Chapter 31: The Mask About to Slip
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“I am Ma Yao, Your Highness.” Wei Xiao bowed.
“Ma Yao...” Zhao Zhen drawled. “What a fine name.”
Shen Jifeng tugged at Zhao Zhen’s sleeve. “Fourth Uncle, you still haven’t told me. Didn’t Grandfather do anything about Third Uncle?”
“He did, but your Third Uncle said that if he had to die, he still wouldn’t marry. Your grandfather could do nothing about it. I suspect it was still because of that finger. We should have chopped it off when he was a child and spared ourselves all this trouble.”
Zhao Zhen stopped in his tracks. “I just remembered that there are some things at the residence I need to give you. Whatever-your-name-is, come with me to fetch them.”
Shen Jifeng suspected nothing and watched as Ma Yao followed Zhao Zhen into the carriage.
Inside, Zhao Zhen seized Wei Xiao by the collar. “What is the Southern Pacification General doing acting as my niece’s little lackey?”
Wei Xiao had guessed that the moment Zhao Zhen praised his name, the man had seen through his identity. He simply could not understand how. The two of them had never met.
“We have never met, have we? How did Your Highness recognize me?”
“You have never met me. That doesn’t mean I have never seen you. Now tell me—why are you lurking beside my niece, and what are you plotting?”
Zhao Zhen still had a fistful of Wei Xiao’s collar and showed no sign of letting go.
Wei Xiao sighed. “Your Highness, not so hard. This is my best robe. If you ruin it, you will have to pay for it.”
Prince Han released him, thinking that a person really did resemble whoever he followed.
“Are you going to talk? If you refuse, I will tell Yanru everything and expose you!”
“Could Your Highness promise to keep my secret?”
Zhao Zhen cast Wei Xiao a sidelong glance. The man was undeniably handsome, tall with long legs. It was a pity that he was a military commander—his danger level was simply too high. His reputation was not especially good, either. There were even rumors circulating that he favored married women.
He ought to keep Wei Xiao farther away from Yanru. What if Yanru was a brainless fool who cared only about a handsome face? Better to nip the matter in the bud before anything had a chance to grow.
“You are in no position to bargain with me. Speak if you wish; if not, get out.”
Helpless, Wei Xiao stretched out his long legs and told Zhao Zhen a story.
Three years earlier, during the crucial period when the Southern Pacification Army was confronting Southern Yue, the military provisions that should have arrived long before were nowhere to be seen. As commander-in-chief, Wei Xiao had submitted memorial after memorial requesting supplies.
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Yet every one of them had vanished like a stone dropped into the sea, without so much as a reply.
The army had a war to fight, but no one could win battles on an empty stomach. After six months without pay, complaints and resentment spread throughout the ranks. At that critical moment, someone came to the camp and delivered thirty thousand taels of silver, relieving the army’s immediate crisis.
By the time Wei Xiao heard the news and hurried there, the visitor had already disappeared without a trace.
He had assumed it was merely a kindhearted benefactor’s charitable act. Yet the following year, the matter continued. This time, another ten thousand taels were added, making forty thousand taels of silver in all.
Unfortunately, the camp had not been prepared, and the person delivering the silver still managed to escape.
Having learned from the previous year, Wei Xiao kept the camp on high alert. At last, in the third year, he found a few clues.
The people who delivered the silver were all local farmers. They had been hired by a merchant surnamed Li. Wei Xiao sent men to follow the trail and discovered that this man was none other than Li Leqi, chief manager of the Shen Trading Company.
Once he began investigating Li Leqi, the matter became much simpler. Wei Xiao discovered that, apart from the Shen Trading Company, the person with whom Li Leqi was in contact most often was the Commandery Princess Chaoyang.
“Impossible. Absolutely impossible.” Zhao Zhen shook his head like a rattle. “My niece is the stingiest person alive. There is no way she would send you money. Besides, she doesn’t have that much silver. For that matter, neither do I.”
“Then how does Your Highness explain the fact that Li Leqi is currently serving as an administrator at the Xijing Silver Mine?”
Zhao Zhen naturally had his own twisted logic. “The mine was short of an administrator, so Yanru found someone to help. That is perfectly normal. You cannot claim on that basis alone that Yanru was the one who sent you the silver. That is far too much of a stretch.”
“That is why I remained at the mine—to investigate and establish the truth.”
Zhao Zhen recalled every little detail of his interactions with his niece. Usually, she was so miserly that she would sooner split a single coin into eight pieces. She could not even bear to repaint the old gate of her residence. How could she possibly produce tens of thousands of taels of silver to fund an army? Southern Yunnan and Bianjing were thousands of miles apart. Even if she wanted to make a donation, there were plenty of others she could have helped before Wei Xiao. Xijing, Bianjing—which one would not have done?
“I think you have simply mistaken the person. My father rose from hardship. You must have heard how he spent the past few years cracking down on corrupt officials—anyone who embezzled a hundred taels of silver was sent to serve in the army. So our imperial relatives may sound impressive, but in reality, we do not receive much money each month. Even if Yanru had the intention, she would not have the funds.”
Wei Xiao fell silent. It was not that Zhao Zhen’s reasoning had convinced him. He simply had no evidence proving the connection between Shen Jifeng and the Shen Trading Company.
If even the young Prince of Qi did not know about it, then this third uncle of hers certainly would not.
“Your Highness is right. Perhaps I truly have mistaken the person. Since I have accepted the commandery princess’s protection, however, I must at least escort her safely back to Xijing.”
Wei Xiao cupped his hands in a formal salute. “I ask that Your Highness keep my identity secret.”
Zhao Zhen straightened in his seat. He, too, was a man of spirit, and he had long admired Wei Xiao’s glorious achievements during his ten years guarding Southern Yunnan. Had they not met under such circumstances, he would certainly have invited him to Taibai Tower for a drink.
“You are the Southern Pacification General. She will learn your identity sooner or later.”
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Wei Xiao smiled. “I will find a suitable opportunity to tell her the truth.”
Having learned Wei Xiao’s purpose, Zhao Zhen put his mind at ease. Having such a distinguished general serve as his niece’s guard meant that Yanru was the one gaining from it. He might as well turn a blind eye.
On the twenty-ninth day of the fifth month, the twentieth day since she had taken over the silver mine, with seventy days remaining until the ninth day of the eighth month, Shen Jifeng once again set out for Xijing.
Unlike her usual light travel, this time she was carrying five thousand jin of lead. As she passed through the city gate, the sight drew curious onlookers, who pointed and whispered among themselves.
“The commandery princess is truly amazing. She can run a silver mine all by herself, even though she is only a young woman.”
“If I were the commandery princess, I could do it too.”
“Watch your tongue, or you will bite it off. Forget the commandery princess—there are several princesses as well. Have you ever seen any of them go open a mine?”
“Stop talking nonsense. I heard the commandery princess signed a life-and-death bond. If she fails to refine the silver by the deadline, she will suffer the consequences too.”
At a teahouse, Prince Chu, Zhao Jian, calmly drank the tea in his cup, paying no attention to the discussions around him.
His adviser, Mei Linghan, leaned down and whispered into Zhao Jian’s ear, “Everything has been arranged. We will know the outcome in five days.”
Zhao Jian’s features relaxed. Lowering himself to do so, he poured Mei Linghan a cup of tea.
“My niece does have some ability. Without lifting a finger, she managed to make Third Brother buy lead for her.”
“Yesterday, she first went to the palace to cause trouble for Ninth Brother, and then she went looking for a craftsman skilled in making charcoal. She has practically searched every corner of Bianjing.”
Remembering the way Princess Chengping had wept as she complained to him the day before, Zhao Jian gave a soft laugh. “Did you know that the unrest at the Xijing Silver Mine was actually caused by Ninth Brother? A woman’s jealousy is something else. Compared with a man’s attachment to power, I fear it may be no less intense—and perhaps even more so.”
Mei Linghan flattered him. “With such cleverness and scheming, the princess will surely be able to lend Your Highness a hand in the future.”
“She has plenty of methods, but not enough foresight,” Zhao Jian said coolly. “Still, if she learns to plan properly, she may truly prove useful to me.”
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