Chapter 38: Lin You's Doomsday

As evening fell and the river tide rose, Qin Song, accompanied by Chu Haiyuan, escorted a group of captured water bandits back onto the merchant ships to begin the journey back to Yuezhou.

Meanwhile, in the Lin family residence in Yuezhou, Lin You was in a state of fury.

"Find them! Send everyone out! Even if you have to turn the entire Jiangnan Commandery and the entire Great Xia upside down, you must find those three!"

It was not until the following afternoon that Lin You realized his wife, Lady Wu, and his daughter, Lin Wanqing, had gone missing. When Lin You had returned home the previous evening and failed to see his wife and daughter, he was told upon inquiry that they had gone out early that morning for an outing. Having been busy all day, Lin You thought nothing of it. After a night's rest, he went to work at the prefectural office as usual the next day.

Growing increasingly uneasy, Lin You sent men home to see if they had returned, only to be told they had not. Realizing something was wrong, he rushed home and went to their living quarters. After a brief inspection, he nearly collapsed. His wife had only taken a few changes of clothes to avoid suspicion, but in his daughter Lin Wanqing’s room, although everything appeared normal on the surface, every valuable item was missing. Realizing they had used the excuse of an outing to flee, Lin You immediately ordered a search.

The men sent to the city gates soon returned with news: the carriage the two women had taken left through the North Gate, using the excuse of an excursion during the inspection. The guards, seeing their status, had let them pass without further questioning.

It would have been one thing if his wife had left, but his daughter was betrothed to the young master of the Cao family. With her sudden disappearance, how was he to explain this to the Caos? By the morning of the third day, the search parties had still found no trace of them.

Just as Lin You was raging at home, at a total loss, Li Wei arrived in a hurry.

"Something has happened!"

"My lord, you already know?"

Lin You, thinking Li Wei was still in the dark, turned pale and panicked. "What do I know?"

Li Wei was taken aback. "What do *you* know?"

Both men, harboring their own secrets, were clearly not on the same page.

"My lord, my wife and daughter left the city three days ago on the pretext of an outing and have not returned!" Lin You confessed, assuming Li Wei already knew.

"I..." Li Wei nearly coughed up blood. "At a time like this, you still have the heart to worry about such trivial family matters? Reports have just arrived: the five merchant ships led by the Qin family manager split up after spending the night at a port shortly after leaving Yuezhou! The Qin family’s ship continued south under the manager's command, but the other four turned back north!"

"They came back?"

Seeing Lin You’s confusion, Li Wei, whose face was pale with anxiety, continued, "The four ships never entered the port of Yuezhou. Instead, they continued north to pursue the fleet transporting the Qin family’s Xiangyun brocade!"

"Furthermore, those four ships were riding low in the water; they were clearly carrying a heavy load! If they had merely purchased silk and other materials, why would they not return to Yuezhou? More importantly, the naval fleet commanded by Chu Haiyuan was also docked at that port that night!"

The dazed Lin You suddenly realized the implication and stood frozen, stunned into silence.

"Additionally, the naval lieutenant who is on good terms with Qin Song has not been seen at the port since Qin Song departed, nor is there any sign of him at his home."

"This, this, this..." Lin You, realizing the danger, was too terrified to speak.

"Send your men to find Zheng Tong and Qin Hu immediately!" Li Wei, keeping his wits about him compared to the unraveling Lin You, snapped, "You fool! If Qin Hu and Zheng Tong are still there, it means our operation has not been exposed. All of this may just be the Qin family and the navy taking precautions against Wang Long’s attacks!"

"Yes, yes, yes!" Lin You felt a surge of hope. "Someone, come here!"

"My lord!" A trusted aide stepped into the room.

"Go find Zheng Tong and Qin Hu, right now!"

"Understood!" The aide, seeing Lin You’s panic, hurried away.

"My lord, regardless of whether the operation is exposed, what if the Qin family and the navy catch Wang Long?" Lin You asked once the aide had left. "I have corresponded with Wang Long dozens of times over the years, even just a few days ago. If those letters fall into the wrong hands..."

"Rest assured," Li Wei interrupted. "You have your own people planted near Wang Long; he will not survive."

Li Wei did not tell Lin You that while he could ensure Wang Long would not survive, he could not guarantee whether Wang Long had kept their correspondence. Of course, even if those letters were discovered, Lin You would be the only one sacrificed in the end.

"Good, good, good!" Lin You, kept in the dark, felt a wave of relief and a flicker of wishful thinking. But that fantasy was soon shattered.

"My lord, this is bad!" The aide rushed back into the room. "Zheng Tong is gone! And we haven't been able to contact Qin Hu at the Qin workshop!"

"What!" The news struck them like a lightning bolt. Whether Qin Hu was there or not was irrelevant; the fact that Zheng Tong, who handled Lin You’s external communications, had vanished said everything.

"Get out, and unless we give the order, no one is allowed in!" Li Wei commanded, a fierce glint in his eyes.

"Why are you still standing there? Get out!" Lin You, now completely devoid of ideas, barked at the aide.

"Yes!" The aide retreated quickly.

"My lord, we are exposed! What do we do now?"

"Why panic? We still have the master!" Li Wei, surprisingly calm, asked, "Did you keep any of the letters Wang Long wrote to you?"

"Yes, yes, I have them!"

"Find them quickly! No one else must know about them!"

"Right, right!" Lin You scrambled into his study to search. "My lord, they are all here!" He soon emerged with a box and handed it to Li Wei.

"Lin You, are these all of them? This concerns our careers! If even one is missing, it will be a disaster for you, for me, and even for the master!"

"They are all here!" Lin You swallowed hard, insisting with conviction.

"Good. I will take care of these letters." Li Wei, seeing Lin You’s terror, offered some comfort. "Do not panic. Even if the truth comes out, the master will handle it. Besides, you are about to claim illness, resign your post, and head to Qingzhou!"

"Yes, yes! I will write the memorial to His Majesty to resign right now!" Lin You turned and rushed back into the study, sitting down to begin writing.