Before Qiu Zhen could even feel embarrassed, his thoughts leapt to Han Linfeng’s visit to Maoxiang Money House, and his heart tightened involuntarily — he had no idea what that bastard was plotting now.

Shortly after, the couple appeared to have struck up an acquaintance with a lean, wizened old man by the lakeside, then boarded a painted pleasure boat with him, not disembarking until quite some time had passed.

Qiu Zhen immediately split his subordinates into two groups and had them tail the couple and the old man separately.

As it turned out, that old man was remarkable in his own right. After stepping off the boat, he boarded a carriage and went straight to the Hidden Immortal Mountain near Mirror Lake.

That mountain, together with the two adjacent peaks beside it, was private land. Apart from a few sheer cliff faces, every trail up the mountain was guarded. Not a single step could be taken without the mountain owner’s permission. Qiu Zhen’s men could not get anywhere near.

To purchase three mountains outright? Such staggering financial power could only belong to one man.

Qiu Zhen immediately suspected that the old man was the very person he had been searching for everywhere — You Shanyue.

The roads in and out of the three mountains stretched in all directions; if You Shanyue wanted to leave, there would be no blocking him whatsoever.

Returning to the small courtyard he had temporarily rented, Qiu Zhen questioned Cao Pei’er at length about her father’s old friend You Shanyue and whatever details she knew of him.

When Cao Pei’er heard the familiar name “Mirror Lake,” the recollection came to her belatedly — her father had mentioned once that You Shanyue was fond of fishing along the banks of Mirror Lake during the second month of spring.

Qiu Zhen’s head snapped up. He wheeled around and dealt the foolish woman a slap across the face.

“Such important information, and you only think of it now — do you mean to ruin my plans entirely?”

The sudden blow left Cao Pei’er stunned. For a moment she could only press a hand to her lopsided cheek, at a loss for what expression to wear.

Her father Cao Sheng had a fierce enough temper of his own — yet even at his most furious, he only ever slammed the table or kicked the stool. Not once had he laid a finger on her.

Perhaps out of pity that she and her mother had endured hardship in the countryside when she was small, her father had in truth always doted on her. Aside from this matter of the marriage arrangement, he had done his best to indulge her every other wish.

There were times he had scolded her so harshly that she cried herself to sleep, yet by the next morning a packet of malt candy would always appear tucked beneath her pillow — placed there by his own hand.

She had believed that the man she had gone through such trials to marry would cherish her even more than her father did.

Yet here, only a few short days into their marriage, Qiu Zhen had already struck her simply because she had failed to mention one thing.

Cao Pei’er was not about to stand for it. She glared at him and cried out, “Qiu Zhen, you’ve gone too far! It wasn’t intentional on my part — what right do you have to hit someone?”

She raised her hand to slap him back, but Qiu Zhen shoved her away with one hand. Had there not been a chair behind her, she would have stumbled and fallen.

Qiu Zhen had no patience to waste words on the foolish creature. He ordered his guards in a fury to watch over Cao Pei’er and not allow her to leave the room by so much as a single step, then strode out the door.

Left alone and locked inside, Cao Pei’er pounded at the door to no response. She paced slowly back to the bed, then threw herself down upon it and wept in heaving, choked sobs.

And to think of all the sacrifices she had made for Qiu Zhen — she had even committed an act of mortal treachery against her own father for the sake of steadying his troops’ morale.

Just recently, in order to win the trust of her father’s old companions and get them to fund Qiu Zhen, she had written to You Shanyue and the others claiming that her father Cao Sheng had grown gravely ill and passed from this world, and that her husband Qiu Zhen would now carry on her father’s unfinished ambitions.

When she had written those words, she had felt a twinge of guilt — it felt like cursing her own father to his death. Yet for the sake of her husband Qiu Zhen’s great enterprise, she had hardened her heart and written it all the same.

She had believed that after everything she had done, Qiu Zhen would prize her all the more.

But that slap today had finally cracked open a fissure in Cao Pei’er’s head, which had long been stuffed full of mush — she realized now that she was a woman with neither father nor mother, with no family to fall back on.

In the past, she had only needed to mention her father’s name and everyone would defer to her. But now her father had been “cursed to his death” by her own lie, and she no longer even knew where he was in this world.

There was no one left to stuff a packet of malt candy beneath her pillow while scolding her in the same breath… At this thought, Cao Pei’er’s sobbing grew heavier, her grief beyond all restraint.

* * *

As for Qiu Zhen — he had no interest whatsoever in Cao Pei’er’s fate. Her usefulness to him was more or less exhausted, and he naturally had no intention of wasting effort coaxing her.

What truly vexed him was that Han Linfeng had gotten to You Shanyue before him. He had no idea what the two of them had spoken of at such length, and that elusive You Shanyue — always appearing in glimpses, never in full — refused to see him.

The distinction in treatment was plain as day. Qiu Zhen’s instincts told him something was wrong — this Han Linfeng was truly a wolf in sheep’s clothing. And a wolf that devoured flesh and swallowed the bones without spitting a single one back.

He thought of the ironclad camp at the Qianxi Grain and Forage Depot, then thought of the burning slash across his own back. Qiu Zhen felt as though he were sitting on a bed of needles.

And then there was the matter of whatever Han Linfeng had conspired with You Shanyue — just thinking about it made Qiu Zhen’s entire body crawl with discomfort, as if he were watching a fat rat leap into his own grain jar. It was enough to make him sick with rage.

This Shizi of Beizhen, who had exceeded his every expectation, might very well ruin everything.

The more Qiu Zhen thought about it, the more furious he became. He could not wait another moment — he wanted that man dead tonight.

This place was Huicheng, far from the fires of the northern front. That evening there was to be a fireworks display — precisely the kind of occasion that lulled people into carelessness, and therefore the perfect opportunity for an assassination.

Qiu Zhen had no desire to face such a formidable adversary again on the battlefield. Only by cutting swiftly through the tangle — by taking an underhanded route — could he eliminate this threat once and for all.

As long as Han Linfeng was dead, nothing he had said to the God of Wealth would matter at all.

With that settled in his mind, he brooded for a moment, then waved for a subordinate to approach. “Tonight the city is holding the Spring Festival sacrificial ceremony, and our scouts report that the Shizi of Beizhen has taken his wife to Tianbao Restaurant to watch the fireworks. You’ve placed a number of sleeper agents in Huicheng earlier — see whether any of them can be worked into that restaurant…”

The subordinate frowned at this. “Commander, this is not the north. The city is heavily guarded. Even if we do get our own people inside, attempting an assassination there — we may succeed in the act, but I fear very few of us would walk away from it.”

Qiu Zhen let out a cold, snickering laugh. “Who said anything about assassination? Didn’t they say there’s a Spring Festival fireworks display tonight? Saltpeter and the like — if not stored properly, it’s liable to catch fire unexpectedly… What does it have to do with us if someone failed to store their fireworks carefully and accidentally blew up Tianbao Restaurant?”

The man understood at once. When it came to saltpeter explosives, that was Commander Qiu’s specialty.

Qiu Zhen thought it over, then added another order. “Still, we should prepare a backup plan. In case of unforeseen circumstances, we’ll need someone to finish the job. Han Linfeng is no ordinary fighter — none of you are his match… Aren’t there people from the hidden guild outside the city? Don’t be afraid to spend money — hire several top-tier assassins and get them into the city. Tonight, we kill him in one blow. No second chances.”

The subordinate understood perfectly. Since they were paying outsiders, it made no difference if those men were all lost in the attempt. He went off to make the arrangements.

* * *

By the time Han Linfeng and his party arrived at Tianbao Restaurant, Princess Yuyang’s guards had already cleared the establishment of idle bystanders. The Princess and the Consort of Prince Zong had finished their shopping and were inside taking tea.

By now dusk was drawing near. Tianbao Restaurant was built at the water’s edge, abutting one of Huicheng’s inner rivers.

In years past, the Spring Festival fireworks had always been lit here. When the sparks bloomed across the sky like scattered gemstones, they would be reflected in the water below, shimmering with a brilliance doubly entrancing and dreamlike.

The wives of Huicheng’s officials had also come up to the restaurant in succession, to share in the occasion with Princess Yuyang. Tray after tray of steaming dishes in copper basins were passed up by the restaurant boys from downstairs on great carrying trays, filling the air with the fragrance of food amid cheerful noise and bustle.

Han Linfeng and Su Luoyun were both people who preferred quiet, and in social situations like this they naturally gravitated toward whatever inconspicuous corner they could find. So the two of them settled into the corner nearest the staircase.

There were far too many people eager to flatter Princess Yuyang, and there was no need for Luoyun to push her way forward.

The Consort of Prince Zong had been the center of attention back in Liangzhou — the one whom everyone revolved around. But now, overshadowed by Princess Yuyang, she found herself utterly eclipsed, and feeling none too pleased about it. She had no desire to stand in the Princess’s shadow playing second fiddle, so she came back and sat down beside her son and daughter-in-law.

“I didn’t see the two of you all day — where did you go off to play? On the rare occasion when you could accompany Princess Yuyang, Han Linfeng — you’re a man and can hardly push to the front — but you as her female relation ought to have stepped forward more. After all, the Prince Consort will be Linfeng’s direct superior in future. If you conduct yourself a little more graciously, doesn’t that reflect well on Linfeng too?”

The Consort of Prince Zong was feeling out of sorts and vented it by lecturing her son and daughter-in-law.

Luoyun made no move to open her mouth. With Han Linfeng present, there was never any need for her to charge into battle against her mother-in-law.

Han Linfeng poured his mother a cup of wine. “What is there to advance in my position as a grain official? The stipend is only so much, and the Prince’s household doesn’t depend on my salary to get by. If I resigned and went home, that would be the real relief. During the day, I had Luoyun accompany me to buy gifts for Han Xiao and Han Yao. Han Xiao has been in low spirits since Father banned the poetry and painting society, hasn’t he? I bought him a fine inkstone from Duan — the best quality.”

The Consort of Prince Zong’s mood eased somewhat at that.

Han Linfeng, though he had become a little inclined to side with his wife since taking her, was at least genuinely fond of his younger brother and sister.

At moments like this, the Consort of Prince Zong felt a faint comfort — a sense that she had not raised someone else’s child in vain. At the very least, this child still had the bearing of an elder brother; he was capable of shielding a younger sibling from the wind and rain.

So she rose and went to sit with the other official wives she was acquainted with.

The wives were exchanging whispers among themselves, trading news that had filtered in from the capital.

They said that the Ninth Prince, the Prince of Rui, was currently riding high — his new wife, the second daughter of the Fang family, was with child, and even before the child was born, the Emperor had already bestowed lavish rewards upon her. Should she produce a son, the implications were incalculable.

These things, of course, they dared not breathe in front of Princess Yuyang — they only murmured among themselves in private.

It was said, however, that many court officials, after Wang Yun’s failure to hold the city and the subsequent fall of the Wang family from imperial favor, had been switching their allegiance one after another to the Ninth Prince.

If the Ninth Prince truly managed to eclipse his Sixth Elder Brother and rise to power, it would be nothing short of a complete upheaval of the world — and they, the people below, would be left with no idea how to navigate their circumstances.

Luoyun’s hearing was too keen. Sitting quietly in her corner, she caught a great deal of this kind of news.

The thought that the second Fang daughter might one day become Empress gave her pause — even hiding away in Liangzhou, she and Han Linfeng would likely find no peace… Luoyun could not help sighing, and found herself hoping the Sixth Prince would put up a better fight.

But then she reconsidered — the Sixth Prince had previously framed Han Linfeng, so even if he rose to power, her husband would likely fare no better under him.

For a moment, Su Luoyun inwardly cursed the imperial consorts for their failure to produce more worthy heirs — how was it that they couldn’t manage to bring a few more proper candidates into the world, leaving everyone now forced to pick the least misshapen from a pile of crooked melons and split dates?

Han Linfeng reached over and adjusted a black jade hairpin atop her head, frowning as he did so. “Why did you wear this one out?”

The hairpin was one Han Linfeng had given Su Luoyun some days earlier, back at Phoenix Tail Village.

After all, expecting a fragile young woman to defend herself in a dangerous moment by reaching under her pillow for a dagger was not very practical.

Han Linfeng had therefore asked a friend from the jianghu in the north to have a special hairpin crafted for Luoyun.

The pin had a hidden spring mechanism. When taken in hand and triggered, it could release a needle tip soaked in a numbing drug — a scratch of the skin was enough to paralyze a person.

But since the thing did have a spring inside, he had also worried about Luoyun accidentally paralyzing herself. He had only given it to her in Phoenix Tail Village to tuck under her pillow, more for peace of mind and a sense of security than any practical use.

Luoyun smiled wryly. “You know me — sometimes my mind wanders and I just reach for whatever is at hand and put it on… Oh, don’t pull at it, it’s holding my hair up. I’ll put it away properly when we get back.”

As they chatted idly, a string of small boats came gliding down the inner river through the city. These boats carried large bundles of fireworks. Among them, more than half were specially made fireworks that Princess Yuyang had personally commissioned by contributing extra silver.

Back in the capital, although fireworks were set off during festivals, the restrictions of the imperial city meant everything had to be done by regulation — nothing too dangerous was permitted.

Out here beyond the capital, free from all those tedious rules and formalities, the Princess could finally indulge her own taste. She had ordered a one-hundred-and-eight-blast set called the “Fire General.”

Even the name of those fireworks was satisfying to hear.

When the Princess had offered prayers at the Spring Festival ceremony, she had grandly ordered a full set — not only to pray for abundant harvests and peace throughout Great Wei, but also to offer blessings that her husband and son might win victory after victory, and that fortune would follow them all the way to year’s end.

When the gongs and drums below began to sound, it was the signal to the crowds of revelers along the streets that the fireworks display was about to begin, asking pedestrians to clear the way and take care around open flames.

The Consort of Prince Zong and the other ladies rose and moved to the windows along with everyone else.

Princess Yuyang, radiant with delight, pointed toward a nearby boat piled high with fireworks tubes. “Those are the Fire General I paid a hundred taels of silver for — a full hundred and eight blasts, in a great variety of colors and patterns. I’m told it looks as though the heavenly troops and generals have filled the entire sky. They say it’s truly spectacular!”

This remark drew another wave of flattery from those around her.

Luoyun could not see clearly and did not join the crowd jostling for a view.

Then, amidst the mingled aromas of wine and hot food, she stretched her neck and sniffed unconsciously, then asked Han Linfeng quietly beside her, “The fireworks display hasn’t started yet — why do I smell saltpeter somewhere inside the building?”

Han Linfeng sniffed as well, but caught nothing. He smiled and said, “The boats carrying fireworks have come down the inner river. They’re quite far away — you can actually smell them from here?”

Luoyun glanced around in a vague, uncertain way, sniffed again, and said quietly, “No, that’s not right — this smell… it seems to be coming from inside the building…”

Han Linfeng set down his chopsticks slowly. He knew that Luoyun’s nose was keener than any dog’s.

Saltpeter and its like were no laughing matter. If such materials had been brought into the restaurant near the kitchen or anywhere with an open flame, it would be nothing short of catastrophe.

Could it be that those handling the fireworks had been careless and brought them inside the restaurant?

The entire building was full of people of noble lineage — this could not be taken lightly. So he waved over Qingyang, who stood waiting nearby, and issued a quiet order, asking him to take a few men downstairs to check whether anything was amiss.

Qingyang received his orders and headed downstairs with two others.

But Luoyun was still sniffing, her brow furrowed. “This smell… it’s extremely strong. It doesn’t seem to be very far from us at all…”

Han Linfeng’s thoughts shifted sharply. He rose to his feet in an instant, scanning the room with focused eyes.

The second floor had been set aside specifically for distinguished guests, and the tables and chairs had been rearranged accordingly. Since many of the tables were draped with tablecloths, what lay beneath them was impossible to see clearly.

Han Linfeng simply went over and lifted the tablecloths one by one to check underneath.

The ladies had by now returned to their seats and were preparing to drink a cup or two of wine while waiting for the fireworks to start.

A man lifting tablecloths and peering underneath was rather as if he were staring at the ladies’ embroidered slippers adorned with pearls and cornelian — exceedingly improper.

The other wives shrank back in alarm, thinking to themselves: no wonder they all said the Shizi of Beizhen was a lecher — it was clearly no false rumor. His imperial great-aunt was sitting right there in the hall and here he was making such a spectacle of himself without a second thought.

The Consort of Prince Zong lost face entirely and hissed at him under her breath, “What on earth are you doing, child — so reckless and careless?”

Luoyun could not see clearly, but watching the movement of Han Linfeng’s figure, she understood that he was searching for the source of the smell. A thought struck her. She smiled and said aloud, “My cat Axue has gone missing. The Shizi is helping me look for it. The little troublemaker — I’m afraid it might scratch one of the ladies.”

The Consort of Prince Zong knew that Luoyun kept a prized lion cat, but this time they had come to Huicheng — they hadn’t brought any cat along at all. Was this… trying to fool a fool?

Before the Consort of Prince Zong could say another word, Han Linfeng had already moved swiftly through the entire room and lifted every tablecloth to look.

There was nothing unusual under any of the tables.

By this point Luoyun had risen, and with Xiangcao supporting her arm, she had made her way to the side of the staircase.

Flanking the staircase stood a pair of large flower vases that had been temporarily placed there — the kind of decorative arrangement the restaurant owner had probably carried over from his own home especially for the distinguished guests, to lend the room an air of elegance.

Han Linfeng caught Luoyun’s signal, walked over, and looked inside. His face changed instantly as he drew a sharp breath — inside the vases, something had clearly been stuffed in: objects arranged in rows. When he bent his head and inhaled, a wave of saltpeter and sulfur hit his nostrils directly.

Moreover, running along one side of the vase was a long fuse cord, thin as a thread, trailing discreetly down along the staircase railing.

At that very moment, a shout erupted from downstairs — Qingyang’s voice: “Stop right there! What’s wrapped up in that long cloth — let me have a look!”

Han Linfeng told two guards to stay with the Shizi’s consort and the other ladies, then snapped the fuse cord inside the vases and leapt downstairs in a single bound — just in time to see Qingyang and his men chasing someone into the kitchen.

After going downstairs, Qingyang had taken his men to quickly check the kitchen and other areas near open flames, rummaging through everything for any dangerous materials.

At that moment, he spotted a man in cook’s clothing suddenly crouch down, pull two bundles wrapped in a long absorbent cloth from a cabinet, then turn and head toward the back courtyard.

Qingyang wheeled around in pursuit, intending to seize the man.

Hearing Qingyang’s footsteps closing in behind him, the man suddenly spun around, used the stove’s open flame to ignite one of the bundles from the cloth, hurled it backward with full force, then vaulted out of the kitchen in a single leap.

In that instant, a thunderous boom shook the restaurant. The kitchen door collapsed entirely, trapping Qingyang and the others inside.

Han Linfeng had just reached the bottom of the stairs and came face to face with the fleeing man.

The man acted without hesitation — using the fire blazing at the doorway, he ignited the remaining bundle, then flung it straight at Han Linfeng.

Han Linfeng saw it clearly. His expression changed in an instant and he threw himself aside, twisting away in a flash.

It was all over in the blink of an eye. Two tremendous blasts rang out from below. The bundle the man had hurled at Han Linfeng landed on the staircase steps and exploded with a thunderous roar, shaking the entire Tianbao Restaurant to its foundations.

The ladies on the second floor were sent into a panic by the twin explosions, one after another, their faces blanching with fright. Cries of “Earthquake!” and other frightened shouts broke out in chaos.

Luoyun was jolted by the force and grabbed Xiangcao’s arm tightly to steady herself.

Once the noise had subsided, she called out urgently, “What happened downstairs? Is the Shizi unharmed?”

Xiangcao carefully leaned over to look, then said with some alarm, “The entire staircase has been blown apart — we… can’t get downstairs!”

Just then, Han Linfeng’s voice rose from below. “Luoyun, are you all right?”

Hearing that his voice was full and strong — clearly uninjured — Luoyun’s heart half-settled. She called back loudly, “We’re fine — are the people downstairs safe?”

Han Linfeng was by now covered in black soot from the explosion’s smoke around his nostrils and mouth. He surveyed the casualties below.

One innocent restaurant boy who had been delivering food had already collapsed in a pool of blood, his face so shredded by the blast that he was beyond saving.

The man who had thrown the saltpeter explosive had already had his neck seized by Han Linfeng in passing — his neck tendon snapped.

The kitchen door, which abutted the staircase, was now in complete ruin all around. For the moment, the people trapped inside the kitchen could not get out.

Han Linfeng silently gave thanks that the man whose neck he’d broken had been carrying a smaller tube of saltpeter. Had he been given the chance to light the two large flower vases upstairs, the entire second floor would have been leveled to rubble.

He had already snapped the fuse cord inside the vases before coming downstairs.

Just to be safe, he still needed to return to the second floor and throw those dangerous contents of the vases outside — only then would things be truly secure.

But just as he was about to call for someone to bring a ladder so the ladies upstairs could be evacuated first, a cold arrow wrapped in a piercing whistle suddenly flew in from the restaurant entrance.

From nowhere, a dozen or more masked men poured in. They cut down the guards inside the restaurant and surged forward en masse.

Han Linfeng reacted with lightning speed, tilting his head just slightly to the side — the arrow buried itself squarely in the chest of the guard standing behind him.

The guard cried out and crumpled to the ground.

Simultaneously, the black-clad men gripped their blades and slashed down in one motion, surrounding Han Linfeng and the remaining guard on all sides.

At the same time, three of the black-clad men used grappling-hook ropes to seize the window ledges and came scrambling rapidly up toward the second floor.

Qiu Zhen had spent freely this time — he was determined to see Han Linfeng dead.

The men he had hired from the hidden guild were all skilled fighters and desperate killers. As long as the silver was sufficient, they would cut down even their own wives and children without so much as a blink.

Han Linfeng was temporarily unable to get back upstairs — tangled up by these men, unable to pull himself free — and his heart burned with anxious urgency.

As for Su Luoyun upstairs: though she knew nothing of saltpeter matters, after the two tremendous blasts, she had understood that the explosive contents inside those large flower vases were the true centerpiece — if those vases were lit, the entire second floor of the restaurant would be sent flying into the sky.

Hearing that Han Linfeng could not come up for the moment, she had Xiangcao fetch the water jug used to refill cups on the second floor, then poured every drop of water inside directly into the vases. Doused with water, the saltpeter and the like would no longer be a threat — otherwise, sitting up here with two giant explosive barrels was enough to make anyone’s heart race.

But before long, the sounds of fighting drifted up from downstairs. Han Linfeng called out, “Luoyun, someone’s climbing up from the windows — don’t let them get up!”

The other ladies, faced with this situation, were frightened as quails — staring at one another blankly, rooted to the spot.

But Su Luoyun reacted immediately. She grabbed Xiangcao and shouted, “Quick! Get to the windows and throw things down — don’t let the attackers up!”

Her shout seemed to wake a flock of quails from their stupor. Princess Yuyang was the first to rouse herself — and she took the lead, stepping past her own guards, seizing a chair with both hands, and charging to the window to hurl it down with all her strength.