“In my view, no ghost means no death!” Qiao Henian sat in his room at the government inn, took a sip of the premium Keemun black tea served by the postal clerk, and spoke slowly. “The matter is plain as day. In this ‘Great Victory at Hefei,’ two people deserve the greatest credit—you and I, one official and one civilian. Yet not only have we received no rewards or recommendations, we’ve both been demoted and each assigned a thorny task. Someone must be pulling strings behind the scenes.”

“Brother Hao went to make inquiries. This affair is most abnormal, and someone must be asking questions privately. I think he’ll surely bring back some inside information.” Gu Pingyuan had been standing by the window looking out for quite some time.

“Excuse me, which one is Boss Gu? Someone is looking for you,” the postal clerk came knocking at the door.

“Please come in.”

As the door opened, a young gentleman in fine clothing walked in. Upon seeing Gu Pingyuan, he burst into hearty laughter.

“I really didn’t expect it—your life is truly resilient. You actually managed to escape from beyond the passes once again.” Li Qin clapped his hands and nodded mockingly at Gu Pingyuan. “Since we’re acquainted, I even had paper figures and paper horses prepared, planning to travel beyond the passes someday to pay my respects at your grave. How about this—I’ll have someone send these gold and silver paper offerings to your home, so they won’t go to waste.”

“Who are you to come to a government inn and speak such outrageous words!” Qiao Henian had actually seen Li Qin in the prefect’s second hall and knew he was the young master of the capital merchants, but seeing this well-dressed youth’s arrogance and venomous words filled him with disgust, so he pretended not to recognize him and scolded him.

The Li family of the capital had always associated closely with first and second-rank officials, and were regular guests even at princely and ducal mansions. How could they regard someone like Qiao Henian, a minor official, with any respect? Li Qin merely glanced at him and smiled disdainfully.

“So it’s Master Li of the capital merchants. Instead of cultivating relationships with high officials and nobles in the capital, what brings you to this poor and remote corner of Anhui?” Gu Pingyuan retorted without showing any emotion.

Li Qin hadn’t expected Gu Pingyuan to remain unruffled. He opened his mouth to respond but swallowed his words back: “Gu Pingyuan, actually I’ve long known you pulled strings with people in the palace, but I didn’t expect you’d manage to save your life in time. You’re not stupid either—though you can’t compare to our Li family’s ability to befriend true nobility and royalty, you actually managed to get in with An Dehai, that head eunuch.”

He paused, stepped forward deliberately, and whispered: “Do you know what eunuchs are? They’re dogs kept in the palace. Our Li family deals with their masters, while someone of your lowly status as an exile can only deal with dogs. This is what they call ‘fish seek fish, shrimp seek shrimp, turtles specifically seek the biggest bastards!'”

Hearing this young man’s increasingly inappropriate words, Qiao Henian was about to slam the table and rise, but Gu Pingyuan said in a low voice: “Brother Qiao, I can handle this matter myself.” Then he turned to Li Qin: “Master Li, it’s a thousand li from the capital to here. You didn’t come just to wag your tongue, did you?”

The simple address “Master Li” made Li Qin feel uncomfortable all over. Since arriving in Anhui, when others addressed him this way, he had accepted it by default, and after a short time had begun to feel rather pleased with himself. But hearing these three words from Gu Pingyuan’s mouth, Li Qin found them increasingly grating—they seemed even harsher than his own curses at Gu Pingyuan.

Gu Pingyuan’s expression remained unchanged as he continued calmly: “To speak honestly, when I was framed and imprisoned in the capital years ago, and when my father-in-law Chang Si was murdered, both incidents were likely connected to your Li family. I have no evidence at present, but if I can prove these were the Li family’s good deeds, forget about current high officials—even the Emperor and Empress Dowager couldn’t save the Li family and all its properties. I’ll make you understand that once the Li family’s great tree falls, you, Li Qin, are nothing!”

Gu Pingyuan spoke word by word, neither shouting nor speaking harshly, yet his voice carried a ruthless edge, as if carving these words into stone. Li Qin’s heart trembled as he listened. He knew clearly what he had done and immediately felt guilty, avoiding Gu Pingyuan’s gaze while stubbornly retorting: “Hmph, settle accounts with our Li family? You killed Uncle Zhang, and I haven’t made you pay with your life yet.”

“We can keep these accounts to settle slowly. There will come a day when they’re all cleared,” Gu Pingyuan replied.

“When that time comes, I’m afraid you’ll be the one with regrets.” A malicious smile suddenly appeared at the corner of Li Qin’s mouth. He took a brocade bag from his attendant’s hands, pulled out a stack of bank notes from inside, and flung them at Gu Pingyuan. The notes scattered, each one fluttering to the ground.

“These are three hundred thousand taels in bank notes. The prefect ordered you to procure military supplies, and I’ve delivered the silver. Count them and write me a receipt. I won’t be as foolish as you—lending three hundred thousand taels to the government without even getting a written agreement. Based on this alone, you’re not a real businessman. What right do you have to challenge my Li family!”

Gu Pingyuan stared at Li Qin, then bent down to pick up the bank notes one by one, counted each without error, took up his brush to write a receipt, and extended it to Li Qin.

Li Qin reached out to take it, but unexpectedly, Gu Pingyuan’s hand still gripped the receipt firmly.

“You!” Li Qin applied force, but Gu Pingyuan wouldn’t let go, his eyes fixed intently on Li Qin.

“Let me tell you something. Those bank notes you just threw on the ground—no matter what—represent the hard-earned money of the capital merchants’ various managers and clerks, penny by penny. You don’t understand how to respect this money, so you’ll never be qualified to discuss business with me!”

Li Qin’s face flushed red as he yanked forcefully, but Gu Pingyuan suddenly released his grip. Li Qin’s excessive force caused him to lean backward, and had his attendant not caught him, he would have taken a tumble.

“Gu Pingyuan!” Li Qin roared in frustration. He had come to mock his former rival and see his pitiful state, but whenever he stood before Gu Pingyuan, he inevitably fell into disadvantage. His young master’s pride felt as if it had been stabbed by needles again.

Seeing Li Qin turn to leave, Gu Pingyuan suddenly asked: “The Li family suffered considerable losses at this Grand Tea Assembly and your finances probably aren’t as comfortable as before. Why did you rush all the way to Anhui to donate several hundred thousand taels to the provincial treasury? Surely it’s not for country and people?”

Hearing this question, Li Qin’s body stiffened. He slowly turned back with a mysterious smile: “Well, you needn’t be anxious. In a while, even if you don’t want to know, you’ll have to know.” With that, he raised his head and strode away.

“I wouldn’t have expected the capital merchant’s young master to behave this way. I met Li Wantang once in the capital—that man seemed to possess great talent and strategy. To lead the imperial capital’s merchants is no ordinary achievement, yet his son is so disappointing.” Qiao Henian slowly paced over.

“Not entirely so.” Gu Pingyuan watched Li Qin’s retreating figure and replied casually. He had deliberately provoked Li Qin’s agitation to try extracting information about the capital merchants’ schemes in Anhui, but unexpectedly Li Qin had managed to steady his mind at the end, giving a watertight response. This capital merchant’s young master was far from the pampered dandy who had frequented pleasure quarters beyond the passes in earlier years.

“There’s one thing I observed clearly.” Secretary Hao had somehow already positioned himself outside the door. He knew well the affairs between Gu Pingyuan and the Li family. “Just now when Brother Gu mentioned those two cases, this Young Master Li’s eyes immediately showed panic. At least one of those cases is connected to him. I’ve handled criminal law for nearly ten years—I can still make out this much.”

“Unfortunately, his eyes alone can’t convict him.” Gu Pingyuan said flatly. He too had noticed Li Qin’s guilty conscience.

“The seven daily necessities must be handled with urgency. Let’s discuss the present situation first.” Secretary Hao approached Qiao Henian and bowed with cupped hands. “Lord Qiao, I must first offer my congratulations.”

This statement stunned both men. Given Qiao Henian’s current streak of misfortune, what cause was there for celebration?

“Do you know that with this ‘Great Victory at Hefei,’ Prefect Yuan’s first recommendation memorial has already been submitted to the court, recommending only two people. One is Cheng Xueqi, and the other is Lord Qiao.”

Qiao Henian and Gu Pingyuan exchanged glances, both finding it incredible.

“Brother Hao, you must have heard wrong. Just now at the prefect’s office, Yuan Jiasan publicly scolded Lord Qiao. I heard it clearly from the side. How could there be any recommendation?”

“Not only a recommendation, but a secret one.” Recommendations were divided into open and secret types, with secret recommendations naturally carrying more weight with the court. “I got this news from a clerk at the prefect’s office. These clerks share information and have exceptionally well-informed networks. They’d rather say nothing than speak a single false word.” Once false information was given, future news from their mouths would become worthless—Gu Pingyuan understood this principle.

“But how could this be?” Even the clever Gu Pingyuan was utterly perplexed.

“There’s more that’s astounding.” Secretary Hao glanced at Qiao Henian, who sat with lowered head in thought. “Of the two people in this first memorial, Cheng Xueqi is recommended for deputy general—truly a meteoric rise. Given his great abilities and the tragedy that befell his entire family, this represents the prefect’s technique of winning loyalty and rewarding service, which is still within everyone’s expectations. But Lord Qiao—from a sixth-rank county magistrate directly recommended for fourth-rank circuit intendant, promoted four full levels—even that ‘Grain Pockmark’ would be green with envy.”

Qiao Henian was also dumbfounded. Cheng Xueqi had risen from commoner to general—in chaotic times, military men gaining office followed no logic, which was understandable. But for Qiao Henian, a civil official, the fastest promotion was one level every three years, and even with recommendations, only one level per recommendation was normal. Moreover, except for special imperial edicts, consecutive recommendations and promotions weren’t allowed. This time Prefect Yuan had actually used a secret recommendation to strongly endorse him, right after publicly reprimanding him in court. What was the logic? Could this be the political technique of combining soft and hard approaches?

“If that were truly the case, it would be good. But the treacherous implications make one shudder to hear them.” Secretary Hao sighed and first asked Qiao Henian: “Lord Qiao, did the prefect really assign you that Suzhou case?”

Qiao Henian nodded. Secretary Hao’s face darkened: “It seems this Prefect Buhe won’t be satisfied until he brings you down. This time, I’m afraid it’s not just about removing Lord Qiao’s official cap—if handled poorly, your very life is at stake.”

“Is it that serious?” Gu Pingyuan drew a sharp breath. Fearing eavesdroppers, he first went outside to look around, then returned to close the door securely before pulling Secretary Hao to sit and question him carefully.

“Anyone who touches the Suzhou case will lose a layer of skin. I mentioned before to Brother Gu that this prefect probably can’t keep his position, but unexpectedly Prefect Buhe gave him an idea—an idea so sinister and vicious that he’s determined to throw this wet blanket over Lord Qiao’s head.” Secretary Hao spoke with rising anger.

“Don’t get angry first. Tell us exactly what kind of case this is,” Gu Pingyuan said.

Secretary Hao lit his pipe by the lamp, took a long draw, seeming to consider his words, then spoke bluntly: “It’s a fabricated treason case.”

This was an extraordinary statement. Treason was the greatest crime under heaven. The first article of the “Great Qing Criminal Code” stated: “Plotting rebellion and great treason, regardless of primary or secondary involvement, shall be punished by slow slicing.” From reporting and investigation to trial and verdict, the process necessarily involved county, prefecture, circuit, province, up to the Ministry of Justice and Court of Judicial Review—layer upon layer of examination. Such cases could neither be leniently handled nor easily fabricated, because too many offices were involved, and among them there would surely be conscientious capable officials who, if any injustice existed, would thoroughly examine suspicious points and overturn the case. Moreover, there were censors from the Imperial Censorate at court—how could such a major wrongful case escape their attention?

“You’re not wrong. But unfortunately, when a muddled official meets a pedantic person, and a group of fearless ignorant people encounter a battalion of corrupt soldiers, one of the rarest wrongful cases since the founding of the Great Qing was created.” Secretary Hao tapped his pipe bowl and glanced at Qiao Henian. “Though you’ve accepted this assignment, what you’ve heard is only official language—you probably don’t know the inside story. When the clerks at the prefect’s office tell this case, it’s like recounting epic tales, leaving even me stunned.”

The story began over half a month ago, when Cheng Xueqi led ten thousand men from Suzhou in rebellion against the court. Suzhou belonged to Fengyang Prefecture, whose magistrate was surnamed Yu and commonly called “Muddled Fish.” Hearing this news, he was scared out of his wits. Though Cheng Xueqi in his territory had always remained neutral between the court and the Taipings, he was still a subject of the court and considered a local gentleman—when Yu had celebrated his birthday last year, Cheng had sent five hundred taels as a congratulatory gift. Yu had been quite pleased that Cheng Xueqi’s presence kept Taiping bandits from easily violating his borders, never imagining that Cheng would turn against him so suddenly, creating such a major case in his jurisdiction. When investigated later, the eight words “dereliction of duty, nurturing disaster” would end his career.

The best remedy would be capturing Cheng Xueqi, but Magistrate Yu had enough self-awareness not to attempt this impossibility. He settled for the next best option: excavating Suzhou to its depths to first arrest a batch of Cheng Xueqi’s remaining associates, which might count as merit offsetting fault. Someone then warned him that Cheng Xueqi had rebelled to avenge his mother, showing his loyalty and righteousness. If Magistrate Yu arrested his relatives and friends, when Cheng Xueqi led his army to attack, the single battalion of Army of the Green Standard garrisoning Suzhou wouldn’t be enough for Cheng to sharpen his blade on.

This warning again frightened Magistrate Yu. Thinking from all angles, he was caught in a dilemma—afraid both of court punishment and of offending Cheng Xueqi. With no other option, he used a stratagem suggested by his secretary. He ordered proclamations posted throughout Fengyang Prefecture’s counties and towns: anyone hearing of discontent with the court or actual evidence of rebellion could report to the authorities. Once verified, they would receive substantial rewards of at least five hundred taels of silver. Five hundred taels could support a comfortable family for several years, and for poor people, it offered a chance to buy land and transform their lives.

“Under great rewards, there will surely be brave men.” Within days, people came to report one after another, but upon investigation, they were either seeking revenge against personal enemies or making false claims for money—not a trace of actual rebellion or treason could be found.

Usually fearing rebellion and treason, now fearing the inability to catch serious criminals to “atone through merit,” “Muddled Fish” was so worried he couldn’t eat or sleep. Just then, someone secretly reported that at Dragon Ridge Mountain where Suzhou bordered Shandong, there was a “Master Zhang the Seventh” who gathered crowds for lectures. But he taught neither Confucian doctrine nor Daoist learning, instead forming his own school and calling himself a “sage.” Moreover, he was “recruiting bandits around Suzhou, planning to rise up at a set time, first taking Suzhou, then Fengyang.”

The account was detailed and convincing. Magistrate Yu was first delighted, then worried—delighted that he’d finally caught serious rebels plotting treason who could offset Cheng Xueqi’s affair, worried about how many bandits were gathered and whether his single battalion of Green Standard troops could win. If they lost, his crimes would compound.

Just then, Yuan Jiasan summoned all local officials to the provincial capital, and Magistrate Yu naturally had to attend. He called Battalion Commander Shi for private instructions, saying to “rather wrongly convict than mistakenly release, proceed with caution.”

Battalion Commander Shi had always “drained soldiers’ blood and consumed people’s fat.” His troops were incompetent at fighting but notorious for bullying the weak while fearing the strong—”suppressing civilians but not bandits.” Hearing of a scholar gathering crowds in rebellion, they were all excited, constantly urging Battalion Commander Shi to lead an expedition. Shi was also eager for windfall profits, having long forgotten the four words “proceed with caution.” With Magistrate Yu’s order to “rather wrongly convict than mistakenly release,” he mustered his two thousand troops and rushed to Dragon Ridge Mountain through the night. Upon reaching the mountain base, Battalion Commander Shi sent scouts and discovered that “Master Zhang the Seventh” had substantial holdings. Dragon Ridge Mountain had been quite desolate, but since “Master Zhang the Seventh” built his residence and gathered disciples for lectures, he had continuously purchased land and constructed buildings, engaging in major construction that created “houses arranged like fish scales,” gradually forming a market town.

This “Master Zhang the Seventh” was merely fame-seeking. Relying on some learning, he styled himself a sage, requiring disciples to smear their faces with mud and perform nine kowtows and nine prostrations when paying respects—mere mystical charlatanry. Moreover, he had “piled stones into a fortress, built great fortress gates on the mountain peak, and diverted river water around the mountain base”—such a display naturally aroused suspicion.

But regardless, local officials bore responsibility for governing the people. Encountering such a major case, they should first summon the principal offender to court, giving him a chance to defend himself. There was no precedent for dispatching large armies without any solid evidence, yet Fengyang Prefecture did exactly this.

Seeing the scale of Dragon Ridge fortress, Battalion Commander Shi knew there would be gains after capturing it. He first sent men to shout warnings with heavily threatening language, virtually condemning “Master Zhang the Seventh” as a rebel traitor. This “Master Zhang the Seventh” was pedantic, believing himself merely to have formed his own school and gathered disciples for lectures, emulating Confucius as a contemporary sage. When Battalion Commander Shi repeatedly accused him of rebellion, Zhang the Seventh considered himself innocent—emerging from the fortress to be bound would be tantamount to admitting guilt, so he ordered his disciples to close the gates and remain inside.

“Resisting the court and refusing to submit”—this gave Battalion Commander Shi the perfect excuse. He immediately ordered a full assault on the mountain. Though the fortress contained some weapons, they were only for defending against small bandit groups, lacking the capability to resist government forces. Despite cries of fighting to the death to protect their master and defend their faith, they were merely a rabble. While these Green Standard troops were incompetent against Taipings and bandits, they excelled at attacking civilians and killing common people.

After these Green Standard forces stormed the mountain fortress, they slaughtered seven to eight hundred able-bodied men and women, plus over a thousand elderly, weak, women, and children inside the fortress. Bodies piled upon bodies in the mountain stronghold, and countless others fell to their deaths from cliffs and into ravines while fleeing the soldiers’ pursuit, causing blood to flow like rivers, slowly trickling down the mountain cliffs. To avoid capture and humiliation, “Master Zhang the Seventh” led over a hundred family members to set fire to the “Hall of the Sage” and immolate themselves—none survived.

By this point, Battalion Commander Shi could no longer control his lawless Green Standard troops. The soldiers took advantage to burn, kill, and rape. Several villages near Dragon Ridge Mountain were also branded as bandit supporters and rebels, with many villagers massacred, all private property looted, and numerous women violated.

Secretary Hao recounted all this in one breath, then looked at the two men before him, stiff as wooden statues, and shook his head with a sigh: “These heartless bastards—Lord Qiao led people to rescue civilians outside Hefei city, while this bunch busied themselves killing civilians and seizing wealth hundreds of li away. This truly defies heaven’s justice.”

“Could the court not intervene, allowing them to abuse the people so wantonly?” Gu Pingyuan asked angrily.

“The court’s eyes and ears are now blocked, and the distance is too great for immediate intervention. But while the court can’t manage it, someone else can—and this person is even more difficult to deal with than the court.”

This incident created such a huge commotion that news spread like wildfire even as the soldiers were committing their crimes. It immediately enraged one particular person.

This person was Shandong Governor Yan Jingming.

“In today’s Great Qing dynasty, if you were to list several people not to be trifled with, Yan Jingming’s name would inevitably be included no matter how you ranked them.” Qiao Henian, having spent considerable time in officialdom, had naturally heard of Yan Jingming’s great reputation.

This man was famous for his rigid integrity and refusal to bend to power. When serving as Judicial Commissioner in Hubei, he managed criminal law for the entire province. Governor-General Guan Wen had a favored bodyguard who forcibly entered a civilian home intending to rape a virgin. When the rape failed, he wounded and killed the victim, then fled back to the Governor-General’s residence in fear.

Yan Jingming received the report and flew into a rage, leading his subordinates directly to the Governor-General’s residence to request an audience with Guan Wen. Knowing why he had come, Guan Wen considered this bodyguard as dear to him as Dong Xian had been to Emperor Ai of Han—he absolutely had to protect him, so he refused the meeting. Had it been anyone else, recognizing the power dynamics they would have let the matter go. But Yan Jingming had once been praised by former Hubei Governor Hu Linyi as “less than five feet tall in body, but with the heart of ten thousand men”—he feared neither heaven nor earth. He actually burst into the Governor-General’s main hall and occupied it for several days, preventing Guan Wen from conducting official business.

Guan Wen had no choice but to ask the Hubei Governor and Provincial Judge to take turns pleading with Yan. Normally, including Guan Wen, these men were all Yan Jingming’s superiors, controlling his career prospects. Even the most tactless person should have shown some accommodation, but Yan Jingming set his face like stone and refused to give anyone face. Finally, he forced Guan Wen to come out and kneel in the hall. This was highly improper—Yan Jingming could disregard the governors’ dignity, but couldn’t ignore the court’s honor, so he reluctantly agreed to spare the bodyguard. Guan Wen was overjoyed and wanted the bodyguard to emerge from the back hall to express gratitude, not knowing Yan Jingming had employed a stratagem. Upon seeing the criminal, he immediately glared furiously, ordered a hundred heavy blows of the rod, then expelled him from Hubei and had him escorted back to his native place. Guan Wen was struck speechless and didn’t dare utter a sound.

After this incident, Yan Jingming’s reputation for uprightness spread throughout the empire. Guan Wen knew that as long as Yan Jingming remained in Hubei one day, he could never be comfortable as Huguang Governor-General. However, retaliation wasn’t feasible—impeaching honest officials could easily provoke public outrage. He took the opposite approach, recommending Yan Jingming to the court every few days. Whenever there was an affair, he invariably credited Yan Jingming first. Those unaware of his motives thought Guan Wen magnanimous, repaying evil with good, not realizing this was a strategy of “sending the Buddha away.” Indeed, Yan Jingming’s official fortune flourished, and within a year he was appointed Governor of Shandong.

This was the same Yan Jingming who dared to shave even the Jade Emperor’s head. He had now dispatched his own guard battalion to seal Dragon Ridge fortress, allowing neither paper to enter nor tile to exit, loudly declaring he was waiting for Yuan Jiasan to come personally verify whether there were any signs of rebellion in the mountain stronghold. If not, since Dragon Ridge Mountain sat on the Shandong-Anhui border and many victims were Shandong people, Yan Jingming would seek justice for his people and fight this tremendous lawsuit with Yuan Jiasan.

“There truly was no sign of rebellion, otherwise why wouldn’t Prefect Yuan dare to go? According to the government troops who entered the mountain stronghold, it was purely a secluded paradise. Master Zhang the Seventh was nothing more than a pedantic scholar who created some new theories to be different, smugly thinking himself comparable to the sages. The ignorant mountain folk, having never seen the world, prostrated themselves in worship. By rights, this matter should have been handled by the education commissioner—there was absolutely no reason for the Green Standard troops to mobilize for suppression.” Secretary Hao sighed.

“Let me guess.” Qiao Henian had been frowning throughout, and only now spoke up. “I’m afraid Prefect Yuan was at his wit’s end, and Prefect Buhe took the opportunity to offer a strategy. I estimate this strategy was inspired by what you just mentioned about Guan Wen dealing with Yan Jingming. He promotes me in order to later remove me from office.”

“Your Lordship has guessed perfectly!” Secretary Hao nodded in agreement. “He wants you to shield Prefect Yuan from disaster. If your rank were too low, it wouldn’t suffice, nor would it appease public anger. At minimum, they need to execute a fourth-rank circuit intendant, otherwise how would Yan Jingming let the matter rest.”

Buhe had already spread word that during the Dragon Ridge Mountain incident, all the province’s high officials were trapped in Hefei, with only Qiao Henian presiding over the overall situation outside the city. Put plainly, he was then in charge of the province’s military and civil affairs, so Battalion Commander Shi’s allowing his troops to commit atrocities and create this catastrophe was all due to Qiao Henian’s poor supervision. Now dispatching him to confront Yan Jingming for investigation was entirely appropriate.

Hearing this, Gu Pingyuan could no longer contain himself. Feeling flames rising in his heart, he said angrily: “To think Lord Qiao just helped them out of their predicament, yet they repay kindness with enmity—isn’t this saving a pack of wolves!”

“Brother Pingyuan, please remain calm. In my view, Prefect Yuan is actually a decent man, only led astray by petty men to resort to such underhanded tactics.” Qiao Henian instead spoke well of Yuan Jiasan.

Secretary Hao was quite worried: “Lord Qiao must not take this lightly. Given Yan Jingming’s temperament, if you cannot produce evidence of Master Zhang the Seventh’s rebellion on the spot, he truly might bring out the imperial command flags and have you executed beneath the stronghold to appease the wronged spirits.”

Gu Pingyuan was also deeply concerned. He and Secretary Hao continuously urged Qiao Henian not to risk his life, suggesting instead that he devise some plan in the provincial capital to shirk this assignment.

But Qiao Henian seemed to have made up his mind about something, insisting on going to Dragon Ridge Mountain. No matter how Gu Pingyuan tried to persuade him, he kept repeating “If it’s fortune, it’s not disaster; if it’s disaster, it cannot be avoided,” leaving Gu Pingyuan and Secretary Hao looking at each other in confusion, unable to understand what “fortune” could possibly be found in such a major case.

The conversation turned to Gu Pingyuan’s situation. Qiao Henian said: “Not long after you left the prefect’s second hall, that capital merchant’s young master brought the conversation around to you, praising your competence and urging Prefect Yuan to assign you the task of buying foreign guns. Procuring military supplies has always been a lucrative assignment. Listening from the side, I thought he was a friend you’d made in the capital, never imagining it was nothing of the sort.”

“Just as Buhe hates Lord Qiao to the bone, this Li Qin also wishes Brother Gu would die without a burial place. For him to have good intentions—only if Lake Chao became a desert overnight.”

Gu Pingyuan said: “Li Qin certainly has no good intentions. There’s definitely a trap in this business deal. For now, I can only take things one step at a time. Fortunately, the three hundred thousand taels in bank notes are real, and I’ve also had someone verify that the price Prefect Buhe mentioned is accurate. I don’t seek merit, only to avoid fault. I never intended to profit from this deal—as long as I can smoothly procure the three thousand foreign guns, that would be the greatest fortune. It’s just that this gun trade must be conducted with British and French foreign merchants, and dealing with them will be my first experience.”

After deliberating, Secretary Hao finally decided to accompany Qiao Henian to Dragon Ridge Mountain for the case, while Gu Pingyuan would first go to Xiuning to find Old Master Hu, who had traveled extensively throughout his life and might have connections for buying foreign guns.

Mindful of Prefect Buhe’s one-month deadline, Gu Pingyuan decided to leave the city the next day to handle business. He first visited the small courtyard where his family was temporarily staying. Fearing his mother would worry, he only said that matters couldn’t be resolved quickly and he needed to return home first to handle some tea garden affairs, returning to Hefei in a few days. Gu Pingwen and Gu Yuting were surprised that their elder brother was leaving again so soon after returning, especially given the family’s current circumstances, and felt quite anxious.

But Old Mother Gu was philosophical. Her eldest son had repeatedly turned danger into safety—surely the Gu family ancestors were secretly protecting him: “I burn three sticks of incense morning and evening, praying to your grandfather and father’s spirits in heaven to keep you safe, and indeed it’s proven effective. They both met misfortune on distant business journeys—would they let this eldest grandson meet with disaster again? You go handle your affairs without worry, don’t concern yourself with us. We’ve lived here a month already—what’s a few more days?”

Though she spoke thus, Gu Pingyuan still asked Secretary Hao to find a criminal court clerk named Zeng from the prefect’s office, meeting him at “Liu Hongsheng,” the liveliest restaurant in the provincial capital. During the meal, he slipped a large red envelope across the table, asking him to look after his elderly mother and family. This wasn’t a difficult matter, and Clerk Zeng readily agreed, only then did Gu Pingyuan feel at ease to leave.

As he was departing, Gu Yuting unexpectedly called out to him.

“Elder brother…” Gu Yuting was always straightforward and cheerful, rarely showing such hesitant expressions, making Gu Pingyuan look at her curiously.

“Did you… return alone?”

Gu Pingyuan was somewhat puzzled. Could he have inadvertently revealed something that made his younger sister deduce Chang Yu’er’s situation? He probed with a counter-question: “If not?”

“Really returned alone?” Gu Yuting’s expression showed some urgency.

“Those who went with me all returned together.” Gu Pingyuan was being evasive, but unexpectedly Gu Yuting’s eyes brightened.

“I understand. Elder brother, be careful on your journey.” With that, Gu Yuting flicked her braid and went inside, leaving her elder brother standing outside, completely baffled.

Gu Pingyuan made another circuit and returned dusty to Xiuning’s Tianshou Garden. Still three li from Old Master Hu’s home, he could hear noisy crowds ahead creating a tremendous commotion. Gu Pingyuan’s heart jumped, remembering what Master Hou the Second had mentioned, worried something had happened to the Hu family. He spurred his horse forward and soon reached the outskirts of Tianshou Garden.

Outside Tianshou Garden was originally a large open space paved with stone powder, rolled countless times by great stone rollers until smooth as a mirror. Large willow trees were planted around the perimeter for shade in summer and shelter from rain. This place wasn’t built by the Hu family for show—every year during Old Master Hu’s birthday celebrations, with three days of warm-up festivities and three days of formal celebrations totaling six days, Huizhou merchants, various regional merchant guilds, business clients, local gentry, and government officials came continuously to pay birthday respects, requiring such a space to tie horses and park sedan chairs.

During Gu Pingyuan’s previous two visits, the open space had been cold and quiet, with occasionally a single sedan chair parked there. Gu Pingyuan had tied his own horse to hitching posts under the willow trees, with someone naturally providing grass and feed.

Today was different. Around this tranquil Tianshou Garden, mat-covered stalls were erected every few feet. People flowed continuously between the stalls, shoulder to shoulder with joyful voices and laughter. Looking into the stalls, there were martial artists and performers, fortune tellers and diviners, singers of folk songs and moral tales, vendors of needles, thread, buttons, and various sundries. In the very center of the open space stood a large opera stage. On stage, a dan actor and a hua dan were singing Huangmei opera’s “Female Prince Consort,” performing the scene where Feng Suzhen, disguised as a man, entered the bridal chamber and faced the beautiful princess with an anxious heart. Though it was a grassroots troupe, the dan actor’s every frown and thought, the hua dan’s every smile and glance were perfectly executed. When they sang “Who would have expected to win first place in the imperial examination,” the voice was both choked and melodious, with the erhu accompaniment perfectly matched, drawing thunderous applause from the audience.

Around the opera stage, various vendors hawked snacks with high and low calls:

“Xiatang’s Cheng Er’s sugar-heart sesame cakes—thick sesame, full sugar filling, one bite fragrant for a year!”

“Wushan tribute goose sliced for sale—truly sent to the Imperial Household Department, the genuine article you can’t get elsewhere!”

“Xiaoyao chicken, Xiaoyao chicken—personally passed down by Cao Mengde’s descendants, tender meat and soft bones, buy two get one free!”

“Laoshan red fruits, sweet and sour, delicious—if not tasty, no charge…”

As Gu Pingyuan stared in amazement, he heard familiar laughter from the crowd. Following the sound, he saw Old Master Hu holding an erhu and tuning the strings.

During the intermission, Old Master Hu was chatting casually with several plainly dressed local folks nearby, his face full of smiles without any airs. Several children pestered him for sweets, causing their mothers to rush over to scold their children. Old Master Hu played with the children, pulling a handful of osmanthus candy from his pocket and, like a magic trick, made the candy appear in the children’s pockets, making everyone laugh together.

Old Master Hu beckoned someone over—it was the roast goose vendor, whose business was the worst, his face full of dejection. Old Master Hu took out ten copper coins and handed them to him, buying a piece of roast goose to chew carefully in his mouth, nodding and praising it. This drew the crowd over, and children began pestering their mothers to buy Wushan tribute goose. The vendor’s basket was soon empty, delighting him immensely.

“This junior pays respects to Old Master.” Gu Pingyuan stepped forward and bowed.

“Nephew Gu?” Old Master Hu looked quite surprised. “How have you returned after just a few days? Have you encountered some difficulty? I heard that Hefei has been relieved.”

“It’s all thanks to that silver from Your Lordship, otherwise I wouldn’t have had the capital to persuade Cheng Xueqi to surrender.” Gu Pingyuan said with a smile. “I’ve come to inquire about something from you.”

“Oh, then we must chat at my home.” Old Master Hu handed the erhu to another person, rose and walked toward Tianshou Garden. Wherever he passed, crowds parted to let Old Master Hu go first.

“On my previous two visits here, it wasn’t nearly this lively.”

“You came on days other than the first or fifteenth, so naturally there was no market.”

“There are no villages or towns here—how can there be such a large market?” Gu Pingyuan asked, puzzled.

Old Master Hu stroked his beard and smiled: “This is where roads from ten li and eight villages converge. There used to be a large market here indeed. When I saw this place’s beautiful scenery and bought it to build Tianshou Garden, people heard it was Hu family property and feared I’d blame them for the noise, so they no longer dared come here to set up stalls and sell goods. The market thus dispersed.”

Old Master Hu had started as a small merchant and vendor himself, so he could empathize with people’s situations. Seeing everyone afraid of his wealth and power, causing a perfectly good large market to disperse and affecting so many people’s livelihoods, he felt guilty. So he spent enormous sums to create this large open space in front of his gate, hiring people to set up stages for opera performances every first and fifteenth of the month, and erecting a hundred mat stalls for vendors’ free use. This way the market became prosperous again, and because people came to watch opera, the merchants’ business became even better than before.

Old Master Hu also worried that common people might feel constrained, so every market day he personally came out to mingle with everyone, listening to opera and playing the erhu.

“I’m a Huizhou merchant, and those people are also Huizhou merchants—the only difference is the size of our businesses.” Before entering his mansion gates, Old Master Hu stopped and pointed behind him. “But look, though their businesses are small now, who knows—one of them might become a great merchant in the future, bringing honor to us Huizhou merchants. What I do is also to avoid wasting our Huizhou talent.”

Gu Pingyuan felt warmth in his heart and nodded with emotion.

Old Master Hu had been watching Gu Pingyuan while speaking. Seeing his genuine response, he smiled with satisfaction: “I knew Nephew, you’re a person of understanding who grasps the principle of nurturing talent. Unlike my nephew, who acts arrogantly and scolds people every time he visits. In my view, when I die and he inherits my estate, he’ll definitely tear down this open space. Alas, by then I won’t be able to manage it.”

“Old Master, you’re in vigorous health—why speak of events decades hence?” Gu Pingyuan quickly consoled him.

“Hehe.” Old Master Hu waved his hand. Servants brought tea, and the two sat in the flower hall. “What do you want to ask about this time?”

Instead of answering, Gu Pingyuan first handed over a stack of bank notes. “Old Master, these are three hundred thousand taels in bank notes. I’m first repaying the principal, and I’ll send the interest in a few days.”

“The government repaid the silver so quickly?” Old Master Hu asked, puzzled.

“Yes, Lord Qiao of She County spoke with the grain commissioner to settle this debt as soon as possible.”

Old Master Hu flipped through the stack of bank notes, leaned back in his chair, and after a moment’s silence said: “Did that fellow Hou Er tell you something?”

“No, Brother Hou delivered the silver and left without saying anything.”

“You’re still deceiving me.” Old Master Hu was somewhat annoyed. “Let me ask you—why are all these bank notes issued by the Four Great Constants in the capital, and they’re consecutively numbered? Even if the Anhui grain commissioner had Four Great Constants notes, how could they have exactly three hundred thousand taels in consecutive numbers?”

“This…” Gu Pingyuan had truly overlooked this detail, never imagining that indeed ginger grows spicier with age. Old Master Hu had immediately spotted the flaw, leaving him speechless.

The stack of bank notes he was returning was exactly the three hundred thousand taels Li Qin had brought. Yuan Jiasan, at Prefect Buhe’s instigation, had seized the Hu family’s several hundred thousand taels. Unable to explain this to Old Master Hu, Gu Pingyuan had simply used the military procurement money to fill this account.

With no choice, he had to tell the truth: “This money was borrowed by me on the government’s behalf from Your Lordship. Since the government won’t repay it, naturally I should return it. As for military supplies, I have a solution—I’ve decided to pawn my family’s tea gardens. With just the five words ‘World’s Finest Tea,’ why worry about not getting several hundred thousand taels?”

After hearing this, Old Master Hu pondered silently, then said after a moment: “Nephew, please sit. Let me tell you a story.”

Old Master Hu told of a Huizhou merchant surnamed Cheng in Guangzhou during the Jiaqing period. At that time, there was only one port for foreign trade—Guangzhou. This Manager Cheng worked at the Guangzhou Thirteen Hongs, specializing in purchasing cloth and silk from Jiangsu and Zhejiang to sell to the British. He was clever and quick-witted, had learned fluent English, and was highly valued by the foreign firm’s boss. As Manager Cheng’s reputation grew, many fellow townsmen approached him, hoping he could serve as intermediary, bypassing the Thirteen Hongs’ exploitation to let Jiangnan cloth merchants deal directly with foreign merchants. Manager Cheng thus proposed this arrangement to the British merchants. The Guangzhou Thirteen Hongs were court-appointed merchants for trading with foreigners, earning money from both sides as intermediaries. Besides tariffs, they took one-tenth of everything. The British had long wanted to deal directly with inland merchants, so they gave Manager Cheng a large sum of foreign silver to purchase goods in Jiangnan.

When word spread, who wouldn’t want to board this ship? Manager Cheng was besieged at his Ningbo inn. The foreign silver not only bought twenty ships of cloth and silk but also obtained on credit ten full ships of indigo, tea bricks, porcelain, and other goods foreigners favored. All these goods were loaded on sand ships, departing from Ningbo by sea route to Guangzhou.

If this deal succeeded, Manager Cheng would instantly become one of the foremost great merchants. The Guangzhou Thirteen Hongs also got wind of this, knowing that once this precedent was set, everyone would follow suit, gradually draining their easy profits. So they devised a vicious scheme.

Manager Cheng took the land route back to Guangzhou first, waiting left and right for the fleet that never arrived. When he was beside himself with worry, people along the coast began rescuing sailors who had fallen into the sea, only then learning that the fleet had encountered pirates. These pirates were ruthless—not only stealing all goods but also killing people and burning ships. Over thirty vessels all sank at sea, with very few sailors surviving.

When this incident occurred, coastal merchants were all shaken, watching to see what Manager Cheng would do next. The prevailing view was that Manager Cheng, always clever and resourceful in his methods, would certainly not shoulder such an enormous debt. The British silver would definitely require compensation from Manager Cheng, but he might not be willing to compensate for the goods obtained on credit. Moreover, whether British merchants’ silver or Jiangnan merchants’ goods, since pirates were responsible, officials should be notified to capture the pirates. In the vast sea, where could they be found? Though not an unsolvable case, it would likely drag on for years.

Manager Cheng indeed reported to officials, and as everyone expected, the authorities couldn’t catch the pirates, only arresting some land-based accomplices whose confiscated silver didn’t amount to a fraction of the losses. Seeing the case couldn’t be resolved, Jiangnan merchants had to accept their bad luck. Quite a few small businesses faced bankruptcy, causing panic throughout Jiangnan.

Just then, the long-silent Manager Cheng suddenly appeared. He gathered all merchants involved in the affair and used his years of savings to compensate most people’s losses, converting remaining losses into loans with written IOUs.

Thereafter, Manager Cheng started from scratch again. He lived frugally, using his earnings partly to repay British merchants and partly to gradually repay debts to Jiangnan merchants. Fellow Huizhou merchants visiting him often found his household without overnight grain. He spent seven full years repaying debts, then contracted a serious illness and died. Before dying, he left only one instruction—for his son to continue repaying the remaining money.

The Huizhou Merchant Guild sent people to transport Manager Cheng’s coffin back to Huizhou. All local merchants came to Xin’an River mouth to receive the coffin, packing the enormous Shendu dock.

“The year he died, I had already emerged as a prominent figure among Huizhou merchants, also considered capable, so the guild assigned me as one of the sixty-four coffin bearers—only top Huizhou merchants could receive this honor. Hey, Brother Gu, in my travels and business dealings throughout the empire, I’ve conducted many major transactions and enjoyed much glory, but looking back in my old age, the most honorable moment of my life was carrying Manager Cheng’s coffin. Speaking honestly, among those sixty-four men, if any had ever conducted dishonest business, would the guild have assigned him? Even if assigned, would he dare go? Wouldn’t he fear the coffin poles crushing his shoulders?” Old Master Hu looked intently at Gu Pingyuan.

Gu Pingyuan hadn’t heard of this Manager Cheng’s great name, but as a fellow businessman, hearing such a tale naturally moved his heart. He sat up straight and listened respectfully without moving.

“Take this several hundred thousand taels and use it.” Old Master Hu pushed the stack of bank notes forward. “You’d rather suffer such great personal loss than break faith with others—Manager Cheng’s spirit would surely recognize you as a kindred soul. I can’t help you much now, but since this silver is exactly what you need for military procurement, it’s perfect—consider it me lending you this money again.”

Gu Pingyuan only blinked, quietly watching Old Master Hu.

“What, you don’t believe what I’m saying?”

“How could this elder deceive me? But even if I were to borrow money from you, I couldn’t take it so carelessly. To be frank, I’ve heard from others that Tailai Tea Company seems to have encountered some troubles. If Old Master truly considers me a friend, why not tell me the truth? Otherwise, I’d rather pawn the tea gardens than be someone who only thinks of himself and not his friends.”

“That brat Hou Er must have told you. Despite my repeated warnings, he still didn’t listen—what a fool.” Old Master Hu cursed once. “Brother Gu, I won’t hide it from you—whether or not the Hu family has these several hundred thousand now makes little difference. As for pawning your Gu family tea gardens, I’m afraid you couldn’t get that much money.”

What exactly had happened to Tailai Tea Company? How could the “World’s Finest Tea” not even be worth three hundred thousand taels in pawn? Gu Pingyuan looked at Old Master Hu with his heart full of questions.

“Sigh, things have come to this point—you’ll know sooner or later anyway, so I might as well tell you everything.”

The trouble had started in the capital. Originally, when Gu Pingyuan gave up his tea-making secrets, every Huizhou merchant was jubilant, thinking they could use this to suppress tea merchants nationwide and establish Huizhou tea’s undefeatable foundation. But unexpectedly, after Gu Pingyuan was arrested and left the capital, rumors gradually spread that Lanxue tea was funded by eunuch An Dehai and made by exile Gu Pingyuan—it was “exile tea” with “eunuch flavor.”

Once this reputation spread, Lanxue tea sales plummeted. Some customers who had already paid and signed purchase contracts specifically came demanding refunds. Old Master Hu saw the situation was bad, knowing it was probably other tea merchants jealous of Lanxue tea’s dominance causing trouble—likely the capital merchants behind it all. Since this was capital merchant territory, a wise man doesn’t fight when outnumbered. He shipped Lanxue tea back to Huizhou, thinking that so far from the capital, these “eunuch flavor” rumors should naturally collapse. Who would have expected it wasn’t so at all.

Lanxue tea remained neglected by customers. Though people occasionally came to the tea company for a cup of Lanxue tea, it was mere curiosity—not a single large-scale purchase order materialized. Old Master Hu had sold tea for half his lifetime but had never seen such a strange phenomenon—”World’s Finest Tea” with no buyers. At this time, Huizhou merchants were united, all wanting a share of Lanxue tea profits. So Old Master Hu gathered them at the guild hall, demanding all Huizhou merchants present a united front—if one tael of Huizhou tea was sold, it must be one tael of Lanxue tea. Until the day Lanxue tea was sold out, Huizhou wouldn’t export a single tael of Maofeng, Houkui, Keemun black tea, or even Tunxi green tea.

Huizhou tea sold throughout the great rivers and north and south, holding one-third of the market. Now for Lanxue tea’s sake, they wouldn’t sell a single tael, truly affecting the national tea market. According to Old Master Hu’s estimate, it wouldn’t be long before merchants everywhere would yield, otherwise with no tea to sell, wouldn’t their businesses have to close? But the situation was exactly opposite—thereafter even Maofeng and Houkui found no buyers. Occasional customers actually pressed prices to less than one-third of previous levels, wanting to buy Huizhou’s top-grade teas at extremely cheap prices.

“This is bullying us Huizhou merchants at our doorstep!” Strange events happen every year, but this year was particularly full of them. With Hu Tailai’s temperament, how could he endure such treatment? He immediately sent people to investigate the details, and after considerable effort, finally learned the inside story.

Indeed, the capital merchants were scheming behind the scenes. Though Li Wantang publicly said the matter was settled, he secretly gathered tea merchants from various regions, repeatedly explaining the stakes. He said that when Gu Pingyuan alone controlled Lanxue tea, it was one person’s dominance, but now with Huizhou merchants controlling Lanxue tea, it was a group’s dominance—regarding consequences, which was more serious was surely clear to everyone. Therefore, they must give Huizhou merchants a show of force, otherwise they would monopolize the tea market in the future. Then Dongting’s Biluochun, Wuyi’s Dahongpao, and West Lake’s Longjing would all have to follow behind, waiting for Lanxue tea to set prices before they could price their own teas. Not only would profits suffer, but where would the various merchant guilds’ dignity be?

Li Wantang manipulated people’s emotions like reaching into a bag. His words made tea merchants change color, so they formed an offensive and defensive alliance, using the lowest prices to buy Huizhou’s finest teas. They were determined to make Huizhou tea merchants bow in defeat and suppress Huizhou tea prices, vowing not to stop until achieved.

Learning the truth, Hu Tailai was furious beyond measure, cursing Li Wantang’s ancestors for eight generations, then again gathering Huizhou merchants at the guild hall, strictly forbidding anyone from privately cutting tea prices.

“Now they’re attacking our doorstep—one wrong move loses the entire game. We absolutely cannot use our own crutches to hit our own legs!” Old Master Hu warned.

Though he spoke thus, among the Huizhou merchants, some had large established businesses while others had small capital and thin profits, entirely dependent on selling one season to eat for one season. Without business income, they immediately faced difficulties, with quite a few tempted to secretly sell tea to various tea merchants.

Old Master Hu knew this opening couldn’t be allowed—if even one Huizhou merchant sold tea at low prices, he could no longer restrain others, and the Huizhou merchants would face complete defeat. So he had to gather the Huizhou merchants a third time, requiring everyone to publicly swear that if anyone privately sold tea, they would expel themselves from the Huizhou merchants and henceforth, whether in Jiangnan or Jiangbei, could never enter Huizhou merchant guild doors again.

Of course, Old Master Hu wasn’t unreasonable—he wouldn’t watch people starve while forbidding tea sales. He took out his family’s liquid assets—that is, moveable silver aside from tea gardens, shops, and farmland—to lend interest-free to Huizhou merchants facing difficulties. Initially, only small households came to borrow, but later even large households came for loans. Some were taking advantage of free money, while others genuinely had to feed shops full of clerks and had no choice but to borrow.

Though the Hu family was Huizhou’s foremost tea merchant with enormous wealth, they couldn’t withstand such spending. Tailai Tea Company had branches everywhere with hundreds of clerks requiring monthly wages, plus their own household expenses amounting to large sums. Now adding interest-free external loans, the Hu family’s silver in money houses was drained like a dragon sucking water. Master Hou the Second hadn’t lied—the Hu family indeed had only these several hundred thousand taels left. Since Gu Pingyuan borrowed this silver, Old Master Hu had already been planning to sell fields and land to support the Huizhou merchants.

After hearing everything, Gu Pingyuan sprang to his feet, tears already welling in his eyes: “Old Master, why didn’t you say this earlier? If you had said it earlier…”

“If I had said it earlier, you wouldn’t have been willing to borrow this money.” Old Master Hu smiled. “But this money—hey, it’s just money, coming and going between left and right hands. I’ve seen plenty in my lifetime. How can it compare to the friendship between us two?”

Gu Pingyuan felt something blocking his throat and vigorously shook his head: “It can’t compare!”

“There you have it.”

“But I absolutely cannot borrow this money again—I can’t let you sell houses and land for my sake!”

No matter what Old Master Hu said, Gu Pingyuan stuck to this single response. Old Master Hu was about to become urgent, then changed his mind, saying: “Nephew, you originally came this time to ask me about connections for buying foreign guns. I’ve long since stopped traveling for trade, so I’m out of touch with such matters, but my old clients are still around, and I know quite a few people in Shanghai who deal with foreign merchants. How about this—I’ll send someone to Shanghai to make inquiries. You temporarily stay at Tianshou Garden, and when news comes, we can discuss remaining matters.”

Gu Pingyuan originally intended to do this, but he couldn’t follow Old Master Hu’s wishes and stay at Tianshou Garden. He had been constantly worried about Chang Yu’er who had gone to Gu Family Village. Xiuning wasn’t far from She County—when he left Tianshou Garden last time, he had considered whether to return to Gu Family Village once, but military affairs were urgent and he truly had no time to attend to family matters. This time, while waiting for Old Master Hu’s news, it was perfect to go back and see Chang Yu’er.

From Xiuning to Gu Family Village took just over an hour by fast horse. Gu Pingyuan had paid from his own pocket to help the clan repair houses and old buildings damaged by war. Now Gu Family Village was no longer what it had been when he first returned home—the roads were clean, with newly planted willows lining both sides, and the long stone-paved roads were flanked by small courtyards with gray tiles and horse-head walls. Slightly wealthier families had already hired carving masters to create various brick sculptures.

When Gu Pingyuan returned to the village around noon, cooking smoke curled upward and his nose was filled with the familiar aroma of hometown dishes. The villagers were both surprised and delighted to see him return, gathering around to ask for news. Gu Pingyuan dismounted and inquired—his family’s old house was still empty. When he asked about the tea garden, someone indeed said that the big black fellow surnamed Liu had brought a beautiful young woman to live in the tea garden.

The autumn tea harvest at his family’s tea garden was complete. Before Gu Pingyuan even entered the tea garden, he heard Old Min scolding Liu Heita: “You big fellow, how can your hands be so clumsy? This leaf-twisting requires firmness with gentleness—if the gentle strength isn’t enough, the leaves are easily damaged, but if the firm strength isn’t enough, the tea juices in the leaves can’t be pressed to the leaf surface, and when brewed later, the tea will lack fragrance.”

“This is harder than embroidery!” Liu Heita said in his booming voice.

“Embroidery? You’re not worthy! Those hands of yours—I think they’re only fit for plowing fields. Look at Miss Chang—I only taught her once, and she’s already doing quite well.” Old Min spared no mercy in his criticism.

Gu Pingyuan stepped into the tea room to see Liu Heita red-faced with embarrassment while Chang Yu’er smiled with pursed lips beside him. When she looked up and saw Gu Pingyuan, she immediately froze.

“Old Master Min, I’ve returned. Have you been well?” Gu Pingyuan bowed deeply.

“Pingyuan.” Old Min was also startled, then broke into a smile. “I heard about your affairs from these two. It’s good that you’re back.” Though they were nominally master and guest, their relationship was truly that of teacher and student. To gain such an excellent disciple in his twilight years brought Old Min more satisfaction than creating fine tea.

“I’ve caused you worry, Old Master.”

“What worry did I have?” Old Min pointed at Chang Yu’er. “She’s been unable to eat or sleep these days—that’s real worry.”

“Old Master.” Chang Yu’er called out softly, looking elsewhere as her cheeks reddened.

“Oh, haha.” Old Min laughed a few times. “Big Black, come with me. I’ll show you how yesterday’s pressed tea turned out.”

“That won’t do—I haven’t even spoken to my brother-in-law yet.”

“Spoken about what! Have you mastered your skills?” Old Min glared, and Liu Heita, who truly feared him, reluctantly followed him out of the tea room with obvious displeasure.

“You’ve been learning tea-making with Old Master Min all this time?” Gu Pingyuan saw Chang Yu’er’s hands were stained with green juice.

Chang Yu’er nodded with pursed lips, unconsciously pulling her hands back.

Gu Pingyuan took a white cloth and gently pulled Chang Yu’er’s hands over, wiping them softly while saying: “Tea’s nature is most pure, purer even than water. It’s not dirty.”

Chang Yu’er smiled bashfully: “How are things at home? You, um, I…”

“My mother is still in Hefei.” Gu Pingyuan knew she wasn’t used to this form of address. “My younger brother and sister haven’t returned either. The matter isn’t easy to resolve, and there are unexpected complications, but it’s not a problem—where there’s a will, there’s always a way.”

“I’m not worried—you’re here after all.” Chang Yu’er looked at Gu Pingyuan. “Old Master Min is truly a good person. He’s managed the tea garden very well, and this season all the tea mountains in Gu Family Village are planted with Lanxue tea. Smell this mountain full of tea fragrance!”

“I smelled it as soon as I came up the mountain. This is the foundation for our Gu family’s future standing in the business world. I definitely won’t let it be looked down upon.”

“What’s wrong?” Chang Yu’er was very perceptive, detecting something unusual in Gu Pingyuan’s tone.

Gu Pingyuan didn’t hide anything, telling Chang Yu’er word for word what he had heard at Tianshou Garden.

“Aren’t the capital merchants harming others without benefiting themselves? They have enough Xinyang Maojian to sell. Suppressing Hui tea prices for no reason—won’t this just benefit other tea merchants?”

Gu Pingyuan was surprised that Chang Yu’er had pointed out something that neither he nor Old Master Hu had considered.

“Li Wantang is a man of deep schemes and calculations. He wouldn’t do this merely for revenge. This means the capital merchants are playing a larger game behind the scenes…” Gu Pingyuan mused, then looked up to ask: “Yu’er, what are you smiling about?”

“Oh.” Only then did Chang Yu’er realize she had unknowingly been smiling. After thinking, she spoke honestly: “Because you’re willing to tell me these things, I truly feel like I’m a member of the Gu family, like I’m your wife.”

“So you’re saying I didn’t do well enough before, making you feel like an outsider.” Gu Pingyuan deliberately put on a stern face to tease her.

“I—I never said that.” Chang Yu’er became somewhat flustered.

Gu Pingyuan burst into hearty laughter. Only then did Chang Yu’er realize Gu Pingyuan was teasing her, and she blushed as she lightly pinched him.

With Gu Pingyuan’s return, the tea garden immediately became lively. Old Min arranged a welcome feast, and nearby tea farmers all came to visit Gu Pingyuan. Through conversation, they learned that the turmoil stirred up by the capital merchants had already affected all of Huizhou’s tea farmers. Now every family’s autumn tea was stuck in their hands unsold, weighing on Gu Pingyuan’s heart like a heavy stone.

The lunch was exceptionally abundant, with hot dishes served bowl after bowl in a dazzling array.

“Oh my, isn’t this rock ear stewed with chicken? I’ve only had it once or twice since coming to Anhui. Today I’m really benefiting from my brother-in-law’s fortune.” Liu Heita reached for his chopsticks but was reproachfully stopped by Chang Yu’er.

“Elder brother, this dish should be offered to Old Master Min first.”

Who gets the “phoenix head” has its protocol. Old Min shook his head: “I’m old now—smelling it is enough. I dare not indulge my appetite. Boss Gu, you’re the tea garden owner and should use chopsticks first.”

Gu Pingyuan wanted to defer to Liu Heita, but Liu Heita grew impatient with all the courtesy, twisted off the “phoenix head” and put it in Gu Pingyuan’s bowl, then helped himself to a chicken leg to gnaw on.

“Old Master, my elder brother is just like this—he’s a big eater and won’t listen to reason.” Chang Yu’er explained embarrassedly.

“A person of genuine temperament is a thousand, ten thousand times better than someone with a scheming heart.” Old Min also disliked social pretenses. Seeing Liu Heita’s pure childlike heart, he found it precious instead.

In the blink of an eye, a full table of dishes was laid out. Gu Pingyuan saw Chang Yu’er bustling about, barely touching the ground with her feet, never sitting down for a proper bite. His heart aching for her, he was about to call her over when he saw Chang Yu’er carrying a poplar wood tray with a large bowl containing translucent yellow slices that trembled with her steps.

“Smells wonderful! Sister, what dish is this? I’ve never eaten it before.” Liu Heita swallowed his saliva.

“Elder Brother Gu must try this dish first.” Chang Yu’er set down the tray and presented the large bowl to Gu Pingyuan.

Gu Pingyuan recognized this dish—it was Anhui countryside’s famous “stuffed tofu.” Chicken breast was made into paste and sandwiched between tofu slices, deep-fried until cooked, then served with sweet and sour sauce. It was his mother’s specialty dish.

Gu Pingyuan picked up a piece with his chopsticks and slowly chewed it in his mouth, then suddenly sat there in a daze.

“Hey, brother-in-law, if the dish isn’t good, give it to me to eat. Why are you spacing out?” Liu Heita called out loudly.

“No, no. This dish is made too well. One taste brings back childhood memories. The flavor is exactly like what my mother made.” Gu Pingyuan came to his senses and spoke hastily.

“Could it be made by Sister Xiang from the village head?” Gu Pingyuan looked at the table full of fragrant Hui dishes and mentioned several village women known for their cooking skills.

Old Min kept shaking his head with a smile, and Liu Heita also grinned as he watched him.

“I can’t guess this—you wouldn’t have specially hired a cook from town just for me, would you?”

“Haha.” Liu Heita laughed proudly and winked at someone beside him.

Gu Pingyuan looked at Chang Yu’er, who seemed somewhat embarrassed, and suddenly understood from her expectant and joyful expression.

“Yu’er, was it you? Really?” Gu Pingyuan looked incredulous.

“Boss Gu, you’ve married the right wife. Since arriving at Gu Family Village, she’s been learning to make Hui cuisine. Not only is she skilled, but she’s specially improved the dishes, adding some flavors from beyond the passes, saying that since you lived beyond the passes for five years, you must have grown accustomed to those flavors. Your wife truly cherishes you.” Old Min spoke his mind freely despite his age, making Chang Yu’er blush deeply.

“Exactly! She and I grew up together, but this elder brother has never eaten any improved dishes—just oat noodle kaolaolao from year’s beginning to year’s end, isn’t that right, sister?” Liu Heita smiled mischievously at Chang Yu’er.

Chang Yu’er was less polite with him: “Elder brother, if you keep talking, I won’t cook for you starting tomorrow.”

“No, no.” Liu Heita quickly stuffed the chicken leg in his mouth.

“Elder Brother Gu, is this dish to your taste?”

“More than just to my taste—this is exactly the flavor I yearned for day and night beyond the passes. Later, when I returned home and saw my mother growing old from toil, since this dish is time-consuming and laborious, I never dared ask her to make it once. I never imagined the dish you made would taste exactly like what I ate as a child.” Gu Pingyuan was deeply moved.

“There’s a secret to it. I heard from Sister Xiang that your mother, when making this dish, didn’t like using vinegar for the final sauce. Instead, she would boil hawthorn water and reduce it to a thick sauce. I followed this method, and indeed Elder Brother Gu, you like it.” Chang Yu’er smiled joyfully.

Who knew that upon hearing this, Gu Pingyuan stared at the “stuffed tofu” for a while, then suddenly tears flowed from his eyes.

“Elder Brother Gu…” Chang Yu’er said in alarm.

Gu Pingyuan waved his hand, his voice somewhat choked: “As a child, I studied too diligently and had poor digestion. Vinegar was bad for my stomach, so my mother devised this cooking method. Who knows how much effort it cost her.”

Everyone fell silent for a moment. Liu Heita and Chang Yu’er thought of Old Father Chang Si and their eyes grew red. Old Min stroked his beard and nodded: “How pitiful are parents’ hearts everywhere. Boss Gu, rest assured—given your filial devotion, your mother will surely turn danger into safety and return to Gu Family Village soon.”

“I borrow your auspicious words, Old Master.” Gu Pingyuan cast a grateful look at Chang Yu’er.

“Speaking of which, there’s something I must discuss with Boss Gu. Miss Chang living in the tea garden is quite inconvenient. Since you’re already married, why not let her move to your house?” Old Min suggested.

“This…” Gu Pingyuan and Chang Yu’er exchanged glances and both shook their heads.

“Old Master, there are inside circumstances here.” Gu Pingyuan explained the situation, concluding: “Though we’re betrothed, we haven’t had time for the wedding ceremony. Moreover, as the eldest son, with my parents not present, it would be improper to bring a wife into the house.”

“Oh, I understand. But the accommodations here are simple, with people coming and going. It’s acceptable for temporary lodging, but how can a young lady live here long-term?”

Liu Heita slapped his forehead: “Brother-in-law, that small courtyard by the village brook that you always visit—isn’t that also your family’s residence? Why not let my sister live there for a while?”

“That makes sense. Your teacher’s courtyard is empty anyway. Let Miss Chang live there for a while—it’s certainly better than here.” Old Min nodded in agreement.

Gu Pingyuan’s heart stirred, and he remained silent for a long time. He was hesitating—that courtyard was like a sacred, inviolable sanctuary to him. It was his teacher’s former residence and also Bai Yimei’s boudoir. He had hoped that no matter how the world changed, everything there could remain exactly as before. Whenever he stepped into that small courtyard, he could still seem to hear his teacher’s earnest teachings and Bai Yimei’s gentle laughter.

Gu Pingyuan’s silence naturally puzzled Chang Yu’er. After thinking, she asked Old Min: “Old Master, the teacher you mentioned—was he the one who gave gold to send him to the capital for the imperial examinations?”

“Exactly. Teacher Bai was truly a good man. What a pity that in these times, good people don’t meet good ends. For Boss Gu’s sake, he crashed his head against that big tree at the village entrance and died. And his daughter—born with flower-like beauty—is now trapped in the Taiping army. Who knows what’s become of her.”

Old Min spoke on without thinking. With each sentence he uttered, Chang Yu’er’s face grew paler. Before Gu Pingyuan could speak, she said decisively: “Don’t trouble yourselves—I’ll just stay in the tea garden. It’s quite good here.”

“What’s good about this place?” Liu Heita couldn’t understand his sister’s feelings and continued persuading: “Haven’t you seen that little courtyard? Behind the house flows a small stream, in front is a mountain view, and at the gate is an osmanthus tree—now it’s filled with fragrance. I see brother-in-law often stays inside for half a day at a time. It’s truly a wonderful place…”

“Elder brother!” Chang Yu’er’s voice startled even herself. “Stop talking—I won’t go!”

Only then did everyone notice the unusual tone in Chang Yu’er’s voice and look up at her. Others were fine, but Gu Pingyuan immediately recognized that inexplicable fear that had appeared in Chang Yu’er’s eyes when she heard about returning to Huizhou back beyond the passes.

Old Min also realized he might have misspoken and coughed to smooth over the situation: “How about this—doesn’t the Gu family have a shop selling general goods in Qiankou Town? That place is a hundred times better than the tea garden. Let Miss Chang live there instead. Towns are lively, better than this cold and quiet place.”

Chang Yu’er initially insisted on staying at the tea garden, but couldn’t withstand everyone’s persuasion, especially Gu Pingyuan, whose face showed embarrassment as if he had wronged her somehow. Seeing this, Chang Yu’er’s heart softened and she finally agreed.

That night, Gu Pingyuan returned home to sleep. Everything in the house was as before, only the objects were covered with dust and his relatives were absent, leaving the entire house cold and desolate. Gu Pingyuan sat in the courtyard watching the bright moon until midnight, his mood inexplicably languid. Reflecting on the past two years, it seemed like one continuous series of setbacks, yet he had managed to turn defeat into victory in the end. However, though victorious, he always found himself trapped in an even larger quagmire, unable to extricate himself, not knowing when it would all end.

“Life is like chess—when will the game be finished? Must there always be a great encirclement, a life-and-death struggle, killing the opponent without leaving a single piece before it can end?” Gu Pingyuan thought about business affairs. “The world is so vast—take the tea trade, for instance. There are production areas and sales areas, never lacking customers. Whose tea is good, whose tea is poor—neither princes nor emperors have the final say. Only those who taste it personally and give a thumbs up—that’s truly good. Why use underhanded methods to attract customers? If the product is genuinely good, can’t we compete fair and square?”

He pondered bitterly for a while until the cold moonlight shone directly on him, and he suddenly had an insight.

“It’s precisely because they feel guilty and dare not compare quality that they resort to crooked schemes. Conversely, if one’s own goods are solid and the reputation bright, there’s no need to fear those demons and monsters anywhere.” Gu Pingyuan had originally been worried about Lanxue tea being boycotted by the merchant alliance. Having figured out this point, his heart felt much more at ease. Without returning to his room, he lay down fully clothed on the bamboo chair under the eaves and slept soundly through the night.

Early the next morning, Gu Pingyuan rose, washed, and prepared to go to the tea garden for breakfast. As he was about to leave, his steps hesitated. He still felt guilty about yesterday’s incident with Chang Yu’er. After all, she was his wife, while Bai Yimei was already a stranger with whom he would “never meet again after today’s parting.” Yet he truly couldn’t forget her. Even without results, those many past connections remained sweet memories and wounds in his heart that he didn’t want others to touch. But would Chang Yu’er understand? Was she still blaming him?

Gu Pingyuan was lost in thought when several crisp knocks at the door suddenly awakened him.

“Excuse me, is this the home of Master Gu Pingyuan?” The accent wasn’t from Anhui but had the soft Wu dialect flavor.

Opening the door, Gu Pingyuan was somewhat stunned—not for any other reason, but because a green silk eight-bearer sedan chair was parked right in front of his door, completely blocking the stone-paved road.

Eight-bearer sedan chairs were used by at least third-rank officials. Could it be the provincial judicial commissioner or prefect? Gu Pingyuan looked carefully and saw a handsome servant dressed as an attendant at the door. Clearly well-trained and very courteous, he was smiling at him: “Are you Master Gu?”

“I dare not accept such address. May I ask which honored guest is visiting my humble home?”

“My master wishes to see you.” Hearing it was indeed Gu Pingyuan, the servant became even more respectful.

“May I ask your master’s distinguished name?”

At this question, hearty laughter suddenly came from the sedan chair. Two other servants lifted the curtain, and a man stepped out, walking to Gu Pingyuan.

“You are…” Gu Pingyuan found this person very familiar but couldn’t recall where he’d seen him.

The man raised his eyebrows—he had very attractive eyebrows. Though his features weren’t particularly handsome, his brow carried an approachable warmth that made people want to get close to him. His eyes were especially deep, and with one glance, Gu Pingyuan felt this person had already formed an assessment of him.

“We just met at the prefect’s office a few days ago. Oh, I was wearing official robes then—no wonder you don’t recognize me.” The man looked at his blue shirt and jacket and smiled.

Gu Pingyuan suddenly remembered: “You’re Circuit Intendant Hu?” This person had been sitting beside Yuan Jiasan throughout, and the prefect had seemed quite respectful toward him. He seemed to have mentioned being an official from Jiangsu-Zhejiang, not a local Anhui subordinate.

“What circuit intendant—just a set of clothes bought with donated money.” The man was quite informal, speaking while already starting to move. Gu Pingyuan was the host, and since someone had come all this way from the provincial capital, though he didn’t know their purpose, courtesy demanded he invite them in to sit and talk. He quickly stepped aside to let them pass.

This Circuit Intendant Hu entered Gu Pingyuan’s home, and when Gu Pingyuan invited him to the main hall for conversation, he waved his hand and pointed to the courtyard.

“I think this courtyard is quite nice. Let’s chat casually—why bother with formalities? Besides, your house has no one to serve guests. Forgive me—these people are used to serving others, so let them help out.”

Gu Pingyuan was greatly surprised. This Circuit Intendant Hu spoke very amicably, but he certainly put on airs. How could someone send their own servants to work in another’s house upon first meeting? Anyone else would refuse, but Gu Pingyuan was naturally free-spirited and unconventional. He laughed heartily: “To be honest, as you said, since my family encountered some troubles, the dust on the tea utensils is probably an inch thick—truly impossible for receiving guests. Since that’s the case, the host will follow the guest’s wishes, and I’ll play the ‘master’ for once.”

Hearing this, Circuit Intendant Hu’s eyes lit up. He looked at Gu Pingyuan again and suddenly grinned: “It seems I haven’t made this trip to Huizhou in vain after all. Come, Brother Gu, let’s sit and talk in this courtyard.”

Circuit Intendant Hu’s several servants borrowed the Gu family’s wind stove and quickly brewed a pot of tea, presenting it.

Gu Pingyuan observed coldly, secretly amazed. This tea set was extremely valuable—actually sweet white porcelain from Xuande official kilns, and that Gongchun diamond-shaped pot was probably crafted by the purple clay master Lei Zan. Looking at these servants’ tea-brewing techniques—how could they compare to ordinary household servants? They had clearly been taught by masters and received proper instruction. This pot of tea they brewed truly possessed perfect color, aroma, and flavor. Even someone as particular as Old Min would probably have no complaints.

Observing the servants reveals the master. This Circuit Intendant Hu was definitely no ordinary person. A fourth-rank official riding in an eight-bearer sedan chair with such grand airs—exactly who was he?

“My surname is Hu, given name Guangyong.” Circuit Intendant Hu seemed to see into Gu Pingyuan’s heart. “But close friends all use my courtesy name and call me Xueyan.”

“Hu Xueyan… Hu Xueyan!” Gu Pingyuan had dared to venture into Black Water Marsh, so he was quite bold, but these three characters stunned him immediately. He raised his eyebrows and stared at the person before him.

Circuit Intendant Hu seemed accustomed to such reactions and said nothing, picking up his pointed-foot teacup to savor the tea’s fragrance while occasionally glancing at Gu Pingyuan.

However, Gu Pingyuan quickly regained his composure, picked up his teacup for a taste, and spoke naturally: “Eh, this is Frozen Peak Oolong from Taiwan Prefecture. Such pre-rain tender buds are rarely seen. Indeed worthy of the God of Wealth—the tea you drink is exceptional.”

“The God of Wealth entered your door early in the morning—aren’t you curious what business I have?” Hu Xueyan smiled cheerfully.

“What else could it be but good business?”

“What if I’m just passing by your house for a cup of tea?”

“What of it? Brother Xueyan isn’t wearing official robes, and I’m not doing business with you. At this moment I’m treating you as an ordinary guest. Since you’ve graced my humble home, naturally I cannot treat you poorly. If you want good tea, I have it here too—my Lanxue is no inferior to your Dongding Oolong.”

“Haha!” Hu Xueyan laughed delightedly. “I could tell at the prefect’s office that you’re no ordinary person. I rely entirely on my eye for people in business, and I won’t be wrong this time either.”

Gu Pingyuan didn’t respond. Actually, he hadn’t expected this God of Wealth, whose fame shook the world and whose name filled Jiangsu and Zhejiang, to be so approachable. This man had risen in less than ten years, his wealth so vast that even someone like Old Master Hu, a magnate himself, could only look up in admiration. It was said he moved with ease in Jiangsu-Zhejiang official circles, associating with governors and such figures. Now he had rushed here early in the morning, traveling by eight-bearer sedan chair to meet him at Gu Family Village—what could be his purpose?

There must be a reason, and it certainly wasn’t what Hu Xueyan claimed about passing by for tea. Rather than being eager to know, he might as well observe the situation calmly.

Indeed, when he settled his mind and unhurriedly sipped his tea, actually treating this celebrated God of Wealth as an ordinary colleague, Hu Xueyan had originally wanted to keep him in suspense. Seeing his detached attitude, he realized this young man was even more composed and experienced than he appeared, so he delivered a shocking statement.

“Brother Gu, do you know that at this very moment you’ve already fallen into unforeseen disaster?”

“I won’t hide it from Brother Xueyan—these past two years I’ve encountered quite a few disasters. Either I’ve endured them or outsmarted them, surviving with more alarm than actual danger.” Gu Pingyuan replied calmly.

“Then let me ask you—among those who’ve troubled you these past two years, were there any foreigners involved?”

Gu Pingyuan raised his eyebrows and answered honestly: “No.”

“This time it’s foreigners who want to trouble you, and I’m afraid you’ll have no solution.” Hu Xueyan’s expression was serious, not like he was scaremongering.

“How strange—I have no grievances with foreigners. Why would they want to trouble me?”

“I came specifically to tell you some news. Though the matter itself has nothing to do with you, you’ve suffered collateral damage, so disaster is imminent.”

Gu Pingyuan knew that what Hu Xueyan was about to say must be extremely important, so he immediately listened attentively.

Hu Xueyan’s rise to fortune depended entirely on befriending Wang Youling, the former Governor of Zhejiang. They were friends from humble circumstances. Wang Youling was born into an official family but, lacking opportunity, had fallen into destitution in Hangzhou, idling away his days while supporting a large family, nearly reduced to consorting with beggars and prostitutes. At that time, Hu Xueyan worked as a runner for a money house. With keen insight, he lent Wang Youling money from a bad debt he had inadvertently recovered for the money house, enabling Wang to purchase an official position. Wang Youling indeed had the makings of an official—his career flourished, and within a few years he rose from county-level positions straight to the clouds, becoming governor of Zhejiang’s prosperous territory. Throughout this period, Hu Xueyan used all his skills to help him navigate between officialdom, transport gangs, and foreigners, meeting many powerful figures. Using these connections for business, he also prospered greatly, and his Fukang Money House quickly became the leading money house in the Great Qing.

Wang Youling’s rapid promotion was inseparable from the Taiping rebellion. As they say, heroes emerge in troubled times. When serving as Huzhou prefect, he relied heavily on local gentry Zhao Jingxian to train militia, while Hu Xueyan helped him contact foreign merchants to purchase large quantities of foreign guns and ammunition. With superior firearms, they won several major victories. Military achievements were the royal road to promotion for civil officials, so Wang Youling received recommendation after recommendation until he became a provincial governor.

Unexpectedly, what made him also broke him. When Loyal King Li Xiucheng led troops to attack Hangzhou, Wang Youling was defeated. On the day the city fell, he hanged himself in the governor’s office. From extreme poverty to prosperity, riches vanished in an instant—truly like a southern dream.

After Li Xiucheng captured Hangzhou, he originally planned to join forces with Chen Yucheng and march north to attack the capital, achieving the goal of besieging Wei to save Zhao. Unexpectedly, Gan Wang Hong Rengan didn’t understand military affairs, and Tianjing became precarious after just half a year of defense. Li Xiucheng had no choice but to return alone to provide aid. Before leaving Zhejiang, he secretly sent people to Shanghai’s foreign settlement to negotiate with foreign merchants, using nearly a million taels of seized provincial treasury military funds from Hangzhou to buy several thousand foreign guns, which he brought back to Tianjing.

Coincidentally, Zeng Guoquan of the Jiangnan Grand Camp, eager to quickly capture the Taiping stronghold, spared no expense and sent procurement officials to Shanghai to purchase foreign guns at high prices. This drove up foreign gun prices far beyond the thirty thousand taels for three thousand guns that Prefect Buhe had mentioned.

“Brother Gu, though you have considerable business talent, you’re out of touch with foreign settlement news. The marketplace is like a battlefield—as the saying goes, ‘Know yourself and your enemy, and you’ll never be defeated.’ You didn’t scout the enemy situation and rashly agreed to Prefect Yuan. Now you’ve brought fire upon yourself.” Hu Xueyan clicked his tongue repeatedly.

Gu Pingyuan smiled bitterly to himself. Given his status and the circumstances then, he probably had no choice but to accept this assignment. He pondered and said: “Price fluctuations in goods are common. As soon as new supplies arrive, prices naturally fall.”

“You’re thinking completely wrong—do you think these are cabbages and tofu, produced and sold at will?” Hu Xueyan shook his head dismissively.

Britain and France already had quantity restrictions on foreign guns sold to the Great Qing—the so-called “opium flows endlessly, military equipment trickles slowly.” Though the numbers had been somewhat relaxed in recent years through merchants’ efforts, they still couldn’t meet the massive demands of people like Li Xiucheng and Zeng Guoquan.

“Search the entire foreign settlement now, and you’d be hard-pressed to find three thousand foreign guns. Even if you could, first, the current Zhejiang Governor Li Hongzhang is also desperately seeking military supplies to achieve merit in Jiangsu-Zhejiang—can you compete with him? Second, ‘rare goods command high prices’—currently a smoothbore musket with a hundred rounds of ammunition and gunpowder has risen to no less than three hundred taels of silver. Calculate for yourself—how many guns can you buy with those several hundred thousand taels you have?”

No calculation was needed—clearly he couldn’t even buy a thousand foreign guns. Gu Pingyuan couldn’t help but smile bitterly in silence.

“When you left the second hall, I heard everything clearly. That capital merchant’s young master Li Qin—hmph, he was clearly trying to make things difficult for you deliberately. In the hall he strongly recommended you, praising your business dealings in Shanxi and the capital extensively. Those who didn’t know might think he held you in the highest regard. Only when he later patted his chest saying he’d just come from Jiangsu-Zhejiang and that three hundred thousand taels would be enough to buy three thousand foreign guns did I realize this person had ill intentions, deliberately using several hundred thousand taels to buy your entire family’s heads.”

Gu Pingyuan couldn’t help but secretly complain. If Hu Xueyan could have immediately corrected the prices Li Qin and Buhe mentioned then, he wouldn’t have stepped into this trap. What use was warning him now?

Hu Xueyan had a perceptive heart. With one glance he knew what the person before him was thinking, and spoke frankly: “That Prefect Yuan Jiasan was determined to have me arrange foreign gun deals for him. First, I didn’t want to meddle—after all, I hold a donated Zhejiang Circuit position. If I helped Prefect Yuan instead of Lord Li, Li Hongzhang would surely be displeased when he found out. Most of my business is in Zhejiang, so I can’t afford to offend the provincial governor. Therefore, regarding all foreign gun matters, I played deaf and dumb, naturally unable to say a word of support.”

“Then why now…” Gu Pingyuan found this question hard to voice.

“It’s quite simple. Though I’m a fourth-rank circuit intendant, I’m still fundamentally a businessman. Others curry favor with or use me simply because I have money. Take that eight-bearer sedan chair outside—I have no right to ride in it, but your province’s judicial commissioner insisted on lending it to me. Why? Because his brother-in-law lost money doing business in Zhejiang with official funds and wants me to help fill the gap first, to be repaid later. The judicial commissioner controls a province’s criminal law—his money, aside from corruption through legal cases, has no other source. Then there’s that ‘Grain Pockmark’ Lord Gu, whose flattery actually earned Prefect Yuan’s appreciation. I’m extremely disappointed with Anhui’s officialdom. Even if I had a good plan to help him, I absolutely wouldn’t.” Hu Xueyan looked directly at Gu Pingyuan.

“But you’re different. Even if only half of what Li Qin said about you is true, I can confidently entrust you with a path, and you’ll surely accomplish something.”

Despite his cleverness, Gu Pingyuan was confused by his roundabout explanation. He asked puzzledly: “What path?”

“Naturally the path to buying foreign guns. Otherwise why would I come looking for you today?”

It turned out that before Hangzhou fell, Hu Xueyan had been entrusted by Wang Youling to take money from the Zhejiang provincial treasury to Shanghai to procure grain and military equipment for Hangzhou’s defending forces. He obtained a hundred thousand shi of grain and bought over three thousand foreign guns. Unexpectedly, Li Xiucheng surrounded Hangzhou so tightly that Hu Xueyan’s grain ships reached the waterways outside the city but couldn’t enter through the gates. He watched helplessly as the Taipings broke the city. Hu Xueyan was heartbroken by this, fell gravely ill, and nearly lost his life. He had only recently recovered.

“The supplies were procured in two batches. I also worried that if military equipment fell into Taiping hands, it would only strengthen them, so I shipped grain first, then guns. The grain didn’t reach its destination, so naturally the guns didn’t need to be shipped either. Though I paid for this batch of guns, they’re still with the foreign merchant, not yet collected. You only need to handle the transfer with me—give me those three hundred thousand taels, and I can settle accounts with the Zhejiang provincial treasury.”

Hu Xueyan’s batch of foreign guns was truly rare merchandise that money could hardly buy now. Changing hands could earn several times the profit. Not to mention, if he just presented the foreign guns to Li Hongzhang, it could serve as a stepping stone to prominence, ensuring high regard. Yet he was doing the opposite, selling over three thousand foreign guns at cost to Gu Pingyuan, with whom he had no prior relationship. Gu Pingyuan couldn’t fathom the reasons and remained silent in contemplation.

“What, you don’t want this opportunity delivered to your door?”

“It’s not that I don’t want it. It’s that… frankly, I no longer have three hundred thousand taels on hand. Even if I truly accepted Brother Xueyan’s kind offer, I’d have to borrow and scrape together funds. Even selling all my family property and pawning everything might not raise that much money.”

“The capital merchants didn’t give you the money?” This was unexpected for Hu Xueyan, and he was also startled. “Then it’s fine—the responsibility doesn’t lie with you.”

“Unfortunately, they did give it.” Gu Pingyuan told Hu Xueyan about how Prefect Yuan had defaulted on the debt and he had to use the foreign gun procurement money to repay the Hu family.

Hu Xueyan was deeply moved and nodded: “In friendship, nothing surpasses sincerity of heart. For Old Master Hu to befriend someone like you, he’s truly blessed by three lifetimes.”

“You’ve got it backwards—he’s the elder…”

Before Gu Pingyuan could finish, Hu Xueyan interrupted: “The marketplace isn’t officialdom. Officials rank by seniority, but we merchants don’t observe such things. Whether we respect someone depends on different factors—some look at money, some at influence. I value only one thing: ‘sincerity.’ If one cannot treat others with sincerity, one doesn’t deserve to be a merchant.”

Hu Xueyan spoke these words with gravity, far different from his casual manner when entering the courtyard. Gu Pingyuan also viewed merchants this way and naturally felt it resonated deeply. After thinking, he suddenly rummaged through his traveling pack and produced a bank note.

“Brother Xueyan, it seems we two have some destiny.”

Hu Xueyan looked carefully—it was a ten-tael bank note issued by his own Fukang Money House. Though issued long ago, the note was well-preserved, crisp without wrinkles.

Without waiting for questions, Gu Pingyuan explained directly: “I obtained this bank note by paying extra to exchange it from someone else.”

“Exchanged?”

“Right. I was about to traverse Black Water Marsh then and encountered a northern camel driver who didn’t recognize southern bank notes. Hearing your ‘God of Wealth incarnation’ legend, I felt you were very skilled at creating momentum for business, so I paid extra to exchange for this ‘God of Wealth note’ to boost my caravan’s morale.”

“Haha.” Hu Xueyan laughed heartily. “Those were absurd things from when I first established the money house. Money houses value reputation above all—without some mystical theatrics, where would customers come from?”

“I understand—I worked at a Shanxi bank for a while.” Gu Pingyuan paused. “Though this seemed like a wild idea, it was unprecedented and inspiring. I knew Fukang’s Boss Hu must be someone who handles affairs unconventionally with flexible business methods. So though it’s only a ten-tael note, I’ve kept it until now. Sometimes when I’m out of ideas, I take it out to look at, thinking about the ‘God of Wealth’s’ business methods, hoping to gain inspiration for good ideas.”

“I never imagined I had a kindred spirit I’d never met.” Hu Xueyan said with emotion. He suddenly slapped his leg. “So be it—Brother Gu, if you agree to one condition, I’ll gift you that batch of foreign guns.”

Giving away over three thousand foreign guns just like that—truly the God of Wealth’s grand gesture! Gu Pingyuan couldn’t believe it and looked Hu Xueyan over several times.

“What condition?”

“You must use this batch of foreign guns to help me obtain someone’s head.”

Gu Pingyuan smiled: “I wouldn’t have expected Brother Xueyan, a businessman, to want someone’s head. I wonder who has earned such deep hatred from you.”

“You’ve probably seen this person—his bandit name is Chen Yucheng, he’s the Ying Wang of the Taipings.”

Hu Xueyan was willing to sacrifice several hundred thousand taels just to kill Chen Yucheng. Gu Pingyuan truly couldn’t fathom the reasoning and simply asked directly.

“Actually, Chen Yucheng and I have no personal grievances, but as long as he lives, I cannot avenge my enemy.”

Hu Xueyan’s true targets for bone-crushing hatred were the Taiping Loyal King Li Xiucheng and the Heavenly King Hong Xiuquan behind him. For no other reason than Li Xiucheng’s conquest of Hangzhou and killing of Wang Youling, Hu Xueyan wanted to avenge his friend. To do so, he needed to ensure government forces recaptured Nanjing. If Chen Yucheng led troops back to Jiangsu to coordinate with Li Xiucheng, Zeng Guoquan truly couldn’t withstand them, and the nearly dying Taipings might revive. Then Hu Xueyan’s revenge would be delayed indefinitely.

“Though I came to Anhui ostensibly on official business, I also wanted to assess the situation. If I could contribute, I wouldn’t let Chen Yucheng return to Jiangsu safely with his army. But after observing the siege, Yuan Jiasan really isn’t up to the task. I was already disheartened and planning to return to Zhejiang when I happened to meet you.”

Hu Xueyan looked at Gu Pingyuan trustingly: “Though you’re a businessman, or perhaps even a criminal exile, I believe you can accomplish this great task. Just nod your head, and this batch of guns is yours.”

“Just because of Li Qin’s few words, you trust me so much and are willing to invest such capital to help me?”

“Frankly, for this matter, not just three hundred thousand taels—I’d willingly pay double. Unfortunately, no one in Anhui has the ability to accept this money. Those who want it, I don’t trust. It’s rare to find someone like you who’s both trustworthy and capable—I think you’re worth helping.” Hu Xueyan shifted tone, smiling: “However, even without this batch of guns, I’d still owe you a favor.”

“A favor?” How could the great God of Wealth, famous everywhere, owe him a favor?

Hu Xueyan smiled: “You should remember—last year outside Hangzhou city at Tianwaitian, you saved many people, helped them escape to Anhui, sparing them from Taiping harm. These were all my neighbors and fellow townspeople, some even relatives. Though I’m from Hangzhou, I haven’t done as much for Hangzhou as you have. I’ve always felt guilty and wanted to repay you somehow. I never expected this opportunity would come now.”

Anyone else, able to connect with the God of Wealth Hu Xueyan and resolve their urgent crisis, would immediately agree without hesitation, probably accepting before Hu Xueyan finished speaking.

But Gu Pingyuan was different—without thinking, he flatly refused.

“Brother Xueyan, I appreciate your kind intentions, but I cannot comply with this matter. Please forgive me.”

Now it was Hu Xueyan’s turn to be stunned. This batch of foreign guns was precious merchandise both officials and merchants were fighting over. Anyone who obtained it would make enormous profits, and Gu Pingyuan especially needed these weapons to save his life. He had offered them freely, yet why would Gu Pingyuan refuse so firmly? This was truly incomprehensible.

“Brother Gu, do you have some unspeakable difficulty? If you consider me a friend, could you share it? Perhaps I could help you think it through.”

Gu Pingyuan really didn’t want to discuss the matter between himself, Bai Yimei, and Chen Yucheng. Just thinking about it disturbed and confused him—how could he mention it to outsiders? However, Hu Xueyan’s reputation was too great, and seeing his humble courtesy, Gu Pingyuan naturally couldn’t help but be moved. He had to briefly explain the situation.

“That’s how things stand. Now she and Chen Yucheng share the same fate. If I harm Chen Yucheng, I’m afraid she’ll hate me forever. Moreover, if Chen Yucheng dies and the Taipings collapse like a landslide, in the chaos of defeated armies…” Gu Pingyuan shook his head and said no more.

“So that’s it.” Hu Xueyan was deeply moved. “So you’re caught in a dilemma…” He pondered a moment, slapped his leg decisively: “Very well, I’ll modify this condition. You only need to use this batch of guns to block Chen Yucheng’s path, preventing him from returning to aid Hong Xiuquan. Let me tell you something else—Commander Zeng’s Jiangnan Grand Camp has Nanjing surrounded like an iron bucket. If Chen Yucheng doesn’t create variables here, then at most a year, perhaps just a few months, Hong Xiuquan’s stronghold will surely be completely destroyed by government forces. When that time comes, no matter how brave and loyal Chen Yucheng is, without an object of loyalty, he’ll probably have to surrender to the court obediently. Your wish can be fulfilled.”

Hu Xueyan’s words were like clearing clouds to reveal the sun. Gu Pingyuan’s spirits lifted, his eyes brightened, clearly inspired by this prospect: “Brother Xueyan, before today we’d never met, yet you help me so greatly. This truly…”

Seeing his agreement, Hu Xueyan was also relieved: “I trust my judgment of people. What you promise, you’ll surely accomplish wholeheartedly. I won’t hide from you—making your acquaintance on this trip to Anhui makes the journey worthwhile.”

Gu and Hu made an agreement: Hu Xueyan would write a letter and send it by fast horse to Shanghai’s foreign settlement, giving it to the English merchant named Richard, having him hire transport teams to carry the foreign guns along Jiaxing and Tonglu to Xin’an River mouth, then transfer them to Huizhou. Gu Pingyuan would be responsible for receiving the foreign guns and delivering them to Hefei.

This was a foolproof arrangement. Richard would certainly hire the foreign gun teams protecting the settlement to escort the goods. These foreign devils were never dared to be provoked, so the route from Shanghai to Huizhou would be absolutely safe. The concern was the journey from Huizhou to Hefei, but Gu Pingyuan had an excellent solution.

“At worst, I’ll take a big detour—from Anqing to Lu’an, entering the city from the west. That entire area is government-controlled, and once I have the foreign guns, I can ask government forces for escort. Bandits won’t dare rob us.”

With everything settled, Hu Xueyan immediately took his leave. He was usually someone whose feet never touched the ground with busyness. Having been trapped in besieged Hefei for a while, countless matters awaited his attention. Gu Pingyuan thanked him repeatedly. As Hu Xueyan boarded his sedan chair, he clasped hands saying: “Brother Gu, you’re someone who can conduct great business. I have one piece of advice—for a carp wanting to cultivate into a dragon, there are still many twists and turns ahead. Take care of yourself, and just guard against capsizing in a small ditch.”

Gu Pingyuan hadn’t expected such an enormous problem to be resolved so smoothly. When he told Chang Yu’er and the others, everyone was happy for him.

“Plant good causes, reap good fruits—truly cause and effect cycle, good deeds bring good rewards.” Old Min said. “If you had only looked out for yourself and abandoned those Hangzhou people, the God of Wealth wouldn’t save you today.”

Chang Yu’er smiled: “Hearing you put it that way, it really does seem like the God of Wealth manifesting his spirit.”

Old Min always worshipped Buddha and spoke solemnly: “When people speak with such certainty, it must be believed.”

Chang Yu’er smiled with pursed lips. Seeing that he truly regarded Hu Xueyan as the God of Wealth descended to earth, Gu Pingyuan couldn’t help laughing too. When his eyes met Chang Yu’er’s, he unnaturally looked away. Gu Pingyuan didn’t know how to speak, and Chang Yu’er was unwilling to speak. Both tacitly avoided mentioning that house again, creating an awkward atmosphere.

Three days passed quickly. Gu Pingyuan received word from Hu Xueyan that the foreign merchant Richard had already shipped the over three thousand firearms and would reach Huizhou in another two or three days. The messenger also brought the purchase contract between Hu Xueyan and the foreign merchant, to serve as Gu Pingyuan’s proof for future gun collection. With definite news, Gu Pingyuan felt relieved and prepared to visit Old Master Hu at Tianshou Garden in Xiuning to share this news, saving the old man from further worry.

Chang Yu’er had originally changed her mind again, wanting to stay at the tea garden. Liu Heita got angry, saying if she stayed at the tea garden, he’d go back to building shacks on the mountain. Chang Yu’er couldn’t argue with this stubborn rough man, so she reluctantly accompanied Gu Pingyuan to the general goods shop in Qiankou town.

“Yu’er, I…” After settling Chang Yu’er, Gu Pingyuan hesitated as he was about to leave, suddenly appearing somewhat agitated.

“Elder Brother Gu, did I do something to upset you?” Chang Yu’er looked at him quietly and asked.

“No, no.” Gu Pingyuan hastily explained. “I’m just worried about you staying here alone.”

Chang Yu’er blinked and lowered her head slightly: “This is a town, not a lawless place. Go handle your business with peace of mind—I’ll be fine.”

“Good.” Gu Pingyuan looked deeply at Chang Yu’er again, nodded, and was about to spur his horse away, but then detoured to a shop at the end of the street. After a while he emerged, carrying a cloth bundle containing over ten autumn pears for Chang Yu’er.

“Autumn brings dry air—eating some fruits is better. Don’t worry too much. I’ll definitely go and return quickly.”

Chang Yu’er held the cloth bundle, leaning against the door watching Gu Pingyuan’s retreating figure until it disappeared. Only then did two large teardrops slide down her cheeks and drop onto the pears. She truly wasn’t afraid of living alone, but the direction her husband was heading was clearly taking him further from her and closer to that woman.

“I must also do something, or thinking wildly like this all day will drive me mad,” Chang Yu’er told herself.

“Nephew, you’ve come at just the right time.” Old Master Hu was entertaining guests. When informed, he came out to see Gu Pingyuan, frowning: “Bad news.”

“Is it about the foreign guns?”

“Exactly. I asked an old friend who deals in foreign goods to inquire—not only have prices tripled, but even with money there are no goods available. This is real trouble.”