At the third quarter of the Si hour, in the sandalwood chair of the study at the Lu Mansion, Mr. Zhou pushed up his reading glasses as the yellowed commercial tax ledgers rustled on the desk. Jiang Wan stared at the three characters "Sky Wolf Stronghold" at the edge of the ledger, her fingertips tapping lightly on the tabletop before her gaze suddenly fixed on the glazed mandarin duck ornament on the antique shelf opposite—the plum blossom pattern on the base of that pair of ornaments matched the mark of the West City wealthy merchant Wu Mingyuan's firm down to the smallest detail.
"Mr. Zhou," she said with a chill in her voice, "check Wu Mingyuan's financial transactions over the past decade, especially his intersections with the northwestern trade caravans."
Lu Jingyuan's hand holding the sword paused mid-air, the flying tiger tassel on the hilt swaying slightly with his breath: "Wu Mingyuan? That philanthropist who hands out porridge at Cien Temple on the first day of every month?"
Chapter 267