Chapter 27:
Autumn Chill

 

SHEN ZECHUAN immediately smiled. “This is no big secret. Goodbye.”

“Why not hear me out first?” Xiao Chiye was in a good mood after recovering his lost thumb ring. “Ji Gang is your shifu, so we’re fellow disciples of the same martial lineage. I’m older than you, so it would only be proper for you to call me shixiong.”

“The Ji family has no connections in Libei.” But even as he said this, Shen Zechuan recalled his fight with Xiao Chiye in the snow five years ago. Back then, he’d felt a sense of familiarity that had nagged at him.

“Perhaps they do, perhaps they don’t,” Xiao Chiye said. “It’s hard to say for sure when it comes to things like fated meetings.”

Shen Zechuan gestured for Ge Qingqing and Xiao-Wu to wait and sat back down beside Xiao Chiye. “You looked into Ge Qingqing.”

“I couldn’t forget it,” Xiao Chiye looked at him. “He fled from me so quickly five years ago, and now, five years later, he’s so close to you. How could I not be suspicious of such a glaring coincidence? So, following that thread, I managed to find out all about him.”

“What do you want?” Shen Zechuan asked with a smile.

“Nothing.” Xiao Chiye raised a finger and gestured at Shen Zechuan’s eyes. “No need for your fake smiles. We’re practically sworn friends in life and death by now; why put on a brave face? You’re panicking. Scared now, huh?”

“Not quite yet,” Shen Zechuan said.

Xiao Chiye spun his chopsticks around and tapped the table absently. “If Ji Gang is your shifu, it makes sense that the Embroidered Uniform Guard led by Ge Qingqing spared your life back then.”

“You’re overly suspicious.” Shen Zechuan looked down at the brown oil stains on the tabletop. “Just because that kick didn’t kill me, you kept nosing around. You sure are dogged.”

“It’s one of the few virtues I have,” Xiao Chiye said, “and I spent it all on you.”

“Since you say we are of the same martial lineage,” Shen Zechuan said, “it wouldn’t be proper of you to keep your shifu’s name from me, would it?”

Xiao Chiye tossed the chopsticks back into the bamboo holder, which promptly toppled over. “Let’s hear you call me shixiong first.”

Shen Zechuan said nothing.

“Ji Gang is an impressive man,” Xiao Chiye said. “I sent someone to Duanzhou to make inquiries; everyone there thought he died in a fire. Say, was he the one who killed Xiaofuzi?”

“Nope.” Shen Zechuan righted the chopstick holder. “My shifu is of an advanced age. How could he take a life?”

The wind picked up. Neither man moved.

“You seem like you’ve done nothing,” Xiao Chiye said. “Yet I feel like you’ve done everything.”

“Whether I did it or not, you all refuse to let me go.” Bracing his hands on the bench, Shen Zechuan turned to Xiao Chiye and laughed quietly. “Well then—so you can be justified in hating me, why don’t I do all those bad things?”

 

It was only when Xiao Chiye entered the palace the next day that he learned of Imperial Concubine Wei’s death.

Li Jianheng had already adopted the emperor’s robes. He looked drained and sallow from the days he’d spent crying. Seated on the dais, he said, “They say she slipped and fell into the well. They didn’t find her body until last night.”

How convenient this slip was.

Seeing no one around, Li Jianheng whispered, “Ce’an, don’t tell me it was you.”

Xiao Chiye shook his head.

Li Jianheng looked immediately relieved. He shifted uncomfortably in the emperor’s seat. “Now that I live in the palace, whenever I open my eyes at night, I can see eunuchs waiting. It’s quite terrifying. They used to call Pan Rugui lao-zuzong, and now their lao-zuzong is locked up in prison! Ce’an, do you think they hate me?”

He loosed a stream of grumbles, all revolving around the topic of how fearful he was. In the end, he convinced Xiao Chiye to send the Imperial Army into the palace to take over the important tasks of guard and patrol duty, at least for now. Xiao Chiye naturally would not refuse. After another moment, Li Jianheng said, “Libei has sent a letter: the Prince of Libei and your brother are on their way. You’ll see them in a just few more days, Ce’an.”

Li Jianheng was nakedly playing up to Xiao Chiye with this. Now that he stood on the cusp of becoming master of all the lands, he was more timid than he’d ever been; his insufferable arrogance seemed to have been stripped away entirely during the Autumn Hunt. Finally, he understood who held the real power.

Not that Xiao Chiye intended to seek rewards or accolades. Li Jianheng knew more than anyone the thing he most wished for. Yet to date, Li Jianheng had said nothing about letting him go home to Libei.

Xiao Chiye’s face remained impassive, hiding his sinking heart.

 

Five days later, the Prince of Libei arrived in Qudu. Autumn rain had fallen uninterrupted all day. Still, Xiao Chiye rode his horse out of the city early in the morning and stood in the pavilion where he had seen them off years ago. After four hours’ wait, he finally saw several falcons materialize on the distant horizon. On his shoulder, Meng grew excited and charged into the rain, drawing great arcs in the sky as he caught up with his brothers and sisters.

The armored cavalry burst from the curtain of rain like a stroke of dark ink drawn through water, sweeping toward Xiao Chiye. Unable to wait, he leapt out of the pavilion and dashed into the rain to greet them.

“Father!”

Atop his horse, Xiao Jiming laughed loudly and said to his father, “He looks so big and strong now, but the instant he sees you, he shows true colors.”

Xiao Fangxu took off his bamboo hat and leaned over to drop it onto Xiao Chiye’s head. “You’ve grown taller,” he said after studying his son a moment.

Xiao Chiye grinned wide. “That’s right; even Dage is half a head shorter than me now!”

“What a smug little brat,” said Xiao Jiming. “Ever since he outgrew me, he’s been mentioning it every year when we meet.”

Xiao Fangxu handed his reins to Zhao Hui and dismounted. Then he reached out and pulled his youngest son into a hug, clapping him heartily on the back. “Silly boy!”

Xiao Chiye laughed. “I’ve been waiting a while. Did something keep you on the way?”