Because he had been subjected to what might be called contempt — or at best disdain — Li Diudiu decided to start learning how to cook. The first day’s results consumed a third of the household’s stored meat, eggs, and vegetables, after which his master drove him out the door.

He carried his food to the Four Pages Academy, and when he caught sight of Gao Xining, his eyes crinkled into a bright smile.

Li Diudiu held up the food he was carrying. “I personally—”

Gao Xining assumed Li Diudiu had brought something good for her to eat, so she reached out to take it.

The items were all in her hands. Then Li Diudiu finished his sentence.

“—made it for Dogboy and Shendiao.”

Gao Xining’s little tongue had already made a small respectful flick across her lips in anticipation of something tasty. But upon hearing that Li Diudiu had personally made it *for Dogboy and Shendiao*, even that respectful little tongue looked faintly mortified.

Her tongue actually gave a small embarrassed twitch.

“No no no…”

Li Diudiu hurried to explain: “It’s not that I didn’t want to make it for you. It’s just that it tastes terrible. I’m using Dogboy and Shendiao to test the dishes first. Once my cooking gets good enough, I’ll make it for you.”

Gao Xining said: “I don’t believe that. You’re so quick at learning everything — cooking isn’t even that hard.”

She took what Li Diudiu was carrying, opened it, pinched off a piece, and put it in her mouth.

Then she looked at Li Diudiu once, turned away, crouched down, and held the food out toward Dogboy: “Good boy. Let me feed you, okay? Your big brother made it himself — it’s delicious.”

Dogboy grabbed a piece of meat in his teeth and swallowed it, his wings flapping with what appeared to be great excitement.

Gao Xining sighed: “Even something alive would find this too much — and yet Dogboy doesn’t.”

Li Diudiu said sheepishly: “Could you spare a scrap of dignity for your teacher?”

Gao Xining made a dismissive sound. “Since when are you my teacher?”

Li Diudiu said: “When I teach you martial arts, you never object.”

Gao Xining said: “Speaking of which — the other day I said to Ruoling, I’ve been training for this long, so let’s spar and see how I’ve progressed. I said you didn’t need to go easy on me; I just wanted to see where I stood.”

Li Diudiu didn’t even ask for the result. He went straight to: “Look at the opponent you picked!”

Ruoling, who had been sitting on a small stool nearby, immediately stood up: “What exactly did you mean by that?”

Li Diudiu raised a thumb: “Strong! I meant *strong*!”

Gao Xining snickered: “Look at how fawning you are.”

Li Diudiu gave most of the food to Shendiao, who ate with great enthusiasm. Dogboy also ate his fair share, which restored a modest measure of Li Diudiu’s confidence — at least everything that wasn’t human could get it down.

Neither Dogboy nor Shendiao seemed to have any objection to being kept by people. Dogboy, except when being fed meat, always wore that same cool, indifferent look.

Shendiao was another matter. Li Diudiu had built a little enclosure for it in the courtyard, and it had gone and plowed up every inch of ground in that enclosure with its nose — in winter, mind you, when the earth was frozen solid. Li Diudiu was starting to wonder if that nose was some kind of divine weapon.

“Oh, right…”

Gao Xining suddenly thought of something and looked at Li Diudiu: “A few days ago, someone came to my family’s home to propose a match for me.”

Li Diudiu felt an inexplicable twinge in his chest.

A genuine twinge.

He wasn’t sure what had come over him, so he kept it off his face and asked: “Who was it?”

Gao Xining sighed: “A student at the academy — from your Jia Division class, actually. Xu Qinglin.”

Another twinge. Worse than the first.

“Mm… he won’t do.”

Li Diudiu shook his head.

Gao Xining said: “I don’t think he’ll do either.”

The ache in Li Diudiu’s chest eased considerably. He smiled: “See? Great minds think alike.”

Gao Xining said: “But Grandfather thinks he’s acceptable.”

Li Diudiu, who hadn’t even been looking at her, turned his head toward her the instant those words landed, and asked without thinking: “What does Dean Gao see in him?”

Gao Xining said: “He says he’s learned, handsome, and from a good family.”

Li Diudiu wanted to argue, but he knew any argument would carry little weight — because those three points were, in fact, true, even though in Li Diudiu’s opinion the first two applied to Xu Qinglin only to a very limited degree.

Ruoling said: “I can’t stand that man either. Not the least bit manly.”

Li Diudiu immediately clasped his hands toward Ruoling in salute: “Great minds think alike yet again.”

Ruoling gave him a look and added: “Still better than you, though.”

Li Diudiu felt this wasn’t entirely a compliment, but he accepted it.

Gao Xining said: “Even though Grandfather thought he was acceptable, he turned the Xu family down for now — because I told Grandfather that Xu Qinglin would certainly end up going to the capital to serve as an official. Did Grandfather really want me to go to the capital with him? A thousand perils lie on that road. I might not even make it to the capital before becoming some rebel band’s prize hostage.”

She looked rather pleased with herself.

“Actually, it’s just that I feel I really am still too young.”

She crouched and looked at Dogboy: “If I became some young lady of the household now, what would happen to Dogboy and Shendiao?”

Li Diudiu thought to himself: Old Two and Old Three, I owe you both quite a bit.

Even now, though, Li Diudiu still hadn’t recognized that he had already begun to like Gao Xining. Those little stabs in his chest — he hadn’t stopped to examine them, or perhaps some part of him refused to let what was inside show itself.

“There’s something else.”

Gao Xining glanced outside, then lowered her voice: “After Grandfather turned down the Xu family on my account, the Xu family came again. This time they’d apparently thought of something — they said Xu Qinglin wouldn’t go to the capital after all, because Prince Yu’s household had already been in contact with them, hoping that once Xu Qinglin finished at the academy, he would go to work for Prince Yu.”

Her voice dropped even lower: “I think — because of this one line — Grandfather became even less willing. So he refused even more firmly.”

Li Diudiu of course understood why Dean Gao had suddenly hardened his stance. Dean Gao had also thought through what Prince Yu might set in motion in the coming years — in which case, Prince Yu could very easily become a man with ten thousand enemies pointing at him. If Xu Qinglin truly went to work in Prince Yu’s household, he would be nothing more than a stepping stone in Prince Yu’s ambitions — and might become a casualty of them.

His grandfather approved of the Xu family’s standing, but couldn’t accept the thought of his granddaughter being dragged down with them before her time.

So Li Diudiu let out a quiet breath of relief.

“Also, also.”

Gao Xining continued: “Master Yuan paid a visit to my grandfather yesterday. He said he had behaved poorly in front of the students at the academy some time ago, and came specifically to apologize and make amends.”

Li Diudiu said: “That was a long time ago — and he suddenly goes to apologize? It can’t be that simple.”

“Exactly.”

Gao Xining said: “Grandfather thinks Master Yuan must have heard that Prince Yu’s household has also shown goodwill toward you, and that you’re on such close terms with Xiahou Zuo — so the odds are good that he’d now be happy to see something happen between you and Jiabei.”

Li Diudiu drew a sharp breath.

“Absolutely not.”

Two words, immediate.

Gao Xining asked curiously: “Reason?”

Li Diudiu thought — how was he supposed to explain that it was simply because he didn’t like her? Saying it outright would be a bit unkind. He gathered his thoughts and chose his words.

He said to Gao Xining: “She’s older than me. And that won’t do.”

It was the best excuse he could come up with — admittedly a rather weak one.

Gao Xining stared at him, then raised her hand and rapped him on the head: “What has being older got to do with it? I’m older than you too. Does that mean I’m not acceptable either?”

Li Diudiu said: “You… possibly, in all likelihood, perhaps, more or less, probably…  are acceptable.”

Gao Xining’s face suddenly flushed red. She looked flustered, then leapt to her feet: “Ruoling, let’s go home. It’s already getting late.”

Li Diudiu tilted his head up at the noon sun hanging bright overhead and thought to himself — getting late?

Ruoling stood and shot Li Diudiu a look. That look held all the contempt and despair one would feel for a complete fool.

Gao Xining half-jogged out of Li Diudiu’s courtyard. Ruoling glanced back at Li Diudiu as she was leaving and gave him another look — sharper than the first.

Li Diudiu looked over at Shendiao, still eating, and muttered to himself: “Shendiao, are girls always like this — fine one moment and strange the next?”

Shendiao raised its head, looked at Li Diudiu once, and went back to eating.

Meanwhile, at the Xu household.

Xu Sheng looked at his wife and said: “I can’t figure out Dean Gao’s thinking. He’s turned away two rounds of matchmakers from us — does he actually believe our Xu family isn’t good enough for his granddaughter?”

His wife shook her head: “Dean Gao isn’t someone who can’t read the situation. He may have once had influence in the court, but in this day and age, with the capital and Jizhou having lost contact, his old friends and connections are all back in the capital — and they’re no use to him anymore. For the sake of his own future and his granddaughter’s, refusing our family isn’t a wise move.”

Xu Sheng nodded: “You’re right in principle, which is exactly why I can’t figure it out.”

His wife smiled: “Qinglin has his eye on that girl. And even though Dean Gao has turned them away, he hasn’t shut the door completely, has he? So…”

She looked at Xu Qinglin and said: “From now on, go visit Dean Gao’s household more often. Let him get used to having you around. Once the academy reopens after a while, spend more time getting to know Gao Xining. Girls her age ought to have their own ideas about things — if Qinglin can make the girl herself take a liking to you, and we parents do our part on Dean Gao’s end, it shouldn’t be too difficult.”

Standing nearby, Xu Qinglin said: “I will… Although, I’ve heard that the girl is very close with someone called Li Chi. She may already have someone in mind.”

“Li Chi?”

Xu Sheng thought carefully, and it took a moment before the name clicked.

“The Li Chi who’s been ahead of you ever since he joined your Jia Division class?”

“Yes…”

When Xu Qinglin said that one word, his expression was unmistakably sour.

“It’s nothing.”

Xu Sheng waved it off. “If it were some other prominent family’s son, that might be one thing. But with his background — do you really think Dean Gao would agree? Don’t worry. Dean Gao hasn’t gone senile just yet.”

He looked at Xu Qinglin: “Qinglin, would you like your father to find a way to have Li Chi driven out of Jizhou?”

Xu Qinglin started, then looked sharply at his father: “Did you arrange for Tang Pidi to leave the academy back then?”

Xu Sheng smiled: “You didn’t like him, so Father had him removed. What of it?”

Xu Qinglin’s face went pale: “But I heard he was thrown in prison. He may already have been put to death.”

Xu Sheng looked at his son, seemingly at a genuine loss to understand the question.

“So what?”