Lin Sui’an patted Manager Li’s face. Manager Li’s eyes remained firmly shut, not a flicker of movement. She let out a sigh — she had tried everything: pressing the acupoint below his nose, splashing cold water on him, pinching his cheeks. Apart from the fact that his breathing was normal, even his eyelids refused to stir. It really did seem he’d been struck down by a surge of panicked fury and had genuinely fainted.

“Should we call a physician?” Lin Sui’an asked.

Hua Yitang glanced at Mu Xia. Mu Xia, reading the cue without a word, grabbed one of Yita’s bowls of tea, pried open Manager Li’s jaw, and poured it in. Manager Li let out a yelp and sat bolt upright.

Hua Yitang gave a thumbs up: “Yita, excellent tea.”

Yita’s eyes lit up.

Jin Ruo: “That actually works?!”

Lin Sui’an: “……”

Forgive her ignorance — so this was the proper use of Yita’s tea all along.

The now-awake Manager Li stared blankly, his gaze unfocused. After a long moment his eyes settled on Hua Yitang’s face and he came back to himself, immediately crying out, “Fourth Young Master, I’ve been wronged! Every piece of merchandise in the gem and treasure shop was personally selected by me — it’s impossible for there to be a counterfeit for sale!”

“I certainly trust Manager Li. There must be something suspicious going on here.” Hua Yitang nodded. “Why don’t we go and inspect the merchandise together?”

“Yes, yes, yes! I’ll have someone prepare the carriage immediately!”

Lin Sui’an had a vague memory of the gem and treasure shop on Forty-Six Street in Sanhe Ward — it sold jewelry and accessories with a distinctly exotic flair, novel in design and exquisitely crafted. If it were back in her world, any single piece would be a national-treasure-level artifact. Yesterday when they were browsing, Hua Yitang had lingered in the shop for quite some time, showing particular interest in the hanging ornaments. Lin Sui’an had originally assumed it was just his vanity acting up again, never imagining he had actually spotted a counterfeit.

“Why didn’t you say anything yesterday?” Jin Ruo asked, eating pastries from the carriage, his cheeks puffed out. Lin Sui’an looked at those increasingly rounded cheeks with some concern — they’d only been on the road a few days and his face had already filled out. By the time they reached the Eastern Capital, would he turn into a chubby little dumpling?

Hua Yitang: “I originally assumed the gem and treasure shop manager was deceiving the Hua Family by selling fakes. I didn’t want to tip him off. But this morning I had Mu Xia check the other twenty-three Hua Family gem and treasure shops in Heyue City, and found that only this one shop had a counterfeit — and only this single counterfeit item.”

Lin Sui’an: “That is strange. If it were the manager operating this scheme, it certainly wouldn’t be limited to one shop, and there shouldn’t be only one counterfeit.”

Hua Yitang: “Of course, it’s also possible that Manager Li found out I was coming and pulled the other fakes first, accidentally leaving this one behind.”

“Then he’d be terribly stupid — cough cough cough—” Jin Ruo choked on a pastry, his eyes rolling back. Yita passed him a bowl of tea. Jin Ruo took a sip and his face went green.

Lin Sui’an and Hua Yitang suppressed laughter.

The Hua Family’s main gem and treasure shop on Forty-Six Street in Sanhe Ward was large, lavishly decorated, and managed by Manager Li as the principal, with Second Manager Zhang handling day-to-day operations. The shop’s five employees — two men and three women — were already waiting outside the door. Word had apparently reached them, and all wore expressions of extreme anxiety.

The display counter for the incense balls had been sealed off. The pieces currently on show included embroidered fragrant sachets, jade pendants, and glittering hanging ornaments. The agate-grape-wrapped-in-gold incense ball that Hua Yitang had mentioned sat in the center position — just a single piece. It had gold filament grape-leaf patterning, snow-white tassels, and grape beads all inlaid with purple agate — distinctly beautiful and exquisite, with a marked price of twenty guan.

Lin Sui’an clicked her tongue: Heavens — the price of that incense ball would cover two years of her rent in Yangdu.

Hua Yitang had Manager Li retrieve the incense ball, turned it over in his hands, and nodded. “Indeed a counterfeit.”

Both managers, their faces ashen, took the incense ball and studied it together for a long time. “Please forgive our poor eyesight — the engravings and agate on this are entirely beyond suspicion. Where exactly did Fourth Young Master determine it was a fake?”

Hua Yitang: “Try loading it with fragrance.”

The incense ball was made in two half-spheres, connected at the rim by a hinge. Opening the clasp, one found inside a series of concentric ring mechanisms and a fragrance cup. Mu Xia loaded fragrance into the cup, secured the clasp, swung the incense ball — and the fragrance scattered all over the floor through the openwork pattern.

Both managers’ faces went white. “How — how is this possible?!”

“In a genuine piece, no matter how the outer shell of the incense ball is shaken, the fragrance cup always maintains its balance and the fragrance doesn’t spill,” Hua Yitang explained. “This ingenious mechanism is based on the principle of the navigation gyroscope used by the Hua Family’s overseas trade fleet. It is the true selling point of the incense ball. Currently only the Hua Family’s craftsmen can manufacture it — most are tribute items for the palace, and the technique has not yet spread to the common people. Whoever made this counterfeit only copied the outward appearance, without grasping the core mechanism. Even so, the exterior is crafted with remarkable precision. Without loading fragrance and testing it, it really would be difficult to detect.”

Lin Sui’an was astonished: She knew this technology — indeed a national-treasure-level piece of work.

Both managers and all five employees dropped to their knees with a collective thud. “Fourth Young Master, in your wisdom please understand — we truly did not know this was a counterfeit! When the incense ball was delivered to us, it was a genuine piece. We cannot fathom how it came to be replaced with a fake. We have been truly wronged!”

Hua Yitang leisurely fanned himself and sat down. “I’d trouble both managers to bring the daily transaction ledger, the categorized ledger, and the current inventory ledger. The employees, remain here — I’ll question you separately.”

Both managers rushed off, while the five employees trembled like sieves.

Hua Yitang: “What’s the daily foot traffic like at the gem and treasure shop?”

Several employees glanced at one another, not daring to answer.

Mu Xia: “Regarding the counterfeit matter, Fourth Young Master believes you have no involvement. Just answer Fourth Young Master’s questions honestly — good answers will be rewarded.”

The employees finally opened up.

“In reply to Fourth Young Master — the merchandise in this gem and treasure shop is all high-end goods, expensive in price. The customers are all wealthy nobles. Apart from regulars, the majority are foreign traders passing through. On a busy day there can be more than fifty visitors.”

Hua Yitang: “Are there records of regular customers?”

“Yes, yes — the records note each regular customer’s home address and preferences.”

“Let me have a look.”

“Yes, yes, of course. Fourth Young Master, please wait a moment.”

Hua Yitang received the regular customer registry and questioned the employees as he read, asking in thorough detail. Jin Ruo began yawning one after another. Lin Sui’an also couldn’t sit still and began wandering around. Yita followed her step for step, putting her somewhat on edge.

Lin Sui’an: “Why don’t you go rest a bit?”

Yita: “Master Pig, want tea?”

“No need.”

The shop’s merchandise dazzled the eye — rhinoceros horn carvings, ivory carvings, sea shells, tortoiseshell, glassware, complete sets of pearl jewelry, every piece carrying a steep price. The more Lin Sui’an looked, the more she felt her poverty was limiting her imagination.

Suddenly, Yita reached out and picked up a pearl hairpin, staring fixedly at Lin Sui’an. “Master Pig, this one.”

Lin Sui’an waved her hand repeatedly: “I can’t afford it.”

Yita shook his head. “Master Pig, color, dark.”

“I’ve gotten a bit tanned recently?”

“Master Pig, dark dark.”

Lin Sui’an: “……”

Brother, I’m begging you — go get a Mandarin proficiency certificate as soon as possible!

Yita seemed to be growing urgent, and took the pearl hairpin over to find Mu Xia. The two of them exchanged a volley of words, and Mu Xia — remarkably — understood. He passed the pearl hairpin to Hua Yitang. Hua Yitang was in the middle of questioning and had a splitting headache — he glanced at it casually, then suddenly shot to his feet. “Where was this found?”

Yita led them to Lin Sui’an’s side, pointing to the display counter ahead. “Here.”

Hua Yitang held the pearl hairpin, compared it against the complete pearl necklace, pearl flower, and other pieces on the counter, and his expression darkened. “When I came here yesterday, all of these were genuine. Now they’ve all turned into counterfeits.”

Lin Sui’an: “……”

Heaven and earth as her witness — she hadn’t touched a single thing.

“Who is the heartless villain behind this?! They’re trying to drive us to our graves! Fourth Young Master, you must stand up for us! Someone is definitely framing us! Even if we had the guts of a tiger we’d never sell counterfeits!”

Managers Li and Zhang sat on the floor and wailed loudly. The five employees cried even more dramatically, as if their mothers had just died. Hua Yitang flipped through the rest of the regular customer registry and tapped the corner of the table with his fan.

The managers and employees suddenly stopped crying, gazing up at him expectantly.

Hua Yitang: “When the shop opened this morning, was there anything unusual?”

Manager Zhang: “No. All doors and windows were locked. Everything was intact when we arrived.”

“Who had the keys?”

Manager Zhang: “Only Manager Li and I have them. We carry them on our persons at all times, never removing them even while sleeping.”

Hua Yitang glanced at Jin Ruo. Jin Ruo rolled his eyes, planted a foot on the counter, vaulted to the rafters, made a quick circuit, and dropped back down, dusting off his hands. “The rafters could use a sweep — dust is terrible up there. But the roof tiles are intact. No issues.”

The managers and employees stared at Jin Ruo, mouths agape. Jin Ruo looked rather pleased with himself.

This ruled out the possibility of a thief sneaking in overnight to swap the counterfeits. Lin Sui’an thought — though, to be fair, if she were the thief, she’d go to the trouble of breaking in only to rob the place clean, not just swap out one set of counterfeits. Far too inefficient.

Hua Yitang: “Yesterday, from the Shen Hour onward until closing, were there any unusual customers?”

Yesterday’s Shen Hour was when Hua Yitang had left this shop, which meant he suspected someone had swapped the goods by posing as a customer in the intervening period. This was indeed a direction worth investigating — but how had he concluded the inside staff weren’t the culprits? If she were in his place, she’d start with an internal investigation first, Lin Sui’an thought.

Everyone shook their heads: “They were all regulars. Nothing unusual.”

“What about unfamiliar faces?”

Manager Zhang: “In reply to Fourth Young Master — there were no unfamiliar customers yesterday.”

“Who was responsible for the southeast corner counter?”

At these words, everyone’s gaze simultaneously shot toward one of the employees — a girl, roughly fifteen or sixteen, with a delicate oval face. Her eyes were wide with alarm, lids swollen from crying. “In — in reply to Fourth Young Master — it was — it was me.”

“In Fourth Young Master’s defense — although Xiao Yan is young, she has already worked at this shop for two years. She is bright and quick-handed. Not once has a transaction she handled gone wrong!” Manager Zhang quickly explained. The other employees all chimed in agreement.

Their unanimous defense made Lin Sui’an even more suspicious: Could it be the entire staff — managers and employees alike — had conspired together, making this a group scheme?

“Your name is Xiao Yan, correct? Don’t panic. I’ll ask one question, you answer one question.” Hua Yitang put on his most harmless and reassuring smile. “I believe you.”

Xiao Yan looked dazed and nodded blankly. Everyone else breathed a collective sigh of relief.

Lin Sui’an suddenly understood — Hua Yitang was using a feint strategy, first directing suspicion toward external parties to lower their guard, then drawing out information to find cracks and leads.

Truly underhanded.

Hua Yitang: “Yesterday, was there a customer who examined that set of jewelry?”

Xiao Yan: “Yes.”

“How many people?”

“Four.”

“Do you remember who they were?”

“Madam Chen, Old Madam Xu, the eldest daughter-in-law of the Wang Family, and Fifth Miss Yuan. All regulars.”

“Did any of them try on the jewelry?”

Xiao Yan thought for a moment. “Old Madam Xu said she wanted to choose a piece of bridal jewelry for her daughter, so she only looked. Madam Chen only asked about the price. The eldest Wang daughter-in-law only tried on the necklace. Only Fifth Miss Yuan tried on the complete set.”

“After she removed the jewelry, did you check it?”

“I checked. The jewelry showed no problems at all.”

“Was there anything different about Fifth Miss Yuan compared to usual?”

“Nothing different — no, wait—” Xiao Yan thought for a moment, then shook her head slowly. “Usually Fifth Miss Yuan comes alone. Yesterday she had an older woman with her.” She paused, gradually furrowing her brow. “I remember now — after I put the jewelry back on the counter, that older woman seemed quite taken with it and lingered at the counter for a long time. At that moment, Fifth Miss Yuan wanted to try on other pieces of jewelry. I was busy attending to her, and since the older woman hadn’t touched anything, I didn’t pay close attention.”

Hua Yitang: “Had you ever seen that older woman before?”

Xiao Yan: “Never. But the contours of her brow and eyes bore a fifty-percent resemblance to Fifth Miss Yuan’s, and her clothing was lavish, her manner refined. She and Fifth Miss Yuan conversed happily with the familiarity of close relatives. She should have been an elder of the Yuan Family.”

“Manager Li — arrange a gift and accompany me to call on the Yuan Family,” Hua Yitang said. “Manager Zhang — prepare equivalent gifts and deliver them to the Chen, Xu, and Wang households. Tell them Fourth Young Master of the Hua Family sends these in gratitude for their years of patronage, and asks after their health. While inquiring, pay attention to the expressions and behavior of the ladies of the house.”

Both managers agreed readily, and under Mu Xia’s direction, instructed all the employees to begin preparing.

Hua Yitang unhurriedly fanned himself and ladled a bowl of tea for Lin Sui’an.

Lin Sui’an: “You’re certain Managers Li and the others have nothing to do with this?”

“Hmph — those two are seasoned operators. It’ll be hard to catch them off guard in any short period of time. The other four employees are all veterans of five years or more, who follow the two managers’ lead without question — difficult to crack. I’ll take them out for a walk and probe for more information.” Hua Yitang said. “Xiao Yan has worked here the shortest amount of time, and should be the quickest breakthrough point. Unfortunately my position is too prominent — she’s far too guarded around me, and questioning her further would be pointless. You have a kind, approachable face, and you’re a woman. Send you to question Xiao Yan and you’ll definitely get results.”

Lin Sui’an: “……”

Hua Yitang blinked. “What is it?”

Jin Ruo pressed his forehead. “Hua Yitang, are your eyes working properly? Where does Lin Sui’an look ‘approachable’ at all?”

Hua Yitang: “Hm?”

Yita let out a heavy sigh.

“Hm??”

Lin Sui’an felt Hua Yitang’s suggestion was pure nonsense.

Setting aside the question of whether her face was truly “approachable” — the fact that she was Hua Yitang’s bodyguard alone meant Xiao Yan would never lower her guard around her. So Lin Sui’an discarded Hua Yitang’s idea entirely and chose a simpler, more direct method instead: surveillance.

Since it was surveillance, the less conspicuous the better. Yita was roundly rejected and handed off to Hua Yitang. Jin Ruo was pressed into service as technical advisor and went along with Lin Sui’an.

“The two of us should split into two routes and take turns following her. When there are many people, close the distance; when there are few, increase it. Always make sure you can see Xiao Yan’s position clearly. If something unexpected happens, respond flexibly.” Jin Ruo put on the felt hat Hua Yitang had bought the day before. “A certain degree of disguise would be best.”

Lin Sui’an swiped some grime from the wall and rubbed it across her face. “Let’s go.”

Jin Ruo winced. “Far too slapdash.”

In truth, following Xiao Yan required no particular skill at all. Once Hua Yitang took the two managers out, he let Xiao Yan leave early to go home. Xiao Yan was quite happy about this, walking at a brisk clip the whole way, with no awareness whatsoever that anyone was tailing her.

Through the city ran a river called the Qingyue River, which cut diagonally from the northeast corner down and out through the southwest corner, dividing the city’s thirteen wards into two triangles, north and south. The northwest half of the city’s seven wards were named with the character “River,” and were called the River-Half City. The southeast half’s seven wards were named with the character “Peak,” and were colloquially called the Peak-Half City — which likely explained the origin of Heyue City’s name. Three stone arch bridges spanned the Qingyue River, each with some years on them, covered in moss and Virginia creeper. Beneath the bridges were a few small food stalls, and mostly small artisans: mirror polishers, ceramic repairers, knife sharpeners, and many day laborers waiting for work — masons and carpenters. Xiao Yan seemed to be well acquainted with all of them, exchanging warm greetings as she passed through the bridge and into the Peak-Half City.

The scene here was markedly inferior to the River-Half City. The River-Half City was home mainly to wealthy households and merchants, and the clothing people wore was mostly vivid and bright. The Peak-Half City was mostly local commoners, not prosperous, plainly dressed, the buildings more understated in style — as if a layer of grey-tinted filter had been laid over everything. Fortunately neither Lin Sui’an nor Jin Ruo were particular about their attire, so they didn’t stand out on the street. If Hua Yitang and Yita had come, they would have been like lice on a bald man’s head — the center of everyone’s attention.

Arriving in this area, Xiao Yan’s expression was more relaxed and her steps more light, like a nimble swallow gliding through the streets and alleyways. She passed through West Peak Ward and Central Peak Ward and arrived at North Peak Ward. This ward was at the northernmost edge of Heyue City, and its buildings were the lowest and most dilapidated. Lin Sui’an noticed that those walking about were either white-haired old people or sickly, gaunt-faced individuals. Clearly this ward was the entire city’s slum district.

Lin Sui’an and Jin Ruo began alternating their surveillance. This ward was a classic close-knit community — their two unfamiliar faces drew suspicious looks from the moment they entered the ward gate. Lin Sui’an felt she had indeed been too hasty. She should have found two raggedy sacks to wrap around themselves before acting.

Fortunately Xiao Yan noticed nothing. After two turns and three streets she arrived at a lane called “North Eight Alley,” knocked at the gate of a small courtyard, and called out, “Grandpa Shi, I’m here!” She also pulled an oil-paper packet from her lapel, sniffed it, and smiled.

Inside the oil paper was a flatbread she had bought from the food stalls under the bridge. She had sniffed it several times along the way without eating any of it — apparently she was bringing it as a gift.

After a long while, there was no response from inside the courtyard. Xiao Yan knocked two more times, growing anxious. She pressed her eye against the gap in the gate to look inside, then let out a piercing scream and dropped straight onto the ground, her face drained white as gold paper.

Lin Sui’an and Jin Ruo exchanged a glance and decisively abandoned the surveillance, moving to Xiao Yan’s side. Jin Ruo went to inspect the gate. Lin Sui’an helped Xiao Yan to her feet.

“What happened?” Lin Sui’an asked.

Xiao Yan seemed to have been shocked senseless. Looking at Lin Sui’an, she somehow didn’t recognize her, just opened her mouth, making small crying sounds in her throat, tears rolling down uncontrollably.

“What terrible luck!” Jin Ruo called back. “Lin Sui’an — there seems to be a dead person inside!”

Lin Sui’an: “……”

Short Skit

Lin Sui’an: Ha. Of course.