Fu Xuanmiao rose from his seat and walked to the window, frowning as he looked down at the several bailiffs who had given chase below, and at Bai Rongling, who had been tackled to the ground and was struggling continuously.

“Release him,” he said.

One who occupies a position of great authority — even a soft word carries the weight of thunder.

The bailiffs of Xiangyang County were, naturally, Li Wu’s bailiffs. The gazes of everyone at the table immediately fell upon Li Wu.

Li Wu feigned complete ignorance, set down his wine cup, and walked to the window to look down alongside him.

“Does the Deputy Chief Administrator know this person?” Li Wu asked in surprise.

Fu Xuanmiao said nothing.

Li Wu called down to the floor below: “Bring him up here properly!”

Li Que looked up toward the upper floor, gave a distant bow with clasped hands, took Bai Rongling from the other bailiffs, and pushed him into the tavern.

Bai Rongling was still struggling when he entered the tavern. But once he stepped into the room marked with the character for “Heaven,” he caught sight of the silent Fu Xuanmiao. His eyes went wide, and he cried out in a mixture of shock and delight: “Brother-in-law!”

The words had barely left his mouth when he stumbled forward and fell flat on his face like a dog eating dirt.

Li Wu withdrew the foot he had just kicked squarely into the back of Bai Rongling’s knees, and said with righteous indignation: “You see the Deputy Chief Administrator before you and you don’t kneel — what kind of nonsense are you spouting?!”

“You—” Bai Rongling also raised his head, glaring at the culprit behind him with a face full of sincere fury.

Fu Xuanmiao frowned and stepped forward two paces, personally helping Bai Rongling up from the ground — an act that made the uninformed guests at the table nearly drop their jaws in disbelief.

“What exactly has this person done, to be pursued by Xiangyang’s bailiffs?”

Bai Rongling had just opened his mouth to speak when a cold glance from Fu Xuanmiao cut off whatever he had been about to say.

“I am asking the Xiangyang official,” Fu Xuanmiao said. “If you have truly committed an offense, I will show you no leniency either.”

Every sentence made plain that he would not shield anyone — yet every single word also conveyed that this person shared a deep and intimate connection with him.

How many people in all the world could call Fu Xuanmiao “brother-in-law”?

Any official with half a brain would understand that regardless of the truth, what would need to be said from this point onward could only be handled as a “misunderstanding.”

The Junzhou Prefect thought the same.

He had never imagined that his new superior, upon hearing the question from their direct superior, would answer without the slightest hesitation: “This man is traveling under the assumed name Tian Shujiong. He kidnapped and injured one of Xiangyang’s citizens — the evidence is conclusive, the culprit and stolen goods have both been seized — and he refuses to reveal his true identity, which makes him highly suspicious! He is currently under house arrest in my residence, where I am personally conducting the interrogation. The Deputy Chief Administrator need not worry — I will enforce the law impartially and restore justice to the injured citizen as soon as possible!”

Good heavens!

The Junzhou Prefect nearly slapped his own thigh off! He stared at this blockheaded fool with the fury of someone watching iron refuse to become steel, wishing he could take the field himself — wielding charm with ease, managing both sides deftly, dissolving the Deputy Chief Administrator’s awkward position with just a few words, personally brushing the sleeves of that young man of remarkable status, turning conflict into harmony, dazzling the entire room, earning the Deputy Chief Administrator’s favorable regard, and then ascending through the ranks steadily, step by step —

That was the basic quality a competent official in the bureaucratic world ought to possess!

Look at what his superior had gone and done! Such a fine opportunity to cling to someone powerful, and Li the Prefect-in-Chief didn’t want it — he wanted it!

“Li Prefect says you kidnapped and injured an innocent citizen — is this true?” Fu Xuanmiao looked toward Bai Rongling.

“I’ve been wronged — brother-in-l—”

Li Wu’s foot twitched.

Bai Rongling changed his words with lightning speed: “Young Master Fu!”

“Does the Deputy Chief Administrator know this person?” Li Wu asked, knowing full well the answer.

“This is the young master of the Bai Family of Yangzhou — Bai Rongling, the maternal cousin of my not-yet-wed wife,” Fu Xuanmiao said.

A chorus of low, sharp gasps arose from around the table.

The name of the Bai Family of Yangzhou caused every merchant present to visibly change expression.

“Bai Rongling,” Fu Xuanmiao said, “Li Prefect says you kidnapped and injured an innocent commoner. What is the explanation for this?”

“This young master has been wronged — more wronged than Dou E herself!”

Bai Rongling covertly pinched his own thigh, squeezed out a few genuine tears that he held glistening at the corners of his eyes, and assumed an expression on the verge of heartbroken weeping.

“Did I wrong you in any way?” Li Wu said. “Speak honestly before the Deputy Chief Administrator — is Du Yanlong, the pawnbroker doing business in Xiangyang County, or is he not someone you kidnapped?”

Bai Rongling reluctantly gave a nod.

“Along the way, Du Yanlong struggled, and you had your two attendants beat him and injure him, then confined the man in a cellar for several days — is that not so?”

“…It is.” After admitting this with great reluctance, Bai Rongling immediately raised his voice and added: “But I had good reason! Du Yanlong was not without fault either — who told him to hide information about Princess of Yue’s whereabouts and refuse to tell me? I tied him up to interrogate him, and he brought it on himself! Besides, I can afford to compensate him — but this man surnamed Li — was it really necessary to put me under house arrest and interrogate me every single day?!”

The four words “Princess of Yue” sent the entire room into an uproar.

Li Wu fixed his gaze tightly on the expression on Fu Xuanmiao’s face. The composed indifference he had been wearing faded away, and a crack finally appeared in that seemingly impregnable mask.

“…A lead on Princess of Yue?” he murmured, as if speaking to himself alone.

That whisper, as though breathed directly beside one’s ear, sent a chill down Bai Rongling’s spine. While silently cursing Li Wu — who had dragged him onto this pirate ship — a thousand times over, he steeled himself and, with great feeling, continued:

“The matter is something of a coincidence, when told from the beginning. A month ago, I was in the Eastern Capital on my father’s orders, inspecting the family shops, when one of my subordinates suddenly reported that among a batch of goods bound for beyond the passes, they had discovered jewelry that the Bai Family had presented to the palace as tribute. After I personally examined them, I found that these were among the dowry items my grandfather had personally overseen the crafting of — pieces made for the princess. Princess of Yue has been missing for a year now. My grandfather and grandmother have grown ill from their worry over her, and I too am anxious for my cousin’s safety. And so I traced the trail step by step and found my way to Xiangyang.”

“The one who received the jewelry was Du Yanlong! I approached him with kind words and silver, intending to buy information from him, but he went on about some matter of confidentiality and refused no matter what to tell me who had sold them to him. I had no choice — that is why I resorted to this measure of tying him up — and besides, is he not alive and well, with all his arms and legs intact? This young master can afford the compensation! But this man surnamed Li — was it really necessary to put me under house arrest and interrogate me every single day?!”

The Junzhou Prefect down below was inwardly on the verge of slapping his thigh off: Exactly — was it necessary?!

This was a young master of the Bai Family of Yangzhou, the board-nailed-down heir to the richest family in all the land!

Was it worth making an enemy of such a great treasury over a pawnshop owner who was a commoner?

Bai Rongling had said all this at great length. Fu Xuanmiao replied with only a brief sentence:

“Where is Princess of Yue?”

“All I know is that the young woman who came to sell the jewelry lives in Shouping Village. I hadn’t had time to go there yet before this man surnamed Li…”

Bai Rongling’s words were not yet finished when Fu Xuanmiao walked out through the door of the room marked with the character for “Heaven.”

“This…”

Fu Xuanmiao’s sudden departure from the table left the many guests with a variety of expressions. Li Wu and Bai Rongling exchanged a glance, and the latter immediately gave chase at a run: “Wait for me, take me with you, Young Master Fu!”

“Everyone continue eating — eat in peace, eat at your leisure—” Li Wu said. “I will accompany the Deputy Chief Administrator on this trip. Li Que!”

“Your subordinate is here.” Li Que stepped forward.

It was only at this moment that quite a few people noticed Li Que’s presence.

Earlier, Bai Rongling had been making a loud scene walking at the front and drawing attention; Li Que, who had entered the room marked for “Heaven” a step behind him, had effectively turned invisible. Those who only now caught a clear look at Li Que’s face revealed, more or less, a flicker of revulsion from beneath tightly furrowed brows.

That face, lacking the flesh on half a cheek, always made one’s thoughts drift toward imagining the process by which that piece of flesh had been lost. This was without question a form of torment for the pampered officials and dignitaries present.

Li Que paid no mind to the strange glances cast at him from all around, his gaze fixed unwaveringly on Li Wu before him.

“Have the Junzhou Prefect remain to entertain the guests. You go to the garrison and muster a squad to follow along.”

“Ah?” The Junzhou Prefect was unexpectedly addressed by name, and after a brief moment of blank surprise, he burst into frantic delight. “Certainly, certainly! Please go at your leisure, my lord — this official will be sure to look after all of the distinguished guests!”

Li Wu did not look at the Junzhou Prefect, who was bowing and scraping, and turned to stride out of the private room marked for “Heaven.”

The carriage carrying Fu Xuanmiao and Bai Rongling had only just set off. Li Wu watched its retreating form with cold eyes, instructed the innkeeper to bring out a swift horse, swung himself into the saddle, and rode straight off in pursuit.

“Deputy Chief Administrator! Deputy Chief Administrator!”

Inside the carriage, Bai Rongling glanced at Fu Xuanmiao’s inscrutable expression and cautiously pushed open the carriage window.

Fu Xuanmiao sat in silence.

“Why did you follow along too!” Bai Rongling, mindful of keeping up his performance, said sharply: “This young master has no time right now to wrangle with you!”

“If I don’t come along, do you know how to get to Shouping Village?” Li Wu shot back.

Bai Rongling said with complete self-assurance: “I don’t know, but Young Master Fu certainly does! Isn’t that right — Young Master Fu?”

Bai Rongling turned to look, and Fu Xuanmiao’s expression shifted ever so slightly.

This time, Bai Rongling was genuinely shocked: “You don’t know where Shouping Village is?”

You don’t know and you still climbed into the carriage without a word? He swallowed the second half of that sentence.

“…Li Prefect,” Fu Xuanmiao finally spoke, “please get in.”

It was almost as though the order had been given and it was already obeyed — without Fu Xuanmiao needing to say another word, the man driving up front brought the carriage to a neat stop.

Yanhuai jumped down from the carriage and looked at Li Wu, who was still on horseback: “My lord, shall I bring the mounting stool?”

Li Wu answered with action: without even dismounting his horse, he flipped directly from the saddle onto the carriage, bent at the waist, and nimbly ducked inside.

Yanhuai shrugged his shoulders, tied the horse Li Wu had left behind to the front of the carriage as well, and sat back down in the driver’s seat.

“Hiya—”

The carriage gradually picked up speed, racing along the uneven dirt road.

“Li Prefect, ought you not to be watching the road ahead to avoid going in the wrong direction?” Fu Xuanmiao said.

Bai Rongling translated this privately in his own mind: You country duck, if you’re not driving the carriage from outside, why have you come and sat yourself inside the cabin?

Li Wu grinned: “Nothing so complicated — just keep heading north whenever there’s a fork in the road. I’ve only ever seen Shouping Village on a map myself, and on the map, it’s straight north the whole way.”

Fu Xuanmiao fell silent.

Bai Rongling continued his private translation: You’ve never even been there yourself and you dare come and give directions — if we take the wrong road, watch me not wring your neck!

Of course, this was merely idle fancy born of having nothing better to do.

Fu Xuanmiao was, after all, a man the world knew as a paragon of virtue and morality. He would certainly never indulge in such thoughts.

“…Brother Bai,” Li Wu said, “are you still angry with me?”

Bai Rongling jolted, startled by that “Brother Bai” nearly into leaping from his seat.

What was this country duck up to now?!

“Brother Bai, on ordinary days you never take anything seriously — who would have thought you’d turn out to be a man who travels a thousand li in search of his cousin,” Li Wu said with a face full of heartfelt feeling. “You came to track down Princess of Yue’s trail — why didn’t you tell me earlier? I’m not some dog wearing a man’s skin, you know. If you’d explained things clearly from the start, why would I have needed to arrest you and feed you braised pork for several days?”

And then, quite by accident, he let slip what was truly in his heart:

“…The price of pork these days is rather steep…”

“I didn’t know you — how was I supposed to know whether you were trustworthy?” Bai Rongling said. “If you truly meant well, you should have let me go on the spot!”

“I didn’t know your identity either — if I’d just let you go, wouldn’t that have made me a corrupt official?” Li Wu said. “A man can do anything in this life except become a dog!”

Fu Xuanmiao gave him a glance.

He could not say why, but every time this Li Wu said the word “dog,” there was a deliberate emphasis on it.

For now, though, he had no desire to pursue the matter.

The sound of hoofbeats drifting in from outside the window announced that he was drawing ever closer to his destination. When he had walked out of the room marked for “Heaven,” his heart had been so stirred, so desperately wishing he could sprout wings in the next second and fly straight to Shouping Village — and yet now his body felt so heavy, so full of hope that this road leading to Shouping Village might grow longer, still longer.

Long enough that he might have time to think clearly about what outcome he was hoping for.

Fu Xuanmiao struggled with all his might to restrain the thoughts charging recklessly through his mind. Because he had expended nearly all his energy on that restraint, his face showed only a cold and weary detachment.

“Stop your bickering,” he said coldly, cutting the two of them off. “…The most pressing matter right now is finding the princess.”

“Indeed, the most pressing matter right now is finding the princess.” Li Wu seized on this to go one better, immediately agreeing: “I wonder how Princess of Yue came to find herself at the border between Junzhou and Xiangzhou. That whole area, aside from bare mountains, has only a few scattered villages — even bandits don’t bother going there—”

Fu Xuanmiao’s expression grew subtly darker.

“Princess of Yue has been wandering among the people for a year now — who knows what hardships she has endured… But never mind! No matter!” Li Wu turned on a coin, straightened up, and said with a puffed-out chest: “Before I came chasing after the Deputy Chief Administrator, I had already given the order to have the finest toilet paper, the finest food, the finest clothes and jewelry from Xiangyang… all sent to the inn where you are staying. The Deputy Chief Administrator need only welcome the princess home — everything else, this subordinate has already prepared for you!”

Li Wu poured it all out like beans tumbling from a bamboo tube, rattling along without pause, heedless of whether the cool gaze Fu Xuanmiao had fixed on him from the other side was cold or not.

Bai Rongling watched from beside him, and if he was being honest, he was a little in awe of the man’s extraordinary psychological fortitude.

“Ah, right!” Li Wu slapped his thigh and suddenly produced from within his garments a crisp new handkerchief, which he pressed into Fu Xuanmiao’s hand. “How could such a moving reunion be without tears? This handkerchief has also been specially prepared by this subordinate for the Deputy Chief Administrator!”

Fu Xuanmiao looked at the ingratiatingly smiling expression on Li Wu’s face, and without betraying a thing, withdrew his hand, letting the handkerchief slide naturally along his body and fall onto the bench beneath him.

Only Bai Rongling, who knew the full story, understood what Li Wu’s handkerchief was truly for.

That was hardly prepared for Princess of Yue — it was plainly prepared for Fu Xuanmiao, for when he heard the news of Princess of Yue’s death a little while from now!

Bai Rongling quietly shifted his seat, putting distance between himself and Li Wu’s warmly beaming face.

A man gripped by jealousy… was far more frightening than any woman.