The lean-faced old man narrowed his eyes, and something calculating glittered in them.

“None of that matters… What matters is that this piece of intelligence is enough to ruin Ning Chen’s name.”

“He’s been carrying on with the Wu woman emperor. If word of that reaches His Majesty, he’ll die a horrible death.”

The plump, pale young man thought it over and shook his head slightly. “The report may be reliable, but without proof there’s nothing we can do to Ning Chen.”

“Our man has already begun looking into it!”

“If Ning Chen really is carrying on with the Wu woman emperor, is that the sort of thing that leaves proof behind?”

Light flickered in the lean-faced old man’s eyes. “If we used the matter to bring Ning Chen over, we might well succeed… Ning Chen’s ability is plain for everyone to see. If he were willing to help us, what great thing could we fail to accomplish?”

The plump, pale young man shook his head. “The boy’s temper is wild and he has no reverence at all for the imperial house. His Majesty is the only man alive who can put up with a nature like that… Ning Chen is too hard to control. Better to be rid of him.”

The lean-faced old man smiled. “Once we’ve used him to accomplish the great thing, there’ll still be time enough to be rid of him.”

The plump, pale young man was quiet a moment, then gave a slight nod.

The lean-faced old man said, “I’ll try making contact with him.”

“You can’t. You’ll expose yourself!”

“I may already be exposed… It was I who proposed that Ning Ziming be beheaded at once, and with Ning Chen’s wits, he is bound to suspect me by now.”

The next morning Ning Chen climbed off Yudie’s soft, lovely body with real reluctance.

“Why is Ning, dear up so early today?”

Yudie opened her eyes, her voice languid and inviting.

Ning Chen had pushed himself up; now he pressed back down against her. “I have something to see to!”

And as he said it his hands and feet stopped behaving.

Only after he had pulled Yudie through a bout of morning exercise did Ning Chen leave the courtesans’ quarter and ride hard for the palace.

By this hour the court had just risen.

A carriage came along at an easy pace.

“Hyah!!!”

With a clatter of hooves, a tall, splendid black horse swept past the carriage and cut across its path.

The driver pulled up and turned his head. “Master, it’s Marquis Ning!”

The carriage curtain lifted, showing a lean face.

Then the President of the Secretariat, Li Hongzhuo — lean-faced, with a goatee — climbed down over the mounting stool with the driver steadying him.

He cupped his hands. “Marquis Ning!”

Ning Chen rode up until he was in front of Li Hongzhuo and looked him over from the height of the saddle.

“By the blood in Lord Li Hongzhuo’s eyes, you didn’t rest well last night.”

Li Hongzhuo cupped his hands and said with a smile, “My thanks to Marquis Ning for his concern. This old man slept very well.”

Ning Chen let out a soft grunt.

“Lord Li Hongzhuo, there’s no bad blood between us, is there?”

Li Hongzhuo smiled. “No grievance in the past, no quarrel of late.”

Ning Chen’s eyes narrowed. “No grievance in the past, I’ll grant you. No quarrel of late is open to argument… after all, Lord Li Hongzhuo very nearly ruined my name for me.”

Li Hongzhuo waved a hand, signaling the driver to move back out of earshot.

Then he looked up at Ning Chen. “Marquis Ning may be a marquis, but he is also a silver coat of the Inspectorate… The Inspectorate has never mixed with the officials of the court. For Marquis Ning to meet me like this in the open — is he not afraid of what will be said of him?”

Ning Chen laughed aloud. “Ning here has always been open and aboveboard — walks straight and sits straight… not like those little men who know nothing but underhanded tricks behind a man’s back.”

Li Hongzhuo smiled. “Underhanded or aboveboard, a move that works is a good move.”

Ning Chen’s face turned mocking. “And did this good move of Lord Li Hongzhuo’s work?”

Li Hongzhuo shook his head with a rueful smile.

Ning Chen narrowed his eyes, hiding the hard light in them. “Lord Li Hongzhuo admits it?”

Li Hongzhuo’s expression was perfectly easy. He said, smiling, “If I denied it, would the marquis stop suspecting me?”

“The men the marquis fixes his eye on don’t seem to end well, do they?”

Ning Chen looked down at him. “So this chess piece of Lord Li Hongzhuo’s didn’t jump out on its own. Somebody threw him out into the open.”

“I’d like to know who stands behind Lord Li Hongzhuo. We’ve said this much to each other — there’s no point hiding it any longer.”

Li Hongzhuo smiled. “When the time comes, the marquis will meet him soon enough.”

“And when might this time of Lord Li Hongzhuo’s be coming?”

“It will come when it is meant to come.”

Ning Chen smiled faintly. “It seems I’ll have to invite Lord Li Hongzhuo to the Inspectorate for a cup of tea.”

Li Hongzhuo shook his head. “I may not be as exalted as the marquis, but I am still a high officer of the junior first rank… If the marquis wishes to invite me to the Inspectorate, he will need His Majesty’s consent.”

“Still, since the marquis is inviting me, I had better obey than stand on ceremony… Only, if I should happen to let slip something that does the marquis no good, I hope the marquis will bear with me.”

Ning Chen’s eyebrow went up. “Something that does me no good? Such as? I’ll give you your chance — pick one or two and see if you can frighten me.”

Li Hongzhuo said, his eyes crinkling, “Such as… the marquis’s relations with the Wu woman emperor.”

Ning Chen’s pupils shrank to points.

He looked at Li Hongzhuo for a long moment, and then he suddenly broke into a laugh.

“Lord Li Hongzhuo knows a fair amount, doesn’t he?”

Li Hongzhuo watched him. “The marquis admits it?”

Ning Chen nodded. “There’s nothing I can’t admit… That’s right. I bedded the Wu woman emperor.”

Li Hongzhuo looked startled.

“The marquis admits it just like that? Not afraid I’ll go and impeach him before His Majesty… A thing like this is enough to damn the marquis past all redemption.”

Ning Chen could not help laughing.

“You played an underhanded trick to ruin my name… This business between me and the Wu woman emperor is far too good a chance to waste. If you had proof, you’d have gone to His Majesty long ago. Would you have waited until now?”

Li Hongzhuo’s expression stiffened a little.

Ning Chen smiled. “You’ve gone to all this trouble to ruin my name. What have I ever done to any of you?”

“Lord Li Hongzhuo might as well say it outright. If Ning here has been standing in your way, I’ll do my best to keep out of it from now on!”

Li Hongzhuo’s heart rose: Ning Chen was showing weakness.

“Marquis Ning is clever enough to understand the principle — the man who can be used is kept, and the man who cannot is wiped out.”

Ning Chen narrowed his eyes. “Are you threatening me?”

Li Hongzhuo cupped his hands. “How would I dare threaten Marquis Ning… I am only laying out the advantages and dangers for him.”

“The marquis stands at the height of his glory now, but there will come a day when His Majesty grows old… and not every emperor will put up with a marquis who ignores the rules and holds the imperial power in no reverence.”

“But I can guarantee this much: even after His Majesty is gone… Marquis Ning may stand at the height of his glory still.”

Ning Chen said nothing for a long while.

Li Hongzhuo was in no hurry either, and watched him with a face full of smiles.

After a time Ning Chen spoke. “What could I do for you?”

The smile on Li Hongzhuo’s face grew broader. “Marquis Ning is a clever man after all — he knows to mend the roof before it rains.”

“If there is anything we need Marquis Ning’s help with, I will send someone to inform him!”

Ning Chen smiled. “Isn’t Lord Li Hongzhuo afraid I’ll kill him and shut his mouth for good?”

“Marquis Ning is far too clever to do anything so stupid… I am not alone in this. If Marquis Ning kills me, it solves nothing.”

“After all, I am not the only one who knows about the marquis and the Wu woman emperor… and proof is the sort of thing that may show up any day.”

Ning Chen gave a slight nod. “That’s very sound… Lord Li Hongzhuo really is an expert.”

“Mm?”

Li Hongzhuo frowned. Ning Chen had said those same two words at court, and he had no idea what they meant.

Ning Chen smiled. “Ning here fought his battles for wealth and glory and nothing more… If Lord Li Hongzhuo can truly secure Ning here a lifetime of it, then working together isn’t out of the question.”

“Lord Li Hongzhuo, if there’s ever a use you can put Ning here to, you have only to say the word!”

(End of Chapter 345)