Xinyuan. The Study.

Li Chi poured a cup of tea for Yan Xiansheng, then sat across from him. Also seated were Gao Yuanzhang and the others.

*”After being reprimanded like that, will Xu Ji understand your meaning, my lord?”*

Yan Xiansheng accepted the tea with both hands and asked.

*”One hopes.”*

*”Xu Ji has the talent to manage a realm,”* Gao Yuanzhang said. *”If he also has the capacity to accommodate others, then he has the bearing of a Chancellor.”*

*”I have no intention of placing a Chancellor in the court who can monopolize power — not temporarily, and not in the future either.”*

The moment those words left Li Chi’s lips, everyone in the room froze.

Since time immemorial, courts had a chief minister — Chancellor — in name or in practice. It was an unbroken convention. Without such a figure — one who could read the Emperor’s mind and command the hundred officials — the court would lack a certain binding force.

Seeing the expressions around him, Li Chi smiled: *”There’s no rush on this. Don’t let it spread for now.”*

Everyone nodded.

At that, even Yan Xiansheng began to grasp some of what Li Chi meant.

Everyone present was someone close to Li Chi — so he did not mind letting this idea of abolishing the Chancellor position slip out. But he would not tell the officials below — he wanted to see how they would react.

Though Xu Ji had only arrived recently, and Li Chi had only just announced that Xu Ji would go to Yuezhou as its Military Commissioner, those with a keen sense for which way the wind blew were already maneuvering to curry favor with this young regional powerhouse.

How old was Xu Ji? He had not yet turned twenty, and had already served as a regional official for at least two years. Could anyone like that end up anywhere low in the court? If you didn’t cultivate the relationship now, what good would it do later?

Many people were already saying: the first Chancellor of the new dynasty would be none other than Xu Ji.

And this speculation was grounded in hints that Prince Ning himself had let slip on various occasions — which made it feel both credible and all but settled.

*”The reprimand was necessary,”* Gao Yuanzhang said. *”More than one person has noted that after learning Prince Ning intended to transfer talented men from the north, Xu Ji’s private machinations were not few. Especially among those officials coming from Jizhou — how many of them were genuinely selected on merit, and how many were selected on personal connection, remains unknown.”*

He looked at Li Chi: *”A well-timed reprimand tells him, if he is smart, that the reprimand is an act of goodwill. If he were not reprimanded, that would be something to fear.”*

*”As for Lu Chonglou…”*

Yan Xiansheng looked at Li Chi: *”If Xu Ji truly cannot tolerate others — my lord, by placing Lu Chonglou directly before him, you may well be putting that young man in some trouble.”*

Li Chi’s fingers tapped lightly against the arm of his chair: *”I rather hope Lu Chonglou encounters a bit more trouble.”*

Everyone looked at Li Chi — for a moment, none of them could quite parse how many layers that sentence held.

—

An hour later, still in that same study in Xinyuan — but now only Li Chi and Lu Chonglou remained.

Lu Chonglou swept his robes aside and knelt: *”This subordinate pays his respects, my lord.”*

*”Rise,”* Li Chi said, gesturing to the chair across from him. *”Sit down and give me a moment — let me finish what I’m working on.”*

Lu Chonglou perched on the edge of the chair, looking slightly ill at ease. His hands rested neatly on his knees — but his fingers moved in tiny, subtle motions.

*”Tell me your assessment of Xu Ji.”*

Li Chi set down the document in his hand and sat up straight, looking at Lu Chonglou.

The question gave Lu Chonglou a genuine fright.

In that instant, his mind spun through a rapid spiral of calculations: *Why is my lord asking me about Xu Ji?*

Everyone in Daxing City knew that young Commissioner Xu would most likely become the new dynasty’s first Chancellor — a conjecture grounded in hints Prince Ning had dropped on occasion, accepted by most as all but certain.

*”Commissioner Xu became famous at a young age, and—”*

Lu Chonglou had barely gotten a few words out before Li Chi interrupted him.

*”Tell me what you actually know. If you don’t know, tell me your impressions. Don’t give me the kind of answer I could get by stopping any random person on the street.”*

He looked at Lu Chonglou: *”The next time you leave Daxing City, there will be a third-rank purple robe on your back. So think carefully before you speak.”*

At that, Li Chi rose and walked to the brazier, prodding the charcoal. A few sparks flew.

This year, Jingzhou was unusually cold — it had even snowed. The old people of Daxing City said they hadn’t seen snow in at least two or three decades.

Though the new year had passed, the brazier in the study had not yet been taken away. The warmth in the room carried a faint dryness — utterly out of keeping with the moisture of the Jiangnan air.

Lu Chonglou was a quintessential southerner — born with a near-instinctive suppleness and tact.

So the atmosphere in this room, and the Prince of Ning before him, felt utterly at odds with that instinctive ease.

*”In truth, my lord… I don’t really know Commissioner Xu.”*

After a long silence, Lu Chonglou finally managed a reply — still technically a non-answer, technically disposable. Yet for a man whose every instinct was to be smooth and accommodating, the words *I don’t know* were perhaps the most nakedly honest expression he could offer.

To give an assessment of *I don’t know* for a man widely expected to become the dynasty’s first Chancellor — that was, at least, a stance.

*”If you don’t know him, get to know him.”*

Li Chi prodded the charcoal with the iron tongs: *”Do you understand what I mean by ‘get to know him’?”*

Lu Chonglou immediately rose from his seat and bowed: *”This subordinate is not… not entirely certain.”*

Li Chi set the tongs aside: *”Then go home and think it over slowly.”*

And with that, Li Chi returned to his desk, sat down, and opened a document to read.

Lu Chonglou stood there, bowing, his thoughts rising and falling.

How could he possibly not understand what Prince Ning meant?

It seemed Prince Ning was not entirely satisfied with Commissioner Xu — but he did not know where the boundaries lay.

Were those boundaries about removing Xu Ji? About reprimanding him? Or about something else entirely?

He had only been working under Prince Ning for a matter of days. When Xu Ji was serving as the Jizhou Military Commissioner, Lu Chonglou had still been selling wine in a small tavern.

*”Lingering here won’t get you a meal. Go home and think.”*

Li Chi waved a hand.

Lu Chonglou bowed again and backed out of the study. At the doorway, he turned and looked at Li Chi.

Li Chi sensed the gaze and looked back: *”Something else you want to ask?”*

*”My lord — really no meal?”*

Li Chi hurled the brush in his hand. Lu Chonglou instantly disappeared behind the door — though of course Li Chi was only making a gesture. He was not about to actually ruin a perfectly good brush. It was not a lump of dirt.

Out the door, Lu Chonglou couldn’t help letting out a long, heavy sigh.

He was just about to leave when he saw Yan Xiansheng emerge from one of the adjacent rooms. Lu Chonglou quickly went over to pay his respects.

Yan Xiansheng was in every sense the first among the ministers — and yet no one quite thought of him as the one who would become Chancellor. That in itself was a curious thing.

*”Yan Daren.”*

Lu Chonglou bowed.

Yan Xiansheng looked at him: *”Why haven’t you set out yet?”*

*”It seems setting out will be difficult,”* Lu Chonglou said with a rueful smile.

Yan Xiansheng asked with a smile: *”What happened? Tell me — perhaps I can help mediate.”*

After much hesitation, Lu Chonglou finally told Yan Xiansheng the question Prince Ning had posed to him.

*”My lord said, if I can’t figure it out, go home and keep thinking — which means, if I can’t figure it out, I shouldn’t leave at all… let Xu Ji handle the arrangements from here, and what would be the point of me?”*

When Yan Xiansheng heard this, he couldn’t help shaking his head: *”If you can’t figure this out on your own, then there really is no point in setting out. Let Xu Ji make the arrangements directly.”*

He turned to leave. Lu Chonglou quickly caught his sleeve: *”Please, Daren, save me — I have no one else to rely on!”*

*”You can save yourself. Why ask someone else to do it for you?”* Yan Xiansheng said. *”I can’t save you. But I’ll give you two things to consider.”*

*”This subordinate is all ears.”*

*”First: ask yourself — are you afraid of offending Xu Ji? Second: ask yourself — who should you actually be afraid of offending?”*

With that, Yan Xiansheng clasped his hands in a brief farewell salute and walked quickly away.

Lu Chonglou murmured to himself: *”Am I afraid of offending Xu Ji? Of course I am… who should I actually be afraid of offending? All of you — every one of Prince Ning’s old guard — I’m afraid of offending all of you…”*

And then, mid-sentence, his eyes suddenly lit up.

He walked quickly back to the door of Li Chi’s study, stood outside, and bowed: *”My lord, this subordinate has figured it out.”*

From inside the room, Li Chi called back: *”You’ve figured it out too late. Go home and wait.”*

Lu Chonglou thought: *What am I going home to wait for this time?*

As it turned out, he did not have to wait long. He had barely returned home when Prince Ning’s envoy arrived.

The announcement: Lu Chonglou was formally appointed as a Fourth-Rank Inspecting Commissioner, acting on Prince Ning’s behalf to inspect the governance and livelihoods of Yuezhou, with the authority to appoint officials of the Sixth Rank and below. For substantive appointments of the Fifth Rank and above, he was to consult Xu Ji for judgment.

When Lu Chonglou heard this, he inwardly let out a breath, and something shifted briefly across his expression.

He had understood too late — so the third-rank purple robe was gone. In its place, a fourth-rank red robe.

He accepted the appointment with a somewhat forlorn expression, took the fresh official’s robe and the insignia of office.

But once the envoy had left and Lu Chonglou returned to his study — he couldn’t help breaking into a laugh.

Fourth rank was wonderful. Fourth rank was just right.

The news spread quickly to many ears — including Xu Ji’s.

At that moment, in Xu Ji’s study, a room full of officials heard the news and rose together, clasping their hands in congratulation.

*”Commissioner, you remain deeply trusted by Prince Ning.”*

*”Indeed — just days ago my lord spoke of granting Lu Chonglou such sweeping authority, and today that authority has been taken back. He will need to report to you for any official appointments. This alone proves — just now, when Lu Chonglou went to see Prince Ning, he disappointed him.”*

*”Yes, yes — this man likely has no real talent after all. Prince Ning must have found him unequal to the task.”*

Another chimed in: *”I’d say it’s not quite that — my read is that Prince Ning values our Commissioner above all.”*

He smiled: *”Perhaps my lord also felt the earlier appointment was slightly inappropriate. Today he found a convenient pretext to reduce Lu Chonglou’s rank.”*

At that, the room erupted again in congratulations for Xu Ji.

*”We are honored to congratulate the Commissioner on his forthcoming appointment.”*

Xu Ji smiled and rose: *”I shall rely on all of you to support me.”*

By now the implication was obvious: Lu Chonglou had been reduced to fourth rank, stripped of the authority to appoint officials of the sixth rank and above. Would officials from Yuezhou really go back and forth all the way to the capital just to consult Xu Ji?

Of course not. It could only mean that Xu Ji’s posting to Yuezhou had been moved up.

At that moment, Xu Ji smiled with easy composure. A faint brightness gathered in his eyes.

Prince Ning was still a reasonable man, after all.

Ha… ha… ha… ha…

—