Leaving

Qiao Shuyi did not care why Zongzheng Heng had not killed her.

All she knew was that he had let go, and she had won.

Every part of the plan that followed could proceed smoothly, one step at a time.

"Zhigui, leave the residence tomorrow. If I spend another day with you, I fear I won't be able to bear dying."

Zongzheng Heng lowered his head and looked at her, his pitch-black eyes deep as a pool as they gazed straight into hers.

"Shushu, the secret guards in your Jinglan Garden are far stronger than the soldiers surrounding the residence outside. If you wanted to live, it wouldn't be difficult, would it?"

Qiao Shuyi suddenly laughed.

"Zhigui, can't you bear to part with me?"

Without waiting for his answer, she stood, flicked her sleeves, and turned her back on him.

"Zhigui, I am the Prince of Jin'an's legitimate daughter. I was born to silk robes and fine food, raised as precious as gold and jade. The finest things in the world have been mine for the taking since I was little. Sneak away? What would that make me? Creeping about, hiding my head and exposing my tail-worse than a commoner."

"Bowing and scraping, clinging to life in disgrace-I couldn't live like that. I'd rather have no future at all than spend it that way."

She turned around, her lips curving in a carefree, unconcerned smile:

"Zhigui, let us indulge ourselves one last time today, shall we? Consider it your final gift to me while I'm still in this world."

Zongzheng Heng stared at her, his dark eyes seeming to pierce right through her.

He did not know what he was thinking, nor did he know what he should do.

The Qiao Family had fallen, and his martial arts had been restored. She could no longer threaten him in the slightest.

He should leave.

He should refuse her.

But he did not move.

He simply sat there.

Watching her walk toward him, step by step, straddle his lap, and press her lips gently to his.

He did not refuse.

By now, they were both well practiced in every intimacy that followed.

Zongzheng Heng wrapped an arm around her waist and pressed her down on the couch by the window.

He did not know how much time passed.

On the couch, on the table, in the bathing pool, on the high stool, and in the bed, they left traces of themselves everywhere.

As though they meant to burn away in this single day everything they would leave unfinished, everything they would not have time for in the future.

At last, each of them wore only a loosely draped outer robe.

Zongzheng Heng leaned against the headboard, gazing absently at some point in the air.

Qiao Shuyi curled up in his lap, too exhausted to bother moving even a finger.

He looked down at her and suddenly recalled a line he had read in some book or other.

Now that it came to mind, every word seemed to have been written about her.

She was his Buddhist shrine, and also his warm bed.

She was propriety, and also absurdity.

He stripped off his clothes and his upbringing, and upon her body-

Became a Buddha, and also a madman.

The next day, the sky was just beginning to brighten.

Zongzheng Heng looked down at Qiao Shuyi, curled up and sleeping soundly in his arms.

Her lashes rested low, and a trace of a satisfied flush still lingered on her cheeks.

His gaze lingered on her face for a moment. At last, he withdrew his arm, rose, and dressed.

He moved lightly, without disturbing her.

Once he was fully dressed, all the meekness and humility of the past few days had vanished from his face, leaving only the cold indifference befitting an emperor.

He walked to the doorway, rested a hand on the frame, and paused.

He did not turn around, merely glancing slightly to the side.

An instant later, he withdrew his gaze, pushed open the door, and walked out.

In the next instant, he pushed off with his toes, sprang up from the ground, and landed steadily on the roof.

The morning wind whistled, sending his robes billowing. Beneath his mask, his eyes were as cold as a thousand-year-old icy pool.

He did not look back again. With a few leaps, he vanished into the brightening sky.

The Jinzhou prefectural yamen.

When Zongzheng Heng entered the main hall, the room was full of officials discussing affairs.

He had changed into a wide-sleeved robe of pine-soot black, embroidered with dark-gold hornless dragons. A black jade crown bound his hair, a black-and-gold belt encircled his waist, and a white jade pendant carved with a hornless dragon hung at his side.

Nobility ran to his bones, and a commanding presence lay beneath the surface.

The guard at the door was about to stop him when he casually produced a jade token engraved with a five-clawed golden dragon, a token of the emperor.

The guard's face changed dramatically, and he fell to his knees with a thud.

Without looking to either side, Zongzheng Heng walked straight into the hall.

The Jinzhou officials were arguing incessantly over how to deal with Qiao Nanyu's remaining followers. When they saw an unfamiliar young man swagger in, they were about to confront him-

Gu Huai'an had already sprung to his feet. Gathering his robes, he dropped to his knees:

"Your subject pays his respects to Your Majesty."

At last, he had seen His Majesty.

Gu Huai'an secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

These past days, he had been so busy in Jinzhou that his feet barely touched the ground, while His Majesty was a divine dragon whose head could be seen but not its tail, sending out only an occasional secret order.

Qiao Nanyu's account books, secret letters, and maps-each and every item was ironclad evidence piled high as a mountain. He had no idea what method His Majesty had used to obtain them from that old fox.

If Gu Huai'an had known that his emperor had spent a month as the Prince of Jin'an's legitimate daughter's male favorite, his jaw would probably have dropped so far he could not close it.

But even if he knew such a thing, he would never dare know it.

The less one knew of the emperor's secrets, the longer one lived.

If he truly stumbled upon something he should not know, he feared he would not live to see tomorrow's sun.

The officials who had been arguing red-faced only moments ago fell silent as though someone had seized them by the throats.

A moment later, chairs clattered throughout the hall as everyone dropped to their knees and shouted, "Long live His Majesty!"

Zongzheng Heng walked among them to the head seat, gathered his robes, and sat down. His gaze slowly swept over the officials kneeling across the floor.

"Rise."

Gu Huai'an rose, took a memorial from his sleeve, and presented it with both hands:

"Your Majesty, Qiao Nanyu and his family have all been detained at the prince's residence. The rebel troops in the valley outside the city have largely dispersed after learning that their provisions and weapons had been seized and their commander captured. The leading generals who sought to resist to the end have been executed on the spot. As for the remaining soldiers, in accordance with Your Majesty's decree, I have dispersed them among the garrisons of the various prefectures. The ringleaders were executed, and the followers were left unquestioned and will not be pursued."

Zongzheng Heng took the memorial and opened it, reading several pages without a change of expression.

Gu Huai'an continued his report. "As for provisions, the three granaries in the east, south, and north of the city have been taken over by people sent by the Ministry of Revenue. The accounts have been checked and largely match what was recorded in Qiao Nanyu's secret letters. All the managers of the weapons workshop in the west of the city have been replaced. More than 3,600 finished weapons and pieces of armor have been inventoried and registered, awaiting Your Majesty's decision. As for Qiao Nanyu's secret correspondence with various parties, I have followed Your Majesty's instructions and made a separate copy of the portions implicating officials in the various prefectures."

Zongzheng Heng closed the memorial and set it on the desk, tapping the tabletop with his fingertips.

"Qiao Nanyu operated in Jinzhou for more than ten years, and his hidden agents are spread across the prefectures. That is nothing new. What I want is not to kill a few people, but to tear this malignant growth out by the roots. Minister Gu just said that officials in every prefecture were involved. You are all officials entrusted with caring for Jinzhou's people, and you worked alongside Qiao Nanyu for many years. Tell me, how should this matter be handled?"

The hall fell silent for a moment.

An elderly official with graying hair and beard was the first to speak:

"Your Majesty, Qiao Nanyu harbored a wolf's ambition and deserves death many times over. But he operated here for many years and has numerous followers. If they are all punished severely without distinction, I fear it will cause unrest in the provinces. In my view, we should distinguish ringleaders from followers, execute only the chief culprits, and deal more leniently with the rest, as a sign of Your Majesty's benevolence."

As soon as he finished, another middle-aged official stood up:

"Your Majesty, I believe that will not do! Qiao Nanyu rebelled, a capital crime punishable by the extermination of nine clans. Which of those who secretly conspired with him did not knowingly break the law? If they are merely treated leniently, who will respect the court's laws in the future? I believe they must be punished severely, without leniency, as a warning to others!"

Zongzheng Heng leaned back in his chair, listening to them argue back and forth.

Gu Huai'an said, "Your Majesty, I believe this matter can be handled in three steps. First, Qiao Nanyu's trusted confidants and diehard followers against whom the evidence is conclusive should be executed according to the law, with no leniency. Second, officials who had dealings with Qiao Nanyu but did not participate in the rebellion may be demoted or fined a portion of their salaries as appropriate, to see how they conduct themselves afterward. Third, those who secretly passed information to the court-I have copied out a list of their names-should not only go unpunished but should also be rewarded, to encourage more officials to follow their example."

"In this way, we will both deter those harboring ill intentions and reassure the officials who were merely pretending to go along with him. More than that, we will let everyone under heaven know that Your Majesty sees the finest detail and rewards and punishes justly."

When Zongzheng Heng had heard him out, the fingers tapping the table stopped.

"We shall do as Minister Gu has said. The chief culprits must be executed, the followers sentenced according to their involvement, and the informants rewarded. Within three days, draw up a list of the implicated officials in each prefecture and a plan for dealing with them, and submit them to me. I do not want to see anyone using this as a chance to settle private grudges in the name of public duty, nor anyone fishing in troubled waters. Verify the facts before taking action. If you mishandle it-"

His gaze darkened slightly. "I will hold you accountable."

All the officials in the hall dropped to their knees as one. "We obey Your Majesty's decree."

Zongzheng Heng stood and straightened his cuffs. "You are dismissed."

As though granted a great pardon, everyone rose and took their leave.

Gu Huai'an stayed until last. Only when everyone else had gone did he step forward and say quietly, "Your Majesty, should we bring Qiao Nanyu in for questioning? We may yet get him to reveal which officials in the capital are involved."

Zongzheng Heng said, "There is no hurry. I will question him myself tomorrow."