Chapter Thirty-Nine: A Scheme Within a Scheme

Recently, Liu Tieniu had indeed gained the favor of the Bai family’s retainers. He had even been appointed to manage one of their gambling houses directly.

“The Bai family’s kindness is something I will never forget. If ever you need anything from me, I would gladly risk my life,” Liu Tieniu declared tearfully, his words full of emotion.

“You should understand, our willingness to help you is because you have access to Han Qing. If you can glean any secrets about the salt formula from him, the Bai family can reward you with all the wealth and honor you could desire,” the second young master of the Bai family said arrogantly.

To win over a petty man like this, they had made quite a show of it. Previously, he wouldn’t have spared Liu Tieniu a second glance. If it weren’t for his retainers’ persistent reminders, he would never have been so generous.

“I will do my utmost. At the first suitable opportunity, I will inquire about the situation,” Liu Tieniu replied earnestly, as though he were already one of the Bai family.

But who could say if any of this was genuine?

He had worked at the gambling house for over a month, silently repaying all his previous debts.

“It seems you have chosen the Bai family. From this day forth, you have no further ties to the Han family, nor need you maintain any contact with us,” Han Qing said coldly.

Liu Tieniu dropped his obsequious act.

“Don’t think that just because you have a few businesses, you can stay in Beijun City indefinitely. You know better than I whose territory this is!” he threatened.

Indeed, with the Bai family backing him, Liu Tieniu feared nothing.

“He’s gone too far. Their Liu family was once bullied by the Bai family too—how can he be so forgetful?” Han Qing’s sister said angrily, unable to hide her resentment.

But Han Qing was unbothered. “Everyone has their own ambitions; there’s no need for us to meddle.”

He returned to preparing for the imperial examination, and two months passed in this fashion.

Time waits for no one. Most of what he had previously learned was in the sciences, while the examination focused on the Four Books and Five Classics. Missing even a few essays put him at a great disadvantage.

But then, unexpectedly, a letter arrived one day. There was no signature.

The contents detailed several gambling houses in Beijun City, meticulously describing their illicit dealings.

“They’re smuggling copperware?”

“That’s property of the Imperial Forest Army in Luojing, used as raw material for weapons in the armories. No one dares touch such things—this is a grave offense.”

“But is this letter genuine? We mustn’t act rashly,” Han Qing said after a glance.

If the gambling houses were innocent and they reported this to the authorities, it would be an unfounded accusation, possibly a crime in itself.

“But why was the letter sent to me? I haven’t placed any informants in those gambling houses,” Master Zhu said, confused.

The situation was indeed strange. Such a major case should have been brought to the Ministry of Justice first. Nobodies like them had no authority to investigate.

The only explanation was that someone had deliberately set this trap.

“Has the Ministry of Justice received word?” Han Qing asked.

“They haven’t.”

So the truth behind the gambling house affair remained uncertain.

The Bai family’s retainers had already spread the news, but there was no sign of action.

“You’re taking this too seriously. That fellow’s wife is already gone—why would he listen to Han Qing? You’re just being paranoid,” someone said, suggesting the whole thing was merely a test to see if Liu Tieniu was still working for Han Qing, especially since he had previously received over two hundred taels of silver.

“But this doesn’t add up. No one would lend him so much money for no reason.”

“Rather than speculate, why not ask directly?”

“Second Young Master Bai, I must apologize for not explaining earlier. Originally, our Liu family didn’t want to divorce. It would have been humiliating if word got out, so we never signed the divorce papers…”

With this explanation, the Bai family’s retainers were finally convinced. They had been suspicious of him, but after various tests, they believed Liu Tieniu wasn’t capable of much.

“So, shall I continue? But as for getting close to the Han family as you asked, I’m afraid I’m powerless. None of them want anything to do with me now.”

He was being quite straightforward, but this disrupted Second Young Master Bai’s plans. He had wanted someone to steal the Han family’s secret salt recipe.

Who would have thought Liu Tieniu would be caught up in a divorce?

“Now there’s no suitable candidate.”

“There must be someone in their household who isn’t family. In such a large residence as Tinglan Court, I don’t believe there are no servants.”

These words immediately enlightened him. The salt merchants’ process required more than one person; their dealings and recipes would naturally be shared with others.

“You’re truly resourceful!” Second Young Master Bai exclaimed, feeling as though victory was within his grasp. He immediately dispatched family servants to investigate.

But Liu Tieniu was not entirely useless. If Han Qing’s reputation ever suffered, Liu could be used to fan the flames and add fuel to the fire. Drawing in more people was always advantageous.

“So you called me here just to see this letter—without any evidence?” Wen Qi asked, puzzled. After reading its contents, he found nothing useful.

“Have you ever investigated these gambling houses before?”

“There are routine quarterly inspections. But these belong to the Bai family, and generally no major issues arise,” Wen Qi replied truthfully.

“Yes, someone is simply trying to mislead us,” Han Qing suddenly said. He had said little so far, as though waiting for news.

“How do you know it’s false?” Master Zhu was still bewildered. From the moment he received the letter to this discussion, he still didn’t understand how Han Qing could be so certain.

“My informant just sent a message—the letter was deliberately given to you by a retainer of the Bai family. That makes it almost certainly a fake.”

The Bai family? Why would they expose themselves, and with such a grave accusation as trafficking imperial steel? The contradiction was clear.