Inside Fengri City, in a private room at a tavern.

Dragged out early in the morning for a meeting, but kicked out after barely exchanging a few words, the four Black Banner Camp Commanders didn’t leave. Instead, they took the opportunity to gather around and set up their own little game.

They chose the tavern, not the Flower House, mainly because sitting around in the Flower House during the day felt awkward—good songstresses were still sleeping anyway. Besides, their relationship wasn’t nearly close enough for drinking and flirting in the Flower House.

The sharp Chen Tianwen actually didn’t want to come. He knew he’d be the odd one out among the four, but there was no choice. Others want to get information out of him, but who says he can’t do the same? At least he had to see things for himself first.

They had barely sat down before all the dishes started arriving on the table. The waiter sensed something was off in the room, and since everyone inside were big shots from Xuanqing Guard, he didn’t dare linger. He quietly closed the door and scurried away.

"Liu, what do you think of the new Lord Shen?"

"What do I think? I look."

"Hey, why are you playing dumb?"

"Don’t you use your eyes to look at people?"

"You—!"

"Enough, enough, we’re all after the same job here. Whatever’s on your mind, just say it. Looks like Lord Shen’s come in ready to set things ablaze this time. None of us want to get burned, right?"

"Whether we’ll get burned is one thing, but I bet Chen Zongqi definitely won’t."

Sure enough, before a drop of wine was even drunk, the conversation, after just a few lines, landed squarely on Chen Tianwen.

Chen Tianwen took a sip from his cup, his brows knitted—it tasted awful, compared to Wuliangye it was just like water, with a whiff of rotten funk.

"Heh, what are you implying? When Lord Shen gave out assignments, he didn’t leave Li City Guard Station out—he treated everyone equally. You’re worried about getting your asses burned, but so am I. No difference." Chen Tianwen quickly grabbed a bite to wash away that rotten taste, answering casually.

"Equally? Hah, right. But Li City Black Banner Battalion is Lord Shen’s pet project, must be tailored to his preferences. And Chen Zongqi was promoted by Lord Shen himself—you must know the ropes. Tell the brothers here, won’t you?"

Chen Tianwen smirked and said with a smile, "How would I know Lord Shen’s intentions? I just do whatever he tells me. Get things done and stay honest—that’s it. As for the rest, I’m too old to be figuring it out. You look sharp, how about you analyze it?"

"Oh, Lord Chen’s not sharing, then? Prefer to watch your colleagues stew instead of lending a hand? Remember, we’re working together from now on. That’s a little heartless, don’t you think?"

The atmosphere suddenly got even more awkward. Of the four, three shot unfriendly looks at the grinning Chen Tianwen.

"That’s a joke. ’Heart’—worth how much? Is it enough to save a life? I don’t have much friendship with you lot. I’m only drinking here because you dragged me. Tsk tsk, this wine’s trash, and you dare talk to me about ’heart’?" Chen Tianwen slammed the table, flipping it over. The other three were caught off guard, wine and dishes splattering all over them.

Refusing to play along, Chen Tianwen had sized these three up in just a few lines—they’re all stuck in old ways, thinking that gathering together plus the Black Banner Camp’s dual-subordination would pressure higher-ups. That’s because they don’t understand Lord Shen; they don’t get that doing this is a direct ticket to their graves.

Chen Tianwen almost regretted agreeing to this stupid meal. Had he known they were this clueless, he wouldn’t have bothered showing up.

So, he simply flipped the table and made a clean break—better to act decisively, so these three can’t turn around and slander him later, and also to let Lord Shen know he’s not going to stoop to their level.

"Chen Tianwen! Don’t push your luck!"

"Luck is earned. What can you give me? Idiots—wasting my time."

He pushed the door open and swaggered out. He didn’t give a damn about the three shaking with rage inside; no way they’d dare lay a hand on him. This was Fengri City, and they all had Xuanqing Guard status—fight each other, and that’s a capital offense. No one would dare.

As soon as Chen Tianwen left, the room became stiflingly quiet.

The waiter didn’t dare ask questions, hustled in, bowed low, and offered to switch them to a new private room.

After moving rooms and getting a fresh spread, the three finally broke the silence.

"What now?"

"Chen Tianwen’s a bastard, real piece of shit."

"Hmph. If it were me, I’d have flipped the table, too. I said it before—Chen Tianwen and Lord Shen are in the same boat. No way he’d team up with us against Lord Shen, but you wouldn’t believe me."

"What good does saying that do now? If we don’t come up with something, do you really want to go back and investigate yourselves?"

"Investigate my ass! Doing it Lord Shen’s way, we’ll just piss off our colleagues in the Garrison—not to mention those local nobles. It’s thankless work. I think Lord Shen’s got a screw loose."

Silence settled again.

After a long while, someone said, "How about pulling in the three Hundred Households from the Garrison and pressuring Lord Shen together? With all three Hundred Households Officers pushing, I bet even Lord Wu would hesitate. If we knock Lord Shen down a peg, maybe we’ll have some room to maneuver."

"We can give it a shot. Damn, how did Lord Shen get promoted anyway? Such fucking bad luck."

"We need more ideas—just banding together isn’t enough."

"Like what?"

"Send an anonymous report! A joint accusatory letter to Thousand Households Station. Lord Shen wants internal investigations? Plenty of people can’t stand him, I hear folks got nervous the moment they heard he took over. As long as we take the lead, there’ll be lots of followers. With a groundswell like that, the higher-ups might even transfer Lord Shen out."

"Alright, that settles it. We’ll contact the Hundred Households of the Guard and write the joint letter, get it done!"

"Ha! Yes, yes—if we play it right, the Hundred Households shield us up front and the report undercuts him in the back. Before Lord Shen’s got his footing, we can kick him out."

The three seemed to have found their solution. They burst out laughing, cracked open the wine jars, and started drinking in earnest.

One hour later, the three left the tavern together and headed for the Teleportation Array, each going their own way. When parting, they almost seemed sympathetic to each other.

"Let’s part ways for now. If there are any developments, let’s keep each other in the loop."

"That’s how it should be."

...

But not even the time it takes for one meal had passed before the most passive of the three, who’d only nodded along and never spoken up, reappeared by the Teleportation Array. He briskly headed for the Thousand Households Station, which hadn’t sent out emissaries yet.

"Am I crazy to try and die with you two shit-for-brains? You want to rally the Hundred Households Officers against the Black Banner Camp of Thousand Households? Madness! Might as well let old me cash in, use you two as my offering to get ahead. Offending people? Even fat Chen Tianwen doesn’t care, why should I be afraid?"

He rushed forward at top speed.