The carriage rolled through the city, and as it passed near the Imperial Archery Hall, rain began to patter down from the sky. The apprentices practicing outside the hall abandoned their stances and went inside to rest, and the nearby streets filled with pedestrians hurrying along because of the sudden downpour. Shops put up awnings, scholars took shelter under the eaves, and women living nearby chased after children who ran shrieking with joy through the rain. The willows along the roadside by the river, their new shoots just sprouting, grew all the more vivid green in the rain.

The Fan Tower wasn’t far from the Imperial Archery Hall, and since Ning Yi had set out early that morning, by the time he arrived it was still only shortly after the hour of chen—by later reckoning, only just past nine in the morning. At this hour, the pleasure house hadn’t yet opened for business, and it was precisely this time that Ning Yi had chosen to come, so as not to disturb the establishment’s operations.

His meeting with Li Shishi carried no particular significance, in truth. They weren’t especially close friends; meeting before a performance was simply a matter of routine courtesy. Upon arriving at the Fan Tower, a batch of guests who had stayed the night and only just risen were still gradually leaving one by one—though by this point there weren’t many left, escorted out sparsely by women in loose robes, while some, because of the rain, lingered in the main hall waiting for the house’s attendants to bring out umbrellas. After Ning Yi had someone announce his arrival, he found, near the entrance to the Fan Tower’s main hall, an unexpected familiar face.

It was a tall, handsome man who, having come out from inside, sat near the doorway watching the rain. Perhaps because he’d just risen, his manner still carried a touch of languor. The woman accompanying him out had a quiet, gentle bearing—Ning Yi had seen her once before, one of the talented women of the house. When their eyes met, Ning Yi walked over and cupped his hands in greeting.

“Brother Xiaoyi.”

“Young Master Ning.”

Seeing it was Ning Yi, Yan Qing, seated there, promptly stood and returned the bow. In truth, only days earlier Yan Qing had still been helping Ning Yi train Su Wending and the others in martial arts, only handing off the task once Zhu Biao arrived. With their daily contact and exchanges of skill, the two had grown fairly close—though Ning Yi knew nothing of Yan Qing’s private life.

Although Yan Qing had always carried the nickname “the Rake,” in Ning Yi’s mind, he and Lu Junyi had always seemed like, well, that sort of pair. That he’d frequent the pleasure quarters wasn’t exactly strange, but this was the first time Ning Yi had actually run into it in person.

The two exchanged a few words, and the woman beside Yan Qing, named Han Huiniang, called for tea and refreshments to be brought over. Before long, Shishi came out to the main hall as well. Recalling that the two had already met once before, Ning Yi was about to bring up the incident on the canal, when Yan Qing spoke up first with a smile, cupping his hands and bowing slightly. “As for that matter last year, I’ve already made my apologies to Miss Shishi.”

Shishi replied with a smile as well. “Young Master Yan is too modest.”

Ning Yi let out an “oh”—it seemed the two had already crossed paths a few times before this. Though he wasn’t one for gossip, he couldn’t help but size them both up now. Rumor had it Shishi harbored feelings for Yan Qing—had the two of them, in all this time, actually gotten together?

To be fair, such a thing wouldn’t be terribly surprising. Yan Qing was handsome, carried himself with exceptional bearing, was highly skilled in martial arts, and spoke with real wit—though his relationship with Lu Junyi was somewhat ambiguous, in this era that was considered a rather refined, tasteful sort of thing.

Even in later times, there was that saying about “playing gay first to win a girl’s heart”—which just went to show, in a woman’s mind, this sort of thing could actually count in a man’s favor.

Looking at the two of them now in the hall—one handsome and languid, the other radiant and lovely—they truly did seem like a natural pair. As for Han Huiniang beside Yan Qing, though she had some looks and bearing of her own, she was, in this moment, merely a supporting presence. Ning Yi said with a smile, “Since we’ve run into each other like this, and it’s raining outside, why don’t you stay a while, Xiaoyi? We could have some tea and chat. Huiniang, you’re welcome too.”

At this, both Shishi and Yan Qing gave him a glance. Shishi smiled and lowered her head, seeming to have no objection. But Yan Qing frowned slightly, then waved a hand with a smile. “No, I still have some matters to see to back home—I need to go check on the young master.”

“Is the young master’s case nearly settled, then?”

“Thanks to Young Master Ning and the Chancellor’s tireless efforts, the case at the Ministry of Justice has been mostly overturned. It’s just that the property… probably can’t be recovered.”

Mentioning this, he glanced at Ning Yi, seeming to hesitate over something. By then a servant had brought over an umbrella, and as he was about to leave, Ning Yi walked him to the door and patted his shoulder. Only then did Yan Qing say quietly, “Young Master Ning, about the land that used to belong to Young Master Lu—if it truly can’t be recovered…”

“I know what you mean.” Ning Yi nodded. “Don’t worry, I won’t act rashly. For now let’s leave it as it stands—we’ll talk again when the chance comes. It’s Young Master Lu’s property, after all, as long as he can be at peace with it, that’s what matters.”

At this, Yan Qing brightened. “Then I thank you, Young Master Ning.”

Watching his retreating figure, Ning Yi shook his head. What he’d just spoken of was, of course, the vast fortune Lu Junyi had once held in Daming Prefecture. When Lu Junyi had been driven to rebellion, that property had been carved up and swallowed by various factions in Daming. Ning Yi had once said that once Lu Junyi’s name was cleared, they should still recover that property and hand it over to the Secret Investigation Bureau as public funds. Now that Liangshan had fallen and Lu Junyi’s identity had been cleared, recovering that property had become an extremely difficult matter—the main obstacle being that Liang Zhongshu, the prefect of Daming, was a direct protégé of Cai Jing’s faction.

Given Qin Siyuan’s current sphere of influence, even with real power in hand, he still couldn’t overcome Cai Jing in the end. After Lu Junyi and the others had come to the capital, they’d more or less come to understand the balance of power among the various factions in court. Li Gang and Qin Siyuan currently held real authority and were riding high; Tong Guan commanded the military, and with the court presently in great need of capable men, he too was enjoying an unmatched moment of prominence; the eunuch faction led by Liang Shicheng was largely untouchable; the censorate, with Qin Hui currently biting hard at anyone he arrested, had won considerable favor with the Emperor—but no matter who it was, none could ultimately compare to the already-retired Grand Preceptor Cai Jing. He was the kind of pillar who could be pulled out at any moment to shoulder the weight of the state; having governed for decades, his disciples and protégés were scattered throughout the empire, and no one could match his hidden reach and influence.

Once Lu Junyi and the others had come to understand this situation, it was, in the end, Lu Junyi himself who wished the matter dropped rather than pursued further. For one thing, there wasn’t much benefit left for him to gain from it; for another—if the Chancellor’s office truly meant to go head to head with Cai Jing over this, finding some way to bring down Liang Zhongshu and thereby clash directly with the Grand Preceptor, it would ultimately be him, who stood to gain little from the whole affair, who’d bear the brunt of it. Who would want to get dragged into that kind of trouble for the sake of one madman?

Had this been anyone else, it might have ended there. But Ning Yi, after all, was the sort of man who’d once taken ten men to Liangshan seeking revenge, and had actually managed to kill Song Jiang in the end—that sort of reckless, unhinged feat. Now, though he’d begun doing business and seemed to have grown ever more affable, no one could guess what schemes might be turning in his mind. As for what Qin Siyuan himself might be thinking, that too was something no one could quite fathom.

After Yan Qing left, Ning Yi and Shishi made their way into the inner courtyard. Tea was laid out beneath the eaves in the courtyard, a fine misty rain drizzling down over the whole world, tapping softly against the flowers, stones, and plants scattered about. She spoke of small matters—how Yu Hezhong and Chen Sifeng hadn’t come by in a long while.

Li Shishi was, after all, Li Shishi. Even though Ning Yi’s mind wasn’t particularly occupied with such matters, he had to admit that sitting here chatting idly with her was genuinely relaxing. As the reigning belle of the capital, she seemed to possess some innate magic that could smooth over everything around her, making it all feel just right—whether wind or rain, everything seemed to settle perfectly into place around her, and time slipped by unnoticed in that soothing atmosphere.

“…Speaking of which, before the New Year, I ran into Young Master Yan again, and he later told me many things about Liheng’s affairs.”

“I hope they were all good things.”

Shishi tilted her head, thinking it over, her eyes turning this way and that, then nodded. “Mm, all good things.”

Ning Yi laughed. The conversation meandered through small topics for a while, and when spring thunder rumbled overhead, the sky darkened somewhat, and Ning Yi rose to take his leave. The woman urged him to stay a little longer, so he had one more cup of tea. It was not yet noon by then; Ning Yi set off for the Chancellor’s residence, and Li Shishi and her adoptive mother, Li Yun, were also preparing to go out—only after some questioning did it come out that Shishi might have been careless in receiving an important guest the night before, and today she needed to pay a visit to offer an apology.

The Fan Tower operated as a pleasure house, and its reigning belle was, indeed, quite precious—precious, that is, because everyone treated her that way. But in the capital, there were always certain people before whom one simply couldn’t put on airs. Two such figures had come to the Fan Tower the previous night. One was a currently celebrated hero in the capital—Guo Yaoshi, come from the north, accompanied by a high official from the Ministry of War to see the sights at the Fan Tower. He had asked for Li Shishi to come out and meet him in person, and naturally, Li Shishi hadn’t dared refuse. In truth, given the current mood in Bianliang, with the northern campaign as the dominant theme of the day, even great officials like Qin Siyuan or Li Gang would have given Guo Yaoshi this kind of courtesy had he wished to visit the Fan Tower to see Li Shishi.

The other visitor who had come to the Fan Tower that night was, apparently, a member of the Zhou imperial clan, traveling under an alias, calling himself Wu Ji. He had been accompanied by Grand Marshal Gao Qiu, which alone indicated his status was hardly low. Someone of such standing would not normally be turned away either—but upon hearing that Guo Yaoshi was also present, he had immediately stepped aside, saying there was no need to call Miss Shishi over, and had merely asked for two other courtesans to chat with instead. He’d left before Li Yun could bring Shishi over to apologize, apparently having lost much of his interest in staying.

Because of this incident, Li Yun now needed to accompany Shishi to the Grand Marshal’s residence today to offer an apology in person. Their two carriages traveled together for several streets before parting ways—Ning Yi headed into the Chancellor’s residence, while the Fan Tower’s carriage pulled up in front of the Grand Marshal’s residence.

The rain was falling rather heavily now, and the sky wasn’t looking particularly bright. It was not yet lunchtime. Li Yun and Shishi were also fairly well-known figures in the capital, and after the gatekeeper announced their arrival, Gao Qiu himself came out to receive them.

As the current Grand Marshal, and having risen from playing cuju, Gao Qiu was tall in stature with a dignified appearance, quite resembling a later-era sports star in bearing. Though his reputation in court circles wasn’t particularly good these days, when it came to the events of the previous night, he only laughed heartily and waved it off, saying it was nothing to worry about.

“To be honest, that distinguished guest last night holds quite some standing. His Majesty personally instructed me to see that he enjoyed himself in the capital and not to neglect him—had it been anyone else last night, I certainly would have had a word with him about the matter, but since it was Commander Guo, the situation was entirely different. Given the recent campaigns in the north, Commander Guo’s contributions have been immense; it wasn’t easy for him to come south, and he’ll be heading back in a few days. That guest last night—well, even His Majesty himself would probably yield the chance to meet Miss Shishi to Commander Guo, given the circumstances.”

Grand Marshal Gao took a sip of tea, then laughed again. “As for this whole matter, that distinguished guest feels the same way—he certainly won’t hold any grudge against Miss Shishi over it. If anything, it would only anger him if Miss Shishi had been careless toward Commander Guo instead.”

Hearing this, Li Yun hurried to express her thanks, then added, “That the distinguished guest is so open-minded truly puts our minds at ease, but leaves us feeling all the more that we owe him something. I wonder if he’s still in the capital, and where he might be staying—might we be permitted to call on him in person, so that Shishi could personally apologize for any offense…”

“Ah, there’s really no need for that.” Grand Marshal Gao waved a hand, interrupting Li Yun with a smile. “For one thing, that distinguished guest has a great many pressing matters to attend to; for another, since he holds no grudge over it, why should you two dwell on it? For you both to pay him a formal visit would only seem overly deliberate. I’d only hope that the next time he visits the Fan Tower, Miss Shishi might have the chance to meet him properly and speak with him at ease. This is, after all, a place of pleasure and leisure—what matters is that everyone has a good time. Madam Li, you and I go back a long way—there’s no need to keep apologizing over and over, it starts to feel rather forced.”

Li Yun’s Fan Tower had managed to stay open in the capital precisely because she knew countless distinguished patrons, and Gao Qiu himself had frequently visited in his earlier days of newfound wealth and status. With that, the apology had, in essence, run its course. In truth, among the many high officials in the capital, there was only one Li Shishi—who would tear down a whole pleasure house just because they’d missed the chance to meet one courtesan? But having paid the visit in person still carried the sense of having covered all bases—so that afterward, people would recall Li Yun as someone who understood how things were done, willing to come apologize even over such a small matter.

As they spoke, an official from the Ministry of War had already arrived to pay Gao Qiu a visit. Li Yun rose to take her leave, and the household steward escorted the two of them out through the side gate. As they walked, Li Yun leaned in and murmured to Shishi, “That distinguished guest’s standing must be considerable. I’ve never seen him in the capital before—if he’s not some young lord, he must be a prince, and likely one who actually holds some real authority too…”

Most members of the Martial Dynasty’s imperial clan held no real power, kept largely as figureheads with nothing to do. But the few who did hold authority over some particular matter were counted among the imperial family’s most trusted confidants. Li Yun could guess as much, and Shishi, naturally, understood it too. As the two turned down another covered walkway, nearing the side courtyard where the carriages were parked, they suddenly heard a commotion of noise carrying toward them.

“Where is she—”

Amid the heavy rain, someone was shouting this from a distance. The voice came from inside the Grand Marshal’s residence; amid the chaotic sounds, it seemed someone was trying to restrain and calm the person down, but within moments the noise had drawn much closer.

“Where is she—don’t you dare stop me! Where’s Li Shishi… get out of my way! I won’t listen! Look at me, look at me—I don’t want to calm down! Do I look like someone who can calm down right now! You think I won’t kill you—your entire family! Li Shishi! Don’t you run, stay right there and fight me three hundred rounds—”

The voice drew nearer. Li Yun frowned and said in a low voice, “Is that Young Master Gao?” The steward escorting them out looked rather troubled as well, and turning around, they saw Gao Qiu’s adopted son, Gao Muen, dressed in a loose robe, hair disheveled like a madman’s, come charging out from the courtyard gate over there. The moment he spotted the two of them, he pointed straight at them. Around him, four or five attendants scrambled anxiously to hold him back and talk him down.

Li Shishi and Li Yun had, in the past, crossed paths with this most notorious young lord of the capital. But for one thing, despite his ill reputation, his preference ran toward women of respectable families; and for another, Li Shishi’s own fame and that of the Fan Tower kept him from wanting to cause trouble there—so the two sides had never had much overlap.

The previous year, at the Empress Dowager’s birthday celebration, Gao Muen had offended a visiting princess who had come to offer congratulations, provoking the imperial family’s fury. It was said this notorious playboy had been beaten half to death by Gao Qiu himself, and had remained shut up in the residence ever since. In that whole affair, most people had been far more focused on Gao Qiu himself being harshly scolded and demoted by the Emperor, and hadn’t bothered digging much further into it. Li Yun, at the moment, was rather at a loss—but Shishi suddenly remembered the young princess named Zhou Pei from that trip to the capital last year.

Gao Muen came charging over from that direction. “Li Shishi! You still dare show your face here! Don’t you dare hold me back! Calm down, I’ll show you calm! Isn’t that what you all want, for me to calm down!”

As he walked, he shoved away the hands of the attendants trying to restrain him, then tore off his outer robe with a snap and flung it at someone. Li Yun stepped forward a few paces, crying out in alarm, “Young Master Gao, what’s the matter—could there be some misunderstanding? Please, put your robe back on first, you’ll catch cold…”

“Catch cold! Misunderstanding! Don’t pretend you don’t know anything! I’ve heard it all! Isn’t that Ning Liheng’s Zhu Ji shop opening tomorrow?! Li Shishi! You’re close with Ning Liheng, aren’t you! He’s your lover, isn’t he!”

Gao Muen, now down to his undergarments, charged forward. Li Yun hurried to block him. “Young Master Gao! That’s not true! Not true at all! You’ve got it all wrong—our Shishi merely knows the man, nothing more. Please don’t spread careless rumors that could ruin a young woman’s reputation… The Zhu Ji has already opened, that’s all…”

“Get out of my way—” Gao Muen shoved Li Yun aside. “Don’t think I’m afraid of him just because he killed Lu Qian! Hmph! Li Shishi, in the past I let others’ faces spare you my attention—but not today! You’re still going to perform tomorrow, aren’t you? Still going to sing the lyrics he wrote, aren’t you? I’ve heard it all… today I won’t bother being so particular. You’re a whore, I’ll make do with that too—don’t you run—”

At this point, the only one who genuinely dared to try and stop him was Li Yun. Having been shoved to the ground, she scrambled up and rushed forward, trying to grab hold of Gao Muen’s leg. Shishi, frozen with fright for a moment, turned to run—only to have her wrist suddenly seized.

“Ah—”

Shishi let out a sharp scream, wrenching herself free with all her strength. Gao Muen, whose actual physical strength wasn’t especially great, had his hand knocked away—and raised his other hand, swinging it in a slap across her face.

With a sharp crack, the woman fell to the ground amid the curtain of rain outside the covered walkway, sprawled in the mud.

“Haha! Does it hurt—there, today I’ll ruin your face first, then break you in, and tomorrow I’ll go smash up his shop! Otherwise he’ll think this playboy is actually afraid of him—” Gao Muen swung a hand and charged straight at the woman lying in the rain. “Don’t run now, be a good girl for me, cry louder if you like—today I could break you in first and ruin your face after, they say it hurts less that way, hahahahahaha—”

Spring thunder cracked overhead, and Li Shishi, scrambling to her feet, ran for her life with everything she had…