Li Chi spent five days in Ji Province. After settling Master Yan’s affairs, he set out on the return journey to Chang’an.

The plaque he had personally inscribed in imperial brushwork was hung above the entrance of Four-Page Academy, and the school seemed to spring to life the very moment it was put up.

On the road back, Yu Jiuling couldn’t help but ask Li Chi:

“Your Majesty, by sending his wife back to Ji Province, does that mean Xu Ji has accepted his fate?”

Li Chi gave a small nod. “On the day Cangjie the Monk made his move inside the palace, I had a talk with Xu Ji. He truly disappointed me, so I spoke very plainly with him. It wasn’t that he had a sudden enlightenment — I *forced* him to see it.”

Yu Jiuling nodded. “So he understood Your Majesty’s meaning. The time he should have died was not now, but back in Yu Province. And so he sent his wife to Ji Province, hoping Your Majesty might show mercy.”

Li Chi turned to look at Yu Jiuling. “Who ever called you dim-witted? You see things clearer than anyone.”

Yu Jiuling grinned.

“Your Majesty — the campaign in the Western Frontier. Will Your Majesty go personally?”

He asked another question that had been nagging at him.

Li Chi shook his head. “Now it’s different. When we fought the Dark Warriors, I went because I wanted every commoner in the Central Plains to see that I and Da Ning’s soldiers all shared that same courage and resolve.”

“But if I go in person just to fight some Western Regions folk, the people will start thinking those Westerners are a great enemy too… The north is a great enemy, the west is a great enemy — that’s not the impression I want to give.”

“This Western Frontier battle must be fought proactively, and it must be fought with thunderclap force. But with Old Tang there, with Dantai there, and with Lu Chonglou and Ye Celeng also joining — that thunderclap force will not be difficult to achieve. When the people hear news of a great victory in the Western Frontier, they will understand on their own: the only true rival to Da Ning, the only real threat to the Central Plains, is the Dark Warriors.”

“I want Da Ning’s people to regain their confidence as quickly as possible, and nothing does that faster than war — using victory in battle to show the people that Da Ning’s armies are strong.”

“The Central Plains has endured decades of war, battles great and small. The people have suffered too much… Every one of them now fears war, and so they have no confidence in themselves.”

“After we’ve beaten the Western Regions people, I want the people to know: from now on, every war will be fought beyond our borders. From now on, every war is *us* pressing others — no one will press *us* ever again.”

“Even if I live long, a hundred years is the most I’ll manage. So I must use these few decades to make the Central Plains people stand tall again.”

“Once they have confidence, unity will follow. I’ll use these decades to forge Da Ning into one mind and one heart — a single slab of iron — and then beat that iron slab into a divine weapon.”

Li Chi smiled at that. “As I’ve always said: I’ll fight every war that needs fighting within a hundred years. Bring peace to all four frontiers. Win battle after battle, and the people will surely be glad — proud, even. Then with another hundred years of growth…”

He looked at Yu Jiuling. “Think about it — what will Da Ning look like a hundred years from now? Beautiful, or not?”

Yu Jiuling nodded vigorously. “Beautiful! Incredibly beautiful!”

“That’s why I have so much to do…”

Li Chi said slowly, “Internal troubles and external threats — I must resolve them all within these few decades. When my children’s children speak of it, they should be able to say, *our forefather was no pushover*. I can’t have them cursing their ancestor from inside a land still plagued by strife.”

Yu Jiuling laughed. “Whatever Your Majesty sets out to do, there’s never been a thing you failed to accomplish. Internal troubles and external threats? You’ll deal with them long before those decades are up.”

Li Chi replied, “Flattery noted. I’ll reward you when we’re back.”

Yu Jiuling: “Why wait till we’re back? Your Majesty could reward me right now.”

Li Chi: “You saw for yourself, I didn’t bring a thing when I left. Even if I wanted to reward you now, I’ve nothing to give.”

Yu Jiuling: “These years following Your Majesty, the one thing that has truly satisfied me is all the skills I’ve learned from you.”

Li Chi: “What’s that supposed to mean?”

Yu Jiuling: “Your Majesty, put it in writing — spoken words leave no proof, and besides, reneging on promises has always been Your Majesty’s specialty…”

Li Chi: “Jiuling… how did you manage to pick up such bad habits?”

Yu Jiuling: “Your Majesty, look inward and ask yourself.”

Li Chi laughed. “Fine then. Tell me what you want — as long as it’s not too outrageous, I’ll grant it.”

Yu Jiuling said: “I’d ask Your Majesty to bestow upon me another residence in Chang’an. My hardworking wife has… again… and with more children, we need more room…”

Li Chi looked at Yu Jiuling, a flicker of tenderness crossing his eyes.

Yu Jiuling, a Duke of the Realm — he wanted no office, no power. Even now, he still only wanted to be the one who stayed at Li Chi’s side.

And so Li Chi said, with a voice touched by feeling: “Pah! Can’t you afford to buy one yourself?”

Yu Jiuling: “Your Majesty, whether I can afford it or not — doesn’t Your Majesty have some sense of that? My salary…”

Li Chi burst out laughing, then turned to Ding Qing’an, who sat nearby wearing a dopey grin. “When we’re back, remind me to pick a good spot in Chang’an and build our Duke Yu a new residence.”

Yu Jiuling looked at Ding Qing’an: “Remember that — and make sure you *hold firm*.”

Ding Qing’an said: “My Lord Duke, I can remember just fine — but why hold firm?”

Yu Jiuling jerked his chin toward Li Chi. “I’m afraid that somehow, by the time we arrive, His Majesty will have let you *forget*.”

Li Chi burst out laughing again. “If you want him to hold firm against me and I pretend not to remember — what exactly can he hold firm about?”

Yu Jiuling: “At least there’d be a witness.”

Li Chi: “Not much of a witness either — liable to defect at any moment.”

Yu Jiuling sighed. “But I have no other options, Your Majesty. I *want* to trust you — it’s just that Your Majesty has hurt me too deeply…”

Li Chi raised his hand and rapped Yu Jiuling on the skull.

Yu Jiuling rubbed his head and said: “No need to choose a location — I think the south side of the city would suit me fine. Spacious and quiet. I won’t even ask for an extra residence. I’ll just petition to build a slightly larger one in the south, and the one I currently live in, Your Majesty can bestow on someone else later.”

Li Chi’s heart gave a quiet jolt.

He raised his hand to clap Yu Jiuling on the shoulder; Yu Jiuling, thinking he was about to get rapped on the skull again, flinched out of the way.

Li Chi said, “What’s yours is yours. What I’ve given you — no one can ever take it away.”

Then Yu Jiuling suddenly remembered something else and reminded Li Chi: “Your Majesty, about Gao Zhen — now that there’s no more need for him to quietly navigate things with Xu Ji, I suppose that’s no longer necessary?”

Li Chi nodded. “That’s right. So after I’m back in Chang’an, I plan to issue an edict elevating his rank and military title.”

Yu Jiuling laughed — genuinely happy, obviously.

Of all the brothers who had charged through life and death together, Gao Zhen was the only one who hadn’t yet been enfeoffed as a Duke. Now that His Majesty had spoken, that Dukedom couldn’t be far off. After all, if Gao Zhen were to go to the Southern Frontier as Grand General, it wouldn’t carry enough weight without a Duke’s title to back it up.

“Jiuling.”

“Your Majesty?”

“You really have no desire to take an official post? How about I send you to govern a Dao Circuit? A regional governor!”

Yu Jiuling shook his head repeatedly. “Your Majesty, spare me — and spare the people while you’re at it. If I became a regional governor, who knows what disasters I’d bring down on the common folk. I have no will to cause disaster, but I have a gift for it through sheer stupidity…”

Li Chi tried again. “What about commanding a Guard as Grand General?”

Yu Jiuling shook his head again. “Please stop trying to persuade me, Your Majesty. I genuinely don’t want to be an official. Too exhausting, too troublesome. How good would it be to just stay Your Majesty’s devoted flatterer forever.”

Li Chi said, “That flattery of yours comes with precious few perks.”

Yu Jiuling said, “That’s… exactly right. Your Majesty, I’m glad you can finally reflect on that. The flattery I deliver is *hard work*. If I do it badly, Your Majesty docks my salary. If I do it well, Your Majesty still docks my salary. Good or bad, Your Majesty calls me a fawning courtier either way…”

Of course this was all banter.

All things considered, in terms of sheer abundance of rewards received, Yu Jiuling was without question the number one man.

Li Chi had docked his salary plenty of times, yes — but what Li Chi gave him was a hundredfold more than any salary.

Li Chi laughed. “You know yourself, the censors at the Censorate are watching — watching all of you *and* watching me. If I gave you rewards without first docking your salary, they’d call me a muddle-headed ruler. But if I dock your pay now and then and reward you in between, they can’t say a word.”

Yu Jiuling gave a big thumbs-up: “Your Majesty, you are deviously cunning!”

Li Chi: “…”

With a whoosh, Yu Jiuling jumped clean off the carriage.

Li Chi looked out after him, then let out a snort of laughter and muttered to himself: “I have to fight internal strife and foreign threats — *and* spar with the censors — *and* contend with rebels like you. Do you have any idea how exhausting I am?”

—

Chang’an.

Due to various recent events, the posts of Minister of Rites and Deputy Minister of Personnel had both been left vacant.

With envoys from the Western Regions nations due to arrive any day, Li Chi — before departing the capital — had reassigned Gui Yuanshu to Minister of Rites, and Jia Ruan, senior disciple of the Hung Blade Sect, to Deputy Minister of Rites.

These two had been kept busy. The envoys were already not far from Chang’an, and though there was no need to fawn over them, the proper preparations still had to be made.

His Majesty had told them both: don’t be overly warm — that would look desperate — but don’t lose Da Ning’s dignity either.

Gui Yuanshu, now dressed in voluminous formal robes, was decidedly uncomfortable. He still preferred the feel of his battle gear. And he no longer had to pretend to be refined.

The worst of it was having to study again. As Minister of Rites, one couldn’t have people saying he lacked learning.

It wasn’t that he’d never been learned — back in the day, in Daxing City, he’d graduated with distinction from the capital’s finest academy.

The problem was how much he’d let rust over the years.

Back in the academy, it had all been classical flourishes and formal locutions. After leaving, it became curses and rough talk.

Now he was caught in between — couldn’t manage the classical flourishes, couldn’t let out the rough talk.

“My Lord.”

Jia Ruan asked Gui Yuanshu: “When those envoys arrive, do you need to go receive them personally?”

Gui Yuanshu said: “I’m not going. You represent His Majesty and the Ministry of Rites — go greet them at the city gate.”

Jia Ruan nodded and said: “And if they try to flatter me, should I refuse?”

Gui Yuanshu said: “Refuse what? Let them flatter away — accept it all. His Majesty only said we can’t flatter *them*. He said nothing about them not being allowed to flatter *us*.”

Jia Ruan: “My Lord’s grasp of His Majesty’s intentions is… masterful.”

Gui Yuanshu: “Of course it is… Truthfully, I could go greet them myself — that wouldn’t quite count as fawning. But I’m afraid I couldn’t hold myself together.”

He sighed. “You know my temper. If I run into someone talking slyly and sideways, I won’t be able to hold back. Making an envoy cry on the spot — that’s still something His Majesty would punish me for. So better I don’t go at all.”

Jia Ruan: “His Majesty really is something, knowing we’re both rough types and still putting us in charge of the Ministry of Rites…”

Gui Yuanshu laughed. “Fortunately, my rank is higher than yours — which means I get to put you out in front.”

Jia Ruan: “…”

While they were still talking, someone came hurrying in and bowed before the two of them: “My Lord Minister, My Lord Deputy Minister — the envoy delegation from the Western Regions nations is now fifteen li outside Chang’an.”

Gui Yuanshu smiled. “His Majesty isn’t back yet, and they’ve arrived first… Deputy Minister, off you go.”

Jia Ruan sighed. “All right, I’ll go.”

Gui Yuanshu said: “Remember what His Majesty told us — no need to give them face. After all, our border armies will be paying a visit to their homelands before long. That said, you are the Deputy Minister of Rites, so you can’t be outright *rude* either.”

Jia Ruan snickered, bowed farewell to Gui Yuanshu, and led his staff out through the city gates.

Gui Yuanshu figured he ought to get himself ready too, so he went to see Xu Ji.

As Chancellor, with His Majesty absent from Chang’an, the Chancellor presided over affairs. The business of receiving and hosting the envoys still had to be cleared with Xu Ji.

He had barely reached Weiyang Palace and not yet entered Xu Ji’s offices when a Ministry of Rites official came running up behind him.

“My Lord — something’s wrong.”

The official was sprinting and panting all at once, shouting at Gui Yuanshu as he ran: “The Deputy Minister has come to blows outside the city gates!”

Gui Yuanshu was startled. He immediately asked, “Is he all right?”

The messenger swallowed hard and said: “The Deputy Minister is fine. One of the Western Regions men was being arrogant and rude, and the Deputy Minister made him cry. He’s wailing his lungs out.”

Gui Yuanshu: “…”

—