The night bridge’s heart pavilion—the lantern light remained beautiful.
Mo Zi watched Yuan Cheng play chess against himself with both hands. Xiao Yi fed fish. Zan Jin held his sword facing the wooden bridge.
“When we left back then, I never thought we’d return.” Mo Zi sighed with emotion. However, this time the Yuan Mansion was being used as a guest house. “I wonder if anyone saw through our method of leaving?”
“Whether they did or not doesn’t matter. We won’t need it this time.” Coming openly and honestly, leaving openly and honestly—this was Yuan Cheng’s plan.
Mo Zi raised her brows. “Even if you let me use it, I couldn’t.” Without a submarine, there wasn’t time to build one now.
As they spoke, she saw Su Lan approaching from the other end of the bridge. His steps were quick, as if he had urgent business. During their time in the capital, there probably wouldn’t be many peaceful evenings.
“Minister of Works, an urgent dispatch from the Cabinet.” Su Lan was a Cabinet Vice Minister serving under Li Yan, accompanying Yuan Cheng and Zhang Zhen to the capital for negotiations this time.
“What is it regarding?” Yuan Cheng asked.
“Confidential correspondence. This official doesn’t know.” Su Lan presented the letter.
Mo Zi moved the lamp closer to illuminate for Yuan Cheng.
After reading it, Yuan Cheng’s expression remained unchanged as he burned the letter. “Just routine reports from spies, nothing major. Minister Su, how about playing a game of chess with me?”
Yuan Cheng’s spies only transmitted messages to him—others couldn’t command them—so Li Yan sent the secret letter for him to read.
Su Lan agreed.
“Minister Su formerly conducted business in Great Qiu and must have traveled many places. Have you ever heard of Dongmei Pavilion?” Yuan Cheng placed a piece.
Su Lan paused slightly, then said, “That’s a tavern in the capital.”
“Oh? I didn’t hold much hope, yet didn’t expect Minister Su would know of it.” Yuan Cheng was somewhat surprised.
Mo Zi had also stayed in Great Qiu before but had never heard of this Dongmei Pavilion, so she inevitably showed a puzzled expression.
Su Lan noticed and answered without being asked. “I know of Dongmei Pavilion because of Madam.”
Mo Zi was astonished. “Because of me?”
Su Lan looked suddenly enlightened. “If you hadn’t mentioned it, I truly would have forgotten. When Madam had Ding Gou and me go cultivate relations with Imperial Consort Ying, the place where Imperial Consort Ying arranged to meet us was Dongmei Pavilion. The Dongmei Pavilion proprietor is Han Chinese, and those who come to drink and eat are also Han Chinese. The wine is poor and the food coarse—a very ordinary tavern. To be honest, when I first saw it, I thought I’d gotten the wrong place. But thinking about it again, it could indeed provide cover. Who would imagine a consort of the Qiu King would appear there?”
“Imperial Consort Ying?” Yuan Cheng’s eyes narrowed in thought. This chess game couldn’t continue.
Su Lan nodded. “Dongmei Pavilion has no private rooms, only a small loft with a low ceiling and bamboo enclosure that can’t fit a second table. That day, Imperial Consort Ying dressed as a man and came alone. We ate and talked in the loft.”
“Did you request the loft, or did the proprietor lead you there?” Yuan Cheng’s eyes flashed.
“The proprietor led us. At the time, there were quite a few customers in the main hall, but it wasn’t as if there were no empty tables. I was just about to ask if there were private rooms when the proprietor said the loft was quiet and elegant.” Su Lan was clever and immediately understood Yuan Cheng’s meaning. “Minister of Works means that proprietor received advance notice?”
“I believe she would never casually choose a meeting place. Venturing out of the palace at risk—if her sister accidentally found out, death might not suffice as apology. Since she came out, she would certainly ensure absolute safety. She couldn’t trust her family, as they all favored Imperial Consort Xiang. She probably had no friends either.” Yuan Cheng looked at Mo Zi.
Mo Zi picked up the thread. “She has no friends, at least none who are close.”
“Under such circumstances, the only thing she would trust is what belongs to herself. She’s very likely the true owner of Dongmei Pavilion.” Deducing this way, it matched with the spy’s secret report. “Thanks to Minister Su. Without you, I wouldn’t have figured this out.”
He had figured it out, but the listeners were confused.
“What’s going on?” Mo Zi was very direct.
“A spy noticed Dongmei Pavilion. In the past two months, palace eunuchs from Great Qiu have disguised themselves and come out several times, drinking alone at Dongmei Pavilion. Shortly after the eunuch leaves, a Dongmei Pavilion servant rides out of the city on horseback.” Yuan Cheng explained.
“Where did they go after leaving the city?” Su Lan asked.
Yuan Cheng smiled. “Great Zhou.”
Mo Zi’s eyes widened. “Imperial Consort Ying and Great Zhou? I have a bad feeling.”
“Su Lan, what do you think?” Yuan Cheng changed forms of address, showing his trust.
“In my view, Imperial Consort Ying doesn’t have many helpers at her side, which is why she accepted Madam’s assistance. That she would use this to slowly build momentum is expected, but having just dealt with Imperial Consort Xiang, she’s unlikely to have the energy to establish relations with Great Zhou. Currently, in the Qiu palace, aside from Imperial Consort Ying, there’s one other person who can dispatch eunuchs.” Su Lan’s brows furrowed slightly.
“The Qiu King.” Mo Zi understood too.
“After Prince Su’s death, the Qiu King has been exchanging messages with someone in Great Zhou? Spies are everywhere, but this is a newly established line, which draws particular attention.” Therefore, Yuan Cheng took it to heart. “The Crown Prince of Great Zhou’s death still has doubts, and the captured smuggling ships were secretly transporting large quantities of iron ore—it all indicates that besides Prince Su, there are others colluding with Great Qiu.” Originally he didn’t want to encounter this, yet his own spy investigated and found leads.
“As long as we follow the vine to find the melon and track down where the Dongmei Pavilion servant went, everything will come to light.” Su Lan believed the truth would be revealed.
What Mo Zi worried about was something else. “This new communication line between the Qiu King and the Great Zhou traitor happened just when he proposed peace talks—there must be some shady conspiracy. Yuan Cheng, are you sure we should continue letting him scheme? The enemy is hidden while we’re exposed. I’m afraid the Great Zhou Emperor won’t be able to shield us when the time comes.”
Su Lan agreed with Mo Zi. “Minister of Works, this situation is dangerous and their actions are unpredictable. It would be best to avoid it.”
“Mo Zi, you could be said to understand the Qiu King. What kind of person is he regarding political affairs?” Yuan Cheng asked.
“Extremely ambitious, skilled at strategic planning, ruthless in methods toward enemies, full of patience. But his flaws are also many. Once he’s decided on something, nothing anyone says matters. His confidence inflates, his conduct is very domineering—his word is law.” He possessed the typical characteristics of an ambitious hero.
“Then we’re already within his strategic plan now. If I leave, I’ll be ridiculed by all under heaven—Song territory is selfish, Song people are arrogant, thinking we want war. We can’t leave. The only method is to uncover his conspiracy during this time and strike back.” Wu Yan’s formidable aspect was leveraging the common people’s longing for peace while using himself as bait, forcing Yuan Cheng to make this trip. Now they could only meet the challenge.
Mo Zi understood clearly. Just like how people in the martial world couldn’t help themselves—at this point, one couldn’t simply run away and live freely. A thousand-mile dike collapses from an ant hole. With Yuan Cheng’s current status, if just one thing went wrong, it would trigger an enormous chain reaction.
“But how do we investigate, and where do we start?” She felt completely without leads.
“My spies will continue tracking. For now, we’ll wait for their news. Meanwhile, we’ll keep our eyes bright and carefully observe our surroundings—there might be telltale clues. If the Qiu King has a conspiracy, his time is very tight, so he can’t possibly make no moves at all.” Yuan Cheng was also skilled at strategic planning. “Su Lan, pass word to Ding Gou to keep close watch on the imperial palace and the Qiu King’s post station. Don’t miss any disturbance.”
Ding Gou hadn’t come by ship but had disguised himself as a merchant. With the Great Zhou Emperor’s tacit permission, he led a hundred swordsmen in disguise into the capital.
Su Lan hurried off.
“What can I do?” Since they were here, they must make the best of it. Mo Zi saw Yuan Cheng was calm and composed—though she felt tense, she wasn’t panicking.
“Nothing for now. As Song territory’s First Lady, you’ll certainly have many social obligations. Deal with those first. Also, Hongyu—after all, you’re the proprietor. Coming here isn’t easy, so go check the accounts and collect some silver to take back so we can buy rabbits to roast.” Yuan Mansion was prime rabbit-roasting territory.
Mo Zi played along with a hearty laugh. However, Yuan Cheng mentioning Hongyu gave her ideas for tomorrow’s arrangements.
The next evening, when Mo Zi and Zan Jin returned to Yuan Mansion, Xiao Yi jumped down from the roof and handed her an invitation.
“Is the shipyard the same as before?” Because of Mo Zi, Xiao Yi also cared about it.
“The manager was transferred from Old Master Min at Risheng and manages it quite well.” In fact, Hongyu had completely transformed. Not worse, but much larger in scale.
Hongyu itself covered a large area—not comparable to Risheng, but better than Hongtu. However, when she took it over, Qiu Sanniang had only given a few thousand taels of silver as capital, so expansion proceeded gradually based on order volume. When she left, half the land was still unused. Now, the Min family had invested money to develop all of it into ship platforms, and orders came in continuously, with connections to official shipyards as well. The shipwrights who hadn’t been taken away back then had mostly become core personnel. Seeing her, they were so excited they stopped working and pulled her to the large dining hall to eat and chat all afternoon. For Hongyu’s future safety, she and Old Master Min had long ago agreed not to reveal she was the proprietor to outsiders—she was just passing through the capital to take a look. As for annual dividends, they were all transferred to her through the Min family’s main accounting office.
Seeing Hongyu more prosperous than before, Mo Zi’s heart released a heavy stone. This was her first enterprise, and her feelings for it were extremely deep.
“What does the invitation say?” Zan Jin looked ahead to the next step.
After reading it, Mo Zi made a sound of surprise, her expression subtly changing. “An invitation to a chrysanthemum banquet from Lady Wang He, tomorrow.”
“Will you go?” Zan Jin asked.
Mo Zi recalled Yuan Cheng’s words. “I’ll go. Times are different now.” They needed to demonstrate sincere and beautiful intentions for the peace talks.
“By the way, Xiao Yi, did you visit Qiu Sanniang and Bai He?” Until now, they’d only encountered Lu Ju.
“General Jiang is on imperial orders inspecting waterworks. Bai He went along to care for him. The servants said they should return in the next few days. Miss and Hong Mei aren’t home. I saw the young master—he said Miss went to the salt fields, but knowing you were coming, he’s already sent someone to call her back.” Xiao Yi smiled with curved eyes. “I also saw Little Miss. She’s babbling and learning to talk, calling me ‘auntie.’ She’s as beautiful and adorable as Yuan Bao.”
Qiu Sanniang had given birth to a daughter named Xiao Qiqi.
“Don’t tell me Third Master Xiao is at home taking care of the daughter.” Mo Zi imagined such a scene—it was actually quite harmonious.
“When I went, he was feeding Little Miss. Little Miss is so well-behaved, calling him ‘Daddy’ with every bite. The young master smiled until his face was full of wrinkles.” He really was taking care of the child.
The Xiao family’s Third Young Master with a face full of wrinkles? That exceeded her imagination. Mo Zi gave up and laughed together with Xiao Yi.
At that time, she still didn’t know that tomorrow, fate would cruelly mock her.