The window was slightly ajar, cold wind pouring in, causing the white steam rising from a pot of hot tea on the long table to tilt inward. It also dispersed some of the room’s rich, cloying incense.

Half of Xiao Li’s face was immersed in shadow, making the contours of his profile appear even sharper. Above his straight, handsome nose, his dark lashes half-lowered, placing his entire demeanor somewhere between youth and young manhood. He said slowly, “Boss, I don’t want to be involved in murder cases anymore.”

Boss Han said nothing, only moving the beads on the nearby abacus as if calculating the money from a previous account.

Xiao Li continued, “You know I was imprisoned at age eight for accidentally taking a life. My mother kowtowed until her head bled, pleading with people everywhere. Because the provincial official pitied my youth and saw I still had a repentant heart, they spared me the death penalty and changed it to seven years of hard labor. Fortunately, Yongzhou was already a place of exile, so I wasn’t exiled further to other frontier regions. After serving seven years of hard labor and being released, I could still see my mother again. Now my mother is advanced in years and her health deteriorates by the day. How dare I make her worry and fear for me again?”

Boss Han’s hand on the abacus stopped. He picked up his brush and wrote something in the account book before speaking unhurriedly, “I know your difficulties, but if you’re unwilling to do this and I give it to Wang Qing instead, the position of gambling house boss will be his. You also know the current state of Yong City—aside from the Xu family who consider themselves too noble and won’t lower themselves to fight for local dominance, only my Han family and the He family running canal transport remain locked in struggle. I built my fortune on the gambling house. How important the position of gambling house boss is—I don’t need to tell you, you should understand. When I compete with that old bastard from the He family in business, those mud-legged canal workers under him will also compete with you all in every district and alley.”

“You don’t want to make your mother worry and fear, so you refuse the assignment I give you. But when Wang Qing climbs over you in the future, do you think given your long-standing grudge with him, the assignments he gives you will be any easier?” Boss Han set down his brush at this point and looked at the youth standing not far away. “Xiao Li, I can still give you a choice now. In the future, Wang Qing won’t give you any choices.”

Xiao Li remained silent, but his hands hanging at his sides had unconsciously clenched into fists.

Boss Han continued, “Moreover, my hope that you would be the one to do this also has another reason behind it.”

He impassively studied the youth’s expression, saying slowly, “You have a grudge against the He family. Your imprisonment back then was also courtesy of the He family, correct?”

Xiao Li raised his eyes. After all, he was still young and hot-blooded, unable to completely conceal the murderous energy that burst forth from his eyes at that moment.

Boss Han caught a glimpse of it, and the corner of his mouth curved up slightly. Unhurriedly, he picked up the hot tea from the table and took a sip, saying, “The person I’m asking you to kill is Hu Xianbai, the former gambling house accountant who stole my ledger to use as leverage and is preparing to defect to the He family.”

“This matter benefits both you and me. You clean house for me, and I give you the opportunity to first collect some interest on the seven years of imprisonment the He family gave you.”

Xiao Li still didn’t speak, but standing before the table like an iron wall, all his muscles had already tensed.

Boss Han rotated the jade thumb ring on his hand, saying slowly, “Even if you slip up, as long as you keep your mouth shut tight enough and say everything was you seeking private revenge because you resent the He family, I’ll take care of your mother for you.”

As he spoke, he took out a bulging purse and placed it on the table. “Think it over carefully.”

“I received word that bastard Hu Xianbai, after hiding for so long, will secretly bring the ledger to the He family on New Year’s Eve. That’s also the only opportunity to act. Before then, once you’ve decided, give me your answer. Take this bit of silver back home and have a good New Year with your mother.”

The door softly closed—Boss Han had already left.

Xiao Li propped both arms on the table, his profile bathed in the pale, bleak daylight filtering through the window crack. Beneath disheveled hair, a pair of black eyes stared desolately at the bulging purse Boss Han had left behind.

Ha. It was exactly like tossing half a cold steamed bun to a stray dog on the street.

But he did indeed need to survive on this cold steamed bun.

Xiao Li picked up the money pouch, tucked it into his robe, and turned around.

Going downstairs, he learned Boss Han had already left. Two women about Xiao Huiniang’s age stood awkwardly in the main hall. Seeing him emerge, they called out to him quite earnestly.

Xiao Li also greeted the two women. “Sanniang, Siniang.”

The two women wore ragged clothes, their faces quite haggard, not resembling the glamorous girls in the pavilion in the slightest. When he called them, smiles appeared on their faces. The taller woman said, “Siniang and I were busy in the back courtyard earlier. We didn’t know you’d come.”

Xiao Li said, “The boss was here, so I came by to find him.”

He glanced around and asked, “Where’s Er’niang?”

The sharp-faced woman replied somewhat bitterly, “Your Er’niang is ill…”

Lin Sanniang elbowed her. “Your mouth has no filter. Yue Gui instructed us not to tell Ah Huan.”

Xiao Li frowned and asked, “How is Er’niang ill?”

At his words, both women’s expressions became somewhat uncomfortable. Lin Sanniang only said, “It’s an old ailment. She’ll be fine after lying down for a few days…”

The madam came in from the back courtyard. Seeing the group, her upturned phoenix eyes immediately lifted, scolding, “You two lazy crones—the snow in the back courtyard isn’t even swept clean yet, and the slop buckets haven’t been emptied. You’ve run to loaf around in the front hall again? I was wondering why there haven’t been many customers in half a day. Turns out they were scared off by your decrepit appearances! Get back to work in the courtyard! I don’t keep useless people in my establishment!”

Wu Siniang said quietly, “We only heard Ah Huan came and came out to see him…”

The madam scoffed. “He’s not even your real son—acting like you have such deep mother-son affection! That lazy crone Yue Gui is the same—after receiving one client, she claims illness and lies down. If you two don’t finish her share of work today, don’t blame me for not giving her any food!”

Hearing this, Xiao Li only felt that suffocating, nauseating feeling surge up again as it had in his childhood.

He stepped forward and grabbed the madam’s collar, demanding, “Every month I send a sum of silver to your hands, asking you not to make things difficult for my godmothers. Is this how you agreed?”

The madam tried to break free from Xiao Li’s grip but couldn’t budge at all. She glared and threw a tantrum, cursing, “I haven’t made them receive customers, have I? But they still have to do cleaning work, right? The one looking for Yue Gui was her former patron. She was willing to receive him to earn a few more silver coins. Could I possibly stop her? Could I?”

The madam continued with a scoffing laugh, “You protect them like they’re your birth mother—then be more generous and redeem them, take them all out to honor them! Their worth isn’t as high as your mother who was once the top courtesan. Twenty taels of silver per person—give me the money and I’ll return the indenture contracts.”

This was pure highway robbery.

Both women stepped forward to persuade Xiao Li not to argue with the madam.

Several enforcers from the pavilion also surrounded them.

Xiao Li stared at the madam, saying word by word, “One day, I will redeem my godmothers.”

When he released his hand, the madam’s feet finally touched the ground, but she staggered and needed an enforcer’s support to stand steady.

The madam had suffered a loss, and her expression was extremely ugly. She patted her collar as if brushing off bad luck. Seeing Xiao Li give each woman a few pieces of broken silver and telling them to bring a share to Yue Gui as well, she felt even more displeased. She immediately mocked sarcastically:

“I nearly forgot—how could you not treat these old crones like your birth mother? When Lan Hui gave birth to you that year, she was counting on the mother gaining status through her son, hoping to use you to make that wealthy merchant redeem her. Who knew your bastard father would leave and never return? Lan Hui lost hope and despised you more than a stray dog on the roadside. That snowy day when you fell into the fire basin and knocked over the clothes rack, burning one of her garments—she only felt sorry for that garment the entire time. When you were burned by the charcoal fire and cried yourself hoarse, she didn’t even bother to look at you. If Yue Gui and the others hadn’t fed you spoonfuls of rice porridge when they had time, you wouldn’t even know when you starved to death!”

Xiao Li had already turned to walk outside, but hearing these mocking words, his steps were nailed in place.

The madam laughed behind her red silk sleeve, asking mockingly, “Don’t you find it ridiculous now, acting like devoted mother and son with her?”

Lin Sanniang quickly said, “Ah Huan, don’t listen to her nonsense. Your mother was only confused for a moment back then, venting her resentment toward your father on you. Later when you went to prison, your mother nearly cried herself blind…”

Wu Siniang also said, “That’s right, that’s right. That Madam of the He family humiliated her to that extent, yet she still knelt before the He manor gates begging her. She knelt for three full days before the He family relented and agreed not to demand your life for their family servant…”

When Lin Sanniang heard Wu Siniang had also revealed this past event, she quickly elbowed her again, frantically signaling with her eyes.

Wu Siniang realized she’d said the wrong thing. She glanced at Xiao Li before adding, “During those years you were imprisoned and doing hard labor, your mother also ran around everywhere making arrangements for you. I often saw her crying when alone. She always said she was sorry to you.”

Xiao Li turned his head, his gaze looking straight at the madam as if viewing a clownish performance. “Do you think I don’t know whether my mother treats me well or not?”

He said, “This son may be worthless, but as long as I have a breath left in me, I will remember her for a day and protect her for a day. As for you, Madam Wang, rather than worrying about whether others are ridiculous, you’d better worry about whether you’ll get a turn emptying slop buckets when Zuihong Pavilion changes ownership in the future.”

With that, he strode away, leaving the madam pointing at his retreating figure, trembling with anger, “you-ing” for a long time without managing to follow through.

When he left the pavilion, the sky had already darkened, and the wind and snow were even fiercer. Xiao Li didn’t even bother to wear his bamboo hat.

He quite casually wrapped the windbreak cloth around his neck and walked back facing the northern wind that blew so hard one couldn’t open one’s eyes, letting the howling cold between heaven and earth sweep away the disgusting powder and rouge smell he’d picked up from the pavilion.

His mother had once despised him.

He knew this more clearly than anyone.

He didn’t need anyone to come specially remind him.

Wen Yu was embroidering by the fire pit. Hearing the demonic wind outside that seemed about to topple trees and also blow the courtyard gate, making it bang loudly, she furrowed her brow slightly and glanced outside.

That scoundrel hadn’t returned by dusk. Xiao Huiniang’s health wasn’t good and she couldn’t hold out, so Wen Yu had already let her rest first.

Wen Yu had seen that scoundrel climb over walls to return home. Worried the sound of the wind blowing the courtyard gate would disturb Xiao Huiniang and also attract thieves, she set down her needle and thread and stood up to close the door.

Her hand had just touched one door panel when she saw a human figure sitting at the base of the wall outside the courtyard gate, with a layer of snow already accumulated on their back.

Wen Yu was startled, and the door bolt in her hand inadvertently fell into the snow.

This muffled sound caused the person sitting outside to turn their head and look over.

The other person carried a faint scent of alcohol, shoulders full of snow, long lashes condensed with snow flakes that had become a patch of frost-white. Yet a pair of eyes remained silk-black as ink, so sharp one dared not stare directly.

Fortunately, it was that scoundrel.

Wen Yu felt relieved in her heart, yet was also somewhat surprised. Holding the door, she said, “You’ve returned. Why didn’t you come into the courtyard?”

Behind her, the firelight from inside cast her padded dress and skirt as if outlined with a golden edge in the darkness. Her long hair was slightly disheveled by the night wind. Though her expression carried faint aloofness, there was also a tranquil gentleness.

Xiao Li looked at her for a while, then withdrew his gaze. He raised his hand to brush off the snow on his shoulders, only saying, “Drank too much. Sitting for a bit to clear my head.”