1.25 Xue Baochai

It was past ten o'clock at night when he returned to the Salt Commissioner's office.

Seeing how late it was, Lin Rui decided against going to the Lin manor and went straight there to rest. Upon entering the backyard, he noticed that not only was the light still on in the east wing, but the silhouettes of two figures huddled together were also visible against the window lattice of the inner bedchamber.

Clearly, the You sisters had not yet gone to sleep.

When they heard him knocking on the door, both were visibly startled.

"Master?" After waiting a moment, You Erjie opened the door, looking at him with deep confusion. "It is so late; I thought you had already turned in at the Lin manor, so we just—"

"It is fine. I merely went out to attend to some business and returned a bit late." Lin Rui did not let her continue to blame herself. He pulled her close and gave her a light kiss, smiling as he closed the door. "Fortunately, everything went smoothly. At the very least, I didn't have to spend the night on the docks."

"So late, and you couldn't bear to disturb them over there, so you came here to cause a stir instead?" Unexpectedly, You Sanjie opened the door and stepped out just then. Upon hearing him, she immediately retorted with a sarcastic edge. "How fitting indeed. After all, we sisters are just here to serve people; it won't kill us to lose a little sleep."

Lin Rui's expression darkened instantly.

He did not mind if the maids around him had their own personalities, but he did not like unreasonable troublemaking.

"Sister!" You Erjie's face changed. "Go and prepare some food for the Master at once!"

"Come back!" Lin Rui had no intention of indulging her. "Kneel!"

You Sanjie knelt reluctantly before the long couch, and You Erjie hurriedly knelt beside her, anxious.

"Speak. What is the matter?" He did not want to waste time.

"How many days has it been since the Master came?" You Sanjie was still deeply dissatisfied. "If I hadn't seen you tonight, I would have thought I had been abandoned. Even if you had grown tired of us, there should at least be a proper interval. We sisters have only been with you for a few days—"

*Slap!* The sound startled her, and she hurriedly lowered her head.

It was Lin Rui who had raised his hand. He held back, unwilling to strike her directly, and instead brought his palm down hard on the table.

He had always believed that, unless the situation was truly exceptional, hitting a woman was a sign of poor character.

Of course, there were some special circumstances that left little room for censure.

"Did I not tell you before I left what needed to be done during this time?" This did not mean he wanted to continue listening to nonsense. "We cannot stay in Yangzhou any longer. If I do not find a way to leave as soon as possible, do you really think our enemies will not have designs on the Lin family's silver?"

Of course, this was just talk for show. There were many who had designs on the Lin family's wealth, but it wasn't as if it were difficult to cut down anyone who tried. The main problem was that he was gradually losing his grip on the salt guards under his command.

When he had taken down the Cheng family, he had allowed these men to loot at will. While this had boosted morale and loyalty for a time, such actions were akin to drinking poison to quench thirst; it damaged the organization and discipline of the entire army.

What is the core of combat effectiveness?

There are many factors, but those two are the most vital "adhesives."

Without organization and discipline, even the most advanced equipment and the bravest individual soldiers are useless.

Lately, the salt guards, each having pocketed nearly a thousand taels, had gone completely wild. There wasn't a place in Yangzhou where money could be spent for pleasure that they didn't dare to frequent. To say they were "spending money like water" was an understatement.

And this was only the result of him forcibly controlling the scale, allowing only one *zongqi* (company) to "rest" each day, as he had to maintain a sufficient armed deterrent. For instance, his absolute foundation—the elite cavalry *zongqi*—was only allowed to have one *xiaoqi* (platoon) out at a time.

Even so, barring any major surprises, how much silver could they possibly have left?

Once the silver was gone, would they still be obedient?

Having grown accustomed to a life of extravagance, would they still be willing to endure the hardships of training in the army?

It would be simple to bring them back into line: find another family to raid, and they would surely be restored to order.

The question was, could he really do that?

*Heh!*

Therefore, Lin Rui's plan was simple: finish up as quickly as possible and leave with the elite cavalry unit that remained under his absolute control. The reason for the delay was partly to settle the Lin family's assets, and partly because the communications of this era were abysmal, causing constant delays.

But he had told no one of these matters, not even the mother and daughter of the Lin family.

As for the two women before him, he had no intention of granting them any "special treatment."

"Master!" Seeing his cold face, You Erjie looked at her sister, who still wore an expression of "I did nothing wrong," and decided to explain herself. "I do not mean to pry into your affairs; I have just been worried about your safety, not having seen you for these days."

"Is that so?" Lin Rui looked down at You Sanjie.

"Mm!" came only a muffled sound from her.

Was this concern?

Lin Rui's brow furrowed even tighter.

"Speak properly!" He lifted the maid's chin. "Chan'er, you get up first!"

You Erjie stood up anxiously to the side.

"I was just..." You Sanjie began to tear up. "...afraid of losing the Master's favor."

Lin Rui's expression paused, and he slowly released her.

"You really need to learn to guard your tongue." After a long silence, he sighed, though he offered a warning. "It is only because I am fond of you. If it were someone with a worse temper, you would have been beaten to death and thrown into a potter's field long ago."

You Sanjie's pretty face turned pale, and she hurriedly lowered her head.

Although, in theory, it was a crime for a wealthy household to beat a servant to death, there was basically no one who would investigate it.

"Master, you are too kind!" You Erjie was so frightened she wanted to kneel again, but he pulled her to his side.

"Enough, I couldn't bear to do such a thing to my treasures!" Lin Rui laughed and gave her a deep kiss before finally letting go. "I am hungry; go and find me something to eat—do not go to any trouble, just something to fill my stomach will do."

You Erjie looked worriedly at her sister, walking toward the door while looking back at every step.

"Get up!" Watching her leave, Lin Rui stroked the maid's cheek. "Always letting your imagination run wild."

"Master—" You Sanjie lifted her beautiful face, squinting her eyes charmingly. "I'm hungry, too!"

"You little thing!" Lin Rui smiled and leaned down to kiss her. "Be careful, or having too many thoughts will make you age quickly!"

"Why doesn't the Master give me some nourishment?" You Sanjie's smile grew even more alluring.

"Hiss—"

After a while, You Erjie returned carrying a tray.

"The Master was not here for dinner, and we dared not prepare too much, so I could only find some pastries and fruit." As soon as she entered, she saw the scene before her, and she averted her gaze in shame and annoyance. "I hope the Master will not mind."

"No rush!" Lin Rui waited until she put down the tray before pulling her to his side. "Feed her first."

You Erjie blushed and struck him a few times, but she allowed herself to be kissed.

"Master must be hungry, no?" After a long time, she reminded him, unable to bear it any longer.

"There is still plenty of time!"

It is unknown how much time had passed when You Sanjie finally got up, shot him a glance, and picked up a teacup to drain it.

"Master, please have some pastries." You Erjie hurried to stand up.

"Calm now?" Lin Rui looked up with a smile.

You Sanjie said nothing, turning to walk gracefully back to the inner room to wash up.

"Master!" You Erjie sighed with a coquettish pout. "All that worry for nothing."

"Do not worry." Lin Rui pulled her back to his side, eating a pastry as he spoke. "Tonight, the matters here in Yangzhou have been thoroughly settled. Next, I only need to make arrangements, and then we can leave this place of turmoil."

"How much longer?" You Erjie's lovely face brightened.

"Very soon." Lin Rui paused slightly. "However, I fear things in the capital will be just as difficult."

"Where do you mean, Master?" You Sanjie asked, having finished washing and emerging from the inner room.

"Many places." Lin Rui revealed a bitter smile. "But the main problem has never come from the outside; they require reasons to act and find it inconvenient to make things look too ugly. It is the 'insiders' who are more difficult to handle."

"I do not understand." You Erjie looked at him with a blank expression.

"We have too much silver; that is the main issue—we have exposed our wealth." Lin Rui sighed and pulled the two sisters closer.

"This—" You Sanjie asked softly, "is it very troublesome?"

"That is why we will go to Jinling first." Lin Rui frowned. "We must spend the silver."

"Whom shall we find?" You Erjie asked hurriedly.

"In a bountiful year, pearls are like dirt and gold like iron."

Jinling, the Xue family.

Although it was late, the lamps in the west courtyard of the inner residence were still lit.

"Bao-ya-tou, why are you not asleep yet?" The door to the east wing was pushed open slowly, and a beautiful woman in a nightgown entered, lingering drowsiness still on her face. "It is so late; what could be so important that it cannot wait until tomorrow?"

"I am sorry to disturb you, Mother." The plump young woman, who had been sitting upright at the desk, hurried to stand. She greeted the equally dazed maid to pour tea while stepping forward to support the woman. "It is just that there were some issues with last month's accounts. I wanted to finish calculating them before sleeping."

These two were, of course, the true heads of the Xue household—Mistress Xue and Xue Baochai.

"Is it very troublesome?" The woman seemed a bit more awake now. "Tongfu told me you have been busy until midnight for the past few days. Sometimes the watchman's clapper has already sounded the third watch, and the lights in this courtyard are still on."

"It is a bit troublesome." Xue Baochai nodded with a bitter smile. "Look, Mother, this is the ledger for all our shops in the Jiangnan region. The earnings have decreased by nearly twenty percent from last month. Compared to the first month of the year, it is barely half. No matter how I calculate it, something is not right."

"Oh?" Mistress Xue became fully awake. "How much silver is it exactly?"

"Just over twenty thousand taels." Even with Xue Baochai's composure, she could not hide her anger.

"Ah?" Mistress Xue was stunned. "How is that possible? When your father was alive, the total earnings from all our businesses added up to over a million taels a year, did they not? Jiangnan was the most important part, accounting for more than sixty percent. Why is it so much lower now?"

"Brother has likely been deceived by those below him." Xue Baochai's words went straight to the heart of the matter.

Mistress Xue's expression stiffened instantly.

How could she not know the capabilities of her own son?

"What is to be done?" Even so, she had no solution. "We are women of the inner quarters and cannot run around outside all day, not to mention that our shops are spread all over Jiangnan. We cannot possibly check them one by one."

"Sometimes, I envy Sister Qin—" Xue Baochai revealed a wry smile.

"Do not say such foolish things!" Mistress Xue interrupted her hurriedly. "That girl is never home. She spends more time on a boat each year than on land. I heard she left again two days ago; I do not know what could possibly require such effort."

"I have heard her mention it a few times." Xue Baochai thought for a moment and replied. "For the past two years, because she connected with Master Lin in Yangzhou, the business my second uncle has there has been much smoother, and the earnings have grown significantly."

"Oh?" Mistress Xue's expression shifted. "This Master Lin, is he the one from the family that your aunt's younger sister married into? I heard he is a proper scholar who passed the imperial examinations. How did he get involved in business?"

"I heard from Sister Qin that she and Brother Ke have never actually met Master Lin; they usually only communicate with a male cousin of the Lin family." Xue Baochai knew more. "Actually, aren't all the officials in the government like this?"

"That is true!" Mistress Xue finally understood. "You said just now that the Qin girl went to—"

"Yangzhou!" Xue Baochai's tone was wistful. "If only Elder Brother could be like that, we would not be in our current state, with only the shops in Jiangnan left. Since Father passed, everything outside of Jiangnan has been lost."

Mistress Xue froze.

"Bao-ya-tou, why do you bring this up again?" After a long silence, she asked with confusion.

"I heard from Sister Qin that this young cousin of the Lin family intends to return to the capital." Xue Baochai's voice was very soft. "The North and South are thousands of miles apart; I wonder if he has a place to stay there."

"Is that so?" Mistress Xue vaguely thought of something.