Zhang Zhiyan calmly shook her head. “No, there’s only this one gold peanut.”
Liu Lang narrowed his eyes slightly, then sat back down, still in that same lazy, unrestrained posture. “You may go. I’ll have someone escort your brother back to the mansion. Oh, and in the second branch of your Jing'an Houfu, you have an elder brother, born of your legal mother.”
Before he could finish, Zhang Zhiyan cut in, “That person is not my blood brother. There’s no need to concern yourself.” She thought to herself that Liu Lang had indeed investigated her in secret—even knowing she was a concubine-born daughter of the second branch and that she had a legitimate elder brother.
“In that regard, you’re rather like me.” Liu Lang nodded with a smile. He, too, was concubine-born, often tripped up in secret by his legal mother and legitimate siblings. On the surface, he was a pampered young master, but in reality, he lived cautiously. Only those of similar backgrounds could truly understand this feeling.
“Lord Liu, may I leave now?”
“Wait.” Liu Lang tossed out a silver key, which landed with a sharp clink. “If you have matters in the future, go to my private residence—the first house under the camphor tree at the bridgehead in Tongque Alley. Do not come here again. If you’re targeted by malicious individuals, both of us will face trouble.”
Tongque Alley? Zhang Zhiyan’s heart skipped a beat. That was where Liao Chuan kept his mistress. Tongque Alley was one of the capital’s bustling districts, home to the wealthy and noble. This might work out well—she might even run into Liao Chuan’s mistress, Lu Yao.
“What if you’re not at that residence? Wouldn’t I be going for nothing?”
“Don’t worry. If you go, someone will inform me.”
“Farewell.” Zhang Zhiyan picked up the key, turned, and left, her movements swift and graceful.
Watching her retreating figure, Liu Lang suddenly felt his mouth go dry. He took a few sips of tea and examined the pouch carefully. There was a faint, subtle fragrance on it—a light osmanthus scent, exactly like the elusive fragrance that seemed to linger around Zhang Zhiyan.
At that moment, Liu Lang’s trusted subordinate, Thousand-man Commander Wei, arrived. As soon as he entered the Ink Bamboo Courtyard, he saw a slender woman wearing a veiled felt hat leaving through the moon gate.
“Hey, Brother Lang, who was that just now? She seemed to have come from your place. Though I couldn’t see her face clearly, she must be a beauty.” As soon as he entered, Thousand-man Commander Wei inquired eagerly.
Liu Lang narrowed his eyes slightly. “What’s it to you? Have you finished investigating what I asked you to?”
“It’s done. We’re just waiting for the sole survivor to be captured. Oh, and there’s also that Huguo-gong heir, Liao Chuan. The fellow is a Dianqian Si guard, yet he’s secretly keeping a mistress outside.”
Liu Lang was somewhat surprised. “His wife is as beautiful as a flower, yet he still keeps a mistress.” His slender fingers tapped on the table, as if pondering something.
The Dianqian Si and the Tan Shi Jian Cha Si had always been at odds. Though both were trusted by the emperor, when working on cases simultaneously, they refused to share information or exchange clues, and even hindered each other.
This was why Zhang Zhiyan often overheard Liao Chuan cursing in his study and sometimes complaining about how troublesome the people from the Tan Shi Jian Cha Si were.
Thousand-man Commander Wei chuckled. “I’ve heard that Lady Liao Zhang is not only beautiful but also virtuous and magnanimous. Hey, why don’t we start with this lady? Perhaps we can uncover some secrets of the Dianqian Si.”
“Leave Liao Chuan’s line to me. I’ll handle it personally.”
“Got it. Brother Lang, are you going to Yanxi Pavilion tonight? I heard they’ve brought in a new batch of talented and beautiful girls, all untouched.” Thousand-man Commander Wei grinned slyly.
"No interest." An elegant figure surfaced in Liu Lang's mind. Perhaps due to drinking some wine at noon, he felt restless and uncomfortable. "If there's nothing else, you may go attend to your duties."
Thousand-man Commander Wei sighed and added, "I'm not criticizing you, but you should go out and stretch your limbs. Always being so busy with no inclination for amusement will eventually harm your health."
He leaned closer to Liu Lang and said with a sly grin, "If outsiders knew that you, the Grim Reaper, don't even have a bedmaid, wouldn't they laugh their heads off?"
Liu Lang suddenly glared at him sharply, causing Thousand-man Commander Wei to jump three steps back. "Alright, alright, honest advice is hard to accept. I'll leave, then."
At the door, Thousand-man Commander Wei added, "I can help you find a respectable woman with a completely clean background, guaranteed that no one will know. A man should release his pent-up energy—it's good for the body." Then he laughed heartily and left.
"That fool." Liu Lang scoffed, lying back in his chair to rest with his eyes closed. He already had leads on the people he needed to investigate and the evidence to find, but Zhang Zhiyan, who had unexpectedly appeared to pick up the pouch and return it to him, was not part of his plan. Indeed, she had distracted him.
Although he had already sent someone to investigate and confirmed that Zhang Zhiyan was not a spy for any faction, and her family background was also unproblematic, he still felt an inexplicable sense of familiarity and closeness toward this woman, though he couldn't quite put his finger on it.
Zhang Zhiyan returned to the estate and, upon entering Yu Qiong Yuan, sat down in the hallway. Lühe came in and handed her a letter with both hands. "Mistress, this is from Jing'an Houfu."
Zhang Zhiyan was in no hurry to read it. She tossed the letter aside, took the teacup handed to her by Lüyin, and drank it all in one gulp. "Not long after Granny Wang went back to report, there's already a reply. My aunt is truly attentive to matters here."
"Mistress, you should still read it. Every time you don't listen to them, they make things difficult for Concubine Qin and Young Master Chengxiao," Lüyin advised.
Zhang Zhiyan's only vulnerabilities now were her own mother and her younger brother, Zhang Chengxiao. As for the lives of others, she couldn't care less.
She opened the letter, read it through once, and then tore it into shreds.
"It's all nonsense. My aunt has truly schemed tirelessly for her own grandson." Zhang Zhiyan revealed a knowing smile.
"Mistress, what does the Marchioness want you to do?" Lüyin knew her mistress's delicate situation.
"She wants me to keep quiet about Liao Chuan having a mistress and also orders me to drug the mistress to ensure she doesn't give birth to a son."
"Mistress, will you comply?" Lüyin had a bad feeling about this. If such a matter were exposed, Zhang Zhiyan would end up alienated from both sides.
"Of course not. Why should I become a tool for the Marchioness of Jing'an Houfu? Back then, my short-lived elder cousin married into this family, gave birth to a legitimate son, and passed away. To maintain their marital ties with Huguo-gong, the eldest branch of the family arranged for me, from the second branch, to become the replacement wife. And what happened? I’ve only suffered humiliation since coming here." Zhang Zhiyan smiled sarcastically. Even her five-year-old nephew, Liao Chen, the legitimate eldest grandson of Huguo Gongfu, held no respect for her as his nominal mother. Why should she exhaust herself managing the household affairs for this family?
There was no one or anything in this estate worth her attachment. She would destroy everything her relatives had painstakingly arranged for her.
"Mistress, I have already informed the steward about Granny Wang frequently returning to Jing'an Houfu," Lüzhu reported from the side.
"Well done. Now it's up to Old Wang's own fate." Zhang Zhiyan had long wanted to remove Old Wang, the spy. Taking advantage of the major incident at the Duke's residence, she could now use another's hand to eliminate her.
The Duke had just executed the adulterer who had an affair with his wife, Madam Xia, and confined the illegitimate child Liao Mingzhu to her courtyard. All the servants in the residence were trembling with fear, not daring to speak out of turn. Yet Old Wang still dared to return to Jing'an Houfu to report—this was practically rushing to her own death.
Since Madam Xia had already been placed under house arrest by the Duke under the pretext of "recuperating from illness," the management of Huguo Gongfu once again fell to the eldest daughter-in-law, Zhang Zhiyan.
That morning, Zhang Zhiyan was checking accounts with five stewards when the butler came to report, "Greetings to the Shizi Furen. Huguo-gong requests your immediate presence in his outer study to discuss urgent matters."