The blazing sun hung high in the sky, scorching the old locust tree in Zhenbei City until its leaves drooped.
Among the branches, the cicadas chirped incessantly, stirring up an irritating restlessness in everyone's hearts.
A basin of ice rested inside the room, keeping the sweltering heat at bay.
Xu Qinghuan leaned against a red sandalwood chair, flipping through the border market's entry and exit logs that Qian Fugui had delivered last night.
The pages rustled softly as she turned them.
Her gaze swept over the old accounts while her mind calculated the daily rations needed to feed the tens of thousands of mouths in the Zhenbei Army.
The door curtain lifted, bringing in a wave of stifling heat. Li Sheng strode over the threshold, clutching a bright red, gold-stamped calling card.
"Miss, it's from the Vice General's estate," Li Sheng said, offering the card with both hands. "The messenger said that Vice General He and Censor Ma are hosting a banquet at the estate tonight and invite Your Excellency over to admire the flowers."
Xu Qinghuan shifted her gaze from the logs to the bright red card.
Admire the flowers?
One had to know that in a place like Zhenbei City, not even a blade of grass could grow properly. Where would there be flowers to admire?
She reached out to take the card, rubbing her thumb over the gold-stamped patterns on the cover.
She pondered inwardly. He Minghu had lost both men and face last night. Logically, he should be rallying his troops and looking for a chance to exact revenge.
Yet today, he sent something like this.
When things are this abnormal, Ma Jin'an must be the one scheming behind the scenes.
"Second Brother," Xu Qinghuan said, flicking her wrist and tossing the card through the air toward Xu Zhan, who was sitting by the window.
Hearing the movement, Xu Zhan did not even look up. Relying solely on sound to determine its trajectory, he caught the card firmly mid-air between two fingers of his left hand.
Glancing briefly at the characters on the cover, Xu Zhan casually tossed the card onto the wooden table by his feet.
"A weasel paying respects to the hen," he remarked. He pulled a piece of coarse cloth and continued wiping his single iron mace along its grain. "He was just humiliated by you last night, and today he's inviting you to a feast. I'm afraid this wine is laced with lethal poison."
Xu Qinghuan picked up the teacup from the desk and blew on the floating leaves.
"Lethal poison is unlikely." She took a sip of the tea, letting the bitter yet sweet aftertaste linger on her tongue. "He Minghu is a brainless brute who only knows how to draw his sword when angered, but this card is also signed by Ma Jin'an."
"This Supervising Censor is the type who won't release his hawk until he sees the hare."
Xu Qinghuan remembered it clearly. When she had read the original novel, she had been utterly shocked by Ma Jin'an's final tactics.
Standing to the side, Li Sheng bowed his head and asked for instructions. "Your Excellency, will you attend this banquet or not? If you are going, your subordinate will immediately gather the personal guards and surround the Vice General's estate."
"Why surround the estate?" Xu Qinghuan set down her teacup, the porcelain making a crisp clink against the wooden desk. "Since they have already set the stage, wouldn't it be a waste of Censor Ma's painstaking efforts if we didn't show up?"
He Minghu had lost his supplies and the morale of his troops; he was now pushed to the edge of a cliff.
A cornered dog will leap over a wall. Ma Jin'an was smarter than him and knew that a head-on clash would yield no benefits, so he was planning to change the rules of the game.
If she didn't figure out the true intentions of these two, her future dealings would not be secure. She wanted to see for herself exactly who was the powerful figure backing this Censor Ma.
...
The sun sank in the west, and dusk gathered from all sides.
An inconspicuous carriage with green curtains slowly pulled to a stop in front of the Vice General's estate.
Outside the doors, two ten-foot-tall stone lions glared fiercely. Flanking the steps were two rows of heavily armored personal guards standing ramrod straight, their long halberds gleaming coldly in the setting sun.
This grand display was clearly less about welcoming a guest and more about a show of force.
The carriage curtain was lifted, and Xu Zhan was the first to leap down. He had a burly physique, and his empty right sleeve fluttered in the wind.
Just by standing in front of the carriage, the blood-soaked, murderous aura he had acquired on the battlefield forcefully suppressed half of the guards' imposing presence.
The guards involuntarily tightened their grips on their halberds, their breathing growing a bit shallower.
The fierce reputation of this one-armed Centurion, who had smashed a Helian centurion's head to pieces with a single mace during the battle at Wild Fox Beach, had long spread throughout the army. If a fight really broke out, the few men at the door would not even be enough to fill the gaps between his teeth.
Xu Qinghuan stepped onto the footstool and slowly alighted. Today, she was not wearing her official robes but had changed into an elegant, moon-white casual outfit, with only a single jade hairpin adorning her hair.
Just as she steadied herself, a hearty burst of laughter rang out from within the vermilion doors of the Vice General's estate.
"Oh my! The Imperial Envoy graces us with her presence. Please forgive this humble general for failing to welcome you from afar!"
He Minghu strode quickly down the steps, his rugged face crinkled with a wide smile. He cupped his hands in greeting, bowing at a very low angle.
The tense, explosive hostility from the North Gate yesterday—where he had looked ready to eat her alive—had vanished without a trace.
Xu Qinghuan smoothed her sleeves, her gaze lingering briefly on He Minghu's face.
He knew when to yield and when to stand tall; he had certainly made some progress.
"You are too polite, Vice General He," Xu Qinghuan said, raising a hand in a gesture of support. "I am a newcomer here and will have to rely heavily on the General's care."
"Not at all, not at all. Please come inside, Your Excellency!" He Minghu stepped aside to make way, though his palms were faintly sweating. He shot a glance at Xu Zhan, who was following closely beside Xu Qinghuan, and the corner of his eye twitched uncontrollably.
In the back hall of the estate.
The square table was laden with mountain delicacies and desert specialties. A roasted suckling pig dripping with juices and aged Huadiao wine sat on the table. Compared to the watery soups and meager rations in the Zhenbei army camp, the extravagance here was worlds apart.
Ma Jin'an was already waiting at the banquet. Seeing Xu Qinghuan enter, he immediately stood up to offer his greetings, his etiquette so flawless that one could not find a single fault.
Everyone took their seats. After three rounds of wine and a sampling of the dishes, the atmosphere settled.
During the meal, He Minghu frequently offered toasts, chatting idly about border customs and the changing weather, absolutely refusing to mention the incident at the North Gate from yesterday.
Holding her wine cup, Xu Qinghuan did not push them. She wanted to see just how long these two could hold it in.
Finally, He Minghu set down his wine cup and let out a heavy sigh. His alcohol-flushed face fell, taking on an expression of deep sorrow.
"Imperial Envoy," He Minghu said, his eyes turning red, his voice even carrying a hint of a choke. "I failed to discipline my troops strictly, allowing a traitorous beast like Zhao Si to emerge and nearly cause a massive disaster. In my heart, I am truly ashamed!"
As he spoke, he pulled a ledger with yellowed, curled edges from his robe and presented it to Xu Qinghuan with both hands.
"Last night, I tossed and turned, so I took men overnight to raid Zhao Si's doghouse. Look, Your Excellency, this is the account book we found in a hidden compartment by his bed."
"This beast had indeed been secretly colluding with the Helian people for a long time, privately smuggling military supplies! This time, he was even more audacious, using Your Excellency's seizure of the precious goods as an excuse to embezzle those eight carts of colored glaze in exchange for wealth and glory!"
He Minghu fiercely slapped his thigh, rattling the bowls and plates on the table.
"If not for Centurion Xu's divine bravery in intercepting and killing this traitor to the nation at Wild Fox Beach, I would truly have been dragged down by this beast and borne the eternal infamy of colluding with the enemy!"
Xu Qinghuan lowered her eyes, her gaze sweeping over the ledger on the table.
The paper was yellowed, the edges bore scorch marks, and the ink was smudged.
The technique used to age it was quite skilled.
However, Xu Qinghuan was busy enjoying the rare delicacies before her.
He Minghu held the ledger with both hands, leaving it suspended in mid-air. He could neither retract it nor keep holding it up, so he looked toward Ma Jin'an for help.
Sitting opposite them, Ma Jin'an took in Xu Qinghuan's reaction completely. This Imperial Envoy wasn't taking the bait; she wasn't looking at the ledger, and she wouldn't even offer a polite platitude in response.
Seeing this, Ma Jin'an realized that there was no point in continuing the act.
He raised his hand and waved at the maids and servants waiting in the hall.
"All of you, step down and close the doors."
The servants filed out, and the wooden doors slowly closed, completely shutting out the chirping of the cicadas and the sound of the wind outside.
Only four people remained in the hall.
Ma Jin'an stood up, smoothed the hem of his official robes, walked over to He Minghu, picked up the forged account book, and casually tossed it into a nearby wastebasket.
He Minghu's expression changed. He opened his mouth to speak but was stopped by Ma Jin'an raising a hand.
Ma Jin'an turned around and looked directly at Xu Qinghuan. The humble facade on his face faded, replaced by a shrewd and calculating look.
He picked up the wine jug on the table, personally poured a full cup for Xu Qinghuan, and pushed it in front of her.
"Imperial Envoy, let us speak plainly." Ma Jin'an leaned forward. "How Zhao Si died, and what really happened to those eight carts of colored glaze, we all know perfectly well in our hearts. To keep arguing over these messy accounts will only hurt our relations and delay our money-making ventures."
Xu Qinghuan's hand, which had been idly playing with her teacup lid, finally stopped. She raised her eyes to look at him.
Meeting her gaze, Ma Jin'an spoke, emphasizing every single word.
"You have gone to great lengths to stir up Zhenbei City, and isn't it all just for the profits of the border market? With only the small number of men you have on hand, trying to monopolize the entire border trade would likely be beyond your capabilities."
"How about this..."
Ma Jin'an held up three fingers.
"The Vice General's estate will dispatch troops to protect the trade routes, and we will also provide informants from the Helian Royal Court. Let us join forces in this business. Of the market's profits, you will take thirty percent. How does that sound?"
