You want to kill me because you’re afraid your secret will be revealed but as soon as you kill me, your secret will be impossible to keep.”

“Can dead men talk?”

“As soon as I die, someone will open a certain letter and reveal the evidence to the world. Then you will be in a real predicament.”

“What letter?” Qian Long asked.

“Before we went to the palace to see you, Master Yu wrote down every detail of the affair and sealed the document in an envelope together with two important pieces of evidence and left it with a friend.”

“Was he afraid that something untoward might happen?”

“Of course. How could he trust you? Master Yu told his friend that if we were both to die suddenly, he should open the letter and do what it said, but if one of us was still alive, not to open it under any circumstances. Master Yu has already passed away, so I don’t think you’ll dare to kill me.”

Qian Long wrung his hands, anxiety written all over his face.

“Wouldn’t it be worth spending three million taels of silver to buy that letter and the two pieces of evidence?” Wen asked.

“The silver? I had always planned to hand it over and then release you. Write a letter to your friend telling him to bring the letter to me and I will immediately pay up the money.”

“Ha, ha. Once I tell you his name, you can send your bodyguards to kill or capture him. Actually, I’m very comfortable here. I would be happy to stay the rest of my life. You and I have the same fate. If I die first, you won’t live much longer.”

Qian Long bit his lip. “If you won’t write the letter, it is of no importance,” he said after a pause. “I will give you two days. If you persist in being stubborn, I will have no alternative but to kill you. No-one else will know about it and your friend will think you’re still alive. And even if I don’t kill you, I can still have your eyes gouged out, your tongue removed, your arms cut off…Think about it over the next two days.”

He pushed open the door and walked out. His bodyguards re-assembled around him, and Commander Li saw him out of the Yamen.

Wen was carried back to the dungeon by the Commander’s personal guards with Zhang Zhaozhong providing an escort. Once in the cell, one of the guards handed Zhang a letter.

“Commander Li asked me to give you this,” he said. Zhang opened and read the letter, then left.

Wen lay on the bed thinking about his wife and friends. He hoped none of them would be harmed if they should attempt a rescue.

Just then, the iron door to his cell opened with a clang and a man walked in. Wen thought it was Zhang returning and did not open his eyes.

The man walked over to the bed. “Fourth Brother,” he said quietly.

Wen was stunned. He looked up and saw it was Chen. “Great Helmsman!” he exclaimed, sitting up.

Chen smiled and nodded. He pulled two steel files from his pocket, and began filing at Wen’s manacles. After a few strong strokes, a series of light scratches appeared on the surface, but the file was ruined. The manacles were made of a specially-cast steel brought from the West, and an ordinary file was useless against it.

“Great Helmsman, only the finest of swords could break through these chains and manacles,” said Wen.

Chen remembered the battle with Zhang Zhaozhong at the Yellow River crossing and how sharp Zhang’s ‘Frozen Emerald’ sword had been.

“Does Zhang guard you night and day?” he asked quickly.

“He’s never more than a step from me. He only left a short while ago.”

“Good. We’ll wait for him to return and steal his sword.” Chen threw the files under the bed.

“It’s possible I won’t be able to get out of here,” Wen said. “The Emperor wants to silence me because he’s afraid I will reveal his secret. I had better tell you what it is, Great Helmsman, so that no matter if I live or die, there will be no delay.”

Chen nodded.