The twenty-fourth of the twelfth month. In Jin territory, too, everything lay beneath a blanket of white.

In Weisheng, the snow had stopped for the time being.

The city gates stood open on all four sides, and dense crowds gathered within the snow-covered walls. It was Little New Year, and this nearly newly-rebuilt city was strung with lanterns and festive decorations. In some places people had cleared the snow from the roads and opened up bustling markets. After years of war, this was the first time Jin territory had shown such a lively scene.

To one side of the city, where the old Tiger King’s Tianji Palace once stood, there now lay only a stretch of collapsed ruins.

Three years earlier, the Jurchen had marched south in two great armies. The western column, led by Nian Han and Xiyin, had stormed Jin territory, killing the young Tiger King Tian Shi at the time, and inciting the great clans of Jin territory, including Liao Yiren, to split off from the Tiger King’s forces. Zhu Biao and Wang Shanyue were routed at Daming Prefecture, and with Lou Shuwan, Wang Juyun, Yu Yulin, and the others unable to hold on, in the fifth month of the tenth year of Wujian Shuo’s reign, after defending against Nian Han’s forces for over two months, the Tiger King’s army abandoned the city. The resolute Lou Shuwan set fire to nearly all the buildings within the city, along with the weapons and even the antiques and cultural relics they could not carry away.

Lou Shuwan’s resolve meant that the advancing Jurchen gained no spoils here at all. The soldiers, left with nowhere to vent their frustration, rampaged through the surrounding area for a time, even causing considerable trouble for the territory Liao Yiren governed at the time.

After Liao Yiren’s death, the Tiger King’s forces reclaimed Jin territory. They kept their rear base in the more defensible mountain regions, while in the flatlands, Lou Shuwan, drawing on the experience and advice of the Huaxia Army, provided disaster relief through public works and encouraged trade. The image of the Lady Chancellor—willing to see everything shattered rather than yield to the Jurchen—gave many people confidence. Even as the Central Plains lay largely in ruins, a great many interest groups converged on this crossroads region of Jin territory like rivers flowing into the sea, and Weisheng was quickly rebuilt, with a special industrial and technical zone, the East City, established nearby.

In rebuilding Weisheng, Lou Shuwan chose not to restore the original Tianji Palace that Tian Hu had built, but instead built a smaller, more modest palace on a new site among the ruins nearby. To reflect the meaning of the line “wildfire cannot burn it all away, when spring wind blows it grows again,” she named it the Azure Palace. Of late, of course, people also liked to say this name hinted at the Lady Chancellor’s ambitions—as in the line, “should I one day become the Green Emperor, I shall bring word to the peach blossoms to bloom together.”

For a woman to hold such power, such speculation carried both flattering and unflattering implications.

After Tian Hu’s death, the succession passed to Tian Shi, and once Tian Shi was suddenly assassinated, the Tiger King’s forces had essentially fractured. Clans such as Liao Yiren’s defected to the Jurchen and split away. Meanwhile, Lou Shuwan and Yu Yulin, unwilling to raise their own banner, put forward a child from Tian Shi’s family named Tian Shan as a figurehead, to continue resisting the Jin. By the time Liao Yiren and the others had died and their clans were destroyed, and Jin territory was reunified, the Lady Chancellor’s power was immense, but she could never win the loyalty of everyone. The occasional strange rumor that surfaced was, in truth, simply an expression of the power struggles that no regime could entirely avoid.

Of course, such minor undercurrents were, at this point in Jin territory, hardly worth mentioning. Ever since she had overseen the Ministry of Revenue under Tian Hu, Lou Shuwan had faced countless slights and challenges, yet she had firmly held the entire thread of the economy and people’s livelihoods within the Tiger King’s domain. Later, after the incident in which Tian Hu imprisoned her only for her to turn the tables and kill him, and after the countless assassination attempts she survived while resisting the Jurchen, facing down men as fierce as Nian Han and Xiyin who had burned Weisheng to the ground without hesitation—it could be said that the Lady Chancellor’s authority now had been forged, punch by punch, kick by kick, through wave after wave of brutal struggle.

On the other hand, she had the backing of Yu Yulin’s military strength, and the openness of Weisheng and East City had drawn support from various factions large and small. Most important of all, the attitude of the team of experts who had come from the southwest, and of Ning Yi himself, represented the goodwill of the single most significant power in the world today. Even with occasional ripples of unrest, Lou Shuwan’s authority in Jin territory remained almost unshakable. Rumors like “should I one day become the Green Emperor, I shall bring word to the peach blossoms to bloom together” were things that, even when Lou Shuwan herself happened to hear them, she would only meet with an indifferent, wry smile.

Of course, what was rather more delicate was that, in the eyes of some, the greatest factor behind a woman like Lou Shuwan holding power in Jin territory was perhaps not her long record of hard-won achievements, but rather certain rumors that had surfaced at some point—rumors about a complicated, love-hate relationship between Lou Shuwan and Mr. Ning of the southwest.

In the world as it now stood, when it came to political struggle, many might dare to kill some ally of the Huaxia Army from the southwest, but no matter the circumstances, people feared killing anyone connected to Ning Yi—a family member, or, to put it crudely, a “mistress.” The rumors about Lou Shuwan and Ning Yi had started as something almost like a joke, but as the ties between the Huaxia Army and Jin territory grew closer and more complex, such rumors only grew more elaborate and fantastical.

Even the supporters who came from the southwest to Jin territory, though they would never speak of such things openly, felt a certain closeness toward Jin territory—particularly toward the Lady Chancellor—compared to how they felt toward other factions, as though they had quietly prepared themselves, in some vague way, to address her as “the mistress of the house.”

How the Lady Chancellor herself felt upon hearing such rumors, she had never shown in public. But regardless, given all these underlying factors, though some power-seekers might scheme to use the young Tian Shan as a figurehead to drive out the Lady Chancellor, spreading this or that rumor to that end, such a scheme looked, by any measure, at least a decade away from success. The Lady Chancellor might one day seize full power outright, and might, in the future, even declare herself sovereign as a woman—but within the current power structure, none of this was an urgent or pressing matter.

Following certain suggestions from the Huaxia Army, this Little New Year in Weisheng had a rather lively atmosphere. Preparations for lanterns and decorations had begun days in advance, and as the day drew near, the heavens cooperated with fine weather. Residents from villages far and near put on their padded winter coats and traveled long distances to enter the city and celebrate. The thick clothing on people’s bodies reflected the rare prosperity Jin territory had achieved in recent years, and the lively celebrations strengthened people’s sense of unity—many spoke of the Lady Chancellor with nothing but admiration and gratitude.

In the morning, as the celebrations and markets within the city were just beginning to show their liveliness, You Hongzhuo and the tall, slender Liang Siyi arrived together in front of the Azure Palace.

The two of them had taken part in the chaos of the Fair Party’s collapse in Jiangning at the end of September. You Hongzhuo had sought out Kuang Wenbai to take his revenge, and afterward, together with Liang Siyi, had severely wounded “Cold Crow” Chen Juefang in the chaos of battle. Though he had not achieved complete revenge, and had not gotten the chance to fight “Heaven’s Blade” Tan Zheng again, having witnessed the fighting the Huaxia Army took part in, many small matters no longer seemed to weigh on him so heavily.

Meanwhile, having witnessed He Wen’s ruthlessness in consolidating power, and having come to understand the path the Fair Party would now follow, An Xifu had also reached a conclusion about this trip south. Carrying He Wen’s expressed wish to establish friendly trade relations with Jin territory, she had set off on the road back north.

You Hongzhuo and Liang Siyi, meanwhile, shared a deeper connection.

Years earlier, when You Hongzhuo had first ventured into the martial world, he had befriended several sworn brothers and sisters—Elder Brother Luan Fei and Third Sister Qin Xiang—who, in fact, were both adopted children of Wang Juyun, from the ranks of the rebel army. That rebel force had helped refugees in the north, and being short of food and clothing, would send out anyone with some skill to procure grain for the army. Later, Kuang Wenbai betrayed them, and the lies among the brotherhood were exposed. Only then did You Hongzhuo realize that the so-called brotherhood of the martial world was not made up solely of that grand, heroic camaraderie he had believed in.

Third Sister Qin Xiang had died at that time. Elder Brother Luan Fei, having returned to the rebel army, lost the use of both his legs and became a cripple. Life in the rebel army had always been difficult, and life for the disabled within it was beyond description. Luan Fei clung to a meager existence for several years. Later, as Wang Juyun and Lou Shuwan gradually began working together, he would occasionally hear rumors from the martial world about You Hongzhuo’s rising reputation, and he often mentioned it to Liang Siyi and the other sworn siblings he was still close with: “That’s the younger brother your Sister Qin Xiang and I met in the martial world, back in the day.”

“…He’s made something of himself.”

Though his words at such times carried a note of warmth, and he felt genuine, vicarious pride in You Hongzhuo’s righteous work guarding the Lady Chancellor in the north, he—crippled in both legs—never once considered seeking out You Hongzhuo to reveal himself and reunite.

During the most intense period of the Jurchen’s southern invasion, unwilling to become a burden to those around him, he had crawled into a well and drowned himself.

The flow of years moves on, vast and silent, and no one could have predicted that this bond would one day be tied together again through someone else. After losing his legs, Luan Fei, unwilling to burden anyone, had never intended to reveal himself to You Hongzhuo. After his death, Liang Siyi and the others had likewise never planned to connect themselves to You Hongzhuo because of it. And yet, after the two of them entrusted their lives to each other amid the chaos in Jiangning, in the dying moments following their failed assassination attempt on Chen Juefang, Liang Siyi had finally, in a low voice, told him about Luan Fei and Qin Xiang. Only then did You Hongzhuo learn just how much had happened to his eldest sworn brother, Luan Fei, in all the years since their group of seven had scattered.

With the old friend already gone, and as two forthright children of the martial world, the two of them had already come to feel affection for each other through their time together. Not long after, on their journey back north, they pledged themselves to one another for life. Once they returned to Jin territory, Liang Siyi brought You Hongzhuo to meet Wang Juyun, who was overjoyed—not only personally setting a wedding date for after the start of spring, but also keeping You Hongzhuo for several days to personally teach him the secret technique “Peacock King’s Seven Unfurling Feathers.”

Over the years, You Hongzhuo had received guidance from many great masters, but only through Wang Juyun’s teaching did he come to understand that this white-haired leader of the old rebel army possessed not only a wealth of learning, but martial skill unmatched by anyone. “Peacock King’s Seven Unfurling Feathers” had originally been a swordsmanship technique, but under Wang Juyun’s guidance, its essence was translated into blade technique, and You Hongzhuo benefited enormously from it. After all his years of wandering, for the first time, he felt he now had some real confidence in his ability to kill “Heaven’s Blade” Tan Zheng.

What moved him even more was that as Wang Juyun—accomplished in both letters and arms—devoted himself wholeheartedly to teaching him, the guidance he offered about how to conduct oneself in life vaguely reminded him of Mr. Zhao of the “Twin Demons of the Black Wind,” from years ago.

He had only traveled with that couple, the Zhaos, briefly back then, but Mr. Zhao’s guidance on how to live had essentially laid the foundation for the path he later followed. It was those teachings that had taught him to think for himself, keeping him from becoming overly extreme in the face of various matters. If not for that habit of reflecting as he traveled, even with unmatched swordsmanship, he probably wouldn’t have made it this far.

Recalling this, and knowing that Wang Juyun had originally been Wang Yin, the Minister of Personnel under Holy Duke Fang La’s rebellion, and thus a man with vast experience in the martial world, You Hongzhuo cautiously inquired about the “Twin Demons of the Black Wind,” these predecessors of the martial world. Unfortunately, Wang Juyun furrowed his brow and thought for a long while, but said he had never heard of such a pair of wandering heroes in the martial world.

By the time the two of them returned to Weisheng, it was already the twelfth month. With no assignments and no one to report to, after meeting with Wang Juyun, You Hongzhuo had simply stayed home with Liang Siyi, practicing his blade technique. It was only when Wang Juyun mentioned his adopted daughter’s engagement to Lou Shuwan that Lou Shuwan sent someone to deliver an invitation—back when the Lady Chancellor had faced repeated assassination attempts, You Hongzhuo had been one of the righteous men who had spontaneously taken up her protection, and it was in that environment that his blade technique had advanced so rapidly. He had met Lou Shuwan several times since, and was especially familiar with Shi Jin. That he had returned from his travels without going to see her had, according to Wang Juyun, left “the Lady Chancellor absolutely furious.”

The morning of the twenty-fourth brought a lively gathering.

The moment he was led into the Azure Palace, You Hongzhuo saw many familiar faces from the past—the great hero Shi Jin, who had long served as the Lady Chancellor’s guard; Yuan Xiaoqiu, the maid who attended the Lady Chancellor; Zhan Wu, the Huaxia Army’s representative; and a number of martial artists who had proven their loyalty back when they had guarded the Lady Chancellor—many of these people now served as her personal guards.

Lou Shuwan received the two of them privately in a side hall of the Azure Palace. Compared to how stern and haggard she had appeared during the tense period in Jin territory, she now seemed relaxed and warm in this private setting. She asked You Hongzhuo about what he had seen and heard on his travels—especially in the southwest—then congratulated him on his union with Liang Siyi, and gave them a jade disc as a gift.

Though this was a private audience, signaling the importance she placed on it, the two of them could hardly be called friends. To avoid an awkward atmosphere, the meeting did not last particularly long. After a while, You Hongzhuo was led into the tea hall further ahead, and after some introductions, he began to understand what today’s gathering was actually about.

With Little New Year here and the city celebrating heartily, the industrial zone in East City had begun giving its technical teams from the southwest time off in stages, and Lou Shuwan had invited them to Weisheng to celebrate the holiday. Some who preferred not to attend the gathering had already gone out to explore the city, but a good number had come as representatives to the Azure Palace to drink tea and chat. As someone who had recently visited the southwest, You Hongzhuo was invited by Lou Shuwan to join them as company.

Not long after You Hongzhuo emerged, Lou Shuwan came out from the inner chambers leading a child of six or seven by the hand, greeting everyone present—this child was Tian Shan, the current figurehead heir to the Tiger King’s legacy. After brief pleasantries, Lou Shuwan introduced everyone to one another, and in the process specifically brought up You Hongzhuo, telling the story of how he had studied his skills in the southwest.

You Hongzhuo gave a general account of his experiences at the time. Though as a wandering hero he disliked political matters, he was, privately, quite eager to get to know these people from the southwest. As he mentioned the name of Madam Lu from Zhang Village, the group of technical experts from the southwest let out murmurs of admiration—some asked him about the state of Zhang Village, others asked what these martial artists required from technology, and one of them had already started discussing the specifics of making him some small hand grenades and smoke bombs…

Outside, the ice and snow were slowly melting, and the rising sunlight brought with it a touch of warmth. The atmosphere in the tea hall grew steadily livelier. Lou Shuwan, holding Tian Shan’s hand, stood up smiling and took her leave: “You all can’t really relax with me here. You’re all from the southwest, so have a proper get-together and chat. I still have some matters to discuss with Fifth Uncle Zhan and General Xue… I’ll take your two leaders away with me, so the rest of you make yourselves comfortable… Hero Shi, please look after them for me.”

Amid the warm, harmonious atmosphere, she took Zhan Wu and Xue Guangcheng away with her, leaving Shi Jin behind.

The mood grew even livelier after that—perhaps because of the southwest’s promotion of various wuxia novels, the people who had come from there felt a particular reverence and warmth toward heroes like Shi Jin. They had crossed paths with him many times before and were already well acquainted, and now, with their superiors gone, everyone laughed and joked together, passing a rather pleasant morning…

…

For those at the upper levels of power, actions of one kind or another almost always carried political considerations to some degree—there was no longer the same kind of freedom as in the past.

Lou Shuwan’s organizing of such a gathering was, to some extent, a deliberate signal to the outside world that “the people of the southwest answer only to me.” Even though she had thoughtfully excused herself early, such a deliberately staged gathering was likely never as comfortable or relaxed as two or three friends meeting privately. But regardless, it was through moves like this that this vast territory of Jin had come to stabilize, and had even found, this winter, the ease to hold a celebration.

Just as You Hongzhuo’s audience with Lou Shuwan wasn’t because they were truly close friends, but because Lou Shuwan had given this land a little room to breathe, had put more smiles on people’s faces than in years past—when it came to the mundane, worldly level, this kind of exchange was, of course, fundamentally different from friendship among equals.

Not long after leaving the tea hall, Lou Shuwan crouched down and spoke a few words with the young Tian Shan, smiling. The child nodded sensibly, then bowed respectfully and, accompanied by a maidservant, went off toward the inner part of the palace.

Zhan Wu and Xue Guangcheng exchanged a glance behind her, their expressions less than pleased.

Straightening up, Lou Shuwan let her smile fade as she walked ahead, the three of them making their way along the palace corridor toward the study room up front.

It was already a familiar road, and the atmosphere was far from unfamiliar—this was the mood for discussing “serious business.” Naturally, for these two officials of the Huaxia Army, that atmosphere was never a friendly one.

Most of the time, it meant an argument was coming.

Sure enough, the moment Lou Shuwan spoke, she managed to irritate them.

“The fighting at Bianliang is over. General Zou Xu will come to offer his congratulations once he has a free moment… don’t you two go stirring up trouble.”

“What is the Lady Chancellor saying.”

“Whatever I say is what I say. We’re guests here in Jin territory—what could we possibly do?”

Lou Shuwan paused ahead of them and turned her head to the side: “…Is that sarcasm?”

“We…” Xue Guangcheng spread his hands. “Of course it’s sarcasm.”

“Mm.” Zhan Wu nodded.

“Fine.” Lou Shuwan showed no surprise, nodding. “Well, I still haven’t given you the last round of dividends anyway… Let’s talk business. Last month I sent a letter to the southwest, as you already know. Once winter’s over and we have some breathing room, we intend to strengthen the northwestern defense line. For this, you two need to send some men—ideally with either Fifth Uncle or General Xue personally leading them. In return, Xiao Cang River will go back to you. You’ve already made arrangements for that, haven’t you?”

Zhan Wu frowned. “That letter only went out last month—the southwest can hardly have gotten it yet. Something this significant—how many men, how do we even plan the campaign…”

“Jin territory and the southwest are thousands of miles apart. Are you saying you won’t do anything until you get a reply from over there?” Lou Shuwan pushed open the door to the study and walked in—this was where she usually did her work. The furnishings were relatively simple, with papers covered in writing scattered across the desk, perhaps from unfinished morning business. She walked over and tidied them up as she spoke:

“Regardless, General Wang and I have already settled on this matter. We all know how important the northwest is—these past years we simply haven’t had the breathing room to take it. Now that a group of Mongols has attacked the Western Xia, we’ve had some time to recover, and even though those people are barely more than savages, it’s better to prepare early—the Hengshan line needs to be secured too. The reason I’m pulling you into this is that you’ve fought in the northwest for years and genuinely built up some reputation there, so it’s only fitting. For the coming northwestern campaign, General Wang’s old rebel army will take the lead—they’ve suffered for years, and it’s time to find them a proper piece of land to settle on. We’ll send out some of our own, though not many—just enough to get by. As for you, the Huaxia Army, you’ll send some troops too, lend your name to it, and eventually the Xiao Cang River region will be, well, what’s the term…”

She sat there, rubbing her temple as she thought, then looked up and smiled. “…Ah, joint development.”

Zhan Wu and Xue Guangcheng sat down in the nearby chairs, and after hearing all this, both were rendered momentarily speechless. Zhan Wu said, “This matter needs instructions from the southwest first. Lady Chancellor, how many men are we supposed to send? We barely have any people stationed in Jin territory as it is—are you suggesting we just pull the entire technical team over there? Are we abandoning East City altogether?”

Lou Shuwan wrote a few characters, signed off on a letter, then looked up. “General Xue’s unit could go—they look plenty capable of fighting.”

Xue Guangcheng laughed. “Miss Lou just wants to transfer my men away, doesn’t she?”

“That’s right,” Lou Shuwan said, smiling openly. “This way, when Zou Xu comes to offer congratulations, I won’t need to keep an eye on you two the whole time—you can go take back Xiao Cang River instead. Everyone wins, three birds with one stone. Isn’t that nice?”

“Barring special circumstances, the guard company won’t be leaving the technical team.”

“This is a special circumstance. That’s Xiao Cang River we’re talking about—the Huaxia Army resisted the Jin there for all those years, that’s how the whole world came to respect the name ‘Huaxia.’ Now that you have the chance to take it back, you don’t want it?”

Xue Guangcheng frowned, and Zhan Wu fell silent for a moment. “…What good would taking it back even do? Aside from its symbolic value, everything in Xiao Cang River was already destroyed years ago—the dam was blown up too. What real benefit would we gain from reclaiming it today? Besides, the Huaxia Army originally established itself at Lüliang because of the foundation laid at places like Qingmu Stronghold. As for the location itself, that land was never particularly fertile to begin with. If you and General Wang take the northwest, and we take back Xiao Cang River, aren’t you two getting the better end of the deal?”

Lou Shuwan looked at him, and after a moment, spread her hands and smiled.

“So you don’t want it, then.”

“We never said we didn’t want it…”

“So you do want it.”

“We just don’t have that many people to spare, and if the Lady Chancellor is simply trying to make things difficult for us…”

“Who’s making things difficult for whom! I ask if you don’t want it, you won’t say you don’t want it; I ask if you do want it, you won’t say you do either. Talking in riddles, playing games with words, and here I am being blamed for making things difficult…”

“Lady Chancellor, this passive-aggressive act of yours…”

“Who’s being passive-aggressive—” At this, Lou Shuwan suddenly burst out laughing. She pulled over a folder, opened it up, and gestured. “Fine, I’m just letting you know about this, that’s all. Oh, and I forgot to mention—I also sent a letter to Liangshan. The Huaxia Army has no one here in Jin territory, but Liangshan does, and their situation isn’t great either. I’ve done them favors before, so I invited them to help reclaim the northwest together. When the time comes, everyone can cooperate—you see, if the Huaxia Army sends troops, we could give you a third of the northwest instead. I don’t even want this whole ‘joint development’ business with you over Xiao Cang River anyway… that god-forsaken wasteland, you can develop it yourselves when the time comes…”

The two men fell silent for a moment. Xue Guangcheng took a sip of tea, forcing down his temper, and Zhan Wu nodded. “…Understood.”

“Good, as long as you understand.” Lou Shuwan bent over her writing, not looking at them. “We’re all on the same side here—I know how you are, something this big needs a proper meeting. Look how considerate I am—I told you about this over a month ago, and here I am reminding you again today. Go on, go hold your meeting, pull together some manpower. Right now the northwest is nothing but a bunch of scattered bandits and rabble—I’m honestly quite looking forward to seeing what Colonel Xue’s troops can do.”

After another pause, both Zhan Wu and Xue Guangcheng finished their tea before standing to leave. Zhan Wu said to Xue Guangcheng, “Someone here is being shameless…”

Xue Guangcheng said, “Maybe we should just pull the technical team out entirely.”

Lou Shuwan, still at her desk, looked up, her gaze cold as frost. “Go ahead and try it, I dare you.”

“See, she’s being unreasonable…”

“Truly, women and petty men are the hardest to manage…”

“Bah! Get out—” Lou Shuwan made as if to spit at them.

“This is just you causing trouble for no reason…”

“Passive-aggressive, and calling herself the Lady Chancellor…”

The two men stood there with hands on their hips, muttering complaints, and Lou Shuwan gave a few retorts of her own. Only once she picked up an inkstone as if to throw it did the two exasperated middle-aged men sigh and finally leave the study.

Lou Shuwan sat back down, resting her chin on her hand, still signing off on documents, a faint smile on her lips. In these times, finding all sorts of ways to disrupt the Huaxia Army’s plans had become one of her favorite pastimes, and getting the better of the Huaxia Army’s two representatives always brought her a moment of relief and pleasure. But the smile on her lips did not last long—as she sank back into her work, her gaze gradually turned cold and grim.

When she looked up again, the maid Yuan Xiaoqiu had come in from outside to report that the gathering had ended, that everyone who had attended seemed pleased, that Shi Jin and You Hongzhuo had sparred a bit, and that the group had now gone outside the palace to continue their revelry.

“It’s quite lively out there today. Would the Lady Chancellor like to go take a look?”

Lou Shuwan looked at her, thinking it over briefly.

“…Might as well.”

She nodded and smiled.

“Then I’ll give you the rest of the day off…”

…

The winter sun shone down over this land, over a blanket of clouds like cotton wool stretching for thousands of miles. In the southwest, in Chengdu, this day too was steeped in the joy of Little New Year.

Compared to the hard-won, precious celebrations in Jin territory, Chengdu—with its thinner snow and abundant supplies—was truly filled from end to end with a festive atmosphere. Restaurants and teahouses everywhere were strung with lanterns; streets and markets were dressed in red and green; old and new scholars alike organized lively literary gatherings; like-minded advocates of the new culture gathered in various places to discuss their ideals passionately; the aroma of delicacies drifted from the grand estates of the city’s wealthy; and even the relatively poor made their way through the beautiful markets, or found some public theater to watch a lively performance.

In this moment, all manner of people, each in their own way, found their share of joy.

On one side of the city, in an old, elegant courtyard residence, a similar joy was unfolding as noon approached. A dignified, robust-looking middle-aged man was leading a few special guests into his home. It was Little New Year, also the day for offering sacrifices to the Kitchen God, and his household was already steeped in the atmosphere of ritual preparation. As noon drew near, the man leading the group inside seemed somewhat hesitant, but the middle-aged host had already taken hold of his hand, speaking warmly of their bond: “We’re practically family, you know. Consider this coming home.”

The two of them were, in fact, distantly related.

The owner of this residence was named Li Rulai, and the man he had welcomed inside was a colonel commanding an artillery regiment in the Huaxia Army’s Fifth Army, named Li Dong. The two had crossed paths several times before, and Li Dong had several subordinates who had, in the past, received good arrangements through Li Rulai. There was some mutual goodwill between them, and tracing their family trees back far enough, one could genuinely find a shared ancestry. This time, having come to Chengdu on business, Li Dong had been invited to the man’s home for a simple meal.

Li Rulai was a reliable sort of man.

It was hard to refuse such warm hospitality.

Since they were distant kin, not long after entering, Li Rulai even had the women of his household come out to greet Li Dong and exchange pleasantries. This general, who had once led troops but was now sidelined, came from considerable wealth, and no longer harbored any great ambitions. He asked nothing of the men in the army, so there was no need to worry about being implicated in any corrupt schemes on his account. Given his military background, it was only natural that, having been defeated by the Huaxia Army, he had come to admire the soldiers on this side—his occasional socializing with them stemmed purely from genuine admiration and yearning in his heart.

Before long, a banquet was laid out, with no shortage of rare delicacies. Seeing Li Dong hesitate somewhat, Li Rulai spoke frankly with him about matters of business: “Not a single copper coin I’ve earned here was made illegally—it’s all things Mr. Ning himself encourages…”

Amid the festive clinking of cups throughout the city, this scene was but a tiny splash in a vast ocean, nothing remarkable at all. And yet, amid that same surging crowd, as noon approached, several carriages entered through the city’s northern gate. Around this time of year, these carriages had originally been promised to head back to Zhang Village—but at this moment, they instead cut through the festive crowds, moving silently toward that particular residence within the city.

The whole city was steeped in celebration, but the man in the carriage was not happy. He sat with his brow furrowed, deep in thought over something, the occasional scent of food drifting in from outside making him realize he was somewhat hungry. Over these years, he had, in truth, grown steadily less happy.

The carriage stopped partway, and he had someone buy him a meat bun.

Before long, the carriage came to a stop outside Li Rulai’s residence.

A member of his secretarial staff approached to inform him that Colonel Li Dong of the artillery was currently attending a banquet within the courtyard.

“Mm.”

He set down the meat bun in his hand, got out of the carriage, and stood there for a moment.

“…Never mind. Let’s go in.”

…

Ning Yi walked in, crossing the courtyard.

Before long, everyone standing around the table in the main hall saw him. He gave a nod.

“Sit.”