Chapter 24: A Chance Encounter with an Old Acquaintance Presents Leverage

Night fell. Xu Qi stood by the window, her fingertips resting against the cold, wooden frame.

Tan Jiuding had left after their meal and had yet to return. Xu Qi knew he had gone to gather information, but where could one find the most news? Naturally, in the places where the dregs of society gathered.

Her gaze drifted toward the opposite bank of the canal. The houseboats were illuminated by vermilion silk lanterns, their allure enchanting. The sounds of joy and laughter reflected in the murky water, shattered by passing boats, only to gather and drift away with the current.

The door hinges creaked softly. Tan Jiuding stepped into the room, trailing the scent of cheap perfume and the briny, damp odor of the river. He was grinning the moment he entered.

"Guess who I saw?"

How could anyone possibly answer such a question? Xu Qi kept her face taut, waiting for him to provide his own answer.

"A group of Suzhou salt merchants is rerouting by land to Huaian. Care to guess why?" Tan Jiuding seemed oblivious to the icy stare at his back, casually unfastening his cloak, which was damp with the night frost.

Salt merchants usually bribed their way to jump the queue at the locks, or smuggled their goods into the empty holds of grain ships; there was no reason for them to change routes simply out of fear of delays.

The most likely reason was—"They are hiding something in their ranks, something that cannot withstand a thorough inspection at the checkpoints and cannot afford the time for delays."

"Sharp as ever," Tan Jiuding remarked, a cryptic curve touching his lips. "And what they are hiding is an old acquaintance of yours."

Suzhou salt merchants... Xu Qi could not fathom how anyone she knew could be connected to them.

"They move out tomorrow, so we must be early." With that, Tan Jiuding washed his hands and face, kicked off his boots, and climbed onto the bed. "Get some sleep. We have to leave before dawn."

Xu Qi froze, displeased. "Then why are you lying there? Wait a moment—you didn't only get one room, did you?"

"This one was only secured because I pulled rank as an official," his reply shattered her hopes. "This is the busiest time of year for the canal. You’ve seen it outside—the locks are ablaze with light, working day and night. This will go on for at least another month."

"You... but..." Xu Qi gritted her teeth, her face flushing a deep red. "Go find somewhere else to make do for the night."

"Why should I? In this weather, you'd freeze to death sleeping outside."

"What about the other side of the river...!" "Hmm?" Tan Jiuding opened one eye, asking deliberately, "What about the other side of the river?"

Xu Qi swallowed her words, unwilling to reveal that she knew he had been frequenting the pleasure houses—that would make it seem as though she cared too much.

Ultimately, she settled for an awkward, "Then I shall go find somewhere else to make do for the night."

She puffed out her cheeks and picked up her travel pack. Just as she turned, a sharp sting hit her elbow, and the bag slipped from her grasp. Looking closely, a citron-yellow fruit rolled across the floor, and the plate on the nightstand was indeed missing one.

Tan Jiuding propped his feet up lazily. "A 'young scholar' as fair-skinned and delicate as you is the easiest target. This place is a den of thieves and scoundrels. Don't say I didn't warn you."

It would be a lie to say she wasn't afraid. In the past, her maids and stewards handled every detail of her long-distance travels, and she was always protected by guards; she had never suffered such indignities.

Frustrated, she picked up her pack and hurled it at him. It landed on his chest with a dull thud, but he didn't even flinch. Where she couldn't see, the corner of his mouth curled even higher.

"Move over!" She snatched the pack and placed it between them as a barrier. "If you dare to cross this line..."

"If I cross it, I shall take responsibility and marry you. Any problems with that?"

"You...!" The blood rushed to her face, and it wasn't until he burst into loud laughter, turned over, and curled up at the very edge of the bed in mock surrender that she felt slightly better.

Knowing he was teasing her, Xu Qi made a mental note to settle the score. If it weren't for the urgent business tomorrow morning, she would have made him regret it tonight.

The bustle at the Shao Bo Lock knew no day or night. With torches burning through the night outside, it was impossible to tell whether one had truly slept at all.

In the cargo yard north of the lock, salt sacks were piled like mountains, and the shouts of the laborers shook the air.

An old steward with a gray cloth wrapped around his head squinted suspiciously at the two visitors. "Our young master is not someone just anyone can meet."

One of them stepped forward, his tall frame imposing. The steward expected him to either offer a bribe or start a brawl and was about to call for his men to throw them out, when he heard a quiet whisper: "I heard the second young master of the Bai family took top honors in the provincial examination. I haven't had a chance to offer my congratulations yet. Would you care to pass that along?"

"Hiss..." The steward drew a sharp breath, a flicker of cold malice in his eyes, revealing the ruthlessness of a seasoned veteran.

But a veteran would not act rashly without knowing his opponent's background. He bowed and offered a sycophantic smile. "May I ask for your honorable names?"

The two exchanged a glance, and then the one who was fair-skinned and delicate, appearing like a young woman, walked forward. "Just tell him it is the Zhou family miss from the Five-Color Workshop."

In less time than it takes to drink half a cup of tea, a wealthy young gentleman emerged from behind the salt piles. The fine clothes he wore seemed as awkward on him as the official robes would have been on Tan Jiuding; it looked as if he had stripped the garments off someone else.

"You..." The young master took one look at Tan Jiuding and nearly collapsed to his knees.

Xu Qi used her eyes to question Tan Jiuding, and he gave a silent nod—it was true; this was the second son of the Bai family, Bai Tingyi, who was supposed to have married Zhou Zhiwei.

Xu Qi had never met him, but she felt a surge of stifling anger—he was only concerned with his own future, not the safety of Zhiwei. While his fiancée remained missing, he had transformed into a young master, hiding in a merchant caravan to head to the capital for the imperial examinations.

A heartless, ungrateful man.

"Your Bai family claims to be of humble origins. I hadn't expected you to be so wealthy and powerful," Xu Qi sneered, gritting her teeth.

"Shh... keep your voice down," Bai Tingyi didn't know who she was, but he knew Tan Jiuding's status, and he dared not offend his companion. "The two of you, please, come inside to talk."

Bai Tingyi led them to an inn. While Tan Jiuding had claimed that "rooms were impossible to find," the Bai family had booked the entire place.

Once inside, several fierce-looking guards glared at them as if they had entered a bandit's lair. "They are acquaintances," Bai Tingyi said, dismissing them.

The moment he sat down, the second young master of the Bai family asked impatiently, "How did you know I was here?"

Tan Jiuding acted as if he were in his own home, pouring tea to warm his stomach. "There are no walls in this world that don't have ears," he said, intentionally trying to frighten him.

Bai Tingyi's eyes began to dart nervously. "Then... who else knows?"

"So afraid? Rest assured, helping others is helping oneself. As long as you assist us this one time, I guarantee the secret of your 'young master' status will not leak out."

"...Your Excellency, why must you make things difficult for me? If you wanted to travel incognito to investigate, surely there were other ways?"

"You don't want to help?" Xu Qi crossed her arms, her tone aggressive. "Very well, then I shall shout from the rooftops along the canal that the top scholar of this year's Jiangnan examination is from a household of salt-workers, and that his identity is a fraud and should not be recognized."