“Has Fourth Concubine returned?” Gu Pingyuan asked eagerly as soon as he entered the Taiyufeng branch office.

“Not yet.” Wang Chi had returned long ago and came forward to answer. He held an invitation in his hand. “The Kang family seems unable to wait. Knowing we’ve arrived, they immediately set the date for the auction.”

“Oh, which day?”

“Tomorrow, at one of the Kang family’s silk shops.” Wang Chi hesitated a moment before speaking: “Manager Gu, this auction is a head-to-head business—whoever has more money can take the lead. The silver we have in hand cannot compare to the Lei or Mao families, let alone that Young Master Su from today who outranks us. Tomorrow will be the moment of truth, and we cannot sit idle waiting for defeat.”

“Then what do you think we should do?” Gu Pingyuan asked in return.

Wang Chi was precisely at his wit’s end trying to figure out how this business should be conducted. Being asked this question left him speechless, staring blankly at Gu Pingyuan.

“Business is about mutual exchange of what each lacks. Right now the Kang family needs money and wants to exchange their shops for cash. Whoever offers more money can get the Kang family’s shops.” The weather was truly hot, and Gu Pingyuan had returned from the street covered in sweat. Only after drinking a cup of iced sour plum soup did he let out a sigh of relief.

Wang Chi said bluntly: “This principle is obvious—even a three-year-old child understands it.”

Gu Pingyuan took no offense and smiled instead: “It’s precisely because children understand it that no one thinks about another principle.”

“What principle?”

“If there’s a way to get money without selling the shops to solve the urgent crisis at hand, then the Kang family would need to think carefully.”

This time Wang Chi didn’t understand. “Getting money without selling shops—isn’t that wishful thinking?”

Gu Pingyuan pointed to the chair across from him. “Sit down first and listen to me explain slowly.”

The scheme Gu Pingyuan was preparing to play was a method he had finally conceived through deep contemplation on the road. Knowing his silver was insufficient, he had to use other means to move the Kang family. He knew the Kang family had been in business for generations, and being forced to sell their property this time, they must find it difficult to part with—this was human nature. He could reason with them and appeal to their emotions, making Master Kang understand that things hadn’t reached the point of driving a cart into a wall, that they could keep their ancestral shops. As for the needed silver, Taiyufeng could advance it temporarily, and when the situation improved, they could repay the debt…

“No!” Gu Pingyuan had only spoken half his words when Wang Chi slammed his hand on the table. He had come specifically to monitor how Gu Pingyuan would use those 800,000 taels of silver. Hearing this, he immediately shook his head: “Wouldn’t this be like working for the Kang family for nothing? Where’s the profit? And have you considered how great the risk is? The Kang family is already in desperate straits. If you lend them money now, the risk of bad debt is too great.”

“The Kang family is not in desperate straits!” Gu Pingyuan took out the detailed records of Kang family properties that Qu Guan had collected from his traveling case and placed them on the table. “You haven’t been at the bank for just a day or two. Look at this—the Kang family’s businesses are all doing well, with hardly any losing ventures. If not for this fire burning their supplies and forcing them to pay compensation, the Kang family’s business would be unshakeable. If they can catch their breath, the Kang family will definitely be able to regroup.”

“But they can’t catch their breath.” Wang Chi had to admit that what Gu Pingyuan said was true, but he had a different view: “Don’t forget, the silver raised must compensate the army. What will they use to operate? Water without a source, wood without roots—besides waiting to die, is there any way to live?”

“There is!” Gu Pingyuan lightly slapped the table and stood up.

“Where is this way to live?” Wang Chi looked up at Gu Pingyuan.

Gu Pingyuan extended his thumb and pointed at his own face: “Right here with me.”

“Look…” He opened the detailed records and began speaking eloquently about how to operate each business listed with minimal capital, then connecting seemingly unrelated businesses to each other, gradually growing like a rolling snowball. “The Kang family’s business is adequate for maintaining what they have but insufficient for innovation. They’ve let many profitable opportunities slip by, and they’ve spent money that could clearly be saved. Most inappropriate of all, many of their own businesses could cooperate with each other for mutual benefit, yet they’ve let outsiders earn these profits. I plan to consult properly with Master Kang to sort out all these sources of income. With the Kang family’s solid foundation, they could come back to life within three years.” Speaking thus, Gu Pingyuan produced a ledger: “What I just said was only general. During these days of travel, I planned during the day and wrote it down at night. Take a look.”

Wang Chi was already dumbfounded listening, and when he took the ledger in hand to examine it carefully, indeed it was so—it detailed how to plan a way out for the Kang family with reason and evidence, looking just like a veteran manager who had worked at the Kang family for over ten years had written a report for his own business.

“This Gu Pingyuan is truly a natural talent for business.” Wang Chi flipped through it carefully, and a wave of jealousy involuntarily surged in his heart. He closed the ledger, shook his head with feigned contempt, and said: “This is nothing more than armchair strategizing. It looks quite good, but have you thought about the words ‘what if’? What if something goes wrong? This is 800,000 taels of silver—I cannot let you treat it as child’s play. Even if this business cannot be completed, at least the 800,000 is still in hand. But if you take such risks…”

He shook his head again: “No! Manager Wang has given instructions—except for pawnbroking, nothing else is permissible.”

“Brother Wang…”

“No need to say more. My responsibility is to watch you handle things according to the Manager’s requirements. I can do nothing else!” Wang Chi cupped his hands and walked out of the room.

Gu Pingyuan slowly put away the ledger and sat down with furrowed brows. Wang Chi seemed to have received strict orders from Wang Tiangui, hence his resolute attitude. This matter was already difficult, and now he couldn’t even pass the first hurdle—it would truly be hard to handle going forward. Time was so tight too. If the Kang family decided tomorrow to sell their business to Rishengchang or the Weixing Five United Banks, once it was a done deal, even immortals couldn’t resolve it.

As he was thinking until his head ached, the branch manager had someone deliver a letter, saying it was for Gu Pingyuan to open personally. When Gu Pingyuan opened and unfolded it, he saw two lines written in elegant regular script by Chang Yu’er, saying she was currently at Huaqing Pool north of the city and hoped Gu Pingyuan would come quickly for an urgent matter to discuss.

Gu Pingyuan had seen Chang Yu’er’s handwriting and recognized it as her own at a glance. Earlier he had seen her racing through the busy streets with Ruyi, with Li Qin also in the carriage. Gu Pingyuan had been worried then, and now receiving this letter, his heart immediately lifted with concern. Learning that the messenger was waiting outside with a horse carriage, he didn’t care about the day’s exhaustion and immediately set out.

Huaqing Pool was at the foot of Li Mountain, sixty li northeast of Xi’an. It would take an hour to get there. Sitting in the carriage, Gu Pingyuan’s mind was like a spinning lantern, thinking of Su Zixuan, Lei Daniang, Mao Hongyi, Wang Chi, Li Qin, Ruyi, Chang Yu’er—all these people. Gu Pingyuan felt they all seemed to be laughing at him, and also seemed to be crying at him. Several faces changed back and forth, flashing in and out, suddenly disappearing, then suddenly gathering together in front of him, all sternly shouting: “Gu Pingyuan, this time you have no solution!”

Gu Pingyuan started with surprise—he had inadvertently dozed off. Someone outside was knocking on the carriage door and calling: “Manager Gu, we’ve arrived.”

Getting out of the carriage, Gu Pingyuan found the sky had already darkened. Li Mountain wasn’t high, but it was enough to block the evening glow, and the entire foothills were shrouded in darkness.

Following the driver’s directions, Gu Pingyuan walked up a mountain path. Huaqing Pool was a famous Xi’an scenic spot where literati often came to reminisce and pay tribute to the story of Emperor Xuanzong and Yang Guifei. But recently with the Nian Army threatening the borders and unrest in the markets, few had such leisure interests. All along the way up, Gu Pingyuan encountered no one—only the sound of cicadas chirping and water tinkling.

From afar he saw a mountain gate, with large stones carved with four characters beside the path: “Spring Cold Imperial Bath.” Going further ahead would be the long-famous Huaqing Pool. Gu Pingyuan peered into the distance and saw only a misty haze, presumably the hot steam rising from the hot springs.

Beside the mountain gate was a faint light. Only when Gu Pingyuan approached did he see clearly it was Chang Yu’er holding a lantern, her delicate figure leaning against a pillar. Her gaze was vacant—though she saw Gu Pingyuan walking over, she seemed completely unaware, appearing absent-minded.

“Miss Chang, Miss Chang…” Gu Pingyuan’s heart jumped in alarm as he called out repeatedly.

“Ah!” Chang Yu’er’s body trembled as she suddenly came to her senses. Looking up to see Gu Pingyuan, she lowered her head again. After a long while, she squeezed out a sentence: “Big Brother Gu, you… you received my letter?”

“Yes, I came immediately. You said there was an urgent matter—what exactly happened?”

Chang Yu’er pressed her lips tightly together, her body trembling slightly. She looked up at Gu Pingyuan, her eyes full of helpless, anguished expression.

“What’s wrong exactly?” Gu Pingyuan grew increasingly anxious.

Chang Yu’er raised her head and closed her eyes. A string of tears rolled down her cheeks. She shook her head, suddenly turned around, and walked away. Gu Pingyuan didn’t understand and hurriedly followed, asking questions continuously, but Chang Yu’er remained silent throughout, making him as anxious as oil boiling in a pan.

Entering the mountain gate was the old site of Huaqing Pool. The Zhou, Qin, Han, Sui, and Tang dynasties had all built palaces here, originally resplendent and dazzling. Bai Juyi’s “Song of Everlasting Sorrow” described it best: “In golden chambers she was adorned to serve the night, in jade towers after banquets she was drunk with spring… The Li Palace towered high into the blue clouds, celestial music drifted everywhere.” This described Huaqing Pool’s scene of singing and dancing in prosperity. However, from the Song period onward, Huaqing Pool had long been abandoned. Most of the former buildings had collapsed, only the hot spring pools, because people often came to bathe and kind people funded occasional repairs, still remained in good condition.

Chang Yu’er led Gu Pingyuan to where the largest hot spring pool was located. Around the pool was built a palace-like building with exquisitely carved dragons and painted walls. She pushed open the outer door.

Gu Pingyuan was confused and asked tentatively: “Miss Chang, what are you…”

Chang Yu’er turned her head away, hiding her face in the night, pointing at the opened door with a trembling fingertip, clearly emotionally agitated.

“You want me to go in?”

“…”

Seeing that such a standoff wouldn’t resolve anything, Gu Pingyuan decided to do as she indicated first. So he stepped into the room. Who knew that as soon as his front foot entered, Chang Yu’er closed the door behind him, immediately followed by the sound of sobbing and her footsteps running away quickly.

Gu Pingyuan turned back to open the door and look, when he heard someone chuckling softly behind him.

“Just a silly girl—is she worth Young Master Gu pursuing?”

Ruyi? Gu Pingyuan’s hand froze. He slowly turned around, and in the candlelight illuminating the four walls, he saw steam rising and gathering and dispersing above the hot spring pool in the center of the room. Standing in the spring water was a woman wearing light gauze. This gauze was woven extremely thin and couldn’t conceal any part of her skin, as if she wore nothing at all, yet more fatally alluring than complete nakedness.

Gu Pingyuan immediately looked away after one glance, his voice carrying a trace of anger.

“Fourth Concubine, did you arrange this? Or did Manager Wang arrange it?”

Ruyi smiled with pursed lips and walked forward a few steps. Gu Pingyuan heard the splashing water sounds and couldn’t help his heart skipping a few beats.

“Are you afraid? Thinking it’s another honey trap like last time? Don’t worry—such things can happen once but not twice. Besides, Wang Tiangui has no need to manipulate you again.”

So this was Ruyi’s own doing. Gu Pingyuan remembered Chang Yu’er had once said that Ruyi loved inquiring about his affairs. It seemed this woman was unfaithful and intent on adultery.

Gu Pingyuan didn’t want to entangle with her further. Turning his back, he said sternly: “Fourth Concubine, I am an upright man who won’t do improper things. Let’s pretend today never happened. Farewell.” He was about to leave.

“Improper?” When others said these two words, Ruyi’s face wouldn’t even blush slightly, but when Gu Pingyuan said them, Ruyi felt a wave of shame and indignation. She truly liked Gu Pingyuan, feeling this man had courage and strategy, and could endure—quite like the Marquis of Huaiyin Han Xin in the opera “Pursuing the General Under the Moon”—someone who would surely achieve great things one day, worthy of entrusting her life to. Wang Tiangui was after all an old man—how many good days could he have left? She needed to plan for her future and had set her sights on Gu Pingyuan. Last time was Wang Tiangui’s deliberate scheme with Lao Wai standing by in strict formation—whether Gu Pingyuan agreed or not, nothing good could come of it. This time was different. Wang Tiangui was far away, and as long as Gu Pingyuan and she consummated their dream together, the two could slowly consider future matters.

So when she heard Gu Pingyuan say “improper,” she felt indignant and retorted: “Young Master Gu, you’re a scholar. Let me ask you—what does ‘improper’ mean?”

Gu Pingyuan was stunned by her question. Ruyi immediately continued: “Could Yang Guifei who bathed here have been a chaste and virtuous woman? She was first matched to Prince Shou Li Mao, then to his father Emperor Xuanzong—not only improper but incestuous. Yet look at these four walls, all covered with poems and verses by you scholars reminiscing about her beauty, the words barely concealing desires to share bed and pillow with the revived Yang Guifei. Why don’t you speak of ‘impropriety’ then!”

This was indeed a scholarly habit, and Gu Pingyuan had no way to refute it, so he remained silent.

“Gu Pingyuan, I fancy you because you’re capable enough—you’ve broken through barriers that couldn’t be broken, endured what couldn’t be endured. But you’ve seen firsthand how vicious Wang Tiangui is. This hurdle of his—you cannot overcome!” Speaking thus, Ruyi had come behind Gu Pingyuan, pressing her curvaceous body tightly against him, encircling his chest with a plump, fair arm, breathing like orchids in his ear: “Unless… I help you! Get a large sum of money from him, then we’ll leave together, go to the ends of the earth, and live like Emperor Tang and Yang Guifei.”

Having a sudden inspiration, she added another sentence: “Wang Tiangui harmed you so badly—don’t you want to use his woman once? Are you really that afraid of him?”

Gu Pingyuan was also a mortal man with ordinary human emotions and desires. Ruyi was also a charming beauty whose wet, passion-fired body emanated an alluring, ambiguous atmosphere that stirred the desires deep in his heart—how could he not be moved? Especially Ruyi’s last words, which like a venomous snake provoked his inner feelings, quickly arousing a vindictive pleasure in him. Though he didn’t turn around, his breathing had unknowingly become rapid, and his chest rose and fell involuntarily.

Ruyi, experienced in “battle,” was most sensitive to such male reactions. Knowing that with a little more effort, she needn’t worry about Gu Pingyuan not becoming her willing servant, she pressed her body even closer, extending her snow-white leg to coil around Gu Pingyuan’s leg in front, arching her foot, her kohl-painted long toes gently stepping on Gu Pingyuan’s feet. Her body twisted languidly, rubbing against the man before her as she moaned softly, calling Gu Pingyuan in the gentlest voice.

“Young Master Gu, I’m the best—if you don’t believe me, try once. I’m a hundred times better than that girl Chang Yu’er. Once you try… you’ll know.” The bone-deep seductive voice combined with her soft, alluring body—Ruyi was confident that this time, even without the aphrodisiac “Wuhong,” she needn’t worry about Gu Pingyuan not submitting obediently.

However, the reality was exactly opposite to what she thought. Gu Pingyuan’s nearly collapsed mental defenses were precisely because Ruyi mentioned Chang Yu’er—thinking of her just now sobbing and fleeing outside the door—it was like having a basin of cold water poured over his head. His mind flashed like lightning through Jin Hu who died miserably on the hill, Fourth Father Chang who was wrongly imprisoned, Qi Lingfang who was pierced through the heart by an arrow, finally settling on a pair of eyes filled with hope—those of his childhood sweetheart lover far away in his hometown, the one he had sworn in his heart to marry in glory. These eyes looked at him without blame or reproach, but with a trace of attachment and disappointment, like an icy needle suddenly piercing Gu Pingyuan’s heart.

Gu Pingyuan stood rigid. Ruyi felt the man in her arms suddenly grow cold, leaving her somewhat at a loss. In her memory, no man would fail to respond to her at such a moment.

Gu Pingyuan did respond. He suddenly swung his arm backward, pushing Ruyi several steps away, her body staggering and nearly falling into the pool water. He then opened the door and stepped out in one stride.

“Wait!” Ruyi’s voice in that instant frightened even herself. She panted, forced a smile onto her face, tried to calm her tone, but her voice involuntarily became shrill: “Gu Pingyuan, you don’t dare look at me? I ask you—in what way am I inferior to that little whore surnamed Chang? If you have the ability, turn around and look properly before leaving!”

Gu Pingyuan originally didn’t want to pay attention to her, but on second thought, since Ruyi had entangled herself with him, it would be better to make her give up hope, avoiding future complications. Gu Pingyuan wanted to make Ruyi abandon her thoughts, but he miscalculated. As the saying goes, “A woman’s heart is like a needle at the bottom of the sea”—actually, if he had just walked away then, it would have been better. This moment of poor judgment would later brew great disaster.

Gu Pingyuan slowly turned back. Ruyi twisted her shoulder, the light gauze slipped down, and her beautiful, tall figure with its rounded, graceful curves was displayed without concealment before Gu Pingyuan. She took a light breath, thrusting out her chest, looking at Gu Pingyuan with seductive eyes full of challenging expression.

Gu Pingyuan had already returned to his normal state. His gaze looked from head to toe, then from toe to head, examining every inch of Ruyi’s body. Then he smiled mockingly, with some appreciation and some apology: “You’re very good, but unfortunately not the woman I want.” He shrugged and walked out the door, gently closing it behind him.

Ruyi listened to his footsteps fade away, standing there stunned like a wooden chicken. This was the first time she had put such effort into seducing a man, and also the first time she had lost so miserably. If this man had fled with closed eyes or only dared glance hurriedly, that would have been acceptable, but he had looked seriously and thoroughly, then showed such disdain afterward. Ruyi’s face slowly flushed red, but her body felt cold enough to make her want to shiver. She suddenly screamed hoarsely: “Gu Pingyuan, I will make you regret this!”

Gu Pingyuan had already walked far away. He passed through a small grove and stepped onto debris and ruins. Moonlight and moving clouds cast their radiance, and by the moonlight he could vaguely make out characters on a bright stele—this was the site of Feishuang Hall, built in the Tang period at the cost of ten thousand gold, also known as the nine-bay great hall where hot springs flowed around the beams and falling snow turned to frost when it hit the tiles. Now it was just broken stones and fallen pillars, no longer its former splendor.

Having just left the tender embrace and now seeing this desolate place, Gu Pingyuan suddenly felt emotional.

“What use are a thousand gold pieces? In the end, it’s just bones for a thousand years and piles of rubble. They say business is for money—even if you really earn mountains of gold and seas of silver like an emperor, then what… build such grand houses, marry the most beautiful women in the world, have music day and night, indulge nightly—is this the best ending for a businessman?” Gu Pingyuan didn’t think so, yet what business was ultimately for, he hadn’t figured out clearly either. He peered ahead and indeed saw the figure he was looking for by the shore of Nine Dragon Lake, flat as a bright mirror behind the hall.

Chang Yu’er was leaning against a tall snow pine, covering her face and weeping. Her thin shoulders shook up and down, clearly extremely heartbroken.

“Miss Chang.” Gu Pingyuan, afraid of startling her, called out when he was still ten steps away.

In the deep quiet night, Chang Yu’er was indeed startled and hurriedly turned around. Seeing it was Gu Pingyuan, she opened her eyes wide in surprise.

“You, you aren’t…”

Gu Pingyuan shook his head, his eyes containing a helpless smile.

“Big Brother Gu.” Chang Yu’er’s joy was extraordinary—she even forgot a young lady’s reserve and unconsciously reached out to grasp Gu Pingyuan’s hand.

Gu Pingyuan only felt her hand was ice cold—she must have suffered great torment just now, and couldn’t help feeling a wave of tenderness in his heart. Though Gu Pingyuan didn’t know about Chang Yu’er’s self-sacrifice to save him before, he wasn’t made of wood or stone. He vaguely sensed Chang Yu’er’s feelings for him, but thinking of the woman he had once pledged eternal love with, he unconsciously released Chang Yu’er’s hand.

Chang Yu’er was overjoyed and didn’t notice these details. She just didn’t know what had happened at the hot spring pool and wanted to ask but couldn’t bring herself to, staring blankly at Gu Pingyuan.

It was Gu Pingyuan who asked first: “This afternoon I saw you and Li Qin sharing a carriage in the city. How did he come to travel with you?” This matter had been weighing on his mind.

“We wanted to hire a carriage to Huaqing Pool, but the drivers in the city were all afraid of the Nian bandits and didn’t dare come. This Master Li happened to pass by, bought a carriage, and brought us here. He’s really generous with his money—he rented out an entire section of the retreat buildings behind, saying we could rest there. It made the gatekeeper, who was worried about having no business, extremely happy.”

This was indeed Li Qin’s style. “Where is he now?”

“Since women are bathing, he naturally couldn’t stay here. He said he wanted to visit the old beacon tower site where ‘the beacon fires fooled the feudal lords’ behind Li Mountain. The gatekeeper took him there—he probably hasn’t returned yet.”

“Mm.” Gu Pingyuan nodded. “What happened earlier was Ruyi forcing you to do it, wasn’t it?” Since Chang Yu’er liked him, there was no reason she would hand him over willingly. It must have been Ruyi using some despicable means to coerce her, and she probably suffered quite a bit.

Hearing Gu Pingyuan say this, Chang Yu’er’s eyes reddened again, and she couldn’t help remembering what had happened several hours earlier.

“Yu’er, come help me scrub my back.” Ruyi lazily leaned against the pool edge like a cat wanting to nap in the afternoon.

Chang Yu’er reluctantly came behind her. When her hand touched that soft, snow-white body, it gave her a strange feeling. Thinking that this was a woman who shared intimate nights with Wang Tiangui, this thought made her want to flee the pool immediately, yet she couldn’t help wanting to look more at this woman, to see what was so good about her that so many men liked her.

Ruyi seemed able to see through Chang Yu’er’s thoughts and suddenly turned over. Chang Yu’er was caught off guard and her hand pressed against that “soft, warm, newly peeled water chestnut flesh”—a spot of crimson red. The touch was soft and tender. Just as she was startled and about to withdraw her hand, Ruyi firmly pressed her hand against her own chest, half-closing her eyes and smiling as she looked at her.

Chang Yu’er’s face flushed red past her ears. She struggled twice but couldn’t break free. Instead, Ruyi pulled her forcefully into her embrace with one tug. The two women soaked in the steaming hot spring, their two naked bodies pressed tightly together in the slippery pool water.

“What… what are you doing!” Chang Yu’er said in a low voice, both ashamed and angry.

“I think you’ve probably become aroused. Why don’t I let you take advantage of me—pretend I’m that Young Master Gu. Do you want to hold him like this? Like this… mm, and like this…” As Ruyi spoke, her hands moved gently, caressing Chang Yu’er’s body.

Chang Yu’er felt both tingling and numb all over, her face red and heart pounding until she nearly fainted. Yet she couldn’t help thinking of that night when she and Gu Pingyuan had intimate skin contact, making her even more ashamed. She pushed hard twice and scolded: “Bah! Who’s shameless like you? Let go of me quickly!”

Ruyi wasn’t angry at all and actually released her hands as requested, biting her lower lip and glancing sideways: “How about we switch? I’ll pretend you’re him.”

“Don’t talk nonsense!” Chang Yu’er was truly angry now.

Ruyi observed her expression and said: “What’s wrong with that? After all, I’ve been held by him before—you saw it with your own eyes. I’m not making things up…” As she spoke, she suddenly reached out and touched between Chang Yu’er’s legs.

Chang Yu’er was scared out of her wits and fled from this “Begonia Pool” where Yang Guifei had once bathed, taking three steps in two. She covered her body with a bath towel with one hand and angrily picked up a ladle from the ground with the other, hurling it at Ruyi.

Ruyi dodged and wasn’t hit, instead laughing: “Oh my, you’re still a virgin! So nervous—I thought you and that Gu Pingyuan had already done the deed.”

Chang Yu’er ignored her completely, hastily dried herself, put on her clothes, and was about to leave. Ruyi watched her thoughtfully and suddenly said: “Go find that Gu Pingyuan and bring him to this pool.”

“What!” Chang Yu’er could hardly believe her ears. When she turned back to look, the smile had already disappeared from Ruyi’s face.

“You should have heard what I said very clearly.” Ruyi stared at her, her cat-like eyes now resembling those of a cat that had seen a long-coveted fragrant fish.

“I would never do such a thing. You… you’re dreaming!” Chang Yu’er hadn’t expected Ruyi to actually try to seduce Gu Pingyuan here, and not only without avoiding her but actually wanting her to lure Gu Pingyuan over. She felt disgusted and sneered back at her coldly.

“No! You will.” Ruyi had an expression as if she had Chang Yu’er completely figured out. She sat back on the jade stone seat in the pool, hugging her two long, fair legs to her chest, turning her head to look at Chang Yu’er: “If your memory isn’t too bad, you should remember the oath you swore less than ten days ago.”

Chang Yu’er’s face turned pale. How could she forget the oath sworn on her father’s life that had been gnawing at her heart like a venomous snake these past days?

“Good that you haven’t forgotten. If you don’t want to fulfill that oath, then repay me this favor.” Ruyi’s words were like snowflakes falling on the coldest day of winter, chilling Chang Yu’er to the bone.

“So that’s how it is…” Gu Pingyuan let out a long breath and murmured: “What elaborate scheming!” He said to Chang Yu’er: “Miss Chang, you’ve really been put in a difficult position. I never imagined you made such an oath to save me. You’ve been so wronged.”

Chang Yu’er was indeed full of grievances. Finally hearing a word of comfort, she couldn’t help covering her mouth and crouching down, her tears falling drop by drop into Nine Dragon Lake, creating ripples in the moonlight.

Gu Pingyuan had always treated Chang Yu’er with respectful courtesy and now didn’t know how to comfort her. Looking up at the dark foothills of Li Mountain, he had a sudden inspiration and said: “If you cry like this, be careful not to disturb Goddess Nüwa’s sleep.”

“How so?” When it came to gods and Buddhas, there wasn’t a woman who didn’t believe and revere them. Chang Yu’er wiped her tears and asked in surprise.

Though Gu Pingyuan was visiting Xi’an for the first time, he had read Li Daoyuan’s “Commentary on the Water Classic” from the Northern Wei period. The eight rivers of Chang’an, where the Jing and Wei rivers were clearly distinguished, were described in detail in the Water Classic Commentary, which also mentioned Li Mountain in the suburbs of Chang’an.

“Legend has it that Li Mountain was transformed from Goddess Nüwa’s daughter. She often comes here to visit her daughter. The ‘Old Mother Hall’ on the western peak is dedicated to this ancient goddess, and it’s said to be very efficacious.”

“Really? Then tomorrow I must go up the mountain to pray, asking the goddess to protect our family and also protect Big Brother Gu.” Chang Yu’er looked at Li Mountain shrouded in the vast night, her heart filled with reverence.

“Better to rely on yourself than on gods! You pray to Buddha, but Wang Tiangui prays even more diligently. Tell me, which one would the gods and Buddhas protect?” Gu Pingyuan was quite talkative tonight—first, he was moved by Chang Yu’er’s feelings for him; second, he wanted her to know he had been working hard for the Chang family; and third, since coming to Xi’an, things hadn’t been going smoothly, and Gu Pingyuan also wanted to find someone to confide in.

When he told her all about Wang Tiangui setting up lotus flower jars at Wubian Temple, lighting a lamp for each person killed, and how Ding Er the temple attendant and Jin Hu had met tragic deaths trying to expose him, Chang Yu’er was stunned with shock.

“How could… how could such things happen?” She couldn’t imagine there were people who would exterminate all the beggars in a city just to pay for the lives of a few dogs, and even more couldn’t believe someone could be so black-hearted as to embezzle money for plague medicine, causing an entire village to die and nearly be wiped out.

“I knew about these things even before Ding Er the temple attendant!” Back at Evil Tiger Ravine, Liu Heita had told Gu Pingyuan these secrets. As soon as he returned to the city, he began secretly investigating and indeed found irregularities in the temple’s lamp oil records. He also discovered that the tragedy at Oil Reed Ravine Village was related to Wang Tiangui’s embezzlement of relief funds, but he had never found an opportunity to expose it.

“To strike a snake, you must hit its vital spot, or you’ll be bitten back. Ding Er the temple attendant is an example. This matter is enough to bring down Wang Tiangui, but without one person, it cannot succeed. My coming to Xi’an this time is to find this person.”

“Who?” Chang Yu’er asked urgently.

“I don’t know.” Gu Pingyuan shook his head. “I only know this person must have high position and power, uphold justice, and be able to go to Shanxi with lightning speed to handle this case, preventing Wang Tiangui from colluding with local officials to buy his way out. You must know that Wang Tiangui himself holds a seventh-rank official position.”

He paused and continued: “I don’t trust any official in Shanxi Province, so taking advantage of this opportunity to come to Xi’an is truly heaven-sent. The idea I came up with to help the Kang family operate their business is to keep myself in Xi’an as long as possible, so I can have a chance to find and befriend an official I can trust completely and who will help me.”

“Oh! I understand, Big Brother Gu. You’re now like playing chess, setting up a trap step by step, finally eliminating the evil wolf Wang Tiangui in one move.” Chang Yu’er’s eyes showed joyful light.

“Right, the most crucial part of this trap is that official. Once I find him, the trap will be mostly complete!” Gu Pingyuan said with certainty.

“We’ll definitely find him.” Chang Yu’er smiled happily. Gu Pingyuan hadn’t seen her smile so carefree since returning from the desert, and her joy infected him, making him laugh along.

That night, Gu Pingyuan and Chang Yu’er talked all night by Nine Dragon Lake at the foot of Li Mountain. They talked about desert affairs, about Qi Lingfang, Sun Er the foreman, and others. Chang Yu’er spoke of her mother, and Gu Pingyuan reminisced about relatives far away in his hometown. They laughed and sighed alternately—both felt they hadn’t been so lighthearted in a long time.

From the dancing moon shadows until the morning star disappeared and dawn broke, a thin mist rose from the lake surface. From time to time fish created ripples eating fallen petals on the water, and the distant mountain shadows became dreamlike. Without knowing when, they had stopped talking and both stared blankly at this earthly beauty, completely forgetting worldly troubles.

But troubles couldn’t be forgotten—”just lifted from the brow, yet risen to the heart.” Gu Pingyuan suddenly became alert, cursing himself silently for nearly missing important business.

“Miss Chang, today is the auction day. I must hurry back to the city, or I’ll be too late.”

“Go ahead, Big Brother Gu. Don’t worry about me—I can take care of myself.” Chang Yu’er felt much more open-minded after their night of conversation and smiled shyly: “I’ll walk you to the mountain gate.”

The two walked out, passing through the retreat buildings and around the stone path outside the bamboo fence, when suddenly they heard a “creak” as a door opened. A young man in cocoon silk trousers and jacket emerged, and as he looked up, his eyes met those of Gu Pingyuan and Chang Yu’er who had turned at the sound.

Li Qin!

Gu Pingyuan frowned, about to speak when his eyes suddenly widened. Chang Yu’er beside him also covered her mouth with a half-suppressed gasp.

Following Li Qin out was none other than Ruyi, her face flushed, hair ornaments disheveled, and a kiss mark still visible on the snow-white neck exposed outside her yuanbao collar.

For a moment all four stood frozen. The first to recover was actually Li Qin, who blinked, suddenly grinned at Gu Pingyuan, and cupped his hands: “Manager Gu, good morning!”

Even with all his wit, Gu Pingyuan was momentarily at a loss and could only nod slightly. Looking at Ruyi again, she first seemed somewhat panicked, her eyes showing regret, wanting to say something but closing her mouth, then when she looked at Gu Pingyuan again, she put on an expression of nonchalance, even with some mockery.

“Let’s go first.” Gu Pingyuan said quietly to Chang Yu’er. After reaching the mountain gate, he urged Chang Yu’er to be careful and hurried back to the city.

Li Qin was thoroughly delighted. That day outside the city when he saw Gu Pingyuan and Ruyi together, he had been immediately struck by Ruyi’s beauty. Later, when he was driven away by Su Zixuan’s anger in the city and happened to meet Ruyi taking Chang Yu’er to Huaqing Pool, he volunteered to help with ulterior motives, planning to get his hands on Ruyi and incidentally anger Gu Pingyuan.

Last night when he returned to the retreat buildings, he found Ruyi drowning her sorrows in drink alone, already quite intoxicated. Though he had little tolerance for alcohol, drinking with Ruyi at this time naturally gave him the advantage. After three rounds of drinks, he helped the already half-lidded Ruyi into the silk tent, blew out the candle, and accomplished his goal.

Upon waking this morning, he thought Ruyi would surely seek death or make a scene. He had prepared a belly full of words to persuade her, but unexpectedly Ruyi neither cried nor made trouble—she just stared at the silk curtains in a daze, lost in thought for a long time. Now seeing Gu Pingyuan and that Gu Pingyuan showed no anger, Li Qin was completely baffled and instead asked Ruyi.

“Aren’t you Gu Pingyuan’s woman?”

Ruyi gave a bitter smile: “Who said I’m his woman? He’s not worthy!”

“Then you are…”

Ruyi glanced at him: “Master Li, don’t be frightened when you hear this—I’m the concubine of Manager Wang of Taiyufeng.”

Li Qin’s face immediately changed color. He wasn’t afraid of Wang Tiangui, but thinking that if Zhang Guangfa or even Li Wantang learned of this, he would be in terrible trouble.

“It’s fine if you’re scared. You can leave and pretend we never met.” Ruyi smiled faintly.

Li Qin’s young master temper was provoked by this remark. He stiffened his neck: “Who said I’m afraid? That Wang Tiangui—I’ve seen him. He’s just a decrepit old man. How is he worthy of you?”

Ruyi was quite surprised and looked at him more carefully, then suddenly smiled broadly: “He’s not here anyway, so why mention him? Live for today when there’s wine today. Over there is the Imperial Dragon Pool, the emperor’s bathing place. Shall I accompany you for a soak?”

Gu Pingyuan rode non-stop to the Kang Ji Silk Shop that Wang Chi had mentioned. Wang Chi was pacing anxiously outside and breathed a great sigh of relief when he saw him arrive. He hurried over and asked: “Manager Gu, last night you… never mind about that first.” He lowered his voice and whispered in Gu Pingyuan’s ear: “I united six major merchant houses with our Taiyufeng as the leader and raised another 540,000 taels of silver. Adding what we had before, we might be able to compete with the Lei and Mao families.”

This still wasn’t enough—to compete head-on they needed at least another 500,000 taels. But Gu Pingyuan looked at Wang Chi with appreciation. Being able to accomplish this in one night showed that Wang Chi was not only solid in business but also desperate, and Gu Pingyuan could even imagine his negotiating skills in the business world wouldn’t be poor either. What a rare talent!

Gu Pingyuan patted Wang Chi’s shoulder, but he didn’t plan to use the 540,000 taels raised. He still wanted to use his own strategy—first help the Kang family advance payment, then use profits from operating the business to repay the debt and interest. Though Wang Chi didn’t agree with this plan, once he convinced Master Kang, perhaps Wang Chi’s attitude would change.

Knowing he was late, Gu Pingyuan hurried into the silk shop. This shop was also a major storefront on the street, with four panel doors and a black lacquered counter over a zhang long. Behind the counter, square compartments neatly displayed various fabrics—ning silk, hu li spinning, buyun gauze, wan county brocade, and even a Western glass display case showing embroidery from various regions: Shu embroidery, Su embroidery, Xiang embroidery, and Yue embroidery, each with several pieces that were marvels of exquisite craftsmanship.

Despite these difficult times, the shop assistants still served customers in an orderly, unhurried manner. You could see the Kang family usually placed great importance on shop regulations. Gu Pingyuan nodded approvingly, gaining more confidence in his position.

A shop assistant led Gu Pingyuan through the front counter, along the stone path in the courtyard to the second courtyard. This courtyard was large, with an open-air canopy providing complete shade from the scorching sun. Several Eight Immortals tables held tea, water, and fruit, and more than half of the dozen bamboo chairs were occupied.

Gu Pingyuan quickly found an empty seat and looked around. Among the ten or so people, he recognized several merchants he had met in Shanxi, though their resources were limited—they seemed to have encountered this opportunity in Xi’an and came to observe. He saw Lei Daniang smile at him and hurriedly smiled back politely. Mao Hongyi sat in the front chair and also saw him, but only glanced once. That Qiao Zhiyong wasn’t present was somewhat unexpected—Gu Pingyuan had thought he would surely come to watch the excitement. But most surprising was that Su Zixuan wasn’t there either!

What was the reason for this?

Before Gu Pingyuan could think further, he heard a cough. A middle-aged man with a thin, clear face wearing an extremely well-pressed blue cloth gown walked to a table set up in front of the seats, with a servant beside him carrying a bundle.

This was Master Kang, Kang Suyuan? He looked more like a down-on-his-luck scholar who had failed to achieve his ambitions. Kang Suyuan had worry lines between his brows. He cupped his hands to acknowledge everyone and without much ceremony, had his servant place the bundle on the table and open it.

Everyone had guessed what was inside. Indeed, there were books of property deeds, land deeds, shop contracts, account books, and business agreements. Kang Suyuan looked dejected: “Gentlemen, my Kang family has been in business since the early Yongzheng period. Through hardship and determination, we finally built our enterprise, never thinking it would be ruined today. I, Kang Suyuan, have managed the family for twenty-seven years, never expecting… sigh, it’s fate and fortune—no need to say more.” He pointed to the documents: “These are all the Kang family properties, including three large estates we built in Xi’an over more than a century. Simply put, whoever offers the most silver notes can take these things away. But as you all surely know, the Kang family must compensate the army for losses, and yesterday the Monk Prince sent someone to say the army’s delayed provisions and military pay due to delayed operations must also be compensated in full. So calculating everything, it cannot be less than this amount.”

He made a gesture of six, and everyone present, being businessmen, naturally wouldn’t think this meant 600,000 taels—there was obviously a “one” in front. Everyone knew this was indeed a huge sum, but the Kang family properties were being sold at a loss.

Lei Daniang, who had long-standing relations with the Kang family, stood up and declared loudly: “Master Kang, you must think clearly. This time, dozens of merchant houses share responsibility. You alone taking on everything, selling off ancestral properties at a discount—isn’t this too foolish!”

Kang Suyuan had long thought this through. The merchant houses that could supply materials to the army were all significant in their respective trades. Having operated for many years with complex debts and countless business relationships, if they all failed at once, the chain reaction would doom at least several hundred more shops—an unprecedented earthquake in Shaanxi’s commercial world. “When the nest is overturned, no egg remains intact.” Master Kang, foreseeing this terrible scenario, had steeled himself to bear this loss alone.

“As the saying goes, ‘No one has a thousand good days, no flower blooms for a hundred days.’ My Kang family has reached its peak and must decline. Being able to shoulder this difficulty for fellow merchants is achieving what we sought. Manager Lei, I appreciate your kind intentions, but say no more.”

Lei Daniang was speechless. Kang Suyuan smiled: “My great-grandfather Kang Hai failed at studies and turned to crafts, but failed at crafts too. In poverty, he nearly sold his wife and children to support his mother. Later, with one qian of silver, he ventured to the capital as a lowly clerk copying court gazettes, earning three taels monthly for twenty years. Once fortune turned, within ten years he rose dramatically to become the province’s richest man, blessing his descendants for three generations—already extraordinary. It seems Heaven wants to reclaim this wealth. Human power cannot resist—what more is there to say!”

He suddenly became philosophical, his eyes filling with light: “Unable to continue in business, Kang family descendants naturally have other paths to take and needn’t lose to others. This may be the last business deal I conduct in this life. Gentlemen, please make your offers!” He extended his hand, and servants immediately brought paper and writing brushes to each table.

From the beginning, Gu Pingyuan had stared unblinkingly at Kang Suyuan. Hearing his words, he was deeply moved. This was a true businessman—able to take up and let go, with the heart to benefit the world. Last night he had wondered what earning great wealth in business was for—now Kang Suyuan had clearly given an answer: spending thousands of gold to save lives! What he was spending was far more than thousands of gold, and whom he was saving was far more than one life.

A great man should be thus, a businessman should be thus!

Hot blood surged in Gu Pingyuan’s chest. Seeing everyone deep in thought preparing their offers, he stood up, wanting to invite Kang Suyuan aside to discuss his plan together. Though his silver was still half short of what Kang Suyuan needed, once the deal was negotiated and gained the Kang family’s approval, he could naturally bring in partners and share profits according to future earnings. As long as Kang Suyuan entrusted him with operating rights to the Kang family business, Gu Pingyuan believed that with Lei Daniang and Mao Hongyi’s shrewdness, they would never let a profitable opportunity slip by without reaching out.

He had only walked two steps when someone behind him called out, “Manager Gu, someone outside is looking for you.”

“Looking for me?” Gu Pingyuan worried it might be Chang Yu’er in some trouble and followed the Kang family clerk back out the main gate.

“Where is the person?”

“Strange, they were just here. Please wait, I’ll go look for them.” As soon as the clerk turned around, they suddenly heard sounds of shouting men and neighing horses from the distant street. The sound of hoofbeats was rapid as exploding beans, and in the blink of an eye, a cavalry unit appeared in front of the silk shop.

The customers scattered in all directions, and several clerks waiting outside the door were scared senseless. Ever since the Monk Prince’s cavalry had entered the city, no one wasn’t afraid upon hearing hoofbeats. A Mongol military officer leaped down from his horse and strode forward, the iron spurs on his boots clanging loudly. This man was burly with a face black as a pot bottom, a long donkey-like face, and fierce glowing eyes—clearly someone who killed without blinking.

“What’s going on inside?”

“We’re, we’re…” The clerk stammered. The officer slapped him with a heavy hand, knocking him to the ground, then waved his hand: “Go in and search!”

At the shout “Search!” it was as if Mulian’s rescue of his mother had opened the gates of the underworld. A crowd of soldiers rushed in like wolves and tigers, beating anyone they saw and overturning everything they encountered, turning a perfectly good shop into complete chaos and debris everywhere.

Gu Pingyuan stood outside the shop and also retreated several steps with the crowd. Seeing the soldiers acting viciously, he was naturally filled with righteous indignation and worried about the safety of those inside. Just as he wondered where this disaster had come from, he saw the officer from before escorting out more than ten people from the shop—all the managers who had been participating in the auction inside. Leading them was Kang Suyuan, his hands bound with rope as he was pushed out. The only one not tied up was Lei Daniang—the Mongol soldiers truly didn’t touch women and let her walk out on her own.

It seemed sudden, and these managers were also bewildered. Only now recovering their senses, Kang Suyuan shouted loudly: “Officer, what law have we broken, what regulation have we violated? Why are you arresting us?”

The officer gave a sinister laugh and pointed at him with his horsewhip: “Let me ask you—what were all these people gathered in this silk shop doing?”

“Following Prince Sengge Rinchen’s orders, we invited all the managers here to sell my Kang family’s property and exchange it for silver to compensate the army.” Kang Suyuan sensed something was amiss and decided to invoke a powerful name, hoping to scare away these soldiers.

But it was useless. The officer pointed at himself: “Do you know who I am? I am Tie Haqi, officer of the Prince’s personal guard battalion. It was the Prince himself who sent me to arrest you.”

Kang Suyuan was greatly shocked, and everyone present was horrified.

“Why… why is this?”

“Why? You said you’d exchange the silver to compensate the army—which army would you compensate?”

“The Prince’s army, of course.”

“Hmph, but someone has reported that you plan to use the silver to aid the Nian bandits!”

“No, no, absolutely not, absolutely not!” Kang Suyuan knew that if this charge stuck, ten Kang families would be finished—this was a capital offense requiring execution and family extermination.

“I don’t believe you Han dogs! Search him.” At Tie Haqi’s command, men immediately came forward and began searching each manager’s person, not even sparing the elderly Mao Hongyi. A Green Standard soldier approached Lei Daniang with a lewd smile. Lei Daniang had long seen his ill intentions. When he reached out his hand, she dodged and followed up with a kick right to his vital parts, making him cry out and roll on the ground clutching his crotch.

Tie Haqi was furious and half-drew his sword, but seeing it was a woman looking coldly at him, he hesitated. Then someone reported finding a letter sewn densely into a manager’s jacket lining—it would have been hard to find without such a thorough search.

Tie Haqi called over a secretary and had him read the letter’s contents aloud. Only halfway through, Kang Suyuan made a choking sound in his throat, rolled his eyes back, and fainted on the spot.

The letter praised the Kang family’s merit in helping the Nian army burn military supplies, promising to make Kang Suyuan a king when they took Xi’an, and asking him to perform another service by gathering anti-Qing patriots and raising funds to support the Nian army. It was signed by Prince Liang Zhang Zongyu.

Though brief, this was treason! The law was clear—treason was punishable by death regardless of primary or secondary involvement, especially falling into the hands of the demon Sengge Rinchen. Lei Daniang and Mao Hongyi exchanged glances, seeing each other’s faces were deathly pale without a trace of color.

In the crowd, Gu Pingyuan also felt his scalp explode with shock. He was certain Kang Suyuan would never do such a thing. Though they had only just met, Gu Pingyuan could see from his eyes that this was a genuine businessman who wouldn’t put his family business in such danger for any gain. As for Lei Daniang and Mao Hongyi, it was even more impossible they would take such foolish risks.

“Officer, we are all legitimate businessmen! When foreign soldiers invaded and attacked Beijing, the Four Great Heng banks closed their doors, the Ministry of Revenue had no silver to deploy, and military pay was in crisis. In that critical moment, we Shanxi banks took on the full responsibility, collecting local tribute funds for the court and handling distribution. Simply put, we did what the Ministry of Revenue should have done. Even the late Emperor knew of this and issued an edict commanding the Provincial Governor to commend us. We are wholeheartedly devoted to the court—how could we possibly be rebels!” Mao Hongyi tremblingly stepped forward two paces to argue.

Lei Daniang was even more contemptuous: “Hmph, if you want silver or lives, just say so directly. Why use such base methods!”

“Who is it? Who is it?” Kang Suyuan slowly regained consciousness, his hands and feet trembling as he looked around, then suddenly rushed toward one person—the one from whose chest the letter had been found. With his hands bound, Kang Suyuan used his head to ram this person, cursing angrily: “What grievance or enmity do I have with you that you would destroy my entire family? Who exactly are you?”

Yes, who exactly was this manager carrying the rebel letter? Lei Daniang and the other managers looked at each other with questions in their eyes. If you added up all these people, they might not cover every trade, but among the respectable businessmen of Shaanxi and Shanxi provinces, there were truly few they didn’t recognize. This person had a sallow, smoky complexion and looked like a skinny monkey, yet none of them had ever seen him before.

Kang Suyuan desperately rammed the man, knocking him to the ground. Everyone stared wide-eyed as they saw the man’s feet kick twice, his body convulse once, then he lay still. Kang Suyuan was shocked and crawled over to look—the man had a trace of fresh blood at the corner of his mouth, his eyes wide open, and he had died without saying a single word.

Kang Suyuan was truly terrified, staring with wide eyes. His innocence could only be proven through this person, but now that he was dead, wouldn’t his own injustice sink to the bottom of the sea? How could he bear such a monstrous crime?

“Alas!” Kang Suyuan stood up and stamped his foot: “Heaven above, I, Kang Suyuan, have conducted business all my life without earning a single tainted coin. In summer I gave cooling medicine, in winter I gave clothes. Who in Xi’an city hasn’t received my kindness? Why must I suffer such retribution? What just Heaven is this!” After speaking, he charged toward a pillar in front, wanting to follow yesterday’s example of his second daughter-in-law and simply end it all with death!

Tie Haqi had been watching and seeing him try to commit suicide, kicked Kang Suyuan to the ground and waved his hand: “They’re all rebels—take them all back to camp!”

Taking them back to the main camp would spell doom for these people—likely half would go to meet the King of Hell after one night of interrogation. Gu Pingyuan was so anxious that cold sweat immediately broke out on his forehead.

“Wait!” Someone suddenly spoke from the side.

“Eh?” Tie Haqi’s strange eyes rolled, and killing intent immediately arose in his heart, but after seeing clearly who it was, he didn’t dare and instead stepped back half a pace to salute.

“This humble officer greets Your Excellency.”

A green felt sedan chair stopped ten paces away, and a high official wearing a blue sapphire cap button and nine-dragon five-claw official robes with a peacock patch on his chest walked with measured steps into the crowd. Someone recognized him—this was Provincial Education Commissioner Liao. Education commissioners were all京官 from the Hanlin Academy, in charge of education throughout a province, and held the most prestigious positions. Though Tie Haqi was fierce, he was only a fourth-rank military officer. Not only were military official cap buttons inherently inferior to civilian ones, but the court system’s limitations meant that with different ranks, he had no choice but to bow when meeting a superior.

“I happened to be passing by and saw everything. The Monk Prince works diligently for royal affairs and labors over military matters. It wouldn’t be appropriate to trouble His Highness with additional concerns. Such criminal cases should be handled by the local judicial department.” Education Commissioner Liao spoke very gently, giving full face in his words.

“This…” Tie Haqi hesitated somewhat—he was unwilling.

“According to Qing law, only local judicial departments can handle suspects, from the Three Legal Departments above to prefectural and county offices below. Would the military camp also set up a court? What laws would be used for trials?” Education Commissioner Liao emphasized his tone.

Tie Haqi wasn’t stupid. In the entire province, only the Provincial Governor and Education Commissioner had the authority to memorialize the throne directly, meaning if Education Commissioner Liao turned hostile and wrote a memorial tonight, it could reach imperial attention within days. If he acted arbitrarily and caused trouble for the Monk Prince, he himself would likely suffer the consequences.

“This humble officer obeys orders. Men, escort them to the judicial department office.”

Tie Haqi obeyed, and Education Commissioner Liao, not wanting to offend him, spoke a few gentle words of comfort before getting back in his sedan chair and leaving.

Government offices required witness testimony, evidence gathering, court hearings, and punishment according to law—this would take time and provide opportunities for solutions. Gu Pingyuan breathed a sigh of relief. The crowd gradually dispersed, and clerks from various shops hurried back in panic to report this dire news. Standing there, Gu Pingyuan suddenly realized that if someone hadn’t called him out, he would now be among the prisoners, and as an escaped convict, if his identity were exposed, he would truly face certain death.

As he was thinking, suddenly a sheathed sword slapped his shoulder with a “smack”: “Friend, you’re in trouble. If you’re smart, come with me to the yamen.”

Gu Pingyuan was preoccupied and his heart immediately turned over, feeling bitter and astringent in his mouth: “Could it be that my illegal border crossing has been discovered?” This was his first thought. Before he could think further, the person behind spoke again.

“If you want to live, bring five hundred taels of silver.”

Being willing to take money made things manageable. But demanding bribes openly on the street seemed unreasonable. Gu Pingyuan calmed himself slightly and felt the voice sounded familiar. He turned around.

“You, aren’t you…”

“Heh heh, Manager Gu, long time no see!” The person behind was dressed as a military officer, tall and burly, with leopard eyes and ringed pupils, a face full of curly whiskers, grinning as he smiled.

“Oh my, Captain Deng, no, Commander Deng.” The chest patch had changed from a leopard to a tiger, naturally promoted from seventh rank to sixth rank. Gu Pingyuan quickly bowed deeply.

“That was close!” Deng Tieyi lowered his voice and winked at Gu Pingyuan.

Gu Pingyuan was stunned before understanding: “So it was Commander Deng…”

“Exactly. I’ve been ordered to monitor here since morning, waiting to catch fish in a barrel. Seeing you go in scared me—military matters can’t be delayed, but when that iron donkey head came, you’d be in trouble too. I could only time it right and use a trick to call you out.”

“Thank you for your care, Commander.”

“What care! I’m not ungrateful either. Last time that waist sword pawned for five hundred taels—now that was real care from you.” Deng Tieyi grasped Gu Pingyuan’s hand: “Brother Gu, come, come, come, I’ll treat you to drinks. Let’s get thoroughly drunk today.”

Gu Pingyuan had no mind for drinking, but Deng Tieyi was from the military camp and he wanted to ask him questions, so he followed him to Tongshengxiang restaurant.

The waiters had sharp eyes. Yang Si immediately recognized Gu Pingyuan from yesterday, not to mention there was an officer beside him who couldn’t be offended. He immediately approached with a beaming smile and escorted them to a private room upstairs. After three rounds of wine, Gu Pingyuan covered his cup and wouldn’t drink.

“Commander Deng!” He had only said three words when Deng Tieyi stopped him.

“Call me big brother!”

“I’m just a commoner…”

“The Monk Prince isn’t a commoner, but can I claim friendship with him? Brother Gu, the favor you did me last time was truly enormous. I don’t say it with my mouth, but my heart can’t be half-hearted about it. You’re worth befriending. How about this—I’m too lazy to exchange formal cards. I’ve already called you brother, so you call me big brother once, and we’ll be sworn brothers of different surnames. What do you think?”

Having spent five years beyond the Great Wall, Gu Pingyuan well knew these military officers’ temperaments. If they didn’t like you, they’d slap away pure white silver offered to them, but if you suited their taste, they’d immediately bare their hearts to you. He answered straightforwardly: “Since that’s the case, I’ll respectfully comply rather than decline. Big Brother!”

“Excellent!” Deng Tieyi was delighted and downed another cup of wine.

“Brother, I broke my promise last time—I didn’t cause you trouble, did I?” He picked up a fragrant, crispy roasted peanut and chewed it with relish.

Gu Pingyuan naturally couldn’t mention being locked in the great storehouse for a long time and just shook his head.

“Sigh, I didn’t want to either. But military orders are like mountains—when they say march, you march. If you don’t go, you become a deserter. There was no choice but to follow the troops to Xi’an.”

“Why did Big Brother insist on pawning the sword then? I could see it was something Big Brother truly treasured.”

Deng Tieyi slapped his thigh: “Brother, you’re not wrong. In my life, I value two things more than my eyeballs—one is my old mother, the other is this sword. But when it came down to it, I could only sacrifice the sword to care for my mother. After all, people are alive, objects are dead.”

Gu Pingyuan quietly listened to his story. It turned out Deng Tieyi was from western Hunan, where his family was dirt poor. A grown man in his thirties still hadn’t married, thinking his poor life might as well be thrown into military service. If fate allowed him to survive, he’d save money to take home and marry a wife. That’s how he joined the Hunan Army organized by the Zeng brothers, serving as a helmsman in the naval battalion. One year during a battle on the Yangtze River, the Taiping rebels sank more than ten boats in the river to block the government forces. Seeing the fleet unable to advance and about to become sitting ducks trapped on the river, Deng Tieyi, relying on his good swimming ability, jumped into the water holding a banner. With his body submerged and the banner above water, he guided the fleet through a path in the rapids. Zeng Guofan was on the flagship behind, watching clearly through a telescope. When the battle ended, he called Deng Tieyi to the boat and personally awarded him the seventh-rank position of Captain, and more importantly, gave him a waist sword. This sword was forged by master craftsmen under Zeng Guofan’s orders—only a few dozen were made. Among the hundreds of thousands in the Hunan Army, only those with great merit could receive one. Deng Tieyi was overjoyed and loved the sword more than life itself, not letting anyone else even touch it.

When Sengge Rinchen fought the Nian bandits, he transferred troops from various places to Shaanxi, including Deng Tieyi. When he reached Taigu, he happened to meet a fellow villager returning to western Hunan—a rare coincidence. He planned to have this person carry money back home to his mother, thinking five hundred taels would be enough to build a three-room, two-courtyard house in his hometown and let his mother live in comfort.

“Ah, but I had no silver on hand, and the people around me were all transferred from various places—I wasn’t close enough to any of them to borrow such a large sum.” Deng Tieyi kept his silver with the quartermaster to prevent loss, having only a few dozen scattered taels for drinking.

“Our front and rear units—I was in the front unit. Originally the quartermaster would arrive the next day, so I figured I’d pawn the sword first, then redeem it the next day. Who knew the next morning we’d be ordered to march, and I didn’t meet up with the quartermaster until reaching Xi’an.” Deng Tieyi shrugged: “Fortunately, the pawn ticket is valid for half a year, so I wasn’t worried.”

Only now did Gu Pingyuan understand how things really were—he hadn’t misjudged. But his time in the storehouse wasn’t wasted either. If he hadn’t been imprisoned, he wouldn’t have seen that copy of “Southern History” and wouldn’t have thought of the “Buddhist Pawn” business model. It seemed there truly was predestination.

“Speaking of predestination, the Kang family seems to have bad luck—even trying to sell property to compensate with silver brought such disaster.” Gu Pingyuan gradually steered the conversation toward the Kang family.

“It’s just that they offended someone who reported them.” Deng Tieyi sneered.

“Who?” To solve the problem, one must find its source. Gu Pingyuan was grateful for Lei Daniang and Mao Hongyi’s recognition, and admired Kang Suyuan’s righteousness. He wanted to see if there was any way to help the Kang family resolve this difficulty.

“Don’t know. I heard it was an anonymous accusation.”

“This is clearly framing!” Gu Pingyuan gritted his teeth.

“You say it’s framing, but the Monk Prince finally found a scapegoat! He’s been about to explode with rage these past days. Never mind anything else, he’s already beheaded four grain supervisors in the camp. That used to be a position people fought over, but now when the central command calls for volunteers, no one is willing to go.”

Just then, there was another commotion downstairs. The two men leaned out from the second floor to look and saw the same merchants’ family members from yesterday being paraded through the streets under military escort. Those family members wept and wailed, being whipped and beaten with sword backs, falling down and getting back up, utterly miserable. It was hard to imagine these were people who not long ago had been wealthy families adorned in gold and silver.

“Sigh, the Kang family’s troubles come right when the Monk Prince is furious. Whether they’re innocent or not, their prospects are grim.” Deng Tieyi, coming from humble rural origins, was naturally kindhearted. Seeing this tragic scene, he poured a cup of wine down his throat and kept shaking his head.

Deng Tieyi had to return to camp to report, so they exchanged addresses before parting. After he left, Gu Pingyuan remained in the quiet upstairs private room, deep in thought about what to do next.

Whether through acquisition or pawnbroking, the Kang family’s properties would likely be confiscated soon. If the charges were established, they couldn’t escape having their homes raided. Kang Suyuan was no longer in control, so naturally there could be no business deals.

It seemed his mission on this trip couldn’t be completed. What about the person he was looking for—could he no longer find them either? And what about Kang Suyuan, Lei Daniang, Mao Hongyi, and these other legitimate businessmen—should he just watch helplessly as they were wrongfully accused and executed one by one? Treason was an unpardonable crime that even provincial governors had no power to pardon. He himself was an escaped convict, already at others’ mercy—what ability did he have to solve such a huge problem! If anyone could overturn this case, it would only be Sengge Rinchen, who governed three provinces, but he was also the first person to pursue this case. Wasn’t this a dead end?

Gu Pingyuan’s thoughts made him feel irritated. Though he normally didn’t drink much, he now poured cup after cup down his throat, and soon felt intoxicated.

Yang Si had been a waiter for many years and could see Gu Pingyuan was drowning his sorrows in alcohol. Taking advantage of refilling his wine, he advised: “Sir, I don’t know what troubles you have and don’t dare ask, but if it were elsewhere, so be it, but in Xi’an, you can find one person. Find him, and I guarantee your wishes will be fulfilled.”

“Heh heh.” Gu Pingyuan laughed. “The world’s affairs are complex and numerous. You don’t even know why I’m troubled, so how do you know this person can help me?”

“He could even help the Kangxi Emperor—how could he not help you?”

“Oh.” Gu Pingyuan was curious. “Who exactly are you talking about?”

“We have a Yan Xian’er in Xi’an whose character divination skills are passed down through generations and extraordinarily accurate. His ancestor once divined characters for Emperor Kangxi and received rewards. If he hadn’t been accurate, would the Kangxi Emperor have rewarded him?”

“Perhaps the emperor was kindhearted and rewarded him even if he was wrong.”

“You don’t believe me, sir? Look at me—what do you see?” Yang Si became a bit anxious and pointed at his own face.

Gu Pingyuan looked at him with bleary, drunken eyes and shook his head.

“I have no offspring!” Yang Si said with a bitter face. “My wife hasn’t conceived in three years of marriage. I went to find Yan Xian’er and drew the character ‘wu’ (martial). Yan Xian’er said this meant ‘one generation with no one to continue the line’—that I would not only have no heir but no descendants at all, not even a daughter. I didn’t believe it! From then on, I saved money to buy women—refugees, those sold by officials. Don’t look at me as just a waiter—at most, I had one wife and three concubines at home, which made me desperately poor. But after several years, I still had nothing behind me. In anger, I divorced all three concubines. When they married into other families, they all became pregnant within a year, which made me furious.”

“Really that accurate?” Gu Pingyuan was half-believing, half-doubting. Since he couldn’t think of any good strategies anyway, he decided to follow Yang Si’s directions to the entrance of Baoen Temple by Sweet Water Well. Sure enough, there was a character divination stall surrounded by layers of people.

Most were there to watch the excitement. Gu Pingyuan squeezed into the crowd and saw an immortal-looking old man sitting in a rattan chair with his eyes closed in meditation. He asked: “Master Yan, I’ve come from afar drawn by your reputation. Could you divine a character for me?”

Yan Xian’er didn’t open his eyes and pointed to the paper, brush, and bamboo tube on his stall: “Either write or draw lots—choose a character.”

Gu Pingyuan thought about how he had been wandering these past years—from Huizhou to Beijing, exiled beyond the frontier, then to Shanxi and Mongolia, and now to Shaanxi. So he picked up the brush and wrote the character “yi” (move). Only then did Yan Xian’er open his eyes to look.

“Excellent calligraphy.” He first nodded appreciatively, then looked up at Gu Pingyuan. “Sir, what are you asking about?”

“Asking about…” All these matters ultimately came down to the character “money.” “Seeking wealth.”

“You can obtain it, but not easily.” Yan Xian’er frowned and looked for a long while.

“How so?”

“Seeking wealth means seeking profit. The character ‘yi’ already contains half of ‘li’ (profit), indicating you inherently have the ability to seek wealth. What you need to do is…” He circled the right halves of both characters—”刂” and “多”—”If you remove weapons, the profit will be great.”

Gu Pingyuan seemed to grasp something urgently but couldn’t make it clear. He hurriedly asked: “Master, you are wise. Could you teach me a few more words?”

Probably many people asked this, so Yan Xian’er smiled slightly: “When Cangjie created characters, he revealed heavenly secrets, which made ghosts and spirits weep. In character divination, I can only speak one or two parts out of ten—eight or nine parts cannot be spoken. Since you ask, I’ll give you one more sentence.”

With that, he drew another circle around the left half of the character “yi”: “Profit comes from grain.”

“If you remove weapons, the profit will be great.” “Profit comes from grain.” Walking down the street, Gu Pingyuan kept muttering these two phrases, repeatedly pondering their profound meaning.

“Manager Gu, I finally found you!” A horse carriage stopped beside him, and Qiao Zhiyong stepped down in one stride. Smelling the alcohol on him, he first frowned.

“Come, get in the carriage.” With that, he pulled Gu Pingyuan into the carriage, which then sped away.

“Master Qiao, where are we going?”

“To the judicial department office. I know quite a few officials in Xi’an—let’s go probe the situation first.”

Gu Pingyuan was stunned for a moment, then suddenly lowered his head, not letting Qiao Zhiyong see the tears that sprang to his eyes. When he raised his head again, he began to tell in detail how he had met Deng Tieyi and how Deng Tieyi had lured him out.

Qiao Zhiyong listened quietly and asked strangely: “Manager Gu, why are you telling me all this?”

“Don’t you suspect at all that I orchestrated this affair? After all, I refused to join forces with the Lei and Mao families yesterday, and today I happened to leave the silk shop.”

Qiao Zhiyong laughed heartily: “What about me then? I wasn’t there either. Aren’t you afraid I forged the secret letter to net all three major banks at once and reign supreme?”

After they finished speaking, they looked at each other and suddenly said in unison: “I know you’re absolutely not that kind of person!” After speaking, both laughed. This kind of trust between businessmen was truly more heartwarming than earning a house full of gold and jade.

Xi’an’s judicial department office was famous—it was built on the original site of the Han Dynasty’s Tingwei Bureau, where the cruel official Zhang Tang once handled cases. Zhang Tang was famous for attacking wealthy merchants and eliminating powerful families, but now the provincial judicial commissioner was reasonable and understanding. Knowing this case was full of suspicious points and that the dead man had been verified as poisoned, the trial and judgment probably weren’t something a mere provincial judicial commissioner could decide alone. So he simply opened the door wide—as long as the prisoners didn’t have problems in jail, that was enough.

Now that Qiao Zhiyong had come to visit, the judicial office also understood the principle that “those who govern cannot offend the wealthy gentry” and were quite polite in their reception. When they learned Qiao Zhiyong wasn’t there to plead but only wanted to visit the prisoners, they readily agreed. When seeing off the guest, the judicial commissioner suddenly sighed: “This Monk Prince is after all a prince on horseback—fighting and marching are his profession, but when it comes to dealing with merchants and civilians, he’s really reckless.”

He counted on his fingers as he continued:

“Right now it’s scorching summer drought, food is already insufficient, and even with money you can’t buy grain and fodder. The Kang family was already raising money, but he arrested both the buyers and sellers together. Where can the money be found now? Between trial and judgment, if the charges are really established, this must be reported to the Ministry of Justice for approval and to the Court of Judicial Review for examination. The documents would take at least half a year to return, then confiscation of property, with family assets sent for official sale. Even if everything goes smoothly and is all converted to silver, it must be sent to the Ministry of Revenue for allocation—whether for military pay or civilian use.”

He looked at Qiao Zhiyong: “Master Qiao, tell me, how long would this whole process take?”

“Given bureaucratic habits, even if handled quickly it would take most of a year. If those veteran clerks in the ministries deliberately drag their feet, don’t expect it done in less than a year.”

“Exactly! Tell me, can the Monk Prince keep his troops idle and not march for another year while consuming military provisions? The court wouldn’t allow it either. Isn’t he making trouble for himself?”

Gu Pingyuan’s eyes lit up: “Your analysis is penetrating, sir. Since this is the case, why not submit a memorial requesting the Monk Prince not to…”

“Wait, wait, wait!” The judicial commissioner waved his hands repeatedly. “How many heads do I have to dare pull the Monk Prince’s whiskers? I’m just talking. I manage the province’s prisons and punishments. As long as these military officers don’t leave and keep causing trouble in the city daily, popular resentment has been boiling for a long time. I just hope nothing serious happens.”

Gu and Qiao were led by guards into the prison, where Gu Pingyuan immediately saw someone walking out unhurriedly from inside.

“Manager Gu, your luck is really good—originally meant to be imprisoned, yet you can visit prisoners instead.” Seeing Gu Pingyuan, the person’s eyes flashed, and before he could respond, said to Qiao Zhiyong: “Master Qiao, I’ve long admired you.”

“Young Master Su, what brings you here…” Gu Pingyuan looked him up and down.

“We’re in the same business—I came to help with ideas.” Su Zixuan didn’t exchange pleasantries and left with a smile.

“Hey, I’ve never seen such a beautiful person. Who is he?” Qiao Zhiyong watched Su Zixuan’s retreating figure.

“Surnamed Su, but I don’t know his background either.”

“Same business? I don’t think he’s a businessman—he’s definitely not an ordinary person.” Having met countless important figures, Qiao Zhiyong made this judgment immediately.

Gu Pingyuan suspected this incident had Beijing merchants pulling strings behind the scenes, targeting Shanxi merchants, but he couldn’t believe this elegant Young Master Su would have such vicious thoughts. If it were Li Qin acting on Zhang Guangfa’s instructions, that might be possible, but Li Qin had clearly been at Huaqing Pool last night.

Actually, his thinking wasn’t far off. It was indeed Su Zixuan who orchestrated this scheme. She had Si Xi find an opium-addicted beggar, treated him to good food and drink, then let him satisfy his addiction at an opium den. The beggar was so grateful he would do anything, so they stuffed a fake letter in his chest and tricked him into going to the silk shop, having calculated the timing and given him slow-acting poison beforehand. This trick of silencing witnesses was simple but very effective. No matter how clever these managers were, with eyes sharp as needles, facing a dead man, even the best minds and most eloquent tongues were useless.

She had come to see the “harvest” and also had another matter to handle. Si Xi followed beside her: “Miss, what did you observe?”

“That woman surnamed Lei and the old man surnamed Mao seem genuinely ignorant—otherwise they wouldn’t be so composed in such a critical situation. As for Qiao Zhiyong, if the Kang family’s wealth fell into his hands, that would be troublesome. Since he’s staying out of it now, he might well ignore it.”

“Then what should we do?” Si Xi pressed.

Su Zixuan turned into a small alley, looked around to ensure no one was there, then spoke: “Zhang Guangfa’s matter is settled. What I didn’t expect was being able to accomplish another major task at the same time. If I’d known this, I would have come to Xi’an on my own initiative without Zhang Guangfa’s request. Compared to this major task, the Kang family’s wealth is nothing.”

“Oh, what task?” Si Xi looked at Su Zixuan in confusion.

“The Nian bandits! I can’t let Sengge Rinchen destroy the Nian bandits, or he’ll return to court triumphant and immediately head south to fight the Taipings, joining forces with Zeng and Li. Wouldn’t Nanjing fall in no time? Once the Taipings are destroyed, that man and woman’s dynasty will be secure.”

Si Xi nodded in understanding.

“Who would have thought Sengge Rinchen would be so foolish? By arresting Shaanxi and Shanxi merchants, he’s cut off his own provisions and pay. With these troops trapped in the city, the Nian bandits can grow strong in the northwest and at least tie down the Mongol cavalry.” The mutual growth and decline that Wang Tiangui and Zhang Guangfa worried about was exactly what Su Zixuan considered day and night, except her “this and that” referred to the Qing court and the rebels.

Su Zixuan planned silently in her heart when a figure unexpectedly entered her mind. She shook her head somewhat irritably. Gu Pingyuan—this man had actually not been arrested. Was it good luck, or was he about to make another unexpected move? Su Zixuan prided herself on being strategically flawless, yet whenever she thought of Gu Pingyuan, her heart always carried some unease.

“Master Qiao, I see you’re somewhat distracted.” Gu Pingyuan stepped out of the prison and looked worriedly at Qiao Zhiyong beside him.

Qiao Zhiyong was usually unperturbed and carefree with a smiling demeanor, but now his face was frighteningly pale—not only was there no smile, but no color at all.

“Manager Gu, I’m feeling unwell and will go back to rest, while thinking of ways to save people. Farewell.” Qiao Zhiyong hurriedly departed.

Gu Pingyuan frowned. Earlier in the prison, Lei Daniang had said that Young Master Su specifically asked for someone with old ties to the Kang family, claiming he could offer assistance, but when none could be found, he left disappointed. Qiao Zhiyong had trembled slightly upon hearing this—Gu Pingyuan was standing right beside him and had felt it. Su Zixuan’s actions were truly incomprehensible. What exactly was he trying to do?

“Ahh…” Just as Gu Pingyuan was lost in thought, a sharp, miserable scream suddenly came from the nearby marketplace, followed by equally tragic and desperate wails one after another, making people break out in cold sweat under the blazing sun.

Many people on the street were already running toward the sound. Gu Pingyuan also hurried over. When he got close, he saw it was still those merchants’ family members. They had already walked around the ancient city wall once and were all exhausted and haggard. For some unknown reason, they seemed possessed, disheveling their hair and wailing loudly with voices so piercing that people wanted to cover their ears.

“What’s happening?” Gu Pingyuan grabbed a wine vendor nearby and asked urgently.

“Someone told them about Master Kang being arrested. With no way out, how can they not cry!”

“Look further ahead.” The man pointed to a small bank in front. “That manager just learned the news and hanged himself when no one was watching. They’re carrying out the corpse now.”

“Why?” Gu Pingyuan was shocked and stunned.

“He lent all his money to these merchants. Now with bad debts, he had no other way except death. Just watch—in a few days, this whole street will be full of funeral processions.”

Gu Pingyuan shivered with a chill. What Master Kang had worried about was finally happening. He looked up blankly and saw Su Zixuan standing across the street with Si Xi, also watching this tragic human drama.

“Miss…” Si Xi had personally handled this matter, and now seeing the results, her body trembled slightly. She averted her gaze, unable to bear looking at those faces filled with utter despair.

Su Zixuan’s face was like carved jade without expression, yet she kept staring at those family members crying to heaven and earth, as if they were a furnace fire tempering a heart into a sharp blade.

“Young Master Su.” Someone suddenly called, and the master and servant realized Gu Pingyuan was standing before them.

“What do you want!” Si Xi blocked in front of Su Zixuan.

Gu Pingyuan ignored everything else and stared directly into Su Zixuan’s eyes, saying word by word: “Listen carefully—whatever you’re trying to do, I will never let you succeed!” After speaking, he turned and strode away.

Si Xi exclaimed in surprise: “He knows! How does he know?”

Su Zixuan watched Gu Pingyuan’s retreating figure, her pupils suddenly contracting as if seeing a blazing sun. Compared to this blazing sun, the earlier furnace fire was insignificant.

Gu Pingyuan intuitively discovered that Su Zixuan was the instigator, but without evidence, this couldn’t be used to clear the Kang family’s name. Moreover, he believed that with Su Zixuan’s shrewdness, she would never leave any traces for others to catch.

He would take another path.

Earlier, Yan Xian’er had spoken two obscure and difficult phrases. He originally didn’t understand their meaning, but after going to the judicial department office, the commissioner’s words had solved Yan Xian’er’s riddle. Gu Pingyuan’s mind was now as clear as a mountain stream, transparent to the bottom. Since arriving in Xi’an, he felt he had been stumbling around in a fog, but now the clouds had finally parted and the mist cleared. Regarding how to resolve this situation, his mind was like a bright mirror.

But the problem was: the antidote was in the mountains, and there were tigers on the mountain path. To gather the medicine meant risking one’s life.

“Black Water Marsh or Sengge Rinchen—which is more terrifying?” Gu Pingyuan asked himself.

Naturally, Sengge Rinchen. Entering Black Water Marsh, with good luck you might still get out, but if you provoked Sengge Rinchen, death was certain!

“I have no choice but to poke the hornet’s nest.” Gu Pingyuan locked himself in his inn room, seeing no one. Wang Chi pounded on the door until it shook, but he pretended not to hear. Chang Yu’er, who had returned from the suburbs, also came to call him twice, but he still ignored her.

He turned the entire matter over in his mind for most of the day, constantly muttering “Remove weapons and profit will be great” and “Profit comes from grain.” Chang Yu’er pressed her ear to the door crack, listening carefully. After hearing, she asked Wang Chi in confusion: “What is he chanting?” Wang Chi looked exhausted and shook his head helplessly, thinking: Following this crazy manager on this trip was indeed unlucky. Not only did they fail to do business, but he just hoped the man wouldn’t go crazy and cause more trouble.

They waited until the sky was completely dark and the night watch had been struck before hearing the door open.

“Big Brother Gu.” Chang Yu’er approached with concern. Gu Pingyuan smiled at her and stepped out.

“Manager Gu, where are you going?” Wang Chi followed.

“To save people—no, to do business.” Gu Pingyuan thought again and said: “To do a life-saving business.”

Wang Chi looked displeased and said somewhat impatiently: “Let’s hurry back to Taigu. There’s no more business to be done here.”

“You’re wrong.” Gu Pingyuan heavily patted Wang Chi’s shoulder. “There’s still a big business waiting for me to do!”