In the study of the Grand Marshal’s Mansion, Li Yuanzhou held a cigarette casually between his lips, leaning lazily against a plush sofa as he reported to his third brother on the past two months’ affairs.
“Third Brother, this trip to the West was a tremendous success. I’ve taken down the foreigner supplying the Meng family with weaponry. From now on, all the most advanced arms will be reserved exclusively for us — the Meng family will be left with nothing but whatever scraps we choose to discard.”
It was the Thirteenth Year of the Republic of China. The land was divided among three great warlord clans: the Shen family reigned over the South, the Li family held dominion over the North, and the Meng family ruled the West.
Of the three, the Li family of the North possessed the greatest strength. The Shen family in the South remained unassailable for the time being. Li Juechen knew his father, Marshal Li Xiao, had long harbored ambitions to reclaim the Western territories. Severing the Meng family’s arms supply line would undoubtedly prove a decisive advantage in the inevitable war to come.
Yet the Meng family — who stood as equals to the Lis and the Shens — was far from a foe to be underestimated. Their domain was a vast expanse of jagged mountain ranges, steep and treacherous, easily defended but nearly impossible to conquer. Bringing the Meng lands fully under Li rule would be no simple feat.
A faint, satisfied smile touched Li Juechen’s chiseled features. His lips curved upward as he exhaled a slow ring of smoke, praising softly, “Well done. You have my gratitude for your labors.”
Seizing the moment, Li Yuanzhou leaned forward eagerly. “Then… may I choose my own reward? I simply must know — what manner of woman has captured the heart of my illustrious Third Brother? Do indulge your younger brother’s curiosity!”
Li Juechen paused, then smiled with quiet resignation. “You are so eager to know the woman who holds my heart?”
Li Yuanzhou nodded vigorously. “I care nothing for women in general! Only the woman worthy of you — I must know what kind of soul could find a place in your thoughts!”
At his enthusiasm, Li Juechen fell silent, drifting back in time. After a long moment, he spoke in a low, measured tone.
“Ten years past, I was set upon by my father’s old enemies. Every man beside me fell. I myself had been shot. Bleeding and desperate, I fled alone into a narrow alley, certain my hour had come. That was when she and her mother hid me — saved my life. She was but a little girl then, hardly more than a child. Doubtless she has long since forgotten that day.”
Li Yuanzhou’s grin widened. He let out a low whistle, his eyes twinkling with mischief. “Third Brother… are you telling me you intend to repay that life-saving grace with your own heart — and your person?”
Li Juechen reached for the inkstone on his desk, as if to hurl it at him.
“Easy, easy! Third Brother — I am your own flesh and blood! Surely you would not slay your own brother!” Li Yuanzhou raised his hands to shield his face, laughing.
Li Juechen set the inkstone down, drew a long drag from his cigarette, and exhaled slowly. “After I recovered, I sought to repay their kindness. But they had already gone — vanished without a trace. Then, half a month ago… she was brought before me, sent here by the couple who had adopted her. And I knew her at once.”
“Not a case of mistaken identity?”
Li Juechen’s gaze softened at the memory of that pure, lovely face. “Impossible. Her eyes — exactly as they were in childhood. Clear, bright, untouched by greed or guile.” He straightened. “That is enough reminiscing. No more questions. To business: Fourth and Fifth Brother believe you traveled to Huai City. Did you leave no trail behind you?”
At the mention of those two, Li Yuanzhou let out a disdainful huff. “Their bumbling underlings? Keep pace with me? I arranged for them to be led astray — sent them wandering Huai City like headless flies for days. Never fear, Third Brother. Such trivial matters are well in hand.”
Li Juechen nodded, stubbing out his cigarette. His tone turned grave. “Mark this well: never underrate your foe, no matter the circumstance. What you see before you may well be an illusion — crafted with care to deceive you. Hearts and minds are unknowable things. One must always guard one’s back.”
Li Yuanzhou nodded promptly. “I hear you, Third Brother. Now that this matter in the West is settled… will Father not formally name you Young Marshal at last?”
Li Juechen shook his head. “Not yet. Fourth and Fifth Brother have long schemed in the shadows. To accept the title now would be nothing but peril. Half a month past, I dined with Director Qin of the Peiping Chamber of Commerce. An assassin disguised as a waiter struck that very night. Imagine what would come were I Young Marshal. I have no desire to spend my days watched, plotted against… and now that I have her — that young girl — I will not have her dragged into danger.”
Li Yuanzhou spat in disgust. “What goes on inside their heads? Eldest Brother gave his life serving Father. Of the legitimate sons, you alone remain. Your ability surpasses all of theirs combined! By what right do they presume to stand in your way?”
Li Juechen rose and started for the door. “Enough. Go see your mother, then rest. At dawn tomorrow, you ride with me to the military camp.”
Li Yuanzhou’s birth mother was the Fourth Concubine of Marshal Li Xiao — once a trusted handmaiden of the First Lady. In years past, the Second and Third Concubines, cousins, had each borne a son: Li Zhenting and Li Yuzhang.
Li Juechen’s own elder brother, Li Daliang, was stationed far away, his life ever at the mercy of war. The First Lady lived in daily dread that misfortune might befall her remaining son — leaving him alone and unprotected. So it was that, with the maid’s consent, she arranged for her to enter the Marshal’s chambers.
The Fourth Concubine remained utterly devoted to the First Lady. And so, from the day Li Yuanzhou was born, she taught him that their place in the Marshal’s Mansion was owed entirely to the First Lady’s grace.
He remembered her holding him gently, her voice soft: “My son… I was born to hardship, sent away to serve as a servant since childhood. Yet Heaven showed me mercy — it granted me a kind and noble mistress. She gave me the chance to bear you, so that I might have comfort in my old age. You are my son. You must repay the kindness shown to us — to her, and to her sons. Do you understand?”
And so Li Yuanzhou had grown up trailing after Li Juechen like a shadow. The First Lady treated them both with equal care — all that Li Juechen had, Li Yuanzhou shared. In the eyes of the household, Li Zhenting and Li Yuzhang called the First Lady “Mother”; their own birth mothers were addressed only as “Concubine”.
The Fourth Concubine and her son were the sole exception. Li Yuanzhou alone was permitted to call his birth mother “Ah Mu” — a mark of distinction granted to no other.
Shaking off his reverie, Li Yuanzhou reached out and knocked gently upon his mother’s door.
“Ah Mu! I’m home! Two months gone — did you miss me?”
The Fourth Concubine smiled, tapping him playfully upon the forehead. “Still such a child, even now! Was your journey well? You are unhurt, I hope?”
Li Yuanzhou beamed, standing tall. “Ah Mu, you underestimate me! Your son is as capable with his wits as with his sword — harm could never come to me!”