Not only that, but the three hundred taels of silver had vanished without a trace.
When Master Li and the eldest young master returned, the blame for this loss would inevitably fall on him.
The more Li Jiwu thought about it, the angrier he became. He suddenly kicked a charred plank beside him. It flew a long way before crashing against the wall and splitting in two with a crack.
"What are you looking at?!"
Rarely losing his composure, Li Jiwu shouted at the servants peeking out around him,
"Clean this place up! Anyone who should be working, get back to work! What are you all standing around for?!"
The servants jumped at his roar and hurriedly scattered. Some fetched water, others swept the ground, and all of them set about clearing the ruins in a flurry.
Shen Chu blended into the crowd and slowly turned toward the Sword-Forging Courtyard.
His face remained impassive, but he kept recalling the brief, strange look that had crossed Constable Zhang's face when he examined the bodies.
Constable Zhang had definitely noticed something, but he had chosen to conceal it.
The reason behind that was probably even more intriguing than whether Zhao Dezhu was alive or dead!
Zhao Dezhu's disappearance and the two charred corpses had cast a shadow over the Sword-Forging Courtyard. Everyone worked with their minds elsewhere, and seeing this, Shen Chu also slowed his pace for once.
After a day's labor,
Shen Chu returned to his quarters, shut the door, and took out the silver pouch and banknotes from inside his clothes to count them.
The three hundred taels of procurement silver Zhao Dezhu had withdrawn from the accounts, together with the silver and banknotes Shen Chu had found in the secret compartment beneath his bed, came to roughly six or seven hundred taels in total.
For an ordinary person, this was already a fortune—enough to move somewhere else, start over, and live a peaceful life.
He wrapped the silver back up, tucked it beneath the bed boards, then sat on the bed and sank into thought.
He couldn't stay here any longer.
He had a feeling, growing stronger by the day,
that since the Red Lotus Sect's so-called Flag Master had managed to plant Zhao Dezhu as a piece on the board inside the Li Residence,
their infiltration of the Li Family ran far deeper than it appeared on the surface.
Zhao Dezhu was dead, but sooner or later the Flag Master would realize that this piece had gone silent. If they followed the trail to investigate, it was hard to say whether it would lead back to him.
And on top of that, he had previously preached to Han Tieshan and a group of refugees.
Shen Chu refused to believe the Red Lotus Sect had no plans to stir up trouble.
The way Constable Zhang had reacted was suspicious, too.
He had clearly noticed something odd about the bodies, yet chose to cover it up.
Either he had colluded with the Red Lotus Sect, or there was some other hidden reason!
But neither possibility was good news for Shen Chu.
Of the Thirty-Six Stratagems, flight was the best!
But he couldn't just leave without warning.
Zhao Dezhu had only just disappeared, the building had just burned down, and the case had only just been closed.
If a newcomer at the Sword-Forging Courtyard suddenly quit his job and ran off,
it would be far too conspicuous.
If Li Jiwu and the government grew suspicious and sent people to investigate, that would only make him more likely to be exposed.
But most importantly, his aptitude was still too low. Thousand Hammer Refinement had been stuck for ages, unable to budge. He still wanted to grind his aptitude higher.
After turning it over in his mind again and again, Shen Chu decided to wait a little longer.
He would wait for the commotion to die down and for people's attention to shift away from the fire. Then he would find a suitable moment to leave quietly—ideally, after coming up with a plausible reason...
Several days later, a carriage, escorted by more than a dozen guards, slowly entered the gates of the Li Residence.
Master Li lifted the curtain. His face showed the weariness of a long journey, but unmistakable delight shone between his brows.
The person who climbed down right behind him was the eldest young master, Li Chengwen.
Unlike the somewhat impetuous and uneasy chubby lad who had set out, Li Chengwen now seemed like a different person.
His movements were brisk and confident, and his face shone with unprecedented self-assurance and vitality.
It was as if the journey had transformed him completely.
As soon as Master Li stepped out of the carriage, the steward led the entire household forward to welcome them.
Second Young Master Li Jiwu and Madam Liu had also been waiting at the gate. One wore a smile, the other had immaculate makeup, and together they came forward to greet them.
Master Li was in an excellent mood. He patted his eldest son on the shoulder and smiled at everyone. "Chengwen did a splendid job on this trip! He helped me secure that long-term weapons supply contract with the Qingyang Prefecture Government. This boy usually seems so careless, but when it came to business, he proved far more dependable than I expected!"
At this, everyone present looked surprised, then quickly put on smiles and began offering congratulations.
Praised by his father in front of everyone, Li Chengwen could barely contain his pride. He puffed out his chest and blurted, "Father, I told you ages ago that this little matter didn't need Eldest Sister's help. I could handle it myself!"
The smile on Master Li's face froze for a moment, and he shot his eldest son a helpless look.
He had praised him in front of the whole family to give him some credit.
But this boy couldn't keep anything to himself and had gone and spilled the secret.
Still, his eldest son's performance on this trip had truly impressed him. Though Master Li felt a little helpless, he was in a good mood overall and couldn't be bothered to make an issue of this small slip.
He gave Li Chengwen another exasperated look, then waved to the steward and instructed him, "Withdraw a sum of reward money from the accounts and send it to the Sword-Forging Courtyard. This is a benefit Chengwen secured for everyone. When the government's order comes in, have the masters in the courtyard work hard! If they do a good job, this master will give them another generous reward!"
The steward hurriedly bowed and acknowledged the order.
Second Young Master Li Jiwu stood to one side with a perfectly appropriate smile, clapping along with everyone else.
Though he said all the expected things—"Congratulations, Father. Congratulations, Big Brother," and "Father, you must be tired. Big Brother, you've worked hard"—,
inside his drooping sleeve, his hand had clenched into a tight fist.
When the commotion of the welcome had died down somewhat, Li Jiwu composed himself and stepped forward.
He lowered his head slightly, his tone heavy with concern. "Father, while you were away, a serious incident occurred at home. I dare not conceal it from you, and must report it."
Master Li's good mood was interrupted by this. His brows drew together slightly. "What happened?"
Li Jiwu then recounted the entire matter of Zhao Dezhu.
He spoke with heartfelt sincerity and a sorrowful tone, then bowed deeply. "Father, this happened while I was managing the household in your absence. I failed to supervise things properly and chose the wrong people. Please punish me."
Master Li's expression darkened as soon as he heard the whole story.
Another serious incident had occurred while he was away!
Losing several hundred taels of silver was bad enough, and now someone had died, too!
Just as Master Li was about to erupt, Madam Liu stepped forward first, threw her arms around him, and burst into tears.
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