Chapter 312: Chapter 312: Meeting
Lian Zhou understood. "So you’re planning... to stay here and continue the investigation?"
Not only was Xi Su an expert interrogator, but he was also exceptionally skilled at Disguise. It would be no problem for him to disguise himself as his master and leave the city.
But the crucial point was—
’Then wouldn’t that leave Master all alone?’
They hadn’t brought many men on this trip to begin with. To maintain their cover, the group leaving the city tomorrow couldn’t be small, or it would certainly arouse suspicion.
Shen Yanchuan, however, seemed unconcerned. "Once I get inside and scout things out, I’ll head to Changzhou on my own."
Out of caution, he had only observed from a distance today, not wanting to get too close and tip them off.
He would have to find another opportunity for a closer look.
Seeing that his mind was made up and that persuasion would be futile, Lian Zhou could only assent. "Yes!"
...
「In a small courtyard in the southern part of the city.」
Night had fallen. Just as Su Pei’er pushed open the door to her room, ready to rest, she suddenly noticed someone else was inside.
She was about to cry out in alarm when the person looked up and removed their wide-brimmed hat, revealing a refined and beautiful face.
Su Pei’er’s eyes went wide.
"Ye—"
She quickly glanced around, then turned to shut the door securely before rushing forward. "Second Miss Ye," she whispered urgently, "what are you doing here!?"
The visitor was dressed in blue-gray brocade, her cloud of dark hair tied back simply. With her tall, slender frame, one might mistake her for a young gentleman at first glance!
Who else could it be but Ye Chutang, who was supposed to be in Qingzhou?
Ye Chutang smiled, motioning for her to sit and relax.
"I decided to come for a visit after receiving your letter. I was delayed two days by Xiao Wu’s illness, which is why I’m a little late."
Su Pei’er’s shock deepened.
’A... a little late?’
’By her calculations, the letter should have only reached Qingzhou a few days ago.’
’Excluding the time for Xiao Wu’s illness, didn’t that mean Ye Chutang had rushed here in just two or three days!?’
She stammered, at a loss, "B-but Qingzhou is hundreds of miles away. Second Miss Ye, h-how did you get here?"
Ye Chutang tilted her chin up slightly. "It’s faster on horseback."
Su Pei’er could hardly believe it.
—Ye Chutang had ridden here alone, covering over a hundred miles a day!
’To think that when she came to Shiluan City from the Capital City, she had to hire a coachman and the journey took over half a month!’
"You... you..." Su Pei’er was filled with a mixture of worry and retroactive fear.
’She was a woman, after all. Who knew what dangers she might have faced traveling all alone!’
But the words died on her lips.
Years ago, Ye Chutang had been exiled with her younger siblings, struggling to survive. The fact that she had eventually brought them all safely back to the Capital City was proof enough that she was no ordinary woman.
In the end, Su Pei’er could only say, "This is all so sudden... If you had instructions, you could have just told me in a letter. There was no need for you to trouble yourself by coming in person."
Ye Chutang shook her head. "I’ve been meaning to come for a while. I just had too much to deal with, so it was delayed until now."
When she had seen Sun Lian’an off outside the city gates, he had hinted that Shiluan City might be connected to her father’s death. She had put it on her agenda then and there.
Her trip to Qingzhou now provided the perfect cover to slip over unnoticed.
Hearing this, Su Pei’er finally relaxed a little.
"So, Second Miss Ye had already planned for this..."
Before Su Pei’er left the Capital City, Ye Chutang had had Ye Yunfeng make a special trip to deliver medicinal soup and Silver Taels to her. She had accepted everything, and later, inside a hidden compartment of the purse, she found a slip of paper.
Ye Chutang had instructed her to travel to Shiluan City and write a letter once she was settled.
The address she was given to write to wasn’t in the Capital City, but in Qingzhou.
Su Pei’er had never been to Qingzhou, only vaguely hearing it mentioned as Lord Ye Zheng’s ancestral home. So, once she had settled in, she sent a letter to Qingzhou.
She just never expected that Ye Chutang would come here immediately upon receiving her letter.
"You’ve been in Shiluan City for some time now," Ye Chutang said, "so you must have some understanding of the place. Tell me about it."
Su Pei’er nodded, silently grateful that she hadn’t been idle during this time. She had made an effort to move about the city and had managed to hear and ask about a number of things.
She paused for a moment to gather her thoughts before beginning her account.
"Shiluan City is a small place, a world away from the Capital City. But it’s nestled between mountains and water with beautiful scenery, so it’s quite nice. For that reason, not many outsiders come here; most of the residents are from families that have lived here for generations."
Ye Chutang listened silently, her eyelids slightly lowered, her thoughts impossible to discern.
Seeing this, Su Pei’er continued, recounting everything she had seen and heard during her time here.
"...As for what makes Shiluan City different from other places, there is a mine outside the city."
Su Pei’er had never seen a mine with her own eyes before, so she had naturally paid special attention to it.
Ye Chutang’s eyelids lifted slightly. "Oh?"
Su Pei’er explained, "It’s not a large mine. I’ve only heard that the owner is an outsider who rarely comes to manage it. He just left a few foremen in charge to watch over the workers each day. The pay isn’t low, but the rules are so strict that few people can last long there."
This wasn’t a secret in Shiluan City; Su Pei’er had heard about it shortly after she first arrived.
Ye Chutang raised an eyebrow. "If it’s just a small mine, why would the foremen manage it so strictly?"
Su Pei’er shook her head. "That I don’t know. I only happened to see it from a distance a few times when I went outside the city, and it... it really didn’t look very large."
After a moment of thought, Ye Chutang suddenly asked, "Do you know where the mine’s owner is from?"
"I don’t know." Su Pei’er recalled for a moment. "I think because he rarely visits, the people in town don’t really talk about him."
’That’s even stranger.’
’No matter how small an iron mine is, it’s impossible to open one privately without connections to the authorities.’
’A person like that would be considered a major figure in a place like Shiluan City. There would surely be at least a few rumors circulating about him.’
’Especially an outsider. Without some serious influence, how could he suppress the local bigwigs?’
’And yet, there was hardly any news about him in the city.’
Ye Chutang fell into thought, then asked, "Where exactly is the iron mine located?"
Su Pei’er had a premonition. "You’re... you’re asking about this because you plan to go see it, aren’t you? But it’s heavily guarded. If you’re not one of the miners, you’ll be driven away the moment you get close."
Ye Chutang smiled. "Well, I don’t have anything else to do. It won’t hurt to take a look."
Su Pei’er: "..."
’Second Miss Ye made it sound so simple!’
"But you have an unfamiliar face, and you’re a woman! They’ll never let you in! If... if they’re disrespectful to you—"
’Those boorish men wouldn’t know Second Miss Ye’s identity. They’d have no scruples whatsoever!’
The corner of Ye Chutang’s lips curled. "Don’t worry, I’m not going today."
Su Pei’er let out a long sigh of relief.
But before a smile of relief could fully form on her face, she heard Ye Chutang add:
"I’ve been traveling for two days with hardly any rest. I’ll get some sleep first. It won’t be too late to go tomorrow after I wake up."
