Chapter Seventy-Seven: Sun San and Sun Si

Early the next morning.

The rain still fell in a fine, misty drizzle.

Four people sat around the table, eating breakfast together. After celebrating the Su sisters’ birthday the previous night, the mood at breakfast was oddly strained.

The sisters kept their heads down, silent and absorbed in their meal. Su Xiyan cherished the bracelet on her wrist, carefully wiping it several times when it caught a bit of dust before tucking it away in her sleeve. Li Yunjie managed a faint smile, but when his eyes flickered to Su Qingmeng, he noticed she was not wearing the hairpin and his expression darkened.

No one spoke a word. When they finished eating, each quietly returned to their rooms.

Li Yunjie sat by the window, lost in thought. Raindrops pattered softly on the willow branches outside, and water trickled down the eaves in a broken, shimmering curtain.

“Master, Inspector Jiang is here,” came Shiyi’s voice from behind, shattering the silence.

“Let him in,” Li Yunjie said calmly.

Jiang Kui removed his raincoat and hung it by the door, shaking off the droplets before clasping his hands in greeting. “Lord Li.”

Li Yunjie motioned for him to sit and poured him a cup of hot tea. “Have you found anything?”

Jiang Kui nodded. “We have been watching the Qianjin Gambling House as you instructed these past few days.”

“And we did discover something.”

“What did you find?” Li Yunjie’s demeanor turned serious at once.

Jiang Kui finished his tea, his thoughts drifting back to the previous night.

“At midnight, the gambling house servants transported out more than ten wooden crates, moving with utmost caution as if afraid of being seen. I found it suspicious and followed at a distance.”

Li Yunjie’s brow furrowed. “Did you see clearly what they were transporting?”

Jiang Kui shook his head. “The cargo was heavily guarded. I could only follow from afar.”

“Where were the crates delivered?” Li Yunjie pressed.

Jiang Kui paused before answering gravely, “The eastern docks, to Liu’s River Shipping.”

Shipping by water?

Li Yunjie fell silent, deep in thought.

“Come, take me there.”

...

They walked under an oil-paper umbrella to the docks, where, beside a roadside tea stall, Qin Fang and Chang Yuan were keeping watch.

They exchanged brief greetings.

“Chief, we’ve been watching since last night,” Qin Fang said, propping his chin up wearily. “Not a single stir.”

Chang Yuan stifled a yawn. “After the crates were brought inside, Liu’s River Shipping shut its doors and hasn’t reopened since.”

“Maybe we should sneak in and have a look?” Jiang Kui suggested.

But Li Yunjie shook his head.

He had two things to investigate now.

First, what was inside those crates?

Second, where were they being sent?

“The Qianjin Gambling House chose to move goods at midnight—they’re prepared for trouble. If we act rashly, we might tip them off,” Li Yunjie said, glancing around.

Not far from Liu’s River Shipping stood a small shop. Due to the constant rain, most shipping businesses remained closed, but this one bustled with activity.

Li Yunjie frowned slightly. “Stay here and keep watch,” he ordered, then made his way to the shop.

“Sir, what brings you here?” A stout, cheerful man greeted him at the door.

Li Yunjie glanced around. “All the other shops are closed. Why is yours still open?”

The man hesitated, then forced a wry smile. “You may not know, sir, that river shipping isn’t an easy trade. We can’t afford to rest if we want to eat.”

As he spoke, a thin man emerged from the back room, flicking water from his hands and drying them on his clothes.

“Are you here to ship cargo or passengers?” the thin man asked.

Li Yunjie waved him off with a smile. “Neither. The rain outside is heavy—I just came in to wait it out.”

He offered a casual excuse, careful not to arouse suspicion.

The two men exchanged glances, a faint sadness flickering in their eyes. The thin man quickly put on a smile, fetched a stool, and offered it to Li Yunjie. “Please, make yourself comfortable.”

As he spoke, his gaze unintentionally fell on the sword at Li Yunjie’s waist, and his pupils contracted sharply.

“Judging by your accents, you’re not locals, are you?” Li Yunjie tried to draw them out as he sat down.

“You have a keen ear, sir,” the stout man replied, picking up the thread. “We’re both from Northling.”

“What a coincidence! I’m from Northling as well!” Li Yunjie exclaimed in delight. No wonder their accents sounded so familiar—they were countrymen.

“May I ask, sir,” the thin man’s eyes reddened, his breath coming faster, “from which part of Northling do you hail?”

Li Yunjie was taken aback by his reaction. It was common for countrymen to feel a kinship, but this seemed a bit excessive.

“To be honest,” Li Yunjie sighed, “I am from Northling, but I left home as a child and went to the capital. I barely remember where my family lived.”

It wasn’t that he was unwilling to say more. His reputation in Northling was abysmal. Ever since Li Jia’s death in battle, rumors had spread that Li Yunjie was born under an unlucky star, doomed to bring ruin to his family.

Most commoners wished him dead many times more than alive.

“And your age, sir?”

Li Yunjie hesitated. “I am twenty-three.”

“That’s it! It all matches!” the thin man cried out, his voice high with excitement. Suddenly, he dropped to one knee.

Startled, Li Yunjie leapt up, utterly bewildered.

What is happening?

“San, what are you doing? You’re scaring the gentleman!” the stout man was equally confused. “What do you mean, ‘it all matches’?!”

“Si!” the thin man tugged at his companion’s sleeve, urging him to kneel. “He’s the young master!”

“The young master is twenty-three this year as well.”

“Look!” He pointed with a trembling finger to the sword at Li Yunjie’s waist. “That’s the Prince’s sword!”

The stout man stared at the blade, his expression changing instantly.

“It really is!”

Without another word, he too dropped to one knee.

“Sun San, personal guard of the Northling Prince’s residence.”

“Sun Si, personal guard of the Northling Prince’s residence.”

“We greet the heir apparent!”

Their voices rang out in unison. Though time had changed their bodies, the indomitable spirit of soldiers could not be concealed.

Li Yunjie’s heart trembled, shock rooting him in place as he unconsciously took a step back. He stared at them, his emotions complex.

He distinctly remembered that when he was forced to leave home, the prince’s personal guards had supposedly been reassigned to the city watch. Why were these two in Jiangnan, living in such poverty?

With a soft sigh, he reached out to help them up and voiced his doubts.

“You may not know, young master,” Sun San stammered, his voice quavering, “that when you dissolved the prince’s household, Li Yi pretended to accept us into the city watch, but secretly allowed those scoundrels to torment us relentlessly.”

“That’s right!” Sun Si added angrily. “They withheld our rations and made our lives miserable at every turn!”

“How could we brothers endure such humiliation? In desperation, we fled Northling and have hidden our names ever since.”

“We’re both skilled on the water, so we came south to Jiangnan to work in river shipping,” Sun Si finished, his mood clearly darkening.

This burly, rough-faced man was now choking back tears.

Sun San heaved a long sigh and continued, “Who would have thought even this trade would be so hard to make a living…”