On the tenth day, Di Nian finally returned to Qingzhou Prefecture from Liu Banner County.

The Qingzhou area bordered Northern Jian, and the Liu Banner Garrison was an important military stronghold guarding the border. Although this imperial guard mutiny had not sparked any major changes, to prevent further chaos, Di Nian had specially ordered Song Zhirui to dispatch troops from the Qingzhou Garrison for defense. After reorganizing both the internal and external military affairs, he finally returned with his troops.

Meng Tinghui did not know whether he would secretly report everything to the Emperor, nor did she know if he had also been given some secret orders. Since he did not take the initiative to tell her, she did not ask much. She simply remained seated in the Qingzhou Prefecture office waiting for his return, reviewing the reports from Liu Banner County every two days, and completely abstaining from inquiring about any military affairs.

She was well aware of Di Nian’s rank and position among the imperial guards in the Palace Front Command in the capital and also knew that his relationship with the Emperor was not comparable to that of ordinary officers. She did not know whether the Emperor had similarly informed Di Nian about the plan to execute an entire garrison of rebellious troops, nor did she know if Di Nian had harbored any suspicions about her that night from beginning to end. She only knew that Di Nian seemed to know nothing, and also seemed to question nothing.

Moreover, Di Nian was nothing like Shen Zhishu. Shen Zhishu could at least ask her directly about his doubts, but Di Nian would likely take all his concerns back to the imperial palace in the capital. She could probe what kind of memorial Shen Zhishu might submit, but she could not ask Di Nian, an imperial guard captain of the Emperor, about his true intentions.

Di Nian’s return to Qingzhou Prefecture coincided with the annual grand market between the two countries. During the day, Qingzhou City was extraordinarily lively, with wealthy merchants around Upper Hill Gate using various ingenious displays to attract the attention of Northern Jian traders. Three days later, as the market concluded, Shen Zhishu held a banquet at the prefectural office, inviting more than a dozen of the city’s largest merchants. The Yan family, one of the most prominent, naturally received an invitation. Meng Tinghui, in her capacity as the Imperial Pacification Envoy, was persuaded by everyone in the Qingzhou Prefecture office to stay, and she attended the banquet together with Di Nian. Although she was eager to return to the capital, she could not refuse others’ kind intentions, so she agreed with Shen Zhishu that they would set out for the capital on the day after the banquet. Shen Zhishu smiled without trying to keep her and simply ordered the clerks to make all the necessary arrangements for Meng Tinghui and her party’s departure.

As the first month of the lunar year approached, many households in the city had begun to prepare colored silk lanterns. When the banquet began that night, the red lanterns outside reflecting off the bluish-green tiles created a beautiful scene of flowing light.

After the many merchants and officials had entered the flower hall in the back courtyard, Shen Zhishu finally invited Meng Tinghui to enter and take her seat. She became somewhat embarrassed, saying that she was young and inexperienced and dared not accept such honor. She urged Shen Zhishu to take the main seat, and only then did she sit down with Di Nian at the side.

The hall was filled with the clinking of wine cups and constant laughter. Everyone praised Official Shen for his effective governance of Qingzhou, and they took turns toasting him. Meng Tinghui pressed her lips together in a slight smile, secretly speculating whether the officials of the prefecture were deliberately trying to make her witness this scene so that she would report it to the Emperor when she returned to the capital.

It was not until the banquet was half over that the Yan family carriage slowly arrived outside the prefectural office.

Upon hearing that the Yan family’s eldest daughter had arrived, more than half of the merchants in the flower hall put down their wine cups and rose to welcome her.

Meng Tinghui could not help but be surprised.

During her month-long stay in Qingzhou City, she had heard about Yan Fuzhi’s business methods and knew that the Yan family shop was the only one in the city exempt from the market taxes set by the government. She had never imagined that the woman who always appeared casual and reckless in front of her would command such respect from a room full of wealthy and famous merchants.

But it was no wonder. Behind Yan Fuzhi was the Yan family business, renowned throughout the Northern Chao’an Route. As soon as she arrived in Qingzhou, she established connections with the government. Who would dare not take her seriously?

Shen Zhishu also stood up.

Yan Fuzhi stepped over the threshold. She wore a crimson robe embroidered with gold, her hair styled in a high cloud-shaped bun. Her eyes smiled brightly as she greeted everyone one by one. Finally, she walked to the table where a seat had been reserved for her. She gently folded her sleeves and bowed, saying, “Official Shen.”

Meng Tinghui watched the two without blinking.

Shen Zhishu’s expression remained normal, still displaying that unchanging handsome face. He chuckled softly and asked her to be seated.

Behind her, someone from the Yan household carried a black lacquered wooden box. Without saying a word, they opened it in front of everyone and respectfully presented it to Shen Zhishu.

It was an entire piece of cold jade stone, gleaming white without a single flaw.

When the people in the hall saw it clearly, there was a collective gasp, followed by a series of low exclamations. Everyone praised Young Lady Yan’s grand gesture, saying that the Yan family was truly capable.

Shen Zhishu accepted it with composure. Holding the wooden box with both hands, without a second thought, he turned to Meng Tinghui, who had been watching the two of them in a daze and said with a smile: “Such a rare stone, I dare not keep it for myself. I hope Lady Meng can take it back to the capital and present it to the Emperor, to express the sentiments of the officials and people of Qingzhou.”

Meng Tinghui suddenly came to her senses, not understanding what he was up to. She couldn’t help but glance at Yan Fuzhi.

Yan Fuzhi was also looking at her and said: “This item is rarely seen once in a hundred years. The Yan household servants happened to acquire it from a mountain villager.” She stood up, turned the jade stone with her hand, and pointed at a spot on it for Meng Tinghui to see. “This dragon mark was not created by a craftsman but formed naturally. It must be heaven’s blessing for our great new ruler, sending this object to the world.”

The gathered guests all made sounds of admiration, surprised to learn of the stone’s origin.

Meng Tinghui, however, couldn’t help but laugh silently, never expecting that Shen Zhishu would play such a trick. Would the Emperor be the type of person to believe in such “auspicious omens”?

Yet she could not refuse and could only stand up to accept it. In her heart, she vaguely understood Shen Zhishu’s intention—the Emperor had just ascended the throne when a military mutiny broke out in the northern border region, causing anxiety throughout the Northern Chao’an Route. Even in remote small counties, rumors were rampant. By presenting this “heaven-bestowed rare stone” tonight, he was undoubtedly trying to silence those foolish people and stabilize the hearts of the people throughout the region.

It was truly thoughtful of him.

Seeing that Meng Tinghui had accepted the jade stone, the people in the hall resumed drinking and laughing. Di Nian and Shen Zhishu were also old acquaintances who had not had a chance to properly catch up, and now they constantly had drinks in hand, frequently leaning close to whisper to each other. Yan Fuzhi was discussing market trade matters between the two territories with merchants at the adjacent tables and then moved on to debate the matter of official salt and private operations as reported by the Tea and Horse Bureau of Northern Chao’an Route…

If Meng Tinghui had not previously known that these two people had an unusual relationship, she would never have detected anything unusual between Yan Fuzhi and Shen Zhishu.

At the height of the drinking, something suddenly fell from Di Nian’s bosom, which Shen Zhishu quickly grabbed.

It was a piece of peach wood, engraved with some unclear patterns, flat on one end and slightly pointed on the other, with a red silk cord attached to it.

Shen Zhishu examined it from all angles but still didn’t understand. He raised an eyebrow and asked: “What is this?”

Di Nian’s face showed slight embarrassment. He didn’t answer but tried to snatch it back. After several failed attempts, he clenched his fist and suddenly swung it at him.

Shen Zhishu dodged with a low laugh. “Could this be meant for Zhili?”

Upon hearing this, both Yan Fuzhi and Meng Tinghui turned to look, and they both immediately recognized the object—it was a trinket unique to the Northern Chao’an Route, used between men and women to express romantic feelings.

Yan Fuzhi started to laugh and leaned over to whisper something to Shen Zhishu. His smile grew wider as he tossed the object back to Di Nian, then turned his head to give Yan Fuzhi a calm glance without saying anything more.

Di Nian awkwardly explained: “That day… that day when I was in Liu Banner County, a resident gave it to me. I thought it was interesting and wanted to bring it back for Zhili to play with.”

On the other side, several merchants who saw these few people laughing happily boldly came over to pour wine for Shen Zhishu, saying with smiles: “Earlier, because of the Wang Qi matter, Official Shen gave all the benefits to the Yan family shop, making the rest of us quite envious!”

Shen Zhishu seemed to be in an exceptionally good mood. He did not refuse anyone, raising his cup and drinking it all the time, but only smiled without speaking.

Meng Tinghui’s expression changed slightly. Hearing what they said, she realized that the Wang Qi matter was also related to Yan Fuzhi and that the Yan family’s exemption from market taxes was not simply due to Shen Zhishu’s favoritism.

One of them, seeing that Shen Zhishu was so approachable tonight, grew even bolder. After pouring him several cups of wine, he joked with a laugh: “We often say in private that for the Yan family shop to stop enjoying this benefit, Young Lady Yan would have to marry Official Shen—surely then, Official Shen couldn’t give these benefits to his own family to enjoy, could he?”

Shen Zhishu held his wine cup with three fingers, still smiling casually. A sudden gleam appeared in his eyes as he turned his head to look at Yan Fuzhi and said to her: “I wonder if Young Lady Yan would be willing to earn a little less silver each year and marry me?”