Recall

The feeling left Su Ziji somewhat vexed. He thought, Although I've spent some time building up my connections in the Capital City, whenever something major actually happens, they still feel far from enough.

If he truly wanted to contend for anything, he would at least have to reach Prince Shu's level before he could compete with Prince Qi.

But given the emperor's attitude toward him, he would likely find that goal difficult to achieve in the short term.

What he lacked now was a network among the officials in the Capital City. Even with money in their hands, the Wild Daoist and the others could only cultivate connections at the bottom, and often learned of news much later.

In the short term, gathering intelligence this way had little impact. But once his identity was officially acknowledged and he entered the arena, this level would no longer suffice.

Shortly after he returned to the prefectural offices, Cen Rubai brought him a confidential letter.

"Young master, this letter came with a passing merchant caravan. I've already inspected it. The envelope bears a coded mark—it was sent by Brother Lu."

Su Ziji took it and opened it. Sure enough, something had indeed happened in the capital.

The reason Lu Fengyun had not promptly sent word was that he suspected someone was watching this channel of communication. He had spent half his life roaming the martial world and was cautious in the extreme. Once he believed someone had their eye on him, he immediately withdrew and stopped making moves.

Only after hearing that the emperor intended to have Su Ziji return to the capital had Lu Fengyun been forced to send the news out. To be safe, he had arranged for it to change hands several times, until a merchant caravan with no connection