The two large bundles mysteriously left outside the tent couldn't be returned as the person who left them was nowhere to be found.
The Ying family decided to treat the food items and ten strings of copper coins in the bundles as disaster relief assets from the government, distributing them equally among their similarly disaster-stricken neighbors.
There was something Ying Xiaoman had been pondering for a while. Earlier, when they lit incense in the tent and bowed three times towards her adoptive father's grave back home, she also made a silent decision in her heart.
She discussed with her Adoptive Mother: "Mom, we came to the capital to avenge Father. Since we can't do that now... Mom, let's leave."
Her Adoptive Mother was shocked and stopped her needlework.
"Leave...?" She finally spoke after a while, "Where to? Back to our hometown?"
"Yes, let's go back home first to visit Father's grave, burn some incense, and tell him everything that happened in the capital. Autumn is approaching, so we can spend this fall and winter accompanying Father at home. Then next spring—"
"By next spring, you'll be seventeen," her Adoptive Mother was truly reluctant to waste half a year back in their hometown.
"A seventeen-year-old girl in her prime, shouldn't you be looking for a good match here in the capital instead of going back to our hometown? Those misfits in the nearby villages are no match for you. Your father drove them all away two years ago!"
Ying Xiaoman insisted on returning home to visit the grave.
"We'll discuss next year's plans when the time comes. For now, let's go back home this fall and winter to be with Father."
Her Adoptive Mother carefully scrutinized her expression.
Compared to Ying Xiaoman's initial fury and occasional outbursts of temper, her current suppressed anger and seemingly calm demeanor... actually resembled a volcano about to erupt even more!
Her Adoptive Mother vaguely guessed that since the Seventh Young Master turned out to be the very person the Ying family had come to the capital seeking revenge against, firstly, the girl was having a hard time accepting it; secondly, she might feel guilty towards her father for giving up on revenge.
"If you want to go back home to see your father, that's fine. Let's leave the capital for a while," her Adoptive Mother relented. "It's a good chance for your father to meet the little one. We'll take the baby back home, visit your father's grave, and let him see the child's face."
As she spoke, her Adoptive Mother began to worry again.
"It's not a short trip from the capital to our hometown! And we're left with so little after the fire..." She rummaged through a blackened pile of copper coins, "At most two strings. For travel expenses, food, and lodging for several months back home..."
Ying Xiaoman stood up and walked outside.
"We rented the house in Seven Scholars Lane for two full years. Now that the house has burned down, I'll go find the broker and ask if we can get a refund on the prepaid rent and deposit."
Her Adoptive Mother called out after her: "Don't forget about the butcher shop storefront! We'll be coming back to the capital next spring, right? It's hard to find such a good location, so give the old couple at the meat bun shop a definite answer and ask them to keep it for us—"
Ying Xiaoman's mind was in chaos, but she remained silent.
This fall and winter, they would return home to accompany her father.
But where they would be next spring, whether the whole family should return to the capital, whether to keep the butcher shop storefront, how to face the Seventh Young Master, no, Yan Rongshi, the head of the Yan family...
Her mind was a mess at the moment, and she couldn't think clearly.
She decided to find the broker first and get back the rent and deposit before making any decisions.
*
The House Broker wasn't hard to find.
Among the dozen or so rented houses in Seven Scholars Lane, three or four households had gone through the same House Broker.
With houses burned down and tenants dead or injured, the broker had been busy these past few days, either being summoned by officials for questioning or called by property owners for inquiries, running around in circles.
Today, the broker was outside the temporary tent set up by the Shen family. Madam Shen, having narrowly escaped death, was lying inside in a daze, so it fell to the eldest son, Shen Junqing, to stand at the tent entrance and speak with the broker. Shen Junqing's temper wasn't as good as Madam Shen's, and he immediately lashed out at the broker, driving him eight feet away.
"The house has burned to the ground, tenants barely escaped with their lives, and you, as a broker, show no compassion, only caring about collecting money for your employer! Feel your own chest, is your heart red or black? How can you call yourself human!"
The broker, caught in this situation, was like a mouse in a bellows — squeezed from both sides. He sighed and bowed repeatedly:
"I dare not offend Young Master Shen. It's just that the Shen family's situation is special. Other tenants paid twenty-four months' rent upfront when they rented the houses, plus one month's deposit, following the 'twenty-four plus one' custom. With this fire, the property owner has said that it's a natural disaster, not the tenant's fault. For those who prepaid two years' rent, the owner will cover all repair costs, hiring bricklayers and roofers out of his own pocket, no questions asked."
"But the Shen family didn't pay 'twenty-four plus one'! In fact, since this year, you've been in arrears with the rent every month. The owner says that either the Shen family pays half the repair costs and continues to rent after repairs, or the Shen family moves out of Seven Scholars Lane immediately, and the owner will write off the previous debts—"
"A virtuous person offers help in times of need, while a vicious one kicks others when they're down!" Shen Junqing shouted angrily. Ying Xiaoman, who had just approached, was startled and stopped in her tracks, raising her hands to cover her buzzing ears.
"...Should I come back later?" she asked.
The House Broker, however, had been looking for her too. He immediately left the Shen family and hurried over to her.
"Wait, wait, I have something to discuss with Miss Ying!" he said.
The two moved away from the crowd and stopped by a quiet section of the wall. The broker sighed and complained, "Miss Ying, you haven't been fair in your dealings. You deceived me when renting the house, and now the truth has come out. You've caused me to be severely scolded by the property owner."
Ying Xiaoman grew more and more confused.
"What deception are you talking about? What truth has come out? Please explain clearly."
The broker replied, "You're still denying it to my face. The property owner also wants me to inform the Ying family that either you make up the full fifty taels of silver for renting the house, and the owner will pretend nothing happened, allowing you to continue living there with the owner paying for the repairs out of his own pocket; or, like the Shen family, you should move out as soon as possible!"
Ying Xiaoman was bewildered.
"What nonsense are you talking about? Didn't I give you the fifty taels of silver for rent before we moved in, when we signed the lease?"
"You're still denying it. Fine, see for yourself. I've brought the physical evidence." The broker opened his cloth bag and took out a half-melted silver ingot.
"This is the fifty-tael silver ingot you gave when signing the contract. Do you recognize it, Miss Ying?"
Ying Xiaoman held it in her hands, examining it from all angles.
"You've melted the silver ingot. How am I supposed to tell if it's the one I gave you?"
"Oh, I didn't melt it," the broker explained.
It turned out that in the capital, most transactions used copper coins and paper notes, with gold bars used for large deals, while silver ingots were rarely seen.
This type of fifty-tael pure silver ingot was even rarer in the market, mostly used only for government tax collection and storage. When the property owner first saw it, he said it was a rare find and kept it in his safe for several months without touching it.
"Now with the fire, the owner urgently needs money for house repairs. Remembering this fifty-tael silver ingot, he took it to a silver shop intending to exchange it for fifty strings of paper notes. The silver shop melted the ingot on the spot. Who would have thought that in front of everyone, when the silver ingot entered the fire — it revealed an iron lump inside!"
The broker turned the half-melted silver ingot around, exposing a black iron chunk beneath the large silver outer layer.
He struggled to insert his finger and pry out the blackened iron lump, showing it to Ying Xiaoman:
"This ingot claimed to be fifty taels of silver, but the iron lump inside weighs at least ten taels. Miss Ying, if your family is not well-off, you could have chosen a cheaper area to live. How could you deceive me by melting an iron key from your house with the silver ingot, pretending it was fifty taels of pure silver? Look for yourself, isn't this a scam?"
The broker grew more aggrieved as he spoke, handing the silver ingot and iron lump to Ying Xiaoman for her to examine.
Ying Xiaoman was puzzled. She took them and carefully inspected them in the sunlight.
Silver ingot transactions were indeed rare in the market. In her few months in the capital, she hadn't seen any business using silver ingots. Most of the silver shop business in the capital was for making silver cups, plates, and wine vessels.
So, this half-melted fifty-tael silver ingot should be the one she had given? The one her father had solemnly handed to her before his death?
How could there be an iron lump stuffed inside to deceive people?
She pondered as she carefully examined the iron lump.
It had melted partially in the fire, losing its shape at the edges, but the overall outline was still visible. It did indeed resemble an iron key used to lock a house gate, wrapped in the outer layer of silver, forming a fake silver ingot with silver outside and iron inside.
The iron lump was covered in rust spots, clearly indicating the forgery was years old.
Ying Xiaoman was at a loss for words.
There were so many dishonest people in the capital.
Perhaps her father had been deceived when he was in the capital before.
... Though not entirely deceived.
She weighed it in her hand. Subtracting the ten-ounce iron lump, there was still a forty-ounce silver ingot left.
Forty ounces of silver could be exchanged for forty strings of copper coins.
The silver ingot left by her father was lost and found again. With this thought, Ying Xiaoman's mood suddenly brightened from cloudy to sunny.
The house broker was still staring at her intently, waiting for an explanation.
Ying Xiaoman hugged the silver ingot and negotiated with the broker: "The Ying family is moving out."
"What?"
"The Ying family only lived in Seven Scholars Lane for three and a half months. Let's round it up to four months. The rent for four months is eight strings of copper coins. The Ying family will pay the full amount of eight strings, which you can come and collect tomorrow. We won't be living in the burned house anymore. Let the owner take it back and slowly repair it."
"What?!"
After finishing her statement, Ying Xiaoman walked away satisfied, hugging the forty-ounce silver ingot. The broker, still in shock, chased after her: "Miss Ying, if you're not staying in Seven Scholars Lane, where will you move to? Do you need my help to find another place in the north of the city?"
"No need. We're going back to our hometown for a few months."
These exchanges were spoken loudly enough that Shen Junqing, who was waiting nearby to continue haggling with the broker, heard clearly. He too chased after her in shock, asking, "The Ying family... is leaving the capital to return to your hometown? Will you come back in the future?"
Ying Xiaoman wasn't sure herself.
She turned back and smiled at Shen Junqing without answering.
After walking about a hundred paces, reaching her family's tent and leaving neighbor Shen Anu behind, Ying Xiaoman showed the silver ingot she had brought back to her adoptive mother:
"Mother, I got back father's silver ingot from the broker. There was a bit of an incident, but we still have forty ounces left. After deducting eight strings for four months' rent, we still have over thirty ounces. It's enough for us to make a trip back home and live there for a few months."
Her adoptive mother was both delighted and regretful, calling Zhi over to touch the silver ingot left by her adoptive father.
"For this trip back home with a four-year-old youngest child, we'll need to buy some things for the little one, and prepare a good carriage for the journey..."
As she touched the heirloom and muttered, her adoptive mother suddenly remembered something.
"Before your father left, didn't he instruct you to go to the Great Xiangguo Temple and find a restaurant manager to pass on a message, asking someone to escort us out of the city? I remember you mentioning it twice."
Indeed, her adoptive father had repeatedly instructed this before he passed away.
After successfully taking revenge, she was to take the fifty-ounce silver ingot to "Yuqing Tower" near the Great Xiangguo Temple, find the manager and say "An old friend has come to return fifty ounces of silver," and someone would then lead her out of the capital.
Her adoptive mother's mind became active: "Your father asked his friend to escort us out of the capital, and they're wealthy enough to run a restaurant. They probably won't charge us, right? That would save us a lot on the journey."
Ying Xiaoman stared at the silver ingot, feeling somewhat troubled.
First of all, the revenge hadn't been successful.
Secondly, the weight of the silver ingot was already insufficient, and they still had to set aside eight strings of coins.
"If we go to Yuqing Tower to find someone, we'll have to give away father's silver ingot. We agreed to return fifty ounces, but we only have a little over thirty ounces of silver left to give... Isn't that improper?"
Her adoptive mother pondered: "I think the message he asked you to deliver is just a prearranged code, not really about returning money. Someone who runs a restaurant certainly doesn't lack money. If you deliver the agreed code, your father's friend will help escort us out of the city for free."
"Really?" Ying Xiaoman was half-skeptical, "What if they insist on us paying them back?"
"Even if we encounter someone unreasonable, can't you just turn around and leave?"
That made sense.
Ying Xiaoman relaxed and started eating grapes: "Tomorrow, I'll take Zhi to play around the Great Xiangguo Temple area, and look for Yuqing Tower while we're there. It's been so many years, I wonder if father's old friend's business is still doing well, and if Yuqing Tower is still there."
As they were talking, footsteps were heard outside the tent.
Someone knocked on the tent pole a few times, "Is Miss Ying at home? The weather is scorching, so the Young Master has instructed us to bring some chilled fresh fruits and some emergency heat-relief medicine that we keep at home."
Yan Rongshi's people had come again.
Ying Xiaoman was still eating grapes. In an instant, she darted to the edge of the wooden bed and crouched down, shaking her head at her mother.
She still couldn't get over that mental hurdle and hadn't figured out how to face Yan Rongshi, the head of the Yan family, who bore the face and voice of the Seventh Young Master.
Her adoptive mother sighed as she got up, holding Zhi's hand as they went out to meet Yan Rongshi's people.
A series of refusals could be heard from outside the tent.
The Yan family's senior attendant who had been sent to deliver the items today was somewhat troubled.
"The Young Master instructed me to say that it's fine if you don't accept the other items. But please do accept the nourishing medicinal food package brought for Madam Ying. The value of nourishing medicinal food lies in long-term consumption, it mustn't be interrupted..."
As her adoptive mother was still refusing, the curtain was suddenly pulled open, and Ying Xiaoman emerged from the tent, taking the ten packages of medicine from the senior attendant's hands.
"We'll take the medicine packages. Thank him for me."
The Yan family's senior attendant was overjoyed, repeatedly agreeing, then quickly unloaded a set of small stone pots, stoves, and pestles for decocting medicine from the carriage:
"These come together with the medicine. The Young Master instructed me to tell Miss Ying that since you've accepted the medicine packages, please accept the utensils for decocting the medicine as well."
Since they had already accepted the medicine packages, how could they not accept the utensils for decocting them?
Ying Xiaoman: "...Thank him for me."
Holding the medicine packages in her left hand and the decocting utensils in her right, the Yan family's senior attendant was about to leave with the fresh fruit box that the Ying family had refused to accept, when Zhi suddenly burst into tears, feeling wronged.
"I want to eat watermelon. The Seventh Young Master promised me last time that he'd send me watermelon. Why won't big sister let me take it? I want the watermelon the Seventh Young Master sent me..."
Ying Xiaoman: "..."
The double-layered box, lacquered black and inlaid with mother-of-pearl, was opened to reveal neatly arranged large slices of fresh red watermelon, with crushed ice piled around the edges.
They had no choice but to accept the fresh fruits as well. Zhi held the double-layered ice box, her large grape-like eyes brimming with tears as she smiled.
Ying Xiaoman: "...Thank him for me."
Watching the Seventh Young Master's people walk away, they carried the packages and items into the tent. Ying Xiaoman muttered under her breath: "So scheming, slyly wicked."
Her adoptive mother fondly touched the exquisitely designed small stone pot and stove:
"This Seventh Young Master, he's indeed quite scheming. The previous times when you refused to accept the things he sent, he just found different ways to send them. But he doesn't use his scheming mind for bad things. He's trying every way he can to be good to our family, so he can't be called wicked..."
Zhi happily munched on watermelon, interjecting: "The Seventh Young Master isn't bad. He's very nice."
Ying Xiaoman grabbed a handful of dry pine twigs that came with the pot set, squatting in front of the small stone stove to light a fire and decoct the medicine. The tinder for lighting the fire and the palm-leaf fan for fanning the flames were all well-prepared and sent over in one go.
She picked up the palm-leaf fan, fanned the small flame that had just started under the stone stove a few times, and muttered under her breath:
"Slyly wicked."
Around the third watch of the night.
The two black-lacquered main gates of the Ministry of Justice opened from the inside.
The old gatekeeper led the way with a trembling lantern: "Your Highness, Deputy Minister Yan, it's late, watch your step."
Yan Rongshi thanked him gently, stepping out of the gate alongside Zhao Qizhen.
There had been significant progress in the case over the past two days, and Zhao Qizhen's face, which had been gloomy for many days, finally showed a hint of a smile.
"It's fortunate we made the arrests in time," Zhao Qizhen sighed. "These minor officials colluding in secret, with their intricate connections, are truly formidable."
"Indeed," said Yan Rongshi.
Judicial Officer Bian worked right in the Ministry of Justice. If the arrest had been delayed even a step, allowing him to leak information about the Zhou family's fire to the detained Chubby Zhou, and then provoke him with a few words as a "good friend," redirecting blame elsewhere and causing Chubby Zhou to falsely accuse others out of resentment, this lead would have been lost. Judicial Officer Bian himself could have easily escaped as well.
Fortunately, the arrest was made in time. Chubby Zhou had provided quite a few confessions, and Judicial Officer Bian had also been imprisoned and had his property confiscated.
Goods were expensive in the capital, and luxury was highly valued. The numerous low-ranking officials under the Six Ministries received monthly salaries that were neither high nor low, sufficient to maintain a basic living but difficult to maintain a respectable appearance.
Many minor officials had been in the capital for years, reaching their forties or fifties without being able to buy a house, dragging their families to live in rented accommodations.
Yet the capital was prosperous everywhere, with noble families spending money like water.
Shrimp have their shrimp ways, crabs have their crab ways. The minor officials managing daily affairs in the Six Ministries each displayed their unique abilities, each seeking ways to make money.
Chubby Zhou was in charge of the Ministry of Justice's warehouse. From time to time, he would take out some good items stored in the warehouse to sell, writing them off in the accounts as "rusted" or "lost." He had taken care of all the inspectors and warehouse keepers, creating a mutually beneficial situation for everyone, opening doors of convenience.
Later, he got to know Judicial Officer Bian from the Ministry of Justice.
Judicial Officer Bian was responsible for document handovers, occasionally transferring a batch of confiscated goods from the Ministry of Justice to the Ministry of Justice's warehouse for storage.
The confiscated goods were actually loaded onto carts and transported to the Ministry of Justice. When the two sides reconciled their accounts, with a stroke of the pen, several items from each cart would silently disappear from the records.
Chubby Zhou testified: "I didn't handle the goods. The accounts were balanced on both sides. Judicial Officer Bian found his own ways to sell the goods, while I just sat at home collecting money. We've been cooperating for four or five years without any issues."
"The Ministry of Justice and Ministry of Justice are clean offices. Valuable confiscated goods have long been sold off by the government, and what's left in storage are mostly worthless items that can't be sold. What we handle are small amounts. The annual records of 'rust damage', 'wear and tear', and 'too old for use' from the Ministry of War; and the yearly 'transportation losses' and 'material wastage' from the Ministry of Works - now those are the real big sums."
Eleventh Brother looked up at the sky. It was between 11 pm and 1 am, and the street's restaurants had all closed.
"Want to come to my place for a few drinks? Tomorrow morning we'll go to the Ministry of War to check the accounts. Let's see how much military equipment has been recorded as 'rust damage', 'wear and tear', and 'too old for use' over the years, and where it all ended up."
Yan Rongshi glanced at his friend with a smile: "The price of a drink at your place isn't small. If we go straight to the Ministry of War to check accounts tomorrow morning, we might not come out for ten days or half a month. You just wait."
He beckoned Sui Miao, who was holding the horses nearby, to come over a few steps away and asked about the situation at the Ying family.
"Were the things we sent over today received?"
Sui Miao reported truthfully: "The items sent over today - ten packages of medicine, the stove for decocting medicine, and the box of fresh fruits - were all received by Miss Ying. She sent a message thanking you."
"Good that she received them." Yan Rongshi looked up at the deep night sky with the moon past its zenith. He couldn't go tonight.
"Does the Ying family have any plans for tomorrow?"
Sui Miao: "When Zhi finished eating watermelon and returned the box after coming out of the tent, she mentioned that Miss Ying was planning to take her to play at the Great Xiangguo Temple tomorrow."
"The area around the Great Xiangguo Temple is very large. Does she plan to worship and offer incense, or just browse the temple fair and market?"
"Neither. It seems they're going to a restaurant near the Great Xiangguo Temple to drink or something..."
Yan Rongshi chuckled: "Taking a four-year-old girl to a restaurant for drinks? Zhi must have misunderstood again. The Ying family just suffered a disaster, they're probably going to the Great Xiangguo Temple to pray for blessings."
Eleventh Brother was still waiting eagerly for him to come over for drinks, and then go straight to the Ministry of War to check accounts.
Yan Rongshi negotiated with Eleventh Brother: "Let's skip the drinks tonight. I'll take half a day off tomorrow morning, and I'll go with you to check the accounts at the Ministry of War in the afternoon."
Eleventh Brother was very surprised: "At this crucial moment in investigating the major case of military equipment reselling, why are you taking half a day off?"
Yan Rongshi: "Well, to offer incense at the Great Xiangguo Temple."
The moon illuminated various parts of the capital city in the deep night.
Meanwhile.
Outside the Ying family's tent, a small oil lamp was lit.
A small fire was burning under a stone pot, and Ying Xiaoman occasionally poured oil into the fire to help it burn.
She was struggling to melt silver.
A half-melted silver nugget with a large hollow in the middle hiding an iron nugget would be too embarrassing to show her father's old friend in the capital.
She at least wanted to melt it into the shape of a complete silver ingot. It would look better when presented and wouldn't embarrass her father.