Chapter 42

Chapter 42

Ye Shuang drove all the way to Fengle Bridge. When she arrived, Wen Xiang was already there, having been sent ahead to ensure everything went smoothly.

“How did it go? Did you meet the shop owner?” Ye Shuang pushed aside the carriage curtain and leaned out to ask.

Wen Xiang stepped forward, carefully helping Ye Shuang alight. “I came early to wait, but I haven’t seen anyone yet.”

“It’s fine. We agreed to meet at the hour of the Goat (1–3 PM). We probably arrived too early. Let’s wait a bit longer.”

Supported by Wen Xiang, Ye Shuang stepped down from the carriage. After a bustling morning, she was thirsty. As it was almost noon, the two found a teahouse along the street and each had a hu-bing. Around the hour of the Goat, the person arrived.

But the landlord refused to rent the shop.

“Miss, I’m truly sorry, but I can’t rent the shop to you.”

The landlord, a man in his thirties, seemed quite amiable. Ye Shuang noticed he was drenched in sweat, likely from rushing over.

“Why? Didn’t we already agree? I’ve brought the money for a full year’s rent. If you have concerns, we can discuss further.” The landlord didn’t seem like someone who would suddenly raise the price, but Ye Shuang couldn’t think of any other reason.

“It’s not about that. There’s another reason, but I’d rather not say. To be honest, I wasn’t even planning to come, but seeing how hot it is today, I didn’t want you to wait here for nothing, so I decided to come and let you know.”

“What’s the reason? If you refuse to rent, you need to give a proper explanation. Otherwise, let’s go to the yamen to settle this!” Wen Xiang grabbed the landlord, preventing him from leaving.

“I simply can’t afford to cross you! I didn’t know who you were before, but now everyone knows. Isn’t the yamen practically under your control? We’re just small-time merchants and don’t want to get involved. Please look for another shop!”

With that, he shook off Wen Xiang and fled in a panic, ignoring their calls to stop.

“Miss, what should we do?” Wen Xiang was at a loss.

Ye Shuang gritted her teeth. “We’ll keep looking. At worst, we’ll offer more money.”

“Alright.”

The two spent the afternoon visiting several other shops but came back empty-handed. No one was willing to rent to them—some knew about what happened before, while others simply didn’t want to rent to women.

As evening approached, Ye Shuang decided to return to the bookstore.

Though not entirely unexpected, this initial setback left Ye Shuang feeling a bit discouraged. She went straight upstairs upon returning to the bookstore.

Wen Xiang hung her head low as she poured tea for Ye Shuang. “Miss, how did things turn out like this? What should we do next?”

“Let me think,” Ye Shuang said, downing the tea in one gulp. She felt slightly refreshed, and her thoughts grew clearer. “We’ll leave it at that for today. The priority now is to figure out who’s behind this. I have a feeling there’s more to this than meets the eye.”

“Yes, all these shop owners seemed coordinated. Could it be that someone got wind of it beforehand and is deliberately making things difficult for you?”

“That’s possible. But who else knew about my plan to open a bookstore?”

Xiao Lin, but he seemed to have only found out today, and Ye Shuang didn’t think he would plot against her.

Perhaps it was someone who had access to the paperwork.

The Ministry of Rites!

The paperwork was ultimately sent to the Ministry of Rites for review!

“Wen Xiang, do you know if the Vice Minister of Rites has any children or who he is close to?”

Wen Xiang rested her chin on her hand and thought for a moment. “The Vice Minister of Rites seems to have only one son by his wife, but he’s only eight years old.”

"This..."

"Could it really be, as that landlord said, it's all because of what happened at Qingxiang Tower?"

"Wait, how old is this Vice Minister of Rites?"

Wen Xiang pondered for a moment. "He should be about the same age as the Marquis, perhaps a few years older than him."

"Go and find out these next couple of days who the Vice Minister of Rites is usually friendly with, and if there have been any recent friction with the Marquis of Yongding's household."

Wen Xiang acknowledged, "Yes, Miss. Are you suspecting..."

Ye Shuang set down her teacup, calm again. "Not necessarily. First, gather all the information clearly."

"I've made a note of it." Wen Xiang blinked her large eyes and nodded vigorously.

"At least we finally got the document. At least we got something out of today."

Wen Xiang exclaimed with surprise, "Really?"

Ye Shuang took the document out from her bosom and handed it to Wen Xiang.

"So this is what a document looks like!" Wen Xiang looked it over from every angle, completely fascinated.

Ye Shuang's gaze softened as she motioned with her chin. "Take it and keep it safe."

Wen Xiang acknowledged and took out a locked treasure box from the cabinet, carefully placed the document inside, and put the wooden box back.

Just a few days later, Wen Xiang had gathered information about the Vice Minister of Rites.

"This Vice Minister of Rites is the son of the previous Vice Minister of Rites. His surname is Wei, and his name is Wei Ming. Eight years ago, his grandfather Wei Yong retired, and he took over the position of Vice Minister of Rites. His legitimate son was also born that year, so it was double happiness for him. Over the years, he has been very diligent, keeping the Ministry of Rites running smoothly, earning everyone's praise."

Ye Shuang asked, "Grandfather? What happened to Vice Minister Wei's father?"

"His father passed away when he was very young. Vice Minister Wei was raised by his grandfather. However, it's said that Vice Minister Wei isn't actually of the Wei bloodline; he was adopted from a collateral branch to carry on the family line."

Ye Shuang pondered thoughtfully, "So there's more to this."

Wen Xiang was quite excited and chattered on excitedly, "Miss, you have no idea, I've heard tons of stories about this over the past couple of days. They all say Vice Minister Wei is truly a gentleman—upright and proper, disciplined and cautious even when alone. He rarely conflicts with others. Not only that, but he is also very good to his wife!"

"Someone like that probably wouldn't leak documents, would he?" The more Ye Shuang heard, the less certain she became.

Wen Xiang thought carefully. "Based on what we've learned... that seems to be the case."

With that, they'd hit another dead end.

"Perhaps I'm overthinking this."

Wen Xiang bit her lip, looking worried too.

Just then, there was a knock at the door. Shopkeeper Lao Chen called from outside, "Miss Ye, someone is here to see you downstairs."

Ye Shuang asked, "Who is it? Is it the same person who came last time?"

"It's not the Marquis. It's someone dressed like an official."

Wen Xiang was startled. "Why would an official be looking for you, Miss?"

Ye Shuang frowned slightly and stepped forward to open the door: "A government officer? Did he say what it was about?"

Lao Chen: "No, he only said he was looking for you, miss."

Ye Shuang glanced downstairs from a distance and indeed spotted an officer, though she noticed his uniform looked unfamiliar—a dull brown color, unlike the black and red she had seen at the government office, and he wasn’t carrying a sword.

Ye Shuang called Wen Xiang over now: "I’m not very familiar with the official uniforms in Lin’an. Can you take a look and see if this is really an officer?"

Wen Xiang looked carefully but was equally puzzled: "I don’t know either. I don’t think I’ve ever seen one like that."

Lao Chen offered his speculation: "Could he be an impostor?"

"In broad daylight, that shouldn’t be possible. Never mind, let’s just go down and see."

Ye Shuang went downstairs with Wen Xiang. The man approached her and asked: "Are you Miss Ye Shuang?"

"Yes, that’s me. And you are?"

"I am an administrator from the Dianzhai Office. I’ve come today to deliver the lease to you." As he spoke, he pulled out a neatly folded paper from his sleeve.

"A lease?"

"Yes."

Ye Shuang took it, unfolded it, and saw that it was indeed a shop lease: "This is for me?"

"Of course. Your name is written on it!"

The officer was a young man with refined features, of average height. His speech was gentle, but he seemed efficient in his manner, clearly experienced in dealing with all kinds of people.

Ye Shuang carefully read through it again and then indeed found her name written in the lessee’s section.

"It really is!" Wen Xiang also saw it. "Madam, could it be that the property owner changed his mind?"

The administrator looked at Wen Xiang with slight confusion: "What property owner?"

Ye Shuang firmly denied it: "Not him. That shop is a private residence, while the shops managed by the Dianzhai Office are all publicly managed."

The administrator narrowed his eyes and smiled: "It seems the young lady is quite knowledgeable."

"I looked into it a bit before, but I never expected you to personally come today. Ye Shuang is truly unworthy of such courtesy. There’s just one thing I don’t understand—may I ask who rented this shop?"

The officer’s eyes gleamed shrewdly as he smiled: "To be frank, it was the Marquis who sent someone to rent it."