The dark stone steps were silent and still, leading to an unknown destination.

Chen Ji gazed at the profound steps, wondering why Prince Jing specifically wanted to take him out, and with whom the prince was conspiring.

He wondered if traversing this underground passage would finally resolve many of the mysteries that had perplexed him for so long.

Prince Jing descended the steps, holding a lamp fueled by oil dregs. Looking back, he saw Chen Ji still standing motionless at the entrance and asked, perplexed, “Are you coming?”

Chen Ji suddenly hesitated. “Your Highness,” he asked, “where does this secret passage lead? And if I happen to see something or someone I shouldn’t, will I be silenced?”

Prince Jing looked exasperated. “What on earth are you thinking about all day?” he chuckled. “Calm down; no one is going to silence you. And leave that knife with your master. It’s so long and doesn’t even have a sheath; it would be far too conspicuous to bring outside.”

Chen Ji thought for a moment, then leaned the Whale Knife against the wall. He casually asked Old Yao, “Master, when you came to Luocheng three years ago, was that arranged with Prince Jing beforehand?”

Old Yao shot him a sidelong glance. “Don’t try to pry information out of me. Go on, get out of here.”

“Oh,” Chen Ji replied.

He lowered his head slightly and followed Prince Jing into the extremely narrow passage.

In the dimness, only the faint flame in Prince Jing’s hand flickered, stretching his shadow endlessly along the passage.

With each step, Chen Ji grew more vigilant.

He was about to meet that mysterious important figure. What kind of person were they? Would they trust him as his master and Prince Jing did?

He had no idea.

After walking for what felt like dozens of breaths, Prince Jing began climbing a set of steps, holding the lamp. Chen Ji took a deep breath before following him.

The next moment, he was taken aback.

There was no important figure, no attendants—just an empty shop.

Chen Ji found the surrounding decor familiar. “Your Highness,” he asked, “isn’t this Wang’s Butcher Shop on Anxi Street?”

“That’s right,” Prince Jing replied. “This Wang’s Butcher Shop is actually property of the Prince’s Estate, and business has always been quite good.”

While Prince Jing was distracted, Chen Ji casually touched the candlestick on the table. The wax had not fully solidified, indicating it had only recently been extinguished. The person who had secretly met with Prince Jing had just departed.

But if the person he was meeting had already left, what was Prince Jing still doing here?

“Your Highness,” Chen Ji asked, “where is the person you were supposed to meet?”

Prince Jing chuckled. “When did I say I was coming to meet someone?”

Chen Ji looked up to see Prince Jing had already blown out the lamp, opened the butcher shop’s main door, and stepped out onto the street. He stood under the moonlight, waving back at Chen Ji. “What are you just standing there for?” he called. “We’re running out of time!”

As Chen Ji headed for the door, he suddenly pulled Prince Jing back into the shadows of the butcher shop before either of them could step out.

“What is it?” Prince Jing asked, puzzled.

In the darkness, a carriage rapidly rolled over the snow-covered road, heading east.

The carriage was unadorned. Prince Jing and Chen Ji saw Nanny Xitang lift a corner of the curtain, discreetly peering out and urging the driver to go faster.

After the carriage passed, Prince Jing stood in the breeze it had left behind and asked with a smile, “Who do you think is in that carriage?”

Chen Ji didn’t answer, but he already had his own conclusion: Concubine Yun.

At this moment, Prince Jing was “gravely ill,” yet Concubine Yun had secretly left the Prince’s Estate under the cover of night. This incident could be interpreted as highly significant or utterly minor.

Chen Ji subtly observed Prince Jing’s expression and cautiously replied, “Your Highness, I don’t know who was in that carriage.”

Prince Jing chuckled. “Playing coy, are we?”

He watched the carriage’s silhouette disappear into the night and smiled softly. “Everyone has their own path to follow,” he murmured. “Let’s go, we still have important business.”

Luocheng’s Tongji Street was a bustling area where wealthy merchants gathered, and it was also the place where Chen Ji had assassinated Shopkeeper Yuan.

The long street contained forty-eight courtyards. The first twelve were extremely spacious, each designed by landscape artists from the Jiangnan water towns, boasting pavilions and towers. These were playfully dubbed ‘Heavenly Stars’ by the locals. The remaining thirty-six were much smaller and were known as ‘Earthly Stars’.

Regardless of whether they were ‘Heavenly’ or ‘Earthly Stars,’ the fortunes of their owners flowed like water, constantly changing, yet the pavilions and towers themselves remained eternal.

On Tongji Street’s bluestone path, carriages and horses were parked bumper to bumper. Drivers and servants, hands tucked into their sleeves, gathered in small groups beneath the grey-tiled, white-walled buildings, bragging and chatting about women.

Today marked the wedding of the eldest son of Squire Lin, owner of one of the ‘Heavenly Stars’ mansions. The street was adorned with lanterns and colorful streamers, and red ‘囍’ (double happiness) characters were pasted with paste every five steps along the bluestone pavement.

Inside Squire Lin’s courtyard, guests gathered in droves, with dozens of tables set up for the continuous banquet.

Prince Jing stood before the Lin Estate’s gate, looking up to confirm the plaque, and said to Chen Ji with a smile, “This is the place.”

With that, he began to step inside.

Chen Ji grabbed him, whispering, “Your Highness, are you just going to waltz in like that? The Lin Estate is bustling with people; what if someone recognizes you?”

Prince Jing impatiently replied, “What’s there to be afraid of? You’re a young man; why are you gloomier than I am? This Squire Lin runs brothels and gambling dens and has a gang of thugs working for him. No noble or official would ever debase themselves by attending his wedding banquet. Since there will be no such people, how could anyone possibly recognize me?”

Chen Ji quickly responded, “Even so, it’s not wise. If something unexpected happens in such a chaotic place, how will I explain it to Bai Li and the Crown Prince?”

Prince Jing lifted his leg and walked directly towards the Lin Estate gate. “Boy,” he declared, “I have important business today; I must go in.”

Chen Ji could only grit his teeth and quickly follow him.

At the gate, the welcoming butler stood before the high threshold, smiling and bowing to them. “You two gentlemen are unfamiliar faces,” he said. “May I trouble you to show an invitation from my master?”

Prince Jing said nonchalantly, “We are traveling merchants passing by. Seeing this lively banquet, we thought we’d stop to offer our congratulations and perhaps enjoy some drinks.”

The butler was stunned; he had never encountered anyone so brazenly attempting to freeload.

He glanced at Prince Jing’s and Chen Ji’s empty hands and casually parried, “Gentlemen, today is a very joyous occasion for the Lin Estate, and we are only hosting close relatives and friends…”

Prince Jing interrupted with a smile. “Please forgive us, esteemed host,” he said, “we arrived in a hurry and didn’t have time to prepare a modest gift. However, as today is a joyous occasion for the Lin Estate, we humbly present thirty taels of silver as a token of our congratulations.”

With that, Prince Jing looked at Chen Ji. “Give it to the butler,” he instructed.

Chen Ji looked bewildered.

Seeing Chen Ji’s hesitation, Prince Jing pressed, “Thirty taels.”

Chen Ji was utterly dumbfounded. “Thirty taels? From me?”

Prince Jing said gently, “Didn’t you bring it? Hurry up and take it out; don’t keep the butler waiting.”

Chen Ji, expressionless, retrieved three small silver ingots from his sleeve and handed them to the butler. The butler smiled faintly, tucked the ingots into his sleeve, and said, “Please come in, honored guests; a servant will escort you.”

Once inside, a young servant led them into the courtyard.

Chen Ji said gravely, “You handle the affairs, and I pay? That doesn’t seem right, does it?”

Prince Jing chuckled merrily. “Given how much Bai Li has spent on you, what’s wrong with me making you spend thirty taels? Do you want me to tally up all your expenses for you?”

Chen Ji found himself at a loss for words.

After a long silence, he quietly asked, “You didn’t even ask me if I had thirty taels before you offered it. What if I hadn’t brought that much? Next time, please at least consult me.”

Prince Jing, hands clasped behind his back, slowly replied, “No need. Your master told me you always carry thirty taels of silver for emergencies.”

“Alright, alright…”

The young servant led them to the banquet and arranged a table at the very edge of the performance stage.

The table already held leftover food, but Prince Jing didn’t mind. He helped himself to some dishes while craning his neck to watch the stage.

Chen Ji followed his gaze to the stage. “Is the person you’re secretly meeting on the stage?” he asked.

Prince Jing gave him a peculiar look. “A secret meeting? What secret meeting?”

“But didn’t you say you had important business?” Chen Ji asked, bewildered.

Prince Jing patiently explained, “Today, Squire Lin is hosting this banquet and has specifically invited Master Meng of the Northern Variety Show troupe to perform ‘The Tale of White Boat’. You see, Master Meng was a renowned performer throughout the capital in his heyday, and it’s not easy to catch one of his performances. I’m simply here to enjoy the show.”

“Huh?” Chen Ji exclaimed. “So, the ‘important business’ you mentioned earlier was just to watch a play?”

Prince Jing’s gaze was fixed on the stage. Without turning his head, he said, “I’ve spent my entire life busy for others. Is it too much to ask to watch a play I enjoy before I die?”

At this very moment, the Liu family was plotting, Concubine Yun was plotting, Concubine Jing was plotting, and the Directorate of Ceremonials was plotting. Everyone was meticulously scheming to gain something from the shifting political landscape.

Yet here you are, at the very center of the vortex, casually crashing someone else’s banquet to watch a play, as if nothing is amiss?

Just as Chen Ji was about to speak, Prince Jing suddenly said, “Don’t talk; this act is about to begin.”

The young man suddenly turned his head towards the dimly lit stage. On the red platform, as the side drums began, a performer with heavily painted facial makeup rushed forward and sang, “Long summer night, long summer night, flying over heavy passes, rushing through desolate wilderness, a capital youth misled in the mortal world…”

Chen Ji turned to look at Prince Jing, only to see the grey-templed prince sitting upright. His eyes, however, were no longer focused on the play; his thoughts had clearly drifted elsewhere.

In the play, a young general received a perilous mission and rushed to the battlefield.

He slew corrupt officials, killed bandits, and pacified the northern borders, his hair turning white in the process. Yet, before he could even return to the capital to become prime minister, he was already suspected by the emperor and thrown into prison.

As the saying goes: Generals bring peace, but are seldom allowed to witness it.

It seemed, for a moment, that the tragedies and joys on stage and the absurdities off stage had become indistinguishable.

A young general, an emperor’s suspicion… Chen Ji wondered if Prince Jing genuinely enjoyed this particular play, or if he saw a reflection of himself within its narrative.

After an unknown period, the play concluded.

Prince Jing looked at Chen Ji and smiled. “Why are you staring at me like that?”

Chen Ji said with deep exasperation, “You risked coming out tonight just to listen to this single act?”

Prince Jing teased, “Is it so wrong just to listen to a play? Who decreed that a person must perform a great deed to save the country and its people every single day? How exhausting that would be.”

Chen Ji was speechless.

Prince Jing laughed heartily. “Years ago, when Northern Variety Show was still thriving, the Empress Dowager once summoned Master Meng to the palace to perform; he sang this very ‘Tale of White Boat’ then. At that time, I was twenty-one and made a prince, and Master Meng’s name was renowned everywhere. Now, Southern Kunqu opera has replaced Northern Variety Show, and Master Meng has fallen so far as to perform in the homes of merchants involved in questionable businesses. As for me, well, I’m dying soon.”

Prince Jing looked at the now empty stage and said with a faint smile, “We are all famous performers from a bygone era, about to take our final bows. Every play heard now is one less to be heard.”

“Your Highness,” Chen Ji asked, “the play is over. Where to now?”

Prince Jing stood up and walked out. “Let’s go home,” he said.

This powerful prince, who had been busy his entire life, had secretly slipped out, truly just to steal a little time for himself.