“What exactly happened? Wasn’t it only the first batch that had problems…”

“Replying to the Second Young Master, everyone initially thought it was just the first batch. After the incident, those fabrics were locked in the warehouse next to the workshop by Steward Qin. This was to prevent further problems before delivery. Steward Qin would go in to check on them every day. At first, no one noticed anything amiss… well, not exactly. It’s said that in the past few days, some people noticed Steward Qin’s strange behavior. It was only upon today's discovery that everyone realized Steward Qin likely noticed the daily fading after the first batch of goods had issues. But the fading wasn't obvious in the preceding days. Steward Qin, entering every day, didn’t dare to speak recklessly, perhaps clinging to… some hope. But as the number of discolored fabrics increased daily, Steward Qin knew a major problem was brewing…”

“This…” In the carriage, Wu Qihao frowned, clenching his left hand into a fist, as if wanting to curse, but ultimately held back. “Why didn’t anyone say so earlier…”

But the answer to this question was actually clear to him.

“Has the news been contained?”

“It was immediately contained upon discovery. Not many people know. But Steward Qin’s condition doesn’t look good. A doctor has been called to examine him…”

“Uncle Qin… was ultimately responsible…”

Wu Qihao frowned and finally uttered those words, sitting there without speaking further. He had been summoned from a cloth merchant’s house by a servant. He couldn’t fully grasp the entire situation yet, but combined with the first batch of fabric issues a few days ago, he felt uneasy, almost like being suddenly stabbed in the back. He didn’t dare to hypothesize the worst-case scenario yet, only hoping it was an isolated incident caused by their own mistake. After all, this was new fabric, and some problems were to be expected.

Lifting the carriage curtain, the workshop wasn’t far away. The sign of the Su Family Cloth Shop came into view. These days, seeing this sign in Jiangning City often made him want to laugh. If he saw it with others, they would mostly discuss the various potential problems the Su Family might face in the future and how their profits would be lost. He would shake his head and smile, refraining from further comment, enjoying a sense of accomplishment. As a member of the Wu Family—even one of the successors—he truly felt like he was standing at the summit, looking down at the world, where both the Su Family and those who said these things were insignificant. But at this moment, he lowered the curtain, dismissing the surge of irritation in his heart.

It couldn't be related to them. It's been over a month…

Without dwelling on it, the carriage arrived at the small workshop. Upon reaching the entrance, he encountered Luo Shenzhen’s carriage. He greeted Luo Minzhi, but they could both see the worry in each other’s eyes, so they didn’t talk much. They entered together. Inside the workshop, the production of the Splendid Gold Brocade was in full swing, with bright yellow fabric waving in the air, dazzlingly brilliant, showing no signs of any problems. Over there, workers shouted as they dragged some fabric out of huge dye vats. A manager yelled, "Careful, careful! No problems can arise! This fabric is for the current Emperor!"

The scene of the workshop was reflected in the setting sun.

Wu Qihao and Luo Minzhi passed by to the warehouse. It was already heavily guarded, but now even more guards were added. Entering the small warehouse, the lights had been lit. Including Wu Qilong, several other Wu Family senior stewards had arrived. These were all veteran members trusted by the Wu Family, responsible for various processes. Before them was a fabric wall made of Splendid Gold Brocade, and the fading of some of the fabrics was obvious.

Luo Minzhi simply glanced at it and began to check the fabrics for marks with the other two shopkeepers.

“How… How is Uncle Qin?”

Wu Qihao looked up at the fabric wall, frowned, and closed his eyes, but his first words were to ask his brother about the matter. Wu Qilong was sitting on a stool, shaking his head, and after a long silence, he said, "The doctor said he's fine, just too tired..."

“Why is it fading?”

“I don't know, but…” Saying this, Wu Qilong suddenly stood up, waved his hand to his brother, and walked a few steps towards the fabric wall, then leaned a piece of new fabric against it.

“Look, this fabric was made today, and these fabrics were made more than a month ago. Look, after a month, they're exactly the same, with no signs of fading. We took them out to test them, and the dyeing… is very strong. But these faded ones, ha…”

Wu Qilong smiled and pointed to the fabrics Luo Minzhi and the others were inspecting: “We've already looked at them. The time… the time is almost sequentially arranged from more than a month ago. One and a half months to one month and twenty days. They almost began to fade in sequence. We just looked at the waste fabrics, and it's almost the same situation. And there's also this…”

He picked up a slightly wrinkled piece of fabric. The fabric was still a shimmering golden yellow, but when thrown among the other brocades, it slightly revealed a hint of color inconsistency: "This is one of the few fabrics pressed on the time point. It looked normal before, with no signs of fading. We just took it to soak in water and bake with fire. I cut off a piece and brought it here, and it has already started to fade. The others are still being tested."

“How could this be…”

“Yes.” Wu Qilong smiled sarcastically, sat down, and looked at the warehouse: “Is there a problem with the dyeing formula?”

The question was asked simply, and everyone fell silent instantly, looking at each other. After a long time, Wu Qihao asked, "Is it possible?"

"How is it possible?" Wu Qilong frowned and shook his head. "We have more than one person arranged in the Su Family. If we still get the wrong formula under such circumstances, unless this person… unless this person can see all our affairs from the very beginning. How could such a person exist in a few years? Even Su Yu couldn't do that, right? This time, our competition for the Imperial Merchant was only decided this year. Does someone want to tell me now that some people were plotting a few years ago… the only one who was plotting a few years ago was Su Tan'er. How could she target us a few years ago…”

“If she had been watching from behind all along, the benefits she could get by taking the Imperial Merchant herself would be much greater than this…”

“For now… it’s probably our own problem…” Wu Qilong rubbed his forehead, then looked at the several stewards in front of him. "Uncle Luo, Uncle Nie, the current matter is that everyone must block this news and let the dyers check the formula and analyze the possible problems. This matter is too strange, and no conclusions can be drawn yet. Everyone do your own thing. My father and I will communicate more with Master Dong of the Textile Bureau to postpone the delivery date. The Textile Bureau has entrusted the Imperial Merchant to my Wu Family this time and will not sit idly by as my Wu Family has an accident… My Wu Family has come to this step over the decades, and I don’t know how many big and small difficulties we have encountered. Everyone has gone through thick and thin together. No one dares to claim first place in the Jiangning City cloth industry if we are second. As long as everyone does their best, nothing will happen this time… Leave the matters here to you uncles.”

Those in this room were not only Wu Family confidants, but also seasoned veterans of the business world who had experienced various storms. They were roughly at the same level as the Liao Steward of the Su Family. Even if Wu Qilong didn’t speak, they mostly knew what they should do. At this moment, they responded in unison and began to gather together to discuss.

Wu Qilong and Wu Qihao exited the warehouse. The setting sun had faded to its last red glow in the sky. In the workshop, torches and lanterns had been lit. The workers changed shifts and ate, and the next batch of workers took over. Everything continued, but the two brothers' moods were difficult to describe at this time. These fabrics were constantly being made and sent to the warehouse, and if they all… faded… what were they doing now?

For them, every event in the past month had been moving forward, moving with extraordinary meaning. They clearly understood what they were doing and what use it was. But after doing it for so long, looking back, they realized that there seemed to be a problem with the foundation. So what had they been doing for the past month, busily? Suddenly, they couldn't find a home.

“Brother, is someone really secretly dealing with us?”

Wu Qihao had been thinking for a long time. At this moment, looking at this busy scene that had instantly lost its meaning but had to continue, he asked. Wu Qilong frowned and shook his head, looking back at the warehouse entrance.

“How can we know now? It shouldn't be like this. Now… Now I only hope it’s our own problem. If not…”

He frowned, unable to understand. Indeed, looking around, they couldn't see any enemies. Before the Imperial Merchant, they hadn't felt any animosity. After the Imperial Merchant, even if there was some animosity, it was impossible to put it into practice. They did make a move once, but all the planning was done in secret. Theoretically, no one should have noticed their preparations. They were like a tiger that devoured a goat with lightning speed. The entire process had no problems, no bows and arrows, no hunters, no knives and guns, and even the goat didn't have time to resist. Everything was perfect and smooth, but in the end, he found a wound on his body but didn't know when or where the wound appeared, and the wound was so serious that it could even be fatal.

Who exactly is it…

The tiger suddenly woke up and began to look into the darkness around him, but still couldn't see anything. The forest began to be full of hostility…

“If not… perhaps someone has been behind us for several months, watching us…”

Wu Qilong murmured these words, and Wu Qihao subconsciously glanced backward, turned a circle: “Then who would it be? Su Yu? Su Tan'er? Who else is there? The Su Family's elders?”

“Unlikely…” Wu Qilong shook his head. “Unlikely… it's impossible. It doesn't seem like their scheme at all. Xi Junyi is also impossible. We didn’t get only his things. This time… who exactly screwed us over?”

“Don’t think about it, brother. Perhaps there was a problem with a small matter. At this time, we can't panic ourselves. Let’s investigate it first.”

Wu Qihao comforted his brother, and Wu Qilong nodded afterwards. “Yeah, go back and start investigating. For now…” He looked at the working workshop in front of him, and the Jiangning City where various lights were lit in the distance, “For now… let’s see.”

In the sky, night fell, and darkness had just arrived.

They passed through the dim passage outside the small workshop, exited the workshop gate shrouded in lights, got into the carriage, and drove all the way back home with inexplicable anxiety. The road was sometimes bright and sometimes dark, and there were many more people who didn’t know about these events that happened in a corner of Jiangning this afternoon.

In the Su Residence, Ning Yi had just taken a bath and was sitting in the small pavilion in the courtyard, enjoying the cool air. Xiao Chan brought a bowl of cooked peanuts, and the two were bored playing a childish game of guessing the number of peanuts. When words and footsteps came from the courtyard gate, Su Tan'er, along with Juan'er and Xing'er, also returned. She was probably busy running around all day today, but after seeing Ning Yi, she still smiled contentedly.

In the past, on such evenings, some children would often come to play, or some cousins close to the main house would come to ask for money or chat, but these days, there were fewer and fewer of these people. Chan'er went to prepare some simple meals. After a while, Su Tan'er also took a bath and came out, and it was Juan'er’s turn. Everyone sat together in the pavilion chatting, talking, and eating something. Even many things on the business front, Su Tan'er would now tell Ning Yi without any care. Of course, Ning Yi would usually just make a casual joke, causing everyone to laugh.

Under the stars and moon, it was another leisurely day…