“You want to go to Daqiu to trade in rice and flour?” Zuo Gu had some doubts about Mo Zi and Xiao Wei’s identities, but he had sent someone to ask his mother and had already confirmed they were legitimate. His own mother certainly wouldn’t harm him, and bringing ships and people along really wasn’t a difficult matter. His merchant fleet was large—every time, people sought him out wanting to follow along.
“Precisely.” Xiao Wei answered briefly.
“Rice and flour aren’t what Daqiu needs most urgently, though the prices there are very high.” Zuo Gu stroked his beard.
Mo Zi wondered—could it be Zuo Gu still wouldn’t let them accompany the ships?
“How about you sell your thousand shi to me?” Zuo Gu’s proposal was beyond their expectations. “The current market price for rice is one hundred fifty wen. I’ll take it at one hundred seventy wen.”
Xiao Wei looked at Mo Zi. The excuse of trading rice and flour had been her idea first. He didn’t actually know whether the ship had these things or not, so it wasn’t appropriate to speak rashly.
Zuo Gu noticed this and thought to himself that these siblings were quite unusual—the older brother had to watch the younger sister’s expression. It seemed the younger sister was quite capable. The letter had mentioned siblings, and in these chaotic times of war, for such an exceptionally beautiful woman to be traveling around disguised as a man, he wasn’t surprised.
“Though the market sells at one hundred fifty wen, most rice shops have sold out. I came from the south, and all along the way I’ve only seen prices rising. Even with money, there’s nowhere to buy. Wealthy households are all hoarding grain—the private price has already reached two hundred wen. At this rate, even selling at three hundred wen might not stop the increase.” Mo Zi wasn’t speaking groundlessly. Using the rice-selling pretext, naturally she had to investigate beforehand.
Zuo Gu’s words carried another probing intention. Seeing her speak so knowledgeably, he relaxed a bit more inwardly and smiled. “Niece truly understands the business. Uncle will be frank with you too—the rice merchants in Yuling now mostly get their rice from me. Whatever price I say is the price. One hundred fifty wen—there’s a price but no rice. Next month at two hundred fifty wen, if they want to keep their shops running, they’ll have to pay up.”
Mo Zi showed an expression of admiration. “Uncle truly deserves to be called Yuling’s great merchant. Your niece has learned something. Elder Brother and I will have many occasions to rely on Uncle in the future. A thousand shi of rice really isn’t much—we’ll follow Uncle’s wishes.” Actually, she found it cumbersome and was glad to dispose of it.
Zuo Gu once again looked at Mo Zi with new respect. “We’re all family—I won’t let you suffer a loss. I’ll take the rice. With the thousand shi freed up on your ship, you can buy some silk, brocade, or porcelain to fill the space. As for buyers, leave it to me—you’ll get your profit. On the return trip, you can help me transport goods. What you earn will be yours to keep.”
Mo Zi was very pleased. “Thank you, Uncle. When does the fleet depart? We can prepare in advance so as not to delay Uncle’s schedule.”
“Your timing is excellent—this time I’m personally leading the fleet. We depart the day after tomorrow, so you indeed need to prepare early.” Only now did Zuo Gu formally agree.
“There are many matters to handle urgently. I’m afraid we can’t stay at Uncle’s residence tonight.” Mo Zi eagerly stood up. “Tomorrow morning early, shall I have people transport the rice over?”
“That’s not necessary. I’ll send people. We’ll settle the silver all at once then.” Zuo Gu didn’t insist they stay, serving tea as a gesture of farewell. “I’ll also give you a calling card. Take it when you go to purchase goods—people will show some respect, especially in such a rush.”
After the carriages and horses left Zuo Mansion, Ding Gou handed Mo Zi a music score.
Mo Zi flipped through it—thin, just over ten pages. She was musically illiterate in ancient times and couldn’t make any sense of it at all. Xiao Wei should understand, but when she lifted the curtain to look, his back appeared desolate, as if his soul had been extracted. For now, it wasn’t a good time to speak.
“Just this one book?” She first asked Ding Gou, shaking the music score to see if anything was tucked inside.
“Just one bundle. Apart from clothes, only this music score. I already looked—nothing special. Perhaps it’s something she treasured and transferred the gift to you.” Ding Gou shrugged. “Though it’s quite an ordinary tune.”
Mo Zi’s eyes lit up. “You can read music?”
“Obviously—who can’t read music?” Ding Gou looked at her askance.
“I can’t.” Though she saw his pride, Mo Zi honestly admitted it. There was nothing shameful about it. The music of this era wouldn’t appeal to someone from a thousand years in the future. All that humming and plinking—she couldn’t even find the rhythm.
“This is an outing and spring excursion song. The front is the score, the back is the lyrics.” Though Ding Gou spoke this way, he was still quite enthusiastic, humming a few lines softly, then frowning and shaking his head.
Mo Zi asked, “What is it?”
Ding Gou tilted his head. “If you sing according to the lyrics, this score is missing some notes. Strange—the music score isn’t particularly old either.” He pointed to an inconspicuous gap. “Here, where it should sing ‘lotus,’ a note is missing.”
“Lotus?” Mo Zi’s instinct told her something was wrong. This music score’s handwriting was elegant and refined—it might have been written by Mo Chou herself. Her zither skills were renowned throughout the world. How could she possibly write a score with missing notes? “Ding Gou, sing the entire tune for me, then tell me all the missing note characters.”
Ding Gou lowered his eyes to think for a moment, then raised them again, his gaze filled with undisguised admiration. But he wasn’t good at saying pleasant things. He cleared his throat and sang from the beginning.
“Lotus Flower Temple, True Brightness Stone Stele, underneath.” He connected the characters together.
“There’s no time to lose. Ding Gou, go quickly to Lotus Flower Temple in the eastern district.” Mo Zi took out a pencil and roughly sketched the location and streets from memory on paper. “The True Brightness Stone Stele is right behind the temple, in front of the stele forest—”
Ding Gou nodded, took Mo Zi’s map, leaped onto the horse of one of Xiao Wei’s personal attendants, and lifted the man down to the ground.
“Borrowing your horse.” With a couple of shouts, he galloped away at full speed.
With such a commotion, even with his heavy heart, Xiao Wei was startled and asked Mo Zi, “What happened?”
“I’ll explain when we return.” Mo Zi lowered the curtain, leaned her head back, closed her eyes and let out a long breath. What a tiring day.
If only Yuan Cheng were here. With him, she could be lazy. She could hand over everything except shipbuilding to him—who would laugh at her being musically illiterate then? But thinking of him made her heart feel somewhat lighter. The cold that had seeped into her body at Zuo Mansion gave way to warmth, gradually softening.
Back on the ship, Zhong An and Wei Jia listened as Mo Zi told them the general situation. They all knew Mo Chou and never imagined her fate would be so miserable. They couldn’t help but sigh repeatedly, mourning the tragic departure of that once beautiful woman.
Mo Zi then mentioned the music score matter.
Xiao Wei was quite surprised she had deciphered the hidden meaning so quickly. She truly had the ability to make others feel ashamed of themselves.
Mo Chou had once played this guessing game with him using this method, but he completely failed to understand. He could read scores but couldn’t possibly sing the lyrics, so it wasn’t until Mo Chou told him that he understood.
Though the night was deep, no one went to sleep. Everyone wanted to know what Mo Chou had hidden at Lotus Flower Temple. Fortunately, Ding Gou didn’t keep them waiting until dawn. He returned at the fourth watch, carrying a cloth bundle in his hand.
“What is it?” Mo Zi asked as she untied it.
Ding Gou curled his lip and contradicted her in front of everyone. “Does this knot look like it’s been opened? No eye for detail.”
Mo Zi chuckled, and not only didn’t talk back, but admitted she was muddled. “I’ve been busy from morning till night today without a moment’s rest. My eyes are tired, my brain is tired.”
Zhong An was amazed. “Miss Mo Zi always has a sharp tongue—she actually didn’t retort?”
“If he’s right, of course I’ll admit it.” She wasn’t unreasonable.
At this moment, as the cloth bundle opened, everyone’s attention focused on the table.
Inside the cloth bundle was a square box—not new, the red lacquer somewhat faded, with chrysanthemums and orchids painted on it. It seemed to be a woman’s jewelry box. Mo Zi lifted the lid. Inside there was no jewelry, only a large lump of clay.
“Mud?” Wei Jia blinked. “Are you sure that’s right?”
“Ding Gou, this one has even less eye for detail than me, and he’s supposedly a sharpshooter.” Mo Zi teased Wei Jia.
Wei Jia looked again, made a sound of understanding, and reached out to take it. “The indented part in the middle seems to have a pattern.”
Xiao Wei blocked his hand. “Careful—this is soft clay. Use too much force and you’ll damage it.”
Zhong An moved the lamp closer to examine it for a long time. “What exactly is this pattern? A seal?”
“Paired qilin beasts, riding clouds and stepping on balls, with a pair of eagle eyes in the center. The qilin is the Duan Ge family totem, the eagle represents the Daqiu king, riding clouds and stepping on balls signifies coming and going. The ball has bow and snake patterns—it should belong to Duan Geshou. This is an Imperial Gate Token personally bestowed by the Daqiu king. With it, one can freely enter and exit all city gates. Imperial Gate Tokens can’t be used for a lifetime—they’re only forged in pure gold by craftsmen when one goes on campaign or executes special missions. For example, this token of Duan Geshou’s will most likely be recalled by the Daqiu king once Yuling is pacified. Because Imperial Gate Tokens allow unrestricted passage, they’re extremely important and are almost never separated from one’s person.” Mo Zi had read through most of the books in the Daqiu palace during her leisure time, so she knew in great detail. “Mo Chou probably wanted someone to make a fake token so she could escape, but likely didn’t have time.”
“Can others use it too?” Xiao Wei asked her.
“Yes. It would be seen as the token owner having given orders. That’s why I just said this thing is almost never separated from one’s person, unless there’s a specific use for it.” Having finished speaking, Mo Zi closed the lid. “However, we can only disappoint Mo Chou’s final good intentions. Though the clay mold is extremely precise, counterfeiting is very difficult—only a first-rate goldsmith could do it.”
“Mo Zi, your carving skills are exceptional. Can’t you counterfeit it?” Wei Jia felt that if this Imperial Gate Token could be counterfeited, it would be extremely useful.
“I only carve wood for shipbuilding. I don’t understand other things.” Craftsmen were divided into many types. Goldsmiths were different from blacksmiths, blacksmiths different from woodworkers.
“For now, keep it safe. Perhaps there will be a suitable opportunity.” Xiao Wei suggested.
“You keep it.” Mo Zi pushed the box over. “My cabin has people coming and going constantly—what if it gets damaged?”
Xiao Wei didn’t refuse, taking it in both hands.
With their various thoughts, each person returned to their rooms.
Mo Zi had just entered her cabin when Ding Gou spread his palm before her.
A semi-transparent white jade bead shimmered brilliantly. The all-too-familiar image of Guanyin’s hand brushing a willow branch appeared within the jade with serene bearing.
The Water Purification Pearl!
Her mouth hung half-open, not knowing what to say.
Zan Jin laughed. “You clearly opened it and looked, yet you lied with a straight face?”
Mo Zi suddenly understood. “Ding Gou, was this Water Purification Pearl also in the box?”
Ding Gou listened to the sounds outside, confirming no one was nearby, and said, “Good thing I looked first. Otherwise, if they saw it, we couldn’t have kept it for ourselves.”
“Why keep it for ourselves? Didn’t you say it was for Mo Ge? What does it have to do with them?” A series of rhetorical questions—Zan Jin was sharp.
“The Water Purification Pearl is an extremely rare treasure. Who’s to say they won’t get ideas? Better not to mention it.” Ding Gou, like Chou Yu and the others, didn’t have much favorable feeling toward Xiao Wei’s group.
Where had Mo Chou obtained a Water Purification Pearl? Mo Zi was more concerned about this.