With one regular dinner companion gone, the house felt considerably quieter. The old saying goes that a home can gain people but should never lose them — and indeed, there is truth to that. It took Hua Zhi two full days to adjust.

Liu Xiang came hurrying in to report, “Miss, Steward Chen is here.”

“Please show him in.”

Chen Qing had come to deliver the mahjong tiles. He opened the box, and inside lay a neat arrangement of exquisite small white squares.

It was a mahjong set made of white jade. Left buried for a thousand years, it would become an extraordinarily valuable cultural relic. Hua Zhi couldn’t help wondering what future archaeologists would think upon unearthing a mahjong set — her mind wandered to the most irrelevant places. She picked up a few pieces to examine them closely. Every tile was identical in size, with smooth, rounded edges, and the craftsmanship was not the least bit inferior to anything produced on an assembly line in later generations.

“Are you planning to make them all in white jade?”

“Of course not. The young master said he’ll have them made in several materials — white jade is just one of them. The ones for the smaller gambling parlors will be made of wood.” Chen Qing smiled. “If they were all made of white jade, I’m afraid not a single one would be left in the end.”

That was true enough. Different tiers called for mahjong tiles of different value.

Seeing her nod in agreement, Chen Qing continued, “Before the young master departed, he instructed that every material type must pass your inspection before large-scale production begins.”

“Very well — bring them to me when they’re ready.” Hua Zhi picked up a tile and turned it over in her fingers. “The white jade ones are excellent. Keep to this standard for all of them. A batch will need to be rushed out first — once the Jinyang branch is ready, they’ll be needed there.”

“Yes.”

With that matter settled, Chen Qing brought up another. “The sugarcane you asked about earlier has been located. Yangzhou, which is not too far, already has it. One of my colleagues comes from a place where it’s cultivated, though he says it grows scattered — not in large quantities.”

“Many households grow it?”

“Yes. From what he told me, it doesn’t fetch much of a price there. Pretty much every family grows a little.”

Hua Zhi thought for a moment and drew two sketches, handing them to Chen Qing. “Ask him which variety the sugarcane in his hometown looks like.”

Sugarcane came in two types — eating cane and sugar cane. For making sugar, she hoped to find the sugar variety. She searched her memory for what she knew about sugarcane and said, “Send people to Jingzhou, or even further to Jiaozhou. Sugarcane grows best in warmer climates. Yangzhou may be closer, but the sugar content of its cane is likely not as high as that in Jiaozhou.”

“Yes.”

“And remember — I want the long-jointed variety. Look at the drawings and keep that in mind.”

“Yes.” Chen Qing reopened the drawings, studied them carefully, and committed the details to memory.

Seeing that the eldest young miss had no further instructions, Chen Qing moved to bow and take his leave.

“Wait.” Hua Zhi held her warm teacup, hesitating for a moment before asking, “How much do you know about Prince Ling’s residence?”

Chen Qing was surprised that the eldest young miss would bring this up, but he answered earnestly. “Quite a bit, miss. We have people placed inside Prince Ling’s residence.”

“How many? Are they longtime members of the household, or people from Yanxi’s own side?”

“Three people. All longtime members of Prince Ling’s household. During the time the late princess consort was alive, they received a great kindness from her. They have been passing along information to us over the years.”

Hua Zhi appeared to half-raise her head as she looked at him. “There’s a saying: the official right in front of you outranks the one far away. They live and work inside Prince Ling’s residence every day — over time, is it not possible that their loyalties might shift?”

Chen Qing was taken aback. “What does the eldest young miss mean by this?”

“Consider it my small-minded caution. Find a way to look into those three people. I will write to Yanxi and let him know as well.”

“Before the young master departed, he said that in all matters, I was to follow only your instructions. I will begin the investigation at once.”

“Be discreet.”

“Yes.”

Once Chen Qing had gone, Yingchun could not help but say, “Miss, that is, after all, a matter concerning Prince Ling’s residence — the young master’s own family affairs. You and he have no formal arrangement yet. Is it really appropriate?”

“What I intend to look into is not a family matter. Don’t worry — I know where to draw the line.”

Hua Zhi lowered her gaze to the tea leaves drifting and sinking in the cup in her hands. She had growing suspicions about the current Princess Consort Ling. Yanxi had mentioned she was skilled in martial arts, and from the incident with Shaoyao, it was clear her temperament and methods were both ruthless in the extreme. Yet this woman — who was clearly capable of stirring up great trouble — had been keeping herself so inconspicuously quiet at Prince Ling’s side, appearing to compete for nothing and contend for nothing. She seemed far too well-behaved. If she were truly that compliant, she would not have slashed Shaoyao’s face. She would not have driven a wedge between father and son. Something was not right.

She had not thought much of it before, but over time the suspicion had been slowly taking shape. On New Year’s Eve, when Yanxi’s identity had been exposed right in front of Prince Ling — yet to this day, Prince Ling had shown no reaction whatsoever. A man of Prince Ling’s overbearing nature could not possibly be this unconcerned and silent. And yet the silence was a fact. That, too, was wrong.

“Miss.” Liu Xiang came hurrying in. “Old Master Zhu is here.”

“Grandfather?” Hua Zhi quickly rose to go and greet him, but before she had even reached the doorway, she saw him already coming inside.

Zhu Bowen ushered everyone back in out of the cold. “It’s freezing out there — go back inside, go back inside.”

A maid immediately brought in warm water. Zhu Bowen washed his hands and face, and as the warmth returned to his body, he accepted a cup of hot tea and drank it down. Only then did he feel truly warm again.

He let out a long breath and smiled. “It looks like snow is coming — the cold cuts right to the bone.”

“You could have sent someone to fetch me for anything you needed. There was no need to make the trip yourself.”

“Your body is in no better shape than mine right now.” Zhu Bowen looked at his slim granddaughter. She hadn’t filled out even a little over the new year. Her constitution was perhaps…

Thinking of her and the young master, Zhu Bowen inwardly sighed. It was a good thing — the young master appeared to be genuinely devoted. But marriage had never been a matter for just two people. There were far too many external forces at play.

Bao Xia carried in a tray. Hua Zhi rose and lifted a small clay pot from it, removed the lid, and handed it to her grandfather. “This mutton broth has been simmering for a good while. Have some to warm yourself.”

Zhu Bowen had no intention of declining his granddaughter’s kind gesture. Only after finishing the broth did he state his purpose. “The atmosphere in court lately has been quite tense.”

Hua Zhi was not surprised. “Most people keep their heads clear in the end.”

“But things can’t go on like this indefinitely.” Zhu Bowen sighed. “I oversee the Ministry of Finance. These past few days I’ve been summoned to the imperial study every single day for questioning. Today, the Emperor asked me to estimate how much revenue the salt administration could generate in a year. I told him plainly that I had no way to estimate it — there was no precedent to reference. You should prepare yourself. The Emperor may summon you.”

“It would do no good to ask me, either. I’m reasonably capable of coming up with ideas, but the fine details are not my area of expertise. However, if he truly does summon me for questioning… I will deflect the fire toward someone else.”

“Such as?”

“The salt merchants, upon learning of the establishment of a seventh ministry, have banded together.” Hua Zhi looked at her grandfather. “Salt prices have gone up again. According to what I’ve heard, it’s now one hundred and twenty wen per catty.”

“Those fat rats! Those parasites!” Zhu Bowen slapped the armrest of his chair in fury. “At prices that high, how are ordinary people supposed to afford salt?!”

“They are pressuring the court — this sort of thing is hardly new. Why should anyone be surprised? Doesn’t the Emperor need money? Crack down on these people and you’d fill half the imperial treasury. Believe it or not.”

Zhu Bowen frowned. “I believe it. But even doubling the current treasury would fall far, far short of what’s needed. Excavating the Grand Canal requires the nation to be prosperous, the people settled, and free of both internal strife and external threats — it is absolutely not something that can be undertaken now.”