Lin Sui’an remembered this Director of Works, Zheng Yongyan — a man with three small strands of beard, a slight and thin frame, sallow-faced and gaunt. Whatever he did, he was always in a state of trembling trepidation, as though even if someone spoke a little too loudly, they would frighten him. At the welcome banquet at Chongyang Tower, he was the only one who did not fall into the latrine pit; Lin Sui’an had good reason to suspect it was because this man was too slight and weak, with too little strength, and was unable to squeeze his way to Prefect Jia’s side — avoiding disaster by sheer misfortune.

Thinking about it this way, Adjunct Zheng’s build and features did indeed bear some resemblance to Liu the Chief Secretary, which explained why the brain-poisoned Gong Feiyang had mistaken the person.

But Zheng Yongyan was merely a from-the-sixth-rank Director of Works — a person of little significance and extremely low presence. Why would the Fusheng Sect want to kill him?

“This is a grievous injustice — we had no intention of killing Zheng Yongyan. I only meant to frighten him a little, to remind him not to forget the cooperation between us.” Rong Qianshan cried out.

Hua Yitang raised an eyebrow. “What cooperation did the Fusheng Sect have with Adjunct Zheng?”

“Originally we had an agreement: all the lucrative contracts within An’du City for constructing bridges and storehouses would be left to the Fusheng Sect, with the commission split thirty-seventy. For this purpose, I even specifically set up a new hall, and recruited a batch of skilled craftsmen — it wore me out! Then this Zheng Yongyan showed his true colors and actually had the hall master and deputy hall master of that hall both arrested!”

Lin Sui’an: Craftsmen? A hall? Come on, come on — surely not?

Hua Yitang raised an eyebrow. “What are the names of those two hall masters you mentioned?”

Rong Qianshan said indignantly: “Hall Master Hao Dali, Deputy Hall Master Ba Yunfei — both capable men of the Fusheng Sect. Before the new year they went out of the city to do work, and were inexplicably thrown into prison on charges of being accessories to murder. Sheer nonsense. Those two idiots — how would they dare kill anyone? I figured it out: it must be that Zheng Yongyan, seeing the winds shifting recently, decided to part ways and discard the grinding stone now that the mill was done. Military Advisor Hua, don’t let that Zheng Yongyan’s honest appearance fool you — he is actually no simple man!”

Lin Sui’an quietly pressed her hand to her forehead: No wonder when arresting Hao Dali and Ba Yunfei at the time, she had felt those two had some martial arts foundation. She had not expected them to be Fusheng Sect members.

Well, well. So those two, from beginning to end, had never told the truth. They were probably still hoping the Fusheng Sect would come and fish them out.

The origins of this affair should have gone like this: Hao Dali and Ba Yunfei were arrested because of the Sanhe Academy case. Rong Qianshan mistakenly believed Zheng Yongyan was working against him behind the scenes and came to seek revenge in a fit of rage — only for Gong Feiyang to mistake the wrong person. In summary: Liu the Chief Secretary had become the ultimate victim of a chain of butterfly effects, the greatest unfortunate wretch.

Rong Qianshan did not know about the Sanhe Academy case, but Liu the Chief Secretary knew it thoroughly. On hearing this, he understood it at once, and his fury blazed. He slapped the couch and sat up. “That Zheng Yongyan — so he is the true culprit! Someone, quickly bring this person——Oww——”

He had sat up too violently, pulling at the wound on his backside. Liu the Chief Secretary instantly deflated, groaning as he lay back down.

“Ahem, in any case——” Hua Yitang said, “Chief Secretary Liu, please be patient. This case still has unclear points, and we cannot just take the Fusheng Sect’s one-sided account at face value!”

Liu the Chief Secretary, pale-faced and clutching his backside: “Military Advisor Hua, you continue the interrogation — you interrogate……”

Hua Yitang cleared his throat. “Rong Qianshan, you said just now that Zheng Yongyan had agreed the commission skimmed from construction projects would be split thirty-seventy — who gets thirty and who gets seventy?”

Rong Qianshan: “Naturally he takes seventy and we take thirty.”

Hua Yitang: “That is strange. Zheng Yongyan is at least a from-the-sixth-rank Adjunct — and he was willing to let you lot take the larger share?”

“That is because we had a hold over Zheng Yongyan!”

“Oh? What hold?”

Rong Qianshan’s eyes darted around. “If I tell Military Advisor Hua, can I get a reduced sentence by a few years?”

Hua Yitang: “That depends on how significant this hold of yours is.”

“It is absolutely a major hold!” Rong Qianshan said. “Back when the Fusheng Sect had just gotten a foothold in An’du City — oh, the expenses were enormous. The protection fees we were collecting were not even enough to fill the gaps between our teeth. So I thought about doing something big, and had Zheng Yongyan abducted, planning to extort some money from him.”

Lin Sui’an’s mouth dropped open. Hua Yitang blinked. “Why Zheng Yongyan?”

“We had done our research: the Zheng Family had generations of heritage in construction work, and Zheng Yongyan himself had done business for several years and had accumulated quite some savings. Later he became an official, and as the Director of Works — a lucrative post — he had money. Most importantly, Zheng Yongyan was timid and cowardly, easily frightened, easy to manipulate.” As he recounted this part, Rong Qianshan even seemed rather smug. “Sure enough, just as expected — Zheng Yongyan was so terrified on the spot that he wet his trousers, kowtowed bang-bang-bang, and kept crying out: ‘I confess! I confess to everything!'”

Hua Yitang’s eyes flashed. “What did that mean?”

“We were completely bewildered at first, too. Later we figured out that Zheng Yongyan had apparently mistaken Gong Feiyang for——” Rong Qianshan lowered his voice. “For the legendary — the Covert Censor.”

Liu the Chief Secretary sucked in a breath of cold air. Hua Yitang and Fangke flashed a quick look at Lin Sui’an.

Lin Sui’an wore an expression of utter disbelief. “What?!”

Rong Qianshan was whispering. “Surely all of you great figures know of the Covert Censor. The Covert Censor — born among the stars, moving through the night, whose true face no one knows. Wherever he goes is like the arrival of the Holy Sovereign himself. He observes the people’s conditions in secret, oversees all officials, rectifies governance and order, and rights wrongs. In the streets, he is a figure as divine as an immortal.”

Liu the Chief Secretary pulled his cotton quilts tighter around himself. It seemed that merely hearing the name “Covert Censor” sent a chill through his entire body.

The true Covert Censor, Lin Sui’an, rubbed the goosebumps rising on her arms, and raised the biggest question: “How could Adjunct Zheng have mistaken Gong Feiyang for the Covert Censor?!”

This was simply too absurd.

“I reckon it was… because of Gong Feiyang’s whetstone.” Rong Qianshan also seemed not entirely certain. “Gong Feiyang prized his blade dearly. He always carried a whetstone with him and would sharpen his blade whenever he had free time. The whetstone was about half a palm in size, rectangular, dark and dull. Because it had been used for so long, the surface was quite lustrous and reflective. It was when Zheng Yongyan saw Gong Feiyang take out the whetstone that he began frantically kowtowing.”

Lin Sui’an and Hua Yitang looked at each other, the corners of their eyes twitching uncontrollably.

Hua Yitang: Only officials of sixth rank and above have ever seen a genuine Covert Censor’s token. Zheng Yongyan is from the sixth rank — his rank is insufficient. He has probably only heard of it, never seen the real thing…

Lin Sui’an: This is a massive flaw! The basic anti-counterfeiting knowledge of the Covert Censor’s token needs to be made more widely known!

Hua Yitang felt utterly exhausted; even his tone had become a little impatient. “So — what exactly did Zheng Yongyan confess to?”

“Quite a lot. He wrote it all down.” Rong Qianshan drew a breath. “Military Advisor Hua, if I hand it over, will I truly receive a lighter sentence?”

“Hua will decide after seeing the material.”

Rong Qianshan gritted his teeth, sat on the ground, pulled off his boot, and tore open the sole. His sole had been built up for extra height, and inside was a hidden compartment. Inside the compartment was a piece of oilcloth, and wrapped inside the oilcloth was a piece of white cloth covered in writing — one chi wide and two chi long. When Fangke pinched it up, it still emitted a powerful odor of foot.

Hua Yitang pinched his nose, pulled off the fragrant sachet ball at his waist and poured out its scented powder, scattering it liberally over the cloth until it barely suppressed the smell. He borrowed two small tweezers from Fangke, clamped the two corners of the cloth, and lifted it up to inspect. Lin Sui’an, Fangke, and Liu the Chief Secretary all leaned in, brows knotted into frowns.

Lin Sui’an: “Goodness, Adjunct Zheng was quite frank indeed — he wrote down everything.”

Liu the Chief Secretary: “Quite appalling — quite appalling!”

Fangke: “Heh.”

The writing on the white cloth was chaotic and trembling, with many strokes drying partway through, revealing how dire Adjunct Zheng’s mental state had been at the time of writing. The contents were even more astonishing, including such things as:

On such-and-such a year, month, and day, assisting with bridge construction in such-and-such a county, receiving such-and-such an amount of silver, taking such-and-such a commission, and splitting such-and-such an amount with the county’s head clerk;

On such-and-such a year, month, and day, using substandard materials in such-and-such amount to build a residence for such-and-such a wealthy household, subcontracting it through several layers of contractors, and embezzling such-and-such an amount of silver;

On such-and-such a year, month, and day, overseeing the renovation of several shop fronts — substituting such-and-such type of timber with a lesser kind, substituting such-and-such type of stone with a lesser kind — colluding with the craftsmen’s foreman to dock the wages of the base-level workers, and skimming off such-and-such amount of silver……

Interspersed among these were also no shortage of romantic entanglements — on such-and-such a year, month, and day, peeping at Widow Zhang next door while she bathed; on such-and-such a year, month, and day, visiting a pleasure quarter in the foreign district of Guangdu City; there were even records of an affair with a fellow villager’s wife……

“My!” said Hua Yitang. “Who would have thought Adjunct Zheng was such a man of passions!”

Lin Sui’an: “……”

It was apparent this person was quite practiced in the arts of project subcontracting and skimming commissions. No wonder he had managed to work his way up to the position of Director of Works.

Remarkably, despite all its jumbled contents, this confession was still organized along a timeline, from which one could make out this person’s career of over twenty years: first spending time in several counties of Qingzhou, then going to Guangdu City (where nearly all the romantic entanglements were concentrated), then heading to the Eastern Capital where he passed his examinations and obtained a minor post, then wandering through several years, and finally arriving in An’du to serve as Director of Works.

Because it was written in reverse chronology, the last portion recorded his experiences building residences and bridges in Gong County, Hong County, and Liu County of Qingzhou.

Hua Yitang’s gaze lingered over the last few entries, and his expression gradually changed.

Lin Sui’an: “A discovery?”

“If I am not mistaken, Gong County, Hong County, and Liu County were the places where Cicada Shell Shop fraud cases were most concentrated in those years. The fifteen shop addresses that Zheng Yongyan was involved with are precisely the original Cicada Shell Shops — at the time they were set up as genuine shops, used to earn the trust of Qingzhou’s merchants.”

Lin Sui’an quickly asked: “And the dates?”

Hua Yitang scanned it rapidly. “Zheng Yongyan’s confession is dated the eighth year of Xuanchang — that is, twenty-two years ago — precisely the year before the Cicada Shell Shop serial fraud case erupted.”

Liu the Chief Secretary was dumbfounded. “What — what kind of shop?”

Fangke clicked his tongue. “You two and your luck——”

Hua Yitang laughed. “Fortune is pouring down on us; there’s no stopping it!”

Zheng Yongyan lay curled in his bed, trembling from head to foot.

He had been feigning illness and taking leave for two days already. When the Sanhe Academy case had blown open, though he had managed to use a few subordinates as scapegoats to temporarily put the matter to rest, as long as Hao Dali and Ba Yunfei remained in prison, his dealings with the Fusheng Sect were only a matter of time before they came to light.

To make matters worse, Liu the Chief Secretary had been stabbed in the street. Zheng Yongyan did not even need to think to know it was the Fusheng Sect’s doing; he just could not figure out why they would stab Liu the Chief Secretary. Could Liu the Chief Secretary also have gotten a share? Or had Liu the Chief Secretary also offended the Fusheng Sect? That the Fusheng Sect would dare to move against even a from-the-fifth-rank senior official below — Zheng Yongyan’s whole body went cold — surely the power behind them was the Covert Censor!

Zheng Yongyan thought of Gong Feiyang’s whetstone — that Covert Censor token — thought of the confession he had written with his own hand, and trembled even harder. If this continued, that affair would eventually be dug up. Better to gamble on one decisive move than to sit and await his doom!

With that thought, Zheng Yongyan crawled out of bed, pulled on his robe, shoes, and socks, and from a hidden compartment beneath the bed withdrew a wooden box, which he clutched tightly to his chest. He sat on the edge of the bed and waited — waited—

He waited from midnight until dawn, and from dawn until dusk, time passing little by little, his life slipping away with it. Finally, just before nightfall, he received the visit he had been waiting for: Chief Constable Guliang.

“Adjunct Zheng, the case of Chief Secretary Liu’s stabbing now requires you to serve as a witness. Please come with me.”

Guliang’s manner was extremely firm, entirely unlike his usual self. Zheng Yongyan’s heart went ice cold. He knew that this journey would most likely end badly. He instructed his steward a few things, then stumbled and staggered along behind.

Guliang had not even prepared a carriage. Fortunately, the Zheng residence was not far from the government office. Along the way, Zheng Yongyan saw that the ordinary people on the streets all wore joyful expressions and were chatting animatedly about something. With his mind in turmoil, he naturally paid no attention. He arrived at the prison interrogation hall and entered the door to see Liu the Chief Secretary lying face-down on his couch. Zheng Yongyan’s legs went weak; he fell to his knees and kowtowed bang-bang-bang: “I confess! I confess to everything!”

“Oh? Hua thought Adjunct Zheng had already confessed once — could it be there is still something he has not yet confessed?”

A clear, resounding voice rang out. Zheng Yongyan started, raised his head, and fixed his eyes — the person sitting in the main interrogation seat was not Liu the Chief Secretary, nor Prefect Jia, but the newly appointed Judicial Adjunct, Hua Yitang.

And kneeling beside him was the Fusheng Sect’s Deputy Gate Master Rong Qianshan — and lying right next to them was the Fusheng Sect’s Gate Master Gong Feiyang!

Wh — wh-wh-wh-what was going on?!

Was Gong Feiyang not the Covert Censor?!

Who would dare touch him?! Who in the world could beat him?!

Hua Yitang seemed to have read his thoughts entirely, for the very next thing he said was: “Gong Feiyang is not the Covert Censor. He is an impostor.”

Zheng Yongyan reeled as if struck by lightning, his entire body going rigid.

An impostor?!

Impossible! He had clearly seen the Covert Censor’s token — that dark, black iron plaque shimmering with the light of ten thousand stars, exactly as he had heard it described……

“The Covert Censor is an impostor, but this confession of yours should be genuine.” Hua Yitang pinched up the cotton cloth covered in confessions.

Zheng Yongyan’s head buzzed and roared; his whole body shook like a sieve. He could barely hold on to the wooden box in his arms. “I — I — I don’t — I — don’t know — don’t know — don’t know anything……”

“Clang” — the wooden box fell to the floor, the lid flew off, and eight scroll-books rolled out.

Zheng Yongyan snapped out of his daze and cried out, lunging for the scrolls — then felt a swift gust of wind flash before his eyes. In the blink of an eye, all the scroll-books along with the wooden box were on Hua Yitang’s desk. Zheng Yongyan caught sight of Lin Sui’an at Hua Yitang’s side, and his mind gave a clear ding as he remembered.

Lin Sui’an was the master of Qian Jing, capable of fighting a hundred alone. She was the only person in the world who could have captured Gong Feiyang.

Hua Yitang smiled, his eyes curved, and casually unrolled one of the scroll-books. “It seems these are the confessions Adjunct Zheng intended to present today. Allow Hua to peruse them carefully — oh my, they are account books! How convenient — Hua is most skilled at reading account books——”

Hua Yitang’s voice cut off abruptly. His eyes went completely round. He rapidly finished pulling the scroll open and swept through it, set it aside, pulled open another, scanned through it swiftly with a swoosh-swoosh-swoosh, then opened another…… In less than the time it takes to drink half a cup of tea, he had read through all eight scrolls. His complexion was pale, and the veins at his temples pulsed faintly.

Zheng Yongyan collapsed, his head drooping to one side as he fainted on the ground.

Lin Sui’an and Fangke exchanged puzzled looks and also picked up the account books to examine them — but could not make out anything unusual.

Liu the Chief Secretary was curious. “Military Advisor Hua, what is the problem with these account books?”

Hua Yitang’s expression eased and he smiled, cupping his hands in a salute: “This case is somewhat complex. Hua still needs to go back and think it over carefully. The hour is also getting late, and Chief Secretary Liu is still injured — why not return and rest first? If there are developments in the case, Hua will report to you at the earliest opportunity.”

Liu the Chief Secretary had been worn out for half the day, and his backside ached terribly; on hearing this, he was naturally only too glad. After exchanging a few ceremonial words, the eight sedan-chair bearers came in and carried the “litter-couch” away with their heave-ho.

Hua Yitang ordered Guliang to take Zheng Yongyan to a side courtyard of the government office and keep him under strict guard. He gathered up the account books, left the government office, boarded his carriage, and said not a word the entire journey, eyelids lowered, brow deeply furrowed. Upon arriving at the Hua residence he went directly to his room, closed the door, and refused to see even Mu Xia.

Everyone had long grown accustomed to Hua Yitang’s occasional strange and aberrant behavior. They ate their meals, went to sleep, and could not be bothered with him.

Jin Ruo and the Four Saints were busy dealing with the Fusheng Sect’s mess and had no time to come home. Yita carried six large food boxes to deliver dinner. Lin Sui’an enjoyed a rare quiet evening meal, returned to her courtyard, and slept a short while. When she woke, the first watch of midnight had already passed. Mu Xia came with an anxious look, saying Hua Yitang was behaving rather strangely, and asked Lin Sui’an to go and have a look.

The garden where Hua Yitang was staying this time was called the “Sleepless Garden.” One of its distinguishing features was that throughout the garden, the Hua Family’s specially made “glass lanterns” had been set up everywhere. When the candlelight blazed, light and shadow played across one another in a dazzling array of colors, like something from a dream.

Hua Yitang was wrapped in a fox-fur cloak, seated amid the play of lamplight and shadows. His handsome face was fair as snow; his pupils reflected the flowing splendor of the colorful light, as though he were an immortal lord of the nine heavens who might at any moment ride the wind away.

On the small table before him the eight scrolls of account books were spread out — by the look of it, he had already gone through them several times.

Mu Xia moved a chair over for Lin Sui’an and quickly withdrew.

Lin Sui’an picked up a scroll of account books and flipped through it casually. “Go on then — what difficult matter have you run into?”

Hua Yitang’s eyelashes fluttered several times; he let out a long, quiet sigh. “These are the transaction records of the eight Cicada Shell Shops in Liu County from around the eighth year of Xuanchang — they record in detail the movement of the Cicada Shell Shops’ silver.”

Lin Sui’an put down the account book. “And then?”

Hua Yitang looked into Lin Sui’an’s eyes. “The silver from the Cicada Shell Shops passed through more than ten banking houses, trading firms, and shops in Guangdu, Yi’du, and the Eastern Capital, and ultimately flowed into four merchant convoys. The four merchant convoys are respectively: the Gaoyun Merchant Convoy, the Eastern Wind Merchant Convoy, the Southern Sea Merchant Convoy, and the Northern River Merchant Convoy.”

“So?”

“These four merchant convoys are the predecessors of the Hua Family and Mu Family merchant convoys.”

Short Sketch

Jin Ruo ate with grease dripping down his mouth. The Four Saints ate until their faces glowed red. Yita stood with her hands on her hips and lectured the Fusheng Sect disciples in all seriousness:

“Follow the Boar Person, follow Brother Jin — listen, work, and there will be meat to eat, yes indeed!”

The Fusheng Sect disciples drooled with desire: What is a Boar Person? Sounds really, really delicious!