Chapter 137 Teaching the Profiteer a Lesson

The Miss Zhao Family?
Xue Rui was secretly startled upon hearing this.
There were quite a few families with the surname Zhao in the capital, but the Zhao family that immediately came to mind could be none other than the household of Zhao Jinyu, who was engaged in the ice-cellar business.
And this young lady of the Zhao family was naturally Zhao Jinyu herself.
Frowning, Xue Rui asked, "When did your young lady become acquainted with the Miss Zhao family?"
"I am merely a maidservant; I know nothing of my mistress's affairs," the maid shook her head.
"Very well, go about your chores. I will go and take a look."
Dismissing the maid, Xue Rui walked toward the embroidered tower on his own.
Just as he reached the bamboo grove, he heard a woman's voice say, "Sister Ying'er, the hour is late, so I shall take my leave now lest my mother worries. If I have leisure tomorrow, I shall come to visit you again."
Judging by the voice, it was undoubtedly Zhao Jinyu.
"Then I shall see Sister Zhao out."
From behind the bamboo grove came the voice of Hu Ying'er once more.
"Very well, then I must trouble you, Sister..."
Seeing the two of them approaching, Xue Rui hastily slipped into the bamboo grove, intending to wait until Zhao Jinyu had left before emerging.
Unexpectedly, Zhao Jinyu's eyes were too sharp; she spotted him at a glance and cried out in surprise, "Oh, it seems someone is eavesdropping!"
Hu Ying'er hurried out, lifting her skirt, and upon seeing Xue Rui walking out looking rather disheveled, she glared fiercely at him before turning to Zhao Jinyu with an apologetic expression. "Sister Zhao, this is my junior martial brother. No doubt he has come to consult me on some academic questions, and he certainly had no intention of offending you. Please do not be angry."
She had assumed that Xue Rui had ducked into the bamboo grove to eavesdrop on their conversation. Now that he had been caught red-handed by Zhao Jinyu, she was annoyed, yet she had no choice but to cover for him.
"So he is your junior martial brother. It seems I wronged him after all. Since that is the case, I shall take my leave. Sister Ying'er, please stay your steps; I can find my own way out."
Withdrawing her gaze, Zhao Jinyu curtsied lightly to Hu Ying'er and turned to walk away.
Hu Ying'er quickly added, "Jin'er, won't you see Sister Zhao out for me?"
As she passed by Xue Rui, Zhao Jinyu looked straight ahead, treating him as if he were thin air, as though they were complete strangers.
When Zhao Jinyu's figure vanished from sight, Hu Ying'er stepped forward and pinched Xue Rui's arm, saying with vexation and embarrassment, "You scoundrel! To think you would eavesdrop on women's private conversations, and get caught red-handed at that. Aren't you ashamed?"
Xue Rui protested his innocence, "How did I eavesdrop? I merely wanted to step into the bamboo grove to hide for a moment, and who could have foreseen that she would spot me? What could I do?"
"You got caught, didn't you? Why on earth were you hiding in the first place? Could it be that you had a guilty conscience?" Hu Ying'er's face was full of suspicion.
"Indeed, why *was* I hiding?"
This question gave Xue Rui pause. Even if he had greeted her openly and gracefully, there seemed to be nothing wrong that could be criticized. Why had he subconsciously tried to avoid her?
Soon, he figured out the reason.
After the incident at the Wealth and Honor Gambling House, Xue Rui had guessed it was Zhao Jinyu's doing.
Whether she wanted to punish her cousin's discourtesy, or seek justice for Xue Rui's family and help the second branch contend for their property, she had set a trap for her cousin without notifying Xue Rui beforehand. This left Xue Rui feeling rather displeased.
Perhaps realizing that Xue Rui resented such methods, Zhao Jinyu had returned the property deed to his grandmother, Lady Li.
Over the past half-month, neither of them had made any move to mend their relationship, and they hadn't even crossed paths.
Subconsciously, Xue Rui felt that meeting her would be somewhat awkward, which was why he had instinctively slipped into the bamboo grove.
Seeing him staring blankly in the direction where Zhao Jinyu had departed, Hu Ying'er said petulantly, "She has been gone for ages, what are you still looking at?"
"Ah... nothing at all."
Withdrawing his gaze, Xue Rui asked with curiosity, "When did you befriend Miss Zhao? Why have you never mentioned her before?"
"She is a dear friend I made a few days ago when I was buying rouge and face powder at the Linglong Pavilion. She has also taught me many things. Look at the rouge on my face; she helped me blend it. Doesn't it look rather nice?" Hu Ying'er raised her face with a trace of anticipation.
Normally, Hu Ying'er rarely used rouge and face powder. Today, wearing the meticulously blended cosmetic with a delicate pink bloom spreading across her cheeks, she looked even more radiant and charming.
"Quite nice indeed, much prettier than that Zhao Jinyu."
Naturally, Xue Rui spared no praise for his beloved confidante.
Hearing Xue Rui's sweet words, Hu Ying'er's heart blossomed with joy, but before her happiness could last long, her expression froze, and she demanded, "Zhao Jinyu... how do you know Miss Zhao's personal given name?"
Oh, no!
Xue Rui cursed inwardly. In his carelessness just now, he had actually blurted out Zhao Jinyu's given name. A young lady's given name was not something just anyone was allowed to know!
In the span of a few breaths, Xue Rui's mind raced ten times faster, and just as Hu Ying'er was about to pinch him again, he finally thought of a plausible explanation.
"Ah, the Zhao family does massive business and is very famous in the capital. Some busybody managed to find out her name, and over time it spread about. I merely happened to overhear it."
"Is that so? Sister Zhao's given name is already known to everyone?"
Hu Ying'er couldn't help feeling a pang of sympathy for Zhao Jinyu. A young woman's given name had been spread abroad; when the time came to select a husband in the future, she feared prospective families might mind.
Having dispelled Hu Ying'er's suspicions, Xue Rui asked curiously, "Did Zhao Jinyu come to see you today for something specific?"
"Haven't the Wurat people captured the Zijing Pass? She heard rumors that Grandfather can foresee future events, so she came to ask me for news so she could set her mind at ease."
"I see."
Xue Rui nodded, though in his heart he thought that Zhao Jinyu's chance encounter with Hu Ying'er at the Linglong Pavilion was certainly no coincidence; it was most likely an opportunity she had deliberately manufactured.
He had been wondering about Zhao Jinyu's purpose earlier, but now he understood.
In the past, Zhao Jinyu would always come to him for information, but later, due to the incident involving her cousin, the two of them had fallen out rather unpleasantly. For a time, her pride prevented her from lowering herself to consult him, leaving her with no choice but to adopt a roundabout tactic and gather news through Hu Ying'er.
She probably also knew that he and the Hu family enjoyed a close relationship, which was why she had deliberately approached Hu Ying'er to sound out the situation.
Knowing that Zhao Jinyu harbored no ulterior motives, Xue Rui finally set his mind at ease.
Not having seen him for several days, Hu Ying'er couldn't help complaining, "You've truly grown quite capable lately. Not only do you skip my lessons, but you don't even come to check on Grandfather. Hearing about your work on simplifying the calendrical ephemeris, he has a great many questions to ask you."
"Master Grandfather has heard of it too?"
Xue Rui could not hide a trace of complacency, boasting to Hu Ying'er, "A few days ago, I finished verifying and calculating the solar eclipse ephemeris. After refining a few sections, it can be put straight into practical use. Moreover, the calculation process is concise and clear; once someone learns my method, they will be able to calculate the entire process themselves, rather than knowing *that* it happens without knowing *why* it happens. Impressive, wouldn't you say?"
All told, Xue Rui had only been initiated into the field two months ago, yet he had now discovered a way to simplify the ephemeris. Such rapid progress, advancing a thousand miles a day, utterly exceeded everyone's expectations.
This situation simply could not be explained by ordinary logic; even Xue Yuanhao could only attribute it to his son's sudden awakening of innate wisdom from a past life, which allowed for such massive improvement in so short a time.
As for Hu Ying'er, apart from feeling happy for Xue Rui, she was mostly filled with a sense of quiet desolation.
She had poured painstaking effort into astronomical calendar calculations, and her proficiency surpassed that of most astronomy students. Hu Zhongcai had even tasked her with tutoring Xue Rui.
Who could have guessed that this pupil would improve at flying speed, gradually showing signs of eclipsing her own mastery in astronomy?
Furthermore, in the realm of calendar calculation—which was not her strongest suit—he had achieved astonishing results, giving her a profound sense of defeat.
What made her even sadder was that once Xue Rui's proficiency soared, he behaved rather like an ungrateful wretch, failing to visit her for many days on end as if he had entirely forgotten her.
Just two days ago, she had even thought of visiting the Xue residence to find him.
Yet, remembering Lady Liu's disapproval of her becoming a daughter-in-law of the Xue family, she dismissed the notion.
Staying cooped up in the estate all these days had drained her spirit entirely. If not for meeting Zhao Jinyu and finally having someone to confide in, she feared she might have grown depressed.
Noticing Hu Ying'er's rather poor complexion, Xue Rui assumed he had been showing off too much and attempted to comfort her. "Actually, if you wish to learn my method for verifying the new ephemeris, I can teach you hand-in-hand. I guarantee it will bring sudden enlightenment."
"Really?"
Hu Ying'er's eyes lit up upon hearing this. If Xue Rui were to teach her these things, she would have a perfect excuse to demand his frequent presence.
"Naturally it's true. You have taught me so much, so I naturally must repay kindness with gratitude... However, I have one condition to which you must agree!" Xue Rui said with a solemn expression.
Hu Ying'er looked at him curiously. "Let's hear it."
"When you tutored me previously, you made me treat you with the proper respect due to a teacher. Now that I am to instruct you, then—"
Before he could finish his sentence, Hu Ying'er sprang up suddenly, her face flushing crimson as she declared, "Don't even dream about it! I would rather die than agree to become your disciple!"
Remembering her earlier demand that Xue Rui address her as his teacher, Hu Ying'er wished she could find a crack in the ground to crawl into.
Had she known Xue Rui possessed such formidable talent, she would never have let him call her teacher in a million years. Now that Xue Rui was bringing it up, he was surely planning to turn the tables on her. Thus, she flatly rejected his proposal.
Xue Rui paused for a moment before explaining, "I meant that if I am to teach you, we shall be mutual teachers to one another, advancing our learning hand-in-hand. The previous teacher-student relationship will naturally cease to exist; from then on, we will simply be fellow travelers on the same path."
In ancient times, romantic relationships between teachers and students were looked down upon with moral censure.
Xue Rui had previously agreed to let Hu Ying'er be his teacher simply to acquire astronomical knowledge, but as time passed, mutual affection had blossomed between them, and their relationship had slowly transformed.
Yet, the formal teacher-student bond had been established; both the Hu household and Xue Rui's parents were well aware of it. If they wished to marry in the future, that teacher-student link had to be formally severed to avoid public scandal.
Now, Xue Rui was seizing the opportunity to bring it up under a reasonable pretext: they would be peers sharing knowledge and making progress together, thereby dissolving the hierarchical master-apprentice dynamic of imparting doctrine and training.
Realizing she had misunderstood Xue Rui, Hu Ying'er turned away in mortified embarrassment, muttering under her breath, "Have it your way then. It's not as if we ever underwent a proper, formal bowing ceremony anyway; who cares?"
"Splendid. I shall go find Master Grandfather right now and mention this matter by the way."
Seeing that the day was getting late and wishing to waste no more time, Xue Rui accompanied Hu Ying'er to see Hu Zhong.
Lately, Hu Zhong's health had grown noticeably sturdier. Spending his days playing with his grandson had lifted his spirits considerably.
However, advanced in age as he was, his energy was somewhat diminished, requiring him to rest frequently to recuperate his vigor.
Upon seeing Xue Rui, Hu Zhong plied him with numerous questions concerning the new ephemeris.
Having served as an official in the Imperial Board of Astronomy for decades, Hu Zhong naturally understood what the emergence of a new ephemeris signified. He instructed Xue Rui to proceed with the utmost caution, noting that success would be a monumental achievement that would greatly embellish his future official record.
Should he fail, however, not only would he become a laughingstock, but he might also earn a reputation for grandiose vanity, which would deal a heavy blow to his future prospects.
Xue Rui accepted the admonition with humility, assuring him that he harbored full confidence and was not acting recklessly.
The more Hu Zhong looked at this disciple-grandson of his, the more fond of him he became, feeling deeply gratified within. Back then, he had taken a calculated risk to assist the Xue family; in hindsight, it proved to be the wisest and most visionary decision of his life.
The future rise and fall of the Hu family would ultimately rest upon Xue Rui's shoulders!
After bidding farewell to Hu Zhong and offering a few more sweet words to put Hu Ying'er in high spirits, Xue Rui boarded the Hu family carriage to return home.
Upon reaching his residence, he found his maternal uncle and his father seated in the courtyard, their faces etched with deep worry.
"Rui'er, you've returned at just the right time. Our grain shop has run into trouble again!"
Seeing him enter, Xue Yuanhao said in a grave tone.
"What has happened?"
Xue Rui looked toward his uncle; for him to arrive at such an hour meant he had certainly come seeking help.
Liu Ren sighed and said, "Early this morning, just as our grain shop opened its doors before we'd even concluded a few transactions, soldiers from the Eastern City Military and Police Garrison barged in. They claimed that bandits had appeared in the city, and the Garrison was assisting Wanping County in tracking them down, suspecting that the bandits were hiding within our premises. Not only did they ransack the shop and the granary, turning everything inside and out upside down, but they also interrogated the shopkeeper and laborers for half an hour. In the end, the shopkeeper had no choice but to part with some silver to pack them off."
Xue Rui knitted his brows slightly. He had initially thought some local ruffians were causing trouble again, but he hadn't expected the intruders to be men from the Eastern City Garrison.
"Did the Garrison behave this way in the past?"
"Ah, which government office in the capital isn't like this? Let alone the Garrison, even the county and prefectural yamens, and frequently even the Imperial Secret Service, constantly shake people down under various pretexts. They are all cut from the same cloth," Liu Ren shook his head.
Tapping his fingers lightly on the table, Xue Rui deliberated, "Could this be an isolated incident? Since so many yamens engage in extortion, perhaps we simply ran into them by coincidence?"
"If that were the case, I wouldn't have come to you."
Liu Ren said angrily, "We managed to send the Garrison off this morning, but who would have thought those soldiers would return at noon? This time, using fire prevention as a pretext, they insisted on tearing down the rain-shelter shed in our backyard used to protect the grain. Tell me, what does our private shed have to do with fires? The various cargo warehouses along East Chang'an Street all have sheds extending right out to the street, and nobody interferes with them. Yet they insist on forcibly tearing down our shed—isn't this deliberate targeting?"
"And did they tear it down in the end?"
"They didn't tear it down, but they extorted twenty taels of silver from the shop before they were willing to leave," Liu Ren smiled bitterly.
"And what about the afternoon? Did the Garrison men come back again?"
Xue Rui's expression turned somewhat grim. Once or twice might be dismissed, but if they came to find fault repeatedly, it was undoubtedly orchestrated by someone. Aside from those unscrupulous merchants driving up grain prices, he could think of no one else.
"Of course they came. They stayed the longest in the afternoon. First, they inspected the official capacity measures and measuring scales in our shop, likely hoping to tamper with them, but unfortunately for them, our shopkeeper and laborers kept a close eye on them, and a large crowd of townspeople had gathered around to watch, so they didn't succeed. Afterward, they insisted on auditing the commercial market and stall taxes we had paid, dragging things out for the better part of the day. With all that, the time available for actual normal business in our shop today amounted to less than two hours, and the total grain sold was not even thirty shi!"
"It seems this is the countermove of those unscrupulous merchants."
Xue Rui could conclude with certainty that the Eastern City Garrison had undoubtedly been bribed by those dishonest merchants to come and deliberately make trouble. They would surely return repeatedly in the days to come until the Yonghe Grain Shop was forced to submit.
Liu Ren said with considerable anxiety, "Rui'er, if this continues, our grain shop will likely have to close its doors. For the authorities to make things difficult for us is as easy as pie."
Xue Rui turned to his father. "Father, who oversees the Five-City Military and Police Garrison?"
Xue Yuanhao thought for a moment and replied, "The Garrison falls under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of War. Minister Yu should have authority over them. Additionally, there are the circuit censors patrolling the city, who also hold the power of impeachment and supervision over the Garrison."
"I am quite familiar with the Ministry of War, but Lord Yu is preoccupied day and night with the defense of the capital; it would not do to disturb him over such trivial matters. As for the patrolling circuit censors, however, we might be able to figure something out."
After a brief calculation, Xue Rui ordered his carriage to be prepared, ready to head out.
Since those unscrupulous merchants were determined to make life difficult for him, he would simply have to show them a thing or two!