Although Zhang Shen was curious as to why Zhu Qingyu and Vice Minister Gu were disembarking from the same boat, he did not show the slightest hint of emotion or ask a single question at the ferry crossing in front of everyone.
He merely took Zhu Qingyu by the hand and walked with her to pay his respects to Gu Zhao.
Zhang Shen said, "Vice Minister Gu."
Since they were not in private, Zhu Qingyu naturally would not call Gu Zhao by his courtesy name in public, so she followed suit:
"Vice Minister Gu."
Everything seemed to return to the starting point, as fleeting as another dream.
Gu Zhao clenched his empty palm, his nails digging so hard they almost pierced his flesh. He placed his hands behind his back and stepped off the boat expressionlessly, without saying a word.
The husband leading and the wife following, in perfect marital harmony. The smile she had when she ran toward him was so genuine; this was what a true married couple looked like.
In contrast, the slight touch he had just sneaked felt like an absolute joke.
She didn't have to be.
Like a ghost's prompting, this thought surfaced again. The malice born of jealousy corroded his precarious restraints.
Xiong Kun quietly led a squad of guards off the boat, flanking Gu Zhao protectively. Every guard rested a hand on his sword, ready to cut down any lawbreakers at a moment's notice.
Indulgence was always too easy. With just a single command to arrest him, he could use a perfectly legitimate reason to take the man into custody. And what would she do then?
A bird that had lost its shelter might feel pain, but the pain would only be temporary. He would give her time and care, and the pain would eventually pass.
Sensing something amiss, Zhang Shen let go of Zhu Qingyu's hand, took a step forward to shield her behind him, and bowed again:
"Paying my respects to Vice Minister Gu."
Looking at their separated hands, Gu Zhao finally spoke:
"Jingyan, where have you come from?"
Zhang Shen replied steadily:
"Reporting to Your Excellency, the Huaibei salt pans."
Gu Zhao's expression was unreadable, showing neither joy nor anger:
"In that case, come to the government office tomorrow and tell me what the situation is like at the Huaibei salt pans."
Zhang Shen bowed once more:
"Yes. Then for today, this commoner will take his leave."
Receiving a nod of permission from Vice Minister Gu, the two bowed again to take their leave and went hand in hand to find the Zhang family's carriage.
Zhang Shen first helped Zhu Qingyu into the carriage. Just as he was about to enter himself, as if compelled by some unseen force, he glanced back at the ferry crossing.
Vice Minister Gu was surprisingly still standing in the exact same spot, though the distance was too great to make out his expression.
Inside the carriage, Zhu Qingyu noticed Zhang Shen had not yet come in. Thinking something else had come up, she lifted the curtain to look outside, but Zhang Shen grabbed her shoulders, stopping her, and said very nervously:
"Don't go out!"
Seeing Zhu Qingyu's confused expression, Zhang Shen helped her sit properly, softened his tone, and smiled:
"It's hot out there, let's go back. How did you end up with Vice Minister Gu today?"
Since Zhang Shen had finally returned, Zhu Qingyu hurriedly picked out the most urgent matters of late to tell him:
"He asked me to help put on an act; I'll explain the details when we get back. Let me first tell you about a few extremely urgent matters. Did Lei Dawu approach you last year? Lord Liu is the man behind him. Because of this, he got the Second Shopkeeper to make a fake ledger to frame the Zhang family. Now the Second Shopkeeper has been arrested by Vice Minister Gu, but you must be on guard against Lord Liu using other excuses to cause trouble. Furthermore, Lord Dai has been pressing us to pay the salt tax. He has urged us several times and even set a quota. Even calculating by the minimum quota, the cash we have at home is not enough. But I still feel that borrowing silver from the government is too risky. You need to come up with a plan as soon as possible."
Logically speaking, regarding the life-and-death matters facing the Zhang family, the most urgent priority was naturally Lord Liu's malicious intent to harm them, followed by Lord Dai's frantic pressing for the salt tax silver.
As for the Second Shopkeeper being arrested, in Zhu Qingyu's eyes, it was getting rid of a menace early on, which actually counted as a good thing.
Yet Zhang Shen asked neither about Lord Liu nor Lord Dai. Instead, his brows furrowed tightly, and he first showed concern about the Second Shopkeeper:
"You mean the Second Shopkeeper made a fake ledger, and now this fake ledger is in Vice Minister Gu's hands? Why would the Second Shopkeeper think of using a fake ledger?"
Seeing Zhang Shen's abnormal reaction, Zhu Qingyu suddenly thought of a possibility, and her tone turned serious:
"Jingyan, are you really smuggling private salt without telling me? Does the Second Shopkeeper have evidence in his hands?"
Zhang Shen had been deep in thought. Hearing her question, he hurriedly said:
"How could that be? Why would I abandon perfectly good business to do something that could get my head chopped off? I promise I haven't touched the private salt business at all. Besides, haven't I told you about all the business affairs of our family, big and small?"
Zhu Qingyu still felt something was off:
"Not necessarily. Why didn't you tell me about Lei Dawu approaching you before? Are you still hiding things from me?"
Exposed on the spot, Zhang Shen gave Zhu Qingyu a pitiful bow:
"I was wrong about that, but it's truly the only thing. I rejected the middleman on the spot and didn't even go to meet Lei Dawu. I mainly didn't tell you because I was afraid you'd worry. I really haven't hidden anything else from you. I even gave you the spare key to our silver vault and entrusted my life and fortune to you. What else could I be hiding?"
Zhu Qingyu thought this made sense and replied:
"True. Then regarding these few matters, do you have any plan?"
Zhang Shen had received Zhu Qingyu's letter and had already thought things over on his way rushing back to Yangzhou. Now he explained them to her one by one:
"While I was away from home, you had to toil over all the family affairs. You've worked hard. Now that I'm back, I will handle everything from here on out, so don't worry. Let's talk about the salt tax first. The situation at the Huaibei salt pans is even worse than I imagined. The salt boilers are fleeing in droves, and what's more, the salt stockpiled from last year hasn't even been shipped out. Business this year likely won't be good either. Lord Dai won't be able to fulfill the salt tax quota set by the imperial court. If they collect one year of salt tax in advance this year, they might collect three years in advance next year. It will snowball until even if we throw in our entire life and fortune, we won't be able to fill the salt tax hole. Therefore, we cannot borrow silver from the government."
Seeing the anxiety on Zhu Qingyu's face, Zhang Shen comforted her again:
"But there's no need to worry. Ever since Grand Secretary Song retired and returned to his hometown last year, we haven't had any capable backers in the court, and others have been eyeing us covetously. I figured our family is no longer suited to continue in the salt business. It would be better to retreat while we're ahead to protect our family's safety; otherwise, I fear we won't have a good end in the future. So I started pulling out last year. Now, taking advantage of this opportunity, it's the perfect time to slowly withdraw completely. Before I left, I discussed this with the Xue family. They won't borrow silver from the government either. Our two families can partner up and pool some silver together. Dealing with this year's quota should be about enough."
Since Zhang Shen had a plan, Zhu Qingyu felt relieved:
"Alright, since you have an idea, I'll listen to you. What about Lord Liu?"
Zhang Shen sighed:
"Tomorrow I will go see Vice Minister Gu to see what instructions and arrangements he has. Over on the government's side, we common folk cannot win in a fight against them. I have never offended Lord Liu privately. Ultimately, what Lord Liu has his eyes on is merely the Zhang family's bit of silver. Qingyu, if the Zhang family truly falls, I will make arrangements for you in advance..."
Zhu Qingyu cut him off and smiled:
"If the Zhang family truly falls into ruin, where else do you plan to send me? If that day ever comes, naturally, I will be the one providing for you. Master Zhang, you will be in for a rough time. From then on, you'll have to follow me around, wear coarse clothes, eat pickled vegetables, live in a tiny house, wait on me hand and foot, and carry my medicine box."
