By the time they returned to the Huo residence, it was already Hai hour (9-11 PM).
The main courtyard was silent, with only three or four lamps left burning under the eaves. At this hour, the maids would not be moving about the yard. Only Nanny Liu approached to ask about the evening meal and tea before retreating again. Chaolu pitifully lay on the eaves, unmoving, like a roof ridge beast, her eyes full of silent accusation.
Ji Yuluo ordered someone to bring her some pastries before stepping into the inner chamber.
After a whole night of turmoil, she didn’t bother with bathing and changing clothes. Instead, she headed straight to the writing desk. After lighting the oil lamp, she placed the account books on the desk.
This desk was rarely used. When Ji Yuluo didn’t need it, Huo Xian would usually go to the study to work, so she couldn’t find the fire striker for a moment. Just as she was looking around, a pair of clean, slender hands handed it to her.
Ji Yuluo glanced at him, and after lighting the lamp, she opened the account book.
It looked like she was planning to stay up all night.
Indeed, she had to hurry and read through them, just in case. It would be best to return these before Qin Wei noticed. But given the thickness of the books, it was clear that one night wouldn’t be enough to go through them all.
Huo Xian pulled over a chair and sat down beside her. Ji Yuluo read from one side, and he read from the other, starting with the last book.
Both of them sat with their backs straight, heads bent over the desk in the light of the oil lamp. Their fingers turned the pages at the same rhythm, making a synchronized rustling sound, as if they had coordinated it. Because they were so close, their elbows accidentally bumped into each other, causing the page-turning to stop simultaneously.
Ji Yuluo turned her head to look at him, just as Huo Xian also looked over. After a brief glance, they both looked away again.
Time passed exceptionally quickly when they were focused. The tall candle had melted into a pool of wax, and Ji Yuluo’s posture had shifted from sitting upright to leaning back, her head resting on the chair back, holding the book up in front of her eyes.
At some point, Huo Xian had stood up and was now leaning against the corner of the desk, massaging his tired brow.
Both of them were already very tired, and they hadn’t even gone through a third of the books.
The teapot was empty.
Ji Yuluo pursed her lips, about to say something when Huo Xian, as if he had eyes on his back, turned around and asked, “Have you found anything?”
Taking the opportunity, she replied, “No, but it’s strange precisely because there’s nothing. These accounts are recorded too meticulously, without a single mistake. These are auditing accounts, yet every silver coin is accounted for perfectly, which is unexpectedly clean. Even small shops have discrepancies in their accounts, let alone a provincial government.”
Standing across the desk, Huo Xian listened to her and then handed her an upside-down account book, pointing to a certain spot. “You’re right. Look here, Yunyang is on the border, frequently plagued by disasters and military expenses. Every year, the court sends several batches of relief funds and military pay, but even these accounts are balanced. This means that the amount of silver entering the local treasury matches the amount allocated by the Ministry of Revenue. What does this imply?”
It implied that the silver from the Ministry of Revenue reached the local treasury without a single coin missing. But how could that be possible? Corrupt officials were everywhere, especially with relief funds, which always had a layer peeled off before reaching the local treasury. This was the norm. Clear water has no fish. As long as it wasn’t too excessive, the court would turn a blind eye. Moreover, with the capital and Yunyang thousands of miles apart, the silver would be subject to layers of skimming.
So, it wasn’t surprising if some were missing. What was surprising was that none were missing.
Huo Xian said calmly, “There is one possibility—”
Ji Yuluo abruptly raised her head and continued, “Someone filled in the missing silver during Qin Wei’s audit! And because they filled it according to the account books, they didn’t subtract any of the usual losses.”
The table between them, though it physically separated them, could not keep their eyes from the account books in front of them. With one of them leaning forward and the other looking up, the distance between them suddenly became very close.
Her eyes were bright, reflecting the flickering light of the stars.
Huo Xian’s finger, pressing down on the corner of the page, tapped lightly. He didn’t intentionally pull away but continued speaking, “It’s also possible that the timing was too urgent, leaving no time to react. Qin Wei only looked at the final amounts, so when the account books were sent to the Ministry of Revenue, no problems were discovered. From this perspective, indeed, no issues can be found.”
Few people would think that “having no problems is the biggest problem.”
Ji Yuluo’s gaze slid from his prominent nose to his lips. After thinking for a moment, she added, “But these are just speculations. To verify this, we need to find the steward who managed the local treasury at that time.”
Ji Yuluo was right. But as soon as she finished speaking, a rumbling sound echoed in the inner chamber. She stiffened, meeting Huo Xian’s amused gaze with feigned nonchalance.
Huo Xian chuckled.
Although there had been a banquet tonight, Ji Yuluo hadn’t eaten a single bite. She hadn’t even tasted the wine before dealing with the major events of the evening. Now, at midnight, the only things in her stomach were the two cups of tea she had just drunk.
He opened the door and ordered someone to prepare some food.
Coincidentally, Chaolu was gnawing on a plate of osmanthus cakes in the corridor. She was lazily leaning against a column but stood up warily when she saw Huo Xian approaching. However, he simply took the cakes from her hands and calmly returned to the room.
Chaolu pouted, her eyes nearly bulging out in anger.
Ji Yuluo was still leaning over the desk when a plate of cakes suddenly appeared beside her hand. She heard Huo Xian say, “I’ve already sent people to investigate the steward from back then. There’s no rush. As long as the person is still alive, they should be found.”
Hearing this, Ji Yuluo only nodded and took a cake when he turned his back.
Huo Xian loosened his collar and went to the bathing room to change into more comfortable clothes.
During this time, a maid from the kitchen brought over some food. Ji Yuluo, smelling the fragrance, felt her stomach rumble again, this time with a pang of hunger. After drinking some soup to warm her stomach, she felt somewhat better.
There were two bowls of eight-treasure soup in front of her. The one next to her was without red dates. Ji Yuluo’s hand, holding the jade spoon, paused for a moment. She glanced at the rustling sounds coming from the bathing room and then took a sip.
A long time passed, and Huo Xian was still in the bathing room.
After washing and changing, he stared at a small piece of cloth left in the bath bucket for a while. Finally, he used his index finger to pick it up.
The light blue cloth, made of silk, had two blue lotus leaves embroidered on it, simple and elegant, without even a single flower.
Huo Xian silently clicked his tongue. Most women’s intimate items were pink and embroidered with delicate flowers and birds, but hers were extremely minimalist.
Huo Xian casually tossed it into the laundry basket and left. After a few steps, he turned back, picked the small garment out of the basket, and threw it back into the bath bucket before walking out.
Ji Yuluo had already fallen asleep.
Her elbow was pressing on the account book as she lay on the desk, showing only half of her side face. The flickering candlelight cast shadows on her eyebrows and eyes, with points of light falling on her upturned nose.
When her frosty eyes were closed, her face appeared much softer, looking particularly well-behaved.
The food had barely been touched, but she had drunk more than half of the eight-treasure soup, indicating that she was truly both tired and hungry.
Huo Xian stood by her side, hesitating between letting her sleep through the night like this and carrying her to the bed. His footsteps had already moved away, but he turned back, looking at her with some annoyance before bending down to pick her up.
Just as her toes left the ground, Ji Yuluo reflexively opened her eyes. With a crisp “slap,” her palm landed squarely on the man’s neck.
The sound was sharp and clear, and her nails left a scratch on the skin beneath his chin.
Huo Xian paused, staring straight ahead, lost in thought. After a long moment, he lowered his gaze and said, “I should have let you sleep on the desk all night.”
Immediately, Ji Yuluo was thrown onto the bed with a force that nearly knocked her out. As she turned over with a frown, the quilt was thrown over her, and a hand pressed her head down, “Sleep, don’t make noise.”
Huo Xian, his face full of weariness, closed his eyes and stopped moving.
Ji Yuluo, her face buried in the quilt, lay still for a moment, finally succumbing to her drowsiness. But just as she was about to fall asleep, a sudden realization hit her. She suddenly thought of the key point she had overlooked.
Where had the “Iron Horse Glacier” painting from their wedding night gone?
She abruptly broke free from the quilt, about to speak, but hearing Huo Xian’s steady breathing, she held her tongue. Her eyes fell on the scratch beneath his chin, which had turned crimson.
Ji Yuluo stared for a moment, her hand reaching out unconsciously, stopping just before touching the scratch.
She lay back down, staring at the ceiling, her eyes wide open, no longer feeling sleepy.
—
The Jinyiwei had a department dedicated to intelligence gathering, responsible for searching and investigating within government offices and cities. Under Huo Xian’s orders last night, these agents had visited various major pharmacies in the capital, quickly gathering information and reporting back to the Zhenfu Division. When Huo Xian arrived this morning, Liyang was already waiting in the courtyard.
Huo Xian hadn’t slept well the previous night. Sharing a bed inevitably led to bumps and knocks. When he woke up in the second half of the night, he felt an internal heat, staying awake until dawn.
Liyang noticed the fatigue under Huo Xian’s eyes and the scratch on his neck, clearly left by a woman’s nails.
Liyang cleared his throat, looked away, and began to report, “The agents sent out to investigate have reported that several major pharmacies in the capital are short of certain herbs: anemarrhena, peony, and scutellaria, all common cold remedies. Due to the shortage of these herbs, cold patients have been queuing to buy medicine. Strangely, these herbs aren’t rare, yet several pharmacies are out of stock. Upon closer inquiry, it seems that someone has been making multiple small purchases recently. Initially unnoticed, the herbs were nearly depleted by the time the shortage was realized.”
The Jinyiwei were responsible for gathering intelligence, and any disturbance in the city had to be treated with caution.
Without waiting for Huo Xian to ask, Liyang continued, “I had people investigate further and found that most of the buyers were from Qinghe District, particularly from Zhenxiang Pavilion. Several girls there caught colds and fell ill, including their leading courtesan. The madam is anxious and has been buying medicine everywhere. Master, there’s something odd about this.”
Huo Xian touched his neck and asked, “Who is buying the herbs?”
Liyang shook his head, “We’re still investigating, but it’s likely we won’t find much.”
Huo Xian instinctively thought of the powder on Ji Yuluo’s face. She wouldn’t say, meaning she had encountered someone she knew.
What were those people doing at the Qin residence?
His eyelid twitched involuntarily. “Find a doctor to check on Qinghe District.”
Liyang immediately understood his meaning.
Anemarrhena, peony, and scutellaria are common herbs for treating colds, but they are also indispensable for treating plagues and malaria. No wonder he was on high alert. Seven years ago, when Yunyang was defeated and refugees flooded into the capital, it triggered an epidemic. At that time, Emperor Chenghe was still reigning, and disaster relief funds were quickly allocated, yet it still took a lot of effort to eradicate the epidemic.
When the people rioted, even the officials couldn’t control them. It was utter chaos.
Back then, Liyang was just a low-ranking member of the Jinyiwei, often dealing with public outrage. He remembered the terrible situation all too well.
Medicines for treatment were delayed on the way, and public anger grew. The people lost their rationality. It was during that time that Liyang was attacked with a knife. Fortunately, Emperor Chenghe was traveling incognito and saved Liyang, who nearly lost his life. From then on, he became a trusted confidant of the emperor.
Recalling those dangerous times, Liyang dared not delay for a moment and quickly led a doctor to Qinghe District.
However, after a few days, the cold symptoms persisted despite treatments and seemed to worsen. The doctor, sensing something was amiss, hurriedly knocked on the door of the Zhenfu Division in a panic.
