Chapter 37

Chapter 37

“My master also has an unrelenting grudge against Wei Yan.”

Zhao Xun was born with a pair of smiling eyes, giving off an impression of friendliness and approachability, yet those eyes also held a certain distance. “Approaching His Lordship is not to use His Lordship’s power. My master believes that if His Lordship knew the truth behind the Battle of Jinzhou sixteen years ago, he would want to personally take revenge on Wei Yan. We concealed our identities earlier not out of malice; my master only wanted to wait until the right moment to reveal himself to His Lordship.”

A cold sharpness flickered in Xie Zheng’s eyes. He already had a vague suspicion but still asked, “Who exactly is your master?”

Zhao Xun replied, “The one who miraculously survived the fire at the Eastern Palace sixteen years ago.”

Xie Zheng’s lips curled into a cold smirk. “The imperial grandson? If he were still alive, wouldn’t he have conspired with Grand Tutor Li and his faction by now? Why wait until today to come find a defeated dog like me from Pingyang?”

Zhao Xun’s expression darkened. “You’ve also looked into the faint traces of the Battle of Jinzhou sixteen years ago. You should know that that old bastard Wei Yan always eliminates everything thoroughly, leaving no loose ends. When the Crown Prince died and the Eastern Palace burned, the Late Emperor ordered the Ministry of Justice and the Court of Judicial Review to investigate thoroughly, but they found nothing. Not to mention how much has changed since then. Grand Tutor Li is the leading figure of the court’s clean faction, but he wouldn’t risk everything to oppose the Wei Faction for my master’s sake.”

“His Lordship is different,” he continued. “General Xie died on the battlefield, and his body was hung exposed on the city tower by Beijue for three days. Wei Yan shares responsibility for that. Doesn’t His Lordship want to avenge this?”

Xie Zheng clenched his fingers tightly, a murderous aura seeming to seep from his bones, making the once spacious elegant chamber feel suffocating. “Tell me, what exactly happened sixteen years ago?”

Zhao Xun said, “My master has been in hiding for years and hasn’t found a single clue about the Battle of Jinzhou. When the Eastern Palace caught fire, the Ministry of Justice and the Court of Judicial Review concluded that a palace attendant on night duty fell asleep and accidentally knocked over a candle. But according to the loyal servant close to my master, assassins broke into the Eastern Palace that night. The Crown Princess ordered the servant to escape with the young prince, while she stayed behind with the prince’s playmate in the bedchamber. The body found by the Court of Judicial Review in the bedchamber was that of the prince’s childhood playmate.”

“The Crown Prince of Chengde has died, and the Late Emperor has passed away. Only Wei Yan has held the emperor’s authority to command the lords for more than a decade. The Battle of Jinzhou back then is hard not to suspect as Wei Yan’s doing. General Xie died in that battle, likely to clear Wei Yan’s name.”

Xie Zheng lifted his dark eyes halfway, impatience creasing his brow. “What I want is evidence, not your speculation.”

A smile appeared at the corner of Zhao Xun’s mouth. “Prince Changxin rebelled in Chongzhou. One of his strategists was an agent of my master who proposed the slogan ‘clear the court of traitors, eliminate the Wei Faction.’ To gain popular support, they spread rumors blaming Wei Yan for the Jinzhou massacre. As for what happened afterward, I’m sure Your Lordship is aware. The moment you reopened the Jinzhou case files, Wei Yan moved to have you killed.”

Xie Zheng narrowed his long eyes, his gaze sharp as he sneered, “Looks like I’m just another pawn in your plan.”

Zhao Xun’s expression stiffened slightly. “Your Lordship is too kind. My master only wishes to recruit you as an ally.”

Seeing Xie Zheng’s unshaken expression, he quickly added, “That old bastard Wei Yan truly slipped up with that explosion. His assassins crossed seventeen prefectures in the capital region, killing more than ten people. My master has identified some of them—they were once Wei Yan’s men who later retired.”

Xie Zheng asked, “And the butcher family named Fan? I assume you’ve identified them too?”

Shame flickered across Zhao Xun’s face. “The Fan butcher family’s identity is sealed tight. My master sent people to investigate multiple times. Whether in the Fan family’s ancestral home or this town, there’s always someone lurking. Even the official records of their escort missions from over a decade ago exist, but it seems someone within the authorities deliberately covered up their past.”

Images of Fan Changyu telling him about her parents flashed through Xie Zheng’s mind, briefly distracting him. A snowflake landed on the back of his hand, its melting chill snapping him back to focus.

He leaned back slightly, one arm resting on the armrest of the yellow pearwood grand chair. His most casual posture exuded the utmost pressure. “Just based on your words alone, expecting me to believe that the person behind you is the imperial grandson who perished in the fire sixteen years ago is laughable.”

Zhao Xun’s expression changed abruptly, about to speak, but Xie Zheng interrupted, “I will investigate the truth behind the Battle of Jinzhou sixteen years ago myself. I don’t care whether your master is the true imperial grandson or a fake. If you don’t want this alliance to end here, it’s best to have him come see me in person.”

Zhao Xun’s face darkened, but he could only clasp his hands and say, “I will convey Your Lordship’s words.”

As Xie Zheng stood up, his eyelids drooped lazily. “And tell him to think carefully about the terms for exchanging those 200,000 shi of rice.”

Zhao Xun bowed even lower. “I will.”

When Xie Zheng left, he placed the jade ring that had been a token of alliance on the yellow pearwood table.

He had been playing along with this Zhao fellow for so long simply to figure out what faction he belonged to. The answer that the imperial grandson was involved was truly unexpected for Xie Zheng.

He wasn’t worried about losing track of Zhao’s moves. When Zhao went to buy grain, Xie Zheng had already secretly assigned men to monitor the intelligence network under the Zhao family’s name. By carefully unraveling these threads, even if his own backer didn’t show up, he would soon be able to expose the person behind it all.

He did have a grudge against Wei Yan, but before the dust settled, anyone daring to scheme against him just to make him a major pawn was giving him far too much credit.

After leaving the bookshop, Xie Zheng noticed Fan Changyu and her sister hadn’t arrived yet. Frowning slightly, he headed toward Constable Wang’s residence.

Not far along, he ran into Fan Changyu and Changning. Changning had candy stuffed in her mouth, her cheeks puffed out as she bounced along. Fan Changyu held one of her chubby little hands, her face bright and lively with a smile.

Seeing Xie Zheng, her smile didn’t falter in the slightest. From a distance, she waved first, then said as she approached, “We won’t be going back to town tonight.”

Xie Zheng looked at her smiling face, feeling some of the gloom and irritation inside him lift. “Why not?”

Fan Changyu said, “Manager Yu has opened a Yixiang Restaurant in the county seat. A wealthy man’s son is getting married and booked the banquet here. They need a large amount of braised meat ready by tomorrow, and Manager Yu is worried about time, so she asked me to help with the preparation early tomorrow morning. Besides, there’s a lantern festival in the city this year, so we can go see it tonight.”

Xie Zheng asked, “Then should we find an inn to stay at first?”

Fan Changyu shook her head. “Manager Yu has already found us a place to stay. The kitchen helpers at Yixiang Restaurant usually have their food and drink covered by the restaurant, and Manager Yu rented a whole alley nearby for them to live in for free.”

Xie Zheng raised an eyebrow. “This Manager Yu is quite a remarkable person.”

Fan Changyu smiled. “She is. Everyone in the restaurant respects her. I heard from Chef Li in the kitchen that another restaurant manager in the county town once tried to poach the steward whom Manager Yu had personally promoted to run the restaurant. They offered twice the pay Yixiang could, but the steward didn’t leave.”

Xie Zheng said, “Sometimes loyalty really is worth more than money.”

Fan Changyu enthusiastically told him many things about Yu Qianqian. He responded with little interest, so she stopped talking and noticed he wasn’t carrying anything. She asked, “Weren’t you going to buy paper and ink? Why are your hands empty?”

She considered a possibility and her expression grew complicated. “Don’t tell me you spent all your money buying things for Ningniang? If you were short on cash, you should have told me…”

Xie Zheng gave a faint smile, the gloom from leaving the bookshop lifting somewhat. “No.”

Under Fan Changyu’s suspicious gaze, he explained, “The stuff in the county bookshop is too expensive. I’ll buy it back in town.”

Fan Changyu asked, “Then why did you stay in the bookshop so long?”

Xie Zheng replied, “I was reading and lost track of time.”

Curious, Fan Changyu said, “You read for so long without buying anything? Doesn’t the bookshop owner give you a hard time?”

Xie Zheng glanced over. “Who told you that?”

Fan Changyu wanted to say that Song Yan used to do the same thing, just read without buying, which annoyed the bookshop owner so much that he scowled for days afterward. Whenever she mentioned it later, Song Yan would mockingly call the owner a money-grubbing fool.

But remembering how harsh Yan Zheng was when talking about Song Yan, she swallowed the words and muttered, “Just a guess.”

Xie Zheng shot her a few looks. Fan Changyu’s neck prickled nervously, fearing he might say something cutting next.

Fortunately, he didn’t mock her the whole way.

As night fell and they decided to stay in the county town for the night, Fan Changyu resolved to take Xie Zheng and Changning to see the lantern festival after dinner, so she didn’t return to the place Yu Qianqian had arranged for them. Instead, they went out to eat some late-night food.

On the first day of the Lunar New Year, those dining out were usually from relatively well-off families.

At a nearby table, a young couple had just finished their meal. When the waiter came over to settle the bill, he smiled and said to the man, “Sir, your total comes to one tael and two qian.”

The man looked slender and refined, his expression somewhat timid and uneasy, as if he felt quite out of place.

The woman sitting beside him said, “He doesn’t have any money on him. I’ll pay.”

Her voice was loud enough to draw the attention of many diners in the restaurant.

Some whispered among themselves, “A grown man out eating and having his woman pay? That’s damn embarrassing!”

“Tsk tsk, probably some kept man, huh?”

“I know that guy. He’s a live-in son-in-law of the An Family, just living off his wife. No idea what the An lady sees in such a weakling!”

The man’s face flushed bright red, as if he wished he could disappear into a hole.

After the woman paid, he practically slunk out of the restaurant with his head down.

Xie Zheng had already finished his meal and watched the little scene with a cold, indifferent expression.

Across from him, Fan Changyu had just finished her third bowl of rice, and the plates on the table were spotless. Satisfied, she put down her chopsticks and called out to the waiter, “Waiter, the bill please.”

Fan Changyu had a big appetite, and since it was New Year’s Eve, the dishes were plentiful, though she hadn’t ordered any alcohol, so the bill wasn’t outrageously high.

The waiter counted and said, “Eight qian silver.”

As Fan Changyu reached for her money, Xie Zheng, sitting opposite her with a calm expression, said, “I’ll pay.”

Both Xie Zheng and Fan Changyu were exceptionally good-looking, already drawing attention in the small restaurant. Now that he spoke, even more heads turned to look their way.

Seeing he wanted to pay, Fan Changyu paused, recalling the earlier couple’s incident, and stopped reaching into her purse.

Xie Zheng reached into his coat pocket, but his expression shifted slightly.

Noticing this, Fan Changyu quickly gave him a questioning look.

After a moment, Xie Zheng withdrew his hand and looked at Fan Changyu. “You pay.”