Hunger having made itself sharply felt, Hua Zhi ate nearly half a bowl more than she normally would.

As they strolled around the courtyard to help digestion, Hua Zhi spoke of the inner workings of the Yü family’s water transport business, and at the end said, “The Yü and Zeng families have been involved in water transport for over six years. If Zeng Xiangling’s involvement was intentional from the start, the length of time he has been working on behalf of the Chaoli people is only longer than that.”

“At this point I would not be surprised even if he turned out to be Chaoli himself.” Gu Yanxi stopped walking. “Come.”

Wang Hai, from not far away, quickly stepped forward.

“Go and investigate the Yü family’s water transport operation. I want to know which places their vessels travel to regularly, and how far they have gone at their farthest.”

“Yes, Master.”

Hua Zhi watched Wang Hai walk off into the distance. “Will this not alert them?”

“Zeng Xiangling’s attention right now is on the business of the Yü family and the gambling establishments — it is inevitable that he will be less focused elsewhere.” Gu Yanxi took her hand and followed the patch of sunlight as they walked. “At the beginning he was truly cautious and careful, and his vigilance is still not poor now, yet the longer one goes without mishap the duller the instincts become. A pity about this man.”

It was a pity. Maneuvering on such a grand scale from behind the scenes, without a single misstep — that was no small ability. Had he walked the right road and kept to the straight path, he might have brought prosperity to Jinyang and the whole region, rather than become its blight.

Hua Zhi shielded her eyes with her hand, lifted her face to a sky so clear and clean it seemed it had been rinsed through, and thought: if only the human heart could be washed clean in just the same way.

The human heart — truly the most terrifying thing in the world, yet also the most precious.

Once the third month came, the earth began to thaw, and all things stirred back to life. Everywhere one looked there was burgeoning vitality.

In what felt like the blink of an eye, Hua Zhi had been in Jinyang for more than ten days. Beyond winning the goodwill of the women of Jinyang, the important matters had not been neglected either. Word had spread that the mushroom and fungus business in the city was hers, and orders at the shop had grown by two-tenths in a short span of time.

Bao Xia pushed the door open and set a small pot of soup in front of her young lady. “Drink it while it is hot.”

Hua Zhi set down her ledger and drank in small, unhurried sips. She had been using the excuse of a chill to stay home for two days now — though Shao Yao had gone to the other household every single day without fail.

When one is doing something one does not enjoy, time always seems to pass more slowly than usual. It had in truth been less than half a month, yet it felt as though she had been here a long while.

And in truth she could not afford to stay much longer. An outsider in Jinyang drew attention, and someone was keeping watch at the outer gate at all times. Too long a stay would invite suspicion.

Gu Yanxi pushed the door open and came in, a faint dampness visible on his clothes.

Hua Zhi looked up in surprise. “Has it started raining?”

“A light rain.”

Bao Xia quickly brought a towel, and Hua Zhi took it and began drying Yanxi off.

Looking down at the person fussing busily around him, Gu Yanxi softened his gaze, the smile at the corner of his mouth clear and unmistakable. “A message has come from the Peng family. Zeng Xiangling has requested a private meeting with Peng Fangming.”

“I thought it would take considerably longer. What happened to make Zeng Xiangling so urgent?” Hua Zhi looked up, met Yanxi’s gaze, and rose on her toes to press a light kiss to the corner of his mouth — catching Bao Xia, who had not moved away in time, so completely off guard that she burned with embarrassment from ear to ear. Their young lady was truly, truly too bold!

Gu Yanxi, with evident restraint, pressed a kiss to A’Zhi’s brow in return. “The Chaoli people grew impatient. To speed up the closing of the net here, I had someone raise in court the matter of a brilliant strategist having appeared among the Chaoli. Since they pay such close attention to everything happening in Daqing, they would certainly learn of it.”

“Is there truly such a strategist?”

“At first I was not certain — they concealed the matter very well. Even after all this time the Seven Lodges Bureau had not been able to confirm it. But now I am quite sure.”

Hua Zhi turned the matter over and understood. The Chaoli tribespeople with a brilliant strategist and without one were two entirely different things. Daqing already found it taxing enough to contend with Chaoli warriors who had nothing but brute strength — if those powerhouses were also guided by sharp intellect, the consequences were beyond imagining.

“What did His Majesty do?”

“He reassigned fifty thousand troops to reinforce Shouyai Pass, issued an edict that grain and provisions must not be delayed, and — the first batch of dried meat provisions that Little Six’s people finished making was sent to Shouyai Pass by the Sun family’s household guard.” Gu Yanxi drew her down to sit and gestured for her to continue drinking her soup.

Hua Zhi could not bring herself to eat. She stirred her spoon and asked, “And Yinshan Pass?”

Gu Yanxi did not quite know how to answer. Whether to His Majesty or to the court ministers, the importance of Yinshan Pass fell far short of Shouyai Pass, and at this moment they could only see to Shouyai Pass.

Hua Zhi asked and then caught herself, and could only smile ruefully. In Wu Yong’s eyes, Yinshan Pass was his roots — the very reason the Wu family existed. To her, Yinshan Pass carried the weight of her loved ones: it was for them she had held on through everything, white-knuckling her way through, waiting for their return. Yet to everyone else, it was just an ordinary border pass where convicts were sent in exile. That place — it did not matter to the world.

“I have already written to my maternal grandfather…”

“It will not help. The Duke of Peace and Tranquillity has been in honored retirement for many years, and what he says carries little weight now.” Hua Zhi cut him off, her expression calm. “The last time I went to Yinshan Pass, my grandfather and I analyzed the situation there together. He will not sit idle.”

“Wu Yong is also watching closely at all times — and then there is Wu Xing, who has remained at Yinshan Pass without ever leaving. Wu Yong has been cooperating with him and has already made certain arrangements.”

Hua Zhi remembered Wu Xing — he had been researching black powder all along, and remained stationed at Yinshan Pass. With an as-yet-undeployed weapon of such destruction in reserve, Yinshan Pass would not fall so easily.

Looking at Yanxi, whose eyes showed remorse, Hua Zhi managed a faint smile. “I have said it before — do not take onto your shoulders a responsibility that is not yours to bear. The man sitting on the throne is not you. Once next month passes and I can get there to see for myself, I will know what the situation is.”

Gu Yanxi lifted her hand to his lips and kissed it. It was precisely because A’Zhi did not blame him that the weight in his heart was heavier still.

“What did Zeng Xiangling say to Peng Fangming?” Hua Zhi turned the subject.

“An official position. He has promised Peng Fangming an official post.”

“Did he state any conditions at all?”

Gu Yanxi smiled. “There is no such thing as a free banquet in this world. If he stated no conditions at all, how could Peng Fangming believe him? He did name them. If matters succeed, one-tenth of the gambling establishment profits is to be yielded — he and Zhu Ling each taking half of that one-tenth. Peng Fangming was only willing to yield half a tenth. In the end Zeng Xiangling agreed.”

Hua Zhi quickly threaded the pieces together. “Zhu Ling currently holds half of Jinyang. Zeng Xiangling is using him as a draw to tempt Peng Fangming, and reinforcing that with the current partnership between them. With such an inducement layered on, a man of Peng Fangming’s age would find it hard to resist. The Peng family’s strength was greatly depleted in the earlier contest for the position of Chief Steward, and the old master of the Peng family retired in a fit of anger on top of that — they are far from their former glory now. For Zeng Xiangling to extend this sort of olive branch at such a moment — an ordinary family would find it nearly impossible to refuse.”

“Zeng Xiangling is very skilled at calculating what people want.”

Hua Zhi frowned. “And once Peng Fangming has purchased his official post, what then? His ultimate aim is still to absorb the Peng family entirely, reclaiming that three-tenth share of profits for himself.”

“If Zeng Xiangling had sufficient time to proceed gradually, I could still guess at a few of his moves. In the current situation, it is harder to say.” Gu Yanxi’s eyes cooled. “The Chaoli people, now that they truly have a strategist, ought to know they should retreat.”

“You want to catch them all in one sweep?”

“There will not be too many of his people here. Whether or not we catch them all in one sweep is not the most important thing — what matters is whether we can find where they have hidden the silver. I cannot allow them to add to their resources for war. Of course, being able to take everyone is the ideal outcome.”