The next day, a moment before the hour of Wei, Lena Sanders arrived at Shanzi Teahouse with Harris Ma and Jack Golden.
The same tea attendant who had served them the past few days stepped aside to let them in. His eyes flickered from Lena to the upper floor.
Lena inclined her head ever so slightly—a gesture of thanks and acknowledgment.
"Shall we sit where we did before?" Harris asked, glancing around and pointing to their usual table.
"The private room upstairs," Lena replied, ascending the stairs. She entered a small chamber directly opposite the staircase.
Without a word, the tea attendant brought in tea and refreshments, poured three cups, and withdrew.
Harris leapt up, craning his neck at the doorway to peer down the staircase. After watching several people come and go, he muttered, "Boss, we don't even know who we're looking for. How do we tell?"
"Just keep watch," Lena said. Seeing the time draw near, she moved to the doorway. Harris quickly stepped aside. She stood flush against the frame, eyes fixed outward.
Moments later, a section of the pale pink wall across the landing split open into a hidden door. From behind it emerged Shopkeeper Bai, his face plastered with a smile, ushering forward a man in his forties.
The newcomer's expression was grim; his complexion sallow, unhealthy.
As he neared the staircase, Lena suddenly pushed open the door and stepped out.
The man lifted his head, met her gaze—and froze. His eyes widened in shock, his face turning white as paper.
"We're old acquaintances," Lena said lightly, though the words were addressed to Shopkeeper Bai.
"Second Master, it's been a long time. Let's talk inside."
She moved forward, blocking his path and gesturing toward her room.
The man's throat worked convulsively; when she raised her arm slightly, he flinched back with a strangled cry, stumbling two steps away.
Lena's eyes narrowed. Her slender sword lay concealed beneath that lifted arm—so he knew.
He thought she meant to draw the blade. No wonder he was trembling like a leaf.
"Don't worry, Second Master. I only wish to speak." Her smile was bright and unhurried. "Harris Ma, attend to our guest."
Shopkeeper Bai, already retreating, slipped back several paces until he was well out of harm's reach.
Harris darted forward, half-dragging, half-pushing the man into the room.
Lena followed, motioning for Jack Golden to guard the door.
Harris forced the man into a chair and stood behind him, his hands gripping the man's neck.
Lena stepped closer, smiling pleasantly. "Relax. For now, I've no intention of killing you."
"You—you're not…" The man's voice rasped with confusion, fear darkening his eyes.
"So you do know her well enough to tell the difference," Lena said softly, pulling a chair to sit opposite him. "That explains why you're so frightened—and why you can see I'm not her."
"Who are you?" he asked, his tone less strained now.
"Better yet—who are you? Name, trade, occupation?"
He pressed his lips together, silent.
"Either we sit here, drink tea, and speak politely," Lena said with a lilting smile, "or these two can escort you elsewhere—my home, perhaps—where we'll have a much longer chat. Which do you prefer?"
"I… my name is Ye Ansheng. Fourth son of the family. I deal in medicinal herbs." His hands clenched the chair arms.
"Master Ye the Fourth," Lena said softly. "Did you kill my sister? Why?"
"Your sister?" His voice faltered, confusion warring with terror.
She looked exactly like her. But she couldn't be her. Twin sisters?
Lena tilted her head slightly, studying him through narrowed eyes.
"I didn't kill her! It wasn't me!" Ye Ansheng stammered, his throat dry with fear.
His instincts screamed the truth: her sister, if truly her sister, had been a blade—cold and sharp. But the woman before him was no blade. She was a ghost.
"I never meant—" he began desperately, panic forcing the words from him. "It was Eldest Brother… and Sister-in-law! Not me, not—"
"Don't rush. Speak slowly."
Lena placed a hand on his shoulder; his entire body went rigid.
"Harris Ma, help Master Ye drink some tea."
She patted Ye's shoulder twice, almost gently.
Harris poured a full cup, slapped the soft cap from Ye's head, grabbed him by the hair, and forced the tea down his throat.
Ye coughed violently, choking and sputtering.
Lena waited until he finished, then crossed her legs leisurely. "Now, speak."
"Are you truly Zhanlu's sister?" Ye asked hoarsely, regaining a sliver of composure.
"You're testing how much I know before you decide what to say, aren't you?" Lena's smile deepened. "I know nothing, Master Ye. You may speak freely."
"N-no, I—where should I begin?" Ye fumbled for a handkerchief, wiping his dripping beard.
"As you please," Lena murmured, her gaze drifting from his beard to the pulse at his throat.
He shrank back instinctively.
"It was Eldest Brother—and Sister-in-law," he said finally. "They thought that killing Zhanlu would hide my brother's wrongdoing."
"Did it work?" Lena asked, smiling faintly.
"No."
"And why not?"
"The funds my brother misappropriated to support Zhanlu were too great. Impossible to conceal."
"Oh?" Lena's tone was mild. "If it was about missing silver, he could have found a way to repay it. Why murder?"
"My sister-in-law believed Zhanlu was his concubine," Ye said bitterly. "She thought if the woman lived, he'd keep diverting funds."
"A concubine?" Lena laughed softly. "How much could a concubine possibly cost? The Ye family, counting every coin?" Her eyes flicked to the fallen cap, where a flawless piece of mutton-fat jade gleamed.
"Zhanlu wasn't a concubine—she was an assassin," Ye whispered, glancing at the arm that hid her sword.
"Ah, an assassin. No wonder. It costs dearly to raise one of those. Not something done overnight—or even in a year or two. It takes decades, doesn't it? So this silver, your brother embezzled bit by bit, for years. Fifteen? Twenty? And suddenly it couldn't be hidden anymore?"
Lena's eyes sparkled with amusement.
Ye's hands trembled on the chair arms.
"It was you who betrayed him, wasn't it?" she said softly. "You feared your brother would order Zhanlu to kill you—so you struck first."
Ye's mouth opened. He meant to deny it, but the word never came out.
"Why did your brother need an assassin?" Lena asked after a pause.
"He never said."
"You asked, but he didn't answer? Or you never dared to ask?"
Lena lifted a chopstick and tilted his chin up.
"I asked," he whispered. "He didn't say."
The chopstick slid down to touch the hollow of his throat.
"You knew she was an assassin," Lena said quietly, "but you told your sister-in-law she was a mistress. The Ye family deals in medicine, yes? Your brother was meant to be patriarch, wasn't he? Who holds that seat now?"
"Seventh Master," Ye muttered, the two words torn from him in pain.
Lena laughed aloud.
"So you knew your brother's darkest secrets. You were his confidant, his trusted man. With such trust—and your family name—you must have held considerable power in your house. A grand household, the Ye family.
You must have thought that once your brother fell, you could take his place. But after all your scheming, the one ruined most completely… was you."
She chuckled softly. "Imagine—Shanzi Teahouse sold you to me as if you were nothing."
Ye's face was ashen.
"Why is it that everywhere I go, there's always one of your kind—clever fools who think themselves invincible?" she sighed.
"Now," she said briskly, "you'll tell your brother to come see me. Has Shopkeeper Bai already paid you compensation?"
She reached over, patting his robe and sleeves. From one she drew a few silver notes, glanced at them, and handed them to Jack Golden.
"How soon can your brother arrive?"
"He's in the mountains… meditating… hard to find…" Ye faltered under her narrowing eyes. "Five days," he blurted.
"Five days," Lena repeated with satisfaction, setting her chopsticks down on the table. She clapped her hands lightly.
"Five days from now, your brother will wait for me here.
We were strangers once. Thanks to you, we are now acquainted. You've already killed me twice, thrice—perhaps nine times in total. Don't make it ten.
You're old enough to have sons and grandsons, aren't you? A whole family of them? Then surely you have nine lives among you to spare."
She leaned forward, smiling brightly.
Ye shrank back into his chair, shaking his head in terror, unable to utter a word.
Lena rose. "Let's go."