The inn's second floor.
The old friends Li Qing and Yan Bufan had only just left when another pair of old friends, Yang Ge and Shen Fa, came upstairs.
Yang Ge stood beside the railing, looking down over Luting County, which had not only grown prosperous but was beginning to blossom with color. With a touch of wistfulness, he said, "I never thought you'd still dare come see me..."
Shen Fa took a sip of coarse tea and smiled calmly. "We couldn't really... never see each other again, could we?"
Yang Ge was about to speak when Zhao Cha came upstairs, nervously carrying a tray of food.
At the sight of her, Shen Fa hurriedly rose to meet her. "How could I presume to have Your Highness serve me personally? Are there no other attendants in the inn?"
Hearing him expose her identity without the slightest hesitation, Zhao Cha grew even more frightened. She timidly looked toward Yang Ge, who stood with his back to her at the railing... She remembered perfectly well how, when Shen Fa and Wei Heng had brought her to Luting, they had warned her over and over never to reveal her identity, or her life would be in danger. They had even arranged for her to live outside the palace for a while in Capital City to grow accustomed to ordinary people's lives. Though her destination had changed from Yang Ge's home to the Welcome Inn, she had never forgotten their warnings.
Seeing this, Shen Fa smiled gently. "Your Highness needn't worry. This fellow has known who you are all along. Since he hasn't made things difficult for you, that means he accepts your presence at the inn. Nor need you worry about His Majesty summoning you back to the palace. His Majesty is very