The food in the prison was filthy, and Xi Hongxuan’s stomach rebelled. Already weakened by the epidemic, he now suffered unbearably. His body so feeble, he drifted in and out of sleep, waking to an indistinct gloom, gradually losing track of the hours.
The cramped room reeked, suffused with the damp scent of mold, with no windows for ventilation. No ordinary person could endure it.
Xi Hongxuan, gravely ill and unable to move freely, could only lie on the straw mat, his consciousness dulled by the cold damp.
The jailer, as usual, moved the partition and shoved in the food. Today, though, he heard no movement from Xi Hongxuan. Peering through the small peephole, he could see only Xi Hongxuan’s drooping arm. Fearing he was dead, the jailer opened the door and waved a lamp before his face.
Xi Hongxuan strained to open his eyes, lips dry and parched. “Ma…Master…give me some water.”
The jailer flipped a bowl of water onto his face.
Xi Hongxuan opened his mouth to catch it, not caring that his collar was soaked. Drinking, he roused himself and whispered, “Thank…thank you!”
The jailer tossed aside the bowl and picked up the lamp to leave.
Summoning strength from somewhere, Xi Hongxuan grabbed the jailer’s sleeve, forcing a strained smile. “Brother, let me give you a tip…this isn’t a normal prison, cough! This isn’t a prison at all!”
The jailer shook him off. Xi Hongxuan laughed hoarsely, lying back on the mat, his breath ragged. Pulling at his soaked front, he turned his eyes toward the dark ceiling. “This isn’t a prison… I should have realized! Several days have passed. Even if Kong Qiu isn’t interrogating me, officials from the Ministry of Justice should have checked in… it’s too quiet… far too quiet…”
His gaze snapped to the jailer again.
“I’ve been observing carefully. The times you bring food never vary, the tray is always placed in exactly the same spot. Regular jailers aren’t this precise! Several days without a shift change at the door… you don’t pocket any silver, and your sleeves are spotless—no grease or dust! Tall, lean, cautious, not given to laughter… you’re a Jinyiwei!”
The jailer’s face remained expressionless. He lifted the lamp and left, shutting the door behind him. Xi Hongxuan listened to the chains rattle and thumped the straw mat with his fists.
“Shen Zechuan… Shen Zechuan!” His knuckles reddened as he shouted, “You schemed against me… schemed against me! Call… call him, bring him here!”
No reply came from the darkness.
Clawing at the mat, his thoughts blurred, he muttered, “Does he want money? Call him, just let me out… just let me out…” Swallowing hard, he yanked at his hair, gasping, “I’ll give him money! I… I can’t take this anymore!”
Outside, the jailer sat down with the lamp, casually picking at some roasted beans with his drink. Behind the iron door, only faint sobs leaked out, like the wind in the dead of night.
Xi Hongxuan’s eyes grew dim; he dared not sleep, fearing he might not wake. By the time Shen Zechuan arrived again, he had calmed.
Shen Zechuan stood and assessed him.
Having survived near-death at sea before, Xi Hongxuan had never looked so battered. Unlike other scions, he feared neither desperation nor disgrace. Letting Shen Zechuan look him over, he forced a hoarse laugh, “Lanzhou, you’ve got guts! Four million… I nearly got fleeced to death.”
“This place is hard to find, can’t attract attention, and can’t be too far,” Shen Zechuan sighed. “Your subtle observation surpassed what I expected.”
Xi Hongxuan waved his arm weakly. “Man dies for money, bird dies for food. Brother, I willingly hand this money to you! But don’t risk my life for such a sum…” Despite his hunger and illness, his mind remained sharp. “Lanzhou… I could have pretended ignorance. Only I know where the Xi family keys are; I could have circled around, trapped myself, but I didn’t. I value this brotherhood… Lanzhou! Together we killed Xi Gu’an and Ji Lei. Now, in the Jinyiwei, envy surrounds you. Kill me now, and you lose the Xi family’s support! In the Jinyiwei, advancement narrows; you know the taste of being trapped. Those hereditary elders—who would obey you? Your ambition, Han Cheng tolerates only for my sake. Kill me, and you become the target of all!”
Shen Zechuan crouched, holding a handkerchief between his fingers, looking at Xi Hongxuan seriously. “Then in your view, what should I do?”
Xi Hongxuan, familiar with Shen Zechuan’s expression, broke into a cold sweat. He stared at him a moment. “It’s not time to tear at each other. I admit defeat this round. Losing a business game isn’t shameful. I needn’t make a fuss over trivial matters. I fear you—that’s true. But precisely because I fear you, I must continue. Killing you gains only four million. But holding me gives you the Xi family treasure. I respect that! Why spill blood for so little? We have days ahead to dominate Qudu!”
“Reasonable,” Shen Zechuan said. “But simply ‘respect’ won’t suffice. I heard the Second Young Master has sixty-eight keys. Let’s split forty-eight, so I can rest easy.”
Xi Hongxuan slowly sat up, eyes fierce. “Keys I can give. But once you take them, you cannot claim Qi Huilian. Deal?”
Shen Zechuan raised a finger lazily, then let it fall. “You think Qi Huilian is worth that much? Of course I want the keys.”
“If he’s worthless, then he’s useless to keep. I’ll kill him!”
Shen Zechuan laughed. “You think I don’t know where he is? Now, you still dare to test me.”
“You’re the one testing me!” Xi Hongxuan crawled slowly toward Shen Zechuan, revealing a feral expression. “I know you, Lanzhou. Tricks lose effect if repeated. You are skilled in deceit; the more indifferent you appear, the more important it is to you. You tricked me once in the courtyard, now again with the same method. I am not a genius, but I’m not that foolish. You don’t know where he is, and if you did… haha! You’d kill me after taking the money! How about it, Shen Zechuan? Search Qudu and you still can’t find him?”
Shen Zechuan tightened his grip on the handkerchief.
Xi Hongxuan smoothed his tangled hair. “No matter how eloquent you are, you’ve forgotten one thing: hiding someone so carefully already aroused my suspicion. Even if I trust you partially, I must stay alert. Dealing with you, I fear the backstab.”
Shen Zechuan’s eyes showed no emotion. “Then what do you want?”
“I want out,” Xi Hongxuan said, pointing to the door. “I want to leave unharmed. If I don’t get out tonight, Qi Huilian’s body will be at your doorstep tomorrow morning. Believe it? Try me. That Xi Dan, the opportunist, surely told you everything. Everyone under me is a family-born son. My safety affects hundreds. Even if I can’t leave, I can kill Qi Huilian!”
“You lie.”
Shen Zechuan suddenly rose, his dark, violent presence flooding the filthy room. He stepped back, shadows obscuring his face, transforming him into a towering figure in the darkness.
“This place blocks outsiders. How would you send word? Lying to me at death’s door, telling me to try? Fine, let’s try. I’ll send you out.”
“I prepared because I foresaw it!” Xi Hongxuan panicked, sweat pouring, raising his voice. “I told the guards—I check every half-month. If I don’t, they act! You asked if I dared trust you, Shen Zechuan. Now I ask you, do you dare trust me?”
Shen Zechuan remained silent.
Xi Hongxuan lowered his voice, almost soothingly. “You bribed Xi Dan. Surely you already know where Qi Huilian is. Only I know. I prepared countless fallback plans. Lanzhou, why both suffer? You anger me, I anger you—no good comes of it. You act for profit, don’t you? This business isn’t worth it, you wouldn’t proceed. What you lack, I have. I’ll give it to you. Use your courage and wit with me, and together in Qudu we’ll thrive. Look at Li Jianheng—the rare emperor in a century. He opens paths to quick success for people like us. One step to the top, Lanzhou! Kill me, offend the families, and will Xiao Er accept you? How long can the Xiao family’s renown last? Xiao Fangxu is old; if Xiao Jiming falls, what use is Xiao Er alone? They are destined to fail!”
His words mingled awe and exhortation.
“Lanzhou, we’ve both suffered under others. Now you still bow to Xiao Er? Only power and wealth are unwavering. Join with me—I give you treasure, you preserve the Xi family’s reputation, and our business climbs. No intrigue can shake us! You wanted to consolidate other houses and reign alone; now you’re constrained! Zhongbo and six provinces—you want revenge. Shen Wei can’t cleanse it, but silver opens the doors. They starve now; you’re a god from the sky. Who dares defy you? Who dares curse you? Money grants this. The Empress Dowager? Xiao Er? Lanzhou, why hesitate? Together, we can rise again as before.”
Shen Zechuan was moved. His murderous aura softened, his tone gentled. “Had you been this candid earlier, we wouldn’t have faced off. True, together we reduce trouble.”
“I’m a merchant. Business speaks. If joining forces yields little profit, why waste words?” Xi Hongxuan itched along his scarred back, sore from the collapse days ago. He paused. “Then let’s not delay. Go out now. Once out, we can sit down and negotiate properly.”
Xi Hongxuan had over a dozen martial experts in the Xi residence in Qudu, hired with great expense to intimidate Shen Zechuan previously. Yet he was anxious; unable to gauge Shen Zechuan’s intent, he considered killing him, determined to break out no matter what—only freedom would allow for variable outcomes.
He wanted to kill Shen Zechuan, unwilling to wait for tomorrow, uninterested in diplomacy. Diplomacy implied parity, a space to spar verbally. Xi Hongxuan realized he no longer held balance with Shen Zechuan; as Shen Zechuan rose in rank, he felt trapped, unable to control the situation as before.
Though unsure where the problem lay, his merchant’s instinct told him his circular predicament was inseparable from Shen Zechuan.
They had worked together thus far; aside from killing Xi Gu’an to obtain the Xi keys, all subsequent gains for Xi Hongxuan would be fleeting. Only Shen Zechuan had real power.
Xi Hongxuan knew he had been outmaneuvered, yet maintained an air of sincerity, as if utterly admiring and fearing Shen Zechuan at once.
Qiao Tianya pushed the door ajar, casting the lamp’s glow inside. Shen Zechuan’s wrist gleamed clean, his face caught in the light resembling daylight, and he said politely, “Please.”
Xi Hongxuan silently exhaled, relief flooding him.