Xie Zheng asked, “There’s more than one braised meat seller in the entire Qingping County. Why do you think she chose you?”

Fan Changyu said, “It was Chef Li who helped introduce me…”

Xie Zheng kept his eyes on her in silence, and her voice gradually trailed off.

After a moment of stillness, he finally spoke. “It’s true that the cook introduced you. But if what you made wasn’t good, no one would’ve picked you. A merchant doesn’t choose a product out of sentiment—they only show favor when two things are of equal quality.”

Fan Changyu’s hands, clasped together in her lap, tightened slightly. She continued, “Today’s money from the braised meat, Shopkeeper Yu originally didn’t even want it. I had to insist several times before she agreed to take just the cost.”

Xie Zheng asked, “And how much did you earn from that? Probably not even as much as she makes from one table’s worth of customers.”

Fan Changyu pressed her lips together. “It’s not about the amount of silver—it’s the thought that counts.”

Xie Zheng frowned. “I’m not saying you should take her kindness for granted. I’m telling you that the benefit she gave you isn’t equal to the gratitude you’re returning. You can remember the favor, but there’s no need to humble yourself over it. Besides, today’s deal was mutually beneficial—she helped you, yes, but also to undercut Wang Ji.”

Fan Changyu fell silent.

Xie Zheng knew her nature was pure and kind; when others treated her with a little kindness, she always wanted to repay it tenfold.

After a pause, he said quietly, “I’m not saying this to slander that shopkeeper. Once you can see things clearly, maybe then you’ll be able to be true friends with her. But if you only remember gratitude and favor, then you’re no different from her hardworking staff.”

No one had ever taught Fan Changyu such things before.

After her parents passed away, aside from the Zhao family offering occasional help, she had faced everything on her own.

So when Yu Qianqian extended such genuine goodwill toward her, she was like a person freezing in the dead of winter who suddenly felt warmth—instinctively drawn toward that comforting heat.

After quite a long while, she finally said, “Thank you.”

Her voice was a little muffled, but not dejected.

She knew she still had a long road ahead, many things yet to learn. Now that she was beginning to understand what she hadn’t before—it was not too late.

When she looked toward Xie Zheng again, her eyes were filled with a thirst for knowledge. “Yan Zheng, teach me more. I want to become someone as capable as Shopkeeper Yu one day.”

Xie Zheng let out a faint, amused snort. “You’d better not try your hand at business. I told you before—the most remarkable thing about her is her way with people.”

Fan Changyu assumed a posture of earnest attention.

Xie Zheng hadn’t intended to speak further, but he did nonetheless. “Like how she lent you one of her female workers today. You’ll naturally remember her kindness for it. But in truth, she merely gave you exactly what you needed, right when you needed it. Stripped of sentiment, you owe her nothing. You rented her shop—you paid rent. You borrowed her staff—you’ll pay wages. On the contrary, having her own worker oversee the shop you rented brings her only benefit.”

His gaze darkened slightly. “If she wanted to know your accounts, all she’d need to do is ask.”

Fan Changyu said, “I believe Shopkeeper Yu isn’t that kind of person.”

Yet the shock in her heart made her fingertips tingle. Until now, she had only thought Yu Qianqian kind. But now, she realized—alongside that kindness was sharp intelligence.

She admired this version of Yu Qianqian even more—and suddenly understood how that woman, a lone and seemingly delicate figure, had managed within only a few years to open and run two grand restaurants all on her own.

Xie Zheng said with his usual bite, “And that’s merely how she handles her subordinates. The way she deals with merchants and officials—you could study for a lifetime and still not master it.”

Though his words stung, Fan Changyu didn’t argue. Considering how much he had just taught her, she instead said, “Yan Zheng, teach me how to read.”

Looking at her resting her chin in both hands, sighing like a young lion cub facing its first setback—pitiful yet stubborn to the bone—he gave the same calm answer as before: “All right.”

When the ox cart reached the town, they passed by a bookshop. Besides buying paper and ink, Xie Zheng also purchased five books.

Fan Changyu stared, dumbfounded. “That many?”

He placed four thick volumes in her arms and handed a thin one to Changning. “The Three Character Classic for your sister. The Four Books are for you.”

Fan Changyu flipped through them and noticed that although he had once said he wouldn’t teach her The Analects or The Great Learning, he had bought both anyway. She couldn’t help but smile—this man’s tongue was sharp, but most of the time it was just talk.

Happily hugging the books, she said, “I’ll start studying hard tonight!”

Changning, clutching the Three Character Classic with a crumpled face full of protest, swallowed back the words ‘I don’t want to study’ when she saw her sister so delighted.

When they reached home, Fan Changyu unlocked the gate. Changning, determined to be the first one through, pushed open the courtyard door and shouted in joy, “Sun-sun! Sun-sun’s back!”

The falcon, which had flown off early that morning and only returned at dusk, had expected a bowl of meat scraps as reward—but instead found the door locked with a cold iron padlock.

Now, seeing the three finally return, it poked its head out from the bamboo basket, a few soft down feathers sticking up on its crown.

Changning threw herself forward, wrapping her arms around its neck, face flushed with excitement. “Brother-in-law didn’t lie! Sun-sun really came back!”

Fan Changyu was equally astonished—she had thought Yan Zheng was just coaxing a child that day.

She turned to him. “You’re really that skilled at training birds?”

Xie Zheng replied coolly, deflecting the credit. “Or maybe it’s just that you’ve been feeding it too well?”

Fan Changyu’s apricot eyes widened. “…Is that even possible?”

She turned her gaze toward the falcon. The bird, still being squeezed and cuddled by Changning, had its beady eyes fixed squarely on Fan Changyu—as if asking when dinner would be served.

Unconvinced, Fan Changyu headed toward the main house. The falcon pecked the ground twice with its beak, then strolled after her in a leisurely manner—and finally… stationed itself right in front of the large bowl meant for its minced meat.

Fan Changyu: “.…”

Watching the scene, Xie Zheng turned slightly to the side, the corner of his mouth lifting almost imperceptibly.

Resigned, Fan Changyu went to the kitchen, found a slab of meat, chopped it into small pieces, and placed the bowl before the gyrfalcon. Only then did she leave for the carriage house in town to rent a cart and deliver the cured meat to the fat shopkeeper who had ordered it.

The fat shopkeeper was well-informed. Upon learning that Fan Changyu had rented a shop at Yixiang Tower to sell braised meat, he chuckled and said, “This cured meat is also from Madam Fan’s shop, right? I plan to sell it under your Fan’s brand name—what do you say?”

After all that Xie Zheng had told her about the twists and turns of business dealings, Fan Changyu’s mind was much sharper now. She said, “That’s fine—but if you sell it at a higher price than before, you’d better not show me false accounts.”

The fat shopkeeper quickly promised he wouldn’t.

Since their agreement was based on profit-sharing, as long as he didn’t sell cheap, she wouldn’t lose money—so she didn’t press further.

On the way back, she encountered a troop of soldiers. At their head was the very same general who had once helped her family survive that assassination attempt.

He rode atop a tall horse, while the men below escorted more than a dozen prisoners bound tightly with ropes. Judging by their uniforms, the captives were soldiers as well—but clearly not of the same corps as the ones escorting them.

Fan Changyu took a closer look and realized they were the very same grain collectors she and Yan Zheng had seen that afternoon.

Along the roadside ridges, many commoners who witnessed the scene burst into cheers and applause.

“Jizhou finally has an honest official!”

“Adviser He truly sees the sufferings of us poor folk!”

Fan Changyu remembered what Yan Zheng had said at noon. Seeing those corrupt grain soldiers now being led away bound, she couldn’t help but feel quietly elated.

When she returned home, she told Xie Zheng what she had seen along the way. His eyes paused briefly before he turned a page of the scroll with his long fingers and said, “Continue your studies. Tomorrow night at this hour, I’ll test you on the Xue’er chapter.”

Fan Changyu hunched her neck, pulling a face as wrinkled as Changning’s, and went to read.

She had truly meant to study earnestly, but she couldn’t help that the endless zhi hu zhe ye phrases made her head spin. Still, she forced herself to keep reading.

The window was left unlatched, and cold wind kept sweeping in, making them shrink their necks and shiver—just enough to keep the two sisters from dozing off mid-reading.

Xie Zheng, seemingly unaffected by the chill, paced to the window. One hand held the scroll behind his back as he gazed into the night beyond. His hair and robe fluttered in the wind, and his eyes were dark and deep.

He knew—He Jingyuan had openly arrested Wei Xuan’s men, meaning he had no intention of saving Wei Xuan’s face.

With Wei Xuan’s vindictive temperament, before Wei Yan’s reassignment order arrived, he would surely go mad and tear into He Jingyuan.

And his own people… could finally make their move.