Chapter 32

Chapter 32: Elder Chu

Moto’s bell chimed as Shen Tang jogged back, wearing an expression that begged to be asked.

“Yuan Liang,” she said, deliberately teasing, “why didn’t you ask me? Not curious about him at all?”

Qi Shan didn’t even blink. “You Li isn’t someone who can keep a secret.”

Shen Tang’s smile twitched. For a heartbeat, she looked like she wanted to crack his skull open just to see what was wrong inside it.

“With a mouth like yours,” she muttered, “it’s a miracle you’ve lived this long.”

Qi Shan ignored her.

Shen Tang finally spilled it anyway. “The butcher said that Old Sir is kind of a ‘celebrity’ around here. His family name is Chu.”

Qi Shan’s tone sharpened slightly. “Which Chu?”

Plenty of surnames sounded the same.

“I asked carefully,” Shen Tang said. “It’s the Chu for a cloth sack—like something you pack garments into.”

At that, Qi Shan’s brows tightened so faintly it was almost invisible. Shen Tang didn’t notice.

“Chu…” Qi Shan said. “That surname is rare in Xin State and Geng State.”

“Then where is it common?” Shen Tang pressed.

Qi Shan dodged cleanly. “What else did you find out?”

Shen Tang huffed but continued. “The butcher said Elder Chu was sold cheaply at the market about five years ago—one of more than thirty slaves brought in at the time.

He also heard there’d originally been over two hundred slaves. They were meant to be sold elsewhere, but a plague broke out on the road. Most of them died, and the survivors were dumped in Xiao City for cheap because people were afraid of infection.”

Qi Shan’s eyes narrowed. “Five years ago? You’re sure?”

“The butcher couldn’t swear to the exact month,” Shen Tang admitted. “It might’ve been five years and a few months. Anyway—Elder Chu got bundled as an extra and sold to Moonlight Tower. He’s been there ever since. I even went out of my way to figure out what Moonlight Tower—”

“It’s a male courtesan house,” Qi Shan cut in.

Shen Tang stopped mid-step and shot him a look at his back. “How do you know that so clearly?”

Qi Shan didn’t dignify it with a straight answer. He only said, in the tone of someone scolding a child, “You Li isn’t old enough to understand those things.”

Shen Tang’s smile turned sour.

She was old enough to understand plenty. But there was no point arguing with him.

Qi Shan asked, “What does that sir do at Moonlight Tower?”

Shen Tang looked genuinely puzzled. “What else? He’s a menial in the back. Elder Chu is old. He can’t do heavy work. At most he washes dishes, scrubs bowls, carries food, runs errands. At his age, what else could he be doing?”

Qi Shan didn’t answer. He only thought, grimly, that Young Master Shen had almost certainly misunderstood.

Instead, he said, “That man is strange. Full of contradictions. You could tell from talking to him—his skill with Literary Heart word-spirit isn’t low. At the very least, it’s not below mine.”

Shen Tang’s eyes widened. “Not below you?”

“Possibly above.”

Shen Tang slowed, frowning. “If he has that kind of ability, even if he fell far enough to be bought by a male courtesan house, he shouldn’t be stuck doing kitchen drudgework. If he wanted a better life, it shouldn’t be hard. But his clothes don’t look like it.”

Qi Shan gave a short, humorless laugh. “Who knows what he wants?”

After a pause, he added, “But that surname—Chu—reminds me of an old case.”

Shen Tang’s attention snapped into place. She all but leaned forward. “What old case?”

Qi Shan spoke like he was telling a story he’d told himself too many times.

“Among the hundred states, alliances and marriages are tangled everywhere. A few years ago, Xin State was strong. The smaller states around it followed its lead, even offering princesses to enter Xin State’s inner palace.

One of those princesses who became a consort bore the surname Chu.”

Shen Tang nodded quickly. “Okay. And?”

“When that Chu-surnamed princess first arrived, she gained the Ruler of Xin’s favor almost immediately. For a time, she outshone everyone. Even Nu Jiao Zheng Qiao—who was deeply favored himself—had to avoid her edge.

They said the Favored Consort was well read, gentle, and kind. Then she became pregnant. People thought she might even take the central palace seat.”

Qi Shan’s voice cooled. “At five months, she miscarried. Shortly after, she died—strangely.”

Shen Tang exhaled. “No way that was simple.”

“Of course it wasn’t,” Qi Shan said. “Rumors spread. Some claimed she’d been caught in an affair with a palace guard. Others whispered the child wasn’t the sovereign’s at all—that it belonged to Zheng Qiao.

Not long after, Zheng Qiao returned to his homeland, and Xin State sent troops to destroy the Favored Consort’s home country. They say the Ruler of Xin even ordered a massacre in secret and put the nobles through hell.”

He let the words hang for a moment. “Judging from Xin State’s reaction, the rumors may have held some truth. Or it could have been a frame—Zheng Qiao arranging the death to clear his path home.”

Shen Tang’s expression went odd, part disgust, part grim amusement.

So Xin State had destroyed nations and crushed royal houses before—trampling prisoners of war without mercy. And now Zheng Qiao was doing the same to Xin State, even adding new humiliations, forcing Xin State’s princesses to surrender stripped bare.

History really did bite back.

She glanced at Qi Shan. “So you think Elder Chu might be from that destroyed royal house?”

Qi Shan shook his head. “Hard to say. He might be. Or he might not. That country had many people with the surname Chu.”

His gaze went distant. “But one thing’s certain—if he is tied to it, there’s hatred toward Xin State in his bones.”

He exhaled, pushing aside whatever churned in his chest. “Enough for now. Young Master Shen—let’s settle where we’re staying. We can take everything else slowly.”

They’d be spending time in Xiao City.

Shen Tang shrugged. “I’ll follow Yuan Liang’s lead.”

Qi Shan led Shen Tang to a small house tucked away in a quiet spot.

It wasn’t large, but it had everything it needed. The place was tidy in a way that spoke of a careful owner.

The homeowners were an elderly farming couple, both around fifty. The old woman greeted them with a smile and led Shen Tang to her room.

The room faced the courtyard. When Shen Tang opened the wooden door, she could see the open-air patio beyond. Qi Shan’s room was next door.

After the couple left, Shen Tang asked, “You know them?”

The way they spoke with Qi Shan felt familiar—like old acquaintances.

Qi Shan answered, “I do. Five or six years now…”

Shen Tang’s brows lifted.

She didn’t know why, but that span of time—five or six years—stuck in her mind like a burr.