That same day, Sun Ce’s observers were all removed, leaving only the one outside the fence.
Sun Ce was in Zhou Yu’s room, teaching Sun Quan to write. As he drew out the strokes, he said quietly, “He still doesn’t trust you.”
“What I’m more afraid of is something changing…” Zhou Yu replied.
“Rest assured,” Sun Ce said. “Yuan Shu doesn’t hold many skilled warriors under his command, so he won’t be able to stop me.” His attention turned back to Sun Quan with a frown. “Focus a little more.”
Sun Quan was clearly a little afraid of Sun Ce. His elder brother was like a father to him; since Sun Jian was usually away at war, most of the time Sun Ce taught him. Not only how to read, but also how to write, and every time Zhou Yu ran into Sun Quan when he spotted Sun Ce, Sun Quan acted like a mouse that saw a cat.
Zhou Yu couldn’t resist interrupting. “Don’t be so hard on him; he’s just a child.”
Sun Ce chuckled. “Are you his sister-in-law, being so protective of him?”
It took a moment for Zhou Yu to understand his meaning, but as soon as he did, he spat the tea out of his mouth. He stood, ready to teach Sun Ce a lesson, but Sun Ce tossed his brush away and dodged him, shouting from the doorway, “I’m stopping! Sun Quan, remember this! One day, when Gongjin isn’t there to shield you, get ready for a beating!”
Sun Quan was gleeful at having been granted freedom, and he said, “I don’t want you as my brother anymore. I want Zhou-dage!”
“Sun Quan!” a child called rudely from the doorway.
Having nearly run him over, Sun Ce glanced down.
Zhou Yu spoke up. “Cao Pi, come in. How many days have you gone without studying?”
“Zhao-dage was with me,” Cao Pi said unhappily, taking off his boots and coming inside. Under the eaves, Sun Ce placed the two children’s boots together neatly, fascinated by the pair of boys. Cao Cao’s son possessed a delicate appearance, and Sun Quan was young and fresh, so the two children together looked as elegant and beautiful as statues meticulously carved from fine jade. Even more incredibly, they seemed untouched by the world’s worries.
“Where’s Zhao Zilong?” Sun Ce asked.
“He went to find the allied troops.” Cao Pi shot Sun Ce a nasty glare before he turned to Sun Quan. “This is your brother?”
“Mm-hmm,” Sun Quan replied.
“You got scolded by Zhao Zilong?” Zhou Yu examined Cao Pi’s expression. Clearly, Zhao Yun had rebuked him soundly.
Cao Pi didn’t respond, instead asking, “Zhou-dage, at the end of the year Zhen-jie’s setting out a banquet and inviting you and Zhao-dage to drink. Will you go? You too, hey.”
Cao Pi nudged Sun Quan’s arm, and Sun Quan’s brush jerked over the paper. He yelped.
Zhen Mi was beautiful. She probably worried Cao Pi would be bored, so she decided to keep him company on New Year’s. But it wouldn’t be very interesting with just the two of them, so Cao Pi was inviting Zhao Zilong, and he also wanted to drag Zhou Yu and Sun Quan along to liven things up.
Zhou Yu thought deeply, not responding, while Sun Ce took a seat on the windowsill.
“Don’t even think about it!” he remarked frivolously. “Zhou Gongjing’s going to come drink and eat with me and my mother this New Year’s. But we can spare Sun Quan.”
“I won’t go!” Sun Quan said. “I’ll spend it with Mom!”
“How about this?” Zhou Yu said to Cao Pi. “If Yuan-daren is interested, let’s have the two families gather together and lay out a feast in the side courtyard. There’s no need to separate the men and the women either; we can all sit together and eat. How about you go back and ask if that’s possible?”
Cao Pi was still a little kid, so he preferred an energetic gathering, and he thought for a bit. “Let me go back and ask.”
Zhen Mi was Yuan Shao’s son’s wife, and they’d been married for quite a while. It was not proper for her to sit with them and eat as a married woman, but since they were guests, they didn’t have to uphold these formalities. Spending the new year together was one thing, while rejection would have its own reasons.
Cao Pi went back and asked, but Zhen Mi tactfully declined, which was within Zhou Yu’s expectations.
Zhou Yu instead arranged with Cao Pi to browse the lantern markets during the Shangyuan Festival together, to which Cao Pi begrudgingly agreed.
✦ ✦ ✦
In no time at all, the end of the year was upon them. On the twenty-eighth night of the last month, Yang Hong sent for Zhou Yu and handed him three tallies that would allow him through the sentry posts, as well as travel documents. After the two made their arrangements, he handed the poison to Zhou Yu as they prepared for any last-minute changes.
“This poison has no color or taste,” Yang Hong said. “It is a rare object I’ve had stashed away for many years. A bit the size of a fingernail will poison over a hundred people. First the eyes lose sight, and after just the span of one stick of incense, the seven orifices will bleed,26 and the person will die.”
Zhou Yu listened silently, nodding from time to time.
Yang Hong continued, “I’ve already changed out the guard rotation for the Records Office. They’re all now assassins with great skill. When the time comes, pretend you stole the waist tallies from me, and in the depths of the night of the Shangyuan Festival, guide the two members of the Sun family out of the city. After you leave the city, you must not stop. Head directly for Sun Jian’s main camp. As for the rest, that is up to you.”
“On the night of the Shangyuan Festival, I must make other arrangements to gain Sun Ce’s trust,” Zhou Yu replied. “As best you can, do not send anyone to follow us. Sun Ce will return to the estate, so you only need to have an ambush set up outside the room.”
“All right.” Yang Hong nodded meaningfully.
With Yang Hong’s meticulous mind, he definitely had reservations, so Zhou Yu continued, “Let the sentries count the number of people coming along. If it isn’t three, then they cannot let them out of the city. This way, Yang-daren has no need to send anyone to watch either.”
“When the time comes, I’ll send someone,” Yang Hong said. “He’ll wait outside the city gates to search your carriage.”
“All right,” Zhou Yu said, nodding.
✦ ✦ ✦
A light snow began to fall on New Year’s Eve. Sun Ce and Zhou Yu passed through the long corridor, heading toward the main hall to greet Yuan Shu. That afternoon, Yuan Shu gifted them wine, and upon seeing Zhou Yu and Sun Ce standing together speaking intimately, he came and drank a cup with them. At twilight, the banquet dispersed, and Yuan Shu went on his own to offer up wine to the heavens, while Sun Ce and Zhou Yu headed for the side courtyard to eat their New Year’s dinner.
“I’ve already got the tallies,” Zhou Yu said.
“How about we leave early?” Sun Ce said. “There’s no need to wait for the Shangyuan Festival.”
“No,” Zhou Yu said. “Yang Hong will definitely let me go, but I’m guessing he has a contingency in place. There’s no rush to leave. Plus, I promised Cao Pi that no matter what, I’d take him out of the city. As for you, you’ll have to figure out a way to escape on your own.
“Here are three waist tallies,” Zhou Yu continued, after returning to his room. “One is for you, one is for Zhao Zilong, and the last one I’ll keep, to prevent any sudden changes.”
“Yang Hong assigned twenty people to you. They may not be easy to defeat,” Sun Ce warned.
“They are probably his contingency plan, but there’s no need to worry,” Zhou Yu responded. “Our plan must stay flexible, because the situation could change in an instant.”