If You're Going to Make Trouble, Make It Big

Just then, a lamp warden arrived to report, "The Chiyan Crown Prince has arrived and is waiting outside the tower." The Demon Emperor paced back, gazing out into the dark night sky. "Send him in." *** Before the sun had even set, the commoners of Lingxu City were already finishing work and heading home, bringing peak transit hours to the main thoroughfares and deer carriages alike. City regulations stipulated that during the Mao and Shen hours—one two-hour period in the morning and one in the evening—the main avenues were open only to horse carriages, bo-beast carriages, deer carriages, and yaoguai, all to prevent traffic congestion. Those able to ride horse carriages and bo beasts were either wealthy or noble. Simply put, private carriages were barred for ordinary folk during these two periods, leaving public deer carriages as their only option. The deer carriage He Lingchuan boarded was packed with forty people. Forget finding a seat—there was barely anywhere to plant one's feet. Pressed right up against him was a stout woman who was about as wide as she was tall, her head buried directly against his chest. That sweet rush-hour intimacy from his past life was back in full force. The main road was choked with carriages and beasts, forcing the deer carriage to crawl along in fits and starts. A journey of a mere ten li took over an hour of jolting. He Lingchuan finally reached his stop and had to fight his way off the carriage with great effort. The stout woman behind him looked faintly wistful as he left. After walking for another quarter of an hour and asking three passersby for directions, He Lingchuan at last arrived at his destination. He looked up at the shop sign before him: Songyang Mansion. The storefront of this branch was noticeably larger and more dazzling than Songyang Mansion's headquarters back in Shihuan City of the Yuan Kingdom. After all, in this capital of worldly splendor, a grander facade and higher prestige were essential to attracting patrons of elevated status. Stepping through the eight folding doors, one was greeted by a screen wall two zhang high, carved with an intricate panorama of the Wolong River. The waterfall rushed, cranes soared, and clouds drifted, seamlessly condensing a majestic river landscape into a single wall. Most miraculous of all, it even featured sound effects. The waterfall roared like thunder, and birds cried crisply. Though on a repeating loop, the sound never failed to draw attention. Many first-time passersby would pause to watch. Displaying their master craft right here at the entrance served Songyang Mansion far better than any clerk hawking outside. He Lingchuan admired the massive illusion screen. As long as he walked behind it, any prying eyes from outside would be cut off—if any were watching, that is. A clerk stepped forward with a beaming smile. "Is this your first visit, honored guest? May I show you around?" There were few patrons in the shop. He Lingchuan drew his Fang Dagger and laid it on the counter under the clerk's wary gaze. "This blade was custom-made for me by Songyang Mansion, but it has gone dull. I heard the maker is here and came specifically to have it sharpened." The clerk inspected the Fang Dagger. "Which master's handiwork is this?" He Lingchuan smiled. "Take it to the back. Someone will recognize it." Though somewhat doubtful, the clerk took the dagger in both hands and departed. He Lingchuan browsed the shop, his attention quietly fixed on the entrance. A few more customers entered in succession, none appearing to be undercover spies. After a dozen or so breaths, the clerk rushed back, his smile distinctly more attentive. "Honored guest, please follow me!" This branch followed the same layout: merchandise sales in the front, appraisals in the middle, and workshops in the rear. Only, the front area here was the largest, while the middle and back were smaller than those in Shihuan City. The facade was magnificent, but the back was far less spacious. After all, this was the central district of Lower Lingxu. Two or three days of rent for this shop would cover a month's expenses for He Chunhua's family of four. He Lingchuan ascended to the workshop's second floor and found Li Qingge. She wore a light, plain-colored blouse under a peach-pink open-front coat, which matched the fiery red foliage of the Boston ivy outside the window in breathtaking harmony. For a moment, He Lingchuan could hardly tell whether the woman was stepping out of a painting or if the painting framed her. The clerk slipped away at once. Li Qingge smiled. "Come, come. Special Envoy, please have a seat!" He Lingchuan sat down and noticed a cup of bright-red drink on the table, crimson as blood. "Is this for me, or for Fu Shanyue?" "You don't like pomegranate juice?" Li Qingge produced half a pomegranate from somewhere and waved it at him. "This time of year, Lingxu City's pomegranates are at their sweetest and reddest." Indeed, the seeds in her hand were so red they bordered on purple. Incidentally, her fair complexion also had a rosy glow. He Lingchuan then watched as she opened a paper packet and emptied a light yellow powder into the cup. What was that? His eyes nearly bugged out. "You're spiking my drink right in front of me?" She wasn't even bothering to hide it? "What are you thinking?" Li Qingge giggled. "It's dried citrus powder. Adding it enhances the flavor. Won't you try some?" What kind of man drank fruit juice? Even so, He Lingchuan picked it up and took a sip. "Mm, very good." Too sweet. He didn't care for it. "Were you and Second Master well on your journey, Marquis?" He had parted ways with Li Qingge and Second Master Shi in Tai'an City within the Chiyan Kingdom. The two of them had continued toward Lingxu City, while he had gone with Fu Shanyue to investigate the case. "Splendidly. As expected, once we separated from you, the journey was smooth sailing." He Lingchuan could only offer a wry smile at her conclusion. It certainly felt that way. "Second Master Shi is still in Lingxu City. Have you seen him?" He Lingchuan shook his head. "Not yet." "Want me to pass a message?" "No need. It's better if he stays out of my affairs for now." Second Master Shi knew parts of He Lingchuan's background. Now that Bai Ziqi was watching him closely, it would end poorly if they traced anything back to Second Master. He Lingchuan drew a cloud brocade pennant from his storage ring. "In a few days, please hand this pennant to Second Master. He will understand." When he left the Demon Nest Swamp to find a caravan bound for Lingxu City, he had made an agreement with the Shimen Merchant Guild: once he reached the capital, he would hand over Zhu Erniang's safe-conduct pass. From then on, the merchant guild could traverse the Demon Nest Swamp and act as exclusive agents for the burrow spiders' goods. Yet many unforeseen events had cropped up along the way, and He Lingchuan had parted company with the Shimen caravan back in Tai'an Town. Now that he had reached Lingxu City, he had to fulfill his end of the bargain. Li Qingge asked no further questions. Taking the pennant, she tucked it away and sighed. "You worry about troubling Second Master, but you're not afraid of troubling me?" He Lingchuan smiled. "Songyang Mansion has a storefront here. I came to do business." Li Qingge studied him closely. "I've heard a bit about young master He's exploits in Baishaqu as well." "Already?" He Lingchuan was pleasantly surprised. Even outside the Yuan Kingdom, Li Qingge remained extraordinarily well-informed. For someone new and unfamiliar with the area, this was a boon. "Zhongsun Mou went missing in Baishaqu, the son-in-law of the Minister of Agriculture was arrested, and Qingfu Temple burned to the ground. Word of all this has been spreading through Lingxu City for days," Li Qingge said with a smile. "Tell me, are these events connected?" "They are." He Lingchuan did not elaborate. "How much do you know about the details of Zhongsun Mou's disappearance?" "What I heard was that Zhongsun Mou was abducted in Baishaqu by a monster, and that monster was one of Cen Boqing's subordinates." "Anything else?" He Lingchuan pointed to himself. "Any mention of me?" "Hmm... no." Li Qingge considered it. "What I heard was that Zhongsun Mou wanted to dispose of the matter as a spy case, but the Chiyan Crown Prince obstructed him at every turn. As for you, the grand hero, you've been made entirely invisible." Who was He Lingchuan, after all? He hardly qualified to be placed on the gossip tables of Lingxu City. "If you ask me, that's a good thing for you." Ordinary folk did well to stay far away from the imperial capital's vortex. "Where did you hear all this, Marquis?" "Everyone knows it." Li Qingge chuckled. "What, are you trying to pry into my sources?" Young Master He had always known how to read the room. "Rumors usually come in many versions." Especially for such monumental gossip. Li Qingge gave a meaningful look. "From start to finish, I have heard only this single account." "Then someone likely circulated it deliberately to keep the story consistent." "Who knows?" Li Qingge shifted into an even more languid posture. "In that case, the Zhongsun clan might not even know someone like me exists?" "Hard to say. Didn't Zhongsun Mou take attendants with him to Baishaqu?" "He did." "If those attendants return to Lingxu City, the feud between you and Zhongsun Mou won't remain hidden." Li Qingge picked out a pomegranate seed and popped it into her mouth. "Are you afraid they'll come looking for trouble?" "I'd like to ask a favor of you, Marquis," He Lingchuan said with a smile. "Let them know I've arrived in Lingxu City." Li Qingge's chewing paused, and she looked at him in astonishment. His response had taken her completely by surprise. "You want to notify them?" The Zhongsun clan held considerable sway in Lingxu City. "Yes." He Lingchuan asked, "Would that be difficult?" "It can be done, but as the word spreads, others might find out as well." He Lingchuan frowned. Li Qingge assumed he was hesitating, but He Lingchuan suddenly clapped his hands and laughed. "Brilliant! A wonderful reminder, Marquis! It's best if all of Lingxu City finds out! Why didn't I think of that earlier?" If you're going to make trouble, make it big. Li Qingge set down the pomegranate and turned serious. "Young master, playing with fire is dangerous." "I've been standing on the precipice for a long time; one step back is the abyss." He Lingchuan dropped his smile as well. "The more public this becomes and the more people who know about me, the safer I will be." He pondered for a moment. "What kind of reputation does Zhongsun Mou have in Lingxu City?" Li Qingge covered her mouth with a laugh. "His great-grandfather, Zhongsun Chi, was quite renowned. In his early years, he persuaded two aquatic tribes to surrender to Beijia, significantly bolstering Lingxu City's naval power. But by Zhongsun Mou's generation, they are merely ordinary sons of official families, nothing out of the ordinary." To think a merman swimming in the water was named "Chi," meaning to gallop on land. He Lingchuan found the thought amusing. "Zhongsun Mou was even appointed as an Inspector." He Lingchuan was not well-versed in the official system of Lingxu, but seeing how Zhongsun Mou carried that title, even Fu Shanyue had hesitated to kill him outright. If Mai Xuewen, an escaped convict, had not intervened, Zhongsun Mou could have swaggered through Baishaqu with impunity. "How can the sons of official families advance their careers without building up credentials?" Li Qingge possessed considerable insight into the capital's affairs. "Three or four hundred years ago, Inspectors had to be close confidants of the Emperor or Censors, sent down to inspect local regions, assess the people's plight, and examine policy execution so bureaucrats could not deceive the imperial ear. But the greater an Inspector's power grew, the more disputes they became embroiled in, and the more wary the Emperor became of them. Nowadays, an Inspector is merely an empty title. The Emperor began using other means to keep watch over the provinces long ago."