Chapter 352

Since he was no longer having nightmares, Wang Xiujin felt that the matter of taking in a child could be set aside for the time being. He had never made a definite arrangement with the village head. He had merely asked him to keep an eye out for a suitable child. The conditions were simple: the child had to have been abandoned. Wang Xiujin had also stressed that the village head was not to keep eyeing other families’ nursing infants.

Before leaving, he had given a large red packet to the infant the village head had taken an interest in.

The village head himself saw nothing wrong with taking in a child who already had parents, but since the Li family of the capital had specifically spoken up, he could hardly say anything. He was happy enough to deliver the large red packet to the infant’s family. He did not return empty-handed, either, having brought back a jar of wine. Still, he remained curious about how much money the Li family of the capital had sealed inside the packet.

The family who had received the unexpected windfall stared at the hundred-tael banknote inside, clicking their tongues in astonishment. The woman tightened her hold on her infant. She had no intention of giving up her child. Life was difficult, but they could still afford to raise him.

The man took his wife’s hand. “Why don’t I go to the capital and return the money to them? It doesn’t feel right for us to keep it for no reason.”

The woman thought it over, then nodded.

The next day, the man went to the village head to sound him out. He did not mention returning the money, only said that keeping the red packet made him uneasy and that he wanted to send some mountain produce as a token of gratitude. The village head did not grow suspicious. Instead, he asked how much money had been in the packet, but the man smoothly changed the subject.

Seeing that the man refused to say, the village head assumed that after he left, the man’s wife would be raising the child alone in the village. Perhaps she was afraid that others might overhear and start coveting the child.

The man could not enter the General’s Residence, but seeing the imperial merchant was not difficult. The village head told him where the imperial merchant’s shop was, and the man committed it to memory. The next day, he set off for the capital, taking a considerable amount of mountain produce with him.

After he left, the woman shut her doors and declined all visitors. Even when relatives from her husband’s family or her own came calling, she politely sent them away, saying that the child was still young and the weather too cold, and that she feared he might suffer.

Once he reached the capital, the man soon found the Wang family grain shop, but he did not see the imperial merchant. He wanted to leave the red packet with the shopkeeper for delivery, yet he worried that something might go wrong. It was no small sum, after all. Besides, he could not remain in the capital for long. His wife and child were waiting for him at home, and he could not put his mind at ease. Though he had asked the village head’s sister-in-law to look after them before he left, he was still eager to return.

Ever since coming back to the capital from Li Village, Wang Xiujin had been so busy that his feet seemed to be touching the back of his head. How could he sit in the shop all day? Even when he went there, he came and left in haste, never staying for more than a quarter of an hour. He was truly swamped. The end of the year was approaching, and there were simply too many things to do.

He was as busy as a spinning top, and the Fourth Prince had even dragged him over to inspect the security division. In the Fourth Prince’s words, Wang Xiujin’s eyes were sharp enough that nothing suspicious could escape them.

Wang Xiujin was speechless. He was no Monkey King, capable of cultivating fiery golden eyes that could see through demons and monsters. His ability to judge people came solely from the blessing of his labels.

But since the Fourth Prince had asked, he naturally could not refuse.

The very day the man arrived at the shop looking for Wang Xiujin happened to be the day the Fourth Prince had taken him to the security division to inspect the recruits.

Wang Xiujin followed behind the Fourth Prince, sizing up every able-bodied man. Some were men who had left the military camps, while others were barely more than boys. After making a circuit, Wang Xiujin found no unusual labels and shook his head at the Fourth Prince.

The Fourth Prince secretly breathed a sigh of relief. These men would eventually be sent to work at various large establishments. If anything was wrong with them, his reputation would suffer.

As they were leaving, Wang Xiujin brought up the compensation from the shipyard. What he mainly wanted to know was whether he could receive the money before the New Year. He was waiting to use it to prepare New Year’s provisions for the shipyard workers.

The Fourth Prince tapped him on the shoulder. “You’re the imperial merchant. Surely you aren’t short of such a little money? Didn’t you just receive this year’s ice dividend not long ago? I hear the coastal breeding ponds have made quite a profit as well. Are you really going to keep worrying over that compensation?”

“The breeding ponds have earned some money, but I handed most of it out to the workers and invested some more afterward. Where would there be anything left? I put all the money from the ice business into the breeding ponds and the shipyard. The New Year is almost here, and I still haven’t secured the shipyard’s holiday funds. Does being an imperial merchant mean I must be a man of boundless wealth?”

Wang Xiujin played the poor man. He was not truly short of that compensation, but he could not afford to waste the chance to ask for it. Otherwise, who knew how long the matter would drag on? It might even fall through entirely. The royal family would assume he had received the money, while he himself would not see so much as its shadow. The only ones to benefit would be the officials of the Ministry of Revenue.

The Fourth Prince was no longer the straightforward innocent he had once been. After hearing Wang Xiujin out, he understood the man’s calculations. He tapped Wang Xiujin and laughed.

“Fine. I’ll ask about it when I get the chance. I absolutely won’t let the matter be swept under the rug.”

“Thank you, Fourth Prince!” Wang Xiujin cupped his hands in gratitude.

Once the matter of the money was put aside, Wang Xiujin intended to ask about the aftermath of the rebellion. Before he could say anything, however, the Fourth Prince suggested that they pay a visit to the Fifth Prince. He also began speaking of the storyteller competition, smoothly steering the conversation elsewhere.

When they left the security compound, they saw Shopkeeper Wang waiting outside. The Fourth Prince knew there had to be something important, otherwise the shopkeeper would not have come all the way there to look for someone. He could hardly keep Wang Xiujin any longer, so after asking for some beef and mutton, he finally let him go.

Only after respectfully seeing the Fourth Prince off did Wang Xiujin ask Shopkeeper Wang what had happened.

The shopkeeper’s answer nearly made Wang Xiujin fall to the ground. Fortunately, he did not deliver it in a dramatic rush of breath.

“Someone tried to throw a torch into the knitting workshop. He was restrained, and the workshop suffered no damage.”

“Who?”

Wang Xiujin’s face darkened until it seemed ink might drip from it. What kind of bad luck had he fallen into this year? First the shipyard, and now the knitting workshop. The workshop was full of female workers. If anything happened to them, no amount of money would be enough to compensate them.

“The man is tight-lipped and refuses to speak.”

Shopkeeper Wang’s expression was grim as well. One problem had followed another. The shipyard was far from the capital, and the accident on the water could be attributed to many factors. But the knitting workshop stood beneath the Son of Heaven’s feet. If something happened there, then even if the owner was a victim, malicious people would still spread all kinds of rumors.

“Still, he probably isn’t familiar with the workshop. The place where he chose to throw the torch contains a pond that was built only this summer. Now it’s covered with nothing more than a thin layer of ice.”

That did nothing to ease Wang Xiujin’s anger.

“Where was he taken?”

Wang Xiujin wanted nothing more than to tear the man’s flesh off and chop it into mince.

“He was sent to the grain shop. The knitting workshop is a place where only women work, and the man who threw the torch was male. Taking him inside would have been inappropriate.” Shopkeeper Wang explained cautiously.

He could feel the chill radiating from his employer. Winter was already cold, and even dressed in thick clothing, he was beginning to feel the cold.

“Come on. Let’s go take a look at the shop.”

Wang Xiujin was furious, but he had not lost his reason. The rebellion had only recently occurred, and its mastermind had yet to be caught. Was this incident truly a private grudge against him, or was someone trying to use him to cause trouble for the Emperor? It required a careful investigation.

As they reached the shop, Wang Xiujin failed to notice the man lingering at the entrance and went straight inside.

The man from Li Village, who had decided to abandon his plans to leave the capital, had once seen Wang Xiujin from a distance. This time, he only thought the face looked familiar. Wang Xiujin’s expression was grim, and the man did not dare approach him directly. He thought that if this person really was the imperial merchant, he could go inside and ask the shopkeeper.

The shopkeeper had been watching the man for a long time. Ever since rebels had appeared in the capital, he had regarded everyone as suspicious, especially this man, who had loitered outside the shop for so long. Before that, he had even inquired about the owner’s whereabouts.

Several times, the shopkeeper had nearly reported him to the authorities. If he had not been afraid of causing unnecessary trouble for his employer, the man would probably have been sent to prison already.

Once inside, the man did not beat around the bush. He explained the reason for his visit and took out the red packet Wang Xiujin had given him. But when the shopkeeper reached out to take it, the man pulled it away.

After listening to the man’s explanation, the shopkeeper continued studying him. He looked like a simple farmer.

“Wait here. I’ll go ask.”

In the rear courtyard, the man who had tried to throw the torch had been tied to a tree. Wang Xiujin frowned.

Would tying someone to a tree in the dead of winter damage it? This was a fruit tree. If it were injured, would it still bear fruit next year?

The shopkeeper hurried in. He did not even glance at the man tied to the tree, but immediately told Wang Xiujin what had happened at the shop.

Wang Xiujin raised a brow. He had indeed given that farmer a red packet. Had the man come to return it? This was the first time anyone had tried to give back a packet he had sent out.

Curiosity overcame him, and even his anger eased a little.

“Give him a few ice cubes to cool his temper. If he weren’t so hotheaded, why would he have thought of setting a fire?”

The household guards protecting Wang Xiujin immediately obeyed. They quickly found some ice and stuffed it inside the man’s clothes.

The ice pressed against his skin, making him shiver violently. His mouth had been gagged, so he could only shake his head frantically, his eyes filled with terror. Unfortunately, even if he shook his head clean off, it would not help. He could only endure it.

Meanwhile, Wang Xiujin went to the front of the shop and saw the man. The only label above his head contained two words: “Honest-hearted.”

Looking at the large red packet the man had taken out, Wang Xiujin seemed to understand the true meaning of that label. Yet he did not take the packet. A red packet he had given away was never to be reclaimed.

And so he began to spin a tale.

How could an honest-hearted man stand against the tricks of a merchant? Not only did he take the packet back, he also left carrying a sizeable piece of beef. He had heard that such meat could only be eaten by high officials and nobles. The imperial merchant even promised to hire him in the capital the following year.

Wang Xiujin sent the man back to the village in a carriage. The man sat inside in a daze, and when he finally arrived home, he no longer knew whether his feet should move forward or backward.

His treatment was the complete opposite of that received by the man tied to the tree.

When Li Minshan heard the guards’ report, he hurried over at once. Seeing that the man’s face had already turned bluish from the cold, he was not concerned with whether the man lived or died. He merely felt that there was no need to dirty Wang Xiujin’s shop.

“Shall we hand him over to your father-in-law for questioning? He may be connected to that matter.”

Wang Xiujin wanted to say outright that there was no connection. This man truly was not one of the rebels’ accomplices. He was merely a typical street thug.

Previously, he had asked someone to arrange a marriage proposal, but the woman had rejected him. That woman happened to work at the knitting workshop. The thug had therefore come up with this wicked plan: if he burned down the workshop, she would lose her job and have no choice but to obediently marry him.

Considering the true cause of the incident, Wang Xiujin almost wished the man really were a rebel accomplice. At least then he would not feel so stifled with rage.

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