There was only one short line on the calling card, but Ning Chen knew perfectly well who had sent it.

The woman emperor had stolen a seed of his... and now the seed had taken root and sprouted.

This was the very thing he had feared most.

It really is the thing you dread that comes!

Ning Chen closed the card and could not help a bitter smile.

If the Xuan Emperor ever learned of this, his end could well be imagined.

Just then footsteps sounded outside the door.

"Fourth Young Master, the doorkeeper is here!"

Uncle Chai's voice came from outside.

Ning Chen put his feelings away. "Send him in."

The door curtain lifted, and Uncle Chai came in with a solidly built middle-aged man.

The doorkeeper was one of the men Gu Yichun had brought in. Ning Chen thought his name was Zhu Yuan.

"I greet the marquis!"

Zhu Yuan bowed respectfully.

Ning Chen held up the card in his hand. "Do you remember who delivered this card?"

Zhu Yuan glanced at the writing on the outside of it, thought a moment, and nodded. "I do... A strongly built middle-aged man. Light on his feet — his skill in arms must be very good."

Ning Chen made a sound of assent. "What else did he say?"

Zhu Yuan spoke as he cast his mind back. "He said he was a servant of the Wu household, come to borrow a book from his master."

"What book?"

This time Zhu Yuan thought for a good while before saying, "Record of the Glorious Age of Great Xuan, I think."

Ning Chen nodded. "Anything more?"

Zhu Yuan shook his head. "No. That was all of it."

Ning Chen made a sound of assent and waved a hand. "Uncle Chai, you may both go."

When the two of them had bowed and withdrawn, Ning Chen got up and went to the study.

He found Record of the Glorious Age of Great Xuan on the shelf, spread it on the desk and went through it carefully.

But he was halfway through the book and…