The “friend” Yan Shi’an mentioned was Dou Yuancheng.

“It’s rare for a guy like you, who prioritizes romance over friendship, to not be in a rush to get home to your cousin today,” Dou Yuancheng teased, tossing the reins to a waiting servant. “Did she finally grow tired of you?”

“I could turn back right now, you know.”

“You wouldn’t dare!”

The two laughed as they headed upstairs. The best seats in the tavern were naturally on the third floor, by the window.

After ordering the finest food and wine, Dou Yuancheng lifted his chin. “Alright, out with it. What is it?”

“It’s not really—”

“Really nothing?”

“Well, I do have a small favor to ask,” Yan Shi’an scratched his nose, looking a bit embarrassed. “My cousin likes lotuses. Even the tiny pond we have at home makes her so happy that she goes to look at it every day. I remember that there’s usually a lotus viewing banquet held in the capital every year. You’re well-connected—do you know who’s hosting it this year?”

“Still fussing over that cousin of yours,” Dou Yuancheng joked, but seeing how determined his friend was to make her happy, he naturally wanted to help. After thinking for a moment, he said, “Most likely it’ll be one of the Zhang, Zhu, or Lu families.”

Yan Shi’an frowned. “Zhang Shijin has always disliked me. If it ends up at his house, forget it.”

“If it really ends up at the Zhangs’, then there’s no need to go. It’s just a lotus banquet, not worth suffering that bastard’s attitude.”

The waiter arrived with the wine, and just as he reached to pour, Yan Shi’an took the pot from him himself. “My cousin doesn’t care for jewelry or clothes, just loves looking at lotus flowers. I want her to see a lotus pond so vast it stretches out of sight.”

Dou Yuancheng gave him a half-smile, half-sneer. “You heard it might land at the Zhangs’, so you came here to con me into doing something about it, didn’t you?”

“You know me well.” Yan Shi’an raised his cup and clinked it against Dou’s.

“I wish I didn’t know you so well!” Dou Yuancheng rolled his eyes and drank. “But it’s not like there’s no way.”

“Let’s hear it.”

“The Lu and Zhang families don’t get along. I can find a way to get Lu Yi to sabotage it. If neither of them hosts it, things will calm down between them anyway.”

Yan Shi’an smiled. “If it ends up with the Zhu family, that’s fine too. But I don’t have much of a relationship with Zhu Ran. I’d need your help getting a couple of invitations.”

“Such a small thing? Just say the word—no need to plot so much. I’ve had it with that Zhang Shijin guy. He’s been bragging about this lately—this is the perfect chance to ruin it for him!” Dou Yuancheng snorted. “If he’s happy, I’m unhappy. If he’s miserable, I’m thrilled.”

That suddenly reminded Yan Shi’an of Miss Shi. In some ways, Yuanchen and she were quite alike.

Dou Yuancheng didn’t dwell on it. He refilled their cups and then, grinning slyly, asked about what he really wanted to know. “So that Qiqi girl really got dealt with by your cousin?”

“My cousin is kind-hearted. Even if she did something to protect my reputation, she would never torment a weak woman. It was that Qiqi girl who failed to get her way, got mad out of shame, and tried to smear my cousin’s name, hoping to drag us all down.”

Yan Shi’an’s face darkened, clearly still angry over it. “My cousin told me not to mind it, but how can I not? Because of a moment of misplaced sympathy on my part, she had to bear the consequences. She’s just a girl—if I could turn back time, I would never have gone soft!”

“She did the right thing. If Qiqi had stayed around, Zhang Shijin and the others would have had a field day tarnishing your name.” Dou Yuancheng raised his cup with a smile. “No wonder you treasure her. She really knows what matters.”

Yan Shi’an gave him a sidelong look. “She’s my cousin.”

“Yes, yes, your cousin. Who doesn’t have a cousin!” Dou Yuancheng laughed and scolded. But inwardly, he truly felt a bit envious—being able to care wholeheartedly for someone without needing to be on guard. In families like theirs, only benefits mattered. Everything else was meaningless.

True to his word, Dou Yuancheng played both sides—man and ghost—and stirred up trouble between the Zhang and Lu families. In the end, the lotus viewing banquet really did fall to the Zhu family.

When Shi Buyu opened the invitation, she asked, “I can attend too?”

“Men and women sit separately. I can’t help you on the women’s side.”

“Fair enough.” Shi Buyu nodded. “The Zhu family is a fish worth gutting and studying.”

“We’ve traced Zhu Ling’s contacts,” Yan Shi’an said, handing her a thin booklet. “See if anyone stands out.”

Shi Buyu flipped through it from start to finish, then borrowed his desk. Spreading open a sheet of xuan paper, she wrote down each name and began categorizing them into factions and affiliations.

Yan Shi’an looked on. “Seems like he’s a neutral party. Gets along with everyone, but never too closely with anyone.”

“There are neutral parties in court,” Shi Buyu replied as she put down her brush, “but no true neutral could smuggle out a corpse loaded with suspicious evidence. Every faction wants to pull the neutrals into their camp. Anyone holding that kind of leverage would use it to eliminate their neutrality. In other words, he’s not neutral.”

Yan Shi’an’s gaze landed on two names: Zhang Xuzhi and Fu Wei. One was the Prime Minister, the other the Grand Tutor. Both wielded immense power. Which of them was the real threat?

“Look further in the Prime Minister’s direction.”

Yan Shi’an was puzzled. “You seem more suspicious of him than the Grand Tutor?”

Shi Buyu stared at the name “Fu Wei.” “Thirty years ago, Grand Tutor Fu led five thousand soldiers in defending a city. They held out for nine months before reinforcements arrived. If I had to choose between the two, I’d rather trust a man with honor, blood, and backbone over Prime Minister Zhang, who traded a beauty for promotion.”

Yan Shi’an clearly knew about what had happened thirty years ago too. Compared side by side, the Grand Tutor, who had fought for Dayou with his life, was certainly more trustworthy. He summoned Yan Ze to begin laying out a plan.

Shi Buyu, meanwhile, stared at the name “Fu Wei” for a long time.

The lotus viewing banquet wasn’t considered a major event in the capital. In an era where every flower, plant, and season could be an occasion, lotus banquets, chrysanthemum banquets, moon-viewing banquets—they were all commonplace.

Shi Buyu wore a low-collar blouse and skirt sewn by a skilled seamstress, primarily in red and white. A teardrop-shaped flower adornment at the center of her brow made her face appear like a blooming peach blossom. Standing beside her, Yan Shi’an looked refined and handsome. As soon as they appeared, people began to whisper, both openly and behind fans.

As they walked in, Yan Shi’an quietly said, “If anything happens, call out—I’ll get word right away, even from outside.”

“Agu is with me. No one can touch me.” Shi Buyu looked around, quickly gaining a grasp of the Zhu family’s layout. “No need to take risks. I’m only here to observe and confirm a few things.”

“You mustn’t take risks either.” Yan Shi’an murmured this softly before walking up to greet Zhu Ran. When he mentioned his cousin, Shi Buyu stepped forward and paid her respects. Her manners were impeccable—graceful and proper, just like any daughter from a noble family, nothing out of the ordinary.

To the crowd of young gentlemen, she wasn’t particularly novel. Once curiosity was satisfied, they crowded back around Young Master Shi’an. After all, the games ahead couldn’t go on without him.