Threads Chapter 466-Meng Dan 5

“I want to know how the descendants of Tsu the Diviner, who walked far and spoke to countless peoples, descended into fearful isolationism.”

Meng Dan let out a long sigh, pinching his nose between his fingers. “Remind me not to invite you to any kind of symposium in the west. You would have us in a fistfight in minutes.”

“Ah, but we would win. Probably.” Then, she reconsidered. “As long as the elders were not involved.”

“Yes, we’ve both had quite enough of that.”

“Is my request a narrow enough subject though?”

As he considered, Ling Qi turned back to the view of the cloud sea far below them, eyes following the gaps where she could just barely make out smudges of green and brown so many kilometers below.

“Finding any answers to that beyond baseless speculation will be a difficult task, but not one that is beyond me. I accept your challenge, Ling Qi.”

She glanced back over her shoulder. “That isn’t the point of the request.”

“Isn’t it?”

She flicked her gaze away from his. There was no getting around that she was not giving an easy task.

“I have something to show you myself,” she enticed. “He’s a historical source you’ll enjoy, so don’t consider it merely an obligation.”

If anyone—other than her—would want to pick at Huisheng’s blossom-filled skull, it would be Meng Dan.

His eyes lit up with intrigue. “Oh, now, I am even more curious. As if I needed more motivation.”

“I don’t settle for minimums. We should probably head back up. I think Sixiang might be in the process of convincing Yinhui to do something unwise.”

“I am both intrigued and frightened.” Meng Dan laughed, rising from his seat and once again offering her his hand. “Still, we had best nip that in the bud.”

“I agree. We have enough on our plates already.” She took his hand.

This had been a good end to the day.

***​

Cai Renxiang accepted the bundle of scrolls Ling Qi held out. “I appreciate the prompt return of these reports.”

“You knew exactly what you were doing,” Ling Qi accused, smiling.

“If personal matters do not interfere with a duty, I see no reason not to allow my subordinates to complete their own tasks while performing mine. I judged the two of you had significant matters to discuss.”

Ling Qi rested her face in her hand. “You make it sound so dry. I now have another young man courting me, and it will be in an official capacity soon.”

Cai Renxiang studied her, brows drawn together. “You are not as distressed by this as I had assumed. It was my intent that the work task would keep the discussions professional. Was this so?”

Ling Qi slid herself into the seat across from Renxiang. The little office in the Xiangmen manor was practically a copy of the one Renxiang had at the manor in Shenglu, cut down in size. Her friend did not shy from repeating what worked.

“Where it wasn’t, we did that on our own after the last show,” Ling Qi replied. “N-not that there was anything untoward! We merely went to the hanging gardens afterward to talk.”

Cai Renxiang’s eyebrows, which had been steadily climbing toward her hairline, ceased their rise. “I see… You have changed.”

“I have. I will not run away from romantic entanglements, nor do I need to run away from them.” Ling Qi changed the subject. “Enough of that. I’ll navigate that matter in the future. How did your engagements go for you?”

She knew Cai Renxiang had spent much of the day at her clan home, that was to say, the ducal palace.

“I did not meet Mother directly today,” Cai Renxiang said crisply, letting the previous subject go. She was thankful. Bai Meizhen would surely have grilled her over the topic. “I will do so later in the week, when she observes some of the ceremony rehearsals. Although…”

Now it was her turn to raise an eyebrow, Renxiang didn’t usually hesitate like that. “Although what?”

“It seems we may have related troubles for once.”

She blinked, parsing that statement. “You mean…?”

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“It seems my own betrothal is to be announced at the tail end of these proceedings. The empress must require further assurances of Mother’s allegiance, given the establishment of the Bai alliance.”

And given that the empress had deigned to attend, even if through a simulacrum…

“I know the princes are already wed. A grandchild, then?”

“Great-grandchild or a grand nephew. I know no more than that yet. Even now, there are some final discussions.”