Everything felt familiar.
The outer city, the inner city, the imperial palace. As Li Si followed Li Gang through them, he still saw the same broad, level avenues, the lake lined with drooping willows, the stone bridges with carved balustrades and painted pillars, the tall and magnificent residences, and the multicolored glazed tiles…
Yet beneath all that splendor lay the same emptiness and desolation, the same fear and panic in people’s hearts.
Even more absurdly, incense smoke curled everywhere throughout the city. Believers had spontaneously set up small fire altars in the streets and alleys, imitating Perfected Master Shen Xiao and Prince Fu as they murmured prayers. Passersby flocked toward them and prostrated themselves one after another.
Li Si’s brows remained tightly furrowed throughout the journey.
–
They happened upon a patrol of “Immortal Fire soldiers” dressed in red robes and red armor.
The Immortal Fire Army was a new force that Perfected Master Shen Xiao had been ordered to establish several months earlier. It had its own independent organization and was stationed specifically to defend the capital. Now that the Xiao army had invaded for a second time, the Immortal Fire Army had become the principal defensive force upon the capital’s four walls, already overshadowing the Palace Command Army that had originally held that responsibility.
The leader of this patrol was powerfully built and sat astride a large horse. Rather than carrying a weapon, he held a horsetail whisk between his fingers, his head high and belly thrust forward, looking extremely self-important.
Li Si and Li Gang’s party had just drawn near Xingguo Temple Bridge. The Immortal Fire soldiers were on the bridge, while Li Si and the others were below it. The tangled green willows beside the bridge blocked both sides’ view, so neither group saw the other.
The moment they rounded the corner, the soldier guiding Li Gang’s party nearly collided head-on with the Immortal Fire commander.
Both sides cried out in alarm. The commander’s horse startled and bolted uncontrollably toward the commoners gathered beside the road. An elderly man could not dodge in time and was about to be kicked down by the flying hooves.
Li Si spun forward. With one sweep of his arm, he drew the old man safely into his embrace, tilted his head and body aside to evade the kicking hooves, then turned through another smooth circle and gently delivered the old man into the arms of several surrounding commoners.
He planted one foot on a stone post at the bridgehead and launched himself into the air, landing upon the runaway horse behind the Immortal Fire commander. Seizing the reins, he pulled them tight and called several soft commands, quickly bringing the horse under control.
The Immortal Fire commander turned around, still shaken. “Many thanks, good sir, many—” His expression abruptly brightened. “Deputy Envoy Li! You’ve returned!”
Li Si frowned and looked closely. Was that not Zheng Jiu, deputy commander of the Immortal Fire Army?
—This pig-headed strongman! They had not met for several months, yet his old roguish habits had returned. He had grown so smug and careless that he was now galloping through the streets and endangering civilians!
—He had come out on patrol without even carrying a saber, instead imitating that damned Perfected Master Shen Xiao by holding a horsetail whisk, putting on airs and pretending to possess divine powers!
Fire blazed in Li Si’s eyes. He seized the pig’s ear and began beating him.
Zheng Jiu squealed, “Eek! Eek! I was wrong! I was—” What did I even do wrong? Boohoo!
In truth, Zheng Jiu suffered this beating somewhat unjustly. He had been diligently performing his patrol and had not deliberately urged his horse into a gallop. His poor riding skills had simply caused an accident. Fortunately, he admitted fault extremely quickly and repeatedly promised to comfort and compensate the frightened old man properly. Li Si also needed to follow Li Gang into the palace, so he merely rewarded Zheng Jiu with two painful punches before throwing him aside and hurrying away with Li Gang.
Before leaving, Li Si turned and gave Zheng Jiu one final warning look. Zheng Jiu shuddered and clamped both plump hands over his ears.
–
The party entered the imperial palace through the eastern side gate. They no longer received the treatment Li Si had enjoyed when he accompanied the Duke Protector of the State; only Administrator Li came to receive them.
When Administrator Li heard that Pacification Commissioner Li had returned to the capital, he volunteered to escort him. From afar, he saw that Li Si had returned with Li Gang as well, and delight appeared in his eyes. But when his gaze shifted to Li Gang, that delight turned to worry.
The three exchanged formal greetings. As Administrator Li hurriedly led the way, he quietly warned Li Gang, “Commissioner Li, His Majesty has been deeply troubled by affairs of state recently, and his heart palpitations have flared several times. You absolutely must not argue with him and deepen the discord between you.”
Li Gang seemed to have anticipated something already. His expression remained grave, and he said nothing.
The old gentleman was famous for his stubborn temper. Only before Li Si did he show a little gentleness. At every other time, he was a stubborn donkey who would argue his principles to the bitter end—no, not a stubborn donkey, but a stubborn Li.
Seeing his reaction, Administrator Li’s expression also grew solemn, and he sighed inwardly.
Administrator Li turned back and glanced at Li Si as well. The young man’s expression was usually calm and cold, but now he too appeared lost in thought, his face dark.
–
The three went to meet the emperor with grave expressions. Once again, they passed between tall walls and broad roads, deep courtyards and vermilion residences, carved beams and painted rafters, coiling dragons and soaring phoenixes.
As when Li Si first met him, the emperor was still in the quiet chamber where he practiced spiritual cultivation, seated beside a red-lacquered enclosed daybed. Yet his figure had grown even thinner.
An inescapable shadow also hung over the emperor’s face. His voice was weak and hoarse, with none of its former humility or approachability. He no longer wore a narrow-sleeved white robe patterned with clouds. Instead, a ghastly crimson ritual robe draped his body, making him look like a faded imitation of Perfected Master Shen Xiao. His cheeks were especially hollow and his expression obscure, making him look even more like someone possessed by an evil spirit and unable to free himself.
After the three exchanged a few words, the emperor waved Administrator Li and Li Si away, retaining only Li Gang for discussion.
–
Li Si withdrew outside with Administrator Li and waited beneath the covered corridor.
Several Imperial City Directorate guards were already stationed there. One of them made a faint sound to attract Li Si’s attention and gave him a meaningful look.
Li Si focused and saw Tao Shi, whom he had not met for a long time. This was not the place to speak or reminisce, so the two greeted each other with their eyes before lowering their gazes and silently resuming their watch.
At first, quiet conversation came from behind the door. After a while, it suddenly turned into an argument.
–
Administrator Li sighed quietly and closed his eyes.
He listened to court discussions every day and understood the present situation more clearly than almost anyone. That was why he had warned Li Gang beforehand.
On this southward campaign, the Xiao Second Prince demanded not only the three strongholds, but—opening his lion’s mouth wide—the entirety of Hebei and Hedong, nearly half of Great Xuan’s territory. Otherwise, he would break through the capital, slaughter the imperial household, and sever Great Xuan’s life completely.
The emperor and the peace faction had been frightened out of their wits. They wanted to negotiate with Xiao and offer even more gold and silver in exchange for retaining some of the territory. They were not proposing that nothing be ceded—only that less be ceded. Perhaps three strongholds, five strongholds, or seven strongholds?
But how could the upright and patriotic Pacification Commissioner Li tolerate such a thing? The instant he learned that the emperor intended to surrender territory and cities, he would surely risk his own life to oppose it.
–
Sure enough, before the old eunuch could even reopen his worried eyes, the emperor’s furious shout came from inside.
“Silence! Guards! Drag him away!”
Li Si’s expression changed, and his body shifted, but Administrator Li seized his sleeve. He restrained Li Si with a grave look, then signaled to Tao Shi and the others.
Tao Shi and the other guards rushed inside as ordered, helped Li Gang up from where he lay prostrate, and began dragging him out. Li Gang struggled fiercely while continuing to curse at the top of his voice. “Your Majesty would hand Hebei and Hedong to the enemy and destroy our own defenses! How is that any different from surrendering the entire country? You would burn the realm and the state to ashes! How will you face the imperial ancestors?”
The emperor’s temperament had become far more irritable and uncontrolled than it had been several months earlier. His face turned purple with rage, and he sprang to his feet, roaring sharply, “Drag him out and behead him! Behead him!”
The moment Administrator Li heard this, he hurried into the room and dropped to his knees with a thud, repeatedly striking his forehead against the floor until blood immediately poured down his face. The Imperial City Directorate guards exchanged shocked looks and remained frozen, not daring to move. Seeing their old superior kneeling and kowtowing, they released Li Gang and prostrated themselves as well.
The junior eunuchs and palace maids outside were so frightened that they all dropped to their knees. Li Si knelt with the others beneath the corridor, but his sweating palm had already crept silently toward the saber hilt at his waist…
Everyone loudly pleaded with the emperor to reconsider.
—Who dared execute Li Gang? Who dared execute the man the common people regarded as the true defender of the capital?
—Everyone knew that during the Xiao army’s first siege of the capital, the emperor had merely dismissed Li Gang and Venerable Pacification Commissioner Zuo from office, yet tens of thousands of commoners had gathered outside the palace gates in protest and had even beaten the palace eunuch who delivered the message to death.
Seeing that even his closest officials and personal troops did not dare obey his command, the emperor flew into an even greater rage.
“Excellent! You wish to be a loyal minister! All of you wish to be loyal ministers! I alone have betrayed the realm and the state! I alone have betrayed the imperial ancestors!”
His eyes were bloodshot, and his entire body trembled as he shouted hoarsely, “I received the Mandate of Heaven in a moment of peril. Illness torments me, my face has withered, and my bones have decayed, yet I have not dared neglect the affairs of state for a single day! Knowing the nation stands amid disaster and that the Son of Heaven must guard the gates of his country, I have never once spoken of abandoning the capital for a southern tour! Yet all of you accuse me of betraying the realm, the state, and my ancestors! Have any of you considered what will happen if the capital falls? If the imperial bloodline is severed, what realm and state will remain? What imperial ancestors will remain?”
Everyone lay prostrate and dared not speak. Even Li Gang fell silent beneath the sovereign’s thunderous fury, kneeling with his head lowered.
But Li Si, the only person outside beneath the corridor who had raised his head, stared directly through the open doorway at the enraged emperor with a pair of dark eyes.
He diligently attended to government affairs and never spoke of fleeing south, yet remained indecisive, muddleheaded, and utterly without a plan. Was that right?
Did the realm and the state belong only to the imperial family?
Was he not afraid of the capital falling merely because he feared that he and the imperial bloodline would be slaughtered, leaving the ancestors without descendants?
But what of the northern prefectures that had already fallen, like Shuozhou? What of the common people who had fallen into Xiao hands, slaughtered like pigs and dogs and left without even a place for burial? What of Kuiyuan City, which had held out beneath a massive siege for ten months and would rather die than surrender? What of the people of Hebei, Hedong, and even all of Great Xuan?
Compared with the imperial family, were they insignificant?
Li Si remembered Brother Xiao holding him tightly on the night before his departure, burying his face against Li Si’s shoulder and murmuring, “I truly want to go to the capital and kill him.”
How could one not hate him? Who would not want to do it?
Did he deserve to die?
But if he died, what would become of this nation already swaying amid wind and rain?
Li Si had returned intending only to kill Perfected Master Shen Xiao. Yet now he stared fixedly at the emperor, his gaze troubled and uncertain as he gradually sank into deep thought…
–
Li Si was not a philosopher. He understood neither political manipulation nor the balancing of competing powers, nor any strategy for governing a country or maintaining a household. He had never studied for even a single day in a school. Apart from military texts used by the Imperial Army, he had read nothing; apart from martial arts and warfare, he had experienced almost nothing.
Like Brother Xiao when he had once been lost, Li Si knew clearly that he was no mighty hero capable of turning the tide, no pillar that could save the people and the nation.
—What should someone like him do now?
–
Before he could reach an answer, the emperor’s fury attacked his heart. He suddenly clutched his chest and cried out repeatedly in pain before collapsing.
Administrator Li raised his head from the floor and hurriedly shouted, “His Majesty’s heart ailment has flared again! Someone quickly summon the State Preceptor and Prince Fu!”
Before he had even finished speaking, two cries rang out from beyond the courtyard.
“Brother!”
“Your Majesty!”
By coincidence, Prince Fu and the State Preceptor had just returned from performing their rituals atop the city wall. They descended like timely rain and rescued the scene from utter panic and disorder. The palace attendants hurriedly withdrew from the room, leaving the two of them to perform their rites and save the emperor.
Administrator Li ordered Tao Shi and the others to place Li Gang temporarily in Imperial City Directorate custody until the emperor awakened and decided his punishment. Li Si wanted to follow because he was worried about Pacification Commissioner Li, but Managing Officer Li stopped him.
Managing Officer Li murmured, “Remain here for now.”
–
Inside the quiet chamber, the State Preceptor proceeded as usual. He drew Prince Fu’s blood to serve as a medicinal catalyst, mixed it with one of the pills he had brought and dissolved both in tea, then fed it to the unconscious emperor. Afterward, he and Prince Fu sat cross-legged and murmured incantations.
Before long, the emperor supported his heavy head and slowly awakened. The State Preceptor and Prince Fu immediately knelt and bowed.
Prince Fu was now extremely close to the emperor. After completing his bow, he leaned beside the daybed, affectionately grasped the emperor’s cold hand, and said tearfully, “Imperial Brother, you frightened your little brother to death!”
The emperor remained too weak to speak. He merely tightened his grip on Qiao Shen’s hand, then glanced at the State Preceptor, trust and dependence showing in his clouded eyes.
The three spoke for a while before Managing Officer Li reported softly from outside, “Your Majesty, the Empress has come to pay her respects.”
The people of Xuan called the emperor Guanjia and the empress Shengren. The woman who had arrived was the lawful empress and the Crown Prince’s birth mother.
The empress and emperor shared a deep marital affection and had never suffered any estrangement. Hearing that her husband’s palpitations had flared again, she hurried over to visit him. The State Preceptor and Prince Fu both bowed to her. She paid her respects to the State Preceptor and called Prince Fu “Uncle,” meaning the Crown Prince’s uncle.
The empress was virtuous, gentle, and modest. Her eyes were also slightly damp as she said emotionally, “We have troubled Royal Uncle and the State Preceptor once again. Without the two of you repeatedly saving His Majesty with your immortal arts, I truly do not know what we would do.”
Both hurriedly demurred. Prince Fu, Qiao Shen, was even more tearful. “Sister-in-law honors your little brother too greatly. I have been alone and miserable since childhood and have never known human warmth. To receive such affection and care from Elder Brother is a blessing I cultivated over three lifetimes. I would gladly allow my body to be shattered to pieces if it could purchase Elder Brother’s health…”
He had suffered prolonged blood loss and was nothing but thin bones, pale and frail. Yet he was intelligent and sweet-tongued, humble and devout, making his elder brother and sister-in-law cherish him all the more.
The family exchanged several more warm words in a touching display of affection between brothers. Administratir Li seized the opportunity to enter, lower his head, and report, “Your Majesty, Li Gang has been temporarily detained. Please instruct us on how he should be dealt with.”
The emperor’s head began aching the moment he heard of that stubborn Li. He pressed his fingers to his temples, his face dark, and said nothing. The empress could not conveniently interfere in affairs of state. The State Preceptor, however, revealed a vicious glint in his eyes and gave Qiao Shen a meaningful look.
Qiao Shen understood at once. Holding Imperial Brother’s hand, he said softly, “Brother, Li Gang relies upon that tiny achievement from defending the city last year. He deceived the common people and deceived Brother as well, making Brother believe he could truly save Kuiyuan. Who would have expected that after spending three months near Kuiyuan, he still failed to defeat the enemy? He has long since exposed his incompetence and muddleheadedness. Brother truly trusted the wrong man before. Your little brother regrets it deeply as well!”
He was skilled at speaking in accordance with the emperor’s mood. Thinking about it, the emperor’s palm trembled with renewed anger.
Qiao Shen continued, “Brother, today your little brother accompanied the Perfected Master in performing rituals atop the city wall. I personally saw Li Gang return with his army, yet he failed to bring back even one war wagon. Is that not the crime of deceiving the sovereign? With a great enemy approaching, he does not consider strategies for resisting them. Instead, he spews filthy, treasonous words. In my view, Brother should execute this villain tonight and not allow him to live until tomorrow!”
–
Qiao Shen was agitated, and his voice carried loudly. Outside the room, Li Si’s expression grew colder and colder, while his fists secretly clenched.
–
Although the emperor was still angry, he retained some reason and sighed. “Little Brother Shen is innocent and naïve, with the pure heart of a child. But this Li Gang cannot be executed at present.”
This emperor, who had been forced onto the throne like a duck driven onto a perch, was cowardly by nature. He was pressured by the officials and pressured by the common people, and he dared offend neither side. He weakly closed his eyes and sighed. “He cannot be executed, nor can he remain imprisoned. If rumors spread, they may provoke another popular uprising. Administrator Li, place him under house arrest within the palace for now. We will decide his punishment after consulting the chief councillors.”
Author’s Notes: The term “chief councillors” collectively referred to Great Xuan’s chancellors and executive ministers. Great Xuan did not have only one chancellor. Several officials serving in posts such as Joint Manager of Affairs acted as chancellors and oversaw civil administration. Executive ministers included vice chancellors and the heads of the Bureau of Military Affairs, who separately managed important civil and military matters.
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
Administrator Li lowered his head and withdrew. The emperor suddenly remembered something and added, “Merge all twenty thousand troops he brought back into the Immortal Fire Army and place them under the State Preceptor’s command.”
At those words, delight appeared in Perfected Master Shen Xiao’s eyes, and he cast another satisfied glance at Qiao Shen.
Qiao Shen blinked obediently. Now that their objective had been achieved, he no longer mentioned the inauspicious Li Gang and merely continued saying pleasant things to amuse his elder brother and sister-in-law.
–
Administrator Li hurried out of the room and saw that the anger in Li Si’s eyes could no longer be concealed. He reflected inwardly that Prince Fu was not truly innocent or naïve—the one who genuinely possessed a pure child’s heart was this Young Master Li.
He hurried past Li Si and whispered, “Come with me.”
Li Si continued glaring into the room, unable to understand what medicine Little Brother had taken to make his heart so vicious. He almost wanted to charge inside, pull down Little Brother’s trousers, and beat his backside viciously on behalf of Elder Sister and Brother-in-law.
Administrator Li tugged him several times before finally dragging the furious Li Si away.
–
Administrator Li brought Li Si back to the Imperial City Directorate duty room, arranged the details of Li Gang’s house arrest, and completed the formal procedures for Li Si’s return to the capital and report for duty, ensuring that every outward appearance was flawless.
After nightfall, Administrator Li found an opportunity when no one was nearby and gave Li Si a junior eunuch’s uniform to change into. He also found some theatrical face paste and smeared Li Si’s complexion a waxy yellow until even his features were difficult to distinguish.
Even with this disguise, however, the palace did not have any junior eunuchs as tall as Li Si. He lowered his head, drew in his neck, hunched his back, and bent his knees slightly as he followed Administrator Li into the inner palace.
–
The night was dim. Administrator Li carried a lantern, while Li Si held a food box. As they walked, not a single person questioned them.
They deliberately took a circuitous route to avoid Funing Hall, where the emperor resided. After turning east and west for a short while, they reached the entrance of another refined palace residence.
The junior eunuch guarding the doorway saw that it was Administrator Li and did not question him in the slightest. After bowing, he led the two inside, escorted them to the door, and withdrew.
Li Si had kept his head lowered to conceal his face throughout the journey. Only after following Administrator Li into the room did he quietly raise his eyes.
He was astonished to see Qiao Shen seated beside the daybed.
In Li Si’s memory, Qiao Shen had lived in an exceptionally secluded side hall tucked into a corner of the inner palace. Not only had his residence been crude, but the servants had treated him carelessly.
Now Qiao Shen wore brocade garments and a red robe, seated amid soft and magnificent silk bedding. A lavish assortment of fruit and tea covered the table. Pale smoke curled from the incense burner beside the daybed, filling the room with a refined fragrance Li Si could not identify.
Qiao Shen merely coughed once, and every servant inside and outside the room vanished without a trace. Administrator Officer Li withdrew and closed the door behind him.
Li Si was extremely surprised. Seeing Little Brother should have made him happy, yet both encounters atop the city wall and inside the quiet chamber had made his fists itch.
Although he was angry, his heart still softened, and he spoke first. “Little Brother.”
Qiao Shen had been staring at him nervously. Hearing that form of address, his throat trembled, and he replied hoarsely, “Fourth Brother.”
“Are you well?”
“Is Elder Sister well?”
The two spoke at the same time, then both froze.
Qiao Shen’s expression crumpled, and he instantly lost control of his tears. His eyes reddened. Seeing him like this, Li Si’s heartache immediately overwhelmed his anger. He stepped forward and awkwardly opened his arms. Qiao Shen threw himself into his embrace, two large tears striking Li Si’s shoulder.
Only now did Li Si realize how cruel he had been. Elder Sister had entrusted Little Brother to his care, yet Li Si had impatiently run back to see Brother Xiao, leaving Little Brother alone inside this man-eating imperial city.
Little Brother was frighteningly thin and deathly pale. Although the room overflowed with brocade garments and rich food, they had nourished nothing but a skeleton. He was even more emaciated than when Li Si had left several months earlier.
Li Si felt miserable and guilty. But Qiao Shen did not think that way. Before Fourth Brother left, he had wanted to kill Perfected Master Shen Xiao and eliminate the threat, but Qiao Shen himself had stopped him.
Qiao Shen shed only two tears before pulling himself together and lifting his head. “It’s good that you’ve returned. Are Elder Sister, Brother-in-law, and Third Brother well? Have you received any news of Uncle Rong?”
Li Si briefly told him how everyone was doing. The elderly steward, Uncle Rong, remained inside Kuiyuan City under the care of Prefect Zhang and Chief Commander Wang, so Qiao Shen did not need to worry. Then Li Si asked, “Why did you tell the emperor to kill Pacification Commissioner Li? Did Perfected Master Shen Xiao force you? I’ll kill him tonight!”
Qiao Shen seized the corner of his robe and shook his head. “I knew the emperor would not dare execute Pacification Commissioner Li. I merely said it to soothe him. Rest assured, the chief councillors would not dare advise his execution either. At worst, he will remain under house arrest. I guessed you might return with Pacification Commissioner Li today. I asked Administrator Li to bring you here precisely because I must tell you this: you cannot kill Perfected Master Shen Xiao rashly.”
Li Si asked in confusion, “Why?”
Qiao Shen glanced toward the tightly closed door. Although Administrator Li was guarding outside, he remained exceedingly cautious.
Only after a moment of silence did he whisper, “Fourth Brother, I did not deliberately wish to hide this from you, but his life is still useful to me. Thanks to him, I became Prince Fu and gained the opportunity to plan what must be done. Do you remember what I told you before you left last time?”
Li Si had an excellent memory. Qiao Shen had said then: He deserves to die, but not yet. Someone else deserves death even more. You have what you must do, and I have what I must do.
Li Si’s eyes widened in sudden realization. At last, as though their minds were connected, he understood what Little Brother had meant.
—Someone else deserved to die. Could Little Brother possibly intend to kill the emperor?
Li Si began, “But…”
—Could they truly kill the sovereign of an entire nation without regard for the consequences? If the emperor died, how would they deal with the aftermath? Would the court, the capital, and even all of Great Xuan not descend into chaos?
Qiao Shen gently covered his mouth, signaling for silence. “Trust me. I have made arrangements.”
Li Si blinked against his palm. Although Little Brother’s face was haggard, a flash of light passed through his ashen eyes as he spoke.
Li Si suddenly remembered losing his memory after being struck by falling stones in the abandoned fortress and becoming trapped inside a pitch-black tunnel. At a fork in the passage, he had discovered a trail of tiny footprints. Those footprints had entered the darkness before him, staggering yet steadfast, and had even shown the older Li Si the correct path.
His heart was full of doubts. But he also knew Little Brother had his own plans—far more plans than Li Si ever did.
Li Si nodded. “All right. I trust you.”
Qiao Shen gripped his sleeve and looked earnestly into his eyes, whispering, “Fourth Brother, you returned at exactly the right time. With your help, this matter will be secure. Listen carefully: in the coming days, no matter what happens within the capital, you must not act recklessly. When the day comes for Perfected Master Shen Xiao to die, I will send someone to inform you.”
Li Si nodded again.
⸻
After Qiao Shen finished speaking with Li Si, he took out a food box he had prepared and exchanged it for the one Administrator Li had brought.
Administrator Li said nothing. He merely exchanged a look with Qiao Shen before hurriedly leading Li Si away.
After walking more than ten paces and nearly reaching the courtyard gate, Li Si’s sharp ears caught the sound of deliberately suppressed coughing. He turned back and saw Qiao Shen’s bent silhouette reflected upon the distant window frame, coughing. The figure looked exceptionally small and frail.
Li Si paused in concern. Administrator Li still said nothing and merely signaled for him to hurry after him.
–
The two returned to the Imperial City Directorate duty room. Li Si removed his junior eunuch disguise and watched Administrator Li open the food box they had brought back. Inside were several plates of delicately shaped sweet cakes and plump, fragrant candied fruits.
Administrator Li shook out a plain handkerchief, gathered all the sweets into it, and handed the bundle to Li Si.
“Usually, there are only dried fruits. Since everything today is sweet, His Highness Prince Fu must have prepared them especially for you.”
Li Si held the full bundle of sweets in both hands. As the elder brother, he had instead been fed treats by Little Brother. He was delighted and touched, yet even more worried about him.
Administrator Li then opened a hidden compartment beneath the fruit trays. Inside lay several dark-red cloths, filthy and covered in bloodstains.
Li Si asked quietly, “What is this?”
Administrator Li rose and walked to the door. He carefully looked along the corridor several times and confirmed that no one was nearby before returning and whispering, “His Highness fears that someone among the servants in his courtyard is another person’s spy and might discover that he has been coughing blood. Every few days, he gives these to me to destroy.”
He lit a brazier in the corner and fed the cloths into it one at a time, burning each carefully.
Li Si asked again, “Coughing blood? What exactly is wrong with Little—His Highness? Is he seriously ill?”
Administrator Li shook his head. “Young Master need not worry. The fewer people who know what His Highness is planning, the better. He has not explained it to you in detail because he wishes to protect you.”
Li Si did not understand.
But he possessed the instincts of a small animal and could see the light within people’s eyes.
Several months earlier, when he first met Administrator Li, the old eunuch already stood in the twilight of his life. After learning that his adopted son had died, the light in his eyes had gone out. Li Si did not know what had happened during his months away to make Administrator Li and Little Brother, who had previously been barely acquainted, become so familiar and trusting. But now he saw the burning coals reflected in Administrator Li’s eyes, filling those weathered pupils once more with the light of hope.
A glimmer of light also rose within Li Si’s heart, which had remained dark ever since he returned to the capital.
–
Administrator Li continued, “His Majesty punished Pacification Commissioner Li today, so he likely will not wish to see you walking before him either. I will arrange several days of leave for you. Return home to care for your family and await further news.”
Li Si nodded in acknowledgment.
The palace gates were locked at night, and no one was permitted to enter or leave. Administrator Li therefore had Li Si sleep in the duty room that night.
–
The late-autumn wind carried a faint chill as it wandered between the blackened walls and broad courtyards, making the great red lanterns beneath the eaves of Prince Fu’s residence sway ceaselessly.
Within the slowly shifting light, the junior eunuch keeping watch beneath the corridor grew drowsy, his head nodding in a haze.
No lamp burned behind the tightly closed door. The room was so dark that one could not see a hand before one’s face. Only someone who had dwelled within darkness for a long time could barely distinguish direction.
Qiao Shen sat silently in the darkness. His thin, withered fingers felt along the hidden compartment at the bottom of the food box and withdrew a packet of powder. Carefully holding it in his palm, he washed all of it down with the cold tea upon the table.
Before long, violent coughing erupted inside the room.
The junior eunuch jolted awake and asked softly, “Your Highness?”
Qiao Shen’s hoarse, feeble voice answered, “I caught a chill. It has already passed. Go back to sleep.”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
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