Ma Changjiang and Ma Wangkun hadn’t been entirely comfortable staying at the Cui residence. Upon seeing Song Chuyi, they really couldn’t hold back their complaints: “This is too strange. Why do the Cui family guard against us like thieves? Wherever we go, people are assigned to follow us. Even when Fifth Master’s people want to go out for a stroll, there’s a whole group of people following behind them. Being too hospitable isn’t a good thing either. Anyway, we rough folk can’t enjoy such treatment. Look, just to come out today, we had to shake off a whole bunch of tails.”
Song Chuyi couldn’t help feeling somewhat angry. She had never heard of any household treating guests this way—hospitality in name but surveillance in reality—especially when the Song and Cui families were related by marriage. There were no spies following her around, probably because they thought a young lady couldn’t go anywhere important. As for the others, even Song Yan said many people had to follow him whenever he went out, so he simply couldn’t be bothered to leave.
She gathered her thoughts and instructed Ma Changjiang and Ma Wangkun with a serious expression: “You two must pay close attention to the East Residence for me. I’ve heard that the East Residence’s tea leaves and grain all have their own private escort agencies for transportation. Put more effort into this area. Carefully and cautiously investigate for me to see if there’s anything suspicious, to see if these escort agencies do anything else besides transporting these things for their own family.” She looked at their somewhat astonished expressions and slightly emphasized her tone: “These are all very important matters. No matter what, whether for my sake or for my uncle’s sake, please be sure to take this seriously.”
She took two letters from Qing Ying and handed them over: “Here are two letters. Neither must be sent through Jinzhong’s postal station—use other channels. Send one to my eldest uncle in Jiangxi, and one to my cousin-uncle in Xibei.”
Ma Changjiang and Ma Wangkun hadn’t expected to encounter trouble visiting Cui Shaoting’s hometown. They immediately bristled with alertness, looking at Song Chuyi with some anxiety: “Miss, don’t frighten us. Is something else about to happen?”
Why could they never catch a break? They had thought the Cui family would surely be an impregnable fortress, yet who knew they’d encounter trouble even attending a birthday banquet? Moreover, the Cui family was the local power in Jinzhong. If even letters couldn’t be sent from Jinzhong, didn’t that mean Song Chuyi was guarding against the Cui family? This was truly bizarre. But they had always been cautious in their work, knowing that if Song Chuyi did this, she must have her reasons. Without a moment’s hesitation, they took the letters and solemnly promised Song Chuyi: “Rest assured, Miss. We guarantee we’ll handle everything properly for you. Today we happened to hear people discussing that the Cui family has an escort agency transporting things out of the city. We brothers will find a way to follow them tonight and see if we can gather any information.”
Song Chuyi watched them leave before feeling her mouth and throat go dry. She reached out to pick up the already cold tea to drink, but was startled by the sound of a door opening. She turned to look, her first reaction being that Cui Shaoying had sent someone. But what she saw was Zhou Weizhao’s face.
For some reason, seeing it was Zhou Weizhao, she instead breathed a sigh of relief and softly called out, “Your Highness,” standing up with her tea cup in hand.
“Qing Luo has been by your side for so long now—has she never told you not to drink cold tea? Drinking this requires your five organs to warm it up. It’s very harmful to the body.” He pointed to the stool to indicate Song Chuyi should sit, then sat down across from her: “Did Lai Chenglong come to find you today?” After asking, he conveniently lifted hot water from the stove nearby and poured her a fresh cup.
Song Chuyi lowered her head, somewhat unsure how to answer. Her mind was in chaos right now. She still hadn’t confirmed whether things were truly as she thought. If Cui Shaoying was truly involved in the copper mine business, then the matter would become serious. Moreover, if Cui Shaoying truly had the audacity to privately mine copper, he might not hesitate to do other things. Just as Lai Chenglong had said, there might be a massive web of interests behind this, perhaps even involving Yangquan. The consequences were too severe—she dared not be anything but cautious.
Zhou Weizhao didn’t avoid the subject at all. He laughed frankly: “Today I saw your carriage and Qing Luo from Wanghe Tower. You’ve only been in Jinzhong for a few days and rarely go out. That you suddenly went out today naturally couldn’t escape my notice.”
Going out wasn’t really a big deal, but Zhou Weizhao specifically said he had noticed. Song Chuyi had a feeling that Zhou Weizhao paid close attention to her, and for a moment didn’t know why she found it even harder to speak.
After quite a while, she finally made up her mind. Holding the hot water, she took a sip and told him: “Commander Lai did indeed come to find me. For my uncle’s sake, he gave me a heads-up. He probably also thought that if I could get some information from within the Cui family, it would facilitate his investigation.” Having rushed about all day, her nose was somewhat congested. She supported her slightly dizzy head and shook it, sighing deeply: “If it’s truly as Commander Lai warned, then when Your Highness quells the Yangquan rebellion this time, you might really have to use the imperial sword to execute members of the Cui family first.” Lying to Zhou Weizhao was untenable—Song Chuyi had understood this very early on. This Highness might be an extremely honest person, but he was definitely not a fool. There was no way to lie in front of him. Therefore, she never tried to be clever before Zhou Weizhao. Perhaps precisely because of this, their several collaborations had resulted in mutual victories, making them very pleasant partnerships.
Zhou Weizhao indeed had already noticed this, as she had expected. He straightened his posture and asked her: “Do you know why I went to Wanghe Tower today? Because the Cui family was distributing medicine there.”
Song Chuyi’s brow jumped. She looked up at Zhou Weizhao, momentarily feeling both her hands go numb.
“That day when I attended Old Madam’s birthday banquet, I already felt something was wrong. Upon seeing Commander Lai, Cui Shaoying appeared very guilty and immediately left, never returning again. This is hardly the hospitality befitting the Cui family clan leader.” Zhou Weizhao lowered his head, speaking each word clearly: “Coincidentally, the Cui family happened to have an escort that should have left the city that day, but it was temporarily called off. Done so obviously, it would be hard not to notice. Following these suspicious points and investigating further, even more suspicious points emerged.”
So someone who had stared at wooden scenery for seven or eight years on Dragon Tiger Mountain truly had frighteningly keen observation skills. Song Chuyi decided not to speak further and simply pricked up her ears to listen to Zhou Weizhao.
“Cui Shaoying probably has quite a few secrets. You need to prepare yourself mentally.” Zhou Weizhao looked at her: “If he’s truly connected to those coal mines in Yangquan County as well…”