Fu Fengzheng

The An Family did not own so much as a sliver of property in Gentlemen City.

Back then, An Changfu had indeed considered expanding into Gentlemen City, but a powerful figure he had once cultivated with gifts of silver told him that the connections in Gentlemen City were exceedingly complex and ever-changing. One misstep could leave him bankrupt.

Although the An Family was a major landowner in Anyuan County, across the Great Ya Dynasty, they were merely third-rate merchants. In the eyes of certain influential figures in Gentlemen City, crushing a local family from some small county was as easy as crushing an ant. From then on, An Changfu no longer dared to entertain the idea and stayed obediently in Anyuan County as a landowner.

Including the servants, An Ziran had brought fifteen people with him this time.

It was impossible to put them all up at an inn. Expenses in Gentlemen City were far higher than in Anyuan County, and a month's stay would cost a considerable sum. No matter how wealthy the An Family was, they could not squander money like that.

Since he did not know how long they would be staying in Gentlemen City, An Ziran decided to rent a separate residence. He spent some silver to have someone find one for him. The residence was not particularly luxurious and was not near a bustling district, but it had plenty of rooms and could accommodate around twenty people. He rented it for only one month, yet the rent came to a full hundred taels.

The next day, everyone moved into the residence. The day's work exhausted them, and shortly after the hour of the pig, the residence fell completely quiet. Most had already gone to sleep.

An Ziran stood in the corridor, gazing at the shimmering pond outside. A few lotus leaves dotted its surface, faintly visible and lonely in their bleakness. A round moon was reflected in the water. After a while, he finally looked away.

Just then, there was a soft knock at the door. Qiulan entered carrying a small jug of oil. After refilling the lamp, she said, "Young Master, it's late. Please go to bed early."

"I know. Go rest first." An Ziran walked into the room.

Qiulan answered and withdrew. The lamplight soon disappeared.

An Ziran took a sachet from his robes. It was the one Old Master An had left behind. He had thought the old master might have left some instructions, but upon opening it, he found only a few simple details about the person he was betrothed to. In truth, there was only one name.

Fu Fengzheng, the old man who had become Old Master An's confidant and sworn brother all those years ago.

After seeing it, An Ziran was nearly at a loss for thought. He did not even know who the other man was, what he did, or who was in his family, yet Old Master An had rashly arranged a marriage alliance with him. It seemed Old Master An had studied himself foolish. Still, if not for that foolish act, An Ziran would probably have quite the headache now.

The next morning, after tidying himself up, An Ziran left with the maid Qiulan.

If the other party truly was an influential figure of status in Gentlemen City, he should be easy to find out about. Even if he was not, and was merely a merchant, they would eventually learn of him if they spent enough time.

Still, An Ziran did not hold out much hope. After all, ten years had already passed.

The best places to gather information were restaurants and pleasure houses. Pleasure houses were unsuitable for them, so they went to a restaurant named Three Springs. It was neither the largest nor the finest restaurant, but countless guests came and went. Even from outside, they could hear the loud voices of people talking within.

"Come on, let's go in and take a look."

Without hesitation, An Ziran settled on that restaurant and walked inside first.

Qiulan had no idea what her young master intended to do and could only keep close behind him. If Su Zi had been able to come along, he should have been the one accompanying the young master instead.

"Honored guest, would you prefer the main hall or a private room?" The waiter saw An Ziran enter, seeming to carry a faint air of nobility about him, and hurried forward to greet him.

"A private room," An Ziran said.

The main hall was too noisy. Though it would be convenient for gathering information, with so many people talking at once, it would not be good if others found out.

"Very well. Honored guests, please follow me."

The three went up to the second floor. The waiter selected a room by the corridor overlooking the first floor. Opening the reddish-brown window revealed groups of three or five below, drinking together and discussing the latest gossip from Gentlemen City.

The waiter quickly brought up a pot of steaming hot tea.