At sunset.
Gao Xining sat atop the wall, gazing in the direction of the fading sun, lost in some thought. The pale gold light fell across her flawless face, and it seemed as though the light itself had borrowed something from her — and grown more beautiful in the process.
Perhaps another lovely girl might think: *at what angle does the sun make me look most radiant?*
But the sunlight might well think instead: *as long as I can fall on Gao Xining’s face, I become more beautiful.*
She was watching the sunset. Li Chi was watching her.
Gao Yuanzhang had stayed a little too long with his wine the previous night and had genuinely spent the night here. When he left early the next morning to return to the academy, he instructed Li Chi before departing to send someone to bring his things over to the courier station.
Li Chi did not dare delay for a single moment. As the saying went — the longer you wait, the more can go wrong…
He was genuinely afraid Gao Yuanzhang might change his mind. Even thinking about it now, he felt a creeping dread — the thought of a day where he could not see this girl was a thought he could barely stand to have.
“Had enough of staring?”
Gao Xining suddenly turned her head toward him and smiled. “I know my profile is lovely, so I’ve been holding this pose with great effort. If you still haven’t had your fill, I’m not sure I can keep it up much longer — ugh, it is so exhausting to be beautiful.”
Li Chi burst out laughing. “Then let me have a look at your full face.”
Gao Xining said, “Come here and look.”
And so Li Chi climbed up to sit on the wall beside her, the two of them face to face. They gazed into each other’s eyes, and a moment later both broke into laughter at the same time.
“Don’t laugh — when you laugh I can’t help myself either.”
The curve at the corner of Gao Xining’s mouth was already threatening to run away from her.
Li Chi said, “Count to three. Neither of us laughs.”
“One, two, three.”
“You’re still laughing!”
Gao Xining looked at him, and after a long moment asked with a smile, “You ridiculous fool — you declared you wanted to marry a matchmaker, and you’re proud of that? And yet you really are proud, aren’t you?”
Li Chi said, “Then do you know why you, as a matchmaker, never succeeded?”
Gao Xining shook her head.
Li Chi said, “Because you’re the loveliest one of all. Under heaven there is only one matchmaker like you — more beautiful than every girl you ever tried to pair off. I fell for the matchmaker.”
Gao Xining said, “You were actually comparing.”
Li Chi’s eyes went wide. “Oh no. I’ve made a terrible mistake.”
Gao Xining let out a delighted laugh. She held out her hand. “Here — let me lend you my beautiful little paw to hold for a moment.”
Li Chi: “Is that… quite appropriate?”
Gao Xining sniffed. “It’s legitimate now.”
Li Chi broke into a wide, giddy grin and took Gao Xining’s small hand in his — and what a triumphant feeling it was, more triumphant still than a moment ago, as though what he held in his hand was not merely a lovely hand but the whole wide world.
“The way you’re holding my hand makes it look like you’re about to tell my fortune…”
Gao Xining sighed. “Your technique for winning a girl’s heart is profoundly underdeveloped. You can’t even manage a single pretty line of sweet talk. What are you going to do with yourself… Just think back to what you said to my grandfather: *this heaven-sent fortune, please let me be the one to claim it*… honestly, the nerve of you, aren’t you embarrassed?”
Li Chi said, “Not in the least. No matter what anyone says — that is the greatest fortune under heaven, and I am the one who claimed it.”
Gao Xining asked, “Is there any kind of rebate or kickback involved? After all, I’m well and truly playing the role of the little family thief now — thoroughly eating away from the inside.”
Li Chi said, “In that case, let’s see what we can skim off the top from Ninth Sister’s wages — it all goes to you.”
Gao Xining said, “That doesn’t feel quite right.”
Li Chi said, “Ninth Sister’s used to it.”
Gao Xining said, “What I mean is, targeting just Ninth Sister seems slightly… inhumane.”
Li Chi said, “Slightly is nothing to worry about.”
Gao Xining burst out laughing. “If Ninth Sister heard this, she’d probably be in tears right now.”
She laughed for a moment, then asked, “Are we going to have to put the underground vault in order again soon? My guess is we’ll need to retreat into it before long.”
Li Chi smiled. “You can always guess what I’m thinking.”
He continued, “I was just thinking — with a mind like Zeng Ling’s and the experience he has, he shouldn’t fail to see the deeper implication of my scheme. And if he has seen it, he’ll be very curious what trump card I’m hiding.”
He smiled and said, “I almost want to go tell Zeng Ling: I’ve got a big pit waiting for you. Think he’d believe me?”
Gao Xining laughed. “He’d think you are the big pit.”
Li Chi sighed. “But I really do have a big pit…”
Gao Xining asked, “Zeng Ling has already agreed to let the Shen Medical Hall supply medicine for the military — have you told Shen Ruan yet?”
Li Chi sighed. “I’ll have Ninth Sister make the trip tomorrow. I don’t particularly want to see her myself. I’m a bit afraid of her.”
Gao Xining asked, “Why are you afraid of her?”
Li Chi said, “I’m not sure. I just don’t enjoy dealing with her. There’s something about her that puts me on edge.”
Gao Xining said, “The old-witch type? We young ones are all frightened of that kind.”
Li Chi laughed out loud.
“I’ll go.”
Gao Xining smiled. “I’ll go see her myself, explain the situation, and while I’m at it, learn a few of her tricks for making you nervous.”
Li Chi said, “A younger witch, then.”
Gao Xining said, “I wonder if there’s any crumbling mortar to scrape off this wall.”
Li Chi: “…”
Gao Xining smiled, then went on. “The real reason I want to go tomorrow is to ask her whether we might purchase a batch of prepared medicines directly from her. All we have at the moment is raw herbs — no ready-made remedies. If we can buy some, we should stock up. Better to be prepared.”
Li Chi nodded. “The grain has already been moved into the vault, along with weapons and armor. If we can bring in a supply of medicines as well, then even if Jizhou falls, we seal the vault and we’ll be fine.”
Gao Xining said, “And have you thought about Brother Yu’s situation?”
She said with some uncertainty in her voice, “I keep feeling as though Brother Yu may not be able to hold on long enough for your scheme to run its course.”
Li Chi fell silent.
Someone in the Yanshan Camp wanted him dead — someone who had managed to get a letter to Viceroy Zeng Ling. Clearly, whoever it was had a very urgent desire to be rid of him. It had not been a particularly clever move. If this person was sharp enough, they should already have realized the letter had not played out well.
So they would likely be scrambling to think of another approach — and the most direct path was to erode Yu Chaozong’s trust in Li Chi.
After a long silence, Li Chi said, “I’ve already sent the third letter. We’ll see whether I can persuade Brother Yu.”
Gao Xining made a sound of acknowledgment. There was something else she wanted to say but held back.
She had almost said: *if Yu Chaozong is already running out of patience, then perhaps his trust in you is not as solid as you’ve imagined.*
“Let’s go down.”
Gao Xining smiled. Li Chi said “right,” jumped down first, then spread his arms wide. “Come on — jump here.”
Gao Xining was having none of it. She turned to him with great solemnity and gravity and said, “Only when there’s no one watching.”
Half an hour later.
Li Chi had gone off to attend to other matters, and Gao Xining sought out Zhuang Wudi.
She handed him a letter, saying, “Brother Zhuang, this is a letter I’ve written to Brother Yu. Li Chi has sent someone back to the Yanshan Camp with a letter, but I’m not at ease. I keep feeling that someone inside the Yanshan Camp is trying to sway Brother Yu’s thinking — and also trying to have Li Chi eliminated.”
Zhuang Wudi asked, “You want me to go back?”
Gao Xining nodded. “We need to find out who this person is, so when you return, don’t make any noise about it. The fewer people who know, the better — ideally no one but Brother Yu himself.”
Zhuang Wudi nodded. “I’ll head out at first light tomorrow.”
Gao Xining let out a breath of relief. “Brother Zhuang, do you know why Li Chi didn’t ask you to go back and speak with Brother Yu about this himself?”
Zhuang Wudi shook his head and asked, “He had reservations?”
Gao Xining answered, “Li Chi was afraid that if you went back and raised this matter with Brother Yu, Brother Yu might feel unsettled. Brother Yu values honor and brotherhood above all else, and he is the most generous of men to those around him. If Li Chi were to ask you to go and raise this with him, he worried that Brother Yu might overthink it — that he’d feel Li Chi didn’t trust him.”
The words were delicate enough, but she had guessed at Li Chi’s reasoning and now put it into words herself — since Li Chi had not said anything to Zhuang Wudi, she would say it.
A man like Yu Chaozong placed his brothers first. And because he placed them first, nothing would wound him more deeply than feeling doubted by one of them.
Li Chi had been considerate of Yu Chaozong’s feelings, which was why he had not asked Zhuang Wudi to go — and had not even mentioned the threat against his own life in his letters to Yu Chaozong.
Beyond not wanting to make Brother Yu feel uncomfortable, Li Chi also did not want to alert the other party prematurely.
If this person was already close enough to Yu Chaozong to influence his judgment, then alerting them early was the last thing they could afford to do.
Gao Xining explained everything carefully, then said to Zhuang Wudi, “When you get back, just say you slipped away on your own — that you didn’t tell Li Chi.”
Zhuang Wudi nodded. “I understand.”
Gao Xining exhaled slowly. “Li Chi is pouring everything he has into winning Jizhou for Brother Yu. His opponents are not just Zeng Ling — there’s Luo Geng, there’s Cui Yanlai, there’s Liu Li. Any one of those four would be a formidable challenge. Please ask Brother Yu to hold steady.”
Zhuang Wudi said, “Don’t worry.”
Then, after a brief pause, he added: “Whoever tries to harm him — I’ll kill them.”
—
Two quarters of an hour later, at the training ground.
Gao Xining found Tang Pidi, who was in the middle of drilling the soldiers.
She relayed everything she had just said to Zhuang Wudi, and Tang Pidi immediately grasped what she meant.
“Li Chi said that Zeng Ling, if he gives it serious thought, will inevitably see the deeper layer of Li Chi’s scheme. So…”
Gao Xining said to Tang Pidi, “Zeng Ling will certainly send someone to probe our situation. The best candidate for Zeng Ling would be the strategist Ye Xiansheng, but Zeng Ling doesn’t dare use Ye Xiansheng right now. The only person he has available is…”
Tang Pidi finished the sentence: “Jinzu.”
Gao Xining nodded. “And if Zeng Ling sends Jinzu, the only path to us is through you.”
Tang Pidi smiled. “I’d already thought of that. If Zeng Ling wants to break out of this position, the first thing he needs to do is understand what we’re working with — and then figure out the right response: whether to kill us, or drive us out of Jizhou.”
Gao Xining said, “He doesn’t dare kill us yet — he’s afraid that Brother Yu will immediately raise an army in retaliation. But when he’s pushed to the wall and needs to hold Jizhou at any cost, he’ll consider it.”
Tang Pidi asked, “Do you already have something in mind?”
Gao Xining nodded. “Not only should we go into hiding — we should arrange for Luo Jing and his three thousand Tiger-Leopard Cavalry to go into hiding as well. Only if we are all inside the city and Zeng Ling cannot kill us or find us will he be unable to break Li Chi’s strategy.”
Tang Pidi’s eyes lit up. “You mean — give part of the vault over to Luo Jing?”
Gao Xining said, “The enemy of your enemy can be your ally. If Luo Jing knows there is somewhere to hide, he will certainly be glad to hide there — he needs to stay inside Jizhou to coordinate with his father’s army and take the city from within.”
Tang Pidi gave a slow, appreciative nod of approval. “Remarkable.”
Gao Xining ducked her head, a little self-conscious, and then said with a grin, “Well — it is a bit, isn’t it.”
Tang Pidi burst out laughing.
Li Chi had thought of hiding his own forces — but he had not yet thought of helping Luo Jing hide his. If everyone vanished in the space of a single night, Zeng Ling would likely be frightened out of a decade’s worth of his life.
—