Chen Ping'an left the Night Roaming Sword at Ren Yun Yi Yun Lou. With Xiao Mo beside him, he bought pastries for roughly two people, then a jug of wine. The total came to exactly fourteen taels of silver, not a coin more or less.
After buying the wine and pastries, Xiao Mo strolled leisurely through the bustling capital with Chen Ping'an. "Only those who can busy themselves with what the world calls idle can be at leisure when the world is busy. Fellow Daoist Lu once called himself Young Master's companion in idleness. What a marvelous turn of phrase."
One compliment praised them both.
Carrying the food box, Chen Ping'an asked with a smile, "Xiao Mo, you keep calling him Fellow Daoist Lu. Do you still not know Lu Chen's true identity?"
"Fellow Daoist Lu has always spoken frankly," Xiao Mo said. "He never concealed that he was one of White Jade Capital's Three Sect Masters. I simply felt that calling him Sect Master Lu would be too distant and would fail to honor his warmth."
Chen Ping'an smiled. "You'll be welcome wherever you go, Xiao Mo."
Xiao Mo's smile carried its usual hint of shyness. He glanced at the food box in Chen Ping'an's hand and asked curiously, "Young Master, is there some significance to this box and the wine and food inside it?"
Chen Ping'an nodded. "There is. The wood of this box came from Yuzhang Prefecture, the Great Li Empress Dowager's second home. Food is the people's heaven. Few die from eating too much; many die from hunger. We'll see how large our empress dowager's appetite is. This trip to the capital was never going to be a great matter, so long as we didn't meddle in other people's affairs. Fourteen taels of silver was just