17. Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Seventeen
Xiao Shu
Fanqing is especially quiet today, which is well enough since I have a headache.
In spite of my best efforts, I did not get enough sleep last night.
First, I was out for almost the whole night discussing options with Quanyu.
And then when I did finally make it back around dawn, I was kept up with my dilemma.
What Quanyu said was correct, Lord Gu’s property needs to be sold in Yanzhou.
The imperial city is too heavily guarded to be able to move so many objects and moving it anywhere else would cost more than the effort.
And yet, if Wen’s concerns are correct and his majesty is truly suspicious of me…
well, then I would be playing a dangerous game of favor.
Am I too valuable to replace?
I glance down at my fingers and frown. It seems quite a bit is weighed against my family’s secret ability to cancel magic.
It makes us invaluable and irreplaceable as spirit hunters but also feared for our abilities.
Back when the Xiao family was at its height of power, they were commanded to turn in their command token.
At a point in time, the Xiao family ran a personal army of spirit hunters, who worked to keep order in the realm.
However, his majesty must have decided that we posed too much of a threat so he commanded that only Xiao family members could hunt spirits since only they had this valuable technique.
The order was never overturned, even when every Xiao died save for me and Wen. I’m only allowed to keep a small number of personal guards, like Quanyu.
His majesty could always depose me and cast me into exile for smuggling, but who could he replace me with? I’m truly all there is left of the spirit hunters.
No matter how qualified the replacement would be, they would be lacking my family’s skill. And that skill is sometimes what makes the difference of life and death when it comes to slaying spirits.
But it seems like folly to stake my life on a mere flick of my fingers.
We were supposed to lay low, but I also cannot miss out on an opportunity to mark my presence in Yanzhou.
Some things, such as building contacts and establishing trade needs to be done in person.
Previously I had wished to give Yanzhou a wide berth.
I argued that I didn’t need trade there since the imperial city is so nearby, but it’s exactly that proximity to the imperial city that makes Yanzhou so valuable.
That and with the ample farmland nearby the ghost market has thrived in creating illicit concoctions.
It would be good to get my hand in that as soon as possible.
Not to mention Lord Gu’s possessions are a fortune just waiting to happen now that enough time has passed that we can move them onto the market.
I raise my gaze, studying the woman on the other side of the carriage and once again playing out the question that has been bothering me since we wed. Is Fanqing a spy?
To be honest, I cannot believe how much this question does haunt me. When I first married her and saw the strange connection between the two Mu sisters each being assigned to me and Wen, I determined I would just treat her as a spy and proceed with caution.
But there is something about that which doesn’t sit right with me. I don’t like having this big secret between us. After all, she is not just anyone. She’s my lawful wife.
Perhaps it is because we share a bed every night, but I would really like to trust her.
Maybe I would sleep a bit better if I did.
I wonder if she has similar reservations about me. Could that be why she is so quiet today? Maybe she didn’t sleep well either because she has a hard time trusting me.
I press my lips together and sigh. Well, we will be in Yanzhou soon so hopefully she will be able to rest comfortably once we make it to the governor’s manor.
I am sure it will be more comfortable than the inn although I cannot say anything about how I will get her to trust me or feel safer around me.
Especially if she is a spy then she probably feels uneasy because of that.
I start to turn toward the window to stick my head out and ask Quanyu when we will arrive, but something catches my eye. It’s a glimmering bracelet on Fanqing’s wrist. I’ve never seen it before; it is intricately detailed and in the shape of a dragon. It appears to be made of solid gold.
As a smuggler, I have a pretty keen eye for what is valuable and what is not. And that bracelet is very valuable.
It makes me wonder how she could have gotten it. Her father doesn’t seem the type to splurge on unnecessary jewelry. Not to mention that a bracelet would cost more than a month’s wage for a mere eighth rank official.
Not to mention that it makes no sense. She never wore it before now, not even during our wedding. But she will bring it out today when the threat of bandits is greater than usual.
I could take it to mean that she trusts me to protect her, but somehow, I don’t get that impression from Fanqing.
So really, I have no idea where it came from.
Did she buy it with my money before leaving the capital? I press my lips together, as I nod. Of course, that must be it.
Maybe that’s why she is so quiet. Is she worried about how I might react if I find out? I need to reassure her as soon as possible and let her know that I’m fine with her making purchases like this.
I want her to live comfortably. As her husband, it’s the least I can offer her.
Besides, I honestly have more money than I know what to do with it.
Quanyu often mocks me for being too shrewd of a businessman.
When it comes to my smuggling business, I am always driving for more and more profit as if no amount of money will ever be enough.
Even Wen says I’m too greedy for my own good.
But the truth is, I don’t care what happens to the money afterward. For me, all that matters is seeing how much I can make, it’s like a game of numbers. A challenge to see just how much I can earn as a smuggler; how many costs can be cut and turned into pure profit.
It isn’t because I need or even want the money. I just like the satisfaction of it.
So, if Fanqing wants to spend my money, well, she would have to be talented indeed to spend it faster than I can bring it in.
I raise my finger, pointing toward her. “That’s a fine bracelet, who was the craftsman?”
Fanqing snaps her gaze to me, her eyes narrowing. There is a simmering rage in her gaze, and I’m not entirely sure what caused it. “I didn’t realize I had to run all my jewelry choices by you.”
I slowly curl my finger, drawing my hand back. I swallow and glance to the side. “I was only curious.”
She folds her arms and turns her head, glaring at the wall of the carriage. I am grateful that it is there to take some of the heat off me. “Well, next time don’t be. I thought we agreed to leave each other alone. How is this leaving me alone?” She clicks her tongue. “Really.”
I want to ask her what’s bothering her, but I’m a little scared of being snapped at again so I settle for clearing my throat, bracing my hands on my knees, and riding the rest of the way in silence.
Fortunately, it is not far to Yanzhou. I hold up the cloth covering the carriage window and feel my stomach sink as I watch the walled gate roll into view. I would have never willingly stepped foot in this city if I could have at all helped it.
I’m only here today because the emperor had demanded it of me. So, I can’t fault Quanyu for wanting to establish some contacts in this city while we are here.
The early morning sun filters down. We could have easily made the trip in a day if I hadn’t stopped to stay at the post station and check in on Gu’s stash.
Perhaps I should have said no when Quanyu suggested we check in on it on the way.
Then I wouldn’t have seen all the wealth just waiting there to be sold on the black market.
But I had been desperate to postpone my arrival in Yanzhou by even one day.
Now I can’t get his words out of my head. Now would probably be our only chance to establish trade in Yanzhou seeing as I don’t ever intend to return.
Once we’re established, we can send Midnight Runners to meet up with contacts and move the goods.
It’s just a small risk of having the uptick in smuggling in this city be tied back to my trip.
But with a ghost market as vibrant as Yanzhou’s sounds to be would authorities really notice the presence of one more smuggler?
I blink as we near the city gates and the shining armor of the guards catches in the sunlight. I drop the curtain back into place and sit back with a sigh.
Of course, all that is dependent on surviving this next encounter.
I glance at Fanqing out of the corner of my eye, trying to gauge if she is still mad. I reach up to cover my mouth with my fist as I clear my throat slightly. She turns to me but says nothing.
“While we are in Yanzhou, you must remember you are the Lady Xiao now. Please remember to conduct yourself thusly and not allow anyone to look down on you. For the Xiao family’s reputation, that is.”
She arches one of her perfectly shaped eyebrows as her red lips part. She looks like she is debating saying something, but then shakes her head, causing the beads hanging from her pins to jostle. “You don’t need to worry about how I conduct myself. I will not embarrass you,” she responds cooly.
“I didn’t mean it like—” I begin but then I cut myself off. I suppose I meant it a little like that, but I was more concerned about her embarrassing herself by acting beneath her station.
She sniffs once. “Believe it or not, I was not in the habit of allowing people to look down on me. Even when I was an eight-rank official’s daughter.”
That I can believe considering she won’t even let me try to give her some advice. I nod my head. “Good, good.” I pat my hand against my knee and glance at her again. “That’s good.”