Volume One: River City Song Chapter 14: Formulating the Plan

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As expected, Li Ling’s words immediately cast a serious expression over Gu Yuezi and the old shopkeeper. They recognized the gravity of the situation. Especially Gu Yuezi, who quickly furrowed his brow in deep thought, muttering to himself, “You’re right. For the Wan family to actively round up all the authors, they must have insider information from our shop. Especially since only a few knew about your identity as Xiaoyaozi—besides me and Old Wu, no more than three others among the staff were aware.”

Noticing the old shopkeeper’s unusual expression, he hurriedly added, “Old Wu, don’t take it the wrong way. You’ve served my father for many years, and I’ve always regarded you as family. I would never suspect you.”

“I would rather starve than betray the master!” the old shopkeeper declared firmly.

Li Ling nodded in agreement. In later times, it was common for competitors to recruit insiders as commercial spies. But in this ancient era, a few centuries ago, it was far more difficult for outsiders to succeed in such schemes. Veterans like the old shopkeeper were not easily swayed by money.

As his thoughts raced, Li Ling added, “The crucial point is that they easily found my residence to persuade me. This means the traitor must even know where I live. Such a person should be easy to identify, right?”

Gu Yuezi’s eyes flickered. “Then it can only be him—Gu Kui, the servant who accompanied me the day we went to your home.”

Li Ling recalled the man; he seemed reliable, and since Gu Yuezi kept him close, he must have been a trusted aide. How could he have been so easily bought?

Even the old shopkeeper looked doubtful. “Master, Gu Kui is your family’s personal servant. How could he… how dare he do such a thing?”

Among those who served the family, there were two types: one sold themselves into lifelong servitude, bound completely to their master’s fate and without freedom—these were the household slaves; the other was simply hired laborers, like most of the shop’s employees, who came and went freely in exchange for wages.

Superficially, the latter had higher status. But for the poor forced into servitude, the former was actually more advantageous, as they would never worry about survival, and even marriage and children were arranged by the master. If trusted, a household slave could wield more power than hired hands, essentially becoming part of the family.

Of course, their lives were entirely in the master's hands—if killed, the authorities would not intervene—so these slaves were usually the most loyal. Yet now, this Gu Kui, as a household servant of the Gu family, had colluded with the Wan family, leaking the shop’s secrets!

Gu Yuezi’s face darkened as he snorted, “So far, he’s the only one who fits the profile. Guilty or not, we’ll find out soon enough.” With that, he strode outside and called out to the workers, “Where’s Gu Kui? Tell him to come here immediately!”

Someone quickly went to fetch him. Soon, Gu Kui arrived, his clothes stained with ink. Seeing his master’s expression, panic flickered in his eyes. He lowered his head in greeting but dared not meet anyone’s gaze. “Master, do you have any orders for me?”

“Gu Kui, I have always treated you well. Why would you betray us like this? Speak! If you dare to deny it, I swear I’ll take your life—and your mother’s too…”

Li Ling felt like slapping his forehead. This man was too blunt—laying everything out here would hardly make the other admit guilt easily. Gu Yuezi usually seemed sharp; how could he be so reckless now?

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But what happened next surprised Li Ling greatly—if he had any expectations at all. As soon as Gu Yuezi finished his threat, Gu Kui’s legs gave way, and he collapsed to his knees, trembling with remorse and fear.

“Master, I know I was wrong. I... I was forced into it. These past days, I have regretted it deeply. If I had known it would bring so much trouble to you and the shop, I would never have revealed anything…” He wept bitterly, bowing repeatedly until his forehead was scraped and bleeding.

Li Ling was stunned. The traitor confessed so easily? Just one sentence and everything was out?

In truth, Li Ling had overestimated the mental resilience of ordinary people. Gu Kui, as a servant, had been wracked with guilt and fear, so once unmasked, he had no hope of denial.

Seeing Gu Kui’s tearful remorse, Gu Yuezi lost his anger momentarily. After a pause, he said gravely, “Tell us honestly—what happened? How were you bought off by the Wan family?”

“I...” Gu Kui lifted his head, wiping tears and snot with his sleeve, choking on his words. “I don’t dare hide anything from you, Master. I accepted their money and had no choice but to tell them some things.”

“Why didn’t you tell me if you needed money?”

“My mother was ill and needed dozens of taels of silver for medicine…”

“I knew that, didn’t I already tell you to withdraw some money from the counter? Didn’t the shopkeeper give it to you?”

“Old Wu gave it to me, and I took it... but afterwards, when I went to town, a friend dragged me into the Jincai gambling house, and... I lost all the money there. I originally wanted to win some to buy chickens or ducks to nourish my mother, but instead I’m now hundreds of taels in debt to the gambling house. I didn’t want this—I truly didn’t—but I dared not tell you the truth, nor my mother…” Tears of regret streamed down his face again.

At this, Li Ling and the others understood what had happened. Gu Kui, desperate and cornered, was approached by the Wan family’s agents, who kindly paid off his gambling debts. In return, he had to leak the shop’s secrets.

Li Ling sighed quietly—gambling was indeed a scourge. His own irresponsible, cheap father had been the same; now Gu Kui was similarly trapped. Old Wu’s face was grim with anger, pointing at the kneeling Gu Kui, wanting to scold but unsure where to begin.

Gu Yuezi, after several changes in expression, stepped forward to support Gu Kui. “You have made a grave mistake, but in the end, you only sought to be filial and were deceived into this.”

Hearing this, Gu Kui’s shame deepened. Gritting his teeth, he said, “Master, I know I have done a terrible thing, nearly ruining our shop... I will atone. I’ll confess at the county office and expose their vile schemes…”

“Would that help? Even if everyone believed you, it wouldn’t change anything. As our household servant, your testimony won’t be trusted. The Wan family could easily claim we’re slandering them, turning the tables and leaving us worse off!”

Even now, Gu Yuezi maintained clear thinking, earning Li Ling’s respect. He nodded. “You’re right, Gu old bro. This won’t solve the problem. They dare act because they know even if we discover the traitor, they’re untouchable.”

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“Then do we just let it go? Let them keep oppressing our bookshop until they crush us?” the old shopkeeper asked angrily.

Li Ling shook his head. “Of course not. And I believe Gu Kui can redeem himself. What about you? Are you willing?”

Under Li Ling’s steady gaze, Gu Kui nodded without hesitation. “If it can make amends for my mistakes, I won’t back down—even if it costs me my life.”

“It’s not that extreme. Just follow my instructions when the time comes,” Li Ling smiled. If he had felt hesitant about using tactics against the Wan family before, he now had no reservations. They had clearly set a trap for Gu Kui through collusion with the gambling house.

Gu Yuezi’s spirit lifted. “You really have a plan, younger brother?”

“Exactly. Come, let’s go inside and discuss the details.” Li Ling smiled confidently, glancing at the still nervous Gu Kui. “Just keep doing your work as usual. If the Wan family contacts you again, behave exactly as before. If they make demands, verbally agree first, and then we’ll figure out what to do.”

Though still uneasy, Gu Kui saw his master nodding at him and dared not ask more. He nodded in agreement and left to work, his mind unsettled.

For the next two hours, Li Ling, Gu Yuezi, and the old shopkeeper held a long discussion inside. Only when night fully fell did they emerge, exhausted but with a spark of excitement and bewilderment in their eyes. They couldn’t understand where the young Li Ling, barely out of youth, found so many ideas, outshining even their decades of experience running the bookshop.

Perhaps this is what they call genius...

When the two had escorted him out the door, Li Ling took a few steps, then stopped and turned back with a smile. “Gu old bro, don’t forget to invite me to the meeting with those bookstore owners in two days. Some things are better said by me.”

“Understood. Don’t worry, younger brother. Also, you must finish writing the fourth volume of The Investiture of the Gods soon—that’s the key to this battle.”

“Of course. After focusing on these plans for you, some story ideas have become clearer,” Li Ling said with a smile, waving his hand before striding away.