Upon returning to the blacksmith shop, Ruan Xiu discovered her father seated alone on one of the bamboo chairs, and she handed him the flagon of wine, then sat down onto the other chair as she asked, "How did the talk go?"

Ruan Qiong opened the flask, and he didn't even need to drink the wine, all it took was a quick whiff for him to know that this wasn't the wine that he had asked for. A flagon of premium spring peach blossom wine cost two taels of silver, yet this was clearly the cheapest spring peach blossom wine that was sold for eight qian per flagon. 

Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Ruan Xiu tugging nervously on the hem of her shirt while looking around with a sheepish expression, clearly afraid of being exposed by her father.

Ruan Qiong could only heave an internal sigh, pretending as if he hadn't noticed the difference at all as he took a swig of wine out of the flagon. "Everything went fine. I'm going to send someone to the kiln supervision office later to ask for a new and old mountain topography chart from Wu Yuan. Once Chen Ping'an's had a chance to think things through, he's most likely going to ask for those charts from me."

Ruan Xiu was very relieved that her ploy hadn't been uncovered, and she smiled as she straightened out her legs and stretched lazily, then leaned against the smooth and cool back of the bamboo chair.

The first step was always the most difficult one to take in any endeavor, and the fact that everything was off to a good start here put Ruan Qiong in quite a good mood. Thus, in a rare display of goodwill, he afforded Chen Ping'an a compliment. "That boy from Clay Vase Alley is quite simple-minded, but he's definitely not stupid."

"Haven't you heard the expression that all wise men appear simple-minded on the surface?" Ruan Xiu asked with a joyful smile.

Ruan Qiong merely smiled in response and offered no reply.

He cast his gaze toward the creek in the distance, then held the neck of the wine flagon between his index finger and his thumb, gently swirling it around as he said, "There are some things that I can't say directly to him because it might lead him to think too much and ruin what would've otherwise been a good thing, so I want you to tell him those things in my stead when you see him tomorrow."

"What would you like me to tell him?" Ruan Xiu asked...