Despite his dreadful hangover, when the appointed hour arrived for him to go to Xiumu Courtyard to train, Jin Ge’er sat up with his eyes still shut, groaning softly.

“A’jin, A’jin…” He clutched his head. “Bring me a basin of cold water… I need to go to Xiumu Courtyard.”

“In this state of yours — you can’t even stand steady — and you still want to go to Xiumu Courtyard?” The voice that answered him was not A’jin’s sweet and deferential tones, but his mother’s cool, slightly sharp voice.

Jin Ge’er jolted awake and opened his eyes at once.

His head was splitting, but he still managed to force out a smile. “Mother… why are you here?”

“You come home in the dead of night every day — of course I have to come and see for myself.” Shi’yiniang’s expression was impassive, giving nothing away, yet it left Jin Ge’er’s heart unsettled. “Mother, today was a special occasion… Commander Lin is heading to Tianjin to take up the post of Deputy General, so everyone was in high spirits and drank a little more than usual… Right, you haven’t met Commander Lin before, have you? His name is Lin Jun — he’s from the Western Camp at West Mountain, and said he once served under Father when he was younger, so I had a few extra cups with him. I’m not normally like this…”

“All right, all right.” Xu Lingyi stepped in from the head of the bed to come to his son’s rescue. “We’ll speak of this later. I’ve sent word to Master Pang — you may sleep for another hour, then go to Xiumu Courtyard. Lie down and rest for a little while.”

“Father… you’re here too!” Only now did Jin Ge’er notice Xu Lingyi, and he stared in disbelief, eyes wide.

He hadn’t done anything that bad — so why were both his father and his mother here?

He looked at Shi’yiniang, then at Xu Lingyi, thoroughly bewildered.

“Sixth Young Master,” A’jin quickly said, “you drank yourself senseless — the Marquis and Madam were terribly worried. Madam has been waiting since yesterday afternoon. When you were vomiting, it was Madam who helped change your clothes and administered the sobering broth. She and the Marquis kept vigil at your bedside the whole night and haven’t closed their eyes until now…”

“Father, Mother!” Jin Ge’er stared at Shi’yiniang and Xu Lingyi in shock, then slowly dipped his head. “I… I…” He looked deeply ashamed.

“Get some sleep first.” Xu Lingyi’s voice was as gentle as a soft breeze. “Whatever needs to be said, we can say it later.” He then took hold of Shi’yiniang’s arm. “He’s all right now — you don’t need to worry anymore. Come, let’s go and rest.” His grip was rather firm — clearly he intended to take her away regardless — yet there was no such urgency in his manner, and he paused, seeming to hesitate before adding, “Practicing martial arts is like rowing against the current — not one day can be skipped. Otherwise I would not have asked him to go to Xiumu Courtyard after only an hour’s rest.”

Looking at Jin Ge’er now, sending him off to Xiumu Courtyard in such a state was hardly ideal — but letting him skip his training because of a night of drunken sleep would be far more serious. If he came to think that giving up was this simple, would he not choose to give up again the next time he encountered a hardship that needed to be overcome? And so when Xu Lingyi proposed that Jin Ge’er rest for an hour before going to Xiumu Courtyard, Shi’yiniang had agreed. She rose along with his prompting.

Jin Ge’er’s face flushed scarlet.

He had already moved to the outer courtyard — he was considered an adult now — yet here were his parents watching over him all through the night, keeping vigil beside him as he slept off his drunkenness…

“Father… I… I will never do this again.” Jin Ge’er was so mortified he wanted to sink into the floor. He threw back the covers and made to get up. “I’ll go to Xiumu Courtyard right now.” But his body lurched sideways, and he very nearly fell.

“This is not the moment to act tough.” Xu Lingyi steadied him in time, his expression tinged with mild displeasure. “A true man of character admits his wrongs when he should, and corrects himself when he should — that is the mark of a real man.”

Jin Ge’er felt even more ashamed. “I understand, Father.” But he straightened his back.

Xu Lingyi smiled and patted him on the shoulder, then walked out of Jin Ge’er’s room with Shi’yiniang.

Outside it was still pitch-dark. Since coming into this world, this was the first time Shi’yiniang had stayed up through the night in quite this way. As she stepped out, she felt a wave of dizziness, and Xu Lingyi quickly steadied her. “Are you all right?” He considered for a moment. “Let’s rest in the warm chamber of the outer study today.”

It was close to where Jin Ge’er lived.

Shi’yiniang nodded and went with Xu Lingyi to the warm chamber.

She recounted Jin Ge’er’s drunken words to him. “…Since he himself feels it is wrong, why not let him return to Jiayuguan sooner?”

“Let him go after the eighth day of the fourth month — the Buddha’s Birthday.” Xu Lingyi tucked the blanket around Shi’yiniang; the warm chamber had not been slept in for some time and the bedding smelled of cedarwood. “We’ll take him to the temple then and offer incense to the Bodhisattva, asking for his blessing and a safe journey.”

“After the eighth of the fourth month…” Shi’yiniang murmured. “Won’t that be too late? You and Jin Ge’er agreed he would spend two years at Jiayuguan — if we count the days, he’ll be lucky if he gets a full year there.”

“I never intended for him to stay long at Jiayuguan.” Xu Lingyi laughed without concern. “A year is fine. What matters is whether he can manage to spend three years at the other garrison posts without trouble.”

Seeing how confident and assured he looked, Shi’yiniang asked nothing more. She murmured her assent, then turned her thoughts to how she might counsel Jin Ge’er about drinking, and gradually drifted off to sleep.

After rising, Shi’yiniang went first to check on Jin Ge’er. He had gone to Xiumu Courtyard and was not yet back, so Shi’yiniang returned to the warm chamber and had breakfast together with Xu Lingyi. They then went together to pay their respects to the Old Madam.

“How is it that Jin Ge’er didn’t come with you?” The Old Madam’s gaze drifted behind them, a look of disappointment crossing her face.

“Jin Ge’er still has to practice his morning forms,” the Second Madam said with a smile. “He couldn’t possibly be here this quickly.”

“Ah, of course — I had forgotten!” The Old Madam narrowed her eyes in a contented smile, looking very pleased with herself.

Jin Ge’er arrived.

His color was somewhat pale and his energy was not at its best, but the Old Madam’s eyesight was no longer sharp, and as long as his answers rang out with vigor, she patted his hand cheerfully and smiled. It was the Second Madam who glanced at Jin Ge’er several times with a more observant eye.

On the way out from the Old Madam’s rooms, Xu Lingyi asked Jin Ge’er: “Feeling better?”

“Much better.” Jin Ge’er gave a slightly sheepish smile.

“Don’t underestimate a hangover — sometimes it takes several days to recover.” Xu Lingyi’s tone was mild and easy. “Go back and sleep a while. Rest up.”

Jin Ge’er smiled and agreed.

Xu Lingyi began telling him about something from his own childhood: “…You were even two years younger than that. It was your Uncle Zhou who snuck wine out of his family’s house. Your Uncle Zhou, the reigning prince at the time, and I — the three of us hid in our family’s heated greenhouse to drink. In the end we knocked over a cymbidium orchid your grandfather had been cultivating…”

Just as he was speaking, a young manservant came running over holding a red gold-speckled invitation card.

“Marquis, Madam, Sixth Young Master,” he said respectfully, handing it to Jin Ge’er, “it is an invitation from Commander Lin of the Western Camp at West Mountain.”

Jin Ge’er looked at the invitation and explained to Xu Lingyi and Shi’yiniang: “He has arranged a flower barge on the Western Park canal and invites me tonight to drink with him.” He then turned to the manservant: “Give the invitation to Chang’an and have Chang’an send a reply to the messenger. Say that I have not yet sobered up from my hangover, and that I cannot decide whether to go until I have recovered.” Having said this, he did not immediately hand the card to the manservant, but looked at Xu Lingyi and Shi’yiniang instead, as though asking whether this was the right way to handle it.

Xu Lingyi gave a slight nod. Shi’yiniang also showed a look of approval.

Only then did Jin Ge’er hand the invitation to the manservant, who acknowledged it with a bow and went briskly to Qingyin Residence.

Xu Lingyi reminded Jin Ge’er: “When the drinking is at its height and everyone is merry, have Chang’an send over a generous gift — that will be enough to honor Lin Jun’s courtesy.”

Jin Ge’er immediately acknowledged this with a respectful “Yes, sir.”

Denghuo came hurrying over: “Marquis, an imperial attendant has come from the palace — he says he bears a verbal edict from the Emperor.”

Xu Lingyi went to the outer courtyard.

At noon, he returned for the midday meal and told Shi’yiniang: “The Emperor has asked me to enter the palace tomorrow at the first quarter of the sixth hour.”

“Do you know what it concerns?”

“I didn’t ask.” Xu Lingyi said. “The first quarter of the sixth hour — the early court session would be nearly over. Most likely His Majesty wants to speak with me privately about something. Asking the attendant who delivered the edict would be pointless — he wouldn’t know.” Then he said, “Please help me lay out my court robes.”

Shi’yiniang acknowledged this and personally ironed the court robes. The next morning, she saw Xu Lingyi off two full hours ahead of time.

Xu Lingyi had entered the Emperor’s inner study many times before, and the eunuchs of all ranks serving in the Qianqing Palace all knew him. They smiled and chatted with him as they waited for the Emperor to finish morning court.

Before long, an advance eunuch came running in. Xu Lingyi had just stepped to the doorway when the Emperor’s procession had already arrived.

“Yinghua is already here!” The Emperor addressed Xu Lingyi by his courtesy name with a tone of familiarity, then instructed Eunuch He: “Set seats for both honored subjects.”

Only then did Xu Lingyi notice that among those crowding around the Emperor there stood another official — head bowed respectfully, dressed in crimson court robes with a peacock rank badge.

He was of medium height, his face weathered and lined like a man of sixty, yet his eyes were sharp and penetrating in a way that made it plain he was no ordinary person.

Someone Xu Lingyi did not recognize…

Quick as a mirror, Xu Lingyi turned to him with a composed smile and a nod.

The man returned the nod with equal ease and a most cordial expression.

Xu Lingyi gave an inward smile and turned with effortless calm to enter the inner study.

The man fixed his eyes on Xu Lingyi’s retreating back with a look of deliberation, then quickened his steps to follow him into the inner study.

Both men bowed their thanks respectfully and settled into the grand armchairs to one side.

The Emperor, having removed his shoes, sat with casual ease on the large kang by the window. He instructed a young eunuch to serve them both Biluochun tea: “Spring is here — drinking green tea helps clear away heat.” He then gestured toward the man beside Xu Lingyi and addressed Xu Lingyi: “This is Grand Canal Transport Superintendent Chen Bozhi — your first meeting, I believe? He formerly served as Magistrate of Chun’an County. He oversaw the flood relief in Chun’an, and the restoration of the Huitong Canal was done through him — he is a great meritorious subject of ours…”

Chen Bozhi’s expression turned anxious. He rose and knelt, repeatedly protesting that he dared not accept such praise.

Xu Lingyi also rose. “Congratulations to Your Majesty on securing such a capable subject.” Then he added, “Commissioner Chen’s reputation has long reached my ears — it is simply that we have never had occasion to meet. Now that I see him in person, he is indeed all that his reputation says — a man of genuine accomplishment.”

“I dare not accept the Marquis Yongping’s praise,” Chen Bozhi quickly said. “This humble subject has done no more than fulfill the duty of a loyal servant…”

Before he could finish, the Emperor suddenly interjected: “If you knew of him, then why did you allow your young son to strike Commissioner Chen’s only son?” He directed his gaze, heavy with displeasure, toward the memorials on the low kang table. “Bring those to Marquis Yongping to read.”

When the Son of Heaven is angered, who does not tremble?

Both Xu Lingyi and Chen Bozhi lowered their heads.

A young eunuch, visibly shaking, lifted a stack of memorials and brought them before Xu Lingyi.

Xu Lingyi begged pardon and stood there reading the memorials with careful attention, his manner showing considerable unease.

—