By the side of the wilderness road, a mound of fresh earth had appeared. No headstone marked it, and any passing traveler who happened to glance over would likely not spare it a second look.

The grave mound was modest enough — nothing more than the turned earth itself — yet it was a resting place, and perhaps that was sufficient.

Master Chu stood beside the mound for a while and thought: *Monk, you may recite your own passage into the next life.*

“If you should happen to meet any of the Chu royal family on the other side, tell them: there is no need to keep those eyes open. The Central Plains is doing rather well now.”

He crouched down and gave the mound a quiet, gentle pat.

“And neither do you.”

Then he turned and walked away.

If not for the terrified stall keeper still sitting shaking on the ground, and this freshly turned mound of earth, it would have seemed as though nothing had happened here at all.

That stall keeper was perhaps the one truly unlucky soul in all of this — for he likely could not bring himself to go on doing business here much longer.

So before leaving, Master Chu told the man: don’t be afraid. The one who sat here drinking *cha tang* just now — nothing in this world is beyond him.

*Never mind one grave mound. Even ten thousand *li* of rivers and mountains — gods and demons alike — that man could hold them all still.*

But the stall keeper had no way to believe him. He had not been close enough to hear what was said, and did not know that the man who had struck out the killing blow had been the Emperor of Great Ning himself.

After Master Chu left, the stall keeper ran to report to the local authorities. The magistrate heard there had been a killing — a serious case — and rushed over at once.

The Imperial Guards remaining to handle the aftermath gave him a brief account, and the magistrate, learning it had been palace guards who had eliminated a fugitive assassin, had quite the fright.

He had feared the fugitive assassin had been lurking within his own jurisdiction, and that the court might hold him responsible.

Fortunately, there was nothing here likely to be pursued further. The magistrate would probably be shaken and unsettled for a spell — but once the affair had faded from memory, there would be nothing more to worry about.

—

**Inside the carriage.**

Master Yan said, after collecting himself, “People say the lands of Ji and You bred men of fervent and valiant spirit. Yet in the warm and tender country of the south, were such men ever truly absent?”

Li Chi nodded. “But the monk broke his vows and took a life. The retribution of Chan Buddhism’s karmic law could not touch him in the end — and so someone else had to.”

Li Chi looked out the window and said, as if to himself, “I said to Master Chu not long ago: I hope that men like this, events like this — that he is the last.”

Master Yan gave a quiet sound of acknowledgment.

“Every dynasty has had such men — utterly devoted, who ride toward death even knowing it is wrong.”

“In truth,” Master Yan said, “that is not entirely a bad thing.”

Li Chi smiled. “Teacher has seen what I was thinking. Yes — it cannot be called entirely bad. If the Central Plains has more loyalty in it and fewer traitors, Great Ning will only grow stronger.”

“On that point, Your Majesty need not worry,” Master Yan said. “Great Ning will only grow stronger.”

Li Chi smiled again — this time with genuine ease.

He truly did intend to escort Master Yan all the way to Ji Province. Partly because he was reluctant to part with him. And partly to make it unmistakably clear to everyone: *if you have any bad intentions toward Master Yan, think carefully before you act.*

—

**At the same time, in Chang’an.**

Xu Ji had been sitting in his study staring into nothing for quite a while. These past days he had continued to attend to affairs of state — not with his former diligence; perhaps he felt that diligence no longer served much purpose. He returned home early now, and after returning, sat alone in the study and stared.

His wife was also surnamed Xu. They had met when Xu Ji was serving as an official in Ji Province, brought together through a letter Ye Celeng had sent — asking Xu Ji to look after an old acquaintance who was relocating there.

Ye Celeng had said that an elder of his acquaintance named Xu Gonglang, who had once served as an official in Yan Province, wished to return to his old home in Ji Province after the wars there had ended. He had found Ji Province in chaos upon arrival — worse than Yan Province, in fact — and so had ended up taking his entire household south to Yu Province to seek refuge with relatives. Yu Province was still relatively peaceful then, and they had settled there.

Ye Celeng later took up his post in Ji Province, and ran into Xu Gonglang, an old acquaintance from his Yan Province days. The two were deeply glad to see one another. Hearing that Xu Gonglang longed to return to Ji Province, Ye Celeng wrote to Xu Ji and arranged for an escort to accompany the family north.

Xu Gonglang was more than a decade older than Ye Celeng, and the two were old friends of rare understanding. Xu Gonglang had a daughter who had been sixteen years old when they arrived in Ji Province.

Xu Ji, though already holding the high post of Military Governor of Ji Province, received the personal letter from his brother-in-law and dared not receive them with anything less than full respect.

He had been in Ye Celeng’s care since childhood; when the family fell into ruin, the whole of Xu Ji’s family had only survived because of Ye Celeng. Even though Xu Ji’s own parents had once looked down on Ye Celeng with contempt, Ye Celeng had never held it against them — and Xu Ji felt a deep and abiding gratitude for that.

In time, as they became better acquainted, Xu Gonglang’s daughter, Xu Nuanqing, took a liking to Xu Ji. Her father noticed and sent word to Ye Celeng in Yu Province, asking him to serve as matchmaker.

Ye Celeng, occupied with his duties and unable to leave Yu Province in person, sent Lady Ye in his stead to Ji Province to make the arrangements.

As for that task — well, in the business of matchmaking, circumstances count for everything. When both sides are already willing, the matchmaker’s work is easy. The matter was settled quickly, and a wedding date was fixed.

When Gao Xining heard about it afterward, she said it could not have been that simple — no matchmaking was ever that easy.

*No rumors, no second-guessing.*

Xu Ji and Xu Nuanqing had been a devoted couple thereafter, and for a time it was spoken of as a rare happy story.

Xu Nuanqing had noticed her husband’s troubled state these days but did not know how to offer comfort. She was a person of quiet and inward temperament; most of the time she simply stayed near him in gentle, wordless company.

This day Xu Ji had come home early again. Lady Xu went herself to prepare the meal, choosing the dishes he liked best.

“One of these days, perhaps you should return to Ji Province for a visit,” Xu Ji said, looking toward her — words that came from nowhere and startled her.

“Why this sudden wish for me to go back to Ji Province?”

Xu Ji smiled. “Nothing in particular. Only that seeing Master Yan and his wife returning to visit family there made me think — it has been a long time since you went home to see your parents. You must miss them greatly. You simply don’t say so, for fear of adding to my troubles.”

Lady Xu said, “Perhaps we could simply have Father and Mother come here instead—”

“Let’s not do that,” Xu Ji said.

“Chang’an…” he said, “…great imperial cities take great things to sustain. Ji Province is rather better.”

Lady Xu found this stranger still. Before, Xu Ji had repeatedly suggested bringing her parents to Chang’an, to have them close. Now he was suddenly changing his tune — which meant something significant had truly happened in the court, something he was not saying plainly. Since he was not saying it plainly, she could not ask it plainly.

“Is there something happening in court that puts you in a difficult position?” she asked softly.

“How could that be.” Xu Ji smiled. “I am the Prime Minister of Great Ning, head of the court. What could possibly put me in a difficult position? It’s only that, precisely because of that, I must be careful not to be seen giving cause for complaint. If I were to bring Father and Mother here now, the censors would probably seize on it and say I was using my public office for private benefit.”

Lady Xu nodded. “Then we’ll leave it for now.”

“As your husband and Prime Minister, I traveled on His Majesty’s behalf to inspect the realm, so it is not convenient for me to leave Chang’an. I will arrange a proper escort to take you north to Ji Province. There is no need to hurry back — stay and spend time with your parents.”

Lady Xu did not understand why Xu Ji was so intent on sending her back to Ji Province, but her nature was gentle and she had always followed his judgment. She thought: if he has arranged things this way, there must be a reason, something he cannot say to her directly.

“Also,” Xu Ji said, “Master Yan will be staying in Ji Province for some time as well. Once you are there, you might visit Lady Yan. That way you won’t feel so alone and at loose ends.”

Lady Xu nodded again. “Understood.”

There seemed to be something deeper behind those words, though she could not quite grasp it. She knew Xu Ji never said idle things and never did pointless things.

What she did not expect was how swiftly he moved — by early the following morning he had made all the arrangements, assigned a guard escort, and sent her on the road north to Ji Province.

—

**Several days later — Ji Province.**

The Four-Page Academy was still there, though it had grown more neglected-looking with the passage of time.

Back when Xu Ji had been the official here, he had maintained the academy with genuine care — partly out of respect for it, and partly to put himself in Li Chi’s good graces. After Xu Ji departed and Ji Province lost its status as a major administrative seat, the official left in charge was no longer anyone of great rank.

Part of Ji Province had since been incorporated into the Military Frontier Circuit, and the circuit seat had been moved northward rather than established in Ji Province itself — Ji Province being comparatively far south for a frontier command. A place called the Military Frontier Circuit spoke for itself in strategic terms; the administrative seat had to sit closer to the northern border.

So Ji Province had lost considerably in strategic importance, political standing, and economic weight alike.

Li Chi and Master Yan visited the Four-Page Academy together without summoning any local officials to accompany them. The two of them were at ease — but this had given the officials of Ji Province quite a fright.

Who could have imagined that His Majesty and the Imperial Teacher would suddenly appear in Ji Province? Had anyone known, even a rushed effort could have seen the academy cleaned and put in order.

“This is as it should be,” Li Chi said with a smile. “Local officials ought not to have their eyes fixed on such things anyway. But now that Teacher has come back, this place should come to life again.”

Master Yan nodded, then asked Li Chi, “Your Majesty, while I am staying in Ji Province, may I continue to lodge at the academy?”

Li Chi smiled. “Teacher may live wherever he pleases.”

Master Yan said, “It pains me to watch such a large place fall to ruin. When there is nothing pressing, I could tend a vegetable plot here at the academy, and perhaps take on a few students.”

Li Chi said, “That is the easiest thing in the world to arrange.”

He turned to Yu Jiuling. “Jiujie, in a moment I will write a plaque for the Four-Page Academy. Have someone carve it and put it up.”

Yu Jiuling smiled. “Understood, Your Majesty.”

A plaque written by the Emperor’s own hand — once that was hung, the Four-Page Academy would be alive again, and flourishing with it.

Word would soon follow that the Imperial Teacher himself was here, accepting students and offering instruction. The Four-Page Academy would quickly be filled beyond capacity.

Just then, the head of the Imperial Guard, Ye Xiaoqian, stepped forward and bowed. “Your Majesty, word has just arrived from the Judicial Bureau in Chang’an. It appears that Xu Ji has arranged for his wife to return to Ji Province as well.”

Li Chi’s brow lifted slightly.

“Is Xu Gonglang currently living in retirement?” he asked.

Master Yan answered, “He is. Xu Ji invited him into service, but he refused and has remained retired since.”

Li Chi said, “Ye Xiaoqian, send someone to invite him here. Tell him I would like him to come and teach at the Four-Page Academy. If he is worried about wearing himself out, he need only lend his name to the academy and come by occasionally.”

Master Yan smiled slightly. “When Xu Ji hears of this, he will feel the depth of Your Majesty’s grace.”

Li Chi said, “He has already expressed his intent to me. I have given him my answer.”

He paused.

“It ends with Xu Ji — and him alone.”