After leaving his residence, Cheng Wujie rode toward Tang Pidi’s estate, his thoughts growing more unsettled with every moment.

On the main street, two carriages passed each other going opposite directions. Cheng Wujie was looking out the window at the moment they crossed.

The drivers of those two carriages, and the men around them, gave Cheng Wujie pause.

A man like him could tell at a glance that the people surrounding both carriages were skilled fighters.

But he thought nothing more of it. They carried themselves and moved with a quality he recognized all too well — they came from the military.

What he couldn’t know was this: one of those carriages held Guan Mo, and the other held Fang Xidao, a Senior Officer of the Censorate. The former Deputy Minister of Personnel — assumed by the outside world to have died long ago — had been held in secret by the Censorate for some time and was now being transported out of Chang’an to be hidden away.

Cheng Wujie had too much on his mind; all he wanted was to reach Tang Pidi quickly. He had no way of knowing that inside that carriage was the very figure at the center of what was troubling him.

When he arrived at Tang Pidi’s estate, he was told Tang Pidi was not at home — he had gone to the Ning Army camp outside the city.

Cheng Wujie thought: no matter, nothing else to do — he’d go to the camp and find the Grand General there directly. So he told his driver to head out of the city.

—

At the same time, some ten-odd li outside the city, there was a town of considerable size.

At the edge of the town stood a teahouse — not the kind that served good tea. Travelers passing through could stop and buy a large bowl for a single coin.

The teahouse was really just a collection of thrown-together lean-tos, and one of them served as the establishment’s private room.

Right now, in that private room, sat several men. They chatted idly while glancing toward the road outside every so often.

The one who appeared to be in charge looked to be a man in his mid-forties. He wore a straw hat, and only when he looked outward could one get a clear view of his face.

“Today?” asked the man sitting across from him, in a low voice.

He appeared to be in his early thirties, also dressed in ordinary commoner’s clothes, also wearing a straw hat.

“Today. Our lord worked himself to the bone to get this information. It’s not wrong.”

These men all served under Mei Xinqu, the Deputy Minister of Finance.

From the outside, Mei Xinqu appeared to have no direct connection to Xu Ji — the closest their official postings had ever been to each other was still more than a thousand li apart. But several years ago, Mei Xinqu had secretly begun corresponding with Xu Ji, their letters reaching back as far as Xu Ji’s time governing Yuzhou.

At that point, Mei Xinqu had been serving in Ji Circuit — a man of considerable talent who had graduated from the Four Leaves Academy.

He and Xu Ji had no direct tie, but he and Yao Huansheng — Xu Ji’s most trusted aide — were on intimate terms.

After Great Ning was founded, those who had held fairly high positions in the localities were all summoned to Chang’an. When Xu Ji was posted to Yue Circuit as Military Commissioner, Mei Xinqu had been transferred to Yue Circuit as the Commissioner’s Administrative Adjutant — a senior third-rank post.

Over these many years of correspondence with Xu Ji, their central, recurring topic had been: how could civil officials seize real power?

In a newly-founded dynasty, those generals who had won His Majesty brilliant victories naturally held the highest positions. And for a long time to come, their standing would remain lofty.

In letter after letter, Mei Xinqu and Xu Ji had touched on the same point: if they couldn’t topple one or two meritorious military officials at the very outset of Great Ning, it would take far too long for civil authority to rise.

Yet Mei Xinqu had never imagined that none of the military officials they’d wanted to remove had been touched — and that instead, a fellow civil official, Lu Chonglou, had become their target.

This was Xu Ji’s absolute order. After Yao Huansheng returned from Shu Circuit, he had met Mei Xinqu in secret and relayed Xu Ji’s words word for word.

Mei Xinqu did not want to move against Lu Chonglou. He genuinely admired Lu Chonglou’s learning and character — but he had no choice.

When the choice was between Xu Ji and Lu Chonglou, what could he choose?

The men in the town outside the city were his fighters — though they were not, strictly speaking, his personal loyalists.

When Xu Ji had uncovered the Mountain River Seal’s secrets back in Ji Circuit, the vast majority he never reported. Most critically, a group of highly capable fighters among them were kept by Xu Ji for himself — though he dared not keep them openly at his side, lest someone expose him. So he had dispersed them.

Several of the more formidable fighters had been placed by Xu Ji in Mei Xinqu’s household.

When Xu Ji sent Yao Huansheng back to Chang’an to find people for the task, Yao Huansheng turned it over in his mind and concluded that for something this delicate, only Mei Xinqu would do.

In the town, the fighters waited for the Censorate’s carriage to pass — while right now, in Mei Xinqu’s home, Yao Huansheng sat with him.

“I understand the Chancellor’s thinking clearly enough. But I don’t entirely agree with this course of action.”

Mei Xinqu looked at Yao Huansheng. “After Lu Chonglou is gone, won’t the weight of civil officials become even lighter? How are we to stand against those military officials then?”

Yao Huansheng set down his teacup and walked over to Mei Xinqu, his tone turning serious. “That way of thinking, Magistrate Mei, is dangerous.”

Mei Xinqu asked, “What do you mean?”

Yao Huansheng said, “What do you mean by Lu Chonglou’s death making civil officials carry less weight? The weight of civil officials does not rest in any single individual — not in you or me, and not in Lu Chonglou either. The weight of civil officials rests in the Chancellor alone. Do you understand?”

“If Lu Chonglou were to destabilize the Chancellor’s position, how much weight do you think would be left to the civil officials? And whatever remained — would it even be on our side?”

Mei Xinqu was taken aback. The words reached something deep within him, yet he still couldn’t suppress a sigh.

“Infighting among the court’s officials has always been a great taboo. At the founding of Great Ning, those of us who serve the throne really should not be doing this…”

Before Mei Xinqu finished speaking, Yao Huansheng smiled — a cold smile spreading across his long face.

“Magistrate Mei,” Yao Huansheng said, “you and I are old classmates, so I shouldn’t have to say too much. But if the Chancellor heard you speaking like this, I imagine it would chill his heart.”

He held Mei Xinqu’s gaze and said, his tone cooling: “While the Chancellor is out there in the localities, bearing enormous risk and pressure to tear out the military officials’ roots — you’re sitting here and speaking like this? That’s standing on the sidelines while someone does the hard work for you.”

Mei Xinqu was startled. That was a serious charge to pin on him.

“I’m not standing on the sidelines at all.”

Mei Xinqu said, “I’ll carry out whatever the Chancellor commands. It’s only that… it doesn’t feel quite right to me. I’m worried too — His Majesty is a once-in-ten-thousand-years genius. If we’re found out by His Majesty…”

Yao Huansheng made a dismissive sound. “Don’t hesitate and waver. Once you’ve taken the first step, there’s no turning back. Since you’ve stepped forward, see it through to the end.”

He returned to his seat and picked up his teacup.

“Magistrate Mei — you should understand that at its root, everything the Chancellor is doing is actually for His Majesty. Does the Chancellor not have his own fears of those titled dukes? But even so, the Chancellor is sweeping through the localities with a broad hand — what do you think that means? Have you not yet thought it through clearly?”

Mei Xinqu said, “Brother Huansheng, we’re old classmates — there’s no need to speak in riddles.”

Yao Huansheng walked back and leaned in close to Mei Xinqu’s ear, dropping his voice to a murmur: “Has it never occurred to you — that this is actually His Majesty’s own wish?”

When those words sank in, Mei Xinqu’s complexion changed entirely.

After a moment, he said in sudden comprehension, “I see it now! I see it now!”

He looked at Yao Huansheng, voice quickening with agitation. “His Majesty also knows that these meritorious subjects hold troops — they look stable on the surface, but are a hidden danger. So His Majesty has the Chancellor leave Chang’an and test the waters from below — remove the small figures first, then move up to the big ones.”

Yao Huansheng smiled and said, “If there were no grounds for action, even His Majesty would not have an easy pretext to strip those great generals of their military power. So you need only know this: every person the Chancellor removes is not only a stumbling block to the Chancellor — they are a stumbling block to His Majesty. Would His Majesty say such a thing openly?”

Mei Xinqu immediately felt at ease. He nodded repeatedly. “I understand. Now I truly understand.”

Yao Huansheng said, “So we must stand together. Lu Chonglou is the anomaly among us — without him, the civil officials at court will unite beneath the Chancellor, work sincerely for His Majesty, and remove Great Ning’s hidden dangers one by one…”

He looked at Mei Xinqu. “This is precisely why the Chancellor trusts you — because he sees you as one of his own. Apart from the Ministry of War, which we cannot easily touch, every other ministry — those officials can all be drawn to our side. You must work hard at that too.”

“Understood.”

Mei Xinqu’s expression brightened. Some of the tension eased from his eyes.

He told Yao Huansheng, “Those men are all skilled fighters. Removing Guan Mo won’t be difficult. Once they’ve dealt with Guan Mo, I’ll arrange for them to find a way to remove Lu Chonglou as well.”

Yao Huansheng gave a slow nod. “The Chancellor has entrusted this matter to you. Handle it well. I must rush back to Shu Circuit to give my report — don’t let the Chancellor down.”

What Mei Xinqu never realized was that Yao Huansheng was looking for a way to extricate himself. So Mei Xinqu nodded agreeably. “Don’t worry. Go back and tell the Chancellor — I’ll handle this.”

Yao Huansheng made a bit more idle conversation, then took his leave and departed through the back gate.

Outside Mei Xinqu’s residence, Yao Huansheng let out a long, quiet breath.

Xu Ji had sent him back to Chang’an to find a way to kill Lu Chonglou — how perilous was that? One misstep and it would be his own ruin. He wasn’t about to take that risk himself. So he had handed the task to Mei Xinqu and had no intention of rushing out of Chang’an. He would watch from the shadows.

If things went well, he would return to Xu Ji with a good report. If things went poorly, he would find a way to disappear.

Back in his carriage, Yao Huansheng instructed, “Out of the city. Go see how things stand.”

The driver assented and urged the horses forward.

And at this moment, Cheng Wujie had already left the city. He was in a hurry at heart, thinking only of reaching Tang Pidi as quickly as possible.

He was genuinely afraid. The arrogance of the men under him would, in the end, destroy no one but themselves. They were men who had walked out of seas of blood and blades — not fallen in the face of their enemies. If they fell before the law of Great Ning, how bitter would that be?

Riding on in a hurry, his driver suddenly called out from above.

“My lord — something is happening ahead!”

Cheng Wujie pushed open the window and looked out. What he saw made his face flush with sudden fury.

“In broad daylight, within the imperial capital of Great Ning — someone dares to commit violence on the official road?”

He kicked the carriage door open — kicked it clean off its hinges.

He leapt down, reached by habit for his war hammers — and found they weren’t there.

*No matter,* he thought. He called out toward the commotion ahead and charged forward in long strides.

—