They both have their secrets. Jin Guangyao knows the weight of them in shape if not in detail, and can tell through only a glance at Shen Yuan's hand as it wavers while reaching for his fan that the depths of his pain are far deeper than he lets on even here, even now. But he has allowed Jin Guangyao a glimpse of it here; a confidence for a confidence, a gesture of trust.

"Anyone who might call Shen-gongzi's actions cowardly has never known that kind of fear and certainty," he answers quietly. He reaches for the teapot and offers to refill Shen Yuan's first, before topping up his own. "We do what we must to protect ourselves. And, for what this one's opinion is worth," he adds, smiling a little, "I am pleased that you escaped."