QYT - 24

Qingwei agreed and quickly led Mei Niang into the private room.

She didn’t reveal her identity immediately. She got clean clothes for Mei Niang to change into, then took off her veil. “Mei Niang, it’s me.”

The reddish-purple birthmark covered her left eye, making her look completely different from the refined and beautiful woman Mei Niang had seen that day. Mei Niang recognized her almost entirely by her voice. “You’re... Mr. Xue’s friend?”

Qingwei realized that Mei Niang didn’t know her name. “You can just call me Ah Ye.”

Jiang Cizhou and Fudong were still talking outside. Qingwei got straight to the point. “Let’s make this quick. Are you sure the wine shop Mr. Xue asked you about after he came to the capital was the Zhezhiju?”

Mei Niang nodded. “I’m sure. And after he came to the capital, his whereabouts were kept a secret. He didn’t even want to stay long at my Shifang Pavilion, yet he suddenly appeared at Donglaishun and was captured nearby. Looking back now, maybe the place he really wanted to go to was the Zhezhiju.”

Qingwei asked, “Did you ever go to the Zhezhiju afterward?”

“I did, but at that time, I thought Mr. Xue just wanted to taste the wine from the Zhezhiju, so I bought some and left.” Mei Niang recalled carefully. “I remember the owner of that wine shop was a widow who covered her face. Her voice suggested she was very young.”

Qingwei nodded. What Mei Niang said was no different from what she had found out.

She then asked, “Do you know that the Zhezhiju is empty?”

“Empty? You mean the shop is closed?” Mei Niang was startled. “How can that be?”

In the past ten days, Mei Niang had first been locked in the copper prison and then sent to the Zhuning estate, completely cut off from the outside world for a long time. Even so, she shouldn’t have been so surprised to hear that the Zhezhiju was closed. Qingwei instinctively felt her reaction was odd. “It’s not just closed, it’s completely empty. I went inside and saw that there wasn’t even a single pot of wine left. Is something wrong?”

Mei Niang’s brows furrowed. She said with certainty, “That’s impossible. I saw wine from the Zhezhiju at the Zhuning estate yesterday. I knew it was freshly brewed just by the smell. I’ve tasted that wine. Although the flavor is ordinary, it has a unique fragrance that’s easy to recognize. If the Zhezhiju is gone, where did the wine at the Zhuning estate come from?”

Before Mei Niang could finish, she and Qingwei were both stunned.

Yes, if the Zhezhiju was gone, where did the wine at the Zhuning estate come from?

A thought vaguely surfaced in Qingwei’s mind. Assuming that the only person who could brew that fragrant wine was the widow, and freshly brewed fragrant wine had appeared at the Zhuning estate, could it mean that the widow from the Zhezhiju was currently at the Zhuning estate?

Had anyone else new arrived at the Zhuning estate recently, besides the courtesans from the Shifang Pavilion?

Just then, Jiang Cizhou and Fudong’s laughter and voices came from outside. “I tasted your ‘Autumn Dew White’ that day, Miss Fudong, and I can’t stop thinking about it. Why didn’t you bring a few jars with you today? Without a cup of it, I feel like something is missing.”

“How could I, a single person, brew so much wine? If you want to drink it, Young Master Jiang, you can come to my estate to find me another day. I will personally prepare a few jars and wait for you...”

As Qingwei listened, her earlier thought became clearer.

The widow was beautiful, and Fudong was the most sought-after courtesan at the Zhuning estate. The widow had disappeared about ten days ago, and Fudong had recently arrived at He Hongyun’s estate. The widow’s wine had a unique fragrance, and on the day Jiang Cizhou came home drunk, he had vaguely said that Fudong’s ‘Autumn Dew White’ had a unique fragrance.

All signs pointed to Fudong being the disappeared widow of the Zhezhiju!

A chill ran down Qingwei’s spine at this realization.

Before Xue Changxing jumped off the cliff, he had asked her to investigate the truth of the Xijintai collapse. In her search for clues, she had found Mei Niang and mistakenly entered He Hongyun’s Zhuning estate. Mei Niang had directed her to the Zhezhiju, but the widow of the Zhezhiju had mysteriously disappeared, only to reappear as a courtesan at the Zhuning estate.

How could such a coincidence exist in this world?

Qingwei felt like she was in a deep fog, chilled to the bone. She forced herself to calm down. Some things seemed like a tangled mess on the surface, but as long as she found the key, they would be easy to solve. So, what was the key that linked Mei Niang, the Zhezhiju, and Fudong?

A thought flashed in Qingwei’s mind—Xue Changxing!

Mei Niang was taken to the copper prison because of Xue Changxing, and Xue Changxing came to the capital, perhaps to find Fudong from the Zhezhiju.

Now, Xue Changxing had disappeared, but Mei Niang and Fudong had appeared together at He Hongyun’s estate. This couldn’t be a coincidence. He Hongyun, who had pieced these coincidences together, must have done so intentionally.

In other words, He Hongyun’s goal might not have been to recruit courtesans for the Zhuning estate all along.

He asked Jiang Cizhou for Mei Niang because she might be the only person who knew Xue Changxing’s whereabouts.

And Fudong’s appearance at the Zhuning estate must also be related to Xue Changxing.

Why would He Hongyun be looking for Xue Changxing?

Did he have something to do with the Xijintai case?

Qingwei looked at Mei Niang. “He Hongyun bringing you to the Zhuning estate is not simple. It’s likely related to Mr. Xue. You...”

“Miss Ah Ye, you don’t have to worry about me,” Mei Niang seemed to understand what she was trying to say and smiled gently. “I have been in this profession for half my life. If it weren’t for Mr. Xue saving me, I would have died long ago. I know very well what Mr. Xue wants to do. The moment I decided to help him, I knew I was in it until the end.”

Qingwei was touched by her words, but time was short. It wasn’t appropriate for her to talk too much with Mei Niang. After some thought, she didn’t dare to make a promise easily. She just said, “If I can think of a way, I will definitely try to save you.”

The two of them quickly left the private room. Mei Niang went up to Jiang Cizhou. “Thank you, Young Master Jiang. I have changed my clothes.”

Jiang Cizhou didn’t seem to notice her. His gaze was still on Fudong. “What do I do? Without your wine, Miss Fudong, my mouth feels tasteless. It wouldn’t be as fun to pick flowers later. Why don’t you help me ask Young Master He if he can send someone back to the estate to get a jar? I’ll wait here, no matter how late.”

“This...” Fudong seemed to hesitate for a moment, then nodded. “Alright, then I’ll go and ask Fourth Young Master.”

With that, she and the courtesans all left.

Once the door was closed, Qingwei paused for a moment and said, “This Fudong, she...”

“She is He Hongyun’s informant here, specifically to keep an eye on you and Mei Niang.” Jiang Cizhou turned around and looked at Qingwei.

Qingwei was startled. “You knew?”

She then realized. “You deliberately left her here?”

Jiang Cizhou said, “He Hongyun is not someone to be trifled with. Chaotian breaking into the Fuxia House couldn’t have ended peacefully, and besides...” Jiang Cizhou glanced at the bewildered Chaotian. “He put the blame on you in a moment of panic. And you are my new wife. He Hongyun would not let it go so easily. If he keeps pursuing it, it will be a waste of energy. It’s better to let Fudong discover the strangeness between you and Mei Niang and bring an end to it.”

He spoke bluntly, and Qingwei understood.

The two of them had been playing a game of riddles and testing each other for the past two days. Now, with a crisis looming, they couldn’t hide things from each other for the time being.

“Besides,” Jiang Cizhou paused. “Do you think he hasn’t been suspicious of me?”

Qingwei was stunned.

That’s right. When she had held Jiang Cizhou hostage at the Zhuning estate, there was a man named Zou Ping who, despite Jiang Cizhou’s safety, ordered the guards to fire arrows.

Looking back now, this Zou Ping was just a mere military officer. At the young master He’s estate, if he hadn’t been given silent permission, how could he have threatened the life of the Deputy Commander of the Xuan Ying Division?

Cao Kunde had said that Jiang Cizhou’s position as the Deputy Commander of the Xuan Ying Division, which he got through his family’s favor, had made many people in the court suspicious of his identity.

He Hongyun, who seemed peaceful but was extremely sharp, was naturally suspicious. So, he let Zou Ping fire the arrows to test Jiang Cizhou’s true identity?

Qingwei didn’t know what Jiang Cizhou’s purpose was in sending Chaotian to investigate the Fuxia House. She couldn’t even be sure who he was or what he wanted to do. But she knew that when it came to dealing with He Hongyun, their goals were temporarily aligned.

With this in mind, she immediately asked, “What do you plan to do?”

Jiang Cizhou said, “If we can’t make him stop, then we’ll make him not dare to try again.”

Qingwei thought for a moment and asked, “You mean, fight fire with fire?”

Jiang Cizhou smiled. “My wife is clever and understands at a single hint.”

Fudong left the bamboo hut and couldn’t find He Hongyun anywhere. She saw He Hongyun’s attendant, Liu Chang, at the entrance of the Elegant Stream courtyard. “Excuse me, Guard Liu, has the fourth young master not returned yet?”

Liu Chang said, “He’s likely still at Young Master Zhang’s Qingyu An. Is there something you need?”

“Young Master Jiang says he wants to drink the wine I brewed and is willing to send someone to the estate to get a jar. He says he will wait, no matter how late. I wanted to ask the fourth young master for instructions.”

Liu Chang thought for a moment and nodded. “Then you can come with me to the ‘Qingyu An’ to inform the fourth young master.”

He led Fudong away from the Elegant Stream. When they reached the entrance of the Qingyu An, Liu Chang only paused for a moment and didn’t go in. Instead, he followed the path through the bamboo forest to another courtyard.

He Hongyun was resting in a small pavilion in the courtyard, with Zou Ping standing beside him.

Zou Ping’s face was full of resentment. He had just been snubbed by Zhang Ting. Zhang Ting, like the scholars he befriended, was arrogant and didn’t give anyone any face.

Liu Chang led Fudong over and bowed. “Fourth young master.”

He Hongyun looked a bit tired and was rubbing his temples with his hand, his eyes closed. “How did it go?”

Fudong curtsied and said softly, “Reporting to the fourth young master, Young Master Jiang and his attendants seemed to be no different, but in the middle, an attendant accidentally spilled some soup on Mei Niang and was taken to the private room by a Xuan Ying guard to change clothes.”

“What kind of Xuan Ying guard?”

Fudong shook her head. “He was wearing a veil. I couldn’t see his face clearly.”

Another person wearing a veil.

Doesn’t Jiang Cizhou’s young wife also always wear a veil?

He had brought Mei Niang here today to test Jiang’s young wife. Now it seemed that the female thief who had snuck into the Zhuning estate was indeed her.

Zou Ping leaned in and offered a suggestion. “Young Master He, in my opinion, we should immediately set up a trap to catch that female thief.”

He Hongyun asked, “Are your men in position?”

“They’re in position. They’re all hiding in the dead-end alley. According to your instructions, they’re all wearing black clothes, pretending to be common thieves.”

“Did they bring any bows and arrows?”

“I have already instructed them to put away any weapons that could expose their identity.”

The guards from the Inspection Office usually weren’t equipped with crossbows, but Zou Ping’s situation was a bit special. His father was the Minister of the Court of the Imperial Insignia, an office that specialized in military weapons and gunpowder. He got his position through family favor, and since he had no one to lead, the Ministry of War, to save trouble, assigned some men from the Court of the Imperial Insignia to him. This was not in line with the rules, but when it came to official business, as long as it looked alright on the surface, some things were overlooked.

He Hongyun asked Liu Chang, “That female thief is very skilled. Have the assassins you hired arrived?”

“Reporting to the fourth young master, they have been in position for a while.”

“Good,” He Hongyun said. “Finish it quickly and don’t alert anyone else.”

He instructed Fudong, “Go tell Jiang Cizhou that you are actually the owner of the Zhezhiju and that you buried a jar of wine under a tree in the courtyard of the Zhezhiju. Ask him to go with you to get it.”

Fudong hesitated at this. “But the fourth young master also said that Young Master Jiang is not as simple as he seems. He might not be willing to go to the Zhezhiju with me.”

He Hongyun said, “What are you afraid of? If he is truly Jiang Cizhou, with a beautiful woman in front of him, how could he not follow you? If he isn’t Jiang Cizhou, and he has gone to such lengths to get close to you, he would never let this opportunity pass. Just tell him about the hidden wine. When things get chaotic in the alley, just pretend you’ve been robbed and go into hiding.”