Su Luoyun paid no attention to her father’s defeatist words. Instead, she questioned him carefully about the process by which imperial tribute goods had been privately sold, then thought for a moment before saying: “Logically speaking, even if surplus tribute inventory in the Trade Supervision Bureau expires, it cannot be sold off — it must be destroyed outright…”

She thought again, then said with certainty: “I once heard Lu Lingxiu mention that in her grandfather’s time, during a great famine, the Trade Supervision Bureau dispatched people to the ancestral palace to seek an imperial edict. They then had her grandfather find channels to sell tribute silks and brocades that would otherwise have been destroyed, with the proceeds going directly into the Ministry of Finance as an expression of the Emperor’s benevolence toward all living beings. Now that Shanxi is afflicted by disaster and the northern territories are beset by unceasing warfare, Father might as well disgorge the silver, then persuade the Bureau Director to petition His Majesty for an imperial decree. Once the imperial edict is obtained, this batch of tribute goods can be considered sold by imperial command. At that point, you run the money through official accounts and remit it to the Ministry of Finance — and this matter will be properly settled.”

Su Hongmeng nearly laughed out loud listening to her. He glared and lowered his voice: “How much silver did I actually take? The lion’s share was divided among the Bureau Director, the other storehouse supervisors — and some even went to the eunuchs of the Directorate of Palace Attendants. I’m willing to spit out the meat already in my mouth, but will they?”

As he spoke, Su Hongmeng paced several circles on the floor, then clapped his hands and said: “Would you have me go running to the residences of all my superiors and declare that my wife and daughter have both gone mad, that the household quarrel is threatening to blow the roof off the Trade Supervision Bureau? Right now I don’t even dare breathe a word about my wife’s threats — I’m afraid the people above would take me down along with everything else! You, child — you really are far too naive!”

Luoyun’s tone remained unchanged: “I never said the senior officials should produce the money. What I meant was that you, Father, produce the funds to fill in every single shortfall.”

Su Hongmeng leaped up at these words, lowering his voice to a near-shout: “Have you lost your mind?! Do you have any idea how much silver this amounts to? If I fill it all — won’t that mean ruining the entire family?!”

Su Luoyun was unmoved. She said coolly: “Zhuwei Zhai has been in business for so many years — it cannot possibly be unable to produce this much silver. Father committed a transgression against the law of the land; if you can avoid the disaster of prison, is it not fitting to be penalized a sum of money? Rather than living in constant dread, being held by the throat — better to spend money to avert calamity and cut off future troubles entirely.”

To make Su Hongmeng part with money was the same as taking his life. Though he knew his daughter made sense, and the plan was not without merit as a remedy…

Yet to truly bleed out that silver was more agonizing than death itself.

Su Luoyun knew her father’s temperament well. She knew that unless she pressed on a truly sore spot, it would be difficult to make him resolve himself.

Recalling what the Su household’s head steward had let slip to her, Luoyun gave a cold laugh and asked: “When Ding Shi summoned you here this time, was it merely to give me a simple warning? Was there nothing else she said?”

Su Hongmeng grew evasive at his daughter’s question, hesitating: “Ah — Ding Shi also suffered a great loss at your hands and was not reconciled to it. So she said to me that she would like you to marry the eldest son of her Uncle Ding’s family…”

As he finished speaking, he saw his daughter lift the teacup again, and hurriedly leaned back — terrified she was about to fling another cup of scalding tea at him.

But Luoyun did not throw it. She simply raised the cup and drank it down in one slow, steady swallow, then spoke at a leisurely pace: “At present my Zhouwei Zhai is doing rather brisk business — if the Ding family were to take me as a bride, they would truly be gaining a treasure chest. But human desires only grow the more they are fed. Who knows whether I, a step-cousin, would be enough to satisfy the appetites of the Ding brothers. Caijian’s marriage has not yet been arranged — we may as well betroth her to the second Ding cousin. Father, you are also getting on in years. You likely will not outlive Ding Shi. On the day you close your eyes for the last time, I fear all of the Su family’s shops will have changed their surname to Ding… One can only wonder whether Uncle Ding will have enough consideration for the Su family’s three sons to leave them some scraps and leavings…”

Luoyun spoke at an unhurried pace, yet before Su Hongmeng’s eyes, there had already appeared an image: before the spirit hall and the coffin, his three sons being driven out and hounded away by the two worthless Ding brothers.

Given his knowledge of those Ding scoundrels, what Luoyun described was no idle exaggeration!

Indeed — did he not know that Ding Shi had long been secretly funneling money to her maternal family? It had been small dealings before, but now that she had seized him by the throat, she would be making outrageous demands!

Weighed against all this, if he could free himself from Ding Shi’s control, even surrendering a mountain of gold would be worth it!

At the very least, it would spare Caijian, and Jinguan and Jincheng, from being dragged down by that woman. Otherwise, with Uncle Ding’s character alone, the whole family would be bled dry for life!

Even if Su Hongmeng left official service, he still had vast wealth — the silver forfeited could be earned back later. But if the matter were ever exposed, not only would his family be torn asunder, every last possession would be confiscated by the state.

In truth, Su Hongmeng had pondered all of this himself — it was simply that he had never had it laid out before him as methodically and clearly as his daughter had just done.

Now, having been counseled in this way, he finally steeled his resolve.

His daughter was right. So long as the green mountains remain, there will never be a shortage of firewood. Better to dissolve the three-foot blade hanging over one’s head than to be endlessly threatened by Ding Shi — and then cast off that poisonous woman for good.

Yet his daughter’s plan still had one gap he could not see past: this matter of petitioning His Majesty — how was that to be managed?

Su Luoyun already had a scheme worked out in her mind: “Every month, does the palace not send someone to audit accounts with you? Your connections are wide — spend a little more silver and simply say that you wish to earn merit and seek advancement, yet cannot gain the Bureau Director’s favor, and would therefore like to find a channel. So long as you can buy his silence — then go back to the Bureau Director and tell him that word has somehow reached those above, and that an audit may be coming before long. The Bureau Director will certainly panic. Then you offer to spare him the trouble by volunteering to fill the shortfall in the accounts on his behalf. In this way, the Bureau Director petitions the palace of his own accord, you provide the silver, the Bureau Director gains the credit — everyone is satisfied, and the time bomb is defused.”

Su Hongmeng listened and felt this was not without merit as a plan — only that to carry it off would require yet more silver spent on favors and personal connections.

At the thought of producing that much money… Su Hongmeng felt a fresh wave of excruciating, heart-rending pain. As he walked out of Tianshui Lane, his back was stooped and his steps far heavier than before.

After her father left, Su Luoyun did not breathe a sigh of relief.

The private sale of tribute goods — in truth, this matter could go either way, large or small, depending entirely on whether one found the right people and whether the silver spent was generous enough.

As long as Su Hongmeng had thought it through clearly and was willing to produce the funds to square the accounts, the Bureau Directors would be delighted to claim the good reputation of relieving His Majesty’s concerns.

If her father resolved this legal trouble, he would certainly bleed heavily. Given his nature, he would not let Ding Pei off so lightly — it would no longer be as simple as sending her off to the countryside.

At that point, her stepmother would truly have exhausted all her options, and the good days she had enjoyed would finally be drawing to an end.

Yet she knew this Su family patriarch far too well. She feared her father might be the sort to clutch the pearls within his own belly — treating money as more precious than his own life.

In the days to come, she would have to keep urging him along, lest he change his mind.

At this thought, she felt a stifling accumulation of frustration in her chest, and rose to walk along the newly laid cobblestone path in the courtyard, hoping to dispel some of the gloom in her heart.

But the moment she stepped out of the study door, she suddenly caught a faint drift of camphor root fragrance.

Luoyun suspected someone was at the door and called out to ask.

It so happened that Xiangcao had just seen Su Hongmeng off and returned. Watching the young miss address empty air, she said: “Young Miss, there is no one else in the courtyard — who are you speaking to?”

Su Luoyun paused, then suddenly remembered that the Shizi residence had just sent some incense over to Guiyan a couple of days prior. Perhaps her younger brother had burned some and it had drifted to the doorway.

But she had no time to dwell on such things now. She could only hope her father would resolve the legal matter soon.

Once the matter was settled, she also intended to persuade her father not to cling too stubbornly to his post — it would be best if he resigned his position at the Trade Supervision Bureau early. Otherwise, given his way of conducting himself, he was bound sooner or later to set off an even greater explosion that would implicate her and her younger brother.

At first, Su Hongmeng had seemed genuinely engaged and was actively pursuing the matter — but within a few days, there was no more movement. Even when Su Luoyun went to Zhuwei Zhai to look for him, he sent word that he was unavailable.

In the end it was Su Luoyun who blocked the entrance to the Trade Supervision Bureau’s office before she finally managed to intercept him.

Finding himself unable to shake off his daughter, Su Hongmeng had no choice but to pull her to a nearby teahouse, where they found a secluded private room to speak.

“That woman Ding Shi was also acting out of desperation at the time. Afterward she came to me weeping and wailing, saying that she feared I would cast her aside, and that was why she behaved as she did. If life can go on peacefully, who would want to stir up filth? Does she hope for my ruin, for the whole family to go begging in the streets? She said — so long as you now understand the gravity of things, and will no longer bring up her origins in front of others, and will let Jinguan and Jincheng study properly for their examinations, she will let bygones be bygones and swears she will never again use this matter to threaten me… As for your so-called plan — what kind of plan is that? It is just another way of ruining the family!”

Su Hongmeng’s face was relaxed as he said all this — gone was the anxious, frightened air from the day he came to find his daughter. His entire manner declared: this matter ends here.

It turned out that upon returning that day, he had called the accountant to go over the ledgers. There was not enough silver in the accounts — they would have to sell land and shops to make up the difference.

When he began this commotion, Ding Shi naturally caught wind of it. She raised a fine brow and asked what he was up to — and Su Hongmeng had, for once, shown some backbone. He said he intended to sell the family assets to fill the shortfall and repay every last coin of the illicitly gained funds.

At this, Ding Shi charged forward and snatched the ledger and the property deeds right out of his hands: “That girl has gone mad, and now you’ve gone mad along with her?! You would actually listen to that idiotic scheme of hers?!”

The fierce edge with which Ding Pei had wielded her threats had by this point largely dissolved. With burns still marking half her face and tears streaming down like pear blossoms in the rain, she sobbed and asked Su Hongmeng — did he truly think her a heartless woman, intent on giving the Su household no peace?

As long as Su Hongmeng treated her sincerely, she would wholeheartedly help him build up the family’s fortunes. Why would she ever do anything that hurt others without benefiting herself?

Su Luoyun’s scheme was simply too foolish — just to avoid leaving any evidence, must they scatter away more than half the Su family’s wealth?

With Ding Pei yielding and playing the weakling in this fashion, Su Hongmeng felt she had a point.

Was it really necessary to forfeit a great fortune over a mere “what if”?

Besides — he was hardly the only one who had taken a cut from the illicitly sold tribute goods. Why should he alone produce the silver, and then let his superior claim the credit and the glory?

Though his heart had grown uncertain, he kept his abacus rattling loudly on the outside, frightening Ding Shi into believing he was genuinely about to sell land and pay up. She softened her words and offered one apology after another.

She had always calculated that she could frighten Su Hongmeng into submission — that was why she had made such a scene. She had never truly intended to fight to mutual destruction. If Su Hongmeng really sold off the family assets to repay the official accounts, would her own children not lose more than half their inheritance?

And so Ding Pei reassembled her customary gentle and accommodating manner. She also summoned her brother from the Ding family to make amends, and eventually managed to put Su Hongmeng in better spirits — and thus the whole affair quietly stood down.

Ding Pei felt that having taken hold of Su Hongmeng’s great secret gave her sufficient leverage to intimidate that little minx Su Luoyun as well. Henceforth, let everyone keep to themselves — well water need not intrude upon river water.

And now Su Luoyun had at last understood: Su Hongmeng intended once again to smooth things over, to muddle through in a confused and haphazard fashion.

He spoke as though everything were completely secure — but was it really? By the look of him, he did not even intend to resign his official post.

This year he had helped people privately sell tribute goods. Was he simply going to stop next year? Year after year, it would become habit — and once the matter came to light, would it not spell absolute catastrophe, not a single egg left unbroken?

Luoyun still wanted to persuade her father, but Su Hongmeng had no wish to listen: “All right — I cannot manage you. You have always had your own ideas and made your own decisions. But do not imagine you can take charge of this entire household. From now on, live your own life. No one will provoke you again — and you, in good grace, should refrain from meddling in the Su family’s proper affairs!”

Having heard from Ding Shi that Su Luoyun seemed to have instructed Hu Xuesong to gather dirt on her, Su Hongmeng had grown resentful toward this daughter of his.

At the end of the day, it was Su Luoyun who had provoked her stepmother first — and that was what had sent the household into such chaos. That day he had also been fed a sedative, then frightened out of his senses by a slip of a girl’s words — until he had nearly lost his wits and resolved to sell off the family assets to fill the shortfall.

He would now play the peacemaker, put a stop to both sides’ quarreling — and would they not all be able to live in quiet and harmony?

Luoyun made to speak further, but Su Hongmeng impatiently drove her out.

When she emerged from the teahouse, the blazing noon sun poured its full force upon her — yet her heart was cold as ice.

When her heart was troubled, Luoyun could not even bring herself to go to the shop. She went straight back to Tianshui Lane, sent Xiangcao away, and fell onto the bed — tossing and turning for a moment before feeling so stifled she could not breathe.

At last she rose and came out to the courtyard, sitting beneath the grapevine arbor in hopes of dispersing the dejection pent up in her heart.

“What is the matter — looking so out of sorts?”

When that familiar male voice drifted over from the top of the wall, Su Luoyun did not even need to raise her eyes to know: the distinguished neighbor next door had mounted the wall again in search of his cat.

She had no idea how it had come about, but the Shizi had apparently learned of the time she had shared pear soup with Qingyang and the others.

The next day, as she was boiling another batch, the young Shizi had used the pretext of looking for his cat to stand atop the high wall and asked her for a bowl to drink as well.

His courtyard was vast — the stretch of wall adjacent to the Su family’s little courtyard was only a short section. It was unclear why both the cat and its master showed such a particular fondness for the Su family’s small yard.

Her heart was heavy with vexation and she had no patience for pointing out his overstepping, nor for the niceties of social courtesy. She rose, made a slight curtsy: “Arong has not come this way — please look elsewhere, Shizi…”

Having said this, she settled back into the reclining chair and fanned herself with slow, steady strokes of the palm-leaf fan.

So today, all that polite warmth of other days had been dispensed with. Evidently the usual friendliness had never been entirely genuine.

Han Linfeng knew the reason for her low spirits. He gave a quiet laugh: “What — has your father refused to listen to you?”

At these words, the cold and indifferent neighbor finally stirred, rose abruptly, and asked with certainty: “Shizi — you were eavesdropping that day?”

She thought of the drift of fragrance she had caught at the study door. It seemed her instinct had been right — he had truly been lurking outside the door listening!

And he had spoken of trust between them, said he would never have anyone watching her? Utter nonsense!

No — the Shizi had been perfectly accurate: he had indeed not dispatched anyone to watch her. Rather, his own illustrious self had deigned to crouch at the foot of the wall and eavesdrop in person!

Han Linfeng was perfectly capable of playing the dissolute wastrel, letting people misunderstand and mock him. His skin was clearly thick enough that even being caught red-handed by his neighbor left his expression entirely unchanged. He said in an even tone: “The young miss and Master Su were speaking rather loudly that day — I happened to hear a few sentences without any intention.”

Su Luoyun did not bother reminding him that her family’s study was quite far from this particular stretch of wall. She simply held her breath and waited for him to state his purpose.

However, Han Shizi appeared to have no intention of using this as leverage — he only continued: “If the young miss has encountered a difficult matter, feel free to tell me about it. Perhaps I can think of a way to resolve the young miss’s underlying concerns.”

That day, he had also been drawn in by the sound of Luoyun’s agitated voice — out of idle curiosity, he had stood outside the Su family study and listened for a brief while.

This blind young woman’s anguished outpouring of frustration at her father, holding nothing back, had moved even a bystander who could not help but be affected. Han Linfeng, having nothing pressing to occupy him, had thought to offer the neighbor some comfort.

Su Luoyun gave a faint, bitter smile. She could never have imagined that she would come to this — her heart full of anxieties she could not confide to family, yet now compelled to pour out her inner thoughts to a man on the other side of the wall, one who was neither quite enemy nor quite friend.

Was this not its own kind of irony?

But since he had already eavesdropped on everything, what harm was there in speaking? And so Luoyun gave a brief account of how she had counseled her father to cover the shortfall with silver — and how her father had backed out.

Han Linfeng listened to the end, then let out a laugh and said: “You are still such a young lady, with so little experience in the world — yet you devised this plan of covering the shortfall with money yourself?”

Luoyun thought he was also mocking her for being foolish — spending the family’s own silver to fill in someone else’s hole — so she said gloomily: “I only thought that since the wrong was committed, one ought to make sincere amends. Is there anyone who can commit a mistake and not pay any price for it? It is just that Father feels it is not worth spending money to buy that peace of mind. Even if I sold all the fields and shops to fill this year’s shortfall, there is no way to prevent him from continuing the same scheme next year… If he were convicted and imprisoned, and the children sent into exile, Guiyan would be barred from the imperial examination — all these years of effort would flow away like water to the east…”

At these words, Luoyun felt another surge of suffocating frustration. She finished speaking and was about to rise and go back inside, leaving the Shizi alone to search for his cat.

But Han Linfeng said casually, in a single unhurried sentence that stopped her in her tracks: “Perhaps… I have a way to help you…”

Luoyun’s head snapped up at once, and she addressed herself toward the direction of his voice: “Shizi — do you truly mean that?”

Yet he held no official post — a man of no real authority, a man at leisure. How could he turn the tide?

To her implied skepticism, Han Linfeng replied serenely: “Have you never heard the saying — a thousand-li embankment can be destroyed by a colony of ants? If you read more history, you will find that many events which shaped the course of dynasties were rewritten by those of no great station. I may have little authority — but as it happens, I have a few private connections with certain eunuchs within the palace…”

At that, he changed direction and continued: “Going by your plan, the key is to have His Majesty issue an edict to the Trade Supervision Bureau to sell off its stockpile of surplus tribute goods. If His Majesty gives the word, then without requiring your father to make any agonizing resolution, the entire Trade Supervision Bureau will be thrown into a frantic scramble to cover the accounts. I can help you smooth the way on the palace side — only, you must let me know the figures from the Trade Supervision Bureau’s surplus inventory accounts for this year, so I have a clear picture to work from.”

Su Luoyun knew he was no empty-headed fool. If he said this, he had already mapped out a course of action in his mind.

As for the Bureau’s accounts — she would have to think of a way.

Su Luoyun asked nothing more, only called toward the top of the wall: “Whatever the outcome, I thank Shizi first. This debt of gratitude — should the day ever come, I will repay it through fire and flood…”

Han Linfeng lowered his eyes and said mildly: “If I ever have need of the young miss’s assistance, I will not stand on ceremony…”

Luoyun heard this and, just to be safe, added one more line: “So long as it does not involve killing, arson, or any violation of law and order — this commoner woman will go through fire and flood without hesitation…”

Regrettable, though — this addendum rather undercut the sincerity of the grateful sentiment. Accompanied by the Shizi’s quiet laugh, the other side of the courtyard wall fell silent once more. The Shizi came and went like the wind — he had evidently already gone quite far.

With this vow made across the wall, the very next day, the devoted daughter of the Su household went out again into the streets, carrying a large food hamper to deliver a meal to her father.

Of course this meal had to have some pretext — naturally, it was an unfilial daughter making amends to her father for some intemperate words spoken in recent days.

Su Luoyun had purchased a small crock of Jinbo wine for twenty taels of silver.

The clay seal was broken, releasing a golden liquid — blended, moreover, with sandalwood, cardamom, and no fewer than dozens of other medicinal herbs. The fragrance alone was enough to carry a hundred li.

Though Su Hongmeng was not without money, he was too frugal to buy such extravagant wine as a regular indulgence. Clearly Luoyun was making a sincere apology and had spared no expense.

These past two days he had been occupied with the accounts, with no time to sit and drink properly — he had not even been eating at regular hours.

He had already been craving wine — and now, seeing a fine vintage appear before him, he could not hold himself back.

He drank a cup too many and was supported by his daughter’s maidservant to the inner chamber’s soft couch for a rest.

Luoyun waited until she had settled her father in, snoring loudly, and gave Xiangcao a small wave of the hand.

Xiangcao understood without a word being said, and began searching through the towering stacks of account ledgers…

By the time Su Hongmeng woke from his nap, his daughter was already gone. He asked one of the junior clerks — they said she had left, food hamper in hand.

He stretched, glanced at the hour — it was growing late — and prepared to go home and rest. The following day happened to be his day off.

When he returned to the office on the third day to continue working on the accounts, he found that one volume — the current year’s tribute goods inventory ledger — was nowhere to be found, no matter how he searched…

Meanwhile, the female thief who had made off with the ledger gave another soft sigh as she prepared to pass it over the wall to her distinguished neighbor.

Her father truly was not suited for official life.

Having earlier had a private letter stolen from him by Ding Shi, he had apparently learned nothing from it — remaining completely unguarded, only to have his account ledger stolen by her as well.

Were he to remain at the Trade Supervision Bureau for a few more years, the entire family landing themselves a prison diet was virtually a certainty.

Still, her heart was uneasy — she did not know whether Han Linfeng had been deceiving her.

She was also well aware that when it came to schemes and stratagems, she was no match at all for that man.

While she stood leaning against the wall in a daze, she suddenly heard the mewing of a cat, and then a small, fluffy bundle was pressed against her face by someone’s hand.

Unable to see, Su Luoyun nearly cried out in fright — until she caught a familiar scent, and then said: “Shizi — are you trying to frighten me to death?”

Han Linfeng placed the small kitten in her hands: “This one is a younger sibling of Arong’s litter. Arong was a gift to me from the young master of the Ji Guo Duke’s household. Today that same young master sent me another one — just the right thing to pass along to you.”

Su Luoyun was taken aback. Though she could not see, Xiangcao had described to her before that Arong was no ordinary cat — it was a lion cat, pure white throughout, with eyes of two different colors.

Such cats were imperial tribute animals. Only the highest-ranking officials and nobles could possess one — they were exceedingly rare.

This one he had just placed in her hands — like Arong — had long, silky soft fur.

Such a precious creature — why was he giving it to her?

Han Linfeng offered a timely explanation: “Your young master mentioned that the study in your residence seems to have mice. I have Arong already and do not wish to keep another — it would be just right to leave this one in your care. What — unwilling to take on the task?”

Luoyun gave a faint, wry smile. To use an imperial tribute cat for catching mice — what magnificent, sweeping generosity was this?

But the Shizi had made the request, and she could not very well refuse.

Besides, she was at that very moment in need of Han Linfeng’s help. Never mind a single cat — even if he brought her a lion to keep, she would tend to it without complaint.