Caught off guard by the sudden embrace, Shi Ting froze for a moment before breaking into a smile. “What’s wrong?”

Both of his hands were occupied carrying things, leaving him unable to return the embrace. Still, he gently tapped her on the top of her head twice with his chin. “My dear wife, throwing herself into my arms in broad daylight — aren’t you afraid I might not be able to restrain myself?”

Yan Qing laughed from within his arms and pressed herself firmly against his chest. “There’s no one else here.”

“Is that what you’re implying — that if there’s no one around, I’m free to do something?”

Yan Qing quickly put some distance between them and deliberately glared at him. “Director Shi, please remember your station.”

Shi Ting raised the things in his hands. “I bought food. I noticed Elder Brother hasn’t eaten in a long time either.”

“You’re so good to me. How am I supposed to repay you?” Yan Qing extended one hand and took one of the paper bags from him, blinking playfully. “How about I cling to you through three lifetimes and seven reincarnations, so you can never shake me off? What do you think?”

“You call that repayment?”

“Isn’t it?”

Shi Ting let out a hearty laugh. “All right then. It’s settled.”

“By the way, how is the Commander doing? Do you need to head back and check on him?”

Shi Ting had spent half a day keeping her company at the hospital, and she felt a little guilty about it.

“As for the Commander, I can’t go in person. With Dr. Zhang there, we’ll just wait for news.”

The words had barely fallen when Zheng Yun’s familiar voice rang out from behind. “Seventh Brother.”

Both of them turned at once to see Zheng Yun standing there, his face etched with anxiety.

“Go on back. Father is here with Elder Brother and me — you don’t need to worry.”

Shi Ting did indeed have many matters to attend to. Though still somewhat uneasy, the thought that Yan Qing’s father’s condition had been brought under control — and that Yan Xu was present — allowed him to hand the things in his hands to Yan Qing. “Then I’ll head back first.”

Yan Qing responded with a soft sound of assent. “Go quickly. Zheng Yun probably has something urgent.”

Zheng Yun and Shi Ting walked out of the hospital together. Still standing at the hospital entrance was another person — the aide to Liu Qingnian, a man surnamed Yuan.

“Director Shi.” Aide Yuan stepped forward and gave a salute, urgency threading through his voice. “The Commander has just received an order from the Grand Commander. The Grand Commander has ordered him to lead troops and station at Gutian.”

Gutian was situated in a remote area, bordering Xi Nan. It was indeed a place where the two territories frequently clashed in armed conflict, yet in recent years the engagements had been nothing more than small-scale skirmishes — far from requiring Liu Qingnian to personally lead troops there.

The Grand Commander was doing this for one reason only: to drive Liu Qingnian far away from Shun Cheng.

“Not only the Commander — several other generals have also received orders one after another, all the same as the Commander’s: deployed to guard the borders.”

Every general the aide mentioned had ties to Shi Ting.

“Seventh Brother, the Grand Commander wants to transfer away everyone around you.” Zheng Yun said with worry. “If all these people leave Shun Cheng, the only force we’ll have to draw on will be the Military Police Division.”

The Military Police Division was an enforcement agency — it was not meant for frontline combat.

Shi Ting’s long brows drew together slightly. “Let’s pay the Commander a visit first.”

Aide Yuan hurried forward and opened the car door, letting Shi Ting get in first before closing it behind him. He then drove them all the way to the Commander’s garrison.

“The Grand Commander must have lost his mind.” Liu Qingnian said, his expression baffled. “He’s deployed all these troops to the borders — if anything happens in Shun Cheng, the distant water can’t quench the nearby thirst.”

Shi Ting said, “This isn’t the Grand Commander’s order.”

“Shi Guang again?”

“Shi Guang has moved a few of my people by invoking the Grand Commander’s name, and now he wants to clear out all the forces associated with me. If the Grand Commander were to appoint a Young Commander at this juncture, even if I had objections, I’d have no leverage to resist.”

“You mean the Grand Commander is considering appointing a Young Commander?”

Shi Ting gave a nod. “The position of Young Commander has been vacant for too long — something had to give eventually. The Grand Commander has been seriously ill this time and is likely trying to resolve this matter.”

“Would the Grand Commander appoint the Seventh Young Master or Shi Guang?” Liu Qingnian’s future was now intimately tied to Shi Ting’s, so the question concerned him deeply.

Seeing Shi Ting remain silent, Liu Qingnian said in a measured tone, “The Liu family has already pledged itself to the Seventh Young Master. Whatever the Young Master wishes to do, we will support you without a moment’s hesitation. Even if the Grand Commander does not appoint the Seventh Young Master, I, Liu Qingnian, will help you seize that position.”

Shi Ting gave Liu Qingnian a gentle shake of his head. “The Commander’s resolve is understood. But war means rivers of blood, the people left in misery. Such internal conflict should be avoided at all costs.”

“The Seventh Young Master grieves for the nation and its people — I have not pledged my allegiance to the wrong man.” Liu Qingnian voiced his full agreement. “I too have no desire for war, especially not against our own people. It brings no benefit whatsoever to the development of Bei Di. And once fighting breaks out, there’s no guarantee that those forces lurking with intent won’t seize the opportunity to strike. We’d face both internal strife and external threat, and Bei Di would never know peace again.”

“What the Commander says is precisely what weighs on my heart. And so, this war must not be fought.”

“But if there’s no war and the Grand Commander truly appoints Shi Guang, Shi Guang will never tolerate the Seventh Young Master’s presence.”

Shi Ting gave a quiet smile. “Shi Guang may believe everything will unfold as he desires, but will things truly go his way?”

Liu Qingnian brightened with sudden hope. “Does the Seventh Young Master have another move in reserve?”

“The success or failure of this matter rests primarily with the Grand Commander.” Shi Ting said. “I’ve come here to tell the Commander: go ahead and follow the Grand Commander’s orders — only delay the march as much as possible, and wait for word from me.”

“Understood.” Liu Qingnian nodded. “Then I’ll lead the troops out first. Take good care of yourself, Seventh Young Master.”

He trusted that Shi Ting would not let him leave the city so easily, but as for what would come next, he asked nothing further — he simply obeyed without condition.

~

News that Liu Qingnian had already led his troops out of the city reached the Shi Mansion quickly.

Shi Guang was watering his flowers when Zuo Liang walked in. “Second Young Master, Liu Qingnian has already left the city.”

“You’re certain Liu Qingnian himself has departed?”

“Absolutely certain — Liu Qingnian led the unit in person.” Zuo Liang said. “He wasn’t particularly willing, but this time the Grand Commander issued the order in person, not just a written directive. Even if he was unwilling, he had no choice but to go.”

“Any movement on Seventh Brother’s side?”

“The Yan family’s patriarch has contracted tuberculosis. The Seventh Young Master has been running to the hospital every day to keep the Seventh Young Mistress company.”

Shi Guang clipped a dead branch with the shears and let out a cold laugh. “They say a beautiful woman is a source of disaster. Even at a time like this, he has the heart to play the devoted son-in-law at the hospital.”

“Isn’t that all the better? With the Seventh Young Master off his guard, the Second Young Master can strike with a single decisive blow.”

Shi Guang raised his head and looked toward a stretch of bamboo grove in the distance. Languidly, he said, “The skies over Bei Di are about to change. Do you think it will be a clear sky or a cloudy one?”

“A clear sky, of course.” Zuo Liang said with certainty. “The Grand Commander is already in the Second Young Master’s grasp — is there anything the Second Young Master cannot obtain?”

Even an order to transfer Liu Qingnian away from Shun Cheng could be issued, to say nothing of ensuring Shi Guang’s smooth ascent to the position of Young Commander.

Once Shi Guang became Young Commander — and the Grand Commander then suddenly died of his illness — Bei Di and everything in it would fall neatly into his hands.

“Indeed, what is there that cannot be obtained?” A trace of loneliness drifted across Shi Guang’s face. “And her heart — can I obtain that?”

Zuo Liang coaxed, “Second Young Master, the world is full of women. You’re already the master of Bei Di — with a single word from you, who knows how many women would come flocking.”

The hidden implication was: with so many women to choose from, why hang yourself on one tree?

“You don’t understand.” Shi Guang let out a sigh and continued pruning the flower branches in his hands. “Of the three thousand weak waters, I would drink from only one.”

Zuo Liang shrugged. He indeed did not understand.

“What about his wife?”

“Second Young Master, rest assured. Her every move is under our surveillance — she will absolutely not do anything to betray the Second Young Master.”

“She’s a ticking time bomb after all. Once this is all over, that bomb needs to be defused.”

Zuo Liang’s eyes narrowed as he looked over. “I know what to do.”

“Go. Keep a close watch on Shi Ting’s side as well. The slightest hint of movement — report to me at once.”

Things had progressed to this point, and Shi Guang had no way back. He would not permit the existence of any unforeseen circumstances.

Shi Ting still had no idea about his plans. He knew Shi Ting would eventually catch on, but even so, what could he do once he realized? The Grand Commander was already completely in his grasp.

The Grand Commander now was like a puppet, doing whatever Qian Lan told him. If she ordered him to die, he would raise a blade to his own throat without a moment’s hesitation.

Control the Grand Commander, and you controlled Bei Di. The first step had been to transfer away Shi Ting’s forces. The second step was to announce to the world the appointment of the Young Commander. And the third step — the Grand Commander would succumb to his illness, and the Young Commander would take his place.

Every one of these steps had been arranged by Shi Guang long in advance. The only wild card — Shi Ting — was still in the dark at this very moment, busy playing the devoted son-in-law at the hospital.

With that thought, Shi Guang’s entire face brightened, and his movements as he pruned the flower branches became immeasurably indulgent and leisurely.

Before long, Bei Di would be his. And Yan Qing — she would also be his.

As for Qian Lan, once she had completed her task, it would be time for her to vanish completely.

~

Qian Lan was feeding the Grand Commander pieces of mandarin orange, carefully stripping every thread of membrane from the fruit.

“Have some too.” The Grand Commander looked at her with gentle eyes. “Don’t just give them all to me.”

Qian Lan smiled. “Grand Commander, your color has been much better these past couple of days. Once you’ve recovered a little more, shall we go to the temple to offer incense?”

“Of course.” The Grand Commander agreed without a moment’s hesitation. “Wherever Lan’er wishes to go, I’ll accompany you.”

“What if I wanted you to climb a mountain of swords and plunge into a sea of flames?”

The Grand Commander still smiled gently. “No matter where it is, I’ll go. Lan’er, do you truly wish me to go to such a place?”

When Qian Lan had spoken the words “mountain of swords and sea of flames,” a layer of vicious spite had settled at the depths of her eyes. But that emotion vanished without a trace in an instant, replaced by her tender, honeyed affection.

“How could I bear to send the Grand Commander somewhere like that?” Qian Lan offered the orange slice to the Grand Commander’s lips. “Of course I hope the Grand Commander lives ten thousand years.”

As she spoke those words of “ten thousand years,” there was a faint, teeth-gritting quality to Qian Lan’s tone.