Tang Pidi slept a magnificent sleep.

The first time he half-woke, he dimly sensed that it was dark outside. These past days had been so exhausting that he’d barely rested at all — and trying to pry his two eyelids apart at that moment felt frankly inhumane.

All these days on the city wall, and how many times had his upper and lower eyelids even had the chance to meet? Just how desperately had they been longing for each other?

Desperately enough that even if you wedged a little wooden stick between them to force them open, that little stick would feel obliged to serve as a bridge for two reunited lovers.

So when he finally opened his eyes again, it was the pale light of dawn on the second day. He’d slept through half an afternoon and an entire night. Tang Pidi decided that after such a prolonged reunion, his eyelids had probably had enough.

He sat up, stretched his body, and let the events of recent days wash through his mind. Everything Li Chi and he had done, they had done to perfection. The one who had broken that perfection was Prince Yu.

He thought about what it would have been like if Prince Yu had returned to the city now, truly ruining everything — arriving in Jizhou after they’d held it for him, then parading through the streets like a savior, looking at the people with an expression that said: why haven’t you all dropped to your knees in gratitude?

He gave his head a shake. Perhaps he’d slept a bit too much — his head ached mildly, and his eyes ached too.

He got up, stretched a few times, opened the window, and the very first breeze carried the very first ray of sunlight right into his face. Tang Pidi drew a deep breath and gave a long, luxurious stretch — and just happened to look down into the courtyard, where Li Chi and the others were already training.

It was late spring now. Summer was not far off. The days were getting longer and longer, which left Tang Pidi feeling somewhat cheated — without consulting him, nature had simply shortened his sleeping hours.

“Don’t tell me Prince Yu has entered the city.”

Tang Pidi rolled his neck as he came out the door, and those were the first words out of his mouth. He truly did not want news like that to ruin such a fine morning.

“He did, actually — must have ridden through the night. He came in, made a circuit of the city to receive the cheers of the people, and then hurried back out again.”

Yu Jiuling said, “How did you know?”

Tang Pidi said, “I’d rather not have known. A move that graceless has no business taking up space in my mental archives.”

He walked to the well, drew up a bucket, and found the water clear and faintly sweet. He took a mouthful and let out a sound of deep contentment.

Yu Jiuling heard that sound, looked at Tang Pidi, and seemed to be debating with himself — though he was not really the type to hesitate.

There was nothing Yu Jiuling’s mouth couldn’t say.

He asked Tang Pidi with complete seriousness: “That sound you just made — I thought it was remarkably professional. Could it have anything to do with your two visits to Sanyue River Pavilion? Were you there for further education?”

Tang Pidi spat the second mouthful of water straight out.

Yu Jiuling sighed. “Look at that, everyone — that’s clearly the sign of advanced study and successful graduation. First the moan, then the water…”

Tang Pidi looked at Li Chi and said, “If you don’t get rid of this person — or at least get rid of him — I can tell you right now: if our carriage depot ever runs into trouble in the future, it will not be because of some rebellion charge that gets us shut down. The court can put up with rebellion these days. It’ll definitely, absolutely be shut down for content of an excessively obscene nature.”

Yu Jiuling said, “Can you be a little more mature?”

Li Chi addressed Yu Jiuling with great solemnity: “Nine — you need to remember, you can’t just say whatever comes into your head. If Old Tang weren’t so even-tempered, you’d be on your knees begging for mercy right now and you wouldn’t even know why. You’re the only indecent one in this whole carriage depot. Look at Brother Zhuang — steady, mature, composed. Then look at yourself — flippant and reckless.”

Then he turned to Tang Pidi: “And you — why do you go along with everything he says?”

Tang Pidi: “For the love of—”

“Prince Yu really did just come back, make one loop, and leave. The more you think about how he operates, the more baffling it gets.”

Tang Pidi looked at Li Chi and said, “I don’t know Prince Yu very well. From everything you’ve seen of him lately — one thing after another that leaves people bewildered — do you think that’s just his nature, or is he somehow different from how he used to be?”

Li Chi shook his head. “I can’t say for certain. Though in the beginning, my master had quite a lot of admiration for Prince Yu. He thought the man’s bearing and learning were genuinely impressive. My master even said that after meeting Prince Yu for the first time, he called him a man who was certain to accomplish great things.”

Tang Pidi looked puzzled. “Then why has he gotten worse instead of better?”

Li Chi shrugged. He genuinely had no idea.

Tang Pidi said, “When things settle down, go and talk to Xiahou. Tell him to head to the northern frontier once his father returns from this defeat. Don’t stay in Jizhou.”

“Returns from this defeat…”

Yu Jiuling shot a glance at Tang Pidi. “That was… a remarkably tactless thing to say.”

Tang Pidi walked over to a stone lock and began his exercises, tossing it up as he spoke: “If Prince Yu is getting more and more confused, I’m afraid someone near him has ulterior motives.”

It was a passing remark — said offhandedly, not much thought behind it. Of course, if he hadn’t actually been thinking it, he wouldn’t have said it.

But Li Chi’s eyes flickered when he heard it. In that instant, something had evidently occurred to him.

He looked at Tang Pidi. Tang Pidi, struck by his own words, set the stone lock down and met Li Chi’s gaze.

The two sharpest foxes in Jizhou exchanged a look, and each understood that the other had arrived at the same thought.

“Good news,” Tang Pidi said. “Good news for the Yanshan Camp. Not so good news for Xiahou.”

Li Chi said with a sigh, “Even without anyone urging him — whether Prince Yu returns victorious or defeated, Xiahou will leave Jizhou. Even if it’s not to go back and guard the northern frontier, he won’t stay here.”

Tang Pidi sighed. “Xiahou has it rough.”

The words had barely faded when Xiahou Zuo came driving a carriage straight into the rear courtyard. At the sight of Li Chi and Tang Pidi, he broke into a grin, then said in a tone of genuine disbelief: “The Cui family’s assets are being seized. You two aren’t the least bit interested?”

He jumped down from the carriage and said, “My father came back for a spell and then rushed off again. You didn’t actually think he made that whole circuit just to bask in the people’s gratitude, did you?”

Li Chi said, “He’s afraid the Cui family’s enormous fortune will fall into someone else’s hands.”

Xiahou Zuo gave a sound of confirmation. He pulled open the carriage door and pointed at the boxes inside. “Don’t you want to say something nice to me? I was willing to earn myself the name of family thief — I snuck a good amount of gold and silver out of the Cui estate and brought it here for you.”

Li Chi burst out laughing.

Xiahou Zuo said, “I feel you all owe me at least a basic level of respect. What I’m doing right now is like a few kids who’ve decided to go steal a watermelon — except they’re too scared to steal from anyone else’s patch, and they figure someone else’s patch is probably too hard to get into anyway. So I step forward and thump my chest and say: come on, I’ll take you all to steal from my family’s patch.”

Yu Jiuling gave a thumbs-up. “That’s loyalty.”

Tang Pidi nodded. “That’s selflessness.”

Li Chi said, “I would go so far as to call it great.”

Xiahou Zuo said, “So — any chance of a nice plate of dumplings tonight?”

Li Chi turned toward the kitchen and called out: “Auntie Wu!”

Auntie Wu came out of the kitchen, wiping her hands on her apron. “Right here, right here — what would you like?”

Li Chi said, “Let’s have dumplings tonight. We can have something simple at noon — there are too many people, and if we’re doing dumplings we’ll be wrapping them for a good long while.”

Auntie Wu smiled. “Cooking’s nothing. You just wait for your dumplings tonight.”

Li Chi said earnestly: “In a little while, no matter how sincerely I come up to you and say ‘Auntie Wu, let me help you’ — just send me packing. Be firm about it. Feel free to give me a kick if it comes to that.”

Auntie Wu was completely baffled. She blinked a few times and asked: “And why would I do that?”

Li Chi said, “Don’t worry about why, Auntie Wu. The moment I say I want to help with the dumplings — especially if I say I want to help mix the filling — you come over and give me a kick. Don’t hold back. Aim for the kind of kick that would send me flying three to five li.”

Auntie Wu said, “How could I ever hit you…?”

Li Chi said, “If you don’t kick me, I’m docking your wages.”

Auntie Wu: “At my age, you’re the first person who’s ever asked something like this of me…”

With that settled, Li Chi led the men off to train. Tang Pidi took one group, Li Chi took another, and the two sides squared off to see which could capture the other’s position first.

It was at this point that Gao Xining arrived with three other young women. The four of them were talking and laughing as they came in — and one had to admit, they were the loveliest sight in the whole carriage depot.

The four of them were discussing something, bursts of laughter drifting over at intervals, as though they were having a wonderful time.

Gao Xining stopped at the kitchen doorway, poked her head in to look, and immediately spotted Auntie Wu in the middle of wrapping dumplings. Gao Xining grinned and said with complete sincerity: “Auntie Wu, let us help you.”

Xiahou Yili chimed in: “We can help mix the filling too.”

Li Chi was still in the middle of sparring with Tang Pidi’s group when he saw Gao Xining and the others heading for the kitchen. He abandoned everything, took off at a dead run, and arrived at the kitchen doorway in one breath.

The four young women saw Li Chi come sprinting over, and none of them knew quite why, but all four of their faces went a little red. Strange, wasn’t it?

Li Chi skidded to a stop at the doorway, then arranged his expression into something casual and said his hellos. He strolled into the kitchen and asked as if the thought had just occurred to him: “Auntie Wu, what are we having today?”

Auntie Wu looked at him. “Dumplings. Weren’t you the one who said you wanted dumplings?”

Li Chi: “…”

Auntie Wu had entirely failed to grasp what had gotten into their master today.

Li Chi rolled up his sleeves and said, “Dumplings, right — my absolute favorite. Let me help you…”

Then he glanced over at Gao Xining and the others with a goofy smile. “You’re all here to help Auntie Wu with the dumplings too? You’re probably much better at it than I am — talented and quick-handed, unlike clumsy old me.”

Gao Xining’s eyes narrowed slightly. Something felt off.

Li Chi had just offered to help when Auntie Wu recalled his instructions and quickly said: “You’ve got proper things to attend to, young master — the kitchen doesn’t need you. A big man doing the cooking, what kind of thing is that?”

Li Chi said, “It’s no trouble, I’ve got nothing else on right now. Let me help.”

Auntie Wu recalled the instruction to be firm, squared her jaw, and said: “I said you don’t need to, and you don’t. You don’t know how to anyway. Don’t come in here getting underfoot — out!”

Li Chi gave a sheepish smile and said, “Auntie Wu, it’s all in good faith. If you’re worried I won’t wrap them properly and they’ll fall apart in the pot — then at least let me mix the filling. How about that?”

At that very moment, something like a bolt of lightning flashed through Auntie Wu’s mind, and two words crashed through her like a thunderclap.

Kick him!

The words seemed to carry a life of their own — and paired with the expression on Li Chi’s face, that smug little smile absolutely begging for a kick, something awakened in Auntie Wu in that instant.

She suddenly broke into a run, planted her foot squarely in Li Chi’s backside, and sent him sailing right out of the kitchen doorway.

Li Chi — with his abilities — had seen Auntie Wu start to move. He deliberately turned around, presenting his perfectly muscled rear in the direct path of her foot.

Her kick sent Li Chi tumbling out, and he let out an exaggerated howl, flopped to the ground, and cried out: “Auntie Wu, how could you! I only wanted to help with the filling!”

He looked at Gao Xining. “You were going to do what, again?”

He looked at Xiahou Yili. “What were you saying just now?”

The four young women looked at each other. Then, hand in hand, they turned and fled.

Li Chi lay flat on the ground, watching the four young women disappear. He let out a long, heavy sigh, turned his face toward Auntie Wu, and said mournfully: “All I wanted was a good plate of dumplings. Is that too much to ask…?”

—