The next day, Ma the Fifth had largely recovered, and Li Banfeng immediately discharged him from the hospital.
Zuo Wugang marveled, "The medical skill in this hospital is truly miraculous. It's just that business last night—things were a bit restless."
Critick and Wan Jinxian's clash in the hospital hadn't gone unnoticed by Zuo Wugang.
Huo Ling took it in stride. "Let them fight their fight. It has nothing to do with us anyway. If they dare drag Fifth Brother into it, let them just try."
Ma the Fifth looked at Huo Ling and couldn't help but shake his head repeatedly.
Shui Yongquan hadn't been wrong back then: Huo Ling was neither cut out to be an assassin nor a guard.
Yet Huo Ling was very fond of Lüshui City, and Ma the Fifth couldn't bear to send her back.
She was an ardent woman—and down there, she was exceptionally hot.
Back at Xiaoyaowu, Ma the Fifth recounted what had happened: a middle-aged man had whispered a warning beside him, and immediately afterward, Ma the Fifth had fallen ill.
Li Banfeng knew the middle-aged man Ma the Fifth mentioned was Critick's senior brother. He knew the man had come looking for him, and he knew the man was one of He Jiaqing's subordinates.
But who was this eldest senior brother, really?
Zuo Wugang did have some impression. "I caught a glimpse in the corridor yesterday. That man was covered in rashes—thoroughly revolting. But looking at his back, he seemed like Wan Jinxian."
Huo Ling started. "Who is Wan Jinxian?"
"The strategist for the Lu family's Second Master, Lu Dongjun. The old bastard is thoroughly sinister. In the past, Lu Dongliang was always telling us to stay on guard against him."
Li Banfeng listened quietly from the side. Combining this with the conversation between Critick and Wan Jinxian from the night before, a thread of a clue slowly surfaced in his mind.
It was faint, with traceable breadcrumbs, yet fragmented and disjointed.
He needed to sort this out properly.
Ma the Fifth was still frail, so Li Banfeng had him rest early. He then returned to his Portable Abode and carefully combed through last year's newspapers.
Back in Yaowanggou, Li Banfeng had gained his first comprehensive understanding of Puluo Province from a stack of old newspapers bought at the Lu Family Bookshop. Ever since, he had kept up the habit of saving newspapers.
During the days Haichiling was struck by disaster, Lu Dongjun had enjoyed his finest hour, appearing frequently across newspapers large and small. Li Banfeng found a considerable amount of news related to him.
But crucially, which person was Wan Jinxian?
At last, he found it.
In a local Haichiling newspaper, Li Banfeng spotted a report mentioning Wan Jinxian, who had distributed grain to disaster victims on Lu Dongjun's behalf.
Lu Dongjun had earned immense prestige during the early stages of the pest control campaign, undoubtedly relying on Wan Jinxian's pathogens. It was only later, when the mosquitoes mutated, that Lu Dongjun met his downfall.
Yet back then, could Wan Jinxian really not think of a single solution?
He surely could have. Merely concocting another epidemic would have checked the mosquitoes' numbers. Though that would only treat the symptoms rather than the root cause, it could have at least bought Lu Dongjun time.
Yet Wan Jinxian had done no such thing, and not long after, Lu Dongjun vanished without a trace.
From the start, Wan Jinxian had never intended to help Lu Dongjun eliminate the pests. He had merely lured Lu Dongjun to Haichiling, first letting him bask in glory, only to see him utterly ruined and disgraced.
What was his objective in doing so?
To be precise, it wasn't Wan Jinxian's objective—it was He Jiaqing's. Wan Jinxian was He Jiaqing's subordinate.
Li Banfeng spread out the newspapers one by one, specifically searching for the news from Haichiling during that period.
After searching for over half an hour, Li Banfeng caught a crucial piece of information in the reports.
Businesses.
Businesses in Haichiling!
After achieving success with pest eradication in Toudaoling, Lu Dongjun had acquired a vast number of businesses. The news back then included numerous photographs of Lu Dongjun signing contracts; many businesses in Haichiling had fallen under his name.
Yet where did all those businesses end up?
Continuing to flip through the papers, Li Banfeng discovered that Lu Dongjun had sold them all off again.
Shen Rongqing, Qian Xiangjun, Duan Shuqun...
Li Banfeng had never heard of any of these merchants.
Lu Dongjun had acted just like a middleman, gathering businesses into his hands only to disperse them all within a short span of time.
What was the reason for this?
Businesses...
Back then, a massive deal seemed to have taken place.
Who had made it?
Chu the Second!
Flipping further back through the papers, Li Banfeng discovered that before heading to Haichiling, Lu Dongjun had also sold off many of the Lu family's businesses in Lüshui City. The most prominent transaction had been Lu Dongjun selling the Paramount to Chu the Second!
Later on, most of those businesses were bought back by Qiu Zhiheng, yet a portion had been acquired by others.
Acquired by whom?
Shen Rongqing, Duan Shuqun...
The same group of people again!
Li Banfeng stared at the newspapers, thoughts racing furiously in his mind.
"Oh, my dear husband, why are you so studious today? Come try on this suit of armor. It is truly a rare find..."
"Darling Wife, forget the armor for a moment. Sing me a cheerful song."
"Husband, what brings such good spirits today?"
"I'm not in good spirits. My condition is about to flare up."
What a massive scheme.
What an enormous game!
Li Banfeng's brain was nearing overload.
Hearing that his condition was about to flare up, the gramophone hurriedly began singing "Stars and Hearts Aligned":
"A star on the horizon shines upon my heart, and my heart holds the imprint of one alone. Giving me moisture when I run dry, offering me guidance when I lose my way..."
Accompanied by violin and piano, the gramophone's tender, affectionate singing quickly soothed Li Banfeng, allowing him to gradually piece the information together.
He Jiaqing had used Wan Jinxian to lure Lu Dongjun to Haichiling.
During that time, Lu Dongjun had served as nothing more than a pawn, sweeping up a massive fortune in businesses for He Jiaqing.
Adding these businesses reported in the papers to the Ling family's backing, He Jiaqing's current assets were by no means inferior to any of the Four Great Families.
Was this the capital he intended to use to rebuild Puluo Province?
More than that!
In their conversation last night, the two had spoken of He Haiqin.
He Haiqin had fallen ill because Wan Jinxian had poisoned him with disease.
If Wan Jinxian had merely been Lu Dongjun's strategist, doing so would have made perfect sense.
Yet if this had been carried out under He Jiaqing's orders, the matter became far more complicated.
Li Banfeng had bought three and a half full years' worth of newspapers from the Lu Family Bookshop back then, and among them, he found the report of He Haiqin falling gravely ill.
It was at that very moment that Wan Jinxian had afflicted He Haiqin with disease.
Before He Haiqin fell ill, the news had largely focused on the feud between the He and Lu families. Looking at the overall trend, the He family had held a slight advantage back then.
After He Haiqin fell ill, the Lu family came to dominate entirely. In other words, from that time onward, He Jiaqing had already begun manipulating the balance of power in Puluo Province.
And what came next?
Next, I arrived.
Li Banfeng laid out the newspapers one by one, spreading them all the way from the main room into the seventh room.
The gramophone sang through the song again and again, terrified that Li Banfeng's condition might erupt. Yet Li Banfeng remained remarkably calm.
The clues grew clearer and clearer.
After Li Banfeng arrived in Puluo Province, waves of turmoil had crashed one after another without pause. Once Lu Dongliang died, the Lu family fell into chaos, and seizing the opportunity, the Ling family rose.
Had all of this been within He Jiaqing's control?
Not necessarily.
Lu Dongliang's death certainly couldn't have been within He Jiaqing's calculations; he never could have anticipated that Lu Dongliang would die at my hands.
Yet the Lu family's great turmoil was inevitably tied to him. From the news at the time, the Lu and He families had openly fallen out over the contention for the Red Lotus.
As for whether He Yuxiu or Lu Dongjun had attacked Lu Dongliang, that could be set aside for the moment. So long as both families plunged into crisis, He Jiaqing's objective was achieved.
Was that why he had me bring the Red Lotus back to Puluo Province?
Logically, it made sense.
He Jiaqing's identity was far too conspicuous. Had he brought the Red Lotus back himself, word would have leaked out without fail. The He family would have come under siege, and he wouldn't have been able to keep himself out of it either—he likely would have become the focal target of the siege.
Yet there was a flaw in the process.
He didn't need to bring the Red Lotus back at all.
He could have kept the Red Lotus in the Outer States indefinitely.
He had already used the technique of Parting Across Ten Thousand Li to trap Lu Xiaolan in the He family ancestral residence, and he had feigned being a victim, successfully lying in the hospital.
All he needed to do was spread word that the Red Lotus had been seized by Lu Xiaolan, that Lu Xiaolan had vanished, leaving the Lu family unable to defend themselves and sinking into dire straits.
Meanwhile, He Jiaqing could stay in Yuezhou, using the Red Lotus to refine pills to his heart's content. Wouldn't that have been the most perfect outcome for him?
Why had he insisted on having me bring the Red Lotus back?
Why did the Red Lotus have to return to Puluo Province?
The clues had not yet been fully unraveled.
Just when had He Jiaqing begun setting up this board?
Was it after he went to Yuezhou, or had it started while he was still in Puluo Province?
Li Banfeng had no earlier newspapers.
He really should have bought more old newspapers back then; their value was simply too immense.
Was there a similar place in Lüshui City?
Li Banfeng held the gramophone and shared an affectionate moment with her. Confirming that Li Banfeng wasn't suffering an episode, the gramophone was relieved as well.
Stepping out of the Portable Abode, Li Banfeng asked Zuo Wugang, "Is there anywhere in Lüshui City that sells old newspapers?"
"Newspapers... well, newspapers..." Zuo Wugang knew few characters and rarely read newspapers. The question put him on the spot.
Chu Xuan, a songstress at Xiaoyaowu who enjoyed reading newspapers, knew of a place.
"On Wansheng Road, behind Ningshou Restaurant, there's a Lu Family Bookshop. I've been there once; they sell old newspapers."
Li Banfeng knew Ningshou Restaurant; he had had drinks there before.
Just as Li Banfeng was about to leave, he turned back and asked, "Which bookshop did you say?"
"Lu Family Bookshop."
The one selling old newspapers in Yaowanggou had been the Lu Family Bookshop.
How could it also be called the Lu Family Bookshop here in Lüshui City?
A chain store?
Li Banfeng soon arrived at the Lu Family Bookshop. The shop wasn't large, but it looked familiar. The storefront and signboard were identical to the Lu Family Bookshop in Yaowanggou.
Did a chain store standardize things so thoroughly?
Not only was the facade identical, but even the interior layout was the same.
"Looking to buy books?" Boss Lu came forward to welcome his guest.
Even the boss was the very same man!
Li Banfeng asked, "Weren't you doing business in Yaowanggou before?"
The boss's eyes lit up. "You recognize me? I was indeed in Yaowanggou before. Later on, as business improved, I moved here to Lüshui City."
So that was how it was.
Li Banfeng nodded. "I'd like to buy some newspapers."
"Right this way, please."
***
"Here are the newspapers you requested. Check the dates first to see if they're right." Boss Lu handed a stack of newspapers to Qiu Zhiheng. Qiu Zhiheng paid the money and carried the newspapers back to Qiu's Medicine Shop.
His wife, standing nearby, asked, "Why did you bring back so many old newspapers?"
Qiu Zhiheng replied, "I never managed the business in Yaowanggou much in the past. I need to take a close look at the local situation."
His wife smiled. "You've weathered so many fierce storms in your life. Couldn't you see through the situation in Yaowanggou at a single glance?"
Qiu Zhiheng shook his head. "At a glance, one can see a general picture at best. If you miss a single detail, it could lead to immense trouble."
As they spoke, the medicine delivery arrived.
His wife smiled and said, "That girl delivering the medicine is quite delightful. I'll go see her."
Qiu Zhiheng asked offhandedly, "Which girl?"
"From old Xue's family in Sanpuzhuang in Waigou. Her name is Xue Yingying."
Qiu Zhiheng thought for a moment and shook his head. "Has she been here before?"
"How could she not have been? She was the one who delivered the medicine last time. Her nickname is Caoye."
Chapter 325