After Han Qiren was escorted into the vehicle, Zheng Yun came to Shi Ting’s side and asked quietly, “Seventh Brother, will Han Qiren say anything reckless in front of the Commander?”

“The Commander won’t see him.” Shi Ting watched the direction the vehicle had departed. “What the Commander despises most is betrayal. Han Qiren appeared loyal on the surface, yet secretly conspired with outsiders to embezzle a vast sum of money. Do you think the Commander would grant an audience to someone who has touched his deepest fury?”

He turned and cast his gaze over the bodies strewn across the ground. “What will Shi Guang do next?”

“The Second Young Master’s attempt to insert himself into this affair has failed. He won’t simply sit back and wait for defeat. Seventh Brother, your achievement in recovering the stolen funds is enormous — the Second Young Master will surely try to claim a share of the credit.”

A slight smile curved the corner of Shi Ting’s mouth. “Send a message to Chief Jiang.”

If someone wanted a share of what was his, they would first have to ask whether he agreed.

~

Shi Guang had just finished writing several calligraphy pieces when his eyelid suddenly began to twitch.

At that very moment, a knock sounded at the door, and Zuo Liang stepped inside with a dejected expression.

“It failed?” Shi Guang rubbed his eyelid.

Zuo Liang bowed his head. “Second Young Master, it was my negligence. Every man I sent out is dead. I await your punishment.”

Shi Guang waved his hand. “Forget it. You were no match for Seventh Brother. To deal with him, there cannot be the slightest lapse — otherwise the whole endeavor will collapse at the very last moment.”

“I will be far more careful next time.”

“What about Han Qiren’s brother?”

“He was arrested by the military police.” Zuo Liang quickly added, “Second Young Master, please don’t worry. He only received money — he had no idea who was behind it. The military police won’t be able to get anything useful from him.”

“Very well.” Shi Guang sighed. “Seventh Brother has made a great contribution this time, and the Commander will certainly be pleased. But we cannot simply stand by and watch him take all the credit. Don’t you agree?”

“What does the Second Young Master have in mind?”

“Ever since those funds were stolen, construction of the Chengguan Railway has ground to a halt — it’s become a hot potato no one dares touch. If I were to step forward and take on this burden, what do you suppose would happen?”

Zuo Liang smiled. “The Second Young Master shows the larger picture and is willing to ease the Commander’s burdens. The Commander would naturally be pleased.”

“Then it’s settled.” Shi Guang rose, straightened his jacket, and said, “Let us go to the Commander.”

When Shi Guang arrived at the Commander’s door, he saw someone had just left. He stopped in his tracks and stroked his chin, lost in thought.

“Zuo Liang, who does that figure from behind remind you of?”

Zuo Liang shook his head. “I couldn’t tell. People from the government come and go here every day — it’s nothing unusual.”

“I think it looks like Chief Jiang from the Roads Bureau.”

“There’s nothing odd about Chief Jiang coming here, is there?”

Shi Guang stood still for a long moment, then his gaze suddenly turned cold and brooding. “Seventh Brother… what a shrewd calculation.”

Zuo Liang didn’t quite follow. “Second Young Master, has something gone wrong again?”

“Never mind, there’s no point going in.” Shi Guang arched an eyebrow. “Our path has been blocked by him.”

Zuo Liang was puzzled. “We’re not going in to see the Commander? We’re not taking on the Chengguan Railway project?”

“Chief Jiang has already taken it on our behalf.” A trace of cold displeasure settled deep in Shi Guang’s eyes — a flicker of fire that blazed briefly, then was quickly extinguished. “Seventh Brother guessed that I wanted to take on the Chengguan Railway project. So he had Chief Jiang from the Roads Bureau come to the Commander first. Without even asking, I know the Commander has handed responsibility for the Chengguan Railway to Chief Jiang. If we go in now, it would be no different from humiliating ourselves.”

Zuo Liang said with indignation, “For the Seventh Young Master to act this way, giving us no room to maneuver — is he declaring open war on the Second Young Master?”

“It’s not quite a declaration of war. More a form of self-preservation, I suppose.” Shi Guang’s eyes shifted. “Though there is another possibility — he’s doing it for Sixth Miss Yan.”

“The Seventh Young Master and Sixth Miss Yan have grown very close. Their relationship is clearly not ordinary — but my men have not yet uncovered any concrete evidence.”

“Seventh Brother is always meticulous in everything he does. He would never leave you a handle to grab.” Shi Guang thought for a moment. “How many days until the wedding?”

“Less than ten days remain. The arrangements at the mansion are nearly complete.”

“And the betrothal gifts?”

“The gifts were prepared by the Madam. The list has already been sent to the Yan Mansion. It includes six hundred and sixty silver dollars, one hundred bolts of fabric, ten sets of gold and silver jewelry, fifty ready-made garments, two crates of cured pork, salted meats, and dried fish, and twenty jars of Fenshan wine — sixty-six gift loads in total.”

An ordinary household might prepare a dozen or so loads of betrothal gifts; a wealthy family, around thirty; and the most distinguished noble families typically between sixty-six and eighty-eight loads.

“Is this Fifth Miss Yan really worth that much?” Shi Guang said with disdain. “Mother was truly generous this time.”

“This is the Second Young Master’s wedding — face is everything. There is likely no wedding in all of Shun Cheng, inside or outside the city, that could surpass the Second Young Master’s.”

“Very well. Since Mother has made the arrangements, so be it.” Shi Guang rubbed his eye again. “Why does this eyelid keep twitching?”

“Second Young Master, it’s your left eye — they say a twitching left eye means fortune is coming. Perhaps wealth is on its way.”

Shi Guang narrowed his eyes. “What Seventh Brother has done is sitting like a stone on my chest. It’s suffocating.”

“He’s stolen all the glory this time — it is truly galling. Perhaps we could have Minister Han put in a few words with the Commander. As they say, the words of a dying man carry weight. If he were to list Seventh Brother’s many wrongs, the Commander might also…”

Shi Guang waved his hand. “The Commander won’t see Han Qiren. A hundred words from him would be useless.”

“Then…”

“Doesn’t Han Qiren have a daughter? If she were to find out that her father has been arrested by Seventh Brother — that the Han family’s glory and prosperity are on the verge of ruin — what do you suppose she would do?”

Zuo Liang’s eyes lit up, and a cold smile crossed his face. “Second Young Master, rest assured. This time I will arrange everything perfectly.”

“Go.” Shi Guang strolled unhurriedly toward his own quarters. “This eye is still twitching. I’ll need to think of a solution.”

~

In Shi Ting’s office, Yan Qing carefully examined the wound on his shoulder, then gently rewrapped the bandage. His constitution was exceptionally strong, and his wounds healed faster than most — what would take others ten days to two weeks, he needed only seven or eight.

“You still had one arm in a sling, yet you went alone to take that risk. You have absolutely no regard for your own life,” Yan Qing said, her reproachful tone unable to conceal a trace of lingering fear and worry.

Shi Ting gazed at her face. “One arm doesn’t make much of a difference.”

“Oh, of course. How capable our Director Shi is — with one hand he could shoot so many people dead, every bullet precisely aimed, every shot a headshot.”

“Somehow that doesn’t sound like a compliment.”

“Oh? You actually picked up on that?”

Shi Ting smiled and gently took one of her hands. “Are you angry?”

“Who said I’m angry? I’m absolutely not.” Yan Qing turned her face away.

“All right. I’ll pay more attention next time, and try not to take such risks.” He enfolded her small hand within his own palm. “I swear it.”

“I don’t believe you one bit.” Thinking of the danger he had been in, Yan Qing felt both furious and frightened. If she didn’t lecture him now, he would never learn.

“By the way, I have something I want to ask you.” Seeing her suddenly turn serious, Shi Ting tilted his head to listen.

“Back then, Han Qiren and Song Zixian plotted the Chengguan Railway heist. What about those bandits — were they Han Qiren’s men?”

“No.” Shi Ting shook his head. “The leads Shi Hao just uncovered all point to a bandit named Gu Biao. This Gu Biao was a local warlord, terrorizing the area around Shanmiao Village. Han Qiren, wanting the robbery to look convincing, bribed Gu Biao to ambush the escort party. Afterward, Han Qiren paid him a large sum.”

“What became of this Gu Biao? Where is he now?”

“Later, when the government launched a full investigation, the military surrounded Gu Biao. He was killed resisting arrest.”

Yan Qing guessed, “The men who killed him — were they sent by Han Qiren?”

“Exactly.”

“The government conducted a sweeping search of the mountains and came up empty. And with Gu Biao dead, the last trail went cold.”

“Was no one suspicious of Han Qiren and Song Zixian at the time? After all, they were among the very few who knew the escort route.”

“Of course there was suspicion, but the evidence was insufficient. Han Qiren also enjoyed considerable favor with the Commander. A year later he was transferred to the Commander’s government office, and two years after that he was promoted to Minister of Finance. By that point, Han Qiren’s power and status were far beyond what they had been — who would have had the courage to keep investigating him? After a perfunctory three-year investigation, the case was eventually set aside.”

“There’s one thing I still can’t figure out. Before Song Zixian was killed, both his servants and Song Meimei said he was deeply unsettled, always feeling as though someone meant him harm. If he already sensed that Han Qiren wanted to kill him, why would he still have let Han Qiren into his home?”

“That is precisely Han Qiren’s brilliance.” Shi Ting gently traced a line across her palm. “Han Qiren had someone impersonate Gu Biao and use that name to blackmail Song Zixian. Song Zixian believed Gu Biao was still alive and feared he would expose the truth about the heist, so he went to Han Qiren for advice. Han Qiren told him to pay the man off first. Song Zixian was miserly to the bone — after satisfying ‘Gu Biao’s’ demands a few times, he refused to pay another cent. ‘Gu Biao’ then began threatening his life, and twice nearly harmed Song Zixian. He became terrified and began watching his every step. That was the Song Zixian that Liu Cuicui and Song Meimei observed during that period.”

“I understand now.” Yan Qing suddenly saw it all clearly. “A bank president doing well in his career, with a smooth life and a reasonably harmonious family — a man like that who suddenly commits suicide needs a credible reason. The reason Han Qiren arranged for Song Zixian was the threat to his personal safety, which drove him into a state of terror and mental collapse, until he could endure no more and took his own life. From the very beginning, Han Qiren never intended for Song Zixian to live. He had always planned to keep the money for himself.”

“Men die for wealth, as birds die for food. Song Zixian was greedy, and Han Qiren more so. Both men were already quite wealthy, yet human desire knows no end — to keep feeding it, they chose to kill, to deceive, to betray. When all is said and done, this is nothing more than the most ordinary expression of human nature.”

At that moment, the door was suddenly thrown open with a loud bang. Han Xiling strode in, followed close behind by two officers from the police bureau.

“Miss Han, this goes against protocol.”

“Miss Han, Miss Han…”

The moment Han Xiling entered, the first thing she saw was Shi Ting crouching before Yan Qing, his gaze tender, her hand held in his.

“Director, I’m sorry — we couldn’t stop her. Miss Han absolutely insisted on seeing the Director.”

Shi Ting slowly rose to his feet and, in one natural motion, stepped to stand in front of Yan Qing, shielding her. The warmth that had softened his face was now replaced by a layer of frost.

“Miss Han, is something the matter?”

“Was it you who arrested my father?” Han Xiling’s face was flushed scarlet.

—