Master Yan didn’t know what Shi Ting was getting at, and accepted the brown paper bag with some wariness.

He glanced at Shi Ting, who gestured for him to open it.

Inside the bag were several sheets of paper — some documents, some receipts.

Master Yan looked through them one by one, and the expressions crossing his face could only be described as a kaleidoscope of emotions. After cycling through many expressions, they gradually converged into one of pure astonishment.

“This — what is this?”

“Does Uncle Yan find these things familiar?”

Familiar was an understatement — he knew them inside and out.

These were the complete itemized records, receipts, and contracts from his transactions with Zhao Ziming for the white medicine.

“Director Shi, how did these come to be in your possession?”

Shi Ting didn’t answer the question, instead asking in return, “Without these items, what does Madam Shi have left to threaten Uncle Yan with?”

Master Yan was at once stunned and overjoyed, his lips trembling twice. “But she said she had evidence in hand — and besides, this whole affair was arranged by her in the first place.”

“She does indeed have evidence in hand. However, the evidence was already false from the moment she obtained it.” Shi Ting took a sip of tea. “She may bring that evidence before the Grand Commander, but the Grand Commander would only need to conduct a brief investigation to distinguish the real from the fake.”

“You mean — you switched out the evidence?”

“Precisely.”

Master Yan’s mouth fell open, his face a picture of astonishment.

Quickly, another thought struck him. “But that shipment of white medicine has already reached the southwestern warlords’ hands. If they were to trace the origin of that batch of medicine, it would not be difficult to trace it back to me. Even without documentary evidence, I cannot escape involvement.”

“There is something Madam Shi likely would not have told you.” Shi Ting curved the corner of his mouth. “The warehouse where the southwestern warlords were storing the white medicine suddenly caught fire, and everything inside burned to ash.”

The shocks Master Yan had received today were coming one after another, and even his complexion had turned ashen.

Shi Ting placed the teacup in Master Yan’s hands. “Uncle Yan, have some tea first.”

“Yes, yes, of course.” Master Yan held the cup and mechanically raised it to his lips. He hadn’t taken two sips before he choked.

Shi Ting quickly offered a handkerchief. Master Yan thanked him and hastily wiped his mouth.

“Director Shi, what you mean is — Madam Shi not only has no documentary evidence, but the white medicine has also been destroyed. Her current conduct is based entirely on the fact that I don’t know the truth — she’s been bluffing me?”

“She is unaware that the evidence in her hands is counterfeit.”

Master Yan thought back to Madam Shi’s imperious manner when she had threatened him — it hadn’t looked like a deliberate bluff. So she truly knew nothing about the fact that what she held was false evidence.

“But I did purchase a batch of white medicine from Yun Dian. If they were to ask about the whereabouts of that medicine, I would still have difficulty accounting for it.”

“The vessel transporting the white medicine encountered heavy waves en route, and the entire cargo was lost to the sea bottom. Is Uncle Yan not aware of this?”

Master Yan was taken aback for a moment, then broke into a smile. “I know, I know.”

Shi Ting nodded. “These documents — take them back with you, Uncle Yan. Whether to destroy them or keep them is for you to decide.”

Master Yan was deeply grateful and gave repeated thanks. The folder of documents in his hands had become his lifeline, filling him with joy.

“May I be so bold as to ask one thing, Director Shi?” Master Yan regarded this handsome young man with careful eyes. In his impression, Shi Ting was a filial son — but beyond that impression, he was so enigmatic and inscrutable that one could not begin to fathom him.

“Please ask, Uncle Yan.”

“When did Director Shi come to know of this matter?”

“When Yan Qing asked me to help her investigate Zhao Ziming.”

“Yan Qing?” Master Yan was puzzled.

Shi Ting said, “At the time, when Uncle Yan was conducting the white medicine trade with Zhao Ziming, Yan Qing was concerned that white medicine is currently classified as a military supply, and that any transaction involving it must be handled with utmost caution. So she quietly asked me to help look into Zhao Ziming’s background.”

“That child Yan Qing did warn me at the time, urging me to be most careful and vigilant. I told her I had already looked into Zhao Ziming’s background and that there was no problem. Thinking about it now — had I listened to her then and investigated more thoroughly, things would never have come to this.”

At this, Master Yan suddenly thought of something. “Then when did Director Shi discover that Zhao Ziming was problematic?”

“The day after Yan Qing asked me to look into him.”

Master Yan stared at him, momentarily speechless.

“Uncle Yan need not blame Yan Qing. After I discovered that Zhao Ziming was problematic, I did not tell her.”

Master Yan swallowed dryly. “Director Shi knew Zhao Ziming was problematic, yet did not inform Yan Qing, but instead continued to allow me to carry on trading with Zhao Ziming until the matter was exposed? I don’t understand — if Director Shi had no intention of helping me then, why is he helping me now?”

Had Shi Ting told him about Zhao Ziming at the time, none of what followed would have happened. Yet he had concealed the truth then, only to come to his aid now — what was his intention?

Shi Ting’s slender fingers turned the teacup in his hand. “Uncle Yan, has this affair, as it has unfolded to this point, caused you any actual losses?”

Master Yan was momentarily stunned.

“Your transaction with Zhao Ziming earned you a substantial sum — it was your largest deal of the past year, was it not?”

“That is true.” Master Yan could not deny it. It was the high profit margin that had tempted him to venture into the white medicine trade in the first place. Looking back now, it had simply been a pit dug for him by someone else, who then stood back and watched him walk into it.

“I believe Uncle Yan’s only real loss is that he had originally intended to give Yan Qing to the Shi Family in marriage, but instead it became Yan Qin who went.”

“Indeed. This marriage should rightly have been Sixth Miss’s. Now she not only did not go, but has become a laughingstock, and her prospects for marriage are all but ruined. I have failed in my duty as her father.”

Shi Ting poured Master Yan a fresh cup of tea. “Has Yan Qing ever told Uncle Yan that she did not wish to marry Shi Guang?”

“She has. That child has something of her own temperament, but this marriage was to her advantage in every way.”

“Uncle Yan has always had Yan Qing’s best interests at heart, believing that marrying his second elder brother would be her finest choice. Yet Yan Qing herself was unwilling, and Madam Shi at the Shi household was constantly finding fault with her. Does Uncle Yan truly believe Yan Qing would have found happiness had she married into that family?”

He set the teacup back in front of Master Yan. “Today was to be the day Yan Qin returned home after the wedding. Does Uncle Yan know why she did not come?”

“Was she not said to be ill?”

“Your daughter is in perfect health.”

“Then what is the reason?”

“On her wedding night she spoke impertinently to my second elder brother. The following day, during the tea-serving ceremony, she displeased the Grand Commander and Madam Shi, and has since been confined to her courtyard.”

“What?” Master Yan rose to his feet in agitation. “Can this be true?”

“Yan Qin was unwilling to marry Shi Guang. Given her nature, she was certain to push back. And Yan Qing would have done the same.”

Master Yan fell silent, and after a while said, “But then what is to become of Yan Qing’s future marriage prospects?”

“How does Uncle Yan know that Yan Qing will not encounter a match she willingly embraces?” Shi Ting curved the corner of his mouth slightly. “The documents have been handed to Uncle Yan. As for what comes next, it is for you to decide.”

“Director Shi, you have shown such tremendous kindness that I know not how to repay it.” Master Yan was deeply moved, speaking his gratitude repeatedly. “The Yan Family owes everything to Director Shi for this deliverance. I would like to offer half of my family’s assets in return.”

Shi Ting shook his head. “Uncle Yan need not stand on such ceremony with me.”

“No, no, no — I must repay this debt of gratitude. Otherwise it will weigh on my conscience and I shall be unable to eat or sleep.”

Shi Ting’s clear, bright eyes looked steadily at him. “If Uncle Yan truly wishes to repay me, then grant me one thing.”

“Please speak, Director Shi.”

“Now is not yet the time to say it. Just keep it in mind, Uncle Yan.”

Master Yan’s eyes held a look of bewilderment, but he quickly nodded. “Very well. I’ll keep it in mind. Whatever it may be, as long as Director Shi asks, I will not blink an eye.”

“There is one more matter.” Shi Ting reminded him. “Uncle Yan has a trusted aide by the name of Fang Younian. It was he whom Uncle Yan sent to investigate Zhao Ziming at the time, was it not?”

“This Fang Younian is my bookkeeper. He has been with the Yan Family since my father’s time — efficient in his work and utterly loyal. I have always trusted him.”

Shi Ting toyed with the teacup in his hand. “If he is so efficient, why was it that what I managed to uncover, he could not detect even the slightest trace of?”

Master Yan was momentarily lost for words.

“Uncle Yan, you have navigated the business world for many years. To deceive a man such as you is no simple matter of easy temptation. And in this affair, Madam Shi is not the only one who stands to benefit.”

“Thank you for the counsel, Director Shi.” Master Yan was, after all, a shrewd man. Even had Shi Ting not made it explicit, could he not see the twists and turns concealed within?

Master Yan gave Shi Ting repeated and heartfelt thanks, and when he walked out of the tea house, he was visibly standing taller, head held high, his bearing confident and spirited — utterly changed from the dejected and despairing figure who had entered.

Madam Shi had set a three-day limit, and within those three days, rumors had already begun circulating throughout the household.

“Impossible — how could Sixth Sister be going to the Shi Family as a concubine?” Yan Yan heard this news and her fair face flushed red. “Sixth Sister is talented and accomplished — she would never become someone’s concubine.”

“I didn’t expect it either.” Yan Ling shook her head with a sigh, deeply regretful. “But Madam Shi came to the door in person to propose the match — what grounds would Father have to refuse? Besides, after the damage to Sixth Sister’s reputation, being taken into the Shi Family as a concubine may not necessarily be a bad thing.”

“It’s not a good thing at all.” Yan Yan gave an indignant huff. “I don’t believe it.”

“You silly girl — everyone knows now. What does it matter whether you believe it or not?”

“I’ll go find Father.”

Yan Ling grabbed Yan Yan before she could rush out. “Foolish girl, what good would it do for you to go to Father? When has he ever listened to you? We are daughters of concubines — we have no say in this household to begin with. You’re not Sixth Sister, who has Father doting and watching over her. We don’t have that kind of fortune.”

“I’m not so sure. If Father truly doted on Sixth Sister, he wouldn’t be sending her to the Shi Family as a concubine — to share a husband with Fifth Sister at that. Fifth Sister has never looked kindly on Sixth Sister. If those two were to live under the same roof, Sixth Sister would surely be made to suffer.”

“Seventh Sister, stop worrying about everyone else. We’re both daughters of concubines — who knows what kind of marriage we’ll manage to secure for ourselves.”

“I don’t want to get married at all. I’m going to find Sixth Sister.”

On her way to find Yan Qing, Yan Yan kept hearing whispers and discussions at every turn. The servants, with nothing better to do, loved nothing more than gossiping about their mistresses’ private affairs, and the news that Yan Qing was to marry Shi Guang as a concubine had spread like wildfire, becoming fodder for their idle talk.

“No matter how much the master dotes on Sixth Miss — she’s still ending up as someone’s lesser wife.”

—