Lin Sui’an blinked once. Then blinked again. After a long pause, she gave an “Oh?” sound.

Hua Yitang seemed not to have noticed her expression and continued of his own accord: “The previous family head of the Hua Family had no talent for commerce. When my elder brother took over the Hua Family, only these four merchant convoys had any real scale. My elder brother restructured and expanded them, opened up several new trade routes, and from that built the Mu Family merchant convoys of today. Without exaggeration, these four merchant convoys can be called the foundation of the Hua Family’s rise.”

Lin Sui’an’s mind turned through several revolutions following Hua Yitang’s words, and she finally sorted it out. “You are saying these account books show that the Mu Family merchant convoys were founded on money swindled from the Cicada Shell Shops?”

Hua Yitang’s eyes dropped. “In those years, the Bai Family of Qingzhou, backed by the Qingzhou merchant world, was at the height of their glory. But over twenty years ago, the Cicada Shell Shop serial fraud case caused the Qingzhou merchant world to suffer tremendous losses. The Bai Family of Qingzhou was also affected, their power greatly diminished. After that, the Hua Family of Yangdu engaged the Bai Family of Qingzhou in a commercial war, and the Bai Family fell back step by step, ultimately being driven back to Guangdu City and forced to give up the markets in the Eastern Capital and Yi’du.”

Lin Sui’an: Hm?

Hua Yitang’s breathing grew heavier and heavier. “First, use the Cicada Shell Shops to weaken the Bai Family of Qingzhou. Channel the money swindled from the Cicada Shell Shops into the four merchant convoys for one’s own use. Then, once grown strong, advance step by step to devour the Bai Family of Qingzhou’s commercial territory, and ultimately replace them. Such a ruthless, interlocking scheme——”

Lin Sui’an: Hm? Hm?? Hm???

“Do you still remember the one sentence Su Feizhang said just before his death?” Hua Yitang suddenly asked.

Lin Sui’an: “Hm?”

Hua Yitang’s pupils were unfathomably deep; his words came faster and faster. “He said that sooner or later the Hua Family would meet the same end as the Su Family. He also asked me — if one day the fate of one’s family and the laws of the nation ran in opposite directions, what would be the right choice? At the time, Ling the Sixth Young Master chose the law without hesitation, while I — could it be that Su Feizhang had already known something, or perhaps——”

“Hua Yitang!” Lin Sui’an slapped down hard on Hua Yitang’s shoulder. Hua Yitang gave a start, looked up, and stared blankly at Lin Sui’an.

Lin Sui’an sighed. “Do you know what your greatest strength and your greatest weakness are?”

Now it was Hua Yitang’s turn to be taken aback, and he gave an “Hm?” sound.

“Your greatest strength is that you are clever — you can reason out the truth of a case from the smallest details. But your greatest weakness is also that you are clever.” Lin Sui’an said. “You think too far ahead. You think too much.”

Hua Yitang blinked with an air of innocence.

“First: where this account book Zheng Yongyan sent came from, who wrote it, whether the records are true or false — none of it has been verified. In other words, the authenticity of this evidence is in question. Therefore, any conclusion derived from this evidence is naturally not to be trusted.”

“Second: though I know little of the Hua Family, as the saying goes, a glimpse of a leopard’s spot reveals the whole — and a single drop of water reflects the whole ocean. I have worked alongside you for two years, and have met the Hua Family’s head, Second Miss Hua, Third Miss Hua, and Second Mu — you are all honest, trustworthy people with kind hearts. I believe that the Hua Family, in any time or place, would never earn money through underhanded means.”

Hua Yitang’s eyes reddened at the rims.

Lin Sui’an: “You are this perceptive — what I could think of, how could you not? It is simply that concern clouds one’s judgment.”

Hua Yitang looked steadily into Lin Sui’an’s eyes. “But what if it were true — what then?”

Lin Sui’an’s eyes and brows curved into a smile. “If that day truly came, I trust you would make the genuinely correct choice!”

Moisture flickered in the depths of Hua Yitang’s eyes. He tilted his head and curved his lips upward. “If that day truly came, and the Hua Family were no longer behind me — what then?”

“Then I’ll take you and elope, won’t I.” Lin Sui’an said.

Hua Yitang’s eyes snapped open wide as saucers. “You — you — you — you — you — what did you say?!”

Lin Sui’an smiled. “My martial arts are passable enough — protecting you should be more than sufficient. After working with you all this time, I’ve also managed to save up a bit of private money. As long as you don’t preen too much — buy fewer robes, hairpins, fans, boots, and incense — it should be enough for us to live comfortably for several lifetimes. The world is vast, the sea is wide and the sky is open — what is there to fear about finding a place to be?”

Hua Yitang gazed at her — gazed at her — then suddenly broke into laughter. As he laughed and laughed, his gaze fixed again on Lin Sui’an’s face, his eyes like autumn water, filled with endless tenderness.

Lin Sui’an scratched her forehead, privately thinking she had outdone herself today — she had finally managed to plug all of Hua Yitang’s ridiculous mental wanderings. She was just about to say a few more closing words to put a perfect final period on today’s speech.

“All right.” Hua Yitang suddenly produced a single word.

Lin Sui’an was startled. “What?”

Hua Yitang’s body slowly leaned forward, the sound from his mouth winding around with an ambiguous huskiness: “Eloping with you — all right……”

Hua Yitang’s face drew closer and closer. Lin Sui’an’s eyeballs nearly fell out. Hey! Hey, hey? Hey, hey, hey?! What do you think you’re doing?!

Warm, fragrant incense like two invisible arms gathered around her body. Lin Sui’an went rigid in her hands and feet, feeling herself a thoroughly startled wooden post, unable to move at all. Hua Yitang’s long, curved eyelashes trembled and closed slowly before her eyes; the skin on his nose was smooth as congealed fat without a single visible pore, and his lips looked like cherry-colored jelly.

Lin Sui’an swallowed: Taking a little taste… doesn’t seem entirely out of the question……

“Hua Yitang, you blockhead!”

Suddenly a bolt of thunderous, furious shouting split the air from above. Lin Sui’an snapped wide awake in an instant. Her toes pushed off the ground and she retreated four chi back, chair and all. Hua Yitang’s body lurched sideways and tumbled to the ground, chair and all, calling out in pain.

A figure charged through the thick night at a swift pace — heavy brows, large eyes, blazing with fury, a ruler still raised in one hand. He unleashed a torrent of curses: “You undisciplined, frivolous thing — truly three days without a beating and you’re climbing onto the roof tiles! “

As he spoke, he swung the ruler toward Hua Yitang’s backside — but in the blink of an eye, Lin Sui’an flashed forward and caught the ruler firmly in her grip. She stared in astonishment. “Head of the Hua Family?”

Hua Yitang seized the opportunity to scramble up and slip behind Lin Sui’an. “E-e-elder brother — I hadn’t managed to do anything yet! Please — please don’t misunderstand!”

Hua Yihuan’s veins bulged and pulsed. “You are wrong precisely because you hadn’t done anything!”

Hua Yitang: “Hm?”

Lin Sui’an: “Ha?”

“After spending all this time in An’du City, you haven’t accomplished one proper thing! How did the Hua Family of Yangdu ever raise a good-for-nothing like you?! Dragging your feet, dawdling along, treating every word I say as wind past your ears?! If I hadn’t come here myself, where would this end?!”

Hua Yihuan was, after all, the head of the Hua Family — his vocabulary for scolding might not be as rich as Hua Yitang’s, but his presence was absolutely overwhelming. That booming voice coming down on them from all directions left Lin Sui’an’s head ringing. She quickly stepped back a pace to give the two brothers room to engage.

Hua Yitang’s face flushed crimson. “Elder — elder brother, this — this sort of thing cannot be rushed. One must proceed gradually and with care——”

Hua Yihuan: “What do you mean ‘proceed gradually’ at a time like this?! A man of marriageable age, a woman of marriageable age, dry kindling and roaring fire under the same roof — much more gradual and the child will be born first!”

Hua Yitang exploded like a firework. Lin Sui’an was shocked for a moment, then the meaning sank in, and her face burned hot enough to cook pancakes. “Hua — Head of the Hua Family, just now — that — you may have misunderstood——”

Hua Yitang: “I — I — I — I — haven’t — haven’t — haven’t——”

Hua Yihuan was at the peak of fury. “I instructed you to keep a close eye on Second Sister, and instead you dropped her off at Sanhe Academy without any investigation whatsoever. And that He Sishan — old and ugly, still a man with a lame leg — what about him is worthy of my little sister?! Do you know that this He Sishan was born of a military household, and later changed his name and switched his household registration? This sort of household registration change, done without proper channels, must be suspicious!”

A moment of utter silence.

Lin Sui’an immediately stood upright, frowning. “To think it is like this!”

Hua Yitang promptly composed himself and said with a serious expression: “Truly unexpected!”

The two of them switched roles with impeccable smoothness. If not for the two faces blazing red as ripe persimmons, they would have appeared almost convincing.

Hua Yihuan’s gaze swept over the two of them, and he pulled a chair over and sat down. “Well, what else did you think I was talking about?”

Lin Sui’an and Hua Yitang exchanged one glance, then swiftly looked away. They sat down awkwardly facing Hua Yihuan.

Hua Yitang cleared his throat. “If he is from a military household, where did He Sishan originally serve?”

Lin Sui’an: “And what was his original name?”

“I have only found out that He Sishan is of the Wan Family of Qingzhou by origin, and that his birth name is unknown. The one who altered his identity should also have been the Wan Family of Qingzhou.” Hua Yihuan glanced at Hua Yitang. “I hear that Ling the Sixth Young Master has quite a good relationship with the Wan Family of Qingzhou. Find a way to look into He Sishan’s background.”

Hua Yitang cupped his hands in a salute: “I respectfully obey my elder brother’s command!”

Hua Yihuan sighed, poured a cup of tea for Lin Sui’an, and asked: “In Lin Niangzi’s view, what kind of man is He Sishan?”

Lin Sui’an thought for a moment. “Headmaster He is resolute of will, gentle and sincere in character, and most importantly — his feelings for Second Miss Hua are genuine.”

Hua Yitang nodded vigorously.

Hua Yihuan frowned. “But this man is concealing his identity, which may lead to future troubles. I must meet him in person before I am at ease.” He also shot a glare at Hua Yitang. “I want to see for myself whether what you wrote in your letter is true or not.”

Hua Yitang kowtowed repeatedly as if pounding garlic. “Yes, yes, yes — elder brother’s eye is keenest; you are certainly more reliable than I am!”

Hua Yihuan gave a cold snort and raised his teacup for a sip.

Lin Sui’an and Hua Yitang finally let out a collective sigh of relief, and both took up their teacups.

Hua Yihuan raised his eyes. “Good then. Now let me see what kind of account books they are that could drive Lin Niangzi to the point of wanting to take my Fourth Young Master and elope.”

“Pfft——” Lin Sui’an and Hua Yitang both spat.

A quarter of an hour later, Hua Yihuan set down the account books. “On the surface these books look quite plausible. Whoever kept these accounts was an expert hand — every entry has a logical origin and trail. Moreover these are old accounts from over twenty years ago. I took over the Hua Family fifteen years ago. If I am honest, even I would find it difficult to judge from the ledgers alone whether they are genuine or false. Most likely only someone who experienced the Cicada Shell Shop serial fraud case firsthand could tell the difference.”

Hua Yitang fell silent. Lin Sui’an had been about to ask whether the former head of the Hua Family might be asked to look at them, but upon reflection — having known Hua Yitang all this time, she had never once heard him mention the former head of the Hua Family. Odds were the person was no longer in this world.

“Can someone who experienced the Cicada Shell Shop serial fraud case firsthand still be found today?” Hua Yitang asked.

Hua Yihuan smiled. “As it happens, I know of one.”

“Who?”

“The head of the Bai Family of Qingzhou, Bai Rong.”

Four days later. Qingzhou. The Bai Family ancestral home.

Bai Xiang came trotting into the study, his round little belly bouncing before him. “Grandfather, grandfather, grandfather — a letter from the Hua Family head again!”

Bai Rong lifted his head from his mountain of account books and bellowed: “What is all this rushing about?! Can’t you see I am in the middle of writing a reply letter right now!”

Bai Xiang leaned over to peek, and his face lit up with delight. “Grandfather, have you traced where the silver from the Sui Prefecture Su Family’s Cicada Shell Shops ultimately went?”

Bai Rong let out a cold snort. “They used the same old method from decades ago — they think the Bai Family of Qingzhou is a pushover? This time I’ve finally caught them by the pigtail!”

“Grandfather is mighty!” Bai Xiang lowered his voice. “So — where did the Sui Prefecture Su Family’s silver ultimately go?”

Bai Rong picked up his writing brush, dipped it full of ink, and wrote four weighty characters on the paper:

【The Jiang Family of Taiyuan】

Bai Xiang sucked in a cold breath. “Extraordinary!”

Bai Rong: “That young fellow Hua Yihuan insisted on investigating — I want to see, now that it has come out as the Jiang Family of Taiyuan, what he plans to do about it?”

“But what the Hua Family head asked about this time is not the Sui Prefecture Su Family’s Cicada Shell Shops — it is a case from twenty years ago.” Bai Xiang said.

Bai Rong: “Hm?”

Bai Xiang presented the small wooden box. “This is a transcribed copy of the account books sent over by Jingmen Sect.”

Bai Rong snatched the account books, opened them, and read through them carefully from beginning to end. Then he shook his head. “These account books are fakes.”

Bai Xiang: “How can you tell? They look quite genuine to me!”

Bai Rong swatted him across the head. “I keep telling you to read more old account books from the past and you never listen. Look carefully — the Guangdu Huitong Banking House recorded in here was a Bai Family enterprise.”

Bai Xiang rubbed his head. “So — what then?”

“In the fifth month of the eighth year of Xuanchang, the head clerk of that banking house suddenly died, and the shop was closed for over a month. There could absolutely not have been any account entries during that period — yet in these account books there are three records from the fifth month. Naturally they are fake.”

Bai Xiang was thunderstruck. “Grandfather — you still remember something from over twenty years ago?!”

Bai Rong was displeased. “The head clerk died under suspicious circumstances, his family came to make trouble, and it cost five hundred gold to settle the matter. Of course I remember clearly!”

Bai Xiang: “……”

“All right, both matters have been investigated. Write the reply to Hua Yihuan quickly — that young fellow keeps sending urgent messages. It is infuriating.”

“You had better write this reply letter yourself, Grandfather.” Bai Xiang spun around and bolted. “My sworn elder brother asked me to investigate someone — I need to make a trip to the Guangdu government office——”

By the time the last word left his mouth, the person was already gone without a trace.

Bai Rong was so angry he puffed his beard and widened his eyes. “Sworn elder brother this, sworn elder brother that — I’d like to know what sort of spell that little rascal Hua Yitang has cast on you!”

Muttering curses with his mouth, the brush in his hand moved at flying speed.

【To the Head of the Hua Family: upon unfolding this letter, it is as though seeing you in person. Since receiving your elder brother’s message by carrier pigeon, I have exhausted all my mental faculties, forgetting sleep and meals, to investigate the Cicada Shell Shops with all my strength. Thankfully, I have not let your elder brother down, and now have a conclusion……】

Half an hour later. The government office of Guangdu City.

Guangdu City Prefect Che Ting held up the copy of “Zheng Yongyan’s confession” that Hua Yitang had transcribed, clicking his tongue in admiration. “This Adjunct Zheng has led quite a storied life!”

Bai Xiang: “Hua the Fourth Young Master says this person once lived in Guangdu City for a period of time and even built a storage warehouse for the Prefect’s office — he is wondering if anyone at the Prefect’s office might recognize him.”

Prefect Che thought for a moment, summoned the head of the irregular enforcement officers, Zhao Zhengzhi, and passed over the confession. “Does Chief Zhao have any impression of this person?”

Zhao Zhengzhi scratched his head. “Twenty years ago I was still a junior soldier with the Wan Family of Qingzhou — how would I know this person?”

Prefect Che: “I recall Old Liang has been an irregular officer for nearly thirty years. Call him over to ask.”

Before long, Old Liang arrived. He was an irregular enforcement officer past fifty years of age, his temples shot with grey, but his spirit was good. After Prefect Che asked him the question, Old Liang frowned and thought for a while. “At the time the Prefect’s office was expanding its warehouses — there were dozens of craftsmen alone. It is truly difficult to recall.”

“Wait——” Zhao Zhengzhi pointed at the confession. “The time this man came to build the warehouse and the time of his affair with his fellow villager’s wife are less than a month apart. This kind of scandalous gossip — craftsmen would certainly have whispered about it privately. Old Liang, do you have any impression?”

“Ah!” Old Liang’s eyes lit up. “I remember now. At the time, the craftsmen’s guild building the warehouse engaged an accounting secretary to keep the books — a man of over sixty, who had just taken a new young wife. The new wife was beautiful and brought her husband his meals every day. One thing leading to another, she got entangled with one of the craftsmen. It caused quite a stir at the time, and a report was even made to the authorities. The case registry office should have a file.”

Zhao Zhengzhi immediately went to the case registry office, and returned shortly with a file. It was recorded very clearly: on the sixteenth day of the ninth month of the eighth year of Xuanchang, a civil case was received. Plaintiff Zheng Cai filed suit against a fellow villager, Zheng Yongyan, for theft. The case was later dropped due to insufficient evidence, and the plaintiff withdrew the suit.

Old Liang nodded in realization. “So the young man who had the affair was called Zheng Yongyan — it was so long ago, I had forgotten……”

Prefect Che: “But why was it a theft case — and why was it dropped?”

Old Liang’s expression became one of wanting to speak but holding back. Zhao Zhengzhi frowned. “Speak up — what is it?”

“A wife’s adultery is not something one wants broadcast — changing the charge and reporting it under a different name was a standard approach. The plaintiff gave that defendant — that is, Zheng Yongyan — a thorough thrashing, leaving his skin split and flesh torn. He was carried in barely clinging to a single breath. The Prefect was afraid a life might be lost and mediated the dispute, having Zheng Cai drop the charges — and that was the end of it.” Old Liang sighed. “After returning home, this Zheng Yongyan fell gravely ill, then caught a chill on top of that, and died. He passed away.”

“He died?!” Prefect Che was greatly alarmed. “You are certain that Zheng Yongyan had already died in those years?!”

Old Liang: “From what I heard, this Zheng Yongyan was an illegitimate son of a concubine, not well-regarded by anyone. He had been driven out of the household before he even came of age and had no relatives at all. After he died there was no one to care for him — I was the one who collected his body. There is no mistake.”

Zhao Zhengzhi: “And what became of Zheng Cai and the woman Liu Shi?”

Old Liang: “Liu Shi, hearing Zheng Yongyan was dead, also threw herself into a river. Zheng Cai died of illness not two years later without leaving any descendants behind; his household servants scattered as well. I suspect that in all of Guangdu City, I am the only one who still remembers this case.”

Bai Xiang’s mouth dropped wide open. Prefect Che and Zhao Zhengzhi looked at each other. “Write to Military Advisor Hua immediately!”

Short Sketch

Bai Xiang’s inner monologue: Goodness — Hua the Fourth Young Master wrote a single letter and it managed to unearth an old murder case from years past. This luck — I am in awe!