Inside Bianyifang Restaurant.

Like at every wedding feast under heaven, Chen Ji went from table to table toasting, draining bowl after bowl; the liquor was turned into vapor by the stove of fire inside him.

What was different was that Zhang Xia was not like other brides, sitting in the boudoir with a red veil over her head waiting. Instead, she followed Chen Ji around toasting and drinking hard alongside him.

Her Path could not neutralize alcohol; after more than a dozen bowls she was already tipsy, her face flushed like the evening clouds.

Chen Ji wouldn't let her drink anymore, so she just followed behind him. Chen Ji drank two bowls each time, downing Zhang Xia's share as well; once the bowls were empty, Zhang Xia poured for Chen Ji.

Her elder brother Zhang Zheng, the big brother-in-law, arrived belatedly.

He gritted his teeth and went bowl for bowl with Chen Ji for more than ten bowls, but before Chen Ji got drunk, he himself went under first.

When the Yulin Army saw they couldn't get Chen Ji drunk, they suddenly started making a racket.

Qi Zhenzhuo shouted, "Where's the wedding candy? The groom and the bride are getting married, how come the host isn't even giving out candy?"

Duobao egged him on, "Candy my ass, I want to see the groom and bride eat 'linked-heart noodles'."

Chen Ji turned back to look at Zhang Xia and asked curiously, "What are linked-heart noodles?"

Zhang Xia rolled her eyes at him and ignored him. 𝑓𝑟𝑒𝘦𝓌𝑒𝑏𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝘭.𝒸𝘰𝑚

Xiao Man sat to one side holding Wu Yun, smiling with squinted eyes, "Young Master, how can you not even know linked-heart noodles? It's you and Sister Axia eating the same noodle—one end in your mouth, the other in Sister Axia's, and you have to finish it together for it to count…"

Chen Ji raised his eyebrows; no wonder Zhang Xia rolled her eyes at him.

The Yulin Army howled like ghosts and wolves through Bianyifang: "Linked-heart noodles, linked-heart noodles!"

Chen Ji's gaze searched around; Qi Zhenzhuo asked in puzzlement, "Master, what are you looking for?"

Chen Ji said casually, "I'm looking for my Whale Blade. Anyone seen my knife?"

Qi Zhenzhuo shrank his neck. "Tch, can't play, then forget it… come on, we drink, we drink, ignore him! Li Cen, you old bastard are always yelling about going to Guyuan, not staying in the Imperial Capital swallowing this crap. Now you're really going—shouldn't you down a big bowl?"

Li Cen grumbled and emptied a big bowl, "My plan was to go to that godforsaken shithole Guyuan after first visiting my old flame in the Eight Great Hutongs for a good binge. Who'd have thought I'd be drinking with you lot instead?"

Qi Zhenzhuo again planted one foot on a chair, pointing at Duobao. "And you, brat. You bet this old man wouldn't have the heart to throw away the Commander post at the Five Cities Military Department to go with you. You lost—don't you owe three bowls?"

Duobao grinned wide. "Count it as you finally having some balls this time."

With that, Duobao tilted his head back and gulped down three big bowls in a row; the Yulin Army cheered in unison.

Once they were drunk, Qi Zhenzhuo put one foot on the chair and one on the table. "Tell me, what are we going to Guyuan for?"

Duobao sneered, "To kill the enemy, of course!"

Qi Zhenzhuo tapped the rim of his bowl with his chopsticks. "Say it. How many are you going to kill?"

Duobao thought it over. "At least ten."

Qi Zhenzhuo slanted him a look. "Then this old man will kill a hundred."

Duobao cursed with a laugh, "Fuck your mother, why don't you say you're going to kill the West Capital Road Jiedu Envoy of the Jing Dynasty while you're at it."

Qi Zhenzhuo downed a bowl of fiery liquor. "What if this old man really does kill that damned Jiedu Envoy?"

Duobao burst out laughing and also climbed up, stepping onto the table. "If you really can kill him, this old man will shine your boots!"

Qi Zhenzhuo said seriously, "It's a deal!"

Duobao answered just as seriously, "It's a deal!"

Qi Zhenzhuo laughed loudly, drunken eyes hazy as he pointed toward the North. "While the sons of rich families are cockfighting in Zangtai, we shall go against the flow and swing our army north!"

The Yulin Army all rose to their feet, raising their bowls and draining them in one go. "While the sons of rich families are cockfighting in Zangtai, we shall go against the flow and swing our army north!"

Their voices shook the roof tiles; the falling snow slanted in the wind.

On the third floor of Bianyifang, Mrs. Lu, a veil hat on her head, leaned at a slant in the shadows, silently looking down into the main hall.

Shi San ran upstairs and whispered, "Landlord, these people can really drink. They're about to finish off all the wine in our cellar."

Mrs. Lu thought for a moment. "Go buy more for them next door. Remember to buy the unwatered stuff from Donglaishun."

Shi San froze. "Huh? Buy from someone else? Won't we lose even more that way?"

Mrs. Lu said calmly, "Let them drink their fill, drink themselves into oblivion. Only by forgetting the gaudy splendor of the Imperial Capital can they put down roots in a place like Guyuan. After they've stayed there a year, two years, five years, ten years, then they'll understand what kind of place Guyuan really is."

Shi San chuckled, "It's no surprise they'd want to go to Guyuan. Third Elder said Guyuan has a curse: any man who's been there, even if he leaves, will definitely go back again."

Mrs. Lu gave a short, derisive laugh. "Slaughter those two sheep in the back courtyard and roast them for the boys. Once they get to Guyuan, they'll be eating sand for the rest of their lives."

Shi San answered with a drawn-out "ey": "I'll go buy the wine right now… But I actually kind of want to go back to Guyuan. Third Elder wants to go back too."

Hidden under her veil, Mrs. Lu's expression could not be seen. "Old Three broke the prisoners out. You and Little Nine went to deliver the betrothal gifts today. You're all far too conspicuous. If someone with an agenda fixes their eyes on you, I'm afraid it'll shake the very foundation of the lamp. You, Little Nine, and Old Three will leave tonight. Once you've delivered the grain to Guyuan, go from Longyou Road into the Jing Dynasty. Hu Junxian has already prepared new identities for you."

Shi San's eyes lit up. "Truly?"

Mrs. Lu gave a soft "mm." "Truly."

Shi San hesitated again. "Landlord, you're not going this time?"

Mrs. Lu looked at Chen Ji and Zhang Xia sitting in the corner downstairs. "I can't get away anymore."

...

...

In an elegant private room on the second floor of Bianyifang Restaurant, Zhang Zhuo and Wang Daosheng were drinking together.

Zhang Zhuo's brows were wreathed in joy; no one needed to urge him—he downed one cup after another.

Wang Daosheng studied him. "So happy?"

Zhang Zhuo laughed heartily. "My girl, you know, she only stepped in because she couldn't bear to see others mistreat Chen Ji, so she went to help him out. If it weren't for my wife kicking up that fuss today, whether this marriage would go through would still be up in the air. Now that you went and proposed for him publicly, and the Yulin Army went to escort the bride, my wife and my girl won't be able to back out even if they want to."

Wang Daosheng lifted his cup and took a sip. "You egged me on to play matchmaker, and I ended up getting chewed out in front of Xu Yihong. Back then nobody dared cross her, and now I walked right up to her door."

Zhang Zhuo suddenly sighed. "I can't go home for the next few days either. I'll have to find some excuse to leave the Imperial Capital on official business, and only come back once she's done straightening Chen Ji out."

Just then, the sounds of the drinking game rang out again from downstairs.

Zhang Zhuo craned his neck over the railing, drunkenly peering at the young men below. "Zitong, seeing all this, I can't help but wish I were going to Guyuan with them—mount up, kill the enemy, and have my bones buried in Qingshan."

Wang Daosheng sipped a mouthful of fiery liquor. "You have more important things to do."

Zhang Zhuo sighed with feeling. "Yes, I have more important things to do. In Southwest Yunzhou disloyalty is stirring again. The Esoteric Sect Gan Ning Sect can barely suppress the Sakya Sect any longer. That Bodhisattva Namo of the Sakya Sect has the backing of the local chiefs; he's unwilling to stay beneath anyone and is bent on founding his own Buddhist Country. The court received secret reports: in Yunzhou, there are spies from the Jing Dynasty's traitors colluding with the Sakya Sect to plot rebellion. Next month that Bodhisattva Namo will go to Seda Larong Temple for a Debating Scripture. If he wins, I fear the master of Rochusaga, Lotus Buddha, will lose his hold. Even if he doesn't this time, next time is hard to say… Lotus Buddha is old."

"The Jinling Xu Family and the Huqiu Xu Family have joined hands. They're colluding with the Eight Great Merchants and the noble families and gentry to monopolize the South's grain and money; I fear next spring's harvest and the salt tax will not go smoothly. Qi Xianzun has returned to Ji State to sit in command, but I'm afraid his new policies will also be hard to push through. Everywhere they're secretly digging copper mines and privately minting copper coin… the court is full of holes, wounds everywhere."

Looking at his friend across from him, Wang Daosheng saw seven parts fatigue within the drunkenness. "You're too tired. Things have to be done slowly."

"I don't have that much time." Zhang Zhuo looked down dispiritedly at the vigorous young Yulin Army below. "If I were twenty years younger, I would also take things slowly. But I don't have that much time… Still, the Jing Dynasty isn't in much better shape. I only hope that when they fight over the heir apparent and slaughter back and forth, they kill off their own people clean. Drink. I'm happy today; let's not talk about unhappy things. Today we only drink."

Wang Daosheng looked toward the corner downstairs, where Chen Ji and Zhang Xia sat side by side. "Now that Chen Ji has been stripped of his title, I'm thinking of sending him to Taiyuan Prefecture, grind him down for ten years—he might still have a path."

Without even turning his head, Zhang Zhuo said, "He's counted as Eunuch Party now; how would the Hu Family still be willing to use him? I know you want to give him ten years of peace to build up strength, but that teacher of yours, Official Hu, is no easy character either. Who knows, he might just pick Chen Ji up and use him as a knife again. Better to leave him with me—whatever happens, I'll take it on for him, and he'll be able to accomplish great things… Stop trying to steal my son-in-law; you won't be able to steal him away anyway."

Wang Daosheng did not argue. He merely followed Zhang Zhuo's gaze downward. "As long as you have arrangements in place."

In the corner, Chen Ji and Zhang Xia sat shoulder to shoulder on a long bench, neither speaking, sharing a tacit silence as they watched the bustle. Neither paid any attention to what others were saying; it was as if every light in the world had gone out, leaving only one lamp shining on the two of them.

Everything inside Bianyifang Restaurant was like a revolving lantern, like a kaleidoscope—glittering, multicolored, noisy and riotous.

The thick door curtain split the heavy snow outside and the merriment inside into two different worlds, as if none of this were real, existing only in the memory they would later embellish.

A rare moment of peace.

No one knew how long had passed before the wine made Zhang Xia drowsy. Her breath carried warm liquor as she slowly let her head rest on Chen Ji's shoulder.

Chen Ji's body stiffened slightly.

Zhang Xia whispered, "Don't move."

Chen Ji slowly relaxed his shoulder.

Xiao Man was sitting in another corner.

She set Wu Yun on the table and let it pick at the meat by itself, while she held up a bowl of wine, sipping in small mouthfuls as she watched the fun. Sip by sip, she stared at Chen Ji and Zhang Xia across from her and grinned foolishly. "Say, will the young master and Sister Axia have a boy or a girl? Best if it's a boy, after all he has to carry on the young master's incense line. The second one can take the surname Zhang… No, no, it doesn't matter if the first is a girl either. They can just have a few more."

The little monk ignored Xiao Man's rambling chatter. He secretly picked up some wine for himself and took a tiny sip. One sip wasn't enough, so he took another; sip by sip, before he knew it, he had finished several bowls.

Xiao Man happened to glance over and let out a "ya": "What's a monk like you doing drinking wine?"

The little monk gave a boozy hiccup. "Back in Luocheng City I often went drinking with the Princely Heir. Once I've drunk, I don't have to think about crossing my heart calamity anymore."

Xiao Man asked curiously, "What calamity exactly are you crossing?"

The little monk cast her a sidelong glance, then hurriedly drew his eyes back. "When the heart is moved, add one stroke and it becomes a calamity."