Yudie had never dreamed that the man Ning Chen had just robbed of his silver was the crown prince of the Great Xuan.

She dropped to her knees in a fluster. “Pre— presenting myself to Your Highness the Crown Prince. This guilty commoner did not know it was Your Highness. I beg Your Highness’s mercy.”

She was the daughter of a convicted official, so the only word she could use of herself was guilty commoner.

At the same time she hurriedly took out the six hundred taels in notes Ning Chen had taken and offered them back with both hands.

The crown prince glanced at Ning Chen and shook his head helplessly.

Ning Chen smiled ruefully. He had let it slip without meaning to.

“Get up! There is no blame where there was no knowing.”

“I thank Your Highness the Crown Prince!”

Ning Chen helped Yudie up quickly.

“Don’t be frightened. He’s decent enough.”

Yudie was still uneasy. The man in front of her was the crown prince of the Great Xuan Dynasty, the emperor to come.

The crown prince said, smiling, “Miss Yudie needn’t stand on ceremony. Ning Chen and I deal with each other as brothers… Besides, this crown prince stands lower in my father’s favor than Ning Chen does.”

“But might I hear Miss Yudie play a piece now?”

Yudie said quickly, in fear and trembling, “This guilty commoner—”

“You may not… She plays only for me. Not even a crown prince changes that.”

The crown prince had absolutely nothing to say to that. “Must you be so petty?”

Ning Chen’s face was serious, and he said heavily, “Your Highness. She is my woman, not one of the singing girls kept in your Eastern Palace… Unless she wishes it herself, nobody may force her.”

“If Your Highness truly deals with me as a brother, then Your Highness should respect my woman.”

The crown prince was silent for a moment, then lifted his cup. “I presumed. I’ll fine myself a cup!”

Ning Chen lifted his own cup. “My manner just now amounted to gross disrespect. I’ll fine myself three.”

“It was I who presumed on a lady. I’ll fine myself six.”

Ning Chen: “……”

“Then I’ll fine myself a jug.”

“Then I’ll fine myself two.”

“Three for me.”

“Four for me.”

Ning Chen put out a hand. “Money. You don’t have that much wine.”

The crown prince nearly sprayed out the wine in his mouth, clapped a hand over it, glared at Ning Chen with no words left in him, and then could not help laughing.

“I don’t have that much silver on me. Put it on account.”

Ning Chen shook his head. “Small shop, thin margins. No credit given.”

The crown prince shook his head helplessly. “Then I had better drink more slowly.”

Yudie was staring.

Was this man really the crown prince? He put on no airs at all.

She looked at Ning Chen with worship in her eyes… How could a crown prince have no airs? He could only be this easy with people because of who was sitting across from him.

“That reminds me. Huai’an asked me to tell you that a battlefield is a dangerous place, and you’re to take great care!”

Ning Chen nodded. “Thank the Ninth Princess for me!”

The two of them passed the cups back and forth, and three jugs were soon empty.

Ning Chen had drunk a fair amount, and his eyes had gone unfocused. “Another?”

The crown prince shook his head. “No more. I’ve had too much… and besides, I’ve no silver left on me.”

“You march out tomorrow. It won’t do to hold things up. When you come home in triumph, I’ll give you your welcome dinner then.”

Ning Chen nodded and got up. “I’ll see you out.”

He saw the crown prince out through the back gate and handed him over to Lu Yan, and only after they had said goodbye did Ning Chen come back, unsteady on his feet. He had drunk too much himself.

Yudie helped Ning Chen lie down and sat on the edge of the bed, still shaken. “I never imagined he could be the crown prince.”

“What of it? He has two eyes and one mouth like anybody. He can’t get by without eating and drinking and pissing and shitting and sleeping either… Nobody in this world is a damned bit better than anybody else. Every man has one life, and how he lives it is his own affair…”

Ning Chen talked on and then the sound stopped.

He was asleep!

Yudie stroked Ning Chen’s face gently, her big wet eyes full of love.

Ning Chen slept through and woke to find it was already the following morning.

The hangover was miserable. His head ached badly.

He put out a hand without thinking, and found that Yudie was not beside him.

Ning Chen got up and went into the outer room, and found that Xiaoxing was gone as well.

Where had the two women gone?

But Ning Chen had no time to worry about it. It was getting late, and he had to reach the Sky River landing as quickly as he could.

He ate a few pastries and swallowed some cold tea.

Ning Chen left Yudie a note, and then hurried away.

He rode hard the whole way and came to the Sky River landing.

Five great ships lay out on the water in a line.

The Great Xuan’s shipbuilding was of a high standard. Each had two decks and could carry two hundred men.

Everyone had already gone aboard. They were waiting only for Ning Chen.

“Ai-yo… Young Master Ning, you’ve come at last. Any later and you’d have missed the auspicious hour.”

Eunuch Quan had come too.

He was there on the Xuan Emperor’s behalf, to see Ning Chen off.

Ning Chen said, smiling, “My apologies. Something held me up!”

Eunuch Quan said, “Young Master Ning. His Majesty’s word for you… Take care on the road, look after yourself, and get yourself back alive to see him.”

Ning Chen had nothing to say to that. “Your subject receives the edict!”

Geng Jing had come as well. He walked over and clapped Ning Chen on the shoulder. “It’s getting late. Go aboard… Take care of yourself!”

“Take care, all of you. Wait for me to come home in triumph!”

Ning Chen was about to board when an angry shout went up from the imperial guards behind him. “Halt!”

Ning Chen turned his head and saw a carriage coming up at a gallop.

The man driving it was one of the big teapots.

Ning Chen had seen him at the courtesans’ quarter.

The carriage stopped.

The curtain lifted and Yudie came out, her face full of urgency, and jumped down from the carriage, staggering on landing and very nearly falling.

She turned and took a bundle from Xiaoxing’s hands and ran toward Ning Chen.

“Halt!”

An imperial guard leveled his spear at her.

“Hold!”

Ning Chen came running over.

“What are you doing here?”

Yudie put the bundle in Ning Chen’s hands. “Ning, dear. This girl heard the northern border is colder even than the capital, so this girl had some thick clothes made for you.”

The reason Ning Chen had woken to find Yudie missing was that she had gone out early to the tailor’s shop to collect the clothes for him.

“And a scent bag. This girl made it with her own hands. Ning, dear mustn’t think it beneath him.”

Ning Chen pinched her cheek. “It’s too cold out here. Go home… and wait for me to come back in triumph.”

Yudie was on the point of tears.

“Ning, dear, you must take care of yourself… This girl will wait for you to come back!”

Ning Chen nodded. “Go home! And stop crying. You’re not pretty when you cry.”

Yudie wiped her eyes in a flurry. “This girl isn’t crying.”

Ning Chen smiled and turned toward the great ship.

Yudie gazed after Ning Chen’s back, lost in it, the tears going round and round in her eyes.

Ning Chen came up to Geng Jing, checked his step and said, smiling, “Lord Geng. While I’m away from the capital, I’ll trouble you to look after Yudie for me… And if anybody doesn’t watch where he’s looking, write his name down for me, and when I come back I’ll settle with them one at a time.”

Geng Jing gave a slight nod.

“My thanks!”

Ning Chen went aboard.

He went to the stern and waved to the people on the bank.

Geng Jing swept a big hand out. “War drums. Sound!”

On the bank the war drums began to beat, and the sound shook the clouds… sending the officers and men off to war.

“The east wind blows, the war drums beat. The beauty drinks deep and waits for your return, the news of victory flies and the brave men come home.“

Ning Chen’s voice rang out boldly, surging on and on with the drums.

(End of Chapter 139)