“My second uncle certainly has a wide network of information.”
“Do you suspect me?” Shi Yuanping asked.
“Does Second Uncle think I shouldn’t?” Shi Huai countered.
The corner of Shi Yuanping’s mouth twitched slightly. It was unclear whether he wanted to smile or say something.
“I’ve already interrogated those men, and we found the middleman as well. They took the job from a steward in the capital named Wang Fu.”
“Wang Fu? Which Wang Fu?” Shi Huai’s brow furrowed slightly.
“The steward of the Shen residence. He’s Shen Zhixing’s most trusted man and has served the Shen family for over twenty years.”
Shi Huai’s hand suddenly tightened around the armrest of the chair.
His lips moved several times before he finally spoke, his voice strained.
“So the person behind this is Shen Zhixing? Not Shi Lingyi?”
Shi Yuanping shook his head. “It was Shi Lingyi. Shen Zhixing merely helped her. Those husband and wife are certainly united when it comes to harming you.”
“Shen Zhixing has connections in Huaibei. He does business in grain there and has dealings with the local bandits. The men who kidnapped you contacted them through his connections.”
Shi Huai’s voice was faint.
“So my elder sister and brother-in-law joined forces?”
“Not joined forces. They used each other. Shi Lingyi made use of Shen Zhixing’s connections, while Shen Zhixing took advantage of her hatred for you. They each got what they wanted.”
Shi Yuanping looked at Shi Huai. “What are you planning to do now? Report it to the authorities, or settle it privately?”
Shi Huai rose from his chair and gave a self-mocking smile.
“Second Uncle, do you really think reporting it would help? The Shen family has an Assistant Minister of Works in it, with former students and old associates spread throughout the court. Even if the evidence were conclusive, they could still find someone to take the blame.”
Shi Yuanping said nothing.
“And if I settle it privately? Have the men dragged back and beaten? Or repay them in kind?”
Shi Huai shook his head. “I don’t want to become people like them.”
Shi Yuanping turned to look at him. “Then what do you want to do?”
“I want Shen Zhixing to come looking for me himself.”
Shi Yuanping froze for a moment, then understood what Shi Huai meant.
“Second Uncle, help me pass along a message about what’s happening in Huaibei. Tell him I have the account books for that shipment of grain.”
Shi Yuanping studied Shi Huai’s calm face and shifted slightly.
“Do you know what kind of business Shen Zhixing is doing in Huaibei?”
“No. But I know he must be involved in business that can’t see the light of day. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have so much money to support a mistress and concubines, or maintain such an extravagant household at the Shen residence.”
The corners of Shi Huai’s mouth lifted faintly.
“The son of an Assistant Minister of Works earns only a few thousand taels a year at most, even counting his salary and the money his family gives him. Yet he spends more than that just on his mistress. Where does all that money come from?”
Shi Yuanping stared at Shi Huai for a long while before suddenly smiling.
“You’re sharper than I thought.”
“Second Uncle is too kind. I simply think one step further than most people.”
Shi Huai picked up a brush and wrote several characters on a piece of paper. He folded it and handed it to Shi Yuanping.
“Second Uncle, help me deliver this note into Shen Zhixing’s hands.”
Shi Yuanping took the note and glanced down at it. The corner of his mouth twitched violently before he stuffed the paper into his sleeve.
Several days later, early one morning, Shi Huai had not yet risen when he heard a commotion of voices in the courtyard.
Tangerine leaped down from the windowsill and darted to the door. After perking up its ears and listening for a moment, it let out a soft meow.
Shi Huai put on his clothes and opened the door.
A man stood in the courtyard.
He wore a brocade robe and had refined, proper features, with the scholarly air unique to a learned man.
But dark circles lay heavily beneath his eyes. At a glance, it was obvious he had not slept all night.
It was Shen Zhixing.
He stood beneath the pomegranate tree, clutching a note in his hand. The paper had been crumpled badly, its edges worn and frayed.
When he saw Shi Huai emerge from the room, his lips moved several times before he finally spoke, his voice hoarse and barely audible.
“Little brother, could we speak somewhere privately?”
Shi Huai looked at the anxiety written across Shen Zhixing’s face.
“Brother-in-law, what brings you here? Does Elder Sister know you came?”
Shen Zhixing’s expression changed. He took two steps forward and stopped in front of Shi Huai, lowering his voice.
“Little brother, can we discuss that shipment of grain calmly?”
“Discuss what?” Shi Huai straightened his collar. “Brother-in-law, surely you know whether I have the account books or not.”
Shen Zhixing’s fingers clenched around the note as though he wanted to tear it apart. His voice dropped even lower.
“What exactly do you want?”
“Nothing in particular. I simply want to know what consequences Brother-in-law would face if the court learned about the business you’re conducting in Huaibei.”
Shi Huai’s tone was as casual as if they were discussing the weather.
“You’re a scholar, Brother-in-law. You understand the laws of the court better than I do. A grain merchant colluding with bandits—is that not a serious crime?”
Shen Zhixing’s face went completely pale, and his lips began to tremble.
“I didn’t know about anything your elder sister did. I truly didn’t know.”
Shi Huai looked at him. “You didn’t know? You’re the son of an Assistant Minister of Works. Your father oversees the waterways throughout the empire. The business you conduct in Huaibei relies on his connections, and you’re telling me you knew nothing?”
Shen Zhixing’s fingers shook. His entire body was trembling.
“Little brother, how much money do you want? Name your price. Whatever I can afford, I’ll give you.”
Shi Huai shook his head. “Brother-in-law, do you still think I’m doing this for money?”
Shen Zhixing froze.
Looking at him, Shi Huai’s lips curved faintly.
“Go back and ask your wife why she wanted to harm me. Find out the truth, then come back to me.”
Without the slightest hesitation, Shen Zhixing turned and hurried out of the courtyard, moving as though he were fleeing for his life.
Shi Huai stood where he was, watching Shen Zhixing’s back disappear beyond the moon gate.
He pulled the Eastern Palace guard’s waist token from his sleeve, rubbed it between his fingers for a moment, then put it away again.
Shen Zhixing had come more quickly than he expected.
That meant the grain business was larger than he had anticipated—large enough that Shen Zhixing couldn’t afford to take the risk.
Shi Yuanping emerged from the room next door with a cup of tea in his hand. Looking toward the direction in which Shen Zhixing had disappeared, he said, “Shen Zhixing isn’t very brave, though he’s extremely greedy. One scare, and he folds.”
Shi Huai took the cup from him and sipped the tea.
“Second Uncle, do you think Shi Lingyi knows what Shen Zhixing has been doing in Huaibei?”
Shi Yuanping shook his head.
“She probably doesn’t. If Shi Lingyi knew he had such a powerful hold over her, she would have seized it long ago. She wouldn’t have waited until now.”
“So she only wanted to harm me and happened to use Shen Zhixing’s connections. Shen Zhixing helped her simply because she’s his wife—it was convenient.”
Shi Huai handed the cup back to Shi Yuanping.
“They really are a perfect match.”
After leaving Liuhe Market, Shen Zhixing rode hard toward the capital. By the time he entered the gates of the Shen residence, it was already deep into the night.
He was covered in dust, his face exhausted, and the dark circles beneath his eyes were even more pronounced than they had been that morning.
The gatekeeper was startled by his appearance and hurried forward to greet him, but Shen Zhixing shoved him aside.
Shi Lingyi sat on the couch in the main hall, a book in her hands.
Hearing footsteps, she looked up. When she saw Shen Zhixing standing in the doorway in such a disheveled state, she frowned slightly.
“What happened, husband? Who made you so upset?”
