Zhao Hanzhang brought money with her. Having said she would buy Shu brocade, she couldn’t very well go empty-handed.

The reason for meeting this steward was to learn more about the situation in the Shu region.

The Shu region—a special place.

Because the Shu Road was so difficult, people inside had trouble getting out and people outside had trouble getting in, making information exchange very difficult.

Although Zhao Hanzhang had never had conflicts with the Shu region, when she was Yuzhou Inspector, she had directed Ji Yuan to send scouts there to gather intelligence.

She had even borrowed Zhu Chuan’s influence to plant people there.

But over three years, whether it was scouts who entered alone or people who followed Zhu Chuan into Shu, very few could transmit information out.

The last time they received news from Shu was eight months ago—Chengdu Prince Li Xiong took advantage of the chaos in the Central Plains to suddenly attack Fucheng, killing Qiao Deng and Wen Shuo. After that, their people sent no news out.

Zhu Chuan had also disappeared for a while and couldn’t be contacted, until after the war ended and the Central Plains stabilized, when Zhu Chuan emerged from Shu again with a large shipment of goods.

This time, more Shu merchants came out with Zhu Chuan than usual, so Zhao Hanzhang wanted to personally inquire about the situation in Shu.

Waiting at the Food Taste Tower was not only last night’s steward but also their master.

Zhao Hanzhang wore a neat narrow-sleeved turned-collar outfit with a leather belt at her waist. A strap on the belt held a short dagger. She wore leather boots on her feet. Her eyes were clear as a lake, and when she looked at someone, her gaze was bright as moonlight, seeming able to see straight through to their heart.

When Shen Jian met her gaze, he felt scalded and involuntarily turned his eyes away slightly.

Steward Ma didn’t think so much. He immediately stood up, smiling as he approached, then introduced Zhao Hanzhang and his master to each other. “Young lady, this is my master.”

Shen Jian had already recovered and cupped his hands in greeting. “Shen Jian.”

Zhao Hanzhang also smiled and cupped her hands. “Zhao Zhen.”

Shen Jian’s heart stirred as he asked, “The young lady’s surname is Zhao?”

Zhao Hanzhang replied, “Though I share the surname Zhao, I have no real connection to the currently prominent Zhao clan. I’m from Luoyang. My family has declined, so I can only make a living by trading goods.”

If this were the past, Shen Jian would naturally not discuss business with a woman, but times were different now. Women were active in all trades and professions.

Because of Zhao Hanzhang, it was not unusual for women to engage in commerce.

Shen Jian had come to see Zhao Hanzhang—oh no, Zhao Zhen—because he wanted to use her to contact the wealthy families of Luoyang, open channels, and sell their goods at high prices.

Both had their own needs, so they were both friendly, making the discussion go smoothly.

Zhao Hanzhang thought carefully and felt she could introduce some people to Shen Jian. Now was the time when one could profit with eyes closed, so adhering to the principle of keeping good fortune within the family, she decided to introduce Shen Jian to Chengbo.

Minister Ji and Minister Ming also seemed to have considerable private wealth—they surely also wanted to make money and could give it a try.

There was also her—she didn’t have much money, but the workshops and shops under her name did. Perhaps they wouldn’t mind expanding their business scale and product variety?

Hearing that Zhao Hanzhang could introduce so much business, Shen Jian immediately said this meal was his treat. “Miss Zhao is so capable—surely your father and brothers are even more impressive?”

This was probing into her family background to see if it was reliable. Zhao Hanzhang sighed and said, “My father and brothers all perished in war. Now I only have a young brother, so the family depends on me. The few people I mentioned are all stewards from old family friends’ households. Though they’re stewards, they’ll still give me this much face. Master Shen can rest assured.”

Shen Jian expressed his complete confidence, though what he actually thought only he knew.

Zhao Hanzhang took the opportunity to inquire about Shu matters. “Now that warfare has ceased and there are fewer bandits outside, I’ve heard that Shu not only has exquisite silk and brocade but also various precious medicinal herbs, so after the new year I’d like to go to Shu myself. I wonder if Master Shen knows whether Shu is easy to travel through now?”

Shen Jian was slightly stunned. “Miss Zhao plans to personally go to Shu?”

Zhao Hanzhang replied, “I have such plans.”

Shen Jian shook his head and smiled. “I advise Miss Zhao to abandon this idea—Shu is not easy to travel.”

“I know the Shu Road is difficult.”

“But what’s difficult now isn’t just the treacherous Shu Road,” he said. “To be frank, Shu has also just ended warfare, which is why large numbers of refugees have flooded from Shu into Jing and Yang provinces.”

“If even outside regions are like this, what more of Shu itself? Defeated routed soldiers, villages affected by war, countless people became refugees. Some followed refugee leaders to Jing and Yang provinces, but more chose to go into the mountains and become bandits.”

Shen Jian continued, “Miss Zhao mentioned that Shu has many towering mountains and steep peaks. Bandits hiding in the mountains cannot be eliminated even if the court sends large armies.”

Zhao Hanzhang asked, “Then how did you…”

“We could leave Shu because we followed Young Master Zhu’s merchant convoy,” Shen Jian didn’t avoid the topic and said directly. “The Zhu family is a great clan with considerable prestige, especially in recent years. Because of their unique glass products, the Zhu family’s influence has grown even larger. All sorts of bandits will give them some face.”

“We smaller merchants attached to them pay a fee, which the Zhu family passes on to ensure safe passage.”

Zhao Hanzhang suddenly understood. “The Zhu family has such prestige—could it be that someone holds office in Shu?”

“They don’t hold office, but several young masters of the Zhu family are disciples of the Celestial Masters, and even Young Master Zhu Chuan has Daoist nature.”

Zhao Hanzhang exclaimed, “I didn’t know Young Master Zhu was of the Celestial Masters!”

The two of them went off topic and discussed the Celestial Masters for quite a while before Zhao Hanzhang found an excuse to take her leave.

She noted Shen Jian’s address and said she would have a steward visit the next day.

Then she bought all three bolts of Shu brocade that Shen Jian had brought, without haggling, which pained her greatly.

Zhao Hanzhang handed the brocade to her guards, mounted her horse, and rode away before lamenting, “I’ll never personally negotiate business again—now I can’t bring myself to haggle.”

Zeng Yue also felt the brocade was bought too expensively and wasn’t worth it, so he nodded in agreement. However, he was very curious. “Young lady, why did you stop asking questions when the Celestial Masters were mentioned?”

“Didn’t you notice? He has a string of golden rice stalks hanging from his waist, so he’s also of the Celestial Masters,” Zhao Hanzhang smiled slightly and said. “Although the Celestial Masters have little to do with this, because this path is also called the ‘Five Pecks of Rice Way,’ some people wear rice or wheat stalks at their waist to show their faith.”

“The current Prime Minister of Shu, Fan Changsheng, is the leader of the Celestial Masters. Since we’ve mentioned the Celestial Masters, going deeper would involve him. Not only would Shen Jian not tell me, he’d also become wary. So we only discuss the Way itself, not the people behind it.”

“Then is Zhu Chuan a spy planted by Shu in our territory? Our people haven’t sent news back in a long time.”

“I don’t know,” Zhao Hanzhang said. “Have Song Xin move faster and select a team of excellent scouts as soon as possible. Use every means to get them into Shu. As long as the radio can get in, the Shu Road will no longer be an obstacle to our communications from now on.”

“Yes. This subordinate will urge Song Xin as soon as I return.”