Ji Huan was very familiar with the streets and alleyways of Wey, and it did not take him long to arrive at a gambling house.
This gambling house had not been established by the people of Wey. It was said that the owner behind the scenes was from the State of Wei, and that the establishment enjoyed considerable renown among the various states. Its intelligence network was no less efficient than the confidential reports circulated among the courts of the Seven Warring States. However, it dealt exclusively in the buying and selling of information and did not handle its dissemination. Moreover, it adhered to strict professional ethics, never revealing the identities of either buyers or sellers. Speed and secrecy were the two fundamental principles on which every gambling house depended for its survival.
The establishment was tucked away in a dead-end alley. Even from the entrance, the sound of clamorous voices could be heard from within. The doorway was screened by a closely woven bamboo curtain, with a small piece of sheepskin hanging in the center, bearing a single character: 博.
The two lifted the curtain and stepped inside. The first thing they saw was a raised platform much like those found in taverns. A huge chessboard occupied its center, with a game in progress. A crowd had gathered around it, and bursts of thunderous cheering rang out from time to time. Clearly, a gambling match was underway.
“Would you like to play a game of chess or place a wager, sir?” A serving girl approached and asked with a bow.
“Neither,” Song Chuyi replied.
The serving girl understood at once. “Please follow me, sir.”
Led by the serving girl, they passed through the front hall and entered a small courtyard with a tranquil, secluded atmosphere.
“Please make yourself comfortable for a moment. I’ll go and fetch the manager.” She showed Song Chuyi and Ji Huan into a simply furnished room before bowing and withdrawing.
Another maid came in to serve them tea.
“What sort of information do you wish to purchase?” Ji Huan asked, feeling the gold on his person and worrying that he might not have enough.
“Hmm… Take a guess,” Song Chuyi said with a smile.
Ji Huan furrowed his brows. “I’m afraid we may not have enough money.”
“If we don’t, I’ll put you up as collateral. I think you’re worth quite a bit,” Song Chuyi said with a wide grin.
“I’m afraid we don’t accept people as payment here.” A gentle, refined voice came from outside the door.
The two turned towards the voice, only to see a young man in luxurious, pale jade-green robes entering the room. His sleeves were wide, and his robes flowed loosely around him. Song Chuyi’s first impression of him was that he was immaculate. His features were delicate and handsome. The pale green robes suited him beautifully, giving him the bright, fresh appearance of a spring day. Yet there was something rather cold about him beneath that sunny exterior.
Song Chuyi rose and returned his greeting with a bow. Her first words, however, were, “Tsk, that’s a fine set of clothes.”
Colors at the time tended to be rather dark and subdued. Bright, delicate shades like the one he wore were difficult to dye and produced in limited quantities. As a result, regardless of the material, garments in such colors were exceedingly expensive.
“You’re too kind, sir.” Du Heng gestured for her to sit, then took his own seat. “I am Du Heng, one of the managers of this gambling house. May I ask what information you wish to purchase?”
“I do want to buy some information. However, as you just heard, I’m afraid I don’t have quite enough money on me. So I’d like to offer some information of my own in exchange for a discount.” Song Chuyi replied.
Much like bartering goods for goods, the gambling house also accepted this sort of exchange, though it depended on whether the information being offered was of any use to them.
“Oh?” Du Heng smiled faintly. “You know that my gambling house has an extensive network of connections throughout the various states. There is very little information we cannot obtain. May I ask what sort of information you intend to offer in exchange?”
Du Heng appeared exceedingly gentle and refined, but his words were not particularly accommodating.
“The information I have to offer is something I guarantee your gambling house doesn’t already know. What’s more, it concerns the current commotion over the various states joining forces to attack Wei.” Song Chuyi picked up her cup to warm her hands and asked with a smile, “May I ask if you would be interested?”
Du Heng straightened in his seat. “So long as the information is useful and confidential, I shall tell you everything I know about whatever you wish to find out. And if you happen to know anything else about Song Huaijin and Min Chi, I would be willing to pay a handsome sum for it.”
The recent news of Song Huaijin lobbying the Six States to attack Wei had sent shockwaves throughout the land. Afterwards, her On Destroying States had also become highly sought after by gambling houses across the various states, each vying to purchase exclusive rights to it.
Such exclusive purchases worked as follows: a gambling house would pay an informant a substantial sum of money in exchange for the information, after which the informant was forbidden from spreading it elsewhere. Should they break their word, the gambling house would take their life.
Once a gambling house obtained such information, it could sell it to the rulers or ministers of the various feudal states. It was an undertaking that virtually guaranteed a profit.
Gambling houses were particularly sensitive to information of this nature. Even without knowing the contents of the On Destroying States, the mere mention of those three words was enough to pique their interest. They could readily imagine how appealing such a treatise would be to the rulers. Thus, although the various gambling houses were competitors, they had all tacitly agreed to keep the information under wraps.
This was one of the reasons why Song Chuyi’s reputation had suddenly soared, yet so few people knew anything about her On Destroying States.
By comparison, although Min Chi was even more renowned than Song Chuyi among the various states, his background, teachers and deeds were all more or less public knowledge. As far as the gambling houses were concerned, there was little of particular interest to be gained from him.
From Du Heng’s expression, Song Chuyi could tell just how seriously he was taking the matter. She thought to herself, Has my information really become this valuable in just a few days?
“How much would you be willing to pay?” Song Chuyi asked curiously.
Ji Huan couldn’t help glancing at her. Surely she wasn’t actually going to sell herself just for a bit of money?
Du Heng raised one finger.
Ji Huan was taken aback. One finger certainly couldn’t mean one or ten gold pieces. It had to be at least a hundred gold pieces, roughly equivalent to the sword at his waist.
“The price ranges from a hundred to ten thousand gold pieces. If you can provide the contents of Song Huaijin’s On Destroying States, along with information about her whereabouts, our establishment is willing to pay ten thousand gold pieces,” Du Heng explained.
Song Chuyi froze for a moment. Suddenly, she felt as though her entire body were glittering with gold. So much gold… At the thought of ten thousand gold pieces, she nearly burst into tears. Back when the slave traders had wanted to buy her from her father, they had been willing to offer no more than twenty-five pieces of cloth currency. Who would have thought? Who would have thought that she, Song Chuyi, would one day be worth so much?
“That’s so damn moving!” Song Chuyi wiped her face.
Du Heng was momentarily taken aback by her rather coarse language. But then he considered that ten thousand gold pieces was an unimaginable sum to most ordinary people, so a little excitement was only natural. He turned to ask, “Does that mean you have information about Master Song?”
She had both the On Destroying States and information about her whereabouts.
Had Song Chuyi not had more pressing business to attend to, she might genuinely have sold herself to this establishment. After all, it wasn’t as though she would be selling herself into slavery.
“No, but I know something about Min Chi. How much would that be worth?” Song Chuyi asked. She wanted to build up a little capital, but at present, she was desperately poor.
She had already spent all the gold Ying Si had given her to make up the cost of purchasing the swords. She had considered those swords gifts to Ji Yu and the others, while the rest had gone to Chi Ju. All she had left now was a sleeve sword, a Ju Cang sword, two young servants and Zi Ya. None of them could be turned into money.
Du Heng considered this for a moment. “If it’s information not already known to the public, you may exchange it with me for information of your own choosing.”
Song Chuyi couldn’t help bursting into laughter. At most, such information would probably be worth three to five hundred gold pieces. Meanwhile, she herself was worth ten thousand! The thought was positively exhilarating.
The more she looked at Du Heng, the more she liked him. Nevertheless, she put on a disappointed expression and sighed. “That will do, then. I never intended to sell the information for money in the first place. It’s just a pity I didn’t make more enquiries about Song Huaijin back then.”
“What information would you like to offer, and what information are you hoping to obtain?” Du Heng asked.
“I’d like to know the King of Wei’s current stance on this matter. Would your establishment have such information?”
Du Heng nodded. “Certainly.”
The King of Wei’s attitude was not particularly confidential information. However, hearsay alone was insufficient for her to make an accurate judgement. She needed to hear the most reliable account available.
“As for what I have to offer, it’s the truth behind the enmity between Min Zihuan and Song Huaijin, as well as the real reason the plot was exposed,” Song Chuyi said, taking a sip of her now lukewarm tea. “Would that be an acceptable exchange?”
“Agreed,” Du Heng replied.
The information was indeed highly confidential, but its value was not particularly great. Those who could afford to pay a high price were generally not interested in such matters. The only buyers would be teahouses and taverns, and even if all those sales were added together, the total might not be worth as much as the information Song Chuyi wanted in return.
Du Heng agreed because he reckoned the difference in value would not be too great, and he was personally very interested in the story. Besides, the more he looked at Song Chuyi, the more familiar she seemed. Where had he seen her before?
“Well, as I’m sure your establishment knows, Min Chi and Song Huaijin were once both lobbying in the State of Song. At the time, Min Chi was there as an envoy of Wey, carrying an official letter from his state. However, when they appeared before the Song court, Song Huaijin, who had travelled there alone, managed to get ahead of him…”
Song Chuyi proceeded to recount the events in detail.
What had originally been nothing more than two people passing each other by, she turned into a bitter confrontation. Under her telling, an utterly ordinary incident became a tale of stormy intrigue. Nevertheless, she exercised considerable restraint, taking care not to malign Min Chi in her account.
A maid brought Song Chuyi a fresh cup of tea. She paused to take a couple of sips.
“Excellent!” Du Heng’s eyes lit up. Regardless of how much of the story was true, he had to admit it made for a very entertaining tale. Sold to the taverns, it would surely fetch a handsome price.
“Having heard all this, I believe you can now guess at least part of the truth behind how this scheme was exposed, can’t you?” Song Chuyi said.
“Could it have been Master Min…” The entire affair had clearly been directed against Song Chuyi. Given the earlier conflict between the two, it was not difficult to work out.
Song Chuyi gave him an approving look. “Precisely. Min Zihuan is extraordinarily gifted and talented, with lofty ambitions. That he would conceal his ambitions is perfectly understandable. However, if you make a few careful enquiries into his conduct and dealings with others, you’ll soon realize that my words are not without merit.”
Du Heng already possessed quite a bit of information about Min Chi. Judging from his past diplomatic achievements and his conduct behind closed doors, Min Chi did indeed seem somewhat unscrupulous in his methods. The exposure of this scheme had earned him a reputation while dealing a blow to Song Huaijin. It certainly seemed like something he was capable of doing.
“What guarantee can you offer for this information?” Du Heng asked.
Song Chuyi pointed at Ji Huan. “As I said earlier, he’s what I’m offering.”
Ji Huan was an honest man, but by no means a fool. Hearing Song Chuyi say this, he understood what she meant. He cupped his hands and introduced himself. “I am Ji Huan, a commander serving under General Longgu.”
“Very good.” With someone willing to vouch for the information, Du Heng agreed. Raising his voice, he called, “Someone! Bring the writing brushes, ink and silk!”
A short while later, two maids entered. One carried brushes, ink and a length of white silk, while the other asked Ji Huan to provide a written guarantee. Du Heng whispered a few words to the second maid, who then withdrew.
Before long, she returned carrying a slender bamboo tube, which she presented to Song Chuyi with both hands.
“This contains information about the King of Wei. Please have a look,” Du Heng said.
