Ji Cheng said, “I’m not quite sure. Sister Qi and I were having tea in the garden, and Acui was admiring the couplets in Qingfen Hall when we happened to meet the Qi family’s eldest son returning home. That’s his study. Acui spoke with Young Master Qi for quite a while, so she might know a bit more.”
As Ji Cheng said this, she didn’t look at Shen Cui at all, naturally ignoring her meaningful glances.
The smile on Ji Lan’s face immediately changed from playful to stiff. “This eldest son of the Qi family is too careless. Knowing there are female guests in the house, doesn’t he know to avoid suspicion?” In the end, it was always someone else’s child at fault; Shen Cui, of course, was blameless.
Ji Cheng didn’t respond. As long as Ji Lan knew about this, it was enough. Ji Cheng didn’t intend to sabotage Shen Cui and Qi Zheng’s relationship, but if she didn’t tell Ji Lan and something were to happen between Shen Cui and Qi Zheng in the future, Ji Lan would surely blame her.
Ji Cheng stood up to take her leave, leaving Ji Lan and Shen Cui to talk. She was still thinking about the signal Yuqian’er had given her.
“Miss, it’s Mr. Hao,” Yuqian’er said.
“What does Hao Ren want?” Ji Cheng asked. Last time, because he had helped her, Ji Cheng had even returned the leverage she held over Hao Ren. There shouldn’t be any issues.
Yuqian’er said, “I don’t know. It’s strange, but the person lying under our carriage today, pretending to be injured, was him. He was dressed in rags, and his hand seemed broken. I don’t know what happened to him.”
Ji Cheng was shocked. Hao Ren had been thriving in the capital, with financial support from the Ji family. How could he have fallen so low as to resort to such tricks? He wanted to see her but had no other way, so he resorted to this desperate measure.
But Hao Ren knew about Orchid Lane. He could have simply told the doorman, and someone would have passed the message to her. Unless someone was constantly watching him and knew about his connection to Orchid Lane.
Ji Cheng’s guess was correct. Hao Ren was now a defeated dog, chased with nowhere to hide. He didn’t dare appear at Orchid Lane. The last time he went there, his whereabouts were discovered. Hao Ren had barely managed to shake off those watching him.
Today, Hao Ren seeing the Shen family’s carriage was just a stroke of luck. He had seen Ji Cheng’s travel carriage before, and it looked similar to the one he saw today, so he risked exposing himself to try his luck.
Perhaps it was fate that Hao Ren shouldn’t die yet. The person in the carriage was indeed Ji Cheng, and the one who came down to check the situation was none other than Yuqian’er.
Hao Ren was hiding in a dilapidated temple in the southern suburbs. Ji Cheng brought four servants from Orchid Lane and two sturdy old women before daring to go there.
If Hao Ren hadn’t helped her many times in the capital, Ji Cheng shouldn’t have risked coming to such a dangerous place. The southern suburbs were a slum, and all along the way, she saw many beggars and vagrants. Robberies were common in such places, and young ladies should never come to such areas in their lifetime.
Ji Cheng saw a nearly naked old woman washing her hair not far from a small mound of earth. As the carriage drew closer, Ji Cheng realized that the small mound was a small earth kiln, the dwelling place of the lowest-class prostitutes. Even beggars who managed to scrape together two coins could visit such places.
Ji Cheng lowered the carriage curtain. She certainly felt compassion, but giving them money wouldn’t fundamentally solve these people’s problems and might even bring them harm.
Hao Ren’s condition was pitiful. Not only was his hand broken, but the wounds on his arm had become infected due to lack of treatment.
“Mr. Hao, how did you end up like this?” Ji Cheng was shocked. “Who have you offended?”
Hao Ren gave a bitter laugh. “Ah, it’s all my fault. I got a bit of money and didn’t know my place. I offended someone I shouldn’t have.”
Ji Cheng didn’t press further. Her abilities were limited, and if Hao Ren said it was someone he shouldn’t have offended, she probably couldn’t help much.
“I have some silver here. Mr. Hao, please take it for now. If you want to leave the capital, I can have my servants escort you,” Ji Cheng said.
Hao Ren waved his hand. “The world is vast, but I’m afraid there’s nowhere for me to hide. The reason I risked seeing Third Miss is that you’re the only person I can trust now.”
“What about your concubines?” Ji Cheng asked.
“When disaster strikes, it’s every man for himself.” Hao Ren sighed. “Third Miss, you know I still have an old father in Jin. He always disapproved of my deceitful ways, so he refused to come to the capital to enjoy a comfortable life. Now I realize it’s a good thing he didn’t come.”
Hao Ren handed Ji Cheng a seal, wiping his tears as he said, “This is the seal for my savings at the Tongqing Bank. They recognize the seal, not the person. I beg the Third Miss to give this money to my father at home. Tell him his son is unfilial and can no longer take care of him.”
Although Ji Cheng knew Hao Ren was putting on an act, she couldn’t ignore his plight. “Mr. Hao, if you have such a backup plan, why don’t you use it yourself? Just tell me what you want. If I can help you, why would I refuse? If I can’t help, no matter how much you say, I still won’t be able to.”
Hao Ren gave another bitter laugh and slapped himself. “It’s all my fault. Even in this situation, I’m still trying to trick Third Miss. If Third Miss is willing to help me, it’s just a matter of saying a few words.”
Ji Cheng remained silent.
Knowing he couldn’t fool her, Hao Ren decided to tell her everything.
It turned out that Hao Ren had been too bold, setting his sights on the “Lady of the Flower Bud.” This Lady of the Flower Bud wasn’t the virtuous consort of Wang Jian, the former ruler of Former Shu, but like that consort, she was a talented and exceptionally beautiful woman.
The Lady of the Flower Bud, Xu Xin, had arrived in the capital not long ago. She was a widow who had been married three times, but despite this, she was still young, in her mid-twenties, the most beautiful age for a woman. This Lady of the Flower Bud was very hospitable. Shortly after arriving in the capital, she had gathered a group of admirers. When she was in a good mood, she didn’t hesitate to bestow her favors, and not only did she not charge, she even gave money to others.
In just two or three short months, everyone knew that the Lady of the Flower Bud was an extremely wealthy widow. How could such a woman not attract people in droves? Hao Ren was attracted not only to the Lady of the Flower Bud’s beauty but also to her money.
Unfortunately for Hao Ren, the Lady of the Flower Bud only loved talented and handsome young gentlemen. Hao Ren was a bit older, and his appearance was only average, so he couldn’t catch her eye. He thought the Lady of the Flower Bud didn’t know what was good for her, so he tried to force himself on her. But who knew that the Shen family’s second young master happened to be a guest of the Lady of the Flower Bud at the time? When the beauty cried for help, Shen Che immediately came to her aid, and Hao Ren suffered for it.
Initially, Hao Ren hadn’t taken this playboy second young master of the Shen family seriously. But in just a few days, all his businesses were destroyed, and several deals he was negotiating were exposed. These were shady deals that couldn’t bear scrutiny. Not only were his victims looking for him everywhere, but even the authorities were alerted, and the entire Hao household was sealed off.
That wasn’t all. The other side had also put out a hit on Hao Ren’s life.
Hao Ren was hiding everywhere but couldn’t escape their pursuit. Hao Ren had been able to thrive in the capital because he had many friends from all walks of life and even more people who owed him favors. But now, even those brothers who had sworn to go through fire and water for him had gone quiet.
Later, a well-connected brother secretly told him that he had offended someone from the Jingshi Army, and there was nowhere he could hide.
“What is the Jingshi Army?” Ji Cheng had never heard of this army in the Great Qin.
“I heard it was established during the Founding Emperor’s time. I’m not clear about their background, but I know there’s nothing the Jingshi Army doesn’t know about in the world, and no place they can’t reach.” Hao Ren then told Ji Cheng the story about “kidnapping the Western Regions princess into the palace” that the Wang sisters had heard. “Ah, I never thought I would offend them.”
“You suspect Shen Che is part of the Jingshi Army?” Ji Cheng narrowed her eyes and asked.
“I don’t know about that, but he must have connections with the Jingshi Army. The one who tied the bell must untie it. Second Young Master Shen is Third Miss’s cousin. I beg Third Miss to put in a good word for me with the young master, to give me a chance to reform and start anew. In the future, I will certainly be cautious and at Third Miss’s disposal.” As Hao Ren spoke, he knelt before Ji Cheng.
“Please get up, sir. If I can help you, I certainly won’t refuse,” Ji Cheng said.
After leaving the dilapidated temple, Ji Cheng was skeptical about Hao Ren’s words. She had Yuqian’er make some inquiries. Since Ji Cheng had arrived in the capital, she had worked on establishing a network for gathering various kinds of information. If a businessperson isn’t well-informed, they can’t seize opportunities and will eventually be outmaneuvered.
The information Yuqian’er brought back confirmed that there was indeed an incident where Hao Ren had offended the Lady of the Flower Bud. People were saying that the Shen family’s second young master had flown into a rage for the sake of beauty, vowing to utterly destroy the Hao family. Shen Che, the playboy, had truly made a name for himself this time, and he probably wouldn’t be able to shake off this reputation.
Ji Cheng was troubled. Although Shen Che was her cousin, he was a very distant cousin. Given Shen Che’s attitude towards her, Ji Cheng doubted whether he would spare Hao Ren if she asked. This was a matter of men fighting over a woman, a matter of face. Since Shen Che had made his intentions known, it probably couldn’t be easily resolved.
As for the Jingshi Army matter, Ji Cheng was even more worried. If they had tracked Hao Ren to Orchid Lane and ambushed him there, they probably knew about her association with Hao Ren. How much they knew was uncertain, and this was what troubled Ji Cheng the most.
But regardless, Ji Cheng decided to sound out Shen Che and try to gauge how much he knew.
When Ji Cheng returned to the Shen mansion, Shen Cui and Ji Lan were discussing what to wear for the Double Ninth Festival when they would climb high and enjoy the scenery.
Ji Cheng suddenly remembered that the Double Ninth Festival was in two days. On that day, they would eat Chongyang flower cakes and climb high to enjoy the autumn scenery. It would be another lively day.
Thinking of the Chongyang flower cakes, Ji Cheng’s brow slightly relaxed. She had thought of an excuse to approach Shen Che. But then she heard Ji Lan say, “Today, the Southern Duke’s mansion sent an invitation for us to go and appreciate chrysanthemums. Aceng, do you have suitable clothes and accessories?”
Ji Cheng was slightly surprised. “Am I going too?”
Ji Lan nodded. “Ajun and Ayuan both have invitations. The Southern Duke’s wife is always meticulous and wouldn’t overlook anyone.”
Ji Cheng nodded. “I still have a few sets of clothes and accessories that I haven’t worn yet.”