Unarmored | Chapter 121 | A Letter Returned | Novela.app

March in Que City was a blur of misty rain. Clouds laden with moisture drifted from the south of the border, squeezing out patches of rain across the province of Chizhou. The river channels carried an abundance of living water deep into the plains, and the earth began a new cycle of respiration. Withered branches pushed out new buds, growing amidst the roof tiles and market stalls, bursting into clusters of pale yellow and fresh green. Because of this, Que City changed its colors. Dujuan moved the jars of pickled vegetables and brewed wine that had sat through the winter into the backyard. She was also busy sealing the crates of fabric with oilcloth to prevent the dampness from seeping in. Jixiang had lost a patch of fur from his rump. Xiao Nanhui thought it was a case of mange brought on by the weather, but Bolao, passing by, had inadvertently let the cat out of the bag by claiming it was merely seasonal shedding. Xiao Nanhui knew something was amiss. After staking out the stables for several nights, she indeed discovered that the man was secretly riding Jixiang out at night. The fur on Jixiang’s rump had been plucked out. The horse had a foul temper and would only behave when someone gripped the hair on his backside. Xiao Nanhui was quite annoyed by this. Hao Bai had sent someone to return Huaqiu long ago; she didn't understand why Bolao would leave Huaqiu unridden and insist on bullying Jixiang instead. Bolao, naturally, refused to say a word, offering only a few low-grade excuses to brush her off. However, this sort of thing had happened before. The last time Xie Li had come to Que City on behalf of the Andao Academy to have an audience with the Emperor, Bolao had been just as restless as he was now. Jixiang’s pace was much faster than Huaqiu’s; even under duress, the horse was capable of scouting out her escape routes thoroughly within a few days. Thus, Xiao Nanhui speculated that perhaps Xie Li was coming again. But if the Andao Academy were making such a significant move, it seemed unlikely that Ding Weixiang’s side would have no reaction at all. Questions multiplied in her mind, but she ultimately felt that the affairs of the Andao Academy had little to do with her, so she let the matter drop. She had more pressing concerns to worry about. On this day, after helping Dujuan clear the yard of the leaves accumulated over winter, she went alone to Wangchen Tower. Yao Yi’s small side courtyard was once again filled with bouquets of flowers. The seasonal blooms were fresh peach blossoms, narcissus, and winter daphne. The fragrance was so intense it made her sneeze repeatedly. The head proprietor of Wangchen Tower was, as he had been for ten years, hunched behind his desk clicking away at an abacus, acting as if there wasn't another soul in the room. Directly in front of him stood a jar nearly half the height of a person. Its mouth was sealed with fresh mud and tied with a piece of pink rouge paper. Xiao Nanhui gave a light cough and peeked half her head out from behind the jar. "This is the orange honey Dujuan brewed last autumn. I brought some for you to taste." Dujuan held the profiteer Yao Yi in the lowest regard; the honey had certainly not been sent at the original maker's behest. Xiao Nanhui rubbed her nose, silently praying that Dujuan wouldn't notice one of her dozen or so jars of honey had vanished into thin air. Yao Yi remained silent, his head down as he wrote furiously in his ledger. His expression was always this cold when he was busy, a complete polar opposite to the smiling face he presented to his wealthy patrons. Today, however, he looked even more acerbic and heartless than usual. *Creak.* The door opened, and Wu Xiaoliu walked in carrying a small copper kettle. Having not seen him for over a month, he had grown even rounder than before. Those shifty little eyes now resembled Yao Yi’s more than ever; only the sharp look of disdain between his brows was still lacking. Perhaps because they hadn't met in a while, Wu Xiaoliu seemed a bit bashful upon seeing Xiao Nanhui. His chubby hands gripped the copper kettle so tightly that dimples formed in his flesh from the tension. "Wu Xiaoliu," Xiao Nanhui called the fat youth’s name. "Why do you fear to look up at me?" Wu Xiaoliu hung his fat face low, his eyeballs darting around restlessly. "I don't, you're seeing things." Xiao Nanhui looked down at her cup and frowned. "Why is it just plain water?" Wu Xiaoliu suddenly grabbed the kettle and bolted out the door. The previously silent Yao Yi finally looked up from behind his desk, his small eyes flashing with a fierce light. "The person you sent over has eaten fifty taels of silver's worth of food in half a month. Do you, his former master, have the face to ask why? You're lucky to have a mouthful of hot water; what else do you want?" Wu Xiaoliu might have been "born to jinx his masters"—Xiao Nanhui had known this since their time in Yanxi. But she hadn't realized he might also be a "money-sink." Giving a sheepish laugh, it was now her turn to look dejected. She used two fingers to pick up the cup and took a small sip, muttering aimlessly. "I have to go to Yu'an next month. I heard the specialty there is Zimu mushrooms, and they'll be at their peak soon. I'll bring plenty back..." Yao Yi suddenly interrupted, "What are you going to Yu'an for?" Xiao Nanhui started, then realized the other man didn't know about the Spring Hunt yet. She immediately regretted her loose tongue and instinctively tried to gloss over it. "Just a Spring Hunt, nothing major." Yao Yi, however, was not so easily fooled. "There hasn't been a Spring Hunt in over ten years. Why the sudden thought to hold one this year? And since you hold no official rank now, why are you going along?" "I'm not the Emperor, how should I know?" Xiao Nanhui seemed somewhat irritable, but Yao Yi, uncharacteristically, did not take offense. He simply stated his conclusion flatly. "It was a good thing he stripped you of your rank. Don't go sticking your nose in where it doesn't belong." That was impossible. Because she had taken the medallion of the Black Feather Camp and had become involved in the investigation of Puhuna. She hadn't told those around her about these things, so Yao Yi was naturally in the dark. Xiao Nanhui felt a bit guilty and tried to play it off. "They're short-handed these days; I reckon when the time comes, they won't even get around to me." She paused, stiffly changing the subject. "Anyway... you know I came today for the matter of the letter. Don't keep me waiting." Indeed, she had come today to collect the reply from the Zou family. When she had sent that letter from Jiaosong County, she had been cautious and listed Wangchen Tower as the return address. Firstly, Wangchen Tower handled a vast amount of correspondence daily; the sheer volume of people made it less likely to attract attention. Secondly, if her private investigation truly brought about some calamity in the future, it would be easier to keep the Marquis’s Manor clear of it. Yao Yi had spent years among all sorts of people; how could he not see through her little scheme? He had let her sit there for half an hour specifically to give her the cold shoulder. Now, he looked at Xiao Nanhui with indifference, his tone involuntarily turning caustic. "You certainly trust me. The Zou family is currently a primary target of the palace's scrutiny. Aren't you afraid I'll turn around, take this letter to Xu Zhi, and impeach you for colluding with the enemy and leaking intelligence?" "Brother Yao, you joke." Xiao Nanhui’s expression was earnest, her tone sincere. "I figure your identity as a stingy shopkeeper is already known to all. The Internal Secretary audits your books every year. Forget the Court of Judicial Review—even if you went to a lowly county yamen to beat the drum, you'd probably be hauled away for questioning before you even reached the gates." After a few months apart, her skill at verbal sparring had clearly improved. A vein throbbed at Yao Yi’s temple, and it took a great deal of effort for him to suppress it. He fished a thin envelope out from a messy pile of ledgers and tossed it at Xiao Nanhui’s face. "See for yourself." "Eh?" She pulled the letter from her face and glanced at it, her expression gradually shifting. "How is this letter..." "The letter never reached its destination. It was returned from Huozhou." Xiao Nanhui was stunned. She immediately turned the letter over to inspect it closely. It was indeed the letter she had sent to the Zou family last month. The seal was intact, unopened. "What happened? Was it sent to the wrong place, or..." "I sent someone to the courier station to inquire. They said the household you were writing to has already moved away." Xiao Nanhui could not hide her shock. "Moved? When did this happen?" "Around the end of the first lunar month, I suppose. It's been over a month." What a coincidence. Just as she had set her sights on the Zou family, the entire Zou household had vanished. The Zou family was, at the very least, a wealthy local power, not some small household. Within those winding, complex walls, there had to be at least a hundred people. How could they just disappear? She suddenly remembered what Wu Xing had said before: the previous owner of the Zou family’s old estate was surnamed Hu, and they too had vanished overnight, leaving behind an empty mansion. Who did this? The Emperor? Was the Emperor investigating Zou Sifang while simultaneously moving the entire Zou household in secret? Was this a smokescreen, or was he just looking for trouble? But if it wasn't the Emperor, who else had such capability? Xiao Nanhui’s brow furrowed deeply, her relaxed mood from when she first arrived completely gone. "Is there any word on the other matter I asked you to look into?" Yao Yi’s face also turned sour. He stared at the abacus on his desk, his fingers haphazardly resetting the beads to zero. "Do you think I have some god-like power? Before, you were just asking about trivial rumors, but now you're prying into official secrets. I think you've grown tired of living." "How can a cold case known to everyone be considered a secret?!" Xiao Nanhui was also getting anxious, her tone quickening. "That letter from Heimu Prefecture was clearly recorded in the documents of the Censorate, yet now it can't be found. Someone must have tampered with it—perhaps even someone in the palace..." "Xiao Nanhui!" Yao Yi interrupted her, his voice almost a shriek. "Do you know what you're saying? What kind of spell has Xiao Zhun cast on you that makes you lose your mind like this, risking your life to do these things for him?!" Yao Yi’s interrogation echoed within the walls of the side courtyard, shaking a few flower branches loose. Xiao Nanhui’s heart seemed to tremble along with the surrounding air. Yao Yi’s questioning wasn't wrong, but he was only half right. Her investigation into the Xiao family case was no longer just for Xiao Zhun. What she truly worried about was the "instigator" Bai Yun had mentioned. She had spent so long seeking the answer, and now that she knew it, she was desperate to prove it wasn't true. How could she speak of such an absurd thing? But if the truth was as Bai Yun said, she did not want to be the last person to know. After a long silence, Xiao Nanhui finally regained some composure and gave a forced smile. "If you're unwilling to help, I won't force you. Ultimately, it's a matter for the Marquis’s Manor; you shouldn't be dragged into it. Just pretend I never mentioned it." The heavy scent of flowers drifted past her nose, and she sneezed several more times before preparing to stand up. *Clatter.* Xiao Nanhui turned her head to see Yao Yi toss a cloth bag down beside the jar of orange honey.