With the black-clothed assassins no longer appearing at any moment to claim lives, Fan Changyu no longer needed to rush to sell off her belongings and leave Lin’an Town.

She finalized a long-term arrangement with Yixiang Pavilion, and after reopening the butcher shop, business for her braised meat became even better than before thanks to the restaurant’s reputation. It was beginning to overshadow Wang’s Butcher Shop.

On the day before New Year’s Eve, when she returned home from the shop, she noticed an especially grand carriage parked at the entrance to the alley. At first, she thought the Song mother and son had returned again. But after entering the alley, she saw quite a crowd gathered outside her home.

Thinking something had happened again, Fan Changyu squeezed through the crowd.

“Excuse me, excuse me…”

A neighbor asked, “Changyu, does your family have some wealthy relatives?”

Confused, Fan Changyu replied, “No.”

The person asked again, “Then could it be relatives from your husband’s side? That carriage parked outside the alley looks even more impressive than the one the Song family used when they moved!”

Only then did Fan Changyu realize the owner of the carriage was here for her family?

Someone nearby chimed in, “The carriage the Song family used during the move wasn’t even theirs. They rented it from a carriage company!”

There was already a hint of belittling the Song family in the tone.

Standing at her own doorway, Old Madam Kang, now missing several teeth, sneered, “A bunch of people who worship the rich and powerful. Once Yan-ge passes the imperial examinations in the capital and becomes top scholar, what kind of carriage won’t he have?”

Still puzzled, Fan Changyu ignored the gossiping neighbors. After entering the house and closing the courtyard gate behind her, she finally saw that a richly dressed young nobleman was indeed seated at the square table in the main hall.

Upon seeing her, the man smiled and nodded politely. Since Fan Changyu did not know his identity, she simply imitated him and nodded back.

“It’s already late today, so I won’t continue disturbing Young Master Yan and Madam.”

As he spoke, he rose and bowed to Xie Zheng. When he turned toward Fan Changyu, the smile on his face deepened slightly.

Xie Zheng sat on the other side of the square table, his expression indifferent. Though dressed in ordinary coarse cloth, his bearing still faintly overwhelmed that of the noble young man.

“Take care. I won’t see you out.”

Fan Changyu knew Yan Zheng had that sort of temper. Since he remained seated without moving, she still made a token effort and escorted the guest to the entrance.

After shutting the courtyard gate again and blocking off the prying gazes of the neighbors, she finally asked Xie Zheng, “Who was that?”

Xie Zheng replied, “The owner of the town bookstore.”

Fan Changyu picked up the teapot on the table to pour herself some water.

“I remember the owner of the town bookstore being an old man with a beard.”

Xie Zheng said, “That’s only the manager. The real owner has always lived in the main city of Jizhou.”

The last time Zhao Xun came looking for him, most people in the alley had gone out to work and earn a living, so no one had seen him. But now, with the New Year approaching, every household was at home, and the news spread from one person to ten and ten to a hundred, causing such a huge stir.

As the tea poured out, Fan Changyu realized it was cold tea. Cradling the cup, she took a sip, then glanced at the half-finished teacup left where the nobleman had been sitting.

“You served a guest cold tea?”

Xie Zheng lifted his eyes to look at her. From that glance, Fan Changyu clearly read the meaning of, “Otherwise?” and found herself speechless.

Xie Zheng noticed she had bought another packet of preserved tangerine candies and pushed a red-paper-wrapped bundle toward her.

“I earned some silver writing examination essays. Keep this.”

Fan Changyu peeled away the red wrapping paper and her almond eyes widened in utter shock.

Inside were four silver ingots.

Before she started selling braised meat, her butcher shop had never earned this much in an entire month.

Fan Changyu stared dumbfounded.

“Writing essays is this profitable?”

Xie Zheng lifted the rough porcelain cup before him and took a light sip. His fingers, where the scabs had fallen away, were elegant like bamboo joints, distinct and refined.

“The earlier essays sold well, so the bookstore gave me part of the profits. Out of these forty taels, part of it is also advance payment for the next batch.”

The essays he had written truly had stirred waves throughout the capital. Though Zhao Xun was merely a merchant, he possessed some real ability to preserve his family business amid wolves circling around him. While printing and selling the essays widely across major prefectures to scholars, he had also concealed their source.

During the days the Fan family suffered disaster, his uncle had been conducting a carpet search through every bookstore. Otherwise, the number of death soldiers sent to this small town would have doubled.

This silver was not specially gifted by Zhao Xun to curry favor with him. Based on the value of those essays alone, they could easily have sold for a thousand gold pieces.

The Zhao family’s bookstores had already earned overflowing profits from printing his essays.

Afraid Fan Changyu would become suspicious, he had deliberately only accepted forty taels. Yet even then, she still thought it was too much.

Fan Changyu looked at the gleaming silver ingots beside her hand, then at Xie Zheng.

“The bookstore owner specially came here because he admired your essays?”

Xie Zheng nodded.

“The war in Chongzhou still hasn’t been resolved, and factional struggles in court continue endlessly. My writings about the signs of chaos in Chongzhou may be shallow, but they describe things other scholars have never experienced, which is why they sold better.”

Seeing that Fan Changyu did not look happy after seeing the silver but instead fell silent, he unconsciously frowned.

The next moment, she suddenly said, “Actually, you don’t need to keep lying to me. I already know.”

The fingers Xie Zheng held against the cup tightened slightly.

“What do you know?”

Fan Changyu looked up at him.

“If the bookstore owner values you this much, then your literary talent must be exceptional. You definitely studied extensively before. You were afraid I’d resent you because my former fiancé became a provincial graduate and abandoned me, so you kept pretending your learning was ordinary, right?”

Hearing that she meant this matter, the pressure in Xie Zheng’s fingers finally eased.

Before he could answer, Fan Changyu continued with a frown.

“I’m not as narrow-minded as you think. There are countless scholars in the world. Just because my former fiancé turned out heartless doesn’t mean every scholar is heartless too. I understand that much. You really didn’t need to worry about such things.”

Xie Zheng lowered his eyes.

“Sorry.”

Fan Changyu waved her hand dismissively. She herself had hidden the fact that she knew martial arts from the neighbors before. This was his own skill. Whether he chose to tell her or not did not harm her interests, so she had no reason to mind.

She only asked curiously, “Since you studied so much, why didn’t you take the imperial examinations? Why become an escort instead?”

Xie Zheng replied, “The things I wanted to do couldn’t be accomplished through scholarship.”

They had lived together for nearly a month now, and this was the first time Fan Changyu had truly asked about him. Since the conversation had already reached this point, she simply continued.

“What is it you want to do?”

The wind passing through the hall lifted a strand of loose hair beside Xie Zheng’s temple. Looking at the thick snow piled atop the courtyard wall and the misty sky beyond, his eyes became distant and unfathomable.

“Just as you want to continue running the butcher shop your father left behind, there are things my father failed to finish that I also want to carry on.”

Fan Changyu lowered her head and thought hard for a while. Then her eyes widened in surprise.

“Your family wasn’t running an escort agency too, was it?”

People who became escorts were usually those with bitter lives. Otherwise, who would risk their lives for such little money?

He was educated, highly skilled in martial arts, and had worked as an escort. No matter how she thought about it, the only fitting identity was that of an escort agency’s young master.

After hesitating briefly, Xie Zheng nodded.

Fan Changyu suddenly understood.

“No wonder you always said you’d leave once your injuries healed.”

She pushed the forty taels back toward him.

“You should keep this silver yourself. Rebuilding an escort agency must cost a lot! When the time comes for you to leave, if I happen to have money to spare, I’ll give you more then!”

This was not the first time Xie Zheng had heard her speak of them parting ways. Aside from the ugly-looking cuts on his body that still appeared unhealed, his internal injuries had mostly recovered. Zhao Xun’s visit today had also been to inform him that two hundred thousand dan of grain had already been purchased.

Very soon, he truly would leave.

Yet hearing her mention it again now stirred an inexplicable feeling in his heart.

He raised a hand to press down on one of the silver ingots, stopping her from pushing it back toward him. His tone carried a trace of forcefulness.

“It’s for you. Medicine expenses.”

Fan Changyu still refused.

“When you agreed to the fake marriage arrangement, we already agreed I’d treat your injuries. How can I take your money now? That would make me someone who breaks her word. Besides, you spent those past days writing essays indoors while still injured and enduring the cold wind. Earning this silver couldn’t have been easy…”

He did not loosen his grip on the silver in the slightest, his dark eyes fixed on her.

“Candy money?”

Fan Changyu froze for a moment before realizing he meant the candies she had bought him.

Honestly, she replied, “Buying candy doesn’t cost this much silver…”

“Then keep it for now and buy more later.”

“Even if I keep buying until your injuries heal and you leave, it still wouldn’t cost this much…”

Halfway through speaking, Fan Changyu suddenly fell silent herself.

Buy more later?

Did that mean there would still be a future afterward between them?

The burning wood in the fire pit suddenly crackled loudly, sparks scattering everywhere, finally breaking the silence in the room.

He only repeated the same words.

“Keep it.”

Fan Changyu did not look at him. Instead, she stared for a while at the hand pressing down on the silver ingot before quietly asking, “What kind of candy do you like?”

Hearing her ask that, Xie Zheng finally withdrew his hand.

“Buy whatever you think is fine.”

—

That night, when Fan Changyu went to bed, someone who usually slept soundly found herself unable to sleep as she stared at the canopy above.

Though broad-minded, she was not made of wood.

Yan Zheng might have a terrible temper and a sharp tongue, but he was genuinely kind-hearted. Otherwise, after the bandits stormed into the house earlier, he would not have escaped while still bringing Changning along.

He was handsome, literate, and possessed extraordinary martial skills.

She knew he was only staying here temporarily and would eventually leave, which was why she had always treated him as a passing traveler.

But today he had given her such a large sum of silver and told her to keep buying him candy in the future?

Suddenly, Fan Changyu felt her heart become a complete mess.

She tossed and turned like a pancake on a griddle until dawn was nearly breaking before finally drifting into a hazy sleep.

The next morning, unsurprisingly, she overslept. There were even faint dark circles beneath her eyes.

Fortunately, the butcher shop remained closed during New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day, so waking up late was no problem.

Yawning, Fan Changyu got out of bed to make tangyuan dumplings. Outside, children in the alley were still setting off firecrackers, and the entire town was immersed in the peaceful atmosphere of the New Year.

But in Chongzhou, only one province away, a devastating defeat had just taken place.

—

Capital City.

The streets were decorated with lanterns and colorful banners, overflowing with New Year festivity.

A military report marked for eight-hundred-li urgent delivery passed through Yongding Gate, yet instead of being sent to the imperial palace, it was rerouted to the residence of Chancellor Wei.

A swift horse shot through the avenue like a meteor while frost and snow weighed heavily upon the elm and willow branches on either side.

The Wei residence stood under strict guard. Two stone lions pressed upon jeweled spheres with ferocious expressions. Armored guards holding sharp weapons stood arranged like a formation of wild geese. Snow blanketed the walls so thickly that even birds refused to perch upon the barren branches nearby.

The messenger rolled from his horse and knelt on the ground, pulling the report from his robes and holding it overhead.

“Urgent report from Chongzhou!”

The guards at the entrance changed expression. After taking the report, they hurried inside the residence and passed it to a military officer within. That officer then carried it swiftly toward the study.

“My lord, urgent report from Chongzhou!”

Moments later, a servant from the study opened the door and came out to retrieve the report.

The entire process was tight and efficient. Every report sent to the Wei residence study was delivered in exactly this manner.

After closing the study doors again, the servant walked nearly soundlessly as he respectfully presented the report to the long-bearded elder seated behind a red sandalwood desk reviewing memorials.

“Chancellor, an eight-hundred-li urgent report from Chongzhou.”

A powerful, sinewy hand accepted the report. After reading it, the elder slammed it heavily onto the desk.

“I should’ve known that rebellious fool couldn’t stabilize the Chongzhou warfront! Harvest season only ended recently, so why can’t grain be levied throughout the northwest?”

The servant did not dare answer.

The old man rose. Surprisingly, he wore not luxurious robes but simple plain clothes. Standing with his hands behind his back, he gazed out at the vast snowy scenery beyond the window. His phoenix eyes were narrow, his figure tall and imposing.

He was none other than Wei Yan, the Great Yin Empire’s chancellor who had controlled the court for over ten years.

After brief contemplation, he said, “Tell that rebellious fool to get back here immediately. Transfer He Jingyuan to hold the Chongzhou front first.”

There had once been two blades he found most useful. One was the nephew he personally raised. The other was He Jingyuan. Meanwhile, his own son Wei Xuan was merely a conceited fool with ambition but no restraint.

The servant acknowledged the order and was about to withdraw when this man—who had occupied the chancellor’s seat and wielded imperial authority for more than a decade—suddenly asked:

“Has the body of the Marquis of Wu’an been found?”

The servant shook his head.

“No.”

Wei Yan let out a deep sigh.

“That child carried Wei family blood in him. His temperament and methods resembled mine the most. What a pity…”

The servant had served beside Wei Yan for many years and could somewhat grasp his thoughts. Remembering how highly Wei Yan had once valued the Marquis of Wu’an—far more than his own eldest son Wei Xuan—the servant cautiously added:

“Perhaps the Marquis was only deceived by treacherous villains. You raised the Marquis for sixteen years. Though not father and son by blood, you were closer than father and son. Claims that you killed Crown Prince Chengde and General Xie are completely absurd. Where’s the evidence? The Marquis never even saw any proof. Surely this matter still had room for reconciliation, so why did you…”

Halfway through speaking, the servant abruptly fell silent. Meeting Wei Yan’s cold and terrifying gaze, he hurriedly slapped himself hard across the face.

“This old servant spoke out of turn!”

But Wei Yan said, “One day, he would have learned the truth regardless. He had already grown suspicious. If I hadn’t eliminated him before he became wary of me, then one day it would have been the Wei family reduced to prey.”

The servant first froze in shock before quickly saying, “Chancellor, you are the pillar of the nation. Even the Marquis could never have harmed you. Besides, the Marquis is already gone.”

Wei Yan closed his eyes without replying.

By the time he returned to sit behind the desk again, not a trace of that earlier melancholy remained on his face.

“The item I ordered retrieved from Jizhou—has it been brought back?”

The servant lowered his voice further.

“The Xuan-ranked death soldiers have yet to send back any news.”

Wei Yan’s eyes instantly sharpened.

“What about He Jingyuan’s side?”

The servant answered, “The spy planted beside He Jingyuan previously sent word that He Jingyuan seems unaware of that item’s existence.”

Just then, another announcement sounded from outside the study.

“My lord, the Governor of Jizhou has urgently delivered a brocade box by fast horse.”