“Frost-kissed spicy rabbit, shredded chicken simmered in broth, add Shaoxing wine, soy sauce, ginger and scallion juice…” Li Wu furrowed his brow and read the recipe Shen Zhuxi had written down word by word. “If there’s no rabbit, why is it still called spicy rabbit? Made me go out first thing in the morning to buy a fat rabbit for nothing!”

Li Kun crouched in the corner of the kitchen, running his hands over and over through the fat rabbit’s smooth fur, making a loud, slurping sound with his mouth: “Eat the bunny… eat the bunny…”

Li Que, who was washing vegetables in a water basin, heard this and paused his work, looked up, and said: “Should I go buy a chicken now?”

“Forget it, don’t bother. Go and clean the rabbit.”

“All right.”

Li Wu and Li Que reorganized between themselves. Li Que picked up the lively, thumping fat rabbit and headed toward the chopping board, while Li Wu took up the washed and drained radish and cut into it with clean, fluid strokes. In the blink of an eye, to the rapid sound of thwack-thwack-thwack, the radish had been cut into thin slices connected only at the root.

Li Wu finished cutting the entire radish, divided it into sections, and placed it into the pickling crock.

The sweet and sour radish, after soaking for a full day, would be perfect served alongside the meal to cut through the richness of the meat and fish.

“Keep the rabbit skin — once we’ve collected a few, we can make a neck scarf for Shen Zhuxi.” Li Wu glanced over toward Li Que.

Li Que answered with a sound of acknowledgment, and while continuing his work, said with some feeling: “It feels like it’s been a very long time since we’ve had days like this.”

After leaving Yutou County, Li Wu had risen rapidly in station, and the household had never lacked for servants. The opportunity for the three brothers to cook together with their own hands, as they had in the old days, had grown fewer and fewer.

Although the household’s head cook also had fine skills, compared to Li Wu, there always seemed to be something missing — the warmth of home.

“Before, we were busy dealing with the floods. Now that the Shang River Weir has been repaired and grain for winter has been secured, there will be plenty more opportunities like this in the future,” Li Wu said.

“Can we eat offal every day then?” Li Kun said excitedly.

“No,” Li Wu said flatly.

“Then can we eat Big Brother’s noodles every day?” Li Kun asked hopefully.

Li Wu ignored Li Kun’s question and said: “Xiangyang suffered first from floods and then from the turmoil of war this year, and a great many people lost their lives. I’ve discussed it with Shen Zhuxi — if the twenty thousand bushels of grain can arrive in part before the Laba Festival, we plan to set aside a portion and invite the monks from Anxi Temple to come down the mountain on that day to distribute porridge to the people.”

“Big Brother and Sister-in-law truly think of everything,” Li Que said approvingly. “Anxi Temple commands great respect throughout Xiangzhou. Being able to invite the senior monks will certainly have a stabilizing effect on the people’s hearts.”

“I’ve entrusted this matter to Fang Tingzhi. When the time comes, you should also —”

Before Li Wu could finish speaking, the sound of hurried footsteps suddenly came from outside the kitchen.

A servant boy with a panicked expression came running in a rush: “Three Masters — word has just arrived from the East City Gate! Men from the imperial court have entered the city with travel documents!”

“Men from the imperial court?” Li Wu frowned. “Who has come, and what are they here in Xiangyang for?”

“There are quite a few of them. The one leading them is a eunuch who says he has come to deliver an imperial decree to my lord. After entering the city, they came straight for the Li residence — at this rate, it won’t be long before they’re at the gate!”

“And here I thought everyone from the imperial court had died out.”

Li Wu scooped up a ladle of water from the water vat, unhurriedly washed his hands clean, and walked out while shaking off the water droplets, saying casually as he went.

Li Que also washed his hands and followed with Li Kun in step.

The three brothers reached the main gate of the Li residence, and shortly after, a convoy of carriages appeared at the end of the road.

Li Wu watched the carriages slowly draw near, until they finally came to a stop between the two stone lions at the front gate of the Li residence.

A young man, pale of complexion and smooth of chin, stepped out of the carriage with a slight stoop. His scrutinizing gaze settled on Li Wu’s face.

“Xiangzhou Magistrate Li Zhuzong — receive the imperial decree—”

After the eunuch produced a scroll from within his robe, mounted on a black ox-horn shaft, Li Wu lifted the hem of his robe and knelt.

Li Kun and Li Que knelt one after the other behind him.

“By the mandate of Heaven and the authority of the Emperor, it is hereby proclaimed —”

The attendant drew out his voice:

“Xiangzhou Magistrate Li Zhuzong, courageous and resolute, upright as an arrow, you have rendered distinguished service in the flood disaster and the Battle of Xiangyang. We truly recognize your meritorious deeds. Herewith you are appointed as Military Governor of Zhenchuan, with jurisdiction over the military and civil affairs of six prefectures within the domain. You are awarded a first-class commendation, granted the dual standards and dual batons of command, bestowed fertile lands, a fine horse, and ten thousand taels of gold.”

“Let this be proclaimed throughout the realm so that all may know.”

The attendant lifted his eyelids and said without warmth:

“Military Governor, please receive the decree.”

“Your subject receives the decree and gratefully acknowledges His Majesty’s great benevolence —”

Li Wu kowtowed in thanks, received the imperial decree from the attendant with both hands, and rose to his feet with his two younger brothers.

Li Que walked smilingly up to the attendant and quietly slipped a bulging money pouch into his sleeve.

“This gentleman has traveled far and must be tired. Why not come inside to rest your feet and have a cup of hot tea?”

The attendant weighed the money pouch in his hand, and at last the frost on his face began to thaw.

“That won’t be necessary,” the attendant said with a smile. “Everyone has been traveling for several days and would like to get to the post house and sleep as soon as possible. We gratefully accept the kind intentions of your masters.”

“May I ask when the gentleman will be heading back to report? If there is no great rush, our lord would like to host a welcome banquet for the gentleman and the others at the finest tavern in the city…”

The attendant tucked the money pouch into his sleeve and said meaningfully: “Your lords are too kind — but the one your lords ought to be welcoming is not someone as insignificant as this servant.”

“There is an even more important personage who has come to Xiangzhou?” Li Wu spoke up.

The attendant, however, did not answer his question directly.

He smiled and clasped his hands in a bow toward Li Wu, saying: “It is getting late — I must return to the post house. When the young master returns from offering incense, this servant still needs to report back to him on this errand.”

Li Wu’s expression changed abruptly.

He stepped in front of the eunuch, blocking the latter’s path.

“The young master you speak of — which young master?”

“…What is the meaning of this, Lord Li?” The eunuch’s expression grew displeased.

“Please forgive him, gentleman. Our lord only wishes to know whether the young master you speak of is the one he has long admired.” Li Que quickly stepped forward, produced several banknotes from his robe, and pressed them over.

The eunuch glanced at the amount written on the notes, and the tight furrow of his brow finally eased somewhat.

“Which other young master could it be?” He cast a disdainful look at the two men before him. “In all the world, there is only one nobleman worthy of being called ‘Young Master.'”

Li Wu felt his heart plunge heavily. Beside him, Li Que’s face also changed color dramatically.

Fu Xuanmiao had come to Xiangyang!

If he had come to Xiangyang to offer incense, there could be no other destination than Anxi Temple!

He hadn’t come earlier or later — he had to come at the very moment Shen Zhuxi was also at Anxi Temple. If those two were to run into each other —

Li Wu dared not let his thoughts go any further.

He forced down the urge to turn and leave immediately, and endured until the imperial court’s convoy had disappeared around the corner of the road. Only then did he immediately order a servant to bring him a fast horse.

“I’m coming too!” Li Que said.

“You go to the garrison and wait. If the worst happens —” Li Wu paused. “Fu Xuanmiao cannot be allowed to leave Xiangyang alive.”

Li Que’s expression hardened. “…Understood.”

“Ride out!”

Li Wu pressed his heels sharply into the horse’s flanks and shot forward like an arrow loosed from a bow.

……

“What did you two pray for? I told the Buddha that if he grants me a good-looking and obedient live-in son-in-law, I’ll —”

Before Sui Rui could finish, Jiu Niang immediately cut her off.

“Say it aloud and it won’t come true!”

“Why won’t it come true if I say it aloud?” Sui Rui said dismissively. “I already told the Buddha everything — if he makes this wish come true, I’ll donate a thousand taels in incense offerings! We’re doing business at a clear and fair price. What’s there to hide?”

“This lady has no desire to argue with you. Ask Little Zhu — is it true or not that saying it aloud makes it not come true!” Jiu Niang said.

Two pairs of eyes turned to Shen Zhuxi, who wore a troubled expression. “I’ve heard that said before, but I genuinely don’t know why…”

“See! You’re just repeating baseless gossip!” Sui Rui said.

Jiu Niang rolled her eyes. “Believe what you like. If the Buddha doesn’t want to bother with you, that’s none of this lady’s concern.”

“All right, all right, stop bickering. The little monks have already prepared the vegetarian dishes — why don’t you two go and see what there is to eat first?” Shen Zhuxi interrupted their quarrel and said with a smile.

“You’re not eating with us?” Sui Rui asked in surprise.

Shen Zhuxi smiled. “I was afraid you two might not find the place, so I walked you over first. I still have something to discuss with the abbot — you two eat first. I’ll join you before long.”

Sui Rui still wanted to press further, but Jiu Niang pulled her by the arm and led her into the side room where a full table of vegetarian dishes had been laid out.

Once Shen Zhuxi had settled her two friends, she turned with Red Lotus and headed toward the abbot’s Quiet Heart Garden.

Passing by the outhouse, Red Lotus suddenly stopped in her tracks and said with an embarrassed expression: “Madam, would it be all right if I asked you to wait here for a moment?”

The moment Shen Zhuxi caught sight of the outhouse, she knew what Red Lotus needed. She said considerately: “The Quiet Heart Garden is just a short way ahead. I’ll go on ahead — when you’ve finished, come find me in the garden.”

“Then I’ll just hold it in…”

“How can one hold this in? This is a sacred Buddhist ground — it’s not as though a bandit is suddenly going to appear and carry me off,” Shen Zhuxi said.

Red Lotus was absolutely unwilling to let Shen Zhuxi go to the Quiet Heart Garden alone, so Shen Zhuxi had no choice but to promise she would wait right there.

Red Lotus was still uneasy. As she walked toward the outhouse she kept looking back:

“Madam, if you run into any trouble out here, be sure to call out loudly — I’ll come to your rescue with my trousers not even pulled up!”

Please don’t — pull your trousers up first!

Shen Zhuxi laughed in spite of herself and told her to hurry up and go take care of her urgent business.

Ever since Li Wu had built her a proper privy back in Yutou County, Shen Zhuxi had not been in close proximity to a traditional outhouse for a very long time.

Now that the familiar smell reached her through the air, she instinctively took several steps back, putting a wide distance between herself and the outhouse.

The outhouse smelled, and an outhouse shared by a large number of men smelled even worse.

Shen Zhuxi wished she could plug up her nose and mouth entirely, so as not to give the smell even the smallest opening.

She was counting the seconds, waiting for Red Lotus to come out, when a voice rang out from not far away — and struck her like a bolt of lightning.

“Mother, be careful.”

Gentle, yet ice-cold.

It wrenched something out of the past.

“Xi’er, you need not be afraid. Even if none of them like you, you still have me by your side.”

Gentle. Ice-cold.

Digging out what had long since rotted — the fear buried within.

“Xi’er, you are too trusting. You always place your faith in people who do not deserve it.”

A cold viper, long driven away, pressed itself once more against her throat. Its forked tongue brushed against her pulse.

She heard him saying:

“Xi’er, without me — how could you possibly survive?”

Shen Zhuxi’s entire body began to tremble.

Invisible threads hooked into her soul, pulling the ground and the sky away from her at once. She was left suspended in mid-air with nothing to hold on to, her eyes fixed only on that figure — the man who slowly emerged from behind the garden rock, supporting a woman in his arms.

A patch of skin on Shen Zhuxi’s chest grew burning hot.

The jade pendant Li Wu had given her awakened her reason, and gave her the courage to tear herself free from the threads that had wound around her body.

She turned her head and fled blindly into the solemn great hall behind her.