In the coach, Shen Ni also presents Bian Jin with a rensheng that she made. This one is red and pink, with a cute face that is definitely not crooked. Bian Jin hangs it from her own belt. Then she asks Shen Ni whether she was the one who left the bite marks on Shen Ni's hand. At this question, Shen Ni's eyes go to Bian Jin's lips and she recalls the events of the night before. She thinks about how Bian Jin is super picky about what she puts in her mouth, and that she couldn't have imagined that the tongue behind those abstemious lips could be so warm and soft. She decides not to tell Bian Jin about the bit where Bian Jin licked her hand.

Shen Ni tells Bian Jin that the bite didn't hurt, and that since Bian Jin still hasn't regained her strength, it was like a bite from a kitten. Bian Jin is astonished as, understandably, no one has ever compared her to a kitten before.

A few days later, Li Shan, the emperor's technologically talented sister, turns up at the house with a group of officials from the Court of Judicature and Revision. There's some verbal sparring between Li Shan and Shen Ni over the matter of Bian Jin — in brief, Shen Ni was supposed to bring Bian Jin to the Court of Judicature and Revision every ten days to make a record of anything she managed to remember, but of course she hasn't. Shen Ni gets the better of this particular scrap, in her usual subtle, sideways way, and Li Shan mentally describes her as a fox in sheep's clothing.

Shen Ni is about to escalate the argument when Bian Jin stops her by hooking her finger through Shen Ni's and and pulling her back slightly. Neither of them is wearing gloves. Shen Ni recalls how Bian Jin used to do this when she was little, to stop her from getting into fights. Bian Jin says she's willing to go with Li Shan, since it's just routine questioning. Shen Ni tells her in a whisper that Li Shan is actually using her as an excuse to vent her anger against Shen Ni, due to the latter having the temerity to request access to the Supreme Bureau of R&D, Li Shan's domain. This only makes Bian Jin's resolve all the firmer, as she doesn't want to cause trouble for Shen Ni.

Both Bian Jin and Shen Ni end up following Li Shan to the Court of Judicature and Revision, where they are led into a windowless room with a strange chair that has machinery built into the headrest. Li Shan proudly tells them that this is a new memory-probing device, and works on both 100% flesh brains and 'enhanced' brains. She's keen to use it on Bian Jin, especially since she doesn't believe Bian Jin has lost her memory at all. Shen Ni questions Li Shan as to whether the device is capable of distinguishing between memories of things that actually happened, and things that are the product of the individual's imagination. Li Shan, who seems to have been expecting this, answers in the affirmative. Shen Ni muses out loud about how one can really only be sure how the machine works if one takes in apart, thereby subtly warning Li Shan that she's not going to let Li Shan make false accusations against Bian Jin.

Shen Ni sprays down the chair with anti-bacterial spray, Bian Jin sits down, and the process begins. An hour later, the device hasn't gone 'ding!' even once, and Li Shan is deeply displeased. One of the officials asks her in hushed tones whether they need to check to make sure the machine is functional, and Shen Ni, ever-helpful, repeats this to Li Shan in tones of great concern. Li Shan hisses at them all to fuck off.

In the coach, on the way home, Shen Ni hands a weary Bian Jin a glass of water with her gloved hand. Shen Ni recalls how they projected Bian Jin's memories onto a massive a screen while her mind was being probed. Without warning, they'd projected a scene of one of Bian Jin's longest-serving soldiers being viciously killed. Bian Jin showed no change of expression, but the device indicated that she was feeling very deep anguish. Shen Ni recalls how, all those years ago, when she confessed her feelings for Bian Jin, Bian Jin had looked much the same — no expression, and eyes like ice. Now she suddenly realises that perhaps she never fully understood Bian Jin at all; perhaps the person Bian Jin was always cruellest to was herself.

Bian Jin drinks some nutrient broth sweetened with osmanthus blossom paste and falls asleep. Shen Ni draws Bian Jin gently closer, like any wife would, and lets Bian Jin's head rest on her shoulder, lending her a moment of peace.


Tech watch: The coach's interior heating system; memory-probing device; anti-bacterial spray
Named men: 5.5
Reverse Bechdel passes: 0

When the coach stops in front of Shen Ni's house, Bian Jin wakes up to realise that she's been slumbering on Shen Ni's shoulder for quite a while, and hastily sits up. Shen Ni tells her that it's fine, and Bian Jin can pay her back by not making her sleep on the floor. Bian Jin replies, 'When did I ever do that?' They both flash back to their younger days, when Shen Ni used to insist on going with Bian Jin up some quite far off mountain peaks to look for medicinal herbs. Once Shen Ni got tired, Bian Jin would carry her on her back, and Shen Ni would fall asleep. Now though, Shen Ni has slept on the floor of their room every night since they got married. When the realisation of this hits them both, things get kind of awkward, and they both fall silent.

Once they go inside, Shen Ni insists on being the one to ask Cheng Zhe, Bian Jin's boss at the archive, if Bian Jin can have the next day off (Bian Jin had originally been intending to do this herself). Bian Jin gazes at Shen Ni, reflecting on the woman she's become, as Shen Ni speaks to Cheng Zhe over... her digital watch? Some other similar device? Cheng Zhe is, of course, only too happy to grant Shen Ni's request. Shen Ni hangs up (or does whatever the equivalent is) and tells Bian Jin that someone has arrogant as Li Shan probably won't pester Bian Jin again for the next little while after her lack of success today. Shen Ni then leaves for Firewall Construction HQ, and Bian Jin heads back to their room to rest. However, she's tormented by the images of her fallen comrade.

When Shen Ni returns, she grabs a few bites of dinner and heads straight into her workshop to continue crafting Bian Jin's new mechanical spine. There are two things which make this a particularly challenging task: first, the damage to Bian Jin's jade core, which is vital for allowing her to control the mechanical spine; and second, the fact that Bian Jin needs a super high-quality jade core to match her natural, and very very great, martial abilities. The jade core she currently has was crafted by their late shifu. With it, she was able to single-handedly kill a yinglong-level monster (mystical beast?). We're told that yinglong-level monsters are just a step below the legendary and terrifying, taixu-level monsters, not one of which has ever been seen in real life. Shen Ni intends to craft Bian Jin a new jade core as well. The jade core fashioned by their shizun might be powerful, but it's still not a match for Bian Jin, she thinks. Only a jade core crafted by her — Shen Ni's — own hands would be worthy of Bian Jin.

When Shen Ni finally stops for the night, she's exhausted. She walks out of her workshop into a freezing gust of wind, and decides to take a hot bath before going to bed. As she relaxes in the bath, she recalls an equally cold winter's day, when she was ten. She'd pestered Bian Jin to make her a snowman, not knowing that Bian Jin had suffered a serious leg wound the day before when she'd rescued some outer disciples from one of their enemies. Bian Jin had made her a big, beautiful snowman without even mentioning it. Shen Ni reflects that, had Bian Jin not rescued her on the battlefield, she'd probably have a prosthetic eye by now, if not worse.

Shen Ni also remembers that, when she woke up after the whipping Bian Jin had given her, she saw that Bian Jin had left most of a jar of very rare and precious healing ointment next to her. She reflects that Bian Jin had already shown her so much love even just as her shijie; she'd been greedy to want more.

Shen Ni then discovers that a packet of pear blossom-scented soap has been opened — it's hers, but she'd stopped using it as Bian Jin was sensitive to the smell. She then sees that Bian Jin's own unscented soap hasn't been used at all. Which means... that Bian Jin had been using her soap. Shen Ni takes out the piece of soap that Bian Jin had used and runs it slowly over her own skin, and thinks about how soft Bian Jin had felt in her arms last night, and how alone she is now.

When Shen Ni steps into the bedroom, she sees that her pillow and blankets are no longer on the floor, but are on the bed. Even the fat little goldfinch plushie she hugs to sleep has been placed neatly beside the pillow. Bian Jin is lying on one half of the bed, her back turned. There's a hint of pear blossom scent in the room. Shen Ni, taking the hint, lies down next to Bian Jin, and is a bit at a loss as to what to do with the plushie. In the end, she decides to place it between the two of them, like a shield or screen, to make Bian Jin feel better.

Shen Ni has trouble getting to sleep, due to Bian Jin's presence. When she rolls over, Bian Jin suddenly asks whether she's having trouble sleeping. Shen Ni says yes, a bit, as she got used to sleeping alone when she was on the battlefield. Bian Jin, after a moment's silence, asks her, 'What about your lovers?' Shen Ni had almost forgotten about that lie — but she's able to cover it up easily enough by explaining that those were just flings.

Shen Ni then falls asleep — so soundly that she doesn't wake up even when Bian Jin gets out of bed. Bian Jin heads soundlessly outside, where sees a snow-white mechanical raven flying straight towards Shen Ni. She captures the bird effortlessly — and a faint, slightly staticky voice comes out of it. This, the text tells us, is the voice of Qin Wushang.

The voice says, 'I dreamed of you again, I dreamed you'd come back to my side, that we spent our nights in carnal pleasure, that you were willing to be food for the "demonseed"... Why do you need to stay in Chang'an for another year? If your darling little shimei knew your true face, would she still love you? She would only find you repulsive ... I'll come and look for you in Chang'an ... we will meet again...'

Bian Jin listens to the message quietly, then crushes the raven in her hand. She buries it under the snow by the flowerbeds. When she goes back into the bedroom, she gazes quietly at Shen Ni, and thinks: A-Yao, you're all grown up now, but you're still so foolish. She lifts her hand, about to stroke Shen Ni's face, when she sees that there's a cut across her palm, left by the mechanical raven's carcass. She hastily draws her hand back, thinking: These hands are too unclean; I can't touch her.

Bian Jin gazes at Shen Ni for a while. Outside, the snow falls more and more heavily, covering up all footprints, and silently burying all secrets, making it seem as if nothing had happened.


Tech watch: Creepy mechanical raven
Named men: 5.5
Reverse Bechdel passes: 0

Shen Ni kicks open the door of her workshop and places Bian Jin on her workbench, lowering the intensity of the lamp to make it less glaring as she does so. Bian Jin reflects that she hasn’t been held by anyone for a long time. The last person was Shen Ni, when she’d been a child. And now she’s being held by Shen Ni still, but everything is different.

Given the state of her spine, Bian Jin can’t sit up straight, and wobbles unsteadily. Shen Ni puts an arm around Bian Jin and tells Bian Jin to lean on her. With her free hand, Shen Ni lays her cloak over the workbench, to make it warmer for Bian Jin. Bian Jin continues to refrain from looking at Shen Ni as Shen Ni lays her on the workbench on her back.

Shen Ni goes to mix an anaesthetic, so that she can roll Bian Jin over painlessly. But even as she’s doing so, Bian Jin attempts to roll over herself. Shen Ni sees this, and goes to give her a hand. With Shen Ni’s help, Bian Jin is able to roll herself over, but it exhausts most of her strength. She’s sweating, trembling, and breathing heavily.

Shen Ni knows that, even with Bian Jin’s extraordinary resilience, she’s at the limit of her strength. Placing a hand on Bian Jin’s pelvis, she scans Bian Jin with her built-in palm scanner, and confirms that Bian Jin’s jade core is 96% damaged and can no longer be used. Bian Jin’s spine also needs to be replaced, even though Shen Ni hasn’t fully tested the replacement spine out yet.

There’s also the issue of the jade core. If the jade core is fully destroyed while it’s in Bian Jin’s body, she’s likely to die. Shen Ni had been crafting a new jade core for Bian Jin, but it’s not fully completed yet. She decides, however, that she’s just going to have to risk installing the new jade core. Bian Jin can then use both the new jade core and the new spine while she continues to monitor them and make adjustments.

Shen Ni then realises that’s she still got an arm wrapped around Bian Jin’s waist, and thinks about how slim it is, and how thin Bian Jin has become. Bian Jin too, realises that she’s fully within Shen Ni’s grasp and under Shen Ni’s control. This makes her feel weak. Her voice trembling with pain, she asks if Shen Ni can allow her to take control of the mechanical arm used for repairs.

Shen Ni asks if she’s planning to repair herself. Bian Jin replies unsteadily that she’s repaired her own broken leg before. Shen Ni laughs lightly then, and says quite directly that, given Bian Jin’s mediocre mechanical skills, she’s not going to be able to treat her own strong and talented body the way it deserves. She adds, ‘The only person who can repair you, is me.’

Bian Jin thinks to herself that Shen Ni has finally ripped off the mask of mild benevolence she’s been wearing all this while. She glances over her shoulder at Shen Ni, a glance that seems almost submissive, seductive. But Shen Ni knows that’s impossible — that it is, in fact, a glance from a woman who’s burning from the indignity she is being subjected to.

Shen Ni cleans her hands using a supersonic vibration device, then sprays anti-bacterial spray everywhere. She turns to see that Bian Jin has placed a hand palm-down on the workbench by her waist, and seems to be trying to prop herself up. Opposite Bian Jin is a floor-length mirror. In its reflection, they can both see that she’s covered in sweat, her lips are unnaturally red, and on her face is an unaccustomed expression of weakness. She seems so fragile that anyone could shatter her easily.

Shen Ni’s heart aches uncontrollably as she wonders how Bian Jin could have sunk to such levels. She reflects that, perhaps Bian Jin could bear with it more easily if someone other than Shen Ni were carrying out the repairs — but who else would devote her all to repairing Bian Jin, or have the ability to perform to do it in the first place?

Shen Ni grabs Bian Jin’s wrist, and says with a sort of studied harshness, ‘Stop worrying, shijie. Right now, I’m a doctor, and you’re my patient. To me, you’re just a broken machine, and I could never harbour designs on a broken machine. If you insist on leaving this workbench, you’ll be dead before you can get to the door.’

Bian Jin pauses in the face of Shen Ni’s words. Then Shen Ni cuffs each of Bian Jin’s limbs to the workbench with the leather cuffs that have been fixed to its surface. Bian Jin protests, calling out her full name: ‘Shen Ni!’ But Shen Ni merely tells her that this is necessary to prevent re-injury.

The tips of Bian Jin’s ears are already crimson as Shen Ni injects her with anaesthetic (via the port in her pelvis). Suddenly, she recalls the shattered snow globe, and how there might not be another one available for her to buy. She asks Shen Ni, ‘Do you do this to all your women?’ and falls into unconsciousness.

Shen Ni turns that last sentence over in her mind. Bian Jin had referred to their relationship as one between two ‘women’, not one between shijie and shimei, or between friends who’d grown up together. This is something that’s never happened before, and it doesn’t seem like Bian Jin.

Shen Ni remembers the familiar-sounding footsteps she heard outside the entrance of Firewall Construction HQ while Diwu Que was hugging her, and wonders. She suddenly wants to ruffle Bian Jin’s hair, but feels that she doesn’t have the right. The ticking of the countdown to the effects of the anaesthetic wearing off reminds her that she needs to get to work.

She sterlises a pair of scissors and cuts Bian Jin’s robes open from the back (rather than rolling her over again to get to the ties at the front). Then she realises that Bian Jin is wearing one of the outfits Shen Ni gifted her for their wedding, which Bian Jin had previously told Auntie Wan was too bright for her. And yet Bian Jin had put it on, to go out with Shen Ni for the Shangyuan festivities. Bearing that in mind, Shen Ni wonders what Bian Jin felt when she saw her ‘wife’ being embraced by a strange woman. She also wonders how Bian Jin got so seriously injured.

Shen Ni carefully slices Bian Jin’s skin open, and covers up the rest of her with a surgical blanket, leaving only the small part of her body that requires attention exposed. Shen Ni works intensively, battling against the clock. Finally, she manages to remove Bian Jin’s jade core, and holds it in her hand. She remembers how excited Bian Jin had been the night before their shizun installed it in her body.

Then Shen Ni chucks the product of their shizun’s life’s work carelessly into a nearby bin, and draws out the jade core that she crafted for Bian Jin. She isn’t going to call it a ‘jade core’; it’s ‘Ni’s heart’, created exclusively for one person only. Shen Ni was only six years old when she was seized with the inspiration for it, and it’s taken her so many years to acquire the skill and financial means to actually craft it.

Shen Ni places ‘Ni’s heart’ into Bian Jin’s body and connects the new spine to it. Then she activates it. Bian Jin’s slumbering body trembles with the force of the new energy running through it, but the leather cuffs hold her securely to the workbench. Once the indicators show that the new jade core is fully activated, and that Bian Jin’s vital signs are returning gradually to normal, Shen Ni finally relaxes.

Shen Ni raises her weary head, her reddened eyes reflecting the newly-risen sun. She checks the date, and sees that three full days have passed since the Shangyuan festival. They must have taken down the Great Wheel of Fire by now, she thinks.


Tech watch: Too much stuff to enumerate
Named men: 6.5
Reverse Bechdel passes: 0

Scans show that the repairs are now complete and there has been no contamination or overload. Shen Ni sets the mechanical arm to clean everything up. She studies herself in the mirror: her eyes are red and swollen, and she’s unkempt from three nights’ worth of sleeplessness. She takes a huge gulp of nutrient broth, and the strong taste of osmanthus blossom reminds her that all the nutrient broth in the house is flavoured with that paste.

Shen Ni goes over to the workbench, where Bian Jin is sleeping, and studies her beautiful face unrestrainedly for the first time since they reunited. Shen Ni undoes the leather cuffs, and discovers that there’s an unhealed cut across Bian Jin’s palm. She recalls seeing a bandage wrapped around that hand of Bian Jin’s a few days ago at breakfast, which coincided with the time an unidentified intruder was detected in the courtyard. Shen Ni stitches up the wound. Then she washes Bian Jin’s hair, which, despite her best efforts, still got some oil splashed on it.

After that, Shen Ni wraps Bian Jin up in a soft blanket and carries her back into their bedroom. Before leaving the room, she activates a quantum molecular resonance device, which will promote healing. The device costs ten thousand taels of silver to operate for two hours; Shen Ni sets it going for six, to start with.

Shen Ni steps outside, and sees the two female officials from Lijing Bureau who were tasked with making sure she and Shen Ni consummated their marriage. We’re finally given their names here: Dou Xuanji and Fang Pan. Rumour has it that the female officials of the Lijing Bureau are all orphans adopted by the head of the bureau, and have been trained to give their lives in service to the throne. Dou Xuanji and Fang Pan were initially nameless, and the two of them were awarded those names by the emperor for their services. Dou and Fang are the names of major noble clans.

Fang Pan informs Shen Ni that the emperor summoned her yesterday, and since she didn’t appear, Fang Pan and Dou Xuanji have been sent to fetch her. Shen Ni snarks at them as she takes her time getting washed and dressed, and snarks at them further as she gets ready to leave.

The three of them ride through the streets on horseback. Shen Ni notices that there’s no sign of the Great Wheel of Fire, and surmises that it must have been taken down after the Shangyuan festivities. To get one over her two unwilling escorts, she pretends that she’s about to fall off her horse, then straightens up again just as Dou Xuanji rushes up to her to prop her up. This leaves Dou Xuanji kneeling awkwardly before Shen Ni’s horse, as if she’s performing an obeisance. Shen Ni graciously tells her she may rise. Dou Xuanji is Not Amused.

Then they hear a low, feminine laugh. It’s Li Shan, passing by on a coach accompanied by two nobles from the Dou clan proper. Instead of her usual official’s robes, she gorgeously decked out in full femme clothing and makeup. There’s a barbed exchange where Li Shan cleverly insults Dou Xuanji, Shen Ni and the two Dou nobles in the same sentence, but Shen Ni gives as good as she gets, and does it with every appearance of guilelessness. Shen Ni wins this round: Li Shan is enraged, but not really in a position to take it out on anyone present, and Dou Xuanji decides that maybe Shen Ni isn’t the worst person in the world after all. Li Shan and her entourage continue on their way to the city of Luoyang, and Shen Ni and her Lijing escorts ride on towards the palace.

At the palace, Shen Ni projects her memories of the Liu Ji incident on the wall, to show Li Ruoyuan what took place. They have a discussion about the Black Box virus and possible strategies for defending against it, which culminates in Li Ruoyuan summoning Li Shan back from Luoyang immediately.

Li Shan comes rushing back, looking distinctly dishevelled from travel. As she enters the room, she trips over her own skirt, flinging her into a kneeling pose before Shen Ni — who, of course, doesn’t get up. Li Shan realises that Shen Ni must have known Li Ruoyuan would summon her back with all haste, and yet did nothing to stop her from leaving Chang’an. This merely stokes her anger.

Li Ruoyuan tells Li Shan that Shen Ni must immediately be given security clearance to enter the Supreme Bureau of R&D and the power to redirect its resources, and Li Shan has no choice but to assent.

As Li Shan and Shen Ni leave the emperor’s presence, Li Shan tells Shen Ni, ‘Bian Jin is just using you.’ She adds that Bian Jin is a creature of the Qin Wushang, the emperor of Xuanzhou, and is probably scheming to get hold of even more of TangPro’s state secrets via Shen Ni.

To Li Shan’s complete astonishment, Shen Ni only turns a captivating smile on her and says, ‘My wife is using me? Do you understand how wonderful every single word of that sounds?’

Li Shan is left speechless, and when Shen Ni archly thanks her for taking the trouble to tell her, Li Shan strides off in a huff.

We then cut to Bian Jin, who’s just waking up. She sees an ice-blue tanhua in front of her, in full bloom. She recalls that, a long time ago, when she was still at Shuangji Hall, she acquired two of these flowers, and planted them in the rear courtyard. Shen Ni was taken with them, and often came to look at the flowers. The tanhua were so delicate, however, that they faded after three days. Seeing Shen Ni’s disappointment, Bian Jin began furiously researching the art of cultivating ice-blue tanhua, and was so successfully that they eventually grew all over the courtyard. Despite many requests, Bian Jin never told anyone else the secret to cultivating the ice-blue tanhua, for reasons she has never thought deeply about.

Bian Jin then sees Shen Ni — or, as she puts it, the woman who forcibly restrained her onto the workbench — sitting in a corner of the bedroom. Shen Ni brings over a portion of nutrient broth. Bian Jin holds out her hand for it and Shen Ni gives it to her; their gazes don’t meet.

Shen Ni continues reviewing documents about the firewall, and as she does so she explains to Bian Jin that she sterilised everything multiple times and Bian Jin has nothing to worry about. Bian Jin replies, ‘It’s just a prosthetic. There’s no need for all this fuss.’ She’s still cross with me, Shen Ni realises, and says placatingly, ‘The proprieties must be observed.’ Bian Jin retorts, with an unusually high (for her) degree of vexation, ‘Last night, I kept asking you stop, but you didn't. I didn't see you observing the proprieties then.’ Shen Ni corrects her that it was three days ago.

Bian Jin falls silent, reflecting on what this must have meant — three sleepless nights, and multiple missed meals. A closer look at Shen Ni’s appearance confirms her guess, and she begins to regret her little outburst. After a long moment’s silence, she glances towards the ice-blue tanhua and asks if Shen Ni bought them. Shen Ni, still recalling how Bian Jin had described her to the Duchess of Chenghou, replies that it was a gift from a comrade.’

Shen Ni then explains to Bian Jin that she has a new mechanical spine and a new jade core, both of which will need further testing and fine-tuning. Bian Jin asks about the new jade core, and Shen Ni tells her, ‘It’s a jade core I made, called “Ni’s Heart”. It’s the only one of its kind in the whole world.’

Bian Jin thinks about the fact that an object with Shen Ni’s name on it is currently in her body, and has complicated Feelings about it. Shen Ni explains to her that they’ll have to run tests on her new mechanical spine and jade core every seven days for the next two months.

Bian Jin recalls, unbidden, the argument they had in Shen Ni’s workshop before the anaesthetic took effect, and the sensation of Shen Ni’s arm against her leg. If we need to do again what we did that night…

‘Shijie?’ asks Shen Ni, and Bian Jin blinks and says, ‘Yes.’ Shen Ni, gratified that her shijie has agreed, albeit grudgingly, tries obliquely to find out what Bian Jin had been up to on Shangyuan night that had gotten her so badly hurt. Bian Jin answers briefly that it was a personal matter, and Shen Ni doesn’t ask any further questions. However, she does decide that she’ll graciously disabuse Bian Jin of a misunderstanding.

She opens a message that she received from Diwu Que a little while ago. Diwu Que had asked whether she and Zeng Qingluo could come and visit Shen Ni and Bian Jin the day after tomorrow. Shen Ni tells her to come tomorrow instead. Diwu Que is confused by this.

Shen Ni then tells Bian Jin that an old friend of hers is coming tomorrow, and that if Bian Jin is free, she’s going to have to trouble Bian Jin to play the role of her wife again for the duration of the visit. Bian Jin asks what she should do. Shen Ni’s gaze falls on Bian Jin, and Bian Jin finds her heart suddenly beating faster. ‘Whatever a wife would usually do,’ says Shen Ni.

Bian Jin looks away from Shen Ni only to find her gaze being drawn to the box of sex toys. ‘I’ve never been a wife before, so I don’t know what a wife usually does,’ she says.

Shen Ni thinks this over for a moment. ‘Just act as if you love me, shijie.’

Tech watch: quantum molecular resonance device; possible flying coaches (belonging to Li Shan’s entourage).
Named men: 6.5
Reverse Bechdel passes: 0

That night, Shen Ni receives the long-desired clearance to enter the Supreme Bureau of R&D, with the right to peruse any of its documentation she wants and to reallocate its resources. This is subject to one condition: that she must first get the approval of Li Shan, as the head of the bureau.

She thinks about the Liu Ji incident. Notwithstanding the terrible force of the Black Box virus itself, the only real losses arising out of that, other than a houseful of alarmed mourners, had been Liu Ji’s expensive coffin and Shen Ni’s lovely cloak. Shen Ni finds this suspicious: she doesn’t believe in coincidences.

Shen Ni has a message from Zeng Qingluo on an encoded channel. The message says that the Lijing Bureau has already tracked down all eyewitnesses to the Liu Ji incident and forced all of them to install confidentiality modules to prevent them from speaking about it. If they do, all of their senses will be immobilised, and only the Lijing Bureau will be able to reverse it.

Shen Ni tells Zeng Qingluo that she’s going to send over all of Liu Ji’s movement and location data (which, naturally, she has obtained through hacking), so that Zeng Qingluo can start constructing a virtual map of all the places he’s been. Once that is complete, they can use it to narrow down where he was infected by the Black Box virus.

Zeng Qingluo assures Shen Ni that she’ll get it done in three days (instead of five, which would normally be expected), such is her hatred of the Black Box virus for all the losses it has caused her. Shen Ni tells her that the virus will have difficulty spreading through Chang’an; Zeng Qingluo is reassured by this, believing that Shen Ni has a strategy to counter it.

Shen Ni then sends a message to her contact in the northern territories, asking them to find out of Liu Ji has ever been there. The contact doesn’t respond, at least not yet. Shen Ni recalls that this contact has been responding more and more slowly. She wonders if this has something to do with ‘that mad emperor’ Qin Wushang, who has been launching occasional skirmishes against TangPro’s northern border.

Later that night, Shen Ni is about to walk into the bedroom she shares with Bian Jin, then recalls that she walked in on Bian Jin changing her clothes the last time, and knocks instead. Bian Jin tells her to come in. Bian Jin herself is sitting on the bed, not looking at Shen Ni.

Shen Ni gets the feeling that she’s about to be banished to the floor again, so without Bian Jin saying anything, she collects her blankets and pillows from the bed — just as Bian Jin is pushing hers further to the side to give Shen Ni more room on the bed. They each do a double take. Then Shen Ni, pretending that nothing’s happened, places her things back down on the bed and lies down next to Bian Jin.

Bian Jin, lying with her back to Shen Ni, tells her they should just treat this as a rehearsal. Bian Jin adds that she needs to practise being Shen Ni’s wife, telling herself that it’s just like a military drill. She immediately regrets it because it all sounds so suggestive. She also thanks Shen Ni for sewing up the cut across the palm, as well as all the efforts she’s gone to in crafting the new spine and new jade core. She adds that, since she has nothing else to repay Shen Ni with, she can do a few small things to make Shen Ni happy (implication: like playing the happy couple in front of Shen Ni’s friends).

Shen Ni replies that Bian Jin used to take great care of her too when she was younger, and never asked for anything in return. Then she promptly falls asleep. In her sleep, Shen Ni knocks the goldfinch plushie that basically functioned as a barrier between her and Bian Jin to the floor.

Bian Jin lies awake, thinking back to the first time she taught Shen Ni to ride a horse, when Shen Ni was ten years old. She had placed Shen Ni on the saddle in front of her, and at one point, when they were galloping down a slope, Bian Jin had put an arm around Shen Ni to stop her from falling over.

Just as Bian Jin is smiling over the memory, Shen Ni rolls over and wraps an arm around her, believing drowsily that Bian Jin is her goldfinch plushie, and wondering why the plushie has suddenly gotten so thin. Still, Shen Ni decides, the plushie smells really nice, and is really huggable.

And then we get several paragraphs of Shen Ni, mostly asleep, basically groping Bian Jin as she wonders about her plushie’s sudden shrinkage, and it making Bian Jin incredibly horny, because Bian Jin is now very, very sensitive to Shen Ni’s touch for some reason. Bian Jin is reminded of the day she and Shen Ni went horseback riding, only now their positions are reversed. Bian Jin thinks about pushing Shen Ni’s arm away, but then realises that it would only disturb Shen Ni’s sleep, and she’s not going to do that given how worn out Shen Ni from repairing her.

All Bian Jin can do is resign herself to her fate. Even after Shen Ni stops groping her and falls deeply asleep, Bian Jin is still wide awake, dealing with the ah aftermath.

The next day, Shen Ni wakes up hugging the goldfinch plushie. As she puts it aside, she realises there’s something a bit off about it. There’s dust on the plushie, but how did it get there? She eyes Bian Jin, who is standing with her back to Shen Ni, getting dressed. Shen Ni says a soft ‘good morning’ to Bian Jin, who eyes her silently and walks out of the room without saying a word. Confused, Shen Ni dusts off her plushie and asks it, ‘Do you know why shijie is angry with me?’

Bian Jin doesn’t quite know, either. She’s confused as to why Shen Ni’s touch would have that effect on her — to the point that she’s still, right this moment, experiencing its after-effects. She drinks a cup of cool water to settle her nerves. Then she goes into the courtyard and experiments a little with her new prosthetics. She pulls out the whip she bought online, tosses a stone into the air, and strikes it with the whip, not particularly hard (by her standards).

This produces dramatic results: the stone is reduced to powder, the force of the blow lops off a corner of a distant hill, and the whip itself literally goes up in smoke. Bian Jin is, for the first time in a long while, excited by this development, and starts wondering about how much more powerful she’ll become once Shen Ni perfects both her new spine and new jade core.

Shen Ni breakfasts by herself, after which she’s informed that her guests have arrived. She walks out of the dining room to see Bian Jin wearing the cloak Shen Ni got her for their wedding, and holding Shen Ni’s matching cloak in her hands. Bian Jin puts the cloak on Shen Ni in the most conscientiously, wifely manner possible. Shen Ni looks into her face, noting the dark circles under her eyes, and asks if Bian Jin slept badly last night. ‘It’s fine,’ Bian Jin replies coolly. ‘I just have to get used to it.’ Shen Ni wonders what on earth she’s talking about.

Diwu Que and Zeng Qingluo turn up, laden with gifts, and Bian Jin immediately recognises Diwu Que as Shen Ni’s ‘girlfriend’. She asks Shen Ni if she should leave the room, and Shen Ni is immediately certain that Bian Jin saw Diwu Que hugging her that evening at Firewall Construction HQ.

‘There’s no need,’ says Shen Ni. ‘Can I borrow your waist to put my arm around?’ Bian Jin surmises that Bian Jin and Diwu Que must have had some sort of lovers’ tiff, and Shen Ni is trying to get back at Diwu Que. Bian Jin swallows at the memory of last night, and thinks to herself, ‘This is ridiculous.’ But what she says to Shen Ni is, ‘Yes.’

Tech watch: Does mechanically-enabled horniness count
Named men: 6.5
Reverse Bechdel passes: 0