Ye Jingchuan was full of questions. Why had Song Chuyi asked him to reserve a private room here so early on? Did she already anticipate Han Zhi might appear, or was it to guard against someone else entirely? His guess was quickly confirmed. Before long, Qingtao, who had gone downstairs on the pretext of fetching water, returned and quietly informed Song Chuyi, "As expected, someone is tailing us and still lurking downstairs. I've ordered Ma Changjiang and Ma Wangkun to keep an eye on them."

  The jade bangles on Song Chuyi's wrist clinked softly as she opened the window, looking down at the lead actress on stage. She then shifted her gaze toward Zhang Run's room across the way and lowered her eyes thoughtfully. She instructed Qingtao, "Tell Ma Wangkun to be cautious; he doesn't need to track Han Zhi. Have Ma Changjiang or Sun Ergou follow him instead. The rest should keep a constant watch on those tailing us."

  The worst fear was the unknown. Now that she knew someone was following, Song Chuyi felt strangely calm—it meant the hidden hand behind all this was wary of her, cautious enough not to overlook even a high-born dy.

  She felt a sense of relief that she had preemptively informed Ye Jingchuan to be here, managing to evade Han Zhi's attention and, by chance, clearing Zhang Run of suspicion. Han Zhi was well aware of her close friendship with Ye Jingchuan, so meeting him for a py was nothing out of the ordinary.

  Ye Jingchuan had waited long, and as Song Chuyi remained silent, his anxiety grew. He found himself increasingly unable to read her intentions. "Weren't you asking me a few days ago to inquire with Uncle Guo about your uncle? Did something happen? Why are you so tense about this?"

  A thought struck Song Chuyi as she recalled First Lady Cui mentioning that Ye Jingkuan was also out of the capital recently. Turning to Ye Jingchuan, she asked, "Do you know where your brother went on this trip?"

  Ye Jingchuan, feeling as though he was on the verge of grasping something important, blurted out a question that had been lingering in his mind: "Is your family connected to that line outside the border?"

  The line outside the border had been a topic of specution for years, a supposed golden path, yet no one knew precisely what it entailed. All they knew was that Prince Duan, the Li family, the former Marquis Pingyang's estate, and DukeYing's household were all somehow involved.

  Lowering her gaze, Song Chuyi nodded. "Even if we weren't involved before, someone wants to make it look as though we are now. Do you know anything? If you can share it, please tell me something—I feel like a blind fly lost in a fog."

  Ye Jingchuan hesitated, his expression serious, then lowered his voice. "My father and brother never expined it clearly to me. All I know is that my brother left the capital under orders, though whether he's gone to Datong or Xuanfu, I'm not certain. It's said there's been a shortage of horses for the military due to people smuggling warhorses across the border... I believe my brother has gone to investigate this matter."

  That was it—the key!

  Yang Xuan, who oversaw the warhorses, was directly subordinate to Cui Shaoting and had been promoted at his recommendation to Emperor Jianzhang during his first year as Commander of the Three Borders.

  But even if Yang Xuan was involved in horse smuggling, the most Cui Shaoting could be accused of was poor judgment in choosing his subordinates... or was there something else hidden here that she couldn't see? Like the role of the beauty sent to Cui Shaoting by the governor of Yangzhou—what purpose did she serve?

  Not daring to dey, Song Chuyi immediately returned to the Marquis's estate and went directly to Song Chengru's study.

  Cui Yingshu and Song Jue were both there, and Song Chengru was asking them, "Trade market? Whose idea was it, and has the proposal reached the Cabinet?"

  A chill ran through Song Chuyi's heart. The dark cloud in her mind suddenly cleared, like fireworks exploding and sending ideas rushing in all at once. She found her voice after a moment. "Trade market? Reopening trade with the Tatars? Who submitted that proposal?"

  Great Zhou had once opened a trade market with the Tatars, but it was shut down when they began flooding the market with inferior horses and regurly raided and plundered border towns. Now, someone wanted to reopen this trade... and amid an investigation into the smuggling of warhorses in the northwest by Ye Jingkuan and Jinyiwei Commander Lai Chenglong?!

  Cui Yingshu gnced at her and answered gravely, "The proposal was submitted by Yang Xuan. It's currently under review by my mentor in the Cabinet and has yet to be approved."

  Every mystery fell into pce.

  This was a meticulously pnned trap, waiting for Cui Shaoting to fall into it.

  Song Chuyi took a sharp breath, gncing at the three men in the room. She curled her lips into a grim smile. "Grandfather, Uncle, what do you think would happen if my uncle submitted a memorial supporting the trade market?"

  The northern borders were strained, and the Tatars were eyeing them menacingly. If a trade market could be reopened, it might strengthen ties, ease tensions, and alleviate the pressure on the northwest. Cui Shaoting might indeed consider supporting it.

  "My mentor suggested it could be a sound idea," Cui Yingshu replied hesitantly, sensing something deeper in her words. "The south recently fought off the Japanese pirates, draining the national treasury..."

  Song Chuyi shook her head, biting her lip. "This isn't about appeasing the emperor. This is about signing your own death warrant—and possibly dragging the Cui and Song families along with you."

  Her ominous tone startled all three men, and they quickly realized what she was implying.

  Though her voice was low, her words struck them like thunder, almost knocking them off their feet.

  "There's already talk of a shortage of military horses in the northwest due to warhorse smuggling to the Tatars..." Song Chuyi's voice was icy, her face pale as a corpse. "The emperor has already sent Lai Chenglong and Ye Jingkuan out of the capital to investigate separately."

  Song Chengru and Cui Yingshu felt a chill run down their spines.

  If this was true, Cui Shaoting's memorial supporting the trade market would make him appear as Yang Xuan's accomplice, the mastermind behind the smuggling ring, in the emperor's eyes. The foreign beauty in Cui's household, given to him by the former governor of Yangzhou, would also be exposed as a spy, enabling these conspirators to paint Cui Shaoting as a colborator with the Tatars who actively sought to establish the trade market.