"Not right now," he replies with a shake of his head. "Maybe later."

But it's nice to know this about Cao Pi, that he has something underneath that arrogance, if he's offering to talk and writing beautiful, touching poetry. It's more than he'd taken the man for at first and it's a relief. But for now, the suggestion of later will have to truly mean quite a lot later - some indeterminate time. Just because Cao Pi is being pleasant doesn't mean Rosinante is willing to talk about his family. It's a can of worms nobody needs to open.

"I'm sorry, this whole situation has left me struggling with conversation," he admits.