On the twenty-eighth of the fourth lunar month, the summer heat in the capital could no longer be suppressed.
The bluestone paved roads were baked hot by the sun. The leaves of a few old willow trees by the street were curling up, and the early cicadas' shrill cries made people feel restless and irritable.
In the backyard of the Marquis of Changping's estate, Xu Qinghuan changed into a plain, moon-white Hangzhou silk gown with a crossed collar. Her hair was pinned up simply with a wooden hairpin, devoid of any extra pendants or ornaments.
Oh, no, it should be called the estate of the Earl of Chengyi, or rather, the Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of Revenue.
Li Sheng blocked the moon gate, his hands gripping the hilt of his sword tightly, his forehead covered in sweat.
"Princess, can't you just stay put for one day?"
"Over the past two days, the Master has taken the imperial guards and raided six households in a row. Carts after carts of silver have been hauled into the national treasury, and even their floor tiles were dug up."
"The fools out there who secretly want to eat the Xu family alive could probably line up all the way from Chongwen Gate to the Tongzhou docks."
"If you go out at a time like this, aren't you just making yourself a living target?"
Xu Qinghuan adjusted her cuffs, her voice low. "Prepare the carriage. We are going to the Songzhu Bookstore in the East City."
"If you want to buy books, just send a servant. Why must you go personally?"
"Xu Zijin is preparing for the imperial examination. He needs to pick them out himself."
Li Sheng froze, his brows knitting into a tight knot.
"Why bring that pedantic scholar? If we really run into assassins, he wouldn't even withstand a single slash, and I'd have to distract myself to protect him."
Xu Qinghuan shot him a glance and lowered her voice. "What do you know? He has a tough fate."
Li Sheng didn't quite understand, but Xu Qinghuan didn't elaborate.
The luck of the original book's male lead was a protective talisman granted by the heavens.
With Xu Zijin around, the arrows of those hiding in the dark waiting to shoot might just detour around them.
Bringing him along was more effective than bringing a whole squad of guards.
Li Sheng was half-doubtful, but he dared not disobey his master's orders, so he went to prepare the carriage.
A green-canopied carriage with no identifying marks slipped quietly out of the side door of the Marquis's estate.
A few blocks of ice were placed inside the cabin, keeping it from feeling stuffy.
Xu Qinghuan suddenly realized that the system hadn't made a sound in a long time.
Xu Zijin sat upright opposite her, his back perfectly straight, holding a folding fan in his hand without opening it.
Today, he wore a washed-out blue cloth gown. Though he looked impoverished, his noble and aloof aura could not be concealed.
The carriage rolled over a pothole and swayed.
Xu Zijin spoke first. "Lord Xu's thunderous methods over the past few days have drawn a chorus of curses in the capital. However, I believe this move is brilliant."
Xu Qinghuan paused her hand that was lifting the window curtain and turned to look at him.
Meeting her gaze, Xu Zijin's voice was steady and his logic clear.
"The national treasury is empty, and military funds for the nine border garrisons are in critical shortage."
"If this three-million-tael deficit is scraped from the common people, it will inevitably spark a civilian uprising and shake the foundation of the state."
"If we ask the great aristocratic families for it, it would be like asking a tiger for its skin."
"The gentlemen in the Grand Secretariat just bicker and pass the buck; who knows how long they would drag it out."
He paused for a moment before continuing.
"Lord Xu, acting as a solitary and loyal minister, cuts through the tangled mess with a sharp knife."
"He has offended all the powerful nobles in the court, but he has solved His Majesty's urgent crisis and protected the common people of the world."
"This infamy is worth bearing. It's just..."
"Just what?"
"It's just that a blade too sharp is easily broken."
Xu Zijin looked at her. "The Xu family is now a target for everyone. If there is no way out, I fear a great disaster will befall you in the future."
Xu Qinghuan took a closer look at him.
This bookworm hadn't even stepped into the royal court yet, but his political sense was incredibly sharp.
As expected of someone favored by the heavens. His perspective on things was ruthless and precise.
She dropped the curtain, and the carriage darkened a bit.
"Young Master Xu sees things clearly."
Xu Qinghuan's voice was light, betraying no emotion. "I only hope that when your name is on the golden scroll of successful candidates and you put on that official uniform, you will still remember the clarity you possess today."
"Don't let your bones rot in the dyeing vat of officialdom."
Xu Zijin's grip on his folding fan tightened. "Please rest assured, Princess. I will never forget my original intentions."
The Songzhu Bookstore was in the East City, an area where pure-stream literati and examination candidates often gathered.
Upon entering, one was met with the scent of aged ink mixed with the musty smell of paper.
The first-floor lobby was spacious, filled with rows of bookshelves.
A few scholars wearing traditional robes were gathered together, discussing in low voices. Seeing Xu Qinghuan's group enter, they merely glanced over before looking away.
Xu Qinghuan pointed upstairs.
"The classics, histories, philosophies, and literary collections are all on the second floor. Go pick them out yourself. Li Sheng, you follow him."
Xu Zijin cupped his hands in a bow and went upstairs.
Xu Qinghuan walked alone to the miscellaneous section at the innermost part of the first floor. The lighting here was dim, and the shelves mostly held local gazetteers and unofficial histories. Few people usually came here.
Her gaze swept across rows of book spines and stopped at a book on the local scenery and customs of Jiangnan.
Just as she reached out and pinched the spine to pull it out, she felt resistance from the other end.
Someone on the other side of the bookshelf had also taken a fancy to this book.
Xu Qinghuan pressed her wrist down and applied a bit more force, but unexpectedly, the person opposite her didn't let go either.
Through the gap left by the pulled books, Xu Qinghuan saw a corner of a moon-white skirt.
Looking up, she saw a familiar face.
It was Xie Yunwan.
The eldest daughter of the Xie family in Jiangnan, and a talented lady of the Jiangning literary circles.
Back in Jiangning, the two of them were as incompatible as fire and water.
Xu Qinghuan let go of the book, preparing to hear a few veiled, sarcastic remarks.
The Xu family had just raided six merchant households, and the Xie family's business in Jiangnan had surely been affected.
Unexpectedly, the person opposite her also let go, and the sound of light footsteps bypassed the bookshelf.
Xie Yunwan walked up to Xu Qinghuan, folded her hands at her waist, and formally gave a greeting between peers.
She was dressed very plainly today, without even a decent piece of jewelry on her head.
"Princess Xu."
Xie Yunwan's voice was steady.
Xu Qinghuan looked her up and down.
"Miss Xie, instead of being your talented lady in Jiangning, why have you come to this capital to be tainted by the stench of money?"
Xie Yunwan didn't take the bait of this stinging remark.
Her gaze fell on the Jiangnan scenery book. "If the Princess likes it, I will yield this book to you."
She raised her head and looked straight at Xu Qinghuan.
"There is a teahouse across the street with newly arrived Mingqian Longjing tea. I wonder if the Princess would do me the honor of having a cup?"
Xu Qinghuan stared into her eyes for a moment.
There was no hostility, only a bottomless exhaustion and a sense of probing.
"Li Sheng."
Xu Qinghuan turned her head and called out toward the staircase.
Li Sheng darted down in a few steps.
"You stay here and keep an eye on Young Master Xu. Remember clearly what books he picks and who he meets."
Li Sheng cast a wary glance at Xie Yunwan, his hand resting on the hilt of his sword, and nodded in agreement.
On the second floor of the teahouse, in a private room facing the street.
The window was half-open, and the hot wind from outside poured in wave after wave, carrying the sound of cicadas.
Xie Yunwan lifted the purple clay teapot and personally poured a cup of tea for Xu Qinghuan.
The tea was clear, with steam curling upward.
"The Wang family is gone."
Xie Yunwan set down the teapot. Her first words struck the table with heavy impact.
Xie Yunwan looked at her, enunciating every word.
"Two hundred and thirty-one lives. In a single night, they were burned clean away. Not even a guard dog was left behind."
Xu Qinghuan lowered her eyes, watching the tea leaves unfurl in the cup.
She only remembered that bloody wooden tongue; it had ultimately forced this old fox, who had endured silently for fifteen years, into becoming a mad wolf.
"The Prefect of Jiangning reported it as a natural disaster, an accidental fire."
Xie Yunwan continued, her voice hoarse.
"The Zhao family is terrified out of their wits. They have closed their doors to guests and destroyed all account books related to the Wang family overnight."
"The female head of the Xue family is quite bold. She took advantage of the chaos to seize more than half of the Wang family's shops and looms."
"The entire business world of Jiangnan has been completely turned upside down."
Xu Qinghuan took a sip of her tea.
It was slightly bitter, but left a sweet aftertaste.
"Lord Xie has played a masterful hand."
"I am afraid it is rather Princess Xu who possesses the masterful methods."
The private room fell silent; only the cicadas outside continued their noisy, incessant chirping.
Xie Yunwan took a deep breath and shifted the subject.
"The poem 'A Moonlit Night on the Spring River' that you left behind in Jiangning before your departure is now regarded as the gold standard in Jiangnan's literary circles."
"So many self-proclaimed romantic scholars do not even dare to pick up their brushes after reading your words."
Xu Qinghuan leaned back in her chair, the pad of her thumb gently rubbing the rim of her warm teacup.
"Did Miss Xie invite me for tea today merely to flatter me?"
Xie Yunwan shook her head, her gaze locked tightly onto Xu Qinghuan's face.
"I do not understand."
"Understand what?"
"You clearly possess the brilliance to govern the world and the supreme talent of a master poet."
"Why is it that upon arriving in the capital, you allow those self-righteous civil officials to brand the Xu family as cruel tyrants, and yourself a wicked woman?"
"When Lord Xu acts so ruthlessly in the imperial court, why do you not stop him, but instead add fuel to the fire?"
Xie Yunwan spoke faster now.
"The Xu family is currently being roasted over an open flame."
"The Emperor utilizes you only because you are capable of bringing in silver."
"The day the imperial treasury is finally full, or when the public outrage can no longer be suppressed..."
"...the Xu family will be the very first scapegoat thrown to the wolves to appease the masses."
"How could someone as brilliant as you fail to see through this?"
Xu Qinghuan turned her head to look out the window.
The early summer sun shone down upon the bluestone pavement, glaringly white and harsh on the eyes.
Pedestrians hurried along the street below, toiling and rushing about for a few meager coins just to survive.
Looking at Xu Qinghuan's perfectly placid face, as calm and unrippled as an ancient well, Xie Yunwan finally began to understand.
"Thank you for what happened in Jiangning."
In the end, Xu Qinghuan voiced her gratitude.
Xie Yunwan, however, simply poured herself another cup of tea and said:
"The situation in Jiangnan is far more complicated than what you see."
"The hidden guards in the Xie family's possession are merely the tip of the iceberg."
"In the capital, you and your family must be careful."
