Yan Bingyun"s cold, inhuman expression did not shift once. He was indeed an outstanding intelligence operative, but in this moment of anger, he had proven his power and control as Qing"s spymaster in Northern Qi. Facing the rage that shot out from this prisoner"s eyes, even Fan Xian had subconsciously wanted to take shelter.

Yan Bingyun"s lip trembled slightly. In a quiet, quick voice, like an exploding firecracker, he whispered into Fan Xian"s ear, "Is Xiao En still under control?"

Fan Xian shook his head. "After Wuduhe, we gave him over to the Northern Qi Brocade Guard. I imagine he has already entered the capital."

"Was there any way to kill him?"

"No."

"Did you get his secret out of him?"

Fan Xian shivered and pulled himself away from Yan Bingyun. He looked at him with his tranquil eyes. "Do you know what his secret is?" he asked.

Yan Bingyun looked at the young Commissioner, and there was a strange movement at the corners of his mouth. "I have spent four years in Northern Qi, and I know that the Northern Qi royal family has thought about Xiao En constantly. Though I don"t know what the secret is about... if the Northern Qi royal family regards it as this important, then it cannot be something simple."

After a pause, Yan Bingyun suddenly spoke. "Do you know who Xiao En is?"

Fan Xian nodded and smiled. "I believe I know that better than anyone else."

Yan Bingyun quickly scolded him. "Since you know, how could you allow this to happen?"

Fan Xian looked at him calmly and spoke slowly. "His Majesty and the Director"s wishes were clear. Xiao En is old; you are young. So in this deal, we have the upper hand."

Yan Bingyun fell silent again. He hadn"t expected that the royal court of Qing would be willing to exchange Xiao En for him, but the fact they had made him feel like something of a failure. He had been captured by the Northern Qi Brocade Guard, which was humiliating in the first place. Now that the royal court had paid such a high price for him, he felt even more humiliated.

He was crestfallen. In his white robes, he seemed to shrink into himself.

Fan Xian looked at him calmly. "You are a smart man. Since things have already been decided, you will return safely to the south. For that, we should consider ourselves lucky."

Yan Bingyun remained silent, his face cold. He knew that this Commissioner of the Overwatch Council, who had appeared out of nowhere, was speaking proper nonsense.

"In three days" time, I will be waiting for you at the diplomatic compound."

Fan Xian smiled. He walked out alongside w.a.n.g Qinian. Accompanied by Wei Hua and the vice-provost, who were waiting at the door, they climbed into the carriage and returned to the diplomatic mission compound.

After they had returned, the Qing representatives gathered together to have a debriefing about the past few days" events. Afterwards, they left, leaving behind Fan Xian and w.a.n.g Qinian. Fan Xian propped his chin up on his fist and sat in thought. He said nothing for a long time.

"Master Fan, what are you thinking about?" asked w.a.n.g Qinian.

"Why did Miss Shen show up?" Fan Xian yawned and continued talking. "Perhaps Northern Qi wanted to interfere with our plans, or at the very least weaken the royal court"s confidence in Yan Bingyun."

"How could they?" w.a.n.g Qinian was puzzled. "The royal court understands the methods that Master Yan employed."

"Things can always become more complicated," said Fan Xian, his face unmoved. "If someone has resolved to do something, then this could be a snag... besides, there"s something I still don"t understood. w.a.n.g, when we went to see Master Yan, it was clear that he will be able to return home. Why did he look so unhappy?"

"Because the royal court paid too high a price for him to return home." w.a.n.g Qinian was an experienced member of the Overwatch Council, and knew much more about the eccentric higher-ups of the Council than Fan Xian did. "If Master Yan knew that we were going to exchange him for Xiao En, perhaps he"d have killed himself the moment he was captured, rather than waiting until now."

Fan Xian seemed to find it hard to understand the psychology of these Overwatch Council officials. "Could... such a brilliant Council official... really..." he considered his wording for a long time before finally speaking carefully. "Could he really be willing to sacrifice himself for the nation like that?"

"Yes." w.a.n.g Qinian took a furtive look at w.a.n.g Qinian, and saw the dazed look on his face. "I have much admiration for Master Yan," he said respectfully, "but an official of the Overwatch Council or an agent of the royal court should be prepared to sacrifice themselves for the nation the moment they enter the Council. A spy of the Overwatch Council only believes in one thing, and for that goal, any method and any sacrifice is permitted."

"What goal?"

"All for the Kingdom of Qing." There was a slightly crazed look in w.a.n.g Qinian"s eyes.

Fan Xian"s finger unthinkingly traced out a character on the table. When he had met Yan Bingyun for the first time today, he had been sitting calmly on a chair, and his sitting position was somewhat odd, as straight as a javelin, with no part of his body touching the chair save for his b.u.t.tocks. As he was leaving, Fan Xian had finally realized that his feet were chained to the chair, and there was only one explanation for Yan Bingyun"s posture.

There was no part of his flesh that was intact, and he was bruised all over, so that was the only position he could choose.

"All for the Kingdom of Qing?" Fan Xian frowned. "So it"s a group of idealists."

A letter from the Qing royal court to the diplomatic mission arrived, sent through official channels. There were, naturally, no secrets contained in the letter. It simply stated that the diplomatic mission was to postpone their return until after the birthday celebrations of Empress Dowager of Northern Qi, and after events were concluded, they were then to return home.

This was of no particular significance. The dealings between the two countries had happened to overlap with the Empress Dowager"s birthday, so they might as well go along with it. And while he was in Shangjing, Fan Xian still had a few more matters to take care of, so he was happy to stay a few days longer. That being said, he did miss his wife and his sister, and worried about them somewhat.

"We will be representatives of the royal court for the Empress Dowager"s birthday. We must make sure to present a good gift," said vice-envoy Lin Jing, pondering aloud. "Perhaps one of us could take a stroll along Xiushui Street?"

Hearing the words "Xiushui Street" reminded Fan Xian of the letter that the wine merchant had handed him. He shook his head. Shangjing"s waters ran deep indeed. The Eldest Princess could still exert control over the internal disorder of a foreign country from her remote fiefdom of Xinyang. Fan Xian wanted nothing to do with it.

"So what shall we send?" Lin Jing had begun to worry about the gift.

Fan Xian had already decided. He waved his hand. "When the time comes, I shall write a poem. Mount it on a good scroll and that should be enough." It sounded arrogant, but the subordinates around him all nodded in unison. The immortal of poetry, Fan Xian, no longer wrote poetry. Everyone knew this. If Fan Xian were to break his rule for the birthday of the Empress Dowager of Northern Qi, then that would be a great gesture indeed.

But... Fan Xian couldn"t really write beautifully.

w.a.n.g Qinian began to set out another terrible idea. "Master Yan"s ident.i.ty in Northern Qi was as a gifted scholar, skilled in chess, the zither, painting and calligraphy. He is indeed a master calligrapher. Last year, in Northern Qi, one of his scrolls could sell for a thousand taels. If Master Fan composes the poem with Master Yan as scribe, then two young greats of the Kingdom of Qing have contributed to the present. Would that not cause the Empress Dowager of Qi great joy?"

Lin Jing and Lin Wen both knew that w.a.n.g Qinian was Fan Xian"s trusted aide. They thought his suggestion was quite good. They knew of Master Yan"s ident.i.ty. But they felt something was a little odd about the proposal, and they couldn"t figure out what exactly it was.

Fan Xian laughed and scolded him. "What kind of person is Master Yan? I"m afraid that the people of Northern Qi want to eat him alive and drink his blood. You"re actually suggesting that we get him to write a scroll and give it to the Empress Dowager as a birthday present. The moment she opens the scroll she"ll die from rage. We"d turn her birthday into her funeral."

w.a.n.g Qinian was embarra.s.sed, having only just realized the absurdity of his proposal. "If we can kill the Empress Dowager that way," he said laughing shamelessly, "then that"d be quite a tale to tell."

Fan Xian didn"t feel much like laughing at w.a.n.g Qinian"s thoughtless joke. He fell silent in thought. It was clear that if Yan Bingyun returned to Qing safely, it was very likely that - on the basis of his four years of work in Northern Qi and his past year"s imprisonment - he would be immediately promoted within the Council. His father Yan Ruohai was head of the Fourth Bureau, and the post of head of the First Bureau was still vacant. The Council was clear: Director Chen was to award the position of head of the First Bureau to Yan Bingyun, the former prisoner.

And if nothing got in the way, Fan Xian would gradually begin to take over the Council - once Chen Pingping died, that was. And Fan Xian knew that day might not come for a long time—or it might well come very soon.

If Fan Xian wanted the Overwatch Council firmly under his control, then he had to get the heads of the Eight Bureaus under his control. This was Fan Xian"s biggest weakness. Other than the Third and Eighth Bureaus, he had no trusted connections within the Overwatch Council. He presumed that while he was in the north, he could win Yan Bingyun"s friendship, gaining the support of the First Bureau and the Fourth Bureau. But to his surprise, at their first meeting, Fan Xian had a clear feeling that Yan Bingyun felt a secret hostility toward him.

Why was that? Fortunately, Yan Bingyun seemed not to want to hide his hostility, which made Fan Xian feel slightly more relaxed. "Master, it"s time." By his side, w.a.n.g Qinian reminded him quietly.

Fan Xian nodded, got up, and left the courtyard. Behind him were Lin Jing and Lin Wen, looking at each other in dismay, unsure just where the chief diplomat was headed.

Outside the courtyard stood Chang Ninghou"s men. People from the palace had already sent word, so the Imperial Guard responsible for the diplomatic mission had quietly agreed to change over with those men wearing Brocade Guard uniforms, who guarded the carriage as it made its way along Taiping Alley, one of the most dazzling streets in the city. A fine drizzle was falling from the sky, and for a moment, it hid the convoy"s tracks.

Today Fan Xian, commissioner of the Overwatch Council of the Kingdom of Qing, was to meet with Master Shen Zhong, Provost of the Discipline Commission of the Brocade Guard of the Kingdom of Qi. This meeting of spymasters was extremely mysterious.