Prince Qi's Residence
At dusk, a man strolled out through the rear gate of Prince Qi's Residence. He was around forty, of average build, dressed in a somewhat worn cotton robe. Yet a closer look revealed that the deerskin boots on the steward's feet alone were worth a small fortune. The cotton robe was merely to appear low-key before his masters.
The extra silver he received from various places each month far exceeded his regular pay. So whenever he had nothing to do after dusk, he liked to bring some silver to his usual gambling den for a few rounds, then visit a brothel and find a girl to have some fun with.
Today was no exception. But he had barely gone far when someone stopped him, cupped his hands, and said, "You are Steward Chen, correct?"
"That's me. And you are?" Steward Chen froze for a moment before asking.
Half the visitor's face was concealed beneath a fur cap and fur robe, making it impossible to see who he was.
The visitor appeared extremely respectful. He directly handed over a pouch. "Then there is no mistake. This is ten taels of silver. My master asked me to give it to you, to thank you for your help last time."
Seeing that Steward Chen was still stunned, the man forcibly stuffed the pouch into his hand and turned to leave.
"Hey! Wait! Your master..."
Who exactly was his master? Steward Chen squeezed the pouch in his hand. It was stuffed full and heavy in his palm. Opening it, he found two five-tael silver ingots inside. He wanted to ask who the man's master was, but when he looked up, the man had already gone far away.
"How strange. Who sent this gift?" Though he thought so, Steward Chen tucked the