The next morning, the boat pulled slowly up to a dock.

River traffic was busy, and naturally many docks had been built along the route to accommodate passing vessels for rest and provisioning.

The dock was crowded not only with laborers hauling goods but even more so with vendors hawking their wares. A number of sharp-eyed merchants had built neat shops not far from the dock — selling local specialties, tea, silk, ceramics, and of course, cosmetics and rouge.

“Cousin Shu, let’s go look at the shops over there!” Ling Jingxian said eagerly.

Having come ashore for a change of scene, Ling Jingshu had no wish to dampen the mood — she smiled and agreed.

Ling Daye and Sun Shi stayed aboard; the younger generation were too restless, and all went ashore together. Unmarried young ladies did not make a habit of appearing in public — both Ling Jingshu and Ling Jingxian wore veiled hats. Jiang Shi put one on as well.

Even so, the group was conspicuous in the extreme.

Ling Ji was tall and striking, drawing eyes in any crowd. Ling Xiao’s unusually fine, beautiful face attracted stares from everyone around. The tall, graceful Jiang Shi moved with the allure of a young married woman. The charming, lively Ling Jingxian laughed like a silver bell. And then there was Ling Jingshu, whose beauty was enough to overturn a city.

The light gauze veiling of the hat only half-concealed her features — unable to conceal the soul-stirring beauty beneath.

The dock laborers and vendors had never witnessed such beauty in their lives — unable to help themselves, they looked over again and again.

Fortunately, Ling Ji had brought more than ten stout household guards, forming a tight ring around Ling Jingshu and the others. Those outside could steal a few glances through the layers of heads — satisfying their curiosity — and then sensibly looked away.

After days on the boat, setting foot on solid ground again felt oddly soft and unsteady underfoot.

Ling Xiao gripped Ling Jingshu’s hand tightly, whispering with excitement: “A’Shu, it’s so lively here!” From all around came the clamor of voices, mixed with the high-pitched calls of street vendors — all truly entertaining to the ear.

Ling Jingshu glanced around and felt a quiet pang: “It is, isn’t it — very lively.”

Never mind Ling Xiao having never seen such a sight — when had she herself ever experienced a scene like this?

Back then she had been raised in the inner chambers, and then married far away to Jizhou. One exquisite cage, exchanged for another even more exquisite cage.

At the time when she and Lu Hong’s feelings had been warmest, Lu Hong had been diligently studying for the provincial examinations — no leisure to take her out. Then came pregnancy and childbirth, and she had to remain obediently in the Lu household. And later still… she had been confined under house arrest, unable to step beyond the courtyard gate…

Ling Jingshu had no wish to dwell further on these painful memories, and quickly changed the subject: “There’s a shop selling the four scholarly treasures over there — let’s go and look.”

Any scholar could not do without brush, ink, paper, and inkstone. Even though Ling Xiao’s blindness made reading difficult, his love for scholarly instruments had not diminished in the slightest. He smiled readily in agreement.

Ling Jingshu turned to Ling Jingxian and Jiang Shi: “Will you two come as well?”

Ling Jingxian jumped in: “Sister-in-law and I are going to the cosmetics shop — the two shops aren’t far apart anyway. We’ll meet up with you after.”

Jiang Shi could not very well overrule her young sister-in-law’s wishes, and smiled in agreement: “Let’s split into two groups then. For safety’s sake, let half the guards go with you. Once you’re done looking, come and find us.”

That worked well.

Ling Jingshu nodded, took Ling Xiao’s hand, with five or six guards following behind, and walked into the scholarly instruments shop.

The siblings had barely entered when a thin, frail-looking beggar crouching not far from the shop entrance fixed his gaze on Ling Jingshu’s retreating figure — a flash of greedy, covetous light crossing his eyes.

This beggar appeared to be in his mid-twenties, with a gaunt, narrow face, and one lame leg. He earned his living begging at this dock.

Those who worked the docks were used to seeing such beggars, and no one paid him any attention.

The lame beggar quietly rose and slipped away, turning into an alley on the other side of the dock. Once inside the alley, his pace quickened to a startling agility — belying his disability.

The lame beggar stopped before a low-roofed building and knocked at the door in a particular sequence — three times repeated — before it opened.

The man who opened the door was a stocky fellow with a scar across his face: “Lame, you’re supposed to be watching the dock for marks — why are you back so early?”

The lame man’s face was lit with excitement: “I came back to report. Where’s the Second Boss?”

The scarred man cursed: “Second Boss was with two women last night and is still sleeping. I’m not walking into that mess.”

The lame man had spent years as a spotter and scout, renowned for his sharp eye — and was held in high regard by the Second Boss for it. He said with an ingratiating smirk: “This time I’ve found genuinely top-grade goods. If I wait to report and miss the window, and the Boss and Second Boss come to blame someone — don’t come blaming me.”

The scarred man glared at him, then reluctantly went inside to rouse someone.

After a moment, the Second Boss emerged.

The scarred man was already powerfully built — the Second Boss stood half a head taller, with a pair of triangular eyes that glinted with a cold and menacing light; simply standing there made others flinch.

The Second Boss asked with obvious irritation: “Lame, you say you found top-grade goods — what do they look like? If it turns out to be like last time — hat off and a face full of pockmarks — you won’t need the Boss to move. I’ll tear you apart myself.”

Before the brutal Second Boss, the lame man was considerably more restrained and fawned quickly: “Second Boss, set your mind at ease. This time I won’t misjudge. The pair of siblings are about the same age — they must be twins, around fourteen or fifteen. The young woman wore a veiled hat — I couldn’t see her face clearly. But even at a distance, one glance was enough to know she’s a rare and extraordinary beauty. And the young man — equally fine-looking, the finest sort.”

The Second Boss’s interest sparked at the mention of a beauty, though his words were rough: “How can you say she’s a rare beauty through a veil? If you’re wrong, I’ll gouge out those dog eyes of yours.”

“Second Boss, trust me this once!” the lame man insisted with absolute certainty. “I’ve been at this for years — I’ve misjudged before, but not this time. If I’m wrong, I’ll gouge out my own eyes — no need for Second Boss to lift a hand.”

“I’ve memorized what that official boat looks like. We’ll use our old method — shadow them quietly for a day or two. When the river narrows to a lonely stretch, in the dead of night we’ll board the vessel, take the people, and go.”

A high-born young beauty of an official household, taken and sold to the barbarians north of the border, would fetch a hundred prime warhorses in trade — resold again, a profit of tens of thousands of taels.

And that fine-looking young man — equally rare, equally valuable.

If this job went off successfully, the profit would be enough to make a man willingly risk a beheading.