Cheng Chang watched Yun Xi walk off into the distance, then turned and headed toward the Imperial City Guard.

The Imperial City Guard was located to the west of the Sui Palace, reached from the main gate by a covered passage.

As Cheng Chang walked through the passage, he asked Sun Haiping, who was following behind, “What’s the Yunjin Troupe from Lin’an?”

Earlier, while Cheng Chang had been speaking with that young master from the Grand Tutor’s household, Sun Haiping and Zhang Dahu had been waiting nearby and had overheard most of it. “Reporting to Young Prince, it’s a very famous theater troupe from Lin’an prefecture. They’ve recently arrived in Jinling and set up a stage on the Qinhuai River to perform—I hear seats are extremely hard to come by.”

Cheng Chang made a small sound of acknowledgment. “So this ‘boat ride and music by the lake’—that’s about listening to their performances too?”

“No, not that one,” Sun Haiping said. “There’s a performer at Yueming Fang in Tongzi Alley who sings Weiyang opera—I hear he’s recently composed a new piece and plans to perform it on the Qinhuai River. That ‘boat ride and music’ the fifth young master of the Vice Minister’s household mentioned was probably about listening to that performer’s singing.”

As he spoke, he glanced at Cheng Chang’s expression and quickly offered a suggestion. “Young Prince, given who you are, how could you possibly be compared to those two lowly fellows? If you want to listen to music, we have a pleasure boat—just have the Yueming Fang performer come sing for you there. If you want to watch opera, don’t we have an estate east of the city? Just have the Yunjin Troupe set up their stage there.”

At this, Cheng Chang paused in his tracks. He knew about the pleasure boat, but— “I have an estate too?”

“More than one, actually, Young Prince. You have several estates under your name. But the one east of the city is the largest and newest—you acquired it just over two years ago. Did you forget even that?”

Cheng Chang had nothing to say. He remembered the time he’d wanted to discuss the matter of the “distinguished guest” with Yun Xi, and Sun Haiping had suggested arranging a meeting at the Manjushri Bodhisattva Temple, which nearly damaged her reputation.

If he’d known there was an estate available, wouldn’t that have been a far better place to meet?

Cheng Chang asked, “Why didn’t you mention this before?”

Sun Haiping caught the note of reproach in his young master’s tone and felt rather wronged.

That estate had been built to hide away a certain beauty—back then, his young master had only recently fallen into the river, and how was he supposed to know his young master’s temperament had changed so completely, that he’d develop feelings for the young lady of the Yun family?

Not daring to talk back to Cheng Chang, Sun Haiping explained in a roundabout way. “Young Prince, don’t you remember? Back then you were utterly infatuated with a young lady named Qianqian from the Qinhuai district, and said you wanted to build an estate to keep her hidden away there. That’s why the estate east of the city was acquired. But you were a bit worried about impurities, so when the estate was being built, you had a physician-woman hired, insisting that any beauty who came to the estate afterward must first be examined by her. As it happened, no sooner was the estate finished than that physician-woman went and told His Highness the Prince about the whole arrangement. Combined with your late-night visits to Miss Qianqian and your drunken carrying-on all over Jinling, His Highness the Prince nearly fainted from rage, and gave you a thorough beating and locked you up in the mansion. The rest of us servants got beaten with rods too on your account—how could we dare bring up the estate to you again after that?”

Cheng Chang: “…”

So this estate had never really been an “estate” at all—it was an unfinished harem that had never gotten around to receiving its intended residents.

As the two of them talked, they’d nearly reached the Imperial City Guard.

Sun Haiping glanced at his young master’s expression and said earnestly, “Young Prince, you’ve only recently returned to Jinling—this is precisely the time to be resting and recovering. This humble one has already had several of your estates tidied up these past few days. Whenever you’d like to visit, it’s ready anytime.”

Cheng Chang looked at him in surprise. “You’ve been carrying the keys around with you too?”

“I have them right here.”

“All right.” Cheng Chang nodded and headed into the Imperial City Guard.

Wei Jie had known early on that Cheng Chang was coming and had already been waiting in his office for half the day. The moment he saw him, he asked, “What took you so long? Did that old fox send someone to trip you up?”

“No, I had some personal business to attend to.”

Wei Jie nodded. “Well, I’ll give the old fox credit for having some conscience—knowing his own third son caused you harm, he hasn’t given you much trouble since you got back to the palace.”

Cheng Chang asked, “You already know it was Prince Ling?”

“What’s there to figure out?” Wei Jie said, crossing his arms and leaning back against his chair. “The day of the fire at the Imperial City Guard, the very last thing you asked me to look into was the connection between Prince Ling and the Fang family. And the day everything happened to you, I already sensed something was off about Chai Ping—he never comes to the Imperial City Guard, so why did he happen to show up that particular day?”

He glanced around, and the guards stationed on either side, understanding at once, filed out of the office and shut the door.

Wei Jie leaned in close, lowering his voice. “I heard Chai Ping’s been tortured? Did you order that done?”

Cheng Chang didn’t deny it, making a small sound of acknowledgment.

Wei Jie was startled. Since the founding of the Great Sui dynasty, there had been a rule that officials of high rank could not be subjected to corporal punishment—Chai Ping, a proper Vice Censor-in-Chief, no matter how grave his crime, could be executed outright if warranted, but according to protocol, could not be tortured. When someone had told him yesterday that Prince Cong’s young lord had ordered private torture against Chai Ping, he hadn’t believed it, thinking Cheng Chang wasn’t the type. He hadn’t expected it to actually be true.

Wei Jie looked closely at Cheng Chang.

Up close, he noticed a faint, cold, sinister edge lingering between his brows.

He hadn’t known Cheng Chang long, but he knew well enough that Cheng Chang was a man of restrained emotions, sparse in desire—this kind of malevolent edge had never been present in him before.

Wei Jie couldn’t help but ask, “That day at the Imperial City Guard—how exactly did you survive?”

But hearing this, Cheng Chang fell silent.

Wei Jie said, “Fine, if you don’t want to say, I won’t ask.” He thought it over, then advised, “But this Chai Ping fellow—since he was willing to act on Prince Ling’s orders to hunt you down, he must be one of Prince Ling’s trusted confidants of many years. Even if you have him tortured, whatever he can’t say, he still won’t say. Better to have the torture called off, so as not to upset the old fox.”

“I know,” Cheng Chang said flatly. “I never expected to get anything out of Chai Ping’s mouth through interrogation. I simply couldn’t stand the thought of him living a comfortable life.”

Wei Jie was taken aback again, sensing something wasn’t quite right with Cheng Chang. He opened his mouth to advise him further, but on second thought—he hadn’t been the one hunted that day, hadn’t been the one locked inside that sea of fire. Since he couldn’t truly share the feeling, what right did he have to be generous with someone else’s suffering on his behalf?

“Fine, then. I’ll help you dig into Chai Ping’s background, see why he’s so loyal to Prince Ling.”

“No need. I’ve already had Su Tai looking into that,” Cheng Chang said. “If you have time to spare, could you help me look into the old case of Marquis Zhongyong?”

“The Marquis Zhongyong case?” Wei Jie was taken aback. Hadn’t that case already been closed—and closed by Cheng Chang’s own hand, no less?

He asked, “You suspect the old marquis’s death is connected to Prince Ling too?”

Cheng Chang didn’t answer right away.

He’d previously discovered that the old Marquis Zhongyong had died fighting the enemy because Prince Yun had diverted military provisions meant for the northern frontier.

But Prince Ling was a capable man, and back then he’d been in charge of the Ministry of Finance—with his abilities, discovering Prince Yun’s diversion of military rations would have taken nothing more than a look at the account books.

Knowing this, why hadn’t he immediately reported it to Emperor Zhaoyuan? Why had he let Prince Yun go on to poison the former crown prince?

At the time, the former crown prince’s health had already been failing. If Prince Ling had chosen the right moment to reveal the account books to Emperor Zhaoyuan, he’d not only have saved the former crown prince’s life, but also earned the emperor’s favor in the process.

But he hadn’t done that.

Did this mean Prince Ling, too, had something the former crown prince held over him?

Had he let Prince Yun’s poisoning proceed because he too had wished for the former crown prince’s swift death?

Cheng Chang recalled that in the final six months of his life, the former crown prince had continually had people investigating the cause of Marquis Zhongyong’s death, and even at the very end had said he felt he owed the marquis an apology, and that there was still an important matter he wished to report to Emperor Zhaoyuan.

According to the two witnesses at Mingyin Temple, the former crown prince had already forgiven Prince Yun by the time of his death—so could it be that the crucial matter he’d died without being able to voice had nothing to do with Prince Yun at all, but instead… with Prince Ling?

Cheng Chang said, “I can’t say for certain. In any case, look into it first, and let me know if you find any leads.”

“All right.” Wei Jie nodded, then suddenly recalled something. “Speaking of which, do you remember you had me look into the Fang family for a while?”

Cheng Chang made a small sound of acknowledgment.

“I later found out that after Fang Yuanshan was executed, the rest of the family scattered—some fled, some fell apart—leaving only the Fang household’s young lady, the one who’s now the Yun family’s sister-in-law, remaining in the household. The Ministry of Justice figured she was just a woman and sent only two constables to arrest her. Turns out, those two constables died that very night, bled to death from all seven orifices.”

Cheng Chang asked, “Was it Fang Furan who did it?”

“Yes, it was her,” Wei Jie said. “The reason this never got out is because someone cleaned up after it. Back when you had me look into Prince Ling—well, it turned out to actually be him, once I dug into it. He wasn’t well established at the time, so the cleanup wasn’t done perfectly, and a few clues slipped through.”

“This Fang Furan, it turns out, had actually known the old fox’s third son from early on—their relationship seemed rather more than ordinary too. Though it’s strange—I recall that right up until the Fang household fell, the old fox had intended to marry her off to either the crown prince or the fourth prince.” Wei Jie frowned, then sighed. “Poor Yun Luo, though.”

Cheng Chang considered this for a moment, then asked, “Have you mentioned any of this to Yun Xi?”

“That little lass from the Yun family?” Wei Jie said. “No.”

“When she first came back to Jinling before the New Year, thinking you were dead, she was devastated enough as it was—if she found out about this too, how would she ever cope? Though she’s quite sharp—the second day after returning to the capital, she came to ask me whether you’d ever had me help investigate anyone connected to the Marquis Zhongyong household. I knew she was looking for whoever was working against her from within, and told her I knew nothing. Since I’m on good terms with Yun Luo anyway, I’ve had people quietly keeping an eye on that little lass from the Yun family these past few years, and this Fang woman has actually been quite devoted and caring toward her. Why, do you plan to tell her about this?”

Cheng Chang shook his head. “Not for now.”

“Afraid it’ll hurt her? But she’ll find out sooner or later,” Wei Jie said. “That girl doesn’t strike me as someone easily broken, either—back when the Marquis Zhongyong household was wrongfully accused and Yun Luo left, how hard was that for her? Didn’t she pull through even then? Don’t say I didn’t warn you—that girl might already suspect her sister-in-law. Ever since she came back to Jinling before the New Year, she’s barely stayed at the marquis household at all. You think she’s really avoiding marriage proposals? Her heart belongs only to you—she couldn’t care less who proposes. I’d guess she just doesn’t know how to face her sister-in-law, and worries she might be wrongly suspecting her own family, so she keeps hiding away at Xishan Camp. Having a home she can’t bring herself to return to—that’s pitiful too.”

Hearing this, Cheng Chang was somewhat surprised. “She doesn’t often stay at the marquis household?”

“Right, you didn’t know?” Wei Jie said, about to elaborate further when a guard outside reported, “Your Highness, my lord, the General of Illustrious Might has arrived.”

“See, speak of her and she appears,” Wei Jie said. “Let her in.”

The guard cupped his hands. “Reporting, my lord, the General of Illustrious Might says she’s come looking for His Highness. Hearing that His Highness and you were discussing matters, she said she wouldn’t intrude and would simply wait—she’s currently waiting under the covered walkway in the outer office.”

Cheng Chang glanced at the sky—it was only just past the hour of wei. Yun Xi had clearly said earlier she wouldn’t be free until the end of the hour of shen.

For her to come looking for him on her own initiative, rare as that was, there must be something important on her mind.

Cheng Chang said, “I’ll go see her. I’ll come back another day.”

The afternoon breeze was mild. Yun Xi, dressed in vermilion robes with a sword at her waist, was pacing back and forth beneath the covered walkway. Seeing her, Cheng Chang called out from a distance, “A’Ting.” As he drew closer, he asked, “Looking for me about something?”

Yun Xi nodded, her expression somewhat complicated. After a long moment, she said, “There’s a matter I’d like to ask the third young master about.”

“Go ahead,” Cheng Chang said gently.

Yun Xi hesitated, glancing at the guards stationed nearby.

Understanding, Cheng Chang glanced back at them, and the guards immediately withdrew to a distance.

“I wanted to ask,” Yun Xi said, pressing her lips together, lowering her eyes to touch the moonstone ring on her finger, “third young master, did you… just now, were you proposing marriage to me?”

Cheng Chang paused for a moment, then laughed. “What else did you think I was doing?”

“I…”

Earlier, when Cheng Chang had put the ring on her finger, she hadn’t registered it at all.

It was only after reporting to Emperor Zhaoyuan and leaving Wende Hall, hit by the cold wind outside the hall, that it suddenly struck her.

Hadn’t the third young master said that in his homeland, engagement and marriage required giving a ring?

So when he’d put the ring on her finger earlier, hadn’t that meant he was proposing marriage to her?

Yun Xi’s thoughts were instantly thrown into disarray.

She’d originally meant to go investigate—the clerk that morning had mentioned a breakthrough on the thief who’d stolen the defense map—but her mind refused to settle for even a moment; she absolutely had to come get things clear with him first.

She hadn’t expected him to simply admit it outright.

Yun Xi suddenly remembered she’d earlier told him he could just have the ruined diamonds in the mansion’s storeroom made into a ring for her.

Wasn’t that basically shamelessly asking him to come marry her?

Cheng Chang sat down on the chair along the walkway, watching a flush of color gradually spread across her cheeks. “What, has the eldest young lady of the Marquis Zhongyong household only just caught on?”

He added, “My proposal was a bit hasty, I admit, but I simply wanted to secure things between us first. As for the proper procedures of formal betrothal, we’ll follow your customs here—the three letters and six etiquettes, I won’t skip a single one for you. It’s just a matter of waiting a while; this can’t be rushed.”

Yun Xi knew exactly why it couldn’t be rushed.

Emperor Zhaoyuan had never been willing to let the third young master marry her. He’d only just returned to Jinling—a matter this significant would need to be planned out carefully first.

“So, now that the eldest young lady of the Yun family has finally caught on, does she intend to accept my proposal or not?” Cheng Chang asked.

The spring light was faint that day, and it was somewhat dim beneath the walkway, yet where he sat happened to be bathed in a patch of sunlight.

His face was like starlight, like moonlight, without a single flaw, the spring sun settling in his watery eyes, catching flecks of brilliance.

His lips curved slightly upward, gentle and effortlessly elegant.

Yun Xi said, “I accept.”

Then she added, “In that case, I’ll go prepare my dowry.”

“What dowry do you need to prepare?” Cheng Chang laughed again. “Just prepare yourself and hand yourself over to me—that’ll do.”

The moment the words left his mouth, he suddenly realized how it might sound.

Cheng Chang paused briefly, glancing casually at Yun Xi.

She hadn’t caught the double meaning at all, and continued earnestly, “There should still be a proper dowry. The third young master has never treated me poorly, and I’ll certainly never treat him poorly in return.”

Watching her earnest expression, Cheng Chang suddenly remembered Wei Jie saying earlier, “that little lass hasn’t stayed at the marquis household much since returning to Jinling,” and “having a home she can’t bring herself to return to—that’s pitiful too.” He couldn’t help but ask, “Do you have anything else to attend to right now?”

“I’ve already had someone request leave for me at the office, though if the Ministry of Justice gets news about the thief tonight, I’ll still need to lead a manhunt.”

“So, one way or another, you have an hour or two free?” Cheng Chang said, standing up and heading out of the covered walkway. “Come with me. I’ll take you somewhere.”