Chapter 034: The Eve Of The Storm

“Boss Lu, Master Xie is here.”

The sky had darkened, and there were few pedestrians on the streets. Most of the shops had already closed, but the lanterns outside the Youhuang Pavilion on the second floor of a building facing the street were still lit.

Outside the dark room at the back, a young boy reported.

Lu Xian was sitting inside, looking at the results handed to him, frowning in dissatisfaction. Hearing the announcement, he cursed, “He doesn’t come early or late, and usually, even an eight-carrier sedan chair can’t move him. But as soon as he hears that there are some good pieces of wood here, he comes by himself. So, I’m not as good as a few pieces of broken wood!”

Saying this, he slammed the secret report on the table with a “bang.”

He got up and walked outside.

The Youhuang Pavilion had a special room for guests to try out zithers. When Lu Xian pushed the door open and entered, he saw that his young boy had already thoughtfully placed a charcoal brazier in the room and brewed the best Bitan Piaoxue tea for Xie Wei.

His nose was almost crooked with anger.

Lu Xian walked over and poked the boy’s forehead with his finger, “How much does he spend on a piece of wood? You give him a brazier and brew good tea for him. How am I supposed to make a profit? Can’t you use your brain?”

The boy glanced at him quietly.

His boss was just stingy by nature, and that wouldn’t change.

And when had Master Xie ever had bad tea here? Even if he didn’t brew it, the boss would probably obediently brew it himself later.

But he didn’t argue, silently withdrew, and even closed the door behind him.

Lu Xian glared in anger, “Look! Look at how unruly these servants are! Who is the master of this Youhuang Pavilion?”

Xie Wei was sitting cross-legged on a Luohan bed by the window, with a thin velvet blanket over his legs because he was afraid of the cold. He just chuckled lightly at the words.

When Lu Xian walked over, he found that Xie Wei was looking at something.

There were about ten sheets of rice paper filled with writing, which seemed to have been rolled up, with the ends slightly curled. They looked like exam papers. Xie Wei was looking at the one on top, and as he read, he couldn’t help but curl a finger and press it to his lips, laughing out loud.

These scrawled characters…

Lu Xian felt his eyes hurt just by looking at them.

He directly lifted the hem of his robe and sat opposite Xie Wei, his expression strange, “I heard you went to the palace today to examine the companions selected for the princess. These must be the exam papers of those noble ladies, right? These characters are really ugly…”

But Xie Wei didn’t respond to this.

He just pulled out the other eleven exam papers from below, gently loosened them, and casually threw them into the brazier, where they immediately caught fire. He didn’t seem to care, leaving only the one he had been looking at, which he rolled up and put aside.

Then he slightly raised his eyebrows and said, “You have some fine catalpa wood here?”

If he didn’t speak, it was fine, but once he did, it was infuriating.

If he weren’t working for this person right now, Lu Xian could guarantee that someone like Xie Wei would be beaten to death as soon as he stepped out!

In his heart, he could only wish that the next zither he made would take three to five years and then be chopped in half by someone!

At this moment, he coldly pulled the corners of his mouth and said, “I do have some fine catalpa wood, but I have two pieces of bad news. Which one do you want to hear first?”

Xie Wei sighed lightly, “Still holding a grudge against that You Fangyin, huh?”

“If I had known, I would have asked Jian Shu to help fetch the wood. Why did I have to come myself?”

Lu Xian couldn’t stand hearing that name now. As soon as he heard it, he exploded, feeling a surge of anger, as if he was being played with. “You gave the order to investigate, but after several days, what results do we have?”

When he first learned that Xu Wenyi was hoarding raw silk and not selling it, Lu Xian suspected that You Fangyin was up to something. Moreover, there was a mysterious boss behind her.

Not uncovering this boss made him feel like a cat scratching at his heart. Being a shrewd and stingy old fox in business, he was infuriated when someone else beat him to buying raw silk, confirming that the price would rise. He was so angry that he almost spat blood.

This was something Lu Xian could not tolerate.

A few days ago, he and Xie Ju’an decided on a direction, believing that this matter was related to people involved in the canal transportation. They sent people to investigate those You Fangyin had recently contacted.

The first investigation reported no suspicious persons.

Lu Xian was so angry that he called the investigators and scolded them, then ordered them to thoroughly re-investigate those people, expanding the scope to include everyone indirectly connected to the You family. Meanwhile, Xie Wei submitted a memorial to the emperor, explaining the malicious suppression of silk prices in the capital and Jiangnan, and calling for a thorough investigation of officials involved.

This investigation indeed yielded results.

Officials and merchants on the canal had colluded, with merchants first maliciously suppressing silk prices, then causing the boats transporting raw silk on the Grand Canal to capsize. With supply falling short of demand, silk prices naturally soared.

After profiting, the officials and merchants split the gains.

After the matter was exposed, a large number of officials and merchants were investigated.

But on the You family’s side, they only found that a steward was distantly related to a servant running errands for an official on the canal. This servant had indeed heard about the scheme and inadvertently mentioned it while drinking in the You household.

Everyone thought he was joking and didn’t take it seriously.

No one actually took the opportunity to buy raw silk to hoard for a price increase, not even the steward.

“Xie Ju’an, this matter really doesn’t make sense.” Lu Xian tapped the table with his finger, emphasizing to Xie Wei, “Suppose You Fangyin indeed had the courage and luck to gamble on the steward’s information about the silk price increase and bought raw silk. But why would she fabricate a non-existent ‘boss’? The existence of this ‘boss’ wouldn’t help her at all. So the only explanation is that this ‘boss’ truly exists! We just haven’t found where he’s hiding yet.” Xie Wei also lowered his eyes in thought.

Lu Xian continued, becoming more somber, “This person acts strangely, knowing the information but only spending four hundred taels to buy raw silk. Maybe he didn’t dare to act, or maybe he didn’t have the money. Or perhaps there’s a deeper meaning behind this that we can’t guess. Things that can be seen through are not scary; it’s the things that can’t be seen through that make me very uneasy.”

Xie Wei said, “If you think finding a steward isn’t enough to dispel your doubts, then send someone to follow You Fangyin. Xu Wenyi’s raw silk was sold just a few days ago, and the money is still hot. If You Fangyin really has a boss, she must report to him, right? Then we can find out if this ‘boss’ exists and who he is.”

This was exactly what Lu Xian wanted to hear.

He immediately smiled, clapped his hands, and said, “Then you must send some skilled people to follow her. It’s best to have Dao Qin go personally. If the boss is also a formidable character, we don’t want to suffer losses!”

Xie Wei said, “Dao Qin may not be willing to go. Stop talking nonsense. What’s the other bad news?”

Lu Xian stared at him, his eyes flickering.

Xie Wei picked up the tea cup, his long fingers resting on the smooth, celadon glaze. He paused, suddenly realizing something: “Is it related to the Yongyi Marquis’ residence?”

Lu Xian nodded, knowing that anything related to the Yongyi Marquis’ residence was a big deal to Xie Wei—

Although he still didn’t understand why.

At this moment, he pondered for a while before speaking: “Recently, the capital has arrested the rebel party of Prince Pingnan, and there have been several assassinations of court officials. The emperor is obviously enraged, and both the Ministry of Justice and the Jinyiwei are investigating the matter. They are competing to see who can find out first who in the capital is aiding these rebels. The noble families are all in a panic, fearing that the investigation will implicate them. Even if they have nothing to do with the rebels, they fear the Jinyiwei might uncover something else. Everyone is avoiding the Jinyiwei. But guess what? The heir of the Yan family has taken in a Jinyiwei official named Zhou Yinzhi, who is working for him and is set to fill the vacant Qianhu position left by Zhang Zhe’s impeachment. It will be finalized tomorrow.”

“Jinyiwei…”

Xie Wei had been in the palace all day and didn’t know what had happened outside. Hearing Lu Xian’s words, his elegant eyebrows immediately furrowed, and his handsome face suddenly took on a grim and murderous look.

He was very intimidating when he didn’t smile.

He asked in a deep voice, “The Yongyi Marquis’ residence has always been upright and has never had any dealings with the Jinyiwei. Why would Yan Lin promote this Zhou Yinzhi?”

Lu Xian also found it very strange when he learned about it and had someone investigate. Now, he looked at Xie Wei and said, “This Zhou Yinzhi originally worked for Assistant Minister Jiang of the Ministry of Revenue and was a servant of the Jiang family. Later, he became a Baihu in the Jinyiwei. Some say the heir of the Yan family was entrusted by his future in-laws, while others say—this person was recommended to the heir by Miss Jiang’er.”

“……”

Jiang Xuening.

Xie Wei’s gaze fell back on the rolled-up exam paper, recalling what he had said to her in the Fengchen Hall today. His eyes showed a flicker of emotion.

He slowly closed his eyes, contemplating something.

Lu Xian continued, “The timing, the coincidence, the Jinyiwei, the Yongyi Marquis’ residence, the old case of Prince Pingnan—this matter is not simple.”

*

When Jiang Xuening returned to the Jiang residence, it was already late.

Apparently, the news that she had passed the etiquette and examination and was finally selected as the princess’s companion had already reached the residence. As soon as she got off the carriage and walked into the residence, everyone she saw was respectful to her, their faces beaming with smiles.

Their attitude was vastly different from before she entered the palace.

If it weren’t for her deep-seated impression of the disdain and contempt from these people over two lifetimes, Jiang Xuening might not have believed the drastic change in their attitudes.

This showed how prestigious it was to be chosen as the princess’s companion and to gain the favor of the nobles in the palace.

Jiang Boyou and Madam Meng were still awake, knowing that Jiang Xuening would return home today, so they waited for her.

When Jiang Xuening returned to the residence, she went to greet them.

Clearly, neither of them had high hopes for Jiang Xuening, especially upon hearing that Xie Wei would be overseeing the examination in the palace. So, when they learned that she had actually passed the examination, their surprise was indescribable. They had prepared a basketful of comforting words for her in case she failed, but now they were useless. Being somewhat estranged from their daughter, they didn’t know what else to say, so they could only praise her for doing well and bringing honor to the family, and then urged her to go back to her room and rest.

Jiang Xuening was already resentful about entering the palace. Hearing all the congratulations along the way had made her extremely annoyed. When they told her to go rest, she stood up expressionlessly and said, “Then I will take my leave.”

With that, she left.

As she walked from the room to the corridor, she heard Madam Meng’s dissatisfied voice behind her: “Look at her, just being selected as a companion reader, and she’s already so arrogant! Does she even consider me, her mother?”

Jiang Xuening’s steps halted for a moment, her fingers clenched at her sides.

But after standing still for a moment, she continued walking.

Tang’er and Lian’er, who were following her, had also heard Madam Meng’s voice. They followed Jiang Xuening closely, not daring to say a word.

As they walked, Tang’er and Lian’er realized that she was heading in the wrong direction.

This…

This wasn’t the way to the second young lady’s room.

The two of them instinctively felt that something was about to happen.

Their second young lady was known for her arrogance and had never been soft when bullying the eldest young lady. But she had been quiet for a while now.

Was she going to revert to her old ways?

The two exchanged glances, wanting to stop her, but remembering Jiang Xuening’s temper, they didn’t dare.

In no time, they arrived outside Jiang Xuehui’s room.

A maid carrying water saw her and was so frightened that she almost dropped the copper basin, her face turning pale. She stammered, “G-g-g-good evening, Second Young Lady…”

Jiang Xuening glanced at her and walked straight in.

Inside, Jiang Xuehui had already finished washing up. She had let down her hair, which was now draped over her shoulders. Her face was bare, and although her looks were somewhat plain, she had a serene demeanor.

Seeing Jiang Xuening enter, she only slightly frowned.

She said, “Judging by your hostile demeanor, I assume Mother has upset you again, so you’re here to take it out on me.”

Jiang Xuening smiled, “Just by walking into your room, she would be upset for half a day. I don’t need to take it out on you; she gets upset on her own. Who told me to be the daughter raised by a concubine and to have learned all her frivolous ways? A few days ago, I must have hit my head, thinking I should be kind and get along with everyone, not causing trouble. But today, I suddenly realized that living happily is the most important thing. There are already so many unpleasant things outside; if I have to endure it at home too, life would be too bitter. From now on, whoever makes me unhappy, I will find a way to make them even more unhappy. So, even though you didn’t ask, I’ll tell you about Wanniang tonight, how about that?”