Wheels rumbled through narrow streets and slanting lanes.
An ornate ox cart rolled through a puddle and stopped at the mouth of an alley.
Before long, Wang Yang emerged from the alley and climbed straight aboard. The ox cart slowly set off.
Inside the carriage, Liu Tan handed Wang Yang a small box. "The travel passes, official credentials, and cargo permits are all ready."
Wang Yang opened the box and looked through its contents as he asked, "Can you guarantee word will get through?"
"Yes. I had someone approach Zhao Jie, the administrative aide for the five offices-the municipal secretary-and give him a lavish gift. Liu Yin personally promoted him. He's shrewd, so a gift that large is bound to strike him as suspicious. He'll report it."
"What if he pockets the gift and says nothing?"
"That's why I also had the man approach Qiu Ying, the officer in charge of security—the head of the Guard and Defense Office. Liu Yin values him too, but he and Zhao Jie don't get along. They both want the post of Central Secretariat Clerk, which would get them into the provincial headquarters. I had the man let each of them know he'd also approached the other. That way, whether they're trying to strike at their rival or protect themselves, both will race to report it first."
Wang Yang smiled. "Beautiful."
"Beauti...ful?" Liu Tan hadn't understood.
"I mean you handled it neatly. But this ox cart is a little too conspicuous today. Let's not go to the brocade workshops just yet. We'll eat at a tavern, then split up afterward. I'll go to the workshops first. You go home, change carts, and come later."
Liu Tan said, "Beautiful."
Wang Yang blinked.
"I mean you handled it neatly."
They looked at each other and laughed.