Chen Ping'an stood in the alley outside the ancestral home, looking at the neighboring residences on either side.
Xiao Mo understood at once and asked, "Young Master, the Natal Ceramic fragment is hidden nearby?"
Chen Ping'an nodded with a smile. "I just don't know whether it's in the house on the left or the one on the right."
It was hidden well indeed—truly far at the edge of the sky, yet close before one's eyes.
At the border of Hongzhou, the party stopped at a relay station. Since they were officials with "official business," the station naturally made arrangements for them. Everything proceeded according to the rules, step by step and in perfect order, as the dozen or so officials settled into this Grasslands Relay Station in an orderly fashion. If familiar figures from officialdom were staying there and wanted a good night's sleep, even the official residences and guest rooms had their particular rules: accommodations were assigned according to rank, from highest to lowest. If the rooms were full, there was certainly no jumping the queue. But if one wished to eat well, that was no problem. For instance, the station master could pay out of his own pocket and have the cook prepare a private feast. Such a thing did not violate regulations. A nation's good laws should not be blindly harsh; they must accord with reason and human feeling. This had always been something National Teacher Cui Chan repeatedly emphasized.
Once inside the official residence, Emperor Song He ran a hand over the tabletop. Raising his hand, he found no dust upon it. He went over to the windowsill and wiped it lightly; it too was clean and spotless. Smiling, he said, "Back then, Old Master Guan questioned Teacher to his face. He said that you, National