Shen Zhixing spent the entire night in his study. The candle burned down, and he replaced it; then the new candle burned down as well.
By dawn, seven or eight candleholders lay on the desk, their candles burned to stubs.
He lowered his hands from his face and gazed at the gray sky outside the window. After turning the matter over in his mind all night, he had finally reached a conclusion.
He could not wait for Shi Huai to investigate him. He had to investigate Shi Huai first.
He had to find out whether Shi Huai truly had the ledger, what was written in it, and who was backing him.
Shen Zhixing rose, straightened his wrinkled collar, and pushed open the study door.
The old servant sweeping the courtyard jumped in fright at the sight of him. He nearly dropped his broom and had to stumble back two steps before regaining his balance.
“Master, you... you didn’t sleep all night?”
The old servant’s voice was full of cautious probing.
Shen Zhixing ignored him and walked straight through the garden toward the main residence.
Halfway there, he suddenly stopped before a cluster of withered roses, another thought surfacing in his mind.
Shi Huai was merely a young man who had just left the capital. He had brought only a maidservant and a cat with him. Where could he possibly have found the means to investigate Shen Zhixing’s business in Huaibei?
Unless someone was helping him from behind the scenes.
At that thought, a chill ran down Shen Zhixing’s back.
He thought of his father-in-law, Shi Yuanzhi—a marquis in name only. He did not have that kind of ability.
Shi Yuanping, on the other hand, did have connections, but he had always kept to himself and never involved himself in such affairs.
Unless the person behind Shi Huai was someone above them all.
Someone like the Crown Prince.
Shen Zhixing’s fingers clenched around a rose branch. The thorns pierced his palm, and he drew a sharp breath from the pain.
He let go and lowered his head to look at the several tiny holes welling with blood in his palm. The thoughts in his mind began racing even faster.
Why would the Crown Prince help Shi Huai?
What was the relationship between the Crown Prince and Shi Huai?
Did the Crown Prince know that Shi Huai held evidence against him?
These questions buzzed through his mind like a swarm of hornets. Every one of them carried a sting, leaving him restless and on edge.
Without even bothering to tend to the wound in his palm, he hurried toward the main residence.
Shi Lingyi had already washed and dressed. She wore a silver-red beizi robe, with a red-gold pearl hairpin swaying in her hair.
She looked like an entirely different person from the woman she had been the night before.
She sat at the table drinking porridge. When Shen Zhixing entered, she did not even raise her eyes.
“Has my husband been awake all night? You look even worse than you did last night.”
Shen Zhixing sat down across from her, picked up the cold tea on the table, and downed a large mouthful. Its bitterness made him frown.
He set down the cup and fixed his gaze on Shi Lingyi’s face. After staring at her for a long moment, he finally spoke.
“What do you intend to do when you return to the marquis’s residence? Ask Shi Huai for peace? Do you really think he’ll agree?”
Shi Lingyi set down her bowl and dabbed the corner of her mouth with a handkerchief. She lifted her eyes to look at Shen Zhixing’s haggard face. The corners of her lips curved slightly, her smile carrying a coldness that was difficult to define.
“Who said I was going to ask him for peace? I’m returning to the marquis’s residence to find my father.”
Shen Zhixing froze. “Your father? What can he do?”
“My father may not be able to do anything, but he knows people who can.”
Shi Lingyi rose and walked to the vanity. She picked up a hairpin and held it against her hair for a moment before setting it down again.
“The marquis’s residence may have fallen into decline, but my father once had several old friends in court who were people of influence. Though they no longer hold office, their former students and protégés are still there.”
“What can a mere young man who has just come third in the palace examination do against people like that?”
Shen Zhixing looked at his wife’s composed face, and the chill in his back returned.
He realized that he was becoming less and less familiar with this woman—or perhaps he had never truly known her at all.
“Aren’t you afraid Shi Huai will really hand over the ledger? If that happens, neither of us will escape.”
Shi Lingyi turned around and leaned against the vanity, folding her arms across her chest as she gazed at Shen Zhixing.
The smile at the corners of her lips had never faded, as though she were looking at a child who had yet to grow up.
“A ledger? My husband, you’ve been in business for so many years. Don’t you know that the least reliable thing in this world is a ledger?”
“He says it exists, so it exists. He says it doesn’t, so it doesn’t. It’s only a piece of paper—what can it prove?”
Shen Zhixing was rendered speechless. He opened his mouth, wanting to say something, but could not think of where to begin.
Shi Lingyi straightened and smoothed her sleeves. Then she walked over to him and stopped in front of him, tilting her head back to look up at him.
They stood less than a foot apart, close enough for him to catch the faint scent of powder on her.
“My husband, you’ve done business in Huaibei for so many years. Surely you have a few trustworthy people there?”
“Shi Huai is in Liuhe Market now, only a few days’ journey from Huaibei. If something were to happen to him on the road...”
She did not finish the sentence, but her meaning was perfectly clear.
Shen Zhixing’s face turned deathly pale. His lips trembled several times before the words finally forced their way through his clenched teeth.
“Are you insane? You’ve already tried once. It failed, and now you want to try again? Do you have any idea how many people are protecting him now?”
“How many people?”
Shi Lingyi tilted her head slightly. The smile on her face did not change in the slightest.
“The Shen family, the Lin family, the Zhao family, the Xie family, and the Crown Prince’s people. The Third Prince’s people as well. Even Li Chengze at the border has sent his personal guards. Tell me, how exactly do you plan to make a move?”
Shen Zhixing’s voice grew louder with every word. By the time he reached the end, he was practically shouting.
His eyes were bloodshot, the veins at his temples throbbing. He looked like a cornered beast.
For the first time, Shi Lingyi’s smile faltered.
She took two steps back, widening the distance between them, and lowered her gaze to the several bluestones on the ground, polished bright by countless footsteps.
After a long silence, she spoke again, her voice lower than before.
“Then let him investigate. I’d like to see what kind of storm a concubine’s son can stir up.”
Her tone was confident when she said it.
But the fingers clutching her handkerchief betrayed the unease in her heart.
She had twisted the handkerchief into a crumpled mess, distorting even the embroidered flowers along its edges.
Shen Zhixing watched her force herself to remain composed. The corners of his mouth twitched slightly, though he could not tell whether he wanted to laugh or say something.
He turned and walked out of the main residence without looking back. His footsteps gradually faded along the bluestone path.
Shi Lingyi stood in the main hall, listening as his footsteps grew more distant. Only after they had disappeared completely did she slowly crouch down and bury her face in her knees.
Her shoulders shook again and again, yet she made no sound.
The maidservant stood at the doorway. Seeing Shi Lingyi crouched on the floor, she wanted to go to her but did not dare. She remained where she was, helpless and uncertain.
She opened her mouth several times, but in the end, not a word came out.
After roughly the time it took to finish a cup of tea, Shi Lingyi rose from the floor. She straightened the wrinkles in her skirt and returned to the vanity.
Facing the bronze mirror, she carefully reapplied her makeup, concealing every trace of tears from the corners of her eyes.
Then she stood, lifted her chin, and walked out of the main hall.
A carriage was already waiting outside the residence.
Shi Lingyi climbed in, leaned against the carriage wall, and closed her eyes.
“Madam, we’ve arrived.” Not long afterward, the coachman’s voice came from outside.
