“My master also has an irreconcilable blood feud with Wei Yan.”

Zhao Xun had naturally smiling eyes that gave people the illusion he was approachable and easygoing, yet beneath those eyes lingered a sense of distance.

“Approaching the Marquis was not because we wished to borrow your power. My master merely believed that once the Marquis learned the truth behind the Battle of Jinzhou sixteen years ago, you too would wish to personally kill Wei Yan. As for concealing our identities earlier, it was not done deliberately. My master only intended to reveal himself once the timing was right.”

Cold sharpness flashed through Xie Zheng’s eyes. He already had a vague guess in mind, yet still asked, “Who is your master?”

Zhao Xun answered, “Someone who survived the fire in the Eastern Palace sixteen years ago.”

A cold smile curved at the corner of Xie Zheng’s lips.

“A royal grandson? If the royal grandson still lives, shouldn’t he be seeking cooperation with Grand Tutor Li’s faction instead? Why wait until today to approach a defeated stray dog like me?”

Zhao Xun showed a troubled expression.

“You’ve investigated traces surrounding the Battle of Jinzhou yourself, so you should know that the old thief Wei Yan always eliminates every root and leaves behind no evidence. Back then, after the Crown Prince died and the Eastern Palace burned, the late emperor ordered the Ministry of Justice and the Court of Judicial Review to jointly investigate, yet they found nothing. Much less now, after the passage of time and changing circumstances.”

“Grand Tutor Li may lead the upright officials in court, but he would never risk everything to oppose the Wei faction for my master’s sake. The Marquis is different. General Xie died upon the battlefield, and Wei Yan bears responsibility for the humiliation of having his body hung from the city walls by the Northern Tribes for three days. Does the Marquis not wish to avenge this?”

Xie Zheng slowly clenched his fingers. A bloodthirsty aura seemed to seep from his very bones, making even the spacious private room feel suffocating.

“Tell me. What exactly happened sixteen years ago?”

Zhao Xun said, “My master lay hidden for many years yet still failed to uncover any clues regarding the Battle of Jinzhou. Back when the Eastern Palace burned, the Ministry of Justice and the Court of Judicial Review concluded the fire started because a palace servant on night duty accidentally knocked over a candle after falling asleep. But according to a loyal servant who stayed beside my master, assassins entered the Eastern Palace that night.”

“The Crown Princess ordered the loyal servant to flee with the young prince while she herself remained in the bedchamber with the prince’s childhood companion. The corpse found in the sleeping quarters by the Court of Judicial Review was actually that companion.”

“With Crown Prince Chengde dead and the late emperor passing away, only Wei Yan benefited by controlling the emperor and dominating the court for more than ten years. It is difficult not to suspect that the Battle of Jinzhou was orchestrated by Wei Yan. General Xie dying alongside the Crown Prince merely served to clear Wei Yan of suspicion.”

Xie Zheng lifted his dark eyes halfway, impatience already pressing into his brows.

“What I want is evidence, not your speculation.”

A faint smile appeared at Zhao Xun’s lips.

“When Prince Changxin rebelled in Chongzhou, one of the strategists by his side was my master’s man. He proposed the slogan ‘Cleanse the court and eliminate the Wei faction.’ To stir public sentiment, he also spread rumors claiming the Jinzhou tragedy had been orchestrated entirely by Wei Yan. What happened afterward, the Marquis likely already knows. Merely reopening the records of the Jinzhou case was enough for Wei Yan to decide to kill you.”

Xie Zheng narrowed his eyes sharply and let out a cold laugh.

“So I was also one piece in your plans.”

Zhao Xun’s expression stiffened slightly.

“The Marquis exaggerates. My master merely wished to recruit you as an ally.”

Seeing Xie Zheng’s displeased expression, he quickly added, “Still, the old thief Wei truly exposed some weaknesses after being provoked. His death soldiers crossed one capital and seventeen prefectures, killing more than ten people. My master has already identified some of them—they were all former retainers who once served Wei Yan before retiring.”

Xie Zheng asked, “Then I assume you’ve also uncovered the identity of that butcher surnamed Fan?”

Guilt appeared on Zhao Xun’s face.

“That butcher surnamed Fan covered his identity flawlessly. My master sent people several times to investigate thoroughly, yet whether it was the Fan family’s ancestral hometown or this town itself, there truly was such a person. Even the official escort records from over a decade ago still exist. It appears someone within the authorities deliberately erased his previous identity.”

For a brief moment, Xie Zheng recalled the way Fan Changyu had spoken to him about her parents’ past and fell into a daze.

A snowflake landed on the back of his hand. The coldness as it melted instantly pulled him back to reality.

Leaning back slightly, one arm resting casually on the huanghuali grand chair’s armrest, he carried the strongest sense of pressure even in his most relaxed posture.

“You expect me to believe that the person behind you is the royal grandson supposedly killed in the fire sixteen years ago based solely on your words? Ridiculous.”

Zhao Xun’s expression changed. Just as he was about to speak, Xie Zheng interrupted him.

“I’ll investigate the truth behind the Battle of Jinzhou myself. I don’t care whether your master is the real royal grandson or a fake one. If he doesn’t want this alliance to end here, then he’d best come meet me personally.”

Zhao Xun’s face looked unpleasant, but he could only bow.

“I’ll deliver the Marquis’s words.”

As Xie Zheng rose, his eyelids lowered lazily.

“Also tell him to think carefully about what he intends to exchange for those two hundred thousand shi of grain.”

Zhao Xun bent even lower.

“Yes.”

Before leaving, Xie Zheng placed the jade ring that had originally symbolized their alliance back onto the huanghuali table.

All this time spent pretending with this Zhao fellow had simply been to determine which faction he truly belonged to. The answer of “royal grandson” genuinely surprised Xie Zheng.

He wasn’t worried about losing track of them. From the moment he ordered Zhao Xun to buy grain, he had already instructed his own people to secretly monitor the Zhao family’s intelligence networks. By tracing clues from those connections, even if the person behind Zhao Xun refused to appear, Xie Zheng would still drag him out soon enough.

He indeed shared a hatred of Wei Yan.

But before matters were settled, someone had already dared manipulate him simply to turn him into a powerful ally. They truly thought him far too kind.

—

After leaving the bookstore, Xie Zheng saw that Fan Changyu and Changning had not yet arrived. Frowning slightly, he headed toward Constable Wang’s residence.

He hadn’t walked far before running into the sisters.

Changning had candy stuffed into her mouth, puffing out her cheeks as she skipped along. Fan Changyu held one of the little girl’s chubby hands, her own face bright and lively with a cheerful smile.

The moment she saw Xie Zheng, her smile didn’t lessen in the slightest. She waved from far away before walking closer and saying, “We’re not returning to town tonight.”

Seeing the smile on her face, the gloom and irritation in Xie Zheng’s heart faded somewhat.

“Why not?”

Fan Changyu replied, “Shopkeeper Yu also opened a Yixiang Tower branch in the county town. The son of a wealthy landlord is getting married, and they booked the wedding banquet there. Tomorrow they’ll need a huge amount of braised meat, and Shopkeeper Yu is worried they won’t finish in time, so she asked me to help prepare the braising spices early tomorrow morning. Besides, there’s a lantern festival in the city this year. We can go enjoy it tonight too.”

Xie Zheng said, “Then should we find an inn first?”

Fan Changyu shook her head.

“Shopkeeper Yu already arranged lodging for us. The kitchen helpers and servants at Yixiang Tower not only get meals provided by the restaurant, but Shopkeeper Yu also rents an entire alley nearby for them to stay in free of charge.”

Xie Zheng raised a brow slightly.

“This shopkeeper truly sounds unusual.”

Fan Changyu smiled.

“Of course! Shopkeeper Yu is really wonderful. Everyone in the restaurant admires her. I heard Cook Li say that another restaurant owner in the county once became jealous of Yixiang Tower’s business and tried to poach one of the managers personally promoted by Shopkeeper Yu. They even offered double the salary, but the manager still refused to leave.”

Xie Zheng merely said, “Sometimes feelings and loyalty are indeed more effective than silver.”

Fan Changyu excitedly rambled on about Yu Qianqian for quite a while, but seeing his indifferent reactions, she eventually stopped talking.

Then she noticed his hands were empty and asked, “Weren’t you buying paper and ink? Why did you come back empty-handed?”

Suddenly thinking of a possibility, she looked at him with complicated emotions.

“Don’t tell me you spent all your silver buying things for Ningniang? If you were short on money, you should’ve told me…”

Xie Zheng let out a faint laugh. The gloom from leaving the bookstore had mostly disappeared now.

“No.”

Under Fan Changyu’s suspicious gaze, he explained, “The things at the county bookstore were too expensive. I’ll buy them after we return to town.”

Fan Changyu asked, “Then why were you in the bookstore so long?”

Xie Zheng answered, “I read for a while and lost track of time.”

Curious, Fan Changyu asked, “If you spend so long reading without buying anything, doesn’t the bookstore owner give you dirty looks?”

Xie Zheng’s gaze swept toward her.

“Who told you that?”

Fan Changyu almost said it was because Song Yan had experienced exactly that before. He used to spend time reading in bookstores without buying anything and would come home afterward sulking because the shopkeeper treated him coldly. Later, whenever the matter came up, Song Yan would sneer that the bookseller reeked of greed.

But remembering how venomous Yan Zheng became whenever Song Yan was mentioned, she swallowed the words back down and muttered, “I guessed.”

Xie Zheng looked at her several times, making the skin at the back of Fan Changyu’s neck tighten instinctively as she feared he was about to say something devastatingly sharp again.

Fortunately, he didn’t mock her at all during the rest of the walk.

By now the sky had already darkened. Since they had decided to stay the night in the county town anyway, Fan Changyu still wanted to take Xie Zheng and Changning to see the lantern festival later. So instead of immediately going to the lodging Yu Qianqian arranged, they first went to a restaurant for a late-night meal.

Those dining out on the first day of the New Year were all relatively well-off families.

At the neighboring table sat a young married couple who appeared to have just finished eating. When the waiter went over with the bill, he smiled at the husband and said, “Young Master, the total is one tael and two mace.”

The man looked scholarly and thin, his expression timid and uneasy.

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

Her voice was loud enough that many diners turned to look.

Someone whispered, “A grown man eating out and making a woman pay? Damn shameful.”

“Tsk tsk, must be some pretty-boy gigolo.”

“I know him. He’s the live-in son-in-law of the An family. Just living off a woman. Who knows what Madam An sees in that weakling!”

The man’s face turned red with embarrassment, as though he wished he could crawl into a crack in the floor.

After the woman paid, he practically fled the restaurant with his head lowered.

Xie Zheng had already finished eating and watched the entire scene with cold indifference.

Across from him, Fan Changyu finished her third bowl of rice and cleaned every dish on the table spotless before finally setting down her chopsticks in satisfaction.

“Waiter, the bill!”

As someone with a huge appetite, especially during New Year, Fan Changyu had ordered generously tonight. Fortunately, they hadn’t ordered alcohol, so the price wasn’t outrageous.

After counting everything, the waiter said, “Eight mace of silver.”

Just as Fan Changyu reached for her purse, Xie Zheng—sitting opposite her like a jade carving—said, “I’ll pay.”

Both he and Fan Changyu were exceptionally attractive, already drawing plenty of attention in the small restaurant. Now that he spoke, even more people began glancing over.

Remembering the scene with the neighboring couple earlier, Fan Changyu paused instead of taking out her money.

But as Xie Zheng slipped a hand into his robe to search for silver, his expression changed slightly.

Seeing this, Fan Changyu immediately looked at him questioningly.

A moment later, Xie Zheng withdrew his hand and looked at her.

“You pay.”