Qin Shangzhi tapped his finger on the table with great force: “Because this is order and rules! Legitimate is legitimate! A ruler is a ruler. Born as human beings, one should naturally be loyal to the sovereign and love the Kingdom, putting the Kingdom before family. Does Miss think this is correct?”

“Loyalty to a foolish ruler is blind loyalty. Master Qin has great wisdom and should be able to see that Prince Liang, to win the Emperor’s favor, uses children for alchemy, and the Emperor not only knows of this but also protects Prince Liang. I suspect… our Crown Prince might even want to seize this alchemy business from Prince Liang to win the Emperor’s favor! Not to mention how the capital now follows this example from top to bottom, with noble families all imitating alchemy. With Master Qin’s intelligence… if you think carefully about what incomprehensible things the Emperor might do in pursuit of immortality, and whether this Crown Prince would dare do anything to gain the Emperor’s favor?”

“That’s precisely why I must stay by the Crown Prince’s side, why I must guide the Crown Prince to become a wise ruler! Yes! The Crown Prince is currently controlled by Old Fang, but with me here, at least I can restrain him somewhat. If I leave, Ren Shijie follows Old Fang’s lead completely, and the Crown Prince will be ruined! A nation’s heir apparent… is a nation’s foundation! If the foundation is destroyed, there will be no family or Kingdom left!” Qin Shangzhi’s chest heaved violently as he spoke.

Bai Qingyan pursed her lips, watching Qin Shangzhi, whose face and neck had turned red with agitation. After he calmed down slightly, she said, “When a ruler loses virtue, he must lose the throne. It has always been thus. This Jin Kingdom… this world has never belonged to one family name. When heroes compete for supremacy, whoever ascends to the throne becomes legitimate. Master Qin has studied history—Heaven’s mandate lies in virtue, not in power. Don’t you understand this principle?”

Qin Shangzhi’s lips moved soundlessly.

Without waiting for his answer, Bai Qingyan continued in a calm, composed voice: “What constitutes a ruler’s virtue? It is… governing the Kingdom and securing the people, having the world at heart! Ensuring the people have roofs over their heads, are free from hunger and cold, so that they can not only live peacefully… but also with peace of mind! Can the Emperor or the Crown Prince achieve this?”

Qin Shangzhi clenched his fists tightly and stood up, bowing deeply to Bai Qingyan: “Miss, what you say, Qin cannot agree with. When a ruler loses virtue, Qin believes one should correct and guide him, not replace the ruler and subject the people to the suffering of chaos.”

Not only had Qin Shangzhi not been persuaded by Bai Qingyan, he instead wanted to persuade her: “Miss, think about it—if Duke Zhenguo were alive, would he rebel or would he correct and guide? The Bai family has been loyal for generations. How can Miss Bai ruin the Bai family’s century-old reputation for personal vengeance?”

“Whether the Bai family or the Bai family army, their original purpose in establishment was to quell internal rebellions and external wars for the people! It was for… these four words: protecting and securing the people!” Bai Qingyan sat steadily across from Qin Shangzhi, raising her deep eyes to look at him with a calm, resolute gaze. “What the Bai family has been loyal to for generations is the people… not the ruler! If a ruler can secure the people, then the Bai family submits to that ruler. But if a ruler oppresses and deceives the people, then the Bai family will sacrifice themselves to protect the people, willing to die ten thousand deaths!”

Though Bai Qingyan’s voice was not high-pitched, as calm as flowing water, it stirred up tremendous waves in Qin Shangzhi’s heart.

·

Fenping’s night market was also quite lively. The entire street was hung with yellow lanterns, with people coming and going, shoulders rubbing against each other in prosperity and excitement.

Although this night market couldn’t compare to the capital’s nighttime splendor with pleasure houses full of laughter and wine shops brightly lit, under these high-hanging lanterns, everywhere was filled with the earthy atmosphere of common folk.

Children wearing masks surrounded a small vendor making sugar figurines. The plump girl leading them acted like an adult, shouting for the old grandfather to add more honey and not to fool them.

A laborer who had just finished his hard work, with a coarse cloth towel draped around his neck, bought drinking snacks from a thatched stall with half a blue cloth hanging on it, then headed straight across to a stall with a wine flag stuck on the thatched roof. That stall was brightly lit with wine jars of all sizes displayed. The old proprietor draped his coarse cloth sweat towel over his shoulder, took the wine pot the laborer handed him, and chatted with the man.

There was also a man leading a small child holding a string of candied hawthorn, who pulled out a few copper coins from his waist and handed them to a woman selling wontons. The woman wore a half-old, half-new blue apron around her waist, wiped her flour-covered hands on the apron, took the copper coins, and greeted the customers to sit.

An old man brewing tea was busy beside a waist-high stove, while his son was smiling as he wiped down a small square table with peeling paint, inviting guests to sit.

Seeing Xiao Rongyan stop outside the tea stall, the tea-brewing old man’s son hurried out from the thatched stall, bowing as he invited Xiao Rongyan inside: “You must be from out of town! You simply must try our family’s sweet plum tea. My father’s skill has been passed down through generations of the Wang family, and it’s quite famous in Fenping!”

Xiao Rongyan glanced at the tea stall and nodded.

The tea-brewing old man’s son quickly turned back: “Father, we have customers! Two bowls of sweet plum tea!”

Xiao Rongyan took a seat, and Yue Shi also followed Xiao Rongyan, ducking as he entered the cramped tea stall and sat beside Xiao Rongyan.

Who would have thought that just as the steaming hot tea cups were served, someone called out, “Master Xiao.”

Xiao Rongyan smiled and stood up, cupping his hands toward Ren Shijie: “Master Ren…”

Ren Shijie smiled and ducked into the tea stall: “Master Xiao also knows about this Wang family sweet plum tea?”

Xiao Rongyan, Ren Shijie, and Yue Shi were all tall, and standing in this tea stall, they all had to bend over, creating quite a comical scene.

“Let’s sit first!” Xiao Rongyan smiled and gestured for Ren Shijie to sit, then said to the tea-brewing old man: “One more bowl of tea!”

Meeting by chance, Ren Shijie and Xiao Rongyan had quite an enjoyable conversation. After finishing their tea, Ren Shijie personally led Xiao Rongyan around Fenping’s night market. Someone was following them at a distance, which Yue Shi had noticed long ago, but their master wouldn’t let him make a sound about it.

“That Master Qin indeed has unmatched talent and intelligence, but he’s proud and arrogant… and suppressed by Old Fang. Even with great talent, he cannot display it.” As Ren Shijie walked forward with Xiao Rongyan, he smiled and spoke, his peripheral vision catching sight of the person who had been monitoring him following along. He smiled and pointed out a wonton stall to Xiao Rongyan: “This wonton stall is the most famous in Fenping’s night market! If Master Xiao hasn’t had dinner yet, you might want to try it.”

Xiao Rongyan smiled and waved his hand. The two walked along the lake, and Ren Shijie bought fish food from a vendor and handed it to Xiao Rongyan. The two stood on the brightly lit wooden bridge over Minghu Lake. Here, the view was vast and unsuitable for hiding people, so even those monitoring Ren Shijie could only hide in the dark green shadows, unable to approach.

This… was Fenping’s famous Minghu Lake Bridge.

The lake bridge was brilliantly lit, and at night, the illumination revealed various plump carp swimming in the lake. Because Fenping’s prefect’s wife loved carp, the prefect had issued an order forbidding the catching and killing of carp—those caught would face heavy penalties. This had become one of Fenping’s scenic attractions.

Xiao Rongyan’s brow furrowed slightly. He held the fish food container, scattered a handful, and looked down at the carp competing for bait in the lake. He casually handed the fish food container to Yue Shi, took the handkerchief Yue Shi offered, and, while looking down to wipe his hands, listened to Ren Shijie’s low murmurs.