Yin Yiniang said angrily, “I’ve never seen you speaking up for the other side like this, Hanren. You are kind-hearted, but don’t you know that the eldest young master has never treated you like a real brother? Now that you finally have a chance to get ahead of them, you’re still talking about what should or shouldn’t be done…” She complained for a long time. Seeing that Hanren was just silently eating, she urged again, “You must wake up early tomorrow and go to Li Town before the eldest young master! Don’t waste the good intentions of your mother and sister, understand?”
Xu Hanren nodded, but in his heart he had already decided not to go to Li Town tomorrow. How awkward would it be if he ran into his elder brother?
Later that evening, a maidservant came out of Yin Yiniang’s courtyard and, after looking around, stepped into the courtyard where Xu Hanchao and his wife lived. Arriving at the hall, she saw Xu Hanchao sitting inside and softly called out, “Second Young Master.”
Xu Hanchao closed his account book and gestured for the maidservant to come closer and speak. He asked, “How did it go?”
The maidservant then told him how Yin Yiniang had instructed Shuzhi to go gather information from the eldest young master.
“Li Town?”
The maidservant quickly nodded, “This servant heard it clearly. They were indeed talking about Li Town.”
“Is the information reliable?”
“Third Young Master even argued with Yin Yiniang while trying to gather information for Miss Shuzhi.”
Xu Hanchao took out a piece of silver and dismissed the maidservant, thinking that Tianxiang was indeed clever.
Although he had not heard that Li Town had any silk, his elder brother had been managing the weaving workshop for years and would naturally know better about where silk could be obtained. He must get to Li Town before his elder brother and third brother tomorrow!
The next day, while it was still dark, Xu Hanchao left the Xu residence. His carriage headed towards Li Town, fifty li from Yongjing City. Just as his carriage left the residence, another carriage followed from the alley, tailing him out of the city.
