March 3rd, Chen Dasheng, following the rules, went up onto the dueling platform. He sat there in his new armor for a full two hours, waiting — naturally without winning.

Coming down afterward, Chen Dasheng felt somewhat let down. His Majesty had told him to cut that bastard down, and it seemed he’d never get the chance now.

By this time everyone already knew — yesterday, at the Qingfeng city gate, Pang Tu had nearly been beaten into a bloody pulp by a woman in red, and his disciple Shen Fanjiang had had his limbs broken too.

That Shen Fanjiang had made enemies of his own — relying on Pang Tu’s authority along the way, he’d wronged no small number of people. In the martial world, there’s give and take — kindness repaid with kindness, grudges repaid with grudges! Not long after the woman in red left, a whole crowd of his enemies swarmed him, hacking off his head, arms, and legs, dividing him into several pieces to bring back and offer at their ancestral shrines.

So, of the master and disciple from Yuegong Mountain, neither survived.

In Yandu there was also a Pei Daohai, who, upon hearing the grim news, immediately took his branch’s men to Qingfeng — but he was still too late. By the time he arrived, Shen Fanjiang’s whole body was just a torso missing its arms, the blood long since dried at the city gate.

Pei Daohai, overcome with grief and fury, took the Yuegong Mountain branch’s men and aggressively posted notices all over Qingfeng City, trying to sniff out who that woman was.

But no matter how they asked around, the only conclusion they ever reached was that the woman couldn’t possibly be human! Perhaps a tree spirit, or perhaps some kind of immortal — she simply could not be a mortal person.

Even the escort masters and chief escorts eager to curry favor all agreed — she couldn’t be human, no human could possibly have that much strength.

Pei Daohai was so furious he nearly followed his master to the grave. He caused trouble all over Qingfeng City and even posted a bounty of thirty thousand strings of cash on the martial world’s boards. Seeing how outrageous this had become, the Jiu Si Tang’s Qingfeng branch commander directly issued an expulsion order, leaving Yuegong Mountain not a shred of face.

After all, Yuegong Mountain had thoroughly offended both the righteous and underworld factions with their lack of principle.

And with this affair, Yuegong Mountain lost every one of its outposts within five hundred li of Yandu — this had nothing to do with the Jiu Si Tang; it was simply the rule of the martial world. So many lives were spent and still couldn’t stop your advance — once you’ve lost, you can’t keep operating.

Such was the way of the martial world.

If Qiqian’er had been a man with such ability, Meng Dingchen would have exhausted every resource to dig her out. But since she happened to be a woman who had no wish to draw attention, no one came looking for her — after all, the Jiu Si Tang was an office of the imperial court.

Turning back — this time, those martial-world figures who hadn’t come forward, in order to keep operating, pooled their money to build shelter pavilions along the road from Qingfeng City for travelers to escape the wind and rain, one stone pavilion every ten li, built all the way to the foot of Xiaonan Mountain.

These pavilions were an apology made for all the world to see — they had nothing to do with those orphans and widows. Their livelihood had its own source: among the more than three hundred escort and guild associations in and around Yandu, each contributed charitable funds every year.

Since those righteous men had died for the sake of ordinary folk, their orphans and widows had to be looked after — otherwise, who would ever step up to be a righteous man again next time?

This too was the way of the martial world.

And in the blink of an eye, the bustling, chaotic summer arrived. In the sweltering heat, the Old Madam, who feared the heat, took her people early one morning to Green Sparrow Nunnery to escape the summer heat.

She now had her own private meditation chamber there, had made no shortage of incense-burning friends, and had donated to every single temple in the area. Now she was the number one patron of Quanhou Manor — mouth full of Buddha this, Buddha that — she’d gone from stingy to an entirely different kind of transcendence.

Those days when the old ladies used to sit at the manor gate doing needlework and gossiping, watching the world go by, were gone for good.

The great battle beneath the dueling pole felt like a fleeting dream — after all, it was a human life. When Qiqian’er got home, she couldn’t sleep soundly for a full half month, until Chen Dasheng returned. Seeing him alive and well, if not particularly useful, Qiqian’er was completely and instantly cured.

She then threw herself back into a whirlwind of busyness — a great funeral at home, monks, nuns, and Daoist priests hired by the dozen, eight empty coffins buried alongside — yet the trouble she’d expected from Chen Sinu’s side never came.

By rights, given that Chen Sinu’s son had received a merit reward, his family should have had something to say about it — but the Old Madam let him be buried alongside the others, tacitly consenting, without adding a single extra word.

Qiao Shi, on the other hand, seemed to have gotten another beating…

Once the funeral affairs were settled, the Old Madam lost all further worldly ambition — except where Qiao Shi’s matters were concerned, over which she remained stubbornly petty. Otherwise, she was in quite good spirits, having grown plumper and more kindly in appearance.

She’d picked up one new little quirk, though — mouth constantly running: “I’ve asked Guanyin Bodhisattva to bless you with a long life,” “I’ve asked Maitreya Buddha to bless your household with wealth,” “I’ve asked our Buddha Tathagata to bless you with promotion and fortune…” In short, of all the buddhas, arhats, and venerable ones in this world, there wasn’t one this old lady hadn’t invoked.

As for Qiqian’er, this was when she truly began to get busy. The hereditary estate land needed manors built, wells dug, tenant farmers found; the Wenshen Temple needed its surrounding wall raised; farm managers needed to be found; new manors and fields needed to be purchased elsewhere…

Beyond that, she’d gone and bought a thousand taels’ worth of aged birch timber in one go, hired over a dozen carpenters and sawyers, and got the household bustling with work. Rosewood was beyond consideration — the silver only stretched so far — but starting right below Meng Wanquan’s rank, she was outfitting seven full households’ worth of furnishings.

And so, from morning to night, Qinwei Lane was filled with the strange smell of sawdust — oddly fragrant, too.

And that wasn’t all.

Besides the smell of sawdust, Qinwei Lane now also saw, from morning to night, another kind of visitor now and then — matchmakers! Official matchmakers from Yandu, from Qingfeng, and even occasionally ones trying their luck from over a dozen surrounding counties.

Aside from Yu Qingguan, the oldest among the Old Blade group, Tong Jintai, was already twenty-four, and the youngest, Guan Si’er, was already nineteen. Six fine, handsome young men, thick-browed and bright-eyed, all respectable seventh-rank court officials — yet all of them idling away at home, bachelors still.

Whatever tricks the matchmakers had, naturally none could be let slip past.

It was just that Qiqian’er, being thoroughly experienced by now, had been so exacting in her screening that not a single match had passed muster yet.

As for Meng Wanquan, he always had his own grand ideas — it seemed he’d taken a fancy to a widow of modest means in Qingfeng City, and had taken to running into the city quite frequently these days.

Amid all this bustle, it was already early May. Quanqian Manor was now fully occupied, and Qingfeng City had officially begun its relocation. All the farmland in front of Quanqian Manor had been requisitioned by the court; officials from the Ministry of Works had begun surveying shop dimensions based on the new well locations, and had planned new official roads, breaking ground and preparing to lay clay pipes for drainage.

With the whole populace turning earth, everything was in chaos — the manor gate was so congested that carriages couldn’t even pass. With no other option, the manor’s gentry had all taken to a small mountain path to get back to Yandu.

And within just two months, that little path had widened into a road fit for three carriages abreast.

It was another busy early morning — after seeing the Old Madam off up the mountain, checking every corner of each courtyard, examining the newly lacquered furniture — Qiqian’er finally found a spare moment to have a sip of water once things had settled down.

But she’d only had a few sips of the tea Wuyue had just brought her when She Jixiang led in an old woman from outside. Qiqian’er glanced up and recognized her — it was Old Woman Zhao, a servant from the Chang family’s Old Madam’s household.

Old Woman Zhao came in smiling, bowing obsequiously. “Oh my! It’s been a while since I came to pay my respects to my lady! Look at you, glowing with such rosy health — surely a magpie must have landed on your eaves this very morning, chirping away — our lady’s doing well!”

Though “a while” really meant they saw each other every three to five days. Little Hua now had her own large residence, and she too was renovating rooms and buying furnishings, with a steward sent over to manage things — yet the money still had to be drawn from Qiqian’er’s side.

A mother’s heart aches when her youngest child suffers a loss, and it hurt deeply. So the Old Madam and the Madam over there, whenever they had any private savings, would quietly change it into odds and ends of furniture and have this Old Woman Zhao deliver it quietly to Qiqian’er’s side to be stored first.

They weren’t formal with Qiqian’er, and naturally Qiqian’er wasn’t formal with them either — the two sides got along… well enough, mostly. The real headache was that household’s rather eccentrically-tempered Madam Bao — that was a whole other, hard-to-describe story.

Qiqian’er had no time to spare fighting with that woman — she was far too busy!

Seven empty households along this lane had gone unattended, with no one to open the windows for air or handle the sweeping — that wouldn’t do. So she’d used the household brokers the Chang family usually relied on, and each household had bought two capable young manservants, who were for now being trained under She Jixiang’s supervision.

In no time, quite a crowd had gathered. They usually all ate together in the kitchen of Little Hua’s former courtyard at the end of the lane, then each returned to their own courtyard afterward to tidy up, waiting for their masters to return.

With so many people, so many courtyards, so many matters to handle, on top of looking after the Old Madam, no one around had ever once seen Qiqian’er complain of being tired. Watching this young mistress manage the household, people summed it up in four words: smooth as flowing water.

Looking at how she sorted everything out — clean, efficient, always knowing exactly what needed doing, always handling it neatly — she’d become one of the most capable young mistresses in all of Quanhou Manor.

Qiqian’er had a stool brought out for Old Woman Zhao to sit, then asked, “What have you brought over today?”

Old Woman Zhao gave a light laugh. “Nothing gets past my lady. It’s just that our Madam quietly had two cartloads of fine porcelain moved over from Shao Shang — some pieces with a bit of age to them, though not too costly. The Madam asked me to tell you, sorry to trouble you again with the bother. She said, she always treats you like her own daughter, and this arrangement between us will go on a long while yet — no need to fuss over these few days. She also said these vases and basins haven’t been seen by either of those two households over there, so she’d like it to go under your name for now…”

Old Woman Zhao winked at Qiqian’er, and Qiqian’er burst out laughing. She nodded briskly. “Fine! Have them carried to the usual place.”

After all, both hands are flesh and blood — the two elder daughters-in-law of the Chang family were always keeping an eye on things in the same courtyard, so the Old Madam and Madam wanting to quietly help out the youngest couldn’t let those two see, and so it was sent over to Qiqian’er’s side to pass off as coming from here. After all, Chang Lianfang was the Old Madam’s adopted grandson and Chen Dasheng’s sworn brother — on this side, he was cherished like a true grandson; they’d even given him a residence outright, so a few extra cartloads of furnishings were nothing much.

Qiqian’er had She Jixiang go out to count the goods.

Once the room had cleared out, she turned to Old Woman Zhao and said, “That Steward Liu your household brought in — whose man is he?”

Old Woman Zhao was startled for a moment, wanting to ask why but not daring to. She answered honestly, “In reply to my lady — he’s our eldest young mistress’s dowry servant.”

Hmph~ that scoundrel again!

She’d already had a good idea in her heart, but Qiqian’er made a point of asking anyway.

She said to Old Woman Zhao without any pretense, “Go back and tell the Old Madam — tell her I said so — send a different steward next time. This one can’t be used anymore.”

Old Woman Zhao’s face flushed at this. After all, these were two separate households, and having another household’s mistress point out faults was quite embarrassing. But since her own household’s Old Madam and Madam had entrusted this residence to the Chen family’s mistress, if the steward sent over was found unsatisfactory, naturally there’d be words about it — she just hadn’t expected the high-ranking mistress here to be so blunt about it.

Old Woman Zhao stood up, smiling anxiously. “Is it — is it that this Liu Feng has done something improper? Has he angered my lady?”

Qiqian’er reached over and pulled down a ledger, spread out a sheet of paper, and said as she wrote, “Angered me? That would take some doing! I’m plenty busy as it is, you know I’m managing more than just one household.”

Old Woman Zhao quickly said, “Yes, yes, yes, our Old Madam always says, never mind Qingfeng, even in Yandu, a household-managing mistress as capable as you is rare indeed…”

Qiqian’er wrote a few strokes, then looked up and smiled at her. “Don’t flatter me either, I haven’t got time for your compliments! Just go back and tell the Old Madam this — this Steward Liu has been caught absent half the days over the past two weeks during my inspections, leaving only outside hired craftsmen inside the gate. When I called him to account, he was unrepentant, saying it wasn’t our household so it wasn’t mine to manage. Fine then — send someone who’ll actually take direction! That’s the first matter.

And second — this Liu Feng, even once he’s sent back, you must never use him again! He’s a rat of a man, a good-for-nothing — keep him around and he’s nothing but trouble, and he even wanted to be made head steward for Little Hua’s household? Talk about a face bigger than a millstone!”

Qiqian’er wasn’t just scolding Steward Liu here — this was a direct slap to the face of the Chang family’s eldest young mistress.

Since there was mourning in her own household, she couldn’t call on anyone else’s door, so whenever that side wanted Qiqian’er to handle affairs, it was usually relayed through a steward-woman.

It had been late March — Qiqian’er’s mood already bad — when the Chang family’s eldest young mistress, Madam Bao, had sent her steward-woman to instruct Qiqian’er on how to arrange this and that. Qiqian’er, in whatever mood she was in by then, had simply had the woman escorted straight back to the Chang residence to ask: was this an attempt to take over her household management? Should the keys to the silver vault be handed over to that esteemed young mistress? And while they were at it, ask that young mistress just how much monthly allowance she paid her own sixth-rank court-titled lady each month?

From that point on, the grudge was set.

Truth be told, every household has its own troublemaker — well, in this case, the trouble and the troublemaker were one and the same, and she enjoyed herself thoroughly, not the least bit aware of how disagreeable she was.

It wasn’t as though Qiqian’er hadn’t tolerated it before, but she’d since realized that eldest young mistress was simply the type who took a mile for every inch given — petty, calculating, sour-tongued, jealous — no matter how well you treated her she felt entitled to it, and whatever you gave her, she assumed you owed her more.

The only way to deal with such a person was to confront her head-on, without giving her an inch of face — then she’d behave.

Old Woman Zhao stood there with an awkward smile, while Qiqian’er kept writing. “…He submitted an account once for repairing the gilt-painted corridor, and I just glanced at it — the figures didn’t add up, so this man can’t be used! I said I wouldn’t settle the account, told him to take the ledger back, and he kept muttering under his breath being difficult about it, so I had him slapped twice! I’ve got him detained — come get him out of here quickly. I’m managing several households at once, and altogether none of them have given me as much trouble as this one man!”

Old Woman Zhao was rather startled, and simply stood there, bowing respectfully as if she were in her own household, and answered yes.

Finally, Qiqian’er handed her a sheet of paper, pointing at a string of numbers on it. “His accounts can’t be trusted — I haven’t paid him a single coin. Look here — malachite green, cinnabar, gold-flecked pigment, lacquer, old glue — every single item bought at inflated prices! Not just double, either — the most expensive one he marked up fivefold! Top-grade cinnabar right now in Qingfeng goes for two hundred coins a tael, the old Yandu shops sell it at two hundred and ten — and the bill he gave me lists it at nine hundred coins…” At this, Qiqian’er looked at Old Woman Zhao and said with a cold smile, “Your young mistress certainly has some nerve!”

There, the mockery started up again. The eldest young mistress surely had no idea — she was the richest in the whole family, yet had no head for numbers at all.

Old Woman Zhao took the note and left, taking that unlucky Steward Liu along with her too, his face swollen on both cheeks like a pair of goldfish bulging eyes.

Once they’d left, She Jixiang came in, smiling as he advised, “They’re from another household — why bother provoking them? Worst case, just don’t manage their affairs at all.”

Not manage them? The Chen family owed Chang Lianfang far more than a simple favor — without Little Hua, Chen Dasheng would never have gotten close to His Majesty.

Though that gentle nudge hadn’t taken much effort on Chang Lianfang’s part, in Chen Dasheng’s whole life, that was precisely the one push he’d needed — and with it, he’d ridden the wind straight into a dragon’s ascent.

A person needs to have a conscience.

Qiqian’er laughed lightly, saying without a care, “She’s her, and the Old Madam’s the Old Madam. The fabric I’m wearing right now was given to me by that Old Madam over there. Whatever that woman has, I have too — a person’s got to grow some backbone!

As for Madam Bao~ who cares who she is? Isn’t everyone’s life short either way? Why should I put up with her attitude? Is she prettier than me? More capable than me? More efficient than me? Does she hold a higher court title than mine? None of it — and she still wants to lecture me? Ha, as if she could manage that!”

She Jixiang couldn’t help but laugh out loud — every time he watched his mistress put someone in their place, it felt so satisfying, so gratifying somehow!

Qiqian’er led him toward the Old Madam’s courtyard. Along the way, Qinwei Lane was spotless from end to end, even the horse-tethering posts polished bright and smooth, and the green leafy old plum branches extending over each wall had been neatly trimmed with a real sense of artistry.

And the lanterns hanging under each household’s eaves were all uniform in size, elegant and dignified in style, and once night fell, the lane glowed bright and stately from one end to the other.

Among the seven official lanes in Quanqian Manor, Qinwei Lane was by far the most orderly and impressive.

As she walked, Qiqian’er kept criticizing Madam Bao. “…All she cares about are trifles worth three or five coins, no wonder she’s amounted to nothing! Mark my words — she can’t win her husband over with powder and rouge outside, so at the very least she ought to keep things tidy within. If she’d managed to unite the household, inside and out, that alone would’ve been an accomplishment — she could’ve done whatever she wanted! Hah! She doesn’t even know how many odds and ends she has in her own pocket, and she dares reach her hand into my affairs? If I don’t cut it off, I’d never forgive myself!”

Having said this, she entered the old courtyard, where the sewing-room servants had already packed the cart and were waiting for Qiqian’er to inspect.

Qiqian’er opened the largest bundle and went through it piece by piece to show She Jixiang.

“These are Master’s summer inner-robes, and single-layer shoes, single-layer socks — all in the plain, subdued colors he likes. The stitching uses soft thread with concealed seams, never pulled too tight…” She glanced around, and the servant women quickly withdrew. Qiqian’er then leaned in and whispered to She Jixiang, “Master’s body isn’t quite… convenient, so his undergarments surely wear out fast. He’s too stubborn to admit it! So I had twenty pairs made for him — tell him to just wear them and toss them without a second thought, and tell him~ we’re not children anymore, if there’s anything he needs, don’t hold back, he’ll get used to it eventually, we’re family…”

Eunuchs were prone to incontinence, and so their bodies always carried a certain smell.

She Jixiang, hearing this, nearly burst into tears, nodding along the whole time in agreement.

Qiqian’er continued tossing bundles onto the cart. “These are for the young fools — said to be accompanying His Majesty for the summer retreat. Even the spring clothes never got sent home from there…”

That night, at the summer palace outside Yandu, She Banban, faced with a huge pile of undergarments, was more than a little embarrassed and annoyed. After tossing them this way and that in disdain, he said acidly to She Jixiang, “Hmph~ what do I want with these crotch-covering things?”

She Jixiang paid him no mind and instead laid out the pickled vegetables and a few kinds of ground bean flour and fine flour he’d brought on the table.

Poor Qiqian’er, in order to legitimately justify all her flour-grinding, now had the two elders in the household eating grain she ground herself.

Seeing She Jixiang ignore him, She Banban asked, somewhat put out, sidling up, “Has, has she not been up to any mischief these past few days?”

She Jixiang laughed at this, and proceeded to recount, without holding anything back, today’s little dispute between Qiqian’er and the Chang family’s eldest young mistress…

By the time he finished and looked up again, all those crotch-covering things that had been on the old master’s bed had already been quietly stashed away — no telling when the man had even slipped off.

Thirty li outside Yandu, in the summer palace, Emperor Wu, Yang Zao, sat bare-bodied save for a thin gauze robe, sheer as a cicada’s wing yet not transparent, reclining on a low couch beside the lotus pond, reviewing a list of names recommended from various provinces.

Hearing the string music beside him suddenly stop, he looked up and saw it was She Banban, evidently in good spirits, smiling broadly, hands clasped behind his back, ambling over.

His Majesty pointed at a few pieces of cucumber on the table. “Right on time — come have a slice. Early cucumbers, but the flavor’s not bad at all…”

She Banban had no real interest in that — he’d come to show off.

He sat down at the edge of the couch and asked first, “What are you looking at?”

His Majesty gave a snort. “The list of recommendations ahead of the imperial examination…”

She Banban nodded, and said, feigning indifference, “Ah, that reminds me~ ahem… Jixiang’s back!”

His Majesty, holding a piece of cucumber, took a bite before catching on, and immediately played along. “Oh! That filial daughter-in-law of yours ground you flour to eat again?”

She Banban pursed his lips. “As if she’s got nothing better to do! Utterly unnecessary! Do I really need that bite from her? And now, wouldn’t you know it, she’s gotten herself all riled up with that fool from the Chang family again — I tell you, at such a young age, where does she get such a temper… it’s only my Sheng’er who’s patient enough to put up with her…”

Without Qiqian’er knowing it, whatever little household squabbles reached She Jixiang’s ears would, without fail, get spilled entirely to him.

Because this household-managing daughter-in-law of his conducted herself with such unyielding directness, always straightforward and blunt, it hit exactly the right nerve with both She Banban and His Majesty — every time they heard these stories, it was like listening to a thrilling saga, utterly addictive.

She Banban, thoroughly enjoying himself, ate through half a plate of His Majesty’s cucumbers, and finally concluded, “A woman this brazen, you wouldn’t see her like in three thousand years! She truly dares say anything, and still thinks she’s the one in the right! Listen to this — ‘isn’t everyone’s life short either way, why should I put up with her attitude,’ and she even thinks she’s the prettiest one, with those pale eyebrows of hers and that short little frame?”

His Majesty had already laughed several times over. By the time She Banban finished, he sighed in genuine admiration. “I’ll say this much — if Consort Cao had half that temper, I wouldn’t need to hide out here. What’s the point of all this beating around the bush? She’s the Empress — everything after that is a simple matter of one word from me to settle. Yet she insists on displaying her virtue at every turn — fine, I’ll let her be virtuous in the palace then…”

His Majesty hadn’t brought the Empress to the summer palace, and still had not let her preside over the main palace.

She Banban didn’t care to hear this, and said bluntly, “Don’t talk about your own family’s business — talk about mine!”

His Majesty’s mouth twitched, and he nodded helplessly. “Fine, we’ll talk about yours, we’ll talk about yours! You say this eldest daughter-in-law of the Chang family — you could close your eyes, reach down blindly, and pull up someone better than her. Their eldest son is fine in both talent and looks — how’d he end up with someone like that?”

She Banban rolled his eyes at this. “Your Majesty dares say that? Most of the horses you ride these days come from the Six Steeds Ranch — but whose horses did you ride before that?”

His Majesty’s face flushed inexplicably. After a long pause, he said, somewhat embarrassed, “The Chang family’s eldest daughter-in-law — surname Bao?”

She Banban nodded. “That’s right! The legitimate second daughter of Bao Wudao of the Junli Horse Ranch beyond the frontier. Old Chang traded his very best son to get you those horses…”

His Majesty, thoroughly embarrassed, patted his own head and covered with an awkward laugh. “Heh! Well, state affairs have kept me so busy, and I’m getting on in years too, my memory’s just not what it used to be, right, right… No wonder he always lost to your family’s daughter-in-law — this Madam Bao must have only inherited her father’s stinginess, without picking up his true skill…”

The two of them were still gossiping away like a pair of old women when Zhang Minwang hurried in and said, “Reporting to Your Majesty, the Abbot of the Northern Huguo Temple passed into nirvana two hours ago.”

The two rulers of the empire, who’d been lounging lazily, both sat up at once and exchanged a glance. His Majesty, not bothering to hide his delight, asked, “When exactly did this happen?”

Zhang Minwang replied, “Two hours ago.”

His Majesty asked further, “Who inherited the abbot’s staff?”

Zhang Minwang replied, “The old abbot’s youngest disciple, Master Sikukushiki— “

(correction below)

Zhang Minwang replied, “The old abbot’s youngest disciple, Master Sikukushiki—”

Let me correct that name properly:

Zhang Minwang replied, “The old abbot’s youngest disciple, Master Sikukushiki.”

She Banban, hearing this, thought it over for a long while before saying to His Majesty, “Under Xuan Shan there were twenty-four disciples — Master Sikukushiki is only thirteen this year.”

His Majesty tapped the round fan in his hand rhythmically against the edge of the couch, and after a good while, said with a smile, “Well then, since they clearly wish to make peace, seven days from now at the sealing of the coffin, let Zhen’er go represent us. If any of the imperial clan wish to attend as well, that’s no obstacle either. Among the noble households, officials, and their family members in the capital who have ties to Huguo Temple, let them go as well — just have the Fifth Prince bring me back the names.”

Zhang Minwang acknowledged the order and had only taken a few steps when he heard She Banban instruct, “Have the Six Little Immortals go too — they’re around the same age anyway, young ones together are always more at ease. Let Da Sheng and the others go along to see the excitement too, and arrange the ceremonial escort properly — we don’t want it looking like we’re just guarding the gate!”

His Majesty, for no clear reason, began coughing inexplicably.