Cai Bo had no interest in questions of virtue and obsession; he only cared about people.

“One troublemaker after another, each claiming to be brave and martial,” he said, looking at the letters on the table. “Wasn’t Xie Yanlai supposedly recovering from his injuries? How dare he still give orders? When the enemy threatened with a human wall of civilians, he ordered our troops to retreat a hundred li and surrendered the city. What kind of bravery is that?”

Xie Yanfang laughed. “Ah, that’s what we call virtue, quite in the tradition of Duke Xiang of Song.”

Duke Xiang of Song wasn’t virtuous either. Cai Bo found it somewhat amusing, but thinking of the current situation, he couldn’t laugh: “The Xie family doesn’t need his virtue.”

He couldn’t help but pace back and forth.

“The war with Western Liang has been settled. Even though Zhong Changrong didn’t die, he lost an arm, so he can also take time to recover.”

“But now all the people capable of competing for power have left.”

He looked at the letters on the desk and sneered.

“For the sake of military achievements, for glory—with Her Majesty the Empress around, how could they possibly earn any military merit?”

Xie Yanfang laughed: “Being able to fight alongside the Empress is the greatest achievement, isn’t it?” He leaned against the armrest, hand supporting his chin, his gaze drifting leisurely outside the window. “I would like to go too.”

“Young Master, you are already fighting alongside the Empress. If you weren’t in the capital, how could the Empress go to battle against Xiao Xun without any worries?” said Cai Bo.

Xie Yanfang shook his head: “It’s not the same. Different distance, different feeling.”

What distance and feeling? He’s taking this seriously, thought Cai Bo, saying helplessly: “Young Master, please don’t joke.”

Xie Yanfang smiled, gently pinching his forehead and sighing: “No matter how perfectly one plans things in this world, the results may not be as desired.”

Cai Bo also put aside his helplessness and returned to the previous topic, though a thought flashed through his mind—the Young Master has become increasingly fond of joking these past two years.

“They truly believe they’re omnipotent and can act on their authority.” he looked again at the pile of letters on the desk. “They don’t realize that their current position came from someone else giving them a little push.”

The same hand that can lift you can also strike you down.

Xie Yanfang sighed lightly: “One can understand it. Even ants struggle to survive.”

He smiled faintly, looking at the chess game on the desk.

“People are different from chess pieces after all.”

Turning people into chess pieces is not easy.

This is the chess game of the human world.

“All right, things have already come to this. Don’t dwell on it. Let’s talk about the immediate matters,” he sat up straight, waved his hand to end the topic, and looked at the map hanging nearby. “Let’s help our Empress achieve victory quickly.”

Cai Bo was somewhat displeased: “It would be better for the Empress to suffer a bit, otherwise she’ll truly believe she’s omnipotent.”

Xie Yanfang smiled: “The Empress doesn’t need to suffer. Being the Empress means being omnipotent.” He pointed to the scattered pile of letters on the desk, marked with different signs. “Tell our friends over there that it’s time for them to repay me.”

Cai Bo responded with a “Yes,” then added: “Young Master has done so much for the Empress, but unfortunately, the Empress doesn’t know.”

Perhaps influenced by Xie Yanfang, he suddenly felt like joking too.

Xie Yanfang laughed heartily, a soft light gleaming in his smile.

“No, she doesn’t need to know,” he said.

When all those extraneous branches and tendrils of people are eliminated, she will have only him by her side; his intentions will be her intentions.

As he spoke these words, Du Qi pushed open the door and entered.

“Young Master,” he said quietly, “We’ve lost contact with Yu Shang.”

Cai Bo looked toward Xie Yanfang: “It seems the border province is quite dangerous.” Then he asked Du Qi, “Is anyone inquiring about Yu Shang’s whereabouts?”

Du Qi glanced at the letter in his hand, nodding and then shaking his head: “There are inquiries from Yunzhong Commandery, but they’re from his familiar buyers who say Yu Shang owes them some goods. They haven’t received anything for a long time and can’t find him, so they went to report it to the authorities.”

This was normal and didn’t seem problematic. Cai Bo looked at Xie Yanfang.

Xie Yanfang’s gaze didn’t move from the map. He made a sound of acknowledgment and said: “Is that so? No need to pay attention to it then. Just take good care of his family.”

A person’s closest connections are family members. Cut off contact with family, and you erase traces of existence in this world. Cai Bo responded with a “Yes.”

Xie Yanfang picked up a letter from the desk and walked toward the door: “I’m going to the palace to see A-Yu.”

……

……

As Xie Yanfang approached, he could hear commotion from the distance in front of the hall.

In the warm sunlight of an early winter afternoon, a chair covered with felt was placed in front of the sleeping quarters. Xiao Yu, dressed in imperial robes, sat upon it with his hands resting on the armrests, a smile on his face as he watched the commotion before the hall.

Two young eunuchs were wrestling with each other. Their collars were disheveled, and both had injuries on their faces, but despite this, they didn’t stop.

The attendants standing around watched quietly.

“What’s happening here?” Xie Yanfang approached with a smile and asked.

Xiao Yu smiled: “Uncle has arrived. I need an ink-grinding attendant for my study. Both of them want the position, so for fairness, I’m letting them decide by combat.”

Xie Yanfang nodded: “Very good. Obtaining what one desires through one’s abilities—that’s fair.”

A servant nearby brought a plate of snacks: “Your Majesty, the walnut cookies you requested.”

Xiao Yu reached for one and gestured to Xie Yanfang: “Uncle, try one. They’re freshly made and especially delicious.” He also had someone bring a seat for Xie Yanfang. “Who knows when they’ll finish fighting. Sit down and wait.”

Xie Yanfang also took a cookie but declined the seat, smiling: “The outcome will be decided soon.” He pointed to indicate to Xiao Yu: “That one is more formidable—”

As his words fell, one of the eunuchs grabbed the other and slammed his head forcefully on the ground. That eunuch cried out, his limbs trembled for a moment, and then he lay still.

Blood spread across the stone floor.

“I won, I won!” the previous eunuch shouted joyfully, completely unaware.

Xiao Yu nodded: “You have won. From now on, my study is entrusted to you.”

The eunuch was overwhelmed with joy and kowtowed repeatedly: “This slave thanks Your Majesty.”

His forehead was covered in blood and filth, unclear whether from being injured earlier or from the blood on the ground.

Xiao Yu swallowed the cookie and stood up from the chair: “Clean this up.” With those words, he walked inside.

The kowtowing eunuch thanked the imperial grace once more and tried to rise, staggering, but he didn’t fall. Instead, he was supported by three or four eunuchs who rushed forward.

“Be careful.” “Don’t move, we’ll support you.” “Let’s treat your wounds first.” “I’ll go to the Imperial Medical Office to call someone for you.”

The previously ignored eunuch was now escorted away by a group of people.

Other eunuchs dragged away the dead eunuch and splashed water to wash away the bloodstains.

“Your Majesty,” Xie Yanfang followed Xiao Yu into the hall, “don’t do this in the future.”

Xiao Yu turned to look at him, his expression somewhat uneasy: “Uncle, I’ve done wrong.”

But there wasn’t a trace of unease in his eyes.

Xie Yanfang didn’t expose the child’s pretense and smiled: “Your Majesty can do whatever you wish, but don’t provide reasons—let them find their reasons.”

The unease disappeared from Xiao Yu’s face, and he seemed thoughtful: “I understand. I shouldn’t have made them fight each other; rather, they should want to compete for me on their own.” At this point, he sighed, “Yes, what I did was not good. People will discover that I’m bored and amusing myself with others.”

Xie Yanfang asked: “Then what should Your Majesty do?”

“I should observe from the sidelines and then reward the victor of the struggle,” said Xiao Yu. “This time the sequence was reversed.”

This child now showed the evil side of his nature before him without any concealment. Xie Yanfang smiled without commenting.

Xiao Yu put the last piece of cookie into his mouth and didn’t continue the topic: “Has Uncle come today with news of Sister Chu?”

Xie Yanfang took out a letter: “Not exactly good news. Recently, Sister Chu hasn’t been able to secure victory; instead, she’s lost two cities.”

Xiao Yu’s face lit up with a smile as he reached out to take the letter: “As long as there’s news of Sister Chu, it’s good news.”

But then he sighed softly, a hint of regret in his eyes.

“In that case, sister won’t be able to return to celebrate the New Year together.”

……

……

When the cold wind blew against one’s face felt like stinging sand; the first snow of winter in the third year of Xingping arrived.

Chu Zhao pulled up her hood that had been blown off by the wind and saw a troop of soldiers galloping from a distance.

Through the wind and snow, the first thing that caught her eye was the fluttering banners, including the familiar frontier army banner and a banner with the character “Liang” that was both familiar and strange.

Someone coughed heavily beside her.

“Your old acquaintance has arrived.”

Chu Zhao turned to look at Xie Yanlai, who had wrapped himself tightly in a cloak, revealing only a pair of eyes.

“Our—” She smiled and corrected herself, “Old acquaintance.”