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Currently, Xu Ziling ought to be the only person in the world who could reprimand Li Yuan to his face like this.

Either in his position as the Master of the Li Clan, even more as the ruler of the Great Tang, even a trusted aide or cabinet minister who dared to admonish him frankly would have to kneel on the ground and speak in fear and trepidation, nobody could possibly address Li Yuan using the same manner of speaking as Xu Ziling’s.

Blushing with shame, Li Yuan said, “Dage’s admonition is right.”

Xu Ziling was still maintaining his demeanor, watching the floating snow in the courtyard with his hands behind his back. He spoke to Li Yuan, who was standing solemnly behind him, “Ol’ Yue originally did not wish to meddle in your family affairs, but yesterday I received an information, which I cannot but tell you about it. Xiao Dao, do you know that your Great Tang is on the verge of getting split apart, defeated and dispersed?”

Li Yuan’s dragon-body slightly shook; his pair of eyes shot fierce and severed spirited light, he spoke heavily, “Why did Dage say such thing?”

Xu Ziling said, “What you and I are talking about this moment, absolutely must not be repeated to the third person. Do you understand?”

Li Yuan nodded and replied, “Xiaodi understands.”

Xu Ziling said, “Yesterday ‘Going Against The Tide’ You Niaojuan came to see me, begging me to help him resisting Shi Zhixuan and the others, in order to strive for the Demonic Emperor Relics. Naturally he gave me a reason, but at the same time also revealed a gargantuan conspiracy against your Great Tang.”

Knitting his brows, Li Yuan said, “Xiaodi is listening with respectful attention.”

Xu Ziling said, “Before talking about the conspiracy, let me ask you a couple questions first.”

Li Yuan seemed to know what he wanted to ask; sighing helplessly, he said, “Dage, please ask!”

Xu Ziling said, “Although hearsay must not be trusted completely, but how could the wind from an empty cave [idiom: unfounded story] be without any reason at all? I reenter Jianghu, from time to time I hear some people say that the Great Tang can found a country in Guanzhong, it’s all because your second son Shimin’s talent, which surpasses others, while also going through the fire and water, repeatedly establishing marvelous meritorious services. Yet you, Xiao Dao, because being confused by your harem, repeatedly indicated that the inheritance of the Emperor’s throne would be turned toward Jiancheng, Yuanji, while neglecting Shimin, which lead to the internal strife among the different factions in the imperial court. Is there such thing?”

Li Yuan was silent for half a day. He smiled wryly and said, “There is of course discrepancy between the facts and the rumor; the minor details I, Li Yuan, do not wish to dispute, but I do have my eyes on the major thought. Jiancheng is the oldest son of my first wife, plus he has no serious mistake. Although his outstanding merit seems fall short of Shimin’s, it is only because in the capacity as the crown prince, it is inappropriate for him to go out to lead the troops in military expedition, not because he is inferior to Shimin. On the surface Shimin’s talent shines forth like spirited horse, his meritorious grand, his might shakes the four seas; these are the things yearned for by the public. As a matter of fact, wasn’t this also the case with Yang Guang in the past? By deposing the elder setting up the younger, proper human relationships got into disarray; it would only repeat the disastrous turn in the palace court of the previous generation.”

Xu Ziling had never thought Li Yuan would respond this way. Although he was leaning toward Li Shimin, but if he put himself in Li Yuan’s shoes, he had to admit that Li Yuan’s thought was not without any reason.

This is what is called ‘the matter between father and son is difficult for others to speak about’. Under this kind of situation, Xu Ziling could only quit while he was ahead, touch on something and leave it there; it was inappropriate for him to force Li Yuan to accept his opinion.

He coldly said, “Your Li Family’s matters, naturally you, Xiao Dao is clearer than me. However, it is because of the serious factional struggle that outsiders have the opportunity to exploit the crack. In my opinion, what You Niaojuan said about Shi Zhixuan and Zhao Deyan already forming alliance, they are going to topple your Great Tang imperial court by all means, I am afraid this rumor is not far from the fact.”

The murderous intent in Li Yuan’s pair of eyes flared out greatly, he said angrily, “Unexpectedly there is such thing. Do they think that I, Li Yuan, am a three-year-old kid?”

Xu Ziling knew it’s time. He turned around, the might in his eyes radiated all around, he said, “Shi Zhixuan in the dark, Yang WenGan in the open; Zhao Deyan in the dark, Ke Dazhi in the open. Xiao Dao, do you understand?”

Li Yuan revealed the incomparable depth and the cool-headedness of a master of a clan. He nodded and said, “Dage said it very clearly.”

Xu Ziling said, “Our best choice now is using not-moving to control movement to beat them at their own game. Their operation ought to be directed at your second son Shimin, so much so that the one they wanted to deal with might be you, Xiao Dao. We could only quietly watching any changes, to see whether we have a way to get rid of Shi Zhixuan, to get rid of this worry forever.”

Frowning, Li Yuan said, “Why not using ten-thousand-jun­ thunderbolt momentum, to have Yang WenGan, Yang Xuyan, Ke Dazhi, as well as all their parties entirely executed, so as to avoid long night and many dreams, which they would take advantage of.”

“How could it be that simple?” Xu Ziling said, “Forget about Yang WenGan has close relationship with Jiancheng, Yuanji, first, let’s talk about Ke Dazhi, who was sent by Tuli. With obscure reason you suddenly have him executed, you would cause internal and external changes, which will only bring harm without any benefit.”

Li Yuan nodded and said, “Dage’s remark is definitely very reasonable. Fortunately Dage reminded me, otherwise perhaps I would really let the crafty villains prevail.”

Xu Ziling said, “Perhaps I would be able to find out Shi Zhixuan and the others’ conspiracy both via You Niaojuan and personal investigation. As long as Yue Shan is not dead, Shi Zhixuan can forget about playing trick like he did when he topple the Great Sui.”

Li Yuan said, “If Dage have no objection, I could dispatch a group of trustworthy martial art masters that Dage could use.”

Giving him cold shoulder, Xu Ziling said, “I, Yue Shan, have always been coming and going alone; the only one with whom I can be big brother and little brother is you, Xiao Dao. Why do I want anybody else to be in the way?”

Li Yuan seemed to recall past events; his old face slightly blushed, he said, “Until today Dage still treat me like this, Xiao Dao is certainly very much ashamed.”

Xu Ziling shouted, “No need to mention past events; I do what I do not for you, but for Xiuxin. Go back to the Palace!”

Li Yuan’s dragon-body shook. He repeated the name ‘Bi Xiuxin’ in low voice, twice. His face suddenly seemed to age a few years. After heaving a deep sigh, he saluted and left.

Inside a restaurant in the Bei Li, Xu Ziling’s Yong Qin and Lei Jiuzhi’s Wen Kuan were having lunch together.

Finished listening to what happened the previous night, Lei Jiuzhi was speechless. “You know that you could sit in here, alive and well, is an extremely extraordinary thing. Shi Zhixuan’s demonic power is unrivalled; other than Ning Daoqi, Song Que, Zhu Yuyan, and a limited number of people of their caliber, he really never paid attention to anybody, but later on I am afraid Yue Shan’s name will have to be added to that list!” he said.

Without feeling proud at all, Xu Ziling said, “I relied entirely on the mask to hide my real face, plus my Secret to Long Life’s true qi is the best to be used to keep up empty appearance, only then was I able not to wipe out Old Yue’s fame for fighting prowess, plus to snatch back my own little life.”

After a short pause, he went on, “At present, we have another important matter that must be done immediately, which is, relying on the power of your, LaoGe’s hands, you must try to investigate Jingzhao Lian’s movements both in Chang’an and outside the Pass.”

“That should be no problem,” Lei Jiuzhi replied, “After this, we go to the Six-Happiness Casino, you will enter alone to play a few rounds, when your winning reaches one thousand taels, leave immediately; by no means, do not stay.”

Xu Ziling did not understand, “Since we want to attract the ‘Shenxian Shou’ [(Daoist) Immortal Hand] Chi Shengchun’s attention, why not gamble ruthlessly, defeat him until he is in a sorry state?” he asked.

Smiling wryly, Lei Jiuzhi said, “You have said the reason yourself, i.e. we want to attract the opposite side’s attention. For the genuine professional gamblers who work for a living in the casinos, the one thing we want to avoid the most is revealing our cutting edge to the fullest. This kind of people, unless they could be like you, able to fight hard and attack one another against Shi Zhixuan – would only end up dying by violence on the street. Much less your disguise right now is an ordinary Jianghu martial art master, who was wounded in fighting hand to hand against a few Chang Lin Army’s Tujue troops. Remember, only those who could appear like they are relying on gambling luck rather than gambling technique in winning some money can be considered the real experts.”

Knitting his brows, Xu Ziling said, “How do the Six-Happiness Casino people know that I am playing dice and Pan Tan?”

Lei Jiuzhi explained patiently, “Ziling, don’t worry. Casino circle is so narrow, so thin. At the Ming Tang Wo you revealed two hands in succession, plus there is Madame Hong treating you favorably, I guarantee that this matter has already spread widely around the gambling circle in Chang’an. Not to mention last night at Ming Tang Wo you had a big fight against wicked men of the Chang Lin Army, even alarmed Qin Wang Li Shimin. Xiongdi, you must be a celebrity by now.”

Xu Ziling abruptly calmed his spirit; he secretly wondered whether it was because he had seen Shi Feixuan that he became absent-minded, even such a simple thing he was unable to think about.

Lei Jiuzhi patted his shoulder and said in a low voice, “I am going to wait for you at the Duoqing Wo [passionate nest].”

Finished speaking, he left first.

‘Passionate Nest’ was the ‘Passionate Prince’ Hou Xibai’s Chang’an secret lair, which had become their meeting place.

By dusk tonight, Xu Ziling still had to swap identity with Hou Xibai. It was going to be a very busy New Year’s Eve.

The sound of firecrackers was heard everywhere from the streets and alleys, making people forget the endlessly sprinkling snow.

By the time Liu Zhenghui came back to take Kou Zhong to lunch, Kou Zhong had been sitting until his waist ache, his back stiff, he was dizzy and his eyes dimmed, unexpectedly it was more exhausting than being on the battlefield, yet he had to pretend that he was greatly interested, acting as if he was thoroughly enjoying it and would never tire of it. Actually, he knew that he brought this hardship on himself.

However, even more tired than he was were the two Ministry of Works staffs, who had to climb high and crawl low, and go around and around for Kou Zhong; they were already so tired that they lost their excitement.

Kou Zhong originally wanted to carry on, but seeing how they looked, he had no choice but to dispel this idea. But he did not want to waste time to go too far to Fu Ju Lou either, so he asked, “Do you have to go out of the Palace for lunch every day?”

Hearing the ‘singing to a string accompaniment’ [from idiom: ‘Hearing a song with string accompaniment, one would know the elegant intention’], Liu Zhenghui understood the valuable advice behind it; he laughed and said, “Turns out just like Zhenghui, Xiansheng is also crazy about architecture. In here, every department office has independent dining room, with specially hired personnel to prepare the food. But the best place to eat in the Palace is the third floor of Sifang Guan [lit. four-sided (or all directions/everywhere) office building] by the Zhong Shu Wai Sheng [lit. middle/central ministry outside/external department; in Book 31 Chapter 3, there was ‘zhong shu wai xing’, which I translated as central document outside supervisor; I wonder if this is a typo, or those two words are interchangeable]. Although the food is not as good as Fu Ju Lou, it is only across the public square from the Palace City. This time, when the snowflake is swirling in the air, we could look to the north at the beautiful scenery of Taiji Palace in the snow, while raising our cups and chatting about architecture, ancient and modern. It is such a joy in life.”

Kou Zhong groaned inwardly, secretly thought that how could he have enough qualifications to chat about architecture with him? Yet he could not refuse; without any better option he hardened his face behind the mask and went with him.

On the way to Six-Happiness Casino, Xu Ziling could not help recalling Shi Feixuan’s bashful expression when she was stunned and was quite at a loss when she heard his alias ‘Yong Qin’.

Suddenly he heard someone shouting, “Hey you! Stop for Laozi!”

Frowning, Xu Ziling halted his steps. He saw gathering by the Six-Happiness Casino’s main entrance were three men who looked like local ruffians and gangsters; they all had long saber hanging on their waist.

On both sides of the casino gate, there were two giant stone lions, which were taller than a man, with bold and powerful grandeur. From the three men, two were sitting on the stone base supporting the stone lions. Obviously the one speaking had just stood up. The other two’s eyes revealed ominous glint, apparently they were harboring malicious intentions.

The men guarding the casino’s entrance seemed to already knew that this matter would happen, they acted as spectators enjoying the excitement, taking joy in calamity and delight in disaster. When the passers-by saw that something was about to happen, one after another they crossed to the other side of the street and walked past.

Xu Ziling’s mind was turning at the speed of light. Instantly he understood what was going on. He was certain that these three were targeting him; he was also sure that they must be gangsters affiliated with either Jingzhao Lian or the Chang Lin Army.

Seeing him, this gambler, did not gamble simply for fun, they sent men to guard outside all casinos, big and small, to give him bad luck. As long as they pretended that it was an ordinary dispute, even if the King of Qin Li Shimin found out about this matter, it would be difficult for him to investigate.

Displeased, Xu Ziling said, “What is it? Biren still needs to hurry up to play a few rounds!”

The big man walked straight toward him and stopped about three chi in front of him. Squinting at Xu Ziling, he said, “This renxiong, where did you come from? Have you paid your respect and reported your presence to Yang Guozi at the pier?”

Xu Ziling knew this man was stalling for time, to wait for other men to come and help dealing with him. Smiling, he said, “Get out of Laozi’s way immediately. Otherwise, later on you won’t be able to use that big mouth of yours to speak anymore.”

The big man’s countenance changed abruptly; by the time his hand moved toward his saber hilt, Xu Ziling’s palm already shot forward. The big man was hit by the palm and was thrown sideways, his mouth spurted fresh blood.

The other two men roared together and leaped; they brandished their saber to chop from left and right.

Xu Ziling feigned a sway to dodge the saber, but he suddenly flashed into the space between the two men. Nobody saw how he moved, but the two men were knocked by his shoulders and fell, rolling on the ground like a gourd, battered and exhausted.

Acting as if he had done a trivial thing, as if nothing had happened, under the gatekeepers’ dumbstruck stare, he swaggered through the Six-Happiness Casino main entrance.

Kou Zhong and Liu Zhenghui came to the dining hall at the third floor of Sifang Guan. It was only then did he understand the saying too late for regret.

His ugly face has become his easiest-to-recognize trademark; everybody scrambled over to talk with him and introduced themselves to him, in order to pave the way for them to invite him to treat patients in the future.

Countless government officers from Si Nong Si [agriculture department], Shang She Ju [social welfare?], Wei Wei Si [Commandant of Guards], Da Li Si [justice of the peace], Jiang Zuo Jian [(military) construction battalion, lit. military worker(?)] and so on, everybody was cordial and as warm as the fire. Forget about Kou Zhong could not remember so many official names, in the end, he could not even tell one face from another.

The only benefit for him was that Liu Zhenghui would not be able to study architecture from successive dynasties together with him.

It was only when the food was delivered was the flow of people paying their respect to Kou Zhong starting to dwindle down. The huge dining room returned to its original situation as when they arrived.

Through the window Kou Zhong looked at the Palace City under the fluttering snow. The apex of the Taiji Palace Hall towered above other buildings; it was still nearly two zhang higher than where he currently was. Its prestige when receiving the crowd of ministers could be easily imagined.

Liu Zhenghui’s voice was heard by his ear, “The dining hall in this Sifang Guan is dedicated to receiving diplomatic envoys that are coming from various regions, hence the name Sifang.”

Kou Zhong casually asked, “What countries are outside the Central Earth?”

Liu Zhenghui replied, “If Xiansheng is interested in knowing, let Xiaodi introduce you to the best person.”

Before Kou Zhong had any time to decline, Liu Zhenghui already left his seat to go to another corner. Shortly afterwards he invited another government official to come over and introduced him to Kou Zhong, “This gentleman is Wen Yanbo Daren from Foreign Affairs Department; no one is more qualified to answer Xiansheng’s question than he.”

It was not that Kou Zhong did not have interest in the situation outside the Central Earth, but right now he was just confused and disoriented by those scrolls of architecture drawings, so how could he be interested in other things?

Wen Yanbo was refined in manner and looked like a pedantic scholar, about forty years of age, making Kou Zhong think of Bai Laofuzi in Yangzhou [see Book 1 Chapter 1].

Naturally Wen Yanbo knew that Kou Zhong was a highly favored person by the court, so his manner was respectful and cordial.

Left without any choice, Kou Zhong had to repeat his previous question. Wen Yanbo replied in a leisurely manner, “In the north these days, the most powerful are the Eastern Tujue, the Western Tujue, the Huiqi, and the Xueyantuo, four ethnic groups. Others like Bayegu, Pugu, and so on, their nation is weaker and a lot smaller.”

Kou Zhong asked, “About these four nations, Xiaoren has heard as well, but I have never heard about those other tribes. Hey! These names are really hard to remember.”

Liu Zhenghui added, “In the west, the most powerful are Gaochang and Qiuci!”

Hearing the name ‘Qiuci’, Kou Zhong remembered Luoyang’s Qiuci beauty Linglong Jiao and her music and dancing. His interest was piqued, he asked, “Isn’t Qiuci famous for their singing and dancing beauties?”

Smiling, Wen Yanbo said, “Turns out Xiansheng is this experienced and knowledgeable. Qiuci’s music and dance are certainly famous throughout the Western Regions. But speaking about beautiful women, the Persians are the most famous. Their precious stones, amber, coral, crystal chalice, glass bowl, cornelian cup gilded with gold, are also popular in our Great Tang Court.”

Reminded of the anxiety about the Cloud Commander’s life or death, Kou Zhong immediately felt there’s-food-but-it’s-hard-to-swallow.

To make the conversation entertaining, Liu Zhenghui asked, “How’s the strength of the Persians? Persian merchants are good in doing business, their economy must be rich and powerful, and prosperous.”

Wen Yanbo replied, “Politically, currently the Persians are under the Sassanid Empire [c. 2nd to 7th century AD], but their situation is not too optimistic. Recently, there was a group of Persian merchants who came to Chang’an. I heard them say that their neighboring countries are eating away their national strength and are more flourishing by the day, posing a great threat of invasion from all four sides to them.”

Kou Zhong’s heart was moved; he asked, “Where did these Persians stay after their arrival in Chang’an?”

Wen Yanbo replied, “They are staying at Chang’an’s only Bosi Hu Si [lit. Persian and barbarian (non-Han) temple (or government office)], which was built by the Persian people who reside in Chang’an after the permit was approved by Liu Daren.”

Liu Zhenghui blurted out laughing and said, “Unexpectedly Wen Daren is teasing me. Without Huangshang’s nod, how could Zhenghui have the qualifications to examine and approve their permit?”

Kou Zhong mused inwardly that if Yun Shuai did not die, he ought to be coming to Chang’an to see the situation. Thereupon he cheerfully said, “Unexpectedly there are foreigners building a temple in here; I must go and visit it. But I wonder where is this temple located at?”

Liu Zhenghui replied, “It is located west of the Vermillion Bird Boulevard, in the Chong De Li, east of Qing Ming Canal; very easy to find. In the Li [neighborhood] itself, there are several dozen household of Persian and barbarian people who open Persian shops in both the East and West Markets.”

Wen Yanbo was about to speak, a ministry guard hurriedly came. After saluting, he said, “Huangshang’s decree, Liu Daren is requested in the Palace to have an audience with the Emperor.”

Liu Zhenghui jumped in fright. He stood up and left in a flurry.

Kou Zhong’s heart sank straight down to the bottom. He secretly wondered if his going to the Ministry of Works to look at the scrolls has already leaked outside, and that Li Yuan found out about it and grew suspicious, hence he summoned Liu Zhenghui to be interrogated.

If this was indeed the case, not only his great undertaking of treasure hunting could be declared finished, even whether he would be able to escape alive would become a big question mark.