Zeng Xiangling had indeed given Peng Fangming an official post — a rank-eight Registrar. Not particularly high, but as a starting point for entering officialdom, it was far from low.

That same evening, Shao Yao brought back a letter from Yu Weiwei.

Gu Yanxi leaned in closer. “What does it say?”

Hua Zhi handed the letter over and turned on her own to spread out the map.

After skimming through it in a few glances, Gu Yanxi walked to A’Zhi’s side. Both of their gazes fell upon the place name: Xinyi.

“Among all the places the Yu Family’s ships visit most frequently, Xinyi ranks third.”

Xinyi was located in Yizhou, right alongside the Jiaxing River. Because of its proximity to the river, the people of Xinyi and its surrounding areas were accustomed to traveling by boat. By the standards of a county town, Xinyi was decent in every respect — yet being situated at the far west, its geography limited it from drawing much outside population; at most, it served the convenience of the locals.

However, it was here that the Jiaxing River merged into the Yuan River. The Yuan River’s headwaters lay to the northwest, flowing eastward once it reached the west.

Hua Zhi’s slender index finger traced across the map — starting from Xinyi, passing through Yongzhou, Yuzhou, and Jizhou, entering Yanzhou, and from there emptying into the sea.

There was clearly a more straightforward route to Yanzhou, yet who would have thought they had taken such a wide detour? Had Yu Weiwei not noticed that when Qi Qiu looked at the map, his gaze naturally settled on Xinyi — and had she not spotted a black dot at that very position on the map, looking like an ink smudge pressed there without intention — they would never have thought to look in this direction. After all, Xinyi was at the far west, while the Zhaoli Tribe’s territory lay at the far east.

“Where exactly would it be?” Hua Zhi pointed to the three suspicious locations in Yanzhou: Lingui, Pengkou, and Songzhu.

“Now that we have a direction, we can find it. Wang Hai.”

Wang Hai stepped in at the call. “Your subordinate is here.”

“Go to Xinyi. Find out whether their ships are unloading cargo there and reloading onto larger vessels to enter the Yuan River headed toward Yanzhou.”

“Understood.”

While they waited, Zeng Xiangling’s side had not been idle either. Only a few days after Peng Fangming entered officialdom, he made his intentions known in an extremely blunt and heavy-handed manner: either hand over the gambling business, or the evidence of the Peng Family’s collusion with the Zhaoli Tribe would be laid bare for all the world to see.

Gu Yanxi was so infuriated he nearly laughed. This was the very definition of the thief crying out “Stop thief!”

“Though heavy-handed, it is a straight punch capable of dealing real pain.” Hua Zhi was also surprised that Zeng Xiangling would go this far — it was tantamount to exposing himself. Once the Chen Family found an opening, they would bite back hard.

Hua Zhi furrowed her brow. “Something about this doesn’t feel like Zeng Xiangling’s way of doing things.”

Gu Yanxi gave a slight nod. “I think the same. They are nowhere near desperate enough for this, yet Zeng Xiangling has shown his hand like someone backed into a corner. Given his nature, even at the very last step, he would not resort to something so reckless.”

“I had thought I was over-thinking it, but could it be possible that… he knows there is someone backing Peng Fangming, so he is using this method to drag that person into the water? After all, once your shoe is wet, it cannot be kept clean.”

“That is not impossible. I will have people look into it more closely.”

Wang Hai returned five days later, arriving just before the city gates closed for the night. He had ridden on horseback following the ship’s route, traveling day and night without rest — even with his constitution, he was barely able to stay on his feet.

Shao Yao quickly examined him, then had Bao Xia bring food and drink. With hot tea and a warm meal in his stomach, he steadied himself.

“My lord, you guessed correctly. Their ships unload cargo at Xinyi, then board larger vessels from Xinyi to travel via the Yuan River. Your subordinate arranged for men to board.”

“Immediately deploy men to follow and provide support. Leave markers at the docks along the way.”

“Understood.”

“You may go.”

Wang Hai took his leave.

Gu Yanxi turned, his expression grave. “A’Zhi, you should return to the capital.”

“Is the net closing here?”

“Yes. Once this matter is settled, I must make haste to Yanzhou.”

Hua Zhi tilted her head slightly. “Are you worried I’ll be caught up in it?”

“I don’t want there to be even the smallest chance of you getting hurt.” Gu Yanxi came and crouched down before her. “Zeng Xiangling will not surrender without a fight, and with his intelligence, he may well have his suspicions about you. If he uses Yu Weiwei to threaten you, what would you do? Better to leave early and remove that possibility altogether. What do you think?”

“Will Yu Weiwei be all right?”

“She will be fine. To Zeng Xiangling, if she cannot be used as leverage against you, she is of no importance whatsoever.”

Hua Zhi thought for a moment, then nodded. “I’ll go say my goodbyes to them tomorrow. I’ll leave the day after.”

Gu Yanxi smiled and rested his head on A’Zhi’s knees, his entire being softening with warmth. “I may need quite a few days before I can return. Be careful in the capital — stay home as much as you can, and if you do go out, make sure you bring plenty of people with you.”

“All right.”

“I’ll come back as soon as I can. Wait for me so we can go to the Northern Lands together.”

“All right.”

“Take your medicine properly. Look after your health. You mustn’t lose any more weight.”

“All right.”

“Think of me.”

“All right.” She paused, then added: “I will think of you. Your opponent this time is the Zhaoli Tribe — you must be careful. Many hands make the enemy formidable. Even if they have someone clever among them, they can’t all have suddenly sharpened their wits. I’m a little worried they may have studied you and know how to deal with you. Please, be very careful.”

“All right.” Gu Yanxi raised his head and gave her a smile, then lifted his hand to touch her face. They had parted so many times now he had lost count, yet he still had not grown used to it — still could not bear it. He worried she would not eat well, would not sleep well, that someone might bully her, that her health might worsen again…

From the moment he had understood his own heart, A’Zhi’s side was the place he most wanted to be.

Not a single step did he wish to take away from it.

Soon. As long as they got through Daqing’s crisis, such days could become a reality.

As long as the Zhaoli Tribe was dealt with!

With that thought, Gu Yanxi felt his fighting spirit surge. Daqing’s national strength had declined in recent years, yet in some respects, things were far better than in the founding Emperor’s time — at least they would not be so short of weapons that soldiers had to march into battle carrying the hoes from their fields.

The next day, Hua Zhi paid one final visit to the residence nearby. When everyone heard she was leaving, no one was particularly surprised — after all, she had only come here to enjoy herself, and it was only natural that she would leave once she had had her fill. What concerned them more was whether she would come again. They had genuinely taken a liking to her and were glad to be acquainted with her.

“I’ll see. If there’s a chance, I’ll come. The capital isn’t all that far from here.”

“That’s true — just two and a half days by boat. You must come.”

No one spoke of going to the capital. Whatever freedom they had was confined to Jinyang. Traveling far was out of the question, unless they were married off somewhere distant — yet who would willingly wed into a place far from home?

Hua Zhi also paid a visit to the Yu Family. Yu Weiwei was startled for a brief moment when she heard Hua Zhi was leaving, but when she caught Hua Ling blinking at her meaningfully, she steadied her racing heart and exchanged the usual pleasantries.

“I don’t know if I’ll have the chance to come again.” Hua Zhi rose and opened her arms. “Will you not give me a parting embrace?”

Yu Weiwei pressed her lips together, then stepped forward to embrace her. “You must come again. I hope I’ll have the chance to visit you someday too.”

Hua Zhi leaned close to her ear and murmured a word of reassurance, then told her to remember the two characters for “Food Studio” — if she ever had the chance to come to the capital, she could look for her there.

“Thank you.”

Yu Weiwei whispered her gratitude. There was so much she wanted to thank her for — yet when it came to it, only these two words could find their way out.

Hua Zhi held her a little tighter. “Goodbye.”