Chapter 4: Sins Exposed to the Sunlight

Tie Xinyuan crouched down, pulled out a blade to help Qiaoge polish it with a fine cloth, and whispered, "Didn't we forget about that matter?"

Qiaoge replied expressionlessly, "There are still more than two hundred bottles of Pear Blossom White buried underneath the lane's wicker baskets. You might forget about it, but I certainly won't. Seven years have passed, those wines must be even more mellow by now, right?"

"So, what you care about is the wine, not Eighth Master Deng, am I right?"

"Exactly. Now that he's dead, can those wines be dug out and drunk?"

Tie Xinyuan shook his head. "If Eighth Master Deng were still alive, you could sneak them out to drink. But now that he's dead, it means complications have arisen, and we need to be even more careful."

Qiaoge smacked his lips and said, "As a Imperial University student, you're qualified to go to the Sun-Yang Tavern now, aren't you? Let's go over in a bit. I want to drink some Pear Blossom White."

Tie Xinyuan smiled. "Let's go around dusk. My great-uncle keeps some wine stored there; we can go drink a bottle."

"Why aren't your uncles qualified to go to the Sun-Yang Tavern? Don't they harbor any resentment when all the perks fall to you?" Qiaoge asked with curiosity.

Tie Xinyuan put down the knife in his hand, peered out the window, and lowered his voice. "The Hall of Three Locusts doesn't just have three large locust trees; inside the main hall, there are also three books with contents extremely obscure and difficult to understand. Rumors say their difficulty is no less than the *Baqiu* and *Jiushuo*. Whichever member of the Wang family can comprehend those three books, the entire Wang family will belong to him."

Qiaoge looked at Tie Xinyuan in astonishment. "Did you understand them? When did you get so formidable? By the way, what are the *Baqiu* and *Jiushuo*?"

Tie Xinyuan shook his head. "I can't even recognize the titles on the covers. As for the *Baqiu* and *Jiushuo*, I do know about them: the records of the Nine Provinces are called *Jiushuo*, and the doctrines of the Eight Trigrams are called *Baqiu*."

"There are words you don't recognize?"

"Plenty of them. Ever since Cangjie invented writing, scripts have undergone massive changes. Some characters gradually faded into obscurity because they became obsolete, while others were conjured out of thin air due to necessity. Who would dare claim to know every single character in this world?"

Qiaoge smiled. "That's right. The fact that you don't know everything is what makes you a living, breathing person; otherwise, I'd take you for a demon. Since you can't even read the characters on the cover, why would your great-uncle let you enjoy the good wine he keeps hidden in the Sun-Yang Tavern instead of your uncles?"

Tie Xinyuan chuckled. "Have you ever heard the saying 'the ignorant are fearless'?"

Qiaoge shook his head. "Never heard of it."

Tie Xinyuan gave a wry smile. "That saying describes me. I had nothing to do, so I went to the Hall of Three Locusts to look for books, and I ended up finding three bamboo books placed on a shelf. Out of curiosity, I fetched a ladder and climbed up to look at them. As it turned out, my eldest great-uncle caught me in the act. Then he said I had ambition, unlike those good-for-nothing uncles of mine, and finally, he handed me his waist-token."

Qiaoe impatiently asked, "I'm asking you, didn't your uncles feel jealous?"

Tie Xinyuan glared at Qiaoer and said, "Every time I see them, I greet them with utmost respect. They usually scamper away in a panic themselves, and whenever they talk about me, their nephew, outside, they are nothing but full of praise."

Qiaoer burst out laughing. "Does that mean I'll never get the chance to break your uncles' legs? Heh, I've got plenty of experience breaking legs. Your uncles going around praising you like that actually has my contribution in it. Tonight, I'm drinking two bottles of Pear Blossom White."

With his goal achieved, Qiaoer was in high spirits; the unpleasant events of the afternoon seemed not to have affected him in the slightest.

"Have you already gotten your hands on that Wang Poxi?" Tie Xinyuan checked his surroundings to ensure no one was around, then lowered his voice.

"Impressive. Can you even tell a thing like that?" Qiaoer instantly perked up.

"You hid it well, but Wang Poxi doesn't have your skills. Before leaving, she cast a resentful glance at you—that is definitely not the look a person who had just framed you should have. Besides, if you had flown into a rage when I gave the beef to Baldy Liu Er, I wouldn't have pondered over that woman's strange look before she left."

Qiaoer smiled. "It just so happened that way. Shuizhuer doesn't like that woman at all, so I don't have any long-term plans either."

Tie Xinyuan laughed heartily. "I love this clever streak of yours. Alright, tonight at the Sun-Yang Tavern, you can drink two bottles of Pear Blossom White."

Chatting and laughing, the two finished polishing the blades. After Qiaoer carved his name into the island with a chisel, they headed to the backyard to wash up, dressing fresh and crisp for their night out at the Sun-Yang Tavern.

As the sun dipped below the horizon, Tie Xinyuan and Qiaoer stepped out and ran into Wang Man and Tangtang, who were just getting ready to head home.

Tangtang's expression remained sullen, but Wang Man radiated vitality. Before leaving, he even gave Rou'er a fierce hug, making her blush as she hurried inside the house.

Tangtang's gaze was unfriendly, so Tie Xinyuan naturally chose not to provoke her. Qiaoer, however, plucked four or five arm-thick cucumbers from the backyard vegetable garden, tied them with straw rope, and hung them on Tangtang's horse.

You don't hit someone who is smiling. After muttering the four words "birds of a feather" through clenched teeth, Tangtang decisively mounted her horse and galloped away from the estate toward Bianliang City.

Qiaoge looked at Tie Xinyuan and said, "If you dragged this lass into the haystacks, I guarantee she wouldn't speak coldly to you anymore. I guarantee she'd be as gentle as a rabbit towards you."

"And then get her grandfather to chop me up and send me into the imperial palace to serve in place of Wang Jian? Wang Jian has been eyeing me strangely lately, so I'd rather not provoke them. Eunuch chamberlain—not someone I can afford to mess with."

Bantering and scuffling, the two arrived at the tea stall in the blink of an eye. There were still a few people drinking tea, and Ruier was tending to Shuizhuer's meal. Among the siblings at home, Ruier and Shuizhuer had the closest bond. Seeing Shuizhuer acting as if it were only natural for Ruier to wait on her, Tie Xinyuan felt secretly pleased—at least there was one unseemly sister he wouldn't have to worry his head over.

"Qiaoge, you shoved me into the haystacks today!" Shuizhuer complained as she saw Tie Xinyuan and Qiaoge approaching, putting down her bowl.

"If you dare ruin my fun tomorrow, I'll shove you in again!" Qiaoge was never one to comfort people.

"Rotten pear matched with crooked melon!" As soon as Shuizhuer finished saying this, she immediately hid behind Ruier. Surprisingly, Ruier bravely stepped in front to block Qiaoge from catching her.

Seeing that Shuizhuer was hiding too securely to easily grab, and fearing he might hurt the habitually frail Ruier, Qiaoge pointed a bitter finger at Shuizhuer before continuing toward the city with Tie Xinyuan.

Over the past seven years, Bianliang City had grown increasingly prosperous. In the north and northwest, the sounds of battle drums had not been heard for seven years. The Great Song had opened six border markets in one go along these two fronts, bringing unprecedented prosperity to border trade.

Bianliang had become the favorite destination for merchants from both the Khitan and Western Xia realms.

Only in Bianliang was it possible to exchange treasures looted by the Western Xia from the distant West for goods; no other place possessed the capacity to swallow such a massive volume of treasures in a single gulp.

Grains and ironware were strictly prohibited from purchase, adhering to strict regulations in the Great Song. Patrol inspectors established checkpoints everywhere, permitting merchants from Western Xia and Khitans to take away only paper, tea, ceramics, silk, and a hundred varieties of sundries. As for food, they were only allowed enough for the caravan's own journey.

The ban on ironware was even harsher. The guards of foreign merchants were only permitted to take away weapons equal in number to those they had brought upon entering the Great Song. Even a single extra piece would result in the confiscation of their cargo. This ban was enforced with extreme rigor, and rumors held that there was no room for leniency whatsoever.

However, Tie Xinyuan believed that any checkpoint guarded by men was bound to have loopholes. The reason no war supplies were currently flowing into enemy nations was simply because none had been discovered yet.

Stepping into Bianliang City under the final wisps of twilight at the horizon, the lanterns on both sides of the street lit up sequentially, as if welcoming the two of them.

Tiger-Head Mound was a rather peculiar place within Bianliang City. Back when Emperor Taizong extracted soil from here to build Apricot Mound, he deliberately left behind this large mound, saying that things should not be overdone and a handful of earth must be left for descendants...

And so, this eyesore of a large mound sat quite peacefully amidst the bustling markets of Bianliang.

When Eighth Master Deng's corpse was discovered, he was lying right here, his internal organs exposed to the sun. This punitive style of execution made the people of Bianliang tight-lipped and fearful whenever Eighth Master Deng's death was mentioned.

A tough character had died, dying without a sound.

Tie Xinyuan raised his head to look at the nearby Sun-Yang Tavern. Its decorative gateway remained, though the silks draped over it had gradually faded under the wind and sun.

Inside, the tavern blazed with light, bustling with coming and going. Wealthy magnates and high-ranking officials slowly ascended the high platform, each walking with steady steps and elegant composure, striving to leave behind their most magnificent silhouettes for the idle onlookers of Bianliang who gazed up at them.

Tie Xinyuan pointed his folding fan at the Sun-Yang Tavern and said to Qiaoge, "Who do you think will come to greet us tonight? Eighth Master Deng was a decent sort; if he weren't dead, our night would surely be quite interesting."

Qiaoge smiled. "Tonight, I only care about drinking. As for the rest, that's your business."

Chatting and laughing, the two stepped onto the stairs. A waiter stationed at the edge of the steps swept a glance at the jade pendant hanging from Tie Xinyuan's waist, then turned sideways to lead the way. Once they reached the high platform, he puffed out his chest and shouted at the top of his lungs: "Two distinguished guests arrive, let the drums and music sound!"

Expecting a lively welcoming ceremony fit for a bridegroom, they were met instead with merely two beats of the *pigu* drum and two strikes on the *yunban* chime.

A cloyingly sweet voice drifted out from inside the Sun-Yang Tavern: "Welcome, two handsome young gentlemen..."

Just from the voice, Tie Xinyuan almost thought he had arrived at a brothel. Having spent a long time mingling among the common folk, he had studied the conversational styles of all sorts of people.

That single voice just now was unquestionably the professional call of a plump madam whose waistline was no longer visible.

While Tie Xinyuan was still examining the surrounding furnishings, Qiaoge's gaze froze dead in its tracks, staring unblinkingly at the pearl curtains ahead.