi answered, “The Princess Consort of Prince Wu.”

He looked at Gao Xining. “First, find out whether the Emperor paid her a visit before letting us into the city — how many times, who accompanied him, and how long he stayed.”

Gao Xining said, “We have embedded operatives in the city. Should we reach out to them?”

Li Chi shook his head. “Don’t use them. The city operatives — we can’t make contact with them anymore.”

Gao Xining said, “Then I’ll arrange for Yu Hongyi to find a way to slip out and keep watch — and gather information.”

Li Chi said, “Also assign people to watch the northern gates.”

Gao Xining didn’t follow. “Watch for what?”

Li Chi said, “Watch for our own people.”

What Li Chi meant was Gui Yuanshu. Li Chi had no way of knowing exactly when Gui Yuanshu had arrived, but he knew Gui Yuanshu would come. If Tang Pidi was going to send anyone into Daxing City, there was no better choice than Gui Yuanshu. And whose men were in Gui Yuanshu’s new Military Intelligence Division — not even Li Chi himself knew, nor did anyone in the Ning army. No enemy infiltration was possible. But how Gui Yuanshu was going to get into Daxing City — that truly was a hard problem.

Gui Yuanshu thought so too.

Daxing City’s gates were sealed. Even in the daytime they would not be easily opened. Entering the city freely was simply out of the question.

He had been watching and observing from outside the city walls for several days. Every identity he’d considered was useless. The gates were sealed — it didn’t matter whether you came as a merchant, a refugee, or even a scattered survivor from the battle of Mangdang Mountain. Daxing City had not opened its gates for any of them.

Trade caravans arriving at the gates were turned away. Refugees were driven off. Even genuine surviving soldiers who had scattered after the battle and found their way back — they too were refused entry.

Gui Yuanshu was frantic. Even though there had been no signal from the city — meaning King Ning was still safe — how could any of them be truly at ease?

In the end, Gui Yuanshu chose the most direct approach possible. He decided to lead his team right up to the gates and knock.

Zheng Shunshun couldn’t help asking, “Sir, if we just go and knock, there’s no way they’ll let us in. We don’t have a credible identity.”

Gui Yuanshu said, “Don’t worry. I just thought of an identity. The moment we go and knock, they’ll have no reasonable grounds to refuse. At most they’ll make us wait a moment while they go get approval from above — and then they’ll open the gates.”

Zheng Shunshun racked his brains and still couldn’t figure out what identity could possibly make the Chu army open the gates without question.

The team rode up to the city gate. The moment they appeared, soldiers on the walls immediately trained their bows down on them. One order, and Gui Yuanshu and his hundred-odd men would be turned into pincushions.

Zheng Shunshun stared at his commanding officer, thinking: *All right, sir. Let’s see your performance.*

They all watched, wondering if perhaps the officer had some magic power to compel the gate guards to open up by sheer force of will.

At that moment, the soldiers on the gate wall bellowed down: “Who are you people?! Where did this force come from?!”

Gui Yuanshu coughed once to clear his throat, then raised his head and shouted back at the Chu soldiers: “We are the Ning army!”

This came close to making Zheng Shunshun’s legs give out entirely.

Gui Yuanshu continued shouting: “By King Ning’s order, we have come to escort General Xiahou back! Open the city gates at once! If you delay, we will have no choice but to return and report that General Xiahou has already been killed!”

Zheng Shunshun swallowed hard. “This identity… it actually works.”

Gui Yuanshu said, “We had no credible identity left. So our identity became the only credible one. At worst… we get locked up together once we’re inside.”

Zheng Shunshun raised a thumb. “Plausible.”