Ning Chen watched him with something that was not quite a smile. "Is there a problem, Pavilion Master Xiao?"

"This..." Xiao Pingshan hesitated a moment, and it came out with difficulty. "My lord prince, I may be his master, but a thing like this comes down to his own wishes."

Ning Chen's face darkened. "What's that? He'd dare refuse this prince?"

Xiao Pingshan's face went stiff. "If my lord prince is fond of music, the Great Beginning Pavilion has a good many who are masters of it. My lord prince may take his pick."

Ning Chen waved that off. "No need. This prince wants Xiao Tianle... A woman who is a master of music, at this prince's side, can do a good deal more than play the flute for this prince. Pavilion Master Xiao takes this prince's meaning."

Xiao Pingshan's face changed completely. So Ning Chen had already seen that Xiao Tianle was a woman dressed as a man. It wasn't the music he was fond of. It was a woman who understood music.

"My lord prince, Tianle is jianghu-bred. Coarse in manner and wild in temper. I'm afraid she would only displease my lord prince. If my lord prince wants a woman who is a master of music, I can..."

Ning Chen cut him off with a wave of the hand. "This prince has tamed a tigress. Is she harder to tame than a tigress?

It's her. This prince's mind is made up, and there's nothing more to say... Whatever kind of woman she is, this prince can have her as biddable as a kitten."

Xiao Pingshan's brows knotted, and he was opening his mouth when Ning Chen gave him no chance at all.

"Pavilion Master Xiao. You, and everyone holding an office of any weight in the Great Beginning Pavilion, are all coming back to the capital with me."

That gave Xiao Pingshan a start. "To the capital?"

Ning Chen nodded. "That's right. To stand trial at the Inspectorate."

Xiao Pingshan's face changed hard.

Ning Chen went on. "Your Great Beginning Pavilion's Young Master Marvel threw in with…