Chapter 37

A Familiar Face

In Hua Zhao Pavilion, a small cauldron on the long table simmered with the delicate fragrance of Longquan tea. Through the window, slender shadows were cast as footsteps approached.

The man lying on the couch lazily crossed his legs, holding a vermilion brush to mark through a ledger, sitting in an unrefined manner, but no one could criticize him for his lack of decorum. His nose was sharp and defined, and his eyes like glazed glass—he resembled an untamed immortal banished from the heavens.

As the brush paused, he looked up at the sound of footsteps.

Chang Yan entered cautiously. “Master.”

Zhang Yuehui nodded to the guards by his side, who immediately understood and stepped outside to stand watch.

“Has Xie Zhu woken up?”

“He’s seriously weakened. He woke up briefly but was still disoriented, so we couldn’t get any useful information. However, Xie Liu just came by.”

“She’s rather frequent with her visits, not even afraid of being discovered.”

“She brought a scroll and said it was for Xie Zhu to write a ‘Hundred-People Buddhist Sutra.’ I didn’t notice anything unusual.”

Chang Yan handed over the scroll.

Zhang Yuehui unfolded it and skimmed through it a few times. The scroll was long, and the handwriting varied.

The water in the cauldron began to bubble, and the steam made a gurgling sound against the lid. Zhang Yuehui ignored it, his brow furrowing slightly. “This doesn’t seem like an idea Xie Liu would come up with.”

Chang Yan was puzzled. “Master, what’s the significance of this?”

“On the surface, this Buddhist sutra is meant to comfort the old lady of the Xie family. But if the person behind it is clever, she could use this opportunity to collect the handwriting of everyone in Wang Xue Wu.”

Chang Yan was shocked. “So, this sutra can’t be taken back?”

“If you don’t take it back, your identity will be exposed,” Zhang Yuehui said slowly, taking the scroll back from her and handing it to Chang Yan. “Do as Xie Liu instructed, don’t tamper with it. Follow the lead and see what they’re really up to.”

“I also overheard some of the Qibing guards in Wang Xue Wu saying that this was organized by Xie Liu and the new widow from the Xie family.”

Zhang Yuehui raised an eyebrow. “Qin Shi?”

“Exactly. But we’ve already investigated and found the Qin family to be clean. This Qin Shi is a bastard daughter, supposedly raised on the streets. She’s somewhat unconventional and isn’t really significant in the Xie family. I also asked General Hu Sha about her, and she appears meek and lacking in courage, just an ordinary woman.”

“Still, we need to keep a close watch,” Zhang Yuehui said, picking up the teapot and pouring water into the teacup. “Anyone who can stir the waters of the Xie family isn’t someone simple. The more unlikely someone seems, the more we need to keep an eye on them.”

“Understood. Master, there’s one more thing,” Chang Yan hesitated before speaking. “I happened to see an old acquaintance from Bianjing who had escaped, in the streets of Lidu Prefecture…”

“Who?” Zhang Yuehui asked, intrigued.

“Song Mouchuan. He was born into a family of artisans, served in the Ministry of Works, was skilled in architecture and shipbuilding, and participated in the construction of the ‘Wen Yao’ dragonbone ship. I thought perhaps he could help with the current predicament of Lord Wan Yan.”

Zhang Yuehui sneered and shook his head. “He’s been out of the political scene for six years. He’s a washed-up man now. I’ve heard that Shen Zhi Zhong sent him several secret messages, hoping he would return to serve the court, but they all fell flat. When a person’s heart is dead, no amount of talent can save them.”

“Master, are you saying we can’t win him over?”

“This Song Qilang is truly a celestial being who descended to experience tribulations. He’s so pure—” Zhang Yuehui’s lips curled into a smile, though his tone was not mocking, and there was even a hint of admiration. “How can this world allow such a pure person to exist? I’m afraid his time is running out.”

The room fell silent for a moment.

As if recalling something from the past, Zhang Yuehui remained silent for a while before raising his head and changing the subject.

“Have you found any leads on the person I asked you to investigate?”

Chang Yan hesitated, her expression showing some uncertainty. “Someone mentioned seeing a girl who matches the description at the Qu Ling River ferry, but they said she ran into a group of Qibing soldiers... After that, no one has seen her again.”

“Keep searching.”

His command was given without hesitation, and the calmness in his demeanor disappeared.

Chang Yan didn’t dare argue. In her speculation, how could a girl escape the ravages of the Qibing? The girl was surely dead. But she rarely saw her master, who usually appeared indifferent to everything, show this kind of expression. When he said to search, it meant they must keep looking until they found a body.

——

Meanwhile, Nan Yi was wandering the streets.

She had left the estate with Xie Xiao Liu under the pretense of buying New Year’s goods. Xie Xiao Liu was going to Hua Zhao Pavilion to deliver the Buddhist scriptures and have Xie Zhu write the calligraphy, while Nan Yi found an excuse to separate from Xie Sui’an and secretly visited a pawnshop in the neighborhood.

She had gathered the jewelry and gifts she had accumulated over the past few days, and also brought the inkstone Autumn Sister had given her, planning to exchange everything for gold and silver so she could escape at the first opportunity.

Other shops were quiet, but the pawnshop was bustling, with families bringing the last of their valuable belongings to exchange for enough money to buy food.

The pawnshop’s prices were naturally becoming increasingly outrageous.

The jewelry Nan Yi brought in was worth only thirty taels of silver, but the inkstone, which appeared to be of excellent quality, caught the pawnshop keeper’s eye. He examined it carefully, though he eventually shook his head in regret.

“This inkstone is of high quality, from the Meihua Pit, probably royal supply—very rare. If it weren’t for the inscription, I could offer fifty taels for it.”

The fact that the pawnshop was willing to offer fifty taels suggested the inkstone could be worth at least two or three hundred taels.

Nan Yi was puzzled. “Why doesn’t it have any value because of the inscription?”

“This inscription was carved by the lady’s sister-in-law, wasn’t it? You can see the carving technique matches the lotus pattern, so it’s likely the same person who did both.” The pawnshop keeper handed the inkstone back to her, pointing to the writing on the surface.

There were two lines of delicate, elegant characters carved on the inkstone. Nan Yi couldn’t read them, so she didn’t think much of it.

“What does it say?”

“It says, ‘Wishing the eldest sister-in-law peace, happiness, and a long life.’” The pawnshop keeper sighed with regret. “This makes it difficult to sell again. Who would want to buy a personal gift for someone else at such a high price?”

Nan Yi was stunned.

She had never received such a blessing before—peace, happiness, and a long life. Every word represented the most beautiful things in life.

Autumn Sister’s father had been saved by Nan Yi, and in her gratitude, Autumn Sister didn’t know what to give her. Not wanting to ask directly, she quietly observed her and noticed Nan Yi seemed to be practicing calligraphy. So, she spent several days carving this precious inkstone and inscribing her sincerest wishes.

“Madam, would you still like to pawn this inkstone?” Seeing that Nan Yi was lost in thought, the pawnshop keeper asked again.

Nan Yi took the inkstone back. “I won’t pawn it.”

Even though Nan Yi had made up her mind to sever all ties with the powerful families, she couldn’t bring herself to sell this inkstone cheaply.

Just as she was about to leave the pawnshop, Nan Yi overheard two attendants talking at another counter.

“Yeah, that scholar lives in Jiangyue Alley. I think his last name is Song…”

The name was familiar, and Nan Yi stopped in her tracks, looking toward the sound.

The attendants were playing with a flawless sky-blue Ru ware porcelain cup.

“When he brought this cup in to pawn, he didn’t say where it came from. We just assumed it was one of the imperial court’s Ru ware cups. Who would’ve thought, he’s actually the top scholar from many years ago. After passing the imperial exams, at the Deer Ming Banquet, the emperor admired him so much that he personally gifted him this cup to drink wine from—tch, what glory.”

“He could’ve said this was the Scholar’s Cup, and the price would’ve doubled. Why didn’t he mention it?”

“Scholars are too modest. They wouldn’t haggle over things like that. A precious item like this, to be pawned… He must have come here in poverty, even unable to afford a meal.”

“Why not go to the Xie family? They’re such a big family, surely they’d help him.”

“Maybe he’s too proud?”

“You know, this person is strange. He’s so proud, but he went and stole a bag of rice and got caught…”

Nan Yi stood by the door, listening for a while. She finally understood what they were discussing. They were talking about Song Yushu, the scholar she had briefly met.

Song Yushu had once been the celebrated top scholar. Recently, he had wandered into Lidu Prefecture, so destitute that he was living in a shabby straw hut with a few other poor scholars.

His future was uncertain, filled with talent, yet trapped in his current circumstances. He had pawned everything he could, and with little left, he was starving. Desperate, he had stolen a bag of rice from a shop and was caught on the spot.

Normally, no one would care about a poor scholar, but after the theft, rumors about him spread.

Most of the discussions were filled with criticism—how could a scholar steal? Even if starving, they should never accept food from others, let alone commit petty theft. This top scholar was without honor.

Nan Yi recalled the brief encounter with Song Yushu, the scholar who even cared about the dirt on his own clothes. She couldn’t help but feel a bit melancholy.

She returned to the street, hesitating whether to go to Jiangyue Alley to check on the scholar, but then heard shouts coming from the riverbank.

“Someone jumped into the river!”