The capital, external prime minister's residence.
In his study, the external prime minister, Qi Zongbi, was carefully drafting a memorial for the Emperor, when a servant came in and reported, "Master, Eunuch Yue from the Eastern Depot requests an audience."[1]
The lanky old man stilled his busy writing brush.
"Invite him in, I’ll be there shortly."
He secured the brush on the rack it belonged to, then turned to leave.
Moments later, in the outer hall of the prime minister's residence.
"Minister Qi, I trust you have been well!" The speaker was a tall and slightly plump man with a clean-shaven face. Despite the official location of the meeting, he was dressed in plain clothes.. He cupped his fist in greeting to the tall and thin old man.
The lanky old man raised his hand in response. "Eunuch Yue, there’s no need for such formalities. You wouldn’t come here for no reason. What brings you here today?"
"Hehe, Minister Qi, you are a wise man indeed. I came to see you today for an important affair."
"I heard that the Yingtian Prefecture branch of a jianghu assassin organization was wiped out last month... Have you found any leads on the culprit yet?"
The lanky old man looked at Eunuch Yue impassively and responded, "The Imperial Guardians have been investigating this case and should have some leads soon."
"Minister Qi, let’s not beat around the bush." Eunuch Yue chuckled. "We both serve the one above us."
He bowed his head, cupped his fist high above, then continued, "We all know that the imperial court backs the infamous Ghostbane Association. To put it plainly, this so-called number one assassin organization of the jianghu is just a dog reared by the emperor. Now that someone has attacked his dog, His Majesty is rather displeased."
Minister Qi frowned and replied, "Did you come here to waste my time with this nonsense, Eunuch Yue? If so, I must ask you to leave."
"Heh, of course not. I just couldn’t stand to see His Majesty troubled by this matter, so I took it upon myself to have some of the Eastern Depot’s lackeys look into it. Surprisingly, those kids were quite reliable and found something before you did, Minister Qi," he said, pulling a piece of paper from his sleeve.
"How dare the Eastern Depot encroach on the Imperial Guardians’ case!"
The lanky old man was on the verge of completely losing his temper when Eunuch Yue interrupted him.
"To wipe out the Yingtian Prefecture branch overnight is an unimaginable feat. It might only be possible for those few who cannot be classified within the normal rankings. Among them, I initially suspected that Impending Sword Baili Gucheng might have had another one of his bouts of madness where he slaughters everyone in sight.
"However, further investigation revealed that he was in the Dunhuang area last month. He couldn’t possibly start killing people thousands of miles away. Fortunately, our men recovered a register of the people present that day. Heh, I saw this name." He pointed to a name on the piece of paper.
Minister Qi followed Eunuch Yue’s finger. "Stormqueller... So it’s actually him..."
In the end, perhaps out of laziness or perhaps for reasons he didn't understand yet, Ye Beizhi decided not to tell Fang Dingwu about the willful side of the usually well-behaved Miss Chi.
After disappearing from Ye Beizhi’s courtyard that day, Chi Nanwei fretfully observed for two days before concluding that no one treated her any differently. Confident that Ye Beizhi hadn’t betrayed her, she began to visit Ye Beizhi’s courtyard every few days, coming to treat him as someone she could trust.
When they were together, Chi Nanwei chattered nonstop, while Ye Beizhi occasionally nodded or responded with a few words. Chi Nanwei didn’t mind and enjoyed talking nevertheless, treating the stoic Ye Beizhi as the perfect listener. After all, he didn’t interrupt her, and she believed he wouldn’t gossip about what she shared either.
Ye Beizhi had been staying at the escort agency for some time now. As per his usual routine, he woke up early, fetched water, washed up, and settled down at the stone table in the courtyard. Shortly after, a slender figure in a green dress appeared in the doorway, it was Chi Nanwei.
As usual, Chi Nanwei placed a box of food on the table and began taking out the breakfast of the day.
"The kitchen made my favorite osmanthus cake today."
Chi Nanwei handed one to Ye Beizhi. "Here, give it a taste."
Ye Beizhi picked up a piece and chewed.
"How is it? Is it good?" Chi Nanwei looked at Ye Beizhi with a face full of expectation.
Ye Beizhi nodded. "Yes."
Chi Nanwei seemed happy that he liked her favorite cake. The two sat at the stone table, sharing breakfast. Suddenly, Chi Nanwei proposed, "Hey, why don’t you accompany me to see a shadow puppet show tomorrow? I heard that the theater troupe in the north of the city has a new play that’s supposed to be amazing!"
"Shadow puppet show?" Ye Beizhi, unfamiliar with the concept, looked at Chi Nanwei with confusion.
"Eh? You don’t know about shadow puppet shows? They’re shows where people hide behind a screen and control puppets to fight! How could anyone not know about shadow puppets..." Chi Nanwei said, voice tinted with mild disdain.
"I... I think I get it."
Hearing Chi Nanwei’s description, a memory surfaced in Ye Beizhi’s mind of someone who also used puppets to fight. Thinking of this person, Ye Beizhi silently categorized shadow puppet shows as extremely dangerous.
"You get it?" Chi Nanwei asked somewhat doubtfully, "Then let’s go see it tomorrow."
"I can’t." Ye Beizhi lowered his head.
"Huh? Why not? You don’t like shadow puppets?" It was the first time Chi Nanwei had heard Ye Beizhi refuse her, so she was puzzled.
"Tomorrow... I am leaving on a mission."
"Oh... okay, well... then you should do that. Stay safe."
The pair gradually fell silent. There was something in the air, but neither knew what else to say.
Chi Nanwei stood up and wavered for a moment before saying, "Well, I’ll be going back then."
Ye Beizhi nodded as usual, but didn’t speak up.
After Chi Nanwei left, Ye Beizhi remained at the stone table for a long time. Eventually, he picked up a piece of the now-cold osmanthus cake and savored it slowly.
It was sweeter than he was used to, but undeniably delicious.
1. Historically The Eastern Depot (東廠, Dōngchǎng) was a powerful secret police and intelligence agency in Ming Dynasty China, established in 1420 by the Yongle Emperor (永樂帝). It was an extension of the existing secret police system but was directly controlled by the emperor. Plays a similar role in TRB. ☜