The moment Tang Pidi’s voice sounded at the door, Li Chi was on his feet in an instant, a brightness leaping into both his eyes.

Yu Jiuling leaned over to Gao Xining and said, “Big brother, I want to be clear — I’m not trying to stir anything up, but the way our host is looking at Old Tang is not entirely normal.”

Gao Xining sighed. “And what am I supposed to do about it? You want to keep things going, you’ve got to put up with—”

“Big brother,” Yu Jiuling said. “Big brother, please stop.”

By the time they looked up, Li Chi was already out the door.

Gao Xining watched Li Chi take Tang Pidi’s hands in both of his and look him over, up and down, carefully and thoroughly.

She glanced at Yu Jiuling. “Is that how it is with men — when they haven’t seen each other in a long time, they hold hands to talk?”

Yu Jiuling considered this seriously. “If a man and a woman haven’t seen each other in a long time and immediately hold hands, I’d say that’s understandable. If two young women haven’t seen each other and immediately hold hands, also fine. But two grown men who haven’t seen each other in ages and immediately hold hands — big brother, I really am not trying to stir anything up.”

“And what if,” Gao Xining said, “there’s a possibility that Li Chi and I… could actually be considered sisters?”

“Well, Old Tang and you being sisters is not entirely out of the question,” Yu Jiuling said.

“Does that mean those two are both my sisters?”

She looked at Yu Jiuling. He took a sharp step back. “I am not, absolutely not, your little sister. I am your little brother, forever, and that is not negotiable.”

A look of absolute conviction — the kind that could not be bought for any amount of money. Genuinely rare.

—

Li Chi and Tang Pidi came in hand in hand, and everyone rose to greet them.

Li Chi had a seat brought for Tang Pidi, then asked, “Why didn’t you send word ahead?”

“I did,” Tang Pidi said. “I just outran the messenger. Your Majesty will receive my letter tomorrow — it was sent with urgency, announcing that I was on my way back.”

There was a beat of silence, and then everyone broke into laughter.

They talked for a while, catching up on nothing in particular. Then Tang Pidi rose, stepped back two paces, and knelt.

“Your Majesty, it might be better not to send Shen Shanhu to the Eastern Frontier.”

“Why not? She knows Xingzhou from the ground up, and she took Qingzhou herself. She understands the Eastern Frontier better than almost anyone — she would be the most capable choice.”

“Your Majesty has honored this subject with a royal title,” Tang Pidi said.

Li Chi smiled. “And so?”

“Can Your Majesty bear to see this subject’s wife separated from him across such a distance? The Princess Consort of the Grand Marshal King has the weighty responsibility of… providing the Grand Marshal King with heirs.”

Laughter moved around the room.

Li Chi was momentarily at a loss for words. Set aside the presentation — the argument was, in its own way, entirely sound.

“Your Majesty has not forgotten,” Tang Pidi pressed on, “our wager.”

“What wager was that?”

Tang Pidi let out a sigh. “Your Majesty has indeed forgotten… We once made a bet about who would have more children after getting married.”

He looked at Li Chi with great sincerity. “This subject believes Your Majesty has not truly forgotten — Your Majesty simply does not wish this subject to win. So you have devised this scheme to send this subject’s wife to the Eastern Frontier, thereby making it impossible for this subject to produce children and ensuring Your Majesty’s easy victory. It must be said — Your Majesty’s cunning is without equal. Cutting the ground out from under this subject in one move.”

Li Chi studied that face and wondered when Tang Pidi had developed such a shameless streak.

“If Your Majesty wishes to compete fairly, this subject believes he stands a reasonable chance of winning. But if Your Majesty is afraid of losing — then by all means, send Shen Shanhu to the Eastern Frontier.”

The words said one thing, but everyone in the room — seven or eight out of ten, at least — had already understood what Tang Pidi actually meant.

He had come in and blocked Shen Shanhu from the Eastern Frontier post. Now he was blocking his own brother Tang Anchen from the same posting.

Li Chi understood best of all, and he had known from the beginning. But knowing Tang Pidi’s character as he did, even a direct imperial command wouldn’t hold — Tang Pidi would find another way around it eventually.

“Elder Brother Zhuang…”

Li Chi turned to Zhuang Wudi.

Zhuang Wudi exhaled. “All right, all right. I’ll accept it — this first Eastern Frontier Grand General post is mine. But Your Majesty knows my heart. All I want is to be near Your Majesty, near old friends. I ask Your Majesty to find a replacement for me as soon as possible and let me come home.”

Li Chi felt a pang in his chest.

Every last one of his brothers was stepping aside, stepping back, neither competing nor claiming.

—

Just then a guard came in from outside and knelt. “Your Majesty, the Young Reverend Zhang and Daoist Peng request an audience.”

Li Chi had them brought in, and just thinking about those two walking disasters, the weight in the room began to lift.

—

Outside the palace gates, Peng Shiqi turned to the Young Reverend Zhang.

“His Majesty will surely bestow rewards on us today. What do you want?”

“Whatever His Majesty gives, I’ll take it. I’m not particular.”

“I can’t say the same,” Peng Shiqi said. “I need to pick carefully. I want to ask His Majesty for money.”

The young reverend looked curious. “Why money? You’ll never lack for money after today.”

“I have to go back to Zhongnan Mountain…” Peng Shiqi looked up at the sky, speaking almost to himself.

“When I came down the mountain, I made a promise to my shifu and my martial brothers. I told them not to be sad about it, that I wasn’t sad either, and that when I came back, I’d bring enough silver to fill carts — to rebuild that crumbling old temple of ours. I made that boast, and now I have to deliver on it.”

“Then I’ll ask for money too,” the young reverend said. “Whatever share is meant for me, give it to you.”

“You don’t want yours?”

“What do I need it for? Do you think Longhu Mountain lives the way your place does? Do you have any idea who my shifu is?”

Peng Shiqi laughed.

After a moment, he reached over and clapped the young reverend on the shoulder. “We won’t be seeing each other much after this. Don’t forget me. I’ll take the money from His Majesty and head back to Zhongnan Mountain — you’ll be staying in Chang’an, representing the Way. Make the old school proud. You hear me?”

The young reverend didn’t know what to say. His nose prickled. His eyes went bright with something he couldn’t stop.

Peng Shiqi smiled. “Still tearing up so easily — you haven’t changed. You’re going to be the face of Daoism now. That’s not acceptable.”

Together, these two had made their way from Shuzhou to Chang’an, and along the road they had been remarkable — the speed with which Chang’an had grown so vibrant and alive owed a great deal to them. A new city doesn’t flourish overnight without commerce, and most of those storefronts had been sold by these two, who had coaxed every last bit of value out of the city’s plots and land, amassing a considerable fortune for Li Chi in the process.

“When you’ve finished building the temple, come back,” the young reverend said quietly. “It’s better when we’re together.”

Peng Shiqi nodded slowly. “We’ll see… Save up your money. If I miss you one day and come back, you’re buying dinner.”

“Dinner?” the young reverend said. “Or somewhere livelier than dinner?”

Peng Shiqi stared at him.

He let out a long sigh. “If I wanted that, would I ask you? I’d ask Jiuling.”

Inside the hall, Yu Jiuling sneezed three times without knowing why.