Chapter 16
As soon as I stepped through the gate, I couldn’t wait to head outside. I wasn’t prepared for a maid to come running over with a tray, dashing straight at me. I hurriedly stepped back, and she fell right in front of my eyes.
Song Lan jumped out and scolded loudly, “How can you be so careless, maid? What if you ran into the Young Master!”
The maid started sobbing, covering half her face with a handkerchief as she looked up, revealing a delicate and handsome face.
What a beauty, like a pear blossom bathed in spring rain.
I raised my eyebrows. Xu Qingzhu really went all out, sending such a beauty as an undercover agent into my household.
“Young Master~” the maid said sweetly, “This servant-”
“Who allowed you to come to the front!”
Before she could finish, Nan Xing came storming over, furious, and dragged her back by force. “Why aren’t you in the kitchen kneading dough properly? What are you doing out here? Always thinking of seducing the master!”
“I won’t go! I won’t go!” The maid struggled desperately, but how could her frail frame compete with Nan Xing, who killed chickens and pigs all year round? In just a few moves, she was dragged away.
I wiped the cold sweat from my forehead and quickened my pace toward the backyard.
When I entered the study, Zi Su greeted me with a bow.
I asked directly, “Did you find anything?”
Zi Su took out a stack of letters from her bosom. “I sneaked into Dong Jingmo’s bedroom and found these.”
I took them, pulled out a letter, and opened it. It was from Dong Jingmo to Mother Liu of Drunken Beauty. The general content was that a new batch of spices had arrived, and he ordered people to make incense balls and sachets for the girls to wear while receiving guests.
The other letters were all correspondence with medicinal herb and spice merchants from various places, discussing purchases and prices.
“This isn’t enough to convict Dong Jingmo,” I said, looking at the letters spread out on the table. “Even the matter of running a brothel is mentioned so vaguely that it’s hard to catch him with any real evidence.”
“Of course these can’t convict Dong Jingmo. But,” Zi Su said mysteriously, “Young Master, can you guess where I found these letters?”
“Where?”
“In a compartment at the head of his bed, inside a wooden box with a mechanism lock. If I didn’t know a thing or two about such tricks, just touching the lock would have caused the kerosene inside to drip onto the papers. Once opened, the kerosene would catch fire at the slightest breeze, and the letters would be reduced to ashes in an instant,” Zi Su said. “Tell me, would Dong Jingmo go to such trouble to hide ordinary letters, and set up such a clever mechanism?”
“You have a point.” I picked up the letters again and examined them closely, even bringing them to my nose to sniff.
Song Lan also picked them up to check, feeling the envelopes inside and out.
“There’s nothing there. I’ve already checked once,” Zi Su said. “If it weren’t for the secretive location and the kerosene trap, I wouldn’t have thought much of it.”
“Wait, did you just say fire?” I suddenly stopped, staring intently at Zi Su. “Fire, fire!”
Zi Su looked at me, puzzled. “Yes, fire. Is there something strange about the box? I was afraid of alerting him, so I stuffed a few sheets of paper back in and put it back as it was. I can go get the box right now!” With that, she turned to leave.
“It’s not the box!” I stopped Zi Su, then turned to Song Lan. “Light a candle!”
Song Lan quickly took out a fire striker, blew it alight, and lit a candle, bringing it to my side. “Young Master, the candle is here.”
“Put it on the table.” I picked a good spot and slowly held the letter over the candle to warm it.
The once pristine white letter paper began to slowly yellow, gradually revealing a few lines of text.
“There really are words!” Zi Su exclaimed in delight, leaning in to read aloud, “Ten chests each of gold and silver ingots have been prepared and can be transported with tomorrow’s merchant caravan to the capital.” Song Lan scratched his head, puzzled. “Is Dong Jingmo planning to send all this money to the capital as a bribe? To buy an official post?”
Zi Su added, “Is it meant for his uncle, the Minister of Revenue?”
“More than that,” I sneered. “Think about the fine deeds done by those direct brothers of ours.”
“Our family?” Song Lan pondered deeply, then suddenly widened his eyes. Just as he was about to speak, he quickly covered his mouth, glanced around to make sure no one else was present, and whispered, “Young Master, are you saying Dong Jingmo is part of the Crown Prince Faction, raising funds for the Crown Prince?”
I glanced at the doorway. Song Lan immediately trotted over, checked outside to confirm no one was there, and shut the door from the inside. Zi Su also peered out the window to keep watch.
I sat down in the chair, picked up another letter to warm over the flame, and said, “The current Crown Prince is the son of the Former Empress. The present Empress has always wanted her own son, the Third Prince, to become Crown Prince. For so many years, the two sides have been fighting openly and in secret. The Crown Prince has drawn the Ministry of Revenue and the Ministry of Personnel to his side, while the Third Prince has seized control of the Ministry of War and the Ministry of Justice. Dong Jiangli, the Minister of Revenue, was promoted by the Crown Prince.”
“The Ministry of Revenue is the treasury, after all,” Song Lan said, taking the letter from my hand and setting it aside. “With the Crown Prince holding the purse strings, the Third Prince controls the military, and he also has the support of the Taiyuan Wang Clan, the Empress’s family. Oh, and at the end of last year, the legitimate second daughter of the Wang Clan married the legitimate eldest son of the Qinghe Cui Clan, so now the Cui Clan has no choice but to side with the Third Prince as well.”
Zi Su chimed in, “These past two days in the manor, I’ve seen Madam Dong preparing things. The courtyard is full of fine rosewood chests.
“I snuck in for a look last night-goodness, those are all priceless treasures: pearls, jadeite, agate, dazzling enough to blind you. Madam Dong’s private treasury also holds several exquisite small boxes, all rare and beautiful hair ornaments and jewelry, as if preparing for a daughter’s wedding.”
“It seems your guess is correct,” I mused. “The Dong Family is amassing wealth for the Crown Prince, and a single Minister of Revenue is probably not enough for the Crown Prince.” Song Lan said, “But although the Dong Family is wealthy, they’re not an aristocratic clan. The Crown Prince could never take a Dong daughter as Crown Princess-at most, she could become a Crown Prince Liangdi or a Liangdi.”
“Of course. As long as the position of Crown Princess remains undecided, the aristocratic clans will never rest easy.” I looked at the words on the paper and smiled. “Whether our brothers’ wishful thinking will come true remains to be seen.”
Song Lan said anxiously, “Our family has already switched allegiance to the Third Prince, and it looks like the Dong Family is siding with the Crown Prince. Now that you’re investigating the Skeleton Case so openly, won’t you be seen as part of the Third Prince’s faction and targeted by the Crown Prince? That could be dangerous for you.”
I gathered up the letter paper, blew out the candle, and, hearing Song Lan’s words, pulled something from my inner garment to show him. “Is your Young Master the kind of person who takes on porcelain work without the proper tools? Naturally, I am well prepared.”
Song Lan unfolded it, his hands trembling with excitement as he read the words inside. “So that’s it, that’s it!”
I patted him on the head. “Don’t speak ill of your uncle. If it weren’t for him, how could I have this position today?”
“Yes, yes!” Song Lan carefully returned the item to me, his eyes shining as he looked at me. “Then, Young Master, what should we do next?” I stroked my chin, looking inscrutable. “Naturally, we wait for the hare by the tree.”