“I’ve made inquiries at the medical hall, sir. The physician said that the moment he heard it was you asking, he didn’t dare conceal a thing — apparently the woman was drugged with knockout powder and has been sleeping. She seems to have grown wary of visitors, and truly will not be receiving anyone today.”

Zheng Qing stood with his back bent, delivering his report to the person seated above with an expression of utmost deference. That man was short in stature, with the dark complexion typical of locals — though on top of it he had applied powder, so he was neither convincingly dark nor convincingly fair.

This man was the proprietor of the Zheng Family Shipping House: Zheng Bei, younger brother-in-law of the Administrator of Jingzhou, Mu Yunyang.

As the youngest child and the only son, he had been doted on and sheltered by everyone in the family from birth, which had cultivated in him a personality that brooked no opposition. Now, hearing that a large outside order had gone to the Donglai Shipping House, how could he possibly accept that? In the territory of Jingzhou, business that came from outsiders — if it wasn’t already his, it would be made so.

But if she was ill, then he could afford to wait. She wasn’t going anywhere.

“Have someone keep watch. I’ll go myself tomorrow.” The whole city was already abuzz about how striking she was. He rather wanted to see for himself just how remarkable she could be.

Zheng Qing acknowledged the order and withdrew, sending someone to stand watch at the inn. For now, there was a more important matter — one that would earn him more favor with the proprietor.

The following day, Hua Zhi timed her departure carefully and left the inn. Her luggage had been sent ahead the night before by Yu Tao. She didn’t check out of the room, but led her companions away without ceremony. She sent Liu Zi ahead to the docks, then wandered through the market for a while before making her way to the pier. By the time she arrived, Chen Er had already finished unloading the cargo on his end.

When he saw her, Chen Er broke into a grin that showed all his teeth, and respectfully led her aboard.

Hua Zhi asked, in a tone of mild indifference, “Are we able to set off now, or…”

“Ready to go whenever you are. Is everyone in your party here?”

“Everyone is here. Let’s go.”

“Yes, miss.”

The boat glided away from the shore, and Hua Zhi stood at the prow watching the dock grow slowly distant. She couldn’t be certain she had truly slipped away — once the business with the fish supplier was settled, she would still need to return here to board a passenger boat back to the capital. She could only hope that by then, the Zheng Family would have lost interest.

She wasn’t afraid of the others. The Donglai Shipping House had established its footing here over many years, and those without serious backing weren’t worth her concern. The only one she truly needed to avoid was the Zheng Family. As long as she hadn’t offended them outright, even if they were displeased, they had no reason to risk a mutually destructive clash with the Donglai Shipping House.

Back on shore, Zheng Qing was furious and gave his subordinate a thorough lashing. “I told you to keep watch — and this is what I get? She’s gone and you’re only telling me now? How am I supposed to explain this to the proprietor?”

The subordinate trembled with pain and scrambled to defend himself in a weak voice: “When they left they didn’t take a single piece of luggage — there was still more than ten days of room fees remaining. I assumed they had only gone to town to look around or settle some other business, and hadn’t thought they would end up boarding a ship. Manager Zheng, please put in a good word for me with the proprietor, please…”

The subordinate knelt, knocking his head against the floor again and again, while the manager felt a grim satisfaction — followed immediately by renewed fury. Speak on his behalf? And who would speak on his behalf?

As expected, the moment Zheng Bei heard the full account, he smashed a cup and kicked the manager to the floor. “Useless. A pack of useless fools. You can’t even keep one person in place.”

The manager endured the pain and hauled himself back up to kneel properly. “I made inquiries — they came from the capital. The only boats that travel between here and the capital make their stop here in Zhenyang, so they’ll have to return eventually. I’ve arranged for people to watch the docks. We’ll catch them.”

Zheng Bei let out a contemptuous grunt, seething with humiliation. How dare she run. This was a slap in the face of the Zheng Family!

“If you let them slip away again, you can go drown yourself in the Wei River and save me the trouble of dealing with you myself.”

“Yes, yes — I will guard it well, I give you my word.”

The village of Shuiguang was the largest in that stretch of coast. Salt-tinged sea winds swept through, and the very air seemed to carry a briny taste. Though the hour was approaching dusk, the docks were still alive with comings and goings, bustling and full of noise.

Hua Zhi disembarked and was in no hurry to leave. She moved along the dock in a leisurely manner, stopping here and there, looking around at length, not minding at all when her shoes got dirty.

Her luck was good. The fish here looked plump and well-fed, and came in a wide variety — quantities were also considerable. She had no concern that this place would be unable to keep up with demand when the operation grew larger in the future.

Chen Er, terrified of this deal being snatched away by someone else, stayed close at Hua Zhi’s side throughout and deliberately steered her toward the section of the dock where his own fishing house moored its vessels, so that the client could see their capabilities for herself.

“It’s getting late. Let’s rest for tonight and call on the proprietor tomorrow.”

Chen Er understood the cue and led the group to the only inn in Shuiguang village — which existed at all only because the village was large enough to attract considerable outside traffic. Hua Zhi had no other options and settled in.

The night passed without incident.

The inn was not far from the Antai Fishing House — a short walk at most. But Chen Er was thorough and conscientious, and had come early with a carriage, leading the group over with the utmost deference.

In terms of scale, the fishing house naturally could not compare to the Donglai Shipping House. Yet its eaves were built high and the overall impression was one of expansiveness — at first glance alone, Hua Zhi felt favorably disposed.

Chen Er called to a worker to fetch the proprietor, and personally led the guests to the reception room, pouring the tea himself. “Please wait a moment — the proprietor will be here shortly.”

Even as he said it, footsteps could be heard outside — measured and firmly planted. Recalling that Xia Jiang had mentioned Wu Zheng’s family originally ran a security escort business, she had expected the man to carry himself like a martial artist. But when she saw the slight, lean figure of Wu Zheng, she wasn’t so sure.

Lean as he looked, Wu Zheng had a resonant, carrying voice. “Sorry to have kept you waiting. I am Wu Zheng.”

Hua Zhi rose and gave a slight bow. “Proprietor Wu may simply address me as ‘young miss.'”

Wu Zheng looked the young woman over for a good moment, then looked at Chen Er. She had genuinely come to do business?

Chen Er gave a small, rapid series of nods. He hadn’t been idle these past two days — he had made inquiries in Zhenyang while delivering goods, and word had it that this young miss had already negotiated a deal with the Donglai Shipping House and had ships arranged. The only thing missing was the cargo, and cargo was precisely what the fishing house had.

A man who had built up such an operation was not one to act rashly. Moreover, he knew Chen Er well enough — Chen Er didn’t create this kind of stir unless he had grounds for confidence.

With his mind put at ease, Wu Zheng’s manner became genuinely warm. “I’ll be straightforward — I’ve never been one for roundabout talk. Chen Er tells me the young miss is looking to purchase some goods?”

“That’s right. What does Proprietor Wu have available?”

“Ha ha ha! The young miss gets right to the point — I like that best.” Wu Zheng rose to his feet. “Why don’t you come take a look at what we have in the back?”

Hua Zhi had every reason to agree — she was very curious to see the real resources behind the Antai Fishing House.

Wu Zheng led the group inside, through a corridor and past a doorway, and the space suddenly opened up wide.

Hua Zhi’s eyes lit up at the sight of the large interconnected pools before her. Moving closer, she could see that the pools — bubbling with activity — were clearly stocked with fish. Some were a deep, solid dark; others black-and-white mottled; still others white. Counting roughly, there appeared to be upward of thirty pools in total.