When Xu Zifeng went out that morning, he deliberately avoided the patrol route of Lin Yue'e, the constable captain.
His aunt had told him the night before not to stir up trouble lately, and Xu Zifeng really had no intention of causing any that day. Skipping his daily tasks for a couple of days was no big deal.
For that reason, he had not even brought along the lackeys from his family's princely estate.
But sometimes, not wanting to cause trouble did not mean he could avoid it.
As usual, Xu Zifeng headed to the collection point for the intelligence network he had built in the Imperial Capital-a wine shop.
He was very proud of that wine shop.
Since opening, it had nearly been investigated several times, but thanks to his masterful behind-the-scenes management and his aunt's secret assistance, it had narrowly escaped every time.
Xu Zifeng felt he had quite a knack for gathering intelligence, too.
In truth, the Ministry of Justice and the County Yamen had long since investigated the shop thoroughly. Only the occasional passing officer who did not know the situation would find it suspicious and come in for a look.
Once they reported it, their superiors would tell them not to meddle.
That was because their superiors could use the wine shop to keep track of many of the Prince of the South's movements.
If the wine shop disappeared, investigating him would actually become more difficult.
Even Lin Yue'e had to pretend she had noticed nothing unusual whenever she passed by.
Only Xu Zifeng thought he had concealed it well.
After making several large circuits around the Imperial Capital and confirming that nobody was following him, Xu Zifeng entered the shop.
A clerk inside hung a "Closed" sign on the door.
In truth, even Xu