Ye Zhinan raised her right hand high, as if about to strike but holding back.
Wei Shiqi covered his face and disappeared in the blink of an eye.
Ye Zhinan stared straight ahead, watching the figure gradually fading away. A cold gust of wind blew by.
"The wind's rising!"
Her eyebrows knitted together. The weather in the northern border was ever - changing. How she longed to take a look at the Heavenly Annals!
The Heavenly Annals was a record of the local weather changes in each region. It was stored in the archives of the prefect's office, a place that not just anyone could enter at will.
Ye Zhinan shook her head, dispelling the thought.
Suddenly, a figure approached her from behind.
"What are you thinking about?"
She gave a start, and her right hand instinctively reached for something in her bosom.
"It's you. Why are you being so sneaky!"
Qin Yihuai looked at her suspiciously. "I called out to you!"
He did call out, but she had been preoccupied with the Heavenly Annals.
"What were you thinking?"
"I want to see the Heavenly Annals."
Ye Zhinan didn't hide it. Although she knew that with Qin Yihuai's status, he couldn't get into the archives either, she still felt that voicing it might make it possible.
Qin Yihuai frowned slightly and said, "I can't get into the archives."
"Exactly. You're just a constable. How could you enter the archives!"
Ye Zhinan forced a smile and turned to leave.
"But I can get you what you want."
"Really?"
Hope flared up in her again. Her eyes sparkled. Qin Yihuai was momentarily lost in her gaze and nodded involuntarily.
Sure enough, just two days later, he brought her a booklet.
Ye Zhinan took a closer look. It was the Supplementary Heavenly Annals.
What was this?
Qin Yihuai seemed to read her mind and said calmly, "This was secretly copied by a retired official. Be careful with it. Don't let anyone else know."
Ye Zhinan nodded repeatedly.
She would hide that supplementary booklet in a place where it would be perfectly safe.
Just then, Li Feilong rushed over, out of breath.
"Sis, come with me quickly..."
Before he could steady himself, he caught sight of Qin Yihuai standing nearby and swallowed the rest of his words.
Their business affairs were not suitable for outsiders to know.
Ye Zhinan understood his thoughts and blinked her eyes.
"Constable Qin, I have something to attend to. I'll return the book to you after I've finished reading it."
Qin Yihuai left tactfully. As soon as he was out of earshot, Li Feilong quickly said,
"We've found out. Come with me quickly and take a look."
When they returned to Li Feilong's house, Zhao A'si was kneeling on the ground, looking deathly pale. Qiao Jie stood beside him, tears streaming down her face.
When Lu Yanlai saw Ye Zhinan, she seemed to see a savior and quickly recounted what had happened.
It turned out that they had discovered that Zhao A'si had tampered with the marinated dishes, which was why the business was poor and their reputation was damaged. Li Feilong was so angry that he questioned the couple. Qiao Jie had no idea, and Zhao A'si flatly denied it.
After listening, Ye Zhinan stared sharply at Zhao A'si.
"Who told you to do this?"
Zhao A'si's body trembled slightly, and his pupils shrank suddenly. He seemed to want to say something but ultimately held his tongue.
"A'si, why on earth? At first, Miss Ye was magnanimous and gave us such a good business opportunity. How could you be so confused?"
Qiao Jie was hoarse from shouting. She had shed all her tears and exhausted all her words.
"If you have any hidden troubles, just say it. We'll help you solve them together!"
Ye Zhinan's eyes darkened a bit. Zhao A'si raised his head, his eyes red - rimmed. He clenched his fists tightly and suddenly looked at Qiao Jie.
Everyone was taken aback. Ye Zhinan seemed to understand something and whispered, "Someone is threatening you?"
Hearing this, Qiao Jie seemed to remember something. "No wonder I've been encountering strange things these days."
A cold glint flashed in her eyes, and her hands began to tremble uncontrollably.
"That day, I was walking by the river when someone suddenly pushed me from behind. I almost drowned. Another time, when I was fetching water from the well, I was pushed again. And once in the market, my skirt was inexplicably cut. And every time I couldn't find the person who did it. At that time, you comforted me, saying it was just naughty kids, but it turns out someone was using me to threaten you!"
Anger welled up in Zhao A'si's eyebrows. His hands hanging by his sides trembled slightly. "They, they threatened, me. They wanted, your life. So, I, I had no choice but to, listen to them."
A chill flashed through Ye Zhinan's eyes.
These people must be targeting the Ye family, or perhaps just her.
But how did they know about the marinated - food stall?
A person popped into Ye Zhinan's mind.
But she immediately dismissed the thought. She felt ashamed for suspecting someone so casually.
Looking at the embracing couple, she felt a pang of guilt.
"I'm sorry. I've implicated you."
"How can it be your fault? Maybe we offended someone during our business."
Lu Yanlai felt sorry for her. Having shared similar fates, they cherished each other even more.
"Don't be afraid. With me, Li Feilong here, I'll protect your safety."
"No. We're in the open, and those people are in the dark. It's too risky. Brother Zhao, do you know who threatened you?"
Ye Zhinan first reassured Li Feilong and then continued to ask.
Zhao A'si shook his head. He took out several pieces of paper from his bosom. "They only left these. They never showed themselves."
Qiao Jie's name was scribbled on the papers. It was impossible to tell whose handwriting it was.
"We won't sell the marinated dishes anymore. I'm sorry, Miss Ye. We've caused you so much trouble. We'll gradually compensate you for the losses. Is that okay?"
Qiao Jie wiped away her tears and stared firmly at everyone.
Ye Zhinan was taken aback. She hadn't expected this woman to be so strong.
"If anyone should compensate, it should be me. If it weren't for us, you wouldn't have encountered those things. If you don't mind, here are some duck - raising methods. If you're willing, you can supply us with ducks in the future."
With that, she handed a duck - raising manual to the couple.
Qiao Jie stared at her in disbelief, her eyes instantly welling up with tears.
Although Zhao A'si's matter was temporarily resolved, the person behind the scenes had not been found. The stalls on the four main streets were once again reduced to just two, and the business was far from what it used to be.
"There's no end to making money. With fewer stalls, I can relax a bit."
Lu Yanlai comforted the worried Ye Zhinan.
"You're so nice, but it's not about the money. I'm afraid that one day..."
"Shoo, shoo, shoo!"
Lu Yanlai grabbed Ye Zhinan's hand that had been resting on her shoulder. "Don't jinx me. Besides, don't you trust Brother Li's fists?"
"Yes, yes. Brother Li is the most powerful, but I've been so careful. How come there are still people causing trouble behind my back!"
She wasn't afraid of others causing trouble for her, but she was worried about them targeting her friends. These people played dirty, and she had to be on guard.
Lu Yanlai shook her head. Having stayed in the bandit den for so long, she had no idea how to deal with such scheming people.
"Why don't you stop setting up stalls too?"