Chapter 375: Si Cao Ding

Bianyifang was the capital's most renowned restaurant. Situated on the influential Qipan Street, it attracted a clientele of distinguished personages.

Inside Bianyifang's main hall, two dim oil lamps cast a faint glow. A man hung from a ceiling beam, his hands tightly bound with hemp rope.

Old Man Hu struck the man's back with a braided thorn branch. "Do you realize how many people those 400,000 salt permits could feed? How many rely on this livelihood?"

Old Man Hu's sightless eyes, now only white, stared ferociously at the man. "How many days does it take to transport grain to Datong? And how many to Guyuan? How much grain can these 400,000 salt permits be exchanged for? How many days will that feed the Guyuan border army?"

Old Man Hu asked a question, then whipped him. The rattan cane struck the man's back. He gritted his teeth, not uttering a sound of pain, enduring as his skin ripped open. Sweat dripped from his chin and hair.

At that moment, footsteps approached. A woman in black slowly emerged from the shadows into the lamplight. Her face remained obscured by the black veil of her hat. Behind her, the coachman carried a brown deerskin bag tucked under his arm.

Old Man Hu stepped aside, slowly lowering the rattan cane in his hand. "Mistress!" he said.

The woman in black approached the suspended man. "Do you know your mistake?" she asked.

The man gritted his teeth. "Mistress, within seven days, I will bring you the heads of that scoundrel Chen Yue and those from Meihuadu. You won't have to dirty your hands. Once I retrieve the salt permits, I'll take my own life!"

The woman in black extended a hand to her side. The coachman squatted and unzipped the deerskin bag he had been carrying. Inside, three short knives of varying thickness were revealed. The coachman drew out one, placing its hilt into the woman's palm.

The woman plunged the knife into the man's abdomen, and it emerged from his back. "Greed!" she declared. As she spoke, she again extended her hand to the side, and the coachman offered her the second knife. The woman plunged the second knife into the man's abdomen. "Hatred!" she pronounced. She then thrust the third knife into the man's abdomen. "Ignorance!" she stated.

Three knives, six wounds.

Old Man Hu sighed softly.

"Don't worry," the woman said, turning her head. "No vital organs were struck; he won't die. You know what those salt permits are for. No one can tamper with them. Border households must profit, or they won't continue transporting grain to the border garrisons. If they incur losses, then truly no one will care about the border regions. Rules are rules; you can't escape them with a performance of self-inflicted suffering."

Old Man Hu murmured, "Understood."

The coachman brought a chair, and the woman sat. "Tell me what happened," she commanded.

Old Man Hu explained in a low voice, "Xiao Jiu and his men just returned from Datong, planning to find a middleman to exchange the salt permits for grain. Chen Yue, the head manager of the Chen Family Salt Merchants, approached him, offering 20,000 taels of silver. Xiao Jiu thought it was an easy profit, believing it would be effortless for the Chen Family on Fuyou Street to ruin a brothel owner from Baishun Hutong."

The woman asked casually, "And then?"

Old Man Hu's expression was complex. "Who would have thought that the owner of Meihuadu was so audacious and ruthless, manipulating the Chen Family Salt Merchant's head manager? Now, all the managers of the Chen Family Salt Merchant have vanished overnight, likely killed by the Chen family themselves."

The woman frowned. "What does this Meihuadu owner intend?"

Old Man Hu elaborated, "Previously, Meihuadu suddenly initiated a salt permit exchange market. He leveraged the influence of southern scholars and gentry, inviting them to participate. Once the market was established, he took a commission from every transaction between buyers and sellers, and also stipulated that sellers must pay a 20% deposit, to be returned within seven days!"

The woman suddenly remarked, "This person has immense ambition!" As an experienced figure in financial dealings, she instantly grasped the core of the scheme. The commission and the demise of the salt merchant managers were merely tactics; seizing those 20% deposits was the ultimate objective.

The woman closed her eyes, carefully replaying Old Man Hu's words. She realized that the other party must have been laying the groundwork for this move from the very beginning. She opened her eyes. "Clever tactics," she observed.

Old Man Hu nodded. "The Chen Family Salt Merchant managers deserved their fate."

The woman turned to Old Man Hu. "What's the background of Meihuadu's owner? This person is certainly no nobody; an unknown individual wouldn't possess such confidence."

Old Man Hu hesitated.

The woman's voice was calm. "What is it? Is there something you're hiding?"

Old Man Hu waved to the men flanking him. "Carry Xiao Jiu away to recover. Warn everyone about the 'three knives, six wounds' incident, and ensure no one dares to break the rules again! Guard the front and back doors; no one is to enter without my or the Mistress's permission."

Once everyone had left, the woman calmly said, "Tell me, who exactly is Meihuadu's owner, to warrant such secrecy?"

Old Man Hu stated definitively, "Chen Ji!"

The woman sat silently in the dim lamplight. After a long silence, she asked in surprise, "Why him?"

Old Man Hu sighed. "Mistress, you didn't expect it, and neither did I."

The woman in black rose and paced Bianyifang's main hall. "Wasn't he an apprentice at Taiping Medical Clinic before? Shouldn't he have been learning medicine there? How did he suddenly become an official, and now, all of a sudden, he's a businessman?"

Old Man Hu pondered for a moment. "Perhaps he's following in your footsteps! But Mistress, while I understand your business, I cannot comprehend his."

The woman lowered her head in thought. "What is Imperial Physician Yao's background? Where did he go after Prince Jing's estate was abolished?"

Old Man Hu shook his head. "He vanished."

The woman sat back in her chair, tapping her fingers on the armrest. "This Imperial Physician Yao is strange. Logically, after Prince Jing's death, he should have been recalled to the Imperial Academy of Medicine in the capital. But he vanished? Old Three, investigate Imperial Physician Yao. Find out what he was involved in before."

Old Man Hu cupped his fist. "Yes. And what about those 400,000 salt permits? Should we try to force Meihuadu to hand them over?"

The woman fell silent once more. It was the first time Old Man Hu had seen the woman in such a quandary over a business matter. He leaned against a pillar and calmly said, "Mistress, you don't need to be troubled. In fact, that 'Pao Ge' under Chen Ji has already approached us. He said the salt permits cannot be returned; there's no reason to spit out meat once it's in your mouth. However..."

"However, what?"

Old Man Hu continued, "However, border households can consign their salt permits to Meihuadu in the future. Regardless of their destination, these permits can be sold for prices significantly higher than before. For instance, a salt permit from Taiyuan Prefecture, which previously sold for only one tael and six qian, can now fetch four taels and two qian at Meihuadu."

This means that the salt permits held by border households have become valuable assets. They can now transport more grain to the border garrisons in the future, ensuring the Guyuan border army will no longer starve.

Old Man Hu smiled as he spoke. "Mistress, that 'Pao Ge' was frank: cooperation benefits both sides, while division harms both. I believe it will be very difficult to reclaim those salt permits."

The woman said slowly, "A transparent scheme. He clearly isn't afraid of the border households causing him trouble. Let's set the salt permit matter aside for now. How is Lantern's investigation in the south progressing?"

Old Man Hu's expression became serious. "Our people followed the clues from the courier station documents and managed to capture a Jing Dynasty spy. It took seven days of interrogation to get him to talk! According to his speculation, the plot to frame General Wentao back then was orchestrated by Si Cao Ding, as all military intelligence spies in the capital at that time were under his command."

The woman murmured to herself, "Si Cao Ding!"

Old Man Hu affirmed, "This person is a veteran of the Military Intelligence Bureau. After General Wentao was murdered, he vanished from the capital, only to reappear in Jinling three years later. From that point on, everything south of Jinling fell under his command. Unfortunately, Si Cao Ding operates with extreme caution. No one has ever seen his face; they only know he has a nickname, 'Chang Jing'! This was his moniker before he became Si Cao, and only some older military intelligence agents still refer to him by it."

The woman said solemnly, "Are there any other clues about Si Cao Ding? Is he still in Jinling?"

Old Man Hu shook his head. "No. That military intelligence spy said he was originally under Si Cao Ding's command, but since last autumn, he hasn't received any orders from Si Cao Ding in Jinling. Subsequently, Si Cao Geng took over Jinling. According to this account, Si Cao Ding is either under suspicion and has gone silent, or he has already departed Jinling."

The woman mused, "Where would he go after leaving Jinling?" She closed her eyes in deep thought. "A while ago, the Secret Service and the Jie Fan Guard blockaded Yuzhou Pass. Prince Jing and the Liu family were also accused of colluding with the Jing Dynasty, and the timing aligns. It seems highly probable that Si Cao Ding went to Luocheng at that time! The Secret Service publicly announced they had eliminated the Jing Dynasty rebels in Luocheng. Could Si Cao Ding have died in that incident?"

Old Man Hu said gravely, "If Si Cao Ding is dead, I fear this matter will have no further leads."

The woman, however, refused to give up. "Investigate! Continue the investigation! You must find this Si Cao Ding, whether alive or dead!"

"Rest assured, Mistress, we will continue the pursuit!"

Old Man Hu hummed. "Are you really not going to see Chen Ji?"

The woman rose and walked towards the exit. "Old Three, the news of my survival must not be leaked, not a single whisper. That person's mind is malicious and meticulous; he must not be allowed to detect any hint. The farther I am from Chen Ji, the safer he will be!"

Old Man Hu sighed. "I understand the logic. I, too, initially wanted to avoid him. But, Mistress, when he was just a sapling, one could simply step aside to bypass him. Now, we have to go out of our way. If one day he grows into a towering tree, even if we bypass the trunk, we'll still be beneath its shade when we look up. How will we avoid him then?"

The woman replied without looking back, "It will take a hundred years for a sapling to become a great tree; there's no need to worry. By the day he grows into a towering tree, you and I will already be in our graves."

Old Man Hu suddenly said, "Mistress, after I left Guyuan, I investigated many things concerning Chen Ji. Would you like to hear about them? You were in Taiyuan Prefecture before, so you probably haven't heard."

The woman paused at Bianyifang's entrance, turned, and interrupted Old Man Hu. "Old Three!"

"Yes?"

Bianyifang's oil lamps were dim; the distant light only illuminated the hem of the woman's skirt and her shoes.

The woman calmly stated, "Do not investigate his affairs any further."

"Very well." Old Man Hu hesitated for a moment, then finally tried to persuade her. "Mistress, if you have time, you might consider seeing the 'Four Dreams of Bianliang' at the Imperial Music Bureau. It tells the story of him and Princess Zhu Baili."

The woman asked, puzzled, "Zhu Baili?"

"Zhu Baili!"

"Liu Pin'e!"

"Present!"

In front of the Jingyang Palace's main hall, the Supervisor of the Imperial Shrine, a eunuch in a red robe, unfolded a roster and called out names one by one. Princess Baili and the other priestesses stood respectfully in the main hall, answering in turn.

When it was Zhu Lingyun's turn, the Supervisor Eunuch called out, "Xuan Yun!"

Zhu Lingyun replied with a smile, "Present!"

The Supervisor Eunuch closed the roster and said in a soft voice, "On the first day of the third month, Her Majesty the Empress will offer sacrifices at the Altar of the First Silkworm. The Grand Secretariat has specially permitted all of you to attend and perform the Three Offerings Ceremony."

Hearing this, the priestesses exchanged incredulous, joyful glances.

Jingyang Palace was a "cold palace"—a place of disfavor. Those who resided there, supposedly to cultivate Taoism, were in fact under house arrest. Unless they attended the Grand Offering Ritual, held by the Taoist court once every sixty years, their only chance of leaving was to die of old age within the palace walls, their bodies then carried out.

At this moment, Xuan Zhen, wearing a blue Taoist robe with a horsetail whisk draped over her arm, bowed slightly to the Supervisor Eunuch. "May I ask, Lord Supervisor," she began, "why has the Grand Secretariat permitted us to leave the palace this time?"

The Supervisor Eunuch chuckled. "You dare to ask me, but I wouldn't dare to ask the Grand Secretariat! It's a blessing that you're permitted to leave; don't ask too many questions."

Xuan Zhen bowed again. "Understood."

The Supervisor Eunuch cautioned, "Keep a close watch on your people. Remind them not to harbor any unruly thoughts. Outside the palace, no gawking, no idle chatter. If anyone breaks the rules, I'll personally cut out her tongue! Also, Princess Yongchun is to remain in Jingyang Palace; don't let her leave and cause trouble for everyone."

"Yes!"

The Supervisor Eunuch continued to instruct, "Furthermore, starting today, each of you must compose a 'green verse.' When sacrificing to the Silkworm Goddess, you are to offer these verses as prayers to the heavens. Remember, not a single one can be omitted! The day before your departure, I will personally inspect them."

Xuan Zhen nodded slightly. "Understood. I will supervise and check daily."

The Supervisor Eunuch beamed. "Good, I trust you to handle this. I'm leaving now!"

Xuan Zhen respectfully said, "Safe travels, Supervisor."

As the Supervisor Eunuch departed, the palace priestesses began to chatter excitedly in front of the Three Pure Ones statues. When Xuan Zhen turned to look back, her gaze swept across each face like a blade. Wherever her eyes landed, the priestesses quieted down, one by one, lowering their heads and daring not to speak.

Xuan Zhen calmly stated, "It seems in your years of cultivation, you've cultivated your composure right out of yourselves; you lose your calm at the slightest provocation! Xuan Yun, oversee them. Make them kneel before the Daoist Ancestor statue and recite the Daoist scriptures until midnight before they return to their quarters."

Zhu Lingyun quickly agreed. "Yes, Reverend, rest assured, I will keep a close eye on them!"

Xuan Zhen turned and walked towards the side hall. Zhu Lingyun pointed at the priestesses. "Begin reciting the Daoist scriptures!"

The priestesses dutifully knelt before the statues of the Three Pure Ones, softly reciting, "The Way that can be spoken is not the eternal Way." As Baili was about to kneel, Zhu Lingyun gently held her arm, stopping her. "What are you doing, Elder Sister? We just need to supervise them reciting the scriptures; you don't have to recite them yourself!"

But Baili said softly, "Now that you're in charge, you must be fair, or they'll surely resent you behind your back!"

Zhu Lingyun raised an eyebrow. "They wouldn't dare."

Baili smiled. "It's fine, I'll recite the scriptures with them." With that, she gently lifted the hem of her Taoist robe, knelt on the prayer cushion, and straightened her posture. In an almost imperceptible whisper, she began to recite scriptures, but they were not from the *Dao De Jing*.

"Forget feelings to achieve impartiality, attain feelings to transcend them. The Dao gives birth to all things, with emotion as their root; emotion gives rise to myriad forms, and non-attachment is truth."