Yan Nantian lowered his gaze and glanced at Yun Zhao.
He asked, "What’s with that expression?"
He was a man of meticulous habits, insisting that even the courtyard of his temporary residence be brightly lit.
The light haloed behind him, allowing him to clearly see the subtle shifts in her eyes and brows. With years of familiarity, he immediately sensed that Yun Zhao was hiding something.
"There’s something you’re not telling me," he said with a tone of certainty, though phrased as a question. "Is it about the dragon?"
Yun Zhao: "..."
Yan Nantian truly had a knack for reading people.
As she secretly shifted her gaze, he tapped her shoulder with his bent index finger, speaking softly as if to himself, "Let me guess—"
"That soup?"
Yun Zhao: "..."
She decisively closed her eyes—she was certain this man could read her mind just by looking into her eyes!
"On the eighth day of the eleventh month," he said leisurely, "along the Wei River in Jiangdong, rumors spread of a dragon’s corpse being discovered. There were many witnesses, and it caused quite a stir."
Yun Zhao suddenly opened her eyes, staring at him expectantly. "And then?"
He continued, "The so-called 'dragon corpse' had a skeleton over ten zhang long, with thirty segments in its spine, four limbs, and a robust jawbone. When it was found, the flesh had already decayed, and the stench carried for a hundred zhang. Upon investigation, it was determined that a storm had caused seawater to flood inland, bringing it with it. However, it was not a dragon—the reconstructed skeleton perfectly matched that of a whale, and the 'limbs' were actually fins."
He concluded, "It was nothing more than a farce."
Yun Zhao was utterly disappointed. "Oh."
Yan Nantian looked at her with a faint smile. "Your eldest uncle had the 'dragon corpse' hauled away, spread myths about it, and sold 'dragon liver and marrow' at exorbitant prices."
Yun Zhao: "..."
That sounded exactly like something her money-grubbing uncle would do.
Yan Nantian comforted her, "I imagine the 'dragon liver and marrow' were crafted from rare delicacies. Those who bought it knew what they were getting into, so it’s not exactly swindling. What do you think?"
Yun Zhao: "You’ve already defended my uncle so thoroughly, what else is there for me to say?"
He chuckled softly.
"Silly girl," he said. "If there really were dragons, and the Xiangyang clan knew about it but didn’t report it, it would be a grave offense."
His lips curved into a smile, but his eyes remained cold.
Yun Zhao, however, was unfazed. "My grandfather’s family has been working tirelessly to build the Sky-Reaching Tower. Your father knows that."
"Indeed," he said with a sigh. "If the Sky-Reaching Tower is completed, Xiangyang will undoubtedly be the foremost contributor."
Yun Zhao observed him carefully for a moment.
She was certain that his words were sincere, without a trace of falsehood.
"Oh," she said petulantly. "You drank that soup too. Since you say it’s not dragon marrow, then tell me what it was."
Yan Nantian lifted his chin, narrowing his long eyes as if recalling something.
After a moment, he spoke slowly, "Dongyu swallow’s nest, Taiyuan golden gelatin, Tianshan snow lotus, yellowfin shark fin..."
"Stop!" Yun Zhao huffed. "No need to continue!"
Yan Nantian obliged. "Alright, I’ll stop."
She eyed him suspiciously. "Do dragons really exist? The kind of dragons I’m thinking of?"
He lowered his gaze. "They probably do."
She grumbled, "My family hasn’t heard any news of real dragons, but they have! Is this what it means to be the protagonist, blessed by heaven and earth?"
Yan Nantian laughed softly. "There’s no smoke without fire."
"What fire?"
"You’ll have to investigate that tomorrow, Detective," he teased. "So, are you going to sleep or not?"
"Sleep, sleep, sleep!"
*
The next day, Yun Zhao immediately noticed the strange tension between Wen Nuannuan and Yu Fengyun.
It was a gloomy day, with heavy moisture in the air pressing down, making it hard to breathe.
The atmosphere between the two of them felt like a storm brewing.
The damp, slippery stone path made it easy to lose footing, but Yan Nantian naturally took Yun Zhao’s hand, smiling as he spoke to her, seemingly unaffected by the oppressive weather.
He looked relatively well today, though the dark circles under his eyes betrayed a sleepless night.
In this gray, dreary place, the sickly nobleman stood out in his black attire and pale skin. The woman he held hands with was even more radiant, her presence impossible to ignore.
It was as if the clouds had parted, casting a spotlight just for the two of them.
Not far behind them, Wen Nuannuan bit her lip repeatedly, while Yu Fengyun’s brows were furrowed in thought.
Yun Zhao suddenly turned around. "Yu Fengyun, I’ve noticed something."
He stepped forward, his brow still creased. "Please, go on."
Yun Zhao smirked. "Ever since I arrived in Linbo Prefecture, I haven’t heard a single good word about certain people from the locals. Why do you think that is?"
He instinctively wanted to glance back but restrained himself, not looking at Wen Nuannuan.
Yun Zhao counted on her fingers. "Fat Third Auntie, Sister-in-law Qiu, Boss Chen... Oh, except for you. You don’t count—you’re biased."
Fat Third Auntie disliked Wen Nuannuan, Sister-in-law Qiu detested Wen’s mother, and Boss Chen had a grudge against the Wen family.
Yu Fengyun’s lips tightened as he weakly explained, "It’s just a coincidence that we ran into these particular individuals."
Yun Zhao laughed. "Running into someone with a grudge on every street corner—how terrible must their reputation be! So..."
Yan Nantian tilted his head, looking at her with interest. "So?"
"So, I have every reason to believe the Wen family must have offended even more people!" Yun Zhao declared emphatically.
Wen Nuannuan’s eyes immediately welled up with tears. She didn’t dare defend herself, instead casting a pitiful, aggrieved look at Yu Fengyun.
Yun Zhao continued, "Yesterday, we visited three households. The first had only an elderly mother left to care for her child, the second had to borrow a kitchen knife from their neighbor to cook, and the third was so poor they couldn’t even afford food—this is the reward for following Wen Changkong to hunt whales?"
Wen Nuannuan couldn’t help but interject, "My stepfather’s income is meager, and he barely has enough for himself."
Yun Zhao smiled. "Barely enough? Isn’t that because he spent it all on your mother? I’ve heard she’s maintained her youthful appearance despite her age."
Wen Nuannuan’s face flushed red, and she bit her lip, casting a resentful glance at Yu Fengyun.
She blamed him.
If he hadn’t insisted on waiting for her under the Fulan tree across from the government office yesterday, Fat Third Auntie wouldn’t have gossiped.
If he hadn’t led them astray, they wouldn’t have run into that old prostitute.
And as for that so-called 'first contribution'...
What good was his affection if it only brought trouble?
"Miss Yun, you’ve misunderstood," Yu Fengyun explained solemnly. "Those families were already struggling. Following Uncle Wen at least allowed them to scrape by. Some of them joined the crew through my connections—if you want to blame anyone, blame me. Don’t take it out on Wen Nuannuan."
Wen Nuannuan chimed in, "Brother Yu is my stepfather’s right-hand man, so he often interacts with our family. It’s not like he’s only seeking me out."
She was still trying to distance herself.
Yu Fengyun remained silent, tacitly agreeing.
Yun Zhao asked him, "Why didn’t you join Wen Changkong on this voyage?"
He replied gravely, "It was my grandfather’s death anniversary. I returned to the countryside."
Yun Zhao stared into his eyes for a long moment before suddenly laughing. "Today, your face is as stiff as a coffin. What, do you need to distance yourself from me too?"
Her sharpness was startling. Yu Fengyun’s eyes flickered, and he turned his head away, insisting, "No."
Wen Nuannuan bit her lip, stealing a glance at Yan Nantian.
He paid no attention to their silent exchange.
When this man wasn’t looking at Yun Zhao, whether he was smiling or not, his gaze was always distant, keeping others at arm’s length.
She lowered her eyes, feeling a pang of disappointment.
Yun Zhao gestured for Yu Fengyun to lead the way, and they headed to Fat Third Auntie’s house.
Fat Third Auntie was sitting at the entrance of her yard with two neighboring aunties, each perched on small square stools, using thin triangular scrapers to pry open oysters.
One by one, the greenish stone-like oyster shells were deftly opened, the knife skillfully scooping out the meat along with the adductor muscle, which was then placed in a basin of saltwater to soak.
The fresh, briny aroma of the sea wafted through the entire street.
Looking up and seeing Yun Zhao, Fat Third Auntie grinned. "Oh, you’ve really come to buy oysters, young lady? Take a look—today’s oysters are plump! Each one is whiter and tenderer than the last! I’ll give you a good price!"
Yun Zhao: "..."
Last time, she’d said she’d treat her to oysters, but it turned out to be just empty politeness.
"Where’s Third Uncle?" Yu Fengyun asked.
Fat Third Auntie, still scraping away at the oysters, replied, "He’s asleep in the house. He was too lazy to go to the Taishang Temple yesterday, and he didn’t sleep well last night! I told him, but he’s so stubborn, he just won’t listen!"
Her oyster knife was brand new, glinting with each flick of her wrist, her movements far more efficient than the other aunties’.
After finishing one basin, she casually tucked the knife into her apron and reached for another large wooden basin filled with unopened oysters.
After wiping her hands on the edge of her apron, she reached into her pocket and pulled out an oyster knife, continuing her work.
"Is that a new oyster knife, Auntie?" Yun Zhao asked.
Fat Third Auntie nodded, "Yes—oh, how did you know?"
Yun Zhao smiled and pointed to the waterproof apron in front of her, "You couldn’t find your knife last time."
"Oh, you young girls have such good memories!" She scratched her head with the wooden handle of the oyster knife, "Not like me, getting old and forgetful! I don’t even know where I lost it!"
Yun Zhao glanced at the thin, hard triangular blade and waved goodbye with a smile.
Once out of the alley, she called Yu Fengyun aside, "What did their family used to do?"
He looked at her with slight surprise, then replied in a low voice, "Third Uncle used to dive for pearls, and Third Auntie harvested oysters."
"And after that?"
"Once, while diving for pearls, Third Uncle accidentally got hit in the eye by the oar of Wen Changkong’s boat. He couldn’t dive anymore, so he started working on a whaling ship. Why do you ask?"
Yun Zhao shook her head, "Next house."
They visited several sailors' homes in a row, each one impoverished and having suffered some misfortune or accident, forcing them to work on whaling ships.
They did the most dangerous jobs but earned meager wages, barely enough to survive.
Wen Changkong hunted whales for the imperial court, and whenever there was any dispute or conflict, the authorities would unconditionally side with him.
Yun Zhao was starting to understand.
Passing by the blacksmith’s shop, she had Yan Nantian buy a kitchen knife and gave it to the family who needed to borrow one.
"Granny," Yun Zhao held the old woman’s withered hand, "when did your kitchen knife go missing?"
"A long time ago!"
"Was it as long as the last time they went out to sea?"
The old woman thought for a while, then nodded, "About that long!"
"Thank you, Granny."
Yun Zhao lifted the tattered felt cloth that served as a door and left the old woman’s house.
She walked step by step under the setting sun, her shadow stretching longer and longer, looking somewhat lonely.
"Zhao." Yan Nantian placed a hand on her shoulder, "I can’t promise much, but I’ll try to find a way to reduce some taxes for the seafolk. It should be possible."
She tilted her head to look at him, "Mm."
He smiled and gave her a light hug, "What are we looking for next?"
Yun Zhao thought for a moment, "A plum blossom knife."