The most bustling places in Chang’an remained the Eastern Market and the Western Market — though the two were quite different in character.

The Western Market drew more ordinary folk. Those who did business there dealt mostly in daily necessities, and while there were inns and teahouses, far fewer than on the east side.

The Eastern Market was thick with wine houses. There were also no shortage of pleasure houses and song halls.

Among them, one establishment called the Intoxicating Jade was the favorite haunt of Guan Mo, Attendant Minister of Personnel.

The wine here was excellent, and so was the company — the tea server who attended to customers had a figure and a face that were both quite pleasing to the eye.

Few people knew that within the Intoxicating Jade, there was one room set aside exclusively for Guan Mo.

Not that Guan Mo himself didn’t find it tiresome — already at a position of third rank, and yet he still had to go about his leisure so covertly.

The Censorate officials were like hawks with flame-sharp eyes. Who knew where they found such tireless vigor — always buzzing with energy, always waiting to seize on some handle they could use to strike at one’s very character.

The innermost room on the third floor of the Intoxicating Jade was kept exclusively for Guan Mo — and even when Guan Mo didn’t come, it was not opened to other guests.

After all, Guan Mo was a third-rank official, and a proprietor in the business of trade could hardly afford to casually offend someone of that standing.

At this moment, Guan Mo sat in that room dressed in plain clothes, drinking tea. Across from him, the tea server with the graceful figure was genuinely pleasant to look upon — every movement and expression, every small smile and glance, was the kind of thing that made a man feel the world was good.

She and this room were alike: reserved solely for the Attendant Minister, unseen by ordinary guests.

Guan Mo was waiting — for a person, and for news.

The tea server appeared to be around twenty years of age, with a quality about her that was rather captivating — a kind of understated refinement, and yet with eyes that, when they moved, carried a certain allure.

“Sir, shall I call someone to sing for you?”

The woman named Zhao Shishi spoke softly — her voice had a tender, yielding quality that made one feel at ease simply hearing it.

“No. Just watching you brew the tea is enough.”

Guan Mo smiled. “The others are all too ordinary. You are different.”

Zhao Shishi smiled at that — the smile was bright enough to light up the room.

Just then, a knock came at the door. A moment later, two people slipped inside and quickly drew the door shut behind them.

The two were subordinates of Guan Mo’s — one named Gu Congchao, the other Wang Jinting. They were his most trusted aides.

Both had been in Guan Mo’s service since their days in Ji Province, and to him they were as a left and right hand.

“What have you found?”

Guan Mo asked.

Gu Congchao bowed. “Sir, this Lu Chonglou truly has nothing to be found on him. He goes between only two places: the court and his home. He receives no visitors in private, and keeps no social connections to speak of.”

Wang Jinting said, “This subordinate has been watching him for over a month and has found nothing. This man has not a single habit or pleasure to speak of — the one thing he seems to enjoy is buying books, and tea.”

Hearing this, Guan Mo’s brow lifted slightly — a trace of dissatisfaction.

Zhao Shishi, hearing those words, felt a small shift in her expression too — more curiosity than anything else.

She knew who this Lu Chonglou they were speaking of was. He was Da Ning’s Minister of Personnel, a second-rank official, and someone close to His Majesty.

Guan Mo was a careful man — and yet, inexplicably, he trusted Zhao Shishi without reservation, concealing nothing in her presence.

And so Zhao Shishi also knew: this Attendant Minister before her had been doing everything in his power to dig up damaging material on the Minister, hoping to bring him down.

By Zhao Shishi’s understanding, the matter was simple enough. Guan Mo was the Attendant Minister of Personnel; Lu Chonglou was the Minister of Personnel. Bring down Lu Chonglou, and who would fill the seat above but the man right in front of her?

She considered it none of her concern. Hearing it was the same as not hearing it — she was not a foolish woman, and she was perceptive and considerate, which was precisely why Guan Mo favored her.

“How can any man live so boringly?”

Guan Mo shook his head. “I rather think this person is a hypocrite — everything people see of him is an act he has deliberately put on.”

“Yes, yes…”

Gu Congchao said, “Sir is right. What man actually lives like that? In all likelihood it is merely a performance.”

Guan Mo asked, “He truly has no social life at all?”

Gu Congchao replied, “In this past month, the only person who has visited his residence is Master Yan from the court. No one else has been. Word is that people at court know the Minister’s temperament — those who have tried to call on him have simply been turned away at the door, and gradually no one bothers to visit anymore.”

Wang Jinting said, “The man’s household has only three servants. For a second-rank court official, that is astonishingly sparse. There’s a steward — must be seventy if he’s a day, and can barely walk steadily. A guard who also sweeps the courtyard and doubles as his coachman. And an older woman, by the looks of her in her fifties or sixties, who cooks and does the washing.”

To tell the truth, by this point even Guan Mo could not help but feel a measure of respect for Lu Chonglou.

After all, Lu Chonglou was Guan Mo’s direct superior. Of course Guan Mo knew his character and conduct intimately.

He simply refused to believe it. From the very beginning, he had refused. He remained convinced that Lu Chonglou’s whole manner was a performance, that everything he showed the world was a facade.

A man who had risen to a position of great power and trust — who was, by all appearances, second only to Xu Ji himself in His Majesty’s esteem — and yet this man lived with more austerity than a monk bound by sacred vows.

Who in the world would believe it?

Gu Congchao said, somewhat regretfully, “Not to mention bribery and corruption — even in matters of personal conduct, there is not a single flaw…”

“*Conduct?*”

Those two words gave Guan Mo a sharp nudge of inspiration.

He rose and began pacing slowly about the room.

“This man is unlikely to have committed any serious crime. Even if we tried to manufacture one and pin it on him, His Majesty would not believe it. Neither would the whole court.”

Wang Jinting said, “Yes — this man has imposed upon himself a strictness that defies all reason.”

Guan Mo said, “Then that only leaves conduct as the angle of attack.”

Gu Congchao said, “On the matter of conduct, we’ve truly found nothing to use against him.”

Guan Mo glanced sideways at Zhao Shishi, who sat quietly to one side, and smiled faintly. “If he has no problem of his own — we can arrange for one to be delivered to him.”

Zhao Shishi felt a flicker of unease at Guan Mo’s gaze — something in his eyes that she found unsettling.

Guan Mo smiled slightly and said, “You mentioned just now that Lu Chonglou has no particular pleasures to speak of — yet he occasionally goes to buy tea?”

Gu Congchao said, “Yes, and word has it he is quite particular about it. He always goes himself to choose, and always to the same place — the Gazing at the Dongting Teahouse on the Western Market side.”

Guan Mo looked at Gu Congchao. “Go find out everything you can about the Gazing at the Dongting Teahouse.”

“Yes, sir!”

Gu Congchao acknowledged. He looked at Wang Jinting. The two bowed together, then rose and took their leave.

After they left, Xu Ji thought the matter through once more from start to finish. In his view, the only man at court capable of contending with him was Lu Chonglou alone.

—

After Guan Mo was left alone, he sat back down, picked up his teacup, and took a sip. Then he turned to Zhao Shishi with a smile.

“Have you ever thought about having a place of your own here in Chang’an? A shop, perhaps?”

Zhao Shishi froze — and for a moment, she did not know how to answer.

—

*Weiyang Palace.*

Li Chi looked at Lu Chonglou, who sat before him appearing faintly ill at ease, and could not help laughing.

“You — you have been an official for so long, and yet you still don’t look the part of one.”

Li Chi slid the food box on the desk toward Lu Chonglou. “Palace confections — the Empress herself selected them.”

Lu Chonglou immediately moved to rise. Li Chi pressed a hand to his shoulder and held him down.

“The Chief Censor Xing Zhaowen was chatting with Us yesterday and happened to mention — you have only three servants at home, and your guard doubles as your coachman and the one who sweeps the courtyard?”

Lu Chonglou quickly replied, “Your Majesty, there is truly no need for so many servants in this subject’s household. For one — the expenses are already sufficient as they are. And second — the house is only this subject alone, so so many servants would serve no purpose.”

Li Chi laughed. “Just how frugal are you? Three servants in the entire household, and you are still calculating expenses? Is the salary I give you not enough?”

Lu Chonglou bowed. “Your Majesty — this subject’s expenditures are truly not small. It is mainly… the books.”

Li Chi turned toward the door. “Ye Xiaoqian.”

Ye Xiaoqian quickly stepped in. “Your Majesty, this subject is here.”

Li Chi instructed, “Go to the Academy and let them know — from this point forward, whatever books are printed, regardless of what they are, a copy is to be sent to Minister Lu’s residence. The Academy will cover the cost themselves.”

Lu Chonglou was visibly delighted, and quickly moved to express his gratitude — Li Chi pressed him back down again.

“Your household is cold and empty, and it pains Us to see it. So the Empress and I have been discussing — perhaps We ought to find someone to introduce a match for you?”

At these words, Lu Chonglou gave a startled jump.

“Your Majesty — this subject truly has no thought of starting a family yet. This subject is quite well on his own.”

Li Chi gave him a sideways glance. “You are clearly still burned by a past wound and frightened by anything that resembles it. The one introducing the match is the Empress herself — what is there to be worried about?”

He paused, then added, “Although — a little worry is certainly understandable.”

Even Lu Chonglou, grave as he was, could not hold back a laugh at that.

Li Chi pointed at the food box. “You haven’t eaten breakfast again, have you? Have something first, then we can talk about proper matters.”

With that, Li Chi returned to the writing desk and sat down to review memorials. Lu Chonglou carefully opened the food box and began to eat the confections inside.

—

At the same time, on the Western Market — the Gazing at the Dongting Teahouse.

The proprietor, Xiao Wei’an, sat behind the counter looking troubled. By all logic, being adjacent to the Western Market, the teahouse should have had decent business.

And yet — he could not say why — his shop had grown quieter by the day, with fewer and fewer customers.

That Minister who stopped by once or twice a month had somehow become his single most regular customer.

He had taken a stroll through the Eastern Market yesterday — the difference between that side and this was like two different worlds.

Over there, every teahouse and wine house was thriving beyond imagination. Come nightfall, the streets were positively overflowing with people.

And here he sat — a whole morning gone, and only one customer had come in. He had rushed over to greet them with a big smile and asked what they would like.

And that person had opened his mouth to ask: *Is there a privy I could use?*

He could only blame himself, he supposed. He had listened to someone say that the Zhenren of Longhu Mountain of Da Ning had declared Chang’an to be the very cradle of the realm’s feng shui.

And what did it mean that the Emperor had proclaimed himself Emperor here in Chang’an? It meant that this place, which was already the finest feng shui in all the realm, had now been consecrated anew.

One moment of excitement, and he had brought everything he had to Chang’an, and set up this teahouse.

Only — it had not occurred to him that when His Majesty was dispensing his blessings, he had somehow skipped over this particular spot.

Just as he was brooding, he suddenly saw two people come through the door. Xiao Wei’an immediately straightened up and arranged his smile back into place.

Those two people were none other than Gu Congchao and Wang Jinting.