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But I heard that a thief tampered with one of your paintings recently.

They 'sealed the lips' of the painting with honey. It's an old folk custom to celebrate the New Year. They do this in hopes that the Stove God 'will only say good things and not bad things'. Whoever the thief was, they had some other motive in mind besides theft.

Why did you not report this vandalism?

If I never reported it, then how do you know about it?

One of my colleagues is handling this case. I saw the case file. But the one who first reported it... I don't believe was anyone from your estate...

Well, I'm glad there's at least someone out there who cares about an old man like me.

I would not have expected you to believe in those folk tales, Deputy Minister Lin.

Haha. I am a mere citizen. You, on the other hand, are a mandarin, and your time is valuable. You came here today to ask me something. Just go ahead and ask me directly, please.

I came here to ask you about someone, not something.

Do you remember an individual named Gu Quan?

Grkh...

Ten years ago, Gu Quan accompanied some Yanese dignitaries on an official visit to Victoria. They encountered a Catastrophe, a blizzard, along the way, and poor Gu drowned in a river.

Have you any memory of that, Mr. Ning?

Yes. How could I forget?

I believe it was December. It definitely happened in the winter. By the time the news reached Baizao, it was almost the new year.

I remember the Messenger told us that, after the storm came in, the envoys got trapped on the mountain. Gu Quan stayed at the back of the line, helping shepherd everyone else across the river. In the end, he's the one who ended up falling in.

Sigh. The river must have been freezing cold!

It looks like that incident made quite an impact on you.

Gu Quan was a very good worker. He served the Ministry very well. He was very well-read and had excellent calligraphy.

It's a pity he had no family. The only remnant of him is a cenotaph in Cemetery of the Virtuous. Every year, the Ministry of Rites sends someone to tend it and pay their respects...

No family?

Look at me, blathering on again. Well, anyway, why do you mention Gu Quan?

A Yanese diplomat dying in a foreign country... that is a major international incident. According to the Laws of Yan, both Yan and the other country must send experts to conduct a joint investigation and compile a final report.

However, after Gu Quan's death, the Ministry of Rites did no such thing. Even more startling is that the Judicial Review Office's records of the case are remarkably sparse.

I'm confused. This is clearly a question for the Judicial Review Office. Why are you asking me? I was in the Ministry of Rites.

Well then, let me remind you.

Two months before the team left on their mission, Gu Quan was just an ordinary ninth-rank mandarin. How did he suddenly get promoted to envoy, much less be sent on a mission to Victoria?

Well, you are the one who signed Gu Quan's transfer order. At the time, you were the Minister of Rites.

Hahaha. Now I understand.

You're saying that I deliberately arranged for Gu Quan to go on a diplomatic mission to Victoria, and then 'disposed' of him.

No. That's not what I'm saying.

There is something strange going on here. I intend to solve these cases one-by-one, and I humbly ask for your guidance, Mr. Ning.

Since you're so curious about all this, why not ask me a few more pointed questions?

Do you think it's odd that I, as a former Minister of Rites, would trouble myself over a mere ninth-rank ceremonial officer? Are you implying, perhaps, that he discovered some unspeakable secret about me?

So you're just here to ask me about a ten year old case?

Hahaha... no matter, no matter. Ask whatever you wish.

Just remember, if you keep asking the same questions, you will keep getting the same answers.

What kind of answers do you want?

Truthful ones.

Hahaha. I already have one foot in the grave. What reason do I have to deceive you?

Then again, if you suspect me of committing so many crimes, then you surely don't view my testimony as credible...

I just want you to tell me why Gu Quan was suddenly transferred. Once you tell me that, we'll be able to figure out the rest of it.

Okay, okay. You came all this way to see me, so I think I should tell you what you want to know.

Gu Quan was indeed transferred for a reason: because he specifically requested it.

He wanted the transfer?

Yes, he said that he was ill and was afraid he didn't have much time left, so he wanted to return to his hometown in Victoria to live out the rest of his days. So, I agreed to let him join the delegation to Victoria.

What illness did he have?

I'm not clear on the details either. I only vaguely remember that Gu Quan did seem to be in poor spirits around that time.

But, as such a low-level mandarin, Gu Quan would not have had many opportunities to even meet you. How did he make such a request?

To be honest, it's a bit embarrassing... but there was a hint of selfishness on my part as well.

Gu Quan had magnificent penmanship, so I sometimes had him write letters for me. I also asked him to serve as my children's calligraphy tutor.

He had done so much for me, I felt I owed him a favor. Besides, I did not feel his request stemmed from greed.

That's all there is to say about Gu Quan's transfer. Do you have any other questions for me?

Since I've heard it directly from you, I'll take what you're saying at face value.

However, I disagree with one thing you said.

What?

Anyone who wants to know the truth, be they a mandarin or an ordinary citizen, does not need a special reason for doing so.

Please know, Mr. Ning, that I am indeed only after the truth. I have no other motives.

Now I shall take my leave, sir.

Good day, madam.

Say. Where is Liang Xun?

It's rather late, Grandfather. I saw the young man out many hours ago.

My word. You invited him in to have dinner, and then you had him wait there forever. Tis a poor way to treat a guest.

Yes. Where are my manners? Tell him I apologize, and please let him know that he's welcome to come back any time. Next time, I will be a proper host. I owe him that much.

Liang is a reasonable man. I am sure he'll understand.

By the way, his name is Liang Xun, right? Which 'Xun' is that? How do you write it?

It's that Xun with three dots on the left.

Uh, that one in 'Xun mei qie yi'... A spray of spring, gifted to you. Such a beautiful name; I'm rather fond of it.

I've heard that people with the three dots in their name characters are as clever and swift as water.

Funny. The others all say he's as dull as a board.

The old man walks to the table, picks up a pen, and adds another name to the invite list.

Hmm... maybe he is rather dull...

He came all this way to see his 'sweetheart', but look at the gifts he brought: Yumen's Tea, some strange liquor called 'Liedaozi'. These seem more like gifts meant for me.

Lin Qingyan, wait.

Who's there?

Lin Qingyan gets a strange feeling she's rarely felt before.

A woman with a sword advances to within a <i>zhang</i> of Lin Qingyan, yet she doesn't even notice her...

Until she is standing right in front of her.

Your uniform...

You... you're... an Imperial Guard?

Blaze, what do you think of this one?

Mm... not bad!

What I mean is, do these tangerine cakes taste like the ones you remember?

Umm... well... not exactly.

They're still not as sweet as the ones I had before. They also don't have quite the same mouth feel.

That's strange. This place uses traditional cooking methods. Their snacks are definitely authentic. They haven't changed their recipes in one hundred years.

One hundred years? Have tangerine cakes even been around that long?

No, tangerine cakes are not quite that old, but many famous Baizao snacks do have quite a long history.

The tangerine cake you are looking for were actually invented by a scholar who came to Baizao to study in its early years.

The scholar's hometown was famous for its tangerines. After he moved to Baizao, he missed those tangerines. It was too far to go home and get them, so he improvised.

He smashed up some old, dried tangerine peels and made them into dough, added some sugar, shortening, and spices, and baked them. It was a cheap, easy way to get his tangerine fix.

He gave the recipe to his landlord in lieu of paying rent. He even wrote a small poem about them, 'These tangerine cakes are bright and fresh, just like the orange groves back home.'

After the scholar passed the imperial examination and assumed office, the tangerine cakes became very famous. People began to view them as a symbol of homesickness.

Interesting...

Symbolic food. First time I've ever heard something like that.

Yan is a vast land, with many different climate zones, each with their own cash crops and produce. That's why there are many different types of Yanese cuisine. You can trace all of Yan's history through its food.

For example, Yan's Four Major Cuisines match up with its Four Great Restaurants, which predate Baizao's transformation into a nomadic city.

Cities develop, but flavors remain. It would be odd to find any snack without its own bit of history behind it.

One of my colleagues told me that there are many different kinds of Tianshis in Yan. You know so much about food, you must be some kind of Tasty Food Tianshi, right?

If there really was such an individual, someone who could use Arts to transform stones into vegetables, that might be worth studying, eh?