The staring contest, neither brief nor prolonged, continued for a moment. At last Bai Yugeng stirred. He pressed his right hand to the armrest and rose slowly to his feet.

That large hand, steeped in a lifetime of hardship, was covered in age-spotted, rough-textured skin that sat entirely at odds with the fine brocade robe he wore.

“…Commissioner Li. I have long heard of you.” Bai Yugeng’s face held no smile. His voice came low and resonant, like the beat of a drum.

“Likewise! Likewise!” Li Wu was entirely at ease. He clasped his fists casually and said, “Your reputation far exceeds what meeting you can convey — I feel an instant kinship with Old Master Bai, as though you were my long-lost grandfather! Why don’t I simply call you Grandfather, so as to express the closeness between us—”

“The Commissioner is joking.” A thin sliver of contempt appeared at Bai Yugeng’s lips. “For a second-rank official to call this old man Grandfather — this old man could not bear such an honor. The Commissioner has traveled far. This old man has prepared a modest spread. The local cuisine is limited — I hope the Commissioner will not take offense.”

“Old Master Bai looks to me like my long-lost grandfather, so even if you served me husks to eat today, I would finish them without complaint. What is there to worry about in a modest spread!” Li Wu waved a broad hand, as relaxed as if he were in his own home. “Have everything brought out!”

The corner of Bai Yugeng’s mouth twitched. The look of contempt deepened.

“This is not a place for dining. Please follow me, Commissioner.”

Li Wu followed Bai Yugeng out of the main hall. They each mounted a separate sedan chair and were carried, swaying gently, to another courtyard. Bai Yugeng refused the assistance of the manservants, gripping the railing himself as he descended from the chair, and proceeded into the courtyard ahead.

White sand and gravel covered the ground in its entirety, with a flat stone path cutting straight through the expanse. Li Wu fell into step behind Bai Yugeng’s unhurried pace, his eyes drifting across the patterns laid out across the gravel, until he noticed with some surprise that the rippling waves formed a complete landscape painting of a hermit’s retreat — a lone fisherman in a broad-brimmed hat seated in a small boat, fishing rod in hand, with a small brazier beside him and several remarkably lifelike duck feathers scattered at its base.

Bai Yugeng stopped walking and deliberately waited while Li Wu took in the sand painting.

Li Wu clapped his hands in appreciation. “Excellent taste! Duck meat truly is delicious!”

Bai Yugeng: “…”

The two entered the formal hall set for the banquet and took their seats. Bai Yugeng spoke a quiet “Begin serving,” and a procession of beautiful maids in fine silk robes adorned with gold and jade carried dish after dazzling dish into the room. There were many courses — but the ingredient, on closer inspection, was only ever one.

“I have heard that among the three thousand varieties of fowl and beast, Commissioner Li holds a singular fondness for duck. This old man has therefore prepared a complete duck banquet in the Commissioner’s honor. I trust the Commissioner finds it satisfactory?” Bai Yugeng said with layered meaning.

“Most satisfactory!” Li Wu replied with equal layers of meaning. “I had not imagined that Old Master Bai also shared a love of duck — it seems our tastes align. We are bound to get along. Since today we have both wine and food before us, why not, Old Master Bai, swear brotherhood with me as grandfather and grandson? It would be fulfilling a bond that heaven itself has arranged.”

“…Commissioner Li is indeed every bit as quick-tongued and silver-tongued as rumor has it.” Bai Yugeng gave a cold laugh.

“And Old Master Bai is exactly as rumored — talking with you is like shaving one’s head in the dead of winter — a complete brain-freeze!” Li Wu rubbed his head, picked up the silver chopsticks before him, and called out cheerfully, “We can freeze our brains in a moment — eat first, eat first! Let me try what the Bai household kitchen has to offer!”

With that, Li Wu reached out and lifted a piece of snail-braised duck to his mouth. He chewed once — and the crisp, roasted skin burst with fragrant duck fat across his palate. Li Wu’s eyes went wide, and he could not hold back an exclamation of delight: “This is extraordinary!”

“This is a specialty of my Bai household. The chef at the stove was formerly the head cook of the imperial kitchen, who prepared meals for His Majesty himself. All who have tasted this snail-braised duck declare it without equal.” Bai Yugeng said unhurriedly. “Since a modest spread alone would be too meager a form of hospitality, this old man has also arranged a dance and song performance in the style of Jiangnan, for the Commissioner’s appreciation.”

Bai Yugeng clapped his hands. A moment of silence followed, and then two rows of lightly dressed dancers entered the banquet hall to the sound of strings, surrounding and escorting a young woman in red into the center.

The young woman in red was exceptional in both appearance and bearing, and even set against the backdrop of a crowd of beautiful dancers, she stood out effortlessly.

The celebrated courtesan Xu Tingting had made her name across the south of the Yangtze on the strength of her mastery in zither, chess, calligraphy, painting, poetry, and dance alike. Countless men had offered a thousand gold coins simply for the chance to glimpse her face, and gone away empty-handed. Yet Bai Yugeng could invite her to his private residence with a single calling card to perform for his guest.

Men who had fallen captive to Xu Tingting’s charm ranged from high-ranking officials at the top to all walks of life at the bottom. Of those who had remained completely unmoved, Bai Yugeng had, to this day, known only one — Fu Xuanmiao.

That Fu Xuanmiao, accustomed to the polished and refined performances of the Inner Teaching Troupe, should have little regard for the comparatively humble entertainments of a Jiangnan pleasure house was understandable enough. But Li Wu? If Li Wu could also remain unmoved, Bai Yugeng would write his own name backwards.

Red pomegranate-hued skirts soared through the air, and wave after wave of fragrant breeze washed toward Li Wu.

Bai Yugeng watched Li Wu with confidence.

The latter furrowed his brow deeply, turned his head, and sneezed. His expression of disdain could not have been more plain.

Bai Yugeng: “…”

What had the world come to? Was Jiangnan’s most celebrated courtesan simply overrated — or had these two men, so utterly different in rank and station, both harbored some unspoken difficulty by sheer coincidence?

Bai Yugeng frowned as he looked at Xu Tingting, who was working hard at her performance, then glanced at Li Wu, who was gripping a confit duck leg between his chopsticks and eating with great relish, not sparing so much as a stray glance in Xu Tingting’s direction. Before the performance had even concluded, Bai Yugeng impatiently waved his hand and said with gravity: “Since you cannot bring the honored guest pleasure, it would be better to withdraw early rather than make a spectacle of yourself!”

The music ceased abruptly. Xu Tingting sank to her knees in alarm, a length of red silk trailing to the floor, half-covering her snow-white and full arms.

“My lord — is there something in Tingting’s performance that has displeased you? Tingting has studied her art for many years, and knows full well there is still much room to improve. I only hope the lord will be so gracious as to offer a word of instruction!”

Li Wu did not even lift his head. “These days, even taking on a student requires a tuition fee,” he said dismissively. “You haven’t offered a single coin and you want instruction from me? Keep dreaming.”

Xu Tingting had not expected such a response to what was ordinarily a pro forma remark of apology.

The words were already out. She had no choice but to unfasten a string of pure gold bells from her waist and hold them out with both hands. “Tingting begs the lord’s instruction…”

Li Wu freed one hand, the confit duck leg still clamped between his teeth, and accepted the gold bells. He even bounced them in his palm to test their weight. The practiced ease of the gesture left Bai Yugeng staring wide-eyed, suddenly transported back to the days in his youth when he had been collecting protection money in the streets of Yangzhou.

Li Wu tucked the gold bells into his pocket, then at last spared a sidelong glance at Xu Tingting kneeling on the floor below. His face was a study in contempt. “Find a different trade,” he said. “You’re not cut out for this one.”

“My lord—” Xu Tingting’s eyes filled with tears.

“Enough — stop embarrassing yourself. You may go.” Bai Yugeng cut her off, his face unreadable.

Xu Tingting withdrew, clutching the hem of her skirt, visibly aggrieved.

Once only the two of them remained in the room, Bai Yugeng spoke:

“Commissioner Li’s manner of appreciating beauty is truly… unique.”

“You flatter me, you flatter me—” Li Wu said. “Not nearly as unique as Old Master Bai’s ‘modest spread’ today!”

Bai Yugeng pursed his thin lips and reached out to pick up a piece of duck, setting it in his bowl. His eyes fixed on Li Wu — that glib, smooth-talking, impossible-to-penetrate man — as his silver chopsticks slowly pressed into the plump and tender meat.

“Old master, the old madam has returned.”

A maid stopped at the entrance of the main hall and bowed respectfully.

For reasons unclear, the expression on Bai Yugeng’s face eased at once, even the crease between his brows loosening. Yet the moment that easiness turned toward Li Wu again, it contracted right back into a knot.

The subtly awkward banquet finally, mercifully, came to an end. Bai Yugeng used the excuse of difficulty walking to send his son Bai Anji to see Li Wu out, while he himself made straight for the rear courtyard without stopping.

Madam Bai was removing the hairpins from her coiffure and showed no surprise at Bai Yugeng’s appearance.

“And that Li Wu?” Madam Bai asked with concern.

“What has that got to do with me?” Bai Yugeng said impatiently. Then, his expression shifting entirely, he pressed with urgency: “Her Highness? How does Her Highness appear?”

“Her Highness looks rosy-cheeked and well, and seems to be living quite happi—”

“Impossible!” Bai Yugeng slapped the table, his face going dark. “What kind of good life could Her Highness possibly be living, following a nobody who has neither money nor standing? I’d wager she couldn’t even get proper paper for the privy before!”

“That… that can’t be…” Madam Bai, having grown up in a household of considerable means, found it rather difficult to imagine that there existed people in the world who could not afford to use proper privy paper.

“What do you mean it can’t be! I can tell just by looking at him that he’s no good person!” Bai Yugeng declared with iron certainty. “These eyes of mine have never been wrong. That young man — his mind is a honeycomb stuffed with scheming!”

Madam Bai thought of the promise she had made to Shen Zhuxi earlier that day, and after a moment’s hesitation, began cautiously to work her influence: “A bit more scheming isn’t necessarily a bad thing… As I see it, Her Highness is pure of heart and straightforward in nature — she needs someone more calculating to complement her…”

“Complement, my foot.” This only fanned Bai Yugeng’s temper further, stoking it to a greater blaze. “Her Highness is such a pure-hearted and good-natured child — how could I entrust her to a crafty and devious man whose mind is riddled with schemes? My whole life, Rui’er was my only daughter, and that miserable—”

Madam Bai’s eyes flew open in alarm. Bai Yugeng paused for a brief moment, then continued:

“The late Emperor sweet-talked my Rui’er into the palace with his honeyed words, and then could not keep his promise to treat her well for the rest of her life. She was left to waste away in melancholy, and ultimately lost her mind. I will never again trust the words of any man. Her Highness has managed to find her way back to the Bai family at last — since she has no wish to return to the palace, I shall find her someone with a loyal and honest character, a fine and upright appearance, to be welcomed into our family as her husband. With the Bai family behind her, what is there to fear? We’ll keep him well in hand. And carrying a child to term is itself a painful ordeal for a woman — some lose their very lives in the trying… Speaking of which, let Rongling that boy go and beget some — have a few children — we can take one — no, that won’t do, Rongling’s looks are passable enough, but his brains leave something to be desired. What if the child takes after him…”

While Bai Yugeng was earnestly pondering where in the world he might find a child to bring back for his granddaughter to raise, Madam Bai once more ventured carefully:

“All your scheming amounts to nothing — in the end it comes down to what Her Highness herself wishes. From what I can see, Her Highness seems to hold that Li Wu in considerable regard…”

“What of it, if she does!” Bai Yugeng blazed with fury, and a look of grief and indignation crossed his face. “Did my Rui’er not hold that miserable Emperor in considerable regard? And yet what did that come to in the end?!”

“Lower your voice!” Madam Bai’s face went white as a sheet.

“Had I only known it would come to this, I would sooner have defied the imperial decree at the risk of my life and given Rui’er to that man surnamed Fu! Perhaps my Rui’er would still be alive today—” Bai Yugeng’s voice broke, and eyes that had lost some of their old sharpness glimmered with tears.

“What is past is past, there is nothing to be gained from speaking of those days…” Madam Bai dabbed at her wet eyes. “What matters most is still Her Highness’s own wishes.”

“Her Highness is still young. She cannot yet see people clearly — it falls to us, her elders, to guide her,” Bai Yugeng said, his expression cold.

“But I think…” Madam Bai paused, and said quietly, “That Li Wu reminds me, in some ways, of you when you were young.”

“Then he is all the more disqualified!” Bai Yugeng frowned. “I am hardly a good person myself!”

Madam Bai stared at him with wide eyes.

Bai Yugeng cleared his throat and said:

“In any case — Li Wu is not a worthy man. I will make Her Highness understand this.”