Chapter 62

Wan Yan Jun, however, was not surprised in the slightest.

“Xie Que Shan has already explained to me. He was chasing a member of the Candlelight Bureau onto the pleasure boat but was misled into killing a dancer. It was the Candlelight Bureau’s ploy to kill using borrowed hands—it wasn’t intentional on his part.”

Hu Sha was dumbfounded. “Didn’t Xie Que Shan flee out of guilt?”

“Nonsense. He’s recuperating in my residence right now. This is a top secret—do not spread it.”

“That’s just an excuse!” Hu Sha was so furious he almost jumped up. “You believe whatever he says?”

Wan Yan Jun’s face remained composed as he patiently explained, “He chased the Candlelight Bureau’s operative into Hu Gui Mountain, where he was seriously injured, which is why he disappeared for a few days.”

“That’s a ruse! Xie Que Shan is a schemer—there’s nothing he wouldn’t do!”

“What kind of ruse involves gambling one’s own life? He was nearly beyond saving!” Wan Yan Jun’s patience wore thin; dealing with a brainless brute like Hu Sha was exhausting. “Moreover, he risked his life and managed to obtain critical intelligence from the Candlelight Bureau operative about the Yu City Army’s hiding place.”

Hu Sha was taken aback. “Really? Where are they hiding?”

“And you have the audacity to ask? On the night of the Lantern Festival, you acted recklessly. Despite receiving advance intelligence, you still let Xie Zhu escape. Go back and reflect on your actions. I’ll take over the military affairs. Fortunately, Xie Que Shan managed to turn the tide and uncover vital information. You should be grateful to him.”

Hu Sha’s mouth filled with a string of curses, but he forced them back down. Wan Yan Jun clearly wanted to take full credit for eliminating the Yu City Army.

But Hu Sha had no leg to stand on and could only force out a smile.

“Fine! When that hero wakes up, I’ll go kowtow to him!”

He stormed off in anger, leaving behind that snide remark.

Wan Yan Jun rolled his eyes in exasperation, his patience utterly exhausted.

Outside, near the wall, Xu Kou Yue stood holding a tea tray. She didn’t know whether she should enter or leave.

She had overheard things she shouldn’t have, and if Wan Yan Jun found out, she would undoubtedly suffer. After some thought, she tiptoed away.

________________________________________

The news quickly reached Zhang Yue Hui.

He merely let out a chuckle, lazily crossing his legs. “Sacrificing a pawn to save the king—what a brilliant move by Xie Que Shan.”

Luo Ci, who had come to deliver the news, stood nearby, puzzled. “Master, what do you mean by that?”

“The sword tassel in Chang Yan’s hand was Xie Que Shan’s biggest mistake that night—it exposed his identity. He had to find a way to cover it up. The best solution was to provide a larger, more truthful piece of information. And upon entering the city, instead of returning home, he went straight to Wan Yan Jun, even recuperating at his residence. Isn’t that intentionally placing himself under the Qiren’s surveillance?”

“Master seems... to doubt Xie Que Shan’s loyalties?”

“If he truly is the Candlelight Bureau’s deepest mole within the Qiren, then sacrificing hundreds of Yu City soldiers to pave the way for him is not out of the question. If he isn’t, this still allows him to earn merits with the Qiren. Either way, he doesn’t lose.”

“I heard he was gravely injured in his fight with the Candlelight Bureau operative, nearly losing his life.”

“That’s the strange part,” Zhang Yue Hui raised an eyebrow. “The Candlelight Bureau has no reason to kill Xie Que Shan. Without him mediating, the Xie family’s situation would worsen, and Lady Gan Tang would be in even greater danger. On top of that, it doesn’t make sense for Xie Que Shan to personally chase someone down. He’s typically the strategist who sits in the command tent. Even if the situation were urgent, he would have left a signal for Hu Sha, wouldn’t he? So, whatever happened during his disappearance, it’s certainly not as he claimed. There must be other things he’s determined to keep hidden.”

Luo Ci frowned, unable to piece it together. “But that’s assuming Master suspects Xie Que Shan. If he’s innocent, those oddities could just be coincidences... Isn’t Master overthinking?”

“In a larger scheme, it’s precisely those minor inconsistencies and coincidences that reveal the truth.”

“Don’t focus on the process—look at the outcome,” Zhang Yue Hui tapped his cup lightly with his fingers. “I suspect it’s related to another missing person.”

“The widow of the Xie family?”

Zhang Yue Hui didn’t answer.

Luo Ci dared not ask further. He had a feeling that his master’s certainty came from knowing something more.

Indeed, there was a secret only Zhang Yue Hui knew.

Six years ago.

After the Jingchun Rebellion, Xie Que Shan defected, and the Zhang family of Guan Yang was held accountable for failing to transport supplies, resulting in their entire household being imprisoned and sentenced to execution after the autumn.

Zhang Yue Hui narrowly escaped and, in his desperation, sought a way to save his family. His father had been a student of Shen Zhi Zhong, so Zhang Yue Hui decided to seek him out, hoping Shen would petition the court on the Zhang family’s behalf.

At the time, however, Shen Zhi Zhong was reportedly ill and had not attended court for several days. Zhang Yue Hui had no choice but to wait outside Shen’s residence, where he witnessed Shen returning at dawn, covered in dust and grime.

Suspicious, Zhang Yue Hui secretly examined the tags on Shen’s horse and discovered that he had rushed back from Youdu Prefecture.

He had gone to Youdu Prefecture—where Shen’s student Xie Que Shan had defected.

The implications were clear.

At that moment, Zhang Yue Hui realized Shen Zhi Zhong would never plead for the Zhang family.

The Jingchun Rebellion had been staged as a grand performance for the Qiren. Everyone caught in it—innocent or not—had to be implicated and punished, each occupying their designated position. Only through such genuine displays of tragedy and fury could the Qiren believe in Xie Que Shan’s loyalty.

In that instant, Zhang Yue Hui’s understanding of the world’s order completely collapsed.

All aristocrats, no matter how deviant, view the world as one where causes and effects are clear. Everything can be traced back to its origin, reasons can be found, right and wrong discerned, and lessons learned to avoid repeating mistakes.

But in this matter, no one was at fault, yet lives were lost. He didn’t know who to hate.

For the greater good, he understood. But for his innocent family who died tragically, he didn’t want to understand.

He was but an insignificant mayfly! Whether he could see through everything didn’t matter in the least.

Zhang Yuehui could only watch powerlessly as his entire family was executed; their home destroyed. From then on, he became a man who couldn’t face the light, fleeing to a small southern town, living a life of drunken decadence.

Sometimes he slept at the drinking table, and sometimes even on the streets, living like a vagabond.

He thought the rest of his life would continue like this, rotting away like mud, decaying with the times—until he met her.

He couldn’t remember which day it was, but when he woke from a drunken stupor, a pair of sparkling eyes were watching him from the bedside.

“Sir, I carried you back to the inn last night. You owe me ten wen.”

Her eyes sparkled even brighter when she got the ten wen.

“Next time you drink, call me too. I’ll clean up after you for a small fee, guaranteed service to the end.”

The next time he drank, he really called her. Halfway to drunkenness, he stopped, his mind filled with thoughts of those eyes waiting for him at the door.

He bought her some pastries. Seeing her joy, he felt a bit of happiness himself.

Later, he stopped binge-drinking altogether and, with her, honestly started selling roasted sweet potatoes on the streets, becoming an ordinary commoner.

He had no home, and neither did she. They relied on each other in that small town for two years.

He built two adjoining thatched cottages by the river on the outskirts of town. Their yards connected, their clothes always hung out to dry together, fluttering in the sunlight.

They wandered among spring flowers, cooled off under summer trees, harvested in the autumn leaves, and warmed themselves by winter fires.

Heaven had shown him mercy. After meeting her, his life felt like falling into a beautiful dream.

But he wasn’t entirely honest with her.

He knew he would have to leave one day. He knew he was doing dangerous, treasonous things.

——The Zhang family still owned a trading company in Lucheng, an asset overlooked during the confiscation of their property. He secretly took it over and spent years moving all its business underground.

He was weaving a net in the shadows. Not for revenge, not for anything. He just wanted to watch everything collapse.

When the collapse happened, he would reemerge, showing the world how this society drove people mad.

He was clear-headed: these things took precedence over Nan Yi, and he couldn’t drag her into this hell.

So, he never spoke of eternal vows, afraid he couldn’t fulfill them. They were just the best of friends in this world, and he never crossed any lines. She, naive and uncomprehending, didn’t know what love was—at most, she had a vague notion of wanting to spend her life with him.

He had a perceptive mind; how could he not know her yearning? But the fire in his heart burned day and night, a blaze no amount of drunken stupor or pastoral idyll could extinguish.

Though, in many moments, faced with her radiant smile, she took the upper hand in his heart. To live quietly with her, even in hunger and poverty, would have been a happy life.

She, who had nothing, somehow cultivated a pure field in his heart.

But people always find ways to seek what they cannot have. For those within reach, it’s not that they don’t cherish them, but after weighing their options, they believe the distant might hold something better.

The unknown is always full of temptation and possibilities.

Once the Lucheng business was mostly sorted out, he needed to expand elsewhere. He lied to her, saying he was going to join the army, and left her a bracelet of great value.

He chose a unique jade piece—clear and translucent, but with a single visible flaw.

Though the flaw reduced its monetary value, it made it the most distinctive piece among countless similar bracelets.

He knew it would be hard to keep such a bracelet safe in times of chaos. He thought she would eventually sell it for food. He instructed his businesses to keep an eye out for it—no matter if it was broken, they were to give her plenty of silver, enough for her to live comfortably for the rest of her life.

After that, they would be bound no more.

He thought his heartless self wouldn’t hold on to these memories for long. But as time passed, he realized no one had sold the bracelet. He was puzzled.

Could that girl really be holding onto the bracelet in those desolate years, waiting for him? How could such a foolish person exist in this world?

He was convinced she’d sell it... yet this distant waiting became a demon in his heart. The sins he committed haunted him every sleepless night, whispering that perhaps she was still waiting for him.

Regret crept in. A part of him began to cry out and lose control day and night. He finally decided to find her, only to discover she had suddenly left Lucheng.

Like a drop of water falling into the ocean, her trail vanished.

He sent countless eyes to search for her, but it was in vain.

He was the most formidable intelligence merchant in this world, but even he couldn’t find her. Where was he supposed to look?

And at this very moment, Nan Yi was waiting to die in a forgotten hunter’s cabin deep in the mountains.