In the dead of night, Shen Fugui knocked on his own door. Shen Yuning suddenly sat up and rushed to open it.
Outside the door, Shen Fugui lowered his voice and said, "It's done."
Old Man Zhang accompanied the siblings on their way to Shen's Embroidery Workshop. On the way, he learned that Shen Yuning had been running the workshop at a loss for some time just to catch the villain who had repeatedly obstructed her business.
Shen Fugui vividly recounted what had happened that night. It turned out that when he helped Xuanzhi spread the oilcloth, he found that among those precious bolts of cloth, only the top few were of the finest quality, while the rest underneath were ordinary cloth of the same color.
Sensing something was amiss, Xuanzhi then told him Shen Yuning's plan. The two of them worked together. When they went to Yong's Cloth Shop to buy new bolts of cloth, they also sent the screen that Shen Yuning had just embroidered there for safekeeping.
Hearing this, Old Man Zhang was even more surprised. "That Yong's Cloth Shop is our rival. Aren't you afraid they'll harm us?"
Shen Yuning explained, "I used to think so too, but I've since changed my mind. When something happened to our embroidery workshop, Yong's Cloth Shop would be the first one everyone suspected. But they've always been very concerned about their reputation. How could they do something that would harm themselves while trying to harm us? I had a deep conversation with their shopkeeper some time ago. The shopkeeper felt that the previous incident at our embroidery workshop had already had a significant impact on their cloth shop, so they were very willing to help us this time."
The bright moon illuminated their path forward. Old Man Zhang looked seriously at the young girl in front of him and let out a long sigh. "Yuning girl, so you've spent so much effort just to set up this trap?"
Shen Yuning nodded. "Yes. That person behind all this has bullied me again and again. I really can't figure it out. If I don't catch the mastermind, I'll always be timid in everything I do. That's not my style, and I'll never just sit back and wait for disaster."
Old Man Zhang didn't say much. He had long noticed that Shen Yuning wasn't the weak rural girl his brother had described. But he didn't ask. If they didn't want to say, there must be their reasons.
Shen Fugui continued, "We hadn't been guarding the warehouse for long when two men came with fire starters. They wanted to burn down our warehouse just like last time. And you calculated correctly. That fake embroidered screen has already been burned. Yuning, Xuanzhi is really good at this. He tied up those two men in no time. He's even more capable than I am, a grown man."
Shen Yuning smiled. "He's been practicing martial arts since he was a child. Two ordinary villains are no match for him. Originally, I was afraid of tipping off the enemy, so I only wanted him to guard it alone."
Hearing this, Shen Fugui felt a bit embarrassed. When he first noticed something wrong with the bolts of cloth in the warehouse, his first thought was that it was Xuanzhi's doing. After he found out the truth, he felt a bit disappointed, thinking that his sister only trusted Xuanzhi with such an important matter, as if she didn't regard him as her elder brother. Now, looking back, he realized that his sister had planned it well. Xuanzhi was capable and prudent, much better than his careless self.
Old Man Zhang asked anxiously, "Is Xuanzhi okay there alone? Why didn't you go to the yamen to report this first?"
Shen Yuning quickly explained, "Reporting this to the yamen won't help. My goal is to find the mastermind behind this, so I invited the shopkeeper of Yong's Cloth Shop. He has some influence on the silk route. He should be able to help me interrogate them. Once I know who the mastermind is, we won't have to worry about running the embroidery workshop in the future."
When they reached the backyard of the embroidery workshop, it was brightly lit. Sure enough, besides Xuanzhi, there were also four or five伙计 from Yong's Cloth Shop. Shopkeeper Yong was frowning and pacing back and forth in the yard.
Seeing Shen Yuning and the other two come in, Shopkeeper Yong quickly stepped forward and asked worriedly, "Miss Shen, who have you offended? They seem to be very powerful people."
Shen Yuning was stunned for a moment and then asked, "Uncle Yong, have you found out?"
Shopkeeper Yong originally thought that since their Yong family managed the business association in Lingcheng, although the small Shen's Embroidery Workshop wasn't a member, they were still in the same line of business. When something like this happened, as the leading family in Lingcheng, it wouldn't be good for the Yong family to ignore it. Moreover, if such things happened to all the new cloth merchants, dyeing workshops, and embroidery workshops, it might make everyone feel uneasy.
However, after interrogating the two men with threats and inducements and finally threatening their families, he finally managed to get some information out of them. They weren't from Xitian Town or Yun County but were from a powerful figure from outside, seemingly from the capital.
Shopkeeper Yong frowned. "Miss Shen, to be honest, our Yong family has some influence in Lingcheng, but we only have some small shops in other places. Our capabilities are limited. This is all I can do for you..."
He hesitated for a moment and then left with his伙计.
Xuanzhi tried to persuade him to stay for a cup of tea, but he refused, as if he was afraid of getting into trouble. He quickly left.
The two men kneeling on the ground were beaten to a pulp. Only after everyone left did they dare to muster their strength and plead for mercy. "Boss, we were just following someone else's orders. Please spare our lives."
Xuanzhi was so angry that he kicked them and told them to shut up.
Shen Yuning sat on the chair, tapping her fingers on the table. After a long time, she looked up. "Uncle Zhang, Second Brother, let them go. Xuanzhi, go and get some paper and a brush."
Shen Fugui was taken aback and quickly tried to persuade her. "Yuning, let them go? Don't we report this to the yamen?"
Shen Yuning shook her head. "We used private torture tonight. Reporting this to the yamen won't do any good to the Yong family either. These people are just doing things for money. They've failed in their mission and been caught. They're no longer a threat to our embroidery workshop. Moreover, with the Yong family involved, they won't get away with it. Just let them go."
When the two men learned that they were going to be spared, they didn't even care about their injuries. Afraid that the boss would change her mind, they ran out of the door and disappeared.
Shen Fugui returned worriedly. He and his father-in-law cleaned up the inside and outside of the house. By the time they were done, it was already getting light. When he entered the house, he saw that his sister had written two letters and was putting them into envelopes.
Seeing him and Old Man Zhang come in together, Shen Yuning explained, "Second Brother, do you remember at the beginning of the year, my cousin sent me a letter. He told me that a friend of his was an official in Yun County and told me to go to him if I had any difficulties. I originally thought that since I had no connection with that place, it wouldn't be good to ask him for help and make him owe someone a favor. But now, I'm afraid only he can help me solve this problem."
Old Man Zhang and Xuanzhi naturally didn't understand what she meant, but Shen Fugui understood. He was a bit surprised. "You mean, these incidents at the embroidery workshop were all caused by that side?"
Shen Yuning nodded. "I've always been a person with a clear conscience in my life. The only thing I feel guilty about is Xiaorou."
Hearing this, Shen Fugui felt sad. He stepped forward and stroked his sister's head. "That was our parents' fault, not yours."
Shen Yuning smiled slightly. "Brother, you don't need to comfort me. I'm not sad. I'm in this situation now. Besides her, no one else would think of me and try to push me into a deeper quagmire. Although I feel guilty, what happened between her and me wasn't my doing. I've repaid what I could. There's no way I'll just let myself be bullied like this without fighting back."
Shen Fugui sighed, not knowing if it was for his little sister in front of him or for Xiaorou, who he had a vague impression of in his memory. "So, you're writing to that friend your cousin mentioned?"
Shen Yuning said, "Letting these two men go is only a temporary solution. The root of the problem is in the capital. I'm writing to my cousin to ask for his help. I'm also writing to his friend. We've known each other since childhood and are like siblings. I think he'll be willing to help me. After this incident, I've realized that even in business, it's necessary to have a backer. The Yong family is well - known in Lingcheng because they're distantly related to the prefect of Lingcheng. I have great ambitions and don't plan to just run this small embroidery workshop."
After some time, Old Man Zhang and Xuanzhi finally learned about Shen Yuning's background. They were both quite surprised. Thinking that Shen Yuning was once a young lady from a marquis's mansion, they both had more respect for her.
Hearing that Shen Yuning's original family surname was Xue, Xuanzhi couldn't help but ask, "Sister, was your former family the Xue family of Qiyang Marquis?"
Hearing him say this so clearly, Shen Yuning quickly asked, "Yes. Xuanzhi, do you also know the Xue family?"
Xuanzhi nodded and just casually said, "My father is from the Jiang family... not a very prominent family. I just heard a few things about it when I was a child and remembered them."
Shen Yuning opened her mouth wide and asked, "The Jiang family? Is it the Jiang family of the former vice - grand secretary? No wonder I thought your speech and knowledge were outstanding. You're actually from the Jiang family."
All of Xuanzhi's knowledge, whether in literature or martial arts, was taught by his adoptive father during their long and difficult journey. But the Jiang family had declined nine years ago. How did Shen Yuning still know about the Jiang family?
Seeing his confusion, Shen Yuning quickly explained, "When I was with my grandfather, I heard him say that although that Vice - Grand Secretary Jiang wasn't from a very high - ranking family, he was a man of great ambition. At that time, my cousin and I secretly looked through the files of the Jiang family, trying to find out what mistakes they had made..."
She felt a bit embarrassed. At that time, being childish and relying on her grandfather's position as the minister of the Court of Judicial Review, they had rummaged through the files in a mess. Later, it was her cousin who took the blame and was beaten with a rattan stick by their uncle more than a dozen times.
Xuanzhi opened his mouth and stammered for a long time before finally saying, "My father isn't from the direct line..."
Shen Yuning nodded understandingly and sighed. "I know you're not from the direct line. None of the direct - line members of the Jiang family survived that year, and the collateral branches were also affected. No wonder you're in this situation now and don't even dare to mention your surname."
Xuanzhi lowered his head, seemingly lost in thought. After a long time, he smiled again. "It's dawn. I'll go and send these letters first."
Hearing the two of them talk about their backgrounds so calmly, Shen Fugui always felt that they were just pretending to be strong. If such a huge change happened to him, he would probably not be able to bear it. Moreover, Yuning was just a girl, and Xuanzhi was only thirteen years old.
Seeing that Xuanzhi was going out on the pretext of sending the letters, he quickly changed the subject and asked, "Who is that friend of your cousin from the Xue family that Yuning mentioned?"
Shen Yuning came back to her senses and replied, "His surname is Chen. He's the county magistrate of Yun County."
Shen Fugui became excited. "Magistrate Chen? It's him."
It turned out that this Magistrate Chen was the high - ranking official from the capital that Shen Fugui had once told her about, the one who had led the entire Yun County to prosperity. Originally, Yun County was just like Maohe County where Shenjiapo was located. Because it was far from Lingcheng, the people in the county were very poor. And previous officials had more or less the same attitude. They disliked the poverty of this place and the lack of opportunities to make money, so they left as soon as they could.
This Magistrate Chen was said to be a young and promising Jinshi, but somehow he was assigned to this remote and poor place as a county magistrate. Unexpectedly, just two years after he came, the whole of Yun County had changed from its previous decline. Now, every family was living a prosperous life.
Hearing that Shen Yuning actually had a connection with the county magistrate, Old Man Zhang was extremely happy. However, he was still a bit worried. "I heard that most high - ranking officials here can't complete their terms of office. That county magistrate has been here for more than two years. I'm afraid his term will end this year and he'll leave. He won't be able to help you much."