After playing for a while longer, Hua Zhi left first, with Yu Weiwei taking her place to continue the game. While chatting with Wang Yu, she half-jokingly and half-seriously dispelled the doubts in her mind. Some matters weren’t more useful just because more people knew about them.
Inside the carriage, Hua Zhi lifted a corner of the curtain and asked, "Is there anyone following us?"
"No, I’ve been keeping an eye out."
Hua Zhi breathed a sigh of relief. The absence of a tail meant the other party hadn’t grown suspicious of her or Yu Weiwei. She had armed guards around her, but Yu Weiwei did not.
Taking out a tightly folded letter from her bosom, Shaoyao asked in surprise, "Did Yu Weiwei give this to you?"
"Yes. She didn’t trust the owner of that residence, so she didn’t say a single word about the matter." As she spoke, Hua Zhi unfolded the letter. The handwriting was messy and written with charcoal, as if it hadn’t been written under normal circumstances.
Shaoyao disliked reading and felt dizzy at the sight of words, so she didn’t lean in to look. Instead, she asked, "What did she say?"
"There are six new faces in the Yu family, but Qi Qiu couldn’t produce their deeds of sale. She used this as an excuse to have Qi Qiu imprisoned. She also made a scene at the Zeng family to keep Zeng Xianglin from growing suspicious and to prevent him from interfering in the Yu family’s affairs."
Closing the letter, Hua Zhi thoughtfully stroked her chin. Knowing she was deep in thought, Shaoyao didn’t press further.
When Hua Zhi returned home, she didn’t see Yan Xi and asked curiously, "Where has your master gone?"
Wang Hai, who had stayed behind to relay the message, replied, "Some subordinates discovered a clue, and the master went to investigate."
"Did he say when he’d return?"
"Likely not until tomorrow. The place he went to is a county under Jin Yang’s jurisdiction, about 140 li from here."
Yet that very night, Gu Yanxi returned. Disregarding his travel-worn appearance and the late hour, he went straight to A Zhi’s room.
Hua Zhi, dressed in loose clothing, stood up quickly when she saw him. "Weren’t you supposed to return tomorrow? You haven’t eaten, have you? Bao Xia, is there soup simmering on the stove? Bring some first, and then heat up some food."
Gu Yanxi drank two cups of water in one go to quench his thirst. "The subordinates found someone using silver of poor quality. At first, they thought someone was bold enough to tamper with the silver. Upon further investigation, they discovered that the person using this silver was merely a poor commoner, and there were others in the area using similar silver. The common thread was that they all worked at the same quarry."
"Don’t rush to explain." Hua Zhi hurried over, took the soup from Bao Xia, blew on it, and handed it to him. "Have this first."
Having traveled hundreds of li without a sip of water or a bite of food, Gu Yanxi was truly hungry. He drank the bowl of soup immediately, finally feeling some warmth in his body.
Hua Zhi wasn’t idle either. She poured hot water into a basin and placed her own face towel in it. "If you don’t mind, use my towel to wash your face first. Why didn’t you rest there and return tomorrow? It wouldn’t have delayed anything."
Gu Yanxi wrung out the towel and pressed it to his face. The faint, elusive fragrance of the towel lingered at the tip of his nose, and he couldn’t help but smile. If he hadn’t returned, he wouldn’t have had the chance to use A Zhi’s towel to wash his face. Saying such a thing aloud would sound overly sentimental, but the truth was, he had rushed back through the night precisely because he wanted to see A Zhi.
Hua Zhi brought over two more cups of hot tea. Holding her teacup, she pondered the many possibilities of the situation."There is indeed a quarry. If our subordinates hadn't been meticulous enough to infiltrate and investigate, this matter would likely have been concealed from us." Gu Yanxi picked up his teacup and took a sip before looking up. "The quarry is just a front—inside is a silver mine."
"A silver mine?" Hua Zhi immediately grasped the key point. "Zeng Xianglin's?"
Gu Yanxi shook his head. "Not on the surface. We're still investigating whether it actually belongs to Zeng Xianglin."
Hua Zhi suddenly remembered the letter Yu Weiwei had given her. A thought struck her, and she stood up to retrieve the letter, handing it to Yanxi.
Gu Yanxi frowned. "Looking at a topographic map?"
"Yes. Why would Qi Qiu want to look at Jin Yang's topographic map? What is he planning? I've been thinking about this for a long time without figuring it out. If this silver mine is connected to them, could his purpose in examining the map be related to this matter?"
"Hiding the silver?"
"Or planning a route to transport the silver away." Hua Zhi rubbed her teacup thoughtfully. "How long has the silver mine been in operation?"
"I made inquiries locally—it should have started early last year."
"Yu Weiwei said her father had an accident in April, and before that, he had gone out with Zeng Xianglin for several days." The more Hua Zhi thought in this direction, the more plausible it seemed. This would explain why Zeng Xianglin would move against his own uncle-in-law—the profits were substantial enough to tempt anyone.
Gu Yanxi clearly had the same thought. "Once we verify who's behind this silver mine, we'll know if that's the case. Don't contact Yu Weiwei too frequently. If this truly involves a silver mine, especially with Qi Qiu being caught by Yu Weiwei, they'll probably have people watching the Yu family."
"I understand."
Bao Xia entered carrying a meal tray. Hua Zhi immediately stopped talking and helped set the table. Just as Gu Yanxi picked up his chopsticks, a head popped in through the doorway. "I was already asleep, but the aroma woke me up."
Bao Xia couldn't help but chuckle, quickly covering her mouth and turning away. Young Lady Shaoyao was truly obsessed with food—she'd eaten so much at dinner, yet here she was, unable to tear her eyes away.
"Either come in or go back to your room. It's late and damp, and you didn't even wear a cloak." Hua Zhi glared at her. "Don't even think about eating—aren't you afraid of indigestion?"
"Yan Ge eats and doesn't get indigestion," Shaoyao muttered quietly. Seeing she wouldn't get any food, she turned and went back to her room. How cruel of Hua Hua to tease her with smells but not let her eat.
Hua Zhi pretended not to hear. If she indulged her, Shaoyao would surely sneak off to prepare medicine later.
"Eat quickly." Hua Zhi picked up her chopsticks and served dishes to Yanxi. "When we return, I'll have them prepare more dried meat for you to carry when you go out. Don't always go hungry—you'll ruin your stomach."
"Alright."
"You agree so readily." Hua Zhi chided him with a glance, though she couldn't truly blame him for not taking care of himself. With his past experiences, he probably didn't even know how to properly care for himself.
One quietly served food while the other ate with his head down, the atmosphere so harmonious it seemed as if they had lived like this for many years. Bao Xia couldn't even use the excuse of maintaining proper distance between men and women to remind her young lady—such scenes had become so common she was growing accustomed to them.
"I'm afraid I'll exhaust the family savings I've accumulated," Hua Zhi remarked casually after the meal, not rushing him to leave. "But if it helps reduce the emperor's prejudice against me, it will be worth it."
"Little Six remembers what's more important.""Who says otherwise? One is like the setting sun, the other like the rising dawn. As long as Little Six remembers her efforts, this silver won't be as if thrown into the water."
"By the way, did Chen Qing mention to you that I asked him for some people to form a merchant convoy to purchase grain in Flame Country?"
"I've told him that he should simply follow your instructions—there's no need to report every detail to me."
Hua Zhi tilted her head, her eyes seemingly carrying a teasing hook. "You trust me this much?"
"If not you, then who else could I trust?"
How remarkable—her man seemed to have unlocked some sweet-talking skills. Hua Zhi laughed inwardly, thinking no wonder women love hearing sweet words—they truly sound delightful!
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