No matter how Li Wu exhausted himself trying to argue, he couldn’t get Shen Zhuxi to believe she had brought home a tiger cub.

“…What tiger? Stop trying to fool me — I’ve seen tigers in books!” Shen Zhuxi said. “In books, tigers all have the character for ‘king’ on their foreheads. Our Li Juan doesn’t.”

She sat at the square table with Li Juan in her arms, using silver chopsticks to pick a piece of cooked chicken from a bowl and feed it to Li Juan.

Li Juan lay sprawled on its back, lounging comfortably against her. The moment the chopsticks came near, it let out a roar and chomped the chicken clean off.

“Look how adorable it is — how could it possibly be a tiger?” Shen Zhuxi used the chopsticks to pry apart the few pearly white teeth inside Li Juan’s mouth.

Hmm… Li Juan the Second was certainly developing quite well — not only was it noticeably bigger than an ordinary kitten, but its teeth seemed considerably sharper too!

Li Wu’s face had turned so green he looked ready to drag this madwoman into the mountains to find a tiger’s den, just to show her whether a tiger cub looked the same as what she was cradling.

The wretched tiger cub seemed to sense his hostile gaze and opened its future gaping maw, making a sound at him that was somewhere between a wail, a roar, and a quack.

That madwoman immediately rested her chin on top of the tiger cub’s square head with a look of utter tenderness. “It must have been terribly mistreated — even its voice has gone hoarse.”

Li Wu: “…Shen Zhuxi, do you genuinely not find any of this strange?”

“Strange how?” The madwoman looked up at him with a blank expression, then after a moment her eyes suddenly brightened. “Actually, yes — there is one thing that’s quite strange!”

“Tell me — what seems strange?” Li Wu looked at her with an encouraging gaze.

“How come its cry sounds like a duck — one moment it’s roaring, the next it’s quacking? Maybe it’s a duck reincarnated—” Shen Zhuxi scratched under the tiger cub’s chin excitedly. “That would mean Li Juan was destined to be part of our family all along!”

“…Li Juan? Who?”

“It, of course!” Shen Zhuxi held up the tiger cub in her arms with great cheer. “I named it Li Juan — not bad, right? Li Wu, Li Kun, Li Que, Li Juan — it sounds like one family just from the names!”

Li Wu: “…Whether it’s a duck reincarnated I cannot say. What I can say is that you were probably a pig spirit in your past life.”

“Why do you keep insulting people!” Shen Zhuxi glared at him furiously. “Say that again and I’m insulting you back!”

Li Wu couldn’t get through to this madwoman and had no choice but to change his approach. He stared darkly at the tiger cub in her arms.

The tiger cub hadn’t even grown all its teeth yet — it probably posed no immediate threat to anyone. When this madwoman let her guard down and wasn’t paying attention, he would sneak… ahem, that wasn’t the word. What he meant was, when this madwoman was sleeping in late, he would kindly carry the tiger cub outside for a little stroll — but then, being as forgetful as he was, he might carelessly leave it behind in some mountain hollow somewhere, and that would be entirely understandable.

“…Li Wu? Li Duck? Li Ass?”

Li Wu came back to his senses and shot her a sideways look. “I’m not dead yet — are you calling my spirit back?”

“I’m asking you something,” Shen Zhuxi said. “Did you meet with the prefect?”

“No.” Li Wu sat down to Shen Zhuxi’s right. The tiger cub in her arms breathed heavily in his direction. “I was at the entrance to the Fan Residence since early morning, ate three bowls of wonton soup, and the man still hadn’t gotten out of bed.”

“Will you go back this afternoon?”

“Of course — when the head man summons you, how could you not?” Li Wu said. “If someone hadn’t come to tell me you’d brought a tiger cub home, I’d still be sitting outside the Fan Residence right now.”

Almost the moment Li Wu finished speaking, a young manservant came in at a trot, bent at the waist, and said in a hurried voice, “Master—”

Li Wu’s face darkened. “What master? I’m still a young man!”

The manservant blanked for a moment, then tried again tentatively, “Then… Sir Li?”

“…Forget it, forget it — what is it? Speak!”

“Someone has come outside, saying the prefect summons you to his residence.”

Li Wu rose to his feet. He had barely taken two steps toward the outer hall when he stopped and looked back with concern at the tiger cub in Shen Zhuxi’s arms. “…Don’t put your hands in its mouth. While it’s with you, whatever you do — don’t fall asleep…”

“I know, I know — hurry up and go!”

That madwoman clearly hadn’t taken his words to heart, and was happily entertaining the tiger cub in her arms.

Li Wu bit back his frustration, turned, and told the attendant beside him, “Keep a close watch on her. If she loses so much as one finger, I’ll have all your heads.”

The maidservants and manservants answered with frightened agreement.

Li Wu strode out of the courtyard. Outside the gate, a man sent by the prefect stood holding a fine horse.

“Riding will be faster — we mustn’t keep the Honorable Prefect waiting. After you—”

Li Wu kicked away the mounting block under the horse’s belly, stepped into the stirrup, and swung into the saddle with ease, then clamped his legs hard against the horse’s flanks. “Ride!”

The prefect’s man hastily mounted his own tall horse and urged it into a gallop to catch up.

Less than the time it takes to drink a cup of tea later, Li Wu drew his horse to a halt before a set of seven stone steps flanked by sloping balustrades. He dismounted in one fluid motion, handed the horse off to two manservants who came forward to take it, and joined Li Que, who was waiting by the entrance.

A well-heeled, middle-aged man stood at the gate. When they climbed the steps, he smiled pleasantly and introduced himself. “This humble one has the surname Tang — I serve as steward to the Fan Residence. The master is already waiting in the western study. Please, follow me.”

He wore a smile; Li Que wore an even bigger one.

“And to think Brother Tang is merely the steward! At first glance just now, I could have sworn some distinguished gentleman had come to pay a call on the Honorable Prefect!”

“You’re far too kind, far too kind…” Steward Tang shook his head modestly, though the corners of his mouth curled upward. “Now then — which of you is Li Wu, and which is Li Que? Of the three brothers, who hasn’t come?”

“Brother Tang, I am Li Que, and this is my elder brother Li Wu,” Li Que said. “The one who’s missing is our second brother. His head was damaged by a fever when he was small, and his mind hasn’t been right since. This being our brothers’ first audience with the Honorable Prefect, we feared he might say something inappropriate and upset the Honorable Prefect — so we left him at home.”

“You should bring him next time. The master doesn’t appreciate people making decisions on his behalf. If he takes a disliking to your second brother, he naturally won’t summon him again.”

“Brother Tang is absolutely right — it’s clear why you are someone the Honorable Prefect keeps close. We’ll be counting on you to guide us going forward!” Li Que said with a broad smile, patting the steward’s right hand as if in gratitude, while simultaneously slipping a heavy, clinking pouch into the man’s sleeve.

Steward Tang weighed it in his palm. His smile grew considerably wider. “I can’t speak for others, but you — the prefect will certainly take a liking to you.”

After passing through a long corridor decorated with colorful carvings, gleaming and brilliantly green, the two brothers finally saw the doors of the western study.

But even upon reaching the study’s entrance, they could not go straight in. The steward bade them wait a moment, went inside to announce them, and did not reappear for quite some time.

After Li Wu had waited outside for the time it takes a stick of incense to burn, he finally came face to face with his superior — Prefect Fan Wei.

Fan Wei had a round, pudgy face. He looked less like an official and more like a wealthy merchant given to laziness and gluttony. He wore a deep brown brocade robe, a black cloth headband, and was lounging against the headboard of a daybed with the drowsy ease of a freshly fried cruller.

Li Wu and Li Que each paid their respects to him.

“Sit.” Fan Wei gestured toward the tea table in the center of the study with a languid air.

Once both men had taken their seats, young, graceful maidservants came forward to serve them tea.

“Which one is Li Wu?” Fan Wei fixed his gaze on him.

“I am,” Li Wu said.

Li Que smiled and said, “I am Li Que, Honorable Prefect.”

Fan Wei craned his neck to the left. A beautiful maidservant holding a cluster of purple jade grapes plucked one from the bunch, peeled it with practiced ease, and placed it into Fan Wei’s open mouth.

“You’re three brothers, are you not? Why is one missing?” Fan Wei looked at the two of them, chewing the grape with his mouth slightly full.

“With your permission, Honorable Prefect — the absent one is our second brother. He suffered a fever in childhood that left his mind unclear. Since this is the first time the two of us have had the honor of an audience with you, we feared he might say the wrong thing and displease you, so we left him at home,” Li Que said with a smile. “If you would like to see him, I can send for him immediately!”

“No need. I’ve encountered plenty of fools in my time — one more won’t make a difference.” Fan Wei sat up straight on the daybed, waved a hand, and said, “Try some of these grapes — brought from Liangzhou. They’re sweet, you know—”

A maidservant carried over the basket of grapes, and Li Wu and Li Que each took a cluster.

The grapes were delicious. But Fan Wei’s purpose in summoning them here was certainly not merely to show off his grapes from Liangzhou.

Sure enough, after Fan Wei had rambled on about various things, he finally came to the point.

“Seeing Fang, the Deputy Prefect, speak well of someone in front of me is not a common occurrence… What arrangements did he make for you?”

Li Que was about to speak when Li Wu kicked his foot under the table.

“What arrangements?” Li Wu said in a casual, carefree tone. “That fellow Fang just asked me whether I was willing to serve under the Xiangzhou Prefect. My thinking was — flying solo can’t compare to having someone powerful to back you, and working under a prefect carries far more prestige than working under a county magistrate — so I agreed. To this day, Head Man, I still don’t know what you called me here to do. That fellow Fang—”

Fan Wei coughed.

“Deputy Prefect Fang — told me I was here to replace Huang Jinguang. But I don’t even know what Huang Jinguang did. If it’s drafting official documents, I can’t do that. If it’s farming, I can’t do that either. My two brothers and I — we’ve got a little sharpness up here,” he tapped his temple, “and enough brawn. That’s about all.”

“A sharp mind and brawn — those are precisely what I’ve been looking for,” Fan Wei said with an amused chuckle. “I still need a ninth-ranked clerk. What if you spend some time studying under Deputy Fang, and I put you in official robes? How does that sound?”

“What kind of official could a man who crawled out of the mud like me become? I couldn’t, I couldn’t…” Li Wu waved the idea off with a breezy, reckless air. “My brothers and I don’t aspire to great things — we just want food to eat and money to spend.”

“Well, if you’re unwilling to take an official position, then you’d truly have no choice but to step into Huang Jinguang’s place…”

“Whatever the work, it’s all the same — you’re our head man now. We’ll follow whatever you say.” Li Wu said without concern.

Fan Wei smiled with satisfaction. He said at a measured pace, “That man Huang Jinguang had the ability to get things done, I’ll grant him that. He simply refused to be obedient. If he had even half your good sense, how could he have ended up left to rot in the open with no one to bury him?”

Li Que said, “Please set your mind at ease, Honorable Prefect. As the saying goes, three cobblers together surpass one Zhuge Liang. We brothers happen to be exactly three — combined, we make one false Zhuge Liang, all at the command of the true Zhuge Liang standing before us!”

“I’m no Zhuge Liang — just a man with a little cleverness. The way things are now, even a small official like me has a hard time of it.” Fan Wei shook his head and said, “Your intentions are clear to me. As long as you are loyal and capable, everything you desire will be yours — not one thing will be lacking.”

“Thank you, Honorable Prefect!” Li Que called out clearly.

Li Wu followed with a bow.

Fan Wei received a grape placed into his mouth by a maidservant, and said, “…You may go. Someone will tell you how to take over Huang Jinguang’s duties.”

The two took their leave and walked out of the study.

Steward Tang, who had been waiting at the door, came forward immediately. “Allow me to see you out.”

Li Que said with a cheerful smile, “We’d be grateful, Brother Tang.”

Steward Tang smiled. “That sweet tongue of yours — well then, the master didn’t give you any trouble, did he?”

“The Honorable Prefect is approachable and magnanimous in nature — why would he trouble us?” Li Que replied.

“True enough,” Li Wu nodded in agreement. “I hadn’t expected it — the Honorable Prefect didn’t so much as reproach us over the matter of Huang Jinguang.”

“If it had been anyone else, we’d have lost our lives already…”

“Let alone getting to this point where we can enjoy good food and drink under the Honorable Prefect’s wing?”

The two went back and forth, trading sentiments with mounting feeling.

“Our master is a kind-hearted man — and that is precisely why villains like Huang Jinguang dared to defy him from below. The two of you rid the world of him and did the people a service. Our master’s benevolence deserves to be matched by righteous men like you, who know how to repay a kindness.” Steward Tang said.

“Brother Tang’s words are truly thought-provoking. We three brothers will not disappoint the Honorable Prefect’s expectations.” Li Que bowed his hands earnestly.

Steward Tang walked them to the gate, smiling warmly. “I won’t see you further — the master still awaits my report…”

“We wouldn’t dare delay you, Brother Tang. Please—” said Li Que.

Steward Tang bowed, turned, and went back inside the residence.

“…Those are all the words they exchanged.”

In the western study, Steward Tang stood bowed at the waist, carefully and precisely recounting the exchange between the Li brothers along the way.

“By that account, these two brothers are just ordinary men from the countryside — at most, they carry a little local reputation.” Fan Wei lay back on his daybed, opened his mouth, and caught a grape tossed to him by the lovely maidservant at his side. “Fang Tingzhi overestimated them.”

“How could Deputy Fang compare to you, Master, with your discerning eye and gift for putting the right people to use?” Steward Tang flattered.

“…In any case, I do genuinely need someone to replace Huang Jinguang. I may as well give them a try — call it a courtesy to Fang Tingzhi.”

“A wise decision, Master.”

“More importantly,” Fan Wei sat up from the daybed, beckoned to a maidservant standing on the other side, accepted a teacup from her and took a slow sip before continuing, “these three Li brothers — they genuinely don’t appear to be Fang Tingzhi’s men yet.”

He let out a cold laugh. “This Fang Tingzhi — cultivating loyalties behind my back, defying me at every turn. Is it Fang Tingzhi who runs Xiangzhou, or is it me?!”

“Naturally, it is you, Master—” Steward Tang lowered his head in alarm and said ingratiatingly, “He is merely a minor deputy prefect. You are the true master of Xiangzhou!”

In an ill temper, Fan Wei swept the teacup before him off the table with a blow.

“Enough — get out!”

The maidservants and the steward answered together and retreated timidly from the study.