Coming out of the Ministry of Justice’s cells.

Ning Chen looked at Li Zhixing. “Lord Li, Zisu is only a frail woman, after all. I doubt she could survive the Ministry of Justice’s harsher methods.”

As he spoke he reached toward his waist, and found he had no silver notes left.

He scooped up a handful of gold beans and pressed them on Li Zhixing.

The gold beans had all belonged to the Left Chancellor once. Now they were his.

He had brought a good number of them back with him this trip.

Li Zhixing pocketed the gold beans without any fuss. Things had already gone this far; refusing now would only be making a performance of it.

He gave a slight nod. “Ning the Silver Coat can rest easy on that score.”

Ning Chen smiled. “Then I won’t keep Lord Li any longer. Drinks another day. Good-bye.”

Ning Chen mounted Diaochan and rode straight for the courtesans’ quarter.

Night fell.

The courtesans’ quarter blazed with light, girls seeing guests in and out.

“Young Master Ning?”

Ning Chen turned at the voice. It was the old madam.

She had been seeing off a customer, and at the sight of him she came swaying over on her willow waist.

“Young Master Ning hasn’t been by in a while. Off on a long trip somewhere?”

Because Ning Chen had come back so suddenly, His Majesty had not yet had time to have notices posted around the city, so apart from the senior court officials and a handful of others, nobody knew he had gone to the frontier at all.

Ning Chen nodded. “A trip, yes.”

“Here I thought Ning the Silver Coat had taken a fancy to some other girl and gone cold on our Yudie.”

Ning Chen only smiled and did not explain. “You go on about your business. I’ll go find Yudie.”

“Young Master Ning, wait a moment!”

Ning Chen turned back to her.

The old madam lowered her voice. “Now that you’re back, pay a little more mind to that girl. She hasn’t been herself lately.”

Ning Chen frowned. “What’s going on?”

The old madam said, “Yudie’s been quietly borrowing silver from the girls she’s close to, and she’s even sold off her own jewelry.”

Ning Chen looked puzzled. “Is she in some kind of trouble? What would she need that much silver for?”

The old madam shook her head. “I don’t know. I asked her, but she won’t say… and she asked me to keep it quiet too.”

Ning Chen was silent a moment, then gave a slight nod. “All right. I understand.”

Ning Chen walked into the courtesans’ quarter, puzzling over why Yudie would need to borrow silver.

The last time he had marched north, he had converted His Majesty’s reward into silver notes before parting and given Yudie close to twenty thousand taels.

Yudie’s expenses at the courtesans’ quarter were not large—clothes, jewelry, rouge, that sort of thing, and nothing more.

And she had no need to worry about clothes either. His Majesty’s first reward to him had been five hundred bolts of fine silk, and he had given every bolt to Yudie.

Still thinking it over, he came up to the second floor.

Jiang Daniu and Tian Jiang saw Ning Chen and were badly startled.

The two of them hurried over to bow.

“Young Master Ning, when did you get back?”

Ning Chen said with a smile, “Just today. You’ve had a hard time of it lately—nothing happened while I was away, I hope?”

Tian Jiang said respectfully, “All’s been well! Miss Yudie hardly ever goes out. Now and then she goes to buy rouge and powder, and we always go with her.”

Ning Chen asked, “Has any stranger made contact with Yudie?”

Both men shook their heads.

Jiang Daniu grinned. “Who in the capital doesn’t know Miss Yudie is Young Master Ning’s own woman by now? No fool with any sense would go looking for trouble there.”

Ning Chen thought for a moment. “Has the girl who attends Yudie—Xiaoxing—had any contact with strangers?”

The two men looked at each other, both faces full of awkwardness.

“What is it?”

Tian Jiang said quickly, “Forgive us, Young Master Ning. We haven’t been paying much attention to Miss Xiaoxing.”

Ning Chen gave a flat grunt.

“From now on, I want the two of you watching Xiaoxing closely. What she does, who she sees—report it to me right away.”

If Yudie had run into trouble she couldn’t handle herself, she would certainly send Xiaoxing to deal with it.

“Yes, this servant obeys!”

Ning Chen gave a nod and went upstairs.

Xiaoxing was carrying a basin of water toward a room when a familiar figure came up the stairs.

She looked again, her face changing slightly, then hurried into Yudie’s room.

Yudie sat in plain clothes at her low table, her eyes rimmed red, tears sliding silently down her cheeks.

Xiaoxing rushed in, her words coming fast. “Miss, I saw Young Master Ning.”

Yudie’s head came up sharply, the dullness in her eyes turning bright.

“Are you sure it wasn’t a mistake?”

Ning Chen was away at the front. How could he possibly be at the courtesans’ quarter?

Xiaoxing said firmly, “It was Young Master Ning. This servant wouldn’t mistake him.”

Yudie wiped hastily at her tears. “Xiaoxing, find some way to hold Ning, dear off. I need to go change my clothes.”

But before she could get up, Ning Chen had already walked in.

“Ning, dear?”

Yudie was flustered, but more than that, she was overjoyed. Her eyes shone and she rose so quickly she nearly lost her footing, stumbling toward him.

Ning Chen stepped forward and gathered her into his arms.

Xiaoxing slipped tactfully out of the room and closed the door behind her.

“Did you miss me?”

Yudie nodded faintly and made a small sound, thick through the nose.

Ning Chen looked down at her face—much thinner than before. “Have you been crying?”

Yudie shook her head. “No. I’m just so happy to see you.”

“Why did Ning, dear come back so suddenly? I was even planning to go meet you at the Sky River landing.”

Ning Chen teased her. “What, aren’t you happy I came back all of a sudden?”

Yudie lifted her small face. “Ning, dear has come home safe. Of course this girl is happy—happier than anything.”

Ning Chen took her hand, led her to sit down, and looked her over. “You’ve lost weight. What’s going on? Are you feeling unwell?”

Yudie gazed at him, entranced, and shook her head gently.

“Ning, dear has gone darker too. But it suits you—you look stronger.”

Ning Chen ran his thumb over her small, soft white hand. “Why are you dressed so plainly? No powder on at all, and you’re not even wearing your favorite gold hairpin.”

“This girl hasn’t been going out, so it doesn’t matter if I dress plainly.”

Yudie seemed to remember something. She took Ning Chen’s hand. “Ning, dear, come with me. This girl has a gift for you.”

She said it while pulling him toward the inner room.

Ning Chen paused slightly. “I was five days on that ship. Let me wash up first?”

Yudie nodded. “Of course. This girl will have hot water brought up for you.”

Ning Chen came up from behind and wrapped his arms around her, murmuring wickedly in her ear, “I didn’t expect you to be in such a hurry.”

Yudie stiffened, suddenly aware of something hard pressing against her, and her pretty face went red in an instant.

She explained in a fluster, “That’s not it, Ning, dear, you’ve got the wrong idea… this girl’s gift isn’t what you’re thinking.”

Ning Chen grinned wickedly. “How do you know what I’m thinking?”

“I—I…” Yudie flushed. “Ning, dear is being awfully obvious about it.”

Ning Chen nipped gently at her ear. “So does Yudie want it too?”

Yudie’s pretty face went crimson. She felt her whole body go soft, and said, barely above a whisper, “This girl… this girl wants Ning, dear too.”

“Ning, dear, this girl will have hot water brought for you… and I’ll see to you properly in a little while.”

(End of Chapter 290)