On the second night after the Crown Prince's Mansion banquet, rain fell over Heaven Dou Outer City.
It was not heavy.
Fine and needle-like, it fell upon the bluestone streets, casting a thin sheen of cold light.
The lights were still on at the Spirit Hall Branch's outer-city stronghold.
Several Deacons carried Account Ledgers in and out, their footsteps deliberately hushed.
The Account Ledgers from the Li Family, Wang Chamber of Commerce, and Chen Chamber of Commerce arrived one after another.
Some submitted them readily.
Some submitted fake ledgers.
Others simply sent half a volume, claiming the other half had been "destroyed in a fire."
When Hu Liena saw the ledgers, she laughed in anger.
She tossed a visibly torn ledger onto the table, her voice icy.
"Destroyed in a fire? They actually dared use such an excuse?"
Di Yao sat behind the table, his expression calm.
"That means the real ledgers are still there."
Hu Liena frowned. "Where would they hide them?"
Di Yao picked up a page from one of the fake ledgers and lightly tapped the transport date with his fingertip.
"Not too far away."
Hu Liena froze.
Di Yao said, "They'll move the real ledgers tonight."
Hu Liena immediately understood. "So you gave them until noon tomorrow to submit their accounts on purpose, just to give them one night to move them?"
Di Yao nodded.
Hu Liena took a deep breath.
"You really are..."
She wanted to curse him, but she did not know what to curse him for.
Ruthless?
Sinister?
Calculating?
All of them seemed right.
Di Yao pushed the stack of ledgers aside.
"The real ledgers are not urgent right now."
Hu Liena frowned. "Then what is?"
Di Yao looked up at the rainy night beyond the window.
"Someone is more anxious than we