When Cao Dengke heard those words, his expression visibly changed.

He grabbed Gongsun Wuyou’s father by the collar. “What exactly do you mean?”

Gongsun Hengzhi looked like he had taken a severe beating — he had likely just been badly worked over — yet on his face, a look of cold contempt remained.

“Sixteen years ago, my father Gongsun Hao told me: as long as the Gongsun family remains within the Mountain and River Seal, the Gongsun family will never know a day of peace.”

“After he retired, his position within the Mountain and River Seal passed to me. But back then, I was seduced by power — and vain.”

Gongsun Hengzhi paused, then continued: “I should not have refused to heed my father’s words — I should have found a way to leave the Mountain and River Seal as soon as possible.”

He slowly breathed out: “But it doesn’t matter. When the moment that truly demanded a choice arrived, my son made that choice for me.”

His gaze carried contempt as he said: “The Mountain and River Seal is finished. And so is your Cao family.”

Cao Dengke erupted: “What are you talking about!”

He raised his hand to strike Gongsun Hengzhi across the face.

But his hand stopped mid-air. He had to know what Gongsun Hengzhi had actually done — if he struck now, Gongsun Hengzhi would only grow more resolute.

Gongsun Hengzhi said: “If nothing has gone awry, you should believe by now that the Prince of Ning has fallen for your scheme.”

His voice trembled slightly — but that was from emotion: “If nothing has gone awry, the Prince of Ning is at this very moment meeting with Cao Lie. Cao Lie is also presenting his achievements before the Prince of Ning. And by this moment, Cao Lie has most likely come to believe one thing.”

“He believes that the Prince of Ning, Li Chi, has fallen for your trap — that Li Chi now thinks the Mountain and River Seal belongs to the Gongsun family.”

“And so attention will be diverted away from any suspicion of the Cao family. After all, the Cao family is so deeply rooted and so enormously powerful in Yuzhou.”

“Never mind whether there’s evidence — regardless of evidence, the Prince of Ning would suspect a connection between the Mountain and River Seal and the Cao family.”

“What your Cao family needed to do was simply lead the Prince of Ning to abandon that suspicion — and the Gongsun family was your perfect scapegoat.”

“Once the Prince of Ning believed your scheme and fixed his sights on the Gongsun family, that would be when Cao Zilu appeared before the Prince of Ning — and everything would seem to fall naturally into place.”

Hearing all of this, Cao Dengke’s face had gone as white as paper.

“What are you saying?”

Cao Dengke seized Gongsun Hengzhi by the throat. “Are you saying the Prince of Ning already knows?”

“He’s right — and you’d do well to take your hands off him, or somewhere on your body might suddenly start hurting quite badly.”

The voice came from behind Cao Dengke.

Cao Dengke spun sharply.

He saw a young man standing in the doorway of the villa — dressed in dark brocade, his complexion pale as if recovering from illness. His arm was still bound in a sling, suggesting a wound, but though his face was pallid, his bearing was sharp and alert.

There was a faint smile on his face — a smile of satisfaction.

His brocade robes were immaculate — as bright and fresh as if newly made. He clearly prized the garment enormously, for there wasn’t a single crease.

Cao Dengke looked at this man and demanded: “And who are you!”

The young man’s smile widened.

He said: “My name is Zhang Tang.”

Cao Dengke froze — the name was momentarily unfamiliar, yet oddly recognizable.

Then it struck him in a flash: “Tingwei Zhang Tang!”

Zhang Tang nodded. “That’s me.”

Cao Dengke’s first instinct was to kill Gongsun Hengzhi immediately.

He turned, and a dagger appeared in his hand — he drove it toward Gongsun Hengzhi’s throat.

Two rapid thuds.

Two small stones came flying with the speed of lightning.

One struck Cao Dengke’s wrist precisely. The other hit him in the throat.

Master Ye, white-robed as snow, came swooping from a distance — swift as a gust of wind.

He drifted to Cao Dengke’s side, seized the back of his neck with his left hand, and flung him toward the doorway. With his right hand, he grasped Gongsun Hengzhi by the robe and lifted him off the ground.

An instant later, Master Ye appeared at Zhang Tang’s side, while Cao Dengke had just crashed down at Zhang Tang’s feet.

Zhang Tang said: “You see — I wasn’t lying. Somewhere on your body really is hurting.”

He extended his arm and pointed ahead. “Search everything.”

Behind him, a mass of Tingwei soldiers in black armor poured in.

Zhang Tang crouched before Cao Dengke and examined this man carefully, then reached out and pulled the mask from Cao Dengke’s face.

“Your Cao family’s scheme — the Prince of Ning detected it early.”

Zhang Tang smiled and said: “Care to guess when he first suspected?”

Cao Dengke was furious — but the stones from Master Ye had sealed off his circulation. He couldn’t move and couldn’t speak.

And that fall had shaken every organ loose, so it seemed.

Zhang Tang slowly rose and said: “Since you’re disinclined to speak, that can wait. I’ll have a great deal of time to talk with you.”

Master Ye said in a level tone: “I don’t think he’s disinclined to speak. If I’d hit you like that, you couldn’t talk either.”

Zhang Tang: “…”

—

At the Commissioner’s residence.

Li Chi looked at Cao Lie. “Well — is my cooking good?”

Cao Lie nodded. “I thought you were only competent with roasting meat and fish. It turns out these everyday stir-fried dishes are just as excellent.”

Li Chi smiled. “Didn’t you say it yourself — men like me and men like you are different. And I think you’re right. For instance… there are things you have no need to learn that I do need to learn.”

Cao Lie asked: “And yet from what I know, even before you became the Prince of Ning, your cooking apparently wasn’t very good.”

Li Chi laughed. “Which blabbermouth told you that.”

Cao Lie said with a sigh: “You did. Last time, by the riverbank in Jizhou while we were fishing, you said it yourself.”

He asked: “Since you’ve already become the Prince of Ning, why continue learning to cook?”

Li Chi didn’t answer — instead he posed a question: “What do you think the purpose of learning is?”

Cao Lie considered, then answered: “To gain something?”

Li Chi asked again: “And gaining something brings happiness — but how many forms does gaining take?”

Cao Lie answered without hesitation: “The only gain that makes me happy is my own gain. Why would anyone else’s gain concern me? How could someone else’s gain possibly make me happy?”

Li Chi pursed his lips. “Which is why, for all your romantic conquests, not a single woman has ever truly cared for you.”

Cao Lie’s eyes narrowed slightly.

Li Chi said: “I learn what’s worth learning. If the learning brings me gain, that naturally makes me happy. If it brings gain to someone I care about, that makes me happy too.”

“Take cooking — I enjoy making food for that girl of mine. When she’s happy, I’m happy.”

Cao Lie gave a soft scoff. “What does that matter? It’s the sort of thing children play at — why should the Prince of Ning trouble himself with such trifles?”

Li Chi asked: “Then what should I concern myself with?”

Cao Lie replied: “Governing the realm and bringing order to all under heaven.”

Li Chi sighed. “That’s the trouble — I’m a man of modest contentment and little ambition. Taking it one step at a time has become second nature.”

Cao Lie said: “Which is why someone like you needs more people around to advise and guide you.”

Li Chi asked: “And are you interested in taking on that role?”

Cao Lie’s eyes seemed to flicker briefly — but he shook his head right away. “Not interested. Our temperaments are incompatible. If we spent too much time together, one of us would drive the other to an early grave.”

Li Chi said: “What if — and I only mean *what if* — I guaranteed that every one of the Cao family’s current assets would be preserved, and honored that promise going forward. Would you be willing, without any other motive, to simply be my friend?”

Cao Lie thought carefully about what that meant, yet couldn’t immediately determine whether there was deeper meaning hidden in the words.

He decided to ask outright. “What exactly do you mean?”

Li Chi said: “I mean simply — no ulterior purpose. Just friendship.”

Cao Lie narrowed his eyes and said: “Somehow I can’t shake the feeling that you’re still working out how to take over the Cao family’s assets entirely. The hidden meaning of what you just said is: what if you wind up completely broke and all the assets are mine — would you still be my friend then?”

Li Chi burst out laughing.

Yet within that laughter, there seemed to be a faint undercurrent of sadness.

Cao Lie said: “You’ve schemed against the Cao family at every turn — yet you want me to set that aside and remain your friend? Think about it yourself — from Anyang onward, everything you’ve done to me. That I haven’t broken with you even now is probably only because…”

He paused here, then smiled. “Probably only because I genuinely believe you would be a very, very fine friend.”

He didn’t notice — in that moment, something complex flashed through Li Chi’s eyes and was gone.

But before Li Chi could speak, Cao Lie continued: “And yet even now, you’re still working against the Cao family.”

Li Chi asked with a smile: “How have I worked against you now?”

Cao Lie stared at Li Chi and said: “You forced me to agree that the Cao family’s medicinal trade and military manufacturing would be reserved exclusively for the Ning Army. When word reaches Jingzhou — when it reaches every corner of the realm — everyone will say the Cao family has become your devoted servant, Prince of Ning.”

Cao Lie breathed out slowly: “And yet you’re still pressing down on us — so isn’t the Cao family being wronged? Aren’t we being put upon?”

Li Chi asked: “What do you intend to do about it? Surely you’re not going to encourage the Cao family to serve me faithfully and wholeheartedly — which would mean you’re no longer being wronged?”

Cao Lie smiled. “It’s not entirely out of the question.”

Li Chi looked startled.

Cao Lie said with genuine seriousness: “The Cao family built its foundations on commerce, so we weigh everything by its costs and benefits. We’ve taken all the blame and gotten nothing out of it — it’s like pouring everything into an investment and walking away with nothing. That’s a bad deal.”

He looked toward Li Chi. “If it were you, would you take that deal?”

Li Chi asked: “So what then?”

Cao Lie replied: “So — you’ve never thought about compensating the Cao family for any of this?”

Li Chi said just as seriously: “No.”

Cao Lie thought to himself: *You absolute bastard.*

But the conversation had naturally arrived at this point — right where the most important matter needed to be raised.

What looked like pointless banter had in fact been guiding the exchange toward this moment, one sentence at a time. And so the topic had quietly shifted from the upcoming auction, to the heavy losses the Cao family had suffered.

Cao Lie sighed: “And this is what you call a no-strings-attached friendship? You’ve ruthlessly crushed the Cao family, yet you want me to overlook it all and remain your friend?”

Li Chi appeared to reflect on this, then said with a measure of contrition: “When you put it that way, I do seem to have been a little harsh.”

Cao Lie: “A *little?*”

Li Chi said: “How about this — let me offer something in the middle.”

Cao Lie asked: “What are you trying to trick me into now?”

Li Chi said: “No, no — this isn’t a trick. Yuzhou is critically short of officials. In terms of business connections, your father has a reach no one in all of Yuzhou can match — and when I say all of Yuzhou, I mean no one in all the realm can match him. If your father were willing to take up an official post in Yuzhou, the region would stabilize far more quickly.”

Cao Lie: “You’ve fleeced me enough — now you’re after my father too?”

Li Chi said with a smile: “I mean it sincerely. The position of Yuzhou Prefect is being held open for your father — the moment he’s willing, he can take office any time. Of course, I won’t be paying him a salary. Your family hardly needs the money.”

Cao Lie appeared genuinely taken aback. He stepped back and studied Li Chi carefully. “You’re serious?”

Li Chi said: “Completely serious. With your father as Yuzhou Prefect, there isn’t a soul from top to bottom who would object.”

Cao Lie stepped back another pace. “Just what are you trying to do to my family?”

Li Chi said: “Look at that — why do you have to think so badly of me? If your father truly doesn’t want it, he can resign after helping me stabilize Yuzhou. I’ll approve it without hesitation.”

Cao Lie immediately replied: “In your dreams!”

He fell into thought for a moment, then asked: “Are you planning to ask something more of me?”

Li Chi shook his head and then, in a tone layered with unspoken feeling, said: “You… it would be wonderful if you could keep being my friend, always.”

Cao Lie smiled — with what appeared to be genuine sincerity. “What if — just *what if* — things turned out just as you hoped?”

Li Chi looked out the window.

*You yourself said*, he thought, *it’s only a what if.*

—